EC Martial Arts Blog

Ung Moon (5 gates) form invented by Bruce Lee

2012-01-23T06:13:00.000+11:00

Ung Moon - the 5 gates invented by Bruce Lee - http://bit.ly/yWVGq7

Ung Moon Form - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5wWp2SkU_g

R.I.P JKD Master Jerry proteet you touched all...

2012-01-17T11:42:00.000+11:00

From: "Sifu Derek Vernon" <notification+hpk53kk_@facebookmail.com>

Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:33:51 -0800

To: Wing Chun Magazine<wingchunmagazine@groups.facebook.com>

ReplyTo: Reply to Comment <g+43ln1xs000000hmpmur02ry1tbivs8b000002ttir0y1z146@groups.facebook.com>

Subject: Re: [Wing Chun Magazine] R.I.P JKD Master Jerry proteet you touched all...

Sifu Derek Vernon commented on his post in Wing Chun Magazine.

Sifu Derek Vernon

8:33am Jan 17

With heavy hearts, we are saddened to report that Sifu Jerry Poteet passed away last night in Los Angeles. His Flame is still burning bright now and into the future through our family, instructors, students, friends, and followers.

As Sifu Bruce Lee once said: "Remembrance is the only paradise out of which we cannot be driven away. Pleasure is the flower that fades, remembrance is the lasting perfume. Remembrances last longer than present realities."

More announcements to come...The Jerry Poteet Family

Original Post

Sifu Derek Vernon

7:41am Jan 17

R.I.P JKD Master Jerry proteet you touched all our hearts and minds. My God bless you XXX

View Post on Facebook · Edit Email Settings · Reply to this email to add a comment.

Festival Wing Chun in Foshan

2012-01-16T20:25:00.000+11:00

MUAY THAI INSPIRATION

2012-01-05T19:39:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECGeneral Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Tuishou - "That's enough"

2011-12-27T19:44:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Master Lü Baochun demonstrates Taiji's principle of "bu ding, bu diu" or "don't resist, don't let go" in tuishou training.

Tui shou - internal structure and movement

2011-12-27T19:41:00.000+11:00

Master Lü Baochun talks about and demonstrates internal structure and internal power usage in Baji Association's tuishou training.

Xinyi Liuhebafa Xinyi Zhanzhuang - Fajing.wmv

2011-12-27T19:02:00.000+11:00

Grandmaster David Chan learned from the lineages of Great Grandmaster Wu Yi Hui via Grandmaster Chan Yik Yan, and Great Grandmaster Wang Xiang Zhai via Grandmaster You Peng Xi, for about 18 years. He started teaching Xinyi Liuhebafa and Xinyi Zhanzhuang around the year 1976, in the Philippines. This video shows a bit of our Push Hands, Chinna, and Fajing.

Capoeira: Vida de Mandingueiro. Fragment 10 minutes of the documentary

2011-12-22T16:34:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

www.auxdocks.com - Vida de Mandingueiro [Being Capoeira] Documentary 52'.

Express Brazil and its culture without the usual clichés, thats the spirit of the "Vida de Mandingueiro" project. Take time; ask the good questions; go beyond the first findings, find out what happens behind the curtains, feel everydays life, seize the essence of a cultural practice as a mirror of a society with multiple faces. What is capoeira really? Who represents this art which is conquering all continents accross the globe?

Meet the masters of capoeira and learn about their history and their philosophy. These masters are the body and the soul of this both popular and marginal practice, and their knowledge is essential to Brazil's history. Through their lives, from the elder to the new generations, we want to understand and show how this cultural heritage lives on today. Doing so, we like to think that we can somehow participate in its transmission and evolution.

Capoeira: A Culture in Motion

2011-12-22T16:33:00.000+11:00

A documentary on capoeira and the life of Mestre Baixinho.
Shot in Milan, Italy, in 2008.

Capoeira Guerreiros Orlando Documentary

2011-12-22T16:30:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Originally filmed in 2008, this documentary short was filmed on location during the production of a Public Service Announcement involving Capoeira Guerreiros in Orlando. To commemorate their first annual Batizado (Graduation), Sara Parra edited and prepared the footage for the world to see! Learn more about our group at: http://www.CapoeiraOrlando.com
Edited by Sara Parra, Directed by Marcus Small, Produced by William Lovelace

Freedom Fighting - A Capoeira Film

2011-12-22T16:18:00.000+11:00

This documentary is in two parts and follows Dina Mousawi as she discovers the meaning, history and origins of Capoeira.
made by:www.satellite-pictures.co.uk

Malaysia Fight Challenge 3 - MK vs Leke

2011-12-17T22:28:00.000+11:00

Oh dear! I think this wing chun guy watched one too many Donnie 'Ip Man 1&2' Yen movies! He was an embarrassment. 1-on-1, he showed he does not know much about grappling and groundwork. Not a single strike came from the WC fella. On the ground, he made one big mistake, he presented his back to his opponent who choked him out!

Malaysia Fight Challenge 3 - MK vs Leke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io_qLYs8Ocw

BRUTAL FIGHT!

2011-12-13T15:08:00.000+11:00

ECGMA says: man! these guys are tough as nuts! Gloveless!

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Tway MaShaung, burmese lethwei fighter owns Kyaw Nyein.

Brüno (8/10) Movie CLIP - Dildo Self-Defense (2009) HD

2011-12-13T14:47:00.000+11:00

Brüno Clip http://j.mp/sNDUs5 click to subscribe - Pretending to be straight, Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) takes a martial arts class so he can protect himself from unwanted advances.

TM & © Universal (2011)
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Larry Charles
MOVIECLIPS YouTube Channel: http://j.mp/vqieFG
Join our Facebook page: http://j.mp/tb8OMH
Follow us on Twitter: http://j.mp/rZzGsm
Buy Movie: http://amzn.to/sHRyrr
More Movie Clips: http://j.mp/u9wqTy
Producer: Anthony Hines, Asif Satchu, Dale Stern, Dan Mazer, Jason Alper, Jay Roach, Jeff Schaffer, Jon Poll, Jonah Hill, Modi Wiczyk, Monica Levinson, Sacha Baron Cohen
Screenwriter: Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer, Jeff Schaffer, Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen

Film Description: Borat trickster Sacha Baron Cohen returns to the big screen to offer yet another stinging dose of sociopolitical satire in this comedy that finds him assuming the persona of gay fashionmonger Bruno, the self-proclaimed "voice of Austrian youth TV." Originally conceived as part of Baron Cohen's cult television series Da Ali G Show, the character of Bruno offered a cleverly costumed Baron Cohen the opportunity to highlight the absurdities of the fashion industry by interviewing unsuspecting fashion icons and other haute couture hangers-on. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

brüno, brüno clip, brüno part 1, brüno movie part 1, brüno song, brüno harrison ford, brüno eminem, larry charles, dildo videos, comedy, cult comedies, late night comedies, spoofs and satire, jay roach, jon poll, sacha baron cohen, monica levinson, dan mazer, asif satchu, modi wiczyk, jonah hill, anthony hines, dale stern, jason alper, jeff schaffer, empowerment videos, strength videos, gym videos, brno, movie clips, movieclipsdotcom, #AMG:V+++378108, /m/0c9c0

The Perfect Throw - Sambo

2011-12-13T12:44:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

The Russian martial art of sambo has been popular internationally for years, but it is just beginning to take here in the United States.

An Old Japanese Love Warrior

2011-12-12T18:25:00.001+11:00

An Old Japanese Love Warrior
--by Terry Dobson

A turning point in my life came one day on a train in the middle of a drowsy spring afternoon. The old car clanked and rattled over the rails. It was comparatively empty -- a few housewives with their kids in tow, some old folks out shopping, a couple of off-duty bartenders studying the racing form. I gazed absently at the drab houses and dusty hedge rows.

At one station the doors opened, and suddenly the quiet afternoon was shattered by a man bellowing at the top of his lungs — yelling violent, obscene, incomprehensible curses. Just as the doors closed the man, still yelling, staggered into our car. He was big, drunk, and dirty. He wore laborer's clothing. His front was stiff with dried vomit. His eyes bugged out, a demonic, neon red. His hair was crusted with filth. Screaming, he swung at the first person he saw, a woman holding a baby. The blow glanced off her shoulder, sending her spinning into the laps of an elderly couple. It was a miracle that the baby was unharmed.

The couple jumped up and scrambled toward the other end of the car. They were terrified. The laborer aimed a kick at the retreating back of the old lady. "You old w*@#e!" he bellowed. "I'll kick your a*#!" He missed; the old woman scuttled to safety. This so enraged the drunk that he grabbed the metal pole at the center of the car and tried to wrench it out of its stanchion. I could see that one of his hands was cut and bleeding. The train lurched ahead, the passengers frozen with fear. I stood tip.

I was young and in pretty good shape. I stood six feet, weighed 225. I'd been putting in a solid eight hours of aikido training every day for the past three years. I liked to throw and grapple. I thought I was tough. Trouble was, my martial skill was untested in actual combat. As students of aikido, we were not allowed to fight.

My teacher taught us each morning that the art was devoted to peace. "Aikido," he said again and again, "is the art of reconciliation. Whoever has the mind to fight has broken his connection with the universe. If you try to dominate other people, you are already defeated. We study how to resolve conflict, not how to start it."

I listened to his words. I tried hard. I wanted to quit fighting. I even went so far as to cross the street a few times to avoid the "chimpira," the pinball punks who lounged around the train stations. They'd have been happy to test my martial ability. My forbearance exalted me. I felt both tough and holy. In my heart of hearts, however, I was dying to be a hero. I wanted a chance, an absolutely legitimate opportunity whereby I might save the innocent by destroying the guilty.

"This is it!" I said to myself as I got to my feet. "This slob, this animal, is drunk and mean and violent. People are in danger. If I don't do something fast, somebody will probably get hurt. I'm gonna take his a*# to the cleaners."

Seeing me stand up, the drunk saw a chance to focus his rage. "Aha!" he roared. "A foreigner! You need a lesson in Japanese manners!" He punched the metal pole once to give weight to his words.

I held on lightly to the commuter strap overhead. I gave him a slow look of disgust and dismissal. I gave him every bit of p#*$-ant nastiness I could summon up. I planned to take this turkey apart, but he had to be the one to move First. And I wanted him mad, because the madder he got, the more certain my victory. I pursed my lips and blew him a sneering, insolent kiss. It hit him like a slap in the face. "All right!" he hollered. "You're gonna get a lesson." He gathered himself for a rush at me. He'd never know what hit him.

A split second before he moved, someone shouted "Hey!" It was ear splitting. I remember being struck by the strangely joyous, lilting quality of it — as though you and a friend had been searching diligently for something, and he had suddenly stumbled upon it. "Hey!" I wheeled to my left, the drunk spun to his right. We both stared down at a little old Japanese man. He must have been well into his seventies, this tiny gentleman, sitting there immaculate in his kimono and hakama. He took no notice of me, but beamed delightedly at the laborer, as though he had a most important, most welcome secret to share.

"C'mere," the old man said in an easy vernacular, beckoning to the drunk. "C'mere and talk with me." He waved his hand lightly. The giant man followed, as if on a string. He planted his feet belligerently in front of the old gentleman and towered threateningly over him.

"Talk to you?" he roared above the clacking wheels. "Why the hell should I talk to you?" The drunk now had his back to me. If his elbow moved so much as a millimeter, I'd drop him in his socks.

The old man continued to beam at the laborer. There was not a trace of fear or resentment about him. "What'cha been drinkin'?" he asked lightly, with interest. "I been drinkin' sake," the laborer bellowed back, "and it's none of your god d#*& business!"

"Oh, that's wonderful," the old man said with delight. "Absolutely wonderful! You see, I love sake, too. Every night, me and my wife (she's seventy-six, you know), we warm up a little bottle of sake and take it our into the garden, and we sit on the old wooden bench that my grandfather's first student made for him. We watch the sun go down, and we look to see how our persimmon tree is doing. My great-grandfather planted that tree, you know, and we worry about whether it will recover from those ice storms we had last winter. Persimmons do not do well after ice storms, although I must say that ours has done rather better that I expected, especially when you consider the poor quality of the soil. Still, it is most gratifying to watch when we take our sake and go out to enjoy the evening — even when it rains!" He looked up at the laborer, eyes twinkling, happy to share his delightful information.

As he struggled to follow the intricacies of the old man's conversation, the drunk's face began to soften. His fists slowly unclenched. "Yeah," he said slowly, "I love persimmons, too…" His voice trailed off.

"Yes," said the old man, smiling, "and I'm sure you have a wonderful wife."

"No," replied the laborer, "my wife died." He hung his head. Very gently, swaying with the motion of the train, the big man began to sob. "I don't got no wife, I don't got no home, I don't got no job, I don't got no money, I don't got nowhere to go. I'm so ashamed of myself." Tears rolled down his cheeks; a spasm of pure despair rippled through his body. Above the baggage rack a four-color ad trumpeted the virtues of suburban luxury living.

Now it was my turn. Standing there in my well-scrubbed youthful innocence, my make-this-world-safe-for-democracy righteousness, I suddenly felt dirtier than he was.

Just then, the train arrived at my stop. The platform was packed, and the crowd surged into the car as soon as the doors opened. Maneuvering my way out, I heard the old man cluck sympathetically. "My, my," he said with undiminished delight, "that is a very difficult predicament, indeed. Sit down here and tell me about it."

I turned my head for one last look. The laborer was sprawled like a sack on the seat, his head in the old man's lap. The old man looked down at him, all compassion and delight, one hand softly stroking the filthy, matted head.

As the train pulled away, I sat down on a bench. What I had wanted to do with muscle and meanness had been accomplished with a few kind words. I had seen aikido tried in combat, and the essence of it was love, as the founder had said. I would have to practice the art with an entirely different spirit. It would be a long time before I could speak about the resolution of conflict.

Terry Dobson was a holder of a fifth-degree black belt in aikido, coauthor of "Aikido in Everyday Life" (North Atlantic Books), and author of the book "It's a Lot Like Dancing: An Aikido Journey" (Frog, Ltd.), among other works. He died in 1992 at age 55. This article, published in NEW AGE JOURNAL in 1981, first appeared in the "Lomi School Bulletin."

The most intense taekwondo fight ever

2011-12-12T14:21:00.000+11:00

Two tiny tots performing Tae kwon do with a mother laughing in the background.

Home is... Friendship is... Life is...

2011-12-09T14:35:00.000+11:00

Uploaded by Sekabin on Nov 20, 2011

This video was made to show our love and support for the people of Japan. The tragic events of March 11th, 2011, made us all truly understand the value of friends and family. The idea of making the video was conceived in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, when, in the uncertainty, much of the media was suggesting that non-Japanese would leave the country.

While the north east of the country was severely hit, and continues to rebuild, Tokyo was relatively unaffected. We came to know each other through our passion for martial arts, meeting and training in a Tokyo park. We are still meeting and training. Japan is our home and the earthquake only strengthens our will to live here.

Music by 41
---
Resources for helping post-disaster Japan:

Volunteers for helping rebuild the northeastern area of Japan: http://teamheal.jp/
Japan Red Cross Society: http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.htm

------
この映像は日本の人々への愛と応援の気持ちを表すためである。

2011年3月11日の悲劇的な出来事で私たちは改めて友達と家族の大切さを学んだ。

マスコミは外国人が日本から避難する、そして再び戻ってこないという可能性をほのめかす地震の余波のなか、映像を作るのを思いついた。

ひどい被害を受けた東北は今再建しつつあるが、東京の被害は比較的に些細だった。

私たちは格闘技への情熱で知り合い、東京のある公園で集まり、練習をする。

今でも私たちは集まり、練習をし続けている。

私たちは日本を故郷のように思っている。

震災はここに住み続ける意思を固めただけ。

Taikiken (Yi Quan) Documentary

2011-12-05T21:18:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

A brief history of Taikiken.

Kenichi Sawai's teacher, Wang Xiangzhai the founder of Yiquan, traveled throughout China in his younger years. He visited many masters along the way, including Kuo Yun-shen who taught him Hsing-I.

Later on, Wang Xiangzhai combined all of his knowledge and skills to create Yiquan. It is often said that Yiquan or Taikiken, is one of most recently developed forms of real combat.

Taikiken is the Japanese version of Yiquan, enriched with essential techniques and principles of the different budo disciplines.

The founder of Taikiken, Master Kenichi Sawai was a direct student of Wang Xiangzhai. After his return to Japan, Sawai sensei changed the Chinese name Yiquan into Taikiken (Taiki-ken, Taiki, I-Ken).

The history of xing yi quan

2011-12-05T21:15:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

This video is about the history, basic principles and legends of xing yi quan and how it has evolved over the years.

for more information please visit us at http://pathtoshaolin.com

MEIJI JINGU MARTIAL ARTS by Empty Mind Films

2011-12-05T21:06:00.000+11:00

You can download a free extended version of this movie, Meiji Jingu Enbu at http://emptymindfilms.com
Meiji Jingu Enbu is a traditional martial arts (Koryu) demonstration held at the Meiji Shrine on November 3rd... a national holiday celebrating Japanese culture. Our film shot in one day features Aikido, Iaido, Kenjutsu, Karate and more... including Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu. Download the HD 720p Quicktime movie at our website... play full screen and enjoy! Empty Mind Films

The Key to Survival

2011-12-04T04:32:00.000+11:00

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." — Aristotle

October 2011 | Published by BlackBeltMag.com

Self-defense training involves everything from sensory development and the honing of reflexes to body conditioning and weapons training. There are no recipes or formulas that will work each time, but you certainly want something — a technique, a weapon, an escape — to help equalize the odds if you find yourself under attack. Knowledge and physical training in weapons usage, disarms and escapes can be vital to your survival.

Preparation is the name of the game. In the words of one martial arts expert, "You have to have a game plan, and the worst time to work that out is when the actual attack happens." And when that time comes, fear can be your best ally rather than an enemy. Fear can propel you through techniques that you once thought alien, and it can open doors for actions and escapes you may have thought impossible. Learning from qualified instructors such as Kelly McCann, Alain Cohen and Avi Nardia will help you develop your most powerful weapon: your brain.

Combatives vs. Zombies: the Black Belt Survival Guide

2011-12-04T04:06:00.000+11:00

Combatives vs. Zombies: the Black Belt Survival Guide

by Kelly McCann | Modified for the Growing Zombie Threat by Robert W. Young – October 27, 2011

Unfortunately, there's been an uptick in multiple-assailant violence involving zombies. Just this morning, I read an account of a young man who was jogging home when three or four zombies attacked him. He landed in the hospital with a bite wound; doctors then monitored him until he transformed. It's definitely worthwhile to consider how equipped you are to deal with these situations and to have a plan ready in the event you're ever caught in one.

Without question, your best tactic is avoidance. Situational awareness enables you to discern when zombie situations are developing so you can get away without having to make contact. If you notice early enough, you can move away from harm by changing direction or crossing the street. You can physically position yourself at an advantage by putting parked cars and/or other obstacles between you and the slow-moving threat.

Remember, too, that out of sight is out of mind. The sooner you remove yourself from the zombies' field of vision, the better. Avoiding an attack is best done from a distance; once the gap between you and them has closed and they've fixed you in place, the situation is much dicier.
There's a weird alchemy to verbally defusing physical attacks involving normal human beings. Unfortunately, it doesn't work at all with zombies. Some self-defense instructors claim they've got the magic formula for calming zombies, but they don't. Once the predators complete their victim-selection process, nothing you say will deter them. You may be inclined to verbally engage them, especially those you remember as human beings. Personally, I don't want to be connected to them; I want to disengage completely.

A less-lethal weapon such as pepper spray (oleoresin capsicum aerosol) works well for repelling mobs of humans, but OC hasn't been proved effective on zombies. The spray can temporarily blind them, but experience has shown that they can still hunt by sound and smell.

A blunt object that's used to damage the brain is better than nothing — but not much better. Why? Because a powerful blow to the head is likely to result in bleeding. Even worse, that blood is likely to splatter, spreading the virus that causes the transformation. If you have no alternative, choose a club that has some length to it — one that will enable you to reach out and whack a zombie before he gets too close. Even better, use such weapons while wearing a face shield that will keep infected blood away from your eyes, nose and mouth. Goggles alone won't provide enough protection.

When it comes to self-defense—against both humans and zombies — I believe in firearms. I also believe they're a heavy responsibility. If you're not willing to invest the time necessary to learn how and when to use one, you may want to reconsider. If you're up for the instruction, make sure it includes duress-inducing drills that ensure you'll make sound tactical decisions when you're stressed. There are far too many instances of victims detecting what they perceive as a zombie threat and opening fire with a handgun only to discover that they've shot healthy human beings. Furthermore, "spray and pray" is seldom successful against zombies because only head shots will put them down for good. And remember that carrying a firearm doesn't mean you don't have to be hyper-avoidant. Crack off a few rounds when you don't have to, and in no time, you'll find yourself facing a zombie horde without enough ammo to put it down.

Last — and least preferred — is using unarmed tactics against zombies. For all the reasons you can imagine, fighting off even one of these undead creatures while you're unarmed is just not desirable. It can be done. It's been done — almost always by disconnecting the brain from the spinal column. But the risk is so extreme and the outcome so dependent on uncontrollable variables that you've got to acknowledge it's not a great alternative. No one, no matter how good he thinks he is or truly is, should believe he can fight off more than one zombie reliably.

A better plan, in my experience, is to pre-emptively floor one attacker — even though he won't stay down for long unless you damage the brain — then blow through the hole where he used to be at warp speed. Use that interruption in their momentum to run like your ass is on fire.

Permalink: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/self-defense-training/combatives/survival-guide-when-multiple-zombies-attack/

Gary Lam Wing Chun - "Incident" in Switzerland

2011-12-02T21:02:00.000+11:00

ECGMA says: That's the problem with people from different WC schools or lineage. The guy did not show respect to Gary Lam sifu. I am sure he is from a different WC lineage and 'challenged' Gary Lam sifu. The 'challenger' was stupid, really. Why can't chi sau'ers just chi sau? What's all this crap of touch and hit? At that bloody close range, anyone, no matter how good one thinks he/she is, can be hit! When I was back to Sydney recently, I had the opportunity to 'rolled' with a couple of WC'ers and also watched others chi sau'ed. The one that rolled with me was not interested to 'roll', sense, feel, adhere, follow and stick. All he wanted to do was to 'touch and strike'. This due to their approach to chi sau, that chi sau is 'fighting'....darn it, it is NOT! When one fights like a mongrel, the mongrel does NOT chi sau! The mongrel bites, gouge, pokes, pinch, scratch, bitch slap, etc!

