"They're All Perfect"

It's time for Ohanami (cherry blosson viewing).  Oh Yes.

This is the special time of year when all of Japan gets buzzing for the chance to see and enjoy cherry trees, the symbolic tree of Japan.  EVERYONE posts their favorite blossom pics on their FB profile, they make a point to go and see them in all conditions, rain or shine, day or night, warm or cold, for the few short weeks that they are here.  The TV news channels have real-time monitors of where they are blooming and when "peak bloom" will occur.  It is an all-encompassing few weeks in Japan that is one of the best parts of living here.

For many, it is simply an excuse to head out with friends and/or co-workers for drinking beers and sake.  For lovers, it is a romantic time (I vividly recall walking hand in hand with my wife in Ueno Park during the cherry blossom season in April 2000, deciding I wanted to marry her).

Why does Japan go so crazy about a bunch of trees??

Sakura as Mirrors of Ourselves
Most of the year, cherry trees are stark and lifeless.  They stick their fingers into the sky like ancient spider legs, poking at the sky in anger.  There is no color to them, and they look dead.  EXCEPT for the few weeks during the hanami season, when they explode in beautiful shades of pink and white, suspended in the air like fireworks.  It is hard to describe unless you have been to Japan to experience them.  Cherry trees are EVERYWHERE, so when they bloom, it is like God took his own special spray paint cans and colored the whole country in these warm, happy shades.  Our lives are not so different from this.  "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" (Henry David Thoreau).  Sometimes, however, we shine.  Everyone of us, in our own way, can be called beautiful sometimes.  It is this essential quality that makes us human --- the ability for each of us to have a unique beauty.  Sakura symbolize this and remind us to never judge, since the ugly barren tree today might tomorrow be the most beautiful tree of all.

One Moment In Time
We wait all year long for cherry blossom viewing time.  We suffer the long, cold winter, waiting for spring to finally arrive.  The best symbol of this is cherry blossom time, when we know in our hearts winter is over and we can look forward to the mild temperatures and active outdoors of spring and summer.  It is a time to rejoice.  Cherry blossoms only last for a few weeks at best.  Like us, they are fragile.  Strong winds, rain, or sudden cold patches can wipe them out.  Our lives are also short and subject to factors outside our control.  This reminds us to live in the moment and treasure it, never forgetting how precious and impermanent it is.

They Always Come Back
All too soon, the blossoms fall and are dispersed.  We see them fade away, washed away by rain or blown away by the wind, until there are none left.  Spring gives way to the hot summer, and the cicadas and rainy season.  After the fall leaves change color and we are back to winter.  Still, the cherry blossoms come back every year without fail.  We, too, will return.  Resurrection carries a specific religious meaning for many people, but it is simply spiritual to accept (and rejoice in) the fact that the soul is eternal, and our journey will continue after our physical body disappears.  This symbolism is in the cherry trees and is comforting.

They're All Perfect
In the movie "The Last Samurai", Katsumoto-san expresses the quintessential feeling of Japanese toward their beloved cherry trees:  "The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life."  In the cherry trees we search for perfection, the true perfection that only Nature can bring, and not the artificial perfection of human creation.  We look for the same perfection in ourselves.  Finally, upon his death, he concludes "Perfect, they're all...perfect".  So, too, we are all perfect and part of Perfection.  The essence of zen is here. Now. In this Moment.  Forever.  Perfect.  Pure.

QUICK!  Enjoy them while you can!!

Exploring Jun Fan Trapping

In this cycle we are working on Jun Fan trapping.  Jun Fan is derived largely from Wing Chun, which is a Hakka style (Southern Chinese) derived from the White Crane lineage.  Such arts including Pak Mei, Kuntao, Wing Chun, and others offer a unique way of understanding combat that is very useful in modern day situations.  That said, most practitioners have trouble becoming confident in these concepts and applying the theories as they crossover into other CQB systems.
 
These arts have a lot in common, such as:

• Force directing down into opponent to destroy the structure (crane flies down the mountain)
• Punching forward into the chest/torso with elbows down and tuked in close to the body
• Rolling of the shoulders slightly forward to deploy the large back muscles for power
• extreme close quarters distancing -> every step forward into the opponent

If you attended Guro Fred's March seminar in Tokyo, you would have gotten a taste of serrada "close quarters" boxing.  This is an application of Inayan Serrada developed by Guro Fred to take advantage of the extreme close quarters range that is often found in trapping, and represents another example of branches which can be found from the Jun Fan trapping foundation.

Karambits
Last Friday we explored another interesting set of material.  Using the karambit, we did Jun Fan traps 1-5 and found that we can have great effect using almost the identical movements that we did using our empty hands.  Why?  Aren't Jun Fan and karambit (silat) completely different??  Yes, but also no.

Of course their martial traditions come from very different cultural sources.  That said, however, the In donesians were influenced by the Hakka Chinese in the same way as the Malays and Filipinos, and there is a strong fundamental connection between tem all.  Additionally, they both can and do operate at extreme close range, relying on trapping and misdirection to gain entry to the opponent's centerline/vital box.  I hope the similarities were not lost on the students.

Jun Fan into CQB Silat
Another interesting branch to the same tree can be found in following Jun Fan traps with Silat finishes.
While many KM students are more familiar with Silat being used for lowline sweeps and takedowns aimed at the knees/ankles/legs, Silat also includes a lot of elbows, knees, headbutts, neck cranks, and other close range weapons that fit well with the distancing of Jun Fan trapping.  many of the same principles apply:

• Get in quickly
• Tie-up opponent's primary weapons (arms)
• Stay inside the vital box/Keep opponent outside the vital box
• Attack the structure/Weaken the base

This Friday we will see what can be done up-close as we branch off from the Jun Fan trapping series into CQB Silat. I hope the students will find this challenge equally interesting.  SEE YOU FRIDAY. 

Cups of Water

Life and Death are big topics to a ten-year old.  Maybe too big.  When George's great-grandmother died last month he was very upset.  This was worsened by the fact that he was asked to attend the funeral service - a Japanese funeral service - and everything that involves.  I struggled to find a way to explain it to him.  I found two ideas.  One idea is that we do what we do for people who died out of RESPECT.  Even though we may be nervous, uncomfortable, or scared, we try to do the best we can for them to send them off properly; respectfully.  The other idea I came upon is the subject of this post - cups of water.

I explained to George that we human beings are not really what we see when we look with our eyes.  To our eyes, we see the body.  To me, this is the cup.  Our soul, the essence of us, is like the water inside the cup.  Cups, like people, come in all colors, shapes and sizes.  The important thing is that they are just vessels for holding the important stuff: the water.  Inside the cups, all the water is the same - so, too, all people are the same.  No water is better or worse than any other water.  They are indistinguishable.  Since there is no separation they cannot be counted.  There is not "one water" or "two waters", only "WATER".  When the cup breaks the water re-unites with all the other water at The Source.  The Source is an endless cycle and recycle of water throughout our world.  Water is infinite, just as our souls are infinite. The majority of our body is water (60% or so). I want to believe the majority of what we are is our soul as well.  Without water we cannot live.  Without our souls, we are not truly alive, either.

