martial arts magazine budo international 286 april 1 fortnight 2015
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Traditional Martial Arts, Combat Sports and Self Defense Magazine. Free read & download. Online issue. 286 April 1 fortnight - Year XXIVTRANSCRIPT
verything changes, nothing stays the same. Ifthe initial purpose of disciplinary Arts was theforming of fighters and warriors in order todefend their own people, isn't that whatpolicemen and soldiers do today? Then... Whyare there still Martial Arts practitioners?
Weapons, on the other hand, have become so muchmore sophisticated and complex that the ancient arts ofdefense and attack, although not completely outdated(there will always be a moment in the final the hand-to-hand in which they may be useful), have been limited to atraining method to model the character of the "militia"rather than develop their physical skills.
Cops on their part face enormous limitations in the useof their strength, so that their techniques have necessarilyundergone such a peculiar adaptation process that keeplittle in common with the old forms of combat, creating defacto by virtue of the foregoing, a specific subgenuswithin them.
The way I see it, there are just three reasons left forpracticing Martial Arts: The first one is sports, certainly asublimation of innate human violence, which turns it firstinto a spillway of tensions, especially linked toadolescence and the rise of hormones that accompaniesit. Sports also serves the non negligible function of "takingout excess energy" of overfeeding of today's children (andnot-so-children), and convert it, of course, into aspectacle, where adoration and worship to the hero don'tgo unnoticed, thus fulfilling another no less useful socialfunction in the sublimation of violence.
The second reason, outlined in the precedingparagraphs, is linked to the formation of character anddiscipline in the police and the military.
The third is none other than the maintenance oftraditions long-practiced and associated to ancientcultures and incidentally allow to accommodate rites, sonecessary in modern cultures, where their abolition, resultfrom the blends of the multicultural society, united to thepragmatic and prosperous vision of modern man, hasorphaned several generations of young people from alland any reference and enlightening experience about theirplace on earth.
Against all odds, Martial Arts, a glaring anachronism,persist in their practice and not only that, they're alsospreading like wildfire among the younger population ofmodern societies.
What possibilities have young people today to properlytrain their character? Which are the heroes to emulate?Which the models to pursue?
The abolition of compulsory military service, lack ofdiscipline in schools, parents being extremely busy andmost of the times incapable to "educate", along with asocial context where the prevailing values overexpose theidea of rights over duties, and in a background in generalpermissive and indolent, do the rest.
You make walk the donkey with a carrot and a stick ...but today there are only cloying sweets and given at thewrong time. How can you mould the character with theseraw?
I do not defend physical punishment as a generalrecipe, but we are reaching the most frightful ridicule andthe most harmful overprotection. In schools, poorteachers, castrated and without weapons, fight in anabsurd battle to fill up the heads of our society's infantswith just data. "Autoritas" doesn't exist any longer,because every power remains in the extreme with thecredible threat of a real superiority.
A friend of mine, a language teacher in England, toldme how when she approached an eleven year old bratthat was sabotaging the class, he began to shout: "Shehas touched me, touched me!"; "If I had really done itmight even have been accused of pederast", she said.
Martial Arts in any of its forms have become today apriceless and irreplaceable educational tool. Thesuperiority of the Master is sustained in last stay in hiseffective ability to impose himself even physically, in anenvironment where violence is formal, but it is alsoviolence.
The Dojo, the Kwon, the gym or whatever you call it isthus transformed into a symbolic and somehow sacredspace, ruled by its own laws, which are based on a realand verifiable authority. The display of such elementalpower, easily resonates among the most reluctant andunruly pupils, whether elementary primary males or not,while the moral superiority of a true Martial Master,provides him that necessary model aura so that thosemore sensitive and awake can have a model to emulate.
Martial Arts are an extraordinary medicine for these andother ills that afflict our modern society; those living fromthem (and within them) would be quite wrong not payingenough attention to these points. When something isuseful it will continue to exist and although its usefulnesscan be changed over the centuries, nothing exists orremains without fulfilling any function. Martial Arts todayare a wonderful gift for millions of young people, but alsoa way of life for people who have found in them abeautiful, uplifting and worthy reference to walk this earthas a whole human being.
"When concentration permeates mind and body, thebreath power becomes one with the universe, extending
smoothly and naturally to the absolute limit, but at the time the person becomes increasingly self-
contained and independent."Ueshiba Morihei.
"A gentleman should be polite and never aggressive,approachable, but never daring; kill but never humiliate;no sign of dishonesty can be found in his dwelling; hismeals are never heavy; even the slightest error iscorrected, but with no indictment whatsoever. Such is the strength of will. "Guichin Funakoshi.
E
Alfredo Tucci is Managing Director to BUDO INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.e-mail: [email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/alfredo.tucci.5
All DVDs, wichi is produced by Budo International,si provided and alone in the formats DVD-5 orMPEG-2, in VCD, DivX or the like is however nevesoffered with a special holograma sticker. Besidesour DVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If this DVD and/orthe DVD covering do not corespond to therequirements specified above, it concerns illegalpirat copy.
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Budo international.comORDERS:
Self-defense
SELF PRO KRAVEvolution
Developed fifteen yearsago by the internationalexpert JacquesLevinet, whoseachievements inmartial arts andcombat sportsare well knownworldwide, theSELF KRAV or SPKPRO method is one of themost effective and realisticself defense systems exis-ting today throughout theworld. Two videos and abook support this disci-pline. Beyond the simpli-city of its acquisitionand adaptation to allgroups (men, women,children, law enforce-ment), the SPKstrength lies in itsannual updating inorder to adhere to theever changing aggres-sion patterns of ourdays. In CaptainLenivet's opinion, youcan't freeze a martialarts or self defensemethod foreverwithout risking trans-forming it into some-thing obsolete anduseless.
Reminder of the origins of SPKThe SELF PRO KRAV stems from the professional experience
as a police captain and knowledge of fighting techniques of SokeJacques Levinet. Among the many methods of self defense thathe's created, Master Levinet has adapted his police method, theReal Operational System or ROS, with his sound knowledge ofself defense to make it an operational method called SELF PROKRAV: Self for Personal Self Defense, Pro for Professionals andKrav for Combativeness, in Hebrew. However, SPK is NOT a formof Kravmaga; it differs from it in many specific technical aspectsand has a different approach in the field of personal defense andquestioning. Captain Levinet retained the term Krav withoutadhering to Kravmaga, only because of the fighting spirit thatprevails in this discipline. The richness of SPK also comes fromthe numerous seminars, exchanges, training sessions andexperiences that the master has acquired and transmitted to unitsaround the world (Israel, United States, Australia, Japan, SouthAmerica, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Russia and Europe) and hisexchanges with many teachers and experts like Haim Gidon,Gaby Shai, Aaron Elbaze, Jim Wagner, Darren Levine, Vincent Lyn,Taiji Kase, Keinosuke Enoeda, Hiroo Mochizuki, Shirai, DominiqueValera and many others.
The SPK method includes the following 5 key points:Survival Instinct - Conditioning training - Operational
technique - Self Defense - EvolutionIn other words: will to survive, means to survive, learning of
natural gestures, respect for the law and questioning.The SPK is a discipline in itself, recognized internationally by
the foremost Police experts and the greatest Martial Artsmasters in the world.
The new SELF PRO KRAV or SELF PRO KRAV EVOLUTIONThe evolution of SPK is mandatory to update it against the
new ways of aggression. The evolution of SPK is now essentialto keep up with violence. It also comes from a feedback orpermanent return of experiences that victims deliver to thefounder of the discipline.
The news of SELF PRO KRAV EVOLUTION is:• Acquisition of ambidextrous defenses to cope with any
eventuality (facing a left-handed aggressor, in any position,standing on the floor, sitting, kneeling, hostage taking).• SPK Defenses against multiple attackers.• Defenses SPK in confined and enclosed environment.• Defenses SPK for law enforcement forces.• SPK Defenses against unconventional attacks (weapons and
empty hands).• Defenses SPK in low light or darkness.• Defenses SPK with everyday life objects (umbrella, pen,
briefcase, purse, keys, credit cards, cell phone, shoes, jacket,vest, magazine, etc.).• Adaptation of the SPK for women and children, since
attacks against these groups are not the same as attacksamong men.Without going into the details of these areas of development,
here are some examples of the new SELF PRO KRAVÉVOLUTION:• Percussion training of fists and feet on moving targets,
complemented by an elbow-knee percussion work on a fixedshield. It doesn't mean that the SPK becomes a combat sport,but it requires a minimum of feet-fists percussion knowledge.The evolution of SPK is mandatory to update it against the
new ways of aggression. The evolution of SPK is now essentialto keep up with violence. It also comes from a feedback orpermanent return of experiences that victims deliver to thefounder of the discipline.
The news of SELF PRO KRAV EVOLUTION is:• Acquisition of ambidextrous defenses to cope with any
eventuality (facing a left-handed aggressor, in any position,standing on the floor, sitting, kneeling, hostage taking).
Self-defense
• SPK Defenses against multiple attackers.• Defenses SPK in confined and enclosed environment.• Defenses SPK for law enforcement forces.• SPK Defenses against unconventional attacks (weapons and empty
hands).• Defenses SPK in low light or darkness.• Defenses SPK with accessories of everyday life (umbrella, pen,
briefcase, purse, keys, credit cards, cell phone, shoes, jacket, vest,magazine, etc.).• Adaptation of the SPK for women and children, since attacks against
these groups are not the same as attacks among men.Without going into the details of these areas of development, here are
some examples of the new SELF PRO KRAV ÉVOLUTION:• Percussion workout of fists and feet on moving targets, complemented
by elbow-knee percussion training on a fixed shield. It doesn't mean that theSPK becomes a combat sport, but it requires a minimum of feet-fistspercussion knowledge.• Just a few weapon disarmament tricks because such techniques are too
dangerous against knives, daggers, razors or other blades. Only percussiontechniques are privileged in the SPK to disarm quickly and safely.• Using real blunt weapons (sticks, bats) to achieve higher grades and put
the candidate in a real situation.• Using handguns and shoulder guns with gas, blank guns and balls (with
helmet) for the upper grades to understand the disarmament procedure.• Firearms threats are made with real neutralized weapons, maintaining
the finger on the trigger as do the bullies.• Using an aluminum knife to feel the cold and the danger of the blade in
threats touching the body or throat.• Acquisition of a thorough learning to avoid any reflex action and
complicated technique and keep only the defense reflex.
• Learning, from the 2nd Dan level, ofambidextrous defenses to assimilate the SPKagainst a lefty or a righty, as appropriate. A primaryacquisition for instructors, who must be able todemonstrate and teach a lefty or righty and takeinto account every type of student.
• Acquisition, from the 2nd Dan, of techniquesfor defending a third person and bodyguardtechniques to train students in protecting theirloved ones or a vulnerable person in case ofaggression.• Defenses, from the 5th Dan, with everyday
common objects, such as umbrellas, sticks, pens,bags, wallets, keys, cell phones, chairs,jackets, glass, footwear, magazines, etc.). Itis important because defending yourself byany means is essential sometimes.
Training and affiliation in SELF PRO KRAV• Technical Syllabus - With the acquisition of
grades from yellow belt to black belt and then SPKDan (from first to tenth Dan). Despitebeing sued, the SELF PROKRAV Dan rank has beenrecognized. The SPK hasbecome a trademark with theINPI (National Institute of IndustrialProperty).• Access to higher level requires, in all
grades, a technical test (finishing a defense witha locking technique to check the knowledge ofthe candidate) and a combat test (rapid defenseswithout finishing with a lock to fight in the street).• SPK Dans are delivered with the utmost
seriousness, by an international Grade Commission,respecting the time between grades. All exams takeplace in front of an audience and jury to avoid anycomplacency. No grades by personal recommendation aregranted.• Instructor program - For initial and continuing training,
Instructor, Chief Instructor and SPK Expert. The Academyissues these professional training certificates for itsregistration as a training organization in the Ministry ofLabour in France.• The instructor exam tests consist of written technical
tests and teaching tests. The Academy Jacques Levinettakes into account the ability of candidates and refuses toissue certificates of convenience not to tarnish itscredibility. Morality is required for SPK instructors, whorespect a "gentleman agreement" and a code of ethics.• Affiliation program - Instructors from different self
defense schools, martial arts styles and combat sportsapply constantly to become a member of the AJLInternational Federation for recognition of theirsystems and eventually their rank. An approvalgateway was launched for SELF PRO KRAV, giventhe supporting documentation provided.• An online training - Recently, there is an online
training course for instructors and representatives ofthe Federation of Jacques Levinet, who teach infaraway countries of France. Written programs,video and corrections are made by Internet andSkype under the control of the French expert.
