Who cares? Here you are living all caught up and focused on somebody that died way way back in 1981. Get a life, more important live your life. Mitose is dead and gone & since, chances are you never had the courage to confront the man when he was living you come off as a real yuppie ripping him a new ass now that he’s dead. Move on!

He’s right, while I was in junior high school, and unaware of Mitose’s existence, I lacked the courage to confront someone that I had never heard of.

The shame…

Here’s an example of a technique he posted to give a good example of a kempo technique. Note the emphasis on uprooting your opponent. As one former instructor told me, “it should be like being in a washing machine”

More after the jump.

Punch Technique

Single Lapel Grab

My point isn’t that BJJ is bad and Karate is good. It’s that in the end, good, hard training – the kind where you hit and get hit – wins at the end of the day. There are better and worse ways to go about it, but in the end, it’s more how you do it than what you do.

In an only vaguely related ‘everything comes around again’, I’ve seen a lot of hand wringing about rank, especially in Kenpo / Kempo. Many of the old timers can be heard regretting how quickly and young the new generation gets rank. I stumbled across this character while searching the web earlier today:

Age 9 – takes kempo.
Age 15 – Starts Karate lessons.
Age 17 – 2nd Dan
Age 20 – 4th Dan.
He then trains in Judo for four years – zoom – there’s another fourth dan for you, thank you very much.
Two fourth dan ranks before age 30, after at most 15 years training. Then a short while later, he starts his own style and eventually does flashy demos on TV. Sacreliege!
I expose the charlatan after the jump.

I’m guessing you are a bit suspicious, so I’ll give up the ruse now. I profiled Mas Oyama, the legendary founder of Kyokushin. He was no charlatan – he was the real deal. His rank had meaning – the kind of meaning he could back up with his fists. Is that how it’s done now? Are we substituting time for skill? I say we should get over it – our infatuation with rank – and focus on what we can do. Can we teach, execute the skills, fight, whatever. I don’t look at a belt and think ‘oh – they’ve got a bunch of stripes, they must be good’, in fact, I usually look at someone with a bunch of stripes with a suspicious eye. I’ve seen it too many times. I want to see what they can do. Wear whatever you want. Just make sure you can back it with knowledge and skill. Young folks with high rank? It’s been with us all along.

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.

I was contacted by a reader from Ireland, Jonny Figgis from Hard Target Self Defence Systems (yes, they mean to spell it that way) about some sources for Shaolin Kempo information. We had a great discussion regarding what to do with his material and what if anything he should add. From the sounds of his training, I encouraged him to keep on doing what he was already doing, and here’s why:

They train a limited syllabus (basically the shodan level give or take) and focus on applying it in realistic situations. I pointed to a few folks who he could look up, but really I don’t want to mess up what they are doing – I think they are on the right track. Do what you do well. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these guys. 

 
Of course there is video of The Pit training session after the jump…