Wing Chun Techniques: The Secret Weapon Against Leg Attacks

2011-11-30T03:38:00.000+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/karate/wing-chun-techniques-the-secret-weapon-against-leg-attacks/print/

Wing Chun Techniques: The Secret Weapon Against Leg Attacks
Posted By Patrick On November 29, 2011

In 1966, karate [1] legend Joe Lewis [2] rocketed to stardom by winning Jhoon Rhee's U.S. Nationals in Washington, D.C. Incredibly, it was his first tournament, and he won every single point with only one technique — the side kick.

For six years, Chuck Norris ruled the karate world with his spinning kicks. He won virtually every major title between 1965 and 1970, including six grand championships. He retired, undefeated, in 1970.

From 1974 to 1981, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace [3] dominated the full-contact karate circuit. His lightning-fast left roundhouse and hook kicks rose to legendary status as he stunned one opponent after another. He retired 21-0, with 11 knockouts. Superfoot, indeed.

Those champions and many more have demonstrated their awesome kicking abilities in and out of the ring. In fact, the martial arts in general are best-known for their kicks. Even Bruce Lee [4] is remembered more for his dynamic on-screen kicking than for the intricate trapping and striking techniques of jeet kune do. [5]

If kicking is the hallmark of the martial arts, it follows logically that to become a superior fighter, you have to learn how to deal with those seemingly indefensible lower-limb assaults. How do you stop a technique that, once mastered, appears to be unstoppable? One answer can be found within William Cheung's [6] traditional wing chun [7] fighting system.

Mechanics of Kicking
The laws of physics hold that a force can have only one direction at a time. The longer a movement is committed to a certain direction, the longer it will take for it to change its direction. It has to run its course before it can move on to another path. When an opponent attacks with a kick as opposed to a punch, his foot must follow a longer path to reach you. Distance equals time, so the greater distance gives you more time to react. In dealing with kicks, then, the first step is to properly train your eyes, or visual reflexes, so you can readily determine how your opponent is attacking and which part of your body he is targeting.

Traditional wing chun teaches you to watch your opponent's elbow to identify an upper-body strike — punch, palm strike, elbow and so on — because the movement of the elbow indicates the movement of the entire arm. The arm cannot move without the elbow going with it. The knee is to the leg as the elbow is to the arm. Thus, if you train yourself to watch the knee of your opponent's attacking leg the instant he kicks, you will have the best chance of identifying the kick's path and target.

If the opponent attempts to bridge the gap with a kick, he must commit himself to that direction of force. As a defense, you can do anything. You have not committed; therefore, as long as you are balanced and have mobile footwork, you are free to move in any direction. Your response should put you in the best position not only to defend yourself but also to counterattack.

Contingency Case
If your opponent executes a kick and it does not make contact — and it is your job to ensure that it doesn't — he will leave you several openings to exploit:

Balance: When he kicks, he must balance on one leg — if only for a moment — and that means he is presenting an opening. In general, a person in a two-legged stance should be able to knock a person in a one-legged stance off-balance. Without a good base, it is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible for him to launch an effective blow.
The groin: In most cases, executing a kick will leave his groin open to attack. The vulnerability may exist only for a moment, but if your eyes are well-trained, you will see the kick from its inception and you will be ready to pounce.
The supporting leg: Because a force can have only one direction at a time, an opponent who commits to a non-jumping kick leaves his supporting leg virtually defenseless while his other leg is completing its motion. The knee and shin are the most common targets on the supporting leg.
The kicking leg: Whenever a kick is in motion, several pressure points on the underside of the leg are exposed. They are small targets, but you can train yourself to attack them with a counter-kick.
Defending against a kick is all about timing. While the opponent's leg is committed, the above-mentioned targets are most vulnerable. From a balanced and neutral position, you can time your response so you act during this fleeting but critical moment. If you move too soon, he may change course and adapt. If you move too late, you may miss the opening and get kicked.

Step by Step
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Because distance equals time, you should protect yourself against the most immediate threat — a linear attack — by controlling the centerline (the path that connects the center of your body with the center of your opponent's body). You have now created a shield covering the shortest attack route; your opponent must try to charge through it or find a way around it.

Say your guard covers your center but your opponent still attacks with a kick. You use your eyes to determine the path of the strike (linear or circular) and the target (the upper, middle or lower part of your body). Once you have identified the strike's commitment, step off the path of the attack. Again, proper footwork is crucial for ensuring that you will move to the right place at the right time.
You then must block or deflect the kick on or near the knee. Whenever possible, you should strive to deflect the attack, bumping it slightly off its intended course, and not stop it. If you stop it, you will have ended the kick's commitment and your opponent can now attack again. Obviously, it is important to keep the leg in motion for as long as possible to give yourself time to exploit the opening.

If, however, you do need to stop it, you must then attack the opponent's balance by controlling his knee. Even though the kick's commitment has ended, he will still have a difficult time initiating another strike right away because his balance is committed downward. Plus, the muscles that lift the leg are weaker than the muscles that lower the leg, so you have gravity and anatomy on your side.

Once the kick is controlled and the initial opening has been exploited, your objective is to close the distance (get inside kicking range) and position yourself to the outside of the opponent's leading elbow to continue your counter. This combination of position and counterattack serves multiple purposes:

By stepping off the path of the kick — to one side or the other but not straight back — you are in an excellent position to counter immediately. The lack of hesitation before your counter puts him on the defensive, thereby taking him off the offensive.
Your position to the outside of his lead arm keeps you away from his rear arm because you are using his lead arm as a shield. Therefore, you are forced to deal with only one limb at a time.
Your control of his lead elbow enables you to manipulate his balance, making it difficult for him to attack again.
Precision Blocking
Once you have identified the nature of the kick, you must decide which block to use. Traditional wing chun teaches two relevant rules:

If the kick is aimed at the middle or upper part of your body, you should use your arms to block. The specific block is determined by whether the kick is straight or circular.
If the kick is aimed at the lower middle or lower part of your body, you should generally use your legs to block.
These principles require you to devote minimal motion to defense. That, in turn, allows for minimal commitment on your part to do the block, leaving you neutral and ready to instantly launch a counterattack rather than committing your balance forward as you reach down to block a low kick with your arm. In traditional wing chun, the principle of "seizing the critical moment" depends on your ability to identify an opening the instant it becomes an opening. Then you must be able to move into the best position to block and counter. The opening could be anywhere, so you must be prepared to go anywhere at anytime. It is essential to train the right and left sides of your body equally. If you have a dominant side, you will have an imbalance — one that might not mesh with the opening.

Furthermore, when your eyes develop the ability to see a kick forming before it is launched, you may be able to employ a wing chun leg attack or jam as a pre-emptive block. They are the quickest ways to put your opponent on the defensive without committing yourself first.

User Beware
Wing chun rarely advocates the use of kicks as a purely offensive weapon to begin an encounter. If your opponent has not yet committed to his attack, using your leg first leaves you committed and vulnerable. Therefore, you should concentrate on employing kicks as a counterattack immediately after a block. Once he has committed to his punch or kick, he will not be able to exploit your openings as readily as you can exploit his. In addition, you should aim your kicks at or below waist level. That means your leg will be committed to the attack for as short a time as possible and serving as a component of your balance for the maximum amount of time.

Traditional wing chun instructors often use a simple metaphor to further drive home the essence of their art's kick-killing methods: If a hammer is aligned with the head of a nail and moved with sufficient force, it will drive the nail all the way into the board. However, if you learn how to recognize the impending blow before it begins and develop the reflexes to respond instantly, you not only can prevent the nail from being pounded flat but can also ensure that the toolbox remains locked and the hammer never even sees the light of day.

About the Author
Eric Oram has taught traditional wing chun for more than 20 years and is an actor, fight choreographer and freelance writer based in Los Angeles. To contact him, visit lawingchun.com.

Article printed from Black Belt: http://www.blackbeltmag.com

URL to article: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/karate/wing-chun-techniques-the-secret-weapon-against-leg-attacks/

URLs in this post:

[1] karate: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/karate/
[2] Joe Lewis: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/joe-lewis/
[3] Bill "Superfoot" Wallace: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/bill-wallace/
[4] Bruce Lee: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/bruce-lee/
[5] jeet kune do.: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/jeet-kune-do/
[6] William Cheung's: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/william-cheung/
[7] wing chun: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/wing-chun/

James Sinclair Teaching Wing Chun

2011-11-29T19:31:00.000+11:00

ECGMA says: Watch and listen @ 1:27 of the clip about chi sau!

James Sinclair teaching at the 25th Anniversary of the UKWCKFA. The reason for teaching on the knees is to keep one variable under control...distance. It is a great way to train to build basic skills. It is especially useful for teaching children.

Developing a Black Belt Attitude : Winning

2011-11-28T13:06:00.000+11:00

ECGMA says: This 'attitude' can be applied to everyday life.

By Andy Dickinson Sensei of Northstar Martial Arts, Balmain, NSW, Australia

Developing a Black Belt Attitude: Winning

* Winning is not always about passing the finish line first, having the most money, the biggest house or having the last word. Winning is about how much of a difference we've made around us. If we've done our very best, then we've won, regardless of what anyone else may say...

* There can only be one winner in a competition but life isn't a competition.
Winning is about having a winning attitude and winning ways.

* Winning is having a go, even though you're scared or think you might not make it or might not be good enough or some people criticise you.

* Winning is failing but trying again and again and not being disheartened by setbacks big or small. You only lose when you give up on yourself or those around you. Keep trying your best and encourage those around you to do their best.

* Winning is simply not giving in. It's being true to yourself and staying your course while not allowing yourself to be distracted or disheartened when something doesn't go your way.

* You are a winner if you take setbacks in your stride, always look to improve yourself, be kind and caring to the people around you and live with passion.

* Winning is doing what you know is right. Winning is not submitting to doubt. Winning is being the best you can be.

* Winners never quit and quitters never win.

* Lead by example and share your winning ways that's the best way to be a real winner.

Wing Chun’s Wooden Warrior

2011-11-28T03:42:00.000+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/wing-chun/wing-chuns-wooden-warrior/print/

Wing Chun's Wooden Warrior
Posted By Atina Hartunian On November 7, 2011 @ 12:19 pm In Chinese Martial Arts,Chinese Martial Arts History,Strikes,William Cheung,Wing Chun | Comments Disabled

"I fear not the man who practices 10,000 techniques once, but the man who practices one technique 10,000 times holds my respect."

The gist of that old Chinese saying is obvious: The key to reaching the highest levels of any martial art is practice. Only by executing thousands of repetitions of your style's blocks, kicks and strikes will you be able to use your strategies and techniques in a natural and spontaneous way. Without that kind of preparation, in a fight you'll be forced to think about what you should do next when you ought to be doing it.

Traditional wing chun [1] kung fu instructors address the need for practice by emphasizing to their students the importance of developing their reflexes. They stipulate, however, that you cannot rely on just any set of repeated movements to hone your ability to defend yourself. To ensure that you respond with optimal timing, balance and accuracy, you need to learn the lessons of the wooden dummy.

Enter the Dummy
For more than two millennia, the fighting monks of China's Shaolin Temple have used clever training devices to supplement their martial arts education. Legends tell that the old southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian province featured a unique collection of man-made warriors.

"There was a corridor that consisted of 108 wooden dummies representing 108 different attacking techniques," says wing chun expert and Black Belt Hall of Fame member William Cheung [2]. "The monks would move down the hall and practice their defenses and counterattacks on them."

After the Manchus razed the temple three centuries ago, one of the few surviving masters, a nun named Ng Mui, constructed a training device based on the principles of those dummies. "The positioning of the three arms and one leg of the wooden dummy was designed for 108 specific techniques parallel to the 108 techniques performed on the original dummies," Cheung says.

In the old days, dummies were built using a large central trunk — sometimes as long as 9 feet — with a tapered bottom, he continues. "A hole would be dug in the ground, and the dummy would be buried about three feet or four feet deep with gravel packed around it," Cheung says. "The gravel would give way slightly when the wooden dummy was struck in order to soften the practitioner's contact point."

In traditional Shaolin kung fu, hard contact with a training dummy was used to condition the practitioner's arms in preparation for combat. Although some martial artists still aim for that goal, wing chun does not focus on making direct contact with the device's wooden appendages. Instead, it uses the dummy to instill the ability to deflect or release an opponent's force. This principle is particularly important for people who must fend off a larger or stronger assailant or who simply wish to employ a more efficient and fluid method of defense.
Reap the Benefits
Wooden-dummy workouts help you develop all the attributes needed to actualize wing chun's avoid-using-force-against-force principle: correct angle (of deflection), balance, accuracy, timing, mobility, positioning, speed, flow and power. But the training also endows you with numerous other skills and abilities.

Perhaps the most obvious is toughness. "Because wing chun uses the palms and forearms to block kicks — for example, the rolling block and the cross-arm block — it's necessary to toughen these weapons, and that's what wooden-dummy training does," Cheung says.

Even though the dummy is an inanimate object, it can still help you polish your visual and contact reflexes. It does so by teaching you how to execute blocks and strikes in concert with each other, thus making them almost simultaneous parry-and-counter combinations. Just before you execute your counterstrike, there's a moment of contact when your parry deflects the incoming blow — or the arm of the dummy that represents the limb of the assailant. This contact is your cue to unleash your strike. To an observer, however, your full-speed block and strike appear to arrive simultaneously.

Over time, making contact with the dummy becomes your trigger to launch a counterattack. The result is the development of your contact reflexes, which constitute an essential element of real-world combat proficiency.

Dummy training also builds your visual reflexes. It requires a little more imagination and focus than does the sharpening of your contact reflexes, however, for you must pretend not to know what comes next in the form you're doing. By allowing yourself to be surprised by the next strike, you force your eyes to visually lock onto your wooden opponent before following up.
Stay Safe
Because wooden dummies are usually made of teak, it's essential to practice all your offensive and defensive moves slowly and softly at first to minimize the impacts your body is forced to absorb. Then, as your accuracy and technique improve, you can put more energy and intention into it.

"In wooden-dummy training, the blocking areas of the arms are the palms and the inside and outside of the forearms," Cheung says. "With the lower extremities, it's the outside and inside of the legs just below the knees."

Whichever body part you use to make contact, care must be taken to minimize the impact between your body and the dummy — especially your bones and pressure points.

"When striking with the hands, your primary weapons are the heel of the palm, the side of the palm, the knuckles and the phoenix knuckles," Cheung says. "With the feet, the ball of the foot, the side of the foot and the heel are used. If the dummy is adequately padded, the elbows and knees can be trained, as well. However, without proper padding, serious injury to the arms and legs may result."

Always remember that the deflection of the incoming force is your goal. You are not out to meet an opposing force head-on. If you take pains to implement that principle before you try to gradually build your speed and power, you'll heighten your ability to deflect while reducing the risk of injury.

"Beginners can benefit from the wooden dummy without unnecessary risk of injury as long as they are patient and cautious during the early stages of their training," Cheung says. "The key is to make light contact until the body is sufficiently conditioned."

The ultimate goal of wooden-dummy training is the establishment of a good basic skill set you can tap into when you train with a live partner. That will enable you to respond with the right movements and principles without undue thought. Then, no matter where your martial arts journey may lead, you'll be as prepared as you can be to handle any contingency that emerges — with an old wooden friend as your guide.

About the Author
Eric Oram is a freelance writer and senior disciple of William Cheung. He has taught wing chun for 19 years. When he is not teaching or writing, he works as an actor and fight choreographer. To contact him, visit www.lawingchun.com. His book, Modern Wing Chun Kung Fu: A Guide to Practical Combat and Self-Defense, from Black Belt Books, will be released early 2012.

Shito-Ryu Karate Trailblazer: Fumio Demura

2011-11-28T03:19:00.000+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/aikido/shito-ryu-karate-trailblazer-fumio-demura/?utm_source=Editorial-Newsletter&utm_medium=11.21.2011-Learn%2BAbout%2BShito-Ryu%2BKarate%2BTrailblazer&utm_campaign=Fumio%2BDemura-Shito-Ryu%2BKarate

Shito-Ryu Karate Trailblazer: Fumio Demura

Posted By Atina Hartunian On November 21, 2011 @ 4:00 am

Ask the average karate practitioner to name the main styles of Japan, and chances are he'll rattle off shotokan, [1] goju-ryu and wado-ryu with no trouble. But unless he's really up on his art, there's a good chance that he'll stumble over the name of the fourth major style, snap his fingers and ask quizzically, "What's the name of that other one, again?"

That other style is shito-ryu, and any karate student's puzzlement about it is somewhat understandable. Shito-ryu is relatively unknown outside Japan, even though it's perhaps the most interesting of all the Japanese systems. Shito-ryu is really a combination of several styles. For instance, it adopts the quick, strong moves of shotokan and blends them with the slow, heavy breathing aspects of goju-ryu. Another noteworthy feature of shito-ryu is the emphasis that some of its instructors place on making their students proficient in kobudo (traditional weaponry), including the bo, sai, naginata and nunchaku.

Probably the biggest reason shito-ryu is still relatively unknown is that until quite recently, few attempts were made to export the style. Certainly, its practitioners haven't been nearly as aggressive in sending sensei to other countries as have the followers of shotokan.

The results of this stay-at-home policy are apparent: Few martial artists know it abroad, and the other Japanese styles dominate the foreign field. In the United States, shotokan is the most widespread. In Europe, wado-ryu is very strong. Meanwhile, goju-ryu is well-known — in good measure because of the worldwide publicity given to two of its most prominent, and flamboyant, practitioners: the longhaired Gogen "The Cat" Yamaguchi and the barrel-chested Mas Oyama.

In the United States, there's only one shito-ryu instructor. That's surprising in view of the fact that America has more karate players by far than any other country outside the Orient, and there's such a profusion of styles taught here. (Estimates of the number of U.S. karatemen run as high as 50,000.)

We were recently discussing this point in Black Belt's offices with Fumio Demura, a muscular fifth dan who's shito-ryu's sole representative in the United States. Although little-known abroad, he's one of the more recognized karateka in Japan. He won the All-Japan Karate Championship in 1961 and serves as his style's representative in Tokyo, where he operates five dojo. He's also much in demand to give demonstrations with the bo, sai and other weapons because of his advanced skill.

"I think the big reason why foreigners know so little about shito is that the style is most prominent in the western area of Japan, a good distance away from Tokyo," Demura said. "Foreigners who come to Japan tend to concentrate in Tokyo, where they are not exposed to the style. In Tokyo, it's the shotokan and goju styles that are strong, and it's these styles that visitors usually pick up."

Demura got to the United States almost by accident. Running true to shito-ryu form, he'd been content to stay in Japan and build up his style in the Tokyo area. But he was temporarily sidetracked by a persuasive American karateka who coaxed the reluctant Demura to cross the Pacific and introduce shito-ryu into the United States.

The American responsible for Demura's odyssey to the New World is Dan Ivan, a jack-of-all-trades of the martial arts who operates several dojo in Southern California. Ivan holds a first-degree black belt in karate, kendo, [2] judo [3] and [3]aikido [3]. He learned the arts in Japan, having spent half a dozen years there. Ivan accompanied Demura to our offices and explained how he happened to run into the man who's now head instructor at his schools.

"I had gone to Japan last year to look for another instructor for my dojo," he said. "My black belt is in shotokan karate, so naturally I was looking for a shotokan man. But everywhere I went, people kept talking about Demura. Finally, when I got to meet him, I was impressed right from the start. I was especially impressed by his fine attitude. I have met some karate men who were excellent technicians but whose attitude left much to be desired.

"But you take Fumio, now, he has a fine outlook. For instance, when a student who's had some previous karate training comes to the dojo, Demura always asks them what they learned first in karate. Usually, they tell him that they learned stances or exercises or techniques. Then Fumio tells them that the first thing they learn in his dojo is good manners. I consider myself quite fortunate to have gotten Fumio to come to this country to teach in my dojo."

One of Demura's first converts to shito-ryu was Ivan. "Fumio's instructing me, and I hope to take my exam for black belt later this year," Ivan said.

Shito-Ryu Karate vs. Japanese Styles

"Actually, all the Japanese and Okinawan systems are similar in many respects," Demura said. "And surprisingly enough, I find that in the basics, the Chinese systems have much in common with ours. I never had a chance to study Chinese systems before I came to the United States, but this is what I've noticed in observing the practitioners of the Chinese arts here."

But he pointed out that it's in many of the details that the various karate systems differ. For instance, in some styles, the students fight from a short stance. In others, they fight from a more spread-out stance.

"You can quite often tell a goju man by the way he stands — he will fight from a short stance," Demura said. "The wado man has a different type of short stance. The shotokan man, on the other hand, will fight from a longer stance. The method of throwing punches might vary a little from system to system, also."

The shito style is more flexible than the others as far as the fighting stance goes, Demura insisted. Shito-ryu people will fight from both long and short stances, and move back and forth between the two.

Shito-ryu combines many of the hard, fast techniques of shotokan with the slow breathing of goju. These latter techniques, called sanchin, are muscle-building methods based on dynamic tension. In this respect, shito-ryu clearly shows its Okinawan origins, where sanchin techniques have been highly developed.

"My style comes from Okinawa, where there are two great schools," Demura said. "One is called Higaonna, and the other is Itosu. Higaonna and his student, Chojun Miyagi, established the goju school. From Itosu, there is another style followed by many Okinawans. Itosu has nidan and sandan forms, and goju has punching and breathing forms. My style has both elements."

Demura stresses two things when instructing his students. One is a strict emphasis on the basics, which he believes are neglected in the United States. "Too many instructors don't teach what karate is really all about," he said. "They will just give instructions in punching or kicking or something else. But they don't teach why a certain punch or kick is good for a certain part of the body."

This emphasis on developing all parts of the body physically is the second part of Demura's mission. He's powerfully developed himself, and he stresses the bodybuilding and health-giving aspects of karate practice.

"You know, when I was in Japan, I once worked for a pharmaceutical firm, and as part of the job, I had to visit many hospitals," he said. "I have always thought that hospitals and medicine are very helpful for the sick, of course, but I think that good karate exercise and bodybuilding are even more important and beneficial.

"Karate is a really good form of exercise. And it can be done by old as well as young people. A lot of people complain that karate is too much hard work. But each person can vary and control the amount of work he puts in. As a result, even little children and women can take up the art beneficially.

"There's another thing about karate: You don't need anyone else to be able to practice it. Football needs other people to help play it. Swimming needs water and a good climate. But in karate, you need nothing outside yourself."

American Karate

Demura had some interesting things to say about American tournaments. For one thing, he pointed out that Americans compete to a far greater extent than do the Japanese. For instance, in Japan, they don't run major tournaments in which white belts participate as well as black belts. In Japan, the karate students are expected to have learned their basics thoroughly and be of black-belt status before being allowed to go up against one another. Among other benefits, it saves a lot of wear and tear on the body.

