Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

[Naperville]

Jim,

Just speaking with regard to the training that I have had in escrima/arnis there is a disconnect between teaching the full method to new students, but I agree, teach the full method, and if you want to teach alternative targets then do so at the same time.

An instructor may teach you something and months later tell you that the tip of the rattan stick is to target something nearby, and not what you have been practicing. For new students, I totally understand, because you want people to be careful when swinging a stick so as to not target the eyes or ears but most of it is not logical.

EDIT!
TEACH THE METHODS OR GTFO!

[James Y]

“SECRETS” (Part 2):

(...CONTINUED FROM MY PREVIOUS POST...)

TBH, my own Sifu (teacher) in Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu has shown me some details/skill variations that he asked me not to show other students; that they were only for me. And I have honored that. But he wasn’t being unethical about it. He wasn’t misleading others by teaching anything the wrong way. He simply showed me some extra tweaks that enhances the effectiveness of certain basic and intermediate skills; details that aren’t shared with every student, unless or until he deems they are ready, or willing to appreciate and are able to incorporate them. I see nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t make me any more special in my mind.

Another way of keeping things close is during public “forms” demonstrations, such as at Chinese New Year festivals, dinner celebrations (where various teachers and students of different Kung Fu schools and systems rent out a big Chinese restaurant for an evening, and gather and perform for each other), etc. In Kung Fu, it is common to “mark” your form. I’ve done it myself. “Marking” a form means changing some detail(s) within the form, as an identifier. There are some unscrupulous Kung Fu people who attend demonstrations to video (or in the past, film) different forms to ‘steal’ them and claim as their own. Such people may even claim to have learned your system and try to teach it themselves, or even claim to have taught YOU. In more recent years, at Kung Fu dinner celebrations, people are usually asked to turn off and put away any video cameras or camera phones before any demos, but some people still try to sneak. Yeah, it’s petty crap, but it is what it is. When a set or form is ‘marked’, if someone later claims it and shows it, anyone who actually knows that form (including myself) can tell he/she stole it and has it wrong from the identifying “marks” (alterations) that were purposely put into the form for the demonstration.

“Secrets” are not only to be found in Chinese systems. I was told by an LEO friend of mine who had studied some BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) here in CA from a Brazilian teacher, that this teacher used to privately show certain things only to students who were fellow Brazilians, to give them an advantage over other, non-Brazilian students during rolling (grappling). My friend said that, although the teacher was good, he got so fed up by it that he left that school.

Some “secrets” or special fine points are reserved for certain students for practical reasons. As long as it isn’t hurting the art, or the effectiveness of its practitioners for the level they’re at, and they will eventually be shown, if and when they become ready for it, I see no harm in it. And besides, it’s just the way it is, like it or not.

In other cases, however, like the seminar master/lineage holder I mentioned in my previous post, as well as the BJJ teacher mentioned above, the teachers keep their secrets for unethical reasons to mislead students. This is harmful, not only to the students who are being mislead, but to the art itself.

Jim

[James Y]

Jim,

Just speaking with regard to the training that I have had in escrima/arnis there is a disconnect between teaching the full method to new students, but I agree, teach the full method, and if you want to teach alternative targets then do so at the same time.

An instructor may teach you something and months later tell you that the tip of the rattan stick is to target something nearby, and not what you have been practicing. For new students, I totally understand, because you want people to be careful when swinging a stick so as to not target the eyes or ears but most of it is not logical.

EDIT!
TEACH THE METHODS OR GTFO!

I mostly agree, Naperville. Adding on details as the students develop is fine.

In Choy Lee Fut, if you try to teach/incorporate every detail to a new student right off the bat, they will be overwhelmed and become discouraged. If you know how to use it, Choy Lee Fut is deceptively easy to apply in actual fighting. But you must be properly trained to get there. Not every practitioner of the art can actually apply it for real.

