Set 3
j - ura - gz
ura - gz
gz - ura
gz - j - gz
Gz - r haito
- henka "drive by"
- henka g, h, maw, ura
ura - gz - r maw
gz - r maw - gz
Set 4
kek - ura
r maw - ura
mae - ura
maw - ura
........ WHITE TIGER MARTIAL ARTS CROYDON ........ SHIRO TORA BUDO KAI ........ South Croydon ........ – Weapons training – Unarmed Combat – Grappling – Kickboxing : Traditional and Contemporary Martial Arts : Practical, Realistic and Effective Street Self Defence : Get a great workout – Learn something – Have Fun! ....... : HIT HARD – HIT FAST – HIT FIRST! : If you want to learn to fight – come to see us!
Tuesday 22 December 2009
Freestyle karate set 2
Jab, gz, maw
Jab, gz, rear maw
These are first done static, then wth the holder moving back to kick range before presenting the pad for the kick. This is to develop distance and timing.
As you need to work these static, then with the step, and on both sides, it's a complete set and quite a good round.
Jab, gz, rear maw
These are first done static, then wth the holder moving back to kick range before presenting the pad for the kick. This is to develop distance and timing.
As you need to work these static, then with the step, and on both sides, it's a complete set and quite a good round.
Friday 18 December 2009
Friday 11 December 2009
Feng Wei Set K1
Against step and round punch:
side step and bil sao to angle #1
garn sao to angle #3
outside bil sao to angle #2
garn sao to angle #4
hubud defence to #1
low bud def to #3
defence against thrust #5
side step and bil sao to angle #1
garn sao to angle #3
outside bil sao to angle #2
garn sao to angle #4
hubud defence to #1
low bud def to #3
defence against thrust #5
KB work - sets and reps
Sets and reps are a Western "gym" ways of training, as opposes to an oriental "MA" way.
You pick a particular exercise and practice a certain amount of reps, eg 8 or 10, then do a certain amount of sets, eg 3 or 4.
You develop these sets on the gym equipment - the bags or pads.
At STMA we break our kb sets into 4 techniques:
Boxing:
Jab
Cross
Hook
Uppercut
Thai:
tiip
dte
knee
elbow
Round kick:
left front
left rear
right front
right rear
Hook:
lead
rear
spin
tornado
Kekome:
left
right
spin
Tornado
Jump:
body - side
body - spin
head - js hook
head - crescent
You pick a particular exercise and practice a certain amount of reps, eg 8 or 10, then do a certain amount of sets, eg 3 or 4.
You develop these sets on the gym equipment - the bags or pads.
At STMA we break our kb sets into 4 techniques:
Boxing:
Jab
Cross
Hook
Uppercut
Thai:
tiip
dte
knee
elbow
Round kick:
left front
left rear
right front
right rear
Hook:
lead
rear
spin
tornado
Kekome:
left
right
spin
Tornado
Jump:
body - side
body - spin
head - js hook
head - crescent
Boxing Set 1
This is the first set of 6 ABCs you need to learn on the pads and apply in sparring:
Jab, cross
Jab, cross, jab
Cross, jab, cross
Jab, cross, jab, cross
Cross, hook
Rear uppercut, hook, cross
Rear uppercut, rear hook, hook
Jab, cross
Jab, cross, jab
Cross, jab, cross
Jab, cross, jab, cross
Cross, hook
Rear uppercut, hook, cross
Rear uppercut, rear hook, hook
Freestyle karate Set 1
This is the basic set of ABCs you need to learn on the pads and apply in sparring:
Jab, gz
Jab, maw
Jab, gz, maw
Jab, gz, rear maw
Gz, maw, gz
Maw, gz, maw
Jab, gz
Jab, maw
Jab, gz, maw
Jab, gz, rear maw
Gz, maw, gz
Maw, gz, maw
STMA Sub Groups
We have started drilling members into sub groups to work on a specific area.
Any member can join any sub group and it gives you a chance to specialise and learn an art, or an aspect of an art, in more depth.
The groups so far:
woodies - those doing eskrima
boxers - those doing boxing
wing chunners - those doing chi sao
karateka - those who stick to the karate SC structure rather than box
swordsmen - those doing longer weapons such as sword and pole
Thai-ers - those doing Muay Thai drills on pads and sparring
we'll obviously add new sub groups as the need arises
Any member can join any sub group and it gives you a chance to specialise and learn an art, or an aspect of an art, in more depth.
The groups so far:
woodies - those doing eskrima
boxers - those doing boxing
wing chunners - those doing chi sao
karateka - those who stick to the karate SC structure rather than box
swordsmen - those doing longer weapons such as sword and pole
Thai-ers - those doing Muay Thai drills on pads and sparring
we'll obviously add new sub groups as the need arises
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Sparring Rules
1. Sparring standard uses the Semi Contact Kickboxing-Freestyle Karate format and structure. This means touch contact with kicks and punches to the body and pull all head shots. No kicks below belt or to legs - that is for lo kix and Thai structure sparring.
2. Sparring in Full Contact structure allows head shots with contact. You ONLY make head contact if your partner is wearing the proper gear - headguard and gumshield. You ONLY punch to the head if you are wearing boxing gloves.
3. Training partners agree level of contact. ONLY go above touch contact if both parties agree.
4. NEVER catch an opponent's foot. If you haven't blocked or evaded his kick it stands as a score. Because he has pulled it you have not been hit hard. DO NOT catch his foot. You would not be able to do this if the kick had been full power.
5. Acknowledge when a hit lands. You can say "oss" or "touche", but do acknowledge it. Don't just carry on falling way after your partner has landed a kick or punch you failed to block or evade.
2. Sparring in Full Contact structure allows head shots with contact. You ONLY make head contact if your partner is wearing the proper gear - headguard and gumshield. You ONLY punch to the head if you are wearing boxing gloves.
3. Training partners agree level of contact. ONLY go above touch contact if both parties agree.
4. NEVER catch an opponent's foot. If you haven't blocked or evaded his kick it stands as a score. Because he has pulled it you have not been hit hard. DO NOT catch his foot. You would not be able to do this if the kick had been full power.
5. Acknowledge when a hit lands. You can say "oss" or "touche", but do acknowledge it. Don't just carry on falling way after your partner has landed a kick or punch you failed to block or evade.
Combat conditioning
This is something necessary for those who want any kind of full contact career or want to fight VT or MMA.
You need to learn to take a hit.
As you can't take a groin shot, groin guards are mandatory in all kinds of competition. Other than that you need to learn the godan defences.
Similarly you can't take a proper head shot, you can't condition yourself against concussion and you certainly can't take an eye jab or throat strike. So everyone wears gumshields and, apart from the most full on matches, you wear head gear.
And you learn to defend your head.
So you need to condition the "5 points" for contact:
Abs
Forearms
Upper arms
Thighs
Shins
You condition abs by punch for punch
You condition arms by punch for punch
You condition thighs by kick for kick
You condition forearms with blocking
You condition shins with blocking
Nobody has to do this intense conditioning.
If you want to compete you MUST.
Anybody who wants to do this will do it with myself and other interested members.
It is NOT mandatory at STMA, but it is something we can offer.
You need to learn to take a hit.
As you can't take a groin shot, groin guards are mandatory in all kinds of competition. Other than that you need to learn the godan defences.
Similarly you can't take a proper head shot, you can't condition yourself against concussion and you certainly can't take an eye jab or throat strike. So everyone wears gumshields and, apart from the most full on matches, you wear head gear.
And you learn to defend your head.
So you need to condition the "5 points" for contact:
Abs
Forearms
Upper arms
Thighs
Shins
You condition abs by punch for punch
You condition arms by punch for punch
You condition thighs by kick for kick
You condition forearms with blocking
You condition shins with blocking
Nobody has to do this intense conditioning.
If you want to compete you MUST.
Anybody who wants to do this will do it with myself and other interested members.
It is NOT mandatory at STMA, but it is something we can offer.
Friday 4 December 2009
Boxers - to be a boxer at STMA
To be a boxer here all you need is the boxing gear.
(sounds like a poem)
But seriously, all you need so is acquire the boxing gloves, headgear and gumshield and you will be able to join in the "boxing bit" which involves the line and corner drill, the defence and counter drills, and the sparring.
This is a bit different from freestyle sparring in general as it just uses hands and pretty much just punches to the head, with body blows being secondary. So as with ABA and BBBC standard, we need proper PPE to do this phase of the training.
It is not vital to do the "boxing bit" and all members will learn the boxing phase, the padwork and the FC structure of KB. And of course the functionalisation for the street combat.
But to do actual boxing you need the proper kit.
You cannot do boxing with bag gloves, SC gloves of MMA gloves. You need boxing gloves.
This will be a seperately drilled part of the class from the main group, and part of the regular training.
(sounds like a poem)
But seriously, all you need so is acquire the boxing gloves, headgear and gumshield and you will be able to join in the "boxing bit" which involves the line and corner drill, the defence and counter drills, and the sparring.
This is a bit different from freestyle sparring in general as it just uses hands and pretty much just punches to the head, with body blows being secondary. So as with ABA and BBBC standard, we need proper PPE to do this phase of the training.
It is not vital to do the "boxing bit" and all members will learn the boxing phase, the padwork and the FC structure of KB. And of course the functionalisation for the street combat.
But to do actual boxing you need the proper kit.
You cannot do boxing with bag gloves, SC gloves of MMA gloves. You need boxing gloves.
This will be a seperately drilled part of the class from the main group, and part of the regular training.
Thursday 3 December 2009
Class Times
Classes are held at:
Caterham Methodist Church Hall, Coulsdon Road,
Caterham on the Hill
(near Tescos)
Wednesday 7.30pm to 9.30 pm
Thursday 7.30pm to 9.30 pm
Monthly membership: £35 for unlimited sessions
or
£5 a session pay as you go
Caterham Methodist Church Hall, Coulsdon Road,
Caterham on the Hill
(near Tescos)
Wednesday 7.30pm to 9.30 pm
Thursday 7.30pm to 9.30 pm
Monthly membership: £35 for unlimited sessions
or
£5 a session pay as you go
STMA Kit Price List
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50
Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Judo gi £30
Recomended list:
Groin guard £10
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30
Shinguards £10
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25
Weapons
Bokken £10
Shinai £20
rattan nuncha £10
rattan jo £13
rattan bo £15
Tonfa
Tonfa oak pair £20
Foam practice pair £10
Nunchaku
Foam/cord £5 each - pair £10 - practice and spar
Foam/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - intermediate
Wood/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - kata and "pro" practice
Optional extra:
MMA gloves
Basic training Firepower gloves £20
Pro Star gloves £25
Bad Breed £30
Hand inner glove £5
Boxing Vest £10
Boxing shorts £10
Thai shorts £10
MMA Shorts £20
Blitz T shirts £10
Female Maxi Guard £20
Thai pads £50 a pair
Boxing rope £10
Knife £5
Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50
Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Judo gi £30
Recomended list:
Groin guard £10
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30
Shinguards £10
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25
Weapons
Bokken £10
Shinai £20
rattan nuncha £10
rattan jo £13
rattan bo £15
Tonfa
Tonfa oak pair £20
Foam practice pair £10
Nunchaku
Foam/cord £5 each - pair £10 - practice and spar
Foam/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - intermediate
Wood/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - kata and "pro" practice
Optional extra:
MMA gloves
Basic training Firepower gloves £20
Pro Star gloves £25
Bad Breed £30
Hand inner glove £5
Boxing Vest £10
Boxing shorts £10
Thai shorts £10
MMA Shorts £20
Blitz T shirts £10
Female Maxi Guard £20
Thai pads £50 a pair
Boxing rope £10
Knife £5
Wednesday 2 December 2009
Dealing with 5 or more attackers
This is maybe the most difficult scenario and is a matter of spirit before tactic before technique.
Very few people can really fight through 5 attackers. I have seen it done, but that is an exceptionally well trained and tough person and a lot of luck.
The first thing to do is change your mind set:
there is actually no such thing as being attacked by 5 people.
You are being attacked by one plus one plus one plus one plus one.
The main man will be coming for you and his mates will be folowing him.
If he takes you down, they will all follow his lead and pile in.
You have to reverse this.
The best method is to double tap the main man and the closest of his mates.
BANG! BANG!
"Who's f**king next?!!"
Now, if all 3 rushed you they would cause you a problem.
But you are not dealing with THREE people. You are dealing with
one plus one plus one.
Each ONE of them is thinking "Not me" and backing off.
The Karate kata Jutte means "Ten hands" - meaning the ability to fight opponent's at once. It is the 2nd dan kata. This is where our spirit, tactics, and LASTLY techniques can be found.
Very few people can really fight through 5 attackers. I have seen it done, but that is an exceptionally well trained and tough person and a lot of luck.
The first thing to do is change your mind set:
there is actually no such thing as being attacked by 5 people.