"There are a lot of accidents in American karate tournaments because the basics are not practiced enough," Demura said. "The contestants don't have a real grasp of the fundamentals. They practice for maybe six months, and then they go in. But for speed, good timing and the ability to stop kicks and punches, they need basics, basics, basics."

Demura was insistent on another thing, and that's the need to provide good judging at tournaments. He agreed with Black Belt's assessment that most tournament judging in the United States is below par. And he should know what he's talking about, for he's a top referee in his own country.

"In the United States, you don't even have a school for refereeing," he said. "You don't have to have a regular school, just an informal one where people can meet perhaps once a week to learn refereeing techniques.

"Then all the people who will be officiating should get together starting, say, six weeks before the tournament so they can familiarize themselves thoroughly with the rules and judging. They must check one another to see how one would call a half point and how another one might call a full point. Then they would have to standardize these things.

"If the tournament is just going to be among people from the same school, then the refereeing is not quite as big a problem as when many different styles are competing. But in the United States, where contestants from so many different karate styles are competing, it is essential that these meetings be set up before the tournament." [4]

Demura also had some encouraging words to say about karate in America. For one thing, he thinks the level is improving. And having so many styles to learn and choose from can be a big help. But as he pointed out, all the tournaments in the world aren't going to be that big a help unless the contestants have had a thorough grounding in fundamentals first. This is the area he believes needs the greatest development, and it's what the man teaches.

To learn more about shito-ryu Karate pioneered by Fumio Demura, check out Karate Book+DVD Combo Set [4], available now.

Article printed from Black Belt: http://www.blackbeltmag.com

URL to article: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/aikido/shito-ryu-karate-trailblazer-fumio-demura/

URLs in this post:

[1] shotokan,: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/shotokan/
[2] kendo,: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/kendo/
[3] judo: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/judo-traditional-martial-arts/
[4] Image: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/shop/karate-book-and-dvd-combo/

Every Wing Chun Wing Tsun students should watch this

2011-11-22T17:32:00.000+11:00

Sifu Richard Guerra
this is the adress: http://www.wingchun-elsner.de

Yang Tai Chi by Sabomnim Dan Rieff - 20111026

2011-11-20T20:29:00.001+11:00

ECGMA says: My recent visit to Sydney, NSW, Australia in late Oct2011, Master of Hapkido/TKD demonstrated the Yang Tai Chi form to me when we met up.
With Hapkido/TKD as his foundation, his open-ness to explore other Martial Arts has made him a more 'rounded' martial artist with experience in Zen Do Kai Karate, Wing Chun, Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ), Kali and Tai Chi.

Top 10 Karate Concepts Every Martial Artist Should Know

2011-11-20T00:56:00.000+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/karate/top-10-karate-concepts-every-martial-artist-should-know/?utm_source=Editorial-Newsletter&utm_medium=11.18.2011-Learn+the+Top+10+Karate+Concepts+Every+Martial+Artist+Should+Know&utm_campaign=Karate+Top+10

Top 10 Karate Concepts Every Martial Artist Should Know
Posted By Atina Hartunian On November 18, 2011 @ 4:00 am In Japanese Martial Arts,Japanese Martial Arts History,Karate | Comments Disabled

For many practitioners, one of the most challenging components of karate training is learning the nuances of the terms used in the dojo. Any instructor can offer a one-word definition of each Japanese word, and that can certainly lessen the complexity of what's being taught. But often a quickie translation isn't enough to convey the true meaning of the terms the Japanese chose to describe the concepts of karate [1].

Unfortunately, the average student seldom gives it a second thought. When he's told that bunkai means "application," that's the end of the story as far as he's concerned. Few have the time or the inclination to delve into the kanji characters that compose each Japanese word, says goju-ryu karate expert Chuck Merriman.

"The misunderstanding comes from just physically training in karate and not really studying karate," Merriman says. "The important thing is the kanji. They can mean a lot of different things depending on how they're written."

That lack of understanding often leads to certain words being linked to the wrong meaning, says the Waterford, Connecticut-based instructor. "The true meaning of these words isn't important if you only practice karate for exercise or sport, but for karate-do — the physical, mental and spiritual study of karate — it becomes very important."

In this article, Merriman identifies 10 often-misunderstood karate terms and sets the record straight on what they really mean.

Bunkai
Misunderstood meaning: application
Actual meaning: analysis
Why it matters: When Merriman says bunkai is one of the most misunderstood terms in karate, he's speaking from experience. "The first thing I do when I run seminars is ask people what bunkai means, and the first answer is invariably 'application,'" he says.

In fact, the word refers to analyzing a technique by looking at the overall movement and breaking it down into the individual components, he says.
"Bunkai is not the obvious," he continues. "It's like having an outline that's not filled in." Furthermore, it can change over the years as your body, experience and depth of knowledge change. There are three levels of bunkai, he says. The first, kihon bunkai, is basic. Everybody does the movement exactly the same way. It's like learning kata, he says. The second is oyo bunkai. It refers to varying the movement according to your body size. The third, renzoku bunkai, entails a continuous action whereby you do one technique, then your opponent executes a different one. "It's almost like fighting," he says. "It's a gradual progression, almost a free exercise, but it's not sparring."

Bushido
Misunderstood meaning: warrior way
Actual meaning: military-gentleman way
Why it matters: Based on the characters bushi (bu—military, and shi—gentleman) and do (way), bushido refers to a method of training designed to enable you to protect yourself and others, Merriman says. The Okinawan interpretation isn't aggressive; it's defensive, he adds. "Bushido is not, 'Let's attack those guys.' The term sanchin means 'three conflicts.' The three conflicts are mind, body and spirit. That's where the warrior comes in; that's the battle. If you train properly, you won't be so quick to take offense and jump into fights because you're more secure in yourself."

Dan
Misunderstood meaning: degree
Actual meaning: level, step or grade
Why it matters: When karate was introduced in the West, many people erroneously believed that anyone with a black belt was an expert, Merriman says. That may also account for their tendency to refer to dan ranking in terms of degrees. "It's the furthest thing from the truth. There are different levels—from shodan, or first level, all the way up to 10th dan—[which mark your] progress throughout your career in karate."

That's one reason he's a little skeptical when he runs into a 20-year-old boasting about his fifth-level black belt. "It doesn't add up to the training time and experience you need to achieve that level of expertise," he argues. "Of course, if it's just for sport, everything is based on how many tournaments you win and what seeding you have. So, in that respect, you could be a 20-year-old fifth dan."

Dojo
Misunderstood meaning: academy, school or studio
Actual meaning: "way place," a location at which you study the deeper aspects of karate
Why it matters: Derived from the words do (way, or a philosophical approach to training) and jo (place), a dojo is not just "a building where you go to practice karate twice a week because you don't want to go bowling," Merriman chides. It's a place where you learn a traditional art and acquire a new viewpoint on life.

Kata
Misunderstood meaning: prearranged set of movements
Actual meaning: form or shape
Why it matters: "Kata is much deeper than can be summed up in a couple of words," he says. "It's a way for a student of karate-do to set a pattern of training for a long period."

Some styles of karate teach relatively few kata — goju, for instance, has only 12 short ones. But don't be fooled, he says. When you develop the three levels of bunkai for each one, there are seemingly endless variations. "The analogy I use is that there are only 26 letters in the English alphabet, but go look in the library sometime," Merriman says. "You can apply the same idea to karate with a limited number of basics and a limited number of kata. The rest is how you develop these things for yourself."

Kumite
Misunderstood meaning: sparring
Actual meaning: grappling or engagement of hands
Why it matters: Composed of two roots — kumi (grapple) and te (hand) — kumite refers to the instant a fight actually begins. It's when you and your partner first make contact, Merriman says. "When you think about it, you've got to be standing right in front of each other when you touch. It's important to understand the real meaning of the word to better understand what happens during oyo bunkai."

Mokuso
Misunderstood meaning: meditation
Actual meaning: reflection and contemplation
Why it matters: Practicing mokuso gives you an opportunity to get in the proper mindset to train, he explains. "It's not meditation in the sense of going off into another world. It's reflecting on your past training and contemplating the training you're about to do."

Rei
Misunderstood meaning: bow
Actual meaning: spirit or soul
Why it matters: "For somebody practicing karate for exercise or sport, rei is merely a salutation," Merriman says. "These days, people bow by nodding their head and slapping the sides of their legs, but that's not the proper way to do it." The bow must come from the abdominal area because that's where the tan tien (the seat of the soul) is. "If rei is 'soul,' obviously the bow has to be done from there," he adds.

Reishiki
Misunderstood meaning: spirit
Actual meaning: manners, etiquette or correctness
Why it matters: "[It refers to] the correct attitude — why you're training and always keeping your mind on the path or way," he says. For example, you're expected to know and demonstrate proper etiquette in the kohai-sempai (junior-senior) relationship. "Your sempai always precedes you. You open the door and let him go first. Before you take care of yourself, you always make sure he's taken care of."

Sensei
Misunderstood meaning: teacher
Actual meaning: guide
Why it matters: Because it's composed of the roots sen (before) and sei (life), the literal translation of sensei is "before in life," Merriman says. "A sensei is somebody who guides another person. For example, if you went to climb a mountain, you'd probably need a guide. Why? Because the guy has climbed that mountain before, and he made it."

It's the same thing with karate. The sensei was once at the same stage of training you're at, and he can show you the way up. If you understand what his role is, you will have a better idea of what you can expect from him and what he can expect from you, he says. "Think of it this way: A sensei is behind you, pushing you forward, not standing in front of you, pulling. Ultimately, it's your responsibility to progress," he says.

Conclusion
Whether you practice karate for exercise or are a fanatic who's interested in every nuance of the art, it's essential to comprehend the true meaning of the terms that describe what you do, Merriman contends. "If you understand [them], it fills you with a feeling of having something more than just the ability to kick, punch and block." And that's what practicing karate is really all about.

Article printed from Black Belt: http://www.blackbeltmag.com

URL to article: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/karate/top-10-karate-concepts-every-martial-artist-should-know/

URLs in this post:

[1] karate: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/karate/

Matt Larsen: Teaching the U.S. Army How to Fight

2011-11-20T00:47:00.001+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/aikido/matt-larsen-teaching-the-u-s-army-how-to-fight/?utm_source=Editorial-Newsletter&utm_medium=11.11.2011-The%2BBest%2BHand-to-Hand%2BCombat%2BSystem%2Bon%2BEarth%2B%E2%80%94%2B1%2BMillion%2BU.S.%2BSoldiers%2BCan/'t%2BBe%2BWrong!&utm_campaign=Matt%2BLarsen

Matt Larsen: Teaching the U.S. Army How to Fight

Robert W. Young
Photos by Robert Reiff – November 11, 2011

Back in 1983, I heeded the call of Uncle Sam and joined the U.S. Army. Basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas, was easy enough and mostly fun, what with the M16 rifles, M60 machine guns, hand grenades, Claymore mines and LAWs (light anti-tank weapons). A martial artist interested in state-of-the-art weaponry couldn't ask for more.

One thing I was disappointed about, however, was the hand-to-hand combat training — or the lack thereof. We spent a few hours with bayonets mounted on our M16s, running through slash-thrust-buttstroke drills without a target, and that was it. Essentially, we did a bit of kata with no bunkai and definitely no kumite. Preparation for empty-hand combat was nonexistent.

Fast-forward to 2003. The Army has radically changed its training philosophy, and recruits are required to cycle through the MACP, or Modern Army Combatives Program. It's composed of the most effective and versatile techniques from the Asian arts, as well as battlefield knife fighting and weapon-retention skills. The mechanics are seared into muscle memory during PT, the physical training that takes place every morning of every weekday, and it's all taught in a way that meshes with the Army culture and lifestyle. The result is a fighting force that's second to none in both armed and unarmed combat.

A Man With a Mission
The man behind MACP is a 43-year-old warrior-scholar named Matt Larsen. To understand how he wound up being at the nexus when the Army's light bulb switched on, we need to rewind to 1984. Just 17, Larsen joined the Marine Corps and was sent to the Far East — first stop, Tokyo. "I thought if I spent two years there and didn't learn martial arts, it would be a wasted opportunity," he says. "So I trained in judo and shotokan karate. The karate was harsh, but the teacher was great. My next station was Okinawa — that was more like what you see in a karate movie."

Before departing, Larsen did some research and determined that he wanted to train with Eizo Shimabukuro, the man who taught Joe Lewis. "I went to his house, and he sent me to a dojo," Larsen says. "Seven days later, he showed up at the school, and afterward, we went to his house to work out. For the next nine months, off and on, I trained at his house on weekends."

Larsen says "off and on" because duty assignments frequently took him away from the Okinawan base. One such mission sent him to Korea, where he ended up fighting the ROK Marines' taekwondo champ in a bare-knuckle bout. "I was the only guy in the battalion who was training in martial arts, so they got me to do it," Larsen says. "When I turned to face him, he kicked me in the stomach and knocked me into the crowd. I got up, and he tried a spinning back thrust kick, but I just charged him." After some give-and-take, he used his fists to dominate and then defeat the kicker.

Another assignment sent him to Thailand, where he fought in several muay Thai matches, and to the Philippines. "I met a guy in a tattoo shop, and he said karate weapons fighting was inferior to the Philippine arts," Larsen remembers. "So I tried it, and he tore me up."

Although he was a good puncher back then, he wasn't a great one. "I entered a boxing smoker and lost," he says. "When it was over, I said to myself, 'I've got to learn that,' so I studied boxing the rest of the time I was in the Marines."

That willingness to augment his arsenal with new skills, coupled with an I-don't-give-a-damn attitude about losing, put Larsen on the path to becoming a well-rounded martial artist with a nose for what works and what doesn't.

Career Change
After four and a half years in the Corps, Larsen enjoyed civilian life for all of three days, then enlisted in the Army. "I went straight in the 1st Ranger Battalion and stayed for six years," he says. "Near the base in Savannah, Georgia, training was weak. There was a guy who taught taekwondo and aikido, and there was one who taught ninjutsu, and I studied with them. When I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, I trained with Bud Toline, who taught yudo, hwa rang do and hapki yusul."

Larsen's multi-art experience, which also encompassed kickboxing and judo, would soon serve him well because by the early 1990s, the mixed martial arts had exploded on the scene. "When I transferred to the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the battalion commander was Stanley McChrystal, who went on to become the commanding general in Afghanistan, and he'd given an order to reinvigorate the hand-to-hand combat program," Larsen says. "They were doing ninjutsu before I showed up, which meant I fit in because I'd done some of that."

Larsen was tasked — this time officially — with figuring out what worked and what didn't. "Because I was the most experienced martial artist around, it wasn't long before I was the combatives honcho in the battalion," he says. "We had Rorion and Royce Gracie come up, and we realized what we had to do. Brazilian jiu-jitsu wasn't a perfect fit because it's oriented toward competition. Nobody there will poke your eye out or punch you in the testicles. Our relationship to Brazilian jiu-jitsu is similar to Brazilian jiu-jitsu's relationship to what Esai Maeda taught the Gracies. We learned a lot from it, but we saw how it didn't quite fit what we did, so we added elements from other arts."

Larsen molded that mixture until it fit the Army culture, and it proved to be a hit at Fort Lewis. "Two years later, Gen. McChrystal took over the Ranger Regiment and brought me down to Fort Benning to honcho the training for the entire regiment, which is about 2,500 to 3,000 guys." The fledgling fighting system had left the nest.

A Wider Audience
Larsen was transferred to Ranger School, which is run by the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, to rewrite the field manual on combatives. "They wanted to change the Army's doctrine to what we were doing," he says.

From the get-go, he knew his limitations. "The limited amount of time soldiers can devote to formal training means you won't get very far trying to have them perfect a catalog of techniques," he says. "Instead, MACP uses its basic techniques as a tool to teach a set of principles and training methods. These are reinforced as more advanced techniques are taught in a series of short courses that, over the soldier's career, act as a guided path of self-discovery."

MACP works because it never dictates how to reach a specific goal. "Instead, we teach soldiers to figure out how to accomplish the goal," Larsen says. "A truck driver delivering food supplies and an airborne Ranger kicking in doors searching for bad guys have very different hand-to-hand combat needs, but that doesn't change the nature of how to train. Our program is intentionally about training methods and principles. Then, a soldier, whatever his mission may be, can still learn to fight."

The instruction begins with basics that are similar to what civilian martial artists study: how to punch, kick and knee-strike; how to fight in the clinch; how to integrate takedowns; and how to grapple on the ground. "You must have the techniques to implement the strategies the situation demands," he says. "Those techniques span the spectrum of combat, from bashing in somebody's head with your helmet to making sure you don't hurt an opponent who isn't your enemy."

Including techniques and strategies from across that spectrum meant Larsen had to analyze the world's fighting arts. "While developing the program, we would put two people on their feet and say, 'You can only go for a takedown,' and it looked exactly like two wrestlers. Then we would say, 'Now you can knee each other.' The first thing that happened was they stood up to defend against knees. So we'd say: 'Let's evaluate the way you train for takedowns in wrestling. Is it good? Sure. What's wrong with it? Well, it gives you bad fighting posture.' We looked at every training method like that."

MACP trainers use the same drills to convey that message to soldiers — following the philosophy that showing is better than telling and doing is better than hearing.

Inevitable Complications
Life would be a lot simpler if, whenever a belligerent invaded your space, you could just punch him in the face and be done with it. Alas, neither military nor civilian life is like that. "Hand-to-hand combat training has to address a variety of situations," Larsen says. "It might be a guy who wants to kill you, or it might be a person who just doesn't want to do what you want him to do. It might be a person with Stockholm Syndrome you're there to save, in which case you don't even want to hurt them. You have to do the appropriate thing, whatever it happens to be."

In a martial arts school, a sensei is free to reject students who are deemed unsuitable for learning deadly skills — which makes teaching them to do the appropriate thing a bit easier — but military recruiters aren't quite so selective. "When trainers get someone off the street, they have no idea what their values are or what their parents are like," Larsen says. "We have to turn them into the sort of warrior our republic can be proud of, and MACP is a big part of that."

For more information about Matt Larsen and MACP, visit moderncombatives.org.

About the Author:
Robert W. Young is the executive editor of Black Belt.

Permalink: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/traditional-martial-arts-training/aikido/matt-larsen-teaching-the-u-s-army-how-to-fight/

History of Judo

2011-11-17T20:05:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

History of Judo Video for the Judo Exhibit in the Olympic Museum Lausanne.

This is Judo

2011-11-17T20:03:00.000+11:00

Ameri-Do-Te

2011-11-15T13:39:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Learn the most street lethal fighting art known to man: Ameri-Do-Te!!!

Ameri-Do-Te combines the strengths of all martial arts with none of the weaknesses. That's why at Ameri-Do-Te we like to say: Best of All, Worst of None.

Come in for a free introductory class.

Promo video created by Riffraff New Media.
Directed by Matt Page and Adam Rottler
Produced by Aynn Kirby
Production Design by Kelly Savage
Camera by Adam Rottler

Capoeira: The Dance Art of Martial Arts – - Black Belt

2011-11-15T03:53:00.001+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-entertainment/martial-arts-multimedia/capoeira-the-dance-art-of-martial-arts/?utm_source=Editorial-Newsletter&utm_medium=11.14.2011-Capoeira%3A%2BFierce%2BMartial%2BArt%2Bor%2BJust%2Ba%2BWeird%2BDance%3F&utm_campaign=Capoeira

Capoeira: The Dance Art of Martial Arts

by Master Vicente Ferreira Pastinha – Today

Some 400 years ago in Angola, on the west coast of Africa, a form of combat practiced by the natives was beginning to take shape in what we would today call a martial art. Four centuries later, capoeira is practiced in that South American nation known as Brazil. It no longer uses savage self-defense techniques that originated in Africa, however. And thereby hangs a tale.

In the days of the great plantations, the owners took a dim view of the capability for mayhem that the natives possessed. Practitioners of capoeira suffered great persecution at the hands of the owner-dominated police. In order to avoid this persecution, the capoeristas began to camouflage their "sport" by turning it into a weird dance, consisting of pantomime, music and dances. Capoeira ceased to be a matter of violence and death and became an amusement. It became the custom to remark that "the natives are playing Angola style." Even the plantation foremen would applaud the "performances" as the "players" would jump, weave, gambol, trip and kick their opponents, then avoid retaliation by slithering on the ground like serpents.

So in spite of early difficulties, capoeira caught on. Legendary names appeared: invincible fighters, men with flesh impenetrable by knife or bullet, men under contract with the devil, men with charms against the most powerful of enemies, men who could liberate themselves from any kind of a trap.

Capoeira's Musical Instruments

The berimbau (a kind of Jew's harp) can be divided into two types: The berimbau de boca and the berimbau de barriga. The berimbau de boca was said that it came originally from Angola. This, however, is contested by some students of the subject. It consists of a bow that tightens a cord of "timbo" (a kind of vine). The resonating chamber is the mouth of the player. The cord is made to vibrate by striking it with a knife. The berimbau de barriga is the most usual type used. It is formed by a piece of wood called "the pigeon," which maintains tension in a steel wire. The resonator is a small gourd attached to the wire by a string. The wire produces a sound that is modulated by a copper coin, while the mouth of the gourd is placed at varying distances from the abdomen of the player.

The berimbau has many quivering vibrations that are marvelously adapted to the reproduction in sound of the swaying of hips and the feline jumping of the capoeiristas. Independently of this, it lends a melancholy note to the singing of "Lundus," which accompany the movements of the game of capoeira. According to Oneyda Alvarenga, the music of the berimbau is a "force activating the energies of two combatants, and in such manner, the music ties itself to the game so that the latter is entirely dependent on it and is regulated by it." So the ardor of the battle grows in accordance with the crescendo or rallentando of the music.

The other instrument that accompanied the evolution of the capoeira is the caxixi. It consists of a round bamboo basket with dried seeds inside. The orifice is covered with dried gourd skin. It acts as an accompaniment to the berimbau. Each time the wire resounds, it is accompanied by the rattle of the dried seeds.

The third instrument that frequently accompanies the game of capoeira is the reco-reco. It is a large segment of bamboo, in which have been made innumerable lateral incisions for the escape of the air, which is caused to vibrate by a piece of cane that is scraped across the incisions in the side of the bamboo, thus producing the characteristic sounds.

Finally, we must consider the pandeiro. It is a regional instrument, used not only to accompany the capoeira but also to mark the shaking rhythm of the sambas. Its shape is well-known: the circle of quince wood, the goatskin top and the jingles of Flemish tin. Certain societies of capoeira use agogó.

