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Traditional Martial Arts, Combat Sports and Self Defense Magazine. Free read & download. Online issue January 2014. 268 Year XXIII
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Apache Knife: A Way OfLife. Some Indian tribesuse a war post like I do ithelps the students to un-derstand the importanceof using the knife in ahammer grip it puts ten-sion on the hand whilestriking the war post sothey can learn how it feelsto strike a body or bone.
APACHE KNIFE
Just like many other martialartists, I became interested inground fighting after havingwatched the first Ultimate FightingChampionship and seeing howRoyce Gracie defeated hisopponents without much effortand quickly immobilized them,unable to continue to fight. I thenresolved to better my self-defense
skills and began to research all the information that I could findabout ground fighting.
COMBAT HAPKIDO
Using the principles laid outby Bruce Lee along with anunderstanding of thefoundation and function of JeetKune Do, we can investigateother arts and draw out theiressence. We call this the "JKDFilter".
JKD
“BUDO INTERNATIONAL”is a publication of:BUDO INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.Central: Office:Andrés Mellado, 4228015 Madrid - SpanienLocal pages: Maurice [email protected] pages: Alfredo Tucci:[email protected]
On June 29 of this year 2013, Jim Kelly, theundisputed Black star of action films of the70's died at his home in San Diego, California.Launched to stardom for his appearance in thefilm "Enter the Dragon" along with his mentor,Bruce Lee, his figure, which had faded inrecent years, certainly deserves a Special liketoday's, set up by our expert Pedro Conde. Awork full of details and curiosities of the life of astar who, linked to Bruce Lee's career, brokebarriers for the African-American community.
MARTIAL CINEMA
It's not strange that manystudents seek today inneighboring arts an added towhat they believe to bedeficiencies. We can clearly seethis in countless practitionerswho are forming themselves infour or five different martial arts.Far are those days when fidelityto the Way symbolized the innerhonor of the practitioner. Times
are different and in this new era everything is possible! Now it's beenestablished the search line of the spirit and of the necessity of desire. Itseeks to satiate all desires and frustrations.
INTERNATIONAL BUGEI SOCIETY
S.D.S.-Concept Security Training is aneducational system for operative andpractical security schooling and training.Some professional groups run a clearlyhigher risk of being attacked by aggressivecustomers and clients than others. Thismay be daily business, but should not betaken lightly. Our educational program wasclearly designed for these professionals'day to day work.
SDS-CONCEPT
How to become a good eskrimador. Today,Eskrima is a mix of different styles. It seemsthat many students mix different styles andthen call it Eskrima and add new thingswhich have nothing to do with Eskrima. Theyare shopping, want to learn as manytechniques as possible and then mix it intheir own style and start teaching.
ESKRIMA
The award of the 9 Master degree bythe World Martial Arts Institute, with thecommentary of the responsible organizerDr. Song: "This is the least which we candistinguish you." And so left GrandMaster Martin Sewer the occasion finallywith more awards than he could bear,and proved that hard work pays andcorrect in the long run.
HUNG GAR KUNG FU
General Director & Art Director: Alfredo Tucci. Advertising: Maurice Elmalem - [email protected] International pages:
Alfredo Tucci. [email protected] Columnists: Don Wilson, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Cass Magda, Antonio Espinós, Jim
Wagner, Coronel Sanchís, Marco De Cesaris, Lilla Distéfano, Maurizio Maltese, Bob Dubljanin, Marc Denny, Salvador Herráiz, Shi de
Yang, Sri Dinesh, Carlos Zerpa, Omar Martínez, Manu, Patrick Levet, Mike Anderson, Boulahfa Mimoum, Franco Vacirca, Bill Newman,
José Mª Pujadas, Paolo Cangelosi, Emilio Alpanseque, Sueyoshi Akeshi, Marcelo Pires, Angel García, Juan Díaz. Photographers:
Carlos Contreras, Alfredo Tucci.
Hernández Beltrán togive deserved responsein this article, rescuingfrom the recentmemory a combat stylethat can be therevulsive to a differentway of seeing theauthentic disciplinaryarts of Japan: theToyama-Ryu BattoJutsu.
TOYAMA-RYU BATTO-JUTSU
e are all tools of forces that are beyondus. Partly chosen, partly imposed bythe very process that results from ourindividual and collective evolution, theprocess of awakening ofconsciousness that does not stop to
consider details, ideologies, opinions or tastes. The largeforces encourage, sustain and lie behind every little thing,because they are but parts of that Whole that createsthem.
Since man is man, and somehow even before, he hastried to understand how that amalgam of forces, energiesand tensions act on us. With uneven success, he hasexplored countless ways, roads and explanations, and hewill continue doing so for as long as he will exist. Theimpetus to understand the mystery of existence and itsconsequences is enrolled in our DNA, and it got reliablyactivated from the very moment that the light ofawareness and understanding was kindled in our species.
Nothing can replace that unconscious yearning of theinquiring eyes that look up at the night sky wonderingwhat's up there, or the weeping eyes of a mother whofinds no answer to why her son had to die, or the manwho confronts the storm that will ruin harvesting andcondemn his kin to death.
Understanding, being able to see beyond the obvious,finding out what works from the invisible, its paths anddirections, its laws and secrets, is the dream of every maneager to transcend the discourse of the reality,understood as a group agreement. Those who were ableto question the convictions of the ensemble of theircontemporaries, those rebels were the transgressors whotransmuted the consciousness of the group. Sometimesbranded as crazy, others as apostates or heretics, theyopened doors that were closed and sealed by thestupidity of a reality admitted as such usually by the fearand ignorance of many.
Today, imbued of the arrogance of that sole thought thatpromotes the materialism of our day, we are not sodifferent from Galileo's contemporaries. Science itself actsas a demonizing mechanism of any other form of analysisof reality that doesn't agree with its ruling premises, toeventually -of course, after the damage is done-recognize to their heretics the merit of a differentiatedapproach to its postulates that, very reluctantly, led tochange a paradigm. Once lost their initial impetus, allthings cool down and castle in their own tendencybringing to light the best and worst in them.
Nothing replaces the humility of "non credo", "do notknow", "my truth is my truth, but not necessarily yours."Respect is the great antidote to fanaticism and stupiditythat the result from the consensus of each era. That'swhy the sage always listens with an open mind, with nojudging. There's no urgency or demerit in it, quitecontrary, one can act and must do so according to hisown truth, because consequences will be for him, ingood and evil, and because they are part of his personal
history, of his own path. It is uncertainty itself, that formof fear that stems from insecurity, what pushes people tointervene and try to convince others of its truth.Proselytism originates in this evil; it unequivocally pointssuch weakness and stresses the perversion of ourcertainties.
Breathe twice before advising without being asked,breathe three times before criticizing other's ideas,breathe a hundred times before denying the truth of theother .
Yes, it is fear, always fear, what pushes us to takepositions against the others, to deny them their bread andcriteria, to fight them relentlessly and finally to destroythem. All fanaticism is consequently a form of cruelty; allintransigence is a step towards disaster.
Waking up to these points is the result of a lot of self-questioning and also and necessarily, of the experience.Because every arrow shot to the target carries thepotential and the chinks of the bowman's intentions. Manytimes in life, what hits you is an arrow that you shotyesterday; in a curved universe, everything comes back,everything returns. When life teaches us that lesson,rather, when we are able to understand it, many of ushave plenty arrows stuck in the ass. There's nothing wecan do about those arrows we've already shot, but wecan do a lot about the ones we'll shoot from now on.
Even fanatics are necessary in a complete Universe; thesage should, however, protect himself from theconsequences of such folly, like the researcher who wearshis protecting clothes when entering the lab full ofmicrobes or pests. Shit does exist, but it doesn't meanyou have to eat it.
The great forces of the Universe do as they please,moving freely on all sides. Only idiots or arrogant canconceive freedom as something undifferentiated andacting over such forces. You can surf a wave, but you willnever be bigger or stronger than her. Wise men learn touse the forces, to stay one step ahead of them, anticipatethem, even to direct them, but never to feel bigger thanthem
The power of the magician arises in all this, comes fromhis knowledge and his empathy with such forces, fromplaying with the "Magnus", the greatness that underlieseverything; in such process he becomes small, flexibleand unpredictable like that he frequents; elusive andimpassable, not to be touched by them, extremely robustin his simplicity, because only void can be compared tothe greatest of all powers, Nothingness.
The monumental forces that make the cosmos spin arenot based on an intention, but in the very nature of things.Us humans, instead, move on impelled by intentions,whether visible or hidden to ourselves or to others;independently of the type, the blindness that pushes usgenerally makes us predictable and petty, whilst it canmake us also giants and generous. That second optiondepends on our level of consciousness, but also on ourinner greatness. Life is always taking out what we have
"Know yourself before you start deciding about the nature of God and the world"
Ramana Maharshi
"As we acquire knowledge, things do not become morecomprehensible, but more mysterious"Albert Schweitzer
W
inside, but is in great crises, in extreme situations, where inevitablyeither choice will sprout.
We all serve something greater than ourselves; consciously orunconsciously we are part of something bigger that feeds on us as wefeed on other things. The Universe exists in a continuous give andtake of unimaginable forces, most of them invisible to men'seyes. Waking up to these realities is a giant leap for whichfew are prepared, but to which everybody is invited,because the nature of the occult is no different fromthat of the visible.
Every existing thing feeds upon something;anything that feeds upon something exerts afunction and generates consequences andwastes. The nature of all forces responds tohigher laws, and does its job beyond anyconsideration of good or evil. What is good forsome will be bad for others and vice versa.
In the course of eternal things, we menpass through existence usually asleep andunable to see anything beyond theimmediate. Always put in front of a mirror,one day we finally decide to look atourselves and wonder who is the one wesee reflected there. Only afterquestioning the answers will come ... it'sbeen always so. Poor he who has neverquestioned himself and lives feeding onthe manger of normality, where there isnothing but deceit and decadence.
The invisible is acting behind every breath;it exists concealed, doing without doing. Thewise sooner or later is bound to have thatencounter with the mystery. The ancient Shizenpeople called this meeting "fuemaru", or "open youreyes". All the visible comes from the invisible. If we aretools in the hands of superior forces, any possibleglimmer of freedom, however small or big it can be, willdepend on our knowledge and our level ofconsciousness. We can't surf a wave that we don'tadmit it exists and we don't study how it behaves.
Alfredo Tucci is Managing Director ofBudo INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.E-mail: [email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/alfredo.tucci.5
Toyama-Ryu Batto-Jutsu,IMPERIAL JAPANESEARMY FENCING
Darkness wraps in gloom theadvance. Slow and silent movementsuntil just a hundred yards of theenemy… Only choppy breaths stir thebreasts of those who know that mostlikely it's going to be his last sunrise.And then wait, while the moist seabreeze, along with the sweatproduced by the stress and strain,drenches the bodies soaking theclothes.
Clarity leaks out the figuresstationed in front, conversations andnoises of an awaking camp are heard.
Suddenly, everything is moving.Deafening noise and hundreds of tornthroats screaming. Death takes overthe field and the battle begins.
He stands up with sword in handcrying out commands as he startsrunning. He's young.
The bodies seek contact. Some fallto never rise again. Others stumble,pant, crawl... With wide open eyes,lungs about to burst, running in adesperate way, they shortendistances screaming nonstop. Thefirst ones reach their objective. Withboth hands, right and left, the youngman armed with a curved saberstabs and cuts on an amalgamationof limbs and weapons. Blood flowsand the sword accomplishesmerciless the cold duty of the armsthat wield it...
Although this sequence mightseem extracted from a battle reportof the many that shook feudalJapan, nevertheless it occurred inthe middle of the twentieth century,specifically in Saipan, on July 7,1945, at the end of the last worldconfl ict. The young off icer wasCaptain Sakae Oba (1) of theImperial Japanese Army.
This is one among thousands ofexamples where men of a past timefought with anachronistic swordsagainst modern firearms.
And what type of technique didthey have? Where did they learn theuse of modern sabers copied fromtheir ancestral and effective Katanaswords?
To these and other questions wehope to give deserved response inthis article, rescuing from the recentmemory a combat style that can bethe revulsive to a different way ofseeing the authentic disciplinary artsof Japan: the Toyama-Ryu BattoJutsu.
(1) On February 11, 2011, the film"Battle of the Pacific" was releasedin theaters portraying the strugglesof Oba and his group in Saipan,and the relentless pursuit of the USMarines. The film was produced byToho Pictures, directed by HideyukiHirayama and shot in Japan, UnitedStates and Thai land, s tar r ingYutaka Takenouchi as Capta inSakae Oba.
Author: SergioHernández Beltrán
The Rikugun Toyama Gakko,birthplace of the Toyama-Ryu style
In the sixth year of the Meiji era(1873), in the remains of what hadbeen the village of the Owari clan,had its beginnings the RikugunToyama Gakko (Military AcademyToyama), in what is now the Shinjukudistrict in Tokyo, until 1937 when itwas transferred at 40 km southwest,near the city of Zama, KanagawaPrefecture.
At the end of World War II, theToyama Academy became CampZama, a detachment of the U.S. Armyin occupied Japan.
The school had differentspecializations to train the Armydashboards, namely: shootingpractice, physical f itness, self-defense and swordplay.
Since its founding in 1873, thepurpose of the Toyama Mil itaryAcademy was that of enhancing theJapanese Imperial Army to reach asquickly as possible the same level asWestern armies. In order to achievethis goal, French army officers wereinvited to provide the necessaryunified mil itary education forJapanese officers who later wouldform the basis of each regiment anddisseminate the acquired knowledge,so that the objective of updating andunifying the entire army could bereached.
Gunto Soho - Military Fencing
The vast majority of physicaleducation programs for war intendedfor Infantry Officers of the ImperialJapanese Army (IJA) were created inthe department of physical training ofthe Toyama Military Academy. Atfirst, the melee combat technique(Hakuei) taught at the academy, wasbased on the French military style,with the sword fighter using a sabre
which commonly was wielded withonly one hand. However, afterJapan's war with China (1894 ~1895) and Japan's war with Russia(1904 ~ 1905), the reliability of theJapanese sword, the "katana", wasevaluated again taken into accountalso its spiritual side as well as itsancient psychological attraction inthe Japanese people.
Victorious in these wars, theJapanese Imperial Army evolved upto the level of other world powersand during this period, the style ofwielding the sword changed fromone hand to two hands. In thiscontext, during the Taisho period, theToyama Military Academy beganresearching more tradit ionalJapanese fencing ways anddeveloping an entirely Japanesemil itary sword that could beintroduced into the army. To thispurpose, traditional Masters of swordfighting (katana) were called upon.
Specifically in the field ofswordsmanship, the Toyama MilitaryAcademy summoned the headMasters from each school - styles ofIaijutsu and Kenjutsu - forming a newstyle that later was called Toyama-Ryu.
The Toyama Academy had six bigdojo halls for Kendo training andanother one for Jukenjutsu, thepractice of using the bayonet.
Every dojo was 60 meters long by12 meters wide.
In the fourth year of Taisho (1915),the Western style of wielding saberswith one hand started to evolvetoward the military swords calledGunto, which were used both twohands.
