http://www.budointernational.net/lang-en/index.php

"Vital spot in Taekwon-Do is defined as any sensitive or breakablearea on the body vulnerable to an attack. It is essential that thestudent of Taekwon-Do has a knowledge of the different spots sothat he can use the proper attacking or blocking tool. Indiscriminateattack is to be condemned as it is inefficient and wasteful of energy".

- General Choi Hong Hi (___), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAEKWON-DO, Volume II, page 88. Taekwon-Do is one of the largest

and most professional martial arts in the world today,(founded on April 11, 1955, by General Choi Hong

Hi (___)), and continues to flourish even after thepassing of its founder in June of 2002. Over

time the sporting factors took precedenceand much was either ignored or discardedin the area of the original self-protectionmethods. In the original writings ofGeneral Choi much of the focus,structure and even the use of the vitalpoints "Kupso" (__ or Kyusho), as wellas the weapon development to accessthem, was outlined but never fullytaught. Kyusho International hasdeveloped a program to enlighten,educate, integrate and develop thisincredible Martial Art back to it'sfounders concepts. This new program

has the full support of the founderssurviving son Choi Jung Hwa. The focus

of this series is to investigate the Patterns(teul), which are performed in accordance

with the founders precepts in "TheEncyclopedia of Taekwon-Do" (an astounding

15 volumes written by General Choi Hong Hi,including his "Vital Spots"). It is through this

structure that Kyusho will be initially integrated backinto Taekwon-Do. Kyusho International is proud to assist

in this monumental and historic collaborative undertaking.

REF.: • KYUSHO20 REF.: • KYUSHO20

All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.

Budo international. netORDERS:

http://www.budointernational.info/126-kyusho-jitsu

“BUDO INTERNATIONAL”is a publication of:BUDO INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.Central: Office:Andrés Mellado, 4228015 Madrid - SpanienLocal pages: Maurice Elmalemmauricenterprise@aol.comInternational pages: Alfredo Tucci:budo@budointernational.com

Van Damme is an example ofperseverance andaccomplishment beyond all upsand downs of life. Decades ofMartial Cinema look after him,and today, in this unique andcompleted article, ourcollaborator D. Pedro Conde, anexpert in the subject - he’s sooften interviewed him - entersdeeply into the bends of anexceptional life and career.

SPECIAL JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMM"One of the most memorable discoveries

in the study of the Kyusho points is thecertainty that there is a whole internallanguage in the forms and teachings ofthe Martial Arts, which refers to the actionof their movements on vital points. In thisarticle, written by the noted expert EvanPantazi, and with which we present hisnew video, the author opens up a wholeuniverse of studies regarding these pointsin the Taekwondo. An invaluable DVD ifyours is Taekwondo!"

KIUSHO JUTSU- TAEKWONDO

Shidoshi Julianahelped our directorAlfredo Tucci to dressthe traditional Japanesearmour, showing us itsdifferent pieces and thecorrect dressingprocedure. An articlethat further explains thehistory andanthropology of thearmour, one of the mainattributes of theSamurai.

DRESSING THE JAPANESE ARMOUR

Isaac Florentines ne-west film Ninja: Sha-dow of a Tear is noChinese Hong Kongcheap Chop Suey ac-tion flick. It is a fullblown Hollywood ac-tioneer with all the go-ods a top notch filmneeds to be remembe-red for years to come.

MARCIAL CINEMA

In order to understandhow we arrived at thepresent perception of hardand soft styles, we mustreview the criteria used toclassify them: arts thatemphasize power, strikingand linear movements aredefined as hard; thosethat employ more gentleredirections, grapplingand circular motions aredefined as soft.

COMBAT HAPKIDO

This month's articletakes us back to thebasics. In previousarticles about theSDS-Concept we'vedealt with theprinciples of self-defense, self-defensefor women, varioususeful everydayobjects (Neverunarmed), SecurityTraining, and self-

defense with flexible objects. This monthwe'll look at the basics of handling someSelf-Defense Sticks, like palmstick, Dulo,Kubotan…

SDS CONCEPT

Eskrima is not only suitable as a sport orself defense practised by civilians, militarypersonnel also use this realistic martial artfrom the Philippines. Eskrima is ideal forself defense as it has almost unlimitedflexibility. At our request we asked Frans totalk about training the special forces. Firstwe came to talk about the Brazilian FederalPolice Special Forces (C.O.T.)

STROEVEN COMBAT SYSTEMS

General Director & Art Director: Alfredo Tucci. Advertising: Alfredo Tucci. budo@budointernational.com

Columnists: Don Wilson, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Cass Magda, Antonio Espinós, Jim Wagner, Coronel Sanchís, Marco De Cesaris, Lilla

Distéfano, Maurizio Maltese, Bob Dubljanin, Marc Denny, Salvador Herráiz, Shi de Yang, Sri Dinesh, Carlos Zerpa, Omar Martínez,

Manu, Patrick Levet, Mike Anderson, Boulahfa Mimoum, Franco Vacirca, Bill Newman, José Mª Pujadas, Paolo Cangelosi, Emilio

Alpanseque, Sueyoshi Akeshi, Marcelo Pires, Angel García, Juan Díaz. Photographers: Carlos Contreras, Alfredo Tucci.

A straightforward interview thatGrand Master Paolo Cangelosihas granted us for our readers, inorder to make them aware of thenews and send a clear messageto the martial community, awayfrom the martial rhetoric, onthose aspects and values that allboth students and teachers, must

never lose sight: respect and gratitude.

INTERVIEW PAOLO CANGELOSI

Combat system of militaryorigin, containing theappropriate techniques foreach individual, whethercivil, military or professionalin the operating sector. TheMorabito System provides athorough study of the humanbody, from the standpoint ofbiomechanics applied to thebody, combined with theknowledge of themechanical and physicallaws, to avoid any attackfrom more points and moreopponents.

SYSTEMA MORABITO

Searching for a recognizablestyle ... Wing Tsun. After a fewyears researching thebackground and shape of thissystem, in which I even daredto look at other styles ofChinese Martial Arts andvarious other fightingdisciplines from differentroots, I must admit that duringthis last period I have been acritical voice with my ownsystem: WingTsun.

WINGTSUN

Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon.Weng Chun KungFu Logo. When onefirst looks upon theWeng Chun KungFu logo, heundoubtedly noticesthe tiger in thecenter of the symbolbefore anything else.

The words aroundthe top are an afterthought once theimage of the tiger isbefore him, as ismuch of the rest ofthe logo, includingthe Chinesecharacter positionednext to the tiger.Nothing else seemsvery relevant to theaverage personlooking at thesymbol of WengChun.

HUNG GAR KUNG FU

“Even though Martin Sewer is fromSwitzerland and is therefore fromthe west, he has passed allobstacles on his way to become Dr.Chiu Chi Lings top-student andsuccessor. He has dedicated hiswhole life to the traditional HungGar Kung Fu and is committed topromote and spread his knowledgeand skills in the Hung Gar”

SHAOLIN HUNG GAR KUNG FU

ife is a journey, a path we travel, in whichcontinually crosses the mystery and to whichmore often we endeavor to reduce to a simplesequence of events necessarily trivial. Wemen cannot stand the deep pressure of theInfinite and we teach each other to reduce the

sacredness of existence to something mundane. On badterms, just the pain or the presence of our finitudewhenever it crosses, can make us wake up from thatself-imposed slumber. By better means, is the consciouseffort on a path of transcendence, a spiritual path, whatwill bring about the miracle.

Highly aware people, those who have been calledMasters in the world, have represented, sometimes totheir regret, a lashing in the minds of the rest, not somuch because of what they said or the way to do it couldbring about violence, but because it defined newdirections, changed paradigms, redirected the ship ofconsciousness in a new route, and this is alwaystraumatic in one way or another. "There's no shortcutwithout effort", the saying goes, and nothing reallyimportant will ever arrive to our lives without exertion.Sometimes because of our own stupidity, when we onlyvalued what it cost us; other times because we were faraway from understanding what we really needed and westumbled a thousand times against the same stone.Ignorance of not knowing can be excused, that of notwanting to know is never excusable.

There's not only one path. There are as many aspeople; but there are maps, compasses, travellinginstruments for walking along the mystery. The ancientsleft us amazing tools and because evolution is alwaysforward and upward, they left us stepping stones inwhich we can lean on to take a step further.

To be born in this era of history, like in any other,means having a road traveled, because we are not bornalone or at this moment by chance. Each time has itsown issues, its defects; each society its budgets, itscollective unconscious, its truths, all of them with theirown fronts ... and their own backs. It is the job of everygeneration to step forward, trying to improve, totransform what should be changed and maintain whatshould be maintained; otherwise evolution would betruncated in involution.

From a personal view, however, each story is onealone and different. If we are spirits living a material life,each one of us has his own experience to accomplish,his things to adjust, his lessons to learn. In that path,always personal, we will convene in one way or anothereverything we need to meet those needs; we will find thepeople we must find and will live stories that will causereadjustments and changes in ourselves and in others.Respect for other's path can’t be simply formal, itwouldn't last or resist the deceptions of life; suchrecognition must be the result of understanding that eachpath is unique, and that only happens when you accept

and understand your own path. In doing so, each personthat crosses your life becomes an opportunity to actimpeccably, to learn about yourself and to resolve anyadjustment pending gap.

Every moment is a new chance and every crossroadan opportunity to vary the course and change everything.Trapped so many times by our life and our destiny, weget stuck at one point, looking around without knowingwhere to go or how to do it. Often, life events andreverberation of our actions overlap, clump together andcreate a dam that prevents the water of our lives fromflowing. In the vastness of these lakes we remain lost,anchored in a space-time which is nothing but a form ofimprisonment. But in crossroads, addresses are alsoclarified, because they become particularly evident whenwe are forced to stop. In those moments of non-road, wewill find the opportunity to go beyond ourselves.

Mandela did; locked up for years, he was able to gofurther and fulfill a mission for which he was destined;but he could also have not done it, he could have chosento anchor in his resentment, in the pain of a lost life.Every personal decision has immense repercussions,because we all ignore the potential we carry or theenormous force that fate has prepared for us.

The poet was right when he said "Walker, there is nopath, path is made by walking": Right and wrong at thesame time! All great truths are paradoxical, so, travelingbeyond the space-time dimensional paradigm, arrowsshot yesterday can kill birds today and vice versa,because although the past is unmovable, readjustmentwill make it possible to kill its effects with arrows of today.Paths are created from situations, energies and eventsthat, far from being accidental, are framed in ourpersonal destiny and are redefined every moment withour actions and our positioning.

Life is a sacred path, not a sequence of linear events.But above all, life is what we choose that it be, becauseeveryone can fool himself about it or get lost in it as hepleases. Each option has its price, each decision itsconsequence, each front has its back and each stage itsplay. Living the path with a sacred attitude is showingrespect to everything and to all beings, is realizing thateverything is interconnected and nothing is fortuitous.Reading between the lines of life, events, peoplecrossing, is what we call wisdom . There are also manywisdoms and each one has its own level within theWhole, its own need to exist and serve in order to fulfill aspecific stage of the journey.

Discouraging others, underestimating their vision, it isan ugly way to hurt their hearts and the poison of thecaused pain, in one way or another, will return on theone who has provoked it. Respect is also understandingthat everything that exists is necessary even though wedislike it. Respect does not necessarily mean having toexist side by side with it; accepting does not mean lettingit touch you.

"He who does not know the way of the sea should choose the river as his companion."

John Ray

"Do not walk behind me, perhaps I do not know how to lead. Do not walk before me, perhaps I do not want to follow you. Walk by my side so we can walk together."UTE Indians

L

Alfredo Tucci is General Manager to

BUDO INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.

E-mail: budo@budointernational.com

https://www.facebook.com/alfredo.tucci.5

http://www.kyusho.com/

"One of the most memorable discoveries in the study of the Kyushopoints is the certainty that there is a whole internal language in the formsand teachings of the Martial Arts, which refers to the action of theirmovements on vital points. In this article, written by the noted expertEvan Pantazi, and with which we present his new video, theauthor opens up a whole universe of studies regardingthese points in the Taekwondo. An invaluable DVDif yours is Taekwondo!"

Photos: Brian Hallhttp://brianhallphotos.com/

“Within thesePatterns is astep by steplearning guide

to infinitepossibility

especially whenKyusho is added”

Kyusho Dojo SeriesTaekwon-Do

"Vital spot in Taekwon-Do is defined as any sensitive orbreakable area on the body vulnerable to an attack. It isessential that the student of Taekwon-Do has a knowledgeof the different spots so that he can use the properattacking or blocking tool. Indiscriminate attack is to becondemned as it is inefficient and wasteful of energy". -General Choi Hong Hi ( ), ENCYCLOPEDIA OFTAEKWON-DO, Volume II, page 88.

Taekwon-Do is one of the largest and most professionalmartial arts in the world today. They have thousands ofschools around the world with many competitions andseminars every year. These events are attended well withseveral hundred attendees joining in the sporting aspect ofthe style. Even though the organization has split into manyafter the passing of its founder General Choi Hong Hi, itcontinues to grow.

Over time the sporting factors took precedence andmuch was either ignored or discarded in the area of theoriginal self-protection methods. In the original writings ofGeneral Choi much of the focus, structure and even theuse of the vital points "Kupso" ( or Kyusho), as well asthe weapon development to access them, was outlined butnever fully taught. Kyusho International has developed aprogram to enlighten, educate, integrate and develop thisincredible Martial Art back to it's founders concepts. Thisnew program has the full support of the founders survivingson Choi Jung Hwa.

The classical Taekwon-Do has of course basics andsparring as well as Patterns (known as Kata in Karate).Within these Patterns is a step by step learning guide toinfinite possibility especially when Kyusho is added. AsKyusho is in tegrated into these Pat terns, thepractitioner unlocks a new world of hidden methods,

weapons and form of self-protection that is the core ofthe art.

These patterns convert from conditioning exercises into afull spectrum of fighting or self-protection modules with

Kyusho. Once Kyusho is introduced,it dynamically alters the focus of thepractitioner away from imitation of themere motions into a new freedomwithin the structure, while sti l lmaintaining that structure and integrityof the style. It is to this end the newDojo series will document this deeperlook within the art, so that eachstudent can learn and understand a

hidden component described anddocumented by the founder, yet notpassed down.

The first of these Patterns is calledChong Ji, (translated as Heaven andEarth) and is the basic bui ld ingplatform of this modern style. It

contains only stepping and handpatterns as there are no kicks, buti ts s impl ic i ty bel ies the inf in i tepossibility when coupled with thevital points.

In dissecting the Chong Ji we startwith the basic premise of using armpoints as the form is primarilycomprised of a few hand positions andactions. These hand positions and

actions are prevalent all throughKarate and can also be used by anyKarateka to also begin developing aKyusho reference for themselves.

From arm attacks the integrationfollows the core curriculum of Kyushoto then work with head, body, leg

targets fol lowed by situationalapplication of these known points.These additional applications involvepressure point takedowns or controls,standing grappling (ground fighting isintroduced later in the patterns as itbecomes more sophisticated and thepractitioner has developed a moresound understanding and skill with theKyusho). The breakdown then

continues as it is exposes the hiddenjoint manipulations and even knifedefense possible with the exactactions of the Pattern.

Further revelations from the basicpattern can be found in the obscureweapons that the founder included in

his encyclopedia, but not utilized asprominently in the style from a lack ofknowledge or skill in their application.Much like the 6 Ji hands of the Bubishi,these specif ic and seemingly oddweapons of Taekwon-Do have powerfulpossibilities and are vital to accessingthe Kyusho contained in the style. As anexample we look at the f ist that isprevalent throughout the pattern, we notonly have the fist, but also otherdocumented weapons in the foundersencyclopedia such as the Mit Joomuk(under fist), stated to target specificanatomical structures that in turn haveKyusho targets (not described). Alsoincluded in the making of the fist, is thegrabbing hand position known as Jiapwhich “is used to apply pressure toarteries and minute vital points”(Kyusho). With just these two weaponsyou can not only perform armdestructions, but also multiple striketrapping actions that will be a base foraccessing other targets more easily andall targeting the weaker anatomicalstructures. However these are not theonly weapons that Kyusho reveals, morehidden weapons begin to develop usingthe exact motions of the pattern. They

naturally emergewith greater focus ontargeting the weakeranatomical structures while thepractit ioner's knowledge ofKyusho grows.

Once the weapons start tobecome as natural as the Kyushotargeting, we will instantly beweakening the opponent from thevery first contact. This is a criticalkey, as Kyusho is a very differentfeeling from just simple paincompliance. As we are not justattacking the external body andwork to gain access to deeper nervestructure, the superficial sensorynerves are not the only recipients ofthe Kyusho attack. We areattacking different nerves that arenot easily accessed in conventionalways. This introduces a differentinternal pain as well as reflexiveand reactionary nuero messagingoccurs in the opponent. Thisconfuses the recipient as the brainstruggles to read and respond tothese new neural affects. And asthis new sensation ordysfunctional aspect is

http://www.kyusho.com/

affected, many psychological aspects are alsotriggered, from fear to confusion to loss of cognitivethought. Thus we have not only weakened thebody, but also their mind as well for a morecomplete control of the opponent and situation.

