Posts (page 2)

My background is mostly in Japanese Karate but I do enjoy learning about other martial art forms and over the years have come to the conclusion that any good martial art will evolve over time and include the best practices from other art forms. When I formed this conclusion though I was thinking more along the lines of martial art forms that are primarily self defense focused.

Take this into consideration, Judo and Tae Kwon Do are events in the Summer Olympic Games, Chinese Wushu recently failed in its bid to be included but will surely try again. Practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and most Japanese Karate art forms host sporting events all over the world (I'm not even including MMA, UFC, Kickboxing or other purse oriented events). There are a few art forms such as Aikido, Wing Chun, and Krav Maga that generally spurn such competitions but these are few in number.

Most martial art styles have a side to them that focus on sport competition. In this they formalize rules for one-on-one confrontation, typically a point system of some sort, and eliminate a large amount of moves that would leave the opponent blinded, crippled, or otherwise injured. I believe that the rules under which competition takes place have diminished the combat effectiveness of martial artists. Sport oriented martial arts now focus on winning in a ring rather than in the street and to some degree are no longer cultivating a particular moral character (but that would be a whole other argument). Some schools may now be going so far as to only concentrate on the competitive nature of the sport.

Sport oriented martial arts may be a good thing for some students but not necessarily practical for real self defense. Some would argue that it trains the practitioner to not use certain moves that would quickly end a real fight in favor of a move that was learned and practiced for sport fighting that would simply leave the opponent momentarily dazed. Remember here that the key to training is repetition, what you practice in the dojo will be what you perform in the street. Many instructors feel that it is difficult to train for both the sporting aspect of the martial arts and the self defense aspects. If one trains enough to be effective on the street, then when rules are imposed on them they will be physically and mentally challenged to confine their responses to the rule system. If one trains enough to be effective in sport competition, then when no rules are imposed in a life or death situation they may find themselves not using the best move for the situation, or worse yet, not anticipating a deadly move from their attacker.

Some would argue that the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) leagues are the answer to this conundrum. I say that they both still have rules and a competitor has a particular focus while training for such an event. I also think that the MMA (and to a lesser extent the UFC) is less of a sport and more of a meat market for spectators. I find that these type of leagues reduce even further the moral and peaceful aspects that are taught in the martial arts.

Please keep in mind that here I am only criticizing one-on-one type sport competition. Many martial arts also sponsor non-sparring competitions such as breaking or choreographed techniques such as poomse, kata or aka. I find that these type of events don't necessarily detract from a martial artist's effectiveness and a well balanced training regiment will allow a practitioner to be both competitive in such events and effective on the street.

In a recent post, pwrmacjedi (http://pwrmacjedi.livejournal.com) brought up a point that he felt Flight crews are HELPLESS and CLUELESS about defending themselves or anyone else. This was specifically in regards to the events that occurred on 9/11.

I tend to agree with this, but as a martial artist I understand why this is so. Martial arts training takes discipline. It takes constant training and a physical and mental component that makes it unsuited for many. While it is true that many airlines are now required to offer basic security training for their flight and cabin crewmembers in order to prepare them for potential threat conditions, these classes are typically only one day and once a year. Effective training would need to be conducted at least two days a week for the first four years of a crew members career, and ongoing training, practice, and evaluation would be required after that. To learn how to deliver a self defense move effectively takes thousands of repetitions, it can't be learned in one day or even one year.

One must also take into account that in a real terrorist situation, flight crews will not be up against untrained, unskilled, uncoordinated and unexpecting individuals. I would be very surprised if the 9/11 terrorist were not highly trained in self defense and expecting a passenger or two to attempt an attack on them. A box cutter can be a very brutal weapon when wielded expertly. As far as a single passenger being able to perform a successful attack, take into consideration your typical martial art taught in the United States. Many of the schools put emphasis on punches, kicks, stances and other techniques  that are not very well suited to an enclosed place such as an airplane. The terrorist on the other hand, has probably practiced extensively for just that sort of setting.

Furthermore, as a society our police and military has trained us to step aside and let them handle these types of situations. And to be honest, the passengers of the 9/11 flights probably didn't realize just how much danger they really were in. As far as the training of the flight crews in martial arts, I think it is a good idea, but I also think it would have made little difference in this situation. Even a fairly well trained weekend warrior would not have been able to confront an armed individual who had been training just for that situation for years. I doubt very seriously that a petite stewardess who only trained because she was required to would fair much better.

