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Hawaiian Warrior Culture

matt — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:54:12 +0000

The History Channel series Warriors has done an episode entitled Hawaii: Islands of Blood. The featured art is Lua, and the episode is fun to watch.

As I watched the techniques being done, I recognized a great many, and for that I (and Kenpo / Kempo) people all over have Henry Okizaki to thank. He incorporated many lua techniques into his teachings while cross referencing them with his jujutsu. I saw a lot of things that were reflected in the Kempo I’ve been learning from Professor Ferreira. It’s a great show, catch it if you can.

Tigi Mataalii – Kempo Senior?

matt — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:23:14 +0000

I was perusing Youtube, and thought I found a nice little kempo variant. Tigi Mataalii has channel on Youtube where he posts lessons. As with any other person I wasn’t familiar with, I did a little homework. Depending on where you look, he’s a student of Professor chow, Sam Kuoha earned a third dan under him, he’s an Olympic medalist in Judo in 1968 and Judo and Karate in 1976, and a breaking world record holder. Sounds great! Except…

Judo wasn’t in the 1968 Olympics, and Karate hasn’t been ever. There’s no record of Tigi Mataalii winning an Olympic Medal. He apparently got booed off the stage for precutting his ice, and Chow didn’t know him. John Bishop smacks him down pretty well at the Kajukenbo Cafe. What’s the deal.

After the jump there’s also an obnoxious video demonstrating one of his ‘signature chi breaks’, by some kid in his kitchen. Obnoxiousness after the jump.

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Adriano Emperado, Founder of Kajukenbo Passes

matt — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:47:13 +0000

Adriano Emperado, most active of the founders of Kajukenbo, and leader of the KSDI, passed away on April 4, 2009. He was a towering influence on the martial arts community, and those of us with roots in Shaolin Kempo and the related arts owe him a great debt, as our systems sprang from students of him, or their students.

He was noted for his tough, no nonsense training, and for combining striking, grabs, takedowns, and finishes with a final goal of effectiveness in mind. He leaves behind a dedicated Ohana, having touched the lives of countless students over the years.

More information is available at the Kajukenbo cafe, MartialTalk, and Emperado.com

The Kempo / Kenpo FAQ

matt — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:19:43 +0000

Mark Urbin stopped by to comment on an article, and I realized that I’ve been remiss in not recognizing one of the seminal Kempo information sources on the web. The Kempo / Kenpo FAQ as maintained by Mark is a comprehensive look at kempo with a pretty unbiased presentation. He updates it regularly and it is certainly worth a read. When I was reading about history on the web, this was one of the sources that inspired me. I have the highest respect for the work he’s put in and the benefit he has given to the Kempo community. Take a look!

Classic Black Belt Article – Fred Villari, July 1975

matt — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:53:05 +0000

Dan Weston posted a link to this classic article over at Martialtalk. Apparently Black Belt has put many of their magazines into Google Books as an archive, which is much more comprehensive than the archives at the Black Belt Magazine site.

I find this article pretty informative, as the descriptions are of Fred Villari as an accomplished martial artist are telling. Also telling, or at least perhaps some foreshadowing is the level of exaggeration Villari puts into the article. He’s 30, but mentions starting his school “8-10 years ago”, even though he apparently started studying with Nick Cerio in 1967, and received his black belt in 1969, only six years before the article. Perhaps a sign?

Bad news in droves, Helio Gracie R.I.P.

matt — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:55:29 +0000

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Helio Gracie has passed on to the big tatami mat in the sky. The man who has been the driving force behind BJJ / Gracie Jiujitsu for as long as I can remember passed away today. His family spawned a revolution in the martial arts, and I offer my condolences to his family, students, friends and fans. Thank you for reintroducing us to the importance of the ground game, and rest in peace.

Topic of Grave Concern

matt — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:46:57 +0000

Every so often, there is the incredibly sad story regarding a martial arts instructor accused of molesting a student. Here’s another. Innocent or guilty, it’s a black eye for the industry. It affects us (kempo folk) directly as it is a USSD school. How do you handle the risks involved?

This story is probably the tip of an iceberg. What do you do to protect yourself and the kids you work with from situations like this?

Note: this is under discussion at Bullshido and Martialtalk.

First it’s candy canes, now it’s pizza!

matt — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:05:23 +0000

Apparently a pizza delivery person foiled a robbery using a large pizza. One shot was fired, but the delivery person escaped uninjured.

The pizza was used as a projectile from close range to serve as a distractor while the delivery person ran. Sometimes it’s about quick reaction more that superior firepower.

Coming soon candy cane vs. pizza deathmatch?

Important Historical Insight

matt — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:07:05 +0000

There have been many claiming the mantle of James Mitose’s Kosho Ryu, and Bruce Juchnik and Nimr Hassan have been two of the most prominent. In this thread on Martial talk, John Bishop provided links to four Youtube videos that provide recordings of discussions between these two men regarding what they learned from James Mitose, and the direction they planned to take Kosho. Juchnik was a Tracy black belt who met Mitose while he was in prison serving his sentence for his part in a murder conspiracy. Nimr Hassan was the one who (as Terry Lee), was convicted of the actual murder of Frank Namimatsu.

These debates have quieted slightly with the increased activity of Thomas Barros Mitose, who has assumed the defacto head position of Kosho.

These discussions offer invaluable insight into the background of today’s Kosho. I’ve embedded them here after the jump, but the relevant discussion is at Martialtalk.

I could beat this intruder with my eyes closed.

matt — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:19:29 +0000

Legally blind man teaches alleged intruder a lesson – Yahoo! News

Stories like this give me the warm fuzzies. I think that it brings up several important points. First – visually impaired folks would do well to learn a contact / grappling based self defense system. Second – a knife can be a great equalizer apparently. Third – this is where the spirit portion comes in. The fellow here pretended it was Christmas and he was Santa. He just didn’t give a darn what he might get, but he sure gave. I’m glad it worked out okay.