Now as one of the founders' wishes as stated inhis writings was to also promote good physicalcondition or health, we find that many things aboutour own anatomy can be learned as well asassimilated from our study of Kyusho. By gaininggreater insight into how the anatomy andphysiology works we can then gain greaterunderstanding and potential for more vibrant life oreven healing others of many physiological issues.This is realized because the Kyusho practitionerfirst learns how to cause many issues, they thencan learn to reverse or fix them using the samephysiological functions in other ways.

As an example of this, we can take a Kyushotarget in the elbow region located approximatelywhere the acupuncture point called TW-11 lay.This is not actually a nerve, but more specificallyan integral neurological component of all tendons.When a tendon is stretched as seen in the video ofthis Kyusho interpretation of the pattern, there is areflexive action that is set off by the Golgi TendonOrgan within it. This is a component of the bodythat monitors the tendons so that when theyoverstretch, the reflexive action is for the brain torelax the muscles so that the tendon does not tear.From a Martial standpoint, this causes the entirebody musculature to relax, weaken and loosestrength.

Now if we look at this from a health related aspectwe can see that if a person is stressed and they areholding muscles tight, we can aid in the release ofthat tension using the very same point. Pleaseunderstand this is a very basic description just to letthe reader or practitioner know how the duality ofhealing and hurting are discovered with the use of

http://www.kyusho.com/

Kyusho that this pattern has encodedwithin.

With this knowledge we can see theold adage “when a punch is no longera punch” and many other suchsayings, had evolved is also revealed.In fact whereas most people view thepattern movements to have singlepurpose or concept, they begin toexpand exponentially when applying

the Kyusho. This is because Kyushois not technique based but simplytargeting weaker areas that revealthemselves during combativesituations. If one learns a settechnique against a set attack and thatattack is varied from how it wasoriginally taught, learned and applied,it wil l not function as it did inpractice… when you are being

attacked this is not the t ime todiscover this flaw. And to learn orretain a technique for every possibleattack that the opponent could directat you would be impossibil i ty.However if we take our pattern actionsand learn to direct them in many waysto exposed targets then there is agreater margin of success and. Welearn to recognize the exposures

Vital Points

http://www.kyusho.com/

during motion as opposed to trying to react to theunknown actions of the opponent.

In conjunction with the target recognition methodjust describe we also have an added benefit ofbeing able to access many targets within the samegeneral area with the same motions. This is criticalas the size of the opponent will vary and the reachor distance with some targets may be difficult for thepractitioner. But by using the same actions of thepattern we can access several points within reach.Many that do not practice Kyusho state that to beable to attack a small point on a moving target isdifficult… and yes it is. But what they do notconsider from not actually studying Kyusho is thatfirst the point is not just a point, it is a section ofnerve or muscle, or an entire tendon. Link that withclusters of targets in each area and there is alwaysan available target no matter what size theopposition or how they move. That of course is notto say that training is less necessary, no it still is, butthe individual that does practice with Kyushoachieves far greater potential, skill and affect in theirstyle or art.

And because each individual is unique in theirabilities, athleticism, age, size, gender, strengthand all variables, the Kyusho allows them tonaturally work with what is more natural forthemselves personally while still working theexact actions the pattern and style require.The same art becomes the individuals own,more of a personal journey rather than an

imitation of another.The Chong Ji Pattern begins the journey into the

hidden secrets of Taekwon-Do.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Weng Chun Kung Fu Logo

When one first looks upon the Weng Chun Kung Fu logo, heundoubtedly notices the tiger in the center of the symbol beforeanything else.

The words around the top are an after thought oncethe image of the tiger is before him, as is much ofthe rest of the logo, including the Chinesecharacter posit ioned next to the t iger.Nothing else seems very relevant to theaverage person looking at the symbol ofWeng Chun. A martial artist might paysome attention to the character nextto the tiger as well as to the words,

and then would probably stop, notcomprehending the depth of meaning

behind those words.Many martial artists would also see

“Shaolin” and “Weng Chun” and dismissthe possibility of the two being connected inany way, shape, or form. The Weng Chunlogo however symbolises the art’s Shaolinroots in ways many would not imagine. Thelogo itself is much more than words and twopictures. This article wil l examine themeanings behind the Weng Chun logo forall to see.

The entire logo can be verbally picturedwith five apparently simple sentences asfollows:

Everything in the logo is containedwithin a circle. Written across the topof the circle are the words “WengChun Kung Fu”. Across the bottomof the circle is written “The InternalPower of Shaolin”. In the middle of thecircle is the aforementioned picture ofa t iger, crouching as if ready topounce upon its target. To the rightof the tiger is the Chinese characterfor Eternal.

Not much to it, right? You will soon see that is farfrom true. There is much more to understanding thelogo than five sentences.

Let’s examine the words more closely. Weng,means Eternal, Everlasting, or Perpetual. This isthe same Eternal as the Character mentionedabove.

Chun, means Spring (the season). Puttogether, Weng Chun means EverlastingSpring, referring to acontinual rebirth ofeverything, reflecting theChan reality ofimpermanence and thenature of change. Kung,meaning Skill, is next,fol lowed by Fu,meaning Effort.

Together, Kung and Fu refer to the skil ls oneacquires through hard work and effort. Kung Fu alsoemulates the idea of Karma in that what one does

today affects him tomorrow. If he trains hardtoday, tomorrow he has skill. If he is lazy

today, tomorrow his health could beadversely affected.

In Chan, this is the principle of cause andeffect, or, action and consequences.Internal Power – This appears self-

explanatory, but is it? It generally refers tothe flow of Chi throughout the body and the

universe, harnessingone’s life force to

work for him. But,Internal Power also

refers to the specif icknowledge of combat andhealth that Weng Chuntraining provides thestudent.Weng Chun is a complete

system incorporating severalprinciple training areas. The first

is focused on fitness and health.Health is categorised as both internal and

external, with exercises devoted todeveloping both, through breathing and

physical training. The phrase Internal Poweralso covers the soft and internal aspects ofthe Weng Chun system for self-defence.The Weng Chun system teaches students toharmonise with an opponent’s energy rather

than meet force head-on. Therein lays thesoft training, learning to receive anopponent’s power without allowing it to

influence the student’s own structure. Thefocus on internal training teaches how touse the whole body for power, learning tounify the limbs and trunk into a moreefficient tool.

Shaolin – Now why is this word in thesame logo as Weng Chun? How arethe two related? Unfortunately manypeople, martial art ists included,equate modern Wushu (i.e., Jet Li)with Shaolin. Modern Wushu is asport, not real combat. It is fun towatch, but not everyone can practice it.

Shaolin consists of training one to bein harmony with reality, and modernWushu does not have real skill forcombat applications and is far from realcombat. While Wushu has someShaolin moves, it is not true Shaolin. Itfocuese on acrobatic demonstrationrather than efficient martial science.

True Shaolin Martial Arts consistsof three things. These are referred

to as the three treasures ofShaolin. The treasures are

Chan (Zen), Health, and

Combat. Health refers to both theinternal and external healthbenefits one receives frompracticing Shaolin.

Combat refers to the hand tohand combat methodsdeveloped and practicedby the Shaolin monks forcenturies, Weng Chunbeing one of the mostadvanced of these systems.The Shaolin monks alsodeveloped these combatmethods as an extension oftheir Chan studies.

Chan focuses on removingillusions to discover reality,and nothing is more realthan l i fe threateningfighting. Remember whatWeng means? We don’tsee too many 60 year-olds practicing Wushu –yet, we do see 60 year-olds practicing WengChun.

Now let’s look closer at thetwo images within the WengChun Logo. First is the tiger.Tigers have long been asymbol of power and strengththroughout many cultures. Thisparticular image of the tiger is whatmakes it important for the Weng Chunlogo.

The tiger is poised as if ready to leap at its prey. Itis ready to strike, but not ignorant of its surroundings.This is one of the key ideas of Weng Chun, “Maintainyour space but keep your focus.” In the Weng Chunsystem, the circle represents awareness ofsurroundings together with maintaining and creatingspace. The crouching tiger within the circle remindspractitioners of the importance of circular structure forhealth and combat. The tiger is also searching for abridge, seeking to close the distance to its prey aseasily and safely as possible. Tigers do not attack headon, but from an advantageous angle so they are safeand more successful. If you look at a tiger, it will circleuntil it can find another bridge from which to attack.This is but a part of the tiger’s symbolism.

It also represents the body methods of WengChun. The tiger is relaxed yet ready, low but canattack high, subtle but powerful. The tiger alsoreminds the viewer of another creature due to itsparticular pose within the Weng Chun logo. Thiscreature is the dragon. The curved posture ofthe tiger is also reminiscent of the dragon’smost seen pose, curved and poised to strike.

The dragon, according to Shaolinphilosophy, is invisible, but it is present withthe tiger. Where the tiger represents thevisible aspects of Shaolin (combat), thedragon represents the invisible, internalaspects of Shaolin (Chan and health). }ForWeng Chun these are the 10 wisdoms of theart and the internal power. The dragon and

tiger exist in harmony with each other in the WengChun logo.

The tiger’s curved posture, from its tail to its foremostpaw, also draws a line making the circle into the YinYang, referring to the harmony that Weng Chun

practitioners use to defeattheir opponents rather

than clashing withthem. The tiger anddragon are one asChan, Health, andCombat.

There can be nodoubt that Shaolinand Weng Chun arepart of the samewhole. The next

visual image is thec h a r a c t e r

Weng. The character represents the triangles of WengChun. The triangle represents the focus within thespace of the circle and using angles to penetratespace.

Many of Weng Chun’s physical structures require thebody to take on triangular shapes to achieve maximumefficiency. Weng also implies space as well though.The symbol itself covers all dimensional space,reminding one to be mindful of his space while incombat situations, keeping his focus while maintaininghis space.

The Weng Chun expression of three-dimensionalspace is reflected in the traditional Shaolin concepts ofHeaven, Man and Earth. The Tiger and the Charactertogether create another facet of symbolism. In additionto the above reference about how a tiger will attack,the symbols remind us to be similar to the tiger, alwayscircling the opponent for a vantage point, searching forthe bridge and then closing that gap from that vantagepoint rather than rushing straight in.

This is the proper way to engage and finish an attacker. While circling,one’s triangles must remain aligned (observe the Tiger’s paws), readyfor the pounce. This is called maintaining one’s space without losingfocus. The images combined introduce circles into Weng Chun thought,but why? Many people equate fighting with being direct and straight on,but circles are not direct. How can circles exist within Weng Chun?Simply put they are a strategic tool used to help with tactics in combat.

They are also part of the health aspects of Weng Chun, as its Shaolinroots make the art a vessel for improving one’s health as well as skill.Circles are also continuously flowing and never ending as opposed tothe angled corners of a triangle. Intimately connected, circles andtriangles work together as Yin and Yang. We shouldn’t tense up during afight or in practice, but we should stay relaxed and fluid to help maintainour health and self-defence.

That is the Weng Chun Logo. Five sentences explained in fourparagraphs. The logo and its explanations are simple and to the point, yetthey evoke more thought than one realizes. Weng Chunis the same way. Every motion is related to Chan,Health, and Combat – the three treasures of Shaolin.

Written by Ving Tsun Museum USA thruinterviewing Sifu Andreas Hoffmann.-

International Weng Chun Kung Fu Association- www.weng-chun.com

8TH WORLD KARATE

CHAMPIONSHIPSPresented by the

November 21 – 24th 2014in Curitiba, Brazil

Hosted by: Marco Ferreira • Julio Bassan • Samuel Ferreiramarcoceppe@live.com

JOIN The WKO and become a Country Representative. Contact our President, Don

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SDS-Concept - everything under control

SDS, the Self Defense Stick, is a self-defense tool of 8cm to 15cm inlength which is used in SDS-Concept. Yet, the SDS-Concept's arsenalalso includes alternatives, such as spoons, pens, rolled up magazines,

flashlights, mobile phones and many more. Shape, characteristics, mate-rial, size, weight, as well as strengths and weaknesses are essential for

handling. Thanks to its simple basic idea, the SDS is great for anyonewho wants to improve their safety in dangerous situations through the

use of a tool.Basically, the SDS or other objects are used to amplify punches, pres-sure or locks. The SDS should be a couple of centimeters longer than

the width of the user's hand. If held in the fist, the SDS should protrudeon both sides.

SDS-Concept's terminology calls the lower end of the SDS "butt" andthe upper part "head", the head protrudes on the upper side. The SDS is

held in a way that the fist clenches the middle part - the "body" - withheat and butt protruding on both sides. This may differ for smaller

objects, with either the head or the butt showing.SDS-Concept's basics contain various grips which allow the effective

use of the SDS. Various grips result in a plethora of options. We use theSDS to amplify punches or pressure, for locks, to stab, pinch, squeeze,

lever, or as a whip.

This month's articletakes us back to the basics. In

previous articles about the SDS-Concept we've dealt with the principlesof self-defense, self-defense for women,

various useful everyday objects (Never unar-med), Security Training, and self-defense with fle-

xible objects. This month we'll look at the basics ofhandling some Self-Defense Sticks, like palmstick,

Dulo, Kubotan…

Amplifying punches

The SDS is held at its body (hammer grip). Punches arethrown with the butt (from top to bottom or horizontally) orwith the head (from bottom to top or horizontally).Depending on tactics, target areas are the opponent'shead or groin, or arms and legs, if major injuries are notintended.

Text: Peter Weckauf & Irmi Hanzal.Photos: Mike Lehner

Amplifying pressure

Pressure on sensitive areas (pressure points) usuallytriggers certain reactions which might be very useful insome situations (e.g. passive resistance, unlockinggrips). Go for the opponent's nose, ears and neck. Theintention is not to injure the attacker.

Amplifying locks

In a conflict locks are used to control or fixate theattacker, break his joints, if necessary, or make himsurrender. Usually both hands are used for locks.Preferred targets are the opponent's hands and arms.So called lock chains are used to practice these techni-ques in training.

Stabbing

The thumb presses the SDS firmly into the fist to keepit - the SDS - from slipping back. This grip variationallows stabs or hits, e.g. to the opponent's eyes, neckor groin.

Pinching grip

The SDS is held firmly, the thumb is used to squeeze or levercertain parts of the body (skin, ears, nipples, genitals, fingers).These techniques are mainly used to break passive resistance(Security), or in order not to injure the aggressor.

“True greatness isshown through mutual

respect for theachievements ofothers and theirdedication to themartial arts”

Squeezing

Grab the opponent's wrist with both thumbs, then holdthe SDS at both ends and squeeze. This induces severepain in the aggressor who will usually loosen his grip(hand or clothes).

Freeing or levering

The SDS also works perfectly to amplify pressure forlevering from grips. In particular, when your hands aregrabbed, the SDS will cause pain momentarily which isperfect for de-escalative techniques.

Whip

Hold the SDS at the body (hammer grip) while, asshown in the picture, a bunch of keys protrudes at thehead. Use the attached keys like a whip for longer distan-ces.

Finally…

When we started our series about SDS-Concept, it wasour intention to make SDS-Concept known to a widerpublic and to inspire interested martial artists. Our interna-tional fans in many countries who may not have theopportunity to learn and practice SDS-Concept with usare especially dear to our hearts. SDS-Concept is an up-and-coming European system with an autonomous iden-tity and clear structures and concepts. Still, autonomydoes not mean that there can never be similarities oroverlaps with other systems.

Every adept, fan, student, instructor and master has hisplace in the community of martial artists and it is our inten-tion to walk this path with as many as possible, to inspireeach other, and to always be students of the martial arts.True greatness is shown through mutual respect for theachievements of others and their dedication to the martialarts.

I am particularly grateful to my dear friend Alfredo Tucci,who has given me a unique platform from which I wasable to inform our friends all over the world about ourefforts.

Next Instructors' course held in Vienna, Austria,

in March 2014.

“This month's articletakes us back to the basics”

WingTsun

Searching for a recognizable style ...Wing Tsun

After a few years researching the background and shapeof this system, in which I even dared to look at other stylesof Chinese Martial Arts and various other fighting disciplinesfrom different roots, I must admit that during this last period Ihave been a critical voice with my own system: WingTsun.

In my book "High Level", I didn't intend at any moment totalk about the excellence of the system or embroider the textwith high-sounding phrases about how good our system is.That’s something I could never do it for one simple reason: Ifeel a deep respect for the Martial Arts. I admit that I didn’tlike much -or didn't like at all- the direction that our systemhad been taking in recent years for various reasons. I mustalso acknowledge that this dynamics has engendered nolittle criticism towards me

and my TAOWS Academy project. Some of thesedisapprovals come from renowned teachers and I can't helpfeeling proud to see such relevant characters lose one singleminute of their lives to launch attacks against someone sosmall and insignificant.

Apart from that little work, in my last 12 articles for theBudo International magazine I kept insisting in my criticalview of those aspects which, in my humble opinion, areclearly improvable. But, at this moment, I think it's equallyimportant to give a significant change of direction. We havealready clearly pointed in the past which are our problems,and now the time has come to start proposing ideas,proposing solutions!