You are being attacked by one plus one plus one plus one plus one.
The main man will be coming for you and his mates will be folowing him.
If he takes you down, they will all follow his lead and pile in.
You have to reverse this.
The best method is to double tap the main man and the closest of his mates.
BANG! BANG!
"Who's f**king next?!!"
Now, if all 3 rushed you they would cause you a problem.
But you are not dealing with THREE people. You are dealing with
one plus one plus one.
Each ONE of them is thinking "Not me" and backing off.
The Karate kata Jutte means "Ten hands" - meaning the ability to fight opponent's at once. It is the 2nd dan kata. This is where our spirit, tactics, and LASTLY techniques can be found.
Combat Concepts
Longest weapon the closest target
This is a combat concept.
It means what it says:
Use your low lead kick to hit the opponent's leg as he steps into range.
Use your lead jab to his face, or eye jab to the eye as he moves in.
Lin Sil Die Dar
This is a combat concept.
It means similtanous block and strike.
We have various ways of practicing this.
It's harder to do, but more effective than "block then punch".
That "coffee table" moment
This is a combat concept.
You have all had that experience where you've "barked" your shin on the coffee table when crossing the room in a hurry. It makes you forget what you were originally rushing to do and focusses all your attention on the site of the pain.
In combat we strike kokutsu, the shinbone, with a hard kick, to give him that "coffee table moment". It makes him forget all about attacking us.
Buffalo eyebrow
This is a combat concept.
One of our primary concepts is that we defend angles of attack rather than worry about specific weapons or what style the attacker trains in.
The strike that comes in to the left side of your head is angle #1. You defend it with the appropriate block.
It doesn't matter if the attacker is:
a "street fighter" throwing a haymaker
a boxer throwing a hook
a karate stylist throwing a shuto
another stylist throwing a ridge hand
throwing a crane beak
throwing a "buffalo eyebrow"
or anything else
"Buffalo eyebrow" is of course made up. It's not a real technique (as far as we know!)
It provokes laughter when we cover this concept in class and that helps you remember it.
This is a combat concept.
It means what it says:
Use your low lead kick to hit the opponent's leg as he steps into range.
Use your lead jab to his face, or eye jab to the eye as he moves in.
Lin Sil Die Dar
This is a combat concept.
It means similtanous block and strike.
We have various ways of practicing this.
It's harder to do, but more effective than "block then punch".
That "coffee table" moment
This is a combat concept.
You have all had that experience where you've "barked" your shin on the coffee table when crossing the room in a hurry. It makes you forget what you were originally rushing to do and focusses all your attention on the site of the pain.
In combat we strike kokutsu, the shinbone, with a hard kick, to give him that "coffee table moment". It makes him forget all about attacking us.
Buffalo eyebrow
This is a combat concept.
One of our primary concepts is that we defend angles of attack rather than worry about specific weapons or what style the attacker trains in.
The strike that comes in to the left side of your head is angle #1. You defend it with the appropriate block.
It doesn't matter if the attacker is:
a "street fighter" throwing a haymaker
a boxer throwing a hook
a karate stylist throwing a shuto
another stylist throwing a ridge hand
throwing a crane beak
throwing a "buffalo eyebrow"
or anything else
"Buffalo eyebrow" is of course made up. It's not a real technique (as far as we know!)
It provokes laughter when we cover this concept in class and that helps you remember it.
Saturday 28 November 2009
How a White Tiger Martial Arts class works
The core class is our Unarmed Combat-Self Protection - Threat Response - Street Fighting system.
This is a set of drills students practice with each other.
There is no punching and kicking the air, though we do incorporate shadow boxing.
There is no hard oriental "discipline", we train in a relaxed and friendly manner.
There is no bowing, we prefer a smile and a handshake.
There is no half hour "warm up", just some basic stretching.
This is not an aerobics class or a yoga class, it is a Martial Arts skills class. You spend your time building skills.
This is real time Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts of Karate, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Kali
There is karate style sparring and chi sao sparring for those who want to do it.
Nobody is forced to spar until ready, but those who want to can "get stuck in" on their first night if they wish.
There is no special uniform or gi, just wear what you feel comfortable in.
The class then bifurcates into Kickboxing and Kobudo (weapons) for those who want to learn these skills.
For Kickboxing you need your own protective gear for partner drills and sparring.
You can bring your own or buy from us at a reasonable rate.
There is impact work on focus pads, Thai pads, and shields. Again, to get maximum benefit students are encouraged to buy their own pads, though there will be some provided.
For Kobudo students need to buy their own weapons depending on what they want to get involved with:
A pair of sticks and a knife.
A pair of tonfa.
A set of nunchaku, both foam safety and wood/chain.
Bokken, shinai, jo and bo.
There is basic weapon sparring with sticks, nunchaku, sword and staff.
We soon going to be acquiring armour for adding full contact weapons sparring to our curriculum.
This is a set of drills students practice with each other.
There is no punching and kicking the air, though we do incorporate shadow boxing.
There is no hard oriental "discipline", we train in a relaxed and friendly manner.
There is no bowing, we prefer a smile and a handshake.
There is no half hour "warm up", just some basic stretching.
This is not an aerobics class or a yoga class, it is a Martial Arts skills class. You spend your time building skills.
This is real time Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts of Karate, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Kali
There is karate style sparring and chi sao sparring for those who want to do it.
Nobody is forced to spar until ready, but those who want to can "get stuck in" on their first night if they wish.
There is no special uniform or gi, just wear what you feel comfortable in.
The class then bifurcates into Kickboxing and Kobudo (weapons) for those who want to learn these skills.
For Kickboxing you need your own protective gear for partner drills and sparring.
You can bring your own or buy from us at a reasonable rate.
There is impact work on focus pads, Thai pads, and shields. Again, to get maximum benefit students are encouraged to buy their own pads, though there will be some provided.
For Kobudo students need to buy their own weapons depending on what they want to get involved with:
A pair of sticks and a knife.
A pair of tonfa.
A set of nunchaku, both foam safety and wood/chain.
Bokken, shinai, jo and bo.
There is basic weapon sparring with sticks, nunchaku, sword and staff.
We soon going to be acquiring armour for adding full contact weapons sparring to our curriculum.
Monday 23 November 2009
White Tiger Martial Arts
White Tiger Martial Arts
Combat Karate
Practical applied karate from Japanese Shotokan, Shotokai and Kyukushinkai, Okinawan Goju and American Kenpo.
Learn how to apply karate from a 6th degree black belt who has real street experience.
Traditional katas available for those who want to learn them.
Karate Kumite to test your skills in sparring.
Combat Jujutsu
The perfect compliment to Combat Karate. As well as strikes and counters, we practice locks, pressure points, takedowns and ground finishes.
Syllabus based on Kempo JuJutsu, Goshin Jutsu, Kyushindo, Taijutsu, and also some Judo Newaza for those who like their groundwork.
OK you can roll and fight on mats? What about on the wooden floor? What about on concrete? What about a flight of stairs? Come to us and make your grappling functional for the real world.
Combat Kung Fu (Feng Wei)
Syllabus distilled from the Chinese arts we practice and teach - Traditional and Modified Wing Chun, Jun Fan, Mantis, Ba Gua, Shaolin, and some Tai Chi (yes it does have some combat applications).
Classes include NRG (energy) drills, HIA (Trapping) and locking, Close Quarter Combat, and Chi Sao sparring.
Traditional Wing Chun forms available for those who want to learn them.
Kickboxing
Functional drills for tool development, and defence and counter, building to a comprehensive sparring program to test and develop your skills to the max.
Impact work on pads to develop the important attributes of speed, power, coordination, distance and timing.
Sparring forms include points karate, semi contact, full contact Kickboxing, and Thai boxing.
Syllabus taken from karate, freestyle, semi contact, full contact, Tae Kwon Do (WTF), Kung Fu, Muay Thai, and Savate.
Mat, ring, and street tested methods.
Kobudo - weapons
Filipino Kali and Eskrima stick and knife,
Okinawan Nunchaku and Tonfa,
Japanese bokken, shinai, bo and jo - sword, spear and staff.
Grappling
Throws, takedowns and groundfighting. Methods taken from Judo and Jujutsu and the western Wrestling systems of Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Russian Sombo.
Vale Tudo
Vale Tudo is the Portuguese for "anything goes". The original Mixed Martial Art in Brazil.
In our club we combine the elements of Kickboxing and Grappling so you spar and fight at all ranges. Functional drills and sparring to make you a fully competant fighter.
Combat Karate
Practical applied karate from Japanese Shotokan, Shotokai and Kyukushinkai, Okinawan Goju and American Kenpo.
Learn how to apply karate from a 6th degree black belt who has real street experience.
Traditional katas available for those who want to learn them.
Karate Kumite to test your skills in sparring.
Combat Jujutsu
The perfect compliment to Combat Karate. As well as strikes and counters, we practice locks, pressure points, takedowns and ground finishes.
Syllabus based on Kempo JuJutsu, Goshin Jutsu, Kyushindo, Taijutsu, and also some Judo Newaza for those who like their groundwork.
OK you can roll and fight on mats? What about on the wooden floor? What about on concrete? What about a flight of stairs? Come to us and make your grappling functional for the real world.
Combat Kung Fu (Feng Wei)
Syllabus distilled from the Chinese arts we practice and teach - Traditional and Modified Wing Chun, Jun Fan, Mantis, Ba Gua, Shaolin, and some Tai Chi (yes it does have some combat applications).
Classes include NRG (energy) drills, HIA (Trapping) and locking, Close Quarter Combat, and Chi Sao sparring.
Traditional Wing Chun forms available for those who want to learn them.
Kickboxing
Functional drills for tool development, and defence and counter, building to a comprehensive sparring program to test and develop your skills to the max.
Impact work on pads to develop the important attributes of speed, power, coordination, distance and timing.
Sparring forms include points karate, semi contact, full contact Kickboxing, and Thai boxing.
Syllabus taken from karate, freestyle, semi contact, full contact, Tae Kwon Do (WTF), Kung Fu, Muay Thai, and Savate.
Mat, ring, and street tested methods.
Kobudo - weapons
Filipino Kali and Eskrima stick and knife,
Okinawan Nunchaku and Tonfa,
Japanese bokken, shinai, bo and jo - sword, spear and staff.
Grappling
Throws, takedowns and groundfighting. Methods taken from Judo and Jujutsu and the western Wrestling systems of Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Russian Sombo.
Vale Tudo
Vale Tudo is the Portuguese for "anything goes". The original Mixed Martial Art in Brazil.
In our club we combine the elements of Kickboxing and Grappling so you spar and fight at all ranges. Functional drills and sparring to make you a fully competant fighter.
Friday 20 November 2009
White Tiger Phrases
At the Shiro Tora we have adopted a number of handy catchphrases which are both inspirational and informative:
Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative.
Absorb What Is Useful, Discard What is Useless, Add What is specifically your own.
Using no way as Way, Having no limitation as limitation.
If you see it taught, you see it fought.
Higher Consciousness through harder contact.
The moment of truth is in the fight.
Step don't stretch
Don't be afraid to get some dirt on your shirt
Hit Hard - Hit Fast - Hit First!
Train Hard - Fight easy
Fights are won in Training
The harder you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle
Don't mistake kindness for weakness
Adopt, Adapt, Improve
If he leaves 'em swinging, set 'em ringing
Leave your ego at the door
It's better to fight like a tiger than live like a pussy.
"Your answer is always violence."
"If you didn't want the answer, you shouldn't have asked the question."
If it's me or him, it ain't gonna be me!
The first rule of Self Defence - Learn to Hit f**king Hard!
One fist of iron, one fist of steel. If the right one don't get you, the left one will.
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6
Never start a fight, but always finish it
It doesn't matter what the colour of the cat is, as long as it catches mice
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much room
These are some great slogans from No Fear T Shirts:
remember them?)
There are many things to be learnt from competition - but fear is not one of them
Does not play well with others
(it appears "others" have a problem with losing)
At 200mph you have no friends
Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative.
Absorb What Is Useful, Discard What is Useless, Add What is specifically your own.
Using no way as Way, Having no limitation as limitation.
If you see it taught, you see it fought.
Higher Consciousness through harder contact.
The moment of truth is in the fight.
Step don't stretch
Don't be afraid to get some dirt on your shirt
Hit Hard - Hit Fast - Hit First!
Train Hard - Fight easy
Fights are won in Training
The harder you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle
Don't mistake kindness for weakness
Adopt, Adapt, Improve
If he leaves 'em swinging, set 'em ringing
Leave your ego at the door
It's better to fight like a tiger than live like a pussy.
"Your answer is always violence."
"If you didn't want the answer, you shouldn't have asked the question."
If it's me or him, it ain't gonna be me!
The first rule of Self Defence - Learn to Hit f**king Hard!
One fist of iron, one fist of steel. If the right one don't get you, the left one will.
