A Sensei's work is never done.....

The mark of an instructor is being able to multi-task,

Handling all the details necessary to keep a dojo functioning.

 

It even extends to father duties, back in the day,

even when my son was an infant,

that was no reason not to do both.

 



My Walk on the Wild Side

From 1979 to 1984  I really trained very hard with a wide range of martial artists.

 At the beginning I began with Tai Chi with Ernie Rothrock.

 

Some Yang Tai Chi –Ernie and Victor doing the first ½ half of the Yang Form 10 years later.



 

Then after 9 months he started sharing various other form from kung fu so I could gain some knowledge about what kung fu systems did. These studies were to be able to understand what kung fu was doing when I judged it, I did not venture far into the application uses for these forms. But the experience really helped me understand how to learn forms. That was useful as time passed.

 

 

My first study was this one from Northern Shaolin.

Victor Dune de Kuen

 

And here is a Chinese version of the same.

 

 

Another was from Northern Mantis.

This is a performance of Ernie's Group doing the form.

The commentator is George Dillman, and does not necessarily reflect Ernie's teachings.

 

Then a Chinese version of the form

Chau Chi Northern Mantis for contrast.

 

 

Another was Tam Tui which Eagle Claw taught in the beginning.

 Victor Tam Tui

 

  

Then the Chin Woo version.

 

Ernie obtained permission to teach me one Eagle Claw form – Hong Kuen which had all of the Eagle Claw techniques in the form.

 

The form is lengthy 10 rows of techniques.

Videos of the rows can be found here.

 

 

Eagle Claw Fist – Ying Zhao Pai Hong Quan - Leuong Wo Wong

This is a long and advanced set requiring a lot of energy and good fundamentals. Ir is top develop your stamina and strengthen your skills.

It uses  a variety of special kicking techniques including two very specialized kicks of Eagle Claw: the low groin kick and the reverse into low bow kick.

 1^st section

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8iHmQwZ-xY&index=26&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

2^nd section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD1GFkIUyZc&index=25&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

3^rd section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDa8FHyp410&index=14&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

4^TH section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD1GFkIUyZc&index=25&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

5^th section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2GD3PJeB_Q&index=23&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

6^th section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yww0x7baxzU&index=22&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

7^th section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmNpKiO60ik&index=21&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

8^th section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrlZ8oq6248&index=20&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

9^th section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rTPKKo9_p8&index=12&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

10^th section https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0JVTnb4Njg&index=16&list=PLuEsQ5yd4Ao2L0NOcKqWgfDpc8meGM0BE

 

 

Or a continuous Chinese version of Xing Quan Shi Lu.

 

 

Another form is what my student is showing.

Andrew Ware form Pai  Lum Kuen

 

 

I did study a variety of other forms, Power Fist of the Eagle Claw and Chin Woo Association, Peng Tsu Done de Kuen (the greater Dune De Kuen) among them.

Here is a version of the Eagle Claw Kung Lek Kuen Power Fist form

Victor Peng Tzi Dune De Kuen

 

I also studied a variety of weapons. A basic staff form, 3 section staff form, Yang Tai Chi Straight Sword, and a Chinese short staff form below.  My studies did not go as deep into the weapons forms.

Victor then Dave Belsky performing Chinese Short Staff

 

 

While this is not everything it does represent a good portion of those studies.

 

I did not study the spelling of the forms names, so these are mostly my phonetic attempts at the names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sticks and Stones

The recent horrific terrorist attack in London

did have an interesting side bar.

A bouncer used bottles and other items to throw an one of the terrorists to drive them away.

And it worked.

 

 

While much of our training is just that, training, it is useful to realize what can be used for appropriate self defense.

 

The environment offers many items that can be useful.

Rocks, bottles, sticks and such can serve when stressed.

 

One of my practices uses just that as a training tool.

At brown belt I use 1/2 of the Bando Stick form we study to teach basic use of the stick as a back up weapon for combat.

 

Later, the complete form is studied. But the 1/2 form is a complete stick form is its own right.

 

And the student learns and becomes responsible for the practice that anything you can put your hands on can be used with these movements to defend your self.

