The Big Merge

I had two blogs going at the same time one that was dedicated to my running and weight loss and this one dedicated to my martial arts training.  I have decided to merge these into a new blog.  Anyone interested in finding me can now find me at:

www.robdares.blogspot.com

This seemed a normal spot to do this I have now gotten my weight mostly under control and I am now really looking at maintaining a fitness related blog.  I will be writing about martial arts and running primarily with life stuff, creeping in.  Hope to see you all there.

Injury bug

I had taken some time off from my training due to a couple of right leg injuries.  Specifically, I had a plantar injury that just needed time to heal and every time I got on the mat the pivots sent me shrieking like a small child.  In addition to this I had injured my hamstring and it was nagging at me as well.  I wasn’t doing anyone any good that way.  So I took some time to recover.  I did that. 

I was fine to start at the beginning of January.  I was ready to go then I took a tumble on a run.  I was running along at a good pace and then I see a walker with a dog.  I side step to let them pass and I catch my toe on the pavement.  I take a tumble.  I rolled through it nicely and felt fine.  However, the next day my shoulder was a mess.  Insert more time off here.  In additon, a few family issues also kept me at home. 

The good news is that I corresponded via e-mail with my Sensei yesterday and I will be back at in for February.  Then I will actually post something meaningful.  Well I hope to.

Update

I have been injured over the past six months with a bit of plantar injury from running.  However, it really only hurt when I tried to pivot during my technique and kata practice.  So in November I decided to take a couple of months off to really get a handle on the injury.  With the holidays coming the school would be closed more often so it seemed like a good time to take a rest.  Due to the injury I did not have much to say in terms of martial arts.  I hope to have more up in January when I get back to my training. 

 This injury seems like a long recovery.  I injured myself back in July and now it is December.  I am better but not 100%.  I think that I am 85 to 90%, which is better.  I can now walk stairs without issue and I can turn with a sharp pain greeting me.  I can also kick with strength off my right, which was not the case two months ago.  So it looks like a green light on the training for January.  Plus, starting in January it will be more difficult to run outside due to poor weather.   Injuries suck, but you have to manage them.  You don’t want them getting the best of you.

See everyone in January.

Respect in the Martial Arts

I received a comment last week that didn’t make it past initial review, meaning it was a bit rude.  The thrust of the comment was simply that practicing martial arts was a decent enough thing to do with one’s time but that bowing and referring to senior instructors by strange titles should be beneath me.  As a general rule, I have referred to my instructors in a teaching environment simply as Sir or Sensei; however, when writing about my instructors I refer to them by the ranks they were given my the organizations they teach in, sometimes this title has been master.  It is not up to me to determine if this is a proper title, it is a title that has been awarded.  Mostly, the instructors I meet are not comfortable with this title and have requested to be addressed simply as sensei, or sifu in the Chinese arts, or in other occasions Ted or Joe.  When writing I feel the need to give the respect that 30 years of training earns even if the individual might prefer to be called Jack in person.

I think what was clear from the comment is that the person did not really understand formalities in the Martial Arts.  The systems of unarmed combat that people study throughout the world were not designed to be conducted like a spinning class where you say hi to Sally, Joe and Marcus before stepping on the bike.  Martial Arts are generally speaking military in their origins.  The formalities, and by this I mean all the bowing, showing respect to higher ranking students and instructors and anything else a lay person might view as not furthering the study of unarmed combat, are in place for a reason.

I have heard that some people have felt that bowing interferes with some Christian beliefs.  I have never really felt this.  Martial Arts are generally speaking not religious.  Bowing in Asia is like shaking hands in the West, there is nothing religious about bowing.  It is simply a sign of respect.  Bowing before entering the mat to train is to show respect for the training hall.  It also shows respect for all those coming before you.  It is also training in checking your ego at the door.  Understanding that you do not already know all there is to know is very important in the martial arts.  If you feel that you know all there is to know, it would be impossible to learn anything new.  Or as the old adage goes, a cup that is already full can hold no more.