The reader will agree with me that criticizing is easy, butdoing it in a constructive way to improve what is criticized isnot so simple. Well, I will.

WingTsun

One thing that strikes me most about WingTsunpractitioners (and traditional Martial Arts followers ingeneral) is the lack of a recognizable style. I mean, I wonderhow someone can spend hundreds or even thousands ofhours practicing the forms, techniques, tactics andphilosophy of a given style of Martial Arts, and when hereaches its ultimate goal, i.e., the combat, he ignorescompletely what he's been doing for years to get into thingsthat have nothing to do with his "mother" style.

It is quite common among WingTsun students to enjoypracticing with classmates the basics of our system. And it isnot unusual to see many of them showing excellent skills inperforming the different sections, drills and exercises that arecarried out in the practice of WingTsun. But it is also commonto confirm that when these tireless practitioners of thissystem, in an exercise of free sparring, face an opponent thatdoesn't "collaborate", many of them prove to be absolutelyunable to apply almost none of the techniques of this uniquefighting system.

In one of my last meetings with WingTsun instructors fromvarious branches, I proposed a specific exercise. I assuredthem I wouldn’t hurt anybody, neither I would hit nor use anydangerous technique. They could be absolutely confident andcalm. I would restrict myself to move forwards like if someone

on the street was pushing them in a continuous and intenseway, but without using any technique that could damage them.They, instead, could use whatever they wanted...

It happened just as I expected. Some of the teachers, highlyranked in WT, with a broad educational experience, wereunable to carry out one single technique under the constantand intense pressure from someone who was just pushingthem. Isn’t it funny? Imagine for a moment that the attackersimply ceases pushing and starts launching vicious attacks...However, all of them can perform complex combinations oftechniques, sections, shifting, etc., when they are in theirnatural habitat: the training hall. In short, THEY HAVE AGREAT SKILL, but do not know how or when to use it.

My position as technical director of the WingTsun section inthe Spanish Federation of Wrestling and AssociatedDisciplines, has allowed me to meet many teachers anddifferent branches of this style, as well as a diversity of MartialArts instructors of different disciplines. It is an enrichingexperience that not only has made me find great friends, but ithas also given me the possibility of knowing in depth theproblems of our system and, incidentally, the issuess u r r o u n d i n gsystems similar

WingTsun

“Some of us, who havebeen practicing Martial

Arts for years anddecided a long time agoto devote ourselves to

the study of anancestral ART, feel theneed of trying to make

our art better than whatit was taught to us”

to ours. I guess that some of you, practitioners of "classical"Martial Arts who are reading this article, know exactly what Iam talking about! And while I recognize that I've had theopportunity of meeting excellent teachers and professionalswho display an excellent combat level, believe me, it’s not therule! Unfortunately, the usual case is the opposite...,practitioners with a broad experience in their systems that,when it comes to face a real fight with someone outside oftheir ecosystem, have to resort to "other things".

In one of my articles I referred to a hypotheticalcompetition among martial artists in which, if all of themwere dressed in the same way, it wouldn't be easy todetermine which was the original art of each one, sinceeverybody would be doing a sort of "full contact" combatthat would make it impossible for us to recognize the tacticsand techniques of their styles. Don't tell me it's not saddevoting at least half of your life - in the best of cases - to afighting art to end up doing a kind of Boxing with kicks thathelp you muddle through, when in most cases we allpractice combat styles with seemingly "lethal" techniques.

That's our view. At this point we'll try to give you ourperspective to try to reverse this situation. The worst thingthat could happen to us is that we realized that we weredoing something wrong and we'd be forced to pose otherideas. Trial and error... wouldn't it be more exciting thanwhat we currently have?

Some of us, including myself, who have been practicingMartial Arts for years and decided a long time ago to devoteourselves to the study of an ancestral ART, feel the need oftrying to make our art better than what it was taught to us. Ifwe don't get it, at least we'll have tried. It is, as I say, ourmoral obligation with the art that has given us so much.

The main question here is why, in a stressful situation, amartial artist, with decades of practice on his shoulders,

won't trust in his excellent ability and knowledge of anart of war. Perhaps we should take a glimpse atsystems that do have an absolutely recognizablestyle. Let me give you as an example two "sport"styles, both with their own specific aesthetics and forwhich I have a special liking: Boxing and Brazilian JiuJitsu.

In both cases, someone with a few months of practice willshow a very clear style even recognizable by people withlittle knowledge of Martial Arts. Players and followers ofthese two contact sports are able to make free sparringagainst any opponent of any style and continue to do sounder the style in which they've been trained. I'm not talkingabout losing or winning. Wether winning or losing, a boxerwill continue using (or trying to use) Boxing feints, shifts,combinations, etc. An absolutely clear style. If someonesees him from outside, will affirm without hesitation: Hepractices Boxing!

Same thing happens when we see a BJJ practitioner.Winning or losing, against any adversary, he will try to takedown his opponent and open and pass his guard to finishhim with some of their excellent strangulation or dislocationtechniques.

In both cases, in just a few months, anybody practicingthese disciplines will have acquired a totally recognizablestyle and, which is more, the differences with an advancedpractitioner of that same style will be marked by theexperience, a deeper knowledge of the techniques and theirapplication. But there will be no substantial differences inthe "aesthetics".

The question is: Where is the style of a WingTsunstudent? I refer, as usual, to a practitioner that faces anopponent who doesn't collaborate and has a similarexperience in Martial Arts, but he’s not one of his ownstudents or training mates... I think this is the starting point.

CONFIDENCE! This is the main concept . For apractitioner of a fighting style to act under the technicaland tact ica l parameters thereof , i t is absolute lynecessary that the individual relies on in the internalizedknowledge through practice. Trusting in this technicalability means that he has proven in his own person thathe is able to do things with it and it WORKS! For that,obviously, he must submit the techniques and ideas ofthe system to a hostile environment that brings himcloser to a more realistic scenario. As this is a delicatething to put into practice, here we have to be extremelymethodical and perform a slow and progressive training,but never stop.

Half joking, half seriously, I affirm that poison kills you when taken ata stroke, but in small quantities it can serve as medicine and improvesthe immune system. That's what I mean.

The first step would therefore be finding paths that submitted each andevery one of the techniques to a progressive filter, in which the studentcan try his techniques at different intensity levels to reaffirm them andTRUST them.

In other words, we must practice them so often and so well that there's noway we cannot do it otherwise.

The second very important point should be completing the entire systemand study it as a whole. In my opinion, allotting the formation inindependent "subjects" is a big mistake.

I mean... us WT practitioners often talk about the exercisesthat are of Biu Tze Tao, those of Wooden Dummy, etc. TheWingTsun was organized to be studied and understoodfollowing the route marked by these forms; but it doesn'tmean they have to be kept separate. It's only a questionof method. Viewing the system as something global,as tools to be used in different combat situationsand scenarios will make us better understandhow these techniques are and wereconceived. This will be the second but noless important element, for we canTRUST again in our techniques andtactics.

The third point I pose is a bit moredelicate:

It consists in looking ourselves inthe mirror that have used othercombat systems to get it, but neverforgetting WHO WE ARE andWHERE WE COME FROM.

Diff icult? Yes, but we l ikechallenges!

The steps should be thefollowing:

1 - Assess our strengths andweaknesses.

2 - Decide which are our goals.

WingTsun

“Imagine for a momentthat the attacker simply

ceases pushing and starts launching

vicious attacks”

3 - Design training plans to achieve those goals. 4 - Evaluate periodically our progress and be constantly

self-critical with our work. 5 - Introduce combat exercises with "no WT" adversaries

in a very gradual way.This last point is very important. When I put forward the

question "who we are and where we come from," I dobelieve that a large number of practitioners have forgottenWHAT is WingTsun. Probably driven by different interests(economic, egos, sectarianism, personal animosities, etc.),they have completely forgotten that the WingTsun is aSTYLE CHINESE BOXING (or Chinese wrestling, as you

prefer). And this, whether we like it or not, must remainbeing so. If you denature completely that by which

WingTsun became known, it will disappear bydissolution in the water of a Martial Arts panorama

which tends to a loss of identities more thanworrying.

WingTsun (as well as the rest ofMartial Arts) were designed to fight.

For the weak could fight thestrong, to defend the

country, the family and

oneself. This point (perhaps in a somewhat poetic version)should not be forgotten. Bruce Lee stated (quite correctly,like almost everything he said) that the way to learn to fightis fighting! However, something so obvious seems to havebeen forgotten. We will not win trust with demagogies, ortalking about what others were able to do, or simply givingour opinion about the work of others. We will acquireconfidence through the only tool that assures itsachievement: the constant, serious and structured practice.

And up to here this month's column. In the next articlewe'll talk about another rather curious aspect: the separationbetween the pearls of knowledge of Chinese philosophy andthe WingTsun system. Two branches quite different: the lineof the more traditionalists and that of those who propose anevolution that puts aside everything that is not "effective".What do you think?

Next month we'll talk about it. Thank you for your attentionand support.

Major Avi Nardia is one of the leading head officialinstructors for the Israelite army and police in anti

terrorism and CQB, he along with BenKrajmalnik have made a new basic

dvd in the field of firearms andsafety, training techniques in

IPSC. Instinctive Shooting inCombat. Combat Instinctive

Point Shooting - IPSC is ashooting method basedon instinctive reactionsand kinematics to shootshort distances fast andin dynamic situations. Aself defense disciplinein order to survive in lifet h r e a t e n i n gsituatuations , where

you need a very fast andaccurate shooting

abilities, when you musttake the gun out as soon as

possible and shoot at a shortdistance without using the sight.

In this first volume you will studyhow to handle the weapon ( revolver

and semi -automatic ) dry firing practice andsecurity, "Point Shooting" or instinctive shooting , at aclose range and a series of movements and exercisesfor weapon retention , low stress and multiple attackers ;exercises on how to recharge with one hand, ... andfinally practice shooting gallery with guns such as AK- 74, M -4 , M -249 machine gun and even M -16grenade launchers .

REF.: • KAPAP7REF.: • KAPAP7

All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.

Budo international. netORDERS:

The Zen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iai -Do Renmei ( ZNTIR ), oncereviewed and adapted the concepts and methodology of aschool that proceeds from a method of real combat, is the bodythat currently intends to maintain this tradition and originalforms alive through a system that unifies body, mind and spiritin a realistic and effective way. This DVD was done at the

instance of practitioners of the Spanish subsidiary of theZen Nihon Toyama Ryu Iaido Renmei (ZNTIR -

Spain Branch) to present to everybody acombat style with a real sword, created last

century, but with roots in the ancientfighting techniques of feudal Japan. In it

you will find the basic structure of themethodology applied in the style,from the coded warm up andpreparation exercises, cuttingexercises, guards, the school kata,work in pairs and initiation in theTameshigiri or cutting exerciseson a real target , the cornerstoneof the Toyama- Ryu. We hope thatknowledge of the existence of astyle such as the Toyama-RyuBatto-Jutsu acts as a revulsive ofa traditional way and yet very

different from current combatdisciplines, that attract those who

want to go further in their martialpractices. Those interested in the

Japanese sword and initiates, will finduseful this DVD both as support to their

learning and as a reference.

REF.: • TOYAMA1REF.: • TOYAMA1 All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.

Budo international. netORDERS:

A story of determination

Text: Nuria Ortiz & Pedro Conde

From this split to the one below have passed... how many years?The recent and brilliant ad of Volvo's (congratulations to thecompany and the designers that created the idea!) showing thestability of its new steering system, made this martial films colossusopen his legs once more, bringing again into the spotlight the eternal"enfant terrible" of perfect kicks and splits, a man who has lived andoutlived success.Van Damme is an example of perseverance and accomplishmentbeyond all ups and downs of life. Decades of Martial Cinema look afterhim, and today, in this unique and completed article, our collaboratorD. Pedro Conde, an expert in the subject - he’s so often interviewedhim - enters deeply into the bends of an exceptional life and career.Yessir! With a proven ability to rise above the ashes in a way wehardly have the chance to see, it seems we'll have Van Damme forlong. An extraordinary story you sure won't forget.

Alfredo Tucci

Jean Claude Van Damme, a story of determination

Jean Claude Camille François Van Varenberg was born onOctober 18, 1960, at 06.00 hrs. 10 min, in the Berchem-Sainte-Agathe French Hospital, west of Brussels. He grew up in awealthy bourgeois family. His father, Eugene, was the generalmanager to a lingerie factory. As a child, Jean Claude was ratherintroverted and quite sensitive, perhaps because he spent mostof his childhood quite alone: his parents were too busy workinghard to bring forward the family business and they couldn'tdedicate him all the attention he needed. In fact, little JeanClaude soon grew fond of Manola, a Spanish young housemaidin the home of the Van Varenberg's, with whom he spent most ofthe day. So much so that his parents say that in his infancy, hespoke almost better Spanish than French.

When he started going to school, the only classes Jean Claudereally enjoyed were gymnastics and drawing (since childhood heshowed a great skill for drawing). His father soon encouraged himto devote to sports, hoping that in this way he could overcome hisextreme shyness and insecurity and develop his frail body. Oneday, in 1973, when fever for Martial Arts burst forth in Belgium, hisfather took him to a Karate gym and put him under the tutelage ofClaude Goetz, one of the first Karate Belgian masters.

The impression Master Goetz had about his new pupil when hefirst saw him was that, apart from being too skinny, Jean Claudedidn't seem too gifted for physical exercise. However, that 12 yearold flimsy boy showed more will signs and determination than

most of his adult veteran mates,so Claude Goetz immediately tooka liking to him.

Claude Goetz is quite acharacter in Belgium: Karatepioneer in his country, he was adirect pupil of great masters suchas Harada or Taiji Kase, to whomhe received and lodged in his ownhouse. He had started practicingKarate in 1958 under the tutelageof Jacques Delcourt, currentpresident of the FFKAMA, and hewas among the main promoters ofthe introduction of Full Contact

and Light Contact styles inBelgium, being also one ofthe first practit ioners toparticipate in EuropeanKarate championships. Heactively took part in thefoundation of the EuropeanFederation of Karate andyears later, in theestablishment of the FullContact EuropeanFederation. He alsoorganized large Full Contactencounters, like the one thatconfronted DominiqueValera with Macaruso.Undoubtedly, young JeanClaude was in good hands.

Goetz’s training sessionswere "Japanese all theway", almost soldierly. Hewould take no excuses: he

who couldn't stand it, hung thebelt; the one who kept on trying,progressed. Certainly, this was toohard for little Jean Claude, whoafter every Karate class returnedhome exhausted, unable to do hishomework, much less to get upearly next day to go to school.After a year he left Goetz's gym,frustrated by his physical inabilityto keep pace with the class.

But he loved Martial Arts andafter several months thinkingabout it he finally made up hismind to return to training, this time

with a new instructor: MasterMiyazaki, a Shotokan Karatetraditional teacher with whom VanDamme learned to forge an ironwill and acquired more speed andaccuracy.

Sti l l , something inside kepttorturing him: he was too thin, histechniques lacked power and infront of a heavier opponent, therewasn't much he could do... Thatinsecurity, l inked to his weakphysical condition, pushed him togo back to Master Goetz'sclasses, bearing in mind the ideaof building himself a body hecould be proud of. So, at the sametime he was training Karate, hestarted attending a fitness centerto lift weights and develop hismuscles. He even changed hisway of eating and began toinclude more vitamins andproteins in his diet. He alsosubscribed to the magazines"Pleine forme" and "Muscles &Fitness". At last he had channeledhis obsession and so, gradually,he started gaining weight anddeveloping a solid body, whicheventually led him to conquer thetitle of "Mr. Belgium"

His parents were a greatsupport for him, giving himsufficient freedom andencouraging him all the time;when he returned home

exhausted from his workouts in thegym he was always welcome withwords of love and comprehensionfinding the table set and his dinnerprepared. However, his school life wasnot that brilliant: the truth is that hewas not too interested, so he wasgoing reducing gradually his studyhours so that he could dedicate moretime to training. His parents weren'treally worried about this fact, thinkingthat if their son couldn't finally excel in

the world of Karate, he could alwaystake over the family business: a flowershop.

Helping his mother in the flowershop, he met Monette, a beautifulyoung girl who was a Dance teacher.Van Damme became immediatelyinterested and signed up to herclasses, with the pretext of improvinghis elasticity. But, as he recognizedhimself, the reason was quite different:

"It was impressive to see me almostevery day surrounded by so manygraceful and fascinating beauties. Iwas in love with every one and all ofthose girls!" No wonder he spent morethan four years synchronizing Danceclasses with Martial Arts training.

However, what had started as"roguish" hobby at the beginning,ended up turning into something morelevelheaded. Indeed, his extraordinary

elasticity and great coordination of movements made thatvarious Dance and Ballet promoters would propose him anintensive dedication, depicting a bright future on the stage.Van Damme pondered the question, because at that time,Dance offered more opportunities to fame than Martial Arts,of course. But he had already begun to seriously caress theidea of entering the fascinating world of cinema, so hedeclined any offer that could move him away from hispurpose. Dancers do not become heroes, actors do, andthat was what Van Damme had in mind: he wanted to be a“hero".

