What is new is the sport MMA. When it came out with the No Holds Bar compeitions it is quite an exciting sport to watch and the UFC turned MMA into a very popular sport. But lately I have noticed the sport part of it has almost done away with the street fighting aspect.

 I was asked to fight in an MMA compeition not to long ago and agreed, on the condition I could get in early because I had to work both the night before and the night of the compeition.  Unfortunately those running the competition did not keep their end of the deal and had all the fighters be their at 5, and didn’t wind up letting me compete till well after 10 on less than four hours sleep. It was quite an emberrasing fight and the judge made a call in the other fighters favor that I did not agree with.  He called it knock out, though I was perfectly concious, but my instructor later informed me that in MMA if they head goes back and doesn’t bounce back up immediately they call that a knock out for safety reasons. Wish I would have known that before the competition as I leaned my head back to avoid a punch and that is what the knockout got called on.

 I contacted the referee later to express my opinion on how I did not agree with the call and would like a rematch. Was asked to give a video of the fight and if he agreed, then after my suspension I could have my rematch. I simply did not obligue because I felt if I can prove that I was indeed never knocked out, there is no reason for me to remain suspended and it was just a waste of my time.  But what really got me was how the man put it, made me lose total respect for the school because I tried to put it as politely as possible and the man was very rude about the situation.  Even made the claim that Kung Fu is not good in a cage fight and that I should go over to his school and learn Judo and Jujitsu.  When I informed him I am already trained in both of those and have at least a Shodan in one and a Nidan in the other he then began saying that in his opinion I was not black belt material. And how he has been training for 15 years and is a second degree.  Then told me to go to his school to see what he is talking about.  I simply deleted his message because it was not worth my time, but it suprised me how arrogant someone had become who only studied the sport aspect of fighting.

 I do have black belts in both of those styles and others but my school teaches all street, and doesn’t much concern itself with the sport side of it.  We simply want people to survive in the case they are attacked on the street. Because of the mans attitude I simply will not fight through anything he runs anymore as their are much more respectable people running competitions that understand both sides.

 For my readers, I would like to see them take a look at some of the sport and compare it to a No Holds Bar street fight and see what they think of the effectivness.  The thing that gets to me the most is all these schools teaching to constantly go to the ground, it seems anymore the sport side is always saying go to the ground and submit.  I for one think this a horrid detrimental thing to street fighting, because you rarely get attacked on the street by one person at a time and you don’t have time to wrestle around on the ground in a real fight, others will soon be there kicking you from all angles.  That is not to say it doesn’t have a use, in a one on one fight with someone smaller it can be quite effective. Or for someone you really don’t want to hurt it is indeed much safer to go to the ground. But for a street fight, with multiple people and possibly multiple weapons, it simply isn’t effective.  And when it only gets passed as a sport, it is unfortunate that many teachers do not bother to convey that message.

  I feel the best way to address the issue is through an education of what goes on with the body and its weight.  The human body is very versatile, and will adjust to almost anything you do to it given the proper amount of time.  I usually say change everything about every six weeks to keep seeing results, otherwise you just hit a plateau.  The basic formula from weight is if the calorie intake is equal to the calories you burn during a day, your weight will not change.  If you eat more calories in a day than you use, you will most likely gain weight.  If you eat less calories in a day than you use, you will loose weight….for a limited time.   The problem with cutting calories is your body adjust to it.  For the weight loss, you basically create an energy deficiency forcing the body to use what it already has stored as fuel rather than what you have eaten on that given day.  The body will eventually adjust to this and do it rather quickly if you decide to do a large calorie cut.  What happens is the body realizes it is using more than what it is taking in so at first it will burn what it has stored, but it will also begin to adapt to the change in calorie intake and find ways to conserve the energy it is getting.  Since there is an energy deficiency that doesn’t effect much at first, but as soon as you go back to your normal eating habits your body is still in conservation mode and your metabolism is slower than normal, so you generally gain back more weight than you lost.  For this reason, dieting really is not a good plan for weight loss unless you plan to never come off the diet, and even then you will plateau. 

  If a person seriously wants to lose weight, you will need to get your diet set and a workout plan in place that has a high amount of calorie burning and that changes at least every six weeks.  Rather than cutting calories all at once, it is better to cut them gradually.  Say you count your calories for a week and you find that on average, you consume 2500 calories a day (not abnormal).  a good plan would be to find a workout routine that burns 2000 calories or so, and then begin cutting the calories by about 100 calories a week.  What will happen with your body is it is already use t o your daily consumption so if everything else stays the same, so will your body.  Well you add this workout routine to it and your body is not use to that, so now it gives off more energy than it normally does so you start losing weight slowly but your body doesn’t see it as a big deal because it has more than enough energy to handle it. The next week your still doing the same workout, but you cut another 100 calories.  The body will still recognize it has more than enough energy and since you are not demanding it to put out more energy than it takes in, it has no need to adjust to the calorie loss….but since it doesn’t have as much waste as usual, more of that energy goes towards improving your cardiovascular endurance and physical fitness rather than just being stored or wasted, so your workouts may start to seem to get a little easier, even if you haven’t seen a lot of result at that point.  On the third week,  you cut down another 100, your a bit more athletic, have better cardio, and as an added mutation your body will speed up its metabolism meaning that you can use the energy more efficiently and effectively at this point.  By this week, if the numbers on the scale don’t change its a good time to start measuring parts of the body because even though the weight scale hasn’t changed, your body is thinner and your clothes seem to start fitting a little looser.  That is just because muscle weighs more than fat and you’ve gained some muscle in your workout while burning fat, the scale might even say you have gained weight even though you feel better and look better, nothing to be discouraged about.  Unfortunately this is a part where a lot of women freak out and say im gaining muscle and I do not want to be buff or anything, I just want to be toned.

 On that subject, I would like to say a little muscle isn’t going to hurt anyone, and the more muscle you have the faster your body will burn fat.  Yes you may gain strength but you are not going to look freakishly big or anything.  Body builders and people who do look like that have to go through a lot of heavy weight training and work hard focusing on building muscle to get like that, and still many of them use over the counter supplements, weigh protein, or increase their calorie intake to get like that.  If your cardio is sufficient, your calories at about the right intake, and you don’t have a high focus on strength, it would be very surprising to see huge arms just magically develop.  Arms like that take a lot of intentional work, its not a by product your going to get on accident trying to workout to loose weight. 

  Because of the nature of how weight loss works and the bodies adaptability to what the body does, I really recommend not worrying to much about the diet and concentrating more on the workout.  Remember you want to burn calories for weight loss, and cardio is the fastest way to do that.  Cardio may build some long lean muscle, but it wont make you buff up or anything like that so no real reason to fear there.  Unfortunately many females are so afraid they are going to gain muscle through their workout program they end up not doing it at all and focus on diet pills and the like.  Truth is if a single one of those products actually worked, They would have replaced all the other products on the market by now.  All they can do is possibly increase your metabolism and control your appetite, which again could just put your body in a conservation mode and cause you to gain more weight if you eat like you normally would, making them counter productive.   So now that I have written all this, I am sure the next question is well then how do I loose any weight?  This is my answer and I have found it to work for everyone I have used it on that has been through it.

Start counting your calories for one week to see what your average daily calorie intake is.  Add 30 minutes of cardio everyday to whatever you normally do, even if its just taking a walk at first. After you know what your calorie intake is, drop it about 100 calories a day, but do not go below 1800, your still need sufficient energy to live and exercise.  Don’t increase the amount of time you workout but rather the intensity as you increase in fitness level.  If you started out with a 30 minute walk, work into a 30  minute jog, then a 30 minute run, then a 30 minutes run with about  2 or 3 minutes of it being a sprint.   Whenever you do cardio try to get your heart rate up though.  You want to achieve somewhere between 50 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate.  If you don’t know your maximum heart rate than an easy formula to use is 220 – your age.  So say your 23, your maximum heart rate would be 220-23=197.  So a 23 year old would want to get somewhere between 50 to 90 percent of that.  so take 197x.5=98.5 and 197x.9=177.3.  That means a 23 year old while doing cardio should keep their heart rate between 98 and 177 beats per minute for at least 20 minutes to get a good  cardio workout.  I hope this helps some people with weight issues they have been having and gives them a more informed way of going about loosing the weight.

Last time I wrote, I covered that for the most part I do not care for groundfighting and went over ways to try to avoid it, and then what to do in a last resort situation once they have gotten you to the ground. With further consideration, I realized I forgot to mention one of my favorite things that can help both standing and on the ground, which is the art of Chi Na. I am personaly a huge fan of Chi Na, which means to seize and control. Anytime a fight does go to the ground and a lock is applied, that is just one aspect of Chi Na. I prefer standing up as I can usually submit someone while still standing without the struggle of wrestling them to the ground, though once any good Chi technique is correctly applied you can easily take them down if you like.

There are thousands upon thousands of martial arts styles, each containing some Chi Na yet no style consist completely of Chi Na. One style that does have a wealth of knowledge in it is Eagle Claw Kung Fu. I have never trained in Eagle Claw before but did take the time to learn the 108 Chi Na techniques because I liked it so much and have read some books on the subject as well about the science behind it.

The basic way Chi Na works is that you will either displace a bone, seperate the tendons of a muscle group, hyper extend joints, and use pressure points as they can help control the opponet easier. Chi Na is considered a very gentle art because you can stop fighting and your opponets pain is instantally gone when you release the lock most of the time. There are exceptions such as when you rip ligament from the bone or break the bone itself, there is also a Chi Na technique known as sealing the breath that may leave them unconcious. Chi Na can be further seperated into types, such as leg Chin Na, arm Chi Na, finger Chi Na etc. Generally the manipulation of small joints such as wrist and fingers can be classified as small circle Chi Na while locks holding larger and often multiple areas such as the arm and shoulder is known as large circle Chi Na.

There are some examples of some of these locks in my previous blogs titled Chi Na I think. The main problem when performing Chi Na is that you do need some advantage over your opponet to pull it off, such as more speed to be able to grab the hand as it is punching. That is somewhat true for groundfighting as well, strength will win that match if the other person is not a more skilled ground fighter.

I emphasize Chi Na so much with ground fighting because just about any lock you do standing can be done on the ground. On the ground you do gain the advantage of being able to use your legs for leverage or squeezing. I have been in situations sparring where I was taken down and couldn’t get a lock in and was able to just squeeze tight enough with my legs to keep them from breathing and gotten submissions from that alone. You do have the disadvantage of less mobility though and for soft style fighters like me, it can become difficult to move with fluidity on the ground. One rule of thumb I like to use to help with that is to over cooperate. If someone is trying to throw me forward, will let them and roll further forward than they expect so I know exactally where they are, where they are going, and how to continue them on their extremely easy path of tossing me around until I can roll them into a lock that puts me at an advantage, this is something I learned from playing dummy for my teacher as he always told me coopertate when playing dummy, resistance only makes it hurt more. I’ve used that lesson to no end and learned to relax in fights because I know tension will do nothing but slow me down.

The main point in writting this is to inform my readers that if you are indeed interested in ground fighting, you should seriously consider analysing some Chi Na. If you are already studying a martial art, you probably already know some joint locks. It may be fun t play with thim and see if you can apply them from ground fighting situations, if nothing else it will be a great learning experience and possibly a fun sparring match.

