I have often felt that AKK has the drawback of being so well defined by its creator that it cannot grow. But that is also a result of hero worship. SKK in these respects is at the opposite end of the spectrum…same result though, imo.
The questions of legitimacy in the arts today severely limits creativity, and in our art the question is larger. SKK is being wonderfully documented by Matt (THANK YOU Master BARNES!!!), yet is this a looking back effort or a launching point to move forward.
Can SKK grow and what will it take to do so legitimately?
Marlon – Thank you for posing this important question. Sometimes I think I’m exactly the wrong person to be doing this project. I’m documenting the system, but sometimes I’m unclear as to why. Some days I think it’s so people can get a ‘big picture’ view of it to see how comprehensive it is and extract the principles contained within. Other days I look at it like a ‘consumer protection’ service to bring up the game of instructors everywhere – it’s not good enough to know the next combination, everyone knows the next combination. Eventually I think I’m going to settle on the idea that there is a core of material that unites the fragments of SKK, and all else is extraneous. I’m documenting it to decide what is and isn’t important. I think the future of kempo includes in-depth knowledge and hard training of a more limited set, and then freedom to create ephemeral examples to elucidate principles. Let’s move on from memorizing more. SGM Simeone Pesare said (unfortunately I’m paraphrasing) that he only taught 22 combinations and a handful of forms because with that and a functioning imagination you will have all that you need. Let’s hone the core to a fine edge, and create the perfect example for the moment on the fly, and teach our students to be able to do that.
Matt it is remarkable how in sync our thinking can be at times. Your response anticipates what I was planning for my next post : the concepts of SK.
It is both interesting and a little sad that you or anyone needs to do this work. although, I consider you one of the most qualified people to undertake such a venture; and, one of the few people with the necessary intellectual integrity.
My opinion is that there is a culture prevealent in the SKK community of “learning the next combo / form” (and there always seems to be a “next”…) instead of in depth exploration. I absolutely love finding techniques, throws, lock …in 1 pinyan, or the cool pressure point stuff master Dwire shows us from combination 6! Finding sparring techniques in Swift tigers, combination 18 or ground work applications in #29. These things have become much more interesting to me than learning the next combo….although, if Shihan wants to show me a high level combo I admit I still get excited ;-). I do not view these as extraneous, rather they are the results of solid principles expressed through a highly functional paradigm.
I wonder what SKK will look like when you are done. How does one validate the stuff of “a functioning imagination”? How does one distinguish what is good for one body type and style of movement versus a solid “universal” fighting principle in application?
I whole heartedly agree “Let’s hone the core to a fine edge, and (grow in our art so that we may) create the perfect example for the moment on the fly, and teach our students to be able to do that”.
In the end we may be able to elucidate a coherent and comprehensive determination to the question: What is Shaolin Kempo?; without codifing it so deeply into a tome that it might as well be in a sepulchre.
How does SKK grow? By utilizing principles to teach and learn. Once we commit to teaching and learning based on principles, the “limitation” opens the style to a coherent creativity. Naturally, the result will be a much abridged curriculum as Matt has pointed out and a system founded on a sound foundation that allows for creative expression and a plethora of opportunity to grow our art. but what would that look like?