A terrible mistake is to look at the cup and think it is the water.  This cannot be so.

The cup is only the cup, and the water merely conforms to its shape.  It is very important when we look at the cup to imagine the water it contains; the water which is just like the water in our cup, too.

To take the analogy further, pure water is pure because it is kept clean and regularly filtered.  To me, this is our training and mediation, the charcoal for our water which keeps it pure and ensures it will not stagnate.  It is important to cleanse our water often to keep it clear and pure.  If we do not, it becomes foul and poisonous to the environment around it.  Do not allow your water (or your soul) to become polluted.

When I meet people, I will appreciate their cup, but never so much that I fail to recognize the water within.

Storytelling

(Thanks for the inspiration Jeremy)



Riding back from class last night we started telling stories.  For me, many of the trappings in my life have a story attached to them.  This includes my class ring (great story), my chain and bracelet set, my watch, my wedding ring (of course) and many other things.  Each time I look at them, I am reminded of some important event in my life.

As our lives go on, day by day, we are writing the story of ourselves.  We have to ask "what kind of story will it be?"  As authors of our own story, we have the freedom to choose.  This is the most important point of living.  Give any two people a pen and paper and have them watch the same thing.  You will get two different accounts of what happened.  This is what makes history unreliable.  It is also what makes history fascinating.  Real history is the history of PEOPLE.  The story is always told from the standpoint of the storyteller, and includes only the things that storyteller thought were meaningful.

For some people, the story of them is always heartbreaking and sad.  When you talk to them, the only stories they can give you are stories of what went wrong; of what tragedies they faced; of the despair they felt; of the failures they experienced.  While we can sympathize for awhile, at some point those stories don't do much for us.  There is no lesson in them, and hearing the stories makes us feel bad.

For others in the same circumstances, the same events bring stories of hope.  They bring stories of accomplishment; of joy; of overcoming adversity.  These stories inspire us and give us courage to face our own challenges.  Every good story has challenges.  Our hero or heroine must face hardship, but ultimately their will and strength of character prevails.  Along the way they do things that even they thought were impossible.  There are failures and setbacks, of course, but each one leads to another insight and a new approach to progress.  We cheer for our protagonist as they take each step. We learn from them and become more in touch with ourselves.

In the end, I wish everyone a life filled with rich stories, and the insight to make those stories the kind that are worth telling over and over again.  I hope for a Book of Life filled with adventure, love, fellowship, community, success, satisfaction, family, laughter, redemption.   I WANT A STORY WORTH READING.

Don't you?

Resistance is Futile

Resistance is futile.  That's what The Borg say, anyway.  Despite this, the Enterprise continues to resist --- successfully even, despite their many setbacks.  It is in our human nature to aspire to prevail.  However, there are two sides to this story, and one must ultimately consider "what are we resisting?"

Today at swim class, Yamada-coach talked about resistance.  He talked about not fighting the water.  We must co-operate with it to allow ourselves to pass through.  This means always "thinking forward" (a lesson in and of itself), relaxing the body(again, a lesson in and of itself), and removing resistance to the water.  By doing so, we pass smoothly and effortlessly, and go the maximum distance with the minimum effort (efficiency).
In hearing this, I began to consider whether or not mental resistance plays a factor in swimming.

We can consider two types of resistance to our progress through the water and, in fact, our progress through life:  resistance of the body and resistance of the mind.  resistance of the body is the inability to relax.  It is any muscle tension which prohibits us from moving freely and expends energy needlessly and wastefully.  Indeed, we should apply only that energy which is needed for a particular task, not more and not less.  This is efficient.  In the pool, this means streamlining our motion to reduce drag and pushing the water directly behind us, neither up nor down.  In the dojo it means keeping the body relaxed until the moment of impact (kime).

At the same time, our state of mind can also cause resistance.  We allow our preconception of situations and people to create our reality, and in doing so lose the possibility of viewing things with a child's mind, an open mind ready and willing to accept new ways, ideas, concepts and beliefs.  This limits our human experience and narrows our abilities.  It is inefficient.

In our training, we should focus on removing resistance whenever possible.  This means allowing our mind and body to remain relaxed, and to allow our natural flexibility in human interactions, problem solving and, yes, in combat as well.  Removing resistance is one important key to improving FLOW, both on and off the mat.  What are you resisting?  Is your resistance mental?  Physical? Both??  How can you remove this resistance?

Resistance is Futile.  Especially when your goal is success.  Think about it.   

Teacher and Student

Master and Student.  The relationship is as old as time itself.  Over the past 30 years in and around martial arts I have seen many permutations.  I have been a deshi (disciple) to two masters, and over time have become an instructor myself, although people calling me "sensei" still seems a bit out of place.  I am yet to reach the level of "guro" in FMA, but I do my best to impart the essence of what my current master, Guro Fred Evrard, teaches in the curriculum of Kali Majapahit.

Most Westerners look with either awe or disdain at the master/student relationship. 

We see movies like Karate Kid which show both sides: the evil master with his fanatical cult of followers who aspire to oppress the weak, but also the kindly master who teaches the underdog the true meaning of the martial arts and helps him find the strength in himself to overcome hardship and achieve victory.

This relationship has some implicit responsibilities for both parties.  For the student, it involves coming to class regularly, on time and prepared, with clean uniform and open mind.  It means giving 100% effort in every class to try to learn the skills and lessons the master gives.  It means trying to experience first, rather than just immediately questioning things which are not readily apparent.  It also means not being afraid to question in order to help find the deeper meaning which the master intends.

For the master, this relationship means teaching regularly, being on time and prepared for every class, with clean uniform and clean intention, teaching the class with passion and energy, and caring first and foremost about the students' progression rather than about glorifying yourself.  It means being a good role model on and off the mats, and being careful never to abuse the enormous trust the students place in you.

The giving/receiving nature of this relationship has as its foundation a mutual respect between master and student.  This is why we bow.  Without the master, the student cannot find his way.  Without the student, the master's knowledge cannot continue past his own mortality.

Not every relationship between master and student results in discipleship, which will be the subject of another post.  However, both master and student should have no preconception of an end result, but rather allow the relationship to develop naturally, just as every relationship does between two people.

My own master shows me things I already know.  He reminds me to be true to the path, giving me ocassional glimpses of what lies ahead, and is always an example of what I can be if I do not give up --- if I continue to heed his teaching, continue to train diligently and let myself become a better person.  He is not just a better warrior, he is my spiritual guide, my mentor, and my "life coach" as I seek the path to my own happiness.

This relationship is a sacred one and should remain so.  Both parties have a role to play and a responsibility to each other.  This balance is Yin/Yang and in accordance with the traditional Asian view of things --- two parts forming a whole.  

Trained and Determined

There are many ways to try to quantify the uncertainty of what happens in a violent encounter.  One way I use to explain is via the phrase "trained and determined".