Where else do formalities come into play?  There is a general level of respect that should be transmitted between those that we train with.  We have to trust each other; this is absolutely vital.  I can’t say this strongly enough, it is VITAL that we TRUST.  We are striking, throwing , and doing other techniques of supreme unpleasantness to each other.  We have to trust that our partners will use control and precision in their techniques.  If they don’t we will be seriously injured at minimum.  If we do not have the proper respect for each other we might not take our endeavor with the seriousness required.  Mutual respect is so important in the martial arts and it cannot be understated.  You can’t play with death and serious injury in a haphazard method.  Formalities are used to foster this mutual respect. 

What about rank?  Most of the modern ranking system started with Judo.  I can’t be sure of the dates but I believe this would put it in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Colored belts are not nearly as traditional in Martial Arts as other parts of the arts.  In the modern martial arts colored belts are used not just a guide posts to separate material in systems.  As a cynic I would say that some systems use belt testing as income generating opportunities.  However, this is not generally true.  What is true is that as one moves through the belt system of a given martial arts expectations on that student increases.  The more advanced the student the more they are looked at to be not just examples of excellent form and technique but also to be models of humility and respect within the Dojo.  A black belt or high ranking brown belt is an example to the lower students.  John is a brown belt and does ‘x’ it must be ok to do that.  The high ranking students set the tone for the lower students.  This is in terms of how people are addressed and how formalities are conducted in the school.

The comment mostly stuck with why would I refer to someone as Master?  Now I will admit that this word conjures up some mental images from bad Kung Fu movies and from a certain David Carridine series from the 1970’s.  Master has been a traditional rank in the martial arts for quite some time.  As I said before, most people I know who have achieved this rank prefer not not be addressed in such a way.   However, lets look at it beyond tradition.  I had a client who was a Master Electrician.  Now I did not laugh at his claim of being a master or snicker in anyway, neither would most people.  But I do believe that he fulfilled a certain amount of training and proficiency to earn that rank.  He probably gained respect among his peers.  He also probably spent years in his profession learning under experts where he learned with those that helped him to reach a master’s proficiency in his chosen art.  He probably took tests to certify his expertise.  Now electricians are different from martial artists but in one aspect they are the same.  It is an expert apprentice learning environment.  Martial arts and traditional trades are taught in the same way.  An expert teaches a given number of students allowing them to work with material that is more complicated the longer they apprentice. 

In short, formalities is about respect.  The building of respect is necessary in military organizations and it should be no surprise that it exists in martial arts.  Respect for the training and each other is necessary due to the serious material that is covered in traditional martial arts.  Traditional titles may look out of place in today’s world but they exist in traditional professions such as carpenters and electricians.  A lot of what happens inside the training hall may look strange to the lay person but there is a reason and it has nothing to do with people trying to feel self important or superior to others. 

Oh my God, he has a knife…

… wait we all have knives.  The nice thing about training in a martial art predicated on practicality is that you never know what a class is going to hold in store.  This was true the other night we did knife training.  It was a very good class.  Sensei spent a lot time working the class on knife basics, especially rule number one of knife work: control the weapon.  The techniques essentially break down into (a) get out of the way/ parry weapon, (b) control/ neutralize the weapon, (c) counter attack in some horrific fashion.  It was a nice change to our standard class format.  Not that there is anything wrong with the normal class but different can be a nice change.   We worked a few parry, control, slash, stab combinations and then moved on to other things.  I really did like a couple of the things we worked on.  It was a good change. 

I will say this, getting hit across the bicep on a repeated basis with a wooden tanto hurts after awhile.  I had a bit of bruise the next day.  The Evil Martial Artist will not wince but he will admit pain.  It was nice to work on pure quickness.  Sometimes Kenpo is about power, of course the stances and techniques don’t necessarily require power but a lot of technique is more effective with properly applied power (just a fact).  However, the knife techniques are all about reaction time and speed.  I am a rather large guy so my quickness needs to be inspired, it is not natural these days.  So to say I had a bit of time with the smaller and faster students is an understatement.   But you don’t get better if you don’t practice.  Or as Master Parker would say “perfect practice makes perfect”. 

