I wondered what would happen if I tried to divide people into two categories...Takers and Givers.
For Takers, they always seem to need to take from others. It can be almost anything; time, money, energy, love, happiness, dignity, self-respect, harmony, possessions. They just seem to be in a constant state of taking these things from the people they encounter. Maybe some of them are not even aware that they are taking.
For Givers, it is the opposite. They are always giving - many times when the other person did not ask, or even want them to do so. Everyone has been in a situation where someone gave them something that made them feel a bit uncomfortable; something they did not want, need, or ask for.
I would argue that both modalities are predicated by fear.
For the Taker, they are constantly afraid of not having enough.
They worry that they will not have enough food, money, time, love. There is a big hole in their heart which can never truly be filled, and a hunger that can never truly be satisfied.
For the Giver, it is the result of their inherent and unhealthy fear of rejection; they seek a type of "bribery" using physical or emotional capital to try to make sure that they can feel loved and accepted. A Giver might be someone who is dependent on an abusive spouse, and cannot leave no matter how much dignity or self respect he/she has got to give to the other partner. Another example of this would be a woman who has sex with a man she doesn't really love, just so she can avoid the uncomfortable feeling of being rejected, or a friend who pays for the groups' meals just so he/she can feel accepted. It often comes as a set together with Guilt, which is another way for the Giver to oblige the recipient to accept him/her.
It is important to view your surroundings, and you will no doubt find people who exhibit these kinds of lifestyle choices. For both giving and taking, there are healthy and unhealthy levels. At healthy levels, we engage in these behaviors from time to time depending on the circumstance, but not to the degree that it compromises our relationships with others or prohibits our personal growth.
That said, it is a benchmark of our emotional maturity when we can be balanced and neither a Taker nor a Giver. We should try to develop ourselves t0 a level where we are confident in our own skills, and do not depend upon others to validate who we are. This means not trying to manipulate people, but at the same time being comfortable enough with ourselves that we do not depend upon the acceptance of others to be happy.
Take some time observing the behaviors of others and whether or not they are viable that way.
Try to find your own balance.
You can tell somebody something a millions times and it makes sense; they nod their head in agreement - they hear your words, but they don't hear what you are SAYING. They listen, but they do not hear.
So many times Guro has given us common sense points about our personal health. These are usually not incredible insights beyond our understanding; they are common sense ideas about how to be healthy and live longer, fuller lives. Most of us have heard these before. The ideas are not new to us. So...why don't we embrace them?
Some years ago, a Japanese girl I was dating took me to see the Soka Gakkai International meeting nearby. Her family are very much into it, and she even graduated Soka college in Hachioji. There were lots of friendly people there. We chatted, we had refreshments, we even chanted "Namyoho renge gyo" for a while as we meditated. People told stories to the audience of how their lives were changed by chanting every day.
None of what they were talking about seemed odd or wrong. Soka Gakkai promotes universal kindness and understanding, world peace, education for children, charity for the poor, and a host of other ideas that are very Buddhist and also cornerstones of any healthy and mature society.
I read Ikeda Daisaku's books and enjoyed them. He is a great man. However, I couldn't join. Why not? I agreed with their principles.
The reality is, that when it came down to believing, truly believing heart and soul, with every fiber of my body, that Nichiren Daishonin was enlightened and that by following his path I would also attain enlightenment, I didn't BELIEVE IT. This doesn't make it wrong, only wrong for ME. How would I know? What I did know is that pretending I believed in something I didn't was not the right way to achieve enlightenment.
Belief comes from met expectations. We expect a predictable result from our actions, and experiencing this causes us to believe such a causal relationship exists. It is important to set up events that will show us the effect that lifestyle changes can have on our well-being, so that step by step we begin to intuitively believe what our logic tells us is correct. It is only then that we can make permanent changes that will benefit us.
In case you have not read the news lately, left is a picture of Christopher Savoie and his children, Rebecca and Isaac.
Post-divorce, their Japanese mother, Noriko, abducted the children and fled to Japan. Following a court order in Tennessee granting him sole custody, Christopher went to Fukuoka, Japan to get his kids back. He was subsequently arrested and remains in jail.
Interestingly, both Christopher and his children have Japanese passports and are Japanese citizens. This does not seem to help. In the eyes of the government, he is a gaijin, no different than any other.
On one hand, I want to say that Japan is outwardly very polite and civilized, but inwardly a shockingly racist country with a xenophobic hatred of non-Japanese. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara regularly publicly demonstrates his racism through comments about how he believes foreigners, particularly Southeast Asians and Chinese, are responsible for all of the crime in Japan. He is the kind of guy who would have been very comfortable with Unit 731 or the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Even long-term residents of Japan such as myself (15 year resident) know that no matter how much tax we pay, or how fluent our Japanese, we will be denied even basic human rights anytime the authorities think they can get away with it.
Don't believe me? Ask David Aldwinckle, naturalized Japanese citizen living in Hokkaido. His case against the Otaru government in Hokkaido on racism is legendary among old Japan hands. Despite the fact that in the US his lawsuit would have made him a millionaire (at least), he was quickly swept under the carpet by the Japanese government even after they conceded his case was valid. Read his blog here. The Japanese are somehow fascinated with us, but like a TV show, would like to turn us off when they are done with us. They detest having us live in japan, despite wanting us to teach their children "Engrish". They love our tax dollars, but they don't want us living in their neighborhoods. We can buy their cars, but they don't want us in their onsens. We can bring fashion, music, food, and art, but don't get a house loan.
This is another case of Japan living an isolated, protectionist life away from the progress of the modern world. It is especially sad to see that the victims most affected by this ignorance are the children, who are blameless. The Japanese government should be deeply ashamed of protecting a woman whose felony child abduction would carry a lengthy prison sentence in the US or any other modern country. In Japan, I guess she will be heralded as the hero of every angry Japanese wife for saving her children from the evil foreign devil. Some things never change.
There but for the grace of God go I. If you are a foreign man with a Japanese wife, and you love your children - BEWARE!! If she gets upset and takes them to Japan they are gone and you will never see them again. No Japanese lawyer would dare represent a gaijin against a Japanese mom. The police, the government, and society will be against you. If you go to Japan to seek your legal rights you will be arrested and jailed. Justice does not only not prevail, it does not even exist. Sad but true. Still don't believe it?? Check here: or here:
NB: Here is the latest update. Chris rots in jail while the case is sorted out, has only limited access to the press, and only strict rules about what he can or cannot say. Welcome back to the Planet of the Apes...
Yesterday Guro suggested that some of us may be ready to take the next step in achieving our potential. We would be asked to try some lifestyle changes for a while, without faltering, and examine how we feel afterward. These changes could be giving up alcohol or tobacco, going vegetarian, drinking no less than 3L of water per day, 30 mins per day of deep breathingor similar.
What does this mean? Are we being brainwashed? Is this some kind of cult? Is it time to "drink the kool aid"?
I can't answer about those things. What I can say is that it is ALWAYS time to trend yourself toward a healthier lifestyle, and a great way to do this is to challenge yourself to change a habit and observe the benefit. This can be something you need to give up, like television, coffee, sugar, processed foods, fried foods, red meat or it can be something you need to add - get 8 hours or more of sleep per night, use multivitamins/fish oil, regular exercise, sunlight, fresh water.