Trained and Determined has several aspects.  First of all, we have to look at ourselves, which is the part of the equation we can control.  Being traing and determined means that we have received proper training.  Not just a knowledge of technique, but also training to develop appropriate reflex and response, manage stress, use psychology, have a sense of caution, and physical conditioning, In short, we have developed every aspect of ourselves as warriors.  Secondly is determination.  This means our commitment to being someone who survives an encounter.  It means not giving up - knowing there is always something that can be done.  It means developing a confident mentality and willpower that allow us to do whatever is needed to realistically assess and ultimately overcome the situation.

The other half of the equation which we cannot control are these attributes in our attacker.  While many systems assume an untrained attacker, it is always wise to accept that someone willing to attack you might have training at least equal to your own.  There is a big difference between a bar brawler and an MMA cage fighter (or skilled CIA field agent).  In our training this means exploring the highest percentage reversals/counters of our techniques and training to flow when things go wrong.  It also includes continuing to develop our knowledge through practicing with people of diverse martial backgrounds.

Determination is the second factor.  As I wrote in other posts, often the attacker's primary motivation is not harm you or kill you.  It is to get your property or money, to show they are not intimidated, or to express their anger or fear.  These need not be life-threatening results.  By contrast, a determined attacker (jealous husband/wife or suicide bomber, for example) may be unwilling to accept anything less than your injury or death.  In such cases, we have no choice but to respond as needed to protect our safety or the safety of those around us.  In this case, being proactive is completely justified.

Poorly trained assailants make mistakes.  In the case of Twiggy Fromme, for example, failing to charge the slide of her Colt 1911 .45 auto meant that President Ford survived her attempt to assassinate him.  The successful assassination of President Kennedy, by contrast, shows what can happen when an attacker is both trained and determined.

Lack of determination (or lack of training, for that matter) help us a lot, but can never be relied upon.  We must assume until proven otherwise, that any attack on us is done by a skilled attacker with the express intent of causing us bodily harm and train accordingly.  Hopefully none of us will ever be in this situation.  

In the meantime, how well "trained and determined" are you??

Self Defense For Women

In my previous post I highlighted some ways that violent offenders make fights unfair for their victims.  Often this extends to choosing women as targets either directly (rape or domestic abuse) or indirectly (muggings or robbery).  The fact is that even in peak physical condition most women are not the physical equals of men.




Not intending to restate the obvious here:

• smaller height and weight
• smaller primary muscle groups
• socialization against violence
• helpless or weak "victim" mindset
• inappropiate dress for defense (short skirts, handbags, etc.)

In my previous post I listed many factors that help in a real self-defense situation.
For women, I would add even more:

proper choice of weapon
In general I don't recomment punching with the fist to any of my students (male or female).  Although we learn this in our boxing, the chance of injury to the hand is higher than using the open hand or hammerfist to strike.  For women, I suggest the fingernails when attacking soft targets like eyes or throat. Adding regular layers of nail strengthener can develop the claws' hardness to be very effective weapons.  Kicking the low lines (especially foot stomp or low kick with heels) and CQB weapons like headbutt, elbows, and knees otherwise.  While high heels can compromise the balance a bit, one of my former students in Chicago backkicked an assailant with her heel and it was as effective as stabbing with a knife. 

proper choice of target
The most effective targets for women are eyes, throat, knees/feet and groin.
Of these, the groin needs some further explanation.  Striking the groin, especially the proverbial "kick in the balls" is often touted as a one shot stop.  This is hardly true.
It can work, yes, but needs to be spot on or it may only enrage the attacker.  As a man, I can say that the fight goes up a few notches when someone aims for my balls.  I get mad, and I want to completely destroy anyone who tries that on me and fails.  This means it is a high risk, high reward strategy.  If you miss, you have a much more serious fight on your hands.  In addition, every man who has any experience at all knows to protect his groin.  It is usually not an easily available target.

The best option for the groin is the grab.  I suggest the palm heel hit, followed by grab, twist and pull.  This has the highest chance of success and can work if attacker is in front or behind (bearhug or rear choke).  Grabbing the groin causes a shock reaction in the mammalian part of the male brain that is more effective as a deterrent than a strike.

proper choice of technique
I resiterate here that simple is best.  Eye jabs, throat hits, groin grabs, low line kicks to knees or top of the foot, knees/elbows/headbutts all have their place in women's self defense.  Attacks which immobilize, such as low kicks or stomps, also can be effective since the goal is to escape the situation.  I am not a huge fan of locks and grappling for women since most of the time they will lose on the ground, and proper locking under stress requires a lot of practice to be effective under pressure.

Weapons
There are some choices for women, given that they often carry handbags or purses.  It is important to consider that it is not easy to draw a weapon under pressure, so it is best to have something which can be carried innocuously (such as kubotan key chain, dulo dulo or the like).  I am personally not a huge fan of pepper sprays or stun guns, since there are plenty of stories of violent offenders who shrug these off and complete their assault.  The heavy key chain is a good option since they keys add weight to punches and can be used to slash.  An umbrella can also work if it is a solid heavy metal one.
Likewise, a heavy metal travel mug or thermos can be effective, too.  A solid pen
or the classy Montblanc version can work well, too.

I don't advocate carrying knives or karambits, although this is surely better than being killed/raped.  Likewise, guns are a no-no in my books, despite their effectiveness in the hands of a trained and determined user.

Sadly, women are often targets of violent crime.  Good training, good mindset, and an "equalizer" or two can help make sure you or your better half walks away safely.

Practical Reality

Let's talk reality.  Have a look at this...
(thanks to http://www.pragmaticmartialarts.com/  for the video)

OK...training in the dojo can never be exactly what we would experience on the street.
For premeditated attacks such as muggings, rapes, and the like, the attacker will usually stack the odds as high as possible in their favor (wouldn't you?).  Nobody likes a fair fight except the victim.  This means:

• choosing places with bad (or no) lighting
• choosing places not visible with security cameras
• choosing unstable terrain such as narrow alleys or hallways, stairs, elevators, etc.
• attacking from a concealed position by ambush
• attacking from the rear or rear side angles rather than the front
• attacking in small groups of two or three assailants per victim
• using weapons
• using surprise or deception to lure victims

Every one of the above lowers your chance of success as a victim.  While sparring can have some place in preparing for the reality of violent assault, what really saves your life in such situations is:

overcoming automatic stress and fear responses
our natural "fight or flight" response is part of our lower brain and evolved to help us survive predation.  Automatic release of adrenaline helps give us the burst of speed/strength we need in such situations.  Sadly, the downside is that this is a short-term benefit which comes at the cost of a loss of fine motor skills and clear, rational thinking.  Mastery of the response can give a lot of benefit by using this energy to help overcome the ambush attack.  For most people, lack of proper training causes this response to become panic and inaction, the classic "deer in the headlights" problem.

physical conditioning
This is simply not an option.  To better your chances of survival you need to be in the best physical condition you can.  While most real fights do not last 15 rounds, the stress can sap your strength very fast indeed.  When your batteries run dry, you are finished.  No matter how good your technique is, poor conditioning means a poor outcome.  I have yet to see any champion fighter step in any ring successfully without good physical conditioning.

