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Why Some Jujitsu Control Techniques Do Not Always Work — and How to Fix Them!
SCENARIO NO. 1: An assailant grabs your lapel, and you work halfway through a wrist-lock takedown you learned years ago. Then you discover that you cannot finish the technique because he’s resisting.
SCENARIO NO. 2: You’re a police officer attempting to apply a koga come-along technique on a suspect. You’ve got it set, but when you try to make him step backward, you lose control.
SCENARIO NO. 3: An assailant lashes out at you, and you manage to avoid his blows and partially restrain him with a wrist-press arm lock. A few seconds later, you can no longer control him because he’s fighting back.
The control techniques described in these scenarios are designed to force an assailant to cooperate to avoid additional pain. All are legitimate moves that work most of the time — but not all the time. How can you tell if one of them is not working before it’s too late? How can you figure out what needs to be corrected? How can you avoid these problems in the first place?
Depending on who you are and how you’re built, you have several options if a control technique doesn’t work. You can try make it work by using brute force, but that can fail — especially if your assailant is stronger than you are. You can release the hold and try to subdue him another way, but that frequently proves to be an even poorer choice. If you’re a cop, you can escalate the situation to a higher level of force based on the suspect’s noncompliance, but you may end up with a lot of explaining and paperwork to do.
If you’ve trained in jujitsu or another martial art that teaches an awarenessof how the nervous and muscular systems work, you know that a number of better options exist. All of them involve pain.
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Jujitsu practitioners know that pain and injury are two different things. They also know that controlling the level of pain can be a powerful incentive for securing an assailant’s cooperation before any substantial injury is inflicted. Of course, injuring him can end the confrontation, but when it doesn’t, it can make it difficult, if not impossible, to control him because you no longer control his level of pain.
When you apply the wrist-lock takedown, the koga come-along and the wrist-press arm lock, you’re using pain to force the assailant to cooperate. However, the amount of pain you can inflict is often limited because of circumstances such as his physique and pain tolerance. Therefore, you must be able to augment the techniques if the need arises. One method for accomplishing this is to inflict pain elsewhere on the assailant’s body, but this isn’t recommended because it frequently involves abandoning the reasonably good hold you already have. To attempt a complex technique when a simple one isn’t working usually leads to complete failure. In self-defense, it pays to remember the KISS philosophy: Keep It Simple, Sensei.
A far better method for encouraging the assailant to cooperate is to increase the pain in a simple, fail-safe manner through the use of basic nerve and pressure-point techniques.
The wrist-lock takedown works well as long as the other person does not resist too much. When the assailant makes his move (1), George Kirby (left) grabs his hand (2), twists it clockwise (3) and applies pressure on the wrist to force him down (4).
The wrist-brace takedown is a good alternative when the assailant resists the wrist-lock takedown. After George Kirby (left) is grabbed (1a), he uses his right hand to control the assailant’s right hand and places his left hand on the assailant’s forearm (2a). The pain from the wrist lock and the pressure-point technique forces the assailant to drop (3a). In detail: The ulnar nerve pressure point lies about 1 to 3 inches below the elbow (4a).
WRIST-LOCK TAKEDOWN: This move, also known as the forward wrist lock, is a simple but effective maneuver that can be used to respond to attacks that range from the simple lapel grab described in scenario No. 1 to a club attack. It’s also a very “forgiving” technique because it usually works even if it’s not done perfectly.
However, you can run into problems if the assailant resists as you turn his hand. Resistance will usually show up as his wrist reaches the halfway point — when his thumb is pointing toward the ground. The technique can come to a grinding halt at this point unless you supplement it with an additional pain-compliance method. To better acquaint yourself with this situation, practice it with special attention directed toward how the attacker’s arm rises as his wrist is turned. You’ll notice that his arm muscles — especially those on the outside of his forearm — become tight.
To bypass this obstacle, slide your left hand up to the high point of the forearm muscle. Rest your fingers on the inside of his arm about 1 to 3 inches below the elbow, then press with your middle finger. This attacks the ulnar nerve at a point where it can be easily reached. Then you can continue with the technique, which is properly called the wrist-brace takedown, or go into a variation that will force him to the ground.
The koga come-along is a popular technique that works best when both hands can be used to control the assailant and move him forward or to his left. To illustrate, George Kirby (left) blocks a punch (1-2) and traps the assailant’s arm (3). He then controls the hand (4) and completes the lock (5). However, if Kirby moves the wrong way or lets go with one hand, the assailant may be able to escape from the hold (6).
The finger-brace wrist lock is a great backup for the koga come-along. After he blocks the punch (1a-2a) and traps the arm (3a), George Kirby (left) grasps the assailant’s little finger (4a). Once he bends the appendage while locking the wrist (5a), he can lead the other man in any direction he wants (6a). Close-up of the finger lock (7a).
KOGA COME-ALONG: Also known as the wrist-lock lift, this technique can be used in a variety of situations. If properly set, it’s a strong hold with which you can maintain the compliance of most any assailant. However, the technique has two weaknesses: First, unless you have a very big hand or great physical strength, you’ll need two hands to maintain the hold. Second, it works best when you’re moving the assailant forward or to his left. If you want him to move backward or to his right, however, the hold may become compromised.
To remedy this, slide your left hand down over the back of his trapped hand, grab his little finger with your two smallest fingers, and brace your thumb against the back of his thumb at the second knuckle. You can control him by simply clenching your fist as if you’re using a hand-strengthener to build grip strength. When you move his little finger across the back of his hand — not away from it — you create an increasing amount of pain. You can easily establish the control you need to secure his cooperation or to transition into another technique.
This alternative, which is called the finger-brace wrist lock, has several advantages over the original technique. First, you can move your assailant in any direction, including up or down. Second, it’s a “low-visibility” technique, which means it’s almost impossible for a bystander to see what you’re doing. (You can even maintain the hold while your hand and the assailant’s hand are down by your side — which is great for extracting him from a crowd without attracting attention.) Third, and perhaps most important, the modified version requires only one hand to execute. In fact, once you know it well, you can actually initiate the technique using only one hand. That leaves your other hand free for other purposes — such as applying the hold on a second person if necessary.
The wrist-press arm lock allows a martial artist to easily control an assailant most of the time. To illustrate, George Kirby (right) controls the assailant’s upper arm and bends the lower portion of it behind his back (1). Then he locks the wrist to apply the pain (2).
When more security is needed to restrain a stronger assailant, the finger-brace arm lock can be used. Once George Kirby has secured the arm, he grasps the assailant’s fingers and digs into a nerve that passes through the shoulder area (1a). Then he bends the fingers until the assailant complies (2a).
WRIST-PRESS ARM LOCK: As a come-along technique, this move is effective and hard to counter. When it’s set correctly, strong resistance from the assailant can cause him to break his own wrist with no additional effort on your part. However, sometimes you need a little extra “security,” especially if you want to move him or use him as a shield against any cohorts who are still bent on getting a piece of you.
If you set the arm lock with your right hand, your left hand will be free to provide that extra security. All you have to do is rest it on the assailant’s shoulder area with your middle finger at the 9-o’clock position. If you dig into the shoulder, you’ll hit one of several nerves that pass through the area. The pain will cause him to move his left side toward you with his shoulders thrust back to reduce the pain. That makes it easier to apply the modified lock, which involves grabbing his fingers and bending them backward. He’s now off-balance, and his body can be pointed in any direction by varying the amount of pressure on the trapped arm and the nerve. If you opt to use him as a shield, you can let go with your left hand and he will still experience enough pain to possibly cause his comrades to back off.
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Controlling an assailant differs from simply throwing a kick or punch to remove yourself from a dangerous situation. You may have to restrain him to protect yourself or your loved ones — or to keep him from injuring himself while you secure the environment or find a safe place to wait for help. Consequently, whenever you use a control technique, it’s essential to give clear, loud, simple verbal commands so he knows what you want him to do. Pain transforms most people into fast learners because when they comply, the control hold becomes significantly less painful. That’s the reward for cooperation.
One of the basic rules of jujitsu is to never assume anything will work. You must always have something to back up what you’re doing — and something to back up that. A sound jujitsu program will teach you additional ways to use nerves and pressure points to augment the control techniques described above, as well as those you learn in the future.
George Kirby has taught budoshin jujitsu since 1967. The Santa Clarita, California-based instructor, who was Black Belt’s 2007 Instructor of the Year, has written a number of books about the art:
Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art
Jujitsu: Intermediate Techniques of the Gentle Art
Jutte: Japanese Power of Ten Hands Weapon
Jujitsu Nerve Techniques: The Invisible Weapon of Self-Defense
Advanced Jujitsu: The Science Behind the Gentle Art
Jujitsu Figure-4 Locks: Submission Holds of the Gentle Art
Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art – Expanded Edition
Jujitsu: Advanced Techniques for Redirecting an Opponent’s Energy
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Cynthia Rothrock: Best Advice for Beginners in the Martial Arts
“I was nervous as anything,” Cynthia Rothrock said of her first tournament, after which she started to laugh.
“I was an orange belt competing against black belts in forms. I was doing the most basic forms, and they were so advanced.”
She ended up placing second in that event. It was but the first in a string of victories, for she went on to win the world forms championships from 1981 to 1985. In 1982 she became the weapons champion in the men’s division, as well.
She has also succeeded in other areas. She was one of the first women to appear on the cover of national martial arts magazines, and she was one of the few female martial artists to become a star in the action movie genre.
Beginning the Martial Arts
“I started at 13 years old,” Cynthia Rothrock said. “I had some friends in tang soo do, so I gave it a try. When I was younger, I tried everything — piano, music lessons, other sports — but the martial arts were the first thing I really stuck with.”
Since that time, she’s earned a black belt in tang soo do and taekwondo. She also holds instructor-level rank in three Chinese arts: northern Shaolin kung fu, wushu and eagle-claw kung fu. It seems she definitely found something she could stick with.
Cynthia Rothrock on the cover of the February/March 2017 issue, on sale now!
Despite all her experience, however, she still gets fidgety before performing in front of groups. “I always get nervous,” she said. “It is sort of a nervous energy starting the form — but then I tune right in.”
Joining a Competition
Cynthia Rothrock offers beginners some simple advice for dealing with butterflies in the stomach before kata competition: Make sure you know your form 100 percent. When you compete, don’t perform any kata you’re still working to perfect. Always do one you know well.
Although forms competition is great for kids, she believes youngsters should avoid full-contact sparring events. “Point sparring is good for kids as long as the tournament [officials are] in control and looking out for the children’s safety,” she said.
If you decide to get involved in tournaments, she added, always remember that competition is just one small part of the martial arts. If you lose, ask yourself why. Nine times out of 10, the answer will be that you weren’t fully prepared.
Picking a School
Back in 1973 when Cynthia Rothrock started in the martial arts, choosing a style was tough enough. These days, with the hundreds of schools operating in large cities, it’s even tougher. So how does a person choose?
“Find a couple of styles you are interested in,” she said. “Watch the instructors. [Watch] how discipline is handled. Talk with the instructors. See if you can take a couple of classes for free. Check out a couple of different places before you start at one.”
Martial arts training is never easy, she said. You’ll feel uncoordinated at first, but you shouldn’t give up. If you practice, you’ll get better, and the results will be extreme, she promised. You’ll get stronger and stay in shape — and one day the training may save your life.
“When you take a martial art, try to learn the true art and keep the tradition,” she said. “Each style has something different to offer.”
Finding a Role Model
Having a mentor or a martial artist you look up to can help you through the tough times in your training, Cynthia Rothrock said. For many years, her favorite was Jackie Chan.
“When I was taking classes in New York, we had a Chinese instructor who taught on Sundays,” she said. “After the workout, he’d take everyone to Chinatown to see kung fu movies. I’ve always looked up to Jackie Chan and still respect him very much.”
Rothrock is also a big fan of Chuck Norris: “He is a great martial artist who has made it big in film and television,” she said. “He is the most friendly person out there.”
Starring in Movies
Cynthia Rothrock’s own acting career blossomed for many years — despite obstacles posed by on-again-off-again complaints about violence in movies and the fact that studios are reluctant to invest money in projects with female martial artists.
“There are far fewer [roles] for women in action movies,” she said.