                         FAMILY TREE

Down Line of Ranking:

            CHINESE HERITAGE:

Shaolin Kung Fu as far back as 21 B.C. It is believed to be back as far as 2500 B.C. Some say 1500 B.C. There is no proof of the time….

            JAPANESE HERITAGE:

37 CHINESE KENPI (QUAN FA) FIGHTERS MIGRATE TO THE OKINAWAN ISLANDS & JAPAN.

ZENKO from 1185 A.D. to 1863. The documentation was not kept or was lost on       all of these years.

FROM TRACY’S WEB SITE

Our Japanese Kenpo/Kempo heritage and lineage is that of the powerful Yoshida Clan

last updated 04/26/02 07:40:35 PM

Since its introduction to Japan from China in the early 1200′s, “Kenpo/Kosho” has always been a Family Art. Passed down through 20 generations of  Yoshida “Great Grand Masters”!

James M. Mitose (1916-1983) was the son of Kiyoka (Yoshida) Mitose and Otokichi Mitose. James M. Mitose was the first Great Grand Master of Kenpo/Kempo/Kosho, not to bear the name of Yoshida! Click here for a short biography of James M. Mitose for a better understanding

The Yoshida’s are an ancient royal Japanese Warrior family that goes back as far as recorded Japanese history.  The Original “Yoshida” family name was Urabe – They took the name Yoshida from the famous castle by that  name they once owned. Not only were the Yoshida’s a powerfully Samurai warrior family but they exercised great control over the “Shinto Religion” – the official and ancient religion of Japan. Shinto literally means “way of the Gods!

The Yoshida’s were warrior lords (bushi) and along with their immense number of military retainers (samurai) were part of an important base of Japanese culture and civilization for over 800 years.

The Yoshida’s  were also daimyo or great lords. To be considered a “daimyo” you had to have land holding of at least 10,000 *kyku.They also had major control of the “Shinto” religion and with it large armies to protect the holding of the church. This combined with  their own land holding gave them large armies to be used to fight upon the side of the “Shogun” when he needed  their support. It was because of this support that they became the first retainers of the famous “Yoshida”** castle built in the 1500′s. The Yoshida’s also had a great deal of influence with the “Emperor” who the Japanese believe is directly descended from the Gods.

*kyku – was the standard measurement for wealth – which for 1500 years was measured in the rice yield. a “Kyku” is about five bushels of rice – or, the amount of rice need to feed one adult male for a year!

      In the middle part of the 13th century, Zengo Yoshida, a prominent member of the Yoshida clan would embrace the “Rinzai” sect of Zen Buddhism and eventually this branch of the Yoshida family would build their own “family” Zen temple on Mt. Kinkai.  The warrior monks of the Rinzai sect in China would also bring with them the unarmed Martial Arts of the Shaolin temple: Kenpo/Kempo/Kosho!

        For the next 800  years the Yoshidas would take the “war arts” of the Shaolin Temple, along with Zen and assimilate and blend them into the Japanese culture. They would be become part of the “Code of Bushido” by which every Samurai lived.

        For over 800 years Zen and Shintoism would co-exist as compatible religions with priests from both religions meeting in  the same building and performing similar religious function. That would come to an end with the overthrow of the Shogun (1185-1863) and the “Meiji revolution: would once again restore power and control to the royal family where the “Emperor” was accepted as a God.

 With the Emperor and the Shinto religion now in full control of Japan – the Yoshida’s who never gave up their control of Shintoism once again held a great deal of power and influence with the new Emperor and new government!

The Japanese lineage of Kenpo starts with Zenko Yoshida. He would become the first important Yoshida to embrace the Rinzai sect of Zen.

1st  Kosho/Kenpo/Kempo grand master: Zenko Yoshida (1232-1297) approx.
followed by 18 more generations of Yoshida (Rinzai) grand masters!

Female blood members of the Yoshida Clan were also taught the family art of Kosho/Kenpo. The Yoshida children stared studying at the age of five. This would be true of James Mitose and his sisters.

             Our modern history of Kenpo starts at this point:
19^th Great Grand Master of Kenpo/Kosho -Jiroku Yoshida (1818-1890)

20^th Great Grand Master of Kenpo/Kosho – Sukuhei Yoshida (1853-1936).

Sukuhei Yoshida was the father of Kiyoko Yoshida (1890-1943/44), and the Grand Father (and teacher) of Masayoshi Mitose: (James).

Kiyoko (Yoshida) Mitose was the only daughter of Sukuhei Yoshida. There was also one older son.

Kiyoko was the mother of James (Masayoshi) Mitose.

21^st Great Grand Master of Kenpo/Kosho
- Masayoshi Mitose (James)

KENPO FOR THE FIRST TIME WAS INTRODUCED TO The U.S. (Territory of Hawaii)

February 7, 1937 Masayoshi Mitose brings 800 years of Kosho/Kenpo heritage to  Hawaii.

The Kenpo/Kosho heritage of James M. Mitose is the heritage of the Family of all Kenpo based styles.

       Kosho Shorei Ryu Kenpo JuJutsu

The Yoshida clan in Japan developed Kosho Shorei Ryu circa 1235 AD. This system of fighting was taught both to the monks on the nearby temple of Mount Kinkai and to his samurai as a means of defense in the case of their disarmament. The title Kosho Shorei Ryu means “Old Pine Tree Style” symbolising the many roots that the school has. Kosho Shorei Ryu is made up of two arts: Kenpo (Fist Law) and JuJutsu (Gentle Art). This system covers all aspects of combat from unarmed (kicks, punches, locks, throws etc) to weapon arts (knife, staff, sword spear etc.)

It is considered one of the oldest ryu around today and is one of the most complete systems of fighting available. Through Kosho Shorei Ryu students learn unarmed combat, Kata, philosophy and history of the art and classical weaponry and tactics.

The Bodhisattva Warriors

by Shifu Nagaboshi Tomio

published 1994 by Samuel Weiser, Inc.

 page XIX

    “The art of Chuan Fa is what the media often (and incorrectly) calls Kung Fu.  Proper Chuan Fa embodies a tradition from which most of the significant schools of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Thai Boxing and other “martial arts” have developed their technique.  It is also a vision of human potential that is desperately needed in modern times.  Chuan Fa teachings have directly influenced — and may have, indeed, created — the Japanese Art called Jiu Jitsu, from which Judo came, and via this, the art of Aikido.”

        No Matter in which language, English – Japanese or Mandarin Chinese, one pronounces the characters on the left they still convey the same concept.  The martial art that we practice at Tracy’s Karate Studios began in India among the royal Warriors 1000 years before Bodhidharma, a 28th generation Buddha, introduced what was to be later inappropriately named Kung Fu among the Chinese monks in their temples.  Kung Fu is only a term that describes one’s most skilled abilities, e.g. a lawyer’s kung fu is his practice of law, a carpenter’s kung fu is working with wood and its related projects, etc.  Kung Fu is not a style of martial art.  Ask any individual of oriental descent if they study kung fu and they may not understand what you mean.  From India to China and then into the islands of Japan and Okinawa and beyond, kenpo is a system of martial arts not a style.  A system is an integrated whole whereas a style is only a portion of a system; however, each style may be a micro-system within itself.

        Kenpo is a Japanese art of self-defense that was brought from China to Japan about 700 years ago by the Yoshida clan. The word means literally, “Fist Law,” and one who practices Kenpo (literally a boxer of the Boxer Rebellion) is a Kenpi. The Chinese style was well suited to defend against the various unarmed Japanese martial arts of the 13th century, and few modifications were required to overcome the new unarmed systems that developed over the next 7 centuries. During this same period the Chinese system from which Kenpo was derived underwent so many changes that, while most of the Kenpo techniques can be found scattered among the hundreds of Chinese fighting systems, there is no single system in China today that resembles Kenpo.

        75 years ago Kenpo was so well known as an effective fighting art in Japan that many Japanese styles that had no connection with Kenpo claimed their art was derived from the Yoshida Kenpo. Some even went so far as to claim their masters had been training directly under Chinese kenpo masters. Similar claims have continued to this day, even though there has not been a Chinese kenpo master for centuries.

        Kenpo came to Hawaii, shortly after the turn of the century, when a Grand Master of Kenpo, Kiyoka Yoshida, was sent to the Islands by her family, to marry Otokichi Mitose. In 1920 Kiyoka sent her 3 year old son, James Mitose, back to Japan to be raised by her parents. There he studied Kenpo and became the first Mitose to Master his mother’s family art of Kenpo. He returned to Hawaii only after his father’s death in 1937. After the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, James Mitose began openly teaching what he called Kenpo Jiu Jitsu and continued to teach until his retirement in 1953. One of Mitose’s top students was “Willy” Chow, who became his second black belt and Assistant Instructor. In the spring of 1949 “Professor William K. S. Chow” opened his own Kenpo club and coined the term “Kenpo Karate” to distinguish his system from Mitose’s, even though the two systems were virtually identical.

        Ed Parker was a student of Professor Chow in Hawaii, and was the pioneer of Kenpo to the Mainland. The system of Original Kenpo he taught in Pasadena, California from 1956 to 1960 was the same as that taught by Mitose and Chow. In 1961 Ed Parker and Chinese Kung Fu Master, James Wing Woo, co-founded Traditional Kenpo, and the master of those two systems was Ed Parker’s first black belt, James Ibrao, and it was under Ed Parker and Jimmy Ibrao that the Tracy brothers learned Kenpo.

        When karate began its rise to popularity in the mid 1960s, Tracy’s dominated the tournament scene and over the years nearly 80% of the world-class Kenpo fighters had trained under the Tracy system. Because of this, and the practicality of Kenpo in real fights, it has developed such a reputation that many martial artists, including Tae Kwon Do instructors, now claim they teach Kenpo, even though they do not.

        So what makes Kenpo so effective? First, Kenpo is not stylized, but incorporates the moves of kung fu, Jiu Jitsu and karate into a systematic system. Second, Kenpo has always recognized the difference between “avoidable fights” and being “attacked”, and has based its theories on the aphorisms of the great Chinese General Sun Tzu, that you win the fight when you do not have to fight, and most fights are avoidable. This is expressed in the Code of Yoshida:

“I come to you with only open hands.

Other weapons, I have not,

But should Right or Honor require it,

My hands will bear me out.”

        As the name Jiu Jitsu implies, the techniques of Kenpo were designed for close range. This follows the two observable principles of unavoidable defense against an unarmed attacker:

(1) 80% of all attacks begin with the attacker grabbing you;

(2) Nearly all other attacks begin with the attacker at close quarters.

        While it is popular for movies and television to have long, drawn-out fights in which dozens of kicks and punches are delivered, those fights are as phony as the long drawn-out movie fights that preceded the martial arts. They are pure fantasy. The fact remains that most attacks begins with a grab, and Kenpo Jiu Jitsu, has a counter for every imaginable grab. These counters can range from simple escapes to joint locks and breaks, followed by restraints or disabling strikes. Likewise, since most other attacks are punches or strikes, Kenpo employs counters that utilize blocks, or strikes, joint and nerve strikes locks and breaks.

        And the important thing to know is that Kenpo, as it was originally taught in this country, is as effective today as it was in 1942, and it is an art which can be learned by nearly everyone.

The following Documentation is of great historical importance to any Kenpo / Kempo
historian.

THE TEXT BOOK
of
JU-JUTSU
as
PRACTICED IN JAPAN
by S. K. UYENISHI 

    This JU-JUTSU book was written when all of this information was current.