muscle memory
You will do what you drill.  Complex drills are good to help break down mental walls and rewire ourselves for the benefit of ambidexterity and to create fluency in our empty hand and weapon techniques.  This, however, must be balanced with constant drilling of very simple techniques so that they become automated responses under stress.  Very important here are the specific movements you drill.  If you drill cutting people's throats with the karambit, this is what will happen under stress, and is frequently used to villify martial artists in courtrooms when they are sued by the survivor's family.  I suggest drilling the footwork heavily, since this makes a huge difference already.  I also suggest drilling defensive responses like elbow cover and head management since these need not be lethal responses.  Low line kicks are another useful muscle memory since they are non-lethal, but can really devastate an attacker when used correctly.  I love weapon drills as much (or more) as anyone, but cannot honestly suggest drilling these into muscle memory.  The risk of using excessive force is just too high.

simple techniques
Complex techniques are fun and challenging.  They help us to get a deeper understanding of spatial awareness, and frankly, it is cool to do them.  Honestly, these are not what will come out under stress.  It will be the simple movements that work and that save you.  As mentioned above, fine motor skills suffer under stress and complex techniques include many variables that will not always work in the heat of the moment.
KISS - keep it short and simple.  Fast, direct, simple technique is what really works.  No, these are not pretty, graceful or elegant.  They are...effective.

awareness of your surroundings
If you review the list at the top, you can quickly see that a lot of benefit can be gained from avoiding those places where ambushes are likely to occur.  When this is not possible, such as getting your car from the parking garage, be on alert that these are high percentage places for attack and act with caution.  Go in groups and be prepared.
It goes without saying that some blame is due to victims who lack common sense and wander dark alleys late at night steaming drunk.  It is wrong to say they are asking for trouble, but not wrong to suggest they are more likely targets of it.

proper use of individual and group pyschology
Luckily, in most attacks, causing injury or death is not the primary objective.
The attacker(s) want your wallet, your pride, or sex.  The violence is a means to an end.
My wallet is not worth dying (or killing) for, and yours should not be either. The schoolyard bully example is an appropriate one in that the bully looks to prey on a weaker opponent, and usually the first bloody nose is enough to get him to seek another weaker victim.  Attackers stack the odds, but also do not want someone to fight back.
Making it clear by your confident body language and posture that you are not a victim can often serve to cause attackers to choose another target.  While I am a strong advocate of ethical self-defense, this is a secondary consideration for me when I am ambushed.  I need to get out alive, and if that means serious harm to the attacker(s) then so be it.  In a group situation this means doing as much damage as fast as possible to the nearest attacker in order to give pause to the others.  I don't expect to always win in such a situation, but I will choose to go out swinging and making sure the winners know they are getting the best fight I can give.

There is no 100% success on the street.  It is at best chaotic and unpredictable and at worst unforgiving and unfair.  Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar (and most likely trying to sell you something).  At best we train to increase our odds of survival, and hope we never have to find out.

That said, good training and a good mindset helps a lot.

Ratio-nality

Let's talk about ratios - rational ratios.

This is that holiday time of year.  A time when most people forego any kind of sensible habits in favor of enjoying the holidays to their fullest.  December into January (in fact 4Q overall is pretty dangerous health-wise) is filled with year-end and New Year's eve parties.  On top of that it is a bit chilly for getting outside and exercizing.  Many people start the New Year with a few extra pounds to shed, and a fair amount of detox required to get back to the already poor health they were in after Thanksgiving's gorge-fest.

I strongly recommend people try to follow a ration of 95:5 for their diet where 95% of the time they eat meals which are whole-foods plant based.  The other 5% of the time eating anything they like.  Of course, 100:0 is the best ratio and a great target to have, but unrealistic for most of us.  This would mean that for 21 meals a week, only 1 of them would (should) contain processed foods or animal products in it.  This is an optimal balance that will yield the best possible health benefits.

There is a famous study done by a nutritionist who lost a lot of weight eating only twinkies.  Yes, twinkies.  Before I get a lot of fools sending me mails on this, read the article.  He is a professor who did the test on himself to research calorie counting (which works).  HE DOES NOT recommend it to anyone, and neither do I.  People lose weight through meth addiction as well, and I don't suggest that as a successful strategy either.

Even without being mathematical about it, simply trying your best to make every meal healthy whenever possible makes a big difference.  I often see people show a lot of restraint when out to dinner with family, friends, co-workers/clients.  They make a big deal out of saying "Oh, I am trying to lose weight/eat healthy".  In fact, rather than cause discomfort at the table, it would be far better for that person to be very healthy every meal they eat alone or at home.  Then, when they go out, they need not stress about eating what they want or what others are having.

Since most of us eat breakfast at home (or should, anyway) , this is a great place to start.  Give up bacon/sausage/eggs/milk/coffee.  Instead try for 3 months to eat only whole, plant-based foods --- fruits and naturally sweetened fruit juices.  If you like yogurt, go Greek/plain unsweetened and top with fruit or fruit puree if desired.  For hot breakfasts, try oatmeal with fruit on top.  Drink unsweetened Chinese tea/Japanese green tea or water instead of coffee or sweetened drinks.  In three months I promise you a huge difference right there.

The next meal to go after is lunch.  I typically prepare a nice big salad and take it into work.  If it seems not enough, bring a bigger one.  For undressed salads, you can eat as much as you want.  Choose low calorie dressings and be minimal so you can enjoy the lovely taste of your veggies.  I am also a big fan of veggi dips such as hummus, and often pack those with whole grain flatbreads for dipping.  The classic Japanese combo of rice, miso soup, pickles/kimchi, tofu always does me right and offers a lot of variety especially if I have a small salad with it.

Try to eat such kinds of healthy lunches whenever you are not obliged to go out with co-workers or clients.  After you have conquered breakfast (give yourself 3 months to get the habits set) start working on lunch by picking one day a week (such as Monday) and making that "salad day".  After a week or two to adjust, add another day.  The another.
In 3 months you should have your routine set to healthy whole foods, plant-based breakfasts and lunches every day.  This is already 2/3 or your meal intake and a fantastic adjustment to better health.  The last step is preparing quick, healthy dinners at home anytime you are not obliged to eat out.

By following the above, you can get to the proper guideline ratio and greatly improve your health.  Not doing so increases your exposure you to the modern killers of our time:  heart disease, cancer, diabetes.  All of these are directly linked; scientifically linked, to consumption of animal products and processed foods.

One of the most important goals is to get to a ratio that lets you avoid feeling guilt over anything you eat or drink.  If 95% of the time you are eating whole foods, plant based meals, the other 5% will not do you any noticeable harm.  The counter argument is also true.  If 95% of the time you eat highly processed animal products, the 5% of the time you decide to have a Caesar salad will not save you from modern society's lethal diseases or give you greater longevity.

Choose Life.

Happy Holidays!

