Losing

 

The Paris Olympics is in full force now, and there are so many emotional moments. Athletes give their all in pursuit of medals not just for themselves but for their countries as well. The results of the past 4 years of preparation bear fruit as we see the very best compete for the glory of being champions.

There is heartbreak, too. Above the photo of Uta Abe, Japanese Judo medalist who rose to prominence in the Tokyo Olympics as she and her brother Hifumi were the first siblings to take individual gold medals in Olympic history. She had been unbeaten since 2019 and was heavily favored to win another individual gold, as her brother did later that day. She lost to Uzbekistani player Diyora Keldiyorova in what her brother termed an "accidental ippon". Heartbroken, her tears and wails of disappointment as she left the mats became a notable meme. We shared her pain.

There will always be times when we fail. We will fail to exceed our own expectations, or those of the people who count on us. There will be times when we are tried in public or on social media, fairly or unfairly. There will be times when we don't get the praise we think we deserve for the results we deliver. We may be passed over for promotion or have rumors unfairly spread about us.

As human beings, we seek validation and praise as part of our basic natures. We want to do well, and we want to be acknowledged and recognized for it. From the time we are born, we seek, even crave, the acceptance and praise of those we think are above us - parents/grandparents, older siblings, friends, teachers, coaches, professors, priests, in-laws, bosses and job mentors. Late in life, we seek validation from our children or grandchildren who we hope will recognize and acknowledge our sacrifices and think we did a good job for them. This is completely natural - until it becomes obsessive. When it causes us to suffer then maybe it is worth considering a bit more deeply.

Buddhism is an important way of philosophical thinking in that it addresses the ego directly. We are constantly reminded of our connection to everything, our sameness, our "smallness". In rejecting duality in favor of singularity, we accept that no other living being is above us and neither are we above any other. Our connectedness makes us equal and humbles us.

In Buddhism we also look carefully at the trap of expectations, which lead to desire and oftentimes to disappointment. This is done not to disavow our emotions, but rather to recognize and acknowledge them so we can let them go - and not be controlled by them. It is a process of deep observation aimed at every aspect of our lives.

As martial artists too, it is easy to be caught up in the thrill of competition and romanticize violence. Many famous Hollywood movies do exactly that. However, Buddhism clearly reminds us that such actions are really just "ego candy", establishing artificial rankings and hierarchies where they should not be. Our ego often gets in the way of good training and connecting to our training partners. Belts and ranks engender respect, but can also create feelings of unfairness or comparison where they are not warranted. Movies like "The Karate Kid" beautifully showcase our obsession with winning, often at the cost of someone else.

Kodo Sawaki, Zen teacher of Taisen Deshimaru, famously said "The secret of martial arts is that there is no victory and no defeat. You can neither win nor be beaten." Of course, this is not the same in sports and as such sports are not martial arts. This is worth thinking about. Losing her match does not equate to weakness nor failure. Neither can it be fully attributed to the strength and skill of her competitor. It simply happened. No more, no less. Every encounter is unique and no outcomes are ever guaranteed. Can we really say she "lost"? That Diyora Keldiyorova "won"? Both? Neither??

My heart goes out to Uta Abe. The heavy weight of so much expectation clearly took a toll on her. She is still young (24 years old) and has hopefully lots of life yet to live. She will rise, stronger, and this experience will help make her a better competitor and a better person. I hope she finds peace as soon as possible.

Train Hard.   

Two Sides of the Coin

 

There is much about the Filipino martial arts (FMA) that at first can seem difficult. In many cases, we feel that various concepts are at odds with each other or even directly in conflict. The movements are initially hard to master and don't feel natural, particularly if like me you are coming from a very different background. The ideas of FMA can feel very alien, at least for the first few years.

Lately, in my research while teaching expressions of 5 count sumbrada, I am thinking a lot about compactness. On one hand, the idea of being compact is an essential part of being a good fighter and a cornerstone of FMA movement. In general, we prefer to have the knees deeply bent and to move low to the ground. We often avoid jumping or large steps in favor of keeping the footwork more as a shuffle, using the coiling step to develop explosive striking power. As time goes on, my blocking positions (when I block at all) in stick/empty hand/knife become more and more compact.

I find that I prefer to be very close to my opponent, negating any reach advantage (I'm small) and allowing me easy access to any vital targets without a lot of excess stepping or reaching. From the stick and blade I have found that when I "go get" an attack I end up losing my guard and structure and it becomes easy to hit my hands, get a disarm or pass my guard and hit my body or head. When I reach for the incoming attack I am often vulnerable to fakes. I'm much faster when I stay compact and I feel more protected. I also find it easier to get traps and disarms the closer to my body I am. Conversely, as a fighter I like to cause my opponent to extend their blocks, “drawing” them away from their guard in order to open up opportunities and attacking lines, often through strikes like abanico/witik or vertical redondo. Since this a key aspect of my fighting strategy, I deliberately keep my guard close and tight to avoid someone using those strategies on me.