But she never let that hold her back. In fact, she viewed it as just one more challenge. In much the same way that she was able to break down barriers and become a world champion in forms and weapons, she broke down barriers and became an international film star.
That observation led her to give a final tidbit of advice to young martial artists who dream of doing big things in life: “Don’t give up,” she said. “The results can be extreme.”
Photos by Cory Sorensen
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Improve Your Muay Thai Now: How Master Toddy Trains Champions, Part 2
Read Part 1 here.
ON THE ROPES
The muay Thai trainer known as Master Toddy likes to have his students cut their teeth on a specially designed striking pad that’s positioned near the ropes that surround one of his boxing rings.
“You can stand in front and hit it to get your distance with uppercuts and other punches until you feel comfortable,” Master Toddy says. “Then you learn how to punch and kick while bouncing off the ropes to get their energy. You really need that energy in round four and round five.”
ON READING YOUR OPPONENT
“In round one, watch your opponent,” he advises. “Notice how he stands, how he moves, how he blinks. You have to feel him out and think about what he wants to do to you.” That’s the best way to beat him, Master Toddy says.
ON THE PHYSICAL VS. THE MENTAL
“Fighting is 50-percent mental,” the muay Thai master says. “Conditioning is only so important. I know one guy who runs marathons, but the conditioning doesn’t do him much good in the ring. He never wins; he never believed in himself.
“I would say, ‘Kick him with your right leg.’ He would ask, ‘What happens if he kicks me at the same time?’ I told him I couldn’t be his muay Thai teacher because we couldn’t connect. Letting him stay would have wasted his time.
“You have to be determined to win. If you’re not, you’re wasting your time.”
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ON GOOD TEACHERS
It’s very common for good teachers to connect with their fighters — even if they don’t call it “connecting,” Master Toddy says. “I might do more than other people because I come from the background of a monk. My family believed in the same things I do. My fighters do, too.
“Like Lisa King — we connect every time she fights, and she wins. She has the spirit. Of course, everybody has bad days. If your spirit is strong, though, it won’t matter. You can still be strong and win.”
ON MEASURING SKILL
Master Toddy says people often ask him if the person with the better technique will win a fight. “No,” he says. “The person with the heart of the lion wins. It can help you beat someone who’s technically better than you.”
The best test of skill in muay Thai is competing in Thailand — with no family and friends around you, he adds. “You can’t call yourself the world champion of muay Thai without having beat the Thais.”
ON EMPATHY
After one incident in Thailand, Master Toddy began cautioning all his fighters about unexpected mental conditioning. “I had one fighter who went there to train,” he recalls. “She was watching a fight, and a boy she knew got knocked out right in front of her. She felt that knockout and heard his head hit the floor. She said, ‘I hope that doesn’t happen to me!’
“Then everything started going wrong. I tried to get rid of her negative thoughts, but she got knocked out in the first round of her next fight.
“Whenever someone gets knocked out, you shouldn’t look at the person getting carried out. You should look at the winner — and celebrate! Feel his victory!”
ON CATCHING UP
Thais start training in kickboxing at age 4 or 5, making it extremely difficult for an American fighter who doesn’t begin until he’s 25 to catch up. But Master Toddy has a solution.
“I have them train certain things and fight smart,” he says. “For example, in Thailand, they don’t score much on punches because they don’t want muay Thai to become boxing. So training smart might include developing a big punch or a sneaky elbow. The Thais are so far ahead that a foreigner doesn’t have to win to be victorious there. If he goes five rounds with a Thai champion, he’s a winner to me. If he loses a split decision, I jump up and down!”
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ON PREPARATION
“Prepare everything before a fight,” Master Toddy says. “Your clothes, gloves, even your toothpaste and toothbrush — everything you need to make your day. Then you don’t have to worry about the little things. You can focus on fighting and winning.”
ON BEING BOSSY
“I don’t believe in telling my fighters every move to make,” Master Toddy says. “Many fighters ‘die’ because their cornerman tells them what to do. You have to let the fighters make their own decisions.
“I try to keep my instructions short: ‘What a beautiful day! You look good. I like your moves.’ Then, after everything positive has been said and the fight starts, I might say: ‘Breathe until you feel better. I believe in your right hand. Remember when you knocked out your last opponent with it? You can do it again.’
“With some people, though, you have to yell. It depends on the connection.”
ON ANGER
“Some instructors train their fighters to be angry,” he says. “I don’t like my fighters to get angry before a match. When you get angry, you drain your energy very quickly, and you can run out of gas.
“My style is to tell them to relax, that when the time comes, they’ll do the right thing. It’s a Buddhist attitude.”
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ON THE BENEFITS OF STUDYING
Much of the payoff of training in muay Thai isn’t about learning how to kick and punch, Master Toddy says. “It’s about the spirit, as well as discipline and mental training. That’s why we have the pra jiad, or armband.
“We used to cut the clothes of our mother and father to make it. Then we would wrap them together with a small Buddha. If I hit your arm, it was weak. But if you wrapped the band around your arm first, you wouldn’t get hurt. It’s all psychology. That’s one reason we have to honor tradition. Muay Thai is not too much about religion; it’s more spiritual.”
ON IRONY
“Thailand is one of the hottest countries in the world,” he says. “How do I train my people to compete there? I turn the heater on in the gym here. I put them in hot water before they go so they get used to the ‘pressure’ of the heat and humidity.”
ON BASEBALL BATS
“I always try to encourage my students, but I punish them, too,” Toddy says. “I have a baseball bat, and sometimes I hit them until they do things right.” (laughs)
Read Part 1 here.
Robert W. Young is the editor-in-chief of Black Belt.
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Improve Your Muay Thai Now: How Master Toddy Trains Champions, Part 1
In a universe populated by hardened ex-champs who have about as much personality as a worn-out boxing glove, muay Thai authority Master Toddy stands out. A jovial fellow, he’s as entertaining a host as one could hope for in the martial arts. But put him on a mat with his students or in the corner with one of his Thai boxers, and he transforms into a fighting fiend.
That’s where Master Toddy shines as a maker of champions — including American men and women who’ve actually traveled to Thailand and beat the Thais at their own game. His success speaks volumes about the validity of his unorthodox methods and beliefs. In this article, Toddy shares some of the kickboxing secrets that have propelled him to the top of the muay Thai world.
— Editor
ON SHY STUDENTS
During the 16 years he spent in Manchester, England, and the 15-plus years he spent in the United States, Master Toddy has learned that you don’t have to be a big bruiser to be a good martial artist.
“When I was in England, there was nothing — they weren’t even allowed to teach muay Thai because they thought it was too violent,” he says. “I had to teach them everything — discipline, how to slow down, how to fight smart. I had to show them muay Thai isn’t about street fighting.
“Most people who do martial arts are shy. They’re nice people who’ve been pushed around, and they want to protect themselves. They’ll fight if they have to, but they don’t want to do it. That’s why martial arts competition has rules and why shy people can become great martial artists. That was the lesson I brought to England.”
ON SUCCESS
Master Toddy was a hit in the United Kingdom, and he soon noticed that American champs were just as interested in what he had to offer. “They wanted to learn how to do muay Thai and defend against the leg kick because [25] years ago in America, they didn’t have muay Thai,” he says. “They had kickboxing, but it’s very different. When they faced a muay Thai stylist, they’d get hit with leg kicks or elbows.
“I decided to come to America to expand muay Thai, to show that it can be done properly and that it’s not a violent sport. The first thing I did was work with the Nevada Athletic Commission to get permission to include elbows and knees. We did the first show in 1995, and it went very well. It started growing. I was successful because I’m a very positive person. Every day I tell my people how important it is to be positive.”
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ON BIG NAMES
Master Toddy has trained plenty of well-known fighters over the years, including Maurice Smith, Tito Ortiz, Bob Sapp, Gary Goodridge and a host of K-1 regulars. “Most of them were already champions,” Toddy says. “After they had a hard fight, they would come to me because of my coaching record.
“For example, Bob Sapp came to see me. I trained him in one punch. He went out into the ring and got a first-round knockout with that punch. Then Gary Goodridge came and trained for one of the biggest fights in his career, against a K-1 champion. Gary knocked him out in the first round.
“Once they believe in it, they win. It’s mental programming. It’s not about the kicking and punching; it’s about connecting.”
Master Toddy
ON CONNECTING
“It takes me 20 to 30 minutes to evaluate a fighter,” Master Toddy says. “I talk to him until we click. I find out if he has long arms and long legs and how he moves.
“For example, I might see that he’s got a lot of potential in his right hand. So we train, and I develop his right hand. I don’t train every punch and kick; I train him to use his other techniques to set up his right hand. After every kick, I want him to say to himself, ‘My right hand is ready.’ I want him to have confidence in it.
“In training, he throws a roundhouse kick, and his right hand is ready. He throws a left hand, and his right hand is ready. Then, when I say, ‘Now!’ he does it. At that moment, he and I have to be connected. I have to believe in his right hand. If he feels it, I can feel it. That’s how he can win.”
ON MONKS
“When I was a monk in Thailand, my chief monk taught me about connecting,” he says. “He lived on top of a mountain without a car or anything. Someone suggested that I should meet him on the mountain. It took days to find him.
“While I was climbing up there, the monk ‘saw’ me. He could see everything in his mind. That’s why I believe the mind is so powerful. It’s like when parents have a connection with their kids or when the phone is ringing and you know it’s your wife calling.”
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ON HIS FIGHTERS
Once the connection is established, Master Toddy says, he doesn’t have to be present at a bout to help his fighters win. “Before the fight, they have to think about our training. Some of my fighters call me or text me.
“I do this because I have 100 or 200 fighters, and I can’t go to every single fight. If I go to some but not others, they might lose. So before one of them fights, they call me. I go into a room and meditate. I can feel it as they win the fight.”
ON HEADGEAR
Master Toddy likes to have his fighters, both male and female, wear a unique piece of head protection that features different types of foam to absorb shock.
“That way, when you get hit, you don’t get a headache because you don’t feel vibrations through the foam,” he says. ���If you don’t get a headache after training, it makes you want to train longer and harder.”
ON THE HEAVY BAG
“We designed our heavy bag so that when you kick it, you dent it,” Master Toddy says. “That makes you want to land all your other kicks in the same pocket, which makes you more accurate.”
Fringe benefit: “It teaches you that if your opponent has a weak point — on his leg, for example — you should keep hitting the same spot. It’s all about psychology.”
(To be continued.)
Photos by Robert W. Young
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In Honor of David Carradine, Kwai Chang Caine From the TV Series Kung Fu
December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009
Today marks the eighth year since David Carradine, the actor who left his imprint on martial arts history when he starred in ABC’s Kung Fu television series, passed away.
Countless senior practitioners in dojo across the country received their first exposure to the martial arts because of Carradine, who portrayed wandering Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine from 1972 to 1975, and many of us were inspired to take up training because of the character’s weekly exploits in the American West.
David Carradine and Keye Luke in Kung Fu. (Photo Courtesy of ABC)
Probably just as many middle-aged practitioners got their first look at David Carradine when he appeared in Chuck Norris’ hit movie Lone Wolf McQuade (1983). After that came the TNT series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, which brought Carradine back to television to play the grandson of Kwai Chang Caine from 1993 to 1997.
The younger generation — my grandkids included — received their first glimpse of David Carradine when he landed the role of Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).
Chuck Norris and David Carradine in Lone Wolf McQuade. (Photo Courtesy of Topkick Productions)
Over the years, David Carradine became a good practitioner of the Chinese martial arts and did whatever he could to spread goodwill for all styles. Case in point: In 2005 he was invited to the Black Belt Festival of Martial Arts in Los Angeles, and for several hours, he walked the convention floor, providing numerous fans with once-in-a-lifetime photo ops.
During my first interview with him, David Carradine said, “As a seeker of kung fu, your influence must reach farther than the tips of your fingers.” He certainly lived up to those words.
Floyd Burk congratulates David Carradine on his Black Belt Hall of Fame induction.
In the months before he passed, David Carradine and I were collaborating on a Black Belt feature article intended to share the lessons he learned while pursuing martial arts mastery. When his death was announced, I, like everyone else, was stunned. I shelved the project out of respect and mourned the man’s passing.