Capoeira Combat Songs

The berimbau is used by the accompanists of the capoeira to produce definite and resolute tunes that modulate the rhythms of the game. The most important are the following:

.Sao Bento Grande — the light game
.Sao Bento Pequeno — samba of the capoeira
.Banqnela — the knife game
.Santa Maria — the measured game
.Ave Maria — the capoeira hymn
.Amazonas — the middle game
.Iuna — the creeping game
.Cavalaria — a signal denouncing the proximity of strangers
.Angolinha Samba de Angola

In view of what we tell, it is easy to understand the character of the capoeira game.

At the sound of the music of Sao Bento Pequeno, the combat is transfigured into the clashing of the samba. The good masters of capoeira, in order to give a demonstration of singular ability in this game, after blows and counterblows, much whirling in the space left by the tangle of arms and legs, end the battle without showing a single spot or stain on their Sunday clothes. The old masters, such as I, are capable of similar feats. At my age, 74, I also perform with my pupils. I would like to give exhibitions in any part of the world.

As a Brazilian, I am proud of this friendly country, which may wish to give me an opportunity to exhibit myself and my pupils there, in order to show our American brothers the possibilities of using capoeira techniques against an enemy, an adversary or several adversaries, without the necessity of using firearms or knives. On the contrary, the capoeirista, meeting his adversary armed with a weapon, has the possibility by means of the lightness and quickness of capoeira, to disarm his opponent by taking his weapon from him or to vanquish him by tripping and throwing the armed adversary to the ground. Even though the capoeirista may be physically inferior to his opponent, a good capoeirista has no fear of him, be he of superior physique, a younger man, or armed tooth and nail.

In case it may not be possible for me to demonstrate capoeira in America, I shall be proud if your people may have an opportunity to come to Salvador-Bahia in Brazil to know intimately this game, this personal defense, which is the capoeira, substituting well for any weapon, physical force or age.

Permalink: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-entertainment/martial-arts-multimedia/capoeira-the-dance-art-of-martial-arts/

Story of Principle by Erik Oliva (Lin Ai Wei)

2011-11-12T05:21:00.001+11:00

November 8, 2011
Story of Principle by Erik Oliva (Lin Ai Wei)

I will not have my life path compromised, and I will not have the stability of my future with my family be compromised by people and their egos.

Back in 1999, February, I began my Wing Chun studies under my Sifu.

After 3 months of training with him, I left the school for approximately 9 months, then resumed my training with him.

I trained consistently, and late in the year of 2002, found that my Wing Chun Brother and I were the only one's left in the school. I wrote a proposal to my Sifu regarding him allowing me to run the school, to turn it into a cultivation center, cultural center and martial arts school.

After Sifu looked over the proposal, he passed it to his disciple (a Sifu under my Sifu), whom agreed to allowing me run the school, and teach. I did. Upon my teaching at Sifu's Wing Chun Training Center, I ran a clinic of Chinese Medicine there, and also was permitted to teach outside his school at public schools and various gyms, as well as my own home and neighborhood park.

Student intake increased greatly, and I was handling all the tuition from the school, paying the rent. When a settlement from a previous car accident came in, I took whatever money I had left, and purchased new floors for the school. We had a lot of students, and I was the one leading the classes.

In 2004, I had to move to China, but that summer Sifu Alan Goldberg told me that when he retires in 8 years, he will hand me the school, and I will fully take over. I advised him to give it to his son, but he felt it would be too soon for his son to take over. I didn't accept it, and told him that all of his things for the training center were not mine, and should go to his son and son only. That I would only be taking care of his things until his son was ready to open his own school, then I will hand over all the things I was watching over.

That year, 2004, July, I received discipleship under my Sifu for Wing Chun, and given permission to open a branch of our Wing Chun in China. I did. The school was called Jing Xin Yuan. I began teaching in China the first month I arrived, and continued teaching for the 4 years I lived there. In 2006, my school was fully accepting international students. I rented my own place and paid my own rent. It was my school, and I called it Jing Xin Yuan: Lay Buddhist Cultivation and Wing Chun.

Sifu never once disagreed to me teaching up to that point. Upon my return to NY, I was to re-open Jing Xin Yuan, but this time much bigger, and full of Cultivation methods of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. That was the reason for my return to NY. When I returned, I visited Sifu training center. There was only 2 students remaining. The training center needed lots of repairs, and no one was willing to do it.

I began the project. I tried to get ideas from him and his son as to what needs to be fixed, and how much are they willing to put in to fix Sifu's school. No one pulled out a dime.

I suggested they open their own school somewhere else, better and in a more pleasant neighborhood. They said it was too expensive. I was trying to open my own cultivation school at the time and did not find a suitable place my self.

Finally, I stopped asking them to re-open their training center. I later in the year 2008, found a good piece of commercial property and decided to fulfill the reason why I came back to NY, to open a cultivation center: Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism and Martial Arts, basically a Chinese Cultural Center.

I told Sifu on his birthday, "surprise, I have found a good place to open my cultivation center. Since you already gave me permission to teach Wing Chun, and to teach in China, it would only be right that I ask you for your permission to teach it in Brooklyn, being that your school is only 30 minutes away by car. He agreed, happily and proclaimed that I need an alter with General Guan and his two sworn brothers on it.

I was shocked, and glad to have his support. Later that year I needed a loan to open the school because towards the end of the year I ran into financial difficulty. He lent me $2000 dollars, and I proclaimed to pay him back. I put in my last $500.

I rented the new school. It was called Jing Xin Yuan Cultivation school, and was meant to evolve into a full out Chinese cultural center. I began paying back Sifu for his loan, each time handing him money, him saying don't worry, it's a donation back to the school. I still pushed him to take it, but he said no. I accepted the money as a donation. Each time I paid him back, sometimes he took the check, sometimes he took lthe cash, other times he gave it back as a donation.

Then I needed to make t-shirts, but he decided he wanted his name on the t-shirts, not my school's name, and his picture on it, with me. I refused, and that caused a several month conflict. Then supposedly my Wing Chun brothers were getting angry that in my bio at that time, on the internet, I had written that I was a master of qigong, practicing since 8yrs old, having treated very serious illnesses. The problem was that at the very end of the bio I stated that I also teach Wing Chun. The brothers became angry and complained that I was saying I was a master of Wing Chun and that people will assume I meant I was a master.

I personally meant no such thing. It was quite clear I was referring to Qigong, in the aspect of hands on healing which I have been doing since 13yrs and began learning at 8 years old. This was a problem before it even reached my ears, and when it did, it was already very big. I refused to go along with changing the t-shirts to have my Sifu's face on it, along with his name, and my face on it. I simply wanted the t-shirt to read "Jing Xin Yuan: Wing Chun, Chinese Medicine and Taiji Quan" and add the phone number, or address on it.

This didn't get done for about 6 months because Sifu and my gong fu brothers decided that I was over stepping my boundaries and should let Sifu run the school. I said no, and I will not have Wing Chun here if people will be trying to take over my school.

From the beginning, I stated to Sifu that Jing Xin Yuan is my school. He is my student's Sigong (Grandfather in their Wing Chun lineage), and he is more than welcome to come and offer his ideas and teachings on Wing Chun to help them get along in their training, as a Sigong should do; Help his grand students from time to time. But Sifu decided it wasn't good enough and put all his plaques all over the school. I eventually took them down because it began to look like someone else's school.

Every year there were problems as to why this is not the head quarters of Sifu's Wing Chun. Obviously it wasn't because from the very beginning I stated to Sifu that I am not going to go into business with him. That Jing Xin Yuan is not his old school, it is my school, center, the reason I came back to NY.

Every year he tried with problems, if not to me directly, to my gong fu brothers and then have them call me and complain that Sifu wants such and such done. I said, "Sorry, its not his school, I pay the bills, I left a financially stable life in China to open a school in NY, I am the one who doesn't eat full meals every single day in order to pay my bills for the school, rent included. And besides, this isn't his school. I will do things as I see fit for Jing Xin Yuan regardless because I know how to run Jing Xin Yuan."

Well, its obvious he didn't like that, but he never told me anything directly. How am I supposed to know what he is thinking if he doesn't come directly to me, a student of his, half his age, and tell me what's on his mind.? I can feel what's on his mind. I know he wanted the school. And now his actions prove it.

I recently went back to China after 3 years. I needed a vacation from a very crazy relationship with a significant other, as well as my own Sifu. I left Jing Xin Yuan to my 4 disciples, which became disciples on July 25th, with Sifu's blessings. Not to mention since 2003, Sifu has been introducing me to people at tournaments and friends as a "Sifu".

So this time I head back to China, and 3 of my 4 disciples face terrible problems, they couldn't watch over the school. I can't blame them, I personally understand how tough life altering problems can be like.

My rent for Jing Xin Yuan couldn't get paid, the electricity was ready to be turned off. My students stopped coming because I wasn't there. Some of their reasons were they didn't like the atmosphere when I was gone, they didn't feel comfortable around their Sigong and personally do not know and are not used to their gong fu uncle. The students decided to leave and wait till I returned in order to resume their training.

I returned. My students returned as well…a good portion of them. I saw that the influence of my Sifu really upset my students. My Sifu decides to scold me and tell me I was wrong for going to China for so long, every thing became a mess. I thought to myself, really? You have been doing this for how long now, and you couldn't figure out a way to help your student take care of his school? OR, maybe you wanted every thing to break down so you can come out as being a savior.

Well, I saw these problems, and conflicts. Sifu said Jing Xin Yuan wasn't a Chinese Cultural Center, it was a Wing Chun school. I repeatedly told him it is a cultural center whether he likes it or not, because that is what my work was to evolve to. Wing Chun may have been paying the bills, but it was not the heart of Jing Xin Yuan. Principle was the heart of Jing Xin Yuan.

Now, I again reminded Sifu that Jing Xin Yuan was never intended to be a head quarters for his Wing Chun school, nor was it to be any one else's school but my own and he is more than welcome to be here, as he has been, to see his grand students grow, and see his disciple become successful at his dream since childhood, to have a cultivation center.

Then I reminded him that I had faced very evil situations and had life threatening situations come to me, and I got passed them. BUT now I don't trust any one, and if someone wants my trust, they have to prove that they are someone I can indeed trust. I stated at that time in conversation, whoever wants my trust must show me that my suspicions are wrong. So, Sifu, if you are not what I think and feel you are, if you are not evil, and are not trying to take my school, then give me time to see that, and forgive my suspicions, but I come now from a place of being hurt repeatedly from very close people, and even almost lost my life because of it. Gladly someone else helped me out of it, so I will not waste my life on petty assumptions; I want to know where the truth is.

He didn't say anything. Previous to that conversation, he stated our Wing Chun is a family Wing Chun. I state, it may be so, but that doesn't mean a Sifu tries to take control of his student's school.

Later on I receive phone calls and people telling me that my Sifu has told them that Jing Xin Yuan is his school and that he is allowing me to play around. He has also stated that "Your Sifu thinks he is Chinese, look at him." Also I received phone calls from people telling me he talks behind my back, and says bad things about me. I don't know what kind of bad things, but what these people tell me is simply, "What your Sifu says you are, you are not. I see it, and have been observing you, and you are nothing of what he says."

So now, I have to return to China to work on a big project, as well as to stabilize my personal life. I have to leave my school again, but who do I leave it to? I can't leave it to anyone because they will just break it, and ruin the good name Jing Xin Yuan has made in the community.

So, I closed my own school instead of having people destroy its character, virtue, principle and name. I told Sifu I am closing Jing Xin Yuan. If you want, you can rent the space from the landlord, I will talk to him and see if it can be an easy transfer.

Sifu, agreed. I could have simply told him I am leaving, and good luck getting in touch with my landlord, but I didn't. I gave him a choice to rent the premises so he can have his Wing Chun Training Center, not the Jing Xin Yuan I established in January of 2009 here in Brooklyn NY as a D.B.A.

Now I closed my JXY. I meet with Sifu at the landlord's office, and Sifu is very pleasant. Yet later on I hear that now he refuses to let me teach Wing Chun? That I was never a "Sifu" under him, and that for the discipleship ceremony I hosted for my students to be under me in Wing Chun, he was only there as a "welcoming into the family"?

Interesting indeed. Now I hear he will try all of his power in the Martial Arts world to destroy my name and not allow me to teach Wing Chun? Wing Chun is China's, not anyone else's. No one owns Wing Chun, except the origin of it …China.

Destroy my name? I have a name in the Martial Arts world? I never knew. I have a name in my community for doing community services, but I never wanted any name in the martial arts world. That is why I made a Cultural Center. To be known for Culture, and Education, not to be known for martial arts.

So, that is where we are at. He doesn't call me to talk to me about his ideas or feelings. And now with such a threat as to "destroy my name"…what to do?

I never hurt this man, never disrespected him, and never did anything to make his life uncomfortable. Yet, when I begin to succeed with my goals, and make a stable life for my self, he begins to try to break things down behind my back…like I am not going to hear about it.

Sifu has done this before to his disciple at another time, and a different person, yet it was against that person's character, and principle. I am not that person, and this path of Chinese Culture and Martial Arts culture is what I have been working on since a child. I will continue to do so regardless of who stands in front of me.

Because I hear these things behind my back, I write this letter. Obviously I can not get a clear and stable story from Sifu. I figure if there was a problem with me, call me, but he doesn't. After hearing my own students tell me things, and phone calls, friends telling me things that he has said, I totally will take the route of publishing my problem on line.

I will not have my life path compromised, and I will not have the stability of my future with my family be compromised by people and their egos. I have been with my Sifu for 13yrs. I rather not be associated to this lineage any longer. From this day on, I will not promote this lineage of Wing Chun. I, from now on teach Fo Shan Wing Chun. If people want to know where I learned my Wing Chun, just give me a call. I have the documentation to prove it, and discipleship video

--
净心园
Jing Xin Yuan
www.jingxinyuan.net
718-837-3742

The Way Of The Warrior - Martial Arts and Fighting Skills From Around the World by Chris Crudelli

2011-11-11T02:50:00.000+11:00

20111027- Chi Sau @ MacQuarie Centre, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

2011-11-11T01:52:00.000+11:00

20111027- Chi Sau @ MacQuarie Centre, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

Freestyle Chi Sau between my buddies James G (Blue) and Albert K (white). Heavy body power chi sau-ing. Great night training session at James' office lot.

Joe Frazier, the Former Heavyweight Champion, Has Died

2011-11-08T17:30:00.001+11:00

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Monday, November 7, 2011 -- 11:30 PM EST
-----

Joe Frazier, the Former Heavyweight Champion, Has Died

Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion whose furious and intensely personal fights with a taunting Muhammad Ali endure as an epic rivalry in boxing history, died Monday night. He was 67.

His business representative, Leslie Wolff, told The Associated Press in early November that Frazier had liver cancer and that he had entered hospice care.

Known as Smokin' Joe, Frazier stalked his opponents around the ring with a crouching, relentless attack — his head low and bobbing, his broad, powerful shoulders hunched — as he bore down on them with an onslaught of withering jabs and crushing body blows, setting them up for his devastating left hook.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/sports/joe-frazier-ex-heavyweight-champ-dies-at-67.html?emc=na

Yip Man: Wing Chun Legend and Bruce Lee’s Formal Teacher – - Black Belt

2011-11-05T03:21:00.001+11:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-masters/bruce-lee/yip-man-wing-chun-legend-and-bruce-lees-formal-teacher/?utm_source=Editorial-Newsletter&utm_medium=11.4.2011-Yip%2BMan%3A%2BWing%2BChun%2BLegend%2Band%2BBruce%2BLee/'s%2BFormal%2BTeacher&utm_campaign=Bruce%2BLee-Yip%2BMan

Yip Man: Wing Chun Legend and Bruce Lee's Formal Teacher
Posted By Atina Hartunian On November 3, 2011 @ 11:48 pm In Bruce Lee,Chinese Martial Arts,Chinese Martial Arts History,Kung Fu,William Cheung,Wing Chun | Comments Disabled

Bak mei (white eyebrow) kung fu [1]master Leung Sheung proudly demonstrated another self-defense technique to his class: side kick, grab, punch. Leung executed the movements with as much fluency and precision as would be expected from any 20-year veteran of the fighting arts. The students then imitated the perfection of his form. In the back of the room, the old man quickly turned his head away and bit down on his tongue, swallowing his laughter.

Side kick! Grab! Punch! The old man leaned against the wall for support. Now his body shuddered as he struggled to conceal his amusement. Suddenly his efforts failed, and his silent chuckles grew into loud roars of laughter.

Leung stopped his class, his face red with anger. "Hey, old man!" he snapped. "What are you laughing at?"
"Oh, nothing," he replied. "Please continue. I'll try not to disturb you further."

Leung took a deep breath and paced across the room. He was still furious. "Look, old man, a few months ago we found you living out of garbage cans in Macao," he said. "We brought you here to the Union Hall. We gave you a place to sleep and food to eat. The least you could do is show a little respect when I'm teaching."

The old man perked up an ear. Had he heard the man say "respect"?

"Then the least you could do is show a little respect for the art that you teach," the old man growled back. "All you do is have your students punch air." He quickly moved through Leung's technique: side kick, grab, punch. "But the air doesn't hit back. What happens when you face an enemy who will?"

The old man shook his head. "If you are going to practice kung fu," he said, "you should do so seriously — or not at all!"

"Look, old man," bellowed master Leung, "if you think you know something, why don't you come up here and teach me?"

With this challenge from Leung on that day in 1952, Yip Man officially opened the doors on his 20-year career as a martial arts instructor and patriarch of wing chun. Standing only 5 feet tall and weighing 120 pounds, Yip Man proceeded to throw the 6-foot, 200-pound bak mei master around the room with almost no effort. No matter how Leung attacked, he always found himself carefully deposited on the floor. When all was said and done, Leung had surrendered his kung fu class at the Restaurant Workers' Union Hall to Yip Man and had become Yip Man's first disciple.

The Master's Past

Yip Man did not happily accept his new role in life. Before World War II, he had been a member of a wealthy merchant family in the southern Chinese town of Fatshan, in Kwangtung province. He had owned a large manor house, a prosperous business and a farm, and he had enjoyed a life of relative ease with his wife and family.

Between 1937 and 1941, Yip Man served in the army during China's valiant effort to repel the Japanese invasion. He returned to his family in Fatshan during the years of the Japanese occupation. Times were hard. His farm was ruined, and his wife became ill.

The end of the war brought little improvement. China needed to rebuild its ravaged cities and towns but found itself embroiled in civil war instead. The Nationalist Chinese government recruited Yip Man to the post of captain of the police patrols for Namhoi County. Although the government appointment helped the living conditions of the Yip Man homestead, it did not come in time to prevent the death of Yip Man's wife from extended illness.

After the Communist triumph in 1949, Yip Man left his two grown sons in Fatshan and fled to Hong Kong. If he had remained, his position as police captain would have meant almost certain death at the hands of the Communists. Thus, at the age of 51, Yip Man was forced to start an entirely new life from scratch.

"When the Communists took over, he lost all his major tangible assets," explains William Cheung [2], one of Yip Man's most senior disciples. "But he still had whatever he could carry: money, gold bars, etc. But Fatshan was a very small town compared with Hong Kong and Macao. There were a lot of shrewd operators in the city. So he immediately lost some of his money through people cheating him.

"Then the heartbreak of losing his home and his wife and being separated from his family caught up with him. He became disillusioned and perhaps began to pity himself. Soon, the Chinese nobleman found himself destitute.

"Then Leung Sheung and a chap called Cheng Kao found him wandering around at the pier of Macao. He seemed to be homeless. They didn't know that he was a martial artist. They were just being kind. They would have helped anyone they could. So they took him back to the premises of the Restaurant Workers' Union Hall. They let him stay there. When Yip Man started teaching at the Restaurant Union, he first taught Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu and Cheng Kao. Then there were a few others, like Tsui Sung Ting. Of course, Leung Sheung, being a kung fu master already before he studied wing chun, progressed much faster than the rest.

"A few months later the rest of us turned up."

Yip Man quickly proved to be a most unusual instructor. For example, Cheung recalls that during the seven years he spent with his teacher, he never once saw Yip Man actually teach a wing chun class. Yip Man was usually present in the back of the room, supervising the assistant instructors and correcting his favorite students, but the actual tasks of instruction were left to Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Tsui Sung Ting, Wong Shun Leung and William Cheung.

"He never taught classes himself," Cheung says. "Well, only in some situations … with the big clients, the ones who could pay very heavily for a private session. At those times, he would often take me along. Then, suppose he was going to teach a wooden-dummy technique, he would show the technique once. After that, I would help the person." Yip Man's regular classes generally consisted of forms practice, chi sao (trapping hands) drills, wooden-dummy techniques and free sparring. There was no set pattern to the sessions. Each assistant instructor was allowed to exercise some personal discretion.

At rare times, the grandmaster might touch hands with one of his favorite students in chi sao practice. But those occasions would last only for a few seconds at a time. Yip Man feared that by doing chi sao with a junior, his own technique would deteriorate. He would have to slow down to create openings for him.

Yip Man had a soft-spoken style that taught more by example and suggestion than by the spoken word. He urged his students not to bully people or to act in a rude or arrogant manner. And he tried to keep them from fighting in the street gangs of Hong Kong, though he did encourage organized competition.

Bruce Lee's Memories

In Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew (Warner Books, 1975), Linda Lee quotes from an essay written by her husband for freshman English in 1961. The essay clearly illustrates the subtle tactics Yip Man would use to influence his students:

"After four years of hard training in the art of gung fu (kung fu), I began to understand and felt the principle of gentleness — the art of neutralizing the effect of the opponent's effort and minimizing expenditure of one's energy. All this must be done in calmness and without striving. It sounded simple, but in actual application it was difficult. The moment I engaged in combat with an opponent, my mind was completely perturbed and unstable. Especially after a series of exchanging blows and kicks, all my theory of gentleness was gone. My only thought left was somehow or another I must beat him and win.

"My instructor, Professor Yip Man, head of the wing chun school, would come up to me and say: 'Relax and calm your mind. Forget about yourself and follow your opponent's movement. Let your mind, the basic reality, do the countermovement without any interfering deliberation. Above all, learn the art of detachment.'

"That was it! I must relax. However, right here I had already done something contradictory, against my will. When I said I must relax, the demand for effort in 'must' was already inconsistent with the effortlessness in 'relax.' When my acute self-consciousness grew to what the psychologists call the 'double-blind' type, my instructor would again approach me and say: 'Preserve yourself by following the natural bends of things and don't interfere. Remember never to assert yourself against nature; never be in frontal opposition to any problem, but control it by swinging with it. Don't practice this week. Go home and think about it.'

"The following week I stayed home. After spending many hours in meditation and practice, I gave up and went sailing alone in a junk. On the sea I thought of all my past training and got mad at myself and punched at the water. Right then at that moment, a thought suddenly struck me: Wasn't this water, the very basic stuff, the essence of gung fu? Didn't the common water illustrate to me the principle of gung fu? I struck it just now, but it did not suffer hurt. Again I stabbed it with all my might, yet it was not wounded. I then tried to grasp a handful of it but it was impossible. This water, the softest substance in the world, could fit itself into any container. Although it seemed weak, it could penetrate the hardest substance in the world. That was it! I wanted to be like the nature of water."