The Chief Point - Self-defense• SPK principles - Captain Jacques Levinet,
through his training and compliance with the law,evidences in his SELF PRO KRAV method, anabsolute respect for personal defense. It is not justabout knowing the law, but knowing also how toapply it when the defense method is used. It isimportant to provide students with the legal meansso that they can justify their actions in defense.Being able to demonstrate a legitimate defense isnot easy in front of justice; for that reason,practitioners have some memento program to helpthem out.
Some examples, under penalty of jail, evenas a victim:
Self-defense
• Twist a knife against an aggressor, even after havingdisarmed him.• Respond with the aggressor's gun, even after having
disarmed him.• Leave your fingerprints on the assailant's gun trigger
during a bad disarmament (with a disarming technique, forexample).• Reply with the aggressor’s bat, even after having
disarmed.• Use an aggression gesture, like a head butt.• Respond to a benign aggression, with a defense to the
genitals, like a grip.• Increase the fist or foot percussion defenses on an
unarmed assailant on the ground, under penalty of crueltyand failing to comply with the law.• Respond in vital areas against a non vital
aggression.*** In other words, being a victim doesn't justify the
use of any response. The SELF PRO KRAV warnspractitioners and gives them the legal means tojustify. The end doesn't justify the means.The SPK adaptation to countries:• The SPK taught in many countries,
takes into account their laws and respectthem. For that reason the SPK evolves bycontinents.• As a result, certain defenses, banned in
France or Europe, for example, are perfectlyallowed in some countries.
SELF PRO KRAV POLICE ModuleThere may be several ways to effectively defend yourself
irrespective of whether you are a civilian or a cop. Onlypurposes change, hence the reason for the creation of theSELF POR KRAV POLICE module. Here are some aspects ofthe SPK POLICE learning:• Use of the equipment weapons for defending oneself in
compliance with the law.• Acquisition of teamwork and protection.• SPK POLICE handcuffing, alone and in teams, in allplaces.
• Complementarities of empty hand actions andweapon use.
• Operational Keys of neutralization, alone andin teams.• Means of operational driving in emergencies.• Basic acquisition of the Police Training ROS
method associated with the SPK.*** In other words, where the civilian SPK
ends, begins the police SPK with ownmeans of coercion and
coercion characteristicof the ROS RealOperational Systemor method of the lawenforcement forces.The SELF PRO
KRAV POLICE module
Self-defense
Self-defense
has gained full acceptance since many policeunits and special units in France (as ERIS) andabroad (such as GAD in Argentina and Spetsnaz inRussia) were trained in SPK Police and ROS byCaptain Jacques Levinet.
A recognized international fede-ration• Through the International Federation of Personal
Defense and the Police Training AJL, SELF PRO KRAVis present in about fifty representatives in France andabroad (Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Luxembourg,Belgium, England, Canary Islands , USA, Ecuador,Argentina, Chile, Canada, Mauritius, the Caribbean Sea,Russia, Siberia, Australia, New Zealand, China, Sri Lanka,Vietnam, Tunisia, Algeria). The official chart of AJLincludes DTN (National Technical Directors), DTR(Regional Technical Directors) and DTD(Departmental Technical Directors).• The AJL has a registration number of
the Ministry of Sport in France and aregistration number in the Ministry ofLabour and much institutionalrecognition worldwide.
• Real SELF PRO KRAV can be seenthrough the identical uniforms worn bythe practitioners in France and the rest ofthe world. The only difference is the colorin the logo of the country and on the beltto emphasize the country's identity.• Finally, the curriculum vitae of the
founder, Captain Jacques Levinet, callsfor a high level of credibility of his AJLfederation.We end this article humbly saying that
SELF PRO KRAV doesn't intend to be thebest method of self-defense, but amethod of interest.
International Federation of Personal Defense and Police Training. Jacques Levinet Academy AJL.Tel .: +33 (0) 467 075 044E-Mail: [email protected] Site:www.academielevinet.com
Video actorsCaptain Jacques LevinetPresident AJL, State title, 10th Dan Black Belt Self Pro Krav, 10th Dan ROS Police, Defense Baton 10th Dan, Defense
Stick 10th Dan, Karate FEKAMT 6th Dan, French Boxing MonitorPascal TabaglioInstructor, DTR AJL Midi Pyrenees, Self Pro Krav 2nd Dan black belt, Defense Baton 2nd Dan, Defense Stick 2nd Dan,
ROS Police 1st Dan, Yoseikan Budo and Karate 1st Dan, French Boxing Monitor.
Old and New
I began the practice of WingTsun little over 20 yearsago under the tutelage of one of the most importantmasters of the Leung Ting WingTsun branch in theworld: Sifu Víctor GutiérrezIn these more than 20 years I've heard incessantly
the never -ending discussion about the need forevolution of the style or, conversely, the compulsion tokeep the system in one piece as it was taught by GMYip Man. If we are to concur in something, it's surely inthe fact that these two positions will never reachagreement. Indeed, in my humble opinion, these two"sides" of the same family (not to be forgotten) livedignoring each other for many years, as if they were
pretending that the other part didn't exist.
rom not too long, this trend has beenchanging towards a still more delicatesubject: the confrontation betweenadvocates of tradition and those ofmodernity. Again we are involved in acompletely sterile debate that doesn't
offer any possibility of understanding between bothfactions due in large part to the strength of positionsamong masters of one and the other option.
I must admit that in truth, both options have firmand valid arguments for the defense of theirpositions. If you listen to a "traditionalist" master inhis line of reasoning about the need to maintainuntouched the style, with no change whatsoever, hewill "almost" convince you. Similarly, if you sit downto hear the why's of an advocate of the need forchanges to adapt WingTsun to the times and to thechange of "predators", you will understand withoutany doubt that his reasons are not trivial either.
But at this point we might ask: and what if theyboth have a part of the truth but none of them hasthe whole truth? Wouldn't it be this another issuethat points to Taoism as the main philosophicalinfluence of Wing Chun Kuen?
Sure after this article, both positions will continuein their old uncompromising position, but if at leastfor a few minutes I could give pause for thought toadvocates of both positions, we would already havemade a great deal of progress.
To be able to get a holistic comprehension of thesituation, we should first listen to both sides and trywithout closed opinions to understand the why's.
Sure, some of my readers of this column may ask:But what is your position? What option do youfavor? And my answer today would be: Both... and
F
none! To go on saying that next year I will probably thinkdifferent ... or not ... My experience tells me that opinionschange over the years and so does the perception of things.
What I'm trying to say is that, almost certainly, when weadopt a firm attitude and make a fanatical and bigoted defenseof a position (whatever) we're missing at least half of the truth.This is the main reason for which my opinion has changed a lotin recent years and I must admit that what enriched most myvision of the style was to keep an open mind and a flexible spiritto try to understand both positions.
Personally I have been a defender of the evolutionary positionof the system for many years. The influence of my master hasbeen crucial in that. For us WingTsun is a Chinese system ofboxing that must search the maxim in any Wu Shu system:Victory! Whether you get it or not (that will always depend onwho is the enemy in front of you), the aim of the practice ispursuit victory. An art of war like Chinese boxing always seeksvictory. Again I refer in this column to the chess game: the aimof this game, half sport half art of war is TO WIN. I don't knowany player who plays to lose or just tries to play by movingpieces on the board for the simple pleasure of moving time.Nevertheless, winning or losing (again in this case, victorydepends on the level of the adversary we have across theboard) you always try to win.
In this respect, it has proven necessary to consider somereally important elements if we want to do it. The change ofscenarios and techniques of our adversaries forces us to anadjustment in the training method in order to try to approachour goal of victory. This definition of our goal marks a path.Finally, goal and path is the cause of eff iciency andeffectiveness. To do this, sometimes we disregard some thingsconsidered "unhelpful" for the greater good: efficiency
Although ... the position of the traditionalists is entirelyrespectable just the same: The more traditional currents claimthat their obligation is to maintain the legacy of GrandmasterYip Man for the sake of the art itself. They understand that ifthings remain such as the Great Master taught them to hisdirect pupils (there are still some alive) the essence of thisfighting art will never be lost. Also, I must admit that basicallyhave a big part of the reason. Had it not been for someextremely traditional masters, surely some of the technicalwork, but mostly some of the style strategies, wouldn't havesurvived. For many years, I asked some professors of thebranch I studied about such important elements as the "KuenKuits", or about the history of the style, and the answer wasalways the same: "That's not important." Well ... in first place, Iwould like to be the one to decide whether something isimportant or not, therefore if I ask what a teacher is to teach methe whole system in the shortest time possible. In return Ipromise train diligently the rest of my life!
The Wing Chun called "classic" is the fountain in whichevolutionists have drunk and to which they must constantly returnto understand some of the most important things in the efficiencyof sense. In this aspect I want to especially outline theconservation of important elements such as the Kuits Kuen(Poems of knowledge that give us the key of the style strategies).
“Anyway, where do weestablish the limits of
developments? Or, put another way:
where does the style stopbeing called WingTsun and
becomes something different?”
But in my personal opinion, the preservation oftradition is fundamental for an issue that transcendstechnique, tactics and even the idea of ??the pursuitof victory. Keeping the KNOWLEDGE of a formergeneration and take it to later one is a maximumliability of a martial artist, but especially, thisresponsibility falls on the shoulders of the masters ofstyle. I imagine that many practitioners, who, like me,have spent half his life in the pursuit of efficiency, willnot understand this concept, but today and for me(and my association) this is absolutely fundamental.
We could in this column cite arguments on bothsides to strengthen both positions, but then acurious thing would occur: the more we embraceone position, the further away we move from thespirit of this style: flexibility and adaptability.
It is undeniable that the style has beencontinuously changing and evolving in its fivehundred years of existence. If we look at thestudents of GM Yip Man in the first time in HongKong and those in his last period we can findsidereal differences among them. Although someclaim that this is not entirely true, actually thedistance is so great that it looks like they werepracticing different styles. We are talking about avery short historical period (barely twenty years). Itcan serve us as a sample... although there are manymore. After Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China inthe second half of the last century, practitioners ofdifferent branches spread throughout SoutheastAsia. If we take a general look at practitioners inVietnam, Taiwan, Foshan or some of the branchesthat reached Australia, we can see that THERE ISN'Ta unique and unchanging style. So, why shouldn't itbe possible to make changes to the search for thefamous effectiveness?
Anyway, where do we establish the limits ofdevelopments? Or, put another way: where does thestyle stop being called WingTsun and becomessomething different?
Well, in my opinion the principles perfectly definethis line. The four basic principles of WingTsun definethe style itself well above even the same techniques.Although today I consider fundamental such
important elements as the strategic concepts,the origin sources of the elastic power, the stylephilosophy and some other elements which Iusually call NON TANGIBLE. Perhaps in a futurecolumn we can talk about them.
In short, despite being constantly confrontedin a somewhat childish dialectic about what is oris not authentic WingTsun, I firmly believe thatboth positions need each other as acounterweight. By way of Yin and Yang. Both areopposites, both facing each other, but theyrequire the other's existence to reaffirm theirnature. We are aware of the notion of light by itsabsence... and conversely.
Practitioners, who, like me, are in pursuit ofefficiency and effectiveness, necessarily have toresort to traditionalists so as not to lose the realnature of the style. In turn, the defenders oftradition know in the depths of themselves thatevolutionists are "effective" in combat situationsand that forces them to not neglect thisimportant aspect in Wu Shu. So, as you see,they both need each other.
Here's where the title of this month's columnplaces us: new or old? Traditional or modern?And why not at the midpoint? Why not drink fromboth fountains?
That's my personal choice and I the one I try toapply in my Association. I am sure thatembracing only one of them would make memiss the wonders of the other half.
Thank you for your attention
“Health”, “Spirit” and“Fight” are thefoundations of ourmartial arts lectures. Allour techniques, formsand exercises are builtupon these three ideas.Understandably, thereputation of our schoolwas greatly influenced by thesebasic principles. Other schoolsalso market those principles forthemselves. Likewise manymasters and grandmastersdeclare their style andsystem to follow thosemaxims. But what dothose the threewords real lymean?
KUNG FU SCHULE MARTIN SEWER - Health - Spirit - Fight
Over 100 years old
Chiu Kow (Hong Kong), father and master of myteacher, grandmaster Dr. Chiu Chi Ling, was born in 1895and passed away in 1995 a natural death. His wife, ShiuYing, also a Hung
Gar master, reached the respectable age of 98. Bothwere healthy and fit into their old age.
Good genes alone were not responsible for theirlongevity: Their lifetime Kung Fu Training obviously had asubstantial influence on both of their long and healthylives. Today, Chiu Kow's sons Chiu Wai, residing inCanada and also a great Hung Gar master, is 85 years oldand still in best of health. Even more remarkable is thestory of Graham, one of Wai's students: Graham spenthis childhood in a wheelchair. He is now 70 years old andhas no need for a wheelchair thanks to his Hung Gar KungFu training. Tim, a Kung Fu brother of mine, was ill manyyears suffering from high blood pressure. Afterparticipating regularly in Kung Fu Trainings he lives todaywithout his previous symptoms and the need formedication. These examples impressively reveal thepositive effects of Kung Fu training and how this martialart strengthens ones health for life.