I’ve seen many Kung Fu practitioners, including some Choy Lee Fut practitioners from various schools, who can give impressive-looking Choy Lee Fut forms demos; but when they free-spar or actually fight, they resort to ineffective, untrained flailing, like a toddler. Or have to spar using other methods, like point Karate, Tae Kwon Do, watered-down Muay Thai or kickboxing, etc., which is a sign of improper teaching and training. Their teacher probably didn’t know how to use it. Why train an art and claim it as your own, but require another art or sport to be able to fight? It makes no sense. They’d probably be better off just quitting Kung Fu and switching arts altogether.

When I used to teach my own students, for a while I wanted to share everything, and I did try to show almost all the possibilities behind a given skill. And I ended up having to stop that, because it wasn’t helping the students. So I went back to the simplified methods at first, and gradually adding in other details as the students developed into it. Which is the way I was taught. By going back to that teaching method, several of my students became quite effective at using Choy Lee Fut, in a relatively short amount of time.

Jim

[Naperville]

Jim,

I cannot speak for every martial art and artist, but just based on what I've seen in competitions, the only people using techniques given to them by their instructors are very high level students and instructors. It just takes that long to develop muscle memory and expertise.

10,000 hours for expertise is what I recall. Training anything but the intended "targets" is not a great idea. But I do agree, beginners do have to start somewhere.

[James Y]

Jim,

I cannot speak for every martial art and artist, but just based on what I've seen in competitions, the only people using techniques given to them by their instructors are very high level students and instructors. It just takes that long to develop muscle memory and expertise.

10,000 hours for expertise is what I recall. Training anything but the intended "targets" is not a great idea. But I do agree, beginners do have to start somewhere.

I’ve had similar observations. Years back when I still attended competitions, one tournament had a “Full Contact Escrima” division. They wore body pads, padded helmets, open-fingered gloves, and used padded sticks. The matches were fast-paced and consisted of them all wildly whaling away at each other, with no regard for the fact they were hitting each other in the head over and over again with the same overhand strike, and zero defense or foot movement. Each fighter probably took over 2 dozen head shots per match. I’m not an Escrima practitioner (though my first striking teacher in Kenpo back in the ‘70s incorporated some aspects of it), but I know it involves FAR more than just standing in place, toe to toe, and whacking each other in the (wide open) head. If the fighters had had no padded helmets and the sticks had been real, they couldn’t have just stood there whacking each other like they did.

The last time I competed in sparring/fighting was back in 1997, up in San Francisco. My opponent was among the top fighters from a Choy Lee Fut school local to that area that has a reputation for producing fighters. By then, I was already using Choy Lee Fut (I’d been doing CLF for 4 years at that point). During the match, my opponent fought like a kickboxer, and fought pretty well. He popped me in the face first, then I started attacking; he was surprised, and seemed unfamiliar with CLF combinations and unable to deal with it very effectively. Most of the match was me chasing him and landing about 2/3 more shots than he did.

Afterwards, he said, “Wow! I can’t believe you were actually using Choy Lee Fut!” To which I replied, “And I can’t believe you weren’t!” He then explained that their school used Muay Thai to fight with, because it’s quicker and easier to learn how to use for sparring. Of course, if you don’t actually train properly in how to use something, you’ll never be able to use it. Our reasons for entering the competition were different. They wanted to win, but their rationale was to take the least risk of looking bad by using a ‘sure thing’ (Muay Thai) to fight with instead of using their stated art. My reason was to test if my art was ingrained enough to fight freely and effectively with in a sporting context, and it was. The match was memorable to me mostly because I had been disappointed; I had never been matched against another Choy Lee Fut fighter from another school/lineage. I had been hoping to maybe learn something from facing against a fighter from his lineage of CLF.

I relate the above story not to toot my own horn, as it was just a match. I included it because it’s one of the many examples I’ve seen of someone who was trained in an art, for a long time, at a school where the teacher was either unable or unwilling to teach students how to actually apply (or at least compete using) that art. Choy Lee Fut is one of the (possibly few) Kung Fu systems that can be adapted to fight in a contact sport fighting context, if the teacher and the practitioner know how to (hint: it’s not that difficult to adapt). I am not saying that I or my methods are superior, AT ALL; I am saying that it is necessary to really examine what it is you’re doing and why you’re doing it, regardless of the art.