These things should be viewed as experiments in being...thus, done with emotional attachment and without stress. The goal is to observe the changes in how you feel and how you look, and determine if the change should be made permanent. It has to be done of one's own volition, since being forced (and even forcing ourselves) causes undue stress which can actually offset the benefits of a lifestyle change.
That is to say, some people become so negative and angry/stressful from quitting smoking, that their health is very slow to recover. The benefit of increased lung capacity and healthier breathing is offset by liver/kidney troubles due to the stress of quitting. The net result is flat - no benefit. It is far better to choose to change, and revel in your new energy and attitude.
Guro is not brainwashing us to do something he wants us to do - rather he is suggesting that we should want it for ourselves, and get prepared to reach the next spiritual level in our lives. Let go of our fear to improve, give up our laziness. Spend the time, energy and money we need to ensure our own longevity and happiness.
If that is the kool aid, here's my cup. Make mine a double.
It needed to be done. It was time. I started thinking about it on Friday - what I wanted, where I wanted it. By Saturday morning, I knew it would happen. Saturday night, it did.
Why? The easy is answer is that it needed to happen. The slightly more philosophical answer is that it became time to celebrate having made a commitment.
My body is not a temple - in fact, it is a bit more like an amusement park. That said, I already have a tattoo, and would not get a new one just for the sake of looking like a magazine classified ads page. There has to be some meaning there.
If it looks familiar, then you are perceptive. It is the kris from our Kali Majapahit logo. The alibata script (alibata is the traditional Filipino writing system) says "kali". OK, so what does it mean?
Nearly 2 years ago, I joined the Kali Majapahit school in Tanjong Pagar. That changed my life forever. I have seen and done and learned so much since I came to Singapore, and the pinnacle of that learning was done in the school, with Guro Fred, Guro Lila, and my other training partners. So many good times, and so much good training. Thanks to Kali Majapahit, I fell in love with martial arts again. I learned to be free. I learned to let go. I rediscovered how to take ownership of myself, my life, my health, my relationships. I found a new level of happiness. I am moving forward.
My new tattoo is a constant reminder of what I did here, and to keep on moving forward no matter where, no matter what.
A tattoo is permanent. My training and my commitment are also permanent. My kali will be a part of me until I die, just like my tattoo. The kris is not just the traditional weapon of southeast Asia - it has a spiritual significance not unlike the Japanese katana, the embodiment of the warrior spirit. This is a constant reminder that the way of the warrior is a spiritual journey taken with every single step.
Martial arts is not a path taken lightly. To do so misses most of the important teaching. It is a path best walked for the rest of your life, where the slow, subtle changes can work their magic over time. A simple glance at mountains should remind us that over time, even the fundamental landscape of the planet can be changed. So much more so the ladnscape of our own lives. Spending a year or two training in martial arts is simply not good enough. The training should be a constant companion in your life, right by your side to guide you and give you strength. This cannot happen unless you become committed to it. Train until you cannot imagine a life without it. make it a part of every fiber, every cell of your body, mind and spirit. O-Sensei said "whenever I move, that is aikido".
I am not suggesting everyone run out and get inked, although you are certainly free to do so. Rather, I am strongly suggesting that each of you make a lifelong commitment to something you love. Relentlessly pursue your passion. Do not expect someone else to give it to you - go and seek it yourself, and spare no resource to discover it. Once you do, your life will become the great adventure it was meant to be.
My kris and I are about to enter a new stage of life - a stage that will have even more good times and good training; a stage that will bring even greater happiness. I hope you will be with me. I hope you will find your own great adventure, whatever it may be.
Great class last night. Lots of stick, knife, silat, and Jun Fan.
Reviewed our basic Jun Fan/Wing Chun trapping, and some important points came to light.
1) Trapping only occurs on a straight line There are no circular traps. In every case, we stay in a very linear path along the centerline. One hand will pin/trap both of the opponent's, and the free hand will seek the shortest distance contact point. This is always a straight line blast along the centerline aimed at the opponent's chest, throat, or head. Even trap 6, which uses a circular fake, only does so in order to draw the opponent off of the centerline so we can use it. The slap is fine if it connects, but it is not the real objective.
2) Going Forward Trapping is a close-distance art. We will always be stepping forward with each hit, closing distance as we go. Just like a tennis player rushing the net for a smash, there is no stopping halfway. Once you have made the decision to trap, you must get in as directly as possible and finish the fight. Many traps include stepping on the opponent's foot to keep them from backing up.
3) Elbows and hips Elbows stay pointed straight down, and punching power comes from the large muscles of the back, the triceps, and the hips/forward step.
4) Targets The main trapping targets are the face/head, chest, and throat. Usually we will be punching or using the open palm, but the throat and eyes can be attacked with finger jabs.
5) Low Line The trapping can be done on both high line and low line. For the low line, the opening attack is to strike the groin. For the high line, the opening attack is a finger jab to the eyes.
6) Ghost Kicks Although trapping is mostly thought of as striking, low line kicks are often used to disrupt the opponent's balance, distract his/her attention, sweep legs, and attack knees and groin.
7) Timing Trapping is done on one-count timing. That means the block and counter MUST EXECUTE SIMULTANEOUSLY. There is no "block-strike" timing. Once the first trap/hit is on its way, the movements should continue in a chain until the opponent is on the ground and the fight is finished.
Finally, it is important to remember that the trapping drills should teach economy of motion. Do not try to move too much; stay on the centerline, and go forward. GET IN. Trapping is like a chess match, and you want to be several moves ahead of your opponent, confident that you know what the most likely responses will be. This can only be done with a LOT of training.
That said, trapping is a great system to have in your arsenal, and very effective in close where it belongs. Do not disregard the importance of training your trapping skills.
Human beings, for all our industrious nature and accomplishments, are inherently lazy.
We look for the easy way out. We hope there is a way to achieve our goals without having to work too hard at them. We hope, we pray, we beg...
The bad news is there is no secret formula.
Achieving our goals in life, martial arts or otherwise, always boils down to a question of willpower. How much willpower do we have? Can we stay the course through until the end?
How bad do we want it?
The same is true, of course, for changing our personal lives.
Many people cry and complain about being overweight, but refuse to apply their willpower to get the result, or take any action that would lead to achieving that goal (exercising more, drinking more water, etc.). They somehow think that there is a magic formula that they can follow that will give them the results without suffering and in record time. It is a neverending cycle of fasting and binging that actually is even worse than just maintaining the same eating habits.
Smoking is another one. Poeple try nicotine patches, nicotine gum, medicines, and hypnosis.
There is an addictive element to nicotine, I am not denying that. But this chemically addictive element is highly overplayed by smokers, who refuse to accept that application of willpower may be enough to break free. They say they are "trying to quit" for 30 years, until the problem is solved by lung cancer, heart attack, or other mortality.
Guro mentioned that if cigarettes killed you instantly no one would smoke.
The simple fact that it takes so long for you to die from smoking is why people forget how dangerous these "coffin nails" really are.
In our martial arts as well, we look for ways to cut corners.
We want to progress faster, to learn quicker, to promote and get our coveted black belt/black shirt/red sash/whatever.
To this, I can only say: HARD WORK IS THE ONLY WAY.
There is no subsititute for going to the school regularly and training.
There is no better way than integrating your training into your daily life.
The good news is, there is no magic formula.
That means that when you get better, it is always the result of your hard work. Be proud.