Between the eighth and ninth yearof the Taisho era (1920-1921)researches to improve the attackingabil ity in melee combats wereundertaken and short swordtechniques or Tankenjutsu (wakizashiand bayonet) began to be taught
Also were selected the bestexponents among those who haddeveloped short sword techniques inorder to improve the Ryote GuntoJutsu techniques (Gunto techniquesat two hands).
In the 13th year of Taisho (1925),with the opening of the ToyamaMilitary Academy main dojo,teachings to provide techniques andstrategies to be used in guerrillawarfare to all soldiers carrying Guntowere put into practice.
As far back as the 14th year ofTaisho (1926) the denomination of
Arts of JapanText: Sergio Hernández BeltránPhotos: © www.budointernational.com
Reportage
Toyama Ryu Iai Jutsu was established as the name ofthe style.
In 1925, Morinaga Kiyoshi, who was first lieutenantand manager of the Kenjutsu Kenkyu Kai (ToyamaAcademy's Sword Technique Research Committee)was commissioned to help create a practical system ofusing of the Japanese sword in the modern battlefield, inorder to incorporate it as a study subject in the Academy.The idea was to pick the most efficient techniques in theclassic styles of Iaido, Iaijutsu and Kenjutsu.
On behalf of the Japanese army, Morinaga Kiyoshicame into contact with the Masters Kunii Zenya (KashimaShin Ryu) and Nakayama Hakudo, highly celebrated thelatter for being an important Master of the Muso JukidenEishin Ryu Iaido style and also founder of the MusoShinden Ryu. Morinaga requested their help in compilinga system of sword techniques that could be used in thebattlefield.
The second step in the creation of this military style wasto analyze the reports of experts in the great battles ofJapan's recent history. The conclusion reached, based onthe wounds and deaths of the Battle of Satsuma in 1877,was that the most common and efficient technique wasthe so-called "Kesa giri", a cut made diagonallydownward, which had been the main cause of almost allthe fatal injuries.
Therefore, it was concluded that the technical basis ofthe new style should be the "Kesa giri".
The result of the works of the Kenjutsu Kenkyu Kai andNakayama Sensei was a new style that was born in 1925,and it was first called Gunto no Soho, consisting of fiveKata in Tachi- Waza, i.e., sequences of moves for modernwar from a straight up stance, shifting forward, rightward,leftward and backward, and designed similarly to modernIaido, created by the same Master Nakayama, adding theTameshigiri (cutting technique test).
For this purpose they used the "makiwara", whichconsisted of rice straw rolls that had been previously sunkin water so that they got solid and remained moistpresenting the consistency of a human body.
However, these kata were only practiced in theAcademy and were not spread to the rest of the army.
In 1934, the Japanese Imperial Army officially changedits word similar to western swords, by other traditionalJapanese style sword, referred to as the Gunto 94 modelmilitary sword, thereby creating the Gunto no Soho, thefirst Japanese fencing style with a military sword akin theold katana.
In Sowa 15 (1940), the Gunto no Soho was redefined,the reason for this reform being its scarce profit inManchuria during the war between Japan and China.Morinaga Sensei served repeatedly fulfilling his duties asinstructor assigned to the Toyama Military Academy(Rikugun Toyama Gakko), with the grades of lieutenant(Rikugun Chui), Captain (Rikugun Taii) and Commander(Rikugun Shoosa).
Later, from 1939 to 1945, being a Lieutenant Colonel(Rikugun Chusa), Morinaga Kiyoshi was appointed Directorof the Toyama Academy. As such, he was responsible forexpanding to seven the Iai curriculum from the fiveestablished kata. This was achieved bydeleting the 1925's version of the numberfive form and adding a “new number fiveform”, along with two extra kata, the"number six form" and the "number sevenform”. Precursors of this change in 1940were Seiji Mochida and Goro Saimura.
Commissioned as Kendo Masters of the Academy, theyofficially adopted seven kata in Tachi-Waza. These katawere included in a supplementary chapter of the Kaiko-Sha (a social organization of army officers), under the titleof "The November 1940 Manual. Techniques andTameshigiri with Gunto" (military sword). The manualswere distributed to all officers of the army, thus makingthe Gunto no Soho, developed at the Toyama MilitaryAcademy, to be known by the Japanese Imperial Army asa whole.
In January 1942, Hisakazu Tanaka, of the ToyamaMilitary Academy, created a collection that was published,entitled "Tanki sokusei kyoiku gunto kunren - Ichigekihissatsu" (Intensive Gunto Training Manual - Killing with asingle blow).
The main purpose of this intensive instruction was toteach handling the Gunto to people without knowledge of"Kenjutsu."
In actual combat it focused on three techniques:1. Ryote shomen giri (vertical cut forward at two hands).2. Ryote shitotsu (lunge with both hands)3. Kesagiri Hidari (left diagonal cut)
In March 1944, the "Intensive Gunto Training Manual -Killing with a single blow" - was revised and republishedas "Gunto no Soho # 1" and the original Gunto no Sohoas "Gunto no Soho # 2", then the Toyama MilitaryAcademy combined both and with some correctionspublished as the "Gunto no Soho and Tameshigiri of theKokubo Budo Association".
There were three stages of evolution anddevelopment of Gunto Jutsu.
1st - It extends until the fourth year of the Taisho era(1916), definition and development of the Gunto Jutsutechniques in general. (Kenjutsu).
2nd - In the 14th year of the Taisho era (1925),development of the "Batto jutsu", unsheathing, sheathingand cuts with the Gunto, plus five kata (forms) easy tolearn.
3rd - Corresponds to the closing of the Toyama militaryschool and it focused on "Tameshiguiri" (cutting test),points to consider as etiquette and seven kata (forms)were fixed that became the basis of what is known todayas Toyama Ryu Iaido.
To evidence in detail the practical effectiveness ofthe sword techniques of Toyama School, it suffices torefer to an American publ icat ion t i t led "The Japsoldier" that was published in 1943, which explainedand gave advised to military officers of United States,in the possibility of an encounter with official enemiesin the battlefield. It said: "The Japanese officers stillcarry old swords. You'll see them lead their troops
"Toyama-Ryu Batto-Jutsu",
"Toyama-Ryu Iaido" or "Batto-Do"
“In 1934, the JapaneseImperial Army officially
changed its word similar towestern swords,
by other traditionalJapanese style sword,
referred to as the Gunto”
waving their swords, just like in theold movies. "Shoot them as fast aspossible, because those swordscan slice a man from the neck tothe hip with a s ingle and cleanvertical cut."
In this respect, the quote aboutthe skill with the sword of Japaneseoff icers was probably based ontest imonies of eyewitnessesproceeding from the battlefields,who would have transmitted thatinformation to those responsible forcreat ing new t ra in ing manuals .Reports could also come from theevents produced by the "NanpoHeidan Yamashita Kirikomitai" or"Southern Yamashita Army GroupAssault Force", who was stationedin Manchuria during the last war.This elite group went into battlearmed only with swords, againstin fantry equipped wi th modernweapons causing severe physicaland psychological damage to the
enemy despi te the i r min imalchances.
One of the instructors of th isgroup said that once they were atabout ninety feet from the enemylines, and when the light arms firedirected against them wasinaccurate, the advantage seemedto change suddenly in their favor.When the enemy saw the ski lfulswordsmen fal l ing on them,determined in their goal of reachingtheir posit ions despite their lowprobabi l i t ies of success, thedefenders became demoral izedfalling into chaos and disorder, thusallowing the raiding party to shortenquickly the distance without muchdiff icul ty. In c lose combat, the
advantage of the trained swordsmanoverwhelmed those who tried it.
The main features ofToyama Ryu style wereand still are:
- Easy learning, so that anyone with-out prior knowledge could dominate it.
- Effective and real techniques; onlytechniques that are realistic were andare practiced.
- Being a style for "REAL" combatto be developed in the battlefield,only techniques from the standingposition are practiced.
But perhaps the most noteworthyfeature is the so-called "Ichi GekiHisatsu" (Killing with a single blow).
Reportage
Techniques went through many changes since, due toactual combat exper iences, weak points werecontinuously modified.
There were also changes in the style's name: "Toyama-Ryu Batto-Jutsu", "Toyama-Ryu Iaido" or "Batto-Do".
History of the Zen Nihon Toyama-RyuIaido Renmei
The Zen Nihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei engages inactivities to widely promote martial arts in general andJapanese culture in particular, through learning and trainingin the Toyama- Ryu Iai -Do style, not only in Japan but alsoabroad. Along with these activities, the organizationincludes international exchanges of Japanese martial artstudents overseas from countries such as USA, China,Hong Kong , Taiwan, Spain , Venezuela and Andorra.
The Toyama Ryu Iaido is based on Gunto Soho, a well-established fencing method, improved and officiallyadapted to the katana sword by the Toyama MilitaryAcademy of the Japanese Imperial Army. After World WarII it was called "Toyama- Ryu" and it was established as aschool of traditional Japanese Iai -Do fencing, beingcontinually modified and today it is considered an art. Thewhole process of establishing, consolidating and
improving the Gunto no Soho took about twenty years,from the Taisho period until the end of World War II,having been several sword masters from different schoolsthose who were involved in its development in thedifferent stages; the Toyama- Ryu is not attributed to asingle founder. The peace treaty with Japan (the SanFrancisco Peace Treaty) was signed in 1951 and enteredinto force in 1952. That's when Japan regained itsindependence and the prohibition of the practice ofmartial arts was lifted, Morinaga Kiyoshi, former directorof sword fencing at the Toyama Military Academy,Yamaguchi Yuuki, Nakamura Taizaburo and others beganto call "Toyama- Ryu" the fencing style based on theGunto no Soho and started to spread it throughout Japan.
The current Zen Nihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR ) was created as "Toyama-Ryu Shinko- Kai",established by Tokutomi Tasaburo and NakamuraTaizaburo, who taught at Gunto Soho in the army. Overtime the "Toyama- Ryu Shinko-Kai" was renamed as "ZenNihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei", and anotherorganization, the "Zen Nihon Batto-Do Renmei" (ZNBR),was established in order to include other schools of theart of Batto-Do, being these two Iaido federations as thetwo wheels of the same cart.
In 2001, the Zen Nihon Batto-Do Renmei and the ZenNihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei split.While the Zen Nihon Batto-Do Renmeiis an organization that includes severalschools of Iaido, the Zen NihonToyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei hasbecome an independent organization,although a member of the formerfederation, with independent activities.
The Toyama-RyuAssociation in Spain (Zen Nihon Toyama-RyuIaido Renmei - SpainBranch)
In 2007, thanks to the endeavors ofSergio Hernández Beltrán Sensei,known expert and researcher ofOkinawan Karate and Kobudo, as wellas an Iaido practitioner since 1983,the Toyama-Ryu starts to spread inSpain.
From a first seminar held in Madridunder the technical direction of RobertSteele Sensei, from USA, andconvinced that the Toyama-Ryu Batto-Jutsu style amply fulfilled his own
needs, Sergio Hernández decided to make it knownin his environment, in an independent way but as acomplementary martial activity to the practice ofSeitei Iaido of the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei.
Profiting the infrastructures and with the help offriends from other Karate and Kobudo organizations,a series of training sessions to spread the stylebegan. With several articles published in press inJuly 2008, the Toyama-Ryu Association Spain sawthe light, with registry number 14251 of the ConsellCatalà de l'Esport (Catalan Sports Council). A yearlater, in May 2009, the Toyama-Ryu AssociationSpain invited Bob Elder Sensei from Orlando, Fla.(USA), in turn Master of Robert Steele, first exponent
Arts of Japan
Reportage
“The vast majority of physicaleducation programs for war
intended for InfantryOfficers of the Imperial
Japanese Army (IJA) werecreated in the departmentof physical training of the
Toyama Military Academy”
of the Toyama-Ryu Iaido in ourcountry. This step is essential toformalize relationships with MasterMitsuo Hataya, President of the ZenNihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei,whose confirmation and acceptancewould occur the following year, withthe coming to Spain of Master Hatayain May 2010.
In the following two years, theactivity was substantially duplicate,and in 2011 the Toyama-RyuAssociation Spain (ATS) was officiallyaccepted as the organizationresponsible in Spain of the Zen NihonToyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR),through the Ryubukan Dojo coachedby Sergio Hernández Sensei, whowas appointed "Spain BranchDirector" (Director of Subsidiary inSpain of the ZNTIR ) .
In February of that same year, BobElder Sensei was invited again, thistime in the Principality of Andorra.After the event, Elder Sensei awardedthe rank of Shodan of the Americanbranch of Toyama-Ryu to SergioHernández, thus becoming the firstgraduate of the style in our country.
A three-member team, whichincluded the presence of ChristopherGea Sensei, secretary to the ATS,traveled to the East Coast of theUnited States in order to participatefor the first time in the Orlando Taikai2011, where Sergio HernándezSensei conquered the first place inthe Batto Kata contest, a fact thatpositioned the Spanish organizationwithin the world context.
A month later, in July 2011, HatayaMitsuo Sensei and Masaharu MukaiSensei, President and Vice-presidentrespectively of the ZNTIR, visitedSpain again.
But it was in 2012, on a coldFebruary day, when after an intenseweek of personal training at the ZNTIRHonbu Dojo in Machida, Tokyo, theresponsible until then of the diffusionof the style in Spain and thePrincipality of Andorra, SergioHernández Sensei, obtained through ademanding exam the rank of Shodan(1st Dan) of the Zen Nihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei, becoming again thefirst Spanish Yudansha in the Toyama-Ryu style within the ZNTIR.
In that same year and for thesecond time, Masters Mitsuo Hatayaand Masaharu Mukai were invited toimpart their teachings in thePrincipality of Andorra, carrying outan unsurpassed seminar.
Two recent events are proclaimingthe coming of age of the Toyama-Ryu
Association Spain and make it aninternational benchmark: one is thetrip to Venezuela of its President andTechnical Director, Sergio HernándezSensei, and his secretary, CristobalGea Sensei, invited by PasqualinoSbraccia Sensei, who is spreadingthe style in his country, in order togive two seminars, including, underthe guidance of the ZNTIR, thetutelage of this fledgling group inVenezuela.
And the second event took place inOctober 2012, when the book"Toyama-Ryu Batto-Jutsu. The swordstyle of the Imperial Japanese Army",was published, the prologue of whichwas in charge of Master Hataya. Theauthor could be none other thanSergio Hernández.
The goals of the Toyama-RyuAssociation Spain, are the surveyand diffusion of the Iaido / Iai-Jutsuarts (Bat todo / Bat to jutsu) ,specially the line developed withinthe Zen Nihon Toyama-Ryu IaidoRenmei , that pres ides HatayaMitsuo Sensei, based on Toyama-Ryu sty le , focus ing on thedifferentiating concepts traditionallytransmitted from its origins andensuring to maintain its purity andauthenticity.
In an effort to achieve theseobjectives, the Association attendsthe training and promotion of itsteaching staff in particular, and of allits members in general, with thearrangement of events scheduled inits Annual Agenda, as well as anyother relevant happening orsupplementary service for the benefitof its members.
All members have the right and theobligation to be affi l iated andregistered with the Zen NihonToyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei, with thebenefits, advantages andresponsibilities that it entails.