    Kempo was a well known and established killing art!

    In 1878 the new Japanese government eliminated two traditions: first they eliminated the Samurai as a class and outlawed their wearing of swords and at the same time …… (KEMPO) was declared an illegal practice when the sanctity of human life was recognized under the new regime. Prior to this time the Samurai had the power of life and death over anyone of less rank. If they thought a commoner or peasant had offended them in anyway, they could kill that person with complete immunity.

    For those of you who saw the TV show Shogun there is a classic example. In one of the opening scenes peasant does not properly bow to a Samurai – for this offense the offended Samurai draws his sword and beheads the offender. Wiping his blade of the blood he continued on his way.

    This JU-JUTSU book also indicates that at this historical period Kempo was a well known (Deadly – Killing art). Also the Japanese were well aware of its Chinese origin. During this period in Japan’s history they were trying to eliminate as many foreign influences as possible. At this same time they also outlawed the various sects of Zen and Buddhism and once again established “Shinto” with the emperor being a “God” as the official religion of Japan.

THE TEXT BOOK
of
JU-JUTSU
as
PRACTICED IN JAPAN
by S. K. UYENISHI

Click on each image for full size picture

INTRODUCTION

        One of the styles alluded to, known as the Kempo, which may be roughly described as a Method of killing people, possessed many points of resemblance to Ju-jutsu but was totally different in practice, being a system of self-defense against sudden attack with intent to kill and replying thereto in kind. It was certainly more closely related to ju-jutsu than are Boxing (even under the old Prize Ring rules) or le savate to Wrestling. It might perhaps be best compared to that very strenuous old Greek Physical Contest, which was known as the Pancration. By-the-way, I may here remark on the possible derivation of the old English phrase “Kempery man” and the Anglo-Saxon cempa, signifying “a warrior,” from the Japanese Kempo. This is a point which should not be without interest to etymologists, and particularly to those who follow the late Professor Max Muller in his theory of the Indo-Germanic origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race.

    Kempo, of course, was a system of attack and defense which branched off from ju-jutsu into the paths of strenuous endeavor, but, apart from the fact that it was less scientific than, ju-jutsu, it was declared an illegal practice when the sanctity of human life was recognized under the new regime.

Another analogous system, known as tori in some parts of Japan and as shime in others, was an extension of ju-jutsu in, the department of ground work, and it is more than possible that many of the locks and holds of ju-jutsu were originated by exponents of tori. The last named system cannot, however, be compared with the “soft art” as a method of self-defense, as but slight importance was devoted to “throws,” the modus operandi being mainly confined to falling to the ground yourself

©2000 Al Tracy all rights reserved – updated Monday, March 06, 2000

What is Kenpo?  Kenpo is a modern Martial Art that has roots going back into China in the 13-1400′s.  It was the family style of the Yoshida Clan on Kyushu Island in those times. During the Meiji Restoration, it was outlawed as being too dangerous for a modern country like Japan was going to become.  Thus, it went underground and was taught only to a few people. It remained secret until the early 1900′s, when, for political reasons, it was taught to an outsider named Mitose, an Okinawan name. James Mitose retained the old system of deadly combat.  What he passed on to William Chow is uncertain, but we know Chow updated it to the standards of today and ensured that it retain its deadly skills for life and death combat.  

1st  Kosho/Kenpo/Kempo grand master: Zenko Yoshida (1232-1297) approx.
followed by 18 more generations of Yoshida (Rinzai) grand masters.

Our modern Kenpo Karate Family Tree

Our Japanese heritage starts with Zenko Yoshida (Approx. 1235) This would establish the Yoshida clan’s tie to the Renzai sect of Zen and Kenpo/Kempo/Kosho

There were  18 Generations of Yoshida Kenpo/Kempo/Kosho Great Grand Masters whose lineage would also come through the Renzai (Zen) sect. The Yoshidas would eventually build their own family (Renzai) temple on Mt. Kinkai. Each generation passed on its knowledge to the next Yoshida Blood line. Yoshida Females were also taught the complete system. At any given time there might be the Great Grand Master, and several Grand Masters. It was not uncommon for many of the Great Grand Masters to simply pass their authority to the next in line. They would give up their “worldly position”, retire to a Zen mountain temple and devote the remaining years of their lives as “Zen Priests” taking all the full vows of priesthood.

(There is a misconception that the lineage was passed down through the priests – priests do no marry so there is no bloodline through which it can be passed on.

Sukuhei Yoshida was the father of Kiyoko Yoshida (1890-1943), and the Grand Father (and teacher) of Masayoshi Mitose (James)

WEB SITES:

                        22^nd Great Grand Master – Thomas B. Mitose www.kosho-ryu.com

William Chow – Kara-Ho Kempo www.blendedkenpo.com  & www.karaho.com

                                                                This is our Japanese Heritage

Ed Parker – Grand Master 10th Degree American Kenpo www.edparkerjr

       Shodan – Kenpo, Kara-te & Jui Jitsu (INTERNATIONAL SELF DEFENSE

       CLUB) Professor William K.S. Chow dated June 5, 1953

Al Tracy – Grand Master 10^th Degree Chinese Kenpo (QUAN FA) www.tracyskarate.com 

Richard (Lee) Cuvelier – Grand Master 10th Degree under Tracy System www.bokfudo.com  

Mark Vanderpool – 4th Degree under Richard Cuvelier

Rhuel Luttrell ** 10th Degree (Judan)

BATSUGUN  ORIGINAL KENPO KARATE -JUI JITSU. (BOK FU QUAN FA CHI-NA)

MARTIAL ARTS TITLES: Doctorates of Martial Arts Philosophy & Martial Arts

                                              Science, Ph.D./  Ma.D.Sc from the University of 

                                              Asian Martial Arts Studies.

                                              Si Gung, Soke, Grand Master, Professor, Judan,

BOK FU QUAN FA CHI-NA (WU SHU KUNG FU)

Translation

Bok Fu translates to White Tiger. Quan Fa translates to Law Of  The Fist. Chi-Na translates to Seize and Control. Wu Shu translates to Martial Arts Kung Fu translates to Skill or Ability.

BOK FU (CHINESE KENPO) QUAN FA (JUI JITSU) CHI-NA is a Chinese style of self defense. BOK FU (CHINESE KENPO) QUAN FA (JUI JITSU) CHI-NA uses softer more flowing techniques than does the American Kenpo, which is very similar in look and has some of the same self defense techniques. Ed Parker’s, American Kenpo changed 90% of the self defense techniques to fit his environment.  The Quan Fa  practitioner uses the attackers own strength and momentum against him. It utilizes striking points on the body that do not require much power in order to disable a much larger attacker. Quan Fa is excellent for improving grace and balance.

KenSho WuShu adds ( Chi ) power after the flowing immobilizing techniques of QUAN FA to have a more conclusive ending, followed with ( Chin-Na ) seize and control, joint locks, Judo throws, grappling and submission techniques to completely disable your attacker. Most of  the kicking skills of KenSho WuShu have been developed out of the Richard Lee Bok Fu Kenpoand I  have added the ( Chi ) dynamics of power for a much harder kick. The kicking skills of Bok Fu Kenpo are out of the Korean styles of Kwons. I have also added many kicks to the KenSho WuShu style.

In conclusion, the art of KenSho WuShu uses the flowing techniques of ( Quan Fa ), the dynamics of hard style Japanese Karate ( Kosho ), kicks ( Kwon ), seize and control, joint locks ( Chin-Na), throws ( Judo ), grappling ( Jui Jitsu ) and creating ( Chi ), which is a Chinese method of creating power within the different muscle groups and is not noticeable while applying techniques.

The ( Chi ) power is called inner strength. The inner strength or ( Chi )comes from the lower stomach and has been said to cure all ailments and to give amazing power, unnoticeable to the naked eye. I prefer to call this dynamics as we all have this within us and all we have to do is apply our techniques with the dynamics as practiced in the techniques as I have demonstrated so many times. Although we don’t call this Chi, we consider it the same concept. I personally don’t buy the theory of super strength by gathering your Chi for unbelievable feats. Personally, I think the gathering of muscle groups is where the unseen power is generated. This is my opinion, not necessarily the opinion of others.

What I have said in this article is to make you more aware of the differences of styles, if you were to be asked by an outsider to explain them. 

The bottom line is Bok Fu Quan Fa Chi-Na (Jui Jitsu) Wu Shu Kung Fu, Shotokan, Wu Shu Kung Fu, Kuoshou Sanshou and Combat Cane is available independently or jointly.

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Kerri Luttrell Original Kenpo Karate Jui Jitsu

C. L. Bergeron 8th Degree

Bryan Miller  5th Degree

Richard Criger

Jerry Williams 4^th Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou 4th Degree

Matt Petty

Kris Hollingsworth 2nd Degree

Dean Knight

Ryan Jones  ** 5th Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

Ed Robinson ** 3rd Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

Rob Freiburger ** 4th Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

                         4^th Degree – Original Kenpo Karate – Jui Jitsu

Tim Green ** 3rd Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

Ray Davis

Josiah Reynolds 2^nd Degree

Kyle Russell ** 3rd Degree Disciple # 1 & Kuoshu Sanshou, Original Kenpo Karate-

   Jui Jitsu

Mark Reynolds 2nd Degree Kuoshu Sanshou

Troy Holton 7th Degree Kuoshu Sanshou

Richard Scott – 10th Degree, (JUDAN) Original Kenpo Karate – Jui Jitsu

Gideon Reynolds

Benjamin Reynolds

Jeremiah Reynolds

Deon Moser** 2^nd Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

Nino Gray **

Darrell Wilson 2nd Degree

Andrew Strout ** 2^nd Degree

Dave Morizot 6th Degree

Bill Struble 2nd Degree

Jason Silva ** 2^nd Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

Sean Rader 2^nd Degree & Kuoshu Sanshou

Cliff Bridges** 2^nd Degree

Cordale Moore ** & Kuoshou Sanshou

Nathan Metcalf **

Clarence Stevens ** & Kuoshou Sanshou

Dennis Lea

Chase Payne –  Original Kenpo Karate – Jui Jitsu &  Kuoshou Sanshou

Reece Borchers

Dustin Baker

Dave Sullins – ** & Kuoshou Sanshou

Vince Stevens – Kuoshou Sanshou

Myka Johnson – Wu Shu Kung Fu

Matt Schaeffer – Kuoshou Sanshou

Jim Mathis

Jim Flynn – Original Kenpo Karate – Jui Jitsu

VISIT: www.kenponet.com for Kenpo – Kempo lineage

** Represents Jun Bao Wu Shu under Great Grand Master James Ibrao and Grand Master Ed   Parker www.thebelt.com

** Represents Grand Master James Wing Woo www.jameswingwoo.com Ibrao’s Instructor.

INTRODUCTION

KenSho WuShu Gung Fu

Consisting of Bok Fu (QUAN FA) Kenpo (CHI-NA) Jui Jitsu, Wu Shu Kung Fu, KuoShou SanShou Kung Fu, Shotokan, Kodokan Judo, Tora Ni Tsuita Self Defense Combat Judo, Combat Cane, Kick Boxing, M.M.A., Kick Boxing, Boxing,  Grappling.