People who excel in martial arts demonstrate not only their physical skills, but also their willpower and commitment. They show the strength of their character and their courage to keep going on relentlessly. The years teach much the days never know.
Do not forget that even the term "Kung Fu" itself can be interpreted to mean "patient achievement" or "hard work". Thousands of years ago, the Chinese knew there was no shortcut or magic formula.
I am a firm believer in TRAINING SMART. That means using all the tools at our disposal to understand martial systems and apply what we learn in the most effective manner. This is efficiency and innovation at work - not a shortcut. I think seminars can be a great way to get tight focus on particular areas, but it is no substitute for regular training in the school.
It is the little actions we take that have the big effects in our lives.
Make sure your daily habits are good ones. Make little changes to improve them whenever and wherever you can.
By the way, Six Minute Abs, One Minute Manager, Learn French in one hour, etc. don't work. So don't bother. Save your money for the dojo and go as often as you can.
"break on through to the other side" - Jim Morrison
Today just somehow felt different.
In all respects it was a typical Friday. I got up, got dressed, and went to work. And yet it was not quite the same.
For the past 4 weeks or so, I have changed my diet. I no longer have coffee, sodas, chips or fast food. I don't use refined sugar or table salt. I eat more greens. I drink my water every day. I don't miss the things I used to eat. I am content and happy making better choices for myself.
I have lost weight, not sure how much. Not important. I feel more and more alert, more and more alive. Very important. Somehow, I just FEEL better. Most important.
Dr. Gibert would have said that I have too much Yang (acid) energy. This causes restlessness, nervousness, trouble sleeping, mood swings, irritability. It is made worse by taking even more yang foods such as fried foods, red meat, and sugar.
By changing my diet to more Yin (alkaline) foods (greens, yogurt, fruits, tofu, miso) I change my body chemistry from acid to alkaline. The changes are subtle, but after a month they add up. Our bodies, our health, and even our state of mind, are affected by our chemistry. The Chinese elders knew this, and Yin/Yang food combining has been a part of their natural healing for thousands of years. In modern times, using science, we come to see that they were right, and their understanding of the human condition was profound.
Finally this morning, I feel really, really relaxed. Not my usual stressed-out self. I feel thoughful, contemplative, and harmonious. The tension in my shoulders is gone. I don't feel bothered or rushed by anyone or anything. I want this feeling to stay. Forever, if possible.
At my breakfast meeting I was not nervous. I felt calm and confident; sure of who I am and what I know. Comfortable and not intimidated by the other person. It felt GREAT. I was like a lake of still water. Relaxed and powerful.
Maybe this means I have broken through to a new awareness of how to be happier. I feel in control of myself and my life. I am ready to accept this and ready to keep moving forward. The last time I felt this way was after my first 10 day fast in Thailand. After that I met my future wife. My life has been better every day since. Let's see how long this lasts.
We can make changes, even small changes in our life and our health that have far reaching consequence. Our health (mental, physical, emotional/spiritual) is a key to our happiness and quality of life.
It's time to clear up some misconceptions. There are plenty of people out there who consider aikido as a "fighting" martial art. I am not among them.
Before every aikidoka in Asia calls me out, let me be very clear what I mean. I find it very sad that so many people come to aikido with false expectations about what they will and will not learn, and that is what I want to address. First and foremost, for the record, loud and clear, I want to say that I firmly believe aikido training is very important for anyone, martial artist or not. What we learn in aikido is of great benefit to achieve our potential as martial artists and as human beings. However, I do not classify it as a fighting art per se.
Even something like kamae, has no real practical application in a fight. Fights are dynamic movement. There is no time to seek and hold a full kamae shape. However, kamae practice - especially moving from shizentai (natural standing) into kamae is important to develop the habit of keeping the arms in the right shape and connection to our body no matter where/how we move. This is essential in aikido, because if the kamae hand is not strong, we cannot connect and control.
I can read your mind. You are thinking "If it is not a fighting art, why study it?"
My response is simple. Aikido is designed to teach you very practical combat concepts.
In aikido, these are not the techniques themselves. It is really about the concepts the techniques demonstrate that make them useful training tools. And those concepts are VITAL in becoming a good fighter. Technique is the least important part.
Any martial artist with practial experience can see that the attacks used in aikido are simplified and exaggerated. NOBODY really punches like that. It is not very often someone in a fight will bother to grab your wrist, grab both wrists from behind, etc. It is very rare that any of us will have to fight from a seated or kneeling posture. It is very unlikely to consider any of us being attacked with a sword. Again I would say that if we only look at the combat practicality of each specific aikido technique, we will find ourselves disappointed, since aikido as it is commonly taught, is not a combat style. This is done purposefully. If it was not that way, we would only study the techniques (a la Krav Maga) and miss the chance to deeply understand the important concepts and principles that make ANY technique work. We would be distracted. Caught up in the minutea and missing the big picture. The big picture is what we must learn to see.
So...what are these important principles of which I speak? Let's take a look:
1) Body posture/weight shift/balance control Almost all the techniques are designed to help us learn how to move forward confidently with balance and control, and to shift our weight from one foot to the other using the knees and hips. Great examples of this are tai no henko, hiriki no yosei, shumatsu dosa, ukemi, kamae.
2) Connection For aikido to work as a fighting concept, we need to be connected to uke. In every technique, we are exploring how to stay connected to uke while we both move. We want to be glued together until the technique ends, so that uke can be controlled and put where we want them to be. When the connection is lost, we learn how to reconnect so control can be maintained.
3) Controlling Based on the connection, we learn how to control uke's body (torso and head) by connecting to their wrist. Too often, aikidoka think only about the wrist and forget that the whole point is to control uke's body so that it can be moved off balance. Ikkajo, Nikkajo, Sankajo, Yonkajo all control uke's torso using different contact points and principles.
4) Leading Many of the techniques have a leading element. This is not the same as pulling. When we lead, we actually have to match the speed of uke's attack. Practicing this is how we learn our timing. Having done so, we direct uke to a position where their balance can be taken.
5) Taking Balance Every technique has as a principal feature the taking of uke's balance. Without doing so, uke cannot be thrown. It is important to look for the balance points and use our techniques to put uke into unbalance, from which they can be controlled.
6) The Line of Power Posture is what gives us power. When we bend forward or lean sideways, or allow our structure to be compromised, none of our techniques will work. The training to visualize and create a single line of power for our technique is of paramount importance.
7) Avoiding Resistance Aikido abhors force on force. Instead, we prefer to go around the resistance and take uke's balance away. It is worth looking not only for the connection to uke's body, but also for the places where uke resists, and learning how to go over/under/around that force. This is often a problem for people with strong bodies, who feel the temptation of ego to use strength rather than correct concept and proper technique.
8) Ethics Aikido techniques are designed and taught in the way they are to develop an ethical framework for the students. The techniques are done specifically to avoid injury to either partner, and ensure safety in the training. Of course this means that "as-is" the basic techniques will not be very effective for fighting. The very fact that we offer "ukemi" to uke, something no one in a real fight would ever do, shows us that the techniques are made to teach the concepts safely. The concepts, however, will be very practical when adapted and applied to a real combat situation.
The Yoshinkan techniques are not specifically to be used in combat the way they are taught as basic techniques. Jiyuwaza comes closer to the real thing, but even that is a bit theatrical (but also useful to learn stress management, body control, and dynamic movement.).