It’s my hope that the martial arts world will pay its respects to David Carradine on this somber day and take a moment to appreciate all that he gave us during the 35 years he practiced kung fu and the 50 years he devoted to acting. Rest in peace, sir.
Floyd Burk is one of Black Belt’s contributing editors.
Studio Photos by Rick Hustead
Wang Bo, formerly of Shaolin Temple, is the featured instructor in an online kung fu course from Black Belt. Titled Tree of Shaolin, it streams video lessons to your preferred digital device. Sign up here and start your journey along the 1,500-year-old Shaolin path!
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Self-Defense for Minimalists: The Only Kick You Will Ever Need
Back on the farm, plow hitches were always getting stuck because they’d fill up with dirt. If you didn’t have a sledgehammer handy, the only way to knock them loose was with a good, swift kick. But not just any kick would do. It had to be what we called the “Georgia stomp.”
Turns out, it was one of the best tools on the farm because it could be used in so many situations — everything from busting up big dirt clods to straightening out your hoe. It’s one of your best tools in self-defense and the martial arts for the same reasons — namely, it packs power and versatility.
BASIC STOMP: As the assailant (left) approaches, the martial artist assumes a defensive stance. He raises his knee as high as possible and thrusts his foot out and down, striking the man in the groin.
Once I began studying the martial arts, I recognized that the stomping kick — also called the push kick, the piston kick or just the front kick — was nothing more than a Georgia stomp applied to self-defense. At first, I preferred the stomp to other types of kicks, probably because of its familiarity. After many years of practice, I realized I preferred it not just for its ease of use but because experience had proved it superior to other leg techniques.
Based on that experience, I’ve placed the stomp at the top of my hierarchy of striking techniques. What were my criteria?
First, it had to be powerful because without power, it won’t be effective. Second, it had to be accurate. Third, it had to incur minimal risk — including risk of self-injury and risk of counterattack. To fully appreciate these points, you must understand how to do the stomp kick correctly.
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The basic movement entails raising your foot as high as possible, then dropping the bottom of your boot as hard as possible while simultaneously dropping your body weight onto the target. It’s that simple.
Almost everybody knows how to do this, which means you already have a good idea of how to do the stomp. You probably use the basic motion all the time — for example, to break up stuff that won’t fit in the garbage can. Because you’ve got the basics down, you need only a little practice to perfect the technique.
One reason the stomp is so powerful is it’s a natural movement. You don’t need to learn new skills involving foot position, balance and hip rotation. You don’t even need to be flexible. The power of the stomp comes from the fact that it utilizes your strongest muscles — thigh and buttocks — in conjunction with your bodyweight. When you stomp, they merge to become an unstoppable force.
FROM A HEAD LOCK: Mark A. Jordan is caught in a bad position. He raises his foot before driving it down onto the aggressor’s instep.
Right now, you’re probably wondering what’s so useful about stomping the ground. Well, it has nothing to do with knocking your opponent down and stomping him in the head — although that’s a possibility. You see, most people forget how important it is to target the feet and ankles of an assailant. It should be one of your top priorities in self-defense. By damaging his feet, you’ll hinder his stability and mobility, and he’ll no longer pose a threat.
Even though the foot and ankle are designed to withstand a lot of pressure from the bottom, they’re susceptible to even a light force from above. If you’ve ever dropped something on your foot, even something small, you know what I mean. Now imagine that the thing being dropped on your foot is a powerful stomp. With that much force and bodyweight behind it, there’s a good chance the small bones of the foot will fracture or be dislocated.
A stomp directed at the side of the ankle will force the foot to roll, tearing the ligaments and spraining the joint — which is why the technique is illegal in many competitions. Dirty little secret of the martial arts: Any technique that’s illegal in competition should be the first thing you do in self-defense.
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Truth is, a broken foot will drop a guy more quickly than your best judo throw. Although the stomp should be a central element in all self-defense classes, I rarely see it taught in the martial arts. I believe it’s overlooked because most people don’t understand how versatile it is.
You’re probably familiar with the technique that’s often recommended for use when you’re grabbed from behind. A stomp to the foot or ankle not only will make your attacker release his hold but also will set him up for a variety of follow-ups — assuming he doesn’t drop to the ground in agony.
However, you need not wait until you’re grabbed from behind to unleash the stomp. It’s effective against a variety of targets, not just those on the ground. Knees and bladders are excellent choices. Stomping a target in front of you is no different from stomping one on the ground: Raise your knee high and thrust the bottom of your foot out. You know, it’s what you do when the tailgate of your pickup truck doesn’t close all the way and you have to give it some help with a good, swift kick.
Unlike the snap kick, the stomp is not an upward motion. The action allows you to utilize your most powerful muscles in a natural action that generates more force than any other kick. It also allows you to move in on your opponent so you can easily follow up with another technique.
TO THE ANKLE: The defender (right) responds to a punch by moving to the outside, parrying the attacking limb and slamming a palm strike into the man’s chin. He immediately chambers his foot and unleashes a stomp to the assailant’s ankle.
The best way to illustrate the power of the stomp is to ask a simple question: If you needed to bust open a door, what kind of kick would you use? A snap kick? Nope, not powerful enough. A roundhouse kick? Only if you want to break your foot. A jump spinning back kick? Sure.
If you’ve ever done it, you know the only kick powerful enough to break down a door is a stomp. When you see what the doorjamb looks like after a door is kicked in, imagine what an attacker’s knee would look like. It can be a fight-ender.
Stomping the front of an assailant’s knee will hyperextend the joint, injuring the ligaments, possibly dislocating the knee and crushing the kneecap. Even stomping the side of the knee will buckle the leg, taking your foe off-balance and leaving him susceptible to a follow-up.
A stomp to the bladder area may not cause serious injury, but it will cause serious discomfort. It’s like getting kicked in the gut by an ornery mule. It will make your opponent double over more quickly than the smell of a dead skunk.
The same basic movement works if the target is to the side or behind you. You may need to lean slightly to the opposite side as you deliver a sideways stomp (similar to a side kick), and you’ll need to lean forward to deliver a backward stomp. Both, however, start the same way as the regular stomp.
You’ve undoubtedly noticed that the areas you should seek to strike with the stomp are all on the lower body. The nature of the technique doesn’t lend itself to attacking higher targets because it’s a downward action. But the stomp is so effective precisely because of this — it focuses on low targets. All those targets are difficult for your opponent to protect, giving the stomp a high probability of success. His hands and arms will guard his head and upper body but not his lower body. His only option for dealing with your stomp is to try to avoid it.
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When you really need a strike to work, stick with a simple movement that can be done quickly and easily. For most situations, that means paying attention to a bit of wisdom that every farm boy knows and using the stomp. It may be the only kick you’ll ever need.
Mark A. Jordan is a sixth-degree black belt in budoshin ju-jitsu under Black Belt Hall of Famer George Kirby.
Technique Photos by Thomas Sanders
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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Taekwondo Legend Jhoon Rhee
“A picture is worth 1,000 words; an action is worth 1,000 pictures.”
— Jhoon Rhee
For decades, we’ve known Jhoon Rhee as the father of taekwondo in America. Without digging too deep into our memories, most of us could tell you that the master is based in Washington, D.C., and that he’s trained elected officials on Capitol Hill for years. Some may also know that Jhoon Rhee was instrumental in the development of martial arts sparring gear back in the 1970s and that in 1983 he was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as Man of the Year. In martial arts circles, he’s as famous as anyone can be.
Ironically, few people — in America or his native South Korea — know much about Jhoon Rhee other than the aforementioned points. To remedy that, I wrote this article. It presents 10 fun and fascinating facts about taekwondo’s best-known practitioner.
Photo by Sara Fogan
1
RHEE, LEE AND ALI
In 1964, Rhee met Bruce Lee at Ed Parker’s International Karate Championship in Long Beach, California. The two became friends and frequently discussed the martial arts, and Rhee wound up teaching a few taekwondo kicks to Bruce Lee.
A number of people vehemently deny that, and if you’re one of them, consider the following: Bruce Lee’s early demonstrations centered on hand techniques that utilized speed and power. His prowess in the physical pursuits stemmed from his experience as a dancer, boxer and wing chun practitioner — none of which was oriented toward kicking. When Lee rose to fame as a kung fu actor, it was well after his collaboration with Rhee had begun.
Now take a look at a Jhoon Rhee side kick — any photo from one of his early taekwondo books or articles will do. Compare that to film footage of Bruce Lee doing a side kick. The techniques are nearly identical.
Jhoon Rhee is also credited with teaching Muhammad Ali the “accu-punch,” a fact that Ali stood behind. The accu-punch is described as a blow that’s done instantly when no thought is given to it. It’s launched as soon as an opponent presents an opening. Ali said he used the punch in 1975 to knock out U.K. heavyweight champ Richard Dunn in one minute 30 seconds. Pretty cool — but wait a minute. Rhee credits Bruce Lee with having taught him more effective hand techniques that didn’t telegraph one’s intent. So maybe it’s more accurate to say Lee taught the punch to Ali through Rhee.
2
THE BIG SCREEN
In the 1973 Raymond Chow flick When Taekwondo Strikes, Jhoon Rhee had a role. The setting was one he was all too familiar with: the Japanese occupation of Korea. Rhee demo’d his taekwondo skills on the big screen while portraying a leader of the resistance. He looked forward to more opportunities in showbiz, but Bruce Lee passed away around the time the movie hit the theaters.
That, coupled with the amount of time Rhee was required to be away from his family and his martial arts schools, left a sour taste in his mouth. It ended up being his first and last film.
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3
FROM KARATE MAN TO FATHER OF TAEKWONDO
When Jhoon Rhee began teaching the martial arts while studying engineering in Texas in the late 1950s, he advertised his program as karate. Occasionally, he’d use the name tang soo do to denote the style of karate he taught. Using the word “karate” was a wise move because Americans were familiar with it. Virtually no one had heard of taekwondo.
In 1960, Gen. Choi Hong-hi paid a visit to the Texas-based Jhoon Rhee Karate Club. Choi, the founder of the oh do kwan, one of the original five kwan that emerged after Japanese colonial rule, encouraged Rhee to use the new Korean term. Calling it “taekwondo” evoked a sense of freedom and independence, as well as respect for the Korean homeland. Rhee agreed.
The road wasn’t an easy one to follow, but Rhee proved he was more than up to the challenge. His decision to go with the new name made him the United States’ first taekwondo instructor.
4
BORN TO FAIL
Jhoon Rhee possessed a reverse punch and roundhouse kick that were second to none. He could bust boards with either technique. Combine that taekwondo prowess with his strength, balance and flexibility, and you can see that he was an exemplary athlete.
However, it wasn’t always that way. When he was a child, no one thought he’d amount to much physically. “I was the smallest, weakest, most uncoordinated kid in school,” Rhee says. “When I was 6, a 5-year-old girl beat me up. When we ran track, I was always last. No one expected me to succeed in athletics.”
These are a few of the books Jhoon Rhee has written.
5
TAEKWONDO GODFATHER
Once Jhoon Rhee concluded his studies in Texas, he moved to Washington, D.C. “When I came to Washington in 1962, I wrote many letters to ambassadors telling them to pay attention to their children’s education,” he says. “I told them, ‘If your children come to my school, I guarantee they will make A’s and B’s.’ Some asked, ‘How can you do that?’ I said, ‘If they don’t, they won’t make black belt.’ They immediately began enrolling their kids.
“After a few years, they saw the results. As the various ambassadors’ tenure expired, they had to return to their homelands. Many asked me to share my instructors and teach them in their countries. I didn’t have enough instructors to go around, so I introduced them to my classmates from the 1940s, several of whom traveled to their countries to teach. These instructors would then introduce taekwondo to neighboring countries. The training of ambassadors’ family members would happen again and again as they came and went from Washington.”
The result: More than 179 countries now have access to taekwondo instruction, which is why it was accepted into the Olympics.
Jhoon Rhee and Ronald Reagan in 1981.
6
TEACHER OF CONGRESS
Jhoon Rhee has taught more than 350 U.S. senators and representatives. Rep. Bob Livingston (R-Louisiana), Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Illinois) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) are just a few of those who’ve made it to black belt. Other notable students include former Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California) and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia).