With the organization certificate,the Association accredits its "DojoResponsible members" andrecognizes the Dojo training hallsthey manage as "Dojo-cho", throughthe Zen Nihon Toyama-Ryu IaidoRenmei .
Masaharu Mukai- 7th Dan Kyoshi - Zen Nihon
Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei.- 7th Dan Kyoshi - Zen Nihon Batto
Do Renmei- 4th Dan - Zen Nihon Kodachi
Goshindo Renmei- 2nd Dan - Kendo
Masaharu Mukai Sensei was bornon January 1, 1949 in OkayamaPrefecture (western Japan , one ofthe most famous places of origin ofthe Japanese sword)
After graduating from college, hewas a policeman in KanagawaPrefecture, specializing in TrafficRegulation, Problems derived fromTraffic and Advice to Police Officers.After 36 years of doing his duty, heretired in 2009 as PoliceSuperintendent. After leaving thePolice Station in KanagawaPrefecture, he worked two years as aconsultant in the city of Sagamihara .
He is married with Yoshiko and hastwo sons and four grandchildren (twoboys and two girls).
Master Mukai practiced Kendo formany years in the Police Academy,reaching the grade of 2nd Dan. Oneday he met Yoshitoki (Mitsuo) HatayaSensei, current President of the ZenNihon Toyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei,joining his dojo in Machida and hisgroup Seizankai in 1985. For him itwas a revelation, since real practicewith a Japanese sword was what hehad been searching for so long, andthanks to Hataya Sensei he hadfinally found it.
The ZNTIR knows about theinterest of many people worldwidein practicing real cuts with a Nihon-to (Japanese sword), especial lyamong practitioners of Kendo andIaido. Personally, Mukai Sensei iskeen to spread the Toyama-Ryu andits spirit among those who wish tolearn a true management of theJapanese sword. So much so that ithas been appointed by HatayaSensei as the maximum responsiblefor the di ffusion of the sty le inEurope.
His main goal is that of findinginstructors to lead the promotion andexpansion of the style in their ownregions and countries, practitionerswhom he can instruct and givesupport so that they are able to makeknown the Toyama-Ryu Batto-Doworldwide in the right way
With the support of the Toyama-Ryu Association Spain, he hopes touse its structure and its componentsas a basis for dissemination of theToyama-Ryu in Europe.
Master Mukai also practicedTakeda Ryu Yabusame from 1995 to2000.
He is currently Vice President andGeneral Manager of the Zen NihonToyama-Ryu Iaido Renmei and itsTechnical Director.
Arts of Japan
TOYAMA-RYU WEB ADDRESSES Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei:
http://toyamaryuiaido.jp/index_en.htmlBlog of the Toyama-Ryu Association Spain:
http://zntirate.wordpress.com/
Arts of Japan
PARTAKERS IN THETOYAMA-RYU BATTO-JUTSU DVD
Masaharu MukaiVice President and GeneralDirector of theZen Nihon Toyama-RyuIaido Renmei
Sergio Hernández BeltránPresident of the Toyama-Ryu Association SpainManager of the Zen Nihon ToyamaRyu Iai-Do Renmei Spain BranchResponsible of the Ryubukan DojoC/ Barri, 7La Parroquia d'Hortò, 25714 - (Lleida, Spain)[email protected]
Cristóbal Gea GeaSecretary to Toyama-Ryu Association SpainResponsible of the Yoshikan DojoC/ San Salvador, 9 bajos. Ripollet, 08291. (Barcelona, Spain)[email protected]
Víctor Herrero PérezInternational Relationships - Toyama-Ryu Association SpainResponsible of the Ken-Zen DojoC/ Berenguer, 3. Santa Margarida i Els Monjos(Barcelona, Spain)[email protected]
José Mateo Miranda Deputy Director of the Toyama-Ryu Association SpainTADAIMA DOJOC/ Juli Garreta, 18 17600 Figueres (Girona, Spain)josemiranda.tadaima @ gmail.com
Apache Knife: A Way Of Life
Text & Photos: R. Redfeather: [email protected]
“Some Indian tribes use a war post like Ido it helps the students to understandthe importance of using the knife in a
hammer grip it puts tension on the handwhile striking the war post so they canlearn how it feels to strike a body or
bone.”
Apache Knife a Way of Life Founder Chief Instructor Robert Redfeather
I do not teach from theory I teach from my life experiences.One thing I have learned in my life experience is you do nothave to fight all your battles but I expect you to stand on yourown two feet.
Apache knife fighting is as old as Mother Earth. It is directand goes hand to hand with nature, it is the Apache IndianWay. In 2005 I was asked to represent the United States forThe 8th Chungju World Martial Arts Festival as the oldestNative American Fighting Art in Chungju City South Korea. Iwas honored to raise the Flag of the United States of Americaand March in the Parade to represent the Apache People. Ispoke at the Universities about Native culture and gavedemonstrations to the Korean Army on knife fighting. It hasbeen documented in their Martial Art Museum.
In 2013 I was Honored to be inducted into The MuseumHonor Award by Michael Matsuda in Burbank California forApache Knife the Oldest traditional Native American Art.
I teach Apache knife fighting and combat tracking. I am alsoa producer, Technical Advisor, and choreograph knife fights andstunt scenes for movies. I am working on a courant film calledRed Cloud Deliverance directed by Alex Kruz
My Brother Ralph Redfeather and I talk a lot about Knifefighting and how it is amazing how many people have a fantasyabout knife fighting, but in reality they have no clue what its
Tradition
Tradition
about. When they come to myseminar, I tell them I am not here toteach you how to knife fight, I am hereto teach you how to save your life, andyour loved ones lives. I am not here tobe your friend, I don't care if you don'tlike me, I am here to teach you tosurvive! My brother smiles in the background because he knows there will bebumps and bruises and they will bevery tired, sore and worn out. Thankgod they are not real knives, becausesomeone would be dead. Most of all,he knows they will never forget theirexperience and what they have learnedfrom Robert Redfeather.
I always have one person in thecrowd to asking me, Sir? What wouldyou do in a knife situation? And I tellthem I would run. They usually say,”No really! What would you do?” Irepeat I would run because I knowwhat happens in a knife fight and I doNOT want to be in that situation. ThenI pause and tell them about someApache history, and things I learnedfrom my Grandfather andGrandmother. My Grandfather was agreat influence in my life and he taughtme from his life experiences. He wasin the U.S. Army during WWII and thestories he would tell me were bloodchilling. I was always fascinated by hisknife collection that he would gatherfrom his enemies.
One very important thing that myGrandfather taught me is to get rid ofthe threat, which is the knife hand orthe hand with the weapon. So welearn to attack the knife hand, cut,move and stab, to torment the enemybecause we know in those days, therewas no hospital to go to. The Kniveswere infected with rust, bacteria anddiseases, which you could die fromlater on or lose a limb from a simplecut. So to slow down the enemy, wewould wound the hand and just run,then come back and do the same thingagain and again, because they wouldhave to stop and help take care ofthere on troops. It's like a game ofchess, how to move and manipulatethe enemy where you want them to bein order to out flank them. We have
learned this, and know it's an art offighting, which is calledNagondzoog. It's an old term forguerilla warfare, but if you break itdown, it can mean war, fight orcombat. Nagondzoog is not a styleit's just a term, but if you use it in aproper sentence (Nagondzoog Nyol) it means “Fight Like The Wind” It isalso my Family's fighting system.
I teach a basic technique called adownward wind, which is adownward motion of striking andcutting of the knife hand of theenemy like fingers, hand, wrist, andforearm. The upward wind is thesame but in an upward motion, andfrom there I teach them how to holdthe knife properly and make sure theyare hiding behind the blade and in awarrior stance with one leg forwardand one leg back. Martial Art studentsalways have trouble with this becausethey want to f ight in a sidewaysstance, but I tell them I have neverseen a deer try to run with there legscrossed. It is very difficult to fight in asideways stance, you have to be ableto move, walk and run. Everybody hastrouble walking. They are puzzledwhen I tell them to walk, then theyrealize how natural it is to just walk andmove. All through the program theyhave trouble walking with their knife asthey are fighting because they feel likethey have to stay and hold thereground and fight. We are constantlymoving and walking around the enemy.Other Martial Artist, or fencer's want tolunge, and when they lunge, thereplanted like a tree and cannot move,and we move around them like thewind and go in for a kill.
Let me explain a little bit why it isdifficult to fight in a sideways stancewhile knife fighting. When you are inthat stance, or a Martial Art stance,you are exposing your kidney, lungsand butt. It is very easy for someoneto maneuver around you, and getbehind you. It is not wrong to fight inthat position, you just have to knowwhen, and how to fight in that position,you cannot linger because timing is lifeor death.
Some Indian tribes use a war postlike I do (see picture) it helps thestudents to understand the importanceof using the knife in a hammer grip. Itputs tension on the hand while strikingthe war post so they can learn how itfeels to strike a body or bone, andmost importantly it helps you learnyour striking, walking, and movingaround the post as you would in aknife fight. I even have students makethere own war post in there back yardbecause they realize how important itis to train on one.
Another training exercise I teach mystudents is stabbing the earth so theycan get the affect of what it will feelslike stabbing a body it puts pressureon the wrist and the thumb this helpsyou to know how to hang onto theknife and it is very important to have aguard on your knife like a K-bar sowhen you stab a body your hand doesnot slide down the knife towards theblade. When you pull the knife out ofthe ground or body the hilt of thehandle should be slightly curved soyou can pull it out because if it isstraight your hand will just slip off thehandle especially if it is covered withblood.
Like my Grandfather says the firstthing that touches the body is theblade of the knife not there hands likein most movies you see. In the moviessomeone is sneaking up behindsomebody and reaching around tocover there mouth with there hand and
then slicing there throat (that is so wrong). We are taught touse the blade to touch the body first then into the neck. Forinstance, in some cowboy and Indian movies you will see anIndian jumping of his horse and grab the enemy but that isjust Hollywood, in real life the warrior would never grab hisenemy, his blade is first thing to touch the enemy.
When I teach the U.S. Military and Special Forces Iteach them different than I do civilians. In the civilian'sclass, I teach more of self defense and the Law. I teach theMilitary how to fight and to get the job done I think you getmy drift I don't like using the “K” word.
I teach all over the world, people that host seminars forme to teach I go to them and I also teach at my home If youwould like to know more about Robert Redfeather go towww.apache-knife.com.
I would like to leave you with an Indian Way of thinking.You have noticed that everything that an Indian does is in a
circle, and that is because the power of the world alwaysworks in circles, and everything tries to be round. The Skyis round and the earth is round is round like a ball, and soare all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls.Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the samereligion as ours. Even the seasons form a great circle intheir changing; always come back again to where theywere. The life of a man is a circle, in there childhood tomanhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.“All things in the world are two (naki-two). In our mind weare two-good and evil. With our eyes we see two things,things that are fair and things that are ugly. We have theright hand that strikes and makes for evil, and the left handfull of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us toan evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So allthings are two, all Naki.”
R. Redfeather: [email protected]
Major Avi Nardia is one of the leading head officialinstructors for the Israelite army and police in anti
terrorism and CQB, he along with BenKrajmalnik have made a new basic
dvd in the field of firearms andsafety, training techniques in
IPSC. Instinctive Shooting inCombat. Combat Instinctive
Point Shooting - IPSC is ashooting method basedon instinctive reactionsand kinematics to shootshort distances fast andin dynamic situations. Aself defense disciplinein order to survive in lifet h r e a t e n i n gsituatuations , where
you need a very fast andaccurate shooting
abilities, when you musttake the gun out as soon as
possible and shoot at a shortdistance without using the sight.
In this first volume you will studyhow to handle the weapon ( revolver
and semi -automatic ) dry firing practice andsecurity, "Point Shooting" or instinctive shooting , at aclose range and a series of movements and exercisesfor weapon retention , low stress and multiple attackers ;exercises on how to recharge with one hand, ... andfinally practice shooting gallery with guns such as AK- 74, M -4 , M -249 machine gun and even M -16grenade launchers .
REF.: • KAPAP7REF.: • KAPAP7
All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.
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The Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iai -Do Renmei ( ZNTIR ), oncereviewed and adapted the concepts and methodology of aschool that proceeds from a method of real combat, is the bodythat currently intends to maintain this tradition and originalforms alive through a system that unifies body, mind and spiritin a realistic and effective way. This DVD was done at the
instance of practitioners of the Spanish subsidiary of theZen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR -
Spain Branch) to present to everybody acombat style with a real sword, created last
century, but with roots in the ancientfighting techniques of feudal Japan. In it
you will find the basic structure of themethodology applied in the style,from the coded warm up andpreparation exercises, cuttingexercises, guards, the school kata,work in pairs and initiation in theTameshigiri or cutting exerciseson a real target , the cornerstoneof the Toyama- Ryu. We hope thatknowledge of the existence of astyle such as the Toyama-RyuBatto-Jutsu acts as a revulsive ofa traditional way and yet very
different from current combatdisciplines, that attract those who
want to go further in their martialpractices. Those interested in the
Japanese sword and initiates, will finduseful this DVD both as support to their
learning and as a reference.
REF.: • TOYAMA1REF.: • TOYAMA1 All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.
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HOW TO BECOME A GOOD ESKRIMADORHow to become a good Eskrimador? I hear this question over and over
again in my seminars. I receive lots of emails from people asking methis question. When I started Eskrima almost 30 years ago,
everything was different. There were no computers, nointernet, and no email. You could not just find a video onYouTube and see the masters in action. You had to findtrue Eskrima yourself. Nowadays you can easily contactthe masters and even train with them. Modern timesprovide lots of opportunities. But the other way aroundyou can easily be fooled by a video. True Eskrima has tobe practiced, understood and experienced in real time.You cannot learn the specifics by watching a video.
Different styles EskrimaToday, Eskrima is a mix of different styles. It seems that
many students mix different styles and then call it Eskrimaand add new things which have nothing to do withEskrima. They are shopping, want to learn as manytechniques as possible and then mix it in their own styleand start teaching. These self-proclaimed mastersforget the most important principles of Eskrima whichlie in its foundation. Every martial art starts with agood foundation, and the same applies to Eskrima.Without it, one cannot be a good Eskrimador,certainly not the best you can be. The use of aknife for instance, starts with and understandingof the weapon; what is does in a combatsituation, its dangers, how to defend against it,how to block, how to attack, what distancereally means and how it affects the fight. Ittakes years of training with sticks and knivesbefore you have mastered its foundationprinciples. True masters understand theseprinciples in-depth and can anticipate theiropponents' attacks, foresee theirmovements and their reactions. They
Eskrima
“Today, Eskrima is a mix ofdifferent styles. It seemsthat many students mix
different styles and then callit Eskrima and add new
things which have nothing todo with Eskrima”
know their opponent by understanding the weapon usedby them. Of course this also applies to empty handtechniques. Unfortunately many self-proclaimed mastersopen a school and start teaching their pupils the wrong
way, that is, without a good foundation. You canimagine what happens to real Eskrima. Little
more remains.