In contrast, instead of being compact I usually want to extend fully when I hit or cut something. I want to use the reach of the weapon fully, and in FMA most weapons operate via centrifugal force via the shoulder, which means the more extended my arm is the more impact energy is transferred to the striking tip. This is less necessary with a blade, but helps a lot when you hit with the rattan and want to have stopping power.

Extending my arm fully when I attack also prevents the opponent from easily stepping back out of range, which can happen if I shorten the arc of my swing. I want to make sure the opponent must address my attack with a block or intercept rather than just dodging out of the way. That means I want to get both a powerful strike and long weapon arc wherever possible.

What I found is that I try to be as compact as possible when I block and as extended as possible when I attack. this combination of opposing principles seems to give me the most effective movement and the best "look" to my flow. When I emphasize this with my students, they definitely look better in 5 count sumbrada and can operate the drill more smoothly and quickly.

For footwork as well, when defending I keep my steps as compact and minimal as possible, usually one step and bring the trailing foot, no more. When attacking, I try to use the 45 degree corners aggressively and go as far on them as I can, always pressuring forward and always threatening to flank my opponent. This seems to help by keeping them constantly adjusting rather than focusing on finding attacking lines into me.

Thus, my current approach is a combination of being very compact and being very extended, which I consider to be two sides of the same coin.

I'm still working through this topic with my students and thinking a lot about it every day. I'll write up more as I develop more hypotheses and test them in class.

Please share your own thoughts and observations.

Train hard.  

Four Corners

 

In this cycle, we are working on hubud lubud drill as a template to explore the Hakka 5 gates. This gives students a foundation in Hakka striking and trapping flows, including foot trapping and low line kicking, which are essential elements in the Hakka systems.

One of the key ideas to master when studying Hakka Kuntao is the idea of compactness. Of course this can be applied to all other systems as well, but the use of hubud lubud and the 5 gates provides a great visualization tool for understanding this idea.

I often explain compactness to my students using the idea of a box or "four corners". In Japan, I sometimes use a kanji to illustrate the corners and center line. The four corners represent the anchor points of the torso, namely the two shoulders and the two hips. By watching the two top corners I can easily see my opponent's movement start to develop, which makes their attacking intention easier to predict. Likewise, by watching their hips I can see any adjustment of their footwork, stance or the beginnings of a kicking motion. All four of these can be monitored by watching the center mass of the torso at the sternum, and Guro Fred deliberately put our logo in that spot on the training t-shirts as a focal point for this purpose.

In fighting, our goal should always be to protect our four corners. By doing so, we naturally keep attacks away from the main part of the torso including all the vital organs heart/lungs/plexus/liver/spleen. Throat and groin sit along the centerline but are generally protected if we protect the four corners. In Hakka, typically, the elbows connect to the hip corners and the hands connect to the shoulder corners. This means the hands will rarely go above shoulder height, and the elbows remain pointed downward in order to keep a strong structure.

Likewise, we are usually seeking to get past our opponent's  guard and access their torso by passing one or more of the corners. The strikes in Hakka are often aimed at the centerline and center mass, and traps usually lift the arms above the shoulder line or pin them to the low line at the corners of the hips.

Thus, the concept can be simplified to keeping the opponent outside the four corners of our box while getting access to their box ourselves. Other techniques like low kicks, locks, throws and the like serve only to create opportunities to penetrate the guard and gain access to the vital areas inside the box.

These concepts are universal. Combative knife fighting and shooting also emphasize targeting center mass (center of the box) as the highest percentage targets to render opponents ineffective. Recently, a former President survived an attempted assassination, possibly being lucky because the assassin chose a head shot instead of aiming for center mass.

In boxing as well, we sometimes move the opponent's guard in order to get access to the liver or spleen for body hits, or to either side of the jawline for head hits. If you examine the standard modern western boxing guard, it is designed to protect the four corners by using the elbows to protect the liver/spleen/floating ribs, the forearms to protect the plexus and the hands to protect the shoulder corners and head.

Going forward, when training, it may be useful to consider each technique for how it either protects our four corners or exposes them on our opponent. 

• Is it possible to be more compact and provide greater protection for our corners? What are the most efficient protections for our corners?
• Are there techniques and combinations that are effective for opening the corners of our opponent so we can get in? How can we best get past the opponent's guard?

Let me know what you think.

Train Hard.

Validation

 

Every human being has an innate need to be praised. Whether at work or at home or at the dojo, we all want those above us and around us to recognize our efforts and reassure us that we are doing the right things and doing well. We want to exceed expectations and overachieve our KPIs. We want to be promoted and make progress in our journeys, ascending to the next levels of our respective pyramids.