Jim

[Naperville]

I’ve had similar observations. Years back when I still attended competitions, one tournament had a “Full Contact Escrima” division. They wore body pads, padded helmets, open-fingered gloves, and used padded sticks. The matches were fast-paced and consisted of them all wildly whaling away at each other, with no regard for the fact they were hitting each other in the head over and over again with the same overhand strike, and zero defense or foot movement. Each fighter probably took over 2 dozen head shots per match. I’m not an Escrima practitioner (though my first striking teacher in Kenpo back in the ‘70s incorporated some aspects of it), but I know it involves FAR more than just standing in place, toe to toe, and whacking each other in the (wide open) head. If the fighters had had no padded helmets and the sticks had been real, they couldn’t have just stood there whacking each other like they did.

...

Jim

In order to not get hit in escrima/arnis, you need footwork, timing and a lot of training on ranges.

If you are looking for footwork in the knife arts the only instructor that I see teaching any of it is Tim Waid of Pekiti Tersia-SMF.

Bahala Na (now Bahala Na Multistyle or other name...) was not bad either but you have to go to competitions to see the footwork of the instructors and masters. They talk about footwork, but they do not enforce it the way that Tim Waid does.

I'm not saying Tim Waid's footwork is impeccable, I'm not in a position to judge, but it looks excellent. It is very timing specific and nobody is going to learn it in a month. It would take years of high level training.

The best footwork that I saw in person was Master Dexter Labanog of SLD / Bahala Na. CRIPES! I saw him use a "fencing style" of footwork to take people apart in competitions, which he won with no problem.

[James Y]

Proper footwork is indispensable in the “stand-up” arts. Otherwise, it’s like having missiles (your hands/feet/weapon, etc.), but no delivery system to put them on target.

There is an old saying in Chinese martial arts that translates as: “The hands are like two doors; all depends on the feet to strike.” Some people take that to mean that the hands are to serve as distractions so the feet can kick. Which is certainly valid. But I also take it to mean that using the “hands” (which actually represents using one’s entire body as a weapon, not just the hands) depends on the footwork to effectively maneuver and position one’s self in the most advantageous way, to ‘open up’ the opponent for striking/throwing/whatever.

In Chinese martial arts/Kung Fu, things are rarely ‘black and white’ in terms of meaning and usage. Most is usually one big grey area, with multiple possibilities. One simple skill/technique has multiple applications, depending on positioning, availability of targets, etc.

Jim

[James Y]

A documentary from a CCTV (China Central Television) show called Experience Real Kung Fu. The art featured in this episode is known as Pigua Quan (Splitting and Hanging Fist), or Pigua Zhang (Splitting and Hanging Palm). Pigua is not widely-known in the West.

The featured ‘foreign guest’ is a Russian boxer who traveled to China to learn about Kung Fu, in particular, Pigua.

Most of the show takes place in Cangzhou, a city in China’s Hebei Province, a town famous as a “Home of Martial Arts.” Many famous northern Kung Fu systems came from (or prospered) there.

IMO, this documentary is interesting. It includes free-sparring. Unfortunately, the English subtitles are tiny and often hard to see. But someone who is interested in watching unique martial arts but doesn’t understand Chinese can still enjoy it. I can understand what they’re saying to varying degrees, but my Mandarin Chinese has become a bit rusty over the years. The masters also have thick northern accents. I often watch these types of things to try to maintain my Mandarin comprehension to some degree.

https://youtu.be/GDwMHkcwqPc

Jim

[James Y]

Yesterday, November 27, was Bruce Lee’s 80th birthday. I made another, different post about it on the Favorite Movie Fight Scenes thread.

It is amazing what Bruce Lee accomplished in his short 32 years on this earth. Many people only know about the ‘movie’ Bruce Lee; to them, he is the Asian guy who made high-pitched cat cries and twirled nunchaku (often mispronounced as “numchuks”) around. As I mentioned in my post in the other thread, there was a lot more to him. I don’t believe he was ever destined for a long life. Certain individuals, whether they are famous or not, are destined to burn extra-brightly and go out quickly, like a comet. Such individuals tend to pack a lot in their short time on this earth.

