A weekend in Connecticut – Kempo old and new.

Posted on April 23, 2008 by matt

 

This past weekend was a great experience. Chris Hatch and I took a road trip to Valley Shore Martial Arts, and got to work with our teacher, Professor Kimo Ferreira and his friend Motobu Chosei, Soke. Saturday night we had an instructors’ workout with just a few folks and Professor Kimo, and then Sunday was spent learning from Professor Kimo and then Motobu Sensei and his excellent assistants. 

Matt and Chris with the teachers

Professor Kimo covered concepts and techniques from his Kempo Jutsu, and was his usual light-hearted self. We touched on everything from basic punch defenses against straight punches, hooks, double and triple hooks, grabs and more. 

 

Motobu sensei performed a demonstration of his father’s version of the Naihanchi kata, and his black belts performed bo, katana and empty hand demonstrations. After the demonstrations, Motobu sensei taught the first five of his father’s self-defense techniques. Kiko Ferreira handled the translation duties ably, and there was no language barrier  in communicating Motobu Sensei’s intent. 

 

It was a great weekend, and it was a pleasure to see my old friends – Professor Kimo and his wife Kiko, Joe Rebelo – and to have a road trip with Chris. We don’t get out  on the road as much since we’ve both been married, and especially since we’ve each gone and had a kid (or two in his case). It was also quite an honor to get to train with Motobu sensei again. He’s the real deal, and I’ve been impressed with him since the moment I met him. A special surprise was when Professor Nancy Cerio dropped in. It was wonderful to get to chat with her again. 

 

I also had a great time with my new friends at Valley Shore – Keith Tubman did a great job putting together the seminar, and Hedy was great fun and took great care of us food-wise at the Whistle Stop in Deep River. It was also nice to meet Justin in person and to work with Bernard from Branford. 

The Valley Shore group

I thought of the weekend as a nice contrast of pure, classic Karate Kempo and modern Kempo Jutsu. The application has changed, but the values of structure, foundation and effectiveness sure haven’t. 

 

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Outreach

Posted on April 21, 2008 by matt

I currently work in a school, and my wife teaches at the same school. This past Friday I had the opportunity to share the martial arts with her students. For the last several years, I’ve done a presentation for the 7th grade Humanities classes. How does that fit in? They study the geography, culture and literature of the various countries in Asia, and when they reach the end, I take them on a ‘field trip’ of sorts through the development of martial arts in the region, touching on the apocryphal ‘Boddhidarma’ stories and some more research grounded historical facts and observe how different arts reflected the local culture and time, and how when cultures intersected, new martial traditions were born. Of course it ends with a demo, and the ‘Q&A’ section always includes volunteers from the audience. I find it a challenge, because instead of my usual Kempo, the demonstration includes Chinese forms (this year it was Tai Chi, but other years have included Choy Li Fut and Elementary Long Fist), comparing the Heians done Japanese style with the Pinans done Okinawan style, Shaolin Broadsword and Japanese Iaijutsu, wushu staff and Okinawan bo. It takes a lot of preparation, and I always feel like I’m a little rusty since it’s not my ‘top priority’ stuff. The kids are always appreciative, though, and it’s really rewarding.

My favorite question from this year? 

“Could you show us the darker side of Tai Chi?”

Now that’s certainly a fun place to go. 

As outreach – it hasn’t necessarily benefitted me personally as far as students, but the kids apparently find it memorable. I’ve had many mention it years later, and was even recognized by a waitress at a restaurant, years after. I’d like to think that it at least piques the interest of a few of them, and maybe makes them see martial arts as a valuable part of culture. 

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Fitness and Fighting. Where’s the balance?

Posted on April 16, 2008 by matt

A couple of years back, I posted about a fitness kick I was on. Basically I considered them two domains at that point, with fitness in support of kempo. These days, I now have much better access to fitness facilities, so I’ve again pushed it to the front burner. This weekend, I was training with a friend who is, to say the least, not in what one might consider ‘the best of shape’. However, this person can still apply his art effectively. Very effectively. I’ve often said, some arts require a certain level of fitness. If I see an old, fat smoker kicking a young fit person’s butt, I certainly want to find out what he’s doing. My out of shape friend doesn’t apologize for his fitness level – he says ‘if I can make this work, think how well a fit person could make this work.’

But, you don’t get attacked every day. Despite the impression you get watching the news, the vast majority of us don’t die by violence. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, these are the killers lying in wait for us. I think we serve our folks best by striking a balance of fitness and skill development. I know folks say that they can get fit at home and just want the straight knowledge at their class, but then again, they don’t seem to get around to it.

I justify this approach in the idea that people pay personal trainers money for sessions to learn what to do along with the supervision in the exercise. I think a mix of fitness and skill development goals have a long term possibility, in that going to class on a regular basis offers a real tangible benefit. It actually rewards long term attendance. 

Where do you folks stand on this idea. Who’s in shape? Who’s looking to get back? Would a more fitness focused class be something of interest?

 

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