Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

[twinboysdad]

I found a YouTube channel that I have found some value in- Kevin Secours. He appears to have been a Systema guy but sort of has his own style now and there is grappling for certain. Check it out

[James Y]

I found a YouTube channel that I have found some value in- Kevin Secours. He appears to have been a Systema guy but sort of has his own style now and there is grappling for certain. Check it out

Thanks for bringing him to my attention.

According to him, besides Systema, he’s also done Japanese Jujutsu (Jujitsu), Shaolin, and some other stuff, too.

Here’s one of his several videos on YT:

https://youtu.be/wfKYb0eWK_U

Jim

[James Y]

Here’s another photo from 1985, in Taipei, Taiwan.

Here I am (on the left), with a couple of my seniors in front of the first Kung Fu school I trained in over there.



I wish I had taken more photos over there than I did. I lived there for close to a decade. There are many photos, but not even close to as many photos as some people nowadays take in one or two days. I’ve never been big on being photographed, because IMO I’m not very photogenic. I’d much rather be behind a camera than in front of it. :)

Jim

[James Y]

Another pic from 1985 in Taiwan. I used to be able to do that with little to no warmup. I haven’t looked at these photos in many years. Yeah, that was a long time ago. :p



Jim

[James Y]

A couple flying side kick pics (Taiwan, 1985). I remember my friend Dave and I took a bunch of photos that day just for the **** of it.



Jim

[Naperville]

Looking flashy! You had some skills!!!

[James Y]

Looking flashy! You had some skills!!!

Thanks, Naperville!

I had been a little hesitant to post pics of myself. But since I’ve been writing about things enough on this thread, I figured I should put something up. TBH, in real life, my hand techniques/strikes were always as good as, or even a little better than, my kicks. Usually when it came to taking martial arts pics, it was for other people wanting to take them. Since I kicked well, that’s what people usually asked for, so that’s what I often did for the camera. Plus, high kicks are generally more dramatic-looking in photos than hand techniques. The flying side kick in those last two pics isn’t even a traditional Chinese Kung Fu technique; it’s the same one I’d learned in Japanese Karate back home in CA. :)

Outside of training, sparring or competitions (i.e., on the street), I never would have kicked above an opponent’s waist. Funny enough, I never threw even one kick in any of the real-life fights I got into. It was always strikes or a throw. One time a choke. Which people didn’t expect, because back then I was very lean.

One trick during sparring competitions was to warm up with several high, flashy kicks, then trade a few kicks back and forth with a teammate before the sparring division started, acting nonchalant but in full view of the other fighters in the division. The other fighters would be fooled, thinking you’re only a kicker. They’d end up surprised. Of course, you couldn’t pull off the same trick twice if you saw the same fighters at another competition.

I’m not posting these pics to show off. If people can take away from it that you can always approach new things (including martial arts) with a student’s mind (meaning an open mind); that you can and do evolve over time, and can also have some fun with it, posting them will have been worth it.

Jim

[Naperville]

I don't post replies but I read whatever you post. You have quite a bit of knowledge in the arts you studied. It's great seeing you!

I probably have a few pictures here at my mom's home of me with various instructors or other practitioners when I was in arnis/escrima in the Bay Area and Stockton, CA. I'd have to dig them out. Even though I've been here at home for more than a year, I did not move anything out of my apartment in Chicago where most of my stuff remains.

I'll have to see if I can find any of it. That was 20 years and 50lbs ago! :D

[James Y]

I don't post replies but I read whatever you post. You have quite a bit of knowledge in the arts you studied. It's great seeing you!

I probably have a few pictures here at my mom's home of me with various instructors or other practitioners when I was in arnis/escrima in the Bay Area and Stockton, CA. I'd have to dig them out. Even though I've been here at home for more than a year, I did not move anything out of my apartment in Chicago where most of my stuff remains.

I'll have to see if I can find any of it. That was 20 years and 50lbs ago! :D

I would love to see your old pics! As vivi said, it’s fun seeing old martial arts photos. Isn’t Stockton and the Bay Area in general a hotbed of Filipino martial arts?

I also appreciate your kind words, Naperville. When I started this thread, I really didn’t expect it to go this long. I didn’t know if anyone else would be interested in the subject, much less read or share about it. And on my end, I didn’t think I had much to say about martial arts. I’ve always felt (and still feel) like a beginner in many ways. I didn’t think I had much to contribute at all until I started typing my thoughts out. Whatever I post is really just a bunch of my opinions, observations and accounts from personal experiences. And all of our experiences are unique and different. And IMO, that’s what makes things interesting! :)

I’ll be posting more pics. Not necessarily in chronological order (by year). Again, not as some ‘vanity project’, but simply to share. Otherwise, these pics would just be sitting in a drawer and never be seen by anyone. Perhaps even more people will post some of theirs.

Jim

[Naperville]

You probably know as much if not more than I do but I think the coasts are where it is at for great instructors. And yes, Stockton remains high in Filipino martial arts. There was a huge brouhaha over the passing of GM Giron (Bahala Na) one to three years before I arrived, and one to three years after I left the foundational students walked away from Bahala Na and founded their own art. Things like that happen and I knew all of the parties on both sides but as an entry level student I was in a bad position, even working with them remotely on MyFMA.net as an admin.

If I can find the pictures and books, I'll post them, but I'll steer clear of the politics. I was not there and am not in a position to discuss it. It's a mess.

You would have to spend a few weeks just on the FMA lineages just to know who I studied with but I studied with the best when I was present. At least I tried to. But economics derailed all of it.

Like they say, plans are what you make, and then life happens.

[James Y]

Thanks. Naperville.

Yes, i agree; I want this to remain a politics-free thread.