I will say this, I am more afraid of knife than a gun.  I would rather be shot dead than left bleeding to death.  The result is the same but the knife sounds like a worse way to go.  I think more knife training is in order.  I did like it a lot.  I was looking for a way to spice up my training, this seems like a good fit.

The Same but Different

My wife, Ms. EMA, recently started back to Tae Kwon Do after a long absence.  She has previously been a 2nd Dan in Korea.  I will tell you from personal experience that she is very quick and her stance transitions are quite smooth.  It was not a night of my class so I volunteered to take our daughter, EMA jr., down to her class and cheer her on.  The Evil Martial Artist is supportive.  I had been to the school once before with her niece Hee Sun, while she was visiting us from Korea.  I think when I went before it was an off night.  The class was huge to say the least.

I have been training in the martial arts for a long time, but this was the biggest class I had ever seen.  There must have been about 50 students out there for an adult class.  I am sure there are bigger ones but I haven’t seen them in person.  In my American Kenpo classes the adult classes average 8 to 20.  When it gets to about 15 I think it is crowded.  I have a skewed perspective that is for sure.

The class format is in short militaristic.  I have taken Tang Soo Do in the past so I am familiar with the Korean martial arts format.  The students lined up in rows with two rows facing each other then they used targets and shields to work on their kicks.   I will say that Tae Kwon Do stylists have great kicks.  They are fast and powerful, it is nice to watch.  The Master made great use of space and seemed to accommodate the students he had with the space available.  He took a bit of drill sergeant approach to his students, which I think can be common in this type of training.  Negative reinforcement can have its benefits, having been in the Army I know it does work.   It is a bit different from where I train where rank doesn’t matter as much.  I think my school is more of a brotherhood/ sisterhood where my wife’s Tae Kwon Do school is more of a military-esque organization.  At my age I am not sure if I would respond well to belittling.  I like to think I have humility and I believe I do but perhaps this type of training is not my cup of tea.  I think I prefer the warmer atmosphere of my training hall. 

The results seem to be the same.  We train hard and so do they.  We have excellent martial artists and so do they.  I think the difference is that our Sensei gets out there with us and works with us more one on one.  But that is probably more a product of class size.

The class finished with out 40 minutes of sparring in smaller groups.  There were about 20 people on the mat at a time mixing it up.  I seem to remember this when I was at the school before.  It seems to be a large part of their training.  I think this can be valuable.  You develop the skills to avoid the shock of being hit and work on some speed and combinations, all useful stuff.  I think that should be tempered though.  Too much sparring can lead to bad habits, like pulling punches and not protecting areas that are illegal targets in competition (like the head for punches and the groin). 

Overall, it was different from my own training; however, I would say that they were a good school.  Would I ever train there, No.  I don’t think they would allow me to use my elbows and knees.  My favored techniques don’t fit in a Tae Kwon Do school.  The Evil Martial Artist likes joint locks, throws, and close in self defense, he can kick and throw long range punches but this is not his preference.  In short, I respect what they do at my wife’s Tae Kwon Do school but it is not really for me.  Ms. EMA also doesn’t really find Kenpo to her liking, she thinks it is too rough.  This is why we have so many martial arts in the world, not everyone is right for every person. 

Non-Martial Arts Movie: 30 Days of Night

 

This post has nothing to do with martial arts.  I am being up front so anyone not interested won’t waste their time.  I like going to movies, I don’t get to do so very often as I have a young daughter.  That said, on Friday I went to see 30 Days of Night.  Anyone who owns a T.V. knows that this is a movie where a group of vampires attack an Alaskan town above the Arctic Circle when the sun stays set for 30 days.  It was an interesting concept.  I am a junkie for these action vampire/ werewolf movies.  They are junk (mostly) but for me they are fun.  I sat and watched: Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, Van Helsing, Blade, Blade II, Blade III, John Carpenter’s Vampires, Dusk til Dawn, Dusk til Dawn III (not 2 I have some standards - not many though).  Back to the point, what did I think of 30 Days of Night?  Not bad, really not bad.  It really could have been a lot worse.