The key is in viewing each technique as a lab to practice all of the above. In doing so, we are exploring the concepts and programming the body to respond correctly no matter what we actually do in a fight.
There is a magic moment where Danny Larusso, the Karate Kid, is frustrated with doing chores he thinks have no fighting application. Then, Miyagi shows him that through those simple chores, unconsciously, he has been learning karate. It is a revelation for him - and should be a revelation for us. True aikido is effortless and natural, and comes from years of training in the techniques, each of which is designed to help us safely learn the fundamental aspects of combat which can be applied to any combat art or combat situation using any technique, aikido or otherwise.
So, in summary, do not expect to be a "badass" through your study of aikido. Do expect to learn a lot about yourself and others, and to form a foundation for any other combat art you will ever study.
Very interesting point raised by Guro last week about blocking.\ As beginners, we are taught the De Cuerdas style - hand behind the middle of the stick, triangle footwork away from the attack, stick used as primary shield/blocking.
Now as intermediates, we are into the advanced blocking series, which is leading us toward Serrada. What changed?
In the intermediate/advanced blocking, we are no longer shielding/hiding behind the stick. Instead, our primary block is on the attacker's hand or elbow. In addition, our triangle becomes very narrow, and our footwork almost, but not quite, straight in; jamming the attack. WE ARE CLOSE...VERY CLOSE.
Of course, this is logical when we need to use our hand to block. This alone means we need to be close enough to reach the attacking hand, which cannot be done at medio distance. We are no longer moving away from the strike. Instead, we take the force by jamming it right as the attacking movement begins.
The more advanced we become, the closer we get to our opponent. The more directly we intercept and get in. Guro Fred and Guro Guillaume use the phrase "get in" a lot, and now it is becoming clearer. The goal in kali is to get in as close as possible, and every move (even in Hakka/Jun Fan) is designed to close distance and get you into the opponent where you can end the fight quickly. You cannot employ the Serrada style blocking without getting in close.
I am just as fascinated by what I see as I was the first day. There is just so much to learn.
Tough go in Panantukan last night. At one point I ended up sparring with Max. He's about 25 years younger than me, strong, tall, lean, and well-trained. Max would be a challenging opponent even when I am at my very best. After two hours of boxing and into a 2:30 sparring session I was tired. I was sloppy. My guard dropped. Boom. I took a brilliant roundhouse kick right across the bridge of my nose.
A step back and shake of the head, and I expected a fountain of blood from a broken nose. Somehow, it held together. No break. A few lessons learned though.
1) Have A Strategy I just went in there swinging, without a specific game plan. This is despite my post a few days ago on dealing with bigger/taller guys. Just wasn't thinking. Boom. I deserved it.
2) KEEP YOUR GUARD UP I dropped my guard and gave Max the perfect opening. He took it.
3) Know Yourself Pay attention to when you are getting winded and becoming sloppy. Recongnize what is happening and adjust for it.
4) Go to the Ground If you are getting hammered standing up, go to the ground. Take the man down and check his ground game. Very few fighters are truly versatile.
5) Take a Shot I have been knocked out, choked out, tapped out more times than I can count. It is important to have felt these things (hopefully in the safety of the dojo) so you are not intimidated by them. In a fight, you can get hit. It happens. Get used to it.
Many times, victory is all down to who has more willpower. Make sure it is you.
I don't feel bad about getting kicked in the face. It has happened before and will happen again. The most important thing is to try to learn from every situation so you can improve.
Oh My God...the new cycle is just the coolest ever! We have a lot to do before I go back to Japan, and it is stuff we have never done before...
The coolest part is our introduction into Pencak Silat, a martial art native to Indonesia, and a core element of the Kali Majapahit curriculum. As intermediates, we are now getting exposed to this fascinating art. I just love it because it is so completely different than anything else. Trapping, groundfighting, close knife work - Silat has it all, and all coming from seemingly impossible angles.
We also start learning the fighting sarong. The sarong is a traditional garment (see photo) worn around southeast Asia. It is a tubelike cloth wrapped around the waist, and of course, can be used for fighting. Initially, I thought this was interesting, but not very practical. After a lesson or two of using it, my mind has changed.
Training in the fighting sarong has application in combat with a variety of similar flexible items: rope, chain, cable, even a towel, t-shirt, or jacket. Flexible weapons wove in very special ways that cannot be understood by training just in stick, blade, or empty hands. The fighting sarong offers trapping, locking and pinning restraints, chokes/strangles, and ties that cannot be done using non-flexible weapons. It is a new dimension to explore. SO COOL.
Previosuly, I trained with nunchake (semi-flexible weapon) and Japanese Manriki-Gusari (weighted chain). There are elements of both that can be applied to fighting sarong.
Of course, study of the sarong, how to wear it, its patterns, and its integral part in the daily lives of southeast Asian people is an important cultural study. We give respect by learning it well and dressing correctly.
Life in Kali Majapahit is never boring, and this new cycle exposes us to a brand new world of learning. This is a great cycle to end my time here.
See you there!!
PS: in case you were wondering about the title, Sarang He (사랑해) means "I love you" in Korean...I know it's lame, but at least I tried...
Courtesy of Kali Majapahit, today I spent 4 hours doing a First Aid/CPR certification conducted for free by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
The training was done by their paramedic specialists and covered basic first aid, CPR, and emergency procedures. We studied different types of injuries including cuts, bruises, fractures, burns, and abrasions. We practiced dressings and learned how to prepare a first aid kit.
This may seem like very simple stuff, but as the trainers correctly pointed out, a big difference can be made in the few precious minutes before an ambulance arrives. Many times it can be the difference between life and death. In the case of a stroke or heart attack, permanent disability can occur after 6 minutes without oxygen. It is important to have basic skills and confidence to act in the event of an emergency.
I am a big believer that our modern school curriculum emphasizes rote memory at the expense of actual learning, repetition over application, and often misses some of the key bodies of knowledge people need to be effective and successful members of society. One of these is a basic understanding of wealth and how money works. The other is basic first aid.
I think every student from primary through high school should have a half day seminar each year in basic first aid. The curriculum should be adjusted for each year and cover basics for how to deal with common situations including diet and nutrition, first aid, CPR, and stress management. This would greatly add to the quality of life for students and increase the likelihood that someone in an emergency would be able to get important first aid while professional medical care is called to the scene.
If you have not done so, please seek out free training at a community center near you. The life you save could be the life of someone you love.
When you are a scant 5'7" like me, fighting bigger guys sucks. They have longer reach which can be really frustrating. Here are some tips to cut them down to size:
Control the Center Line - The shortest distance between two points is a line, and this helps when you are facing an opponent with a longer reach.
Get Inside - everything you do should be about trying to get inside, where the length of arms and legs becomes a disadvantage. If you stay outside, you are dead.
Slip - Slipping punches and kicks is a great way to close distance.
Take Out the Knees- Take out knees and legs with low kicks.
Go to the Ground - Bigger guys usually have a disadvantage on the floor.
Guntings - When you are at distance, it is important to use guntings to attack the attacker's attack.
As the old saying goes, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall"
That's it. They are gone. It's been a long week, gradually building up to the fatc that my family would be flying back to Japan today.
Now I am on my own until my master's degree is over - nearly two months. I leave on 11 October. I haven't been alone for this long for nearly 10 years...completely at a loss now for how to feel. All of us crying at the airport this morning was the most heartbreaking moment I can remember.