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6
Never start a fight, but always finish it
It doesn't matter what the colour of the cat is, as long as it catches mice
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much room
These are some great slogans from No Fear T Shirts:
remember them?)
There are many things to be learnt from competition - but fear is not one of them
Does not play well with others
(it appears "others" have a problem with losing)
At 200mph you have no friends
STMA kit
We now have a more comprehensive price list for STMA kit:
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50
Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Judo gi £30
Recomended list:
Groin guard £10
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30
Shinguards £10
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25
Weapons
Bokken £10
Shinai £20
rattan nuncha £10
rattan jo £13
rattan bo £15
Tonfa
Tonfa oak pair £20
Foam practice pair £10
Nunchaku
Foam/cord £5 each - pair £10 - practice and spar
Foam/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - intermediate
Wood/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - kata and "pro" practice
Optional extra:
MMA gloves
Basic training Firepower gloves £20
Pro Star gloves £25
Bad Breed £30
Hand inner glove £5
Boxing Vest £10
Boxing shorts £10
Thai shorts £10
MMA Shorts £20
Blitz T shirts £10
Female Maxi Guard £20
Thai pads £50 a pair
Boxing rope £10
Knife £5
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50
Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Judo gi £30
Recomended list:
Groin guard £10
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30
Shinguards £10
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25
Weapons
Bokken £10
Shinai £20
rattan nuncha £10
rattan jo £13
rattan bo £15
Tonfa
Tonfa oak pair £20
Foam practice pair £10
Nunchaku
Foam/cord £5 each - pair £10 - practice and spar
Foam/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - intermediate
Wood/chain £7.50 each - pair £15 - kata and "pro" practice
Optional extra:
MMA gloves
Basic training Firepower gloves £20
Pro Star gloves £25
Bad Breed £30
Hand inner glove £5
Boxing Vest £10
Boxing shorts £10
Thai shorts £10
MMA Shorts £20
Blitz T shirts £10
Female Maxi Guard £20
Thai pads £50 a pair
Boxing rope £10
Knife £5
Thursday 19 November 2009
The "Radio 13" incident
This is an amusing anecdote.
As you know, in kali, we use 12 angles of attack and defence.
Angle 13 refers to any backward upwards strike that doesn't involve turning - a heel kick, groin slap, upward elbow to chin - all done to an attacker from behind.
When grabbed from behind I always do a 13 groin slap before turning to deal with the attacker - it puts him on the defensive so I am turning to make my attack. It's a combat concept.
When you work the door inevitably your radio earpiece gets torn out and destroyed from time to time. When this happens on a Friday night you end up carrying your radio in your hand on the Saturday night shift as you can't get to the shop to by a new one til Monday.
With this in mind I adapted combat techniques to incorporate the radio, including strikes, especially punyo strikes, kyusho points, and even some clever lock adaptations.
Obviously when grabbed from behind my groin slap 13 now became a strike with the radio punyo. Extra effective and nasty for the attacker (but serves them right!)
On one particular night we had a kick off and I went, radio in hand, to deal with the situation. At one point I was grabbed from behind and did my automatic 13, with the radio butt. Rather than the usual "male" scream you get when you apply a "himself", I heard a high pitch girl scream. The attacker was a girl (it turned out later I was removing her boyfriend from the fight he was in and she was "defending" him).
Anyway, my door girl Kelly did her usual female ejection technique (it involves some serious hair winding, rising skirts, and the unavoidable escapology of boobs from bras) and we got the fighting parties outside.
After we came back inside Kelly and one of her friends, a customer that night, were crying with laughter. I asked them what was so funny.
It turns out the girl in question has an "intimate" piercing and my radio 13 had landed "right on the button" as it were. No wonder she howled so much!
This is a good reason why female dojo members should get female groin guards - especially those who have intimate piercings!
As you know, in kali, we use 12 angles of attack and defence.
Angle 13 refers to any backward upwards strike that doesn't involve turning - a heel kick, groin slap, upward elbow to chin - all done to an attacker from behind.
When grabbed from behind I always do a 13 groin slap before turning to deal with the attacker - it puts him on the defensive so I am turning to make my attack. It's a combat concept.
When you work the door inevitably your radio earpiece gets torn out and destroyed from time to time. When this happens on a Friday night you end up carrying your radio in your hand on the Saturday night shift as you can't get to the shop to by a new one til Monday.
With this in mind I adapted combat techniques to incorporate the radio, including strikes, especially punyo strikes, kyusho points, and even some clever lock adaptations.
Obviously when grabbed from behind my groin slap 13 now became a strike with the radio punyo. Extra effective and nasty for the attacker (but serves them right!)
On one particular night we had a kick off and I went, radio in hand, to deal with the situation. At one point I was grabbed from behind and did my automatic 13, with the radio butt. Rather than the usual "male" scream you get when you apply a "himself", I heard a high pitch girl scream. The attacker was a girl (it turned out later I was removing her boyfriend from the fight he was in and she was "defending" him).
Anyway, my door girl Kelly did her usual female ejection technique (it involves some serious hair winding, rising skirts, and the unavoidable escapology of boobs from bras) and we got the fighting parties outside.
After we came back inside Kelly and one of her friends, a customer that night, were crying with laughter. I asked them what was so funny.
It turns out the girl in question has an "intimate" piercing and my radio 13 had landed "right on the button" as it were. No wonder she howled so much!
This is a good reason why female dojo members should get female groin guards - especially those who have intimate piercings!
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Godai in Combat
Although we have used the Godai analogy to describe the 4 AFA that makes up STMA, it is also true that each Art can manifest the 4 elements.
Each element is a manifestation of your inner feeling:
Earth - confidence
Water - fear
Fire - Anger
Wind - compassion
The physical postures, called kamae, and movements are manifestations of these feelings in combat.
It is a MISTAKE to believe you can select to be one element and fight that way as you need to adapt and respond as the need arises. The only element you should try to be is Ku - The Void.
Let's look at an example of a specific AFA using the 4 elements.
Eskrima - though we classed Kobudo as the wind element of STMA, fighting with a weapon can use any of the 4 elements.
In a weapon attack the opponent comes in with a #1 strike, the caveman strike, the natural strike of the Human animal.
Let's see how you respond:
Water - you defend. You roll back into largo, removing yourself from the path of attack and strike at his hand to make him drop his weapon. You can then respond with a counter to his head once he has been "defanged".
Fire - you attack. You crash the line with a roof block, burning through his attack and taking his head off with a powerful strike of your own.
Earth - you intercept. As he steps in with his stick in caveman chamber you step forward to meet his intention and deliver your strike on the half beat. You neither attack or defend, you just use the appropriate move with proper distance and timing. This is based on the confidence that you were never in any real danger.
Wind - you evade. Moving with triangle footwork you sidestep and attack his hand. Unlike Water, you are not retreating and being defensive, you simply move sideways and he strikes empty air. Then your own strike hits like lightning.
Each element is a manifestation of your inner feeling:
Earth - confidence
Water - fear
Fire - Anger
Wind - compassion
The physical postures, called kamae, and movements are manifestations of these feelings in combat.
It is a MISTAKE to believe you can select to be one element and fight that way as you need to adapt and respond as the need arises. The only element you should try to be is Ku - The Void.
Let's look at an example of a specific AFA using the 4 elements.
Eskrima - though we classed Kobudo as the wind element of STMA, fighting with a weapon can use any of the 4 elements.
In a weapon attack the opponent comes in with a #1 strike, the caveman strike, the natural strike of the Human animal.
Let's see how you respond:
Water - you defend. You roll back into largo, removing yourself from the path of attack and strike at his hand to make him drop his weapon. You can then respond with a counter to his head once he has been "defanged".
Fire - you attack. You crash the line with a roof block, burning through his attack and taking his head off with a powerful strike of your own.
Earth - you intercept. As he steps in with his stick in caveman chamber you step forward to meet his intention and deliver your strike on the half beat. You neither attack or defend, you just use the appropriate move with proper distance and timing. This is based on the confidence that you were never in any real danger.
Wind - you evade. Moving with triangle footwork you sidestep and attack his hand. Unlike Water, you are not retreating and being defensive, you simply move sideways and he strikes empty air. Then your own strike hits like lightning.
Friday 13 November 2009
Real world analogy
Here is a real world analogy - a doorman on duty at a nightclub.
The technique we use here is the right hand KO punch, but in four different examples, each a manifestation of an element of the Godai.
Each scenario presented here is a real situation I have faced in my career.
There is NO THEORY here - each example is 100% REAL!
Earth
Standing on the door you are Earth, the mountain, the oak tree, immovable. You tell a customer he can't come in. You are strong and confident. Nobody is getting past you. You ARE the Door!
The customer gets angry and steps up to attack. From The Fence you land your KO punch to his jaw and knock him out. You have no need to be afraid or angry, you have no need to attack or defend. You simply apply the correct response for the situation at hand.
Fire
The alarm goes and you rush inside to see a full blown fight has erupted on the dance floor.
You move straight in and knock out each man who is fighting. If they are not trying to get away they are trying to get stuck in, so you neutralise them. One, two, three, you crack your KO punch to their jaw and they drop to the floor. You are Fire, an unstoppable force of nature.
Water
One of the other doormen goes to deal with a customer, to ask him to leave. Suddenly CRACK! The doorman goes down. This is no ordinary customer but a dangerous, trained, experienced fighter. As you move in he squares up to you. You are now in a fight with a skilled opponent.
You react, you defend and you counter. You nullify his attacking blows and set up your opportunity to land your KO, taking him out of the game.
Wind
A drunk customer is being rowdy and it is time to ask him to leave. You can't allow him to hurt another customer, yourself, or a member of your team, but you can't allow him to hurt himself either. Nor is it appropriate to go in with maximum force, maybe breaking his jaw or arm.
You do your best to avoid a violent solution. The drunk swings at you. You parry his first swing, and maybe his second. But when he swings a third time you use the Captain's Log to parry down his attack and then land your KO. You gave him every chance.
To take this analogy further, rather than the punch, from the Log use ikkyo to take him to the floor and restrain him. Then call another doorman to take his other arm and walk him out together so nobody needs to get hurt.
So you see the KO punch, which theoretically is a Fire technique, can be used as a technique by any of the four elements you are manifesting, as the situation demands.
DO NOT restrict yourself to any element, art, or technique or you are destined to fail.
Sometimes it is appropraite to be Fire.
Sometimes you need to be Wind or Water.
Most times you just need to be Earth.
The technique we use here is the right hand KO punch, but in four different examples, each a manifestation of an element of the Godai.
Each scenario presented here is a real situation I have faced in my career.
There is NO THEORY here - each example is 100% REAL!
Earth
Standing on the door you are Earth, the mountain, the oak tree, immovable. You tell a customer he can't come in. You are strong and confident. Nobody is getting past you. You ARE the Door!
The customer gets angry and steps up to attack. From The Fence you land your KO punch to his jaw and knock him out. You have no need to be afraid or angry, you have no need to attack or defend. You simply apply the correct response for the situation at hand.
Fire
The alarm goes and you rush inside to see a full blown fight has erupted on the dance floor.
You move straight in and knock out each man who is fighting. If they are not trying to get away they are trying to get stuck in, so you neutralise them. One, two, three, you crack your KO punch to their jaw and they drop to the floor. You are Fire, an unstoppable force of nature.
Water
One of the other doormen goes to deal with a customer, to ask him to leave. Suddenly CRACK! The doorman goes down. This is no ordinary customer but a dangerous, trained, experienced fighter. As you move in he squares up to you. You are now in a fight with a skilled opponent.
You react, you defend and you counter. You nullify his attacking blows and set up your opportunity to land your KO, taking him out of the game.
Wind
A drunk customer is being rowdy and it is time to ask him to leave. You can't allow him to hurt another customer, yourself, or a member of your team, but you can't allow him to hurt himself either. Nor is it appropriate to go in with maximum force, maybe breaking his jaw or arm.
You do your best to avoid a violent solution. The drunk swings at you. You parry his first swing, and maybe his second. But when he swings a third time you use the Captain's Log to parry down his attack and then land your KO. You gave him every chance.
To take this analogy further, rather than the punch, from the Log use ikkyo to take him to the floor and restrain him. Then call another doorman to take his other arm and walk him out together so nobody needs to get hurt.
So you see the KO punch, which theoretically is a Fire technique, can be used as a technique by any of the four elements you are manifesting, as the situation demands.
DO NOT restrict yourself to any element, art, or technique or you are destined to fail.
Sometimes it is appropraite to be Fire.
Sometimes you need to be Wind or Water.
Most times you just need to be Earth.
Thursday 12 November 2009
The Godai
The Godai is read from the ground up:
Void
Wind
Fire
Water
Earth
these are the elements
However another version of the elements:
Metal
Wood
Fire
Water
Earth
this version can be seen in the Gotonpo of Ninjutsu - the elements of escape.
