Happy 70th Birthday

I once saw Mr. Parker quoted saying, “If you show the kid something, the first time he tries it, he's almost as good as you. The second time he tries it, he might be as good as you. And the third time, unless you're really good, he'll be better than you."

The man he was referring to would go on to become one of the most well recognized martial arts icons of the twentieth century. Although his life would be short, the legacy he left behind in his films, books, philosophy, and martial arts teachings would reach farther than perhaps even he could have imagined. Born Lee Jun-fan, the world would come to know him as Bruce Lee.

Born in California in 1940, he would spend most of his childhood being raised in Hong Kong. As a young man, Lee was involved in a number of street fights which escalated to the point that the police became involved. In an effort to turn their son's life around, his parents sent him back to America in the late 1950's to live with family friends. Lee continued his education, studying drama and philosophy in college, and began teaching his own approach to the Wing Chun Gung Fu he'd learned during three years studying under Master Yip Man before leaving Hong Kong.

Lee's life from there has become a well worn mythology. There are historical incidents like his appearance, at Mr. Parker's invitation, at the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships where he would famously demonstrate his one inch punch technique. Or his now fabled fight with rival Wing Chun instructor Wong Jack Man, ostensibly for the right to teach Gung Fu to Americans. His short movie career included the famous “Enter the Dragon,” as well as the infamous “Game of Death,” finished posthumously with body doubles and voice overs.

And of course, there was his untimely end. Lee died in his sleep from an adverse reaction to an over the counter pain medication he took to treat a headache. The medical explanation for his death was a cerebral edema. The forensic coroner who performed his autopsy labeled it “death by misadventure.”

Lee left a great legacy of film work, philosophy, and martial arts instruction. He taught three distinct styles of martial arts in his lifetime. The first was Jun Fan Gung Fu, his interpretation of the Wing Chun taught to him in Hong Kong. The second was Jeet Kune Do as a series of drills and techniques incorporating Wing Chun and elements of western boxing, fencing, jujitsu, and a variety of other techniques. Later, Jeet Kune Do would continue to evolve in a more philosophical direction to become his “style of no style,” a principle based, inclusive form of fighting which emphasized freedom and spontaneity in the practitioner.

His teachings continue through Dan Inosanto; the only one of three instructors ever certified by Lee while still alive and actively teaching today, and himself a black belt under Mr. Parker before joining Lee's school. Martial artists around the world, in many different styles and systems, familiarize themselves with his teachings in order to inform their own approach to training and combat.

Lee was a phenomenally gifted natural athlete who challenged the social conventions of his time, in every part of his life. He refused to accept the limitations others tried to place on him because of his race, or his age, or his chosen profession. I have heard him described as brilliant, cocky, humble, hungry, a visionary, disrespectful, loving, and generous. In his day, he was controversial and disruptive, always pushing those around him further than they thought they were ready to go, and often dragging them along by virtue of his indisputable charisma and will. He was a brightly burning flame, a man of many gifts who didn't live nearly long enough to fulfill his own potential; and yet somehow left an indelible mark on the world none the less. The Masters of his era called him a natural. They invited him into their homes and their schools, and he became their student and their friend.

Bruce Lee benefited from exposure to many great martial artists, including Yip Man, Ed Parker, Gene Lebell, Wally Jay, Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, and Joe Lewis. He was also deeply dedicated to physical conditioning and nutrition. His wife frequently remembers him as a man who spent much of his time exercising both his body and his mind. The combination of his exposure to true Masters, his philosophical approach, and his natural athleticism and dilligent physical training made him an accomplished and impressive practitioner.

I have heard that Mr. Parker and Bruce would discuss their respective philosophies on martial arts until late into the night, and when you read their writings the evidence is unmistakeable. Many of the concepts taught by both these men are similar; both because they shared their knowledge, and because they both took a rational, unbiased approach to understanding combat. This was perhaps the greatest martial legacy of Bruce Lee's too short life.