That said, I will clarify some things. Bruce Lee was NOT the first martial artist to transcend ‘style’, adapt from other systems, and chip away at the ‘non-essentials’ to find the simplest, most effective method. These have been expounded on in the writings of both Japanese and Chinese martial artists for centuries.

Bruce Lee was a voracious reader. He owned a large library of books, of all categories and all subjects. Some of the quotes attributed to Bruce Lee were clearly adapted from The Unfettered Mind, written by Takuan Soho (1573-1645). A few of the other Eastern philosophy works he absorbed included:

Tao Te-Ching, by Lao Tzu
The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi
The Analects of Confucius
The Way of Chuang-Tzu
Bushido: The Soul of the Samurai
The Chinese Classics (compiled by James Legge, all five volumes)
And many, many more...

Back in around 2003 or so, I was part of a small group of tournament officials who treated a famous figure, Master Ming Lum, out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Ming Lum (1926-2011) was known by most of the top martial artists on the west coast from the 1960s onwards. One of those he had personally known was Bruce Lee, during Bruce Lee’s Oakland years. Ming Lum was supposed to have been present at the now-legendary closed-door fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack-Man in 1964, but on the morning of the fight, he ended up declining to go when the group of men came to pick him up to go there, because he had been a friend of both men. Although Bruce’s wife, Linda, claimed the fight was one-sided and over in only 3 minutes, and others present claimed the fight was not as one-sided as she asserted; the fact is, after that fight, Bruce Lee became focused on changing his Wing Chun style to become more practical for himself, which ultimately led to his creation of Jeet Kune Do.

Ming Lum was considered “The Godfather of San Francisco’s Chinatown”. Everywhere he went, he always had two “bodyguards” with him. Even when we ate lunch at the restaurant, his two bodyguards always remained standing stock-still behind him on either side. He knew, and had been known by, countless top-name martial artists, tournament fighters and masters throughout the decades, not only in the Kung Fu world, but also within the Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, etc., communities. When a friend of mine/fellow tournament official asked him which martial artist he knew had left the biggest impression on him in his lifetime, without hesitation, Ming Lum stated, “Bruce Lee.”

‘Nuff said.

Jim

[James Y]

What is “Traditional” and What is “Modern”?

There is a lot of confusion among martial artists, and/or armchair martial arts observers, as to what “traditional” means. For most, it means a practitioner wears a gi or other special uniform for practice, and uses “Asian” terminology, and “modern” martial arts do not. Many call Shotokan Karate or Tae Kwon Do “traditional”, and MMA and its constituent methods (Muay Thai, BJJ, boxing and wrestling) as “modern” and “non-traditional”.

Many “modernists” use the term “modern martial arts” either out of ignorance, or to avoid giving credit where credit is due. Or, because in their minds, “modern” martial arts practitioners fight ‘for real’, whereas “traditional” practitioners don’t. In reality, the methods that constitute MMA are more “traditional” than Shotokan Karate or TKD (as only two examples).

Both wrestling and Western boxing, especially wrestling, have ancient roots all over the world, going back as far as humans have been fighting each other bare-handed, as well as for recreation.

Muay Thai began in the 1500s.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was developed from the old form of Judo/Kano’s Jiu-Jitsu/Jujutsu that the Gracie Family learned from Mitsuyo Maeda, who had trained at the Kodokan. Rickson Gracie himself, arguably the greatest fighter of the Gracie Clan, has stated that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is a Japanese martial art. After WW2, much of the floor grappling in sport Judo was eliminated in favor of throwing for points. Rickson had stated he was happy that many Japanese were learning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and taking its floor grappling techniques and reintroducing them back to their original home in Japan. This statement spits in the face of those “modernists” who claim that Japanese Jiu-Jitsu/Jujutsu “has nothing to do with BJJ.” Jujutsu is an umbrella term for many Japanese systems, and the first established school of what would later become a Jujutsu system was started in Japan sometime in the 1400s.