Chiu Chi Ling, grandmaster and doctor
Whoever personally met the grandmaster Chiu Chi Lingreceived a positive impression of a great personality andis modestly amazed. The 72-year-old grandmasterbubbles with energy, zest for action and the enjoyment oflife. Even long distance journeys around the globe andother exertions cannot drain his energy. Sifu Chiu is theliving proof of the life energy, which can be won throughHung Gar Kunf Fu. He is rarely if ever sick and his worsthealth-related experience was a stay in the hospital after amajor car accident.
What about other martial arts?This question is not easy to answer. It helps to consider
the history of the relevant system and to ask the followingquestions: Were the masters of the relevant martial art/therelevant system healthy? Did they live long? Where theyknown for their vitality? What is with the current mastersand grandmasters? Do they really live healthy? And howsincere are the promises of certain schools/styles in theiradvertisements? Could it be that not all is genuine ortrue? These questions could help to find out if a certainschool fits our long-term needs.I would like to concludewith some statements of current students of mine. Thesestudents, who haven't been learning our system for a longtime, can still confirm achievements of their goals andsuccesses. Read for yourself:
“Before I started with Hung Gar, I weighted 106 kg (234 lbs.). My sense of balance and my body were greatlyinfluenced by this very heavy load. After reading Sifu's book “5-3-1”, I continuously improved my nourishment.Loosing weight became enjoyable, because I felt mentally and physically good. It was so simple. One must onlyeat healthy and know what is correct to eat. After 7 months my weight was down to 81 kg (179 lbs.). I reached thisgoal thanks to the book '5-3-1' and training Hung Gar in the KUNG FU SCHOOL MARTIN SEWER. For this dearSifu I thank you very much. - Martin Chollet, student since October 2013.
“Doctors told me, that because of my highblood pressure and high cholesterol levels Iwouldn't be able to live without medication.For years I had to take pills. Since I startedtraining at the KUNG FU SCHOOL MARTINSEWER, my blood values have steadilyimproved. Starting one month ago I havestopped taking my medications and feelbetter then I ever have. My doctor tells me,“Whatever I am doing, keep it up!” JörgSchläpfer, Training Instructor. Student sinceNovember 2013.
“After a traffic accident and several operations Ilimped on my left leg for years. Hung Gar trainingnot only strengthened my muscles again, it alsogave me the mental strength to walk upright again,normal and self-confident. Something I did notbelieve in any longer. But with Hung Gar lessonsfrom my Sifu, I did it! “Thank you, Sifu!” - DanielSchabron, IT- and Marketing Consultant. Studentsince May 2013.
“Before I practiced Hung Gar, I sufferedfrom a back problem; a herniated disc. Notwatching my step by leaving a train couldhave easily caused me so much pain that Iwould have been incapacitated. 13 month agoI started classes at the KUNG FU SCHOOLMARTIN SEWER. 13 months later, I l ivewithout any pain. A priceless feeling. Thankyou Sifu!” - Stephan Nyffenegger, lawyer.Student since December 2013.
Weng Chun
Weng Chun Kung Fu�s 6 1/2 principles for combatDeveloped by the warrior monks of southern
shaolin temple in the need of protection againstpirates and robberies, weng chun was used bythe rebbels on the red boats in undergroundfights and later for selfdefence in the streets ofFatshan (China) and Hong Kong. It survived thecultural revolution thru the work of GrandmasterWai Yan and is today taught internationally byweng chun�s leader Grandmaster AndreasHoffmann and his black Sash team forprotecting themselves and others from violentattacks and for victories in ful l contactcompetitions (Sanda) and MMA.
At the beginning I will give an overviewabout the Weng Chun�s 6 1/2 Principles (LukDim Boon) used in combat:It is essential that each principle is meant
physically and mentally, too!1. Principle Tai ( "raise"): Disbalance your
attacker by uprooting and maintain balance ! 2. Principle Lan ("lock"): Lock your attacker
and maintain your own potential!3. Principle Dim ("point"): Shock your opponent
and learn to stay focused and in confidence!4. Principle Kit ("tear"): Destroy your attacker�s
structure by tearing and maintain your structure!5. Principle Got (" cut down"): Cut down your
attacker�s force and his attempt to connect you!6. Principle Wun ("circle"): Borrow your
attacker�s force send him flying and if hepressures you change the angles by circling!
1/2. Principle Lau ("leak and flow") halfpoint= 50% of the weng chun kung fu: Be like water, keep flowing and leak the flow of
your opponent
Why does a fighter needs principles?The weng chun fighters found out that, if a
martial art contains a large number of techniquesbut no principles, a practitioner might becomelost among the innumerable methods. In combator self defence, they become largely unusable,
“Developed by thewarrior monks of
southern shaolin templein the need of protection
against pirates and robberies,
weng chun was used bythe rebbels on the
red boats inunderground fights”
Weng Chun
because in a real situation theconfusion generated by surprise,fear and stress is too great. Thesolution is to fight with principles,which are general guidelines tocombat action and permit the wengchun practitioner to defend himselfwith the sponaneously createdtechniques which were created fromthe principles. In special exercises(“kiu sao” and “chi sao”) the wengchun practit ioner learns reflexresponses to stimuli of a visualnature ( when the combat distance isrelatively great) and of tactile nature(when the combat distance isrelatively close). In weng chuntraining , the innumerable possiblecombat and selfdefence situationsare trained again and again underrelaxed conditions and underpressure,too, until each trainee findsthe weng chun principles and is ableto defend themself or is able to usethem in a combat situation reliably,spontaneously, appropriately anddirectly, even without having to thinkabout them.
Weng Chun�s 6 1/2principles in detail:Tai principle: If you understand that the base of
everyones defence and attack is ourcenter of balance you wil l
understand why the weng chunprogress starts with breaking youropponents balance and maintainingyour own balance. Our focus is onthe spinal column, which we refer toas the centerl ine. Imagine anattacker throws at you a roundhousepunch. You absorb "Wun" his punchby pulling him and at the same timeyou lift "Tai" his shoulder or his headup. He will fall down or will loose hisbalance and you wil l leave himvulnerable to proper defend himselfor he will be unable to attack youagain.
Lan principle:
In weng chun we learn to developa steadfast forward pressure"Lan/Bik" and we learn to bridge thegap between us and our opponentand to block "Lan" his force and hispotential of continue with our bodystructure. We constantly are eating"Lan" the space of our opponent.This is particularly easy if the
opponent is locked just at themoment when he is carrying out anattack. Stopkicks and trappinghands are fantastic tools for actinglike that. Another good time tobridge the gap and lock him is whenyour opponent completes his attackfor example with a blow but missesyou. He needs a momentum to findhis structure back or has to thinkabout the next step for a while. Thatis the momentum to enter and toobstruct "Lan" him. In close rangefighting it is interesting that if theattacker pushes your wrist you canlock him with your ellbow by "Wun"circling first. If he pushes yourellbow you can use your shoulder to"Lan" him. Sometimes we can usethe push of our opponentwith one of his hands totrap his other hand. Lanfrustrates your attacker,so he feels like he cannotcontinue and if he getsinto panic he blockshimself even more. Lan is
a nice strategy against a striker, whois using mainly the "Dim" principle,and needs a special space andtiming for his blows and kicks.
Dim principle:
The opponent is controlled at aweak point mainly by a blow but it isalso possible to lock or throw himthere. The main weapon for "Dim" isa strike. If you strike with an impactan attacker gets shocked andirritated, so you create a momentumin which he is not sure if he wants tocontinue fighting or you create amomentum in which he has to thinkabout how he might avoid the nextstrike. This causes a delay in his
actions which you can use to strikeand shock him more or to controllhim completely. In body work youwill face with "Dim" in the training tolearn to create impulses with yourbody for striking with all areas ofyour body. So each part of yourbody becomes a weapon.
Kit principle:
The attacker is made to lose hisbalance by diverting the direction ofhis force. It is diverted in such a waythat he cannot use his force againstyou. You break his structure byseparating his limbs from his torso oryou break his structure from hisupper and lower part of his body. If
you achieve this your attacker willnot be able to continue attackingyou and you create time and spaceto control him completely.
Got principle:
With half circles made by yourarms, legs or body you cut downyour attacker�s strikes or wrestlingattempts. There are small "Got"movements with for example thewrist only or larger "Got" movementswith your ellbows and shoulders.You can use them to strike and cutthe opponents strike at the sametime. The signature moves for thatare the weng chun fingerstrike "BiuChi" or the weng chun�s backfist
"Qua Choy". If the attacker�saction is cut in a half circledownwards, he wil l lose hisforce, balance and the impetusfor further action.
Wun principle:
Borrow your attacker�s forceby using circles and half circles.Let us use the same example asfor "Tai". Imagine an attackerthrows at you a roundhousepunch. You absorb "Wun" hispunch by pulling him and at thesame time you strike him. Yourtwo shoulders and your hollowchest are building a half circleand your arms build an opentriangle. If your opponent tries tostrike you again with an uppercutby circling "Wun" around your"open triangle" arms, you canuse his energy and send "Wun"him away using his own force.Ifyou put your other arm on histhroat at the same time youcreate a beautiful throw. "Wun"helps you to recover your forceand energy when you strike. Thestrikes in weng chun are morelike a whip rather than a pole.Hook strikes, ellbow strikes,roundhouse strikes are the mainweapons of the "Wun" principle.
Lau principle:
Be like water flowing down tothe valley whose progress cannotbe stopped by a stone. If youropponent attacks you, he gives toyou something. You use yourattackers action like a guide rail,in order to control him.Grandmaster Wai Yan alsodescribed "Lau" as skiing. If youtouch the ground, your opponent,you slide into him using hispressure. Another beautiful wengchun saying is Fok Fu, whichmeans in this context, riding thetiger - using the wildness of yourattacker to ride him, to controllhim. "Lau" is Weng Chun�s heartit�s the most important principle:it is said that in Weng Chun, theprinciple of "Lau" constitutes 50per cent in all actions.
The form Luk DimBoon Kuen - 6 1/2principle fist form:
Learn another way of doingforms:The goal of weng chun is to
understand and to be able to usethe principles which are neededto control your opponenteffortless and spontaniously incombat. So the way to learn andto do the forms is different as inthe technically styles. At thebeginning of your weng chunyou should learn the Luk DimBoon Kuen form with which yourbody and mind get the basicprinciples as an imprint. Fromthat base you will be able tolearn all other forms whichcontain a combination of theseprinciples and you will easilylearn the fighting applications ofthe principles.One form for all combat areas:The interesting thing is that in
weng chun you learn the sameform for empty hand, the use onthe wooden dummy, with thedouble knives, with the long poleand in application for combat. Inthat way you learn to apply theprinciples in different combatareas until you get used to them.
Become a spiritualwarrior with the 61/2 Principles:
First, it starts with "Tai". It isthe strong wish of us shaolinwarriors to use our strength andpower to protect other people, toinspire them, to give themstrength in their struggle of life,to raise them that they sufferless and to help them to enjoylife more. Start with yourself,when you wake up, be thankfulfor your wonderful body andmind and bring your "Tai" raisingmind in everything you do and toeveryone you meet. After "Tai"we face "Lan". "Lan" is the joyand knowledge about ourunlimited potential and spacearound us. With the power of"Lan" we block disturbing
Weng Chun
emotions like greed, hate and fear right in the beginning.With "Kit" we understand the connection and interactionwith friends and all other living beings and finaly with thewhole universe. This wisdom of being one with theuniverse gives us a lot of power and courage which isthe base of our next principle "Dim". In "Dim" we findspontaneously the right time and space to do things andwe learn the power of tension and relaxation. "Got"teaches us to cut down disturbing emotions, to letthings go we cannot change so that we are able to focuswhat we can do. If we understand "Wun" we are able tolive and act effortless without loosing energy, weunderstand that everything like for example our thoughtsare raising from the space, playing in the space andgoing back into space. This gives us inner peace and weunderstand the natural law of the circle of life. That iswhat makes us ready for "Lau", to be one with the flowwithout fighting against it. We get an impression of theflow and so we can express our indiviual being as part ofthe whole. The result wil l be a joyful, peaceful,spontaniously and unshakable mind of a warrior, whocan feel the "Eternal Spring" (Weng Chun) everywhere. Ifyou try to transfer the 6 1/2 principles to your life you willbe allowed to wear the white socks of the spiritualwarriors in the weng chun family of GrandmasterAndreas Hoffmann.