Then followed a period of successful and promisingperformances in Karate and Light Contact competitions,where he conquered twice the title of World Champion ofthe European Professional Karate Association (Full Contactat the time) in the middleweight category. Sometime later heopened his own gym, "California", however, even thoughbusiness was good, that was not what he wanted.

In 1982, along with Michael Qissi, a close childhood friendand also a student of Goetz, Jean Claude set off to pursuethe "American Dream" and try his luck in the world of

cinema. He got rid of his gym and traveled toLos Angeles, with $ 8,000 in his pocket as hisonly financial resource. His beginnings wereharsh and rather discouraging: he worked as ataxi driver, pizza delivery, limousine driver,Karate master and masseur among other jobs.Thanks to his incredible physical qualities andhis knowledge of "Bodybuilding & Fitness", hemanaged to become sparring partner andpersonal assistant to Chuck Norris, who gothim a small appearance in "Missing in Action".

After two years in America chasing a dream,what he had achieved so far was not much, butat least i t was a start. With no offerswhatsoever, and desperate to get a role, heaccepted to play a homosexual with scenesrather "muggy" in "Monaco Forever".

In 1985 he could take part in a Hong Kongproduction entitled "No Retreat, No Surrender,"which, in principle, had little or no success, orat best fell short of the expectations, despitebeing directed by the famous Director CoreyYuen ("The Transporter").

In 1988 he had the opportunity to show hisamazing physical qualit ies to MenahemGolam, one of the producers and directors ofthe Cannon Group, who decided to give himthe chance to star in "Bloodspot". In the

beginning, the film had a discreet success,although it increased as time went on.

Next film was "Black Eagle", with Sho Kosugi.

In 1989, he would roll again for the Cannon's"Cyborg". Although these productions had madehim known to the world, his breakthrough wouldcome with "Kick Boxer". The fi lm had anestimated budget of $1,500,000. In the UnitedStates it grossed 14,500 million and in the rest ofthe world $25,000,000, counting only its premièrein theatres... The final amount rose significantlywith its video distribution and sale.

In 1990 he starred "Lionheart", the first VanDamme’s film rolled and distributed by one of thechief Hollywood studios: Universal Pictures. Thiswas especially perceptible in the budget for theshoot, which was of $6,000,000. Only in theatresoutside the North American market, the filmgrossed $24,000,000. In those days, the actorwas considered a safe bet in the video market,his films being real hits in video stores, especiallyin the Old Continent.

However, the actor's ambition was to get out ofthe "B" class to roll films with bigger means andbetter scripts. Although still in the action andMartial Arts field, another Hollywood giantopened his doors for him: Metro Goldwyn MayerPictures gave him the chance to star in "DeathWarrant", a prison environment film in whichJean Claude proved that besides his incrediblekicking ability, he also had enough potential tobecome a good actor. The sum collected by thefi lm was $46,665,776. Each new releaseexceeded in profits the previous one, his imageappearing in every type of publications andmedia.

In 1991 he got involved in the fi lming of"Double Impact" which, like "Enter the Dragon",was to be entirely shot in Hong Kong. Even Bolo

Yeung would appear in this f i lm. It had a$15,000,000 budget, double than his previousfilms, and box office results were surprisinglyalso double: $80,039,915. Distributed byColumbia, the film enjoyed an excellent receptionaround the world.

In 1992, the same movie studios offered himstarring in "Universal Soldier". The firm bet big inthis occasion, with a shooting budget of$23,000,000. It was released in theaters in NorthAmerica on July 10, and it raised $10,000,000,being the 2nd highest grossing film of thatweekend. Only in this country it reached$36,200,000 at the box office, being a moderatesuccess for the United States; nevertheless, thefilm got number one around the world with a totalof $102,299,898 in box off ice grossing."Universal Soldier" consecrated him as aHollywood star. At that time he met Darcy LaPier, wife of the millionaire Ron Rice. The VanDamme's and the Rice's coincided in a societyparty, where the two wives wore the same dress.That was widely commented... In order todownplay the issue, the Belgian photographedhimself with both ladies laughing and joking withthe paparazzi. According to some, it was therethat the worst of his evils began, since VanDamme became involved in a sentimentalrelationship with Darcy and asked GladysPortuguese for divorce.

In 1993 he implied in a project in which he triedto show his acting skills and get away from theMartial Arts. Its title was "Nowhere to Run", with abudget well below his preceding fi lm: only$15,000,000. The film did not quite "fit" on theworldwide billboards and it only engendered

$52,189,039, however much VanDamme focused in its promotion.During his European tour, hepresented Darcy as his wife to themedia and spoke about his change of"record" in the film: "It's not exactly achange, it's rather a transformation. Ilove the action genre, but I don't likedoing always the same thing: fightsand more fights. Evolving was achallenge for me; I needed to make afilm with an interesting story. It's notthat I'm setting action aside, it's justthat I want to treat it differently."

Despite the efforts of the Belgianactor, the f i lm fell far short ofexpectations, so in his next film, "HardTarget", he went back into what he didbest ... With a cost of 20 million dollars,this would be the first American filmfrom the acclaimed director John Woo,an action movie authority of HongKong. With "Hard Target", Van Dammewas able to recover the lost groundand, especially, he won a lot ofpopularity and prestige, which was hismain goal: "If I succeed in creating animage and a style of my own in theUnited States and I can get anunanimous acceptance by the public,then I'll begin to receive projects fromJames Cameron, Paul Verhoeven,Oliver Stone and this kind of directors,which is where I want to get". For thisfilm he was paid $3,000,000. With abudget of $19,500,000, the box officegrossing amounted to $74,189,677.Statistically, Jean Claude Van Dammetriplicated any investment that wasmade on him.

In 1994, "Timecop", directed byPeter Hyams, took him to the Olympusof the Hollywood great stars. The actorearned $ 8,000,000 for starring thefi lm. This superproduction had abudget of $ 35,000,000. Van Dammewas positively sure of its success: "Ifinally can have a character with ahistory, with feelings, with somehumanity… This film has to be a hitbecause I want people to realize that Iam more than just biceps, abdominalmuscles or an ass. I know I really cando much more than what I've done sofar, all I need is good scripts, goodroles and good opportunities. In thissense, 'Timecop' is a step in the rightdirection; it's not just one more moviein my filmography."

He was right: that was the correctway; Timecop was the highestgrossing movie of his filmography,crossing the barrier of $100,000,000box office income worldwide.

Within the Hollywood quotations ofthose days, better paid actors wereArnold Schwarzenegger, Eddie

Murphy, Michael Keaton, Bruce Willisand Steven Seagal, with figures of$15,000,000 by film produced. Thenfollowed Kevin Costner and TomCruise, with $14,000,000; SylvesterStallone and Michael Douglas with$12,000,000; and Harrison Ford, with$10,000,000. From there down, figureswere decreasing to the $8,000,000collected by Van Damme in "Timecop".He was unquestionably approachingthe celluloid "bigs"; the curious thingabout it is that he was the first non-American actor to do so. The road hadbeen long and hard, but he wasreaching his goal.

His next film, "Street Fighter", madea big commercial hit grossing nearlythree times its production costs($35,000,000), but it was unanimouslycensured by critics, fans of the seriesand viewers. In short, nobody liked thefilm. It even got to be considered formany as one of the worst productionsof 1994.

In 1995 Jean Claude Van Damme, inan attempt to redeem himself to hisaudience, got to work again under theorders of Peter Hyams in "SuddenDeath" that grossed $64,000,000 inthe USA. In the video market it almostreached $50,000,000. Despite theresults, with this film Van Damme gotconsecrated as one of the great oneswithin the celluloid world.

After knowing the results, the actorsat down to negotiate with UniversalStudios in front of his last three films,then he was proposed filming threenew ones and this is what happenedaccording to the actor's version:

"I got a great offer from Universal torenew my contract; they wanted me tostar in three of their films for whichthey would pay me 12 million dollarseach. I answered I wanted 20 millionper film, like Jim Carrey (those werehis fees for "Liar Liar"). They refusedarguing that my proposal was crazy. Iwas left lying like a rag. Later I made acounter offer lowering my fees, butthey no longer took the phone."

Maybe his financial claims wereexorbitant at the time, but there couldalso have been some type ofnegotiation. Undoubtedly, thereluctance of the study to continueworking with him was due to his blaringdivorce from Gladys Portuguese andhis stormy relationship with Darcy LaPier, when the scandals werecontinuous, and so were the rumorsabout his addiction to cocaine. Eventhe media of the time talked moreabout it than about his productions.American journalists are reputed to be

very f ickle and changeable andeverybody knows they have the powerto either elevate someone to thesummit or else sink his or her careerforever. Unfortunately Jean ClaudeVan Damme was in their front sight;perhaps the fact of not being Americancontributed to it.

All this was happening in 1996 andfar from being discouraged, JeanClaude put everything he had into "TheQuest", a personal project of the actor,with which he expected to recover hislost prestige. The bet was safe,because the story revolved around amartial tournament; in other words, hereturned to his roots.

The film that had made him to beknown was Bloodsport. In "The Quest",in which he counted on moreexperienced professionals and well-known martial artists, he hoped tosurpass the result of his first film; infact and according to his formerstatements:

"Perhaps I'll dedicate about twoyears to this f i lm, since I ’ l l be incharge of writ ing the script,production, direction, take care ofcasting and choreographing actionscenes, apart from starring the film.'The Quest' is an epic about MartialArts and the story takes place in Paris,China, United States, etc. The film willbe set in the 30's, so there will beplenty of costumes, horses, carriages,etc., and also pirates and Shaolintemples. Regarding the latter I intendto move the team to real Shaolintemples that have never been filmedbefore, as well as magnificent templeslocated in Malaysia and Thailand,where monks stil l keep training. Iwould also l ike to f i lm inside theForbidden City. For this movie I wantto roll on authentic location. It will bebasically a story of courage, friendshipand love. It will have a great support; Iintend to tel l the history andphilosophy of the Martial Arts in anepic way from their origins, so thatparents and children can see it andunderstand what they really are. Iwant to make a true classic, with goodmeans and a great cast of actors. Ithink it will be a great film; also I wouldlike to dedicate it to Bruce Lee, as asign of gratitude for all he did for theMartial Arts and action cinema."

At first he would count on a budgetof $40,000,000, which later went downto $35,000,000. In its U.S. premiere,the fi lm grossed $21,600,000. Asusual, the f i lm gained wideracceptance abroad, raising nearly$40,000,000. Again those figures werefar away from what it was expected!

The great stress he had gone through whileshooting the film started to show its sequels. Duringfilming he endured a severe insomnia; he couldn'tsleep at night and this, coupled with the bipolardisorder he had been suffering from childhood, madeof him a sleeping drug addict. Also, he recognized thatit was then when he had begun to consume cocaine.

His problems seemed endless: "The Quest" wasbased on a script written by Frank Dux. Then, whenactor changed the script and scenarios, paying Duxless money than promised, he was sued by thescriptwriter.

Mixing cocaine, sleeping pills and the usual medicaltreatment for his bipolar disorder was a real deadlycocktail. Aware of that, the actor soon decided to put astop to his problems entering a one monthrehabilitation program... but in a week he left the clinic.At that time, his weekly expense on cocaine amountedto $10,000.

Van Damme got into a new project: "MaximumRisk", directed by another emblematic Hong Kongdirector, Ringo Lam, renowned for his action movies.With a budget of $25,000,000, the film scarcelymanaged to raise $14,000,000 box office income inthe U.S. Globally, it grossed $51,700,000. It was clearthat the bad press he had in America was taking itstoll.

In 1997 he rolled "Double Team", under the directionof yet another great Hong Kong movie heavyweight,Tsui Hark, with a budget of $30,000,000 that producedthe ridiculous box office income of $48,000,000. Thedecline of his career was obvious...

The difficulties he had while shooting the film,coupled with his personal life problems, were wreckinghim. In November of that same year, he decided todivorce from Darcy La Pier. The actor declared that itwas she who encouraged him to consume cocaine,his real perdition. Obviously Darcy countered byaccusing him of being a depressive maniac, besidescocaine addict and abuser, stating in various mediathat during his stormy marriage he had beaten her andtortured her psychologically. This was dismissed bythe judge for lack of evidence; besides, sherecognized that she was a customary consumer ofcocaine herself. The exchange of accusations in themedia further damaged the image of Van Damme.

In 1998, he tried once more with "Knock Off", againunder the guide of Tsui Hark, this t ime in anenvironment perfectly known by the director: HongKong. The production had a $35,000,000 budget, afortune for a motion picture in the former Britishcolony. Some of the best local specialists and actiontechnicians participated in the film, however the boxoffice results were disappointing, producing just$10.300.000 in the USA, which added to worldwidebox off ice incomes, amounted to a total of$44,000,000. It was clear that Van Damme was nolonger a good investment in the movie business,especially when news spread that during the filming,the actor had suffered a cocaine overdose that nearlycost him his life.

After the film promotion, Van Damme entered againa detoxification clinic and this time he'd finish thetherapy, changing completely his habits and lifestyle.

He reconciled with Gladys Portugues and marriedher again. Thanks to her, the unconditionalsupport of his parents and some friends, heactually succeeded in getting out of the "whitepowder hell”. Later, the actor would declare thathe had overcome his drug addiction by himself,since the rehabilitation centers and their therapiesdid not help him at all.

Shortly after leaving the clinic, he accepted tostar in "Legionnaire", which would be filmed inMorocco. The actor believed that a change ofenvironment would be good for him. With anestimated budget of $ 20,000,000, the fi lmproduced a benefit of $15,000,000 in America anda little more at international level. Not bad,considering the total absence of Martial Arts in thefilm.

In 1999, soon after the film release, he wascaught by some paparazzi as he came out of apopular nightclub, taking off his shirt and trying toget into his Mercedes. After several attempts, hefinally could start the engine and left driving hisown car through the streets of Beverly Hills insuch a deplorable state.

Were the paparazzi themselves to call thepolice and Jean Claude was arrested for recklessdriving while intoxicated. Of course, everythingwas filmed and broadcast on television for halfthe world. He was sentenced to three yearprobation.

Jean Claude tried to amend his error. Totally"clean" and with his love life stabilized, hefocused on re-launching his new acting career.He struck a deal with Columbia Tristar Pictures,one of the most important Hollywood moviestudios, committing himself to roll one single filmthat would be entitled "Universal Soldier, Thereturn". The former installment had worked outvery well both in its cinematographic premiereand in the video market. The new project had abudget of 45,000,000. For some experts inHollywood productions though, it was a very riskybet at the sight of his latest productions. The filmsimply produced $10,937,890 in the U.S., andscarcely $20,000,000 in the international market;in short, a resounding failure, one of the biggestfiascos of the year, especially when compared tothe profits generated by the first installment, thatamounted to $102,000.000.

After that, the main Hollywoodstudios were reluctant to any newproject of the actor. It was clear that hisdeplorable behavior when drivingintoxicated in Beverly Hills, added tothe scandals of his previous marriagewith Darcy La Pier widely spread bythe press, had undermined hisprofessional reputation. Even MartialArts magazines stopped publishingarticles and interviews about him. Thepublic, "his" audience, especially in theOld Continent, also began to turnaway.

From then on, his film premières inthe U.S. began to be directly releasedfirst on video and then on DVD. Insome European countries and otherparts of the world, just a few of thesefilms would be released in theaters...Over t ime, U.S.A. patterns werefollowed everywhere. The films of thatperiod include "Inferno" (1999),"Replicant" (2001), "The Order" (2001),"Derailed" (2002), "Wild" (2003),"Narco" (2004) , "Wake of Death"(2004), "Second in Command" (2006),"The Hard Cops" (2006), "Until Death"(2007) and "The Shepherd: BorderPatrol" (2008).

In 2008 he shot a very personalwork: "JCVD," a parody of his own life,where he makes a clear reference tothe way his agent and the studios tookaway the profits for his work; i.e., hedid the work and others pocketed the

money. In this film he also touchessubtly many of the problems he'd hadin Hollywood. It was released intheaters in U.S.A. and other countries,receiving great reviews.

Since then, his filmography hasbeen as follows: "Universal Soldier:Regeneration" (2009), "The EaglePath" (2010), "Games murderers"(2011), "Beur sur la vil le" (2011),"Rzhevsk iy pro t iv Napo leona"(2012) and" the Eyes of the dragon"(2012).

In 2012 he agreed to work with the"big heavies" of the Hollywood actionmovies in "The Expendables". Ofcourse, he played the bad guy, givinglife to a mean and despicablecharacter with no principles, while theother old glories were sanctified.

Regarding his character in the film,he lived up to the role and both publicand review valuated highly his work.Thanks to this film he was able to drawagain the public attention of half theworld, but without the support of thebig Hollywood studios. Re-launchinghis career was something extremelydifficult.

Last year, in 2013, the actorunderwent surgery on his right hip dueto a progressive osteoarthritis. Now heis fully recovered and he keeps traininglike in the past.