The five basic rules forEskrimadors
This brings me to what in myopinion are the five basic rules
for becoming a trueEskrimador. These are: obtain
a good foundation by agood teacher, focus on
self-discipline, train hard,watch and listen, and of
course you have to havetalent for becoming a true
Eskrimador. Of course thereare many other features to
mention, but if you are able tofind a good teacher who is willing
to teach you a good foundation andyou work hard, with a little talent you
can get far. Finding a good teacher isnot easy. The teacher should meet
several requirements. The teacher mustbe good at Eskrima, it does not matterwhat style.
It means he does not onlyunderstand Eskrima drills and how toblock and hit. Understanding Eskrimais about, where and when do I makethese blocks. How do I counter theright way, what is the properdistance because for each weapon.With stick you can use a longerdistance than with knife etc. Thenone of the most importantcharacteristics of a good teacher ishow they ensure that studentsgrow in Eskrima, how can theteacher make the student better?Because you often see that thestudent becomes better than theteacher in a short period of time.
Train hard and train smart
Hard training is the key tosuccess, but not the only key.
So we have a good teacher and a good foundation, thennothing stands in the way of becoming a goodEskrimador. If only it were that simple! Look at all thepeople who are successful in Eskrima, they share one ofthe most important features: the will to train hard. On theother hand, during my seminars people come up to meand say: Frans, I train for 4 hours every day, I work myass off against the punch bags and car tires. I train withfriends every day and I'm not progressing. They trainhard. Actually, my answer is simple; hard training is thekey to success but hard training is not enough. You haveto train hard and combine your hard training with smarttraining. Every workout should consist of the basicprinciples of the foundation. Also try to define what youwant to get out of every training, be more focused onwhat you want to learn. For instance train for endurance,explosiveness (very important in Eskrima), or focus oncoordination. Each workout should have a purpose, inevery step you take in training you should be able toexplain how you get to your goal to be a goodEskrimador.
FocusingFocusing is one of the main aspects of my style. Every
stroke, every attack, every disarmament, and every moveyou make you make for a reason, with a purpose.Functional footwork, body movement, everything you domust serve a goal. In this way your Eskrima will beeffective.
TalentNot everyone is born with talent. How often do you hear,
'I have talent and can easily practice the moves and thetechniques. Unfortunately I have bad news for thesepeople. My experience is that these people do not reachthe top because to really reach the top talent is notenough. Also talented people will have to train hard andsmart and must have a good teacher. But if you have talentand access to all requirements and a good mentality, youwill reach the top of the mountain and will be unrivaled.
ConclusionAnyone can learn Eskrima at their own level. Just for
sport or self-defense. Many people do not care what stylethey practice, they just like the teacher and there is a nicegroup of people to train with. People who want to bebecome a top Eskrimador, I would advise be very critical inchoosing your teacher and see if your teacher really hasthe qualities to make you a good Eskrimador. Do you wantmore information or have any questions or comments feelfree to contact me. You are welcome in my world, theworld of Eskrima
Eskrima
“Best Karate Kumite”. George Bierman Generallyspeaking, if you ask someone, “why are you inMartial Arts”, they will tell you it's because they wantto learn how to fight. You usually never hear themsay that they wanted to learn kata, weapons orwazas. I guess all of us have a little of that “I want to
be a tough guy” or you could be motivatedby a real need to protect yourself.
Whatever the reason, in this DVD Idiscuss Basic and Advanced
kumite techniques andconcepts that all of us should
know, whether you are anadvanced student or justbeginning, and somethings that have workedfor me over and over.Some can be used onthe street but I'm mainlyfocusing on tournamenttechniques. I can tell youover and over to keepyour hands up to protect
your face. Some of youmay do it and some may
not. Once you get hit in theface several times by not
doing it, you will. I began myMartial Arts training in 1973 and
this is a collection of proventechniques and strategies that have
worked well for me in competition to present day.I have combined strategies, footwork, techniquesand combinations that lead me to well over 2000tournament wins and a World Champion fighter inSt. Petersburg, Russia. They work!
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, ESPAÑOL, ITALIANO, FRANÇAIS
REF.: • BIERMAN3REF.: • BIERMAN3
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Budo international. netORDERS:
hroughout the history of Shaolin Temple 708 forms have beenrecorded, of which only a few have survived to this day. Evensome styles that were thought lost have been recovered. Wecan list some of the styles that have marked the history of theShaolin Temple and that are still being practiced today, such asTaizu Chang Quan, Da Hong Quan, Xiao Hong Quan, Da Tong
Bei Quan, Liu He Quan, Luohan Quan, Pao Quan (Cannon Fist) and Quan Mizong, among manyothers.
Today we'll talk about Mizong Quan.Being one of the oldest and most effective Shaolin fighting systems, the Mizong Quan style
became known throughout the world by the famous Master Huo Yuan Jia, who was one of thefounders of the Chin Woo Association and, for many Chinese citizens, a national hero who foughtfor the Chinese people. Huo Yuan Jia had a great command of Mizong Quan, so much so thatmany people think that it is his family's own style. Even his disciples referred to Mizong Quan asthe Kung fu style of the Huo family.
The Mizong Quan style spread throughout China, but its home always remained the ShaolinTemple, so we can say that the Mizong Quan comes from our Temple. The family of Huo Yuan Jiadeveloped the style and made it famous throughout generations. It is said that Huo Yuan Jia'sgrandfather visited the Shaolin Temple and studied the style for years, and later passed it on toHuo's father, but it wouldn't be known as such until the renowned Huo Yuan Jia developed it and
improved it, becoming one of its greatest exponents.According to the Shaolin Temple historical records, the Quan Mizong style, created by a monk,
was taught for a long time in the Shaolin Temple itself. Mizong means "you must not lose your ownstrategy and position" or "boxing of the lost trace", emphasizing deception and distraction to theopponent.
Some of the most famous Mizong Quan style specialists during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) wereZhou Dong, Lin Chong and Lu Jun Yi.
During the period of the Qing Dynasty in the years of Emperor Qian Long (1735 - 1796), the MizongQuan style spread all over to reach the province of Hebei. At that time, there was a man named Sun
Tong, a native of Shandong Province who had trained hard for many years in the Shaolin Templeachieving a high level of perfection in the Mizong Quan style. According to history, Sun Tong had
transgressed the law, so he decided to flee the city, heading northeast. On the road, he crossed theborder of the Qing district and Jing Hai District, and taught Mizong Quan, in the villages of Da Tun and
Nan Xiao He. So in both areas two sects of Mizong Quan were developed maintaining the tradition forgenerations.
One of the essential characteristics of Mizong Quan are its quick movements and changes ofdirection to confuse the opponent, making him believe that he's going to be attacked from the right andhitting by the left instead. Therefore we can say that it is a style that uses false steps to counterattackthe opponent and thus take advantage in combat. During practice it is required to be fluent, natural andharmonious, combining strength and flexibility.
Once you have mastered the Mizong Quan techniques, you can use them in all cases applying eachmovement or technique as you wish. This means that technique changes may be unlimited in the
different combat situations.
Chinese Arts
Text: Shi De YangChinese Translation: Yan Lin & Bruno Tombolato
T
“Mizong means 'you must not lose your own
strategy and position' or 'boxing of the lost trace',
emphasizing deception and distraction to
the opponent”
MARTIAL ARTS AND THE INNER PATH
t's not strange that many students seek today in neighbo-ring arts an added to what they believe to be deficiencies.We can clearly see this in countless practitioners who areforming themselves in four or five different martial arts. Farare those days when fidelity to the Way symbolized theinner honor of the practitioner. Times are different and in this
new era everything is possible! Now it's been established thesearch line of the spirit and of the necessity of desire. It seeks tosatiate all desires and frustrations.
Through deep observation, we could say it is a time of internalrescue, the rescue of communion values, having in view the inten-se movement that globalization is causing worldwide. In Europethis is very palpable. Teachers of just one art are no longer formed.In this regard, Bujutsu masters of ancient Japan were miles aheadof our time and our martial discoveries. They exalted an aware-ness of their own shortcomings and established as their main goalthe opening of the mind in the pursuit of perfection of combattechniques. The very concept of "Bugei SanJuropan" sets this lineof military growth, previously established in the form of Seteigata.Several forms, various streams, different schools ... Each one ofthem did it their own way and reached fullness also their own way.What was the most correct? What was the most real? It is like tal-king about this regarding the current military systems. Perhaps thedifference lies in the pursuit of wisdom - how to use properly whatyou have.
For Zen, at this point, wisdom is not our common knowledge; isthe innate knowledge, our innate intuitive connection, like the fun-damental principle of continuing, called Tsuzukeru in Japanese.It's the act of "deep practicing"; we could translate it as "persist",“go on”, "keep on". Keep on deeply in the perfection of wisdom.Thus, "practicing" is a good word for "going on". The verb go on,in modern times, translates as continuing. Continuing to search, tostudy, to try out, to open oneself ... to form yourself!
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart!"Eastern Wisdom
However, it is also a new time for discovering. The hidden isrising to the surface to be noticed. How many old schools are notbeing reborn now, reorganizing and reestablishing themselves inthe stage of martial practices? This is the way!
In a quick summarized analysis, it's been our pride and selfis-hness that have caused the wars, the massacres of theCrusades, the bonfires of the Inquisition and the horrors ofSlavery. Thus, over the past centuries, we have advanced a lotmore in the materialistic outer progress than in the intimate ethi-cal journey of the Spirit. It is all too natural that titles and desig-nations are used both in public and private life if only to set linesof respectability to situations of individuals or groups in theenvironment they are manifested. However, there are peoplethat turn the concept into a permanent object of idolatry, solem-nizing the very conditions in such a way that they don't even
"Pursuing happinessand protecting us from
being unhappy ispossible if we make
that our will and whatwe want are beyondwhat comes from thesensitive and unstable
mutant world, and also, if we don'tsadden with what
escapes us of the sensible world."
(Sufi Poem)
I
realize their own fall into slavery and dire formalism. We hopethis new exchange with the ancient arts will awaken themodern martial man to cultivate courtesy. But let's get awayfrom all superficiality and calculation in regard to the com-mon experience.
In ancient arts, this inner observation not always tookplace in a pleasant way for the pupil, breaking the
Western convention. Shiken is aJapanese word meaning
test, exam. It is the timewhen the instructor or master
imposes certain sacrifices in thestudent's life, as a subsidy of obser-
vation. This form can range from theloss of an important post to a constric-
tive situation. There were masters whowent further; they didn't pass the student
in a certain test, forcing him to abandon hispath, to then observe his honor and character.
There are many stories that refer to this type ofobservation. Some say that this kind of
moment is critical for granting the total con-fidence of a master. Others say it was the
compulsory test for the graduation ofOkuden. However, there are also
some contradictions which desig-nate the interest of every truth.
What is sustained as a pal-pable conclusion is that
all these forms origi-nated in
the Sengoku period, marked by betrayals and conflicts, inwhich it was common the infiltration of people from other clansin a given school, intended to demoralize and deconstruct theirforces.
Many myths have arisen from this form of observation, manylies have strengthened within the modern arts, attributing tosuch tests the proof of the lack of prudence by some masters,insanity, unnecessary and offensive behavior, etc. We can seethat different phases have marked intense revolutions in theclassical martial periods.
In the past there were different types of Shiken. The twobest known are:
Uke Ireru - A test in which the master accepts the studentas his apprentice.
Nori Koeru - A test in which the student passes a crisis, anemotional slump.
It is still common today that teachers use this type of foun-dation for observing pretentious students that approach sho-
wing good intention. There are different classificationsfor good and bad people: Shinjitsu (person who
has the inner truth, but who lacks the sear-ching spirit) and Honmono (a person genui-
nely real and ready for the pursuit of his orher dreams and goals); Itsuwari (person
who is false, deceitful) andDamasu Hito (person who
arrives with the intention oflying). In one way or
another, be it right orwrong, information
Traditional Arts
of historical and anthropological stamp leads us to understandthat, as students, in order to discover what is true, everyoneshould see it objectively, critically and even intimately; we allshould see it with that personal interest we have when goingthrough a crisis in our lives, when our whole being is being challen-ged. The central problem is the complete and absolute liberationof man; first internally or psychologically, and then, externally.There is no real separation between the "inside" and the "outsi-de"...
"Do not trust in me if you lack the courage"(Inscription engraved on an ancient dagger)
There are two very important points in the master-pupil rela-tionship, considering that the first - the master - is responsible forguiding the student's personality while facing the martial way. Thisis because in relation to life and activities, freedom of action mustbe pursued in a free and true way, and in the second place, becau-se through his experience, he will build what he believes to be bestfor the student's existence.
Especially in the past, there has been much confusion inregard to Senpai-kohai relationship, due to the influence ofBushido:
"The vassal is nothing without his master" - brought the indes-cribable feeling of fragility to the student, who usually reflected inthe image of the perfect and unchanging master: well, if we carrya personal legend that seeks evolution, no one is perfect or immo-vable. Strengthen, according to the dictionary, means make orbecome stronger, invigorate, corroborate. Fig, encourage, enliven.In other words, the master must provide the student with the con-ditions for him to seek to develop his critical sense, his adjacenttruths, qualities that ascribe him the status of thinking for himself,free of influences ... Free of external illusions.
We become fragile when we believe we are unable, unfortunate,when we only attribute to something or someone the reason forour happiness. If man explores himself in his own truths, or onbehalf of his consciousness, through an internal insecurity, therewill come a day when he will tear down this system: once he hasdetached from himself, he becomes dependent. This is thereforeone of the problems; while the student is subject to the vanity ofmasters and schools, there is no hope of internal evolution.
Strength and fragility are two trays containing different rawmaterials, but both lead us to the same sublime legacy - apprenti-ceship. However, thoughtless humanity identifies in the first thewonderful delicacy of victory and in the second experiences theinsane food of defeat. Errors have much to teach. They provide uswith determinants occasions for the inner growth. When we esta-blish some of our needs, we also establish our references. Oneside can exist only if the other side exists too. There's no master ifthere's no student. No traditional school can survive just by the willof the master. There is no necessity if there is no reference. Nor anymaster is a master by his own will. The master, like the student, isbuilt through the process of the established relationship. In themoment we translate the unknowable into the one we know, what
"It's not strange that manystudents seek today in
neighboring arts an added towhat they believe to be
deficiencies. We can clearly see this in
countless practitioners who areforming themselves in fouror five different martial
arts. Far are those dayswhen fidelity to the
Way symbolized theinner honor of the
practitioner.Times are
different and inthis new eraeverything is
possible!"
we translate it's not any longer unknowable - although that is always the objective or goal of our aspirations.At all times we want to know, because then we will have continuity.
As we look forward, we aspire to an even better moment than the one we are living. The present momentis different from any future extension. It's is hardly a fragmentation of this aspiration. When I desire just amoment, I don't desire the totality. It means that from then on, other moments will come. Step by step,time to time ... If this moment is better, it's possible that others can be also better. Many of the conflictsthat affect the modern human being proceed from patterns of behavior that he himself adopts inmoments of his daily life. It is common to copy models from the world - models that stimulate you fora short time - without analyzing the consequences that those models of behavior can cause. It is alsonatural that the same consequences of these models are established for those who adopt them. Anycurrent action, therefore, has its matrix in others actions that preceded it and that are printed in thedeep files of the being.
