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>AK)RLD'S LEADING IVIAGAZINE OF SELF DEFENSE! USPS 985 - 820 " B O 47432
UJ
FOR THE MARTIAL ARTIST
AIKIDOS
MODERN ARNIS-SIMPLY EFFECTIVE
71896"47432
BIACK BELT SEPTEMBE= f : - . 19. NO. 9
Michael James, Publisher CIRCULATION Geri Simon, Assistant PubJisher Joan LaMarr
BLACK BELT STAFF CONTRIBUTORS John Hanson, Executive Editor Loren Christensen Albar Genesta, Art Director Gary Goldstein James Nail, Assistant Editor Mark Grabiner Jack Vaughn, Copy Editor Tom Hughes Greg Potenza, Editorial Assistant James Logue Jan Wilhelm, Typography James Lorlega Marcia Mack, Photographer Dave Lowry
Alex Sternberg ADVERTISING Grant Wilson Barbara Lessard
Contents
FEATURES
22 MODERN ARNIS: SIMPLY EFFECTIVE-Widely known as Filipino stick fighting, amis offers a witde range of techniques of particuiar vaiue to persons seeking a quick course in seif-defense.
28 0-SENSEI: AIKIDO'S UYESHIBA—A master of many of oid Japan's martiai traditions, a capabie philosopher and theologian, and founder of aikido.
36 BIOMECHANICS FOR THE MARTIAL ARTIST—Researchers from the University of iiiinois Biomechanics Research Laboratory offer the karateka important information on response and reaction time.
40 CHOKES AND SLEEPERS—Street techniques that quickiy render an attacker unconscious have become all the more important due to the growing popularity of the body-numbing, strength-enhancing drug PCP.
48 JUDGING: A PRACTICAL SOLUTION TO AN ON-GOING PROBLEM-A look at the Amateur Athletic Associatioh's solution for producing fair and impartial judging at tournaments.
54 HOW TO ORGANIZE A SELF-DEFENSE COURSE—A common sense approach to physical and psychological conditioning aimed at giving the non-martiai artist a fighting chance in the streets.
58 THE SECRET OF MOMOCHI (Part II)—Rebuffed by Fujibayashi and Momochi, Jintaro Sato approaches Mitsuhide Akechi with a method for "killing two birds with one stone."
62 RYUKYU KEMPO—With roots in Okinawan bushi, ryukyu kempo features a unique biend of empty-hand and weapons techniques particuiariy weii-suited for fuii-contact sparring.
68 KING OF THE HILL: A STUDY IN ORGANIZED BRAWLING-Aithough the results are far from conclusive, the current rash of "cross discipline" fighting events poses an interesting format for the controversy over what tighting style is best.
DEPARTMENTS
ABOUT THE COVER: Remy Presas defends nimself m n-.ock battle against assistants Bruce Juc^" iCk ifo'eground) and Michael Replogle ibacKg'oundi, See page 22. Photo by Marcia MacK.
6 EDITORIAL 9 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
10 INSTRUCTORS' FORUM 12 BLACK BELT TIMES 46 READERS' SURVEY 90 LIBRARY OF BACK ISSUES 92 Kl CALENDAR OF RATED EVENTS 97 DOJO DIRECTORY
BLACK BELT magazine is pubiished monthly by Rainbow Publications. Inc. Editonal. abreftisang Empire Avenue, Burbank, CA 91504. Second-class postage paid Burbank, CA, 849-2181. Executive offices: Uyehara Management Inc., 1314 S. King Street,St i le863, HonoMu, United States are one year (12 issues), $21.00: two years, $42.00. (Foreign coiai lr iesadd6250 editors will not be responsible for unsolicited material. Manuscripts and addressed envelope. Printed in the United States by Worid Color Press, I n c , S t rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is stncfiy orobibrted. A B C ,<
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And All You Have To Do Is . . . Act Naturally
by John Hanson
robably the most universal truth in the martial arts is that no one can agree on anything.
If there is an exception to this iron-clad credo—a concept on which most everyone could safely stamp their embossed seal of approval—It would be that the primary goal of any self-defense training is the ability to react without thinking 22
in a life-threatening situation. Although each art has its own stylized blueprint for achieving this goal, the basic idea is to somehow convince the student that he really can defend himself.
For the most part, this is accomplished through the theory that the student must first master the basics and become natural with the often unnatural movements of a
particular style. Through endless repetitions and hours of practice, the student will —somewhere down the line—become comfortable with his new-found self-defense system.
This traditional "building block" concept of instruction has indeed proven successful with students who are totally willing to invest the required time, interest and gut commitment to their art.
"The problem," according to modern amis founder Remy Presas, "is that many students are not ready to commit themselves so thoroughly to a self-defense program. Many people need quick results, or at least a reasonable system of rewards where they can actually see the results of their labor. This is where amis training differs ffom most traditional con
cepts of instruction. Basically, amis deals with the simplicity of a person's natural movement. Instead of reprograming a person's natural movement to fit the art, amis is adapted to fit the student's natural movement. The idea here is to give the student an immediate sense of accomplishment—to give him something useful that he feels confident with. If the movement is not"
natural, a person will have to stop and think, 'Alright, if he grabs me here I do this, but if he punches me there I do that.' With amis, the goal is to develop an individualized system of self-defense based on a person's inherent physical characteristics."