He taught his students to be formless and unbiased, not to be rigidly bound by their techniques, but to be free and do what was necessary to win. He taught his students to have an open mind. He pushed boundaries and challenged social norms. He changed the face of film making, martial arts, and race relations. And he challenged everyone around him, everyone who heard of him, to push themselves as well.

Bruce Lee died too young. We'll never know what kind of Master he could have become. Or what kind of film maker. But we know that in his short time he changed the world, and he loved and was loved. His name will never be forgotten. Not by his students. Not by his family. Not by his friends.

That is a legacy we can each only hope to equal.

Ten Methods for Practicing Fallen Sword

Since it's Fall Break and you're all missing class as much as I am, I thought I'd give you some things to think about during your time off. With that in mind, here are ten ways to practice one of your beginner techniques which will help you with all your kenpo.

1. Visualize your performance. Imagine yourself performing the technique. See every strike land. See your opponent fall at your feet. Always succeed. Never fail.

2. In the air. You can't rehearse the motion enough. The body relies on proprioeception and motor memory to perform physical tasks, and those are both developed through repetition.

3. On the body. On as many bodies, as often as possible. Performing karate in the air is good practice, but it's like playing air guitar. The skill is designed for the instrument.

4. Around the clock. Face 12 and perform Fallen Sword against punches from all directions. Learn what movements are necessary to achieve the necessary positions.

5. Kenpo Formula. Add/Subtract/Prefix/Suffix/Alter (timing,targets,weapons)/Re-arrange/Excise. Practice Fallen Sword with each function of the formula. Separately and in combination.

6. Against other attacks. Can Fallen Sword be performed against a push? A punch? A grab? Slaps, knives, clubs? What about a broken beer bottle, or a roundhouse kick? The attack in the technique is a teaching tool, make sure you're studying the lessons.

7. As a grappling response. Instead of block/kick/handsword, could you work grab/sweep/headlock? What about parry/pressing stance/pushdown?

8. Left handed. Fallen Sword can be performed against a Left Step Thru Punch just as easily as a Right. Simply use the opposite side stances and maneuvers. Practicing your techniques on both sides will improve your coordination and timing.

9. While sparring. Have your opponent throw nothing but step thru punches while sparring. Defend every time with Fallen Sword. Gradually vary techniques and increase speed and intensity.

10. On the ground. Can you perform fallen sword from the guard? While under the mount? While in the mount? What purpose can the lower body serve? Learning to fight on the ground is like learning to fight on your feet, you have to play the game to learn the rules.

Practice every technique like this. Every basic. Every set. Every form. This is how you master the art. Repetition. Study. Experimentation. You should investigate this thoroughly and understand it well.

Just because the school is closed doesn't mean you can't be practicing and studying. Look for ways to keep it fresh. And make sure you come back excited and ready to train!

Common Problems for Beginners in Sparring

I have a number of technique books on different martial arts outside my primary field of study. Hapkido, Fencing, Tae Kwon Do, Arnis, others. A book is no replacement for a qualified instructor, but books and videos can be useful supplemental materials.

One of my technique books on Western Boxing has a list of common problems faced by people new to sparring that I think is worth reproducing here for two reasons.

First, these are good tips that even experienced students would do well to review, including me. You don't stop learning, and you should never stop reviewing material you think you already understand.

Second, I think it's interesting to look at the similarities between our Way and their Way. Döbringer began his presentation of "The Art of Combat of Master Liechtenauer" by saying, "there is only one art of the sword."

Fighting is fighting. Violence is universal to the human condition. And there are certain universal truths which apply to it's study. As Musashi put it, "Even though their Ways are not ours, if you know the way broadly, not one of them will be misunderstood."

On to the list.

Start-Up Sparring: Common Problems

Squaring Off to an opponent (planting your feet directly in front of an opponent so that you face him with your chest). Never compromise your basic defensive posture.