History of Weng Chun�s 6 1/2 principle:Weng Chun Kung Fu the epidome of the
southern shaolin martial arts is taught in asimple conceptual way to learn fighting. WengChun means "eternal spring" and was thename of the special hall in the SouthernShaolin temple and the slogan of thephilosophy meaning "be always fresh, alertand aware".This became the basis foreffectiveness in combat which means beingpresent in the moment without beingdistracted by expectations or fears. The direct
experience of reality, the return to naturaleness andsimplicity was the main focus of shaolin weng chunmonks. This contrasted with the philosophy of otherfighting styles, which were (are) related to magic or to abelief system. As a result of the shaolin weng chunphilosophy, only those approaches to fighting thatoperated in a simple direct manner and were proofed inreal combat were collected in weng chun. After destruction of the Southern ShaolinAfter destruction of the southern shaolin temple,the
home of the weng chun warrior monks, they fled anddeveloped a lot of styles from weng chun and its 6 1/2principles. The red boat became a refuge place for thewarrior monks. According to wing chun legends, LeungYee Tei learned the Weng Chun�s Luk Dim Boon Kwun (6and an half principles long pole) from Wong Wah Bo andbecame the historical founder of Wing Chun. Also inHung Gar Kung Fu you can find the Luk Dim Boon 6 1/2principles as a part of their Ng Lung Bagua Kwun. This isone more reason why a lot of researchers today seeWeng Chun as the fore father of Wing Chun and HungGar.
Weng Chun after second world war:
After second World War Grandmaster WaiYan converted one of his commercial buildingsin Waterloo Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, HongKong into the Headquarter of the Weng Chun
Weng Chun
Clan. He invited all living Grandmasters of Weng Chun towork with him to safe weng chun for the future and toresearch the art. He got support from Grandmaster TangYick, Grandmaster Tam Kong, Grandmaster Lo ChiuWoon and mainly from his friend Grandmaster ChuChung Man. According to his own words GrandmasterWai Yan researched and trained with Grandmaster ChuChung Man for a period of 20 years. The twoGrandmasters invited also Grandmasters from otherstyles and inspired them with their research andknowledge, so they helped Taimantis Grandmaster ChiuChuk Kai to create a wooden dummy form and theyhelped Grandmaster Yip Man with his wing chun.
Weng Chun�s way into the west
Grandmaster Wai Yan accepted the determined youngGerman, Andreas Hoffmann, as his master student andinvolved him in his and Grandmaster Chu Chung Man�sresearch. He sent Andreas Hoffmann to mainland China
to study with Weng Chun�s Grandmaster Pak Cheungand Wing Chun�s Grandmaster Pang Nam. Back inHongkong Andreas Hoffmann had to show what he hadlearned and Grandmaster Wai Yan observed and made itpart of his research.Andreas Hoffmann was personally trained by
Grandmaster Wai Yan since 1986 until he reachedmaster and grandmaster level. He was thus the laststudent of Dai Duk Lan and the only western student ofGrandmaster Wai Yan. To emphasise unusualachievement, Grandmaster Wai Yan granted him acertificate, in 1995 in Hong Kong in the presence ofnumerous kung fu masters of various styles and over 70western students from all over the world, legitimising himas his successor of weng chun.Today Andreas Hoffmann is teaching worldwide and
keeps on the Dai Duk Lan research with hismasterstudents around the world. Together theycontinue the tradition of Dai Duk Lan to help othermasters and kungfu families.
Weng Chun
Like in the best Chinese martial tradition worth itsname, the Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu system also has itsown baggage of history and traditions, its people and itsadventures; stories of men often different from eachother, often with different lives, but with a commongoal. All those who have been part of the La Choy LayFut system actually have in common the pure ability forcombat, as well as the inclination to the socio-politicalrevolt of their time.
Its history can be written indifferent ways. One mode is thenotional transmission, precise andliteral, of the martial and technicalhistory of others, often empty andanachronistic. This is what happenstoday in the Chinese Martial Arts,that is, the study of hundreds offorms (Tou Lu) and fighting withmethods and techniques identicalto any other modern combatsystem (see Full Contact, Jiu Jitsu,Sanda or San Shou). The other wayis to follow the path traced byprevious generations and immerseinto their concrete, real and directexperience, with awareness of theevolution of our own experienceand system. This is the differencebetween the "Master" who bringsquestions and answers, cognition,logic and experience in the wake ofthe experience of a system, and the"Master Instructor" who simplyperforms and bears the experienceof others, in whom answers areborn and dead without asking, andwhere the system dogmas are theonly visible path!Among the various characters
who have traced the history of thisancient Chinese Martial Art, there isone who was given the nickname of"The legendary Fist of the North"whose real name was Sam Tam (譚三). The history of Chinese Kung Fuis ful l of legends and popularfolklore, which are often historicallyinaccurate. Tam Sam, however, wasalso recognized in life as a martialarts legend. A name and a storythat was built on the field and onreal and personal enterprises.Unlike other famous Chinesemasters on which novels andmovies have been made tell ingstories and legends often toodistant from reality, Tam Sam (譚 三)can be considered a modern fighterwho gave a huge contribution to thereal Chinese kung fu, although hissystem Pak Choy Lay Fut Sing wasand is kept jealously hidden in anold logic of "family and clan."Practice and experience, reality andconsciousness, like in a Zen koan,this is the keystone of the TamSam's (譚三) martial practice.Tam Sam (譚 三) was born in the
Hoi Ping suburb in 1873 and grew
up in Toi Ting, a village of Canton.With a strong character andendowed with a remarkableintelligence, young Tam showed aninnate will to learn Martial Arts sincehe was a boy. It was his father whointroduced him to the study of KungFu under the guidance of a famousHung Gar master named ChowGum Biu. Tam Sam had acombative spirit. During his courseof studies in Hung Kuen Kung Fu,he heard about the fame that thepractit ioners of the Hung SingGwoon of Fushan were graduallyspreading around the Guanzhouarea. Willing to test his skills, inparticular those of the Hung SingChoy Lay Fut system, he decided topass by the Hung Sing Gwoon tomeet Master Lui Tsan (雷 粲 ). TamSam entered the school andhaughtily invited Master Tsan (雷 粲)and his students to train and fightwith him. A senior student of MasterLui's named Wong Sum steppedforward and accepted thechallenge. The fight started andTam Sam succeeded to hit WongSum in the ribs; but the latter,thanks to the combinationtechnique "Jo But Kwa Sow",managed to end the match prettyquickly.Despite being wounded in his
body and his pride and unable tocontinue the meeting, Tam Sam,wanted stubbornly to fight MasterLui Tsan. Considering the advancedage of the Master, Tam Sam wasconvinced that it wouldn't bedifficult for him to defeat old Lui.Thus, at least his wounded pridewould be partially redeemed. Butonce again, young Tam sinned ofexcessive arrogance and poortraining. In fact, the encounter withMaster Lui lasted a few secondsand the young challenger foundhimself again on the carpet. Thistime, however, something in himhad changed. Aware of theeffectiveness of the Choy Lay Futsystem, he humbly asked MasterLui to accept him as a student inhis school. Lui Tsan, a seniordisciple of Master Jeong Yim 張炎(or Cheung Hung Sing, 1824-1839) accepted young Tam Samas his pupil.
Kung Fu
“The Master practices, beginners speak; the Master lives, beginners discuss;
the Master savors the morning and the sunset, beginnersare worried in the morning and tired at sunset...
Where there are words you will find a man, where youfind coherence in the silence there will exist your Master.”
Under the guidance of Lui Tsan,Tam Sam successfully continuedhis training until Master Lui Tsanpersonally promoted him to the rankof instructor at the Hung SingGwoon. His instruction course at the
School was fast and intense; in a fewyears he earned the respect not only
from his classmates (who called him"Sam Sook"), but also from practitioners ofother systems present in Fushan.Tam Sam, however, retained his character
and temperament along his instruction period.He never lowered his head, and even in front ofstrong positions, he would continue to berather "direct".A major turning point in his life
path was a famous episodeknown as "Kuen Da
Sam Ngan," that is, "thepunch that defeated the
three Ngan." During anargument with Si-Sook Ngan Yiu
Ting (his Kung Fu uncle) and somemembers of his family, Sam Tam came to fightand defeat his own Hing Dai (Kung Fu brothers) ina not too friendly meeting, and most importantly, notauthorized by Master Lui Tsan.Fighting against another brother, and even more so against an older
relative, meant breaking the code of ethics and morality of the Choy LayFut. Master Lui Tsan, who learnt of the incident, although with a heavyheart, couldn't help to fire him from the school. Codes and rules had to be
respected, even if Tam had been right in the incident. Tam Samhad to leave the school even though his training under the
guidance of the teacher he had not yet been completed.For a certain period of time he continued to learn andtrain in secret with some of his Kung Fu brothers of theHung Sing Gwoon. But for him the only way to get apersonal evolution and improve his Martial Artstechnical baggage was to fight. Thus it was that hebegan a long series of bloody battles with fighters ofother systems that forged his reputation as a solidfighter. His experience grew along with his fame. Hisfights were held behind closed doors or outdoors, but inany case they were real battles, the exploits of whichcould be heard throughout the region.Anyway, Tam Sam remained sti l l fr iendly and
respectful toward his former master and his Hung Sing
Gwoon companions, and so, when herealized that his reputation wasbeginning to cast shadow on MasterHim Tsan and the School, hedecided to go away from Fushan. Hefounded his own school in a templein the north called Di Mew andnamed it Siu Hung Sing Kwoon Buk.Thanks to his fighting skills andexperience, Tam continued to createnew techniques and redefine oldones, surpassing the original systemand making a personal contributionto the system, especially in the areaof combat. In Siu Buk, Tam Samearned the nickname "theunbeatable fist of the North",
because of his invulnerability incombat.Over time, his students
persuaded Tam Sam to shorten thename of the school and modify it inBuk Sing Choy Lee Fut for beingtoo long, but especially as adistinguishing mark with respect tothe other two branches of thesame system. It was then that inaddition to the Choy Lay Futbranch of King Mui and Fushanwas born the Buck Sing branch. Inthe course of his studies, Tam Samgave life to a real system within thesystem. His research was
particularly developed in the technical field and in the principles that wereapplicable in combat.
Few Tou Lu (forms) many Kuen (techniques and principles): this was and stillis the basis of the Choy Lay Fut Pak Sing system. Some of his techniquesthat made him famous in the martial world for their effectiveness in combatare, for example, the Kwa-Sow-Chop and the Lin Wan Chop Choy (cyclicattack with Leopard fists). Tam Sam loved so much fighting that hehired a biographer to record his meetings. The book should have beencalled "the record of 100 victorious fights", but the author died inHong Kong during the early drafting stages and it was nevercompleted. In 1912 was formed the Republic of China and in thefollowing decades, under the promotional push of the newgovernment, various associations for the Chinese Martial Arts inboth North and South of China were created. The new governmentrecognized the Chinese Martial Arts as a national treasure and itpromoted publicly their spreading. It was a period of flourishingtechnical interchange among various systems and associations oftraditional Martial Arts. The government itself gave rise to thesetransactions, particularly between the styles of the North and theSouth. One of the most famous "exchanges" between North andSouth systems was held in the city of Canton.Ku Yu Jeong, famous master of the Bak Siu Lam style and
known for his body techniques and his iron palm, was appointedhead of the delegation of the North, while in the South wasappointed Tam Sam. The reputation of Tam Sam was alsoknown to Master Ku Yu Jeong, who considered him like anational hero and at the same time a Martial Art brother.Ku Yu Jeong wanted to meet Sam Tam and train withhim, but Tam thought differently and wanted to face KuYu Jeong in combat. After a famous meeting betweenthe two "behind closed doors" of which nobodyknows the final outcome, both masters reached anagreement of respect and mutual exchangebetween their groups of students. The twoschools could freely exchange directly andindirectly their experiences. Tam Sam was anhonest and direct man, but with a strongpersonality, and although he gave hisstudents freedom to exchange experience
with the School of Master Ku YuJeong, he never wanted to
personally share his systemwith him because he
would never accept in his heart tolearn Kung Fu from the North.He was also a member of the
Canton Martial Arts NationalCouncil. During the Second WorldWar and the Japanese invasion,Tam Sam was elected head of thetraining camp "Di Dao (Big Saber)".He died in 1942 at age 69, from anincurable disease. Among TamSam's favorite disciples were MahYan, Kong On, Leong Ji, Chan NienPak and Lee Chow. His son Tam FeiPang had a large following ofdisciples in Kowloon, Hong Kong.Tam Sam (譚 三 ) was not only a
great fighter, but also an educatedman and an excellent calligrapher.He spent most of his life working asa clerk and a man of laws in variousdistricts of Guangzhou. However hisreputation as an undefeated fightermarked his path and his lifestyle ina substantial way. He didn't likeschemes and dogmas, and healways supported individualexperience as the only true road inthe development of one's skills andtechnical background. He used toencourage his students to confronttheir technical level with otherpractitioners. His life experienceand his thoughts created aneffective and direct system in thetrue martial practice.Among his most famous sayings:
"Arms should be l ike the windblowing on the candles, legs are likewalking on clouds", "Turn aroundyour opponent l ike a tiger whoraises his head and strike like adragon who sinks his claws."