Ray cried, but at 3 years old he does not fully understand what it means to be apart so long. He mainly cried because George, his older brother, cried. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on or what to do, but since George cried, he cried.
George cried a lot, and has been crying off and on all week. He is worried about missing his best friend, worried about missing me, worried about starting his new school next week. It will be hard on him, but he will be fine, and we all need to go through these things in order to learn and grow - to be a bit more independent. The time will come when he will be glad to be away from me, but that is not now; not at 7 years old.
Sanae knows very well what it means to be away for so long. Lately things have been going pretty well for us, and she has been happy. That has meant I get to be happy too. I wish I was going, too.
All that time alone should be good, right? Plenty of time to think about things and all that. No distractions.
I am sure I will have time to do things like read and watch DVDs I haven't been able to. I am sure I will (eventually) be able to sleep more.
My plans are to train as hard as possible. Every spare moment on the mats. Change my eating habits. Change my sleeping habits. Change my life.
I expect to go back to Japan in October looking very different. Fitter, stronger, happier, more focused. Ready to hit the ground running.
She's back. However, nothing really seems to have changed. Same vaguely desperate, puzzled expression... I suppose she wonders why things "just don't go her way" or why she is "so unlucky". Years will go by while she waits for something to happen...maybe she will end up getting married and giving up her independence just to be sure someone provides for her...how sad.
She is very pretty, and she knows it. She is well educated, and she knows it. The world should be laid at her feet...and...sadly, she knows it. She's a barbie girl in a barbie world, as the song says.
In psychology circles it is referred to as "learned helplessness", a condition where a person becomes conditioned to do nothing since they expect everything to be done FOR THEM. Maybe it is because they are beautiful. Maybe it is because they know it.
Nothing is more infuriating to me than the belief some people have that the world somehow owes them something. This goes hand in hand with the learned helplessness that society impresses upon women to make them believe they cannot do and be at least the equal of their male counterparts, if not far beyond them. This extends to many of the middle eastern countries that still treat women as "possessions" to be bought and sold, and African societies that still believe they need to mutilate women to deny them the pleasure of a healthy and active sexual identity. This is the crime of cowardly, weak men who are intimidated by the idea of a strong, capable woman.
I am not a feminist per se - I want everyone, man or woman, to be free to achieve their potential, and I reject any prejudice that would prevent that.
There is no one else to blame for failing to achieve your dreams. No one can make you happy but YOU. Waiting for someone to make you happy will only bring false hope and a lifetime of loneliness.
Each one of us controls his/her own destiny, and writes the book of our lives word by word, line by line - moment by moment. It is the worst of lies to believe otherwise. It is the worst of sins to attempt to persuade someone otherwise.
Martial arts is a great way for women to become empowered. I have seen the training transform women who were timid and shy, lacking self confidence or willpower to go and make their dreams come true. They emerge radiant. Aagain and again I have seen this magic, and it never fails to amaze me.
To me, nothing is more attractive than the idea of a warrior princess - proud and strong. Maybe she needs to take this opportunity to get into the dojo and train. Soon she will see that she can be the one to get what she wants - there is no need to wait and hope someone will simply give it to her.
Very few "princesses" truly deserve rescuing. Far better for them to rescue themselves.
I was reading a friend's blog and found out about a training injury. Damn.
As you know, my primary consideration for training is SAFETY. Over my life in the martial arts, I have suffered my share of training injuries, but I am happy to say that I have not caused serious harm to any training partner. Yes, we sometimes inadvertently get a bruise or a scrape - I have gotten and given those. However, I have not injured a partner such that they could not train or were otherwise debilitated.
For me this is a point of pride. As a teacher, it is an ABSOLUTE. There is no excuse for injuring students. EVER. PERIOD.
At the best, this is a result of a lack of control or poor technique on the teacher's part. At the worst, this is a manifestation of ego, and displays a flawed character.
I know the counter argument very well. We are not doing new age ballet tai chi warm fuzzy encounter group hug pyschotherapy. This is martial arts. To get the full benefit, we need to train hard. To feel healthy and happy, we need to sweat hard. To discover ourselves, we need to push our limits. To be confident in a real fight, we have to come as close to it in training as we can. This is how we control and master stress and fear. This is how we break through to the other side.
However, this must be done with safety as a primary consideration. There can be no other way. Fear and guilt have no place in our dojo, except as enemies to be challenged and defeated.
I have made references to martial arts training as a spiritual journey, and likened it even to a religion of its own, with vestments, ceremonies, and heirarchies sometimes very similar to what most of us know from organized mainstream religions. Sadly, this can also include the very same pitfalls that organized religions suffer from: namely, control using fear/guilt, exploitation of the sprititually weak/codependent and blatant commercialism.
In my analogy, teachers injuring students is akin to priests fondling children. It may happen with alarming frequency. It is most likely under-reported or never reported. It can have permanent negative consequences for everyone. It is also completely unjustifiable and unacceptable.
The net result of these kinds of incidents is that students feel fear and apprehension, which instead they should be learning to overcome. Their confidence is weakened. Their trust is broken. They lose faith in the objective of the training. Some of them will stop training or leave martial arts altogether. Some will never come back. Even more horrible is the thought that they will STAY. Like a victim of domestic violence too afraid or weak to leave their abusive partner, the students start to believe that martial arts is about negativity, oppression, and violence, and end up teaching it the same way themselves one day - perpetuating a neverending cycle of misery and ignorance. Nothing could be worse than this.
Many times I meet people who, despite being raised Christian, are now self-professed athiests. In nearly every case, it was some negative experience they had that turned them away from the church. Their trust was broken. Their faith was shaken. They never came back.
I hope this does not happen. We need good teachers to help build good students. We need teachers who can help us have faith and trust in martial arts as a way of transforming ourselves and growing to become the people we want to be. We need to have some spiritual foundation that we can believe in so that we can explore The Way freely and overcome our limitations.
I wanted to write a bit more as a follow up to the previous post on precision. It should almost go without saying that being precise in Kali is about keeping tight. Lately we have been working Ubud, a flowing drill done with hands and sticks. It is a drill done to develop responsiveness and perpheral-vision response in very short distance (Corto). Sometimes I see students waving their arms like a windmill, or swinging their sticks like they were trying to help an aircraft land on deck. It goes without saying that this is not the desired result.
Not just in corto, but at all times, it is important to keep hands and sticks tight, rather than swing them all around in big, wide circles. Less is more. At any time, we need to be able to recover the center line, recover balance, and remain in contact with the opponent. This is not efficiently done if the arms swing wide.
Try not only to be precise but to keep the motions short and sharp, tight to the body. This will help you look better and fight better.
Guro was on us again yesterday about precision. As usual, he is absolutely right.
All too often we become preoccupied with going fast or hard during the drills, and we miss one of the most important points of all - precision. Without precision, we look bad and we fight bad. A degree of angle off and we get hit. A degree of angle off, and we miss the target.
Good martial arts is all about precision. That means that a core element of the training should be attention to detail, and developing precision around footwork, body location, spatial relationship to the opponent, weight shift, breathing.
Kali Majaphit is unique in that we learn precision from so many different points of view. We study knife, baston, dumog, panantukan, sikaran, kadena. In each of these, precision is critical for the techniques to succeed and for our guard to remain strong. There is little value (other than cardio) in going fast at the expense of precision.