The 5 elements appears in the Western mysticism as well - the 5 elements are a big part of pagan and wiccan symbolism.
Ths is similar to how the number 3 pops up - the torite kihon sanpo, how we have 3 ranges in serrada, and 3 drills, each with 3 moves.
And in wiccan, the 3 aspects of The Goddess which relate to the 3 phases of the moon. In Christianity the Holy Trinity Father Son and Ghost.
Again, none of these symoblic metaphors are too be taken too literally, they are to help build a model of consciousness for understanding of technique and tactics.
Void
Wind
Fire
Water
Earth
these are the elements
However another version of the elements:
Metal
Wood
Fire
Water
Earth
this version can be seen in the Gotonpo of Ninjutsu - the elements of escape.
The 5 elements appears in the Western mysticism as well - the 5 elements are a big part of pagan and wiccan symbolism.
Ths is similar to how the number 3 pops up - the torite kihon sanpo, how we have 3 ranges in serrada, and 3 drills, each with 3 moves.
And in wiccan, the 3 aspects of The Goddess which relate to the 3 phases of the moon. In Christianity the Holy Trinity Father Son and Ghost.
Again, none of these symoblic metaphors are too be taken too literally, they are to help build a model of consciousness for understanding of technique and tactics.
More on The 4 elements
This comparison with the Godai is only a metaphor and not to be taken too literally. It is a model of consciousness, a way to understand the program.
Like the gears of a car, you need to change between the elements as the need arises.
It is a mistake to think "I'll be fire and beat everyone that way". Every karate "master" who was taken to the mat and choked out by a Gracie found out the folly of this approach. You need to have all 4 elements.
But the final goal is to be a White Tiger not a representative of WTMA.
A Tatsujin - a Human Being, not a Human Doing. I've been writing about this a lot recently.
The goal is to be Void - the neutral gear. Eventually you will be like an Automatic - the gear changes will hapen beneath the surface without any conscious effort from you.
THIS is where you want to be.
DO NOT pick a single element and try to be just that or you will be destined to fail. You will have limited yourself to a structure. The Truth is liberation from all structure.
Having no way as way, having no limitation as limitation.
In combat there is balance between the elements.
Compare a contest between fire and water.
If there is enough fire it will boil the water out of existance.
If there is enough water it will put the fire out.
Of course by adapting you can also overcome.
Water cannot dilute water.
Again, these are metephors, not to be taken too literally.
Like the gears of a car, you need to change between the elements as the need arises.
It is a mistake to think "I'll be fire and beat everyone that way". Every karate "master" who was taken to the mat and choked out by a Gracie found out the folly of this approach. You need to have all 4 elements.
But the final goal is to be a White Tiger not a representative of WTMA.
A Tatsujin - a Human Being, not a Human Doing. I've been writing about this a lot recently.
The goal is to be Void - the neutral gear. Eventually you will be like an Automatic - the gear changes will hapen beneath the surface without any conscious effort from you.
THIS is where you want to be.
DO NOT pick a single element and try to be just that or you will be destined to fail. You will have limited yourself to a structure. The Truth is liberation from all structure.
Having no way as way, having no limitation as limitation.
In combat there is balance between the elements.
Compare a contest between fire and water.
If there is enough fire it will boil the water out of existance.
If there is enough water it will put the fire out.
Of course by adapting you can also overcome.
Water cannot dilute water.
Again, these are metephors, not to be taken too literally.
Tuesday 10 November 2009
Weapons progression training
We are picking up the pace in our weapons based sessions - concentrating on the use of weapons and weapons defence.
So bring whatever weapons you have to these classes. Obviously stix, so we can do double and single drills. But also bring tonfa and nunchaku, to look at the close range weapons, as well as longer weapons including bokken, Jo and Bo.
We'll look at drilling different weapons against each other.
We'll look at defending weapons unarmed - including knife defence, and defence against attacker armed with a stick or club.
We'll look at traditional koryo mutadori - unarmed defence against a swordman.
We'll look deeper into locks with stix and tonfa, and locking with the longer sticks.
So bring whatever weapons you have to these classes. Obviously stix, so we can do double and single drills. But also bring tonfa and nunchaku, to look at the close range weapons, as well as longer weapons including bokken, Jo and Bo.
We'll look at drilling different weapons against each other.
We'll look at defending weapons unarmed - including knife defence, and defence against attacker armed with a stick or club.
We'll look at traditional koryo mutadori - unarmed defence against a swordman.
We'll look deeper into locks with stix and tonfa, and locking with the longer sticks.
Martial Arts Caterham Zimbio Wikizine
We have a zimbio wikizine for Martial Arts Caterham:
Martial Arts Caterham Zimbio Wikizine
http://www.zimbio.com/Martial+Arts+Caterham
Martial Arts Caterham Zimbio Wikizine
http://www.zimbio.com/Martial+Arts+Caterham
White Tiger Martial Arts Caterham Surrey Croydon
White Tiger Martial Arts
Shiro Tora Budo Kai
Practical, Realistic and Effective Street Self Defence
Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts of
Karate, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Kali
Impact training and sparring from
Freestyle Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing and Thai Boxing
Weapons defence and combat training from Kobudo, Kali and Eskrima
Grappling and matwork from Judo, Jujutsu and Wrestling
All forms of Defence Combat taught
Strikes, Kicks, Punches and Counterattacks
Headbutts, Knees, Elbows (HKE)
Trapping (HIA), Energy Drills and Chi Sao
Chokes and Strangles – Locks and Controls
Throws and Takedowns – Ground and Pound
Grappling – Groundfighting - Vale Tudo – MMA
Stick and Knife – Sword and Staff – Nunchaku and Tonfa
Gun Defence and Knife Defence training
Threat Awareness – Threat Avoidance – Threat Response
Self Protection – Street Fighting – Unarmed Combat
Learn from a 6th degree Black Belt with over 30 years training and
10 years real world experience on the doors of Britain’s pubs and clubs
Training sessions held in Caterham (Over 18s)
Caterham Methodist Church, Coulsdon Road, Caterham-on-the-Hill
Wednesday 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Thursday 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Monthly Membership £35 or £5 a session pay as you go
email: ShiroToraTiger@yahoo.co.uk
website: ShiroToraTiger.blogspot.com
Beginners Welcome
Private lessons available
Shiro Tora Budo Kai
Practical, Realistic and Effective Street Self Defence
Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts of
Karate, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Kali
Impact training and sparring from
Freestyle Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing and Thai Boxing
Weapons defence and combat training from Kobudo, Kali and Eskrima
Grappling and matwork from Judo, Jujutsu and Wrestling
All forms of Defence Combat taught
Strikes, Kicks, Punches and Counterattacks
Headbutts, Knees, Elbows (HKE)
Trapping (HIA), Energy Drills and Chi Sao
Chokes and Strangles – Locks and Controls
Throws and Takedowns – Ground and Pound
Grappling – Groundfighting - Vale Tudo – MMA
Stick and Knife – Sword and Staff – Nunchaku and Tonfa
Gun Defence and Knife Defence training
Threat Awareness – Threat Avoidance – Threat Response
Self Protection – Street Fighting – Unarmed Combat
Learn from a 6th degree Black Belt with over 30 years training and
10 years real world experience on the doors of Britain’s pubs and clubs
Training sessions held in Caterham (Over 18s)
Caterham Methodist Church, Coulsdon Road, Caterham-on-the-Hill
Wednesday 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Thursday 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Monthly Membership £35 or £5 a session pay as you go
email: ShiroToraTiger@yahoo.co.uk
website: ShiroToraTiger.blogspot.com
Beginners Welcome
Private lessons available
S.P.A.R.K.S
S.P.A.R.K.S or S.P.A.R.C.S stands for Scientific Progressive Aggressive Response Combat Systems.
When looking for a name for our system, as well as considering what the Japanese do, we also looked at what the Americans do. They tend to use acronyms for their systems. Paul Vunak calls his Progressive Fighting Systems (PFS) and Chris Kent calls his Combat Arts International (CAI) to name just two.
Although it's just a name (don't fuss over it) we tried out a few acronyms that might suit us and came up with SPARKS.
Scientific - because everything is scientifically tested, no guess work or assumption.
Progressive - because the training we do is progressive, through the ranges, disciplines, drilling and sparring.
Aggressive - because we are dealing with an aggressive attacker, and we are using aggressive, positive responses, not passive "self defence" moves.
Response - we are responding to a threat rather than reacting to an attack.
Kombat or Combat, depending on how we want to fit the acronym. Kombat is the harded German spelling,and of course is a nod to the game Mortal Kombat. We prefer the word Combat to Fighting.
System - which we prefer to Method or Art, or even Do (Way in Japanese).
So if you want to, you can tell people you do SPARKS!
When looking for a name for our system, as well as considering what the Japanese do, we also looked at what the Americans do. They tend to use acronyms for their systems. Paul Vunak calls his Progressive Fighting Systems (PFS) and Chris Kent calls his Combat Arts International (CAI) to name just two.
Although it's just a name (don't fuss over it) we tried out a few acronyms that might suit us and came up with SPARKS.
Scientific - because everything is scientifically tested, no guess work or assumption.
Progressive - because the training we do is progressive, through the ranges, disciplines, drilling and sparring.
Aggressive - because we are dealing with an aggressive attacker, and we are using aggressive, positive responses, not passive "self defence" moves.
Response - we are responding to a threat rather than reacting to an attack.
Kombat or Combat, depending on how we want to fit the acronym. Kombat is the harded German spelling,and of course is a nod to the game Mortal Kombat. We prefer the word Combat to Fighting.
System - which we prefer to Method or Art, or even Do (Way in Japanese).
So if you want to, you can tell people you do SPARKS!
Saturday 7 November 2009
Tatsujin - the meaning of White Tiger
Meijin means a master of the martial arts.
Tatsujin means a "completed human being".
It is very difficult to become a complete human being.
To live as a human being means you are not obsessed with who is weak or who is strong. An animal has to be strong to survive in nature. Humans can live regardless of their outward strength.
This is the most important realisation of the Human Fighting Arts.
To work to be a meijin is to miss the point.
In STMA, we are not trying to be masters of the individual fighting arts, we are working towards being tatsujin, complete human beings.
Be a White Tiger, not just a person "doing" White Tiger Martial Arts.
Tatsujin means a "completed human being".
It is very difficult to become a complete human being.
To live as a human being means you are not obsessed with who is weak or who is strong. An animal has to be strong to survive in nature. Humans can live regardless of their outward strength.
This is the most important realisation of the Human Fighting Arts.
To work to be a meijin is to miss the point.
In STMA, we are not trying to be masters of the individual fighting arts, we are working towards being tatsujin, complete human beings.
Be a White Tiger, not just a person "doing" White Tiger Martial Arts.
The 4 elements of STMA
The 4 elements of STMA are:
Feng Wei
Kickboxing
Grappling
Weapons
Those familiar with the Godai concept of 5 elements in Oriental philosophy will know how they relate to the chakra system of consciousness.
Some of you will have read my previous work on this subject and how they relate to the psychological and physical aspects of combat.
We are now able to relate each of the 4 elements of STMA to the 4 elements of earth, water, fire and wind.
EARTH - GRAPPLING
The Earth element stands for strength and stability. It is the mountain that does not move, the tree standing firm. In the body it stands for the bones and muscles, the physical structure of the body.
In STMA, earth is the grappling element. You stand firm, pull your enemy in and pull him to the ground. You keep him there, even after you walk away. You feel confident. There is no need to run away from the enemy or even "defend" as such. You invite him in and take him down.
WATER - FENG WEI
The Water element stands for adaptability. It is the rivers moving over the land, running to the ocean, the rain that falls from the sky.
Water cannot be broken, snapped or grabbed.
In STMA, water is the Feng Wei element. Based on Wing Chun, Jun Fan, and a large part of Kali, it is adaptive, defensive, evasive, yet powerful when it crashes in.
Water can arode a mountain and a flood can clear a village or knock down the strongest tree.
"Be like water" Bruce Lee advised his students.
In the body water refers to the blood and the liquids that make life possible.
FIRE - KICKBOXING
The Fire element stands for Power, energy, attack. Fire is all consuming, it burns up everything in it's path.
In STMA Fire is the Kickboxing element. It is the forward driving power of the boxer or Thai boxer. The powerful punches on the focus pads, the mighty kicks, knees and elbows on the Thai pads. It is the power of karate as it breaks through wood boards.
The opponent has no option to retreat into the corner. If he tries to hit back we cover, evade, take his bows on our gloves or shins, and hit him back even harder.
In the body Fire refers to metabolism, the use of energy.
WIND - WEAPONS
The wind element in STMA is weapons.
Just as the wind moves over the land, moving objects with it's unseen power, so you move across the floor with your footwork, wielding your stick in your hand.