In our martial arts journeys, we grow as we rise through the ranks from belt to belt with our brothers and sisters, earning the respect of our peers as we (hopefully) pass each rank test and develop ourselves. We ultimately test for our red shirt (assistant instructor) and finally, our black shirt/black belt and join the heroes as a Guro (instructor). Hopefully this adds a new perspective as we share the responsibility for the subsequent generations of students we train.

For many of us, the need to move from milestone to milestone is a central aspect of our goal setting and goal achievement, not just in martial arts but in life. We seek quantifiable metrics to measure our success and expect to "keep doing more" at each subsequent stage as we build ourselves up in our careers and personal lives. Of course, advertising and media (social media) exploit this gamefication by appealing to the desperate need many of us have for MORE. We are enticed by more and bigger numbers for things like our job titles/number of staff in our orgs, bigger sales targets and achievements, more business travel miles, even annual overtime hours worked (sadly). 

We care about the numbers of our bank balance, the square footage of our house, the value of our investments, the grades of our children. We care about the hopefully decreasing score of our golf game or the hopefully increasing numbers of our kid's test scores... the numbers, and the validation associated with them, can be strong motivators for us. In the gym, we compare times on our runs or talk about how much weight we can lift or how many reps we can do. Crossfit is so popular partly because we can post about it on social media to make our audience see how good we are. We crave the validation and status that come from being considered "elite" or "platinum" or "diamond". Some people cannot resist putting capital letter abbreviations after their name on their business cards like MBA, CPA, CFA, etcetera. There is nothing wrong with celebrating our achievements, of course, unless we begin to obsess over them. I even know a few people who cannot resist posting photos from the first class lounge whenever they fly. They must really need to feel the envy of others.

Although we are aware of it, we seldom discuss the intangible or qualitative aspects of performance or improvement. The connection with a key client over a handshake, the development or recovery of an important business relationship, the trust of our colleagues and co-workers, the precious moments with our families, the video call to our parents, the taste of a home-cooked meal, the comfort of our own bed. Good sportsmanship is noticed and appreciated, but never to the same degree as the final scores themselves. In the dojo, we prepare for tests but rarely acknowledge the good progress we make from week to week, or reward ourselves for the diligence of our commitment. Attendance usually goes up just before selection and into the test review.

This year my teacher, Grandmaster Fred Evrard, died.

After several years of incredible bravery, he finally succumbed to cancer. He was a warrior, a Peaceful Warrior, in every sense of the word. There can never be a replacement for who he was or what he meant to me, since he and Kali Majapahit's co-founder, Guro Lila, are the main reasons why I ended up becoming a martial arts instructor. He personally tested me for all my teacher ranks, assistant instructor through 3rd degree black belt senior instructor, and I accept his judgement of my skills at each level.

Although in recent years, I didn't get to see him as much as before, I continued to learn so much from him through what he shared with me not just about martial arts but about philosophy and spirituality. His books were windows into the mind of someone who had dedicated every day of his life to The Path. They are treasures to me, and his life was a blessing. It's a devastating loss not just for me but for all of us. The world was far brighter with his light.

So what now?

Knowing he can never test me again means that I must of course accept the possibility that I will never again test for a higher black belt rank in Kali Majapahit. I'm OK with that.

For some people, taking away the goal (for me the next test would be 4th degree black belt) would weaken their motivation. They might seek another master or another system wherein they could be fed techniques and information and continue to be tested periodically. This validation would comfort them and help them stay focused on the next goal and the next after that. Some have already done that.

In my case, I don't feel a need to prove myself beyond what I have already done in Kali Majapahit. After 16 years, I feel I have achieved some limited understanding of what my teachers intended for me in this system, at least enough to continue my exploration without the need to be spoon-fed by anyone. I still love to learn and am grateful to be part of a community with so many advanced practitioners with whom to share and grow together. I am, and will continue to be, loyal to Kali Majapahit and our leadership for the trust they have placed in me to operate our group in Japan for the past 13 years and counting. The platform of Kali Majapahit is more than enough for me to continue my journey and keep giving back my research and findings to the group. I intend to continue teaching and carry on GM Fred's legacy as an honor to him for what this system has brought me. I think I would do so even if shipwrecked alone on a desert island.

The respect of my peers does indeed matter to me, and I think I have it. I don't feel any need to be called "Master" or have more stripes on my belt or anything like that. We have a wonderful global KM community at all levels, and I love seeing everyone and spending time training together now that COVID is over. I'm also grateful for the collaboration I have found with other schools and systems, sharing and learning together as part of our mutual journeys. Tested or not, I am learning and growing constantly, and that's what matters, right?