How did Rhee manage to corral so many Congress critters? First, his home base is D.C., a community to which he’s remained committed for years. Second, he endeavors to bring trust, loyalty and honesty to all his relationships. Third, he espouses a philosophy that holds that taking action makes good things happen.
7
TRUE PATRIOT
For years, Jhoon Rhee and his students have performed taekwondo routines to The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. He calls it martial ballet. The martial arts component represents Eastern culture to the West, and the music symbolizes Western culture to the East. The result is a marriage of East and West designed to promote peace and freedom for all.
“America has really helped Korea, and I am so grateful for this,” Rhee says. “More than 34,000 young people sacrificed their lives for a country they never heard of and people they never met — it’s hard to imagine. Then the Americans helped rebuild Korea’s economy into what it is today.”
Rhee is repulsed when modern Koreans talk negatively about the United States or shout things like “Yankee, go home!” He recalls a time not too long ago when he reminded Koreans of the generosity of Americans:
“During Korea’s last two administrations, there were communists occupying the president’s office. People in the administrations were carefully trying to influence everybody to be anti-American. Five years ago, I went there to give a speech to 300 masters. I said: ‘I heard America is really unpopular now. I want to see how many of you think America is bad.’ Fifty percent raised their hands. I continued my speech, and after I got through with them, I said, ‘If I got you a green card and a one-way ticket, how many of you would come to the U.S. and live?’ One hundred percent raised their hands.”
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8
AT THE UNITED NATIONS
On April 10, 2007, Jhoon Rhee addressed an assembly of world leaders at the United Nations and gave one of the most moving speeches of all time. Its title was “Mending Our Troubled World With Martial Arts Philosophy of Action.”
He spoke about the need for a vision, arguing that vision is the source of inspiration for reconstructing society. He recalled an answer Helen Keller gave when she was asked what could be more difficult than living without sight. The blind woman said, “Sight without vision.”
Rhee also spoke about education. He outlined his golden rules of teaching: Lead by example and never fail to correct students’ mistakes with a smile — not until they learn but until they develop a habit or skill. He also explained his famous seven qualities of a champion, which apply as much to business and personal relationships as they do to the martial arts: patience, speed, timing, power, balance, flexibility and good posture.
9
TAEKWONDO TRIUMPHS IN RUSSIA
On January 9, 1991, Jhoon Rhee began 11 days of seminars in Moscow. He taught for 18 hours a day, obviously with little rest or free time. On the final day, he sat down with 87 martial artists and conducted a 15-hour question-and-answer session. (Rhee answered every question presented to him, including the old standby: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? He said, “The egg, of course.”)
By the end of the event, the attendees were so inspired that they all changed the names of their schools to Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo.
10
PRESIDENTIAL TESTIMONIAL
Jhoon Rhee’s good deeds have garnered him glowing praise from none other than former President George H.W. Bush:
“I’ve known Master Rhee as a leader, a great volunteer and an expert [at taekwondo] since the ’60s. I was elected to Congress at the end of 1966, and it was shortly thereafter that I met him. Master Rhee was teaching a bunch of congressmen, and he did a great job at it. We call him ‘Master Rhee’ because he is at the top of his field here. He brought this marvelous martial art to the United States of America. He’s taught members of Congress [and] has helped children on a volunteer basis and otherwise, too. It’s a great discipline, good exercise. He’s done a lot for our country.”
Floyd Burk is a San Diego-based 10th-degree black belt with more than 40 years of experience in the martial arts. To contact him, visit Independent Karate Schools of America.
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Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 2
Before you dig into this post, would you like to read Part 1? If so, go here now.
Regardless of specifics, from the time of the first Kamakura shogun, Zen Buddhism had found its foothold in ancient Japan, and its impact was imminent. One key point that Winston L. King brought up (see Bibliography) was that Zen monks did not enter into politics to advance in the imperial court. He gave three rather lengthy reasons for this lack of political striving:
Zen, by nature, was anti-institutional; its timing was such that it was not introduced during a warring period; and its monks already held top advisory positions in the shogun’s councils, so there was no need for further political striving. (31)
As stated above, the move to Kamakura put Zen monks in a position of close confidence with the military leaders of the day. Even though this relationship had humble beginnings and was probably mostly secular in nature (record keeping, political advising, etc.), it grew quickly as the employers of those monks realized there was more to be gained from Zen’s religious aspects than just sutra study and recitation.
The warrior class was quick to see the potential for “special spiritual and psychological strength from Zen, which contributed to the strength of character, firmness of will and imperviousness to suffering on which they prided themselves.” (Reischauer 1989, 53)
With similar prized characteristics as a goal of sorts, Zen meditation and martial arts training naturally complemented each other. The spiritual path of Zen was one that the samurai found most appealing. Truth, in the Zen tradition, was to be found within the deepest core of one’s visceral being, not in the intellect. This put the truth well within the range of the samurai’s awareness and emotional compatibility. (King 1993, 163)
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Zen offered the samurai what no amount of physical training or knowledge of military strategy could. The purpose of Zen meditation was to open this martial training to the subconscious, instinctive forces of his being that governed action without thought. (King 1993, 166) The techniques of swordsmanship were not inherently flawed, but the factor that was most open to imperfections was the mind of the practitioner. Zen offered what is called mushin, or no-mind.
Taisen Deshimaru likened mushin to “the body thinking.” (1991, 78) In D.T. Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture, it is described thus: “[It is] going beyond the dualism of all forms of life and death, good and evil, being and non-being. … Hereby he becomes a kind of automation, so to speak, as far as his own consciousness is concerned.” (94)
Takuan Soho wrote about mushin in three letters to Yagyu Munenori, head of the Yagyu Shinkage school of swordsmanship. (King 1993, 167) A passage reads as follows:
“Mugaku meant that in wielding the sword, in the infinitesimal time it takes lightning to strike, there is neither mind nor thought. For the striking, there is no mind. For myself, who is about to be struck, there is no mind. The attacker is emptiness. His sword is emptiness. I, who am about to be struck, am emptiness. … Completely forget about the mind and you will do all things well.” (37)
To understand this is to understand the heart of Zen. Some might call this having a satori (realization of a profound truth). Zen, having in its nature a focus on the non-rational mind, is difficult to explain by merely defining theses. The best way to understand Zen thought is by illustration. One of the best illustrations of how one might benefit from Zen training comes from Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture:
“He who deliberates and moves his brush intent on making a picture, misses to a still greater extent the art of painting. Draw bamboo for 10 years, become a bamboo, then forget all about bamboo when you are drawing. In possession of an infallible technique, the individual places himself at the mercy of inspiration.
“To become a bamboo and to forget that you are one with it while drawing it — this is the Zen of the bamboo, this is the moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit which resides in the bamboo as well as in the artist himself. What is now required of him is to have a firm hold on the spirit and yet not to be conscious of the fact.” (31)
This passage entails the entire essence of Zen and the martial arts. Through zazen, or seated meditation, one comes to know mushin. With the prerequisite of swordsmanship training, the practitioner then must forget that he has this library of knowledge and act instinctually through the fine filter of his “forgotten” techniques. “Forgetting learning, relinquishing mind, harmonizing without any self-conscious knowledge thereof, is the ultimate consummation of the way.” (Munenori 1993, 69)
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If a cup containing water is knocked over, the water splashes out in random directions without conscious thought. This is similar to the natural instincts one has in a deadly situation. For the water, the cup being knocked over is the threat, and where the water splashes is the reaction.
The addition of martial arts training is likened to having a funnel in hand while the cup is being knocked over. One hopes that with adequate readiness, he will be able to catch the water in the air and direct it in the proper way with the power of the funnel. The addition of the cultivation of mushin is likened to taping the funnel around the mouth of the cup, thus relieving the funnel of the need for conscious thought. The power of the funnel is given the same fluidity and rhythm as the situation itself.
Without thought, the situation arises. Without thought, a reaction takes place. Without thought, the final destination is obtained.
The emphasis on “moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit” is essential when one raises the following question: How can a philosophy of Buddhist origin can be so closely associated with the military class? The training of Zen meditation, zazen, is said to return the mind to its original state, that of being in harmony with the cosmic order of things.
Speaking of this in terms of God and consciousness, Deshimaru wrote: “It is satori consciousness. The self has dropped away and dissolved. It is the consciousness of God. It is God.” (1991, 66)
For Westerners, this idea might cause problems. Our thought has always been of God as a transcendent figure. But in actuality, this is where Western thought has the most difficulty in religious philosophy: explaining how a transcendent God can be a key figure to humanity. Zen finds “god” right here and now. As Zen masters like to say, “The present moment is pregnant with god.”
In this way, the actions of the samurai go beyond simple right and wrong. They are as bound to common morality as the wind, which may help pollination or spread wildfires.
In the above-mentioned example of the cup of water, it would seem improper to ask, “Was the movement of the funnel good or bad (moral or immoral)?” It was neither good nor bad. It had no real reaction of its own. It only flowed with the movement of the situation. One cannot say that the actions of the cup were distinct from the situation, thereby requiring a moral judgment. Such is the mind of the samurai trained in Zen. A situation is neither moral nor immoral. The samurai, through the cultivation of mushin, acts without intent. Thus, the samurai’s mind is not distinct from the situation and is not subject to moral judgment.
The nature of the samurai becomes the nature of everything. The weapon of the samurai, the katana, becomes transformed along with the person. In the hands of an unworthy warrior, the sword is subject to being an implement of destruction. In the hands of a samurai, the sword becomes subject to the will of heaven. When drawn, it is as the wind which blows with no regard for intent. Yet when the sword is in its scabbard by the side of the samurai, it is most precise in its cut.
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There is a Zen saying that the katana is at one time the “sword of life” and the “sword of death.” The focus of the blade is turned inward on whoever possesses it. It is a symbol by which the samurai is reminded to cut down his own imperfection and attachment to the impermanent world. It thereby gives true life to the one who wears it and death to the people or ideas that stand in the way of the will of heaven. The sword is part of the samurai. The samurai obeys the way. Therefore, the sword of life and the sword of death coexist.
When we think of the Japanese warrior, we must remember the ideals of the Zen tradition if we wish understand the path of this unique historical fixture. As discussed above, the development of Zen in Japan coincided with the development of the samurai. Zen refined the characteristics that made the samurai a distinguished warrior. Zen reached into the depths of the Japanese warrior and created a person of such concentrated awareness, piety and determination that future generations will forever be fascinated and inspired.
Andrew Abele is a freelance writer based in Metairie, Louisiana. He has studied shotokan karate for more than two decades.
Read Part 1 of this post here.
Bibliography
Allyn, John. 1998. The 47 Ronin Story. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
Bodhidharma. (translated by) Pine, Red. 1987. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. New York: North Point Press.
Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. Questions to a Zen Master. New York: Penguin Books.
Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. The Zen Way to the Martial Arts. New York: Arkana Books.
Deshimaru, Taisen. 1996. Sit: Zen Teachings of Master Taisen Deshimaru. Arizona: Hohm Press.
King, Winston L. 1993. Zen and the Way of the Sword. New York: Oxford University Press.
Munenori, Yagyu. (translated by) Clearly, Thomas. 1993. Family Traditions on the Art of War. Massachusetts: Shambhala.
Musashi, Miyamoto. (translated by) Cleary, Thomas. 1993. The Book of Five Rings. Massachusetts: Shambhala.
Nitobe, Inazo. 1969. Bushido: The Soul of Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
Reischauer, Edwin O.; Craig, Albert M. 1989. Japan: Tradition and Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Soho, Takuan. 1986. The Unfettered Mind. Tokyo: Kodansha International.
Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1959. Zen and Japanese Culture. New York: MJF Books.
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Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 1
People today may find it unusual to think of religious philosophy as the backbone of military training, yet that’s just what we find when we examine the military class of early Japan. Westerners are often confused by the term “religious philosophy” because in the West, those two subjects are distinct schools of thought. Until recently in Japan, however, there was no separation: They were connected in the sense that religion was philosophy acted out as a way of living.
One of the more popular Eastern religions, Zen, concentrates on living life to the utmost in the here and now, as opposed to focusing on the afterlife. If Zen practitioners live in this very moment, all the rest — whatever else that may entail — will fall into place naturally. That includes the main concern of the samurai warriors: proper action in the midst of deadly combat.