One final note, access to the cockpit should have been cut off long ago. I think arming the cockpit crew and reinforcing the door to the cockpit was the best response to prevent another 9/11.

General Information

Title: Fit To Defend
Presenter: Jean Jacques Machado, Roger Lacombe, hosted by Rita Sever
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, 2 Disc DVD Set
Studio: Garri Productions
Release Date: March 17, 2004
Run Time: 235 minutes
UPC: 883757000017
Price: $20

Summary

Fit to Defend is an introductory Martial Arts self improvement/self defense set. The material presented is from both a Japanese Karate and Jiu-Jitsu background. The instructional is aimed somewhat towards women but could better be utilized by a man. Forms, kata, and traditions of the martial arts are not covered. Focus is on self defense situations where it is imperative to strike unexpectedly and retreat at the first opportunity.

High Point

"Nuts, for lack of a better term."

Low Point

Instructors acting as if they are in more pain than they would be while on the receiving end of some technique. Young/small children performing moves that they physically would not be able to pull off.

The Scores

Clarity & Presentation (3 out of 4.2): The presentation is very well done. The instructors are, for the most part, well spoken and easily understood. The video and audio are very clear. The settings were very well chosen and lit. Contrast between the participants and the background is very high making it easy to make out the intricacies of the movements.

Structure (4 out of 4.2): The structure of the DVD is very good. The two DVD set is broken out into four chapters and each of these chapters is further broken down into individual attacks with counters followed by an overview and finally a workout section. Each chapter is well described in the menus and short enough to fast forward through to find a specific technique.

Examples (3 out of 4.2): The DVD is full of examples where the instructor is describing and demonstrating a specific real world use of a given technique. The technique is then demonstrated multiple times with multiple partners.

Exercises (3 out of 4.2): Each of the four sections has a workout section. The exercises chapter in these sections is typical but should give a good workout.

Completeness (2 out of 4.2): To the uninitiated the DVDs would probably feel fairly complete. Many types of real world situations are covered and the techniques shown are, more or less, calibrated for a smaller defender. However, I do not believe that enough stress is placed on repetition of moves, history of the martial arts, the possibility that the attacker may continue his attack through some amount of serious pain, or that the attacker may be a competent fighter.

Editing (4 out of 4.2): The editing was well done with shots being cut from far out encompassing both combatants to close in showing specific gestures. Color balance and contrast were spot on. Background music is present throughout the DVD, however, it is at a low enough volume so as to not interfere with the learning process.

Production (3 out of 4.2): The production of the DVD set looked very high. This was due in large part to the use of multiple and well chosen locations. The format of one untrained host and two high caliber instructors also helped increase production value. This combined with good editing, music, and the DVD authoring elevate this set. above many others I have seen.

Entertainment (2.5 out of 4.2): Like most martial arts instructional videos, the entertainment value was limited for this set. Although not dry like some sets. The hostess is very easy on the eyes and I am sure the two instructors could woo any lady as well. For the most part the instructors are all business, with the hostess interjecting a small bit of humor here or there. The chapters are kept short enough to keep your attention throughout.

Value (4.2 out of 4.2): For around $20 this can't be beat.

Overall (3 out of 4.2): Overall this was a well done DVD set. I can see this set being used by a novice or beginner as a primary introductory to the martial arts and possibly as a supliment by intermediaries in styles outside of Karate and Jiu-Jitsu as a broadening of skills. I can also see it being used by instructors as suplimental materials for their students. As with many martial arts training videos though, a partner is required for a large proportion of techniques demonstrated by the instructors. Without a partner to train with, this set would be ineffective.

"Fit To Defend" receives a very respectable 31.7 out of a possible 42.