Signaling intentions with shoulders, head or flying elbow before your punch is thrown. Deliver your punches crisply and cleanly. Straight punches fire directly from chin to target.

Predictability with movements or offensive and defensive style. A boxer must mix up his approach so that his opponent won't see patterns.

Reaching and pawing. These are largely useless actions that will expose you to dangerous counters.

Hesitation. Finish your punches. They may land or disrupt the counter. Half a punch is worthless.

Flinching. Learn to keep your eyes on your opponent - even under fire!

Fatigue. It takes time and training to build stamina.

Slow and sloppy technique. It also takes time and training to groove your offensive and defensive actions.

Nervous prancing and bouncing. Happy feet happen naturally and must be curbed to conserve energy.

Inability to relax between actions. The intensity of sparring makes it hard to relax out there, but relax you must, in order to conserve energy and execute technique properly.

Anger. Has no place in sparring.

Charging. Usually the result of frustration. With an experienced opponent you'll be cut down in no time.

Most of this list can be reduced to two basic concepts. Clean technique. Mental clarity.

Don't get frustrated. Don't get angry. Don't hesitate. Don't reach. Don't telegraph. Don't make unnecessary movements.

There is only one art of the sword. Understand that, to understand this.

The Path of the Student

First and foremost, the karate studio is a school. It's not a gym. It's not a playground. It's a place of learning. 

The Japanese word, dojo, means "Way place." The Korean dojang refers to a place traditionally set aside for study and meditation. The archaic meaning of the Chinese guan is "a private school." Martial arts are not just the execution of violence. They are the practice of it. The study. It is the path of the student, hungry for knowledge and reveling in mistakes.

Each of us begin our journey in the same place. The white belt is not a mark of shame or ignorance. It is a proud place along the path. It is the only rank that every martial arts student and master, throughout time, discipline, and culture, has shared. Even the greatest men and women who came before us began as you did. As I did. As white belts.

And as white belts, every technique is a challenge. Every basic is difficult. Every repetition feels uncoordinated. And you think that it's because you're new. But the reality is that in martial arts, you're always new at something. Because you're always learning.

And that's a good thing. That's exciting.  That's the unending Way of martial arts. Every step is a step forward. Every step is a step up the mountain. And yes, it's a constant challenge, but that's empowering. Because every success is earned. And every step is up.

It would take a hundred lifetimes to learn all there is to know about martial arts. Some men spend their whole lives learning just one of the arts. Others try to learn three or four. But there are literally hundreds of styles, from all over the world. You can't learn it all. You can't master it all. 

So don't worry about what you haven't learned. Don't worry about what you haven't mastered, or how long it's taking you to advance. You aren't quitting karate, so today, tomorrow, it's all the same. Just keep moving forward. Keep taking steps.

In all our years on this earth, we will only have time to learn the smallest sliver of what there is to know. So be at peace. Take each lesson as it comes, and let the knowledge slowly pervade your understanding. Be patient with your lessons. Be patient with yourself. Slow to learn, slow to forget. Mistakes are opportunities to learn. FAILING means Finding An Important Lesson, Inviting Needed Growth. 

Learn to love the struggle, because it's not going away. Only by embracing it will you advance.

You aren't racing towards a goal. You are walking a path. So take your time and enjoy the scenery. Remember, the journey is the destination.

Kenpo Sparring

Mr. Parker described the four ranges of combat as Out of Range, Contact Range, Contact Penetration Range, and Control Manipulation Range. Each range requires a different mental approach and a different set of physical techniques.

Most of the Kenpo techniques take place within the last two ranges. Contact Penetration and Control Manipulation. Most karate style point sparring takes place within the first two ranges, Out of Range and Contact Range. One of the benefits of sparring practice is it helps us to learn how to move from the first two ranges to the last two. But this difference in range, and concomitant difference in attitude and technique gives rise to the question, "Why don't we see more Kenpo techniques used in sparring?"