Two major turning points affected the development of the samurai. The first was the Gempei War (1180-1185), which led to the rise of the official warrior class. The roots of this war began in the Heian period (794-1185), when the prominent imperial family names were the be-all and end-all of social status, as well as the key to the imperial court. The Fujiwara lineage was becoming too complicated and far-reaching for it to retain its prestigious air.
Thus, “excess members of the imperial line were cut off from it and given the family names of Minamoto (also known as Genji) or Taira (also called Heiki).” (Reischauer 1989, 40) These families then migrated to other areas of Japan and used their imperial heritage to form a new aristocracy over the descendants of the old provincial uji (small counties that were unified by the worship of the same god, usually an ancestor). (Reischauer 1989, 40)
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As these families established that new form of provincial aristocracy, the hunger for court positions remained as strong as ever. Beginning in the late 11th century and continuing until 1185, the clans of Minamoto and Taira fought desperately to gain a foothold in the imperial line.
Soon enough, a major battle ensued — and nearly wiped out the Minamoto clan except for two sons of a general named Yoshitomo: Yoritomo and Yoshitsune.
Reischauer wrote, “Yoritomo extended his control over the Kanto area, and his younger brother Yoshitsune then seized the capital area for him and pursued the Taira down the Inland Sea to its western end, where he finally annihilated them in 1185 at Dan-no-ura in a naval battle.” (1989, 43) That conflict became known as the Gempei War. In recognition of the Minamoto clan, in 1192 the emperor declared Yoritomo to be the realm’s shogun, thus beginning the reign of the warrior class. (King 1993, 44) That happened one year after the return of Eisai, founder of Japan’s first definitive Zen sect.
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The second important incident that contributed to the development of the samurai was the establishment of the reverence for the sword. Nearly a century after the battle at Dan-no-ura, Japan was threatened by an outside entity — the Mongols, who had already conquered China, Korea and parts of Europe. When the Mongols turned their attention to Japan, they conveyed their demands to the Japanese court in 1266. (Reischauer 1989, 47) Japan refused, and Mongol forces were dispatched for Kyushu. Had it not been for bad weather — which made the Mongols retreat — the Japanese surely would have lost to the Mongols’ superior archers.
A second Mongol attack was launched in 1281 with some 140,000 men, yet the invaders were held offshore by Japan’s coastal fortresses. (Reischauer 1989, 48) That gave the Japanese the upper hand by enabling them to use smaller boats to board the Mongol junks and fight at close range, thus demonstrating the superiority of the Japanese blade.
Following several such attacks by the Japanese, a typhoon — known as a kamikaze, or “divine wind” — destroyed the Mongol army. From this battle onward, the Japanese warrior class regarded the sword as the weapon of choice. Because great strength of will and concentration, as opposed to just technical skill, are needed to succeed in lightning-fast blade duels, the samurai turned to Zen.
Bodhidharma
Zen began in India. Around 440 to 520, a priest named Bodhidharma taught that one could attain nirvana through meditation, not just through rigorous study of the sutra (scriptures). After learning the dharma (Buddhist teachings on law and duty), Bodhidharma was told to travel to China to teach this method. (Bodhidharma 1987, x) That happened because India had grown accustomed to keeping scriptures in a sacred light. Being the birthplace of the Buddhist tripitika (three baskets of teachings) and the home of Hinduism (which has as its defining factor the acknowledgment of the authority of the Vedic scriptures), there didn’t seem to be much room in India for Bodhidharma’s lack of reverence for the scriptures.
Although meditation wasn’t new to India, the texts that pointed to those meditation practices were still held in the highest regard. Bodhidharma added more emphasis to meditation and took it away from the scriptures — as can be seen in his Bloodstream Sermon: “The true way is sublime. It can’t be expressed in language. Of what use are scriptures? The ultimate truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They’re all cradles of rebirth.” (Bodhidharma 1987, 29)
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China, although previously exposed to doctrinal Buddhism, seemed to be a better prospect for large-scale acceptance of such teachings. Thus, having arrived in Southern China around 475, Bodhidharma began to spread his ideas of Chan (Chinese for Zen) meditation with his own twist: “While others viewed Zen as purification of the mind or as a stage on the way to buddhahood, Bodhidharma equated Zen with buddhahood and buddhahood with the mind, the everyday mind.” (Bodhidharma 1987, xv)
Once in China, Zen was exposed to Taoism. Taoism is the way of nature. The Tao is within everything. The goal of Taoism is to be in harmony with the Tao. With this goal in mind, sages such as Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu wrote about what a Tao-governed life should be. However, as descriptive of the Tao as these writings were, they were enigmatic in their explanation of a concrete method of bringing about such a life. (King 1993, 11)
Zen, with its teaching of the buddha-nature within everything, intermingled with Taoism very easily. “The word ‘Tao’ was often used in Chan Buddhism to express the supreme wisdom-reality of [this] Buddhist truth.” (King 1993, 10) What Chan offered to Taoism was the organized method of letting the buddha-nature (Tao) arise in one’s life here and now. This is not to say that the two religions ever officially merged because they did not, but Zen did benefit greatly from exposure to Taoism.
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This new form of Buddhism, with its friendly association with philosophical Taoism, gradually developed into one of the prominent religions in China. After the death of the sixth patriarch Hui-neng (638-713, known as Eno in Japan), five distinct schools were formed. The two most prominent became known as Rinzai (founded by Lin-chi around the mid-ninth century) and Soto (founded by Dogen in the mid-13th century). (Deshimaru 1996, xxxiii)
The Chan teachings made their way to Japan around the seventh century and were adopted as part of the spiritual training of the Tendai sect and given a home at Enryakuji. Eisai, a monk from that temple, traveled to China to deepen his Chan understanding and returned in 1191 as an ordained Rinzai monk to establish a temple in Kyoto specifically for Zen practice. (King 1993, 28)
Zen was a seedling that was planted during the Kamakura era and blossomed during the Ashikaga era. From then on, Zen continued to color life in all aspects of Japanese culture — especially the samurai class, which was socially elevated in 1192 by the emergence of the shogun.
As stated above, the establishment of Rinzai Zen as a separate and distinct form of Buddhism occurred in 1191 with the return of Eisai from China. Eisai’s new form of Buddhism was not immediately accepted by the established sects. In fact, he was expelled from Kyoto but soon won the favor of the shogun in Kamakura. Eventually, five major Zen temples were built, and they became centers of literature, art and learning. (Reischauer 1989, 53)
The fact that the Kamakura shogun took a liking to Eisai’s new method could be considered the first major advancement of Zen in Japanese society. As Reischauer wrote, “Warrior leaders came to draw on the Zen priesthood for both scribes and advisers, and they themselves sometimes retired to Zen monasteries when they wished to escape the pressures of secular life.” (1989, 53)
Keep in mind that these were the same people who held the majority of power in the Japanese government. Had Eisai stayed in Kyoto and not been supported by the people wielding the most authority, Zen might have been overshadowed for quite some time by the imperial traditions of Tendai and Shingon. This is not to say that Zen would not have found as deep a place in the heart of Japan, but its influence on history, art and literature might have been delayed for years.
(To be continued. The author’s bibliography will be posted with the conclusion.)
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Jillian Michaels: How Martial Arts Took Her From Rock Bottom to The Biggest Loser!
Where You’ve Seen Her: The Biggest Loser
Martial Arts Experience: karate, muay Thai, akarui-do
As inspirational stories go, this one’s pretty remarkable. Start with a 5-foot-2-inch, 175-pound, 14-year-old girl who’s devoted to junk food and facing the emotional trauma of her parents’ impending divorce. Give the mother the foresight to enroll her daughter in a local karate dojo, hoping that maybe the sensei will straighten her out. Let the instructor’s cutting assessment of her constant snacking sink to her deepest sense of self and spark a permanent shift in behavior.
Give her a few years to establish herself as a serious force in personal physical transformation and voilà! You have fitness guru Jillian Michaels.
Just one look at her fitness training and martial arts background gives the impression that Michaels could be preparing for competition. Is she?
“No, but it’s very much like that,” Jillian Michaels says. “[I practice] a hybrid style, and it’s extraordinarily combative. I never wanted to compete because I didn’t want to get messed up. As much as I love the sport, I do not want my face bashed in.”
By the time Jillian Michaels was 29, she had her own sports-medicine business in Beverly Hills, California. That’s when one of her clients, an agent, told her about a reality show on the horizon. Titled The Biggest Loser, it could be the missing link in Michaels’ path to mainstream recognition and success, he said. Ironically, she wasn’t all that thrilled.
“My first reaction was disinterest,” Jillian Michaels admits. “But he convinced me to [audition], and they told me, ‘We’re going to give you six people and you’ll control their lives.’ I figured it’d be good for the gym. Cut to four years later, and I’m still doing it.” (Michaels left The Biggest Loser in 2014.)
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The exposure catapulted Michaels into a national spotlight, allowing her to publish books and DVDs, star in her own fitness show and pursue opportunities from vitamins to fresh-food delivery. Her latest book is Making the Cut, and she’s working on a diet book based on hormone balance.
Despite her fame, Jillian Michaels remains down to earth about her success. “You win some and lose some,” she says. “I heard that 95 percent of people who lose a large amount of weight will gain it back. That said, I think I’ve had a 50-percent success rate, but it’s obviously not just about diet and exercise; it’s hugely psychological. Why did they put the weight on in the first place? That’s their drug, that’s how they’re self-medicating and comforting themselves. These things are not healed in a couple of months. If they don’t understand the importance of continuing to do the emotional work, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll put all that weight back on.”
A supportive environment provides a big head start. Jillian Michaels discovered that when she took up karate.
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“The dojo was like a family to me,” she says. “You are the company you keep, so if you’re around healthy people who take care of themselves, people who are motivated and driven, that’s going to reflect on you. I had a studio full of brothers. I looked up to them and wanted to be like them, but they were extremely unforgiving. I was in a corner of the dojo getting side-kicked in the solar plexus again and again until I stopped crying. Crying isn’t bad, but you have to toughen up and get motivated — to stop being a victim, pull yourself together and fight your way out.
“[Martial arts training] gave me a sense of self and strength, but also a philosophy on how to live my life. It taught me about taking action and being aggressive in life and going after what you want. It’s given me the tools so that I can help other people do the same.”
Photo by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Universal
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How to Prepare to Defend Yourself Against Real Violence When You’ve Never Experienced It
Telling other people how to use self-defense skills to survive a dangerous or potentially lethal encounter when you’ve never experienced one can be pretentious.
No matter how much experience you may have in the karate dojo, it cannot compare to those occasions when you’re facing an adversary bent on doing some massive or terminal damage.
Having said this — and admitting that, thankfully, I’ve never had to fight for my life — I will offer the following observations on the role karate and other martial arts can play in self-defense.
A major difficulty faced by normal people in violent encounters is that, with few exceptions, the behavior of the attacker just doesn’t make sense. If you’re walking down a dark street and someone sticks a gun in your side and demands your cash, you may be surprised. However, you won’t be confused because you understand the motive of the robber. (In fact, that very knowledge will probably keep you from walking down that dark street in the first place.)
But what about the guy who’s standing at the corner beside you, the guy who suddenly whirls and plants a fist in your ear? It’s unfortunate that unpremeditated, senseless attacks like this are becoming more common. Extreme examples include shootings in schools and workplaces. “The guy just went crazy!” is the usual description after the carnage.
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Walking down the dark street, you’re prepared for the potential violence that might logically happen. Standing on the street corner when a nut cuts loose is something you’re not prepared for, however. Nor can you be. You don’t want to live in a state of combat readiness 24 hours a day. It’s not practical, and it isn’t healthy.
What you can do is train to eliminate your internal rules that say all aggressive acts must “make sense.”
The guy on the corner suddenly attacks. Chances are, you see it coming — at least you’re aware of the oncoming blow. What slows your physical reaction is your mental reaction: “What’s he doing this for? Why’s he swinging at me? He must’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
Thoughts like those immediately form, and they keep on forming even if you’re still standing after the strike has connected. They’re perfectly logical. They occur because you’re a reasonable, rational human being. After it’s all over, they’re appropriate thought processes. In the midst of a violent encounter, though, they’re useless. You must learn to short-circuit them.