Shotokan Down Line of Ranking:

On the Kosho Side:

About 1600…

SAKUGAWA

An expert from Okinawa

who had travelled in China

1664

KO SHO KUN

A Chinese Expert

AN EXPERT FROM SOUTH CHINA who came to Okinawa

Name unknown

IWAH

GUSUKUMA Chinese Military Attaché

Okinawa

SOSHU MATSUMURA

Okinawa

ANKO ITOSU ANKO AZATO

Okinawa Okinawa

1868 – 1957

GICHIN FUNAKOSHI

From Okinawa, introduced

karate to Japan in 1922

TSUTOMU OHSHIMA

From Japan, introduced

karate to the USA in 1955

SHOTOKAN KARATE OF AMERICA 1956

FRANCE SHOTOKAN KARATE 1964

SUISSE SHOTOKAN KARATE 1977

Ko Sho Kun – Chinese Expert who came to Okinawa in 1664

Iwah – Chinese Military Attache

Soshu Matsumura – Okinawan came from Sakugawa (Okinawan who traveled to China to master Karate)

Yatasune Azato – Shuri-te Kempo

Gichin Funakoshi brought Karate from Okinawa to Japan in 1922

OTHER SIDE:

Southern Chinese Expert ( name unknown )

Gusukuma – Okinawan

Anko Itosu – Okinawan

Gichin Funakoshi brought Karate from Okinawa to Japan in 1922

Master Funakoshi’s Karate

The History and Development of the Empty Hand Art
Part II

by Graham Noble

If you look through karate histories you will often read that Gichin Funakoshi combined two styles of karate, Shorin and Shorei, to form his own system. This has been repeated so many times that it is almost established as a historical fact — but it is not really correct. The first recorded use of the terms Shorin and Shorei was by Ankoh Itosu in his “Ten Teachings” of 1908. Itosu wrote: “In olden times two styles of karate, called Shorin and Shorei, came from China. We consider that both have distinct advantages and should not be altered or combined.” The origins of the terms are unclear but it’s a good guess that Shorin refers to the Shaolin Monastery and its style of boxing. (“Shorin” is the Japanese pronunciation of Shaolin). Shaolin ch’uan had been famous for centuries and no doubt something of this fame had spread to Okinawa, which had strong links with China. Even so, Itosu could only have been generally aware of Shaolin because he used an incorrect character in writing the name.

“Shorei” is more problematical. Some writers have stated that this refers to a temple in China, but this is not backed up by any research. As far as we know there is no mention of a Shorei temple anywhere in the literature of Chinese boxing. I am inclined to accept Kenji Tokitsu’s theory that “Shorei” was originally a mispronunciation of “Shorin” which then became identified with a certain style of karate. Ankoh Itosu did not give any details or description of the two schools of karate but it is generally agreed that Shorin referred to the style practised in Shuri (Shuri-te), and Shorei to the style of Naha (Naha-te). Shuri-te was developed into the modern Okinawan Shorin-ryu styles, and Naha-te evolved into Goju-ryu. Fourteen years or so after Itosu wrote his precepts Gichin Funakoshi supplied a definition of Shorin and Shorei in his book “Ryukyu Kempo Karate.” He wrote:

“We have many ryu-gi (schools) in Okinawa under the direction of many different teachers, but basically there are only two ryu. They are Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu. Shorei-ryu is supposed to be fitted for the bigger man while Shorin-ryu suits the smaller, lighter man. Each of these ryu has its strengths and weaknesses, but fundamentally Shorei-ryu’s fault is its lack of mobility, and Shorin-ryu, though it is light and fast, lacks the power of Shorei-ryu. Those who study Karate must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each style.”

Some experts doubt the validity of Funakoshi’s division but as a description of two tendencies in karate it seems fair enough. However, Funakoshi then applied his classification to each of the 15 kata he brought to Japan. They were split as follows, (the modern Shotokan names are given in brackets):

Shorin: The 5 “Pinan” (“Heian”), ” Kushanku” (“Kankudai”), and “Passai” (“Bassai”).

Shorei: The 3 “Naihanchi” (“Tekki”), “Seisan” (“Hangetsu”), “Wanshu” (“Empi”), “Chinto” (“Gankaku”), “Jitte”, and “Jion.”

Funakoshi’s general idea can be seen. Kata with varied technique and covering a wide area, such as “Kushanku” were classified as Shorin. Those with more forceful movements, such as “Seisan” and “Jitte” were then described as Shorei. Even so it is difficult to see why “Passai” and “Wanshu” say, should be put in opposite categories. Basically, the classification was arbitrary and Funakoshi himself sometimes seems to have been confused. For example, the classification of “Chinto” seems odd since it is a kata characterized by mobility and balance, and in his second book (1925) Funakoshi reclassified it as Shorin. (Or maybe it was just a misprint in the first book).

The important point is that Funakoshi’s categorization did not follow the usual one of equating Shorin-ryu with Shuri-te and Shorei-ryu with Naha-te. Funakoshi never studied Naha-te and in fact all the 15 kata he classified came from Shuri-te. Thus he never, as has often been asserted, combined two styles of karate in creating his own method. If anyone did that it was Kenwa Mabuni who taught all the kata of both Shuri-te ad Naha-te in his Shito-ryu.

Although a few kata fit clearly into Funakoshi’ categorization — Goju’s “Sanchin” and “Seiunchin” would be Shorei, and “Chinto” and “Kushanku” Shorin — I’m not sure it means a great deal today, and it can be misleading. It is probably best taken as a description of the two main tendencies in karate training — a stress on power, or on speed and mobility. Funakoshi’s advice would then be, not to over-rely on one particular aspect, but to combine the best elements of each approach.

Gichin Funakoshi was a man of moderate behaviour, someone who made few enemies. Yet there were people he found it difficult to get along with, Choki Motobu for example. I don’t know if there was a particular reason for this, but basically Funakoshi and Motobu were contrasting personalities with different views of what karate was and how it should be practised. Funakoshi believed in correct behaviour and was interested in the study of literature. Motobu, although he came from Okinawa’s upper classes was rough natured and (possibly) illiterate. And where Funakoshi was always striving to make karate a “Do” with Motobu it remained essentially a jutsu. The Motobus were a high ranking family in Okinawa but Motobu’s tastes were those of the lower orders. He loved to fight and as a youth it was his ambition to become the strongest man on the island. A lot of his time was spent in the red light district picking fights and consorting with prostitutes.

Choki Motobu studied karate with three main experts: Ankoh Itosu, Kosaku Matsumora, and Sakuma. His favourite kata was “Naihanchi” (Shodan) and since this used to be the first kata taught by Itosu it suggests that Motobu did not get very far into Itosu’s Shuri-te. The same may apply to Matsumora and Sakuma. I get the impression that Motobu would try and get what he could from these teachers but he was not the kind of person to remain a faithful student for years, learning one kata after another. His primary interest was the effectiveness of karate technique and his aim was to learn whatever would make him a stronger fighter. This is not to say that he lacked application or intelligence because in many respects his karate was more practical and advanced than his contemporaries. He thought a great deal about fighting techniques and trained daily; to a large degree he was a self-made karateman.

One of Choki Motobu’s claims to fame was that he once beat a boxer in a challenge match. The story of that bout has been told in an earlier issue of F.A.I., and without going into the whys and wherefores Motobu showed the effectiveness of his style at the age of fifty. His main strength was in his fast hand techniques but he was adept also at delivering direct kicks to the opponent’s knees and groin during fighting. Motobu would often restrain the opponent’s hands, or control his body when delivering counterattacks, and all in all his style provided an effective method of self defence. He can now be seen as one of the early pioneers of kumite. Gichin Funakoshi is often given the credit for introducing kumite training to karate, sometime in the 1920s, yet in 1926 Motobu published a book entitled “Ryukyu Kempo Karatejutsu, Kumitehen” and the study of kumite — that is, the application of techniques against an opponent — had formed the basis of his style for many years previously.

Unlike Gichin Funakoshi he was not a kata enthusiast and his uncompromising emphasis on application led him to criticise Funakoshi’s karate. There is a story in “Nihon Budo Taikei” (a Japanese encyclopaedia of Budo) about a meeting between the two men at Yasuhiro Konishi’s dojo in 1929. Hironori Ohtsuka was also present. Motobu had with him a strong young 4th dan judoka, and no doubt in an attempt to put Funakoshi down, he arranged a little test in which the judoka took a firm hold on his (Funakoshi’s) collar and sleeve. “Now,” he said to Funakoshi, “you are so proud of your basic kata, show me what value they have in this situation. Do what you wish to escape.”

As Kenji Tokitsu (who translated this account for the French magazine “Bushido”) observed, this was a somewhat ridiculous demonstration since it opposed a small, sixty year old karate teacher against a bigger, stronger, and younger judoka. Moreover, it immediately put Funakoshi at a disadvantage by allowing the judoka to take hold at the outset. To his credit, Funakoshi went ahead and tried to disengage himself with soto-uke and uchi-uke (outside and inside forearm blocks). This had no effect and he was lifted up and thrown against the wall of the dojo. Motobu then encouraged Ohtsuka to try. Ohtsuka had trained in jujutsu from his youth and was able to throw the judoka without too much difficulty.

That is the story. How much truth there is in it I have no idea, but it doesn’t show Motobu in too good a light. And maybe we shouldn’t feel too sorry for Funakoshi, because in a way he had the last laugh. His teachings formed the basis of one of the major modern karate styles and his followers today number in the tens of thousands, all over the world. In contrast when Motobu returned to Okinawa in 1939 his Japanese group collapsed. When he died a few years later he left almost nothing behind him.

Choki Motobu was generally correct in saying that Funakoshi’s original (1920s) style overemphasized kata and neglected kumite, although since kumite development was then in its infancy that was probably true of most karate training of the period. However, by the next decade, with an influx of fresh blood and new training methods this imbalance was largely corrected. Motobu had his own, strongly reasoned views, but he failed to appreciate the underlying strengths of Funakoshi’s karate or its appeal to many people. Like Funakoshi, Motobu once had a karate club at Waseda University. However, the students found his training methods — work on kumite techniques and repetition of “Naihanchi” kata — too limited and the club lasted only two or three years. Shotokan has always been able to keep the three elements of karate training — kihon, kata, and kumite — in balance and I think there must have been something in Funakoshi’s teaching that led to its successful growth. Although essentially conservative its structure was such that it was able to incorporate new developments in the art and spread worldwide. In contrast, although Motobu had many valuable insights his legacy is limited to a few techniques and influences in other styles. My impression is that Choki Motobu’s style was essentially a personal way of using karate techniques, something he had developed over the years and which arose out of his own unique experience and no-nonsense approach to the art. This personal character enabled him to apply techniques in a natural forceful way in combat, but at the same time made it difficult for him to pass on a “system” to pupils — who anyway may have lacked his temperament, ability, and particular mind for martial arts. Motobu is in many ways an attractive figure, but judged historically Gichin Funakoshi’s style showed the greater potential for development, and in terms of popularity soon outstripped the Motobu school.

I believe Funakoshi had some kind of disagreement too with Kanken Toyama when Toyama began teaching in Tokyo, though I have no details on this. With the founder of Shito-ryu, Kenwa Mabuni however, I imagine he was on good terms. In many ways the two men thought alike. Even if there had been any potential for disagreement Mabuni lived some distance away in Osaka so the two pursued their separate paths. Kenwa Mabuni was born in 1889 in Shuri, Okinawa. He was a weak child but he was inspired to become strong by stories of his ancestor Keiyu Oshiro, who had been a famous warrior many generations back.