The first thing to point out is that the self defense techniques are not designed to be used in sparring. Sparring is a very specific combat style activity which has very specific restrictions. Self defense techniques are designed for a different situation with different rules.

That being said, it's easy to see why this concern gets raised. Sparring can look like generic punch kick karate that has very little to do with kenpo. The important thing to remember is that you are using different techniques because of context and range, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some kenpo techniques that make the transition well.

Some good examples are using Fallen Sword or the first part of Penetrating the Wall against a jab, or using Deflecting Hammer against a kick, but changing the elbow strike to a reverse punch.

The key is to pick one technique, and then spar with it. One student uses only the attack for that technique, over and over and over. The other student uses only the specific assigned defense. After a few minutes, switch roles. Repeat this process with two or three techniques. Then begin again, this time using any of the attacks you've practiced, but only those attacks, while the other student uses any of the prescribed defenses. Finally, spar unrestricted, but focus on using the practiced defenses whenever the specific attacks are presented.

What you have to do is drill these defenses against attacks. If you've practiced your kenpo, these things will happen naturally, but it's easy for even an experienced kenpo practitioner to fall into the trap of using basic sparring maneuvers when playing that game.

Remember when sparring to always fire at least two strikes at a time. One strike will fail 99% of the time. Two strikes have a 50/50 chance of success, but three or more strikes will succeed 99% of the time. This will help you to stay in the kenpo mindset.

Combinations, practice, and repetition. That's how you get better at sparring, and working your kenpo into your sparring is the same.

Ultimately, sparring is an intermediate drill. As you progress in your training, you should move past karate style sparring into continuous sparring, and eventually into fully integrated combat style activities, involving stand up and ground grappling as well as street techniques and targets, always with control. During these activities, you will see more self defense technique material because these activities are more closely related to the arena for which that material was created.

Kenpo is designed for self defense, not sport. But we can blend it into our sparring with a little work, and ultimately that will make us better at both.

Drills -
Beginner: Option drill. Choose two kenpo techniques with similar attacks. Have your partner give you either attack and respond with the appropriate technique. Repeat.

Intermediate: Position Recognition. Spar normally at super slow speed. Occasionally pause during attacks and analyze your relative positions. Choose a kenpo technique appropriate to that position and execute that technique in a sparring context. Gradually increase speed.

Advanced: Free Combat. Paying special attention to safety and control, engage in unrestricted "street freestyle" using striking and grappling, standing and ground fighting. Incorporate kenpo techniques both standing and on the ground.

Why Front Kick?

The Front Kick is the most important kick. It should be the most accurate, fastest, most polished kick in everyone's arsenal. It should be the kick you throw more than any other. For one simple reason.

You're opponent should be in front of you.

Yes, rear kicks and side kicks and hooks and crescents are all useful, powerful kicks. But the opponent should be standing in front of you and you should be in a fighting stance. If either of those things are not true, you should make them true immediately. You may be ambushed, you may be surrounded. But you need to face the man you intend to defeat. Each, individually, with all of your attention at every moment.

I am not saying you will never throw a back or side kick. Certainly I do all the time. I'm not saying the fighting stance has to be a perfect neutral bow, or L stance, or guard position. I'm not even saying your opponent won't get behind you, or you won't have to face more than one opponent at a time. But you must be fighting from your stance. And you must be facing each opponent with everything that you are.

And when you are facing your opponent, you're front kick is the shortest distance between your foot and his first most vital target. It requires no twisting, no turning, and no pivoting. It is a simple lift and extend. It is a motion you do every step you take, every day of your life.

It should be a devastating move, to any target, delivered with absolute conviction. To the leading lower shin of the opponent it can jam a rushing maneuver. To the inside of the knee it can crush the joint outward, folding the leg over sideways. To the inner thigh, stop a roundhouse kick in mid flight. You can strike the groin to cause pain, the hip girdle to collapse your opponent forward, or the bladder to accomplish both. You can break ribs, rupture organs, and even stop the heart.