As for his personal life, he is nowcompletely stable. Let's not forget thathis youth was rather turbulent in thisparticular aspect, in fact, he gotmarried five times: his first weddingwas with Maria Rodriguez (1980-1984), from Venezuelan; his secondmatrimonial l ink was with CynthiaDerderian (1985-1986); then hemarried Gladys Portuguese (1987-1992) who gave him two children:Kristopher Van Varenberg, born in1987, and Bianca Bree in 1990; themodel Darcy La Pier was his fourthwife (1994-1997), with whom he hadanother son, Nicholas, born in 1995;finally, in 1999, he remarried GladysPortuguese.

Summarizing, the actor and MartialArtist is in top form and his problemswith drugs belong to a sad memory ofthe past. He is the youngest of theMartial Arts performers of the 90's andhe still has much to say and much todo, but he needs a good script, a gooddirector and, unquestionably, thesupport of a large study to regain thelost ground. There has been apossibility of shooting a film with TonyJaa.

He doesn't lack projects or supportfrom his public and fans; all he needsis "the film" that takes him again to theplace he deserves in the Seventh Art.Let us hope this film begins soon to berolled...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgP1S8Qf_co

Eskrima for Military ForcesEskrima is not only suitable as a sport or self defense

practised by civilians, military personnel also use thisrealistic martial art from the Philippines. Eskrima is ideal forself defense as it has almost unlimited flexibility. Think ofshort stick, knife, telescope, lantern, the possibilities areendless. So at the request of Military Forces worldwideFrans Stroeven has trained a number of them in the MartialArt of eskrima, in the system known as Stroeven CombatSystem. At our request we asked Frans to talk abouttraining the special forces. First we came to talk about theBrazilian Federal Police Special Forces (C.O.T.)

Brazilian Federal Police Special Forces(C.O.T.)

The COT - Commando de Operações Táticas (Commandof Tactical Operations) of the Federal Police was created in1987 with a mission of responding to terrorist attacks insidethe country. They participate in high risk missions as drugseizures, expropriation actions, rural conflicts, VIP security,dismantling of criminal organizations, and are commonlyused to escort high risk prisoners.

This special unit is located in Brasilia, the capital cityof Brazil but can be operational everywhere in Brazilwithin 2 hours. At their request Frans trained these

http://www.knifefightsystem.com/nl/

specia l forces in eskr ima andKni fef ight ing. “These guys arealready very well trained in BrasilianJu Jutsu, thai -boxing etc. Myassignment was to teach themknifefighting and stickfighting (shortstick). The training lasted for eighthours a day, which of course is quiteheavy for most of us but for them itis normal. These guys were in topcondition so I gave them high levelworkouts.”

Box systemThe box system is a concept that

Frans specif ical ly designed forspecific groups. Such as the police,military and special forces. The boxsystem focuses on short effectivetraining methods that are easy tolearn and highly effective. Frans:“Actually I designed it for a simplereason. Hand to hand combat shouldbe as short as possible and thetechniques as simple and effective aspossible. The COT Special Forceswere trained in this system and thatworked out perfectly. I taught them avariety of attacks which can beexecuted from any position. We alsotrained on blocking and disarming,locks and aggressive drills. You canimagine that within 8 hours a day oftraining these guys achieve incredible

results. The last day of training weended with special training in fulluniform and with all weapons.”

Frans told us afterwards that theseguys got 50 strokes with the stickwhen they let loose of the stick or theknife during training. “No pain, nogain” Frans added, with a smile.

Knife fightKnife fighting is also an important

part of training. Fighting withoutfighting, Frans calls it. “Becausefighting for special forcesmust be as short aspossible. So we use verydirect techniques aimed atfinishing off the opponentas quickly as possible. Butalso we trained onawareness. What a knifecan do as an effectiveweapon is often underestimated, to demonstratethis we did an exercise.Knife against gun, I canimagine how surprisedmany of them were whenthey noted how fast a knifeattack can be carried out.They did not have time todraw their weapon in time,let alone fire it.”

To the other side of theworld:

Training with the ArmedForces of the Philippines

At the invitation of the Mil i taryForces of the Philippines, Frans gavea two day teaching course to variouscombat units and special forces.Frans: “For me this was a big honor tobe out there and train Filipino men.Since I am not a Filipino myself. So to

http://www.knifefightsystem.com/nl/

train them in my way of eskrima SCSwas quite exceptional”. These guysalready mastered in eskrima and manyof them are members of the Arnis Team.So they already have a background ofintensive eskrima training.

Frans: “To be honest, training theseguys is a big challenge. The guys ofcourse wanted to experience and testmy eskrima and my system, so theatmosphere was a little tense at first.Me and my parter Ahmed performed afirst action and after a short silence wegot a big round of applause.”

“They also had to make contact withthe body and get used to it. Cause inmy system we train with the stick on thebody (full contact). They eventually likedworking like this. After two days oftraining in my system, theseeskrimadors started to ask mequestions about my style. The resultswere great.”

Knife fight Knife f ighting was also highly

appreciated by the Filipino military.

Since knife fighting is in their blood andthe best knife fighters come from thePhilippines. But one can tell that SCSknife fighting is different than whatothers might be doing. Frans' knifefighting is a mix of Filipino techniquesand European techniquessupplemented by the Dutch schoolwhich aimes at realistic f ightingmethods. Not some weird trainingmethods from which you will not gainanything but realistic aggressivetechniques that can be put to use at anytime. Frans: “Only in this way you cantrain soldiers so that they can use it inaction”.

SCSThe Stoeven Combat System as a

concept will work for everyone.Regardless of if you are military orspecial forces or just someone whowants to open a school and want toteach these dynamic fighting skills,contact Frans Stroeven and you mayalso be trained in SCS. He welcome youin his World in the World of Eskrima.

http://www.knifefightsystem.com/nl/

“Best Karate Kumite”. George Bierman Generallyspeaking, if you ask someone, “why are you inMartial Arts”, they will tell you it's because they wantto learn how to fight. You usually never hear themsay that they wanted to learn kata, weapons orwazas. I guess all of us have a little of that “I want to

be a tough guy” or you could be motivatedby a real need to protect yourself.

Whatever the reason, in this DVD Idiscuss Basic and Advanced

kumite techniques andconcepts that all of us should

know, whether you are anadvanced student or justbeginning, and somethings that have workedfor me over and over.Some can be used onthe street but I'm mainlyfocusing on tournamenttechniques. I can tell youover and over to keepyour hands up to protect

your face. Some of youmay do it and some may

not. Once you get hit in theface several times by not

doing it, you will. I began myMartial Arts training in 1973 and

this is a collection of proventechniques and strategies that have

worked well for me in competition to present day.I have combined strategies, footwork, techniquesand combinations that lead me to well over 2000tournament wins and a World Champion fighter inSt. Petersburg, Russia. They work!

LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, ESPAÑOL, ITALIANO, FRANÇAIS

REF.: • BIERMAN3REF.: • BIERMAN3

All DVDs, wichi is produced by BudoInternational, si provided and alone in theformats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivXor the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the higquality in pressure and material. If thisDVD and/or the DVD covering do notcorespond to the requirements specifiedabove, it concerns illegal pirat copy.

Budo international. netORDERS:

Budo International: First of all I would liketo ask you about the event that is takingplace here, at the Genoa headquarters ofyour school. What is it?

Grand Master Paolo Cangelosi: Today wewill have a stage covering two topics, Shuai Jiaoand Jiao Li, the Chinese arts of standup fightingand ground fighting, which make us growconnecting us with the traditional styles westudy in our "Combat Freestyle" courses. It's asection on melee techniques and also fencing.

B.I.: So it is a complete system...

GM P.C.: Yes, I have coded for years asystem called W.M.A., Warrior Martial Art, bycreating a method that combines the maintechniques of traditional Chinese, Japanese andThai styles, in a mixture suitable for combat.This sector has been developed in all our

schools and has provided a competit iveevolution.

B.I.: Is that the way to provide acompetitive output to the WMA system?

GM P. C.: That's right. It has been created aRegulation in order to make it viable in sports andwe have determined three categories: amateur,semi-professional and professional. It is planned touse all the techniques of fencing, punches, kicks,elbows, knees, clinch and the standup fighting withprojections, to end up with ground fighting whereonly the use of the same fighting techniques andcompletion by levers and chokes are permitted.Depending on the level of the athletes, theRegulation establishes full or less full contact, andthe relative use of protecting equipment.

B.I.: And there are already athletes in yourschools who are into the new system you'veencoded?

Kung Fu

On the occasion of a seminarheld at the Genoa Headquartersof the "CINTURA NERA"Association, we veterans of thepositive experience "FestivalOriente Carrara" had theopportunity and privilege toexchange a few words with acharacter that needs nointroductions. In fact, ourregular readers know well theinvaluable contribution made byGrand Master Paolo Cangelosi:over 15 years of collaborationthrough numerous articles andcovers, lots of instructionalvideos of his huge martialknowledge and partaking inseveral international galas andevents sponsored by BudoInternational.For more than 35 years

dedicated to the spreading oftraditional Chinese martial arts,today we still can see him more

and more involved in thecreation of specific innovativeprograms for self- defense andcombat sports.We wanted to compliment him,

in relation to the projects he iscurrently providing to theadvances of the Martial Artsfield, which have an ever growingnumber of fol lowers and asteady increase of interest fromthe media both in Italy andworldwide.A straightforward interview

that Grand Master PaoloCangelosi has granted us for ourreaders, in order to make themaware of the news and send aclear message to the martialcommunity, away from themartial rhetoric, on thoseaspects and values that all bothstudents and teachers, mustnever lose sight: respect andgratitude.

Interview

“I do not want everythingreduced to a kick or apunch... I hope that ourpeople show as much aspossible the Martial Arts

techniques”

“In recent years I'vefrequented the ring sportsenvironments, at various

international meetings, and onething in which I emphasize withgreat pleasure is the greatrespect and sense of

belonging which is alwayspresent among athletes,

coaches, etc., something I don't see thatoften in the world of Martial Arts”

GM P.C.: Coming soon, the 18th of January, we willbe in Genoa to present again the WMA and then we'llgo on spreading it as much as possible. Thoseinterested in learning and practicing our system cancontact us at any time.

Of course, this training system has always existedin my school. In our programs, it came defined asthe "general technique" area. Then, over the years ithas evolved and per fected in the "Freesty leCombat".

In the past, the competitive aspect thereof was notcontemplated and it was practiced only as a methodof combat training, and although today is used just inthe initial phase of the course, we've already trainedsome athletes who are prepared to present battle inthe ring. We are beginning now to introduce thesystem in several events, as it happened recentlywhen we were invited to a gala in Turin, organized byAngelo Baglio, where there were two teams with ourrules.

B.I.: About the Regulation and contact sports,how can you insert the AMM in this context,especially when compared to disciplines such asMMA, so trendy today?

GM P.C.: What I wanted to do was not just anotherfull contact type of combat, because there is alreadyenough of this. I wanted to give a more artistic touch tothe techniques, as well as a bigger clarity andeffectiveness. But the main objective of the "CangelosiFreestyle Combat" is to promote technique, because wemust not forget all the baggage that exists in the martialarts. I do not want everything reduced to a kick or apunch... I hope that our people show as much aspossible the Martial Arts techniques. Therefore, in the

system I have excluded theuse of lying flat on the ground,as, in my opinion, is a verylaughable and gratuitousviolence in the street fight; theethic of a martial art must berespected. Our rules aredesigned to stimulate thepractitioner to express all histechnical and artistic skills,use them and not reducethem to one or two actions orlittle more.

B.I.: Speaking oftechnical skill, at the recentOriente Festival, in Carrara,

Kung Fu

we saw your son Shan entering thering. How did the boy behave?

GM P.C.: I would say he did well,considering he fought under the K1rules. Coming from traditional Kung Fustyles to specialize later in Muay Thai,such restrictive types of regulationsusually penalize much. His opponentwas well prepared and experienced,especially in the K, nevertheless Shancame in the ring with his usualcourage, although he was aware of thedifficulties he could find. He performedwell, because he handled his adversaryproperly; he showed a little more ofconfidence in himself and in his ownmeans, varying often his techniquesand this is fine. In the K1 he still has atendency to make individualtechniques, but he must try morecombinations between his attacks andcounter attacks. Anyway the fight wasO.K., he won and now we will move onto other experiences in both Muay Thaiand Superkombat.

B.I.: Well, the fact that it waswithin such an important event at atechnical level and in the media asSuperkombat, gives an extra valueto the outcome?

GM P.C.: Sure. The event was wellorganized by the WTKA and we'll go onforward, always trying to give our best.

B.I.: Going back to Martial Artsand combat sports, how these twoworlds so related and yet sodifferent are connected?

GM P.C.: Through techniques. Thetechnical part, the use of the arms andlegs, is very similar in both Chineseand Japanese Martial Arts and ringsports, with the difference that themovements in the choreography arerefined, eliminating lethal anddangerous blows and adjusting themwith the protections, but taking placehowever in an fighting environment thatcomes from Karate, Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu,etc. This is what they have in common.

B.I.: So there is an importantcommon thread ... But isn't therealso something that goes beyondthe mere technical act?

GM P.C.: Of course! There arevalues surrounding Martial Arts andcombat sports. What we always say isthat respect and sense of gratitude arethe basis of these disciplines. Onthese issues, I would like to mentionone slightly negative point relatingMartial Arts. In recent years I 'vefrequented the r ing sportsenvironments, at various internationalmeetings, and one thing in which Iemphasize with great pleasure is the

great respect and sense of belongingwhich is always present amongathletes, coaches, etc., something Idon't see that often in the world ofMartial Arts. In fact, what I mostly seeis jealousy, envy and lack of sense ofrespect and gratitude. Obviously, thesuccess of all teachers in the world,past and present, and of all MartialArts, has to do with this. It happened inthe recent Festival; I met with someex-students who for many years hadbeen attending my school and, despitebeing only a few steps away from me,they did everything possible to avoidmeeting my eyes. They preferred toelude the contact, when it would havebeen sufficient a smile, a gesture ofsolidarity with his ex-fellow who hadjust stepped out of the ring after afight. Why this behavior? It is notproper of the Martial Arts, that teachthe opposite and where precisely thegratitude and respect are paramount ...these people probably didn'tunderstand one single thing! And I saythis with a touch of bit terness:unfortunately, this is a negative issuethat I have to point out in the currentreality of Martial Arts and is somethingregretful for what it always representsto all of us.

B.I.: Changing the subject, can wetalk about a new project on the issueof self-defense that, in this period, islaunching the course of the FAD?

GM P.C.: The F.A.D. as completeDefense Action is a set of techniquesand the use of equipment meant forself-defense, a program that I codedgathering some of my passions andadding them to the Martial Art. Wehave included the use of handguns,archery, knife, some self-defensetechniques and extreme and safe cardriv ing. A suitable course foreveryone: from the person who onlywants to have fun to those looking forthr i l l ing emotions, as wel l asprofessional people, like bodyguardsor pol ice off icers. These are al ltechniques that can be useful for thepurposes of public security and canalso be a complement to the MartialArt itself. Pistol shooting, the particularsensations of shooting an arrow with abow, slightly different from simplypunching or kicking a sandbag andrequire an extraordinaryconcentration. We know that knifescan be dangerous and what it meansto have confidence and security in itshandling.

The car is driven in extreme form tolearn managing the sudden adrenalineand act correctly, instinctively,controlling the car when skidding, inbraking and in acceleration. All this willbe mixed to find all the techniques

made and put them together, in orderto define our F.A.D. circuit.

We will use a training hippodromewith silhouettes for archery, targets forpistol and reproductions of aggressivesituations with and without knife, torelive everything that has worked in thecourse. They are short but completecourses that have a beginning and anend, going from one level to another,progressively.

B.I.: So this course is suitable forany person, whether he or shepractices martial arts or not?

GM P.C.: Of course, it is. Obviouslymy experience is that the personpracticing Martial Arts since long, hasan advantage due to a better bodycontrol, posture and coordination.Without underestimating the physicalaspect: shooting a pistol for an hour isexhausting, both physically andmentally. Not to mention shooting 100arrows with a bow weighting 30 to 40pounds, in which muscles are involved.Also it is not just physical work, it isalso mental ... being at the same time afun that affects energetically theperson. I am pleased to note that inthese early sessions students come outvery excited.

B.I.: We're almost at the end of ourmeeting. Is there anything you wantto say to our readers?

GM P.C.: First of all I am happy andproud of the work we are carrying outin col laborat ion with BudoInternational and the Martial Networkportal. In my opinion, it is somethingvery important from a cultural point ofview, since they are essentialcommunication vehicles to involve andupdate fans with news from aroundthe world. I'm also happy because,once again, Budo International will beavai lable in paper and onl ine,providing an opportunity for all fans tohave it in their collection and at anytime. Budo International readers knowthey have in their hands a mediumthat provides complete informationabout Martial Arts and everythingrelated to the Eastern disciplines. Ithink we all should thoroughly supportthis project.

B.I.: Readers should know that wewill continue with renewed energy,and we expect you to be present inthe pages of Budo International. Willit be so?

GM P.C.: Definitely, I will not fail.

B.I.: Thank you very much, Master!

GM P.C.: Thank you

Interview

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The Morabito system

Combat system of military origin, containing theappropriate techniques for each individual,whether civil, military or professional in theoperating sector. The Morabito System providesa thorough study of the human body, from thestandpoint of biomechanics applied to the body,combined with the knowledge of themechanical and physical laws, to avoid anyattack from more points and more opponents.