The sticks cut the air like wind, the crack of wood on wood is like thunder, the stick moves fast as lightning and when it strikes the enemy it lights up his nervous system with a flash of pain.
In the body the Wind refers to the breath.
The VOID
The 5th element in the Godai system is the Void.
Void is nothingness - the space that must exist for the other elements to manifest in.
It is the space between the stars, the space between the atoms.
In the body, it is thought, the creativity that is the manifestation of all action.
If the other 4 elements are the gears of the car, Void is the neutral position, the space you shift through that makes gear changes possible.
In STMA, the Void state is when you are no longer manifesting one art, and are liberated from all structure, moving freely. It is what Bruce Lee called "Jeet Kune Do". The state of Mushin or Wu Wei. The place we all want to be.
Feng Wei
Kickboxing
Grappling
Weapons
Those familiar with the Godai concept of 5 elements in Oriental philosophy will know how they relate to the chakra system of consciousness.
Some of you will have read my previous work on this subject and how they relate to the psychological and physical aspects of combat.
We are now able to relate each of the 4 elements of STMA to the 4 elements of earth, water, fire and wind.
EARTH - GRAPPLING
The Earth element stands for strength and stability. It is the mountain that does not move, the tree standing firm. In the body it stands for the bones and muscles, the physical structure of the body.
In STMA, earth is the grappling element. You stand firm, pull your enemy in and pull him to the ground. You keep him there, even after you walk away. You feel confident. There is no need to run away from the enemy or even "defend" as such. You invite him in and take him down.
WATER - FENG WEI
The Water element stands for adaptability. It is the rivers moving over the land, running to the ocean, the rain that falls from the sky.
Water cannot be broken, snapped or grabbed.
In STMA, water is the Feng Wei element. Based on Wing Chun, Jun Fan, and a large part of Kali, it is adaptive, defensive, evasive, yet powerful when it crashes in.
Water can arode a mountain and a flood can clear a village or knock down the strongest tree.
"Be like water" Bruce Lee advised his students.
In the body water refers to the blood and the liquids that make life possible.
FIRE - KICKBOXING
The Fire element stands for Power, energy, attack. Fire is all consuming, it burns up everything in it's path.
In STMA Fire is the Kickboxing element. It is the forward driving power of the boxer or Thai boxer. The powerful punches on the focus pads, the mighty kicks, knees and elbows on the Thai pads. It is the power of karate as it breaks through wood boards.
The opponent has no option to retreat into the corner. If he tries to hit back we cover, evade, take his bows on our gloves or shins, and hit him back even harder.
In the body Fire refers to metabolism, the use of energy.
WIND - WEAPONS
The wind element in STMA is weapons.
Just as the wind moves over the land, moving objects with it's unseen power, so you move across the floor with your footwork, wielding your stick in your hand.
The sticks cut the air like wind, the crack of wood on wood is like thunder, the stick moves fast as lightning and when it strikes the enemy it lights up his nervous system with a flash of pain.
In the body the Wind refers to the breath.
The VOID
The 5th element in the Godai system is the Void.
Void is nothingness - the space that must exist for the other elements to manifest in.
It is the space between the stars, the space between the atoms.
In the body, it is thought, the creativity that is the manifestation of all action.
If the other 4 elements are the gears of the car, Void is the neutral position, the space you shift through that makes gear changes possible.
In STMA, the Void state is when you are no longer manifesting one art, and are liberated from all structure, moving freely. It is what Bruce Lee called "Jeet Kune Do". The state of Mushin or Wu Wei. The place we all want to be.
Friday 6 November 2009
Thursday 5th November
Well we certainly had some fireworks last night!
With a good turnout, we split the group into 3 sections:
green belts doing stix and chi sao
Kickboxers doing focus pad drills
Chick and Duck doing Muay Thai drills at the pads
I was able to stop the class at relevant points, to give everyone a break from their workout, and to demonstrate some of the advanced concepts that are starting to appear in Eskrima and Muay Thai, and how the concept of range is common to both unarmed combat and weapons combat.
We looked at the importance of close range guarding which allows you to crash and keep the corto range and demoed and drilled this for Thai, boxing and in serrada, with the roof block drill.
And there was sparring for all during the freeplay session.
The freeplay session in the last 20 minutes was the most diverse yet with some members choosing to carry on pad drill and some moving onto weapons including swords.
Members will be able to drill Thai and also spar Thai - if they have the proper protective gear.
A headguard is a must for proper boxing and Thai sparring - that much is now clear - at least at these earlier stages as sparring gets more advanced.
For the advanced students we will advance the sinawalli and introduce concepts for the basic drills such as 2 and 4. We will add the more tricky 5, 7 and 9 drills and also the offside concepts it applies to odd numbered counts.
Now we have the 3 ranges of serrada covered it is a matter of regular drilling - flight time.
There are some other serrada drills we will add soon - one thing at a time.
With a good turnout, we split the group into 3 sections:
green belts doing stix and chi sao
Kickboxers doing focus pad drills
Chick and Duck doing Muay Thai drills at the pads
I was able to stop the class at relevant points, to give everyone a break from their workout, and to demonstrate some of the advanced concepts that are starting to appear in Eskrima and Muay Thai, and how the concept of range is common to both unarmed combat and weapons combat.
We looked at the importance of close range guarding which allows you to crash and keep the corto range and demoed and drilled this for Thai, boxing and in serrada, with the roof block drill.
And there was sparring for all during the freeplay session.
The freeplay session in the last 20 minutes was the most diverse yet with some members choosing to carry on pad drill and some moving onto weapons including swords.
Members will be able to drill Thai and also spar Thai - if they have the proper protective gear.
A headguard is a must for proper boxing and Thai sparring - that much is now clear - at least at these earlier stages as sparring gets more advanced.
For the advanced students we will advance the sinawalli and introduce concepts for the basic drills such as 2 and 4. We will add the more tricky 5, 7 and 9 drills and also the offside concepts it applies to odd numbered counts.
Now we have the 3 ranges of serrada covered it is a matter of regular drilling - flight time.
There are some other serrada drills we will add soon - one thing at a time.
Thursday 5 November 2009
Shiro Tora Budo kai
Give it a fair go!
Don't just come to one class and decide you didn't like it.
Each class is different and the training is progressive. Try a few classes, 3 or maybe 4, before you decide.
We accept that some people will leave, just as new people will come along. Also not everybody will make every class.
But keep in mind we can tailor your training to what YOU want to learn and accomplish. It's not a rule that everybody practices then same. At a session we can have a couple of people kickboxing, a couple practicing locks, a couple working weapons.
Let me know what YOU want to see more or less of. Talk to me at class or send me an email. At Shiro Tora you have more latitude than at a "Traditional" class, so let us know what YOU want to gain from your time with us.
Don't just come to one class and decide you didn't like it.
Each class is different and the training is progressive. Try a few classes, 3 or maybe 4, before you decide.
We accept that some people will leave, just as new people will come along. Also not everybody will make every class.
But keep in mind we can tailor your training to what YOU want to learn and accomplish. It's not a rule that everybody practices then same. At a session we can have a couple of people kickboxing, a couple practicing locks, a couple working weapons.
Let me know what YOU want to see more or less of. Talk to me at class or send me an email. At Shiro Tora you have more latitude than at a "Traditional" class, so let us know what YOU want to gain from your time with us.
White Tiger Martial Arts
Open to anyone
Whether you are a complete beginner or seasoned black belt, a competition fighter, or just somebody interested in Self Protection, we have something for you.
Everyone will be able to work at their own pace, so this is an ideal class for beginners and ladies, but also for students who want to go a bit faster and harder and learn a bit quicker.
One of our mottos is:
"Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative".
This means we take what you are good at and help you polish and improve it, help you get even better. We then take what you are not so good at and bring you up to speed. Our aim is to make you a fully functional Martial Artist at all ranges, fill in the blanks, and make what you do fully functional for the real world.
Another of our mottos is:
"Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, add what is specifically your own"
(quoted from the late, great Bruce Lee, the original cross-trainer)
which does exactly what it says. You take what is useful to you (including what you learn here), discard what is useless (including what you learn here), and add what is your own, to develop your own unique style of fighting that works for you.
Whether you are a complete beginner or seasoned black belt, a competition fighter, or just somebody interested in Self Protection, we have something for you.
Everyone will be able to work at their own pace, so this is an ideal class for beginners and ladies, but also for students who want to go a bit faster and harder and learn a bit quicker.
One of our mottos is:
"Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative".
This means we take what you are good at and help you polish and improve it, help you get even better. We then take what you are not so good at and bring you up to speed. Our aim is to make you a fully functional Martial Artist at all ranges, fill in the blanks, and make what you do fully functional for the real world.
Another of our mottos is:
"Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, add what is specifically your own"
(quoted from the late, great Bruce Lee, the original cross-trainer)
which does exactly what it says. You take what is useful to you (including what you learn here), discard what is useless (including what you learn here), and add what is your own, to develop your own unique style of fighting that works for you.
Wednesday 4 November
Another good session.
Everyone got to try hubud, both stick and empty hand, and some locks.
Seniors (green belts) got to practice sinawalli and work on chi sao.
We did a HIA trapping session for the whole class, and you all now know how those moves in Enter The Dragon really work.
Green belts will soon be able to apply trapping skills in chi sao and most members find they eventually come out in boxing as well.
The usual sparring session at the end.
Little J did really well beating everybody up with her pink gloves.
And it was nice to see James return for another session.
Everyone got to try hubud, both stick and empty hand, and some locks.
Seniors (green belts) got to practice sinawalli and work on chi sao.
We did a HIA trapping session for the whole class, and you all now know how those moves in Enter The Dragon really work.
Green belts will soon be able to apply trapping skills in chi sao and most members find they eventually come out in boxing as well.
The usual sparring session at the end.
Little J did really well beating everybody up with her pink gloves.
And it was nice to see James return for another session.
Saturday 31 October 2009
Chi sao
At STMA our sparring encompasses kb, grappling, MMA and chi sao.
It's hard to explain chi sao in writing and it's quite hard to see what it actually is if you are uninitated.
We practice basic luk sao roll drill as part of our FW drilling. It will instantly improve your trapping and locking sensitivity.
Chi sao has to be handed to a student by a Sifu and one stage at a time. I have to constantly check your position before allowing you to advance with each other. It takes time, but it's worth it.
We take the Jun Fan approach rather than the hard fixed WC approach, and you don't need to learn Sil Lum Tao first.
Chi sao is one of the areas in MA that is not often taught properly, especially by Westerners taught by Westerners with no real Chinese lineage.
As it's hard to see what it really is, unlike boxing or grappling, it's easy to misinterpret and get wrong.
Our chi sao is very adapted. It starts in Traditional WC, then works to Modified, the Jun Fan, which is much looser and works from a boxing stance.
WC enters quickly to chi sao, while JF is fully functional in the KB phase.
It's been said that chi sao is an expression of the Sil Lum Tao form in combat. I always interpret that as refering to an expression of the concepts of Sil Lum Tao as opposed to the literal techiques.
I won't be expecting members to learn the Sil Lum Tao form, or any WC forms, but we will do SLT exercises and definately expound the concepts in combat.
I was talking to one of the STMA students who had some previous chi sao experience and he mentioned something he had been told previously about the position of bon sao having to be 45 degrees.
This is a classic example of somebody who doesn't know what they are talking about!
This person did not understand Sil Lum Tao or Chi Sao at all.
Let me explain.
The first thing you learn is Tan Sao. In tan sao the arm is fixed at 45 deg. You use this as a bridge and block.
You then learn fok sao - the "bridge arm".
Once you have these you roll tan to bon sao.
Bon sao is the third arm position you learn.
If your tan sao is properly developed before you start rolling
YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE BON SAO AT 45 DEG!
What Paul mentioned was a class where the student's structures collapse and the hand at bon pulls in towards the body. This is because they were not taught SLT properly - how to fix tan sao and fok sao before ever rolling to bon sao.
If tan sao and the roll are properly trained there is no need to ever think about this bon sao "compensation"!
SLT training ensures the structures are correct from day one so there is no need for later correction.
EMPTY YOUR CUP and forget what you think you know!
It's hard to explain chi sao in writing and it's quite hard to see what it actually is if you are uninitated.
We practice basic luk sao roll drill as part of our FW drilling. It will instantly improve your trapping and locking sensitivity.
Chi sao has to be handed to a student by a Sifu and one stage at a time. I have to constantly check your position before allowing you to advance with each other. It takes time, but it's worth it.
We take the Jun Fan approach rather than the hard fixed WC approach, and you don't need to learn Sil Lum Tao first.
Chi sao is one of the areas in MA that is not often taught properly, especially by Westerners taught by Westerners with no real Chinese lineage.
As it's hard to see what it really is, unlike boxing or grappling, it's easy to misinterpret and get wrong.
Our chi sao is very adapted. It starts in Traditional WC, then works to Modified, the Jun Fan, which is much looser and works from a boxing stance.