Low Down

Today our training group starts the new cycle.  In cycle 2, we will be working on Sikaran, kicking, specifically the low kick.

This is one of my favorite techniques.  Done correctly, it combines devastating power with fast deployment and is very difficult to block when thrown full power.  On the street, this can be all it takes to end the fight, and can succeed even when thrown into the thigh rather than destroying the knee joint (which can cause permanent damage).
The low kick can be done with either leg.

Tactically, the low kick is very useful for helping to drop the opponent's guard and opening up the higher lines by drawing the attention to these painful kicks.  Not much hip flexibility is required, and the large muscles of the legs can do a lot more damage than punching.

The keys to executing the low kicks well are:

correct distance --- achieved by use of the set-up step to adjust range
correct power --- achieved by proper base leg placement and hip rotation
correct counterbalance --- achieved by using the hands to keep balance during rotation
correct focus --- following the kick through the target past the opponent's leg
correct angle --- striking perpendicular to the target rather than angled

This kick can be delivered to the inside or outside of the opponent's legs, and when usinbg the full step can even be used to attack the opponent's rear or base leg, which is particularly effective (called "cut kicking").  The principal targets for this attack are the knee, the thigh, and the sciatic nerve found on the outside seam of the pant leg.

I especially like attacks to the sciatic nerve since a strong direct hit can result in knockout, which is high effectiveness for a leg attack.  Even a proximity hit to the sciatic line can cause numbness and loss of sensation in the limb, which can be enough to finish the fight.  a quick look on youtube will reveal examples of how effective these can be.

Rather than being a headhunter, which looks cool in movies but is risky on the street, low line kicks offer a great weapon for men or women, can be learned relatively quickly, and have devastating effect when used correctly.  Their usefulness should not be ignored.

See you in class.

Pugs and the Art of Visualization

This is a pug.
We have one, too, named Butch.

The other night Butch was laying on top of my chest sleeping and dreaming about a big, delicious bone, or whatever pugs dream about.  He felt heavy.

An adult pug weighs between 8 and 10 kg.  Butch weighs about 8.7kg as of his last visit to the vet.  That's when it struck me --- the amount of weight I lost after losing my job is only slightly more than this adult pug on my lap.
I used to walk around with an extra 8.7 kg (more, actually) of meat on me!  Suddenly I felt shocked.  It was a concrete way of visualizing what I had lost through diet, exercize, and stress management.  An adult pug.  MY pug.  I felt very good about my results so far, and motivated to keep going until I hit my desired weight (about another half-pug to go!)

Numbers on their own mean very little - it is when we give them context that they start to become important information.  How much weight would you like to lose to be at your ideal body size and shape?  Can you find a proxy in the physical world to refer to? (hopefully not an adult Indian elephant or polar bear!)  This kind of exercize can really help you set your goals and realize what those numbers actually mean.  It is important not to use this exercize to become discouraged or depressed.  Rather, it puts a realism to how hard it is to go through our daily routine when we are overweight, even by 5kg or so.

Proper visualization is an essential part of success.  What do YOU use?

Blank Canvas

Blank canvas can be awfully hard to fill.

Friday I tested our group on what they have learned in this cycle.  We filmed their work on sinawali 2-6 with double sticks, sinawali 2-6 entry and application in kadena de mano, and sinawali 2-6 applications in panantukan.

Overall the test was good, and I can see strong foundations in their basics for all three areas.

For kadena de mano, I had them begin with each entry 2-6 and then find their own solutions and follow ups to create several examples of flow.  This proved a bit more challenging than just repeating the techniques they learned from rote memory. 

Now, given a blank canvas, you must CREATE.

This is at once the most difficult yet most important aspect of FMA in general, and of Kali Majapahit in particular.  I have referenced this point in numerous other posts, but I feel I have to again go back again to how central this is to the process of learning Filipino Martial Arts the way we teach it.

This is the reason Kali Majapahit has empassioned me since the first day I saw it.

This is the reason I will do FMA for the rest of my life.

To really do FMA, we must express ourselves fully in the moment through our techniques.  It has to do with everything from which specific blocks/hits/locks/takedowns we use, to where we position our bodies, to even our mental attitude and focus.  We express it all, unified in each moment.  It is and must be the feeling of being truly alive and alert with every sense of our being.

Not only is this hardly taught at all in any other systems, and when it is taught it is usually for 5th dan black belts and above, it is the essence of everything we want to achieve as FMA practitioners.  It is so important that students start learning it even in the basic curriculum. Without it, we are just going through the motions and following the katas.  Without expression and flow, FMA becomes hollow, shallow, empty.

We grow, we learn, we change.  Our flow must grow, learn, change over time.  We become different people as we evolve and our expression must also change, grow, adapt, mature --- evolve.  This process is so beautiful that to ignore it is to lose all sense of the spiritual nature of our practice.  Sadly, without this we are just doing glorified aerobics.  Without this, we fail to reire our brains and to use the arts as a way of evolving ourselves as people.  This is the self-actualization, the peak of A.H. Maslow's heirarchical pyramid of human needs. 

At the same time, this is the most difficult part of the training.  We need to learn to let go of the intellectual understanding of our techniques, since we cannot intellectualize fast enough to respond fully in the moment.  We have to become empty ("mushin" in Japanese) and let our bodies FLOW and express our spirit through our motion.  We have to allow ourselves to be limitless --- beyond inside, outside, high line, low line, center line, palusot, punch, kick.  All of this must become automatic and instinctive.  This is why FMA training is harder than anything else.  There can be no compromise in developing your own unique flow and expression.  In a nutshell, FMA can be nothing more, but cannot be anything less.  Flow and expression.

In training, we are forced to find solutions despite any limitation placed on us.  This helps to get the expression to go beyond standard thinking and rote memory.  The more we explore, the more we find, the more we grow.  This cycle is a centerpiece of the training.

As a teacher, it is the greatest challenge not only to get students to understand how vital the ideas of Flow and Expression are in FMA, but to find the best way of guiding the students to developing their own flows and expressions.  I struggle with this and am always searching for new drills to help them break through their own barriers and limitations.

To My Students:  This is ALL ABOUT YOU.

My goal for you all is to find your own flow and your own beautiful expression in Kali Majapahit.  I want each of you to be the best martial artist you can be, fully "martial" and fully "artist", and to make the canvas of your lives your own personal masterpiece.  The dojo is where we practice it, and daily life is where we live it and reap its reward.

Let's never stop training together.  

Solar Powered

We are all solar powered.  I mean it.  Our human relationship with the sun is one of the most important, and most abused, relationships in our lives.  At times we are afraid of it, and at others we overdose on it.  At the end of it all, we need the sun to be happy and healthy, and if we use it correctly it is one of the most important resources in our lives.

Unfortunately, humans do not produce energy through photosynthesis the way plants do.  However, we are designed to use sunlight in other important ways.

