A few kenpo thoughts

I am a little tired tonight as I ran in the Philadelphia Distance Run today, the 13.1 mile fall classic here in Philadelphia.  This 39 year old lawyer is paying the price of his determination today.  I don’t mind, I would rather pay for the scars of achievement than not compete.  I won’t bore anyone with the details, if interested you can check out the details at Run to Lose.I find that sometimes it is difficult to do what is necessary. 

 I ensure that I practice everyday (unless of course I run a half marathon that day).  This can be difficult at times; however, if there are no down days then excuses do not materialize.  Of course I am haunted by a former instructor’s words each day in terms of my training, “If you look for an excuse long enough, you will find one you like.”  So I remember and I push through my drills.  American Kenpo is put together in a two fold track.  The first track is comprised of self defense techniques and the second are comprised of kata, this may be a bit simplistic analysis.  However, I would say that these are the two primary training methods within the system.   The self defense techniques are programmed defenses to differing attacks from punches to kicks to grabs.  The attack is generally countered with a furious combination of hand strikes, low kicks and knees (Kenpo is generally known for its hand strikes).  This is different from other traditional styles which focus more on kata.  I like the self defense techniques as they are like little katas.  When I was studying Wah Lum Kung Fu, you had to do a lot of thinking about the kata to break out techniques from the kata.  American Kenpo (and Chinese Kenpo that I previously studied) gives you a bit of a short cut in the self defense techniques.  Concepts of controlling the height, width and distance of the opponent are part and parcel of the techniques; these are in addition to the standard fare for the beginning student such as proper placement of elbows, punches and arm breaks.  In addition to this working on proper flow of attacks and foot movement can really keep your mind busy.  For me it can be a real adventure, it is amazing the amount of mentally flexibility the average martial artist needs just to be passable.

In addition to the self defense techniques kata are also part of the system.  For those not familiar, kata are a long series of movements comprising attacks and defenses against an imagined opponent (or an actual opponent in two man katas).  It is a choreographed fighting dance.  The techniques within the kata can be broken out the kata for use in actual defense situations.  A lot traditional kung fu styles are like this as I mentioned previously.  As there are a lot of self defense techniques in Kenpo it can be easy to get lazy on practicing Kata to its fullest potential.  I have to keep on myself to make sure I give Kata its due.  Practical self defense is what Kenpo is about and sometimes students can lose sight of the importance of Kata.  I have to remind myself to keep on top of Kata.  As a relative beginner in this system, I have been forcing myself to reconstruct some of my training from Choy Li Fut to supplement my kata practice.  We do what we must. 

With Respect, 

Rob 

The Travels of a Martial Arts Vagabond

This is a blog dedicated to my martial arts journey.  I have another blog dedicated to my running adventures (run to lose).  I have debated starting a blog dedicated to my martial arts adventures and after boring folks with my martial arts thoughts on a superficial level I decided that a new blog on the subject would be useful. I have trained in numerous styles over the years.  Beginning at the age of 16, I started in Tae Kwon Do, I only studied this for about 6 months before my family moved.  My Tae Kwon Do training had done enough to hook me on the martial arts. After the move I found a school teaching Chinese Kenpo, I enjoyed my training a lot.  I spent time running the same dojo I trained in for Chinese Kenpo; however, things don’t always work out they way you envision them.  Through the years I have spent time studying in no particular order Tang Soo Do, Wah Lum Kung Fu, Danzan Ryu Ju Jitsu, Choy Li Fut Kung Fu, Bok Fu Kung Fu, and currently American Kenpo.  I never really intended to be a Dojo hopper and I don’t think I really did that, when I switched schools it was usually due to moving.  I have obtained various levels of success in my training but the bottom line has always been that I feel better when I am training. 

I began training again in American Kenpo again about 5 months ago and it has started me thinking again seriously about the martial way.  With each new class I gain more confidence my returning abilities and I dust off notebooks of materials I have kept from my previous training (I was always a compulsive note taker).  I have also dragged these with me all over God’s creation.  The more I engage the material the more I remember and discover about what it means to be a martial artist, currently a Kenpoist.  Currently, I am coming back after a 5 year lay off from any training and then there was only a one year period where I trained prior to a 3 year absence. In short, I am a bit rusty.  I feel in many ways as if I am returning to the beginning or the scene of the crime as it were.

I have been encouraged to begin this blog in part due to the excellent martial arts blogs I have stumbled across.  Particularly, Uchi Deshi, which I have found to be a unique blog with inlaid tidbits regarding martial spirit and discipline that I find wholly refreshing.  So here I am.  What do I start with?  Perhaps no one will find this of much interest, perhaps some will. 

This is part of my journey toward living my own martial path.I desire to distill the martial spirit in my own life.  I don’t play at this; I take my training very seriously on numerous levels.  Some think that the martial arts are about fighting.  I don’t believe this is true, although fighting is practiced in martial training and martial artists should strive to perfect their abilities.  All arts are simply artificial frameworks.  It is what is at the core that is important; it is my journey toward discovery of this core that springs forth this blog.  It is the soul of these unarmed combat systems where I find fulfillment.  In today’s world of MMA people don’t seem to be as interested in this concept very much.  I will save my disdain of MMA for a later time, but suffice to say that its effectiveness is limited to single opponent situations where the ground is level with no obstructions.  I don’t think that American Kenpo is the end of my martial destiny, such as it is.  I believe that I will cross train at some point in an effective grappling (jujutsu) type style, such as Aiki jujutsu or Aikido.  I have read a lot recently on these systems and find them to be both interesting.  However, first I will need to get my base built up and lose some more weight.  Nothing worse than a bad break fall at high weight.  Ouch.

During this journey, I will discuss martial topics as well as others that strike my interest or that I find especially intriguing. 

With Respect,

Rob