"The Master practices, beginnersspeak; the Master lives, beginnersdiscuss; the Master savors themorning and the sunset, beginnersare worried in the morning and tiredat sunset ... where there are wordsyou will find a man, where you findcoherence in the silence there willexist your Master."
Sifu Gianni de Nittis
Budo International: Tell us aboutyour personal life, I think yours isone of the most amazing historieswe've ever heard.Justo Dieguez: My name is Justo
Dieguez and I was born in a smallmining town called Villanueva delRio y Minas, in Seville, in SouthernSpain, although it was in Aragon, upin the north, in a small mining towncalled Utrillas, where I spent most ofmy childhood.
It was a very special place where Isoon discovered the hardness andthe reality of life. From an early age Iwitnessed some brutal situationsand I quickly realized that if I wantedto do something with my l ife Ineeded to escape from there, so atthe age of 10 my parents sent me toa Salesian school, where I spentthree years, after that time I cameback home and when I turned 14, Istarted working in the mines.
C.N.: Was it hard yourexperience in the mines?J.D.: The mine is a very difficult
place for a child, there were peoplefrom all places and countries, thatwas good; but there were also
convicts who had been sent to workand serve their sentences in themine, and although not all, some ofthese men lived without fear ofrecrimination,
This was a particularly difficultperiod in my life, and it was in themines where I lost many of myfriends. I spend six long years in thisextreme and violent environment inwhich is very diff icult to love
yourself, it was then when I wascaught in a mining accident, themine collapsed trapping and killingmost of the miners in the tunnel, Istill remember the thrilling roar of theground writhing inside. It wasenough, I left the mine and I enlistedthe special forces, and with myextreme character I quickly becamea good soldier, doing the best Icould do while learning to improve
Interview
He has one of the most brilliant careers indecades in Martial Arts, from a mining townin Spain and a mine cave-in that imprisonedhim for nine days underground, to the bigscreen as a choreographer in many films andseries such as "Batman Begins" or "Mission:Impossible III".But his work as a stunt man or
choreographer is only the result of hisrevolutionary fighting method, the Keysi,which he teaches all over the world givingseminars and opening new schools.After a painful separation from his former
partner, Justo returned to the fray by settinghis work and teaching among the best andmost original of the current Martial scene.With this interview, this month begins a
series of articles about his combat system,officially renamed "Keysi by Justo Diéguez".Do not miss it! He's got a lot to offer...
Keysi
myself as a person, then I decided to leavethe special forces.
C.N.: How did you start in Martial Arts?J. D.: All those past experiences in the
mines had taught me to seek answers tothat type of violence; I already knew that theanswer was not in the technique, it was onthe instinct, so my next step was to learnhow to use mine.
It was not exactly easy, but it was alwaysexciting, when I had a fight and I wasdragged down I curled up in the fetalposition and from there I started using myarms and legs as protection, and the gapsbetween the arms as windows throughwhich I could observe the movements of theone who was hitting me and provoke hisnext move; it didn't always work but I gotbetter and better, in these meetings Ilearned to use my hands like a monkey andalso to grab my adversary's legs and climbseeking his back and, why not, use him as ashield; I created many of these tricks, whichare now part of the Keysi’s teachings.
I entered the world of Martial Arts seekinga philosophy that could show me a way tofollow, seeking answers; at first it wasinteresting, but I didn't find the answers Iwas looking for and I soon resumed thereason why I had got there.
I had been long dedicated to MMAA for along time, had people following me and itdidn't really matter what I taught them, buthow I taught, so I decided to transmit myway of seeing and understanding the street.
I focused on my experiences, I had myanswer and it was very simple, I had begunan adventure without the vices ofunnecessary technical knowledge, or fromthe disadvantage of an experience devoid ofmeaning and answers, so I have to give thisadventure a didactic treatment based in
Interview
“Keysi is my ownexperience expressed
in movements,it's my Spanish
culture, flamenco music,
the bull…”
methodology from the simplest, where technique is only atemporary vehicle, not an end in itself.
So I followed the advice of my father: to climb amountain, the first thing to do is take a small step, andthen another, and another, and so, step by step, I learnedthat there are many paths to the summit, this in turn taughtme that even losing direction in many occasions there’s noreason to miss the target.
C.N.: Tell us about KFM.J. D.: KFM means Keysi Fighting Method. The Keysi
Fighting Method was born in me and I am the one whocreated it. It was my way of expressing Martial Arts whatattracted the attention of people and there were many whogot interested in what I was doing … for some it assomething revolutionary and modern, a life model based
on the growth of human being, with a life philosophyunderpinned by the human values, while others saw it asan outright business; this latter case was my experiencewith my partners during the period of the KFM... It's ironic,but for having believed in people and not having recordedon paper who was who in the company, now I cannot usemy abbreviations KFM; everything has a consequence, Iaccepted it and I re-emerged with my nickname: Keysi byJusto Diéguez.
I have never left anyone to interfere in my creation, as it'smy pensamientos and my way of expressing andunderstanding the street; this doesn't mean that therewere not people close to me, collaborators, partners (whoconfused or manipulated "cofounder of a company" with"co-founder of a method") and also outstanding studentsto whom I even put above me, giving them credibility and
Interview
Interview
“The Keysi FightingMethod was born in meand I am the one who
created it. It was my way of
expressing Martial Artswhat attracted the
attention of people andthere were many who got
interested in what I was doing…”
power in the world; they had the privilege that I sharedwith them my pensamientos, the privilege of participatingin the trial and error of the system implementation, theprivi lege of being present and being part of itsdevelopment.
C.N.: The Betrayal of a student is as old as MartialArts. What went wrong?J.D.: Perhaps overconfidence and my open way of
understanding equality of human beings ... too bad theywill never understand that my Keysi is my expressionconstantly evolving and that if I wanted to give the best ofmyself, I couldn't bear the burden of something in which Idon't believe, it would have been fooling myself, and that'ssomething I'll never do...
Relying firmly on someone, believing in friendship and inthe family, giving them the privilege and feel proud ofhaving them, not as my students, but as my fellow
Keysi
travelers in this adventure that I hadstarted when I was a child... Ibelieved in my friends and wanted toteach them everything, I wanted acorrect transmission; I gave them theprivilege of considering them mycolleagues, so many hours talking tothem about my Baby Keysi, theCode of Ethics and its values...
The sad thing of people is thatthey come into your life, you lovethem, give them everything you haveand as soon as they see theopportunity they steal you everythingthey can, try to supplant youridentity, tell your stories makingthem their own.
But not everything was that bad, Ihave to thank from my heart that allthose persons are already out of mylife, and I now I realize that theexperience was a real "MasterClass" for me; now free, clean ofinfluences, the Keysi by JustoDieguez method has begun to growmore strongly than ever, I'm makinga lot of friends and I’m creating alarge Keysi family.
Those persons know that everytime they try to explain thesetechniques claiming they're theirown and lying about how theycreated them by telling parts of myhistory, every time they areapplauded at a seminar they willknow deep inside that they didn'teven manage to touch the outerlayer of the Keysi method, and nomatter how they try, they will neverbe able to go beyond the surface,because they remain a flat, emptyand rootless copy.
Whenever they look themselves inthe mirror, that inquisitive mirror thatreveals our deepest identity in themost direct and obvious way, then,alone before the truth, with nomasks, they won't be able todeceive their conscience, even ifthey repeat their stories over andover to the point of believing in theirown l ies. They know that theovations they receive are devoted tome, the creator of Keysi method, andthat their words and justifications aremaking me bigger every day.
Keysi is my own experience
Interview
Keysi
“The wish of who we want to be doesn't start from theidea of who we'd like to be or the hope that someday wewill be, it starts from the conviction that we already are!”
Interview
expressed in movements, it's my Spanish culture,flamenco music, the bull and especially the passion fordoing something that is born within you and in whichyou believe.
C.N: Why all your techniques have the Pensador?J.D.: It's true, in Keysi by Justo Dieguez all
techniques start with the Pensador, this has nothing todo with the position of the hands, or that we spendmuch time thinking.
The Pensador has to do with knowing your body in adifferent way, from the inside, a place you can onlyenter with the mind and look at it from that perspective.Pensamiento is the spirit that can reach the deepestpart of the body and the body is the outer part ofPensamiento. Body and Pensamiento are not separateentities, is only one, and that's why all Keysi techniquescarry the Pensador.
C.N.: A thought?J.D.: The wish of who we want to be doesn't start
from the idea of who we'd like to be or the hope thatsomeday we will be, it starts from the conviction thatwe already are!
Martial Arts
Today we face a new era in theMartial Arts with very disturbing
trends in MMA circles - modern'gladiators' calling for the taste of
blood from their opponents. AsMartial Arts teachers, we need to
face this trend and deal with iteach and every day with purpose.
We need to discuss and explain toour students what the differences
are between being a 'fighter' andbeing a 'warrior.' Many times a
'warrior' can be a great 'fighter'BUT sometimes he can be
handicapped and fight eachsecond to be alive, or have to deal
with life, which can be a dailyordeal with life's work, fighting
cancer and not about fightinganother opponent.
World Masters
Text: Avi Nardia & Tim BoehlertPhotos: © Brian Wilder
Fighter or Warrior?
'A fighter trains to fight... a Warrior trains to LIVE'
'Warriors fight not because they hate who is in front ofthem, but because they love who is behind them'
'Ethics and Morals make you a Warrior’
Martial Arts
“It's importantto understandthat a soldiercan be a good
fighter, but thatdoes not make
him a goodwarrior”
he warrior is one who hasbeen in war - to protect anddefend his/her family, his/herlife, his/her home, his/hersociety, his/her 'nation.' Withwar, as with many things
related to conflicts, there are differinglaws, codes of ethics and morals that awarrior embraces and embodies. A'fighter' can be a great fighter, but he/shedoes not necessarily embrace ORembody those same laws, code of ethicsand/or morals. As an example, a terroristcan 'fight' well, but doesn't adhere to thesame ethics that most civilized peopledo. A prisoner can be a great fighter, butthere are NO 'normal' rules in prisonwhen fighting. This is why I don't likewhen we hear in Martial Arts 'no rules.'
While it's true that in the street, thereare no rules, but in the street we must
still have a code of ethics, and adhereto a normal set of morals as we don'taspire to kill - mercy is a quality of atrue warrior.
I teach Budo, and yes, we can fightBUT that is not the point. The point isNOT to fight, but to prevent the fight, asthat is truly self-defense. In war,confrontation is the fight, but we try toavoid that in self-defense. We strive for'guard' style, not bully style. We knowthat soldiers can be warriors, butmaybe some are just fighters - do theyfollow the laws, the code of ethics orthe morals of engagement? The SSwere great soldiers, but engaged inimmoral crimes against humanity.Japanese soldiers committed atrocitiesin Nanking China in 1937, raping,torturing and murdering over 300,00civilians and Chinese soldiers.
World Masters
T
This behavior is not embraced in Budo. It'simportant to understand that a soldier can be a goodfighter, but that does not make him a good warrior. Todaywe see to many 'warriors' - fighters without good ethics, ormorals. They are not warriors, even though they mayportray themselves as such in the eyes of others, butmostly in their own eyes. Mercenaries are good fighterstoo, but they are not warriors. They too follow no laws, nornormal code of ethics.
In the Avi Nardia Academy and through Kapap, we try toteach our students to be warriors, because it's moreimportant to be a warrior than to be a fighter. When I wasyounger, and my ego was pumped, I thought about being a
good fighter, but as I got older and embraced betterspirit and mind, and did not work solely on having a
better body, I could see the importance of being a warriorrather than being a fighter.
A few years ago I developed the Kapap knife - along withFox Knives in Italy. My knife was designed with warriors inmind, not fighters. My knife is designed primarily to savelife, not to take life. Too many systems embrace the knife asa tool for death rather than demonstrating how it is a toolfor giving life.