Martially speaking, day by day we forget more and more about the ancient teachings of themaster-student coexistence. Everything has become a product! I no
longer worry to look ahead through the inside prism. Everything hasto do with this product that I want to purchase. And tomorrow I
will want another product and another, and another ... Overall,it is the product in vogue the one that is set up as correct
and the best.Great masters of traditional schools know that therooted vicious habit remains imposing its charac-teristics, thus inciting man to maintain its conti-nuity. Likewise, healthy efforts in the good andthe virtue display the folds of the soul and leadus victorious to the internal exercises of buil-ding and evolution. "He who desires epheme-
ral things, can be considered an unfortunateman, but the one whose will is fulfilled is a
happy man."
Theories about being aware of balan-ce, respect, rationality, no need ofinteraction with the negative, use of the
coherent form of reason, permit us to beable to notice that all the good and the bad
that comes our way, begins in our attitudes.The performance of an action of ours repre-
sents the releasing of a force of our innerspiritual personality to the outside world.
That force follows its own path and suf-fers the laws of the dynamic world.Our responsibility is also a launchedreturning force by the long way of evo-lution. This parallelism with the dyna-mic world tells us what happens in theimponderable world of our persona-lity.
Thus, searching moments, ins-tants that are constructive, is thefirst step to get rid of the doubtsand nightmares that invade themartial arts. The important, someti-mes, is not change the path, but theway of walking.
Traditional Arts
S.D.S.-CONCEPT SECURITY TRAINING
S.D.S.-Concept Security Training is an educational system for operative andpractical security schooling and training. Some professional groups run a clearlyhigher risk of being attacked by aggressive customers and clients than others. Thismay be daily business, but should not be taken lightly. Our educational program wasclearly designed for these professionals' day to day work.
Security personnel - private or official alike - have to dealwith violence and aggression on a daily basis. Quite oftenthough, the focus of attention is laid on events where theactual aggressors get hurt or wounded. Therefore, dealingwith potentially dangerous situations is part of securities'daily bread. Only a very well trained security will be able tohandle complicated situations - intimidation, insults,threats, attacks - appropriately. It is absolutely necessaryto react calmly and adequately in dangerouscircumstances.
Times change, self-defense systems and programs aremore and more adapted, and S.D.S.-Concept is also aproduct of our times. Life goes fast these days and mostpeople cannot invest years after years to study martialarts. S.D.S.-Concept is not a by-product of any combatsystem, which is why it can operate off the beaten track. Itcompletely focuses on security training, considering alltools and locations available. There's clearly no need tostudy a system, only to adapt it later or to modify conceptsand principles for the use of weapons or self-defensetools.
S.D.S.-Concept Security Training - The Idea
The basic idea of S.D.S.-Concept Security Trainingis to give more safety to professionals who runhigh risks in their jobs. The combination ofsecurity relevant, pedagogical and psychologicalinsight with experience from lawyers and policestaff resulted in an offer of courses, seminars andcounseling.
S.D.S.-Concept - professional use of equipment
S.D.S.-Concept techniques are typically executed withtools such as flashlights, handcuffs, telescopic rods, tonfasand pepper-spray. These tools are used to attack, control,fixate and transport opponents, as well as for self-defense.
Potentially harmful effects of inappropriately used tools• Severe injuries or even death• Technique inappropriate for a given situation• Tools may be prohibited in certain areas (e.g. some
airlines do not allow tonfas or pepper-spray on board oftheir vessels)
• Techniques inappropriate for teamwork• Use of techniques may be exaggerated and thus
inappropriate• Not always advisable
Content of trainingThe syllabus contains technical aspects as well as
teamwork training, situational assessment, searchtechniques, emergency planning, third party protection,self protection and legal studies. It is typical for S.D.S.-Concept that techniques are always taught and practicedin the context of special demands regarding tactics andstrategy.
Operational tacticsOperational tactics can be defined as the use of verbal
and physical means for the implementation of necessarymeasures in a well planned and coordinated mission ortask. Important factors are the strength of the team,timing, location and purpose. Operational tactics contain:preparation, team briefing, application of physical force,use of tools, positioning of team members, accompanyingtechniques as a team, attacking as a team, techniques offixation and transport as a team, perception, errors inperception, processing of information under stress.
As you could see in the earlier articles, S.D.S.-Concept is a very broad system. It isdifferent from other systems asit focuses on situationsand not on levels. Itis perfectly fine tojust teach, for
example, techniques which are relevant forfemales, or the use of pepper-spray, or the use
of flexible objects etc. There's no obligationto teach the whole system of S.D.S.-Concept.
Generally speaking, S.D.S.-Concept isa highly elaborate close combat systemwith the single aim of enabling everyperson to defend themselveseffectively. The system covers a widerange of topics from the area of self-defense, both against armed andunarmed aggressors.
S.D.S.-Concept is a combination ofself-defense techniques with the
S.D.S - the Self Defense Stick(Kubotan, Dulo, Yawara, Pocket
Stick) - or
everyday objects and all body weaponsavailable. S.D.S.-Concept is neither a combatsport with a sophisticated set of rules nor atraditional martial art, but rather a system whichfocuses on efficiency and on efficiency only. It iscompleted with preventive measures(avoidance of escalation), tactical self-defenseelements, scenario based training, S.D.S.handling training and de-escalative techniques.
Peter Weckauf is an internationally renownedexpert for the martial arts and self-defense. Hedevised S.D.S.-Concept as a meaningfuladdition and complement for various self-defense system and martial arts in order toefficiently improve the users self-defenseabilities.
Instructors' courses are scheduled for Marchand September 2014.
For more information go to www.sds-concept.com or www.sami-
international.com
Photos by Mike LehnerWritten by Peter
Weckauf and IrmiHanzal
TText: Gladys Caballero & Pedro CondePhotos: Pedro Conde
On June 29 of this year 2013, Jim Kelly, the undisputed Black star ofaction films of the 70's died at his home in San Diego, California. Launchedto stardom for his appearance in the film "Enter the Dragon" along with hismentor, Bruce Lee, his figure, which had faded in recent years, certainlydeserves a Special like today's, set up by our expert Pedro Conde. A workfull of details and curiosities of the life of a star who, linked to Bruce Lee'scareer, broke barriers for the African-American community. Were the dayswhen Bruce, an Oriental, and Kelly, a Negro, could never be the center ofattention of Hollywood, yet they opened up new markets, leading to a myriadof fantastic sequels of movie productions, many of them of the B series, butwith a box office impact that would amaze us today. A fantastic reportagethat we offer this month to our readers for the liking of collectors, MartialCinema “nutties” and enthusiasts of the "good old days".
Alfredo Tucci
JIM KELLY, THE BLACK SAMURAI
Jim Kelly (James Milton Kelly) wasborn on May 5, 1946, in the city of Paris,Kentucky. Yet, his real origins are to befound in Millesburg, which at that timewas such a small and humble town thatlacked hospitals. After a whi le, h isparents settled in San Diego, where hisfather ran a military clothing store. Jimbegan his sports career in MillesburgHigh School with the pract ic ing ofBasketball, Football and Track and Field.As a senior student of the Institute, hewas selected San Diego's Athlete of theYear. Because of his extraordinarysports abilities, he earned a Footballscholarship at the Universi ty ofLouisville, which he left in the first year.About this Kelly explains, "My parentsdivorced and I had the choice to stay inSan Diego with my father, or go back tomy mother's in Kentucky. I didn't wantto stay with my father, I did not getalong with him at all; we had a problembecause my father didn't want me to bea sportsman; instead of that, he wantedme to become a lawyer or a doctor.Kentucky is a town further south and atthat time there was a lot of racism, butin that moment I didn't think about it, Ijust thought I'd be happier with mymother". Because of the racial problemsexisting in the South at the time, Kellybecame interested in martial arts: "Istarted in the world of Karate throughbooks, since in those days there wasn'tany clear picture to follow." Eventually,he moved to Lexington, where hestarted practicing the Shorin-Ryu Karatestyle under the tutelage of ParkerSheldon. Later he trained with GordonDoversola, instructor of Okinawa Te - ofwhom he always kept a fond memory -and he also practiced some KempoKarate with Steve Sander.
In 1971, Kelly proved to be an excellentfighter by winning four prestigioustournaments, including the WorldMiddleweight Karate title at the 1971Long Beach International KarateChampionships sponsored by Ed Parker.Aware of his great potential in the MartialArts, Kelly decided to open a Karate gym.While he was teaching and competing inthe Los Angeles area, he met HugRobertson, a movie director who wasmaking up a film entitled "Melinda" (1972)in which he had included some scenes ofMartial Arts. The filmmaker asked Kelly tocollaborate in the production as atechnical advisor and choreographer.Eventually he gave him a small role in thefilm, becoming the first African-Americanstar in the Martial Arts movies. About hisinvolvement in the film, Kelly stated: "Itwas almost by accident. I was notprepared to be an actor; I was determined
to take full advantage as an instructor,especially after winning the Long BeachInternational".
Undoubtedly, his appearance in "Enterthe Dragon" was crucial in his career andin his life, but how did that opportunitycome about? It was definitely fate: KnuteTarkington unexpectedly dropped out twodays before shooting began, andproducer Fred Weintraub, who had heardabout Jim Kelly's karate studio contactedhim. Kelly recalled: "After 'Melinda'everybody told me how great I was, that Iwouldn't stop receiving offers, etc. Thetruth is that nobody called me in sixmonths, so I kept teaching Karate at myacademy. One day, my agent called andsaid: "Jim, they are beginning to make afilm in Hong Kong and there is a problemwith one of the actors. I want you to go toWarner Brothers. I don't think you'll getthe part, but they will be doing more filmsin the future and it's good that they knowyou." So I went there and found FredWeintraub and Paul Heller. They asked meto demonstrate some of my Karate, andthere I was jumping and kicking crazily. Atthe end they said: “Do you know BruceLee?” I said no because actually we hadnever been introduced, although I'd heardof him by the "Green Hornet" series. Nextthing Fred Weintraub said was: “Whencan you be off to Hong Kong? The part isyours..."
Initially, the project was very appealing.Jim Kelly played Williams, a characterthat, along with Bruce Lee and JohnSaxon, was participating in a tournamenton the island of Han, which was just thehideout of a syndicate of heroin andprostitution...
However, despite appearances, Kellywas not entirely satisfied, as he woulddeclare shortly after the release of thefilm: "I got killed in the first 60 minutes ofthe film and I'm not too happy about that!John Saxon (who was a brown belt inKarate and Tai Chi Chuan), supposedlyhad to be killed according to the originalscript , however that was changed alongwith some of my dialogues, so heremained alive and acquired moreprominence in the film". All those scriptchanges were motivated by severalreasons including racial problems: in 1973there wasn't any Hollywood productionstarred by an African-American and anOriental
Besides, John Saxon convinced that hehad been hired as the actor who wouldrender the film some quality or prestige(he was the only one with a f i lmbackground), al lowed himself manylicenses. Apart from that, there were manymore changes:
Martial Cinema
"When I was given the part for'Enter the Dragon', I flew to HongKong where I was supposed to be 4or 5 weeks and at the end I stayedfor 3 months. The fi lm producercompany took its time; nothing to dowith "Melinda". I loved Hong Kong,but after about a month, I alreadybegan to feel nostalgic".
Despite all the setbacks, Kelly feltvery comfortable on the set workingwith Bruce Lee: "During the time Iworked with him, he taught mesome techniques; we trained ondifferent subjects and combattechniques. 'Damn it!' - I told myself- 'Bruce Lee is a real tough guy!' Histechniques were very dynamic andpowerful for his size. He was justincredible. Many times he developeda power that would turn pale aheavyweight. During the short time Istayed in Hong Kong we kept prettymuch united. We had a sincerefriendship
Even at work, Lee respectedalways my opinions. In a fight scenewe shot together, Lee told me: 'Jim,would you like that we do the scenesuch as you had planned? You werethe choreographer of a film and Iknow you have experience in the artof choreography, so you have my fullconfidence to do whatever you want.Of course, if you need my help youknow I am entirely at your disposal'.So I choreographed myself my ownfight scenes, although I must admitthat in many levels and in some
techniques Lee advised me and thatreal ly made me gain a lot ofshowiness in front of the camera.Often Lee would call me and say onthe set: 'Hey, Jim, what do you thinkabout this?' I looked at him and said:'I think we should change this forthat!' Then we talked about it, seeingthe positive and negative points,analyzing the stroke mechanics, andwe always decided what was best.Lee never came up to me sayingimperatively anything like: - Jim, doit this way! You have to do it like I'mtelling you because I am Bruce Lee,the technical director of the film!'Bruce was not like that, he alwaysgave me absolute freedom tochange completely some thingswithin the fights that I was to holdthroughout the f i lm. And thatreal ly made me feel morecomfortable in front of thecamera."
With "Enter the Dragon" Kelly sawmany of his dreams ful f i l led,including meeting and talking withBruce Lee and finally training withhim: " I remember a greatcompl iment that Bruce Leededicated me, when I finally methim. I told him I had been looking forhis school to train with him, butwhen I found it was closed. Then hesaid: I t 's a pi ty, J im. I f I hadcoached you, no champion of thattime could ever have touched you!"
Kel ly fe l t they were doingsomething good, but he never evenimagined that th is f i lm wouldbecome the quintessential in Martial
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Arts Cinema. On this he thinks: "Inthose moments we didn't imagine,we were just trying to shoot a greatfilm, but couldn't figure out it would have such animpact."
The film swept the West. Despite of how shortwas the role of Kel ly in the f i lm, Wi l l iams'scharacter struck a chord in the public and madehim gain the star status. And because of that, heearned a three-film contract with Warner Brothers.As the actor himself acknowledged in someinterviews, thanks to Bruce Lee's choreography, histechniques in the scenes improved greatly andsomehow, he was the actor who managed to standout more, after Bruce Lee. The truth is that after thedeath of "Little Dragon", Warner Brothers bet forhim as Lee's clear successor in the United States,
and so he was offered starring in "Black Belt Jones", in which he'd be againdirected by Robert Clouse. However, the tandem Kelly & Clouse, did not work asexpected; it lacked the star, it lacked Bruce Lee! The film did not quite catch onamong the American public, although scored a tremendous success amongAfrican Americans as well as in the rest of the world. Of course, it was notcomparable to "Enter the Dragon", although it must be admitted that the filmsurpassed the eastern productions that were projected in those days on thescreens in half the world. Kelly downplayed the film's failure in some of hisstatements: "I was not interested in making a film with a message, I just wanted toentertain people". He also expressed his annoyance with the studio: "I haveparticipated and collaborated on the choreography and my name is not on thecredits ... It will not happen again! From now on it will be stated in my contract thatmy name will appear in the credits." The film showed Pat Johnson ("Karate Kid","Ninja Turtles", etc.) as the sole choreographer. He also complained that thespecialists who participated in the film were not qualified for the job. "I broke theskull of a guy and broke the jaw of another, because they were not ready to fightme. What I do on screen is not realistic, because in front of the camera I'm doingthe opposite of what I believe. If people used what they see me doing on screen tofight in the street, they would end up dead."