I have fond memories of Herman's Head. Herman's Head first aired in 1991 and had a fairly impressive 72 episode run. At the time, the format of the show was unique in that whenever Herman had an important decision to make, the TV audience would be shown a Greek chorus style dramatization of his thought process featuring four actors representing differing aspects of his psyche. Some of my favorite scenes on the program were the interactions in the Greek chorus between Animal, played by Ken Hudson Campbell, and Angel, played by Molly Hagan. Now it just so happens that Molly Hagan was in "Ringmaster" with martial arts star Michael Dudikoff, Michael Dudikoff was in "Ablaze" with Edward Albert, Edward Albert was in "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" with Roger Lacombe and Roger Lacombe is in "Fit to Defend," a home self defense and fitness course that ships with... drum roll please, the Herman Digital Trainer (http://www.goherman.com). It just so happens that Herman is on his way to my home even as I type this.

Herman consists of a sensor connected to a control unit by a 12' cable and a software program which can be used to customize the control unit with different work outs. The sensor has two (2) accelerometers which permits measuring of g forces (i.e. impact) on all 3 axes of a target. This combined with the control unit's custom programming can allow the measuring of not only impact forces, but also reaction times (i.e. speed). The sensor can be attached to many different types of targets (it must be attached to the back or top of a target away from any actual impact). Once I have had a chance to work with the device I will know more on how it actually integrates into a regular classroom routine.

Another interesting fact, one of the reoccurring characters on Herman's Head was Heddy Newman who was played by Jane Sibbett It just so happens that Jane Sibbett also played the Fairy Princess in "Karate Kids" which is a whimsical martial arts instructional video for kids recorded back in 1999.

On my semi-monthly trips to Books-A-Million I always browse the Martial Arts section to see if anything catches my eye. Buying physical books is very much a spur of the moment thing for me. Although I listen to a lot of books ( http://www.audible.com ) now, I don't actually read that many due to time constraints. There are some books that I do find it necessary to hold in my hand to really appreciate, books on the Martial Arts falls into this category. Now Books-A-Million doesn't have a great selection of Martial Arts books (a full third was probably copies of Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do), but every once in a while they will have something inexpensive that catches my eye. This time it was David Kahn's ( http://tinyurl.com/2s2hcn ) Krav Maga. I am not a Krav Maga practitioner, and up until picking up this book I had read very little about Krav Maga. But my interest was spurred by the opening of a Krav Maga school just up the road from my house. The book is a good introductory to Krav Maga and after reading the history and philosophy of Krav Maga as Mr. Kahn lays it out, I can appreciate the art form, though at this time I use the term "art form" with trepidation.

As I have mentioned before, I am a practioner of the Japanese Martial Arts. This is my background and I will freely admit that I am a bit jaded. I like the fact that my chosen styles have been more than a way for me to defend myself in a physical confrontation. Krav Maga can claim the same benefits that traditional Martial Arts does in regards to exercise. Practicing the Martial Arts can reduce tension, anxiety, depression, and anger-hostility. It can counter feelings of lethargy, improve digestion and sleep. It helps to strengthen the heart and improves lung capacity, counters obesity and improves blood supply to the entire body which in turn helps the body feel better and more alert. It heightens one's sense of balance which can reduce ankle and knee injuries and falls.

Unlike some traditional Martial Arts though, I don't think Krav Maga can be as easily marketed towards other areas of personal growth and self-discipline, nor do I think it should. I believe that the practice of traditional martial arts also provides long term beneficial psychological change and encourages good moral and ethical development. Many traditional arts incorporate philosophical and ethical teachings, have a degree of ceremony and ritual, have a meditative component, and emphasize the integration of mind and body. There is empirical evidence to support these claims.

Krav Maga having been developed specifically for Military Application is absent in many of these aspects. Krav Maga was designed in such a way that its teachings can be conveyed quickly to new students (i.e. recruits in the military forces) during a short training period (typically three weeks of intensive training). Consequently it is also a harsher Martial Art and has much less of a sports attribute to it. You probably won't see students at a true Krav Maga school sparing for points, and if you do, turn around and walk out. I think of it as a more stream lined Martial Art. Easier to learn, easier to maintain, and effective. These are all positive aspects and make Krav Maga well suited for military, security and police application. As it was designed, Krav Maga is well suited for a more adult audience (I can't imagine training younger children in such techniques without the previously mentioned psychological aspects). I would hate to see this change due to commercial pressure. In other words, I would hate to see Krav Maga weighed down with the aspects of other traditional Martial Arts so that it can be taught to a younger audience (where the money is).

That being said, I look forward to learning more about Krav Maga and incorporating some of its teachings into my daily work outs. And for the record, the Krav Maga place up the road is now advertising classes for "Little Dragons".