WC enters quickly to chi sao, while JF is fully functional in the KB phase.
It's been said that chi sao is an expression of the Sil Lum Tao form in combat. I always interpret that as refering to an expression of the concepts of Sil Lum Tao as opposed to the literal techiques.
I won't be expecting members to learn the Sil Lum Tao form, or any WC forms, but we will do SLT exercises and definately expound the concepts in combat.
I was talking to one of the STMA students who had some previous chi sao experience and he mentioned something he had been told previously about the position of bon sao having to be 45 degrees.
This is a classic example of somebody who doesn't know what they are talking about!
This person did not understand Sil Lum Tao or Chi Sao at all.
Let me explain.
The first thing you learn is Tan Sao. In tan sao the arm is fixed at 45 deg. You use this as a bridge and block.
You then learn fok sao - the "bridge arm".
Once you have these you roll tan to bon sao.
Bon sao is the third arm position you learn.
If your tan sao is properly developed before you start rolling
YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE BON SAO AT 45 DEG!
What Paul mentioned was a class where the student's structures collapse and the hand at bon pulls in towards the body. This is because they were not taught SLT properly - how to fix tan sao and fok sao before ever rolling to bon sao.
If tan sao and the roll are properly trained there is no need to ever think about this bon sao "compensation"!
SLT training ensures the structures are correct from day one so there is no need for later correction.
EMPTY YOUR CUP and forget what you think you know!
MMA and VT progression
The best way to get MMA sessions working is to do the hard, heavy, sweaty rolling first, then stand up and add back in the kb phase.
Also, a fighter will be tired and well into the fight at this point so it feels more like a real fight than a sparring session. The range closes down quickly as the 2 fighters are prepared to go to the ground and carry on there.
We'll drill Thai roll, VT chokes, and HKE, as a standard part of this session, as well as some functional throws and takedowns, see if they come out naturally in the matches.
One thing we did note was that the proer use of Muay Thai makes all the difference - just using the cross to cave the guard and hacking the leg changes the game dramatically. We'll drill for that as well.
Also, a fighter will be tired and well into the fight at this point so it feels more like a real fight than a sparring session. The range closes down quickly as the 2 fighters are prepared to go to the ground and carry on there.
We'll drill Thai roll, VT chokes, and HKE, as a standard part of this session, as well as some functional throws and takedowns, see if they come out naturally in the matches.
One thing we did note was that the proer use of Muay Thai makes all the difference - just using the cross to cave the guard and hacking the leg changes the game dramatically. We'll drill for that as well.
Closing the gap
Defending the clinch to "stop a fight going to the ground" is a lot harder than you might think. Anyone who's done full ranges MMA sparring wil know this.
Unfortunately many who haven't assume they have the answers.
There are a lot of Wing Chun people who claim to have effective "defences against a Kickboxer" or "against a grappler" but they never try them out in free sparring real time, they just do them in theory.
If you watch things like UFC you don't see WC people entering and keeping the grapplers at bay with traps and blasts - it just doesn't happen that way.
Having said that, the WC adaptations into Jun Fan that Bruce made do work against a KB or grappler, and are played regularly in JKD training clubs - we do the same drills here.
So as for the "Wing Chun" phase the JF will work on the mat in MMA as will the Feng Wei, as they cover the KB and grappling phases.
But don't expect some WC stuff you've been shown in some club by a landswimmer who's only seen MMA and UFC on TV from the comfort of his armchair to work against a real shoot - the clinch will happen and you will go down!
A good example I've been using - go outside the confines of MA and watch concepts from athletics. An athlete can do a 100 metre sprint in around 10 seconds. That's 10 metres a second.
How fast does the gap of under 2 metres across the mat get closed? That's why grappling range happens and why it's almost impossible to stop.
You need to learn how to fight on the floor.
Unfortunately many who haven't assume they have the answers.
There are a lot of Wing Chun people who claim to have effective "defences against a Kickboxer" or "against a grappler" but they never try them out in free sparring real time, they just do them in theory.
If you watch things like UFC you don't see WC people entering and keeping the grapplers at bay with traps and blasts - it just doesn't happen that way.
Having said that, the WC adaptations into Jun Fan that Bruce made do work against a KB or grappler, and are played regularly in JKD training clubs - we do the same drills here.
So as for the "Wing Chun" phase the JF will work on the mat in MMA as will the Feng Wei, as they cover the KB and grappling phases.
But don't expect some WC stuff you've been shown in some club by a landswimmer who's only seen MMA and UFC on TV from the comfort of his armchair to work against a real shoot - the clinch will happen and you will go down!
A good example I've been using - go outside the confines of MA and watch concepts from athletics. An athlete can do a 100 metre sprint in around 10 seconds. That's 10 metres a second.
How fast does the gap of under 2 metres across the mat get closed? That's why grappling range happens and why it's almost impossible to stop.
You need to learn how to fight on the floor.
Thursday 29 October 2009
Martial Arts Croydon
Our Touch Croydon ad for Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts Croydon area:
http://www.touchcroydon.com/business/list/bid/6687194#
http://www.touchcroydon.com/business/list/bid/6687194#
Corto range
The corto range is the place where ranges overlap and contrasts collide.
An obvious example is hubud - a Kali drill that can be performed with stick, knife, or empty hand, or empty hand against knife, against stick, or stick against knife. As locks work best at corto, these will differ depending on whether the opponent holds a stick or a knife, if you do, or if you both do.
In unarmed combat - boxers get kind of stuck in corto and wait for the referee to seperate them, while Thai boxers clinch and use the knee. Grapplers want to be in corto, in a clinch, safe from being kicked and punched, where they can work at getting a throw or takedown so they can be on the floor where they are master.
We will work at making corto a functional range for weapons and unarmed combat.
To be a White Tiger means that you fear no man at ANY range!
An obvious example is hubud - a Kali drill that can be performed with stick, knife, or empty hand, or empty hand against knife, against stick, or stick against knife. As locks work best at corto, these will differ depending on whether the opponent holds a stick or a knife, if you do, or if you both do.
In unarmed combat - boxers get kind of stuck in corto and wait for the referee to seperate them, while Thai boxers clinch and use the knee. Grapplers want to be in corto, in a clinch, safe from being kicked and punched, where they can work at getting a throw or takedown so they can be on the floor where they are master.
We will work at making corto a functional range for weapons and unarmed combat.
To be a White Tiger means that you fear no man at ANY range!
Wednesday 28th October
This was our most advanced grappling session yet and we were really able to get into some depth with the application of Jujutsu on the ground.
Attended by all seniors - no beginners, new members or beginners - and everyone had a gi jacket - and 6 members training on 10 mats throughout the session.
We started from standing and looked at the neck clinch, the Thai roll drill, and pull to hara clinch and the belt. We then looked at the 2 main hadaka VT shime - the sleeper and guillotine.
Then we went to the mat.
From kneeling we looked at how to get to the pin with different kneeling "throws". We looked at strategies to use against different kind of opponents such as Judoka, Jujutsu fighter, wrestlers, and shooter who have mastered "knee walking".
We looked at stabilising the pins - kesa, yoko and the mount, and how to get finishes from there with armlocks and chokes.
We looked at the guard, how to stablise as well as pass and counter. We looked at ways to finish from the guard using a lock or choke.
Finally all members were able to roll and try their grappling out in free sparring.
This was more or less a total ground session, an advanced total ground session. There was no KB or MMA element, or any weapons.
Obviously new members will need to learn basic grappling - the pins and finishes.
But for senior members we will be able to build on what we did last night, with more complicated finishes and drills, things we can bring out in your ground-sparring.
And we still need to look at ways to get there - ie throws, and make the throw for throw drill a regular part of mat day.
I will most likely instruct the seniors first in throw for throw while new members work on the basics they need.
We will look deeper into the Thai roll drill and the escapes, and we will work to perfect the VT standing chokes, their use in Self Defence, in "bouncing", and how they can be used on the ground.
As we are getting the seniors into chi sao at this time, we will blend the three arts of Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Jujutsu at this standing grappling range to create a comprehensive personal program that works!
The corto range is the place where ranges overlap and contrasts collide.
An obvious example is hubud - a Kali drill that can be performed with stick, knife, or empty hand, or empty hand against knife, against stick, or stick against knife. As locks work best at corto, these will differ depending on whether the opponent holds a stick or a knife, if you do, or if you both do.
In unarmed combat - boxers get kind of stuck in corto and wait for the referee to seperate them, while Thai boxers clinch and use the knee. Grapplers want to be in corto, in a clinch, safe from being kicked and punched, where they can work at getting a throw or takedown so they can be on the floor where they are master.
We will work at making corto a functional range for weapons and unarmed combat.
To be a White Tiger means that you fear no man at ANY range!
Attended by all seniors - no beginners, new members or beginners - and everyone had a gi jacket - and 6 members training on 10 mats throughout the session.
We started from standing and looked at the neck clinch, the Thai roll drill, and pull to hara clinch and the belt. We then looked at the 2 main hadaka VT shime - the sleeper and guillotine.
Then we went to the mat.
From kneeling we looked at how to get to the pin with different kneeling "throws". We looked at strategies to use against different kind of opponents such as Judoka, Jujutsu fighter, wrestlers, and shooter who have mastered "knee walking".
We looked at stabilising the pins - kesa, yoko and the mount, and how to get finishes from there with armlocks and chokes.
We looked at the guard, how to stablise as well as pass and counter. We looked at ways to finish from the guard using a lock or choke.
Finally all members were able to roll and try their grappling out in free sparring.
This was more or less a total ground session, an advanced total ground session. There was no KB or MMA element, or any weapons.
Obviously new members will need to learn basic grappling - the pins and finishes.
But for senior members we will be able to build on what we did last night, with more complicated finishes and drills, things we can bring out in your ground-sparring.
And we still need to look at ways to get there - ie throws, and make the throw for throw drill a regular part of mat day.
I will most likely instruct the seniors first in throw for throw while new members work on the basics they need.
We will look deeper into the Thai roll drill and the escapes, and we will work to perfect the VT standing chokes, their use in Self Defence, in "bouncing", and how they can be used on the ground.
As we are getting the seniors into chi sao at this time, we will blend the three arts of Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Jujutsu at this standing grappling range to create a comprehensive personal program that works!
The corto range is the place where ranges overlap and contrasts collide.
An obvious example is hubud - a Kali drill that can be performed with stick, knife, or empty hand, or empty hand against knife, against stick, or stick against knife. As locks work best at corto, these will differ depending on whether the opponent holds a stick or a knife, if you do, or if you both do.
In unarmed combat - boxers get kind of stuck in corto and wait for the referee to seperate them, while Thai boxers clinch and use the knee. Grapplers want to be in corto, in a clinch, safe from being kicked and punched, where they can work at getting a throw or takedown so they can be on the floor where they are master.
We will work at making corto a functional range for weapons and unarmed combat.
To be a White Tiger means that you fear no man at ANY range!
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Knife sparring
Gets the heart racing when you read that title doesn't it?
Obviously we don't use a real knife for this - or even a dummy knife.
We use a felt tip pen.
This way you know when you're really getting cut and if your defence works. Then you can go away and drill specifics to eliminate where you went wrong.
Fighting with a pen is the ultimate pressure test of your knife skills - well, without doing it for real, which is not the place to find out of they work or not (especially "or not"!)
Many "pedestallers" find out the hard way that they really can't defend against a real knife attack by trying his sparring method.
Many don't even want to try it.
Obviously we don't use a real knife for this - or even a dummy knife.
We use a felt tip pen.
This way you know when you're really getting cut and if your defence works. Then you can go away and drill specifics to eliminate where you went wrong.
Fighting with a pen is the ultimate pressure test of your knife skills - well, without doing it for real, which is not the place to find out of they work or not (especially "or not"!)
Many "pedestallers" find out the hard way that they really can't defend against a real knife attack by trying his sparring method.
Many don't even want to try it.
Vale Tudo/MMA with knives
In VT, we spar a knife man, with pen, against an unarmed fighter - all MMA rules of sparring apply, but the unarmed man has the added dimension of having to make sure he doesn't get cut - that includes in closing, in the clinch, and on the ground.
I always wear my best gi for this - which gives me the added incentive of not getting pen marks all over it!
We can also spar knife vs knife the same as we do stick v stick VT.
When WE "mix the martial arts" at STMA, we mix the weapons in as well!
I always wear my best gi for this - which gives me the added incentive of not getting pen marks all over it!
We can also spar knife vs knife the same as we do stick v stick VT.
When WE "mix the martial arts" at STMA, we mix the weapons in as well!
Ground fighting progression
It is important to drill the progression from grappling to MMA to Vale Tudo.
In Judo you can win by holding the pin. In Submission wrestling you have to get the tap. In MMA there will be strikes with the gloves, and in all out Vale Tudo and the fights we saw in the original UFC you will have heads, knees and elbows to deal with.