Although Lee added a bit of his own genius to the events he related in this essay, it does indicate the intellectual as well as technical heights to which Yip Man inspired his students. But at the same time, the wing chun grandmaster also had a playful streak. He loved Lee's practical jokes — which was probably tough to do when he would show up for class with itching powder, handshake vibrators and water-squirting cameras.

"Yip Man had a very good sense of humor," Cheung says. "He liked to give his students nicknames, and he would take a long time to dream them up. Like Wong Shun Leung was called 'Wong Ching Leung,' which means that he's like a bull. I was called 'Big Husky Boy.' And Bruce was nicknamed 'Upstart.'"

Two years after Yip Man began teaching at the Restaurant Workers' Union Hall, he was asked to leave. His classes had grown so large and included so many nonunion members that the hall had actually become a kung fu school. So Yip Man and his followers opened the first commercial wing chun school on Lei Dat Street in the Yaumatei District of Kowloon.

Although Yip Man was now a self-supporting member of society with a successful business, his life was still not a happy one.

"He remarried in 1954," Cheung says. "He was about 56, and she was about 40. He met her in a restaurant, I think. Anyway, some people thought she didn't have a very clean past. All his students sort of looked down at her, and this made Yip Man very upset.

"People do not realize that life changes. It moves in cycles. Sometimes it progresses, sometimes it transcends. So there are times that you have to forget about the past. The students were very narrow-minded. They just didn't show any respect for their master. They even used to address him as 'old man' sometimes in a very disrespectful way.

"This was one of the reasons Yip Man never taught a class personally. And I don't think he was doing the wrong thing by not teaching. Only after the fame of Bruce Lee did they realize that the master was so great and that the style was so great because they saw that it could produce practitioners like Bruce."

According to Cheung, Yip Man's difficulties with his students were further aggravated by his continued drug use. Sometimes the school rent would go unpaid. By 1956 Yip Man had been evicted from his first school in Yaumatei.

The wing chun clan then moved to an apartment in a government-supported housing project, where Yip Man lived and taught. His students formed a committee that collected the school tuition, paid the rent and left Yip Man with a living allowance.

Cheung recalls that during this period, his master would sometimes have to fight for survival — literally. "At the time we moved to the government house, there was a restriction on water," he says.

"They only turned on the water once every four days for four hours, so you had to collect buckets of water to store until the next four days were over.

"Usually I did all the chores and organization around the apartment, but that morning, I was at the market and my master wanted to get some water. Now all the tenants had to get their water from the same government tap.

"The local gangsters got a hold of this tap and charged everybody 50 cents a bucket.

"Well, because it was so early in the morning, Yip Man didn't have the humor to argue with these characters, so he challenged them.

"I had just gotten back to the apartment when I heard the commotion. I could see what was happening and I started running toward it. Yip Man was fighting at least six or seven. The thugs all had poles for carrying buckets. They probably used them to threaten people. Yip Man took away one of their poles, then he flattened them all within seconds. When I got there, they were all dragging their poles, holding their heads and running away.

"From then on, every morning — not just every four days, but every morning — two buckets of water were delivered to the apartment."

As the years passed, Yip Man's reputation as an instructor grew, and he was eventually able to afford better accommodations. In fact, by 1964 he was able to bring his two sons and their families out of mainland China. Three years later, due in part to the prosperity brought to him through Bruce Lee's The Green Hornet fame, Yip Man made his final move to a large, well-equipped gymnasium.

Today, Yip Man's martial arts legacy has been encased in mystery. Many wing chun instructors claim to be his direct disciple or the personal inheritor of some secret set of wing chun techniques. However, as Cheung confirms, "Probably fewer than six people in the whole wing chun clan were personally taught, or even partly taught, by Yip Man. Yip Man had to teach the first two so that the first two could teach the next six."

"But Yip Man was so intelligent in the martial arts that he could not stand a slow student," Cheung says. "He was very impatient with slow students. So he could not stand to teach more than a few. Also, he belonged to the old tradition, influenced by the Boxer Rebellion, which believed that the martial arts should not be passed on to Westerners. He even believed that wing chun should be just a household art.

"Yip Man was a well-educated man who never wanted to teach kung fu. His best loves were watching soccer and attending the Chinese opera. His strongest hatred was for ignorance. That's why he did not like many martial artists. He was a man of perfection. He believed that there's no halfway to doing anything.

"That's why a lot of people did not understand him."

In May 1970, Yip Man permanently closed the doors on his career as a martial arts instructor. He died from throat cancer on December 2, 1972. He was 79.

Article printed from Black Belt: http://www.blackbeltmag.com

URL to article: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-masters/bruce-lee/yip-man-wing-chun-legend-and-bruce-lees-formal-teacher/

URLs in this post:

[1] kung fu : http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/kung-fu/
[2] William Cheung: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/category/william-cheung/

'tai yu qi gong' from wu dang - a kung fu master's amazing exercise

2011-11-01T21:27:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

The Empty Mind - Wudang Mountain Tai Chi

2011-11-01T21:20:00.000+11:00

A clip of our journey to the peaks of Wudang Mountain in China and to the Purple Cloud temple. It is 6.30am and Priest Yuen is starting his day with TaiChi while his students assemble for morning exercise. We removed voiceovers and narrative, so you can sit back and enjoy the really nice soundtrack. Jon Braeley producer of EmptyMind Films.

Pencat Silat competition on 2011Sep20 @ Berjaya Times Square, KL.

2011-10-28T21:42:00.001+11:00

Pencat Silat competition on 2011Sep20 @ Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Guardian Angels to keep you safe

2011-10-21T03:12:00.000+11:00

ECGMA says: I had the honor of meeting Ms Pei Yin NG, twice. The 1st time was about 2 weeks ago on a Saturday at a Martial Arts Masters gathering and demonstrations.
The 2nd time was last night when she held a Guardian Angels local meeting. Due to bad weather, heavy rain, and terrible traffic jams, less than a handful came but our meeting turned out to be fruitful. Read about her life-threatening experience and her positive proactive commitment to spread self-protection awareness to the general public.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/05/15/guardian-angels-to-keep-you-safe/

Guardian Angels to keep you safe
Published on May 15th, 2011
PETALING JAYA: There is an air of confidence and purpose about Ng Pei Yin now. This is quite remarkable, considering that just three months ago, she was attacked by a parang-wielding man. Because of this incident Pei Yin has set up Guardian Angels – a communal group of people who want to live in a secure neighbourhood.

Pei Yin's ordeal happened in February when she had just arrived home late at night.

"I had just alighted from my car and was outside my front gate when a man approached me with a parang," she recalls.

"The man came out of nowhere. He said, 'Lu mau mati?' (Do you want to die?) and aimed the parang at me. I held up my hands and told him to take my car if he wanted to, but he refused and threatened to get into my car.

"Just then, a neighbour walked out and yelled a warning. Upon hearing this, the driver of the getaway car, a Proton Waja, stood up and signalled the man and another one who was going to drive me away in my car to leave. I still remember the registration plate – WQE 9963."

But it did not end there. When the neighbour's warning distracted the men, Pei Yin took a few steps back

"A few seconds after I moved back, the man lunged at me with the parang missing my stomach by millimetres. Then he raised the parang over my head, and I lifted my arms in protection, the blows landed on my wrists. After this, they fled," she added.

Her ordeal was posted on a social network site. One day, she received a message from Tune Group CFO, Lee Chung Han, who had read about her ordeal.

"We met in April and spoke at length about what happened. It was then that Chung Han proposed the Guardian Angels idea. It gave me new insight into my experience and the possibilities of using it to help others who have lived in fear because of robberies, rapes, snatch thefts and even attempted murder," she said.

And from this meeting, the Guardian Angels was born. Guardian Angels is a place for people who are concerned about the safety of their neighbourhood and for those who had gone through ordeals like Pei Yin's.

She is currently using her blog and other social media outlets to tell others who have gone through trying times that they are not alone.

"The people who have hurt me and others like them will not be pleased to hear about Guardian Angels," she smiles wryly. "But this is something I that need to do."

Moving forward

Pei Yin still lives in the same house where a large bloodstain is still visible – a grim reminder of what happened. She says that they have tried washing it off and even the heavy rains failed to wash away the evidence.

It's both a challenge and a struggle, she admits, to come home and leave the house on a daily basis.

"There are days when I feel torn – should I help others or should I protect my family? I don't live in fear anymore, but I fear for the safety of my loved ones in case someone decides that they want to finish the job they started with me three months ago or take some kind of revenge on me for helping others seek justice," she said.

"But I sleep better these days because I know in my heart what I'm doing is the right thing. I believe that we all have the ability to help others from whatever bad experiences we've had," she states with conviction.

On Guardian Angels, she says that she would like it to create a better sense of awareness and a decrease in the crime rate.

On helping others, she says: "We just have to do the right thing, what the heart tells us to do. I feel we should be aware of the kind of society we want to live in and do what it takes to get there. It's a personal responsibility and people must answer this call according to their abilities," she says.
++++++++++++++++++++
Sent from my BlackBerry®
smartphone powered by U Mobile
++++++++++++++++++++

Linda Vu's First Form of Wing Chun

2011-10-17T17:45:00.000+11:00

Linda Vu says:
I've always been fascinated with martial arts and intrigued by the concept. I'm currently attending Las Vegas Wing Chun Kung Fu School training under Sifu Bradley Temple who is a direct disciple of Master Lo Man Kam (Grandmaster Yip Man's maternal nephew). In this video, I'll be demonstrating the first form of Wing Chun.

For those who sent (or thinking of sending) me nasty emails/comments and can't accept the fact that there are different variations of Wing Chun and that only your Wing Chun is correct - I refuse to get into an ongoing debate and I don't respond to rudeness. Your comments will only get deleted. Please take it to the tournament or you're welcome to stop by my school and spar. Here's the address:

3120 South Valley View
Las Vegas, NV 89102-7719
Open Mon-Wed,Fri 7pm-9pm; Sat 9am-11am

To all the haters that asked me where I get my fake tan from & how much I paid for my fake boobs. Here's your answer: I don't have breast implants and I get my tan from swimming 9 months out of the year being outdoors. I take pride in being an all natural woman & trainer. I promote fitness and I don't apologize for the way I look or dress.

To everyone else: Thanks for the support and help! I appreciate it :)

Fight Quest - S01E10 - (Kajukenbo) - Full Episode

2011-10-17T17:18:00.000+11:00

[Steven Seagal - The Path Beyond Thought] Documentary (2001)

2011-10-16T05:39:00.000+11:00

This documentary shows footage taken from Seagal Senseis days in Japan at the Tenshin Dojo in Osaka, early days in America and some from the recent seminar in Santa Barbara. We can see him demonstrating, teaching and administering tests. It includes also many interviews of Seagal Senseis former students.

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Lyoto Machida Highlight - The Last Samurai

2011-10-16T05:32:00.000+11:00

Steven Seagal Training with Lyoto Machida‏

“Judo” Gene LeBell vs. Boxer Milo Savage: America’s First MMA Fight – - Black Belt

2011-10-15T18:58:00.000+11:00

"Judo" Gene LeBell vs. Boxer Milo Savage: America's First MMA Fight

Interview by Robert W. Young - Oct 14 2011

Decades before Royce Gracie donned his gi and choked out Ken Shamrock at the UFC 1, "Judo" Gene LeBell stepped into the ring to face boxer Milo Savage.
In this exclusive interview from our magazine, the legendary grappler reveals how the match went down and why it's so important to be a well-rounded martial artist.
—Jon Sattler

Black Belt: Would you call your match with Milo Savage America's first MMA bout?

Gene LeBell: It was the first televised MMA match. It was billed as pitting a judo, karate and wrestling guy against the No. 5 light-heavyweight boxer. I was known mostly for judo because I'd won the Nationals a few times, but I'd also done boxing, wrestling, karate, taekwondo and kenpo, mixing them together before it was popular.

Black Belt: Why were you chosen for the match?

Gene LeBell: A fellow who did kenpo karate, Ed Parker, a great teacher and a great human being, came to my school and said a guy named Jim Beck had called us "karate and judo bums" and offered $1,000 to anyone he couldn't beat. The karate guys were emotional about it, and they had a big meeting. They wanted someone to fight Beck and decided on me. I said, "Why me? I'm not known as a karate or kenpo guy." They said, "Yeah, but you're the most sadistic bastard we know." They said, "If you win, you get $1,000." I said I'd fight my grandmother for $1,000. But she'd have beaten me. …

For more interviews, techniques and training tips, subscribe to Black Belt magazine today!

Black Belt: Did anything out of the ordinary happen before the bout?
Gene LeBell: Well, they did a bait-and-switch. I thought I'd be facing Beck, an amateur fighter, but they put in Milo Savage, a great boxer with a wrestling background.

Black Belt: Did that bother you?

Gene LeBell: Not really. I'm no mental giant, so I viewed it as more of a challenge: The tougher your opponent is, the better you look if you beat him. The only thing that bothered me was what happened later — instead of boxing gloves, he wore what amounted to speed-bag gloves with metal inside.

Black Belt: The fight was held in Salt Lake City. Why not Los Angeles, where you were based?

Gene LeBell: They tried to get it in LA, but the California Athletic Commission said no because it was against the law. They said it would be categorized as a duel. We ended up in Utah.

Black Belt: What was the lead-up to the bout like?

Gene LeBell: The day before, they told me to go to the offices of a big TV network in Salt Lake City to see a guy who did a sports show. The host was obviously for the boxer, who was from Salt Lake City. During the interview, he was articulate and used every two-liner he could to put me down, but I wasn't sharp enough to say anything. Then he asked, "How are you going to win?" I said, "I'm going to strike him, freeze his body and hammer him into the ground." Of course, I was showboating. My manager told me to stop fooling around. Then I said, "I'll leave him in the ground until summer, defrost him and pull him out, then choke him out."

The host said, "Those chokes don't work … show me." I snatched him, choked him out and dropped him on his head. He dropped the mic, and I picked it up and said: "Our commentator went to sleep. I guess he's quitting. Now it's the Gene LeBell Show! Come to the arena tomorrow night and watch me annihilate, mutilate and assassinate your local hero because one martial artist can beat any 10 boxers." The place sold out — they all wanted to see me get killed.

Black Belt: You won in the fourth round, right?

Gene LeBell: Yes. When I choked him out, the ref, who was also the doctor, didn't know how to resuscitate him with katsu. After he'd been out for 20 minutes, my coach went in and revived the guy. The next morning, the newspaper headlines said, "The Savage Was Tamed."

Black Belt: Was there a big reaction in the martial arts world?

Gene LeBell: There was because — it sounds like I'm blowing my own horn, and I don't mean to — I represented all the martial arts. I never said I was doing only judo or karate or kenpo. I never said one art is better than the others. They're all good. You should learn everything. You're not a complete martial artist unless you do everything.

Black Belt: Why do you think it took so long for MMA to catch on?

Gene LeBell: Well, it was against the law in many places. Also, the karate guys didn't want to do MMA because the wrestlers would tackle them. The wrestlers didn't want to because the boxers would hit them between the horns and the karate guys might kick them.

Black Belt: If you were 30 years old now, would you be an MMA fighter?

Gene LeBell: I probably would. But if I had the brain I have now — I'm a lot smarter than I was when I was 30 — maybe not. I do stunt work, and when you're making $200,000 or $300,000 a year doing stunts and collecting residuals, why the heck should you get beat up? There's only 1 in 1,000 MMA fighters who make money. Same in boxing. A lot of fighters are broke. The only thing I have against MMA is they don't have a retirement plan. In the stunt world, I get a pretty doggone good retirement from SAG and AFTRA — and I can still work.

Black Belt: Overall, what do you think of the direction MMA is taking the martial arts?

Gene LeBell: I think it's wonderful. All my life I've pushed people to do all the martial arts. You don't have to be a fighter. Just learn the techniques and the defenses. If you don't use it, you lose it.

Permalink: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/mixed-martial-arts-training/boxing/judo-gene-lebell-vs-boxer-milo-savage-americas-first-mma-fight/

Golden hat-trick - Historic 3rd win for Fong Ying at World Wushu Championships

2011-10-15T13:43:00.000+11:00

Black Flag Wing Chun Statement by GM Tio Tek Kwie presented by Sifu Sergio

2011-10-14T18:33:00.000+11:00

Black Flag Wing Chun Statement By GM Tio Tek Kwie where he appologises to the Wing Chun Community and admits it not being Wing Chun stating that he only tried to help his ex student Lin Xiang Fuk setting up his business in the US but never thought of the consequenses of his lies

Lethal weapon: Hanging with the world's last living ninja

2011-10-12T17:06:00.001+11:00

Lethal weapon: Hanging with the world's last living ninja

Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi shares the secrets of a dying breed from his dojo near Tokyo

By Stephen Phelan 12 October, 2011

Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi (left) in full battle gear shows a pupil "the way."

The last living ninja is not hard to find. He lives and works in Noda City, a shabby satellite of Tokyo, dispensing wisdom from the Hombu dojo, a cramped training hall under the railway tracks.

The interior is cool and dark, lined with portraits, candles and racks of arcane edged weapons -- a shrine, within a gallery, within an armory.

In the middle of this room on a Sunday afternoon, Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi will teach anyone who wants to learn.

The art of the ninja is not necessarily a secret, though the lessons are often painful. And today is my first.

"If you do this correctly, you are breaking the cheek," says Hatsumi via a translator, demonstrating a casual, almost offhand chop to the face of a young, fit and muscular Australian student, who must be roughly quarter his age.

Practice makes deadly

At his next birthday, Hatsumi will be 80 years old, but he claims to be a student himself, even after more than half a century of practice.

In that time, he has become instructor and spiritual leader to more than 100,000 followers of his combat system, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. Most of these are not Japanese, but many make the pilgrimage to train with Hatsumi in Noda City.

My training partner for the day, German policeman and veteran martial artist Dirk Rummel, describes his own visit to the Hombu dojo as a "musha shugyou," or "warrior's journey."

"I think it is important to get to the roots of the Bujinkan," says Rummel, politely knocking me to the floor.

Another one bites the dust -- Hatsumi's effortless technique appears almost mysterious at first.

The Bujinkan is in fact a modern amalgam of nine traditional schools of Japanese martial arts, three of which have been historically linked to the teaching of ninja-related techniques, now collectively known as "ninjutsu." This is good enough for me.

Ninja boom

I came to honor my own childhood masters, having grown up in Ireland at the height of the so-called "ninja boom" -- that period of the early 1980s when Japanese shadow warriors infiltrated the West by way of cheap, violent B movies, cartoons and comic books.

I spent a large part of my youth in thrall to these super-sneaks and death merchants. I thought I saw them in the bright green bushes of suburban Dublin, and resented my parents for their failure to train me from birth in the use of poisons, disguises, and wicked-pointed throwing-stars.

Today, I am told that actual, historical ninjas of feudal Japan had nothing to do with the acrobat assassins of folk tales and pop culture.

According to Hatsumi, who has written several books on the subject, the originators of his art were a hardy rural underclass of paramilitary mountain clans, possessed of esoteric skills and philosophies passed down from the exiled generals and mystics of Tang dynasty China.

Unbroken line

His own authority is inherited from the 33 grandmasters who preceded him, in a lineage which supposedly traces back to Daisuke Nishina, the 12th-century founder of the Togakure Ryu school.

He also admits that there is not much documentary evidence for any of this, besides the surviving scrolls that outline the basic techniques.

Approaching 80, Hatsumi is still in vibrant good health.

The ninja tradition is kept alive by word of mouth, and by physical application. Knowledge is all very well, says Hatsumi.

"It gives us law, and culture and science. But knowledge is not enough. It must be balanced out with Budo, which can never be explained. It can only be understood by doing."

His zen-like aphorisms sound all the more persuasive when emphasized with gentle and masterful violence.

"You must become a fleck of dust, or snow or garbage in the air," says Hatsumi of another technique, stepping breezily to the side of an onrushing wooden staff and nudging it back against his assailant, who ends up prone on the floor with the stick pressed hard into the hinge of his jaw, like a lever for prying his head off.

Satisfying smackdown

The nuances of these movements are difficult for a beginner to follow, and I prove no more adroit than Winnie the Pooh in trying to emulate the Grandmaster's effortless strikes, blocks and dodges.

"We are all beginners," he assures me, and I start to understand the faith that he inspires in so many others.

"Hai, okay, play," says Hatsumi with each demonstration, as if we are children. But when I suddenly get it right, and my new friend Dirk goes down like he's supposed to, I do feel more like a little kid than a lethal weapon -- ecstatic and mystified.

The Bujinkan welcomes new members. Anyone interested in joining or attending a class at the Hombu dojo should contact the office directly. Beginners can attend only certain classes, including the Sunday afternoon session. Check the website for further details.

Bujinkan Dojo Hombu Office, 636 Noda, Noda City, Chiba, 278-8691, +81 (0) 4 7122 2020.

Wing Chun documentation

2011-10-12T14:39:00.000+11:00

Launch of Karen Armstrong Safety Strategies website

2011-10-11T21:49:00.001+11:00

Home

Welcome to Karen Armstrong's Safety Strategies

Karen Armstrong is an expert in personal protection and workplace violence prevention. Through decades of research, Karen has developed an effective system of preventing violence and assault that instills confidence, awareness and the ability to remain calm and in control when facing threatening situations. In 1994, Karen established Safety Strategies, a training service company that specialises in designing and delivering workshops in Dealing Professionally with Aggressive Behaviour. Safety Strategies has since set the benchmark for high-quality workplace violence prevention training programs in a wide range of industries in both private and public sectors throughout Australia.


Karen Armstrong speaks at functions and events, delivering a message of empowerment, motivation and inspiration. She can pack a punch when it comes to livening up your audiences. Your events' participants will leave feeling confident and uplifted by this motivational speaker's keynote address. Karen's stories and extensive martial arts and safety training experience will transform the way your staff work and play! More info … \| View short introduction video		Karen Armstrong's Safety Strategies delivers high quality, customised workshops to suit every organisation's specific personnel and safety requirements. Our highly skilled accredited instructors are specialists in workplace violence prevention training. Our proven processes and methodologies set the benchmark as 'the' safety training program most widely recognised across a range of industries in private and public sectors throughout Australia. More info … \| View short introduction video

Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate

2011-10-05T19:22:00.001+11:00

Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate
by Bruce Lee – September 26, 2011

A learned man once went to a Zen teacher to inquire about Zen. As the Zen teacher explained, the learned man would frequently interrupt him with remarks like, "Oh, yes, we have that too. …" and so on.