Proper exposure of our skin surface to sunshine (UVB) is the principal way we get Vitamin D. Vitamin D, or more specifically a lack of vitamin D, is a major contributor to several forms of cancer, as well as heart disease, osteoporosis, and a host of other ailments including depression.  Sunshine is free and thus big food companies cannot sell it to you at a profit.  It is for this reason that most people have been misled into thinking that any exposure to sunlight is harmful. Not true.

Fashion magazines promote a sallow, pale, deathly unhealthy skin tone rather than a healthy natural glow from sunshine.  The cosmetics industry wants us to spend a fortune to protect ourselves from something we actually need very badly.  Dairy Board tries to convince you that disgusting cow's milk is better than natural, free sunlight for getting vitamin D. Big Pharma tries to sell us supplements for something we can easily get faster and more efficiently FOR FREE.  Don't even get me started on tanning beds.  Yeesh.

A mere 10-15 minutes per day of sunlight exposure on our skin is enough for most of us to produce the vitamin D we need to be healthy (darker skinned people will need two or three times as much).  This also helps us develop a positive mental attitude and avoid depression.

Too much of any good thing becomes a bad thing, so if you plan on being in direct sunlight longer than an hour or so (such as going to the beach), it is worth staying in the shade or using sunscreen to avoid sunburn or sunstroke.  Sunburn is a leading factor in skin cancer, which is more common than it should be.

My personal favorite was to get out of the office whenever possible at lunchtime for a 10-15 minutes walk out to buy a bento or, when that wasn't possible, to sneak out for an afternoon stroll once the markets were closed.  This was always enough for me to refresh myself and come back energized.

Vitamin D is important, and drinking cow's milk is a foolish way to try to get it.

"here comes the sun

here comes the sun and I say

It's all right."

 - The Beatles "Abbey Road" (1969)      

45

well, here I am.  45 years old today (hence the picture of a Colt .45).  It has been a helluva year, hasn't it?

This morning I had breakfast surrounded by my wife and children, and couldn't be happier.

I am much healthier than last year, and in addition to managing my diet (mostly vegetarian/vegan), swimming and running, training harder in Kali, and becoming less angry all the time I think I am finally reaching a lasting happiness in my life.

There were many down points this year, too.  My father died at 90 years old, which makes me sad, but I am also glad for him to leave this world behind and take the next step in his soul's journey.  He taught me a lot through his life, and more still through his death.
He lived pretty stress-free, even until the end.  He did what he wanted, when he wanted and was beholden to no one except at the very end. He made no apologies for who and how he was, and always kept it simple.  In dying, he chose when to let go, and kept as much dignity as any of us could hope for in such a time.  He passed knowing we loved him.  If I do as well when my time comes someday, it will be more than enough.

I still don't have a job, and it has been one year now that I am out of work.  Initially, my pride made this very painful.  Over time, it has helped me understand that I AM NOT MY JOB.  I am not my business cards, my college degrees or my career choices.  I am my family, and the returns that really matter come not from my investment in the markets, but from my investment in my marriage and in my children.  These are the dividends and value which will sustain me through every downswing in my life.  This is real wealth, and by this measure I am rich and always will be.  This year has taught me to really appreciate the balance between work and life and to pay full attention to them both.

At 45 I am still learning, and proud of the fact that my desk has a big stack of books on it, 9 of them, actually.  I have a lot to do, but this is not the stress of urgency - it is the motivation of purposefulness.  I hope I can keep learning and growing for the rest of my life.  My quest to become a better person continues, unrelenting.

What are my goals?  What do I expect to write about next year at 46?

1) LOVE MORE --- make sure those around me know how important they are to me
2) SHARE MORE --- people love each other through participation. Don't be afraid to share both good and bad.  The good makes us happy, the bad makes us stronger.
3) GIVE MORE --- give of my time, my knowledge, my experience, my spirit, my resources to those who need it.
4) NO STRESS --- we cannot change the outside, so we must change the inside.  Change the way you view the world and you change the world itself.
5) LET GO --- so much of life is about understanding what to keep and what to let go.  Keep the positive, let go the negative. Think about this in every circumstance.
6) BE HERE NOW --- enjoy every moment for what it is.  Never wish to be anywhere else except where you are at each moment.  Experience life fully.  Squeeze out every last drop.
7) BE MORE YOU --- use this journey to explore yourself.  Never want to be anyone else, but rather to become more "you" than you have ever been.  Find your good qualities and amplify them.  Take your bad qualities and change them.  Change yourself, change the world.
8) NO COMPROMISE --- never settle for anything less than the best for important things.  Let go of trivial details for everything else.  Focus 100% on what matters and waste no time on that which does not.
9) LISTEN --- open your ears, mind, heart, and soul to those around you.  Listen with your whole being and you will be successful.
10) TREASURE IT --- we each have one life, one precious life. Use it wisely. Revel in this chance to grow.  Have no regrets.

In 45 years I have made several lifetimes of mistakes already.  I regret none of them, for they brought me here; to this place, this time, this understanding.  I am very hopeful as I look forward to the upcoming year.  Please share it with me.

Something to look forward to

Isn't it nice to have something to look forward to?
Most of us look forward to the weekend, we look forward to holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, seeing old friends, visiting interesting places and so on.  As much as we think we can't wait for those things to happen, we know they always seem to over too soon.

Martial Arts is the same way.  We look forward to the next technique, concept, drill, lesson.  We look forward to seeing our brothers and sisters at class.  We look forward to showing what we can do in the graduation cycles and affirming our progress at each stage.

This is a lifetime journey.  For most martial arts, especially Kali Majapahit, the depth of study cannot be understood well in under 20 years or so.  Kali Majapahit's unique curriculum allows one to learn the system fully in a lifetime, but with no time to waste.

Suppose one were in a hurry, and wanted to complete this lifetime of study in as little time as possible.  What then?  What do you do once your lifetime of study, your "life work" is over and completed?  Die? None of us wants to be in a hurry for that.

Relish in the fact that this training goes very deep, and will take your whole life to master.  There is so much that you will continue to find new paths, new horizons, new discoveries about martial arts and about yourself.  You will never run out of things to train, so no need to look elsewhere for it.  All you need is right here.

That's something good to look forward to.

Satori...or not.

One day a zen sword master was approached by a wealthy young samurai who asked to be his disciple. 
"How long will it take me to master your teachings?" he asked.  "At least 20 years" the master replied. 
"But master", the samurai continued, "I am already very learned in other styles, and my parents have had me tutored in zen beliefs since I was a small boy." "How long would it take me?".  "At least 30 years" the master replied. 
Frustrated, the samurai continued, "But I will train harder than any other student you have had, foregoing sleep and food to learn.  How long will it take me?"  "At least 40 years" the master replied.

The more we seek it, the less we find it.  In the modern world, we are conditioned to expect every one of life's problems to be neatly solved in 22 minutes (plus commercial breaks), just like it is on television.  We have fast food, fast music, fast lifestyles.  It seems children are pushed to grow up earlier, and we are all in a race to hurry up...and die.  There is less time for living; for learning; FOR BEING. 
It is truly a crisis of the soul.