Mabuni began karate training with Shuri-te’s Ankoh Itosu at the age of 13, and later, when he was 20 he was introduced by his friend Chojun Miyagi to Naha-te’s Kanryo Higaonna. After he graduated from school and finished his national service, Mabuni joined the Police Force and eventually became a police inspector. All this time he continued his study of martial arts and the travelling involved in his police work allowed him to study with other experts such as Aragaki and the kobudo weapons experts Tawada and Soeishi. Mabuni Sensei often used to say that his karate training had been useful in his work as a policeman, but unfortunately we don’t seem to have any examples of this. No doubt it gave him confidence in carrying out his duties and helped in restraining or arresting suspects.

Kenwa Mabuni’s son Kenei wrote, “In his younger days many people would challenge my father to ‘kake-dameshi’ (challenge match, or exchange of techniques) after they heard that he was practicing te. He accepted these challenges and would choose a quiet corner of the town for the match. Each contestant would bring a second. There were no special dojo like there are today; we used to train and fight on open ground. There was no street lighting so after dark we used to fight the challenge matches by the light of lanterns. In this dim light the contestants fought, and then after a period the seconds would intervene and stop the fight. They would then declare who was the winner and who needed more training. Such challenges were often made to my father, and he frequently acted as a second at others. He pointed out though that people might easily get a wrong impression from these events.”

Kenwa Mabuni recalled, “A young man taught himself to fight independently — he had no sensei for this. He attempted to prove himself by challenging many famous sensei. Of course these sensei all refused his challenge. So he returned home feeling proud that even famous teachers were afraid of him. He did not understand that they refused for his sake!”

Mabuni taught karate in his garden and also at the Okinawa Police School and Okinawa School for Fishing. He was also one of the karate experts involved with the Okinawa Karate Kenkyukai (Karate Study Group), established in 1918, and the Okinawa Karate Club, a few years later.

In 1928 Mabuni Sensei moved to Japan and settled in Osaka. Presumably his wish to devote his time to budo — he once wrote a poem containing the line “Nothing in my mind, except to row to the Island of Bu” — could not be satisfied in Okinawa and this was why he moved to Japan with its long, deep tradition of martial arts. He may also have been encouraged by judo founder, Jigoro Kano. In 1927 there was a conference in Okinawa for judo yudansha (black belt holders), attended by Kano. Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi demonstrated and explained the kata of karate, and afterwards Kano told them how he had enjoyed their performance. He expressed the opinion that such an excellent budo should be spread throughout Japan. Kenei Mabuni believed that it was this conversation which persuaded his father to make the move to the Japanese mainland.

He established his dojo at Nishinari in Osaka and later named his style Shito-ryu. In choosing this name Mabuni commemorated his two teachers Itosu and Higaonna. The characters for Itosu’s name can also be read Shi-shu and for Higaonna’s, To-on-na, so Mabuni took the first character of each name to give “Shi-to.”

I have always liked the appearance of Kenwa Mabuni’s kata; of all the experts of that time he seems to me to have the best style. His techniques are neither too long nor too short, and although his form is always correct, at the same time it remains easy and natural, without the exaggerated attention to form we often see today.

People like Hironori Ohtsuka and Yasuhiro Konishi regarded Mabuni as exceptionally knowledgeable in kata. He certainly knew a very large number of kata and could demonstrate them in good form and in this respect he may have been the leading kata expert of the day. He was perhaps unique in teaching the full range of both Shuri and Naha kata. The Shuri kata he could have learned direct from Itosu. As for the Naha-te kata, he certainly studied with Kanryo Higaonna but I think a lot of instruction must have come from his friend and senior Chojun Miyagi. Some Goju-ryu sensei have said that Mabuni did not complete the full Naha-te system with Higaonna (perhaps because of periods of ill health), but the real give away is that Mabuni’s kata follow so closely the Miyagi style. (The kata of Higaonna’s other senior student Chuhatsu Kyoda show certain differences). Mabuni also taught kata, such as “Tensho,” which we know were created by Miyagi.

What is clear is that Mabuni Sensei had a love of karate technique. Not only did he fully research Shuri-te and Naha-te but he also trained in Kobudo (traditional or old budo) and studied the te of Master Aragaki, an expert about whom we know almost nothing except that he taught three kata “Niseishi” (“Nijushiho”), “Sochin,” and “Unsu”. I am not sure about this but it may have been through Mabuni that these kata entered the mainstream of modern karate. That is certainly the case with the “Nipaipo” kata now sometimes seen at karate tournaments. (It is the special kata of Wuko Womens’ World Kata Champion Mie Nakayama). Although this is now modified from its original Chinese form, Mabuni learned this kata from the White Crane expert Go Ken-kin, a Chinese who made his living as a tea trader in Naha.

Mabuni must have passed on his love of kata to his students because study of kata remains something of a speciality in today’s Shito-ryu dojo. Chojiro Tani in his work “Tani-ha Shito-ryu Mokuroku no-Kata” lists 45 kata in his school, and Ryusho Sakagami in “Karate-do Kata Taikan” (1977) details a selection (not all his kata are included) of 38. Sakagami in fact has brought in more traditional kata such as “Matsumura Passai” and “Ishimine Passai” to further enlarge his teaching. Mabuni sensei died in 1952. His students included his son Kenei, Manzo Iwata, Kosei Kokuba, Ryusho Sakagami, Chojiro Tani, Ken Sakeo, Kangei Uechi, Takeshi Ueno, Ryusei Tomoyose, Teishin Tsujikawa and Muneomi Sawayama.

Hironori Ohtsuka, the founder of Wado-ryu, was not exactly a student of Mabuni, but he did get some instruction from him. This was mostly in the “Pinan” kata, and the Wado-ryu and Shito-ryu “Pinan” are quite similar. I think Ohtsuka also learned something from Choki Motobu since there are similarities o Motobu’s style in certain Wado hand positions and blocking techniques. Some of the Wado-ryu “Naihanchi” kata is said to come from Motobu although going by photographs, the two versions of the kata are not identical.

However, by far the larger part of Ohtsuka’s karate instruction came from Gichin Funakoshi. He was one of Funakoshi’s first students, back in 1922, and acted as one of his assistant instructors throughout the 1920s. Ohtsuka had been aware of karate for some time and planned to visit Okinawa to research the art when he heard of Gichin Funakoshi’s demonstration of June 1922. He looked up Funakoshi at the Meisojuku and found him “Surprisingly open and frank, innocent even.” Ohtsuka was fascinated by Funakoshi’s description of karate and resolved to master the art. Funakoshi explained that he taught 15 kata of karate and that it would take someone 5 years to learn them. However, he added, a person with previous martial arts experience could expect to learn the kata in a year and a half.

That “year and a half” sounds a little odd, considering that Funakoshi always said kata was a lifelong study, and once wrote that he had spent 10 years working on the three “Naihanchi.” Probably he meant that the kata could be learned (but not mastered) within that timescale. He may also have realised that the pace of learning would have to be speeded up in Japan. Whatever the reason, it seems that Ohtsuka did learn the kata within a couple of years and became an important assistant to Funakoshi as the latter expanded his teaching.

Hironori Ohtsuka was 30 years old when he began studying karate. That was rather a late start but he was able to pick the art up quickly because he himself was an expert in martial arts; only a year before he had received his teaching licence in Shindo Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu, an art he had begun studying at 13 under Tatsusaburo Nakayama.

Ohtsuka’s first couple of years with Funakoshi would have been spent in learning the karate kata but once he gained a measure of proficiency in the art he began to look a little deeper. Initially he had seen something in karate — a comprehensive system of striking and blocking — that was generally lacking in Japanese budo, but inevitably his experience in those budo led him to think of ways in which karate technique might be developed or enhanced. He had an independent mind and a long-standing ambition to make his living as a martial arts instructor, so a parting of the ways with Funakoshi was always in the cards. Yasuhiro Konishi remembered an occasion at the Meisojuku when Funakoshi remonstrated with Ohtsuka in front of the students for introducing certain jujutsu elements into the training. From an early point too Ohtsuka began to think of ways of introducing more kumite into the art, and especially something like the randori (freeplay) of judo. Ohtsuka had probably worked out the larger part of his ideas by the late ’20s but the split with Funakoshi didn’t occur until 1930/31. In 1934 his teaching was recognized as a separate karate style (“The Dai Nippon Karate-do Shinko Club,” according to “Wado World–magazine”), although the name “Wadoryu” was not registered with the Butokukai until 1939.

Actually, I’m not too sure on the exact dates of the Funakoshi/Ohtsuka split. It may not have been as abrupt as we tend to think, and the two men seemed to remain on speaking terms. There are many photographs of Ohtsuka demonstrating techniques in Funakoshi’s 1935 edition of “Kyohan” (although of course we don’t know when these were taken) and Ohtsuka is in a group photograph of karate experts taken at Funakoshi’s house, dated 1935.

Mitsusuke Harada had heard stories that it was actually Yoshitaka Funakoshi who had expelled Ohtsuka from the Shotokan group. On a recent (1987) trip to Japan he asked about this and was told the background information. It seems that Hironori Ohtsuka, while within Funakoshi’s group, was always trying to go his own way and introduce his own ideas to the teaching. This was not appreciated by many of Funakoshi’s followers. Ohtsuka did break away, but the break was not clean. Gichin Funakoshi himself would not expel Ohtsuka, mainly because he did not want to cause any unpleasantness. If he met Ohtsuka he would still greet him and talk to him.

Unfortunately, this only built up more resentment among Funakoshi’s followers, and Genshin Hironishi told Yoshitaka that for the good of the Shotokan group Ohtsuka should be expelled. Thus it was that Yoshitaka forced Ohtsuka out. I believe this may have been the time that Yoshitaka replaced Ohtsuka as instructor at Waseda Karate Club. Harada Sensei explained to me that he had thought deeply about this, and he stressed that Yoshitaka did this, not because of any personal animosity towards Hironori Ohtsuka, but because it had to be done to preserve group unity. Harada said that he himself realised the problems of just such a situation when a split occurred in his own Shotokai organization — and a similar clean break had to be made.

Ohtsuka kept the kata he had learned from Gichin Funakoshi but made certain changes. The “Pinan” showed Mabuni’s influence and Ohtsuka added his own ideas to all the kata. For example the chudan (middle area level) inside and knife-hand blocks of Funakoshi’s kata appear as jodan (upper-level) blocks in the Wado forms. The Wado-ryu kata differ from the modern Shotokan forms in having a lighter, less forceful appearance. In some respects the techniques of the kata are quite close to Funakoshi’s original (early 1920s) method, but I think that most of the distinctive, economical character of the Wado forms must have come from Ohtsuka. He believed in fast, economical movements which avoid a direct clash of forces. There is a story that following a demonstration around 1924/5 Ohtsuka’s reputation began to exceed Funakoshi’s at least in some quarters. If true this can partly be explained by the age difference — Funakoshi would have been almost sixty and partly because Ohtsuka showed a style of movement that other Japanese experts could appreciate. Such opinions are subjective and, for what it’s worth, my own view is different. Going from photographs of the two men I prefer Funakoshi’s kata to Ohtsuka’s.