In this system, Reflexology applied to thehuman body is studied during practice, withexcellent results in the hand to hand combat.

Breaking attack and defense techniques isscrutinized under a Cartesian, three-

dimensional research, thus analyzing allthe possibilities and all the solutionsduring a real attack. Training thissystem means that every practitioneradquires the ability to "read" an attackand decompose it immediately to findsuitable defensive solutions.

The Morabito System uses specialtraining methods that examine carefully

the attack and defense combined linesand, deepening in this field, in the course of

a defensive action, these physical conceptsapplied to the human body allow us to direct anattacking technique to a work level where the resultsare more effective.

During training we also study the relative combatpositions; by analyzing and modifying these positions wewill realize that some attack techniques can be moreeffectively eluded by changing our defensive position, andso the Morabito system has no fixed points or positions buta continuous motion, adapted to transform each fightingposition and change the work plan.

The Morabito system also contains the best basic andadvanced techniques of the Russian system of severalschools. The Systema is a Russian martial art of hand tohand combat that prefers versatility and improvisation in theconfrontation, combining the use of fighting movementswith brutal and effective techniques. The Morabito systemis based on personal experiences of the Grand Master, asa result of an international collaboration in the field of civil,military and high risk means; this system is internationallycertified and tested by various organizations. The I.K.M.O.Federation Morabito System sector has specific trainingprograms for conventional weapons and the use ofcommon objects. Last but not least is the study andadvanced use of the "no contact" concept.

For further information: I.K.M.O. International Krav Maga Organization

Courses and seminars for workgroups, instructors,military sectors and international certifications of KravMaga, Kapap, Systema.

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The armour was considered of extremeimportance and meaning and it was safeguarded

in the house as a symbol of honor. However, itwasn't always so. Before and during the period of

Emperor Kotoku, and especially in the first year ofTaika (645), it was forbidden to everyone,

including officers, to wear the armour or anyother war weapon at home. There are no records

of when this changed and armour and personalweapons began to be kept in the houses,

although according to some authors, it set thebasis to the formation of a professional class of

warriors who eventually headed from thepolitical periphery to the center of power. That

habit ended up becoming the symbol of militarydevotion.

Each clan, samurai family or military house had itsown gusoku-shi or armour maker. This explains the widevariety of forms developed for battle. Of course, the secrets

of the manufacturing of the various models were kept assomething precious in each clan, so that only those whowere of the same lineage could use a particular form of

armour.The tradition of keeping unrevealed the fabrication

procedures of the armour was preserved with such zealand earnestness, that the different styles, with its

various elements and particular forms of use, becameunintelligible during peacetime. In general, there washowever a pattern for the armour construction that

consisted of protective items for the head, neck,shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, legs and feet.Naturally, there were variations according to the

different types of combatants. Thus, infantrymenfighting on the ground, mounted soldiers or senior

officials, all of them had different modelsaccording to the convenience of their duties.Over time, the armour stopped having just afunctional role to become a more ornate andvaluable symbol of power. Weapons were no

longer just tools of war, but a reflection ofstrength and social status.

Ancient armours constructed before the sixteenthcentury were called: o-yoroi, kachu, haramaki, do-maru

Shidoshi Juliana helped our directorAlfredo Tucci to dress the traditional

Japanese armour, showing us itsdifferent pieces and the correct

dressing procedure. An article thatfurther explains the history and

anthropology of the armour, one ofthe main attributes of the Samurai.

Dressing the Japanese Armour

etc. Those produced later were generally known as gusoku. The materials used in manufacturing the samurai armour reflect the general

concern about the speed and functionality of the equipment on the battlefield.In addition, the full armour was only used by highest class samurai. Because of

that constant observation in the making of armours in order to improve theircombat features, it is but natural that there are differences between the armour

of a horseman, for instance, and the one used by foot troops.The armour was basically constructed of leather thongs. Arai Hakuseki, an

expert on Confucianism, who served in the court of the ShogunIenobu (1662-1712) studying the old Sandai Jitsuroku

manuscripts, mentions (Arai, 17) ancient armours made of cow and ram leather that were used by the Ono-

no-Ason-Uyu warriors during the Konin period, andgiven to their sons Mutsu-no-Kami-Harueda and

Tsushimano-no-Kami-Harukaze, who fought in theJogen Era (976-97).

Leather (nerigawa) was so essential to theJapanese armour that fur thongs not only served

as bindings between the parties, but also were theprimary stuff for manufacturing the equipment.

Leather plates were reinforced with iron, steel andor other materials lacquered, so as to provide the

necessary rigidity. Metal helmets and cuirassesthat have been found and dated as being from

very early periods suggest that their acceptanceby armour craftsmen took place early in Japan

history. The pieces recovered show that iron wasskillfully worked to reduce its weight, making it thinner

where it would be used as a single piece, such ashelmets, or bending it in layers. Thus, small piecesserved the helmet while the longer ones were

meant to the cuirass or chest protector.But it was from the Heian period when armours

started to experience a great development tobecome a beautiful work of art composed of ironplates attached one another by small knots of

leather thongs (odoshi) that gave it its finaldistinguishing form. The iron and steel plates

had their size and shape adapted to serve thepurpose of protection of the area to which they

were intended. Long pieces were used forshoulder protection - sode - or chest protection - do.

Over time, the aim of gathering lightmaterials that provided effect iveprotect ion was reached. Armoursevolved to endure sword cuts, arrowsand even musket bul lets, offer ingmaximum protection equipment thatwasn't too heavy on its use. The hugevariety of colors, styles and materialsused in their fabricat ion, made of armours a great work of art highlyvalued today by museums and by

private collectors around the world.Those enriching details of the armorwere precisely what provided adifferentiation from one style to anotherand made possible even theident i f icat ion of the various clanmembers by the particular colors usedon the cords and other details of theirarmours. There were strings of manycolors for entwining metal plates.Leather cords were known as kawa-

odoshi, while Chinese silk cords werecalled kara-ya-odoshi.

Under the Tokugawa regency, themany conflicts and armed confrontationseventually came to an end. Interestinglyenough, although the armour importancedeclined in regards to real combat, sincebattles diminished to extinction,nevertheless its significance as a symbolof power increased. More than ever, thesword became the reference of the

Dressing the Japanese Armour

Japanese Tradition

status, class or place occupied by thesamurai. Thus, "ō-yoroi" (literally "greatarmour", the pinnacle of Japanesearmour) were used by daimyo lordsduring court ceremonials, military eventsand Regency Crown.

Individual armour parts: 1. Tazuna, fundoshi - loin cloth used

on the body. 2. Shitagi and Obi - a common

everyday kimono and belt. Samuraiwarriors of the highest categories used

sumptuous kimonos according to theirpersonal positions. These kimonos weretermed yoroi-hitatare. The kimono wasadjusted with a belt - obi - thatsurrounded twice the waist and wasusually tied in front of the body.

3. Hakama, kobakama or matabiki -wide pleated pants with details on theback (koshi-ita). The kobakama wascharacterized by being shorter andsmaller. The matabiki was used by thelower ranks.

4. Tabi - cloth socks with divisionbetween the big toe and the othertoes.

5. Kyahan or habaki - tight gaitersmade of cloth covering the legs from theankle to the knees.

6. Waraji - sandals worn by the lowerclasses. Normally it was carried an extrapair in the waist. Upper classes wore atype of boot made out of leather(kengetsu, kutsu, tsuranuki), mainly ofbear.

Japanese Tradition

7. Sune-ate, shino-zutsu - legprotector made of molded metal orlacquered leather. Some were madeof a single metal plate, mostly used bythe cavalry to protect against spearand other weapons. Most of them

were made of plates (i ta-mono, ingeneral) joined together with centerplates protect ing the knees. Theynormally included lacquered leatheron the sides (abumi-zure) which inturn protected against the fr ict ion

caused by stirrups and saddles, in thecase of the mounted troops. Kneeswere generally protected by the hiza-yoroi kakuzur i , metal p iece thatsometimes was an integral part of thesune-ate, or was less often a separate

piece. There was a lso a type ofprotective item made of iron mesh,used under breeches by infantrymenin combat times, or even by bushi inpeacetime, called kusari-kyahan orkusai-sune-ate.

8. Haidate - inner protective piece ofthe thigh, apron-shaped, its lower endbeing generally constituted of smallplates (kozane) of metal, leather or evenwhale bone. Open in its center, thehaidate has cords that are passed

around the waist and tied in front of thebody. There are different types ofhaidate, although all of them have thesame function.

9. Yugake - gloves, usually with asmall hole in the center of the palms.

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10. Kote-Tegai - arm and shoulderprotector, usually made of iron mesh,with plates the function of which wasdefensive. The shoulder protectiveplate was called kamuri-ita; that of thearm, gaku-no-ita, the elbow's concaveplate, hi j igane; and finally, theforearm's plate was the ikada, madewith a series of longitudinal metalstrips. Sometimes it was inserted in asingle metal piece, pierced andmolded, that was tied to the wrist byanother piece of which the functionwas protecting the back of the hand.

That piece was lined in leather andhad a curvature so that it adjusted tothe warrior's f ingers. In ancientarmours, pieces for fingers and ringswere coupled to each other by a smallcord. Later, heavy leather gloves wereused. Sometimes, there was also anextra protection for the back of thehand, called tetsu-gai. Although thesedevices guarded the outside of thearm, the inner part was morevulnerable. There existed a variety ofthese protections, according to therole of warrior. For example: archersused a type of protection item knownas yu-gote, noted for not wearing anyheavy piece that could hinder theirabilities.

The inner part of the arm, whichrequired less protection than the outerarea was covered with a heavy fabric,or with leather intermingled with silk orleather thongs. However, its defensewas based more on the skills of thewarrior that in the armour pieces, asthat area was exposed anytime armswere raised to discharge a blow withthe sword.

Some Yari Jutsu and Kenjutsutechniques became widely known forseeking to reach in combat thosevulnerable armour areas.

There was an incredible amount ofsizes, types, shapes and materialsthat the bushi could select for suchimportant combat attire. One exampleis the armour sleeves, covered by amesh made of metal rings and chains

(kusari gote). The arms wereprotected by plates (tetsu gote). Therewas a kind of protecting sleeve thatcovered the arm with a long plate (likean addit ional sode) t ied to theshoulder (tsugi gote). Others wereformed by lamellas or scales (kozane)on the biceps (gaku no ita), othersstill, alternated ribbons of these plateswith metal mesh (oshi not gote), orwere completely made of mesh towhich strong plates of different types(shino gote, echu gote, awase gote)were tied.

Samurai warriors also used a smallprotection for the forearm, coveredwith plates and mesh, and then with arustic fabric (hansho gote). Thesesleeves were specific according to themartial purpose. For example, therewere special sleeves (yu gote) made of silk and brocade, without any realprotection, that were dressed in pairs,from the shoulders. They were mostlyused by archers, who neededfreedom of movements to handle theirbows and arrows. At times, archersused hardly one of those sleeves, toprotect their right arm, shoulder andmuch of the chest and back. Theywere tied around the body. Manyarmour sleeves considered light wereused in peacetime under the kimono,when the bushi should be scarcelyprepared for street fights.

The joints, which usually remainedunprotected due to the gap existingbetween the protective sleeves (kote)and the cuirass side plates(watagami), were reinforced withlayers of metal mesh, plates andscales (waki biki) that were wornunder the cuirass, separately orattached one another by a metal strip(kusari waki biki). A special type ofequipment (manju nowa) combinedthe waki biki with a collar andshoulder pads.

11. Wakibiki - protector of thearmpit area and upper side of thechest, the region between the kote-tegai and the watagami do, of the

chest protector cuirass. It could befound annexed to the do, or evencombined with a type of protectivecollar for neck and shoulders (manju-nowa). It could be adjusted withbuttons (botan-gake), strings (himo-tsuki) or hooks (kohaze-gake).

12. Do - cuirass or chest protector,central part of the armour. Along withthe helmet, the do characterizes theidentity of the armor and its historicalperiod: prehistoric (tanko, kachu,kisenaga), ancient (yoroi) and modern(gusoku). Most of the bushi's bodywas dressed with a corset made withlong metal plates, like the ancientfourth century corsets (kaki yoroi,keiko). There were also bright leathercuirasses, lined and covered withscale strips tightly lashed with silk orleather cords. As it was previouslymentioned, leather was the preferredraw material for armourmanufacturers. The various types ofleather used, as well as the differenttypes of treatment, gave rise to aseries of chest protectors (kawatsutsumi) such as the Chinese leathercuirass (kara kawa tsutsumi), the redleather cuirass (aka tsutsumi kawa)and the flowery leather cuirass (hanatsutsumi gawa). Lower ranks usedcuirasses made with black lacqueredleather (sewari-gusoku), althoughmany types of leather could be usedin its making in general. The platesthat made up the do were sometimescovered with shark skin (sametsutsumi) or tortoiseshell (mojitsutsumi), and decorated with whalebones. When they were opened in theback they were called haramaki-do,and when they opened laterally, do-maru. There was also the do made upwith a single piece of metal. Althoughunusual, this piece was calledhatomune-do or hotoke-do.Seventeenth and eighteenth centuryarmours were copied from theEuropean armour. Chest protectorscould also present two plates meantto protect both the left axilla (hato-no-

Dressing the Japanese Armour

ita) and the right axilla (sendan-no-ita).

The seemingly endless varietyof cuirasses in use in Japan inthe various periods has beendivided into two main categories:the first and most common oneencompasses cuirassescomposed of plates or scales tiedwith strong ropes (do); thesecond category includes thosemade of a whole piece. The mostrecent ones, known as "pigeonchest cuirass" (hatomune do)plate or "saint chest cuirass"(hotoke do), that simulated thecurvature of the human body,were very delicate. Covering thebody from the neck to the waist,they were used in Japan in theseventeenth and eighteenthcenturies. Apparently copied fromEuropean models, they could beopen in the back or laterally.Those with front opening wereunusual. Other simpler and moreadjustable models, adopted bythe lower samurai classes andtheir aides, posed innumerablevariations.

Some models included twosockets to which the flag of thecavalry was pinned. High levelsamurai warriors wore additionalpieces, like the significant se-ita,or se-ita no yoroi, which weresmall plates protecting theshoulder joints and upper arm.The most ancient ones wereusually made of metal or verythick leather, richly decoratedwith metal details on the edges.The most recent were made withthree thick plates or with rows ofoverlapping scales, protectedwith tanned leather. With the lastcuirasses made , lower-classsamurai - who were notauthorized to wear protectiveplates - used minor protectionscalled giyo yo ita. There existedseveral models of this particularpiece.

13. Una-obi - a sash tied at thewaist. The sword was fastened tothis obi. Generally, it was made

of linen or fabric with ornamentson the front. When the samuraicut the ends of the sash andthrew away the sheath of hissword, which usually he carriedattached to his belt, his intentionto die on the battlefield wasclearly manifested to his foesstanding out the desperatenature of his struggle.

14. Sode - upper class bushiwarriors wore two shoulder padscalled sode, generally constitutedby several small pieces attachedto each other by means ofleather or silk cords, by layers,on a metal or lacquered leatherplate. The top was always ofrichly decorated solid metal(kamuri-ita), while the lowerportion (hishinui-ita) usually hadan inside filling and it was tiedwith ropes in "x" to hold it. Itsmost common shapes wererectangular and square, and itssize varied from large (o-sode) tomedium (chu-sode) and small(ko-sode).

15. Koshiate - protectorattached to the left side to carrythe swords, both long (daitō) andshort (wakizashi). The set ofboth large and small sword wascalled daishō. Formerly, thebushi used to carry an extrasword, longer than the daitō,known as nodachi, which borediagonally in the back. But itbecame rather rare in theTokugawa Period.

16. Nodowa - neck protector.Used by the upper c lasssamura i . In a "U" , i t wascomposed of small plates. Itseems to have been developedin the s ix teenth century,inspired by the collar normallyused under the do. In theTokugawa period it started tobeing used above the do in avariety of styles, including onethat protects even the neck,tied or seized by hooks behindthe neck. The nodowa couldalso be directly attached to themask, a l though the loose

model (tetsuki) was the mostpopular.

17. Hachimaki - headbandmade of white cloth its colorbeing a reference to impendingdeath.

18. Uchi-bari - protectionheaddress used under thekabuto. It was fixed by strings(shinobi-no-el) to the chin andthe helmet itself.

19. Mempo - faceplate of iron,steel or lacquered leather. Themask could cover the entire face(mempo, membo or so-mempo)or part thereof. When it left theeyes uncovered was called saru-bo. Normally the memporepresented faces of humans,demons or animals. The mostfamous were: Korean face(korai-bo); ghost (moriyo);demonic (akuryo); southernbarbarian (namban-bo); big-nosed demon of the forest (tori-tengu) and the face of an oldman (okina-men), of a youngman (wara-wazura) and of awoman (onna-men).