It is a fatal flaw to concern onesself with the results of anything.  Just as a master archer focuses on the technique (drawing, placing the arrow, breathing, releasing) rather than the target, we should know that focusing on the results or goals blinds us to everything else along the way.  We fail to appreciate the value of the journey, which is sad since the journey is most of the trip.

In martial arts, we hope to have an enlightening moment - satori - when the proverbial light bulb goes on in our heads.  The technique we couldn't get; the footwork we didn't understand; the application we never imagined.  It becomes clear to us and we experience a spiritual high from our training.  These are magic moments, and everyone who experiences it will agree they can be life-changing.

This can be its own addiction, though.  We begin to want these enlightenments from EVERY training.  We become depressed if they don't happen.  We even count the time since the last "awakening" and despair long hours of training without that boost. 
This is a trap.

The training is the truth.  Focus on the training and enlightenment will happen naturally when it does.

The most important thing is just to KEEP TRAINING.

There is so much value in the routines of the training.  The daily stretching, the daily drills, the diet, the meditation, re-working the basics, burning in the muscle memory of every small movement.  These are the building blocks of enlightenment, and without them the awakening will not occur.  The years teach much the days never know.

Worried that you don't see the light bulb any more?  Keep training. Train harder.
Feel like you have gone as far as you can go?  Keep training. Train harder.
Hit your plateau?  Keep training. Train harder.

Trust your training.  Be patient.  It goes far deeper than you imagine.
There is ALWAYS more to learn.  There always will be.  Speed is of no consequence on THE WAY.  If you give up to early, you don't get to see what lies just ahead, just outside your current understanding.  If you give up too early, you miss it.  You don't get to know what happens to you.  Don't try to read the end of the book first.  You miss the story that way.

I have heard it explained like this:

Some days I love to train
Some days I hate to train
Everyday I have to train

Stay the course and you will be rewarded with grace.  Enlightenment will come in time. 
No rush. 

Stuck In the Middle

 

In Kali Majapahit we discuss three possible ranges for fighting:

1) Largo --- far distance.  Touching is not possible without closing distance

2) Medio --- medium distance. Touching with both weapon and alive hand is possible

3) Corto --- close distance. Punio, dumog, knees/elbows/headbutts happen here

The actual distance varies according to the weapons being used.  For us, the most important understanding here is avoiding the middle distance.

In middle distance, you can touch with full power, and also use the alive hand to check, redirect, and gunting.  Sounds great, right?  Unfortunately, at this distance we are also in the optimal distance for our opponent to do the same to us.  Staying here yields the maximum chaos and opportunity for something unexpected (read: BAD) to happen to us.  Many fighters train to keep medium distance, basically guaranteeing that they will get a barrage opf hits from their opponent.  They step backward, their opponent steps forward and they remain in medium range.  Their opponent steps backward, they chase and stay in medium range.  Better ides are to step in when opponents' step in and fight from corto, or to step back when opponent's step back and go to largo, preparing to gunting whatever approaches from largo.

One of the main objectives in a fight is to have control of the situation.  To do this, we need to minimize the chance of something unexpected happening.  That means no matter where the fight starts, we should seek to change to largo or corto distance as fast as possible.  Largo is a good first choice (assuming you can outrun your opponent) since it is not possible to be touched at this range.  An example of this is to kick the opponent's knee when he closes distance and step back into largo.  As well, using just the tip of the weapon to hit his/her hand as we step back into largo is another way to use this.

However, in many cases this is not possible.  We cannot outrun our opponent, or the environment prohibits opening such distance, such as being in a hallway, elevator, bathroom, etc.  In such cases, it is important to close distance as fast as possible to corto.  This enables us to get inside the guard and intercept at the torso (elbow/shoulder/knee/hip) rather than at the full extension of the attack.  It also allows us to control the head and spine, as well as going to work on destroying the opponent's structure by attacking the footwork through foot traps and the like.  Moreover, close range negates a taller opponent's reach, which can be useful if you are a smaller guy like me.

In Kali Majapahit, we specifically train in Inayan Serrada and other systems which are designed for close quarter combat at corto distance.  Whatever you do, the middle ground is bad.  You have to choose.  Be prepared.

Dimensions of Expression

In Kali Majapahit, we are always training to achieve self-expression.  This is the "ART" in martial arts.  We want to synthesize who we are as martial artists and human beings and express it through our movement in relationship with others.  This is of course both philosophical and practical.

Practically speaking, we explore many dimensions of movement as we discover solutions to the problems we face in combat. Not only do we express by choice of technique (Kali, Silat, Hakka, Boxing, Dumog, Trankada, etc.), we also explore, discover and express ourselves dimensionally.  Here are some examples:

• Inside/Outside of the attacking line
• Split Entries (simple and reverse)
• Same Side/Opposite Side Interception
• Above/Below the attacking line
• On/Off Centerline
• Largo/Medio/Corto distance
• Gunting and Atemi Variations
• Clockwise/Counterclockwise Palusot Variations

Chess is a great example.  There are a limited number of spaces and pieces in chess.

However, the number of possibilities is limitless.  In 1950, Claude Shannon estimated that there can be as many as 10^123 possible combinations, more than the number of observable atoms in our universe.  You get the point.

In Kali Majapahit, one of the principle goals is to change our opponent's vision of the fight.  In other words, we want to use the element of surprise to disrupt our opponent's tactics.  We do not want to be or move in any way which which an opponent can predict.  This means becoming free to express in all dimensions.

In Singapore, it was common for Guro to give us bounds/limits on our training, to force us to flow through uncomfortable dimensions until we could solve problems in them and feel confident.  He told us again and again that we should not limit our flow to just techniques we liked or felt confident in, since we could never grow or improve that way.  For example we had to stay on the low line, or switch from inside to outside every 3 moves.  This made us work our brains to find ways to flow while satisfying the conditions he set.  It was frustrating but very rewarding training.

The lifetime study of Kali Majapahit techniques and tactics is largely spent in exploring, discovering, and expressing this dimensionality.  There is no end to what we can find here.

Be Greedy

 

Be Greedy.  Go ahead.  You know you want to.

This is not something I would often say.  In fact, it is as far from core Buddhist teachings as you can get.  We know the Chain of Negativity: Greed leads to Attachment.  Attachment leads to fear of loss. Fear of loss leads to anger.  Anger leads to Hate.  Hate leads to suffering.

In this case, it's OK.  Really.  Let me explain.

For those of you who were at the seminar this past weekend, there were many things to see and hear.  There were also some challenges.

• We saw a lot of concepts and applications.
• We saw blends of traditional and modern martial arts techniques.
• We heard about our diet and lifestyles and how to improve them.
• We also heard a lot about our ethical responsibility to change ourselves and our world.
• We were challenged to go a single night without alcohol, coffee, meat, sugar, dairy products, eggs, cigarettes.  No one made it except me (I had help since Guro Fred and Guro Lila were staying with me).

What will you take away from the seminar?  Techniques?  Fighting skills?  Boxing drills??

YOU CAN TAKE IT ALL.  Be greedy.  Go ahead.  It's all for you for the same low, low price.  Act now.