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“Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out!” is an example of silly, macho strutting that no one could take seriously. But you should adopt the attitude that you must deal with the attack now and worry about its motivations later on. Insisting that an attack “make sense” before you respond can get you seriously injured or killed.
There’s nothing much here to argue with, you’re probably saying, but what’s the answer? How do you learn to bypass logic and reasoning and let your body take over? You do it the same way human beings have always successfully trained to deal with unexpected aggression — through kata.
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Of course, the proven method hasn’t always been called kata. The military calls it basic training. The police use similar names. But on some important levels, it’s all the same. The routine goes something like this:
Repeat basic movements over and over. Instill them on a level where they’re nearly instinctive and work without conscious thought. Practice them in different sequences. Practice them against opponents who attack in expected ways and then, increasingly, in unexpected ways. Learn them so thoroughly they’re spontaneous and dependable in any situation.
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One of the primary goals of kata training is to integrate physical movements independent of conscious volition. It’s not easy, nor is it quickly accomplished. Despite ignorant criticisms of it by those who’ve never seriously undertaken the process, it’s the most reliable method for learning how to deal with the kinds of illogical attacks encountered on the street.
There’s no reason to be ashamed of being reasonable or of expecting the world to work in a logical way. The problem crops up when you insist that reality must consist only of reasonable, logical actions. Sometimes you will run into people who don’t share your view. At that point, you must use your kata training to deal with them. Their aggression may not make sense, but your response should.
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Aikido Master Koichi Tohei Explains the Concept of Ki (Internal Energy)
This look back at our martial arts roots comes from the pen of Koichi Tohei (1920 – 2011). Koichi Tohei was a student of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba and served as head instructor at the Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. He later split from Morihei Ueshiba’s organization and founded the Ki Society.
Koichi Tohei, who was a 10th-degree black belt when he died, is the martial artist credited with popularizing aikido in the United States. Among his more famous aikido students is actor Steven Seagal.
—Editors
“Power of mind is infinite while brawn is limited.”
Time and time again, our daily newspapers run headlines regarding “Man Throws Piano in Fit of Anger,” “Tiny Woman Lifts Car to Save Son” and other incredible feats. Such stories baffle not only readers but also scientists. For centuries, man has endeavored to find a logical answer for these apparently superhuman deeds without much success.
But to an aikido practitioner, such astonishing acts are readily understood. If, at a given moment, your mind or spirit coordinates perfectly with your body, incredible strength results — more than 10 times your normal power. This perfect coordination of body and mind, unfortunately, will never occur for the great majority of people. The uninitiated few who gain this power almost always experience it during an emergency.
But a highly trained person such as an aikido practitioner can execute and command this strength whenever he deems it necessary. The question that follows naturally is, “How can you coordinate your mind with your body?” To answer this question, you must first learn the meaning of ki (mind or spirit).
Koichi Tohei (right)
Ki is not a component of your brain, whose chief function consists of thinking. The ki that an aikido practitioner refers to is located at the center of one’s anatomy — a point just below the navel called saika no itten. From this central point, human power or strength originates before flowing to other parts of the body.
This can best be illustrated by imagining that your body is similar to an electrical mechanism. Your brain operates like a battery. It sends messages to a starter point, which in turn acts like a generator and transmits strength to any part of the body.
For another illustration, imagine your arms as rubber hoses attached to the saika no itten point, which acts as a valve. The water is the ki. As you release the water, the hoses (your arms) become firmer and stronger as more liquid (ki) flows through them. Your fingers must be fully extended, permitting the ki to flow through them. If your fists are clenched, the force is cut off, very much like bending a rubber hose and thus cutting off the flow of water from the nozzle.
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Paradoxically, ki is simple and plain — yet it is difficult to describe. Ki is around us like the air we breathe. But until we develop ki ourselves to a stage where we can actually feel it within us, explanation will be hard. It is like trying to describe a vivid scene to a person who is blind. Each of us is endowed with ki at birth, but most of us remain unaware of it.
However, as we develop our ki through training, eventually we can even sense another person applying his ki. Until we are in that position, most exhibitions of aikido will seem phony because all the throws and maneuvers are done with such ease and grace.
What is aikido and what part does it play in our modern way of living? Aikido literally means “mind together with your opponent’s.” Although aikido is an art of self-defense, self-defense is of secondary importance. Developing ki is the primary objective.
But in order to develop your ki, one must first learn the throws and movements of aikido. Once these are mastered, you can concentrate on synchronizing your ki with your techniques.
As our modern world grows more frenzied and chaotic, we tend to create tension within ourselves — eventually, this results in neurosis and often in stomach ulcers. To attain relief, humans have consumed millions of sleeping pills and tranquilizers. But usually these are only temporary expedients. To find permanent relief, many have turned to yoga, Zen and aikido.
This latter art is intended for modern man because ki training need not be done impassively; it can be performed as one goes about his daily work. Actually, a highly trained aikido practitioner can even keep his ki animated while he sleeps. Aikido training, in addition to developing unknown powers and relaxing tension, also molds character.
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Consider the case of Tom S. From childhood until his mid-20s, he possessed an uncontrollable temper. “Tom would smash the glassware and kick the door down if I did not have dinner ready on time,” his wife explained.
“But after he had practiced aikido for about six months, Tom’s character changed immensely. He stopped kicking the door and didn’t bark at the children anymore. I’m so glad Tom studied aikido because we certainly have a happier home now.”
In Hawaii, there are dozens of documented stories of rough, young punks who once thrashed other people simply because they didn’t like the victims’ appearance, and then changed into proper citizens after aikido training. Aikido is the most recently introduced self-defense art, but it has already established itself in Hawaii and has taken root in California — obviously, for good reason.
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Best of the Best: Bill Wallace Picks the Top 10 Karate Fighters of the 20th Century
In the early 1980s, I was asked to name the top 10 karate fighters of the 20th century.
Here’s my list again — for the benefit of all the martial artists who never saw it when it ran and for those who are too young to have lived through those early years of martial arts in America.
No. 1 on my list of top 10 karate fighters was Joe Lewis. I picked him because I have never met anybody who said he enjoyed sparring with Joe Lewis. I sparred with him several times and learned a lot, but I didn’t enjoy it — it hurt!
Joe Lewis (Black Belt photo)
Joe Lewis was very quick, and he knew where to hit you. In my estimation, he was probably the best because he was always in great physical condition, he was strong and powerful, he didn’t mind getting hit and he liked to hit you.
My No. 2 choice was Chuck Norris. When I started in karate in 1966, Norris was the epitome of the karate man. I saw him on TV doing jump spinning back kicks and different combinations, and he was my hero then. I saw Chuck Norris fight several times, and if he’s not No. 1, he’s definitely No. 2.
Chuck Norris, left (Black Belt photo)
Mike Stone was my No. 3 choice. I never saw Stone fight; I’m just going by what other people have told me. He was mean and aggressive, and the word “lose” was not in his vocabulary. His attitude was, “If we’re going to fight, we’re going to fight hard.”
Mike Stone’s fights weren’t pretty, from what I understand. He was a winner, and when he beat you, you knew he’d won.
Mike Stone (Black Belt photo)
My No. 4 choice was Ron Marchini. I fought him in 1970. He was a very good counter puncher, a good technician and a good all-around karate fighter. In 1969 he was voted the top competitor on the mainland team in the Mainland vs. Hawaii series, and he deserved that honor.
My No. 5 choice was Tonny Tulleners. I never saw him fight, but I met him several years ago. He’s a tall, rough-and-tumble guy. I watched him “spar” with his students, if that’s what you want to call it — he beat on them. Tulleners had a fantastic reverse punch, great timing, great distancing and good movement. He made me believe everything I’d heard about him.
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No. 6 was Skipper Mullins. I fought him once in Dallas. That was enough. I won that fight, but he was the one I fashioned my kicks after. He was the first one I saw throw a roundhouse kick with his forward leg and be effective with it.
My No. 7 pick was Mike Warren. He was one of the best fighters the United States ever produced. He had all the agility in the world, all the speed and all the confidence. At one Battle of Atlanta tournament, Warren beat everybody. He beat me, Darnell Garcia and a bunch of guys. He was a superb athlete and a phenomenal kicker. We fought four times; he won twice and I won twice.
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Frank Smith was No. 8 on my list. I never saw him fight, but from what a lot of respectable fighters tell me, he was one bad dude: a great technician and a strong fighter. Because of politics, Frank Smith, Mike Warren and Tonny Tulleners rarely fought in open tournaments, and they didn’t get the credit and recognition due them.
No. 9 was Howard Jackson. He and I did spar, and we were good friends. Jackson was a superb technician — greased lightning, very fast. His competitive career was cut short by a knee injury.
Can you imagine being the No. 1 fighter in the entire country, being at the top of your career, walking into a ring to fight at a small tournament in Denver, taking a step, slipping on a cup and tearing your knee up? That’s exactly what happened to Howard Jackson, and it ruined his career — a real shame.
Howard Jackson (Black Belt photo)
The No. 10 person on my list of greats was … me. I don’t know why I should be listed here, except that I was very lucky. I liked to kick, and I liked to fight. I guess I enjoyed that one-on-one confrontation.
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Every time I fought, I never thought about losing. I felt the way Mike Stone did: If we’re going to spar, let’s spar. But if we’re calling points, then there’s going to be a winner and a loser — and I’m going to be the winner.
Bill Wallace (right, with referee Jay T. Will) (Black Belt photo)
There are some guys I was forced to leave off the list when I made it. Anthony “Mafia” Holloway and Kevin Thompson were probably two of the best fighters around. And another guy who should definitely have been listed is Benny Urquidez because he was a superb point fighter before he got into full-contact karate. He was one of the best because he was willing to fight by any rules.
As I look over this list now, I see something in common. There are about six of us here — Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris, Mike Stone, Tonny Tulleners, Frank Smith and me — who hated to lose. I remember losing at point tournaments, and people would say, “Come on, Bill, let’s go to the party.” And I’d say, “I ain’t going to no bleeping party! I’m mad!” None of those guys would have said, “Oh, it’s only a point tournament.”
I was a perfectionist. I wanted to win every time. And I wanted every technique I threw to score. If I beat you 15-1 and still missed three or four kicks, I was upset. I wanted to be perfect. The guys on this list were like that.
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FMA 101: A Practical Primer on the Filipino Martial Arts
In this post, Julius Melegrito — who’s on the cover of the April/May 2017 issue of Black Belt, shown below — explains key concepts from the group of styles commonly referred to as the Filipino Martial Arts: escrima, kali and arnis. If you haven’t started your FMA training yet, this will whet your appetite. If you’re a veteran of the stick-fighting and knife-fighting arts, you’ll have your memory jogged even if you don’t learn anything new. — Editor
Classics: “Your whole purpose in classical Filipino stick fighting is to hit your opponent until he’s out of the fight — you don’t mess around with other techniques like traps,” Julius Melegrito says.
Julius Melegrito on the cover of the April/May 2017 issue of Black Belt.
Targets: “In practice, you use your stick to hit his stick as close to his gripping hand as you can manage while staying safe, but in a real fight, you’d hit the hand,” Julius Melegrito says. “It usually makes him drop his weapon. Of course, in a fight, an attempt to hit his hand might miss, which is why you practice follow-ups.”
Follow-Up: Melegrito likes to use an empty hand — assuming he’s not holding a second stick — to check the opponent’s hand right after it’s hit. That’s his insurance policy: If the strike doesn’t have the intended effect for whatever reason, Melegrito can prevent the man from bringing the hand back into action. He immediately follows up with a stick strike to the forearm, elbow, face, neck or some other available target.
Simplicity: “You don’t try to grab him or do anything else,” Julius Melegrito says. “You just hit anything that comes at you — be it a hand, a knife or whatever. Whoever hits first usually wins the battle.”
Legs: If the opponent kicks, the same principles apply, Melegrito says. Aim for the foot or ankle, check the leg if necessary and then follow up. Don’t try to trap the leg.