Slow it down. make it exact. You will look better, fight better, and end up understanding far more benefit than you would otherwise.
I saw this expression a long time ago. At the time, since I was studying aikido, it was cool. It was elitist to think of us as a group of dedicated students that other people couldn't fully understand, and couldn't be a part of. We were different. We were the chosen few. aikido is for everyone, but everyone is not for aikido. Some just don't have what it takes. But we did. That's what we thought, anyway.
I was thinking about that expression again today. It made me sad. If everyone is not for aikido, what can they be for? Do they get ignored? cast aside? forgotten? I think "MARTIAL ARTS IS FOR EVERYONE, AND EVERYONE IS FOR MARTIAL ARTS"
Regardless of level, or skill, or ability, or intellect. Especially for those whom we might think martial arts cannot help. For the weak, the timid, the shy, the infirm. For the people who lack focus, who lack commitment. For people who just can never seem to do anything right. For people who cannot tell right from left. For the losers. That's right. FOR THE LOSERS.
So many times in my life, my martial arts was all I had to depend on. One more punch or kick. One more pushup or situp. One more class. When nothing else in my life was going right, martial arts was. When nothing else in my life made sense, martial arts did. I focused on just what was in front of me and tried to get through the class. Afterward, I always felt better. Inch by sometimes painful inch, my life improved. It has been improving ever since I started.
I never was to have a martial arts world which excludes anyone from the HOPE that the training can give them. The hope that they can improve and grow and change. We all can. That little thread of hope was all I had to hang onto sometimes.
Bring the losers - they will become winners in martial arts.
Someone new starting a new life. They asked. I explained. They saw. They liked. Soon they will embark on their voyage in the martial arts. It is a sacred journey that can truly take you anywhere you want to go.
My own journey in the martial arts started nearly 30 years ago. I had my first day on the mats like everybody does. Since then my life has changed so much. I cannot begin to count all the great things martial arts training has given me. Where would I even start??
For those of you, my brothers and sisters, you know just what I mean. Martial arts has changed you. It has made you better. I don't just mean stronger, faster, more flexible. I mean it has given you courage and confidence, helped you overcome your shyness or lack of focus, helped you find out who you really are. It has empowered you to change your life.
This gift is the greatest gift we can give - the gift of life. The gift of change. It is the gift we give when we introduce someone new into a life in martial arts. We show them a doorway to a path that they can walk forever, and that will never stop giving them and the people around them a richer, fuller time on Earth.
GIVE THIS GIFT EVERY CHANCE YOU CAN.
It costs you nothing to tell friends, coworkers, family members, classmates, boyfriend/girlfriend.
Tell them, better still, SHOW THEM the difference martial arts training has made in your life. They will want it, too.
Together we can change the world one new student at a time.
We hear rhythms every day. All around us. There are big rhythms (seasons, lunar cycles), small rhythms (clocks, wingbeats), internal (heartbeats) and external (raindrops, ocean waves) rhythms. Rhythms that are natural and rhythms we create. Fighting has a rhythm as well.
When you watch fighting/boxing on high speed you can see a "flow" between punches, kicks, blocks, counters. There's the rhythm.
When we train, we should learn about our rhythms. Doing kabka and sinawali, doing ubud and panantukan, we should get a feeling of the rhythm of movement between ourselves and our training "opponent". It is important to become able to quickly identify an opponent's rhythm so that it can be used to advantage. At the same time, it is important to learn to move "off rhythm" or "off timing" so that opponents cannot anticipate our actions.
In training, I suggest to start by listening to music all the time. All kinds of music. Listen specifically for bass beats and drum beats, which are the leading tracks of songs, until you can quickly and easily separate them from the rest of the music and focus your attention on them. Tap your feet to the drum beat and bass beat to match it. Play. See if you can find the "rhythm inside the rhythm" where you can add a beat in between beats occuring in the bass and drum tracks.
Next begin to work your flow to different kinds of music. Although you may have music you like best, try to use as many different types as you can. Work double stick, single stick, espada y daga, boxing. Feel the timing for moving and hitting. Next, try to get inside the beat and add moves in between notes. Use half beats and quarters to add hits to the movements.
When you have gotten comfortable, get a partner. Take turns doing slow and medium level sparring to music (think of Muay Thai, which has music during the matches). Try to use what you have learned to match your partner's rhythm and then get inside it and control it. Have each partner take turns and be careful to avoid injury.
You will become better aware of how rhythms connect movement, and how to get in between these moments to "create time" for your techniques. This will make you a better fighter and help you explore another important aspect of yourself and your world.
Today I had a rare opportunity - the chance to see my friend and mentor Morgane test for her Kadua Guro, or black shirt, the equivalent of 1st degree black belt instructor in Kali Majapahit.
It was a long test, two hours, and filled to the brim with everything we do - single stick, double stick, knife, empty hand, boxing, and more. She did a fantastic job.
I am no stranger to seeing various gradings, going back to my first black belt test in 1987. This one was not easy. There is a lot to remember, and it is two hours non-stop. A test like this must be appreciated on a lot of levels.
Technique - the KM curriculum is vast and deep. There is far too much material to cover in even a two hour test. Still, just trying to remember everything must be a real challenge. There is solo baston/doble baston, espada y daga, sikaran, dumog, kadena de mano, panantukan. There is no pre-arranged pattern, so no way to know what Guro Fred is going to ask. You have no choice but to remember it all.
Endurance - two hours feels like forever. Certain aspects of the test are particularly exhausting such as Dumog and sparring. Just being in good enough cardio condition to make it through such a long test requires months of hard work. The final was 10 one-minute sparring rounds with 10 different partners. This is at the end, after nearly 2 hours of hard work already. You have to be in peak physical condition. Anything less and you'd better not even think about it.
Focus - This is the part that impressed me the most. These tests require incredible focus, especially the weapons work and the technical drills. Maintaining your energy, concentration, and focus over a two hour test is an incredible challenge. Most "normal" people have no hope to do this. Most martial artists do not either. You must have muscle memory for the key moves on both right and left, but you need something more. You need instinct.
Stress Management - This is the other part that really impressed me. During a test of such length and depth it is natural to make mistakes. That causes stress and you must be able to let it go and continue. Otherwise, one mistake invariably sets of a chain of mistakes that destroy your concentration completely. You have to be in the moment completely, and able to let everything else go. This is the hallmark of any good professional athlete, and even more so for any good professional martial artist. The test is often designed specifically to push you to your breaking point and beyond. How will you handle it? This mental toughness is at the heart of every true warrior.
Desire - At the end of it all, how bad do you want it? After two hours of punishment, what takes you over the line is raw desire. You have to give yourself completely to the task at hand, and think of nothing else. Only then can you break through to the other side, past your own limitations and into a new dimesion of your own awareness of being. That magic is what it is all about. Teaching you what is really inside yourself.
Another element I really like is the fact that so many people showed up to give support and be training partners. Everyone can now bear witness to how hard this test is, and the level of preparation needed to get through it. We become more able to respect her knowledge, her skills, her energy and commitment, her self-control. She must convince not only Guro Fred and Guro Lila, but all of the rest of us as well. All of us are in our own way part of that success, and it binds us together even closer than before.
I was so impressed. She did a magnificent job; truly worthy of her hard work and commitment. This is an important milestone on the path. There are very few of those black shirts out there, and they don't come easy. The shirt looks great on her.