The Avi Nardia Kapap knife was developed from manyideas - originating from my personal history. My father wasa combat paratrooper - the background color on his wingswas red (as opposed to blue) signifying that he actuallymade combat drops. This is rare, since most paratrooperstrain for but do not actually deploy into combat in thisfashion. As such, I grew up among the first paratroopers ofthe Israeli Defence Forces, absorbing their culture, history,stories, and pictures from the old days. One picture I havenever forgotten - (see attached) - is that of the platoon
Martial Arts
training-knife fightingof the 1950's, when KAPAP(Krav Panim El Panim - Face to Facecombat) was the close-quarters combat system used bythe IDF. As we developed Kapap and started to introduce itthroughout the world to the civilian market, this picture keptpopping up again and again in my mind as the reason fordeveloping KAPAP. The picture is that of my father, which Iadapted into my logo, as I carry my father's memory andtradition. This shadow of the knife has followed me since Iwas a small child. I remember how my father used the knifeoutdoors and indoors as a heavy-duty knife. _
I enlisted in the army in 1980 and was challenged to goto war in 1982. I served in a war zone for two years and theknife was a tool on my military vest. When I left the Army Igave it as a present to a friend, a Lt. Colonel. I ultimatelytraveled to Japan to study Japanese Martial Arts for almost8 years and received my 6th Dan in Japaneseswordsmanship and my 7th Dan in Aiki Kenpo Jutsu.
I have studied many different Martial Arts, but I alwayssee myself as a Combat and swordsmanship teacher. _MySchool of swordsmanship is that of giving life. When I
started to teachCombat, I noticedthat many taught how to kill with a knife and would explainthe knife in wrong way. You can kill with a stone. But, as Isee it, the knife is the most important tool for humans. Weuse it for our survival every day.
By connecting my personal history, my way of life, and myprinciples, as well as a deep study of swordsmanship andknife fighting from the masters, I developed ideas as to whatwould constitute the ideal all around knife. Based on the originof the knife, gotten from my father, and with my experiencesas an Olympic fencing coach and knife fighting teacher, as wellas Japanese swordsmanship, I started to design this knife,which would be the basis for a workshop we teach in KAPAPcalled "Only Knife", whereby the students need take ONLY aknife and go into the woods all by themselves and survive.
Martial Arts
“By connecting my personal history, my way of life, and my principles, as well as a deep study of
swordsmanship and knife fighting from the masters,I developed ideas as to what would constitute the ideal
all around knife”
The design of the knife had to be one that notonly was effective as a weapon, but also mustencompass capabilities to allow one to buildtheir own shelter, get their food, water, fire, andtake care of all their needs to survive. The ideais that with my Fighting knife you can not onlykill but you can also save lives and survive. Thisis the main idea for this knife - to give life, not totake life.
One day a man travelled deep into the jungleand met a monkey. He said hello to the monkeyand was surprised when the monkey returnedhis greeting with "hello my friend!"
The man didn't know monkeys could speak,and so he asked the monkey about this. Themonkey said, "yes we can speak, we just hideit."
The man then said, "We humans say thatmonkeys and humans are of the same family."
The monkey was really happy to meet his'new' relative and didn't stop exclaiming "myfamily, my family!"
Suddenly, out of nowhere a lion attackedboth of them and the monkey pulled the manup into his tree and climbed high up to a saferplace. The lion said "throw the man to me,and I will eat only him and I will set you free."The monkey repl ied, "no way, he is myfamily." Through the long night the maneventually got tired of trying to out-wait thehungry l ion below, and so he asked themonkey to watch over him as he slept andsaid that when the monkey would go to sleepand he would watch over him.
While the man slept the l ion asked themonkey again to let him eat the man, and saidthat he'd let the monkey go free. But themonkey replied again "No. We are family." Whenthe man awoke, he told the monkey to sleepand stated that he'd keep watch over him.
The monkey went to sleep and the lion askedthe man to "throw the monkey down to me toeat and I'll set you free! The man didn't thinktwice, and he threw the monkey down to thelion, but the monkey woke up quickly andbefore the lion could set his paws on him hejumped back into the tree and climbed back upto where the man sat safely.
This was really embarrassing to the man.Both knew what happened, but no one spoke ofit. Then the lion fell asleep and the monkey saidto the man "let's go!" and he walked him safelyall the way back to the edge of the jungle andsaid goodbye.
As the man started walking, the monkeycalled him and said, "Can I ask you favor?"
"Yes!" the man said, happy that the monkeystill considered them friends despite what theman had tried to do to the monkey. The monkeysaid to him "would you please not mention toanyone that we are family?"
In the past, I have been stabbed in the backby 'friends' and other greedy people that weretoo ready to sell my friendship for almost nomoney and I decided to simply say, "Pleasedon't mention that we're family." I have sincebuilt my own family called Avi Nardia Academy,as warriors follow their hearts and keep theirvalues and morals! This is my family. It's awarrior family.
Martial Arts
“I have studied manydifferent Martial Arts,but I always see myself
as a Combat andswordsmanship
teacher.”
“I have since built myown family called Avi
Nardia Academy, as warriors follow their
hearts and keep theirvalues and morals! This is my family.
It's a warrior family.”
“We know that soldierscan be warriors,
but maybe some are justfighters - do they follow
the laws, the code ofethics or the morals of
engagement? ”
National Technical Dire Instructor Body
Mail - benguyen707@Website - http://www.
National Technical Director TUNISIA Instructor Black belt 4thDan Taekwondo National Trainer
Mail: [email protected]
Tel. - +216.252.536.30
Regional Technical Director ALGERALGERIE - Instructor 1th Degree Self
Defense - Instructor Tonfa Mail: [email protected]
Tel. +213.662.208.857
National Technical Director ALGERIAInstructor Black belt 4th Dan Jiu Jutsu
CN. 3th Dan Taï JutsuMail - [email protected] Tel. - +212.774.509.241
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4th Dan Kempo - 1er Dan Self Pro KravMail - [email protected]
Website -http://www.kiryukenpo.com
National Technical Director BELGIUMBlack belt 5th Dan AikijutsuMail - [email protected]
Tel. - +32.494.773.812
National Technical Director QATAR -Instructor Black belt 5th Dan Karate
CN. 4th Dan AikidoMail - [email protected]
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M Web
National Technical Director MAURITIUS ISLAND
Instructor National Trainer MMMail - [email protected]
Tel. - +230.578.142.27
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Instructor Black belt 1er Dan Kravmaga -Mail - [email protected]
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Mail: [email protected] Web:
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CN. 1er Dan Cane DefenseMail - [email protected]
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Mail [email protected]
Tel. +213 7 81 31 15 95
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an Self Pro Krav and Police ROSMail - [email protected] - http://www.davidbuisan.es
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Instructor Black belt 1er Dan SelfPro Krav - CN. 1er Dan Police ROS
Mail - [email protected]: http://bsa-security.com
Regional Technical Director TIZIOUZOU ALGERIE
Instructor Black belt 2th Dan JuJutsu - CN. 2th Dan Hapkijutsu -
Mail : [email protected] Tel. +213.790.499.645
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CN. 4th Dan Full ContactMail - [email protected]
Tel. +34.938.662.173
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Mail - [email protected] Tel. 06.90.56.90.24
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Mail - [email protected]. - +792.486.156.79
National Technical Director CHILEand PATAGONIA - Instructor Black belt
2th Dan Kravmaga & Muay ThaiMail - [email protected]
Tel. - +54 0299 155069075
r
MA om
Hwa Rang Do® Go Too Gi(Grappling)
Hwa Rang Do® Go Too Gi (Grappling)(MISSION STATEMENT OF THE WORLD HWA RANG DO® ASSOCIATION)
HWA RANG DO®:A legacy of Loyalty, Relentlessly seeking Truth, Empowering Lives, Serving HumanityThe Hwa Rang Do® Go Too Gi is one of the sport application of Hwa Rang Do®. It's for everybody, also for beginners
(but limited to positioning for them).You can apply takedowns, sweepings, joint locks and chokings. The match is withoutstop for points and submissions are allowed to the ground or stand-up.More details in the next articles. The photo sequences show some practical applications.About the author: Hwa Rang Do® Head Instructor, Lieutenant Colonel of the Italian Military Police Force (Carabinieri)
and Engineer Marco Mattiucci is the Chief of the Italian Branch of the World Hwa Rang Do® Association and one of themain followers of Grandmaster Taejoon Lee.
Hwa Rang Do® Knife Self Defense
Always with the Ochikara, "The Great Strength" (called e-bunto in the Shizen vernacular tongue) or secret wisdomof the ancient Miryoku Japanese shamans, as a backdrop, the author takes us into a world of genuine reflectionsthat are capable to move at once both the reader's heart and head, thus placing him continuously in front of theabyss of the invisible, as the true final frontier of personal and collective consciousness.
The spiritual taken not as religion, but as the study of the invisible, was the way of the ancient Miryoku sages toapproach the mystery in the framework of a culture as rich as unknown, to which the author has wholeheartedlydevoted.
Alfredo Tucci, Manager Director to Budo International Publishing Co. and author in the past 30 years of a largenumber of titles about the Warrior's Way, offers us a set of extraordinary and profound reflections, which can beread individually in no particular order. Each one of them opens up a window to us through which we can take alook at the most varied subjects from an unexpected angle, now dotted with humor now with forcefulness andgrandiosity, placing us in front of eternal matters with the view of the one who has just arrived and doesn't agreewith the common places in which everyone coincides.
We can affirm with conviction that no reader will be indifferent to this book; such is the strength and intensity ofits contents. Saying this is saying a lot in a world crowded with collective mangers, interested and behavioralideologies, manipulators and, in short, spurious interests and mediocrity. It is therefore a text for big souls andintelligent people who are ready to look at life and mystery with the freedom of the most restless and scrutinizingminds, without dogmas, without transient morals, without subterfuges...
n the 1970’s Arab terrorists wanted to humiliate and destroy Israel.War did not accomplish this, so the next best way was terrorism.However, the terrorists soon found that hijacking Israeli airplaneswas not an easy task. The Israelis made their airplanes "hardtargets" and were considered the most secure aircraft in the freeworld. Therefore, the terrorists chose "soft targets" – American
and European passenger aircraft. The 70’s and 80’s was the era ofhijackings.In the past, the terrorists would seize an aircraft, force it down in a
sympathizing country, make demands (for free passage or the release ofimprisoned fellow terrorists), then usually release the hostages afterreceiving adequate media attention. Back then no terrorist thought offlying an aircraft into a building.Then, on September 11, 2001 a new form of terrorism emerged on the
world scene. Again, the terrorists had their sights on attacking Israel, butIsraeli security was too tight. Therefore, the terrorists chose a "softtarget" – American passenger aircraft. Only this time there would be nonegotiations, and no releasing of hostages. It was a barbaric new form ofterrorism – the suicide airplane. Not only was it the most horrific act ofterrorism in history, costing over 6,000 lives, but also it was also themost dramatic martial arts story of the new millennium. What was the reason for the attacks? On October 8, 2001, during the
American and British bombing of terrorists camps in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, released a video tape of himselfdeclaring that the terrorist attacks of September 11 were the result of theUnited States supporting Israel.
Knife fight in the skyOn September 11, 2001 four American civilian aircraft were taken over
by Arab terrorists who were armed with knives and box cutters. The firstairplane, American Airlines Flight 11, crashed into New York’s WorldTrade Center’s north tower. Eighteen minutes later a second airplane,United Airlines Flight 175, slammed into the south tower. Then, theboldest act of terrorism of them all, occurred. The center of Americanmilitary might, the Pentagon building (just outside of Washington D.C.)was partially destroyed by American Airlines Flight 77. There was a fourth airplane that was hijacked, United Airlines Flight 93,
which never made it to its intended "target." U.S. Intelligence sources
Many things have changed since September11th, this indeed includes the concept ofsecurity on planes. The rules for taking actionwhen confronting a highjack are no longer"collaborators of the hijackers". Each passengeris a potential soldier in this war and should betrained to take care of himself and help others.Jim Wagner, a well-known expert by our readershas reflected on this point from many angles. Ifyou want to know what are your possibilities andhow to react confronting an attack against yourlife, do not miss this magnificent article.
I
“The question now is,‘What about if theairplane you are onnext time gets
hijacked? Are you better
prepared than theterrorists,
and do you know howto fight back?’”
SELF DEFENSE IN THE SKIES
Self Defense
believe that this airplane was heading toward the White House (the residence of the President) or possiblythe Capital building down the street (the very seat of the United States government). The terrorists did notsucceed, because a few passengers decided to fight back. They fought against the knives.When President George W. Bush addressed the U.S. Congress a week after the attack, he named
passenger Todd Beamer as a genuine American hero. Beamer phoned his wife from Flight 93 during thehijacking and she told him about the incidents in New York and Washington D.C. He knew that the same fateawaited him and the other passengers. With this information in mind he told his wife, Lisa Beamer, that heand other passengers were going to attempt to take the airplane back. Other male passengers (people likeTom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, and Mark Bringham) called their families from air phones and told them the samething – they were going to fight back, and try to take the airplane back.