Although “Pinan,” “Naihanchi” and the other traditional kata were transmitted to Ohtsuka, his own ideas are better represented by the set of kihon kumite techniques he created. These could be considered the “kata” of Wado-ryu in fact. Ohtsuka originally devised 24 of these kumite forms but over the years this was whittled down to the 10 now practiced. In their principles of distancing, timing, taisabaki (body evasion), and simultaneous parry and counter, they show Ohtsuka’s approach clearly: flexibility, technique, and body movement rather than a reliance of physical force. Ohtsuka himself was of slim build and this was probably one reason why he always placed technique above force

A while ago, when I had the chance to talk to Tatsuo Suzuki he told me of a shiai (contest) he remembered from years ago. It was between Wado-ryu and a group of Tatsuo Yamada students. Yamada was a tough-guy type of karate teacher who stressed body conditioning and hard technique. As the two groups faced each other the Yamada students took off their gi jackets to reveal powerful, muscular torsos. When the Wado fighters saw this they grew apprehensive. Yet as the first round of matches progressed one Yamada student after another was knocked down or knocked out. (These were the old days of Kokan-geiko). When the second round of fights was due to begin none of the Yamada group came forward.

Nakayama

Takikuki Mekami

O’Sensei, Rod Prejean, Lake Charles Karate School – Hachidan Grand Master

C. L. Bergeron  Roku Dan and Hachi Dan in Wu Shu Kung Fu

Rhuel Luttrell ** Soke Hachi Dan 8^th Degree

Troy Holton – Roku Dan High Master

Ryan Jones ** Godan Master

John Walsh – Sandan

Randy Blanchard – Sandan

Rozana Garrison – Yondan Sensei

Lee Hollingsworth – Nidan

Jerry Williams – Yondan Sensei

John Issacks – Nidan

Carl Hopkins – Shodan

Brandt Wiskur – Shodan

Randy Mayfield – Sandan

Casey Graham – Shodan

Colin McKarry – Shodan

Nancy Gallagher – Nidan

Craig Henson – Shodan

Nathan Gallagher – Shodan

Andrew Clark – Junior Shodan

Clay Clark- Junior Shodan

Kris Hollingsworth -  Nidan

James Jenkins Jr. – Nidan

Tim Green  ** Sandan

Robbie Freiberger – ** Sandan

Ralph Hinkle – Shodan

Tracey Harper – Shodan

Phil Meyers – Sandan

Kyle Gregory – Nidan

Luke Zimmerman –  Nidan

Josh Mount – Shodan

Alexandria Mount – Shodan

Kyle Russell – ** Nidan

Reece Borchers – Nidan

Cliff Bridges – ** Nidan

Dustin Baker – Nidan

Richard Jenkins – Shodan

Cordale Moore – ** Shodan

David Breedlove – Shodan

Leon Moore – Shodan

Brian Stevens – Shodan

** Represents, KenSho WuShu under Rhuel Luttrell

Jun Bao Wu Shu Kung Fu Down Line of Ranking

James Wing Woo: Grand Master under Woo Hung Gar Kung Fu

Great Grand Master, James Ibrao:  www.thebelt.com  = web site for history of the Art.

            Also Great Grand Master ranking under the Ed Parker American Kenpo System.                                              www.geocities.com  = web site for history of the art also under www.tracyskarate.com, under the American Kenpo.

Rhuel Luttrell Si Gung Grand Master or Teacher Of Teachers

 8^th Degree Black Belt in Wu Shu Kung Fu by O’Sensei Porter

Ryan Jones 5th Degree

Ed Robinson 3rd Degree

Tim Green 3rd Degree

Robbie Freiburger 3rd Degree

Kyle Russell 2^nd Degree

Deon Moser 2^nd Degree

Andrew Strout 2^nd Degree

Michael Evert

Cliff Bridges 2^nd Degree

Cordale Moore

Jason Silva 2^nd Degree

Nathan Metcalf

Clarence Stevens

Dave Sullins

Myka Johnson

KenSho WuShu Gung Fu

This system incorporates Grand Master James Mitose’s Kosho Ryu Kempo – Jui Jitsu, Kodokan Judo,  Kuoshu Sanshou Gung Fu Combat Fighting, Grand Master Al Tracy’s system of Chinese Kenpo, Grand Master Richard Lee’s Bok Fu Kenpo , Grand Master James Ibrao’s  Jun Bao Wu Shu Kung Fu, Chinese Combat Cane, Shotokan,&Tora Ni Tsuita Self Defense Combat Judo. Also incorporated into this system are the many Kicks out of the Korean  Kwon  Systems .   

RHUEL LUTTRELL RANKINGS UNDER O’SENSEI PORTER’S UNITED STATES MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION:

JUDAN 10^th DEGREE BLACK BELT – KENPO KARATE JUI JITSU

HACHIDAN 8^th DEGREE BLACK BELT – BOK FU QUAN FA CHI-NA WU SHU KUNG FU

HACHIDAN 8^th DEGREE BLACK BELT – SHOTOKAN

HACHIDAN 8^th DEGREE BLACK BELT – WU SHU KUNG FU

YONDAN 4^th DEGREE BLACK BELT – JUDO

RHUEL LUTTRELL HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS:

2002 UNITED STATES MARTIAL ARTS HALL OF FAME (CALE) FOUNDER OF THE YEAR

2002 UNITED STATES MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME (O’SENSEI PORTER) FOUNDER OF THE YEAR

2008 UNITED STATES MARTIAL ARTS HALL OF FAME (CALE) LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

2008 ALLIANCE – USA MARTIAL ARTS “HALL OF FAME” (ROBERT TRIAS ) SOKE (GRAND MASTER) OF THE YEAR 

RYAN JONES RANKINGS UNDER UNITED STATES MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION:

SHODAN 1^st DEGREE BLACK BELT – JUDO

COMBAT CANE TECHNOLOGY:

Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Kyokai Cho (Kobayashi-Ryu-Tuse Ryu Jutsu Kenpo

This system incorporates the following cane technology from these countries:

China-Okinawa-Japan-Phillipine Islands-Korea-America

Cane System Fighting

(W.A.C.W.) Worldwide Association of Cane Warriors (T.M.)

(Freindship Fraternity)

Members in all 50 states and territories along with members of 8 foreign countries:

Richard Scott:  Judan 10^th Degree Grand Master (Founder and Director)

Rhuel Luttrell: Professor 10^th Degree (Arkansas State Representative-Headmaster)

Wayne Carman: Professor 10th Degree (Missouri State Representative-Headmaster)

Rod Prejean: Professor 10^th Degree (Louisiana State Representative-Headmaster)

C. L. Bergeron: Professor 9^th Degree (Pennsylvania State Representative-Headmaster)

Henry Rudalph: 8^th Degree Assoc. Prof. (Utah State Representative-Seniormaster)

Greg Lee Milon: 8^th Degree Assoc. Prof. (Texas State Representative-Seniormaster)

SFC Charles D. Scott: 7^th Degree Assoc. Prof. (State of Georgia-Practicalmaster)

Troy Holton: 7^th Degree Assoc. Prof. (State of Arkansas-Practicalmaster)

Jeffrey D. Scott: 5^th Degree (Master of the Art-State of Ark.-M.A.- Novicemaster)

Bryan Miller: 5^th Degree (Master of the Art-State of Ark.-M.A. Novicemaster)

Deon Moser: 2^nd Degree (Instructor of the Art-I.A.)

Kris Hollingsworth: 2^nd Degree (Instructor of the Art-I.A.)

Christopher L. Scott: 2^nd Degree (Instructor of the Art-I.A.)

Jerry Williams: 4^th Degree (Master of the Art-State of Ark. MA Novicemaster)

Membership totals 3113 Fraternity Brothers

In Memory of

(Memoriam)

 Professor/Grandmaster 10^th Degree (honorable mention) Norman Murray State of New       York  2007 (81Years)

Professor/Grandmaster 10^th Degree (honorable mention) Kenny Ubanks State of     Kentucky. 2007 (64 years)

DOSHI NO KAI

(JUDO)

North Central Arkansas Judo Club

Mr. Jack Treat (U.S. Judo Black Belt Assoc.) N.C.A.J.C.

Dr. Rhuel Luttrell (Board Of Directors – Yondan Black Belt Judo) N.C.A.J.C.

Master Troy Holton (Sr. Master – Black Belt Judo) N.C.A.J.C.

Prof. Richard O. (Ricky) Scott ( Godan Black Belt Judo) N.C.A.J.C.

TORA NI TSUITA SELF DEFENSE COMBAT JUDO CLUB

Dr. Rhuel Luttrell (Board Of Directors) Yondan Black Belt Judo) N.C.A.J.C.

Prof. Richard O. (Ricky) Scott )Godan Black Belt Judo) N.C.A.J.C.

Ryan (Tank) Jones (Board Of Directors) Shodan- Tora Ni Tsuita Self Defense Combat Judo)

Master Troy Holton {Sr. Master – Black Belt Judo ) N.C.A.J.C.

KODOKAN JUDO

Dr. Rhuel Luttrell 4^th Dan Kodokan Judo

 The first thing I always see with people and dog attacks is that the person is generally scared of the dog, either because of its size or it’s vicious attitude (ie: growling).  So first I want to address fear of the animal, because of the fear being bit or something we see the animal as dangerous. But as humans, we are bigger (except if your a child maybe), we are also generally stronger, and smarter.  With more muscle and  a better ability in strategy, we of course can easily beat dogs in fighting.  No one is actualy scared of the animal iteself, only that it may bite and that will hurt.  Being aware of this might help in that a dog is less likely to attack someone who isn’t afraid of it, and if your confident you can handle the animal, it can really help with fear.

 The second Mistake I see is people turning around and running.  It is my personal opinion that when confronted with any sort of animal, you should never turn your back to it. This gives it the chance to attack you without even being seen. I have had some dogs try to sneak up behind me to bite but as soon as I turned to face them they got scared, jumped back, and would only bark in fear that I might attack them, backing up anytime I moved closer. Dogs seem to leave to go for the backside of the body, that is my opinion anywa.  Even worse is running.  Although I have not done any research, in my opinion this promotes a predator prey chase, if you run the dog will chase you.  Animals out in the wild often chase their pray, running and allowing the chase makes you food.  This advice was giving to me by a guy I met that trained tigers. The man had a tiger with him that day that he had been training and I turned to open a door, when I turned the man had to make sure to have the tiger held back to keep it from attacking, as soon as it saw my back turn, it went into hunting mode but as long as I was facing the tiger, it was very friendly. Strange experience, but I learned a lot from it.  I would assume vicous dogs to have some of that same natural response.

Now in the case the dog does try to bite anyways,  the best thing to do of course is always to find a quit weapon.  Rocks are good for throwing, sticks for hitting and keeping some distance from the dog.  In the case their are no readily available weapon to use I suggest using kicks to keep the dog in kicking range.  That way the animal can’t get to anything vital and enough kicks to the head will deter the dog from continuing, or a good swift kick to the heart will kill the animal in a matter of seconds (given you applied enough to force to rupture the heart). If the animal does get closer don’t hesitate to use fist though, try punches in the body away from the head where the dog might be able to bite onto an arm.  In the case the animal does get a hold of you, give it more than it wants.  If you’ve ever played with dogs much, you know they hate having this shoved in their mouth to far. And the further down you hold your arm in the mouth the more it forces their mouth to be open due to their anatomy.  So at this point, try to gag  the dog. Shove arm or fist down or whatever, let it know if it tries to bit it’s going to have so much shoved in its mouth it will either hurt its jaw or make the animal gag.