After that production Kelly, landed a small role in "Golden Needles", again directedby Robert Clouse. Filmed in Hong Kong, the appearance of the actor scarcelyexceeds five minutes, in which he briefly shows his skills. The film was played by
Martial Cinema
Joe Don Baker and although therewere some martial arts scenes, it wasthe typical action film of the 70's.This and the previous f i lm wereproduced by Fred Weintraub, whotried to repeat the "Enter the Dragon"blockbuster. Although he never got it,nonetheless he won considerablesuccesses, as it was the saga of"Karate Kid". Regarding his work on"Golden Needles", a disappointedKelly said: "I play an owner of anantique shop that has only a fightover a statue of Acupuncture thatmany people are chasing around theworld."
After a lukewarm reception from thepublic, there was a third filming withWarner and Jim signed a contractwith Jim Brown and Fred Williamsonto shoot a typical film of the genre"Blaxploitation" entitled "Three thehard way". Despite its naive andsimple shooting script (a crazy whiteman plans to annihilate all blacks,introducing a bacteria into the watersupply of three major Americancities), the action sequences wereacceptable and so were the MartialArts scenes, obviously staged andchoreographed by Jim Kelly, getting agood reception from the crowd,especially the African-Americanpublic. Kelly declared: "I learned a lotfrom them, but I won't say what Ilearned ... What is clear to me is that Ido not want to be Jim Brown or FredWilliamson, I just want to be Jim Kellyand become the first black player inthe screen".
His next work was "Take a HardRide" or "The Long Hard Ride", awestern filmed in Spain, specificallyin the Canary Islands. While he was inour country, he was interviewedseveral t imes and about hisfilmography he explained: "I've beenworking in the movies for only twoyears. So far I've made five films, themost famous of all was "Enter theDragon", with Bruce Lee".
When asked about the types ofroles he played, he replied: "Action.All my movies are about action. Ibelieve that through them you caninfluence people in a positive sense".
In all interviews it always emergedthe same topic: Can you tell usanything about Bruce Lee? "Sure,why not! We became great friends,closely united by this commonpassion: Martial Arts. Bruce Lee wasa highly productive person, I mean,he was always doing somethingpositive. And above all, I think he was
the greatest martial artists who everexisted."
On the causes of Bruce Lee'sdeath, he declared: "Well, I think it isfar from clear. It's possible that hekilled himself because as his friend Ican say it: I think he had a lot ofproblems. It could also be that theChinese mafia had killed him forrevealing the secrets of the Kung fufighting system. What is certain isthat Bruce Lee didn't die, as somesay, during the filming of a scene."
Kelly had very clear ideas of whatto do with his life and his time. Onthis issue he commented: "For me,the most important thing is to live themoment without thinking or worryingabout the white or the black power,but just the green power (money).That's what everybody is doingnowadays. I don't even think of thepast, since it is a dead thing, or thefuture, because I might not arrive toit"
In declarations made in ourcountry, the actor referred to theblack or white power because in hisyouth he sympathized with someextremist groups of the "BlackPanthers". He was very interestedprimari ly in the black l iberationmovements; in fact, he joined theBlack Karate Federation (BKF),founded by Steve Sanders, whodefended and supported theseideals. The school logo can be seenin the bottom of Jim Kelly's dojo, atthe beginning of "Enter the Dragon".
So, when he achieved fame, beingaware of what he represented forAfrican Americans, he got in contactwith many of his supporters,including Cassius Clay, for whom hehad a great respect for what hesymbolized to his race. "Herepresents everything for the blackpeople. He is a symbol, a hero, aleader that instills great respect. Buthe is also a person who only stirs upextreme feelings: there are peoplewho love him and people who hatehim. There's no middle term."
Spanish reporters were impressedby the statements and martial skills ofthat 6,6 ft tall and 179 lb weightfighter, whose appearance - al lagreed - had everything it takes tobecome an idol of the masses.
In "Take a Hard Ride" he workedagain with Jim Brown and FredWilliamson, stars of the film, alongwith Lee Van Clief. In this movie, Kelly
played a secondary role in which herepresented a skilled fighter mestizo.His role was not very longnonetheless intense. Although therole was not too long, yet it was quiteintense.
In his next film, he worked againwith Jim Brown and Fred Williamson.That new production was entitled "Adangerous Bet" or, depending on thecountries, "Final Fight" ("One Down,Two to Go"), a hybrid that did notreach the category of Blaxploitation.Again, the weight of the f i lmdevolved upon his companions,relegating him to the background...Later he got involved in a newfilming with Fred Weintraub, one ofthe producers of "Enter the Dragon".The film, entitled "Hot potato", wasrolled in Thailand, directed by OscarWilliams and distributed by WarnerBros. A mixture of comedy andaction movie that nobody liked, noteven its protagonists - as Kel lydeclared: "We all make mistakes,and the script was interesting, but asfor the film..."
"Black Samurai" didn't fare muchbetter than its predecessors. Hiscareer didn't seem to "take off" inNorth America, so Jim decided toaccept an offer to make a film inHong Kong. The production, "Thetattoo connection", in which he'dwork with Tan Tao Liang, a famousSoutheast Asian actor, noted for hiskicking skills. It was directed by theoverrated Lee Tso Nam. Bolo Yeungalso participated in the movie. For aproduction of the colony, the film wasquite interesting; however, it passed"almost" unnoticed in Asia and in theWest.
Undeniably, the actor was goingfrom film to film in a clear regression... Kelly accepted to share the starringrole in a film with George Lazenby,who would replace Sean Connerywhen the latter stopped filming theJames Bond saga. The fi lm wasentitled "Death Dimension", a "B"class production that suffered thesame fate as the former ones.
Disappointed, he decided toaccept only roles that were reallyinteresting... Meanwhile, he woulddevote his time and attention to playtennis and he kept his word... Kellystarted practicing this sport in 1975and soon turned pro, reachingnumber two in the ranking ofCalifornia in the category of men'sdoubles and attaining to f igureamong the Top 10 of the state in the
Martial Cinema
individual men's category. Later on heopened a tennis club in the San Diegoarea, where besides managing it healso instructed players. Among hisstudents there were some towncelebrities. From then on, while stillpracticing Martial Arts, he definitelystuck to the "racket" and practicallydisappeared for years of the fightingarts world, showing up sporadicallyonly in magazines or in some sportsevent. On this subject, Kel lycommented: "It's amazing that manypeople still remember me for 'Enter theDragon'. Years have passed and theyhaven't still forgotten about me."
Since the opening of his tennis club, Jim Kellyvirtually withdrew from the cinema. He made acameo appearance in "Mr. No Legs "(1979),participated as a guest star in an episode of"Highway to Heaven" (1985) and, because of acommitment, he turned to stand in front of thecameras in "Afro Ninja" (2009), where his role wasvery short, but important in the story. In all hisinterviews he repeated the same: "If I am offered agood role, a solid project, I' l l be back to thescreen..."
But that project never came. Should Jim Kelly hadhad a good direction and also an experienced andtalented choreographer, he would probably havebecome an actor in martial arts films from the likes ofChuck Norris or Steven Seagal. However, his onlyand great success is owed to his participation in thefilm "Enter the Dragon" and Bruce Lee. Aware of thisfact, he recognized it and talked about it throughouthis entire life.
Curiously enough, the first time Kelly saw BruceLee in action was not in "The Green Hornet": "I heardabout of Bruce for the first time when he was doingthe series. Everyone was talking about the "TheGreen Hornet" and I had always wanted to see theprogram, but the truth is I never had the chance todo it because of the hours it was usuallybroadcasted on television. Prior to meeting Lee, Ihad already read some articles about him in differentissues of the 'Black Belt magazine'. Apart from that, Ihad also heard a lot of people talking about him andhis high qualities. "Good Heavens!" - I said -. "If thisguy is as good as they say all these people andeveryone speaks so highly of him, he must be reallymagnificent". Finally I managed to see him one dayin a film entitled "Marlowe". I had attended thescreening by chance, since I did not know that Leehad a small role in the film. I got impressed by what Isaw: Lee seemed to be very cold - I made myself apreconceived idea of Bruce long before knowing himpersonally".
At that time, the martial community was very smalland it wasn't difficult for everybody to coincide in achampionship or event - Kelly was no exception -."Lee knew me before I knew him in person, in a Karatecompetition in which I participated. It had beenannounced that he would be among the spectatorsand, in fact, I saw him there, but I didn't get a chanceto meet him personally. The first time I ever talked tohim was on the set of Enter the Dragon."
Kelly had heard many stories about him. Apartfrom what he had seen in the movies, he had createdan image of Bruce Lee that was far from reality...
"When I had the chance to meet him, actually Ididn't realize that Bruce was not as I had imagined,
and I recognized in him a certaincharisma, something that surroundedhim but I didn't attain to decipher.During filming I had the opportunityto treat him and know him. At thatt ime he was Bruce Lee, the"superstar", but despite all that famethat accompanied him, I realized hewas a very natural person, a true andhonest man, a loyal man, and Ithought he was really superb. Thevery day we met, we had lunch
together and talked about differentthings. I developed a theory of whichhe could talk all day and all night. Itdealt with Martial Arts and it wasabout trying to select differenttechniques from other martialsystems, so that everyone couldmake up his own fighting style. It wasan issue that really moved him. Healso spoke about himself, but on thispoint the truth is that I have very littleto say; every time I heard him talking
I couldn't help thinking that helooked very much like Muhammad Ali(Cassius Clay) in his behavior.Broadly speaking, both of them werethe same. So I can say that I reallyenjoyed hearing him talk. He was thekind of person that just had to bedoing something all the time: if, forexample, he was talking, even if itwas about himself, he had togesticulate, explain things withgestures of hands, head, etc. I
Reportage
greatly enjoyed being with him, hewas a very interesting person, inaddition, his conversations werequite deep."
On several occasions, Kelly talkedabout the similarities of characterbetween Mohamed Ali and the LittleDragon: "To me, Bruce Lee was muchlike Muhammad Ali; he had that samekind of charisma that attracted themasses."
Kelly was surprised with BruceLee's ability to analyze everythingand extract the essential and,interestingly, it was due toMuhammad Ali: "Once I was readingan article by Mohamed Ali and Bruceimmediately took it from me, read it,reread it and dissected it to the pointto 'extract the wheat from the chaff'.Lee was like that with everything; inthe Martial Arts, on the subject ofreading, in training. He always came
to the point, to the center and marrowof all things.
On more than one occasion, Kellycompared them in front of thereporters: "Lee had an ego as largeas that of Muhamed Ali's. Mostpeople couldn't get to him, but Icould appreciate what he had donefor himself, for his family and for hispeople. Those Chinese Kung Fumovies have done more for theChinese people than what personslike Henry Kissinger might havedone."
Like Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly sufferedmany humiliations and contempt forracial issues; both wanted to breakcertain "barriers" to help their peopleand open ways for them. On thisissue, Kelly stated: "I remember thatto carry out the Kung Fu series, theypresented the script to Bruce, since itwas written for him, and he loved it;but the producers refused to give therole to a Chinese, for they wanted awhite man performing the project, soat the end they called on DavidCarradine. It was then when BruceLee went to Hong Kong. "
Knowing this and some moredetails, Kelly told Bruce Lee: "I wantyou to know that I respect you verymuch for what you've done with yourpersonality and your own knowledgeof life, and for what you're doing foryour people and your folk. This type ofimage you have given them, offeringthem someone they can look and seeat the top, someone to be proud of, istruly admirable". Kelly goes on: "I saidthat seriously and with a certain air ofsolemnity. He knew about the greatresponsibility he had and he told me:'Jim, I hope someday you can do thesame for your people and for yourown good!' Both Bruce and I hadsuffered in our flesh the great racialcontempt that existed in the UnitedStates toward people who were notCaucasian. He knew that what he haddone for his people was somethingbig, and behind him there werealways lots of people who wanted tosee what he did, and then criticize orpraise his exploits. Lee was undergreat stress and he knew it. It was toomuch pressure for such smallshoulders! I think it was harder for himto enter the world of cinema than itwas for me.
Admittedly, Lee had a terriblestruggle to achieve respect for himand his person, and above all for hisdignity as an Oriental. He wasChinese and before everything I must
Martial Cinema
Reportage
say that I do not know any Chinese star in the UnitedStates; Lee was the first and so far the number one. Tostart with, Lee was the first Oriental to break the barriersthat existed against Chinese actors in Hollywood and thisis something his countrymen should thank him. In my ownrace there were people who broke those barriers beforeme; color actors like Sidney Poitier, Jim Browm, FredWilliamson and others... They were the first to walk thepath and open the doors. Instead, Bruce had no one to doit. His compatriots should be grateful not only for therespect toward the Chinese people that Bruce managedto instill in the whole world, butalso for paving the way in theWest for other actors of the sameethnic group."
They not only agreed in the fightagainst racial problems, but theyalso shared the same ideas andmartial concepts: "Lee and I werealike in some ways. We both knewwhat we wanted to do and we did it . We both had differentideas about Karate and the path to take, because mytechniques differ very much from the traditional system, Imean the type of blocks, punches, footwork, etc. I thoughtof all these things when I got the Black Belt and then Ibegan to analyze it. So I said to myself: 'O.K. I must studyMuhammad Ali's Boxing, I'll try to copy his footwork. Also Iwill study all the different types of Martial Arts existingtoday in order to combine them into one unique fightingsystem. By doing this I will be happy, because nobody hasdone it before and I'll be an innovator'. But I found that Leewas doing the same and he had started before I had theidea. Whenever we had the opportunity to discuss thevarious martial arts and fighting systems, we often becameentangled in lengthy discussions for hours. The path that inLee's opinion was the most correct was the same one thatI was thinking to follow. It was like when you needsomething and nobody can understand you. Your wholebeing has to find the steps to reach that goal and then youcan do it, no matter if you're black, white, oriental orwhatever race. That's what Lee thought and I share thatsame opinion. Lee died young, but he was only 30 whenhe achieved what many people haven't been able to obtainover a lifetime. Lee knew what he wanted and how to getit. He fought and reached his goal. Therefore, although heleft us soon, I think somewhere he will feel proud, becausehe didn't pass through this world as a simple vegetable orsomeone mediocre; he left an indelible mark on manypeople and as long as Martial Arts continue to exist, BruceLee will live in the hearts of all."
Obviously, because of all this, among other reasons, agreat friendship was born; during filming, Bruce Lee eveninvited Jim Kelly to his house to train together in his gymon numerous occasions. About those workouts Kellyrecalls: "When I trained with Lee, he taught me sometechniques, since I was used to work with Karatemovements and not with those of Kung fu. However, Ididn't have any problem of adaptation. I remember heonce told me: 'Jim, attack me with your right hand'. I did ita couple of times and then he said: 'Hey!, you really havea quick and efficient hand. Now let me attack you withmine.' I was prepared for his attack and I managed toblock him. Lee was really impressed and with his typicalsense of he told me that no one to date had done before.He really made me feel proud because I believed in hiswords. Thereafter, our relationship became ever closerand so, at the same time that I found a teacher, I also
gained a good friend. During the filming of 'Enter theDragon' in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to deal a lotwith him and watch him work and train outside the hoursof shooting. Thus I developed a great respect for him,especially as a martial artist. He never ever imposed meanything in a fight scene. He knew my level of Karate;nevertheless he let me work with total freedom, provided Ididn't separate from the contingency. He wasundoubtedly a great coworker. I owe him so much. Hewas a great master of only thirty years of age".