OTOH, an art that is often associated with the image of “traditional” martial arts, Shotokan Karate, based on older Okinawan Karate systems, was only named Shotokan around the mid-1930s. Karate was only introduced to ‘mainland’ Japan from Okinawa in 1922 by Gichin Funakoshi. And the modernized, Japanese form of it that we are familiar with today (low, wide stances; long, lunging punches; high kicks; high numbers of students taught together in military fashion, etc.) were changes mainly developed by his son, Gigo Funakoshi, sometime during the 1930s. Many of the more dangerous aspects of Okinawan Karate that had made it more effective were either modified or deleted altogether, to make it easier to teach large groups, and safer for school children. The way that Gichin Funakoshi himself practiced his Okinawan Karate was noticeably different, and far less athletic, far less dramatic, expansive or militaristic.

In turn, Korean Tae Kwon Do (founded by General Choi Hong Hi) and Tang Soo Do (founded by Hwang Kee), etc., were variations of modernized Shotokan Karate, developed by Koreans who had studied either in Japan (Gen. Choi), or under Japanese occupation (Hwang Kee). Of course, saying it was a Japanese martial art wouldn’t have gone over too well when they went back to teach in Korea, so they emphasized a little more on the kicking aspect and created a fake history around them, saying they started in Korea thousands of years ago. In reality, Moo Duk Kwan (which is Tang Soo Do) was only founded in 1945, and Tae Kwon Do was named in 1955. In more recent decades, TKD further distanced itself from its Japanese/Okinawan roots by emphasizing “Olympic TKD”, which is virtually unrecognizable from its older, 1950s/1960s-era “Korean Karate” roots. Yet the fiction still persists today that they started in Korea over 2,000 years ago, based on ancient Korean martial arts. NOT. Both TSD and TKD are based on modern Japanese Shotokan Karate. They are far less “traditional” than any of the so-called “modern” orthodox methods employed in modern sport MMA.

These are only some examples of how confused and off-track people are about the meaning of “traditional” and “modern” as they apply to martial arts.

Jim

[James Y]

Early footage of Chinese Wushu, from 1961.

‘Wushu’ literally translates to ‘martial arts’. It can mean literally ANY martial arts. But after the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Mainland Chinese government began instituting changes to some of China’s more famous traditional kung fu styles. The styles chosen were standardized, emphasizing artistic performance and (especially as the years progressed) difficulty of execution. The scoring criteria became similar to gymnastics. The true combative purposes and fighting aspects of traditional kung fu were completely de-emphasized. Elite performance teams were developed, and young trainees were selected by the government for their bone structure, athleticism, and other potential. Wushu teachers were referred to as ‘coaches’, and practitioners were ‘Wushu athletes’. The most famous Wushu athlete in the world was/is Jet Li (AKA, Li Lianjie, born 1963), who became a champion for the Beijing Wushu Team in the late 1970s/early ‘80s, before becoming a movie star in the 1982 production ‘Shaolin Temple’.

Most of the styles represented in performance Wushu were/are northern Chinese styles. The basis of performance Wushu is northern Long Fist (Chang Quan), with much adapted from Cha Quan, an ancient Long Fist system created by Chinese Hui Muslims.

The only southern-style representation was called “Nanquan”, literally “Southern Fist”), a catch-all term for any southern styles. In this video, the Nanquan is clearly based on traditional southern short-hand styles from Fujian (Fukien) Province; later, that would be changed to a more acrobatic Nanquan routine.

The footage in this video is remarkable for its historical value. It was shot in Shanghai, China in 1961. It is possibly the oldest available historical footage of ‘modern Wushu’. It is clear that, at that point, Wushu was in a transition period. Form-wise, the styles presented were still closer to the traditional styles they were based on, and the coaches and young adult performers had come from ‘traditional’ backgrounds. The performers were from the Shanghai Sports Wushu Team.