I am encouraging you to do more than just accept that Guro Fred is an amazing martial artist.  You saw it.  You know. 

I want you to do more than just accept that Kali Majapahit is a way of presenting Southeast Asian martial arts that is well thought-out, practical, responsible, and technically efficient.  You tried it.  You know.

Take It All.  Take Guro Fred's message that this planet needs our help.  It's dying.  We are the ones killing it.  On a spiritual level, our insistence that animals suffer to support our selfishness is causing a karmic debt that will ultimately lead to endless suffering for us before it is paid.  The more in debt we become, the more we must suffer to regain the balance.  On a practical level, eating animals causes global warming and perpetuates systematized torture and cruelty on an enormous global scale.  It supports a healthcare machine that thrives on medication and surgery rather than good health and prevention.  It promotes and rewards irresponsibility at the same time it is killing us.  It takes away our dignity and our ability to have a high quality of life (and death).

This habit is the major reason human beings cannot progress to the next state of our higher evolution.  If we do not, we are doomed to extinction.  The planet will recover from us, but we will disappear.  Our only hope is that we can learn and change.

A true master never teaches anything new.  He merely points the way to what we already know inside.  I strongly suggest thinking deeply about this.  You know the truth.  I know you do.  Do not be afraid to ask the question when you already know the answer.

Take control of your life and use Kali Majapahit for its real purpose:

--- change your life, change the world.

The answers are here.  It's a buffet.  Take as much as you want.  Feed your soul until it is satisfied. Go ahead. Bon appetit.

First Ever KM Japan Seminar

 

October 15 and 16 was the first time for Guro Fred and Guro Lila to do a Kali Majapahit Seminar in Japan.

Here are my take-aways from it.

The Most Important Message

Guro Fred started the seminar with the most important message.  Many would choose to ignore it or discount it, but for me, the heart of Kali Majapahit was explained in the first 10 minutes of the seminar:  Kali Majapahit is a movement for changing the world.

To change the world we must first change ourselves.  We must accept that fighting cannot bring us what we need and what the world needs.  In true Martial Arts the battle is always against the Self, and our victory is what frees us to do what is right for ourselves, our loved ones and our world.  Punching and kicking is very interesting indeed, but alone cannot bring any meaningful change without our understanding that it is merely a tool of self-discovery.  A powerful tool, but a tool no less.  It is a means to an end.

Technically Speaking

We were able to see all the various influences of KM at work throughout the seminar --- Filipino, JKD, Indonesian Silat, Hakka Kung Fu, Chinese medicine theory and even Parkour.  Within the Filipino arts we saw stickfighting, knife, panantukan and dumog.  Beyond this, though, we saw the common threads between them all.  In our concepts, every distance, level, and direction can be explored and expressed.  Many arts talk about being holistic and complete --- effective in every range and level, but few can actually show it.  This is proof positive of Kali Majapahit's efficiency and applicability.

Guro Fred also spent a lot of time expressing the difference between traditional blade arts as they are taught in Southeast Asia, and modern "ethical" arts as we need them in the structure of modern society.  Too often these effective combat arts are shown without regard to the consequences we face as martial artists when we use them.  It is important to only use appropriate force.  "Ethical" knife defense seeks to disable the attacker without causing death or permanent disability.  This is at the core of Kali Majapahit's work with law enforcement and executive protection specialists worldwide and greatly appreciated since it shares their vision and allows them to be efficient within their legal and procedural guidelines.

Expression and Flowing

In Kali Majapahit we teach through concepts and examples.  These are not rote kata for memorization, but rather principles of combat which are shown through practical technical examples.  The ultimate goal is to FLOW, expressing ourselves and our background in our solutions.  Every KM Guro uses the same concepts, but expresses them in an individual way.  This is the "ART" of martial arts. 

Problem Solving

We all want to believe that every block is perfect, every hit finds its mark, and our opponent goes down and falls exactly the way we planned it in the dojo.  At the same time we also know that real fights are chaotic and emotional - totally unpredictable.  Kali Majapahit spends a lot of time exploring the problems that can happen when things don't go as planned, and our best responses to continue to erode our opponents' structure and finish the fight.  This is rarely taught in other martial arts and open the door to real FLOW.

Wrap Up

There are lots of Filipino martial arts nowadays, but I believe that Kali Majapahit encompasses not only technical excellence, but also practicality, ethics, personal development and health.  This is truly a complete warrior way which offers a lifetime of challenge and achievement for dedicated practitioners.  This path is deep and long, and can take you as far as you want to go.

What did you think of the seminar?  What were your take aways?

Please let me know.

Guro Fred and Guro Lila and I are already planning the next one... see you there!

BFT

BFT --- blunt force trauma.

Frank sent this link over to me yesterday...

I watched it a few times and then had a serious think about it.  I suggest you do, too.

Here's what I came away with:

• As we have seen in class, the lower torso BFT is a serious show stopper
• It doesn't take much to put someone down, potentially permanently
• Condition has relatively little bearing on the damage you take from a serious shot here
• With great power comes great responsibility (thanks David)

We go after this area in class a lot, not just with hooks to the body but also with elbows/knees/kicking/weapons and I constantly tell you about the potential implication of liver/spleen/kidney hits for ending fights or even ending lives.

These targets are NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY.  All are potentially lethal hits.

In the video clip, the author advocates breaking the ribs/disconnecting cartilage and trying to cause blunt trauma leading to Hypovolemic shock and potentially contusions/laceration to the underlying organs.

In a life or death situation, choose life.

In anything less, choose life.

This is not a game and you do not want to carry the guilt, let alone the legal/civil responsibility for permanently injuring or killing someone unless lethal force is really the only option left.

These are not rational responses to being pushed by a drunk Mongolian in a bar in Roppongi, even if he rips a belt loop off of your best suit.  Severity of force must always be appropriate to the severity of the situation.  Not more. Not less.

APPROPRIATE.

As martial artists we MUST hold ourselves to a higher ethical standard; a higher moral standard.  We know from our training how frail the body can be; how strong the body can be.  We know how weak the spirit can be; how strong the spirit can be.

We know better.

Especially in Kali Majapahit, we are obliged to always be on the right side of the law, and to uphold our oath to preserve and treasure all life as precious.  This is not arbitrary.

Given no choice, you should end fights as quickly, efficiently and directly as necessary.  This should be done with no more hostility than we would direct at an appliance we unplug.  However, and this is important, we should strive to never find ourselves in a situation that leaves us no other options but to cause grievous bodily harm.

The dead get off very easy compared to living years (possibly forever) spent in prison or a suffering through a crippling lawsuit from survivors or at the very least a lifetime of guilt over taking a life that did not necessarily need to be taken.

I feel revulsion toward someone who can portray doing such damage to another human being as being "the objective", when we know in our hearts our objective should never be to cause pain or injury to any other living thing.  LIFE IS NOT A VIDEO GAME.

Many things, once done, cannot be undone.

Choose Life Always.

Peace Out.