I have no panache, I have no flash, I have no sizzle, am I a Martial Artist? If you have studied any grounded martial art for any length of time then you know what I mean. As I was watching Animal Planet's "Kung Fu: The Animal Within" I was struck once again with this feeling. It is a feeling of inadequacy, a small feeling mind you, but it is there none the less (consequently I also get this feeling whenever I watch a good MMA fight). The Kung Fu practitioners, for the most part, are beautiful performers. Their katas are almost poetic in nature. If the art's deadliness rivals their beauty then they truly are an art to be admired. But my art, my style, is lacking in this fluidity. Don't get me wrong, there are a few pretty moves, but overall it is a very utilitarian art form that I practice. Quick straight hand strikes and low kicks are the norm. Get in and get out quickly. Hard blocks, fast counters, combinations followed by combinations until the opponent is incapacitated. A throw or joint lock borrowed from Jujitsu every once in a while. An eye gouge, elbow, knee, choke hold or face scrape whenever necessary. Not pretty... but effective when used properly.

So, when a friend or family member attacks me in jest, or asks me to show them something, I am usually at a loss. My nephew is the worse at this, he is almost twice my weight and almost a half foot taller than me. Although I know I could stop someone his size in a real fight, it wouldn't be a pretty move that did it, it would be a brutal incapacitating combination of strikes that brought him down. Perhaps I am just jaded though, maybe the moves that I perform daily in my katas have just become too pedestrian for my eyes. Maybe the unaccustomed eye can still see beauty in the techniques and katas that I perform.

Training has been a little slow but I have still been progressing over the last few weeks. I realized that for the next belt advancement I need to learn more like 10 techniques rather than the 6 that I first counted. I'm still trying to get one in a week but it is difficult to get a good work out in and learn new techniques and continue to perfect already known techniques. I have received all of the training DVDs that I have ordered and they all look pretty good. I have hours and hours of training material to go through now and a large portion of that only concentrates on the first belt level! This doesn't even include the multiple PDF documents that I am still needing to read. I need to sit down and sort through all the material that I now have to make sure that I am using them to their fullest extent.

Speaking of time, in regards to the martial arts, how much do you think you can learn in one hour? This last week Animal Planet reran an older one hour program, probably from around 2001, called Kung Fu: The Animal Within. I tried to find out more information on it but I haven't been able to track too much down. As you can imagine, it is your typical Discovery production. A lot of flash but only a small amount of content. I was hoping at first that it was a new series. Think how much we can learn about fighting from the animal kingdom. Now, narrow that down to just the five major animal styles of Kung Fu... Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake and Dragon. This even excludes my two favorite styles, Monkey and Praying Mantis Kung Fu! Now, whittle that down to an hour and see how much you can learn. Yeah, thought so, not much at all. This just screams for a series. One two hour episode for each style, now that would be informative and entertaining.

Martial Artist and hobbyist actor Hugh Van Putten studied Hapkido in the first Hapkido school* in the country under 6th Dan Sea Oh Choi along with renowned martial artist Cliff Stewart. It is unconfirmed that Hugh Van Putten went on to create his own style of martial arts called White Eyebrow Explosive Fist that is a combination of Kenpo, Hapkido, Escrima, and practical experience that Van Putten had as a bodyguard. As of 2006 he was the martial arts coach of the Denver Nuggets.