But as Royce Gracie so expertly showed us, get that pin secured and there's nothing the opponent will be able to get you with. Then you can work your finish.
In Judo you can win by holding the pin. In Submission wrestling you have to get the tap. In MMA there will be strikes with the gloves, and in all out Vale Tudo and the fights we saw in the original UFC you will have heads, knees and elbows to deal with.
But as Royce Gracie so expertly showed us, get that pin secured and there's nothing the opponent will be able to get you with. Then you can work your finish.
Vale Tudo and MMA sparring
Vale Tudo literally means "anything goes". It is where Martial Artists meet to try all out fighting. It is very different from the watered down safety ruled MMA of today. See original UFCs 1 to 5 for details.
Vale Tudo is to MMA what bare knuckle boxing is to boxing or original Muay Thai, with rope bound hands and full contact elbows is to modern Europen Thai Boxing.
MMA sparring is a safe way to combine kb and grappling.
MMA, in it's basic form it is a combination of kb and rolling.
OK, we deal with the vertical grappling phase with Thai HKE and we practice various throws. But, if you watch MMA, you rarely see a skilled throw, and never an "ippon" that finishes the fight - it kind of just goes to the ground and it is there that you need rolling skill to finish.
We do this by sparring until a clinch occurred generically. As you know from boxing matches, this happens all the time.
We remove the vertical grappling deliberately by freezing at this point, then kneeling, to continue with rolling. This practice also gives the fighter who prefers to wear boxing gloves for the kb phase to remove them for grappling.
We examine the element that in MMA and VT there will be striking in the ground phase, not just submission wrestling.
We capitalise on the MMA on the mat by having the usual "wood" kb, mat rolling, and then Mixed Martial Arts on mat mixing the martial arts of kb and grappling.
(Maybe we could call this MWTMA - Mixed White Tiger Martial Arts!?)
What we also do is look at the throws and takedowns phase seperately.
If you watch UFC and MMA contests you don't see skilled throws as you do in Judo or wrestling.
The reason for this is the striking at the vertical grappling phase. In Judo you grab on and then fight for throws. The same in wrestling. When your opponent is hitting you with knees it changes the game.
You do get a lot of improvised takedowns -when the knee-er is on one leg he is easier to off balance. Also the leg can be caught. But the grappler needs to be wary of being hit with that knee.
And in VT or street combat you will also have to worry about the elbow and the head, the full HKE.
So we will drill skilled throwing, and those who want can practice Judo randori and wrestling freestyle.
However for MMA we need to do realistic drilling that incorporates the HKE in the vertical grappling phase. Once we have this we won't need to "stop and kneel" everytime.
(Though stop and kneel is a good isolation exercise)
Similarly, in the kb we play the Thai knee phase.
In Thai, there is knee sparring where you tie up and fight with just knees, which is an important phase of Thai and a great skill in itself. If the opponent goes to the floor in knee spar, in Thai you break. In MMA, VT or Street, you would follow in with a strike - a drop knee or kick.
The Thai "throw" is called a "thum" and is a very effective throw for VT.
Vale Tudo is to MMA what bare knuckle boxing is to boxing or original Muay Thai, with rope bound hands and full contact elbows is to modern Europen Thai Boxing.
MMA sparring is a safe way to combine kb and grappling.
MMA, in it's basic form it is a combination of kb and rolling.
OK, we deal with the vertical grappling phase with Thai HKE and we practice various throws. But, if you watch MMA, you rarely see a skilled throw, and never an "ippon" that finishes the fight - it kind of just goes to the ground and it is there that you need rolling skill to finish.
We do this by sparring until a clinch occurred generically. As you know from boxing matches, this happens all the time.
We remove the vertical grappling deliberately by freezing at this point, then kneeling, to continue with rolling. This practice also gives the fighter who prefers to wear boxing gloves for the kb phase to remove them for grappling.
We examine the element that in MMA and VT there will be striking in the ground phase, not just submission wrestling.
We capitalise on the MMA on the mat by having the usual "wood" kb, mat rolling, and then Mixed Martial Arts on mat mixing the martial arts of kb and grappling.
(Maybe we could call this MWTMA - Mixed White Tiger Martial Arts!?)
What we also do is look at the throws and takedowns phase seperately.
If you watch UFC and MMA contests you don't see skilled throws as you do in Judo or wrestling.
The reason for this is the striking at the vertical grappling phase. In Judo you grab on and then fight for throws. The same in wrestling. When your opponent is hitting you with knees it changes the game.
You do get a lot of improvised takedowns -when the knee-er is on one leg he is easier to off balance. Also the leg can be caught. But the grappler needs to be wary of being hit with that knee.
And in VT or street combat you will also have to worry about the elbow and the head, the full HKE.
So we will drill skilled throwing, and those who want can practice Judo randori and wrestling freestyle.
However for MMA we need to do realistic drilling that incorporates the HKE in the vertical grappling phase. Once we have this we won't need to "stop and kneel" everytime.
(Though stop and kneel is a good isolation exercise)
Similarly, in the kb we play the Thai knee phase.
In Thai, there is knee sparring where you tie up and fight with just knees, which is an important phase of Thai and a great skill in itself. If the opponent goes to the floor in knee spar, in Thai you break. In MMA, VT or Street, you would follow in with a strike - a drop knee or kick.
The Thai "throw" is called a "thum" and is a very effective throw for VT.
Vale Tudo
Vale Tudo is from the Brazilian, it means "anything goes".
Basically it mixes kickboxing and grappling, what is now being referred to as Mixed Martial Arts in competitions.
There is also the lighter option of Jujutsu Kumite which mixes light contact karate style points sparring with Judo throws and newaza.
VT also includes "ground and pound" - striking while on the ground in a grapple.
Every dimension of unarmed combat is examined, drilled and sparred.
Basically it mixes kickboxing and grappling, what is now being referred to as Mixed Martial Arts in competitions.
There is also the lighter option of Jujutsu Kumite which mixes light contact karate style points sparring with Judo throws and newaza.
VT also includes "ground and pound" - striking while on the ground in a grapple.
Every dimension of unarmed combat is examined, drilled and sparred.
Locks
Shioda Shihan 10th Dan Aikido lists 160 techniques in his texts, though it must be said that many of these are just very subtle variations.
He lists 10 variations of ikkyo alone. However 5 of these are individual waza in their own right. The same applies to the first three forms of nikyo.
So it is fair to say there are 100 locks in Jujutsu, just as there are 100 throws.
That makes 200 techniques to learn from standing grappling!
He lists 10 variations of ikkyo alone. However 5 of these are individual waza in their own right. The same applies to the first three forms of nikyo.
So it is fair to say there are 100 locks in Jujutsu, just as there are 100 throws.
That makes 200 techniques to learn from standing grappling!
Locks
We have 5 major HIJI WAZA elbow locks and five major TEBUKI WAZA wrist locks we practice in STMA.
Hiji - elbow:
ikkyo - oshi taoshi - straight arm bar push down
ude gaeshi - figure four arm twist
hiki taoshi - inside arm bar push down
ude hineri - branch up arm twist
waki gatame - arm bar
tebuki - wrist:
kote gaeshi - wrist twist - supination
kote hineri - wrist turn - pronation
nikyo - hon gyaku - bent arm wrist bend
tenkai kote gaeshi
tenkai kote hineri - into sankyo, then hiki taoshi
sankyo - a variation on kote hineri
Hiji - elbow:
ikkyo - oshi taoshi - straight arm bar push down
ude gaeshi - figure four arm twist
hiki taoshi - inside arm bar push down
ude hineri - branch up arm twist
waki gatame - arm bar
tebuki - wrist:
kote gaeshi - wrist twist - supination
kote hineri - wrist turn - pronation
nikyo - hon gyaku - bent arm wrist bend
tenkai kote gaeshi
tenkai kote hineri - into sankyo, then hiki taoshi
sankyo - a variation on kote hineri
Jujutsu at White Tiger
Jujutsu at White Tiger
Our Jujutsu is based on Traditional Koryo Jujutsu, Kempo Goshin Jutsu and Sports Jujutsu.
We train through all 7 dimensions of grappling combat.
Newaza
Groundgrappling, as in Judo, BJJ and wrestling. Pins, chokes, and locks.
We grapple with gi jackets and without.
We also have Ground Fighting as in Vale Tudo and MMA where we keep the gloves on and allow striking in ground range.
Nage - Throws
As in Judo. We practice all kinds of throws and then apply them in randori free sparring.
As well as gi grappling, we use the wrestling concept of tieing up without grabbing the clothes.
Takedowns
Not the same as throws.
Double and single leg takedowns down from the outrange fall into this category.
After a takedown you have the option of following into grappling, locking the leg from standing, striking, or breaking away.
Catch kick takedowns
Fighting at Kickboxing range we catch or "shelf" the kick and perform our takedown.
Karate Sweeps
Fighting at Kickboxing range we sweep the leg to takedown the opponent, as part of an attack combination, or in defence
Projections
As in aikido, when we are grabbed on the wrist, sleeve or collar we use arm and wristlocks to project the opponent to the mat.
Handachi
This is when you are down and the opponent is standing.
In aikido there is a whole section called handachi for this. However, in the West, we don't kneel on the floor as they do in Japan. If you find yourself kneeling in front of a standing opponent you are at the takedown phase, so do a morote gari.
Our handachi would apply if you were sitting in a chair when attacked for example.
But the worst example of this is if you go down and are lying there while your opponent still stands and tries to kick you. The grappling response is to affect a leg takedown, which allows you to follow to grappling, or to get up and reverse the position - you standing, him lying.
Our Jujutsu is based on Traditional Koryo Jujutsu, Kempo Goshin Jutsu and Sports Jujutsu.
We train through all 7 dimensions of grappling combat.
Newaza
Groundgrappling, as in Judo, BJJ and wrestling. Pins, chokes, and locks.
We grapple with gi jackets and without.
We also have Ground Fighting as in Vale Tudo and MMA where we keep the gloves on and allow striking in ground range.
Nage - Throws
As in Judo. We practice all kinds of throws and then apply them in randori free sparring.
As well as gi grappling, we use the wrestling concept of tieing up without grabbing the clothes.
Takedowns
Not the same as throws.
Double and single leg takedowns down from the outrange fall into this category.
After a takedown you have the option of following into grappling, locking the leg from standing, striking, or breaking away.
Catch kick takedowns
Fighting at Kickboxing range we catch or "shelf" the kick and perform our takedown.
Karate Sweeps
Fighting at Kickboxing range we sweep the leg to takedown the opponent, as part of an attack combination, or in defence
Projections
As in aikido, when we are grabbed on the wrist, sleeve or collar we use arm and wristlocks to project the opponent to the mat.
Handachi
This is when you are down and the opponent is standing.
In aikido there is a whole section called handachi for this. However, in the West, we don't kneel on the floor as they do in Japan. If you find yourself kneeling in front of a standing opponent you are at the takedown phase, so do a morote gari.
Our handachi would apply if you were sitting in a chair when attacked for example.
But the worst example of this is if you go down and are lying there while your opponent still stands and tries to kick you. The grappling response is to affect a leg takedown, which allows you to follow to grappling, or to get up and reverse the position - you standing, him lying.
Jujutsu
The Jujutsu we practice here is Kempo Jujutsu.
It uses the close range kicks, punches and strikes of Kempo (Iron Fist) backed up with the techniques of Jujutsu such as chokes, strangles, locks, controls, throws, takedowns, groundfighting, and grappling.
Also called Goshin Jutsu and Combat Jujutsu it is a modern systems of self defence and the perfect complement to the Combat Karate of Shiro Tora.
It uses the close range kicks, punches and strikes of Kempo (Iron Fist) backed up with the techniques of Jujutsu such as chokes, strangles, locks, controls, throws, takedowns, groundfighting, and grappling.
Also called Goshin Jutsu and Combat Jujutsu it is a modern systems of self defence and the perfect complement to the Combat Karate of Shiro Tora.
Martial Arts Caterham
Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts - Caterham, Surrey, Croydon. Martial Arts Schools Directory ...
Martial Arts Schools Directory - Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts - Caterham, Surrey, Croydon
A google search:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=martial+arts+caterham&meta=&aq=f&oq=
Turns up our online ad:
http://www.martialedge.net/martial-arts-school-directory/shiro-tora-white-tiger-martial-arts-%11-caterham,-surrey,-croydon/
Martial Arts Schools Directory - Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts - Caterham, Surrey, Croydon
A google search:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=martial+arts+caterham&meta=&aq=f&oq=
Turns up our online ad:
http://www.martialedge.net/martial-arts-school-directory/shiro-tora-white-tiger-martial-arts-%11-caterham,-surrey,-croydon/
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Shiro Tora Budo Kai White Tiger Martial Arts. Practical, Realistic Effective Street Self Defence. Close quarter combat training Applied Fighting Arts
Shiro Tora Budo Kai White Tiger Martial Arts. Practical, Realistic and Effective Street Self Defence. Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts.