I actually know very little about the FMA. My Kenpo teacher, Parker Linekin, also practiced Escrima. He incorporated some basic ideas into his Kenpo, but he kept them separate, and I never learned any Escrima from him. My only FMA experience was at an Arnis seminar in 1981 or early 1982, given by Remy Presas, which I attended along with my Kenpo teacher. At the time, Arnis did not resonate with me.

It seemed like back in the '70s and early '80s, lots of Kenpo and Kajukenbo people in CA also practiced FMA, or had some association with it.

In the summer of 1982, when I attended a week-long kickboxing training camp taught by Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, I got to see Dan Inosanto give a FMA demonstration, in person and up close. He actually impressed the **** out of me.

Jim

[Naperville]

More in a bit...getting dinner.

Like all arts the teacher and material matters. Some of the material is obtuse to me as well. Because most of the material had no formal path for learning before the Filipinos reached the USA it remains a hard subject to "follow" the instruction of. Pekiti Tersia, Doce Pares, and Balintawak emerged in the Philippines as the strongest pedagogical and formal methods for learning FMA. These 3 are taught globally. There are other great Philippine arts today in the Philippines, but student B is not guaranteed to learn what student A learned.

In the USA there were issues initially too, but they were straightened out in the 70's for the larger arts.

[James Y]

More in a bit...getting dinner.

Like all arts the teacher and material matters. Some of the material is obtuse to me as well. Because most of the material had no formal path for learning before the Filipinos reached the USA it remains a hard subject to "follow" the instruction of. Pekiti Tersia, Doce Pares, and Balintawak emerged in the Philippines as the strongest pedagogical and formal methods for learning FMA. These 3 are taught globally. There are other great Philippine arts today in the Philippines, but student B is not guaranteed to learn what student A learned.

In the USA there were issues initially too, but they were straightened out in the 70's for the larger arts.

Oh, I have full respect for FMA, including Arnis and Escrima. At the time when I first saw it and was later exposed to it (in my teens), it just didn’t really resonate with me. At the time, I was more interested in kickboxing and, paradoxically, in Kung Fu. If I had been an adult at the time, I probably would have been much more interested in FMA.

Chinese martial arts (CMA) was another category of arts that my Kenpo teacher respected, and he always told us (his students) to also respect them. Which I kind of did and kind of didn’t, until a bit later, after I got my clock cleaned while sparring a Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Shape) practitioner. I think I mentioned that incident in an earlier post here. This was all before I went to Taiwan.

Traditional Chinese martial arts (CMA) generally do not have standardization of quality. The quality depends on the instructor and the school. Even within the same style, different lineages, and even different teachers from the same lineage, or even the same sifu (teacher), can do things differently … a little or a lot differently. It isn’t like walking into a JKA (Japan Karate Association) branch dojo, for example, where the standards are strict and uniform across the board. CMA’s strength (flexibility to adapt to the individual, etc.) can also be a weakness (quality can vary widely). It’s up to the potential student to be able to recognize quality, which is NOT always easy if someone doesn’t know what that even means, or what to look for.

OTOH, Chinese Wushu is a standardized performing art (non-combative). If a student is mainly interested in practicing athletic forms and participating in a sport similar to dance and gymnastics, it would be much easier for someone to find what they want.

Jim

[James Y]

With Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, after a weeklong ‘Full-Contact Karate’ (kickboxing) training camp in Irvine, CA, in 1982.



Jim

[James Y]

My first Northern-style Kung Fu teacher in Taiwan, Gao Daosheng (second from right), Taipei, Taiwan, 1985.

He taught Chang Quan (Long Fist) and Tanglang Quan (Northern Praying Mantis Fist).



Jim

[Naperville]

I'll give it another try tomorrow. I tried to upload 5 images to the image hosting site and it said the file types were not recognized for some reason. :confused: In any case, I do not have too many photos other than Bahala Na at this time. Most of my martial arts equipment is in Chicago. Photos and signatures were in 2002/2003 before the big breakup.

Cover of Giron Book


Signatures that you may recognize...the book is loaded with them, page after page throughout the book.

Guro Dan Inosanto's signature is there, and he was graduate #1 of Bahala Na Club #1.

Guro Carlito Bonjoc's signature is there and I studied under him in the art of Mata Sa Bagyo. He is a graduate of Cabales Serrada Escrima.

Master Ron Saturno's signature is there and he is a graduate of Cabales Serrada Escrima.

The remaining signatures are graduates and instructors, some who were photographed for the book, and are all graduates of Bahala Na Club #1, founded by GM Giron.

[Naperville]

For knife arts I've studied with a few other Escrima/Arnis/Kali schools but this is primarily where I spent the most time.

1st school that I studied with:
Inayan with Guro Jason and Guro Jenna Inay
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Inayan
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Mike+Inay

2nd
Bahala Na with GM Tony Somera and Club #1 Instructors
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=GM+Giron
https://www.youtube.com/user/multistyle77/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/375Bagumbayan/videos

3rd
Mata Sa Bagyo with Guro Carlito Bonjoc
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... ito+Bonjoc

4th
SLD with Master Dexter Labanog
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... er+Labanog

5th
Guro Nate Defensor and Defensor Method
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... e+defensor

[James Y]

Thanks for posting those!

Wow! That book is a real treasure! Jam-packed with so many big names!

Impressive videos, too!

Jim

[Naperville]

You are very kind. Thanks!!!

I had a blast and was a bit overwhelmed. It was a bit like training escrima/arnis in Hollywood. You never knew who you were going to meet. There are a lot of well trained escrimadors in the Bay Area and Stockton.

[Naperville]

Bahala Na GM Tony Somera and I, in front of Dan Inosanto's boyhood home in Stockton, CA



Bahala Na Guro David Hines and I