CONGRATULATIONS MORGANE!!
*** amended *** the test is actually said to be 4 hours total, including a written exam, and an additional 1 hour boxing test (separate from the 2 hour test above). WOW!
Yes, you know who I mean: Steven Seagal. The Angry One.
Yesterday someone asked me what I thought about him, being that I am an aikido guy myself. That was a tougher question than I thought it would be.
On one hand, he is simply amazing. He is legitimately one of the first non-Japanese to go and live and train in Japan. His trained there until he started his own school in Osaka. A true pioneer.
He was the first person to really show dynamic, practical aikido on film, and was called "The Bruce Lee of Aikido" by many. His early films showcase the effectiveness of what he studied and developed in aikido. People were amazed. I watched "Above The Law" again and again and again. Very entertaining stuff.
At the same time, something just didn't make sense.
It's easy to pick people apart if you try; especially public figures whose lives are under constant scrutiny. Seagal sensei has been married and divorced 3 times and has 6 children along the way. His movie career got relegated to the straight to video market and never quite made it to the level of other contemporaries such as Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. Outside of action/martial arts genre, he was not able to make a mark in films.
At some point, his Buddhist views and Eastern philosophy turned from Japan to more esoteric Tibetan philosophy. He met the Dalai Lama, was proclaimed a Tulku, and used his celebrity to further awareness of theirs and other social causes.
I guess what I end up noticing most is that he rarely, if ever, smiles.
After nearly all of my life in martial arts training, I do not want that to be me. I want to smile, laugh, play, enjoy. I want my life to be full and vibrant, and to be a rich part of the many relationships I have with my friends and family. I want to make a difference in their lives and inspire them. I want to do everything I can to give my family (I have only 1 marriage and 2 children so far) a happy and supportive environment. In my 50s, if I were still trying to be "the tough guy", I would feel I had gone wrong somewhere.
It is the goal of every teacher to give students a moral framework, and help them to explore their spirituality just as they become ready for each new step. This means gently nudging them (or slapping their face if the situation calls for it) to awaken them to their potential as human beings to be happy and healthy - and ultimately to achieve their own unique definition of success. Being "the tough guy" is simply not enough for any of us for very long - surely this is not enough for us as we become teachers and role models ourselves.
What do I think about Seagal-sensei? I admire him for his skill and courage to give himself so completely at such a young age to chase his dreams. I wish his teachers had offered him a deeper and richer platform to find happiness. I wish he could smile more.
I'd love to train with him someday. Maybe afterward we can have a cup of tea and talk about things. It is never to late to learn to smile.
How do you feel when you walk into the school? How do you get ready for class? What is going through your mind?
For me, every time I suit up into my uniform I feel FIRED UP. I MEAN REALLY FIRED UP. I am focused on the lesson, and my energy level is at maximum. I feel like a race car on the starting line when we line up.
I work hard. Probably just as hard as you do. I have a wife and kids that drive me crazy sometimes. Probably almost as crazy as yours do. At the end of a typical day I am exhausted. The economy sucks; North Korea is scary; oil is too expensive; blah blah blah...you probably feel the same.
Still, my time at Kali Majapahit is for me. My time. I don't owe it to anyone else except me. I only share it with my training partners. I don't go to make anyone else happy, or to fulfill an obligation to somebody who would be disappointed if I didn't go (except maybe Neal). I earned it, and I want to make the most of it. Bringing my energy and focus to the lesson helps everyone get motivated to train hard, which again helps me get even more motivated - it is a positive spiral. Energy is an amazing thing. The more you give, the more you get back. Money, sadly, is not like that.
Years ago, one of my teachers told me about the importance of taking off your shoes in the genkan (entry hall) of the school. He told me that when you take of your shoes, you should imagine taking off your life, the life you have outside, and placing it in the rack outside until the lesson is over. We are all tired and stressed from our workday when we come to class (except maybe for Guro Fred!). It is fundamentally important that we leave that world outside. Escape into the oasis of your life in the school, which is different from that. Be free. It is important training in achieving work/life balance that we force ourselves not to think of work when we train. Ours is a moving meditation. A study of zen will teach you that the smallest of actions have consequence and are part of our constant and endless journey toward perfection.
The lesson begins when you take off your shoes and put them in the rack. Do it well.
We had a lot of fun playing with sticks and knives tonight at class. That's right. PLAYING.
Guro went away from the usual cycle structured curriculum and has been giving us playtime lately. Most of us, especially those of us without children, forget how important playtime is.
Playtime is a chance to have unstructured exploration, to imagine and be creative, to express ourselves freely. Our kids learn so much about the world from playing. Some experts say that children actually learn more from playing than they do at school. I would tend to agree, at least through primary school anyway.
Playtime is an important part of mastery. We have to become familiar with the basic concepts and techniques we use in Kali Majapahit if we expect to ever master them and use them to express ourselves in a martial arts way. It is not enough to simply memorize the movements and commit them to muscle memory. That is the limit of most martial arts, especially the Japanese and Korean styles. FMA is so wonderful in that it demands we keep our childlike mentality and truly create and flow with our own flavor and style.
It goes without saying that this can only be done well after the basics are correct and the foundation is strong. However, unlike other systems, Kali Majapahit makes intermediate and above include this flowing and exploring. It is one of the best things about Kali Majapahit, and one of the most important parts of the training in my view. We must actively cultivate what Zen Buddhism refers to as "the child's mind" which is a mind of wonder, innocence, and curiosity. This is especially true for Kali and FMA, since playfulness is an integral part of the Filipino culture - FILIPINOS ARE ALL ABOUT LAUGHING AND HAVING FUN!
As I have said before, the dojo is our laboratory for the real world, and if you want the real world to be fun and enjoyable - YOU'VE GOT TO PLAY! Our dojo is a laboratory, a playground, an amusement park - make the most of it!!
Yesterday we had a lot of people turn up for Hilot.
Hilot, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is the Filipino natural healing system as taught in Kali Majapahit. It includes alignments, osteopathy, dietetic, breathing and other Asian natural healing sciences.
I think it is very important for students to attend classes in Hilot.
WHY?
It is unique among Chinese and Southeast Asian martial arts to focus on longevity and health. Perhaps this is due to their cultural closeness to the roots of Indian Ayurvedic, which spread throughout Asia and ended up becoming well-known globally as yoga, tai chi, shaolin, kenpo, and other martial and healing arts.
Much of this knowledge was lost to the Japanese and Koreans who, by contrast, focused their attention almost exclusively on combat practicality, often at the expense of their health and longevity. Japanese martial art lifestyle is particularly characterized by repeatedly punching makiwara pads (which can do permanent damage to the hands), training in extreme heat and cold, heavy drinking and smoking, and other unhealthy practices. Even Ip Man, key exponenent of Wing Chun, was a heavy smoker, and one would have expected him to know better.
I have written in other posts that achieving fighting prowess should not be the principal goal of our training. Rather, we should actively use the martial arts as a way of exploring who we are, and who the people around us are - ultimately yielding more rewarding personal relationships. The natural progression of this growth is the goal of longevity. Having found rich and fulfilling emotional relationships, it is natural to want to enjoy them in this world as long as possible, and to learn how to keep our bodies maintained in an optimal state for the maximum time we have to live.
Hilot is a great gateway to understanding our bodies and developing habits of good health that promote longevity. Hilot offers some very practical techniques for spinal adjustment, acupressure, and massage that can increase your everyday quality of life significantly.