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Schism: “In classical stick fighting, the stick is treated like a sword — which means all strikes are regarded as cuts,” Julius Melegrito says. “If you’re doing the classical arts, you don’t touch the stick because that would be like touching a sharp sword blade. In modern Filipino stick fighting, however, the stick is treated like a stick.”
Modern Approach: “In the modern arts, it’s OK to touch the stick,” he says. “After all, it’s a stick, not a sword. You just treat it as an impact weapon. When the guy swings at you, you intercept his strike with a strike from your stick — aimed at his hand — then you grab his weapon close to his hand if he doesn’t drop it. Grabbing it allows you to use it against him or take it away.”
Options: “Once you grab his stick, move it out of the way if you want to strike,” Julius Melegrito says. “If he holds onto it, his arm will be carried along with the weapon, which will leave his body open for your counterstrike. If he tries to kick, you can maneuver the stick down to block his shin, then hit his body with your stick. Or you can use his stick to lock his arm. At any point, you have the option of switching to the classical approach and just hitting him.”
Disarms: Part of modern stick fighting is separating your opponent from his weapon, Melegrito says. As he already mentioned, you can hit the hand holding the stick with the intention of making him drop it. You also can leverage it out of his hand using a twisting motion. Or you can use your stick to push his stick out of his hand in such a way that it goes flying. This last category of techniques he calls “projectile disarms.”
Warning: “Disarming an attacker is a good concept for self-defense, but before you can disarm him, you have to grab his stick, and to do that safely, you have to understand the angles at which it’s dangerous,” Julius Melegrito says. “Of course, it helps if you ‘soften’ him up with a strike before you try the disarm. Then it’s easier to use leverage to force the stick out of his hand.”
Theory: “In modern stick fighting, the whole idea is if you can hit his hand, you can probably grab his stick, and if you can grab his stick, you can disarm him,” he says. “If it’s a knife, that changes things a little — your survival depends on being able to grab it before he stabs you. Then you can disarm him and maybe use it against him.”
Progression: Once you have the theory and the basics down pat, it’s time for partner training, Melegrito says. “Start with static disarms and work your way up to dynamic disarms, in which you both are moving when you try it.”
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Shield: “Modern stick fighting is not just about beating somebody up — you don’t always have to hit,” he says. “This is very important to know in situations where there are a lot of witnesses because if you have a stick and your opponent doesn’t, the witnesses are going to view you as the aggressor. After all, you’re armed and you’re hitting him. That’s why you also need to know how to use a stick as a shield. These defensive techniques are good for police officers or anyone who doesn’t want to injure the other person.”
Impact: The key to using a stick as a shield lies in positioning it in a nonthreatening location — such as parallel to your forearm — so it can absorb the force of an attack. Then, in the eyes of witnesses, it’s the aggressor who’s causing the problem by hitting you. All you’re doing is blocking. “This training is especially good for kids to learn because it’s totally defensive,” Julius Melegrito says.
Shield Variation: Say you’re walking along a street with an umbrella or cane in your hand. An aggressor approaches, and you raise your makeshift weapon. He grabs it with one hand to intimidate you, which prompts you to place your free hand on the other end of the weapon. Then he chambers his fist and unleashes a punch. “You can use the umbrella to block by raising it into the path of his fist,” Julius Melegrito says. “If he tries to grab you again, you can lower the stick and block the arm. It also works if he tries to kick.”
Escape: “To make him release your umbrella so you can use it in other ways, twist it and snap it down,” he says. Then you can scoot behind him, assuming the situation warrants and your skills are up to the task, and apply a choke. “The idea is to use the umbrella in a way that doesn’t involve hitting,” Melegrito says. “You can push against his throat to get him away, or you can deflect a punch and go to a position in which you have it against the side of his neck. Once he’s under control, then you can talk: ‘Hey, what seems to be the problem?’ It’s totally different from him grabbing you and you hitting him.”
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Alternative: You also can use a stick — or an umbrella or a cane — to encircle an opponent’s torso and arms for an impromptu bear hug. “It gives you a chance to talk rather than immediately hurt the guy,” he says.
Control: That final category of techniques in modern stick fighting — moves that enable you to restrict or immobilize an attacker without inflicting harm — is an essential one to master in our litigious society. “When a guy comes up to you and reaches out, maybe he just likes your shirt — you don’t know,” Melegrito says. “That’s why in many situations it’s better to control than to immediately start hitting.”
Julius Melegrito operates Martial Arts International in Bellevue, Nebraska. He is the creator of Stix 4 Kids, Philippine Combatives and Sandata System. A seventh-degree black belt in Filipino martial arts and fourth degree in tang soo do/taekwondo, he serves as the stick and knife director for the International Combat Hapkido Federation. Melegrito is the founder of the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance with affiliated schools in Australia, Russia and the USA.
Photos by Robert Reiff
Go here to order the three DVDs that make up Philippine Fighting Arts, produced by Julius Melegrito and Black Belt magazine.
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Donnie Yen: The Martial Artist Who Brought a Wing Chun Legend to Life in 3 Ip Man Movies
Donnie Yen first appeared on my radar 25 years ago, when his name often graced the pages of martial arts periodicals. I learned that Donnie Yen, the son of Boston-based wushu pioneer and Black Belt Hall of Famer Bow Sim Mark, stood out from his peers because of his strong stances and aesthetic postures, which helped him dominate the competition at martial arts tournaments.
In part because he longed to follow in the footsteps of Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen decided to try his hand at action films. Like Bruce Lee, he opted to return to southern China, where he found work as a stuntman in Hong Kong. Donnie Yen quickly leveled up to starring roles, commanding the screen opposite Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) and as hung gar kung fu master Wong Kei-Ying in Iron Monkey (1993). (The movie found U.S. distribution in 2001 thanks to Quentin Tarantino and Miramax.)
With hit after hit under his belt, Donnie Yen built himself into one of Asia’s most bankable actors. In 2008 he landed what would be his heaviest role to date: playing wing chun grandmaster Yip Man in Ip Man. (The Chinese family name Yip can be Romanized as Yip or Ip. In this article, I will use “Ip Man” to refer to the movie and “Yip Man” to refer to the man.)
Portraying the martial artist who was Bruce Lee’s master didn’t come without immense pressure and criticism, but the movie’s box-office performance and the rabid following it generated online proved the naysayers wrong — and set the stage for two sequels.
When the publicity tour for the latest film, Ip Man 3, brought Donnie Yen and co-star Mike Tyson to Los Angeles, I got an opportunity to interview Yen and hear about the struggles, triumphs, insights and visions that make up his life. Bearing a gift from my teacher, Black Belt Hall of Fame member Dan Inosanto, I entered the room, hoping for a good conversation. What I got was a great interview with a man who’s humble, hardworking and still hungry for higher achievements.
***
It’s an honor to finally meet you. I have a gift for you from someone you might have heard of: Dan Inosanto.
Donnie Yen: Wow! Thank you so much. I’ve heard so much about him and followed his career for years, but I never had the opportunity to meet him in person. Please thank him for me.
I spoke to him just before coming here, and he’s a huge fan of yours. Not only does he love your movies, but he also had high praise, saying that Bruce Lee would’ve been pleased with your work had he lived to see it.
Donnie Yen: That’s overwhelming. Please thank sifu Inosanto for me. [He tells his wife and his manager excitedly in Cantonese that Dan Inosanto was the training partner, best friend and top student of Bruce Lee.]
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I always wanted to study Filipino kali from him. I’ve been a Bruce Lee fan ever since I was a kid, and as you probably know, I did an homage to him by reprising the role of Chen Zhen (whom Lee portrayed in Fist of Fury) in a TV series and feature film.
Absolutely. Your performance in Legend of the Fist is one of my favorites.
Donnie Yen: It’s funny … people asked me whether I knew that Bruce Lee had already done that role. The whole point of me doing those movies and playing those roles was out of respect to Bruce Lee — as a way of showing how much he inspired me in my career.
I could never be Bruce Lee. Nobody can. Nor could I imitate him in a way that would do him or the role justice. But just paying tribute to him with those roles was huge for me. I’ve always said that if Bruce was still alive, I’d have become his most devoted student.
How did that weigh on you when you were offered a chance to portray Yip Man?
Donnie Yen: The pressure was huge, and it came from a variety of angles, too. Let me share a bit of background with you. The first time I got a call to play the role of Yip Man was a couple of decades ago, but that movie never got made due to problems with the film’s backers. Years later, I was at a press conference in Beijing and got another call from a producer, saying that they’d spoken to grandmaster Yip’s family, gotten their blessing, were going to make a movie on him and wanted to cast me in the lead.
But there was already a film about Yip Man (The Grandmaster, starring Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi) that the famous director Wong Kar-Wai was going to direct. I asked about that, but the producer said not to worry since Wong has a reputation for taking his time on projects. Even though we were going to involve the same namesake character, they would tell their story and we would tell ours.
When the public got word that we were going to do Ip Man, people in the entertainment industry started drawing lines and picking sides. Critics claimed that our director Wilson Yip wasn’t qualified to direct a project of that magnitude. At that time, I’d just finished police movies like SPL: Kill Zone and Flash Point, which had a ton of over-the-top action sequences and MMA-based fight choreography. Those movies and Special Identity were the first Hong Kong action movies to take MMA grappling techniques and communicate them in a cinematic language. So critics also said that I wasn’t suitable for the role of grandmaster Yip or to showcase wing chun cinematically.
All this even before you started shooting?
Donnie Yen: Yes. I never expected there to be so many doubters, even though I knew this to be an iconic role.
Preparing for a role like that must have been different, considering your extensive martial arts background. What was your foundational training in with your mother? Was it modern wushu?
Donnie Yen: No, it was traditional Shaolin kung fu and then tai chi, but my tai chi is a little different. My mother’s master Fu Wing-Fay had a different style, and I’ve added my own flavor to my tai chi.
Growing up in Boston, did you get to experiment with different martial arts?
Donnie Yen: When I was a kid running around Chinatown, hung gar was really big, really popular. I used to study the old Lam Sai-Wing books on hung gar with the line drawings and practice those stances and postures. But back then, I was so curious and excited to learn martial arts from any source, regardless of style. I just wanted to absorb as much as I could. I’m still that way when I see something I like.
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Did you get any formal wing chun training back then?
Donnie Yen: Unfortunately, I did not. But there was one kid that knew a little bit, and we’d skip school and train in the park together, sparring and practicing techniques on each other. Back then, I was just trying to learn moves from the different styles and systems, including taekwondo — not just Chinese martial arts.
You mentioned Bruce Lee as a source of inspiration. Did you watch other kung fu flicks?
Donnie Yen: Oh, yeah. I was a big fan of those movies as a kid. I’d see some move that I thought was cool or some character that inspired me, and I’d try to imitate them physically or philosophically.
When it came time to prep for Ip Man, I understand that you spent time with both of Yip Man’s sons.
Donnie Yen: I actually spent a lot of time studying Yip Man’s personal story in terms of his history and background, not just studying wing chun. To get as close as I could to the source, I spent time with his sons, listening to them talk about their father, their family life and their art. I even went to Futsan (Foshan, China) to see where he lived.
Were the Yip brothers your technical trainers for the movie?
Donnie Yen: I actually had a bunch of different wing chun trainers to help me learn the forms and the basic drills, like the lap sau and chee sau (sticky hands) drills. The big thing they helped me with was learning the forms. I didn’t have three years to devote to mastering wing chun, so I could only try to embody the mindset and philosophy.
So there wasn’t just one master who oversaw all your training?
Donnie Yen: No. I didn’t want to try to be a clone of any one sifu. I knew that I could never imitate grandmaster Yip Man perfectly. I could only do the role justice by offering my interpretation of his philosophy in movement. Actually, studying the old black-and-white films of grandmaster Yip was very valuable. If there was one source that I tried to draw on most, that was it.
I also tried to get a sense of Yip Man’s movement and personality from his students outside the family. I actually used social media a lot to see how the different groups interpreted wing chun. It was very interesting. It gave me a chance to see how different wing chun people expressed the system physically and strategically. From the super-traditional to the more modern and aggressive versions, I wanted to get a broader view of what direction people were taking the art. All that figured into how I moved and how I portrayed the character. Luckily, the public reacted well to it.
There seem to be some signature moves in the fight scenes throughout the Ip Man franchise.