Bruce Lee not only had fans, he also had (and still has)detractors. Kelly got very nervous with that: "Today it isvery easy for me to find work because of what Lee did forall martial artists. People who never knew him personallyhad a great respect for him. He was a great leader formany other marginalized ethnic groups, especially forblack people. For many of them, after seeing his filmsthree or four times Bruce turned into their idol. One day, ateacher who had a Karate training hall came to my gymand said: 'Hey, Jim, how good is Bruce Lee?' I said:'You're into Karate. You're supposed to have a knowledgeof martial arts, and therefore you should be able to see byyourself how good he is'. But he told me: 'Many peoplesay that he is not that good, he's just good on the screen'.So I replied: 'Many people are envious and jealous of thesuccesses of others. You should take into account that ittakes a very strong mind like his to ignore such people.They talk like that because they are just trying to bringdown the great myth that is becoming Bruce Lee. Thereare many martial artists who envy him for the simplereason that their students join their gyms because ofBruce Lee and once there, they keep admiring him morethan they admire their own teacher. This, sometimes, canbe very annoying; hence the weapon of teachers is todiscredit him, in the belief that the admiration theirstudents feel for Bruce will turn against them ... But I thinkthey are wrong, because Lee was actually made out of aspecial stuff that only the great myths have, and you can'tfight against that. I think that every gym in the world andall Martial Arts instructors who are trying to discreditBruce Lee, should recognize that thanks to him, they caneat. In other words, it's undeniable that Martial Artsteachers have a job today thanks to Bruce Lee's films andevery time that any of those movies is projected, peoplejump for joy and euphoria and many viewers, on leavingthe theater, will seek out a gym. That's why they will neverappreciate it nor recognize it."
Bruce Lee never participated in anytournament, so many masters and experts,often branded him as a "paper hero" or a"film champion". Obviously, this issue wasoften posed to Kelly: "There are manythings that people who knew him wouldnever mention about the ability he had. It isa way to protect their students, theirreputation, their associations and theiregos. They prefer to keep silent ... even ifthey know it. As an actor he hadeverything: soul, skill, magnetism. He hadstyle. Nobody could match him today. Idon't mean they are not good, but Lee wasreally unbelievable.
However, people ask me: In youropinion, who's been the best tournamentfighter in history? I would like to say: BruceLee. But I can't... because he neverparticipated in any tournament. Leepracticed fighting, but competition isdifferent. Some people don't work in thesame way on a competition tatami. Somepeople are better in tournaments than inpractice, for the simple reason that "thereis something to gain." What I am sureabout is that Lee would have been good inchampionships, very good ... and I couldbet my life. In fact, I much doubt thatanyone could beat him."
About this he highlighted andunderlined: "In my opinion, there has notbeen nor there is absolutely anyone soincredible..."
"Vital spot in Taekwon-Do is defined as any sensitive or breakablearea on the body vulnerable to an attack. It is essential that thestudent of Taekwon-Do has a knowledge of the different spots sothat he can use the proper attacking or blocking tool. Indiscriminateattack is to be condemned as it is inefficient and wasteful of energy".
- General Choi Hong Hi (___), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAEKWON-DO, Volume II, page 88. Taekwon-Do is one of the largest
and most professional martial arts in the world today,(founded on April 11, 1955, by General Choi Hong
Hi (___)), and continues to flourish even after thepassing of its founder in June of 2002. Over
time the sporting factors took precedenceand much was either ignored or discardedin the area of the original self-protectionmethods. In the original writings ofGeneral Choi much of the focus,structure and even the use of the vitalpoints "Kupso" (__ or Kyusho), as wellas the weapon development to accessthem, was outlined but never fullytaught. Kyusho International hasdeveloped a program to enlighten,educate, integrate and develop thisincredible Martial Art back to it'sfounders concepts. This new program
has the full support of the founderssurviving son Choi Jung Hwa. The focus
of this series is to investigate the Patterns(teul), which are performed in accordance
with the founders precepts in "TheEncyclopedia of Taekwon-Do" (an astounding
15 volumes written by General Choi Hong Hi,including his "Vital Spots"). It is through this
structure that Kyusho will be initially integrated backinto Taekwon-Do. Kyusho International is proud to assist
in this monumental and historic collaborative undertaking.
REF.: • KYUSHO20 REF.: • KYUSHO20
All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.
Budo international. netORDERS:
t is no secret that the man who works hardand does a lot, will be rewarded sooner orlater also for its services. Sometimes it is hardto recognize when the time of wages comes,because you mostly like to see only thearduous things. However, it is precisely those
moments that test our perseverance and theyshow how much you really want to achievesomething. An experience, that Grand MasterMartin Sewer knows very well.
As he already felt at a young age, that thecontent of his life is in the learning and teaching ofmartial arts, he meets resistance . Kung Futeacher? You will not be a Kung Fu teacher. That'show you would say as a young boy, that you wantsto be a pilot or a firefighter. But with Martin Sewer,it was much more than a phrase. He first meet histrue master at a seminar in Zurich, when he alreadywas deep in the martial arts world and learned a lotabout arts such as Judo, Karate, Kung Fu andwestern boxing. Until that day, Martin Sewer had toattend many seminars to find the art he wassearching for. With the meet of the seminar leaderChiu Chi Ling, he joined not only to his dreammartial arts, the original Shaolin Hung Gar KungFu, but also on its current Sifu (teacher, master )and head of this martial art style. However, ChiuChi Ling, then already an icon in the world ofmartial arts and melee expert on the Hong KongPolice Department and the U.S. Army, did notwaited for Martin Sewer. On the contrary, Martinwas a western student, more of a fan than astudent like many others.
Martin Sewer knew nothing of the challengesahead, as he wrote letters to Chiu Chi Ling, inwhich he asked him to take Martin Sewer as adisciple. He also announced several times to travelto Chiu Chi Ling in Hong Kong - although therewas no answer every time.
One day, Martin had saved all the money for thetrip to Hong Kong, he rang the bell at the door ofHong Kong School of Chiu Chi Ling. After variouslinguistic and organizational obstacles it actuallycame to teaching with the already world-famousmaster Chiu. Martin Sewer certainly had by hisprevious resume good knowledge in martial artsand yet it would be the hardest lessons of his life.After weeks of hard lessons and a long journeyhome, it depends by the will of Martin Sewer tothink about the newly learned lessons and again,to save money for another trip. Like this way, hehad to prove himself for years as a foreign studentfrom Chiu Chi Ling and take the long way to HongKong over and over again. Martin Sewer invited hismaster to Switzerland (one of the few Invitations,which Chiu Chi Ling actually took) and asked himfor lessons and seminars for his students. For real,traditional martial artists among the readers is clearwho paid for the flight and accommodation of ChiuChi Ling. Early on, Martin Sewer earned undersevere tests, the right to teach in the name of hismaster, when Chiu Chi Ling raised him to thestatus of Sifu (master).
Hung Gar
I
But not only that learning under atraditional master was a great effort.Even the raising of a Kung Fu schoolin Switzerland, at that times still aruthless empty Kung Fu desert, wasassociated with various difficulties.Not only the experience that SifuMartin Sewer was cheated ofbusiness partners, he saw himselfalso repeatedly confronted a new withWestern-minded students, whom hehad not only to teach the ancient artHung Gar, but also the associatedtraditions. But he did not give up.
It is now 20 years ago, since hefounded in a new start the KUNG FUSCHOOL MARTIN SEWER and
brought this school with new power tosucceed. The first 10 years the schoolwas from a single branch atFröbelstrasse in Zurich. But then SifuMartin Sewer had enough money andstudents in the classroom to devotehimself to the development of hisschool and founded gradually morebranches. Of course, this constantgrowth of Sifu Martin Sewers schooland his expertise has not goneunnoticed. Even then, Sifu MartinSewer regularly received awards andhonors, and received an honorarydoctorate from various institutions asa martial artist and doctor. This hegraduated with his master Chiu ChiLing until today successfully to the 8
Dan (Masterdegree), of whichthere are total 10(1 to 10 mastersdegrees). As withother Kung Fustyles, even thestyle-head is inpossession of 10Master degree.
A majormilestone in theconfirmation ofG r a n d m a s t e rMartin Sewerscompetence, alsotook place againthis year - morethan ever. Aninvitation from theWorld Martial Art
Institute brought Grand MasterMartin Sewer to Malaysia, Kuchingon the "World Black Belt Hall ofFame". An event and meeting only forthe biggest and best masters. Whilemaintaining a strictly organizedschedule the eventful weekendstarted on Friday evening with anelegant dinner and the grand openingceremony, at which there was even aspontaneous demonstration byGrand Master Martin Sewer for theguests present. So it went on and onthe following days.
Where Martin Sewer, as "GrandMaster of the Year" had also wonthe previous year 2012, the honorfell to the nomination for the "GrandMaster Instructor of the Year" in thisyear even bigger. Especially sincehe also received this title. But thisshould be only the tip of theiceberg: In addition, he was the"senior advisor" appointed by theInternational Martial Arts Institute,
accompanied by an award from theWorld Federation Kuoshu Bangladeshfor VIP Guest.
Of course, Martin Sewer took partin the demonstration on Saturdaytournament, and started like in 2012,in the category of Grand Masters. Hedecided, as already great-grandmaster Chiu Kow at the Chinesenational championship, for the well-known Tiger Crane From - The HookSeung Yin Fu Kuen. During hisstudent waited at home in Switzerlandcurious about the result, Martin Sewercould give a seminar for all students,masters and grandmasters present inMalaysia. An event that al lparticipants replied in deepastonishment. Then made acomfortable sight-seeing throughKuching City for a worthy conclusionof Saturday evening.
Sunday started with the fullanticipation anticipated reopening ofthe "Nanyang Wushu Centre ofExcellence", which was burned downseveral years ago. By a generousdonation from the KUNG FU SCHOOLMARTIN SEWER the reconstruction ofthe school was made possible. To thedelight of all was shortly afterwardsannounced that Grand Master MartinSewer decided on the eve of thetournament and had thus gained asearly as 2012, the "Grand Master'sTrophy" - a honoring with which onedoes not need further confirmation asa teacher.
But the greatest honor GrandMaster Martin Sewer should achieveat the end of the three day event. Theaward of the 9 Master degree by theWorld Martial Arts Institute, with thecommentary of the responsibleorganizer Dr. Song: "This is the leastwhich we can distinguish you." Andso left Grand Master Martin Sewerthe occasion finally with more awardsthan he could bear, and proved thathard work pays and correct in thelong run. Of course, his students werehappy home in Switzerland over theenormous success of their teacherand have been even more motivatedto train hard and pursue their personalgoals. Finally saw this at the recentEuropean Championships in Neu-Ulm, Germany. With over 50participants Grandmaster MartinSewers delegation stormed thetournament and the school tookalmost 30 podiums in shapes, lightand full contact categories.
Hung Gar
Combat Hapkido
THE GROUND IS NOTYOUR FRIEND!
Just like many other martial artists, Ibecame interested in ground fightingafter having watched the first UltimateFighting Championship and seeing howRoyce Gracie defeated his opponentswithout much effort and quicklyimmobilized them, unable to continue tofight. I then resolved to better my self-defense skills and began to research allthe information that I could find aboutground fighting. I want to makeabsolutely clear that I do not like to beon the ground, nor (unlike many of thegrappling styles) do I want to take a fightto the ground on purpose! That is why Iundertook an extensive study of thosesystems to better understand what theirstrengths and weaknesses were, and tolearn how to apply that knowledge instreet self-defense scenarios.
During the several years of myresearch, I was able to get hands on
training by attending seminars withmany ground fighting experts andgrapplers in disciplines such aswrestling, Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,Sambo and Submission fighting. Ialso purchased every video, DVD andbook on the subject that I could findto research this topic thoroughly.Almost immediately, it becameapparent to me that most of thetechniques that I studied were eitherstrictly sport oriented, or would onlywork if the person executing themwas very athletic and flexible.Additionally, virtually every techniquewas designed for a “one-on-one” fightwith no consideration to multipleattacker situations. And finally, theymostly seem to want to keep the fighton the ground, which is where I reallydid not want to be for any length oftime. When it comes to street self-defense I believe that the ground isnot your friend! And, fortunately, thatwas also the philosophy of my
Teacher, Combat Hapkido founder,Grandmaster John Pellegrini. Afterreviewing my research in 2002, wedecided to structure a new programto deal with ground fighting from anexclusively “survival & get back up”mindset. No grappling, nosubmission, no sport techniques, nolingering on the ground one secondmore than absolutely necessary.
Our goal was to put together anadditional ground component thatutilized most of the concepts that weuse in our Combat Hapkido stand-upsyllabus, including the pressure pointsof our Combat Hapkido “TacticalPressure Points” program, to make thetechniques easier and more effective.We were also determined to make thetechniques not too athletic (oracrobatic) in nature due to the fact thatour system focuses on practical self-defense for “everyone”. I had toensure that the techniques that Iwould teach would be not only easy to
Autodefensa
Combat Hapkido
learn and realistic but could be taught tochildren and adults of all ages and bodytype, including individuals with physicaldisabilities, seniors, and non-martialartist. Our ground program would be foreveryone and not just for experiencedmartial artists or the “physically fit”.
The task completed (a 2 year process),we introduced our new “GroundSurvival” Program to our students andthe Martial Arts community around theWorld. It was an instant success and,since then, I have been fortunate to havetraveled internationally teachingseminars, on my own or with GMPellegrini in exciting “Double Impact”format. Recently also, our unique “TripleImpact” seminar (with Master Gridleyteaching Tactical Pressure Points) inValencia, Spain was our most successfulseminar in that country in the past 10years. To facilitate the learning (andteaching!) of the program, we produced,in collaboration with Budo InternationalMagazine, a series of 5 instructionalDVDs which has also become a bestseller in the Martial Arts world.
Over the years, since the launching ofthe Combat Hapkido Ground Survival, Ihave had the honor and privilege ofteaching thousands of students fromvery different backgrounds. Forhandicapped students in my classes Ihave structured variations to thetechniques based on their specificabilities. Because this program is alsofun and safe to learn, it has become asuccess with children and their parents,who, because of the escalatingincidence of violent bullying, want themto learn practical self-defense.
When teaching women, I emphasizethe fact that the ground is not theirfriend when the assailant is trying torape, hurt, or kill them, and that themore time that they are there, the worseit gets. They must regain the standingposition as soon as possible! But thesame is also true for men. And I stressthat even though they may know a bit ofground fighting or wrestling, they haveto take into consideration that theattacker may not be alone, or that,
having been injured during the initialattack that brought them to the ground,they may not be fighting with their fullphysical capacities. I also point outthe obvious, but often overlooked, factthe in training, most of the time, we areon mats which are safe andcomfortable, but in the street you haverocks, broken glass, garbage, etc. andthat is not where you want to wrestleand roll around.