This movie is pretty gritty.  A lot of movies like to glamorize the vampires, it is almost as if they are portraying decadent nobles in some Louis XIV backdrop who just happen to drink blood.  Well in this version they are monsters.  The brutality and violence is their nature.  There are no crazy vampire prophesy, no ancient vampire werewolf war, no super vampire hunters … this movie is about predators (vampires) and prey (humans).  Also, the vampire superstition is removed (no crosses, no running water, no garlic, no stakes).  The only thing that works on this version is sun and removing the head from the body (maybe fire too, but it was hard to tell exactly).

So the vampires come to town as the sun sets before the next sunrise 30 days later.  The town is slaughtered by the vampires in brutal fashion and the survivors engage in 30 days of cat and mouse.  They mostly hide from the vampires.  So although this is an action movie there is a lot of suspense.  A lot of things are glossed over in the movie and some of the decisions don’t make much sense on the part of the survivors.  No one ever thought of Old Man’s Jenkins snowmobiles or any other such get out of town schemes.  But the story is about people surviving 30 days under siege by vampires so I will forgive this.   But generally, the movie is about people running and then hiding and then running and then hiding.  There is some fighting, but not much.  The vampires are vampires after all and they usually win.  The early part of the movie shows what happens when people stand and fight.  There are a couple of instances of human v. vampire fighting through the movie but  it is more about guile and luck.  The Evil Martial Artist would not have fared well that is for sure.  I am not sure if a kiai or proper hip rotation would have helped.  The fights that happened were usually very one sided and quite short. 

The movie doesn’t feel as much like a comic book as 300did.  Josh Harnett does a good job, I am not familiar with Melissa George but she was good as well.  I am not sure if they did it on purpose but everyone was pale.  They all had that Alaska look.  I am not sure if this was editing or  if they kept the cast out of the Sun for 3 months prior to the filming.  Anyway, I liked it.  Vampires chasing people, people run and hide, people turn on each other and engage in other self destructive activities, end with two fight sequences (that is the movie).  It has a feel that is similar to Pitch Black, monsters in the dark that are difficult to see.  So anyone interested in a decent vampire movie that has more grit and brutality than most of the genre check it out.

How have people found me?

I recently reviewed the searches that people did in order to find this little site on Martial Arts.  Most of the search terms are pretty normal stuff:

1. the journey kenpo
2. kenpo kata
3. bad martial arts stars
4. kenpo conditioning
5. American kenpo running

Nothing really out of the ordinary here.  Although I have practiced a lot of different arts in my life, currently I study American Kenpo so most of the searches are normal. In addition, I am a long distance runner so also normal.   But here is the one that kind of made me scratch my head:

1. evil martial arts

This is true, evil martial arts. This how people can find me - interested in evil martial arts well you should go see Rob.  I don’t know why someone would look for the dark side of the force or why they were directed to me.  But apparently google search knows something about me I don’t know.  I think I should watch my attitude and behavior to verify my evil tendencies.  I never really thought of myself as the Cobra Kai type.  “Yeah, get him a body bag”.  The only thing I can take from this is that the Internet is a strange thing. 

There was also a search under vagabond kung fu.  Perhaps someone was considering a lifestyle like Quai Chang Caine in the Kung Fu series.  Or perhaps they wanted to wander around and do some kung fu as well.  Not sure.

 As a result of this odd search hit, I have decided to refer to myself as an evil martial artist.  Sort of like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers but with more hair.