This work is based totaly off my personal experiences in my life with animals.  I have only experienced a total of about 6 or 7 dog attacks in my life, and almost one tiger if not for the trainer being there, but have found these methods very effective.  The works are completely my opinion, however if you have arguments or comments I would love to hear them. Ive never seen much on defending against dogs and thought it would be a good thing to put out there, if there is a lot of interest in the subject I will gladly do more research to see what else I can find. Hope this helps

From Rhuel Luttrell:

I received my Judan 10^th Degree from O’Sensei Phil Porter in Kenpo Karate Jujitsu, Hachidan 8^th Degree  in Bok Fu Kenpo, Hachidan 8th Degree in Shotokan, Yondan 4^th Degree in Judo recently.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 These are the most current promotions my teacher has recieved that I know of. I have a copy of some of the other rankings elsewhere that he has sent me but I will have to find them before I could post a complete list, but the 4 rankings listed here of course are more then what most men will ever achieve. Congratulations Rhuel.

Later

We will be connecting with O’Sensei Phil Porter with Life Time Memberships in his organization available. Attached is an article on this famous person.

Rhuel Luttrell

1 world champ, 18 Nat’l champions, 14 world ranked contenders, 850 State
and Regional champions,
He has had 13,000 students….take classes from him. He ranked 110
Shodan, 13 Nidan, 8 Sandan, 6 Yondan, 5 Godan, 4 Rokudan and 1 Hachidan.
I am the 5th person to receive a 6th Degree Black Belt from him. 1 out
of 100 students received a Black Belt. The rank of High Master 6th
Degree Black Belt is 1 out of 2,600.

Mr. Prejean is still active in his Plant Nursery and supplies many Wal
Mart Stores with Palm Trees, Brugmansia, Bougainvillea, Bird Of
Paradise, Pony Tail, Plumeria, Lantana and Oleanders and does a great
business on line as well. I have a Quote from Mr. Prejean that I use so
many times. When you are Green, you Grow and when you Ripen, you Rotten.

Rhuel Luttrell

Doctorates of Martial Arts Philosophy & Martial Arts Science, Ph.D./ Ma.D.Sc from the University of Asian Martial Arts Studies

SI GUNG — Wu Shu Kung Fu

SOKE  — Martial Arts

GRAND MASTER – Martial Arts

PROFESSOR – Martial Arts

JUDAN —- Kenpo – Jui Jitsu

SENSEI ROKU DAN – Shotokan

Hall Of Fame:

Founder Of The Year 2002 (Professor Marty Cale) United States Martial Arts Hall Of Fame

Founder Of The Year 2002  (O’Sensei Porter) United States Martial Arts Association Hall Of Fame

Soke Of TheYear 2008 U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall Of Fame (Robert Trias) Oldest Hall Of Fame formed in 1976

Life Time Achievement Award 2008 United States Martial Arts Hall Of Fame

My own experiences are minute compared to his but as I teach he still remains my constant advisor and mentor on everything.

We will be covering common self defense situations, how to avoid being in a bad situation to begin with, how to handle attackers with weapons and mass attackers. The course will be designed to benifet everyone from novice self defense practitioners to advanced street fighting experienced females. Please feel free to inform as many women that can benifet from these courses as you can.

This one is Locking The arm. You attacker has your arm behind you, you step out right and drive your left elbow either into their solar plexus or their nose. Step Behind them and wrap your left arm around their right to hyper extend it. The ridge hand I just added, it didn’t feel right to stop.

This one is Full Nelson C. You step out left and bring your arms down to trap theirs. Spin out into a chinese wrist lock, kick them in the facial area shuffle in and break the arm then perform a knee to the head. I accidentally hurty Paul on that on, he did a great job letting everything flow though. No Resistance, great person for a training partner.

These are both Orange Belt and beginner stuff for us, the techniques should get a little better each week.

Our class schedule is always posted on our website at http://sifukyle.googlepages.com and you may come by our academy to pick up our monthly schedule to see what kind of seminars we are holding for the month, and when our sparring nights are.  I am hoping to add new monthly events to our calender in the month of August as well, step training up another notch not that we have some students who have been around a while, some are even assisting in teaching themselves now.

For smaller kids such 3-5 I would like to remind the parents, if they’re fast classes seem bad not to be discouraged. At this age kids have trouble staying focused and their mind tends to wonder, but that is one of the best reasons to have them in there. I often see parents pull their kids out who could really use the martial arts training based on one class because they think they’re children did bad. Remember Martial Arts is a skill that requires time to develop, and you should not expect a major result for at least a couple of months. I recommend trying for 3 months and seeing how they do.  We also give a %5 discount for every 3 months paid in advance, and 1 free uniform for 1 year paid in advance.

 I hope everyone had a good summer and I’ll be looking forward to many of my students returning from their vacations, if anyone or their children want to join feel free to call the academy at 479-464-4770 or email me at chinesekenpokungfu@hotmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK3KpBu8hkw

Immediately I told him of Eagle Claw Kung Fu. So I did some research and found this site http://www.lilylaueagleclaw.com/eag_chinnakf.html the 108 techniques are wonderful. I’m hoping to learn some of them and incorporate more of them into my close range figthing skills. I’m hoping everyone enjoys the reference and hopefully Lily Lau will continue to put excellent information out there.

 We will cover propper break falls, breaking a person’s balance, the physics of throwing, using hips to aid in throwing, and also some locks to aid in the process. I would love to see as many people that can attend the event. The cost is $5. We are glad to offer this seminar to our students.

I’m also hoping to put some more training advice on here soon, seems i’m getting quite a few comments loving the refernces and advice on training, even from other martial artist who are just looking for the tips. I understand perfectly, i’m always on the lookout for new ideas and stuff as well. Lately i’ve discovered some flow drills and I just love those, I might post a few of those up soon for those of us who are martial enthusiast who just want more practices to learn. Anyways, I am short on time so i’ll write again soon.

The form here was my first experience with soft style martial arts, I learned it while waiting for C.L. to come down and view our Shotokan testing. Kris Hollingsworth said I had my form down and rather than keep me waiting for a month for him to get here, he went ahead and taught me this form out of Wushu when I was just a Shotokan student. I’ve been stuck on soft styles ever since.

Bo Staff (also called a cudgel)- The form we teach for this is the Chan Quan Compulsory Wushu Staff Form. I also hope to add the Nan Quan Compulsory Staff form before to much longer.

Cane (you can also use a baton, walking stick, umbrella, etc)- The form I teach for the cane is the White Lotus Master Travelers Cane. I don’t know anywhere you can watch this form at but it truly a great form worth learning. I also teach various defeneses with it from all sorts of situations, however I mostly do simple Kuoshu San Shou with the cane in my hand using it as it first comes to mind, which is also a great practice.

Straight Sword (also known as a Jiang)- With the straight sword I am able to teach all the basics and simple short form with the weapon. I hope to be adding both the Compulsory Wushu Straight Sword forms soon from Chan Quan, as well as the Compulsory Tai Chi sword form. You can watch either at youtube and again, they are excellent forms.

These are all the weapons that have been added into the system so far, I do not teach weapons to anyone under Green Belt for I feel they should have good control over their hands before starting to use a weapon. I would not recommend anyone under black belt take the time to learn a weapon because it is time better spent developing your speed and control with your hands, which you will definately need when you learn weapons.  Weapons that haven’t been added but I hope to implement soon include:

Spear

Broad Sword

3 Section Staff

Ones I am not sure about yet but may be included later on will be:

Chain Whip

Rope Dart

Fans

These weapons are added mostly for students request but I mostly use them in training to provide details on how to move the body differently and as a mental exercise learning new forms as well as conditioning because of the nature of the forms.

  Right now, we plan to have the camp for half days from 8am-12pm for one week. If all goes well, we may plan longer camps in the future. We will work on many different things, such as forms, techniques, belt requirements, and do various games for the children throughout.

Kenpo is the way the Japanese language pronounced the Chinese symbol for Quan Fa which is why that part changed. Because Jujitsu was originally mixed in our Kenpo system, Current Kenpo Black Belts are also entitled to a black belt in jujitsu, which is why that has been added. Bok Fu was the system that my teacher recieved his Black Belt in, for his own reasons he dropped the name for a period of time. His black belt read Bok Fu Kenpo, or Bok Fu Kenpo Jujitsu. I’m not really sure which one.

The Jujitsu in our styles is mixed more in the upper ranks. I’ve written some articles on Chin Na in my blog and this is where Jujitsu gets it’s base. In the upper belts, there are alot of submissions and holds which come from our Jujitsu roots.

Rule #1 Don’t Go Down

This is my first rule because I don’t care much for ground fighting. It can only possibly be effective against one person, if your being ganged up on by 2 or 3 people, the ground is the absolute worse place to be. To practice taking all your fights to the ground, you make yourself unable to fight more than one person at a time. Also, it takes so much more energy to grapple then it does to stand up and fight. Strength has to be used, size is an advantage, and unless your 3 times more skilled at grappling, you simply can’t win against someone bigger than you on the ground.

Rule #2 If you do go down, get up quick

Sometimes, you can’t help it. You fall, you get tripped, thrown, one way or the other you sometimes end up down on the ground. If you do find yourself down there, the first thing you want to try to do is get up as quick as you can. If your down against 3 or 4 people, they could easily start kicking at your ribs breaking a few of them. Some people immediately respond by going into grappling mode. Again, that will make your tired much more quickly and won’t work against multiple attackers.

Rule #3 Fight don’t grapple.

In the case it is a one on one fight, most people tend to go into grappling and start looking for submissions. They also completely forget their still fighting a person and all thinks that work standing work just as well on the ground. You could try to push them off the top of your, squire around and push their hands and their feet out of the way until you can get them in some form of choke hold or submission. This takes a few minutes and a lot of energy. You could also simply perform and eye strike and have it over in seconds, with one movement of the hand. Don’t buy into the wrestling thing, if your twice the size of the person your fighting it works great but if that’s the case, they probably aren’t going to try to take it to the ground anyway.

Rule #4 If it is a last resort, grapple

There are those rare cases where their just isn’t any other way. Like when you find a guy that you just can’t beat standing up, but has no skill on the ground, and there is only one person. This would be a good time to go down, and as far as I can think of at the moment, the only example of a good time to go down. Even then your going to have to find a way to take that person down to the ground, just laying down isn’t going to do it. Grappling is useful against friends that you don’t want to hurt and so on, but as far as real fighting goes, I say avoid it like the plague, if you go down, get back up, if you can’t get back up, strike instead of grapple, if those options don’t work then you grapple.

Although it is a skill worth learning, it’s not one I would spend a lot of time with. It would do more good to learn how not to end up on the ground in the first place. But if your feel the need for it, learn where your arteries are, a few arm bars from Chin Na, Jujitsu, and Aikido, a a few choke locks and that should be all you need as far as ground techniques. You also will want some practice escaping and evading these locks, in my opinion about the best way to learn this skill if your going to do is use 2 minutes of grappling as your warm up. Then do your martial art class. It’s enough to think about it, but not enough to be obsessive over how to fight on the ground.

Today I wanted to write about our Logo and the things that are represented in it. My wife SiMo Dana and I are both very interested in Chinese Culture and hightly influenced by it, we even made our logo fit the art of Feng Shui to the best of our ability.  To start off with, there is the ying yang.