20. Kabuto - protective helmet.It was composed of severalpieces that had the function ofprotecting the head. Itscenterpiece was called hachi, aconcave metal piece, dome-shaped, which adjusted to theform of the human head. On itsfront portion there was a leatherpiece, often lacquered in redcolored and decorated, calledmaezashi. The shikoro was theneck guard; it was made fromthree to seven layers of 100-138metal plates, suspended from thebottom edge of the kabuto, sothe piece fell over the shouldersand back. Ear protectors(fukigaeshi), with itscharacteristic curvature and tiltbackward, were also richlydecorated with leather andprecious metals like gold andsilver.

21. Jinbaori - a kind of openkimono, worn over the armour byhigh rank officers.

Japanese Tradition

Dressing the Japanese Armour

ince the introduction of Asian Martial Arts to the western world there has been a tendency onthe part of Instructors, and the general public, to place them in two broad categories:"hard" styles and "soft" styles. Over the years, this general perception has takenhold in the Martial Arts community and the terminology of "hard" and "soft"styles is now commonly accepted and rarely questioned. Even the Martial Artsmedia has contributed to reinforce this idea with many articles referring to

different arts and styles as "soft" or "hard" and contrasting their attributes. I think that wecan reasonably agree that some arts can be easily and fairly recognized and categorizedas "mostly"soft or hard. Few would dispute that Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Shotokan andIsshin Ryu, for instance, are primarily hard while Aikido, Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi areconsidered soft. But, upon closer scrutiny, those neat simplifications and superficialclassifications do not reflect the true nature and the rich complexity (not to mention thehistory) of most Martial Arts.

In order to understand how we arrived at the present perception of hard and soft styles,we must review the criteria used to classify them: arts that emphasize power, striking andlinear movements are defined as hard; those that employ more gentle redirections,

grappling and circular motions are defined as soft.Generally, that distinction is correct, accurateand even useful. The problem however is thatmost arts contain elements of both! In fact,

YIN & YANG (Part 1)

S

“TraditionalInstructorsand sport

coaches wholimit or rejectcross training

are doing adisservice to their

students”

the more "complete", comprehensive andstructured a martial art system is, the more itssyllabus will encompass both: the linear,hard, striking element and the circular, soft,grappling one.

We should not be surprised by this. Martialarts were developed as methods of battlefieldcombat and therefore had to contain anextensive variety of strategies, techniques,subtle deceptions and environmentaladaptations thus, by necessity, incorporatingaspects of both soft and hard. But in addition tothis practical and historical consideration, themost compelling reason to abandon the simplistichard / soft view lies in the esoteric foundation of thephilosophy at the core of all Asian martial artsexpressed so elegantly in its symbol: The Yinand Yang. That symbol, marvelous in itssimplicity, signifies, above all, the duality ofall things in the universe and theabsolute necessity of the existence ofopposites. Martial artists can viewthis symbol and its meaning as a

strictly educational vehicle,stripped and void of anyreligious or mysticalconnotation. It is a teachingtool, an inspiring sign post, adevice to remind us to be

flexible and constantlyevolving. It evokes fluidity and

denies rigidity. It urges us toseek more, to experience thepossible and to rejectlimitations.

At its most pragmaticlevel, the Yin & Yang isalerting us that no art istotally soft or hard; thatl inear and circularmotions complementeach other; thatstriking andgrappling are bothuseful and needed;that armed and

unarmed combat are two sides ofthe same reality. The artif icialconstruct of hard versus soft is anillusion.

Since the first UFC came onthe World stage, the necessity of

"cross training " became obviousand, with the growing popularity of

Mixed Martial Arts, more and moreinstructors and students finally got the

message, opened their minds andembraced the wisdom of

complimenting their hard stylewith soft techniques and their

soft style with hardtechniques. Now the

stand-up fighterlearns how to

survive on theground; the

j u d o k al e a r n s

h o wt o

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punch; the taekwondo kicker learnshow to joint lock and the Aikidopractitioner learns how to kick.

Predictably, however, this trend did notdeveloped without controversy and crosstraining has been the subject of muchdebate and negative criticism. Thetwo most vocal groups in thedebate are at the extremeopposites in the martial artscommunity. First, as could beexpected, are the die-hardtraditionalists who view crosstraining as disrespectful, evendisloyal, and distractingfrom the study of their"true" art. Surprisingly,at the other extreme,are many "sport"martial artspractitioners whohave specializedin a specific typeof competitionwith limitedtechniques andstrict rules. Thethinking is that if theyonly compete int a e k w o n d otournaments, forexample, they do notneed to learn jointlocking or takedowns. Theyconsider crosstraining a confusing

waste of time or even counterproductive.By the same logic, if a fighter only trainsfor MMA competition, why " waste time"learning weapons disarming or Filipinostick fighting! I strongly disagree with

those views because they

completely miss the point of crosstraining. It is not (and should not be!) justabout sport competition. It is aboutproducing a better martial artist!Traditional Instructors and sport coacheswho limit or reject cross training aredoing a disservice to their students.Some are insecure and close minded,others are motivated by ego and greed.

Serious, balanced andstructured cross training isnot only smart and beneficial,it is profoundly consistentwith the timeless principle of

Yin & Yang. It reveals thatwe can achieve much

higher levels of skill,knowledge and

confidence bye x p e r i e n c i n gand embracinghard and soft,l inear andc i r c u l a r ,striking andg r a p p l i n g ,armed andunarmed.In the next

issue I lookforward to share with

you my personal views andexperiences as it concerns theprinciples of the Yin and Yangand how it influenced thecreation of Combat Hapkido.

Great Master

“At its most pragmatic level, the Yin & Yang is alerting us that no

art is totally soft or hard”

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HOW IS THE "FU-SHIHKENPO" OUTLINED

TRAININGBeing in top physical shape is a must in Fu-

Shih Kenpo. If you strike with your fist, wrist,knuckles, knee, tibia, feet, elbows or you usegrasping techniques, etc., without beingproperly trained and well prepared, you mightfeel pain or perhaps you can even hurtyourself. There's no way to hit repeatedlywithout being in the appropriate physicalconditions. No matter what style you practice,physical fitness is a necessity and is linked tomental training itself.

Remember that real encounters or streetfights don't permit the use of protections orrules and it must be realized that those whousually make demonstrations breaking bricksor other objects are not really showing theirtrue fighting ability, but just one more featureof their training level.

"A street fight lasts until you have hit youropponent strong enough to stop him."

Street fights have demonstrated that asingle blow or more are never sufficientbecause the aggressor, even seriously injured,much too often keeps on fighting. It's thesurvival instinct, the state of mind, the level ofadrenaline, or the amount of alcohol in theblood or drug intake, that make thatmysterious force or energy we all possess tomanifest there, in that moment.

However, in certain occasions, a quick andaccurate blow is sufficient and it is well knownthat street fights are usually very quick in itsoutcome; sometimes it's just a matter ofseconds. A street encounter that lasts over 15,20 or 30 seconds, starts to be a worryingsituation.

Security in the AttackIn a successful attack, there are three

vital precepts:1. Trap or snare2. Pressure3. Isolation

• The trap or snare method, grasping orhitting the opposite hand wrist down andcrossing it over the opponent's body; the armis held at an angle of 45 º. Make sure that theattacker's body weight is leaning forward onhis front leg; this will prevent him from kickingyou and will also avoid that he can hit you withhis free arm.

Now you can safely get into hisdefensive perimeter and hit:

• Pressure method. Its goal is simply thatof deflecting the opponent's perimeter from theown attack line. Normally it is used a handblow (slap) to the adversary's forearm orelbow to open a gap in his side.

The slap must always be given downward orsideward (crossed), never frontally with apush, as this would set the opponent's

balance on his back leg giving him theopportunity to use his leg.

In any case, the slap downward or elsehorizontal, keeps the weight of the opponenton his front leg, preventing him from makinguse of the rear leg to kick.

It is safer then to hit within the defensiveperimeter before withdrawing and reconsiderthe position.

Note: Only single blows.

• Isolation method. It's basically a powerfulblow to the opponent's hand, forearm, tricepsand biceps, causing severe pain and leavinghis arm motionless.

Then it is possible a combination of attackover and through the perimeter defense. Thisis the most positive method to ensure a fullysuccessful attack.

It is very important to understand that if theattack on the opponent's advanced arm failsusing any of these methods, it is essential towithdraw and try again from another angle.

Only when the advanced arm of theopponent is disabled, you can attack the body.Everything else is simple fencing. If yourenemy manages to block your assault, destroyhis blocking arm.

Note: Always accompany these threemethods with a progressive advance.

Remember that self-defense is not a game,do not get engaged with the opponent's arm; ifit is in the trajectory of an attack, use any ofthese methods.

KickingChinese styles show a lot of kicking. If you

have practiced Northern Shaolin, you’ll know itrequires high kicks while other descendantstyles involve low kicks.

I personally have no preference; dependingon the situation, I will use one or the other, oreven a combination of both. Anyway, we haveto keep in mind that, in street clashes, wemust use our "best" arsenal from waist downto carry out attacks to the lower area; likewise,we'll make use of our weapons from hips upfor attacks to the middle and upper area.

In Fu-Shih Kenpo, when you've performed ahigh kick, you always add a low kick: hip, kneeor shin. You never carry out a high kick withoutbeing preceded by a low kick, or vice versa.

The kicking philosophy in Kenpo Fu-Shihtends to follow the hand work philosophy. Forexample, performing a direct kick from the hipin the frontal position, similar to the front kick,hitting the ankle, shin or higher, at an angle of45 º to dislocate the patella.

Before trying another kick, hook the insidepart of your opponent's shin, ankle, or calf withyour heel. Roundhouse kicks with the instepor ball of the foot to the adversary's femur,thigh or behind his knee. These blows aremainly used to neutralize a possible counter-attack from the opponent’s advanced leg.

Again, and as in hand techniques, you mustn't attack the body'sdefensive perimeter of your opponent until you have divertedhis lead leg or have inflicted a severe punishment on it.

This should not be considered exaggerated, punishment isessential; do not compromise with the opponent's advancedleg. Inflict maximum damage before attempting body kicks;this way, if your attack to the body does not success, at leastyour opponent cannot fight back or go on with another attack.

In Fu-Shih Kenpo, all kicks are initiated with the lead leg,so no big change in balance is needed. It is faster than

kicking with the back leg and allows you a biggermobility; shuffling your feet rapidly forward or

sideward represents a stress on the legs inmovements to the right or to the left.

There is no tendency to move the hipwhen striking as seen in the Japanese andKorean styles, because most Europeansare more solid and sturdy than Asiansand therefore they put a biggeremphasis on the speed of legs andbody shifting than in the power of the

kick itself.Given that legs have a force

approximately five times greater than arms,I can't understand the obsession somepeople have in putting so much power in

the kick, when a moderate leg hit can inflicta serious damage.

Kenpo

"A street fight lasts until youhave hit your opponent strong

enough to stop him."

"Remember:Self-defense

is not agame"

http://www.sifupaolocangelosi.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5_uhnBtAUs

ne year ago, GrandmasterMartin Sewer had been invi-ted by the InternationalMartial Arts Institute toattend the annual WorldBlack Belt Hall of Fame

Event in Malaysia. We recall that MartinSewer has repeatedly been invited toKuching, Malaysia, due to his constantlygrowing reputation within the internationalmartial arts community. On last year'sevent, he did not only place first in thegrandmaster category at the tournament,but he was named “Grandmaster of theYear 2012” as well. We further recall, howthis memorable event was overshadowedby the news that a local kung fu schoolburnt down due to an accident. WhenGrandmaster Martin Sewer learned whathappened, it didn't take long until he tookthe initiative to support the reconstructionof the kung fu school by donating the “LaiSi” (“good fortune money”, which he recei-ves annually on his birthday). It was a glo-rious year for Martin Sewer and his stu-dents back in Switzerland couldn't havebeen prouder. All the more exciting it was,when Martin Sewer was invited back to theinternational event in Kuching in 2013.

Just arrived, Martin Sewer was alreadybeing asked by one of the leading personswithin the organization, Grandmaster Dr.Song, to demonstrate his skills. Theaudience consisted of numerous mastersand grandmasters in martial arts, as wellas various VIPs from Malaysia itself, likefor example the Deputy Minister of PublicHealth. Martin Sewer demonstrated partsof the famous Tit Sin Kuen, a legendarysecret form.

After his performance he was not onlyappointed Senior Advisor of the event, butalso awarded with a new rank in the World

Black Belt Hall of Fame and received thegolden medal, due to his work with andcommitment to the original Hung Gar KungFu. Even though the day had already beenlong and eventful, Grandmaster MartinSewer couldn't go to bed without receivingyet another award. A delegate of the WorldKuoshu Federation Bangladesh presentedhim with an award as official VIP guest atthe Martial Arts Institute's event. Only then,exhausted from a long journey and aneventful evening, Grandmaster MartinSewer could retire for the night and getsome well-deserved rest.

On the second day of the event, thehighly anticipated demonstrations-tourna-ment finally took place. As the year before,Martin Sewer competed in the grandmas-ter-category and won the first place in hiscategory once again by performing thewell-known Tiger-Crane-form. The signifi-cance of the Tiger-Crane-form, in Chinesecalled “Fu Hok Seung Yin Kuen” is recko-nable in regard to the fact that the genuineHung Gar Kung Fu is often referred to asthe “Tiger-Crane Kung Fu”. In 1975, MartinSewer's Kung Fu grandfather (Chin.“Sigung”) Chiu Kow, who was a popularfolk hero and man of honor, won theNational Chinese Wushu Championshipswith the same form as well. The victory ofthe officially designated style successorMartin Sewer in the grandmaster categorywas thus a worthy continuation of the suc-cess story of the Hung Gar lineage.

The announcement of the tournament'sresults followed the official Hall of Famefestivities. In 2012, Martin Sewer wasawarded “Grandmaster of the Year” and in2013 he was nominated as “GrandmasterInstructor of the Year”. Due to this nomina-tion, he was asked to demonstrate hisHung Gar Kung Fu again, but this time he

O “Even thoughMartin Sewer isfrom Switzerlandand is therefore

from the west, hehas passed all

obstacles on hisway to become

Dr. Chiu Chi Lingstop-student and

successor. He hasdedicated his

whole life to thetraditional HungGar Kung Fu andis committed topromote andspread his

knowledge andskills in the Hung

Gar”

Hung Gar

did not only have to present his skills through performing, but also byteaching the attendant grandmasters in a hands-on seminar.

This seminar, which took place behind closed doors, gave MartinSewer the opportunity to prove himself among his peers. Obviously,with success! Same as already after the demonstrations, the attende-es left the seminar speechless and reflective at the same time andeven several days later people participating the event talked about theexercises and the humorous lightness, which characterizes MartinSewer's lessons. On the third day, the already boisterous atmosphe-re moved towards the height of the event. Thanks to his performan-ces and the hands-on seminar, Martin Sewer was indeed elected“Grandmaster Instructor of the Year 2013”. But this was not all andthose, who are tempted to express their congratulations at this point,still have to wait for a while. The greatest honor had yet to come.

After all the awards and honorary titles had been distributed, thefestivities for the reopening of the kung fu school which had burntdown the year before began. Everybody was cheering and it was apoignant moment for the local students as well as for Martin Sewer'sstudents back in Switzerland, as they had indirectly made a valuablecontribution to the reconstruction of the school through the Lai Sidonation of their Sifu.

As the event gradually came to an end and probably quite a few ofthe participants were already thinking about their journeys back home,a big surprise for Martin Sewer and his students was yet to come. Infront of all attending grandmasters and other spectators GrandmasterMartin Sewer was awarded with a certificate of the rank of 9th Duanin the art of Hung Gar Kung Fu by the International Martial ArtsInstitute, with the comment “this is the least with which we can honoryou”. Shortly after having received this extraordinary honor, the newswas circulating in newspapers and on social media platforms.Whereas being exceptionally honored and respects the assessmentof his skills by the International Martial Arts Institute, Martin Sewer sta-ted in an interview after the ceremony that he will continue nonethe-less to work with the 8th rank, which his teacher Dr. Chiu Chi Ling hasawarded him with. While Martin Sewer himself as well as his studentswere surprised about this last award, some of the more experiencedgrandmasters from Asia and in particular Hong Kong, were not surpri-sed at all. “How could it be any different”, to quote one of them, “eventhough Martin Sewer is from Switzerland and is therefore from thewest, he has passed all obstacles on his way to become Dr. Chiu ChiLings top-student and successor. He has dedicated his whole life tothe traditional Hung Gar Kung Fu and is committed to promote andspread his knowledge and skills in the Hung Gar.

He's publishing books, articles and is actively involved with the mar-tial arts community. This is how it has to be.” Other attending grand-masters nodded approvingly and one added: “I do not know manywho are able to achieve so much, but this crazy Swiss managed toaccomplish it.”

Kung Fu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGiU-_c6EtM

http://www.bugei.eu/

Isaac Florentinesnewest film Ninja:Shadow of a Tear is noChinese Hong Kongcheap Chop Sueyaction flick. It is a fullblown Hollywood actio-neer with all the goodsa top notch film needsto be remembered foryears to come.