Combat Hapkido has separatebranches to train Police / Security andmilitary personnel. Training these unitsrequires an in-depth understanding ofhow they operate in differentenvironments and with differentmissions from civilians. They are alsoequipped and dressed differently.Teaching those groups techniques thatwere meant for sport is a waste of timeand places them in danger! Insteadthey need effective, easy-to-learntechniques that are adaptable to thespecific needs of their duties. Forinstance, a Police officer's primarymission is to control and restrainindividuals from causing injury to others,the police officer (or even themselves)while ensuring all along that theindividual does not gain access to theirweapons (i.e. firearm, tazer, pepperspray, etc.). Another example may be asoldier whose mission is to ensure thata town, village, or building is securefrom enemy personnel wanting toambush or harm them, while wearingabout 70 pounds of equipment,weapons and protective gear. As youcan see in both of these scenarios that,if the person ends up on the ground, it isimperative to have the skills to survivethe initial attack and get back to thedominant position: standing up!
I hope that I have given you aninformative overview of the CombatHapkido “Ground Survival” philosophyand to have sparked your interest inlearning more. In future articles I willshare with you some of the technicalaspects of our program. Stay safe andremember: The ground is not yourfriend, so Don't Grapple…SURVIVE!
HOW IS THE "FU-SHIH
KENPO" OUTLINED (Part Two)In contact techniques, when
blocking an attack, sometimes wemust advance forward one of our legs(left or right) in order to obstruct ouropponent's front leg movements. Bydoing this we block his line of attack.Then we hit hard and vigorously onthe opponent's attacking limb (arm orleg) to override his reacting capabilityby the pain or momentary numbnesscaused by the blow. At other timeswe'll hit directly on the opponent'sknee, hip or attacking limb. Once thedefense has been broken and the armor leg with which he's attacked us isalso disabled, we can close in on theopponent's body and hit him with nodanger as much as we want andwherever we want. Depending on thetechnique and how dangerous ouropponent is, at times we don't evendefend the attack; rather, but rather,we move into him counterattacking bythe attack's opposite angle.
This must be done cautiouslythough, because if you haven't firstnullified the opponent's front arm, thenyou must disable his attack, preferablywith a low kick to the shin or knee,thus preventing that the opponentmight follow the withdrawal line andthen attack again from another angle.
Dodging, checking and hit to thebody or face, or counter-attacknullifying blow.
There are three basic types ofstrokes in this system: whip,penetration and depth.
Whip strokesThis is a standard type of blows,
which is practiced in almost all stylesof Martial Arts. The movement can becompared to a whip stroke with atowel, or to a serpent's tongue; areverse fl ick from the outside in,percussing frontally, or in closecombat (ura zuki, ura ken, kin geri,etc.). There's no penetration or powerintended in this blow. Its goal is speed(be spontaneous and instinctive) andis primarily used against surfacepoints of the bones, nose, eyes, lips,clavicle, genitals, groin, meniscus,armpits, biceps, traps, solar plexus,floating ribs, neck, and certain vitalpoints. It is mainly used to deflect theopponent's vision and so avoid acounter, or as a forestalling technique.The discharge rate will vary accordingto the ability of the practitioner interms of speed and the focus point.
Penetrating strokesThis blow is a single explosive
outward movement, in which anestimated penetration of 7.5 cm ispracticed. The accomplishment of thismovement is relatively easy, althoughit takes precision.
The main points are: temples, jaw,both sides of the neck, heart, sternum,pancreas, and any part of the bodythat requires a certain degree ofpenetration depth in the blow. There istherefore a greater discharge (Tiger) atthe moment of impact.
Depth strokesThis type of blow, common to all
the so-called hard Martial Arts, needsabout 15 cm of penetration. Its goal isto reach deeper points in the body, orit can be used when you have theopponent against a wall or any otherstructure. Depth strokes usually finisha combination of techniques. Beingthe most powerful blows, theyshouldn't be performed unti l theopponent has been reduced or isseriously hurt. If used too early, thatis, as the init ial technique in acombination, the opponent loses theopportunity to continue and then youneed to start the attack all over again.
Direct response to an ongoingattack. Reflected reaction in thedefensive / offensive action
PROGRESSIVE ADVANCE
- PROGRESSIVE REPLYAdvancing is used in a
constructive way for the followingpurposes:
• To add impetus to an attack ofarm or leg.
• To obstruct an offensive line.• To break internally and externally
in an offensive or defensive series.• To stop or avoid an aggressive
move.• To restore or realign an offensive
combination or a defensive counter-attack.
• To blind the opponent in a chainreaction of offensive or defensivemoves attacking at various angles andapplied to different areas of the body.So it is almost impossible to stop theavalanche of blows.
LINE OF WITHDRAWALIn order to withdraw successfully
it's necessary to hit the opponent's
lead leg or his lower body parts.Tearing or compressing the nerves,tendons or pressure points, is acommon use technique in Fu-ShihKenpo, because it causes so muchpain that overrides every intend ofaggression in the opponent anddiscourages him from undertaking anyfurther offensive movement. Ofcourse, hands, and very especiallyfingers, must be thoroughly trained tomark, penetrate and grip.
The claw is a short and long trajectoryweapon in the Fu-Shih Kenpo. Thedegree of pain and wound when grippedby the claw is severe and sometimes itsconsequences turn out to be fatal. Thistechnique is preferred by many MartialArts practitioners, because it is as quickas a punch and provides more controlover the adversary in a situation ofattack or defense.
BASIS FOR A POSITIVE
DEFENSE
1) Stop or block the offensive line,preferably in the outer circle (it doesn'trequire so much speed and is safer).
2) Isolate or destroy the attackingarm or leg while obstructing orparalyzing any possible aggression.
3) Counter-attack to the body orhead, depending on the body positionand the chances of reaching theobjective.
• To nullify in the close combat(approach) the penetration and / ordepth of a possible second attack ofthe opponent.
• To nullify the continuity of theadversary, establishing a defensive-offensive simultaneous reaction.
• To anticipate next offensivetechniques of the opponent.
• To trigger or activate our owninternal energy, by means of apenetrating gaze and a determinedand focused mindset.
Generally, in the Fu-Shih Kenpo,and especially when our enemy offersdanger, there's no withdrawal; alwaysforward. Going backwards allows theenemy to dominate and control ourreactions, giving him time to build uphis maneuvers.
"IF YOU'VE BEEN WELL TRAINEDAND YOUR SPIRIT IS STRONG,ADVANCE ALWAYS. IT ISPROGRESSIVE."
“There are threebasic types ofstrokes in this
system: WHIP,
PENETRATIONAND DEPTH”
By labeling Jeet KuneDo as "just a philo-
sophy" with no curri-culum or progres-sion of techni-ques, we rob it ofthe technicalmerits of thematerial taughtby its founder,Bruce Lee.
On the other hand,by crystallizing the art
as "only what Bruce Leetaught", we deprive ourselves ofthe free expression and natural-ness (or natural-unnatural-ness!) advocated so strongly bySijo Lee.
Elbow-Strike-Photos
Our group does not believethat either approach iswholly correct. The OriginalJKD material (so-called)combined with the philoso-phical elements containedwithin Bruce Lee's notesand writings provide a foun-dation upon which we buildour own personal martialart. In our case, this is theorigin of "Old School JKD".
Using the principles laidout by Bruce Lee along withan understanding of the foun-dation and function of JeetKune Do, we can investigateother arts and draw outtheir essence. We call this the"JKD Filter".
The JKD FilterA JKD Wednesday NightGroup ArticleJack Of All Trades orMaster of Some?
Many will say that the only way tobe a true martial artist is to traineverything. Boxing, Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, and Judo for competition. Kalifor weapons, Reality-based martialarts for self defense, and so on. Allhave been pressure tested andproven effective. No doubt. However,there are two significant questionsthat I feel every martial artist whocross-trains in this manner should askhimself:
1) Is it more efficient to flow fromone art to another (and one deliverysystem to another) than to have asingle platform from which I can utilizeall of my attacks and defenses?
2) Does an accumulation oftechniques make me a better fighteror would I benefit from limiting theamount of tools I train in order to honeeach one to a very high level?
Time is every human beings mostvaluable asset. When taking intoaccount that fighting arts like Boxing,Wrestling, or JKD require athleticabil ity which often begins todisappear as we reach middle age,efficient use of training time becomescritical. This is one of the reasons whydaily decrease is such an importantJKD principle. How can I perform therequired repetitions to "master" anygiven technique if I'm spending mytraining time adding new techniquesor practicing many different arts usingdifferent structures?
Applying the JKD FilterWe are always looking for a better
way, trying to find more efficient toolsand examining our own weaknesses.Constant research andexperimentation are necessary.However, in order to get maximumbenefit from our training time we musthave some way of filtering a vastamount of material without having totrain everything. In simple terms, thisis how we analyze new material:
• Necessity - Does it addsomething that is lacking from ourgame?
• Structure - Do we have to changeour delivery system to accommodatethe new technique or does it fit in withwhat we're already doing? A basicexample of this would be a technique
which doesn't work well from anunmatched stance (i.e. Right lead vsleft lead) forcing us to change leads inorder to use it and thereby negatingthe advantage of the dominant sideforward structure and telegraphingour intent.
• Adaptability - How limited is itsapplication? Will it work againstdifferent types of fighters? Againstdifferent methods of defense? Underless than ideal conditions?
• Vulnerability - Does it leave usexposed to counterattacks which maybe more damaging than the initialattack we're defending against?
"It's not what you can learn, it'swhat you can throw away."
Bruce Lee (to Bob Bremer)
Example 1Some of the first techniques we
added to our expression of Jeet KuneDo were elbow strikes from MuayThai. This is the most basic example
of tools which meet all of the abovecriteria. For demonstration purposeswe will discuss only how these strikesfit into the JKD structure. Technicalexplanations of how to perform eachtechnique are not necessary here.
It's worth noting that elbow strikesare close range tools that will mostoften be executed from a"compressed" Ready Stance.Naturally, as range is decreased handposition must be adjusted to providedefense against the opponents closerange attacks. Without the distanceand time required to intercept itno longer makes sense toextend the lead arm as faras we would in the typicalBai Jong. (See JKDStance Photo 1 vs JKDStance Photo 2)
Diagonal DownElbow
(See Elbow Strike Photo 1& Elbow Strike Photo 2)
Horizontal Elbow
JKD Stance Photo 2
JKD Stance Photo 1
(See Elbow Strike Photo 1 & Elbow Strike Photo 3)Diagonal Up Elbow(See Elbow Strike Photo 1 & Elbow Strike Photo 4)Vertical Elbow(See Elbow Strike Photo 1 & Elbow Strike Photo 5)(Note: Some JKD practitioners may prefer to use the
diagonal, downward, and horizontal elbow strikes of theWing Chun system instead.)
Example 2"Heavy" palm strikes generate tremendous power while
reducing the risk of injuring your hands. Sifu Tim Tackettlearned some of these techniques in Taiwan, while otherscame from an instructor in our group named Bert Poe.
Palm Hook(See Heavy Palm Photos 1 - 2)Palm Smash(See Heavy Palm Photos 3 - 4 - 5)Willow Leaf(See Heavy Palm Photos 6 - 7 - 8 - 9)Side Palm(See Heavy Palm Photo 10)
Example 3On the street, we want to avoid going to the ground at all
costs. Should we end up there, the objective is to damagethe opponent and get back to our feet as quickly aspossible. That said, it is still highly desirable for us to take
"Spend 80% of your time on whatyou will use 80% of the time."
Tim Tackett
About the Author:Mike Blesch is a member of the
JKD Wednesday Night Group andco-founder of the Chinatown JKDAssociation. For more information
visit JKDWedNite.com andJKDLessons.com.
Photos by Angelico Tolentino -AngelicoT.com. Demonstrations by
Tim Tackett, D.M. Blue, JeremyLynch, and Steven Resell.
Edited by Brent Lance -BrentLanceJKD.com
the opponent to the ground and finish him while we remainstanding and in the best possible position to deal withmultiple attackers and ultimately to escape the situationaltogether.
Let's look at a takedown that is often successful inMMA.
(See Tackle & Hook Photos 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6a - 6b) (Note: 6a & 6b are 2 angles of the same position)Any fighter who often throws fully committed lead hand
strikes (like the JKD'er) needs to be aware of his or herown vulnerability to the type of entry used here. JeremyLynch uses Steven Resell's commitment against him byshooting under the punch, applying a body lock, andhooking the lead leg to execute a takedown. (This is agood example of why stop kicks are so important forbridging the gap)
When looking at this technique as a potential offensivetool we can quickly determine that it violates our structuralprinciples (see the final photo of the sequence). Jeremyends up on the ground along with Steven and does nothave dominant position (half guard). In a no-rulesenvironment this can be very dangerous due to thelikelihood of Steven having a weapon, not to mentionJeremy being in a very bad position if there are multipleattackers to deal with. There are times when it may benecessary to take an opponent to the ground in order toneutralize a striking advantage for example (faster, longerreach, more skilled, etc.), but for us there are more efficientways.
Discard, De-emphasize, or Replace?
Sometimes a technique that we really like may not passthrough the filter. The question then becomes do we needto keep the technique if only to train against it? Even whenthe answer is no, we have still gained some experiencefrom the process and will, at the very least, be morefamiliar with a technique which may be used against us.
Here's how we handled the 3 examples above:
"Spend 80% of your time on what you will use 80% ofthe time."
Tim Tackett
The 80/20 RuleAlso known as the "Pareto principle", the 80/20 rule
states that quite often 80% of your results will come from20% of your efforts. Therefore, to achieve maximumresults, you should spend 80% of your time on the 20%that matters. This is a very useful idea which has beenapplied successfully to numerous disciplines. For ourgroup, it essentially functions as a 2nd level to the JKDfilter by reminding us to focus on the core techniques andprinciples of JKD. The trick is figuring out exactly whichtechniques make up the vital 20% that will deliver 80% ofthe results.
When it comes to combat sports like MMA and Boxingthe task is somewhat simpler because of the detailedstatistics available. We can discern that for a lightweightMMA fighter more fights are finished by submission thanKO, so the fighters training habits need to reflect that. Theopposite becomes true for the Welterweight class andabove. Admittedly, there is more than one way to interpretthe data (ie. Smaller fighters need to work on theirpunching power and larger fighters need to work on theirsubmissions) but that isn't relevant to the currentdiscussion.
In Boxing we find that the fighter that throws the mostjabs usually wins. The trouble with a "street fighting" artlike Jeet Kune Do is that there is no accurate way to obtainthose types of statistics. Then how do we decide whichtechniques will be our primary responses (the vital 20%)?
The solution for us has been threefold:1. Following JKD principles - Particularly "economy of
motion"2. Individualization - Accounting for strengths,
weaknesses, and temperament3. Testing - Learn from successes and failures in
sparring and scenario training, as well as in the ring/cage.
Our final analysis of the 3 examples looks like this:
Conclusion
The JKD Filter and the principle of Daily Decrease canbe applied to any martial artist's training regimen,regardless of style. Whether your base art is Muay Thai,Judo, or Karate, and you train for self-defense,competition, or both; strong fundamentals will force youropponents to respect and prepare for your most basictools, making all of your secondary responses moreeffective and maximizing your training time.
"The purpose of this group is to preserve and promoteBruce Lee’s art of Jeet Kune Do, to help define and teachthe core curriculum, not to confine us but to liberate us,and to discover our personal expression of Bruce’s art."
- Tim Tackett
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