Finally, the Zen teacher stopped talking and began to serve tea to the learned man. He poured the cup full and then kept pouring until the cup overflowed.

"Enough!" the learned man once more interrupted. "No more can go into the cup!"

"Indeed, I see," answered the Zen teacher. "If you do not first empty the cup, how can you taste my cup of tea?"

I hope my comrades in the martial arts will read the following paragraphs with open-mindedness, leaving all the burdens of preconceived opinions and conclusions behind. This act, by the way, has in itself a liberating power. After all, the usefulness of the cup is in its emptiness.

Make this article relate to yourself because though it is on jeet kune do, it is primarily concerned with the blossoming of a martial artist — not a "Chinese" martial artist or a "Japanese" martial artist. A martial artist is a human being first. Just as nationalities have nothing to do with one's humanity, so they have nothing to do with martial arts. Leave your protective shell of isolation and relate directly to what is being said. Return to your senses by ceasing all the intervening intellectual mumbo jumbo. Remember that life is a constant process of relating. Remember, too, that I seek neither your approval nor to influence you toward my way of thinking. I will be more than satisfied if, as a result of this article, you begin to investigate everything for yourself and cease to uncritically accept prescribed formulas that dictate "this is this" and "that is that."

On Choiceless Observation

Suppose several persons who are trained in different styles of combative arts witness an all-out street fight. I am sure we would hear different versions from each of these stylists. Such variations are quite understandable, for one cannot see a fight (or anything else) "as is" as long as he is blinded by his chosen point of view, i.e., style, and he will view the fight through the lens of his particular conditioning. Fighting, as is, is simple and total. It is not limited to your perspective or conditioning as a Chinese martial artist. True observation begins when one sheds set patterns, and true freedom of expression occurs when one is beyond systems.

Before we examine jeet kune do, let's consider exactly what a "classical" martial art style really is. To begin with, we must recognize the incontrovertible fact that regardless of their many colorful origins (by a wise, mysterious monk, by a special messenger in a dream or in a holy revelation), styles are created by men. A style should never be considered gospel truth, the laws and principles of which can never be violated. Man, the living, creating individual, is always more important than any established style.

It is conceivable that a long time ago a certain martial artist discovered some partial truth. During his lifetime, the man resisted the temptation to organize this partial truth, although this is a common tendency in a man's search for security and certainty in life. After his death, his students took "his" hypothesis, "his" postulates and "his" method and turned them into law. Impressive creeds were then invented, solemn reinforcing ceremonies prescribed, rigid philosophy and patterns formulated, and so on, until finally an institution was erected. So what originated as one man's intuition of some sort of personal fluidity was transformed into solidified, fixed knowledge, complete with organized classified responses presented in a logical order. In so doing, the well-meaning, loyal followers not only made this knowledge a holy shrine but also a tomb in which they buried the founder's wisdom.

But the distortion did not necessarily end here. In reaction to "the other's truth," another martial artist, or possibly a dissatisfied disciple, organized an opposite approach — such as the "soft" style versus the "hard" style, the "internal" school versus the "external" school, and all these separative nonsenses. Soon, this opposite faction also became a large organization, with its own laws and patterns. A rivalry began, with each style claiming to possess the "truth" to the exclusions of all others.

At best, styles are merely parts dissected from a unitary whole. All styles require adjustment, partiality, denials, condemnation and a lot of self-justification. The solutions they purport to provide are the very cause of the problem because they limit and interfere with our natural growth and obstruct the way to genuine understanding. Divisive by nature, styles keep men apart from each other rather than unite them.

Truth Cannot Be Confined

One cannot express himself fully when imprisoned by a confining style. Combat "as is" is total, and it includes all the "is" as well as "is not," without favorite lines or angles. Lacking boundaries, combat is always fresh, alive and constantly changing. Your particular style, your personal inclinations and your physical makeup are all parts of combat, but they do not constitute the whole of combat. Should your responses become dependent upon any single part, you will react in terms of what "should be" rather than to the reality of the ever-changing "what is." Remember that while the whole is evidenced in all its parts, an isolated part, efficient or not, does not constitute the whole.

Prolonged repetitious drillings will certainly yield mechanical precision, and security of that kind comes from any routine. However, it is exactly this kind of "selective" security or "crutch" that limits or blocks the total growth of a martial artist. In fact, quite a few practitioners develop such a liking for and dependence on their "crutch" that they can no longer walk without it. Thus, any one special technique, however cleverly designed, is actually a hindrance.

Let it be understood once and for all that I have not invented a new style, composite or modification. I have in no way set jeet kune do within a distinct form governed by laws that distinguish it from "this" style or "that" method. On the contrary, I hope to free my comrades from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines.

What, then, is jeet kune do? I am the first to admit that any attempt to crystallize jeet kune do into a written article is no easy task. Do remember, however, that "jeet kune do" is merely a convenient name. I am not interested with the term itself; I am interested in its effect of liberation when JKD is used as a mirror for self-examination.

Unlike a "classical" martial art, there is no series of rules or classification of technique that constitutes a distinct jeet kune do method of fighting. JKD is not a form of special conditioning with its own rigid philosophy. It looks at combat not from a single angle but from all possible angles. While JKD utilizes all the ways and means to serve its end (after all, efficiency is anything that scores), it is bound by none and is therefore free. In other words, JKD possesses everything but is in itself possessed by nothing.

Therefore, to attempt to define JKD in terms of a distinct style — be it kung fu, karate, street fighting or Bruce Lee's martial art — is to completely miss its meaning. Its teaching simply cannot be confined within a system. Since JKD is at once "this" and "not this," it neither opposes nor adheres to any style. To understand this fully, one must transcend from the duality of "for" and "against" into one organic unity that is without distinctions. Understanding of JKD is direct intuition of this unity.

There are no prearranged sets or kata in the teaching of JKD, nor are they necessary. Consider the subtle difference between "having no form" and "have no form." The first is ignorance, the second is transcendence. Through instinctive body feeling, each of us knows our own most efficient and dynamic manner of achieving effective leverage, balance in motion and economical use of energy. Patterns, techniques or forms touch only the fringe of genuine understanding. The core of understanding lies in the individual mind, and until that is touched, everything is uncertain and superficial. Truth cannot be perceived until we come to fully understand ourselves and our potentials. After all, knowledge in the martial arts ultimately means self-knowledge.

At this point you may ask, "How do I gain this knowledge?" That you will have to find out all by yourself. You must accept the fact that there is no help but self-help. For the same reason I cannot tell you how to "gain" freedom, since freedom exists within you, I cannot tell you how to "gain" self-knowledge. While I can tell you what not to do, I cannot tell you what you should do, since that would be confining you to a particular approach. Formulas can only inhibit freedom; externally dictated prescriptions only squelch creativity and assure mediocrity. Bear in mind that the freedom that accrues from self-knowledge cannot be acquired through strict adherence to a formula. We do not suddenly become free, we simply are free.

Learning is definitely not mere imitation, nor is it the ability to accumulate and regurgitate fixed knowledge. Learning is a constant process of discovery — a process without end. In JKD we begin not by accumulation but by discovering the cause of our ignorance — a discovery that involves a shedding process.

Unfortunately, most students in the martial arts are conformists. Instead of learning to depend on themselves for expression, they blindly follow their instructors, no longer feeling alone, and finding security in mass imitation. The product of this imitation is a dependent mind. Independent inquiry, which is essential to genuine understanding, is sacrificed. Look around the martial arts and witness the assortment of routine performers, trick artists, desensitized robots, glorifiers of the past, and so on — all followers or exponents of organized despair.

How often are we told by different sensei (masters) that the martial arts are life itself? But how many of them truly understand what they are saying? Life is a constant movement — rhythmic as well as random. Life is constant change, not stagnation. Instead of choicelessly flowing with this process of change, many of these "masters," past and present, have built an illusion of fixed forms, rigidly subscribing to traditional concepts and techniques of the art, solidifying the ever-flowing, dissecting the totality.

The most pitiful sight is to see sincere students earnestly repeating those imitative drills, listening to their own screams and spiritual yells. In most cases, the means these sensei offer their students are so elaborate that the students must give tremendous attention to them, until gradually they loses sight of the end. The students end up performing their methodical routines as a mere conditioned response rather than responding to "what is." They no longer listen to circumstances; they recite their circumstances. These pour souls have unwittingly become trapped in the miasma of classical martial arts training.

Pointing to the Truth

A teacher, a really good sensei, is never a giver of "truth"; he is a guide, a pioneer to the truth that the student must discover for himself. A good teacher, therefore, studies each student individually and encourages the student to explore himself, both internally and externally, until, ultimately, the student is integrated with his being. A good teacher is a catalyst. Besides possessing a deep understanding, he must also have a responsive mind with great flexibility and sensitivity.

There is no standard in total combat, and expression must be free. This liberating truth is a reality only in so far as it is experienced and lived by the individual himself; it is a truth that transcends styles or disciplines. Remember, too, that jeet kune do is merely a term, a label to be used as a boat to get one across; once across, it is to be discarded and not carried on one's back.

These few paragraphs are, at best, a "finger pointing to the moon." Please do not take the finger to be the moon or fix your gaze so intently on the finger as to miss all the beautiful sights of heaven. After all, the usefulness of the finger is in pointing away from itself to the light, which illumines finger and all.

Philip Redmond - WING CHUN

2011-10-04T20:55:00.000+11:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMAl Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Master Redmond and Master Rahsun showcase their wing chun class on saturdays

how to see it coming - Sifu Lee Jacobs

2011-10-04T19:14:00.000+11:00

Breaking your mental balance....by Andy Dickinson Sensei

2011-09-30T13:35:00.000+10:00

ECGMA says: Andy Dickinson Sensei is a dedicated veteran martial artist, teacher, motivator, instructor based in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
To many ignorant non-martial artists, they look upon martial arts being a violent practice. I think rugby league breaks more bones. The philosophical and psychological aspects of MA are sometimes missed out. MA ain't about hurting but preserving life.
-------------------------------------------------------
But I don't like the way you talk to me....

Did you think that it was going to be easy? Did you think that Martial Arts was going to be like any other sport, pastime or hobby? I keep saying time and time again that martial arts is more than just a physical movement. Martial arts is marketed as a body , mind, spirit, way to health but most if not all martial arts teachers fall short of the mark and have no idea what the mind/ spirit part entails.
Mind training is not just talking to yourself over and over again and hoping your deep habitual patterns of thinking will change. Mind training in martial arts is much deeper and questions who you think you are.

How easily is our mental balance broken? I have to tell you...it's real easy. It can be broken by a look, a stare, one word or even a tone of voice. How quickly can a friend turn on you because they did not like the way you spoke to them. As a martial artist this is your real work. The physical side is the easy stuff, the mental and emotional stuff takes many years, but this is your real training and is far more valuable as a life skill than any self defence move.

As a martial arts teacher, I have a real difficult job. My easy work is the physical teaching, my hard work is trying to teach the people about themselves and move them on to a realisation that their thinking is the source of all their suffering.

In Martial Arts, as you go through the belt levels, your emotional balance will be tested. Lets face it, unless we can handle a little mental pushing and shoving in the dojo, what chance do we have in real life? Do we come out a Black Belt but do not have the emotional control to handle it the first time a stranger verbally assaults us or a car accidentally cuts us off.

At Northstar you will be challenged. If you quit because you don't like the way you are spoken to then you have missed the biggest lesson and it is your problem. I am teaching people martial arts and will continue to challenge the edges to bring people to a higher awareness of themselves. Few will be lucky enough to understand the brilliance of this journey. Most just leave and complain/blame the vehicle of their growth as the problem.

10 things to think about...
1. All situations are neutral.
2. You can never know what another is thinking.
3. Our ego continues to grow and our habits strengthen the older we get.
4. Awareness starts with letting go.
5. Try and not react, just take one breath.
6. Go from zero fuse to a fuse.
7. No one can hurt your feelings, only your thoughts about it can.
8. The mind can justify anything, anytime, any place.
9. The present moment is your only real freedom.
10.Commit to learning more about who you are...really.

ANDY

Women's MMA

2011-09-30T13:00:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Artsl Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Thanks Albert K for highlighting this clip to me. Man, these ladies will kill me! They fight like Albert!

Wing Chun fight against Muay Thai.

2011-09-23T17:43:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Martial arts expert analysis on how to fight against Muay Thai with Wing Chun. Cool! http://bit.ly/oNnlw3

Wing Chun's Jerry Devone wins in MUSU 9/18/11

2011-09-23T17:41:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Sifu Keith Mazza's Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu student Jerry Devone in his first full contact fight in NY against Bobby Brown of Moy Yat Wing Chun in Philadelphia

Wing Chun trapping hands slow-mo

2011-09-23T17:38:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Jerry Devone Traditional Wing Chun (in black), fighting Bobby Brown, Moy Yat Wing Chun at the Manup Stanup fights in Queens NY 9/18/11

56 year Wing Chun fighter Rajah

2011-09-23T17:35:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Man! For a 56 year old, he is in darn good shape!

Sports Science: Hits like a Girl

2011-09-21T20:36:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Israeli Ninja

2011-09-21T00:58:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Professor Van Yuren, a Dan 10 Ninjitsu grand master, is in Israel to ordain the first ever Israeli ninjitsu grand master, David Haliva. Haliva must pass rigorous, life-risking tests and sign a blood oath in order to join the ranks of grand masters in this secretive and ancient martial art. 08/19/07

A BOY IN CHINA - the trailer by Empty Mind Films

2011-09-20T03:12:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

The trailer for our new movie release: The Boy in China. The amazing story of a six year old boy from Phoenix, Arizona whose dreams of becoming a Kungfu master lead him to the birthplace of martial arts - the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. His father must now face a heartbreaking decision and follow his son to China leaving the mother behind in America... a choice few parents could ever imagine. Meanwhile, Andre is undergoing long hours of tough training at the hands of the Shaolin monks that would make seasoned martial artists bow with respect. Forward to nine years of age and Andre steps up his martial arts training in one giant leap when he is accepted into China's top wushu school in Beijing. Known as the top gun of Chinese martial arts, this wushu school produced the movie star Jet Li who became world champion while at the school. However Andre quickly comes unstuck when he sees the extremely high calibre of his Chinese classmates!! Two years at the Shaolin temple could not prepare him for what he must now face - the supreme test of his endurance and perseverance to graduate from this elite martial arts school. A Boy in China release date: Spring 2012. Directed by Jon Braeley. Visit http://emptymindfilms.com

Roy Dean Academy BJJ: Combinations

2011-09-19T03:59:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Roy Dean Academy: The Spirals of Jiu Jitsu

2011-09-19T03:57:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

BJJ: The Balance of Form & Function

2011-09-19T03:55:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Game of Human Chess

2011-09-19T03:53:00.000+10:00

Please visit www.AthleticBodyCare.com for all your athletic skin care needs!

This is a short attempt to capture the beauty that is the martial art of brazilian jiu-jitsu in the world of mma and on the tatame. There is so much out there, that if I used everything, it would be many hours of footage. This is my video submission towards the Athletic Body Care video sponsorship contest for 2010.

My name is Terry Ng and I am a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt based out of Toronto, Canada. I love competing and training. Having the registration fees for tournaments covered would help me a great deal to be able to go out to different places to train and better my jiu jitsu game more often. I want to compete against the worlds best one day on the biggest stages of jiu jitsu. But to get there and develop, I need to train with and face the worlds best. Please help me get there!

Please support me by viewing the video and sending it to others as well :) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is life!

The clips in the video were taken from a variety of youtube video sources. There is absolutely no intention on my part on any type of copyright infringement. If you see a clip that was from your video, I apologize for not creating a credit section. Please PM me and I will create a list of credits. The video was rushed for production. I apologize once again, PM me, and I will give credit ASAP.

My favourite book section

2011-09-16T23:30:00.000+10:00

Any bookstore anywhere in the world, this is my favourite section.
My personal library at home is quite extensive and in this particular section in Borders @ The Curve, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, I have more martial arts books selection than you see in this pic.

Ip Man Wing Chun Sparring Highlights!!!

2011-09-07T02:00:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Rare! Entrainement et préparaton au combat d'une école de Wing Chun Kung Fu Traditionnel située à Paris. Inédit et surprenant. A voir!! Académie de Wing Chun Traditionelle - 3, rue des vignoles - 75020 Paris. 01.43.56.36.12 - www.wingchunbeddar.com
http://yimwingchun.free.fr
http://mannequindebois.free.fr

Applied WingChun Bern - - Timing-sparring

2011-09-07T01:53:00.000+10:00

**If you receive this by email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost**

applied wing chun bern - chris blatter, student of sifu duncan leung: Timing - sparring

Kick Ass Wing Chun Woman

2011-09-05T13:09:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

WSL Lineage, Student of Tommy Yuen (Yuen Yim Keung)

Applied Reiki -For Emergency Services

2011-09-01T01:40:00.000+10:00

http://www.reikipeacenetwork.com/magazine/emergency.html

The Online Publication of the Reiki University

Applied Reiki -For Emergency Services

A low cost/high return proposal for the systematic implementation and use of Reiki by emergency services personnel for the purpose of enhancing both the quality of life and the efficiency of emergency services employees.

by Ellen Louise Kahne,
Certified Reiki Master/teacher founder, Reiki Peace Network, Reiki University

Present training by police, fire and emergency services personnel (EMS) in most major metropolitan areas includes first aid, weapons and equipment training, fitness and martial arts instruction and education in the legal and regulatory domain.

The purpose of this proposal is to facilitate the provision of emergency services and to increase the capacity and efficiency of emergency services personnel to provide those services while enhancing the health, balance and well-being of fire fighters, police officers and EMS technicians by adding a quick, cost-effective training course in Reiki for providers of emergency service.

What Is Reiki?

Reiki is a specific method of accessing and utilizing "ki" (or "chi") which is the flow of universal, life-force energy as referred to in martial arts (such as tai chi, etc.) and healing arts (such as acupuncture, therapeutic touch, and chi kong, etc). Since Reiki was rediscovered in 19th century Japan, Reiki has been used as a hands-on healing technique to balance, relieve stress, and promote rapid healing and stabilization. This technique works simultaneously on both the Reiki trained individual and/or the person being treated with Reiki. Reiki can be used for distant or absent healing and energy "projection" by those who have received second degree (Reiki II) training.

Reiki has been used successfully to defuse volatile situations, clear negative energies in a room or space (either nearby or at a distance) and for personal and/or group protection.

Television viewers of a well received Bill Moyer's series on Eastern energy medicine and martial arts were treated to a filmed demonstration of "chi" used by an extremely powerful (elderly) martial arts master who repeatedly projected enough energy to hurl a strong, young opponent backwards without any physical contact, whatsoever.

While Reiki is not a martial art, it accesses the same invisible force ("ki") for protection, healing and balance in a unique, easily learned manner. Unlike other healing or martial arts training which consumes years of study and constant practice, two levels of Reiki can be taught in two days of classes and the ability to use Reiki begins immediately and remains undiminished, even in the unlikely event that the Reiki practitioner neglects to use his/her skills over a period of time.

Unlike other healing or martial arts training which often consumes years of study and constant practice, two levels of Reiki can be taught in two days of classes. The ability to use Reiki begins immediately and remains undiminished, even in the unlikely event that the student neglects to use his/her skills for a period of time. Reiki is intelligently guided life force energy, so that a Reiki trained person cannot make a mistake in the use of this energy. Reiki is accessed on the highest level and always manifests for a client's highest good, as the outcome.

Reiki Training

The core of Reiki training contains an attunement process which prepares, opens and seals subtle energy centers, so that "ki" will always flow in quantity through the hands of the student in a rapid and unimpeded manner. Reiki is taught and attuned by a Reiki master. The training includes the history and practice sessions in the use and practical applications of Reiki.

Second level Reiki (Reiki II) is taught on the second day of the course. This level includes a specific method to access, tolerate and mediate increased energy flow and concerns particular dynamic features of universal energy which can then be used to balance and moderate situations and in distant healing.

Because Reiki taps into a limitless source of energy, the personal energy of the practitioner/student is never drained or depleted. Reiki energy is supplied for balance, healing and protection to the practitioner at the same time it is being used to facilitate balance, healing and protection for others.

Suggested Usage and Applications of Reiki For Emergency Services

It must be noted that individuals in emergency services, including police, and fire departments and EMS are already Reiki trained from having taken the courses privately and are using their skills for their personal benefit and for those with whom they come in contact on the job. However, these individuals have sought training which was not required as part of their service curriculum, as is being proposed here.

I am personally acquainted with a captain in the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department in New Jersey who is Reiki trained, as well as an officer in communications in the New York City police department, I was trained by a former member of the Bayside Volunteer Ambulance Corps, who worked weekly providing EMS service for seventeen years in New York City and I have trained New York City police officers and a parole supervisor. Also, I have been privileged to train dozens of nurses, doctors, chiropractors, physical and occupational therapists, massage therapists, psychologists and medical personnel from all over the world in dozens of Reiki classes which have been attended by these professionals for all levels of Reiki training.

Some ways in which Reiki can (and has been) used in emergency services are as follows:

The Use of Reiki for Police and EMS Work

l. Reiki has been used by EMS personnel and ordinary, Reiki trained citizens to treat hemorrhaging, burns, allergic attacks (including asthma), shock, seizures, anxiety attacks, etc. Reiki creates balance and relaxes the trauma patient. I have personally witnessed the immediate cessation of a grand mal seizure in a diagnosed epileptic patient, reduction (in 15 minutes) of severe sunburn to a light tan, swelling and bruises which "dissolved" back into the skin under my hands in under 15 minutes and severe allergy attacks (including asthma) which ceased upon application of Reiki, etc. My first Reiki teacher was (see above) on the Bayside Volunteer Ambulance Corps for seventeen years and was Reiki trained for the last seven of those years. She used her Reiki training in a multitude of emergency situations, including repeatedly on a patient who experienced grand mal seizures which could not be controlled by medication.

I used Reiki as a volunteer in the 1992 New York Marathon on a runner who collapsed at the 22nd mile and immediately went into shock and hypothermia. I caught the runner as he collapsed and applied my hands to his back while two other Reiki trained volunteers put their hands on his chest. The runner's eyes had rolled up into his head and he had turned white as a sheet and was unresponsive. Also, he was trembling violently all over as a result of the cold and a shock reaction. After a couple of minutes, the man regained consciousness and lucidity and he was stabilized by the Reiki until EMS workers removed him to a stretcher. As soon as he was taken from (our hands), he collapsed in shock for a second time.

