kempoinfo.com

The Mitose - Ninja (non) Connection

matt — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:26:25 +0000

The author indicated that this book was researched, footnoted, and well documented, and it gets good reviews. I haven’t gotten it yet, but intend to as he specifically addresses the ‘Mitose was a ninja’ bunk perpetuated by certain folks who feel that the six weeks they studied with Mitose was enough time to learn both the entire Kosho-ryu system and the ‘Koga Ninjitsu” that Mitose taught and their friends. After I pick up a copy I’ll give it a full review.

The return of ‘Name that Style’

matt — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:53:50 +0000

Here’s a fellow who has a few Youtube videos. Can you name that style? What art is he a 8th degree in? I actually know these answers, but thought it might be fun to put it out to the crowd. Here’s a link to his first video, and then I’ll have the rest after a jump so the front page doesn’t take forever to load. What do you think of the techniques?

Fun Times at Dragon-Phoenix

matt — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:30:54 +0000

We had a great time at Dragon-Phoenix Martial Arts. Several hours of good ideas and sharing with friends. Click on the pictures to see a larger image.

Legal Considerations for Self-Defense

matt — Sat, 31 May 2008 20:53:34 +0000

Through strange luck, a thread was revived over at MartialTalk that was started by Ron Chapél a couple of years ago. It started with a paper by one Peter Hobarts, Esq., who is a lawyer and martial arts instructor. He wrote an article for Black Belt magazine regarding the legal ‘duty to retreat’ as well. Basically, duty to retreat is your obligation to attempt to avoid a situation where you might have to use force in order to claim ’self-defense’.

When teaching kempo techniques, many times we pass on techniques that include eye pokes, hitting downed opponents, or other similar ‘finishes’. How do you inform your students of the serious ramifications of these techniques? Are you concerned about liability if one of your students uses a technique that you taught them?

Combination #8 updated video

matt — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:13:31 +0000

Jim Brassard of Shaolin American Kempo had put up some youtube videos, and just dropped me a line to let me know he updated the Combination #8 Explanation Video. There’s even a little Bruce Lee clip at the end. Here it is:

Combination #13

matt — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:40:41 +0000

I know a lot of folks roll their eyes at combination #13, but after attending a Lubid seminar regarding Filipino Rope techniques, I had a new perspective on it, and found lots of useful tricks.

Here’s a video of Fred Villari from 1985 (assisted by a young looking Jim Bryant) demonstrating some ideas related to combination #13.

For our West Coast Friends

matt — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:53:13 +0000

For those who want to see about the links to FMA in kempo and broaden their mind on knife defenses, I just received this email from Pat Armijo:

I hope all is well with you. I just wanted to let you know about a couple of seminars. The first one will be in San Pablo on June 7th and 8th. GM Alfredo Bandalan, GM Vincent Cabales, GM Remy Presas Jr. and GM Max Pallen will be featured at this seminar.

The seminar will be filmed in high definition compliments of ORION Pictures.

Filmography: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0001995/

Please check the following link for the seminar flyer.

http://fmadigest.com/Database/event-advertisement/MARPPIO_World-of-FMA_7-8jun08.pdf

The second seminar will be in Ferndale, Washington, at Karate Quest, on June 13, 14, and 15. GM Remy Presas Jr. will be coming up to demonstrate his unique skills in Modern Arnis. Several of his students from the San Pablo School will be joining us. Please check the following link for the seminar flyer.

http://armijo-arnis.com/Events/pdf/future_events/Modern-Arnis_Seminar_13-15Jun-08.pdf

Best Regards,

Patrick Armijo

If I was in that neck of the woods, I’d definitely check it out.

An EPAK archive

matt — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:11:56 +0000

There are a couple of guys - Cliff Seminerio and Juan Serrano - that have begun a project to put the entire curriculum of Ed Parker’s American Kenpo on Youtube. They want to create a free resource. I certainly want to support their efforts. Let’s make a point of watching their stuff and giving some helpful feedback.

Seminar June 1st

matt — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:18:47 +0000

Dragon Phoenix Martial Arts is hosting a seminar June 1st from 10-3. KenpoJoe Rebelo will be teaching a section comparing different types of Kempo emphasizing the shared principles. For those wishing to see the similarities in principle between kempo and the Filipino arts, Guro Dan Donzella will be there to teach single and double stick drills and some Panantukan. Finally, Sigung Rudy Duncan will teach the combat applications of Tai Chi. I know all three of these gentlemen, and have enjoyed working with each of them. This is a great chance to address several areas that can improve your practice. Hope to see you there!

Knife Defenses

matt — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:40:18 +0000

Traditionally, kempo teaches knife defenses against basic thrust or slash attacks, but I have changed my thinking to a more ‘Filipino’ based paradigm. Since arts like Modern Arnis and Kali fit so well with Kempo, it seemed natural to blend in their knife defenses. I’m not the only one, as demonstrated by John Geyston in these clips. The first one is where he outlines some basic attack angles to consider:

And this one shows an example of one of his techniques:

I felt that the traditional defenses were too static and relied on compliant attackers. They might work on an inexperienced attacker with a highly committed strike, but when tested (with a training knife) against a determined attacker with just a little experience, the defender tended to get sliced to ribbons.

I’ve actually gone a step further with how I teach knife defenses, in that I don’t tend to teach ‘Techniques’ any more. What I’ve done with my classes is break down the problems inherent in a knife encounter, and try to have the students apply the principles to solve those problems. The defense becomes a flowing process, rather than a step by step rote routine that crashes as soon as some unexpected variable comes in. We use the same mindset to evaluate existing techniques that we see. Did we not get cut on the initial strike? Did we begin to control the movement of the knife, and then the person? Did we seal off the next attack? Did we finish solving the problem / neutralizing the threat? If yes, than the technique might be okay, if not, chuck it.

How do you teach knife defenses? I think it is one of the hardest things to do, and naturally low percentage. It can get discouraging some times.