A change of scenery

Tonight was my first night back to class since the weekend seminar with Grandmaster Tatum.  After the seminar was over my sensei tested for his fifth degree black belt.  I wish I could have stayed for the test but family obligations got in the way.  Tonight I had hoped to congratulate him on his achievement.  However, tonight our newest black belt was running the class.  I am not sure why Sensei was out; however, I believe that that test might take its toll (this is purely speculation on my part, Sensei may have had some other obligations for the evening).  Our newest black belt has lots of energy and her technique is very sharp.  Personally, I enjoy training with different instructors in the school.  I like to see different perspectives on the same techniques, because there are differences in the way people do the techniques.  None are really wrong it is jut some personal variation.  As Master Chow (William K.S. Chow - founder Karaho Kenpo) said, “Kenpo is for the streets.”  Which in short means if it works it is right.

So tonight the class was a bit different than usual.  This is simply due to the fact that a different instructor was running the class.  I like the way that our new black belt harps on stances.  I like this sort of detail in the training.  Stance and stance transition are very important in all martial arts.  However, at times I will admit that as of late I have not paid as much attention as I should.  This is mostly due to my right heel injury.  I have been nursing an injury that is most likely a bad heel spur that is painful on some  transitions (as well as walking, but not running - strange).  But tonight I winced through the proper stance work and I feel like I have reinforced some good habits.  For practice to make perfect you have to practice perfectly (or nearly so).  It seems I am full of sayings in this post.  Stances matter.  I remember when I was 16 sitting in low horse stances doing blocks and punches thinking, what are we doing this is so boring.  But more than 20 years later, I am glad I put effort into the boredom.  Today, my stances are generally good and but for my injury I would have been keeping up with my stances in American Kenpo as well.

We also worked some free style Kenpo.  This is my term for it, essentially it is just defense against random attacks and multiple attackers.  It is nice to work on different things.  I like to work locks and take-downs during this time as well as some of my previous kung fu and jujitsu (Danzan ryu) training.  I like to flow the strikes into the locks and this training is perfect for this.  Some days are better than others, today was good.  The change of scenery kept me more on my toes I think.  A different instructor can do that.

A great seminar

On Saturday, I was fortunate to be part of a seminar at my American Kenpo school held by Grand Master Tatum.  I didn’t realize how far I had to go until I went to this seminar.  I believe that I polish basics ad nauseum.  I like it and don’t really see it as a chore.  But if I could use one word to describe Grand Master Tatum it would be crippling.  The amount of precision and focused power he uses in each strike is simply awesome.  To say the least I was impressed.  I truly enjoyed the technical side of the seminar.  Grand Master Tatum brought a gentleman with him to dummy up some techniques (or be the uki in traditional Japanese styles).  You could see the transfer of force so completely.  The precise power about knocked this man over each time.  It was all he could do to stand up.  Impressive.

 We worked on three techniques on Saturday. (I will say again that I don’t like the crazy names for techniques)

Bow of Compulsion - A technique to work on how things go wrong.  This is a defense against a defended push or grab where your hand is trapped against an opponent’s chest.  We worked on driving against your own hand to loosen up the opponents grip.  I liked this application.  It appeals to my intermittent thuggish approach to martial arts.

Snapping Twig - this is hyper-extension block/ trap of a straight push.  The key to the technique is getting the trap right and rolling the arm correctly.  Then the technique is simply a beating (well a beating that flows from one strike to the next, but still a beating).  Kenpo is a series of strikes that flow naturally into each other - why so many strikes one after another.  It is simply a tool box, if you find a hammer doesn’t fit the job, switch to the mider saw.  But before you can use the mider saw you have to know it is in the tool box and how to use it.

Falcons of Force-  This technique is a multiple attacker technique that has the benefit of multiple stance changes.  It is a nice technique to work on stance transitions as well as working on the mental flexibility to train against multiple opponents.  We worked this technique for a good amount of time.  I had not learned this before and it was a good environment to learn new things.  It is nice to learn from different people now and then, sometimes different people share new perspectives on the same ideas.  It gives you a fuller understanding of the material when you have multiple viewpoints to consider.

 I would go to more if given the chance.