(From 0:13); Cha Quan, performed by Hu Hanping:

(From 0:46); Nanquan (AKA, “Southern Fist”), performed by Feng Rulong (born 1940):

(From 1:19); Chen style Taijiquan (Tai Chi), performed by Gu Liuxin (1908-1990):

(From 2:01); Luohan Quan (Arhat Fist), performer unknown:

(From 3:41); Halberd/Guandao, performed by Wang Xiaorong (1908-1990):

(From 4:06); ; Shuang Ji, by unknown performer:

(From 4:57); Spear vs Staff, by unknown performers:

(From 5:16); Wushu basic training:

(From 6:37); Straight Sword (Jian), performed by Li Fumei (born 1941):

(From 7:12); Compulsory Wushu Routine, performed by Li Fumei:

(From 8:49); “The Fight of Golden Roosters” from the Yanqing Quan style; performed by Li Zhenduo (1903-1981) and his student:

https://youtu.be/utv3tSupHjM

Jim

[cbrstar]

A documentary from a CCTV (China Central Television) show called Experience Real Kung Fu. The art featured in this episode is known as Pigua Quan (Splitting and Hanging Fist), or Pigua Zhang (Splitting and Hanging Palm). Pigua is not widely-known in the West.

The featured ‘foreign guest’ is a Russian boxer who traveled to China to learn about Kung Fu, in particular, Pigua.

Most of the show takes place in Cangzhou, a city in China’s Hebei Province, a town famous as a “Home of Martial Arts.” Many famous northern Kung Fu systems came from (or prospered) there.

IMO, this documentary is interesting. It includes free-sparring. Unfortunately, the English subtitles are tiny and often hard to see. But someone who is interested in watching unique martial arts but doesn’t understand Chinese can still enjoy it. I can understand what they’re saying to varying degrees, but my Mandarin Chinese has become a bit rusty over the years. The masters also have thick northern accents. I often watch these types of things to try to maintain my Mandarin comprehension to some degree.

https://youtu.be/GDwMHkcwqPc

Jim

I'm not commenting on this particular episode, but a lot of this show is propaganda. https://youtu.be/0XwXaCbfIGw Wei Lei had been showcased on the show a couple of times. But he's more of a magician then a Martial Artist.

[James Y]

A documentary from a CCTV (China Central Television) show called Experience Real Kung Fu. The art featured in this episode is known as Pigua Quan (Splitting and Hanging Fist), or Pigua Zhang (Splitting and Hanging Palm). Pigua is not widely-known in the West.

The featured ‘foreign guest’ is a Russian boxer who traveled to China to learn about Kung Fu, in particular, Pigua.

Most of the show takes place in Cangzhou, a city in China’s Hebei Province, a town famous as a “Home of Martial Arts.” Many famous northern Kung Fu systems came from (or prospered) there.

IMO, this documentary is interesting. It includes free-sparring. Unfortunately, the English subtitles are tiny and often hard to see. But someone who is interested in watching unique martial arts but doesn’t understand Chinese can still enjoy it. I can understand what they’re saying to varying degrees, but my Mandarin Chinese has become a bit rusty over the years. The masters also have thick northern accents. I often watch these types of things to try to maintain my Mandarin comprehension to some degree.

https://youtu.be/GDwMHkcwqPc

Jim

I'm not commenting on this particular episode, but a lot of this show is propaganda. https://youtu.be/0XwXaCbfIGw Wei Lei had been showcased on the show a couple of times. But he's more of a magician then a Martial Artist.

Thank you.

My main reasons for posting it are the Piguaquan style and the free-sparring portions. I liked that the Piguaquan guys were at least incorporating it into their free-sparring. Most videos about Kung Fu systems only show people doing forms. I wasn’t impressed with some of it, like the master chasing and slapping the Russian kid, who clearly wasn’t going to fight back under those circumstances.

As for Wei Lei, was he ever a martial artist at all? There are a lot of “Kung Fu” frauds out there. Especially with Kung Fu/Chinese martial arts, one really needs to be extra vigilant and separate the wheat from the chaff.

Jim

[James Y]

In Chelyabinsk, Russia, a Tae Kwon Do practitioner knocked out a jewelry store robber with a single roundhouse kick, putting the robber into convulsions.

https://youtu.be/OEXfPvTw73g

Jim

[James Y]

And now for some levity...:D

Women’s self-defense/Judo demonstration film from 1937.

https://youtu.be/8F8rtzXIRSk

Jim

[James Y]

May Whitley Jiu-Jitsu (Jujutsu) self-defense stage act (from 1933). ‘May Whitley’ was most likely a stage name.

https://youtu.be/-GJsld9IVjU

Jim

[James Y]

1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, Chinese Martial Arts Demonstration.