 You could find pages and pages of the symbols that the ying yang represents, night and day , male and female and so on. Of course, one can not exist without the other which is why there is a circle of yang in yin and vise versa. A lot of martial art academies have an improper ying yang. When you look at the circle, a correct ying yang should flow clockwise. Most don’t. We wanted ours to symbolize creation and grow so we made sure it did flow clockwise. We believe that through martial arts, we create better people. Patience grows, Respect grows, they become more coordinated, and develop many other traits.

The next part of our logo is the red dragon. It was once said to me that the lower ranks were the Tiger belts and the higher belts we’re the Dragons. The dragon is on the left because that is how we read in America, and making our students into the higher ranking Dragon belts is our first goal at the academy. The dragon is red to symbolise our passion and dedication to the arts. No one makes it to the Dragon ranks without dedication. Dragons are also generally potrayed as guardians and protects, normally seen guarding a pearl. If you look closely at our logo you can see that our Dragon is holding the circle of the ying yang is if it were a pearl to show that it is meant for protection, which is why our students learn self defense. Self Defense is our main goal at RASDAK.

The next part of the logo is the White Tiger. The White Tiger is symbollic of our Kenpo roots. At one time our system of Kenpo was called Bok Fu Kenpo. Bok Fu is Cantonese for White Tiger. Kenpo has been through many name changes. In fact, www.kenponet.comunder the flame archive in the family tree, I am listed as a Bok Fu Kenpo, Kensho Wushu, and Jun Boa system martial artist. My black belt certificate reads Chinese Kenpo. Our system also has many tiger style movements in it.

If you follow the direction of the ying yang and the pictures, it has yet another symbol in it. The Dragons teach the tigers, and the tigers become Dragons, whom then continue the circle. Since it’s a circle it’s never ending. This also represents that the Tigers teach the Dragons. That is true because you simply can’t teach people without learning yourself. I believe James Ibrao said it best when he said “You can not change someone from a white belt into a black belt without inevitably being changed yourself”. I’m not sure the quote is exact but I know it’s close.

At the bottom the Logo simply says, where Tigers become Dragons. This goes with the same symbols that are within the picture. The motto is a spin off of my instructors which simply read “Where Tigers and Dragons Meet”. Hope your enjoyed this article.

Tiger and Crane is the most popular of these, and you can find many people performing different versions of this form online. Our form of Book Set is actually very unique in our system, and as far as I know the only form that doesn’t come from Hung Gar. It was created by James Wing Woo however who was a Kung Fu practioneer. He made the form up for Ed Parker to be taught with his Kenpo system, howevery James Wing Woo and Ed Parker had a falling out before Ed was able to complete this form. He made up the second half himself and taught it that way. When this was found out, James Ibra found James Wing Woo and went back and learned the form in it’s originaly way. This is why we refer to this form as the lost book set, although many people claim to know the form, No more than 50 people know the actual form all the way through, most people only know the first half.  Just wanted to write a little bit to let people know about our Wu Shu we do at RASDAK

They Grab your Wrist

Step 1: Turn your hand over

Step 2: Grab their pinky with your other hand.

Step 3: Pull down on their pinky while pushing up on their hand. You should keep pushing up on the hand until they are standing on their tippy toes. This is a finger bridge, it can be used with any finger or even all the fingers at once if applied correctly.

Starting point is with your wrist touching their wrist.

Step 1: Pat their hand slightly sideways with your other hand as you step up putting your arm under their elbow.

Step 2: From under the elbow reach up and grab the pinky or just cup the hand, then pull down. This should hyper extend the wriste and the arm at the same time. This one is a little difficult, and I am sorry that the pictures aren’t that explanatory but we did not have a 3rd party to take the pictures for us. These locks are very hard to both submit and take pictures of at the same time. Hopefully you found these useful. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think of the Chin Na seqments. I love the art of Chin Na myself, but it can be a very difficult one to learn.

The person grabs your shoulder or makes an attempt

Step 1: Grab their thumb

Step 2: Turn their thumb outward, towards the shoulder of the hand you are grabbing with.

Step 3: You are going to reach up and grab their pinky with your other hand

Step 4: You will continue twisting the hand by the pinky and thumb towards their shoulder, push with the hand that has the pink for extra leverage. This should hyperextend the wrist causing them pain and making them go down. In Chinese Kenpo, we call this technique Japanese hands, we don’t grab the pink though, just push on the back of the hand.

Here is another variation, I don’t have a name for the lock but we use it in the self defense “The Bridge C”

Attempted Shoulder Grab

Step 1: You Grab their wrist

Step 2: You turn their hand until their palm faces them and grab with your other hand.

Step 3: you begin pushing with your thumbs while digging into the pressure point on the wrist with your fingers.

You press with your thumbs while pulling with your pinky, you should also step back and angle downward as you do this technique. Only stop when they are on their knees and can not continue.

All the techniques in these pictures were done be my wife Dana and I. I let her apply all the submissions to me, and we took pictures of the hand gestures. It sometimes helps to put the pictures side by side to see the sequences. I hope this was helpful.

     For that reason, there are many excersizes that can aid in Chin Na practice. The first is simply practicing opening and shutting your hands, see how many times you can open and shut your hand in one minute. I believe the record is 180 times but I am not sure. You can also use pennies or leaves on a tree, see how many pennies you can pick up one at a time in a minute or how many leaves you can take from a tree without damaging the leaves. These are good exercises because they make you grab at various angles in a speedy manner.

     For the grip part, you can do tiger claw pushups. Start out with a full tiger claw until you can do 100 pushups that way, then take a way the pinky, when you can do 100 of those take away the middle finger and so on until you can do the pushups on nothing but your thumbs. This will increase your finger strength making it much more affective when you apply pressure point. You can also tie weight to a stick and roll the string up and down for extra wrist strength.

     The last exercises I am going to write about our some of the hardest. Get a cement block, start by dropping it and catching it before it hits the ground. When this becomes easy, clap once before catching, then twice, and then three times. When all of that becomes easy, start spinning the block when you toss it and follow the same process. If even that becomes easy and you still want a challenge, oil the block down to make it harder to grab. These exercises would be extremely useful when practicing Chin Na.

1 is hyperextension, 2 is misplacing the bone, and 3 is diving the muscle tendon. Hyper extension is pretty simple, you just move a limb beyond the point it is able to stretch to. Think of twisting an arm. We do a simple one we call Japanese hands of this principal. The technique is off of a grab to your shoulder, you will then grab the person thumb and turn it towards their shoulder, then use your other hand to apply pressure further that direction. It require little effort or strenght but there are not many people that can withstand it.

      Misplacing the bone is a little harder, but not that bad. An example of this would be someone point their finger at you, if you hold their finger like a pencil with your thumb underneath the end of their pointing finger, and your index finger at the base of theirs then turn your hand down and your wrist inward this misplaces the bone in the finger (and normally causes them to drop to their knees and beg you to let go).

      The last one is dividing the muscle tendon, I don’t know the best way to explain this one so this technique is actually a combination of misplacing the bone and diving the muscle tendon. Try this with a partner to get a feel for it, but do it slowly as it is possible to rip ligaments in the process. Take your partners right hand, grab his/her pink and ring finger with your left hand, your his/her middle and index finger with your right hand. turn the two sets of fingers towards each other as your seperate them further and further apart. It should be extremely painful.

  These are all examples of finger and wrist Chin Na. There is also arm Chin Na, Leg Chin Na, Body Chin Na, and even Toe Chin Na but as most people today wear shoes, Toe Chin Na is generally excluded, if you feel the need however any of the finger Chin Na techniques should work.  Chin Na is what the styles Aikido and Jujitsu are mostly made up out of, although there is no style that is made completely out of Chin Na. Having a good understanding of this concept will give you a more in depth look at most martial arts though, you can see where a lot of the techniques come from. Kenpo and Jujitsu were once mixed together so we still have a lot of the arm locks and holds in our current Kenpo curriculum, although we don’t emphasize the grappling as much. If we do grapple, it’s usually just to finish someone off we already beat before we get to the ground, because the ground is not a good place to be if you have to fight multiple opponents.

    These are pretty breif descriptions so I think I would like to write a Chin Na segment, I will try to put some photos up for some clearer Ideas, I do have a great book on Chin Na and a lot of it’s principles, as well as ways to reverse it and training to help with it. Chin Na is hard because you have to be very quick to get to the fingers, and have a good grip to make sure they don’t get away.  I will write more soon on this subject, hope you enjoyed this post

    In Kenpo, we will often hit our on chest or arm as we do a technique (hence the name slapping art). There are a few reasons for this. First of all, it helps you to stay relaxed. The more relaxed your  muscles are, the faster you can move. Having fast hands is also something commonly associated with Kenpo artist. Another reason, is sometimes slapping certain muscles can cause the limb to retract faster than you can by pulling it back normally.

     By holding our hand in certain places, it will also stop us from overextending a technique so works to make sure we do not injure ourselves. In the end, the effect of this “slapping art” causes us to hit faster, prevent injury, and get our limbs back quicker so they are not grabbed (if your fighting a K artist, the last thing you want is for them to get a hold of one of your limbs). The name slapping art has lost some now because there was a fight where they matched up a Sumo wrestler against a Kenpo artist, the Kenpo artist won the fight with one punch.  I don’t know the exact details, but I do remember hearing the story once. Hope this helpful

     I am 5’5 and weight about 155 pounds, not very big. Shotokan was developed on the idea of ending a fight in one strike. It is very effective actually, one proper technique should end the fight. However, pain tolerance in people vary, sizes vary, and so on. It simply helps to have a back up style.

     I am not trying to knock Shotokan however, if your perfect it, it will work. It takes away the fancy manuevering and gets straight to the point. Even if you are already trained in another style I would still recommend learning the style as a great way to practice basics. It consist of all the basic movements found in all Okinawan and Japanese martial arts, and forms which implement the techniques in various ways.  There are not a wide variety of techniques, but that is not a bad thing.

     Bruce Lee once said, when it comes down to an actual fight, regardless of how many techniques you know. You’ll only use your best 6 techniques.

     He was correct in this statement, if you’ve ever really been in a fight, you probably didn’t use a wide variety of techniques. A punch, a kick, and maybe a submisssion, not much more.  That is why I am glad to offer this style, it is simple, to the point, and effective. And as a bonus, it helps compliment the basics to almost any other style you learn.

      Wushu means martial art, and the Chinese ideograph is made up of the symbols one to stop violence. The style we practice here is Jun Bao Wushu Kung Fu, although I have been working on adding some of the Compulsory Forms from the Northern Wushu Styles.

      The Jun Bao Wushu system is a five form to black belt system that was created by Ed Parker’s first black belt, James Ibrao. The styles are Southern and come from Hung Gar Kung Fu and include forms such as Tiger and Crane. We are also lucky enough at our school to have the complete form Book Set, which is very rare and not well known. Ed Parker learned half of the form and had to create the second half, James Ibrao learned it in it’s original form from James Wing Woo and brought it back so that are system could have the complete form.

     I have not found many Wushu schools in Arkansas, and am glad to say attended one of the few that did offer it, and opened another to teach it as well, hopefully we will soon have many Wushu practitioners.

    Our academy will try to participate in this tournament if we have enough willing to go, one thing I am very proud of is that Marty Cale kept the Self Defense division in his tournament. Many tournaments have deleted this division now, which happens to one of my favorites and my specialities. I will post the results on this blog site if any of our students decide to attend.

      We are using the funds as sort of a scholarship program for needy children, the proceeds from this event went to pay for one full year of classes for one of our students who would otherwise not be able to afford to attend. 

Thank all of you who attended