The front kick can do all these things. And more. The same kick to the back of the knee has a completely different effect than to the front or side of it. Snapping the kick has a different effect from thrusting it. Are you striking forward with the kick, or upward? Chambering or sweeping? Landing forward or back?

The front kick is the lead hand jab of the lower body. It is not simply one kick among many. It is the kick. It may not have the most potential power. It may not have the greatest range, or height. But it is one of the core moves of your fighting arsenal, and deserves its place in any combination of strikes.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice front kicks ten times, each leg, thrusting and snapping, in the air, and on the pads, the shields, the bag, and the body.

Intermediate: Student A faces Student B in a Fighting Stance. Student B holding a focus shield. Student A uses Step Thru Front Kicks to push Student B the length of the floor. Then Student B advances and Student A defends with Step Thru Front Kicks (Retreating). Repeat.

Advanced: While sparring, Students practice using Front Kicks against various targets for Anatomical Repositioning, (Bladder, Hip Girdle, Lower Ribs, Guard).

Fall and Winter Break

I wanted to remind everybody that the school will be closed for our Fall Break the week of November 22 to November 26. We will also be closed for Winter Break from December 20 to January 1. 

We hope that all of our students and instructors enjoy a safe and happy break and return ready to train hard.

Make sure to take time while the school is closed to continue practicing your material. We don't want anyone to regret spending their time away eating too much turkey and doing too little kenpo! So call your friends and make the time!

Stay safe!

Hit, Hit, and Hit Again

From wikipedia:

Yagyū Munenori was a Japanese swordsman, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishusai" Muneyoshi. This was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugawa Shogunate. 

Munenori began his career in the Tokugawa administration as a hatamoto, a direct retainer of the Tokugawa house, and later had his income raised to 10,000 koku, making him a minor fudai daimyo with landholdings around his ancestral village of Yagyū-zato.

Munenori entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu at a young age, and later was an instructor of swordsmanship to Ieyasu's son Hidetada. Still later, he became one of the primary advisors of the third shogun Iemitsu.

In about 1632, Munenori completed the Heihō kadensho, a treatise on practical Shinkage-ryū swordsmanship and how it could be applied on a macro level to life and politics. The text remains in print in Japan today, and has been translated a number of times into English.

In that masterwork under the section titled, "The Life-Giving Sword," the Master teaches us about the proper mental attitude for combat.

Returning the Mind

"The frame of mind indicated with this phrase is: if you strike with your sword and think, "I've struck!" the mind that thinks "I've struck!" will stop right there, just as it is. Because your mind does not return from the place you struck, you will be distracted, struck by the second blow of your opponent, and your initiative will be brought to nothing. With your opponent's second blow, you will be defeated.

Returning the mind means the following: if you have struck a blow, do not leave your mind in the place you struck. Rather, after you have made your strike, turn your mind back and observe your opponent. Having been struck, he will now make a strenuous effort. Having been struck, he will be mortified and insulted. If he gets angry, he will become relentless.

Here, if you are negligent, you will be struck by your opponent. It is best to think of him as an angry boar. If you think, "I struck him," your mind will stay with that thought and you will be negligent. You had best be resolved that when your opponent has been struck, he will rally. Also, once struck, your opponent will quickly become more cautious, and you will not be able to strike him with the same mind with which you struck him before. If you strike at him and miss, he will now take the initiative and strike you.

The significance of "returning your mind" is not to stop your mind where you struck, but to pull it back forcibly to your own self. It is in returning your mind and observing the countenance of your opponent. Or, in its ultimate state of mind, it is in not returning your mind at all, but in unrelentingly striking a second and third time without allowing your opponent so much as a shake of the head. This is what is called "having no space to slip in a single hair." between your first and second blow, there should be no interval that would allow in even a single hair. This is the mind with which you hit, hit, and hit again."