Donnie Yen: You see a lot of the mun sau posture from Yip Man because it fits [him]. He was originally from a well-to-do family, scholarly, very reserved. Wing chun is also a physically conservative style. You’re not going to see a lot of flash or wasted movement. So making the action exciting meant that the fight scenes had to educate the audience in a way that made those more efficient movements visually appealing.
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In Ip Man 3, as in the two previous movies, there’s a strong thematic element of family. There’s a push-pull that’s evident between Yip Man and his family in which he’s pulled out of involvement in some aspects of the martial arts while being motivated to accomplish more as a martial artist because of them. Is this a bit of art imitating life with you?
Donnie Yen: Absolutely! As you can see, my wife Cecilia is here in the room with us, as she’s also my business partner, but I absolutely know how that goes. Luckily, my wife sees everything I go through. She understands me and what I need to do.
For an actor to really nail the character, he has to live through something similar to be able to call on that kind of emotion and bring it to life for the camera. If you’ve never been through something, you won’t have the same depth of experience to be able to share on-screen.
What’s smart about Wilson Yip, the director of the Ip Man movies, is that he not only understands filmmaking but he understood what kind of stages I was going through in my personal life. So he wasn’t just creating another role for me to play. He made it so that I could bring something special to the character as it was written and the character would allow me to express those aspects of myself, as well. I can’t tell you how precious that kind of work environment is in acting.
After you did Ip Man and Ip Man 2, did the wing chun world give you any special status?
Donnie Yen: Look, I come from a traditional martial arts household, so I know how it goes with status. [chuckling] I don’t care about seeking status in martial arts from my films. Like if you asked me to teach you wing chun, I’m not the guy who’s a wing chun master. There are many other people who’ve devoted their lives to learning, researching and developing wing chun. Those are the wing chun masters, not me.
Silat for the Street is the title of an online course from Black Belt Hall of Famer Burton Richardson and Black Belt magazine. Now you can learn the most functional silat techniques whenever and wherever you want on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Get more info here!
What’s important to me is that authentic, traditional martial arts were overlooked for years in favor of making more exciting action films. But now that audiences are more educated and can recognize traditional martial arts, it’s more important than ever for me to portray these arts and the personalities around them with a certain dignity that’s appropriate. The fight scenes have to convey a sense of realism, as well as communicate the principles of the styles that are portrayed.
When the movie does well and inspires people to do more with their lives, that’s the reward for me. With the Ip Man movies, it’s not about what I did for wing chun; it’s about focusing on a character that inspires people. It’s not about wing chun versus this style or that style anymore.
Last question: I heard a rumor that you were phasing out martial arts films. What’s the scoop with that?
Donnie Yen: I’m human. Sometimes we say things in the heat of the moment. For me, there have been days when my body is just tired of the beating that I put it through in a high-powered, high-intensity action flick. But at the end of the day, if I sit down and watch TV or see an action sequence on the screen and think, “Oh, come on! That’s it? I can do better than that!” then it stirs that competitive spirit. I’m an actor, but inside I’m also a fighter.
As for kung fu movies, I don’t really have as much motivation to conquer anything more, especially after doing roles from Guan Yun-Chang in The Lost Bladesman to the Ip Man franchise. But especially when it comes to contemporary fight scenes, I feel like there’s a lot of knowledge about using martial arts and cinematic techniques in harmony that I still have left to show, that I still want to show.
Dr. Mark Cheng is a Black Belt contributing editor and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. In his free time, he teaches shuai chiao, tai chi and kettlebells.
Photos Courtesy of Well Go USA
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Enter the Mind of Master Ken, the Martial Artist Behind Enter the Dojo, Part 2
Caution: You’re about to read comments from a real martial artist (Matt Page) interspersed with comments from a fictional character (Master Ken). To make it easier to distinguish the two, we’ve italicized the words of Master Ken.
Go here to read Part 1.
BLACK BELT: WHEN A PERSON TEACHES AN ART AS DEADLY AS AMERI-DO-TE, IS IT ESSENTIAL TO COUNSEL STUDENTS ON HOW NOT TO WIND UP IN JAIL?
Master Ken: Absolutely. Some of the moves I’ve invented simply cannot be taught for liability reasons. For example, recently I created an inescapable hold where you trap your opponent’s arms and legs, then you sit on their head and release a lethal barrage of flatulence to suffocate them. It’s called the “gas chamber.” I can’t send civilians out in public with that kind of knowledge. It’s just too dangerous.
Years ago I took an invaluable class called Introduction to Business Law at the Central New Mexico Community College, and my instructor, a one-legged veteran named Jim Hooker, gave me the most important piece of legal advice I’ve ever heard: “Dead men don’t sue.” And he was right. Because a year later, he died in a freak accident at a meat-processing plant and ended up being served as ground beef at three Albuquerque public schools. Nobody even noticed until some cheerleader bit into a sloppy Joe and broke her tooth on what turned out to be a piece of his catheter. But the point is he never pressed charges because he was deceased at the time of the accidental ingestion.
BLACK BELT: WHERE DID THE CONCEPT FOR MASTER KEN AND ENTER THE DOJO COME FROM?
Matt Page: In creating Master Ken, I was influenced by something I noticed: Some instructors, no matter how skilled or intelligent, tend to bad-mouth other styles. They see a move from some other martial art and say, “That’s not bad, but in our style, it’s better because we do it like this.”
Each time something weird happened in any dojo, I would take a mental note and say, “Someday I’m gonna do something creative with all this.” Eventually, I found my way to New Mexico and went to College of Santa Fe, now Santa Fe University. Once I received my bachelor’s degree in moving-image arts, I saw that everyone was making their own Web series. At the time, I’d become obsessed with Ricky Gervais’ original version of The Office on the BBC, and I decided I wanted to try that but in a world I understood. So I chose martial arts.
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BLACK BELT: WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH WITH ENTER THE DOJO? IS IT PURE ENTERTAINMENT?
Matt Page: The goal now is really the same as when we created the first episode: I want to entertain people while making a commentary on things that are important to me. It’s not just about the jokes; it’s about pointing out the contradictions in various teachings and the commercialization and the issue of theory vs. practice in the martial arts world. But I want to address it all with humor. I’ve gotten emails from soldiers with PTSD, martial artists who struggle with depression and people from all walks of life who thank me for making them laugh and helping them forget their troubles for the moment. That’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever gotten out of what I do.
BLACK BELT: YOU’VE APPEARED AT THE MARTIAL ARTS SUPERSHOW IN LAS VEGAS TWO YEARS IN A ROW. HOW DID THAT GROUP OF EXPERIENCED, PROFESSIONAL MARTIAL ARTISTS FEEL ABOUT THE MESSAGE YOU PROPAGATE?
Master Ken: The first year, I was like a tsunami of truth that forced many so-called “masters” to re-evaluate their training and, quite frankly, their lives. I think that’s why they wouldn’t allow me to perform at the opening ceremony this year. They lost too much business on people closing their schools so they could take up Ameri-Do-Te. I’ve made a lot of enemies, but then again, so did Napoleon. And he was able to conquer most of South America despite the fact that he was shorter than a Shetland pony.
BLACK BELT: DO YOU HAVE FORMAL TRAINING IN ACTING?
Matt Page: I’ve been taking acting classes and performing in plays since I was a kid. My influences range from old episodes of Saturday Night Live to mockumentaries by Christopher Guest to more serious cinematic works like the films of Robert Zemeckis, David Fincher, etc. But I’ve loved comedic movies and television shows for as long as I can remember.
Wang Bo, formerly of Shaolin Temple, is the featured instructor in an online kung fu course from Black Belt. Titled Tree of Shaolin, it streams video lessons to your preferred digital device. Sign up here and start your journey along the 1,500-year-old Shaolin path!
BLACK BELT: DO PEOPLE EVER RECOGNIZE YOU ON THE STREET? WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF THEY DID?
Matt Page: I rarely get recognized mainly because Master Ken looks and speaks and moves so differently. I’ve been told I look 10 years older when I get into costume and makeup and put on the voice, and that’s flattering. I have great respect for character actors who can disappear into a role. I’ve had conversations with people as Ken, then gone up to my hotel room and changed out of costume, and 15 minutes later, that same person will have the exact same conversation with me all over again.
As far as anonymity goes, at first I was really concerned, especially since I make a show where I [insult] trained fighters. But most people know I’m kidding, and the recognition I’ve gotten from Enter the Dojo has been wonderful.
BLACK BELT: WHAT’S THE MASTER PLAN FOR YOUR DOJO? EXPANSION ACROSS THE USA? EVENTUAL WORLD CONQUEST?
Master Ken: For starters. But why stop there? My ultimate goal is to be the first person to open a dojo on the moon. Imagine how devastating my techniques would be without the restriction of gravity. You could kick an opponent and send him hurtling through space forever. I’d have to hire someone to clean the bathrooms, though.
BLACK BELT: WHAT’S IN STORE FOR ENTER THE DOJO? ANY TV ASPIRATIONS?
Matt Page: After Season One, I got to pitch the show to a few cable networks, but nothing happened. That was back when we had about 1 million channel views. Now we have 11 million and counting, and I get inquiries at least once a week, but nobody seems to know what to do with us. I’ve gotten several offers to take the show off our hands for free. But if someone is serious and wants to step up and fund the show, I’d be all for it as long as we can keep making it the way we want. Luckily, with the way distribution is now, we can continue to get the show out to the masses through YouTube, through Master Ken Live and through our merchandise, and it’s on our own terms.
BLACK BELT: MASTER KEN, BEFORE WE FINISH THIS INTERVIEW, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SAY TO OUR READERS?
Master Ken: My message is that martial arts is about staying alive in the street. It’s not a sport, and it’s not a hobby. If that’s what you want, take up pingpong or collect figurines. And when I say “the street,” I don’t mean an actual street. I wish all the rapists and murderers lived on the same street. If they did, I could tell my students, “Hey … don’t go down that street.” But life doesn’t work that way. So whether you’re in bar, in the office of your proctologist or in an actual street, you’re in “the street.”
It has been a pleasure to use this interview to spread the word about the power of Ameri-Do-Te. I look forward to the next issue of White Belt magazine.
For more information about Master Ken, ameri-do-te and Enter the Dojo, visit enterthedojoshow.com.
BONUS TIME! Master Ken on Bullying
“The issue of bullying requires that we teach kids self-defense. Where most programs get it wrong is with ‘anti-bullying.’ There’s a saying in judo: When pushed, pull. You’re supposed to use your opponent’s strengths against him, so why not take the positive aspects of bullying and use them in self-defense?”
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“That’s why I’ve developed a program called Better Bullying. Bullying isn’t inherently bad. It’s just that the wrong kids are getting bullied. So we work on teaching kids how to identify the bad kids and use the three principles of Better Bullying: One, always attack someone smaller than you. Two, outnumber your opponent whenever possible. Three, scatter before authorities arrive.”
Master Ken on Breaking
“I’ve never been attacked by a pile of lumber. Styles that focus on the number of boards broken are an embarrassment to real street fighters. You don’t need to focus on kicking someone’s femur in half. But there is something other than trees that grows out of the ground that we can use for training: fresh fruits and vegetables. It only takes 8 pounds of pressure per square inch to break a collarbone — or a cucumber. If you can use your hand to open a cantaloupe, you can crack a human skull. And if you can squash a grape, you can burst a testicle. The best part about this particular training method is that you end up with the ingredients for a healthy salad.”
Master Ken on Weapons
“I don’t need weapons because my tiger claws are always with me. Even when I’m naked, I’m still fully armed. Learning Ameri-Do-Te is like swallowing weapons-grade plutonium — except in this case, you don’t die from radiation sickness. You become a walking weapon of martial destruction. Especially if you train right after eating some New Mexican food.”
Master Ken on Tournaments
“The few tournaments I’ve attended with my students have been a confirmation that Ameri-Do-Te cannot be contained by regulated competition. There are no rules in a street fight, and that’s the way we train. Which explains why we have been disqualified from every tournament we’ve ever attended for excessive contact or illegal moves. There are more sports-regulation violations in one minute of Ameri-Do-Te training than in an entire pint of Lance Armstrong’s blood.”
Read Part 1 of this interview here.
Photos by Cory Sorensen
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