Why the sudden interest in ageless Mr. Van Putten? Well, my Sage.Tv is set to record anything that has to do with martial arts. Sometimes it gets a few gems, and most of the time it gets a lot of gravel. In Mr. Van Putten's case, it picked up a bit of gravel in the form of a road that led me to write a bit about Mr. Van Putten and the influence he had on Martial Arts in the United States in the mid 1970's from just a brief five minute appearance on a very popular television show... "Sanford & Son". In this particular episode, "Lamont Goes Karate", Lamont is beaten up after dating the ex-girlfriend of barroom bully Jo-Jo Jackson. Determined to defend himself when he meets up with Jo-Jo again, Lamont begins taking karate lessons from Gus Thomas played by none other than Hugh himself. Now as entertaining as this may sound, it isn't. It is stereotypical mid 70's sitcom shtick. It goes nowhere, characters don't develop, lessons aren't really learned, and important messages aren't communicated to the audience. Now, this is just my impression from the first 25 minutes of the show as TVLand for some reason has their shows offset by about five minutes so the climatic confrontation scene between the newly trained karatika Lamont and Jo-Jo is cut off. But I can guess some wackiness ensued during that final battle between Jo-Jo and Lamont. I mean, Lamont had a full week of training under the 3rd or 5th degree black belt Gus. There is no way that a barroom brawler with just a few dozen fights under his fists could stand up to a weeks worth of karate training... right? Ok, the plot is silly and probably to be expected. However, my main focus, and the reason I wanted to watch this episode in the first place, was to actually witness Hugh in action during the Lamont/Grady training scene. I was disappointed when the scene did not convey the heart and wisdom of the martial arts, I was disappointed that Hugh was forced (I hope he didn't choreograph the scene by his own volition) to demonstrate stretching and meditative practices outside of their normal use, and I was disappointed in the sloppiness of the fast and flashy techniques that were demonstrated by him in mid air and on Grady during the pre training session. I don't even want to go into the stances that he and Lamont went into at the beginning of their training session or the Gi with the poorly tied Obi that Lamont had on.

What impact could such a presentation have on the Martial Arts during this time period? Remember that Sanford & Son was one of the most watched shows on in the 1970's, in 1974 most people only received a few over the air channels and there were not that many choices of what to watch. The Martial Arts was even less understood then than it is today. I don't think that this show enlightened anyone at that time on what it meant to study the art. In fact, it probably had just the opposite effect an d may have caused a decline in potential practitioners. After all, the day after “Billy Jack” (1971) hit the theaters, thousands of new students flocked to martial arts schools all over the country eager to learn the moves made popular by the film’s star Tom Laughlin. Was there anything that Hugh could have done to salvage this episode of Sanford & Son? Probably not. It was almost certainly the directors myopic vision that caused this chalk board screeching episode. To paraphrase a bit of wisdom that Grady imparted to Gus in this episode, "The Martial Arts is a grand art built upon tradition and many generations old, but running is older and has many more practitioners" The best thing that Hugh could have done after meeting with the director and determining what he wanted was to have walked away.

* Hapki-Jujitsu of Self Defense was founded sometime around 1964 by Sea Oh Choi, it was located at 821 Temple Street, Los Angeles, California. Later relocated to 721 South Western Avenue.

When instructing a class, it is always a good idea to have a class agenda already in place. You don't want to find yourself standing in front of the class trying to determine what to teach next. Even years of experience can betray you when either nothing comes to mind (specifically when looking for a smooth transition from one technique into something else), or the technique that you decide to teach on the spur of the moment suddenly becomes foreign to you due to lack of practice. Lesson plans are important in any class situation. As an instructor you want to always appear at the top of your game to your students. This is doubly important when you have a guest instructor teaching your class, either a senior student or a senpai. You want to have an understanding before the class begins about what techniques will be taught and know how to assist in there tutelage. A lack of communication between instructors can degrade a class experience very quickly. I have been in more than one class where one instructor told students to do something a different way, and the second instructor comes along and informs the students that they are performing the technique incorrectly and that it should be done the original way. This puts the student in a bad situation and reduces the credibility of one or both of the instructors.

To a lesser degree, it is important that you convey the class agenda to the class. Depending on the plan and techniques being taught, you may want to post a synopsis of what will be taught in class a week before the class. This will give students an opportunity to practice what will be covered in class before they get into the dojo. This will make a drastic improvement for upper level students who have practiced the techniques in the dojo before under supervision. They know, more or less, what is expected and can strive to improve before they come into class. Assuming the student is familiar with the technique, it is better for students to practice techniques before they will be used in class, rather than practicing the techniques after they have been demonstrated in class. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that it is much like studying for an exam where the class acts as the exam. The student will be encouraged to practice by the fact that they will have to perform the technique in front of their instructor and classmates, they will also know that other students have the opportunity to practice the techniques and this will add a positive peer pressure that will bring the overall student quality to a higher level. Second, it focuses the students practice time and reduces discouragement through the practice and repetition by the student of techniques that won't be revisited in class for some time. I have seen instructors who have taught techniques during one class, and not revisited those techniques (at least not for a long time). I could speak on this more in greater length but it may be better for another time.