The use of Reiki has the potential to save lives by supporting a sick or injured person until skilled medical help can be obtained. Reiki can always be used in conjunction with and in support of medical trauma care. Reiki has been successfully used in an office emergency situation to restore breathing and heart beat to a co-worker of one of my first students who collapsed over his desk, turned blue and ceased breathing. Consciousness was restored through the use of Reiki (solely), by the time the ambulance arrived.

2. Reiki can be used to alleviate job stress on a daily basis for emergency services personnel. Professionals employed in emergency work suffer job related anxiety, burn out and stress by the very nature of their employment and also because of the negative environment in which they often work. Reiki can be accessed at any time by a trained person by applying one's hand(s) to one's solar plexus or another part of the body and it will work even while one is talking on the phone, filling in forms, etc. without conscious effort. Reduction of stress and promotion of balance and health are central to Reiki. These skills are in great need and short supply by over stressed police (and other) medical and emergency personnel.

Emergency services departments will potentially experience fewer sick days and better morale in precincts and departments staffed with trained Reiki practitioners. Also, it would be very effective to provide a small Reiki room for a Reiki master/practitioner to offer regular Reiki healing sessions to police and emergency services personnel coming off duty and for those who have sustained anxiety and/or minor injuries during shifts.

Reiki has helped those who wish to give up addictive habits. Reiki gets to the root cause of addictive behavior in those who wish to detoxify and heal their (alcohol or cigarette, etc.) addictions. How many person/hours could be saved at taxpayer's expense by offering personnel Reiki training and job site sessions?

3. Reiki can (and has been) used to diffuse emotional situations, both those in close quarters and those at a distance. The potential for use of these skills in police work is obvious in critical situations (e.g. with disturbed individuals, those threatening to do harm to themselves or others, and those caught in commission of crimes, etc.). Reiki can be a critical tool in saving the life of an officer or a civilian. Reiki trained officers can use their skills to diffuse minor disturbances such as fights over parking spaces, etc. A swat team would undoubtedly find Reiki an invaluable tool to augment training skills in very dangerous and unstable situations. Reiki creates balance in people, places and situations.

4. Reiki can be used to change the atmosphere or cleanse vibrational energies in a space or room. Police stations typically contain numerous negative interactions of disgruntled citizens or crime victims who utilize police services, also, accused criminals are detained in police stations. Because of this, the atmosphere in most urban police stations is very negative and this affects both the police and the public who enter these premises.

Those who recognize these "negative vibrations" and who are Reiki trained can project positive energy into their work and public spaces. I have personally used Reiki at fractious civic meetings and noticed the calming and balancing effects. At one meeting, people who hadn't communicated civilly for years began to listen and to dialogue with one another after I had used Reiki for the situation.

At a meeting of the local precinct community council at which I was an invited speaker, police officers (and the precinct captain) asked to experience Reiki and the officers who were given a "mini-session" quickly retrieved more officers from all corners of the police station who were in need of de-stressing and treatment for job related injuries.

5. Reiki enhances intuitive and clairvoyant abilities. Much good police work begins with "hunches." Reiki trained police officers can expect to have the the same enhanced intuitive skills that many Reiki practitioners have noticed over the years.

The Use of Reiki in Fire Departments

l. Firefighters are frequently confronted with emergency situations similar to police and EMS and to some extent their roles overlap. Under these circumstances, much of what has been applied to police and EMS (above) may be applied to Reiki training of fire fighters. Additionally, there has been (in the past) some fractious and destructive competition between city services personnel in fire and police departments, particularly. Since Reiki creates balance in people and situations, it can also be used to balance bureaucratically competitive enclaves.

2. Reiki techniques have been used to save lives in cases of emergencies. Therefore, Reiki can and has been used as emergency treatment for burns and breathing difficulties. This has obvious application to fire fighters and the general public which they serve.

3. Reiki functions to detoxify and balance the body. In its healing modality, Reiki can restore an injury to full function in a fraction of the time which healing might have been expected. For example, I chip fractured my pelvis one year and I was up and walking without assistance (despite the doctors projection of several weeks) in five days. An injured fire fighter who receives a lot of Reiki, will most likely heal in a much accelerated manner.

4. Since Reiki enhances intuitive abilities (as mentioned above) it has the capacity to save lives in dangerous situations. This is applicable to fire fighting and arson investigation, both of which are functions of urban fire departments.

Conclusion

The incorporation of Reiki training for emergency services personnel has a tremendous potential to effect changes in the way that these services are carried out. Reiki training has transformative potential for the quality of life in the urban environment in which emergency services personnel live and work. It is imperative to examine and implement Reiki both for new trainees and veteran employees of police, fire and EMS departments, so that these professionals can be equipped with this unique and valuable tool.

An initial pilot project can easily and inexpensively be scoped and implemented to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of Reiki training in emergency services. The training is quick, permanent and life and job enhancing. The outlay for training could bring about savings in person/hours, lives saved, as well as unforeseen benefits which are beyond the scope of this proposal but are within the potential and the nature of Reiki itself.
++++++++++++++++++++
Sent from my BlackBerry®
smartphone powered by U Mobile
++++++++++++++++++++

What Happens When You Watch Too Much IP-Man

2011-08-29T18:26:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Bloody dickhead!

taiji power

2011-08-29T12:36:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Joe Lewis’ Top 10 Martial Arts for Self-Defense – - Black Belt

2011-08-27T02:20:00.000+10:00

http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/mixed-martial-arts-training/boxing/joe-lewis-top-10-martial-arts-for-self-defense/

Joe Lewis' Top 10 Martial Arts for Self-Defense

Joe Lewis – Today

This list is in no particular order. I could have put krav maga, haganah and others in there, but when I got to 10, I stopped. This list will piss off many instructors, but they have to realize, for example, that with a system like kyokushinkai, which came from goju-ryu and has many descendants like asahara, enshin, yoshukai and zendokai, they were not left out. Krav maga, for example, has nothing that the Okinawan, Japanese and kickboxing systems do not. If I were to include all of them, the list would go into the hundreds.

Kyokushinkai Karate
It has a great history of physical toughness and conditioning, as well as an arsenal of leg kicks, sweeps and knee strikes from the outside and from the pocket. Most K-1 champions come from this style. It's weak on ground maneuvers, though.

Outlaw Tai Chi
It has an effective composition of quick strikes (cutting and tissue-ripping moves) to vital areas like the eyes, ears, face, neck and groin. The emphasis in training is on pure nonclassical maneuvers, as is seen in most other Chinese systems. However, this style is weak on structure and ground maneuvers.

Bando
Although strictly a weapons-based style, it lends itself to highly effective defensive techniques (without weapons) from old-school monk tactics largely developed years ago in Southeast Asia along trade routes. It contains bleeding techniques, head striking, low-level flange kicks, drop kicks and farewell kicks not taught in other kickboxing styles.

Kajukenbo
It's a hybrid system that uses the best parts of other styles, from upright maneuvers to grappling. It was designed strictly for self-defense, instead of adhering to traditional rituals or sporting competition. Its weaknesses are a lack of movements to control the horizontal relationship with assailants—like all styles—and always using the hands as the primary means of defense.

Chinese Kenpo
It has a curriculum that encompasses all areas of self-defense. Practitioners learn a range of attacking angles, realistic scenarios and methods for defending from any position with any weapon. The main weakness is a lack of emphasis on ground maneuvers, along with limited kicking and knee striking.

Okinawa-Te
The original system had a complete arsenal of weapon and non-weapon skills. It had the perfect blend of old-school, pain-tolerance training with scientific skills that utilized the least amount of effort and time to produce the maximum amount of damage. Its weaknesses are the amount of time it takes to learn all the long animal forms (there are 36, with one having up to 500 moves) and a lack of "balanced" ground maneuvers.

Judo
Although it was created along the lines of a non-jutsu activity, which means it was designed mainly for exercise and sport, the best bouncers I've ever worked with were judo black belts. Because judoka spend most of their time doing tug-of-war-type drills with partners on the mat, they're very successful in reality combat, even with their limited striking ability.

Aikijutsu
Its tactics for off-balancing an opponent before leveraging him—as opposed to jujutsu, which is more concerned with straight leverage—is a good system to bridge the gap between the sport/exercise aspects of the old-school (read: hard-core) jutsu forms and the free-flowing sport forms we see on TV. Beware of the 'consumer' atmosphere found in some schools today and the lack of effective striking skills when practicing self-defense drills.

Kickboxing
This style can offer the very best of realistic, upright striking skills, hands down. If you learn the old muay boran knees, the head butt, the bleeding and cutting techniques, and the old-school takedowns, this system cannot be beat. Its weakness is a lack of attention to self-defense as opposed to sport. The conditioning drills taught at most authentic schools make up for any need to practice purely self-defense scenarios.

Boxing
Few martial arts teach these two defensive skills: Use the head to protect the head and the body to protect the body. Instead, they use weapon-fighting tactics—using the hands to protect the head or the body. For self-defense from the pocket, it would be hard to defend against a good boxer. Of course, his lack of elbow strikes, groin attacks and ground defense is limiting, but for pain tolerance and conditioning, it can't be beat.

Permalink: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/mixed-martial-arts-training/boxing/joe-lewis-top-10-martial-arts-for-self-defense/
Article Tools:

Muay Thai - The Noble Art of Muay Thai

2011-08-26T18:39:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

The Noble Art of Muay Thai DVD by Phosawat Saengsawang
In this superb video production Muay Thai is brought to you with an easy-to-follow narration, and every move demonstrated by a master of this ancient and noble art.

Caught on video Solid Muay Thai game pays off for Memphis security guar...

2011-08-26T17:03:00.000+10:00

Vinh Xuan ( Vietnam Wing Chun )

2011-08-25T13:55:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Eight Animals School BaKuaZhang (2 of 2)

2011-08-24T16:19:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Found it, part 2 of 2!

BaGuazhang Power Methods (1 of 2)

2011-08-24T16:17:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

These are the methods for developing the spiral power of Pa Kua Chang as taught by Sifu Jerry Alan Johnson. Practice them for increasing your flexible, snake energy and fa jing. Part 1 of 2 parts.

ECGMA says: At this point in time, I am not able to locate part 2 of 2?!?!
Movements are not easy to do. Key word I hear when comes to Bagua is coiling!

Scott Adkins Seminar (Power Kicking)

2011-08-23T19:59:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Scott Adkins Side Kick PKA Seminar

2011-08-23T19:57:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Chinese Police Kung Fu

2011-08-23T18:46:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

JKD Basic Pushing Hands and Circling Hands

2011-08-23T17:23:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

JKD Chi Sao, Hubud

2011-08-23T17:22:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Act of Fate - Wing Chun

2011-08-23T16:55:00.000+10:00

Release Date: 2011
Genre: Action
Studio: Art School Dropouts

A girl is forced to take justice into her own hands when her sister is killed, but how far would she go to get revenge?

An action-packed comic inspired, neo-noir short film about revenge. Told through a creative cinematic perspective, this movie blends both comic and cinema together in a dramatic fusion with Hong Kong style action.

Starring
Malin De La Torre
Joey Min
Germaine V
Christopher Ryons
Justin Clarke
Armando Jimenez

Written and Directed by
Joey Min

Website
http://actoffatefilm.wordpress.com
http://artschooldropouts.wordpress.com

Deciphering Gao Ba Gua Zhang #4 - Using Elbows to Control

2011-08-18T13:45:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Not exactly but similar, I have incorporated elbow rolling in my chi sau.

Wing chun in Central London by Ip Man movie Choreographer - Master Leo A...

2011-08-15T19:45:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

Bruce Lee Lives

2011-08-15T12:26:00.000+10:00

* If you received this in your mailbox, click on link "EC Martial Arts Blog" below to view the blogpost*

WWDU Sydney # 38.wmv

2011-08-12T15:27:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to EC Martial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Good to see some of my ex-training mates training while I am putting on weight!
Good on ya, Karen Armstrong, Sydney's Wing Chun tigress! She took on the blokes and showed them who is WOMAN and no doubt proved the blokes turning out to be pussies! All in the fun of training. Karen should kick them in the goolies. Well done, WWDU Sydney! Well done, Karen!

Surprise Bodyslam Destroys White Kid Instantly

2011-08-12T15:04:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Don't pitty-patty with your punches!

Chinese traditional qi gong treatment for prostate problems

2011-07-29T20:10:00.000+10:00

This was originally aired 2 years ago (2005) on CBC Hemispheres. A unusual story from Taipei, Taiwan about a treatment for prostate problems. I had to record it because it was just so amusing and bizarre.

Its based on Qigong (Chi Gong) healing techniques and is said to shrink enlarged prostates and result in healing and improved sexual functions.

Very funny story, complete with, oh yes, the classic "truck pull".

Credit goes to: Eric Campbell from Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC).

Kenpo Black Belt Instructor vs Royler Gracie - Gracie Challenge NHB!

2011-07-26T21:02:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

In this video a Black Belt Kenpo Instructor tries his hand at the now famous Gracie Challenge..the results speak for themselves! Royler is one of the smallest Gracie's, yet he DOMINATES the MUCH larger Kenpo Instructor with TWICE easily in the matter of minutes!!

World Wing Chun Canada.wmv

2011-07-22T13:16:00.000+10:00

*If you received this via email, click on the link at "Posted by ECGMA to ECMartial Arts Blog" to view the blogpost"*

ECGMA says: Ha!ha! Sorry, don't ask me what this is?!?!

History of Hakka Martial Art and its relationship to Southern Chinese and Shaolin martial arts

2011-07-18T12:05:00.001+10:00

The story of traditional Chinese martial arts:
History of Hakka Martial Art and its relationship to Southern Chinese and Shaolin martial arts

By Salvatore Canzonieri, Boonton, New Jersey

The Hakka

The Hakka people are thought to be originally from the Henan and Shaanxi (not Shanxi) provinces in the Yellow River area (not far from Shaolin). They speak their own language, said to be of the original Han Chinese people from there. It took a few thousand years for the Hakka to fully migrate to the south of China (to the Fujian, Guangdong, Jianxi, and other provinces). They also moved west to Sichuan province. Notice, everywhere that they settled are the same areas that the southern martial arts styles that look related to each other (White Crane, Southern Mantis, Yongtai Tiger, Dragon, etc.) and to Southern Tai Tzu Quan are mainly located.

The Hakka are noted for their preservation of certain cultural characteristics that are traceable to pre-Qin period (about 2200 years ago), which are expressed in their common customs, foods, spoken language, etc. The Hakka a mixed group that might include many ethnic groups as a result of 2000 years of migration, which makes things harder to trace. The original Han people were also of mixed ancestry to begin with.

It seems that the Hakka migrated southward in waves during different time periods. According to research by Luo Xiang Lin, at least five mass movements of Hakka took place as they moved south from their original place of residence in the Central Plains in the Huang (Yellow) River Basin. Most scholars agree that the Hakka people migrated from parts of northern China to the southern regions starting from the time of the East Jin dynasty (317-420 AD). Some even date the first migration as being further back, from the Qin dynasty (220 -206 BC), when China was under attack by five tribes during the time of Qin Shi Huang. The capital at Luoyang was removed to Nanjing and large numbers of people, including aristocrats, the general populace, and the ancestors of the Hakka, fled south to escape.

Subsequent migrations occurred at the end of the Tang Dynasty (907 AD) with the fragmentation of the Chinese empire, the displacement of the Tang drove the predecessors of the Hakkas to southern Anhui, southwestern Jiangxi, southern and western Fujian, and the border area of Guangdong; again during the middle of the Song Dynasty (between 960 and 1127 AD), which saw massive depopulation of the north and a flood of refugees southward; also when the Jurchens captured the northern Song capital (1127 AD); at the fall of the Song (1279 AD) to the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty (The Hakkas that had previously settled down in southern Jiangxi and southern Fujian escorted the Song royal household as it fled to eastern and northern Guangdong Province. They fought bravely and many died courageously in battles with the Mongolian armies.); and finally when the Ming Dynasty fell to the Manchu (1644 AD), who formed the Qing Dynasty (causing the Hakka to move even further southwards).

Invading tribes from the north, severe flooding of the Yellow River, locust plaques, droughts, famines, and wars drove these people to move en masse to the south. The local Punti (Cantonese) people in the south called these northerners "guest families" when they started to settle in this area. But, in fact, many of the southern Chinese peoples also had come from the north at an earlier time.

Need for Hakka Martial Arts

With the obvious limited prospects in agriculture, the nomadic Hakka men have turned -- more often than have other Chinese -- toward careers in the military. The Hakka had a great need for martial arts to protect them. Not only did each emigration wave come as a result of resistance against fierce armies from outside invaders, but the native people in the new regions they went to also resented their presence in such large numbers and many fierce clan wars broke out. From the 17th century onwards, population pressures drove them more and more into conflict with their neighbours (called punti in Cantonese). The Punti's resentment against the Hakka was the basis for these bloody conflicts, feeling that the Hakka were increasing too dramatically in number and thus encroaching on their land. From the Hakka's point of view, they were marginalized, discriminated against, and had to farm left-over or unwanted, hilly land. Eventually, the tension between the two groups would lead to a series of 19th century wars known as the Punti-Hakka Clan Wars, and about a million people died or fled.

When the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the Manchurians, Ming loyalists, notably Koxinga Zhen Chengong, fled to Taiwan in order to raise troops to eventually retake China. The Qing government, during Emperor Qing Kangxi's reign (starting 1644), had the coastal regions evacuated by imperial edict for almost a decade, in order to thwart these Ming efforts, and they commanded all residents of coastal areas in Guangdong and Fujian to twice move inland 50 li, approximately 30 km. The migration caused a large number of Punti people to die. The rebels in Taiwan were eventually pacified, and the Qing allowed people to move back. To aid the move, each family was given money to begin their new lives; newcomers were registered as "Guest Families" ( 客戶 , kèhù).

But, when the Qing government lifted the restriction on inhabiting the coast, far fewer Punti people moved back than was expected, and thus the Qing government decided to provide incentives to the Hakka to populate the coast. But the Hakka population soon grew too fast for the region to accommodate well, causing unrest. Eventually, because of political resentments (the Hakka aided the Qing army during the Red Turban Rebellion of 1854), bloody battles raged, with both sides fortifying their villages with walls, and raising armies as best as they could. Entire villages became involved in this fighting, forcing all able-bodied men to be called on to fight against the other side. Finally, the Qing government implemented a strategy of segregation to cool the conflict, and the Hakka were relocated to Guangxi Province.

As rivalry for resources turned to armed warfare, the Hakka began building special round communal living structures designed for defensive purposes, consisting of one entrance and no windows at ground level . Because of the undesirable mountainous regions, the Hakkas set up these unique heavily fortified homes to prevent attack from bandits and marauders.

Hakka Kuen and Southern Chinese Martial Arts

The Hakkas developed a system of martial arts called Hakka Kuen / Quan (Hakka Fist) that seem to share attributes with Southern Shaolin and other southern Chinese martial arts. From the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, many temples, both Buddhist and Taoist, were built in Fujian, Guangdong, Jianxi, and other southern China provinces. "Fujian History" says that by the end of the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism has been evolved into 5 groups: Yang Zong, Caodong Zong, Yunmen Zong, Linji Zong, Fayan Zong. Most of them were founded by Fujianese. In other words, Chan Buddhism's roots had moved to Southern China. Over time, the Putian and other temples developed their own Southern Shaolin based martial arts, complete with Qi and Nei Gong as well as self defense movements. During the passing centuries, these temple martial arts also interacted with the various waves of the Hakka people's migration from the north to the south of China.

The Song Dynasty's Hakka wave brought the martial art of Tai Tzu Quan, practiced by the Zhao royal family and it's followers, and also during the Southern Song era, Yue Fei Jia Quan and Chuo Jiao-Fanzi Quan, practiced by the troops of General Yue Fei, to the southern provinces. The Fantzi style that many military people learned was based on short strikes, like most southern Chinese martial arts. The Yue Fei Jia Quan style contained the Five Elements theory and movements. It can be seen that before the Qing Dynasty, the Hakka brought elements from Yue Fei Jia Quan and Fantzi to the Fujian area during the Song and Southern Song Dynasty era and these may have done a lot to influence Fujian martial arts. Later, during the Qing Dynasty, the Chu family martial arts were brought to Fujian as well, leading to the eventual development of the so-called Southern Mantis style, another Short Strike based style.

Hakka style was said to later be influenced by a monk who came to Guangdong in the 1700's, known as Gee Sim Sim See ("Very Virtuous Master"). He taught his style of Shaolin kung fu to a number of people in the surrounding area. Some people learned it in more depth and detail than others, because of their aptitude and ability. These people in turn began to teach with several variations, due to the differences in their understanding and length of time in training. This style eventually combined with the local styles of the area and became known as Hakka Kuen due to the large number of Hakka people who lived in this area of Guangdong province.

Hakka Kuen is primarily characterized by its short steps (the peculiar hooked stepping is very much like the Hakka method of pulling rice plants out of a paddy using the feet instead of kneeling in the water and mud), routines that are short, with moves being simple and direct, using many repeated actions in training , and close range attack/defense. Also, the arms are kept close to the chest and the elbows lowered and kept close to the flanks to offer it protection. The style uses Fengyan quan ( Phoenix - a type of knuckle punch), Jianzhan (sword palm), and Jianzhi (arrow fingers) as the main hand forms. In practice, it is split into Ying and Yang forms that include attack and defence, deflect and strike. Both wrists do not leave the chest framework, being fast in attack and retreat, and the legs use stamping to increase strength. The internal power demands Baufali (explosiveness), Jieli (Intercepting power), Huali (deflective power), and Jiaoli/Wanli (wrist power). Body movements demand Jinjen. It is by nature a style that faces the enemy square on with powerful fist strikes, small stance, stable lower body, and shouting to increase power. The characteristic rounded shoulders and concave chest of Hakka styles are the features that distinguish them most from native Fujian / Guangdong styles.

But, the similarities between Hakka Kuen and the local martial arts of Fujian and Guangdong strongly suggests that they are related in some way. Also, the style of Southern Tai Tzu Quan appears very similar as well to both Hakka Kuen and local Fujian and Guangdong martial arts. Many Southern Chinese martial arts developed between the 1600s and 1800s, such as Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun, the Five Families (Choy Gar, Li Gar, Hung gar, Lau Gar, and Mok Gar), Southern Dragon (Lung Xing) and the related Bak Mei (White Eyebrows), the Five Ancestors style, and others. Many of these have been adopted by the Hakka people.

Until relatively modern times, Southern Praying Mantis was taught exclusively to Hakka. In fact, the general public of the Pearl River Delta referred to Southern Praying Mantis as "Hakka Kuen". Supposedly the Chow / Chu / Zhou royal (Ming) family practiced this art and it was taught only to the Hakka after the royals arrived in the south.