 

Anything, Rocks, Bottles, a newspaper, a pencil or pen, a knife and even your empty hands can be used with these movements.

 

Here are 3 of my students doing the Brown Belt version of that form.

 

 

And this the complete form.

 

 

The ancient Okinawans knew this principle.

They learned how to utilize tools within their environment.

Every home had  kama for gardening. Thus the study of kama originated for defense.

Other weapons may have been imported to Okinawa,

but others did originate from what was available.

 

It can be most useful to retain this principle

 

 



Useful anatomical drawings

Saw these drawings in an old issue of JAMA

and thought them might be useful.

Knee Drop and Strike

Evan Panatzi of the Kyusho group shows an interesting application.

 It is from a Pai Lum form Kin Ken. It was not one of my studies with Ernest Rothrock, and when it surfaced from the Dillman people quite some time ago, I questioned him about the form.

 

What he told me was the form was nothing special, the fact he switched to Northern Eagle Claw (Faan Tzi Ying Jow Pai) probably makes the point. But value can still exist.

 

Kata Kin Ken, passed down from the Pai Family Dragon Style, contains a direct attack method on a Target of the Monkey, depicted in the ancient Bubishi. This is also seen in many Karate Kata like Useishi (Gojushiho) and others.

 

Of course this might be an application for the movement in Kusanku kata where we drop to the floor and strike. In this case the strike would be from behind. I imagine some sort of sentry downing technique if it works.

 

Thoughts on Miyagi and Rank

 

I just ran across something Gary Gablehouse posted some time ago, a quote by Miyagi Chojun, Sensei on Martial Arts Titles.

 

"I believe that when Dan ranks are awarded in karate, it will inevitably lead to trouble. The ranking system will lead to discrimination within Karate, and karateka will be judged by their rank and not their character. It will create inferior and superior strata within the Karate community, and lead to discrimination between people."

 

Which is even more interesting when you think about what Miyagi Chojun did to move the study of karate forward.

 

He studied and shared within the Okinawan martial arts community. He traveled to China to try and understand the Chinese Martial Arts, he was an innovator for his own style of karate training. He worked to gain recognition of the Okinawan Martial Arts in Japan, receiving recognition

From the Japanese Martial Establishment for his efforts and he observed first hand how the use of rank was working within Japan.

 

I recall reading how Funakoshi Ginchin remarked how many with rank were coming forward at martial events. Individuals he had never heard of. I think it was within such context that Miyagi’s opinions were framed.

 

On Okinawa, at that time, you were just an instructor, or a student or adept training. Rank was not unknown on Okinawa. Rank was a social function. Most or all of the karate-ka in the 1800’s were from noble families, it was something done with the structure of that society, Even when it was proposed for the schools I expect most of the students were from that stratus of society. Your family rank or status did not change because of your karate.

 

Then when the export began into Japan, the structure was applied to be more Japanese in nature. After all I was for the University system that the art was taught, and there the structure of rank made it seem more like what individuals knew.

 

The idea must have appealed to many Okinawa’s as Miyagi had requests to grant rank to students. However he declined to do this with karate.

 

When he died soon after the War, one of the first actions by his students was to ignore his suggestions and adopt rank.

 

Now the tradition was when you became the instructor, as there were no rules written, you had the authority to make your own decisions. So changing to having rank in karate was not incorrect, just different.

 

But if Miyagi’s suggestion was followed, how might the shape of karate be different today?

 

The issue of Pre and Post WWII Aikido

I am not an Aikido expert. I have had some instruction in Aikido, but more geared as an adjunct to Karate. In fact the source was from someone who trained in Japan in the 1930s.

 

 

You hear that the pre-WWII Aikido taught by Usheiba Sensei was more hard style, and the post-WWII Aikido that he taught was different, softer.

 

 

An interesting video by the Aiki news folks, seems to put that in a different light.

 

The techinques Usheiba Sensei showed in 1936 and then in 1951 seem very much the same, and his Aikido did not change appreciably over the years.

 

I suspect the change was more how students were being trained.

 

 

First, let me show some screen prints from that video.

 

 

 

The video is here.