On the mats, as in life, I will continue to do my best - just as Guro Fred would have wanted.

   

Simple Maths

 

The Kali Majapahit curriculum is vast, incorporating empty hands (striking, kicking, locking, disarming, sweeping/throwing) as well as a wide variety of weapons (edged, pointed, impact, flexible, hybrid), not to mention the various subsystems which all move the body a bit differently. There's a lot to learn and a lot to remember. It would take years just to see it all, let alone become familiar with it or master it. After 16 years, I still have so much to explore and discover.

Sometimes students ask me to do a particular thing like knife disarming or karambit. Sometimes they want to do flexible weapons or single stick disarms. I smile to myself because in their minds these are all different sets of knowledge; discrete; separate; compartmentalized. Every technique to be understood one at a time. I no longer see them that way.

Let me explain.

These days I try to teach Kali Majapahit through a variety of templates. I have templates for the stickwork, the empty hands. There are foundation movements that are used across all FMA and these important sets are to be mastered since they have wide application and form the base of expression.

For example, Sinawali 6 is a basic template of six movements that is commonly used to train double stick manipulation. Learning it correctly builds coordination and timing, and the movements of sinawali 6 help us learn how to chain together various strikes and blocks using our sticks. However, as a template, sinawali 6 can be done with single stick, as espada y daga, using empty hands... Almost any technqiue in kadena de mano can be taught/learned/expressed using the sinawali 6 template. I can use it to teach flows in aikido, panantukan, silat, muay thai...Sinawali 6 concepts can be used to train the karambit, barong, sibat, bangkaw, sarong or any other tool.

How?? Just by using some simple maths.

The template is a baseline. A starting point from which things can be added or subtracted to change the experience. As per the example above, maybe as a variation I use two sticks of different lengths to do sinawali 6. Maybe I use espada y daga. Maybe I use a stick and a tomahawk. Or a karambit. Or even a screwdriver or dinner fork. It doesn't matter. It's all really the same.

In the example of sinawali 6, in addition to high/medium/low, we have various add-in movements to increase the difficulty of the pattern such as abanico, redondo (vertical or horizontal), dunga, doble doble, flips, twirls, fleuridas and so on. These additions extend the usability of the drill.

Maybe I use the hubud lubud template. Common as an empty hand drill, instead maybe I use it to practice knife versus knife. Maybe I explore it as empty hand versus knife. Or stick. Maybe I try hubud lubud as a double stick drill into a series of disarm flows. Hubud lubud is commonly trained from the angle 1 feed, however, there are variations for angle 2, angle 5, angle 6, and elbow striking, as well as low line interpretations. 

Maybe I use Cabca 1-8 or Sinawali 2-9 or Five Count Sumbrada or Punyo Sumbrada like that. Maybe I chain together different templates like five count sumbrada and punyo sumbrada to practice changing fighting distance from medio to corto and back. Maybe I use the sinawali 2-9 template and subtract the sticks so it is an empty hand drill instead. Maybe I take those concepts and apply them using the MMA gloves and mitts as part of panantukan. Maybe I am using sinawali 6 flows on my back against an opponent in the mount as part of my dumog or grappling training. The training opportunities are limitless.

As another variation, maybe I take a combination of strikes and kicks and I change the order of the sequences. If the kicks were last what if they were first? Could I make it work? If they were used in an offensive combination what if I used them as a defensive combination? What if I start to shuffle the order/placement of strikes and kicks? What happens then?

This simple math of adding or subtracting various elements allows me to use the same template in an almost unlimited set of ways. Having learned the basic movement of a template, I am then free to mix and match the concepts of it in any way I want, in order to get the deepest understanding and develop my muscle memory across a wide variety of scenarios.

To beginner students: consider each foundation drill as a template that teaches particular concepts. Do not be in a hurry to see the next technique. Spend enough time to fully understand the templates you are shown.

To intermediate students: Try adding/subtracting from the templates you already know. What changes? What stays the same? What awareness can each permutation bring? How can you solve for various scenarios of addition/subtraction in your templates?

To advanced students: Can you start to see the reusability of various templates and elements? Can you start to solve for changes to templates you already know? Or do you still need to be shown by the instructor? Are you using the templates for discovery and exploration? What are you learning?

To instructors: Variety is the spice of life. Changing the templates changes the context and perspective and can help students really get comfortable with the foundation movements of Kali Majapahit and how to use and combine them. This can add or reduce complexity according to students' abilities and progress.

Some key templates to be explored include:

• Cabca 1-8
• Sinawali 2-9
• Sinawali 6
• 6 count sumbrada
• 5 count sumbrada
• 4 count sumbrada
• 3 count sumbrada
• Punyo sumbrada
• Hubud Lubud
• Abecedario

What other templates do you know? Can you create some of your own?

Happy training!