There also exists the Hakka "Chu Gar Fu Zhuang" or "Chu Gar Tiger Boxing". Also, there is the Phoenix Eye Fist style. The Beggar style is also considered a Hakka martial art. Another Hakka martial art is Li jia Jiao, originating in the areas of Wuhua, Mei county of Guangdong. It is believed that a man named Li Tie-Niu created it. During his years of travelling for trades, he got to know a Shaolin Monk, from whom he learnt martial arts. After years of development, he finally created his own style of Li jia Jiao. Pangai-Noon developed in a Shaolin temple in the Fujien province. It is a combination of many different arts considered effective. Some of the contributions include the Phoenix Eye Fist, Crane stance and strikes, as well as Chu Gar mantis techniques.

The San Zhan (3 Battles) set (and the Su Men - 4 Doors set) seems to be in common between many Hakka and Southern Chinese martial arts, including Southern Tai Tzu Quan. Three Arrow One Way and Yong Tai Tiger are two such southern martial arts that are similar to Hakka martial arts.

Three Arrow One Way is another style from the Putian area of Fujian Province, besides White Crane (Bai He). Putian is the location of one of the three South Shaolin Temples. This style uses short and long range movements. Close ties between Three Arrow One Way and other southern styles like the Crane System and Five Ancestors can be seen, in particular the use of Dun, or Spring Force, when striking.

Yong Tai Tiger is from Xiao Lian Temple, Yong Tai, Fujian Province. At Yong Tai is located a temple for Zhang Dao Lin, who was an expert in Monkey and Tiger, a mystic in Daoism and Buddhism, and the inspiration the 'Journey to the West' or of the Monkey King novel. Xiao Lian Temple is credited by some masters to be the center of southern Tiger Style Kung Fu. Crane sets are also practiced there that show many movements typical of crane. For example, the twin downwards palm strikes near the beginning of the pattern are seen in many crane patterns. Also the set shows a crane's claw in many movements.

Historical Perspective

Most of the more well known Southern Chinese martial arts arose during the 1700s to 1900s, and were said to be created in opposition to the Qing Dynasty, such as Wing Chun, Dragon and Bak Mei, various Southern Mantis branches, the Five families, and others.

Yongchun White Crane and Southern Mantis are said to have been created earlier, during the early years of the Qing Dynasty, in the 1600s. White Crane is said to have came out of the White Lotus Temple (Bai Lian Si) in Fujian, created by Fang Qi Niang (female) and brought to the village of Yongchun in the mid 17th century. Around the same time period, Southern Mantis was said to have come from the Southern Shaolin temple in Fujian, created by Chu Fook-To, a member of the Ming royal family who took refuge there. The Hakka, having helped the Chu family reach the south, were taught Southern Mantis early on in its development. White Crane eventually became part of the Hakka martial arts, perhaps during the time of the Tai Ping Rebellion in the 1850s, which accepted the Hakka people as equals. Many Hakka sets show elements of both styles.

What southern Chinese martial arts styles existed or were brought to the south before the 1600s? Southern Tai Tzu Quan is thought to have reached southern China during the Southern Song Dynasty era. It was practiced by members of the Zhao family (Song) royal court, who were part of the Hakka wave that occurred after the Jurchen takeover in 1179 AD. The Southern Song royals were said to have reached South China by boat (by land would have been too dangerous) and the region became known for its strong naval fleet that was able to ward off the far northern invaders for a long time.

Perhaps Hakka military people went south as well. It is possible that they brought over the Yue Jia Quan that they learned in the army under the direction of General Yue Fei? Like Yue Jia Quan, one of the favored weapons of the Hakka was the 6-foot spear. The Hakkas formed three lines, with each person holding the spear at a particular height and angle that acted as a flange attack.

Obviously the Hakka had to modify whatever northern martial arts they knew to fit the environment of the south. Fighting was common then, and women fought side by side with the men to protect their compounds. Since space was at a premium, long range northern style movements were made more compact over time to make movements more efficient and effective. They continued their internal nei gung exercises that they practiced in their northern homes.

Southern Mantis - Chu Family Martial Arts:

Chu Gar, the Chu family style, probably a derivative of Northern Shaolin Practice, was established as the official martial art of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Chu Gar was originally taught only to members of Chinas royal family.

The first concern of China's new Ming emperor was military strength and preventing Mongol resurgence. Chu Yuan-Chang established garrisons at strategic points and created a hereditary military caste of soldiers who would sustain themselves by farming and be ever ready for war. Chu Yuan-Chang made his commanders into military nobility. Troops were forbidden to abuse civilians. Chu Yuan-Chang's regime executed many who violated the laws or were suspected of treason. Chu Yuan-Chang worked towards economic recovery. Farms had been devastated, so he settled a huge number of peasants on what had been considered wasteland and gave them tax exemptions. Between 1371 and 1379 the land under cultivation tripled, as did revenues. The government sponsored tree planting and reforestation programs. Neglected dikes and canals were repaired and thousands of reservoirs were rebuilt. Chu Yuan-Chang died in 1398 at the age of seventy. Chu Yuan-Chang's death was followed by four years of civil war and the disappearance of his son and heir, Jianwen. Jianwen had been indecisive and scholarly and no match for his uncle, Yongle, who became Emperor in 1403. Yongle ruled until 1424. He often used eunuchs as spies and appointed them to high positions in the government. By the mid 1400's the Mongols were again making border raids and appeared to the Chinese as the greatest threat since the rise of the Ming Dynasty.

With the independence from Mongol rule, Confucian influence had increased in the court. Confucian scholars were filling the ranks of senior officialdom and remained hostile to commerce and foreign contact. The Confucianists had little or no interest in seeing China develop into a great maritime trading power. In the wake of the Mongol rule, China's leaders were eager to restore things Chinese, and that included shipping on China's canals, which had fallen into disrepair under the Mongols. By 1592, China was engaged in a costly war with Japan over Korea. This was the beginning of the end for the Ming Dynasty. Over the next 50 years, the Ming military experienced heavy decline due to extensive defense programs in response to increased civil conflicts. In 1644 Li Tzu-Ch'eng, a domestic rebel, lead a campaign that captured the capital. The Ming had no choice but to enlist the help of the Manchu forces to remove Li Tzu-Ch'eng. However, the Manchu captured the throne for themselves, ending the rule of the Ming Dynasty. In 1646, Dorgon became the first Qing or Ch'ing Emperor and declared the Qing Dynasty.

With the ascension of the Qing dynasty, the Ming Emperor and his family fled to the northern Shaolin Hunan temple to seek asylum and escape certain death at the hands of the Manchurians. The military forces of the Qing dynasty hunted the royal family, knowing that a revolutionary spirit was being nurtured. Following them to the temple, the Qing army burnt it to the ground. The royal family escaped to the southern Shaolin temple in the Fukien Province. Knowing that the army would hunt and kill any person that practiced Chu Gar, the name was changed to Praying Mantis. This was done in the hope that the name would trick the Qing pursuers into thinking it was the same as the popular Northern Praying Mantis style. Still the Qing army found the exiled royal family and burnt the southern Shaolin temple down. Many of the royal family escaped and went deeper into hiding.

After the destruction of the temple many of the Chu family and other nobles and also many Shaolin monks from Honan moved to the South Shaolin temples ( Fujian and Jian Shi). The Chu Gar style legend mentions Tang Chan, (his real name was Chu Fook Too or Chu Fook To), who belonged to the Ming Imperial court (1) as one of this rebels that emigrated to the Southern temples.

At the Fujian temple (located in the Nine Little Lotus Mountains) the monks and rebels shortened the time it took to master the boxing styles from 10 years to 3 years with the purpose of train quickly the fighters to overthrow the Ching rulers and restore the Ming dynasty. The Chu Gar legend says that Chu Fook Too became abbot in the Fujian temple and changed his name to "Tung Sim" (anguish) due to his deep anguish and hatred for the Ching's reign of terror and suffering. In the style's legend he was the person that developed the Southern Praying Mantis style.

The monks (or Chu Fook Too himself) developed kung fu fighting styles that were faster to learn, based on close range fighting, designed to defeat a martial art skilled opponent (Manchu soldiers and Imperial Guard) with fast, powerful chains of attacks that left no time for counter-attacks. If we take as an example of those styles the Southern Praying Mantis one, we will see that it is a way of boxing developed with one purpose in mind: destroying the enemy. Restore the Ming; overthrow the Ching, was the primary purpose of the Southern Praying Mantis and the slogan of the day. It was violence of the Manchu rulers as they hunted down and destroyed revolutionaries of the Ming dynasty that caused Southern Praying Mantis to develop into a direct, deadly fighting style --- destroy the enemy before being destroyed.

The Chu (Jew, Chiao, Ju, Choi, Tsoi, Gee in Toishan, Zhu in Mandarin etc., all variations of the same name!) royal family was descendant of the Sung Dynasty by bloodline, and their members were by uncles and cousins related to the Ming Dyansty royal family.

The Chu Gar (Royal Family style) was a collection of techniques used by the Ming royal family. Emigrated Monks and rebels worked in the Fujian temple to develop a new style based on those techniques, but following their new concepts (no fancy movements, few forms to be learnt in a three year period, etc.). They created the new style combining the Northern Chu Gar techniques with the Southern Five Animals style. Therefore the new style has a southern flavor, but the remnant from the Chiao Northern family style is the phoenix fist punch, it is used in many northern styles, especially in the military ones (it is considered the hidden or special fist of some of these styles).

The main branches of Southern Praying Mantis are:
* Chu Gar ( 朱家 ; Chu family) / Chow Gar ( 周家 ; Chow family) – offshoot of Chu Gar
* Kwong Sai Jook Lum ( 江西竹林 ; Jiangxi Bamboo Forest)
* Iron Ox ( 鐵牛 )
* Hakka Nan Tang Lang

A common antecedent can be surmised not only from their similarities but also from the fact that they all share a common routine, Sarm Bo Jin / San Bu Jian (Three Step Arrow). (Another Southern Chinese martial art, Three Arrow One Way style, also practices a set that is very similar to Three Step Arrow.) However, the genealogies of these branches are not complete enough to trace them to a single common ancestor.

Chu Gar 朱家

Zhu Jia or Zhou Jia (chow gar). Also known as Chu Gar Gao ( Chu family religion).

Rebels and Shaolin monks went to another (Shaolin ?) temple in southern China, where one of them (Wong Dao Yun), circa 1800, taught the original Southern Mantis style to Chow Ah-Nam( 周亞南 ), a Hakka who as a boy left his home in Guangdong Province for medical treatment at the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian Province where, in addition to being treated for his stomach ailment, he was trained in the martial arts and eventually created Southern Praying Mantis, who added more forms to the original three and founded the Chu Gar Southern Mantis. He was also the first person to teach the style outside the temple.

Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis tradition contends that the Hakka descend from loyalists of the Ming Dynasty who fled south when it was overthrown by the Qing Dynasty. The Chu family branch attributes its art to Chu Fook-To, who created Southern Praying Mantis as a fighting style for opponents of the Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) that overthrew the Han Chinese Ming royal family (1368–1644) of which he was a member. According to the Chu family branch, because Chu took refuge there, the Qing destroyed the original Shaolin Monastery in Henan, forcing Chu to flee to the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian.

Kwong Sai Jook Lum 江西竹林 or Zhu Lin Shi Tang Lang Quan

The Kwong Sai Jook Lum style traces its origins to the temple Jook Lum Gee on Mt. Longhu ( 龍虎山 ) in Kwong Sai, where it was created in the early 19th century by one of the monks, Som Dot. In the mid-19th century, Som Dot passed the art on to fellow monk Lee Siem, who would visit Guangdong to the south and teach the art to lay practitioners there. One of Lee's students from Guangdong, Chung Yu-Chang, would return with him to Kwong Sai to complete his training at Jook Lum Gee. Circa 1900, Chung opened his first martial arts school and traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Bao'an County in Píngshān ( 坪山 ) Town, which his eventual successors Wong Yook-Kong and Lum Wing-Fay were natives of. Wong would be responsible for the preservation of Kwong Sai Jook Lum Praying Mantis within China and Lum (also referred to as "Lum Sang", literally "Mister Lum," out of respect by his successors) responsible for its dissemination without.

Also known as Kwang Sai Jook Lum ( Bamboo Forest) or kwong sai jook lum gee tong long pai, also known as mui fa tong long. The history closer to the reality is that some rebel Mings and monks from the South Shaolin temple moved to the Jook Lum temple after the destruction of the Fujian one. In the Jook Lum temple they taught the original Southern Praying Mantis to the monk Sam Dart (the Abbot of the temple). Sam Dart expanded the original three forms, adding some new ones, founding the Zhu Lin Shi Tang Lang Quan (Bamboo Forest Temple Praying Mantis) about 1835 AD. According to the Jook Lum legend (Lam Sang See), the original source of this style of Kung Fu came from Shaolin Kung Fu and was based on the root of Shaolin Gum Jung Jow Dit Bo Yee.

Additionally, Jook Lum is probably closer to the original Fujian style. Most Fujian/Guangdong arts seem to have only a very small number of core forms, with expansion happening later as they spread. Jook Lum still has that "core" system of forms (8, 18, 108), that would be similar to the Chu Gar's root.

Iron Ox 鐵牛

The Iron Ox branch is named after its founder, Iron Ox Choi (Choi Dit-Ngau), who fought in the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1900). The only system of southern mantis that has no link to Chu/Chow Gar is Iron Ox. The style was/is completely separate from Chu/Chow Gar. But note also, in the Chow Gar system a form from the Iron Ox system is taught. So there has been trade in techniques but the origins differ.

Hakka Southern Mantis

the Hakka Southern mantis looks a lot closer to the Wu Zu Quan (Go Chu Kune) root than the Southern mantis that comes from Chu Gar and Jook Lum. Southern mantis looks like a refined version of the Wu Zu Quan movements. At the same time, the stances, footwork and weighting are different when we compare the Jook Lum to the Chu Gar. Many times it has been said that Fujian Bai He Quan (Fujian White Crane Boxing) and Wu Zu Quan are the origin of the Japanese Karate. It is true that Wu Zu Quan style has exactly the same Sanchin form that the Uechi Ryu and Goju Karate styles (with some differences in the tension, and the Chinese version includes two-man version). But Uechi Ryu has a form called Som Bo Gin (Three Arrow Fist), the most famous southern praying mantis form, and both form have similar movements and also the Uechi Ryu foot movements mimic those of Southern Mantis. In addition most Okinawan and Japanese forms follow the same numerology, such as, San Chin Kata (3 steps), Seipa Kata (18), Sanseiru kata (36) and Pechurin Kata (108). May be these similarities between Karate and Southern Mantis are due to the common origin in the Fujian temple, but may be was Southern Praying Mantis, and not Wu Zu Quan the style that originated the Okinawan Karate.

Hakka Boxing sets:

* Som Bo Jin (Three step arrow punch)

* Som Bo Jin (two person version)

* Say Moon San Sao (Four gate single hand form)

* Tong Long Chut Dong (Praying mantis coming out of the cave form)

* Boon Ben Lin (Half lotus form).

Hakka Mantis Weapons sets:

* Liu Tien Pan Kun (6 1/2 pt staff)

* Mei Hua Kun ( Plum flower staff)

* Sho Ho Chian (Neck locking long spear)

* Shih Sun Chian (13 pt. long spear)

* Chu Toh (Farmers hoe)

* Tze Mu Tau (Double butterfly knives)

* Tieh Cher (Iron rulers)

* Kun Twee Chai (Prearranged long stick sparring set)

East River Fist:

In Guangdong in the 1750s, the closely related martial arts of Bóluó ( 博羅 ) and Huìyáng ( 惠陽 ) counties, which occupy either bank of the Dongjiang in the prefecture of Huizhou just east of the Pearl River Delta, came to be collectively known by the name East River Fist.

The Dragon style master Lam Yiu-Kwai, the Bak Mei master Cheung Lai-Chuen, the Kwong Sai Jook Lum Southern Praying Mantis master Chung Yu-Chang, and the Chow/Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis master Lau Shui were all from Huìyáng County. On the north bank of the Dongjiang in the northwest of Bóluó County is the sacred mountain Mount Luofu. Choy Fook, one of the teachers of Choy Lee Fut founder Chan Heung, is said to have been a monk there. One of its temples, Wa Sau Toi, is linked to both Dragon and Bak Mei and another, the Temple of Emptiness, is where the Mok Gar master Lin Yin-Tang studied meditation and traditional Chinese medicine.

Because this area is part of the Hakka heartland of inland eastern Guangdong, East River Fist is associated with Hakka Kuen, the martial arts of the Hakka people.

Though the origins of Southern Praying Mantis may be contested, what is indisputable is its association with the Hakka people of inland eastern Guangdong. The region that is home to Southern Praying Mantis begins in the very heart of Hakka territory at Xingning , where Chow Gar founder Chow Ah-Nam came from. From Xingning, the Dongjiang flows west out of the prefecture of Meizhou through Heyuan , where Iron Ox founder Choi Dit-Ngau came from. In the prefecture of Huizhou, the Dongjiang forms the northern border of Huìyáng ( 惠陽) County, where Kwong Sai Jook Lum master Chung Yu-Chang and Chow/Chu Gar master Lau Shui came from. From there, the Dongjiang flows into the Pearl River Delta at Bao'an County (present-day Shenzhen), where Kwong Sai Jook Lum masters Wong Yook-Gong and Lum Wing-Fay came from. These masters all belonged to the Hakka people, who kept Southern Praying Mantis to themselves until the generation of Lau Shui and Lum Wing-Fay.

Both Guangdong and Fujian are provinces that the Hakka call home, both are strongly associated with the southern Chinese martial arts, and both saw strong and persistent opposition to Qing rule, such as the Hakka-led Taiping Rebellion and the Heaven and Earth Society, whose founders were from the prefecture of Zhangzhou in Fujian Province, on its border with Guangdong. Societies like Heaven and Earth were noteworthy for how their membership transcended traditional Chinese social barriers like those separating Hakka from non-Hakka. In fact, a precursor to the Heaven and Earth Society was organized by Ti Xi, one of the Heaven and Earth founders, in Huizhou, part of the aforementioned "heartland" of Hakka Praying Mantis. The Heaven and Earth Society developed myths of Shaolin origins as part of a larger anti-Qing narrative. Perhaps the Hakka opposed to the Qing Dynasty did something similar, redacting their own migration and the southward flight of Ming loyalist refugees into a single narrative.

The martial art of Southern Mantis and the East River martial arts of Lung Ying (Dragon Claw) and Bak Mei (White Eyebrow) all seem to be related to each other. The founders or popularizers of these styles all first learned Hakka Martial arts. The Lung Ying master Lam Yiu Quai first learned Hakka Kune from his father and grandfather. His close friend, Bak Mei master Cheung Lai Chun first learned the Hakka styles of Li Jia Quan, Vagabond or Beggar's Style, and Lung Ying, and others.

EC Martial Arts Blog

Ung Moon (5 gates) form invented by Bruce Lee

R.I.P JKD Master Jerry proteet you touched all...

Festival Wing Chun in Foshan

MUAY THAI INSPIRATION

Tuishou - "That's enough"

Tui shou - internal structure and movement

Xinyi Liuhebafa Xinyi Zhanzhuang - Fajing.wmv

Capoeira: Vida de Mandingueiro. Fragment 10 minutes of the documentary

Capoeira: A Culture in Motion

Capoeira Guerreiros Orlando Documentary

Freedom Fighting - A Capoeira Film

Malaysia Fight Challenge 3 - MK vs Leke

BRUTAL FIGHT!

Brüno (8/10) Movie CLIP - Dildo Self-Defense (2009) HD

The Perfect Throw - Sambo

An Old Japanese Love Warrior

The most intense taekwondo fight ever

Home is... Friendship is... Life is...

Taikiken (Yi Quan) Documentary

The history of xing yi quan

MEIJI JINGU MARTIAL ARTS by Empty Mind Films

The Key to Survival

Combatives vs. Zombies: the Black Belt Survival Guide

Gary Lam Wing Chun - "Incident" in Switzerland

Wing Chun Techniques: The Secret Weapon Against Leg Attacks

James Sinclair Teaching Wing Chun

Developing a Black Belt Attitude : Winning

Wing Chun’s Wooden Warrior

Shito-Ryu Karate Trailblazer: Fumio Demura

Every Wing Chun Wing Tsun students should watch this

Yang Tai Chi by Sabomnim Dan Rieff - 20111026

Top 10 Karate Concepts Every Martial Artist Should Know

Matt Larsen: Teaching the U.S. Army How to Fight

History of Judo

This is Judo

Ameri-Do-Te

Capoeira: The Dance Art of Martial Arts – - Black Belt

Story of Principle by Erik Oliva (Lin Ai Wei)

The Way Of The Warrior - Martial Arts and Fighting Skills From Around the World by Chris Crudelli

20111027- Chi Sau @ MacQuarie Centre, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

Joe Frazier, the Former Heavyweight Champion, Has Died

Yip Man: Wing Chun Legend and Bruce Lee’s Formal Teacher – - Black Belt

'tai yu qi gong' from wu dang - a kung fu master's amazing exercise

The Empty Mind - Wudang Mountain Tai Chi

Pencat Silat competition on 2011Sep20 @ Berjaya Times Square, KL.

Guardian Angels to keep you safe

Linda Vu's First Form of Wing Chun

Fight Quest - S01E10 - (Kajukenbo) - Full Episode

***[Steven Seagal - The Path Beyond Thought]*** Documentary (2001)

Lyoto Machida Highlight - The Last Samurai

“Judo” Gene LeBell vs. Boxer Milo Savage: America’s First MMA Fight – - Black Belt

Golden hat-trick - Historic 3rd win for Fong Ying at World Wushu Championships

Black Flag Wing Chun Statement by GM Tio Tek Kwie presented by Sifu Sergio

Lethal weapon: Hanging with the world's last living ninja

Lethal weapon: Hanging with the world's last living ninja

Practice makes deadly

Ninja boom

Satisfying smackdown

Wing Chun documentation

Launch of Karen Armstrong Safety Strategies website

Home

Welcome to Karen Armstrong's Safety Strategies

Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate

Philip Redmond - WING CHUN

how to see it coming - Sifu Lee Jacobs

Breaking your mental balance....by Andy Dickinson Sensei

Women's MMA

Wing Chun fight against Muay Thai.

Wing Chun's Jerry Devone wins in MUSU 9/18/11

Wing Chun trapping hands slow-mo

56 year Wing Chun fighter Rajah

Sports Science: Hits like a Girl

Israeli Ninja

A BOY IN CHINA - the trailer by Empty Mind Films

Roy Dean Academy BJJ: Combinations

Roy Dean Academy: The Spirals of Jiu Jitsu

BJJ: The Balance of Form & Function

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Game of Human Chess

My favourite book section

[Steven Seagal - The Path Beyond Thought] Documentary (2001)