Please note: I am presenting this only for its historical significance to martial arts.

Incomplete (and probably the only extant) footage of Chinese martial arts performances during the closing ceremony of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. These were only a few of the performances. There were actually others, including Tai Chi (AKA, Taijiquan). Afterwards, Hitler reportedly met with the team, and mentioned that he would have liked to have learned the Tai Chi if he’d had the time.

All of the performers were practitioners of northern-style Kung Fu systems.

AFAIK, the only other time that Chinese martial arts were ever demonstrated at an Olympics was during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

https://youtu.be/OmWBZwNp7lQ

Jim

[cbrstar]

I can't help but think where you live is going to effect your Martial Arts ability.
My Father used to teach Judo and Ju-Jitsu in England back in the 1960's. Growing up by the docks back in the 40's and 50's in England you had to be pretty tough and street smart as there was a lot of gangs. He started learning Judo at a club that was only a few blocks away. At the time the Japanese Sailors fresh from WW2 would get off the boat and come to the club and challenge them. My Dad tells me the Japanese were ferocious and wouldn't quit until they were knocked out from choke holds. But having to go full out and hold nothing back helped him get extremely good fast and also lose that fear of being hurt.
It was also set up differently then. They only gave out one black belt at a time and to get it he had to defeat quite a few guys to get it. But once he had the black belt, he was then offered to learn Ju-Jitsu a few hours a night after the Judo class. The club felt like in order to learn the Ju-Jitsu safely you had to have a certain level of understanding of Judo.

When he immigrated to Canada in 1967. He just couldn't find anywhere with the same intensity or level of training.

[James Y]

I can't help but think where you live is going to effect your Martial Arts ability.
My Father used to teach Judo and Ju-Jitsu in England back in the 1960's. Growing up by the docks back in the 40's and 50's in England you had to be pretty tough and street smart as there was a lot of gangs. He started learning Judo at a club that was only a few blocks away. At the time the Japanese Sailors fresh from WW2 would get off the boat and come to the club and challenge them. My Dad tells me the Japanese were ferocious and wouldn't quit until they were knocked out from choke holds. But having to go full out and hold nothing back helped him get extremely good fast and also lose that fear of being hurt.
It was also set up differently then. They only gave out one black belt at a time and to get it he had to defeat quite a few guys to get it. But once he had the black belt, he was then offered to learn Ju-Jitsu a few hours a night after the Judo class. The club felt like in order to learn the Ju-Jitsu safely you had to have a certain level of understanding of Judo.

When he immigrated to Canada in 1967. He just couldn't find anywhere with the same intensity or level of training.

Thank you for sharing, cbrstar!

Jim

[James Y]

Shotokan Karate self-defense techniques.

Although I don’t care for these types of ‘formalized’ self-defense techniques/scenarios, I’m posting this to highlight Master Teruyuki Okazaki, the man demonstrating the kicking techniques and the self-defense techniques here. This is a portion of a longer film showing such techniques demonstrated by various Japanese Shotokan sensei from the Japan Karate Association. Still photos from this film were used in the classic 1960 book, Karate: The Art of “Empty-Hand” Fighting, by Hidetaka Nishiyama & Richard C. Brown.

I chose this short clip of Teruyuki Okazaki to showcase his legendary keri-waza (kicking techniques). Among his contemporaries, Okazaki was considered to have been the best kicker. It’s clear that Okazaki’s kicks were easily as quick as Bruce Lee’s. Although I highly doubt that anyone, including either Okazaki or Bruce Lee, could have kicked a gun out of a gunman’s hand. I suspect that the Japan Karate Association put together these self-defense techniques/scenarios more for show than for realism.

Sadly, Master Okazaki passed away in April of this year, at age 88, due to complications from coronavirus.

https://youtu.be/dTq1iyTH2qM

Jim