What if it were you?If we have learned anything from history, it’s that terrorists will repeat "successful" acts of terror. The
recent attacks in America achieved the effect that the terrorists wanted: it showed that buildings arevulnerable to suicide flights, innocent people are easy targets, it slowed down the economy, and it producedfear (which quickly turned into righteous anger). Therefore, similar attacks are inevitable.The question now is, "What about if the airplane you are on next time gets hijacked? Are you better
prepared than the terrorists, and do you know how to fight back?"As a member of an elite law enforcement team in the United States, and an active police/military trainer
for counter-terrorists teams across the globe, I am unable to divulge sensitive counter-terroristtechniques, but I can provide you with practical advice on things you can do as a martial artist, based
Self Defense
upon my experience, which you can use in the unlikely event that you become a victim like thosepeople of Flight 93.
A police & military perspectiveThe type of fighting that police and military special operations teams do inside aircraft is called
tubular assault. This term refers to any linear assault, and also applies to buses and trains. In otherwords, movement and action conducted in a narrow passage way. To fight in this environment requiresspecial training and considerations.Before I go into the various fighting techniques used aboard aircraft, you must remember that there
are three phases to combat: 1. Pre-conflict 2. Conflict 3. Post-conflict Most martial arts trainingfocuses on the actual conflict (the punching and kicking), but they fail to train in pre-conflict
(preparations before a conflict), and what to do immediately after (post-conflict). It is important thatwe cover all three phases when training for aircraft situations.
The training environmentThe ideal training environment is to actually train aboard a passenger aircraft, but unless you are
on an elite police or military team that specializes in Aircraft Interdiction, this will not be possible.However, you can create your own "aircraft" for training purposes.
When I was down in Brazil last year training the Air Force’s Special Forces team GEPA, we didnothing more than set up chairs and drew an outline of the airplane with chalk in an aircrafthanger. You can do the same thing to practice your techniques and to understand the spatial"feel" for this type of environment. Of course my Brazilian students later practiced theirtechniques on an actual aircraft with Varig Brasil Airlines, but they knew what to do insidethe aircraft prior to boarding based upon our simple training model.
If you wish to be more elaborate, you can even build yourself a small section of"aircraft" with walls made of wooden boards and plastic sheets (something which
can be assembled and disassembled easily). You can ad push carts, and haveother students play the roles of passengers.
Self Defense
Training equipmentThe hijackers that took over flights 11,
175, 77 and 93 were armed with knives andbox cutters, but keep in mind that somehijackings also involve guns. As martialartists we already practice with trainingknives and guns (rubber, wood or plasticreplicas). These training tools are alsoexcellent for learning to defeat hijackers. To make your training more realistic
(referred to as reality-based training byAmerican police) all participants should wearthe clothes that they would actually fight in.The "terrorists" should be wearing normalstreet clothes, in addition to protectiveequipment for contact, and the "victims"should be wearing travel clothes. Themore realistic the training equipment, themore real the training will feel.
Before the hijackingIn real situations, and in training as
well, you want to always anticipatepossible problems and prepare forthem. Here are several suggestions ofpre-conflict preparation:1. Request an exit seat. Whether you
select your seat by e-ticket or at theairl ine ticket counter, always try torequest an exit seat over the wing,unless you are flying First Class. This isnot only the strongest part of theairplane in case of a crash landing, butthe wing is situated in the middle ofthe "tube." If trouble begins in thefront or the back of the aircraft you willbe able to react to it faster.2. Always select an aisle seat. You
do not want to be seated next to awindow or in between people. You donot want to have to climb over anybodyin the event of an emergency. Alwayschoose an aisle seat so you can getup, or escape quickly. 3. Bring handcuffs. Although metal
handcuffs are not allowed on passengeraircraft, you can bring alternativerestraining devices in case youhave to "arrest" someone(plumbers plastic tie straps,shoestring, duct tape, etc.).
Reality Based
SELF DEFENSE IN THE SKIES
Self Defense
4. Observe suspicious passengers.Without looking obvious, or nervousyourself, always look for suspiciouspassengers. Do not assume that thenext attack will be from Arab terrorists.Terrorists can be of any sex, race, orbackground. Rather, you should lookfor suspicious behavior patterns:nervous, scared, angry, or veryfocused. Look around for anyonemaking hand signals to otherpassengers.5. Wear f ighting clothes. Wear
appropriate clothes for a fight, such asloose fitting clothes, long pants, and agood pair of shoes for kicking, runningor stomping.
During the hijacking If, in the future,you ever become a victim in ahijacking there are no longer anyguarantees that you will survive theincident. The hijackers may be fromthe "old school" and try to negotiate,or they may be of the "new school"and have plans to crash the aircraftinto a building – with you in it. There issimply no way to know what theintentions of the terrorists will be sincethe "rules" have changed afterSeptember 11, 2001.If you do decide to fight aboard an
aircraft, here are some tactics andtechniques that may help save yourlife and the life of others:
1. Ambush the ambushers. When acriminal or a terrorist first jumps upfrom their seat to seize the aircraft theywill be loud and violent in order tointimidate the passengers and flightcrew. By doing this tactic the terroristshope to control the aircraft as soon aspossible through fear. Once they havecontrol of the aircraft it is more difficultfor the passengers and crew to resist orto counter-attack. In military operationssoldiers are taught to attack theattacker if they are ambushed insteadof staying in the "kill zone" where theattacker has the advantage. This moveputs the attackers on the defensive,which can possibly stop the ambush.
Self Defense
SELF DEFENSE IN THE SKIES
2. Take command. Every police officer in the United States learns about"command presence." It means that you control a situation with yourappearance (confident look), verbal authority (strong verbal commands toother passengers ordering them to assist you), and commitment (certaintyabout your mission, which will influence others to follow).3. Linear kicks. The seats of aircraft are taller than a dinning room chair,
and the aisle between the rows of seats are narrow (about the width ofthe average adult forearm to forearm). Therefore, you will be restricted tofront kicks and straight knee strikes. Round kicks, side kicks, or any typeof spinning kicks are prohibitive. Your target should be a well-placed frontkick or knee strike to the pelvic area. This target is a person’s center ofgravity (COG), and a forceful strike will "stop or drop" most people. Donot do high kicks (above the pelvic area) or weak snap kicks. 4. Keep it simple. Use only simple, hard-hitting, closed-fist punches
and devastating elbow strikes. If you do use open-hand techniquesthey should be to vital areas (eyes, throat, and neck). 5. Use a shield. On Flights 11, 175, 77 and 93 the hijackers were
armed with knives and box cutters. Although airport security hasimproved since September, it is still possible for someone to concealcutting and stabbing items on an aircraft, such as composite plasticknives, which cannot be detected by metal detectors. The only way toassure that nobody carries any weapons aboard an aircraft is to forbidall carry-on items, issue all passengers a jumpsuit, frisk them, then havethem go through a Backscatter X-ray scan (a machine that can lookthrough a person’s clothes, and produces images which are veryrevealing). Therefore, if you find that your hijackers have knives, youneed to make a shield to protect yourself out of a jacket wrappedaround your arm, a briefcase, purse or even a rolled up flight magazine.A shield will protect you from stabs and slashes.6. Improvised weapons. I am not advising you to bring weapons
aboard any aircraft (it’s against the law), but you need to think of itemsthat you can use as a weapon in the event of a hijacking. I can think ofseveral "improvised weapons," such as a belt with a large belt buckle(flexible weapon), a metal writing pen (stabbing weapon), a cowboyboot or air phone (impact weapon), an unopened can of Coke(throwing weapon), a handful of sugar, salt and pepper (distractionweapon) etc. The airlines may prevent you from carrying knives or otheredged weapons on their aircraft, but they can’t take away everything –especially your warrior spirit. As the U.S. Marine Close Combatinstructors say – One mind, any weapon.7. Use your environment. The free access areas in an aircraft are
quite limited, even in large aircraft such as the Boeing 747. Your fightingarea will be very small, such as in an aisle, near a toilet, or by anemergency exit. Therefore, you must train in confined areas to knowwhat techniques work and which do not. You must also learn to useyour environment to your tactical advantage: brace yourself againstseats for balance, shove the terrorist’s head into the overhead baggagerack, or push a terrorist between the seats and try to pin him there.Again, the only way to understand all of your options in an aircraft is tocreate your own "aircraft" using the same measurements.8. Make the arrest. You must not make the mistake of thinking that all
future hijackings will be like those of September 11th. You may be facingan army of hijackers or a single suspect who is mentally disturbed. If youdo happen to subdue a hijacker, what are you going to do with him, or
SELF DEFENSE IN THE SKIES
Self Defense
them? One of the most overlooked areas of conflict bytraditional martial artists is the post-conflict phase.Although the immediate danger may be over, there arestill other factors to consider – such as arresting thosewho you have defeated. Are you going to just sit onhim the rest of the flight or do you have restrainingdevices? I personally carry nylon handcuffs (which arecarried by many of today’s counter-terrorist teams)aboard each flight that I take. However, you can alsouse shoelaces, duct tape, a belt, torn strips of a shirt,etc. The important thing is to incorporate arrest andcontrol techniques into your training just as you wouldground fighting or weapons training.9. Carry a "go bag." When I fly commercially I
always have a small carry-on bag that I store under theseat in front of me. I can quickly place the shoulderstrap over my shoulder and go with it if I need it in anytype of emergency (whether a plane crash or a fight),that’s why it is called a "go bag" – it’s always ready togo. Inside my bag I have the following items: first aidkit, flashlight, water, food (protein bars), whistle,flexible handcuffs, smoke hood, and something I canuse as a weapon (I will keep that to myself). I also putin some business papers to disguise its true purpose.10. Team tactics. If you are traveling with someone,
it is a good idea to discuss a plan of action together,such as roles and responsibilities, should a hijackingtake place. Being prepared beforehand is much bettertactically, then having to come up with a hasty plan atthe moment of the conflict. Come up with key alertwords (such as "Okay, I am your prisoner" indicates toyour partner to start fighting in 5 seconds). Alsodiscuss hand signals and the type of techniques youwould use in various situations. Discuss these thingsquietly since you may be sitting next to a terrorist, andwould not want to be overheard.
Train hard, fight easyEver since September 11th, I have heard many
martial artists say, "If it happened to me, I would fightback. Nobody is going to crash me into a building if Ican help it." That’s a good attitude to have as a martialartist, but do you really know what you will be upagainst? When the day comes for you to act on yourwords, will your martial arts training have beensufficient enough to have prepared you for a real-worldfight? Not just physically, but mentally as well? Afterall, 90% of combat is mental. Have you ever had tofight for your life before? Do you know how it feels tohave adrenalin surge through your body, to get "tunnelvision," and to rely upon gross motor skills?They key to good combat conditioning is to train
harder than your enemy. In the case of the Americanhijackings, the enemy (the terrorists) were devoted totheir training. Hijacker Jarrah is a good case in point.
SELF DEFENSE IN THE SKIES
Ziad Samir Jarrah, the terrorist pilotof United Airl ines Flight 93, wasstudying knife fighting and other martialarts techniques prior to his "mission."His American instructor, Bert Rodriguez(owner of US-1 Fitness Centers) saidthat Jarrah was a "polite," "dedicated,"and a "good student." He also attendedterrorist training camps in Afghanistan;probably near Kandahar, Khowst orJalalabad. Of course, Jarrah provedthat he was willing to fight to the death.Thus, when you’re practicing yourtechniques, remember that they may beused one day against someone likeJarrah.
No victory for the terroristsThree days after the four airplanes
went down I was ready to fly again.Unfortunately my flight to Canada wascancelled because the United Statesgovernment (the Federal AviationAdministration) would not allow foreignaircraft into the country for securityreasons. Then, two weeks later I flew toEurope to train personnel of the LondonMetropolitan Police. Afterwards I flew toMadrid to do the photo shoot for thisarticle. Some of my friends and familywere obviously worried about me in
light of recent events. However, I wasnot really worried about flying. I was notgoing to let terrorists achieve their goalby making me live in terror.Even though September 11th was
horrible indeed, the chances of youcoming face-to-face with a terrorist arestatistically high. You are more likely tobe struck by lightning then you are tobe injured or killed by a terrorist. On theother hand, you can’t pretend that youare immune from crime or terrorismeither.I’ve given you some ideas on how to
train for aircraft incidents, now you haveto put it into practice. Stay safe.
Self Defense
Videos
Simultaneous Techniquesfound in Old Okinawan Shorin-RyuKarate Kata Chinto
Every generation of martial artists hasto grapple with how they approach theirtraining, short term and long term. Arethey looking for quick, combat readyhand-to-hand training, or do they want toinvest in something more long term?Okinawan Karate offers both, but its ownlongevity speaks for itself. The debate ofthe value of kata (form) for many hasbeen beat to death, so to speak. Then,why after all these years, are people stillfocused on form? I'll assume most peoplereading this article would be looking forthe meat on the bone, i.e., can this worktoday? Is there value in visualizing andpracticing fighting sequences perfectedover the centuries? You be the judge.