I hope that such a high turnout is evidence that students are starting to understand this and welcome it. It is rare to have such a complete system as Kali Majapahit, which offers the most practical blend of combat effectiveness, together with lifestyle counseling for better overall health and happiness. Take full advantage of it!! Learn as much as you can!!
Yesterday we had a mixed class of guests, beginners, intermediates, advanced, and guros. Guro Fred dropped the bomb.
Maybe he felt sorry for our miserable flow. Maybe he wanted to snap us out of our dream. Maybe he wanted to show us we could make a quantum leap forward. We did. I think I got years of improvement last night.
He worked us through a drill that can be combined and assembled in so many ways. It offers countless expression, and even more importantly, shows the framework for us to develop any number of similar drills on our own. My jaw dropped.
Every time I think I have him figured out, and that I get what Kali Majapahit is all about, he comes at me from left field with something like we did last night....the light bulb goes on...and I realize I have a lot deeper to dig. I love it when that happens.
I am not going to explain the specifics here - you should get in there and start your training as soon as you can. There is a lot to learn, and it will take you the rest of your life.
How cool is that? go and get stuck into your Kali...NOW
"Let's Fight" said my seven year old son to me. He was not kidding. He was mad. I did not oblige.
It raises an interesting topic, though. We train in martial arts, which is fighting. We are surrounded by violence which is all around us on TV, in movies, in books, in music, in sports (but hopefully not in our everyday lives otherwise). Violence is glorified. It's cool.
We have busier and more stressful lives than our parents and grandparents did (except those who went to war). This leads to road rage, air rage, murder/suicides, stabbings, domestic violence and other "anger management" issues.
Is fighting really so glamorous? Is it cool?
The last time I got in a fight, a real fight, was more than twenty years ago. People got hurt. Permanently hurt. Luckily not me. Luckily no one died. Luckily I did not end up in prison. I still think about what happened and will regret it for the rest of my life. If I could take it all back I would without a moment's hesitation. It was not cool.
Fighting is a lot like hunting. It sounded really great until I stood over a dead animal and had to dress it. The blood, the sounds, the smell was so revolting I found out quickly why my friends suggested bringing a bottle of bourbon. Fighting, when your life depends on it (and you should never fight otherwise), is a messy business. It is all over too fast. For those of us with training, the likelihood for someone to be seriously, permanently damaged is very high, and usually "sorry" is not good enough afterward. Once weapons get involved it goes very fast from bad to worse, and people can get very dead very quick. As my original teacher told me "it's actually really hard to keep them alive". Suffice to say, some things when done cannot be undone. As an example, check this tragic story: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_402233.html?vgnmr=1
Proper training with a proper teacher should help every student realize that the training is like an insurance policy; not to be taken out until you need it, and when you do you are likely to need it pretty badly.
I have said in other posts, the goal of the training is to learn the truth about yourself. Fighting has no real place in that. We have to learn to do the harder thing and not give in to the temptation to solve our problems and frustrations with violence. As martial artists we have to be bigger than that.
Sikaran is Filipino kickboxing. In our new cycle, we have some Sikaran drills as part of the boxing and Panatukan. For many of the intermediate class, this is their first taste of it.
It differs from Western boxing and kickboxing in some fundamental ways. Sikaran is designed to use mostly low line kicks (roundhouse, front, side), but can from time to time include high line kicks as well (esp hook kicks). Sikaran uses kicks to establish distance and add attacking power regardless of where the opponent is. The arsenal ranges from kness with/without step for close in attacks, to crippling leg kicks, and fight ending side kicks and hook kicks.
As with many of the FMA, Sikaran takes the best of the familiar and creates a mix. Some of the elements that influence Sikaran include Muay Thai, Savate, Wing Chun/JKD and Kenpo. Karate does not seem to have given much to Sikaran, and the kicks neither resemble those in Karate, nor get used strategically in a Karate way.
Many of the drills involve changing distance to get into and out of kicking range, especially as a response to opponents' kicks and punches. Sikaran strategy uses intercepting kicks and counter-kicks/cut kicks a lot to either disrupt the opponent's kicks, or to score with the legs when the opponent tries to punch. The concept of guntings ("scissors") is used in Sikaran as well.
Sikaran is a great way to add to the Panantukan cardio workout, and an important part of the total fighting arsenal. It comes as a stark contrast to dumog and silat, which are closer systems. To be good at Sikaran it is important to develop your flexibility and balance, and learn to shift your weight to open up kicking angles as you move. Sikaran should become a natural, integrated part of your Panantukan.
I am still amazed at the depth of Kali Majapahit and what it has to offer as a complete martial arts system and platform for exploration. There is so much to learn, and so many creative directions to take it.
It's a time to celebrate being an American. I have been away from home on the 4OJ for nearly twenty years...what does it mean to me?
It's tough, since often I don't agree with the things my country does. It was especially hard since Reagan, and somehow feels like it's getting harder.
Despite that, I believe desperately in what America stands for.For example the inscription on the Statue of Liberty:
"give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me..."
America has been a place where you could start over; where you could be reborn in freedom, with a new life, a new name, and a new home - free to be whoever your hard work and determination allow you to become. This is just as my grandfather did from Russia in the early 1900s, and countless others like him. It is comforting to know that such a place exists. It is the hope of many people to start over by coming to America.
Fourth of July is a time to signify other new beginnings. We celebrate our independence from England, won with the blood of our forefathers. This was a country newly formed, different from any nation the world had ever known. A nation destined to leave its mark on history. And it has.
We celebrate heroes today. My brother Tim Akins being one. My brother grew up in Chicago, as I did, and went to serve our country in Vietnam in the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions. He returned to us and rarely spoke of what happened there or the price he paid for our leaders' decisions. He went on to became and accountant and served the community as an executive member of an elementary school district. He raised 3 daughters, who are all married or soon to be, and with new families of their own who would have been his grandchildren.
He was more than a brother to me; he was like the father I wish I had. He was a man who was humble, and yet never backed away from what was just or right. He kept mostly to himself, but was a gentle and devoted husband and father. He was a man of so many skills and interests that over the years I learned to never be surprised by the "hobby of the week" which he would inevitably master and show me as if to say "have you tried this yet?". He was just as quick with a laugh as he was with a bit of good advice, and he shouldered his responsibilities like a Marine, never failing his duty to anyone and always ready when you needed him.
My brother died getting up and getting ready for work...just had a heart attack and that was that. He was buried with military honors as was fitting for the hero he was. More than 300 people came to his wake, most of whom approached me and told me what a difference Tim had made in their lives. So many peoples' lives changed by this one great man.
My brother was a hero because he stood tall when the time required it, but never made more of that than what it was. His courage was an everyday courage, the kind that makes you do the right thing, even when it isn't always the most convenient. He loved his wife and his family with his whole heart, but never failed to find time to pursue his many interests; never losing his fascination with being alive. His greatest lesson, in dying, reminded me to make every single day count and "get busy living, or get busy dying."
How many peoples' lives are changed by us, every day, often without our knowing it? What will people say at our funerals when the time comes? Can all of us really be heroes every day, in what we say and do?
The Fourth of July is one of the many special times I choose to celebrate heroes, and he is my favorite. I miss you, Tim.
I wondered what would happen if I tried to divide people into two categories...Takers and Givers.