If amis is so personalized, so easily adaptable and subject to individual modification, is there such
23
a th ing as true amis? Is there a classic or pure form of the art? The answer, according to Presas, is that there is an essence of amis , a common denominator of combat principles that weaves Its way through the more than 100 different styles of Fi l ip ino mart ial arts. These principles are based on a pattern of attack angles common to all f ight ing, regardless of style. A l though amis is probably best known for its use of rat tan st icks and native broadswords, it is actual ly a complete mart ial art system which features both weapons and empty-hand combat. Thus, a biock/parry/throw/jab technique wi l l uti l ize the same basic angles whether the defender is armed or unarmed.
"The key to any f ight ing is in learning how to defend against speci f ic angles of at tack," says Presas. "Unl ike most other martial arts, amis does not so much concern itself wi th learning speci f ic defensive moves, as it does wi th developing an internal sense for what your opponent is about to do. Al though th is flow is akin to the concept of ki or ch i , it really is nothing myst ica l . The pract ical appl icat ion is to understand the angles of at tack and avoid them by using your own natural movement and rhythm. As wi th anyth ing physical , once a student pract ices long enough, he begins to transcend the obvious mechanical character ist ics of react ion. He is suddenly able to feel what his opponent is about to do and he can ant ic ipate, react and counterat tack in a single mot ion.
"But what 's nice about amis is how quickly most students are able to pick it up," Presas cont inued. "Over the last few years I've been concentrat ing primari ly on seminars at universit ies and studios all over the United States. Usually I'll run a two-day, eight-hour-a-day program of concentrated inst ruct ion. The idea is to get the students immediately involved in the 12 basic angles of block and slash techniques. After one session the student wi l l have learned the basics In single st ick and double-st ick patterns, as well as a few disarming techniques. Best of ai l , he wi l l walk out w i th a tangib le piece of self-defense—someth ing that he can take home and pract ice on his own and even teach his fami ly and fr iends, i encourage people to take
24
ARMED DEFENSE against an armed attacker begins with a parry-like block on
the Incoming, overhead attack. Presas then slides through the block, catching
the attacker's forearm with a down-around-and-upward circular motion.
Catching the attacker at the base of the neck, Presas has his opponent twisted,
off-balance and on the mat In one smooth motion.
EMPTY-HAND technique against an Incoming punch Incorporates the same
motion as Is used with a weapon. A forearm block catches the attacker's
punch. With an Inside/out circular motion, Presas swings the outstretched
arm down, around and upward, sliding through to grab and twist the attacker's
head for the takedown throw.
the seminar and then just pract ice on their own with various partners. It's really amazing how adept a f i rst-t ime student can become if he (pardon the pun) st icks wi th i t ."
Presas insists that because amis is so s imple to learn and requires no special physical condi t ioning or raw physical strength, it is par-t iculary well-suited for senior cit izens or persons who are only interested in self-defense. Through federal CETA and state grants, Presas has conducted seminars for seniors a imed at discouraging muggers.
He points out that a l though conventional karate training is great, it could do elderly persons more harm than good, since their bones tend to be bri t t le and their reflexes considerably slower than a younger attacker.
" A m i s is smoother and less rigid than karate and it is therefore less of a strain on an older body," explained Presas. "Plus, amis teaches you that anything can be a weapon. An umbrel la, a cane, a purse or a pen can give you the added advantage of extension—an extra reach and degree of leverage that could be the dif ference between life and death. "
Presas has been a student of Fi l ipino mart ial arts for 20 years. He holds a bachelor 's degree f rom Mani la 's National College of Physical Education where amis has been offered as a major course since 1969.
According to Fi l ipino history, ar-nis (also known as kali or escrima) dates back to the seventh century. In 1521, the Islands were invaded by Spanish forces led by Magel lan. On the smal l is land of Mactan in what is now the province of Gebu, Magel lan was slain by the chief tan Lapu Lapu, thus marking the Philip-pine's f irst successful s tand against a foreign invader.
The Fi l ip inos were impressed wi th the Spanish sword-and-dagger style of f ight ing and modif ied it to employ a long and a short st ick. The system, known as espada y daga (meaning sword and dagger in Spanish) became one of three classic forms of amis f ight ing, which include solo baston (single stick) and sinawall (two st icks).
When the Spanish returned and f inal ly conquered the Phil ippines, they out lawed st ick f ight ing altogether, forcing pract i t ioners to
25
why it is starting to gain in popularity is because it can be readily adapted as a training supplement by most other styles without contradicting what a student has already learned.
"I'm not trying to change the way people think or the way they train," concluded Presas, "and I'm not concerned about turning out a lot of clones who do everything exactly the way that I do. What I teach is that the foundation of the art is in the individual, and through amis, anyone can reach their own potential as a martial artist, simply and effectively."
study their art "underground," much in the same manner that the Okina-wans carried on their art during Japanese insurgence.
"Today, close to half-a-milllon Filipinos are actively involved in ar-nis as sport, and it is required study in all public schools In the Philippines," says Presas.
"The amis you see today has evolved from centuries of outside influence. On close examination you can see elements of tai chi, wing Chun, aikido, judo, jujitsu, karate and kendo. Like kempo, it incorporates techniques from many arts. I think that part of the reason