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

Ninja“Shadow Of A Tear”

Directed by Isaac FlorentineStarring Scott Adkins and Kane

KosugiProduced by Millenium Films Avi

Learner and Boas Davidson FrankDiMartini

Action, twists, technical excellence, abelievable story, great cinematography,historically correct, and David White didan amazing job writing the screen play.

Produced by Avi Learner and BoasDavidson of Nu Image Millenium itsgoing to fil l dojo's once again likeBloodsport and Enter The Dragon didin the 70's and 80's.

Explosions, kicking like you havenever seen before good story line andamazing acting by Hollywood's newestUndisputed martial arts hero SCOTTADKINS (Boyko in the UndisputedSeries).

Scott's martial arts skills have goneway up in quality from being good tobeing amazingly awesome. In fantasticcondition he will have the girls goingwild over the pretty boy that fights like aman on a mission. Coupled with thenewest bad guy Kane Kosugi yep that'sright Kane Kosugi is Sho Kusugi's son.Sho was the star of so many of the1980's first Ninja craze flicks and putclassic films like Revenge of The Ninja,Pray For Death and loads more on themap and made Ninja a house holdword across America. Kane is a star inhis own right in his native Japan andnow he hits Hollywood with a kick anda punch just like his old man did 30years ago. These two deliver an onscreen dilemma of like and respect, tohate and pure distraught for each otheras Casey tries to discover who wasresponsible for the death of hispregnant wife Namiko and child.

The story is one of revenge asCaseys (Scott Adkins) wife is killed by

a gang and Casey trails the bad guysfrom Japan to Thailand and into theBurmese Jungles.

The f ight scenes, mixed withexcellent acting by Adkins and Kosugimake for pacing that doesn't leaveyou out of breath. But then againwhen the action starts look out as allhell breaks loose and the kicks arehigh, fast and amazing gravi tydefying. Sword fights that are bloodybut not gorri. OH did I mention nowires in the f i lming of the f ightscenes. You won't believe it. This isa bow to both Scott and Kane for theiramazing clean crisp fast technicalskills that only comes from hours oftraining in a dojo.

The main murder weapon is amanrikigusari or a 30” chain that isused to strangle and take down anopponent used by Ninja of the 16thCentury. The cool thing about thisone though is that it is made out ofbarbed wire the calling card of the

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

bad guys gang that leaves anasty mark on the necks of itsvictims.

Supporting rolls by Jahwad andTim Man who both give greatperformances as well as a roundedout cast of quality martial artists thatreally deliver a historically andtechnically excellent film that anywho has trained or studied Ninjitsuwill look at with a discerning eyeand give it a thumbs up approval.Sweden's Tim Man also was thefight choreographer and he needs tostand and take a deep bow fordoing such an amazing job in allthese fights.

Another layer of interest to thefi lm is Florentines passion andpainstaking attention to detail of hisstories as he researches his storieswith meticulous detail to insure theyare correct and he does it again inthis one as he shows true and

accurate logo's of Ninja and thetrue story of Fujita Saiko the last ofthe Koga Ninja lineage who died in1966 and who was the last of thereal Ninja during WW2.

The film has reminders of EnterThe Dragon, two broken bottles andan amazing step in side kick andalthough there is no room of mirrorsthere is no doubt that Florentinewas paying homage to the LittleDragon in the last fight scene. Andas well he pays homage again toBruce Lee when he emulates Fist ofFury in one of the dojo fight sceneswhere he fights a bunch of guys allat once which by the way was donein one take and kudos to RossClarkson the camera man who didan amazing job behind the cameraas only he can do.

If you liked Ninja #1 you are goingto love this one that is for sure. Thefi lm delivers and in my not so

unbiased opinion it is Florentinesbest film yet.

Will it be as big a smash hit asEnter The Dragon or Bloodsport ornot? Well that is going to be up toyou the fans to make that call butone thing for sure don't miss thisone for some stupid over doneComputer Graphically enhancedphony balonie martial arts story weall know is pure BS with impossiblemoves no one can do. What arefreshing relief to see no crazy wirework that makes you go OMGanother Chop Suey flick made inAmerica. Leave that crap to theguys in Hong Kong.

Come on Hollywood wake up andgive this guy a budget that will setthe martial arts film making on itsheels once again. No one can tell astory and delivers on the actionbetter than the way Isaac Florentinecan do it and I mean no one.

http://www.budointernationalvideo.com/

Arts of Southeast Asia

One day, one of my young beginner studentsasked me after a class what was exactly whathe had to do in order to become a greatmartial artist. And I thought, "Hey, this is aninteresting question...!" Surely I could haveoffered him right away a number of goodsounding advices to achieve his goal.However, I asked the student to comeback the following week and repeathis question and then I wouldhave an answer for him. For hisnext class, I had outlined forhim what follows:

• Motivation

You must have a good reason to learn Martial Arts. This reason can vary from one student to another,whether it is self-defense, self-improvement, self-confidence, or developing a special quality. It is importantthat you know your real motive (it will not be published in any newspaper ...), so first you have to describe

your goal as accurately as possible.Without a real motive, and being just attracted to the Martial

Arts by enthusiasm, you will not last long enough in the practiceof any of these disciplines.

• Understanding the Path After a while in the process of training, you already

know that one thing leads to another,and that the ball is round, so to speak. It

seems that your new condition affects yourtechnique, since you do not get tired so quickly

and therefore you can perform a greaternumber of repetit ions. So now youunderstand how by improving your

coordination, you can do things you previously only couldadmire in others. This new approach allows you to change

old habits, because you've already learned how to correctthem. In your workout, you go step by step fitting andmoving in the direction of your goals. Now you can have anidea of how the way looks...

• Mastering the Basics The tools of the Martial Artist are his physical techniques.

Bruce Lee intended to make a masterpiece of each one ofthese tools. It is never too early to begin improving your

basics, even if you've learned just a few. Your self-confidencewill grow with your new skills, through the mastery of these basic

concepts. It's not learning a number of techniques ... what matters is not how muchyou know, but the way you use that knowledge. It's necessary to know the basic concepts and

pay them a special attention during practice.

• PracticeOne of my most respected teachers, someone who could be described as an exceptional martial artist, is

about 70 years. In one of the toughest training camps I know, I watch him perform regularly a six hourtraining program. That time of practice can lead athletes with a third of his age to physical exhaustion. WhenI ask him how is it possible that he, at his advanced age, can still keep training for so long, he replies: "I haveto practice to stay well."

International Masters

How to become an exceptional martial artist?

Arts of Southeast Asia

It can't be better explained. Practice is theWAY that leads to being "good", to "excel".Motivation, theory and technique are uselesswithout a constant practice of your Martial Arts.

• PatienceNobody becomes excellent overnight or by a

sudden and brilliant inspiration. You mustpractice regularly mastering the basics.Therefore, maintaining and further developingtakes its time.

The effects of time can either rust or polishyour work. It's up to you to decide how to useyour time. If we analyze the personality of thegreat martial artists, we realize that theyconquered their excellence thanks to his dailyactivity and diligence in many small steps. Theyspent a long time to develop their martial art.Once you have understood the importance of

the previous four steps, time, coupled withknowledge, will be the factors that will take youfrom being “good" to be "excellent". Timecannot be hastened. Beware of not being likelittle children, watching a freshly planted flowerevery few minutes to see if it has grown. Youhave to take your time and practice to find yourown path to mastery in the Martial Arts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Bob Dubljanin is one of the main instructors in

Europe of Southeast Asia Martial Arts (Kali,Muay Thai, and Silat Pentjak) and Jeet KuneDo. Since 1993 he has been impartingworkshops and seminars in Germany and otherEuropean countries. For further information andqueries about current seminars, visit us on theInternet: www.soai.de, or e-mail us: info@soai.de

http://www.quick-stick.de/html/dubljanin__bob.html

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

http://www.mauricepromartialarts.com

Posture 11: “DownwardFacing Dog”Chatuspadásana

From our last posture in which weopened and allowed for energies totransverse up the spine toward thebrain, this posture now opens furtherpathways and neuralcommunications. But it also servesanother purpose and that is of properoxygenation of the blood, body andespecially the brain (which controlsevery other function in your body).

Naturally as we go through lifemost people tend to slouch in theirposture as the spine curves forwardat the shoulders and the shouldersthemselves close toward the front ofthe body. This brings with it manyadverse health issues from milddiscomfort to incontinence andconstipation, as it causes fatigue,compressed restriction andsuffocation of organ and bowelfunction. Other physiological issuesthat will occur are; bad memory, lackof concentration and poor sense ofbalance; and these are just theobservable side effects of your brainnot getting enough oxygen from yourbloodstream.

Starting with the brain, our brainhas a lot of structure similar to ourother body parts, and it needs to befed well and continuously too. Thereare other things that our brain needsand if we are going to intentionallycare for it, we need to increase thecirculation of blood to the. This isvital as our blood carries oxygen tothe brain and oxygen is vital to brain

growth and healing. Proper brainfunction requires a critical balance ofcorrect breathing for oxygenation,correct carbon dioxide and nitricoxide levels for circulation and aprogram of brain activit ies orexercises for growth stimulation (asdepicted in prior postures).

To intentionally increase oxygenand circulation in the brain we shouldfirst understand how we physicallybreathe. We are built to breatheeasily and without conscious thought;through our noses and with mouthclosed. The natural way that anewborn baby breathes is by belly, ordiaphragmatic breathing (we willinvolve even greater capacity andaffect in later postures, by usingPerineum breathing in greater detail).Our sinuses, oral cavities, and theupper parts of our lung structure holda certain level of chemical controlagents, such as carbon dioxide andnitric oxide that help control bloodvessel tone and circulation. Whenwe breathe normally and deeplydiaphragmatically, we move air andoxygen down to into the lower areasof our lungs where most of thecirculation of blood occurs. It is alsowhere most of the oxygen and carbondioxide exchange takes place so wemust relearn to breathe naturallyusing our diaphragm muscle to getthe proper amounts of oxygen intoour blood to be carried to our brainand other body parts. When we useour mouths to breathe, we do notrebreathe the stored carbon dioxideand nitric oxide that help circulateblood to the brain to oxygenate our

brain cells. It is the carbon dioxideand nitric oxide (Nitric oxide helpsdilate blood vessels in our lungs sothat we can get good circulation therefor exchange of oxygen and carbondioxide), that open blood vessels inthe brain so we can get properoxygen levels in our brain.

Now due to gravity and poorposture, the downward pull of thehead and organs into the pelvic floorbegins to round our shouldersbecause the pectoral muscles, whichare large strong muscles contract. Asthey tighten our shoulders are pulledforward. Our mid back muscles,middle trapezius and rhomboids,which are weaker, are less oftenutilized (as well as the rotator cuffmuscle group). Muscle imbalancessuch as these will result in poorposit ioning of the shoulderscommonly result ing in chronicshoulder/neck tension and pain as anoverabundance of energy and overstretching occurs. This is highlysymbolized in the prior posture“Standing Forward Bend”Pádahastásana.

There is also the problem ofCompressive Asphyxia (from thischest compression), is themechanically limited expansion of thelungs via this compression of thetorso, causing less oxygenation to theblood and brain. In severe cases thiscan lead to death or lostconsciousness from anoxic braindamage, via neck or chestcompression. This is stated only toillustrate that poor posture can affectus si lently and over t ime from

physical issue…but not solely. We alsocompress energetic transmissions that furtherdebilitate the organs, bowels and functions ofthe body.

In addition, the energies will freely rise up thespine to the brain, in a slumped or roundedposture, but it will not release. This will lead to aloss of focus or concentration as too muchenergy rising up the three main pathways (Ida,Pingala and Sushuma), without ability to releaseand balance to flow back down the frontalpathways.

“Downward Facing Dog”Chatuspadásana

As we ended the “Standing Forward Bend” orPádahastásana Posture, allow the hands to“walk” forward away from the feet and to aslightly wider than shoulder position.. Also asyou hand walk forward, allow the heels of thefeet to lift from the ground so as to not onlyunground and allow enegy to rise, but to allowgreater distance between the feet and hands.This distance should be to allow your hips toangle upward as thebody forms a triangularaspect with the ground. Once situated allow (ifpossible) the heels to againrest flat on theground.

The palms are placed flat on the ground toallowthe energy to pass through the heels of thehands as opposed to the feet. This serves tobring the energetic focus to the upper body,arms and brain. Once this base is situated andstabilized, pull your head in past the arms as faras comfortable to stretch the chest (PectoralMuscles), as it strengthens the Mid Back andShoulder region (mid back muscles, middletrapezius and rhomboids, as well as the rotatorcuff muscle group).

This posture will help correct poor posturalrounding of the shoulders and compressions ofthe internal organs, diaphragm and bowels bynot only stretching the chest; strengthen theback, but also to release the gravitational pulland compression in the torso. As the pressureis released, the bowels first open as the organspull away and stretch them; this is beneficial forregularity and proper elimination. Performed ona daily or semi daily basis, the positioning in andout of this posture will act as a pumping actionas well.

As the pressure is release from the bowels, itis then released from the diaphragm as well,serving to decompress and allow the musclegreater range of motion, thus deeper breathinginto the lower portions of the lungs. You will alsofind that this posture inhibits the amount of airyou can breathe through the mouth as itexpands the amount of air you can inhalethrough the nose (proper method).

Another benefit is a freer flow of blood to thebrain as gravity is now in conjunction and notworking against it. Combined with the greater

breath capacity and the decompression of allorgans and bowels, the flow of oxygenatedblood to the brain as well as throughout thebody is greatly increased as the pressure isdecreased.

By using the slower movemnets andpostures of Yoga the breathing will not beelevated as inmore rogorous exercises likerunning or walking fast. It will allow slowdeep relaxed diaphargmatic breathing thatwill increase the oxygenation and overallhealth of the individual. This is due toslight increase in circulation andincrease oxygen to your brain,whereas more rigorous exercisemay be good for you too, theyalso cause your muscles toabsorb much of the oxygen inyour system, and that hindersincreasing the oxygen beingcarried to your brain.

Breathing andIntention:

Starting in the “StandingForward Bend” orPádahastásana Posture,exhale through the noseallowing the body torelax. Inhale slowly anddeeply through the noseas the hands walk outfrom the feet to slightlywider than shoulderwidth, to relax theorgans and expand thechest for the largerbreath capacity. Asyou pull your head inpast the arms, exhaleslowly as gently out asyou focus your attention onthe increased blood flowing intothe head.

On each breath in for thisposture, al low the head tosituate between the arms andfeel the energies travel downthe frontal torso, through theperineum and down through theheels. As you slowly exhaleand pull the head in feel for theenergy rising from the sole ofthe foot, up the inner thigh,through the perineum and upthe spine to the head andpalms. Do not hold theposture too long at first asyour body is not used to theincreased blood flow ordemands, but in time you will.

Next issue: “Lunge Pose”Jánurásana

Yoga Instructor: Carolina Lino - Ponta Delgada, AzoresPhoto by: Tiago Pacheco Maia - Ponta Delgada, Azores

WING CHUN GUNWING CHUN GUNWING CHUN GUNWING CHUN GUNGGGG FUFUFUFU::::

The Explosive Art of Close Range CombatThe Explosive Art of Close Range CombatThe Explosive Art of Close Range CombatThe Explosive Art of Close Range Combat

Sifu Randy Williams’ extensive collection of books

on Wing Chun in 6 volumes, the series contains the

history of Wing Chun, the theory and description

of all Wing Chun forms in detail, Volume 6 is

focused on instructing the system and provides

additional information about Wing Chun Combat

Theory from A to Z! This great work, originally

written in 1988 and newly revised and updated is a

must for the library of any serious student of the

art.

You can order the entire series as a set of 6 books,

or by individual volume, and the new DVDs can

also be ordered individually or in sets directly from

us through our website:

www.shop.crca.de

One Volume € 49,90

SingleWeapon DVD € 39,90

Biu Jitsu DVD € 25,90

DVD Set (all 5) € 149,90

The shipping & handling costs are not included for more

information please contact us:

Copyright © 1989 CRCA Enterprises

Publisher CRCA-Lopez / Mario Lopez,

Atroper Str. 56, 47226 Duisburg, Germany

E-Mail: info@crca.de

Five brand new Wing Chun DVDs

1 DVD: “Bot” Jom Doh Basics

Complete “Bot” Jom Doh Form, 108 Motions,

Historical Information about the Wing Chun

Broadswords, Detailed Knife Blocking and

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Footwork, Details of the footwork orientation

of the form, One-man “Bot” Jom Doh Drills

2 DVD set: “Bot” Jom Doh, Applications,

Drills, Concepts & Principles

Applications of the motions from the “Bot”

Jom Doh form, Knife vs. Knife, Knife vs.

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their empty-hand counterparts, Cutting

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1 DVD: CRCA Wing Chun “Biu Jitsu”

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Contents: The concept of “Reverse

Engineering,” Chokes; Rear, Front Standing,

“Guillotine,” Head-and-Arm, Side-Mount

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Groundfighting drills and techniques.

2 DVD set: “Look Deem Boon” Gwun

Volume 1 ( 55 min. )

Content: Pole Details, Pole Drills, Pole

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“Look Deem Boon” Gwun

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Heavybag Drills, Dummy Drills, Two Man

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