This article will take a look at the effectiveness of, andstrategies found, in an ancient kata Chinto, from theobvious to the hidden, focusing on overwhelming an attac-ker with simultaneous techniques.According to legend, Chinto is named after a Chinese sai-
lor, shipwrecked off the Okinawan coast. Chinto was beingdisruptive and Matsumura Sokon, a Karate master andchief bodyguard to the Ryukyuan King was sent to takecare of him. There was a famous battle between them thatended in a stalemate. Matsumura was so impressed, heasked Chinto to teach him his techniques and put themtogether into a kata, practiced in many style of Karatetoday, particularly the Tomari-te and Shuri-te schools ofKarate.One of the challenges of practicing traditional solo kata is
what should you focus on? Should you focus on the physi-cal attributes of power, speed, footwork etc. or the mentalaspects of visualizing your opponent and the various self-defense scenarios that you've been taught or can imagine?Both are valid and we'll explore both the self-defense appli-cations and the value of mindful practice.A key component of the form is it is performed on a
straight line, with numerous spins and turns, requiring a lotof focus and balance. Below I have outlined some of thestrategies and techniques that Karatemen for centurieshave been using for bunkai (analysis) of this ancient kata.
Karate
Some may be obvious (Omote) andsome fall into the category of secret orhidden meanings (Ura). Analyzing andapplying these principles takes kataout of the realm of a simple dance withphysical benefits, to one with directapplications for self-defense.1. Simultaneous block/strike2. Dropping weight and simultane-
ous block/strike3. Capturing and turning the tables
on your attacker4. Simultaneous arm grab
reversal/arm break
Photo 1. Defense from a strike - Theattacker strikes with a punch that isblocked and struck simultaneouslystruck with a palm heel (Teisho) to thejaw.Photo 2. Dropping weight and simul-
taneous block/strike - An attackergrabs both arms, followed by a punch.Defender employs the strategy ofdropping his hands and weight, relea-sing the grab, followed by a simultane-ous block/strike.
Karate
Photo 3. Capturing and turning the tables on yourattacker - When an attacker grabs a hold of you,immediately grab their arm and forcefully pull theminto you as you simultaneously kick with your instepto the groin.Photo 4. Simultaneous grab reversal/arm break -
An attacker grabs your arm and you simultaneousturn their wrist and apply an arm break using the tor-que of a hook stance.
As you can see from some of these applications,the goal is to use the opponent's aggression againstthem. These reactions of moving into the attack orreversing a grab and realigning yourself from a posi-tion of disadvantage to advantage are rarely natural,at least at first. However, with repetition, the bunkai(or analysis) will make these reactions automatic.The value of practicing kata mindfully (visualizing
the fight) is priceless. You are training your body torespond in a disciplined, effective fashion. You aretraining all the muscles and reflexes necessary to per-form the techniques effectively. But, most impor-tantly, you are training the mind by what I will call acti-ve visualization. Many studies have been done on thebenefits of visualization, but most of them have beenin the sports arena, where you can see the outcome.Since Karate is intended to only be used in a real lifeor death situation, not in the ring or arena, it's hard toget data. How many people want to really get struckin the groin without a cup on, or have their arm bro-ken to see if the kata really works? Not many. Beyond the combat is the art, of course. How
many times does someone have to use their skill?Hopefully, they never have to. How important is thestress reduction, physical benefits, spiritual benefitsor simply avoiding avoidable circumstances? Themature martial artist knows the answer.
About the Author:
Todd Keane is a 7th Degree Black Belt inMatsubayashi Shorin-Ryu (founded by ShoshinNagamine) and has been training for 35 years. Heowns and operates, the Academy of TraditionalKarate, one of the largest traditional dojos on theEast Coast in Wilmington Massachusetts, 15 minutes from Boston. www.Traditional-Karate.com 978-658-2077.
THE WEAPON OF THEVIETNAMESE TAILORS
Since time immemorial, the Orientals have been the kings ofelevating the daily to the category of the divine. The merepreparation of tea turns into a genuine Art; the same forcalligraphy, and what to say about shooting with a bow!As a consequence, it isn’t strange that the traditional Arts
are an inexhaustible source of surprises, such as what wepresent today on these pages, from the hand of aninternationally known Master of the Vietnamese MartialArts, Patrick Levet. However, on this occasion and thanks tothe film “KungFu-sion”, the Art in question will be familiar tomany of our readers, a film in which one of the stars, theactor and teacher Chu Chi Ling, does a superb interpretationof a Chinese tailor.Vietnam is a jewel, the great unknown in the East in many
aspects. It has been only thanks to the work of a few likePatrick and the recent commercial opening to the West thatthis gap has been closing little by little. The Vietnamese Artshave the strength and the authenticity that only povertyoffers. In them, even today, all is pure will and genuine effort;a truth that is perfectly transmitted when one watches thevideo which Master Levet has prepared for us, along withthe grand Master Van Vang—recorded in Vietnam—andwho today we present to you through this report, not onlyfor the enjoyment of the practitioners of Vovinam, but forall martial artists with interest in its history andmysteries.
Vietnam
Traditional Arts
ne summer night in the XVII century in the south of the Indochina peninsula a carriage pulled by an old horsetraveled peacefully on a country path between two big villages. After having passed the biggest rice field in theregion, a forest appeared on the horizon. Little by little, the carriage approached this little wood. The driver ofthe vehicle is a tailor. He spends his life going from village to village offering his talented services to the peoplein the upper classes in the country, to the local bosses of the villages and to the big landowners, allowing themto buy clothes similar to those of the court.
This tailor is very astute since he must make people believe that the clothes that hemakes are copies of those from the emperor’s court, but he is meticulously careful not to
make real copies because by royal decree, the people of thevillages do not have the right to dress themselves like the
nobility. This tailor makes a pretty good living; he’snot very rich, but he lives much better thanhis compatriots who work the land.
Night was just fall ing when hiscarriage entered the forest. Hedidn’t even have time to light hislantern when a loud shoutbroke the silence of the night.Simultaneously, somesilhouettes, seeming like wildanimals, appear from behindsome bushes. In a fraction of asecond, the tailor realizes that theyaren’t animals, rather bandits.
O
Vietnam
One of the robbers holds the horse of the carriage, andthe other two, armed with sables, come toward the tailor.The filed blades shine in the light of the waxing moon in anight that would grow even darker.
The tailor is not armed, the law prohibits him fromcarrying a sable. His scissors are always kept in the backof the carriage and he only had a wooden ruler. About 6 to8 “tac” (from 60 to 80 cm), by 5 cm in width and more orless 1 cm thick, this ruler is the second most importantinstrument necessary for a tailor to make a living. In effect,if the scissors serve to cut the cloth to sew the clothes, theruler is necessary to measure and bill his clients for thecloth, and that is where it has its most important benefit.He can’t afford to break it.
However, in exceptional situations arise exceptionalsolutions. Some Vietnamese tailors have developed some
techniques to defend themselves from
bandits and thieves, simplyutilizing their wooden ruler.This oral legend says that our tailor
saved his life, but for that he had to get rid of hisopponents without ceasing to respect a fundamental
principle for the techniques with the ruler: Never block theadversary’s weapon with the Moc Ban ruler. All the blocksare directed to the hand, the wrist, or the beginning of theforearm of the attacker. The base of the defenses with theMoc Ban ruler is that an attacker who has his handsbroken, or a fractured wrist, can’t hold a weapon, and asa result, can no longer fight.
There are 12 basic techniques of the Moc Ban ruler,also called “Cay Thuoc”. In Vietnam, they are taughtafter 2nd Dang and are asked for in the testing for3rd dang in their application form against a sableattack; some years later, they are asked for in thetesting for 4th dang in their Quyen (Moc Ban QuyenPhap) form.
The way of holding the instrument is radicallydifferent from that of the long staff since no force isexercised with the hands on the Moc Ban. The
wooden ruler is only held with a soft pressure of the fingers,which don’t squeeze. Frequently, the hand is practicallyopen.
There are two basic guards: one with the ruler high,protecting the head and symbolizing a roof; the other withthe ruler low, pointed at the adversary, a bit like a sable.
The basic techniques of the Moc Ban are formed
depending on the kind and angle of the attack: the directstrikes (attack to the head from above downward or thefrontal thrusts); the circular attacks (in diagonal to the heador to the body, horizontal to the head or to the body); and thecircular cuts at low levels (attacks tothe legs or the feet).
Traditional Arts
The dodgesAgainst sable attacks, it is evident
that the dodges are much moreappropriate than simple blocks,especially if the weapon utilized is morefragile than the sable, so that the dodgeshave an important role in the Moc Bantechniques. However, the dodges bythemselves do not eliminate thedanger, they only allow one tododge it or deflect it. For thisreason, they are alwayscombined with direct strikes tothe area of the attacker’s wrist.
This combination ofdodge/strike to the wrist issometimes too effective:during the trainingsessions these ruler
strikes to the wriststurn out to be very
painful, even if they areexecuted in a controlled
fashion. To alleviate this problemduring training, a number of mastersand teachers block the weapon of theattacker instead of striking his wrist or hisforearm.
Unfortunately, with years of practice,some wind up getting accustomed to theblocks on the adversary’s weapon, to thepoint where it is frequent, even in Vietnam, tofind masters or teachers who completelyignore the principle of the block to the wrist.The Moc Ban dodges are in the majority 90ºmovements from the opponent’s line of attack,but there is also a dodge with a circularmovement of the body, moving oneselfsideways.
Later, there is also a very interesting kind ofdodge which consists of avoiding the attack asif it were a circular punch at the same time thatone enters into the adversary’s distance to givehim a strike to the liver with the lower end of theMoc Ban. Here, too, the effectiveness is suchthat this technique cannot be correctlypracticed in training. As a result, the
Vietnam
practitioners transform the strike with the end of the rulerinto a simple punch while they hold the Moc Ban in the handthat strikes.
The counter-attacks
The principle ofCuong Nhu Phoi
Trien (the harmony between the hard and the soft) is alsoapplied in the counter-attacks to respect the fragility of theMoc Ban: in order not to damage the edges of theinstrument, the parts that will be used for striking will be, inthe majority of cases, the higher angles, that is to say, the“head” or the “tail” of the Moc Ban.
In the continuity of the principle of the two oppositepolarities, if we had our hand relaxed
during the dodges, in exchange,
Traditional Arts
Vietnam
during the counter-attacks, we squeeze the Moc Ban quite strongly with the handthat is close to the attacker, with the aim of making the strikes harder. As for theother hand, the one furthest from the adversary, this serves to guide and control theMoc Ban.
One must always consider the two ends of the Moc Ban as integral parts of thefist. In order to grasp the concept of “ruler strike” during the counter-attack moreeasily, one has to think about a hammer strike (Dam Bua) or a reverse strike (DamBat Nguoc).
To close the cycle of the Cuong Nhu Phoi Trien applications, the parts of the bodythat receive the counter-attacks are also chosen for their fragility or sensitivity. Theywill always be targets like the temples, the liver, the floating ribs, the back of theneck, the plexus, the throat, or the armpits.
The sweepsThe versatility of the Moc Ban techniques is very interesting. It is not only about
using as a striking instrument, but also as a very effective hook for throws andsweeps. For that, a kind of “V” is formed with our forearm and the end of the MocBan. In this “V”, the adversary’s neck will be blocked. Later, there are variouspossibilities of techniques like that of sweeping the opponent’s support leg orhooking this leg while we push the attackers neck.
The circular movementsTo understand the technical fundamentals of the Moc Ban, one must keep in mind
that these techniques have been invented for defending oneself against variousadversaries at the same time. So, it is very important to be able to impede theseadversaries from focusing on their prey with precision. When one defends oneselfagainst various aggressors, it is much better not to remain in one place waiting forthe strikes like in the movies, rather to change the angle constantly at the same timethat one always guards one’s overall view of the adversaries. It is for this that themovements and the angle changes are frequent in the Moc Ban techniques. Thepractitioner must avoid the attacks by way of the dodges and counter-attacks,keeping oneself as mobile as possible. In this way, one is less vulnerable, alwaysmoving.
The rotations of some counter-attacks also serve for using the adversary’s ownforce to facilitate our defense. In effect, as is the case for numerous Martial Artscreated for people of weaker physical constitution, the Moc Ban techniques put intopractice the principle of absorption of the adversary’s force. The fundamentaldifference between the Martial Arts that are called “soft” and Moc Ban comes fromthe application of the Cuong Nhu Phoi Trien principle from the point of view typical ofVovinam: at the same time that a soft technique (dodge) is utilized, a hard techniqueis also applied (violent strike of ruler on the wrist).
A simple but effective weaponCombining simplicity and effectiveness, flexibility and hardness, circular lines of
defenses and direct counter-attacks, Moc Ban is a fantastic weapon while continuingto be a simple wooden ruler.
Vietnam
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Publisher CRCA-Lopez / Mario Lopez,
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E-Mail: [email protected]
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