Karate No Shugyo Wa Issho

It will take all of your life to learn karate.

Funakoshi Gichin was an Okinawan Master who brought the styles of Karate he practiced, Shōrei-ryū and Shōrin-ryū to the Japanese islands in the early 1920's. In 1939 he opened the Shotokan, or House of Pine Waves, and began teaching a new style of Karate. No longer would he teach the China Hand, from that point forward, he changed the meaning of the word. And every subsequent generation would learn that Kara-Te meant "Empty Hand."

Master Funakoshi left behind a text to guide the students who would come after him. His Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate or niju kun are simple lessons designed to help the student grow within and to understand the philosophy behind the teachings of the empty hand.

I. Do not forget that karate-do begins and ends with a bow.
III. Karate stands on the side of justice.
VI. The mind must be set free.
X. Apply the way of karate to all things. Therein lies its beauty.
XX. Be constantly mindful, dilligent, and resourceful in your pursuit of the way.

Each lesson contained within the niju kun offers us a glimpse into the mind of one of martial art's greatest lost masters. When written, Master Funakoshi began each of the twenty principles with the character for the number one, in order to emphasize that no one of these principles is greater or more important than another.

According to the Master's teaching, number seven, "Calamity springs from carelessness," was just as important as number eighteen, "Perform kata exactly; actual combat is another matter." Every rule is the first rule. Each of us should read, study, and come to understand why Master Funakoshi chose these twenty rules as the legacy of his teaching.

The ninth precept is this, "Karate no shugyo wa issho." It will take all of your life to learn karate. In his book, Perfection of Character, Master Teruyuki Okazaki, a student of Master Funakoshi, gives us insight into the instruction behind this rule.

"The danger with rankings in Karate...is that we can easily end up thinking that acheiving the ranking...means that we no longer have anything to learn. The pursuit of these artificial goals can distract us from the real goal, which is to perfect our character, and which will take us until our dying day. The belts, rankings, and rewards do motivate people in the short-term, and that is why we use them; however, Master Funakoshi gave us the dojo kun and niju kun to remind us that karate is about perfecting character, and not about competition and rankings.

When one really understands this principle, he or she will have much more patience with the process of learning karate. Many students enter karate with the mentality that within six months or a year or two, they can become experts. They work very hard, and yet when within that time period they find themselves still struggling, they often become dis-illusioned and quit. This is quite sad.

...

Karate, like humankind itself, is a foreign element in the material world: it is a transplant from the world of spirit. For spirit to take root and flourish in the material world, it takes great discipline, great courage, and great wisdom practiced and developed over a lifetime. If you will understand the principle, you will have the proper mindset and perspective, you will not be easily discouraged, and you will certainly grow and develop."

In the Hagakure, the reader is given a description of the stages of a lifetime of training to become a master swordsman. At the lowest levels, even though one trains, there are no positive results and one holds oneself and others in low esteem. In the middle stage, one at least see one's shortcomings and can aslo recognize them in others. In the upper stage, one takes pride in accomplishments, rejoicing in praise from others and also feeling sorrow when others fail. One holds others in high esteem and, for many, this is the final stage.

But there is another.

If a student chooses to walk the higher path, he finally comes to see that there is no final stage. All thoughts of having come far enough vanish, and the student comes to truly know himself. He lives his life without desire for worldly successes and feels no need for pride, nor does he feel a need to humble himself. Then it tells us this.

"Lord Yagyu said he did not know the way to defeat others, but he knew the way to gain victory over himself-it was to become better today than yesterday, and better tomorrow than today-working in this manner, day by day, all one's life."

This is what is meant by Karate no shugyo wa issho. Every day. Walking the path. And knowing that there are no beginnings nor endings on the path. We may pass a test. We may fail a test. But the path continues forever beneath our feet.

It will take all your life to learn karate. Because the empty hand is not a weapon for violence. It is a Way. And all the Ways are unending.