Getting Around

Where I am after I ‘block’ not only depends on my footwork but also my attackers reaction to my response.  So much of our kempo involves us getting to the side of an attacker or behind them , so the question becomes speed versus technique.  A big criticism I heard of SK was that it was primarily built to be effective for young athletes only.  Once again I re-examined my kempo and found something interesting, so see if this works for you as well.  If my block sends a ‘stop’ signal to the attacker then I have to work harder to get where I want to go.  However, should I change my blocking approach I can draw a serious attacker into a place where little or no effort is needed on my part to get around them.  This, of course, at first, works less effectively against an uncommitted attack, yet in the end even with when dealing with those wary attacks you can win with much less work.  Try it out and let me know.

marlon

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Winter and Kempo

GM Villari is from the northern East coast and this could explain a big difference in our skk and other styles of kempo.  Almost all of our techniques gets us in close and we start to manipulate the musculoskeletal system…why?  Perhaps, because our west coast cousins do not need to deal with the clothing of winter when formulating and practicing their art.  A big winter coat can provide a great deal of padding, snow and ice means that grounding and footwork must compensate for less traction.  So take a look at your Shaolin Kempo compared to the West coast versions and see how the base techniques and concepts are perhaps built with the environment in mind and see what you find.

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Marlon’s web log

If sho tung kwa is the quintesential form of the Villari system, and it in part represents ‘hands and feet in harmony’,  does this change how we look at our kempo? How much do we take out the legs in the combinations and how much should we?  Minor adjustments can change many things.  Is there  a buckle in three combo…more importantly, how much bodily self awareness is needed to make ‘hands and feet in harmony’ a fighting reality?  Is there an internal to SK or not?  These ideas all link in my mind…

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