Martial Arts, Self Defence, Street, Urban, Combat, Shiro Tora, White Tiger
Croydon, Caterham, Surrey
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Shiro Tora Budo Kai White Tiger Martial Arts. Practical, Realistic and Effective Street Self Defence. Close quarter combat training taken from the Applied Fighting Arts.
Martial Arts, Self Defence, Street, Urban, Combat, Shiro Tora, White Tiger
Croydon, Caterham, Surrey
Martial Arts, Self Defence, Street, Urban, Combat, Shiro Tora, White Tiger
Croydon, Caterham, Surrey
Saturday 24 October 2009
Karate compared to Kenjutsu
Karatedo in Japan is practiced a lot like Kenjutsu.
One of Funakoshi's maxims was "think of your hands and feet as swords".
Kendo is like karate kumite - you line up one step with a partner and put on armour for free sparring.
Iaido is kata - you practice with a live blade for a live feel, pre-arranged moves in sequence, and they all have bunkai which you need to understand in depth.
Batto is like tameshiwari - you cut for real against straw targets.
(You can't do this with a replica sword from Battle Orders!)
One of Funakoshi's maxims was "think of your hands and feet as swords".
Kendo is like karate kumite - you line up one step with a partner and put on armour for free sparring.
Iaido is kata - you practice with a live blade for a live feel, pre-arranged moves in sequence, and they all have bunkai which you need to understand in depth.
Batto is like tameshiwari - you cut for real against straw targets.
(You can't do this with a replica sword from Battle Orders!)
Shorin and Shorei kata
The Shorin katas are lighter and faster and suited for a smaller person, or people who like kicking.
This fighting style includes freestyle karate, semi contact, Lau Gar, TKD, largo mano.
The Shorei katas are heavier and stronger and suited for a larger person, or those who like to get stuck in.
This fighting style includes boxing, Thai boxing, FC KB, Judo, Wrestling, Krabi.
In sporting terms, Shorin is football and Shorei is rugby.
The katas are split between Shorin and Shorei.
Shorin includes:
3 Taikyoku
5 Heians
2 Kanku
Enpi
Shorei includes:
3 Tekkis
2 Bassai
Jion
Jitte
Ji'in
Hangetsu
So by the time you have done the first 20 kata, at 3rd dan, you will have 11 Shorin kata and 9 Shorei, a good mix.
This fighting style includes freestyle karate, semi contact, Lau Gar, TKD, largo mano.
The Shorei katas are heavier and stronger and suited for a larger person, or those who like to get stuck in.
This fighting style includes boxing, Thai boxing, FC KB, Judo, Wrestling, Krabi.
In sporting terms, Shorin is football and Shorei is rugby.
The katas are split between Shorin and Shorei.
Shorin includes:
3 Taikyoku
5 Heians
2 Kanku
Enpi
Shorei includes:
3 Tekkis
2 Bassai
Jion
Jitte
Ji'in
Hangetsu
So by the time you have done the first 20 kata, at 3rd dan, you will have 11 Shorin kata and 9 Shorei, a good mix.
Karate Katas - an explanation
Kihon kata
The basic kata. Teaches one step, one block and one strike. Also how to turn. The heian katas, and many other Shorin katas, are based on this basic pattern.
Heian
Called Pinan on Okinawa. Heian means "Peaceful mind", meaning that somebody who has perfected this series of 5 kata has a complete Self defence system and can protect themselves confidently.
Tekki
Called Naihinchi on Okinawa, as they were performed in the Naihinchi stance. Tekki are all performed in the Kiba Dachi horse stance. There are 3 Tekki kata, Tekki Shodan being the first you learn. They are strong Shorei kata.
Tekki means "Victory". Funakoshi was told by his teacher that they are the easiest and the hardest to learn. He spent 3 years learning each kata, spending a decade on the Tekki series alone. Like Heian, Tekki is almost a MA in it's own right.
Bassai
Called passai on Okinawa. Another Shorin kata, based on the moves of heian, specifically heian godan. A powerful combat kata meaning "to storm a fortress".
Bassai Dai is the second of the two bassai kata, but the first you learn.
Kanku
Called Kushanku on Okinawa after the Chinese fighting monk who introduced it to the island.
Kanku means "to look at the sky".
A Shorin kata, again based on the Heians, primarily Yondan and Nidan.
Jion
A powerful Shotokan kata that makes up a series with Heian Godan and the two Bassai.
At STMA this is the black belt kata
Jitte
The favourite kata of Master Enoeda. Meaning "10 Hands" - the person who has perfected this kata can successfully defend himself against 5 opponents.
This is the 2nd dan kata.
Taikyoku
Taikyoku refers to the singularity before the split into Ying and Yang polarity. It means harmony with the Universe, the goal of Zen.
Taikyoku Shodan is actually the Kihon Kata. However, practiced at black belt level it takes on a whole new meaning as basic technique becomes advanced technique.
The difference between a white belt doing Kihon kata and a black belt doing Taikyoku Shodan will be obvious to any observer.
A set of 3 kata.
Taikyoku Nidan introduces the high punch.
Taikyoku Sandan introduces the back stance and middle block.
On Okinawa, students learn the 3 taikyoku before the Pinans.
In STMA it's not until you get to black belt that you learn the other two Taikyoku.
You now have a greater appreciation of the Heians - they are no longer just some katas you did to get your first few belts.
The 3 Taikyokus and Heian Shodan make a nice series of 4.
H Ni to Go also makes a nice series of 4.
For 3rd dan there is no set kata or grading as such.
However you need to learn the next 2 Taikyoku, so you have all three, the next two tekki, so you have all three, and the next Bassai and Kanku. This fleshes out your understanding.
You then learn Ji'in, a Shorin kata based on Jion and Jitte, that makes a set of 3.
With Heian Godan, the Bassais, and the Jis, you have powerful set of 6 kata to perform.
Also, it's not just a case of knowing these kata, it's being able to break them down, perform the bunkai and teach them.
At 3rd dan you are awarded the title "Sensei" and the right to teach and grade your own students.
It is not something given away lightly, it as to be earned!
You now have the following kata:
3 Taikyoku
5 Heian
3 Tekki
2 Bassai
2 Kanku
Jion, Jitte and Jion
The next kata you learn are Enpi and Hangetsu.
Enpi is a Shorin kata, while Hangetsu is a strong Shorei kata.
You now have a total of 20 kata.
This is around the level we would look to promote you to 4th dan and award the title of Renshi
There are now 10 more kata we practice that you can learn over your progressive years in black belt training, if you wish:
Chinte, Gankaku, Meikyo, Seienchin, Wankan
Unsu, Nijushisho, Sochin, Gojushiho Dai, Gojushiho Sho
This makes a total of 30 Karate-Do Kata.
The basic kata. Teaches one step, one block and one strike. Also how to turn. The heian katas, and many other Shorin katas, are based on this basic pattern.
Heian
Called Pinan on Okinawa. Heian means "Peaceful mind", meaning that somebody who has perfected this series of 5 kata has a complete Self defence system and can protect themselves confidently.
Tekki
Called Naihinchi on Okinawa, as they were performed in the Naihinchi stance. Tekki are all performed in the Kiba Dachi horse stance. There are 3 Tekki kata, Tekki Shodan being the first you learn. They are strong Shorei kata.
Tekki means "Victory". Funakoshi was told by his teacher that they are the easiest and the hardest to learn. He spent 3 years learning each kata, spending a decade on the Tekki series alone. Like Heian, Tekki is almost a MA in it's own right.
Bassai
Called passai on Okinawa. Another Shorin kata, based on the moves of heian, specifically heian godan. A powerful combat kata meaning "to storm a fortress".
Bassai Dai is the second of the two bassai kata, but the first you learn.
Kanku
Called Kushanku on Okinawa after the Chinese fighting monk who introduced it to the island.
Kanku means "to look at the sky".
A Shorin kata, again based on the Heians, primarily Yondan and Nidan.
Jion
A powerful Shotokan kata that makes up a series with Heian Godan and the two Bassai.
At STMA this is the black belt kata
Jitte
The favourite kata of Master Enoeda. Meaning "10 Hands" - the person who has perfected this kata can successfully defend himself against 5 opponents.
This is the 2nd dan kata.
Taikyoku
Taikyoku refers to the singularity before the split into Ying and Yang polarity. It means harmony with the Universe, the goal of Zen.
Taikyoku Shodan is actually the Kihon Kata. However, practiced at black belt level it takes on a whole new meaning as basic technique becomes advanced technique.
The difference between a white belt doing Kihon kata and a black belt doing Taikyoku Shodan will be obvious to any observer.
A set of 3 kata.
Taikyoku Nidan introduces the high punch.
Taikyoku Sandan introduces the back stance and middle block.
On Okinawa, students learn the 3 taikyoku before the Pinans.
In STMA it's not until you get to black belt that you learn the other two Taikyoku.
You now have a greater appreciation of the Heians - they are no longer just some katas you did to get your first few belts.
The 3 Taikyokus and Heian Shodan make a nice series of 4.
H Ni to Go also makes a nice series of 4.
For 3rd dan there is no set kata or grading as such.
However you need to learn the next 2 Taikyoku, so you have all three, the next two tekki, so you have all three, and the next Bassai and Kanku. This fleshes out your understanding.
You then learn Ji'in, a Shorin kata based on Jion and Jitte, that makes a set of 3.
With Heian Godan, the Bassais, and the Jis, you have powerful set of 6 kata to perform.
Also, it's not just a case of knowing these kata, it's being able to break them down, perform the bunkai and teach them.
At 3rd dan you are awarded the title "Sensei" and the right to teach and grade your own students.
It is not something given away lightly, it as to be earned!
You now have the following kata:
3 Taikyoku
5 Heian
3 Tekki
2 Bassai
2 Kanku
Jion, Jitte and Jion
The next kata you learn are Enpi and Hangetsu.
Enpi is a Shorin kata, while Hangetsu is a strong Shorei kata.
You now have a total of 20 kata.
This is around the level we would look to promote you to 4th dan and award the title of Renshi
There are now 10 more kata we practice that you can learn over your progressive years in black belt training, if you wish:
Chinte, Gankaku, Meikyo, Seienchin, Wankan
Unsu, Nijushisho, Sochin, Gojushiho Dai, Gojushiho Sho
This makes a total of 30 Karate-Do Kata.
Karate Kata
For those wanting to grade in Traditional Karate-Do there is a kata assigned to each belt level:
9th Kihon kata
8th Heian Shodan
7th Heian Nidan
6th Heian Sandan
5th Heian Yondan
4th Heian Godan
3rd Tekki Shodan
2nd Bassai Dai
1st kyu Kanku Dai
black belts:
1st dan Jion
2nd Jitte
The kata we practice here is Japanese Shotokan kata.
However we also look at the ShotoKai versions of the kata for a more fuller understanding, and the Okinawan versions of the kata.
The Heians are called Pinan on Okinawa and performed slightly different. The Tekki are called Naihinchi, etc.
Nobody has to learn kata for STMA and I don't teach it in class regularly. It's there for people who want to add the dimension of kata to their training, or for those who want to learn the Traditional karate-Do.
I will sometimes teach a kata move and it's bunkai in class, explaining where it came from, to give students a deeper understanding, but they don't have to learn the whole kata.
In fact, I tend to start with bunkai and work back, so a kata is really a sequence of bunkai. This gives a greater understanding of what you are doing it for.
We also teach the 3 Wing Chun forms:
Sil Lum Tao
Chum Kil
Bil Jee
We also teach the Yang Tai Chi short form.
There will be weapons kata in the future for those who want to add that dimension to their kobudo.
We have kata for each of the Okinawan weapons:
Bo
Nuncha
Tonfa
Kama
Sai
in fact there are several nuncha kata we use.
There are forms for the WC Bart Charm Dao swords and the Kwane "Dragon" Pole, which is very different from Bo.
For the Japanese kobudo, "kata" means something different, so there are no set forms, although there is a Jo "kata" in Aikido worth learning.
9th Kihon kata
8th Heian Shodan
7th Heian Nidan
6th Heian Sandan
5th Heian Yondan
4th Heian Godan
3rd Tekki Shodan
2nd Bassai Dai
1st kyu Kanku Dai
black belts:
1st dan Jion
2nd Jitte
The kata we practice here is Japanese Shotokan kata.
However we also look at the ShotoKai versions of the kata for a more fuller understanding, and the Okinawan versions of the kata.
The Heians are called Pinan on Okinawa and performed slightly different. The Tekki are called Naihinchi, etc.
Nobody has to learn kata for STMA and I don't teach it in class regularly. It's there for people who want to add the dimension of kata to their training, or for those who want to learn the Traditional karate-Do.
I will sometimes teach a kata move and it's bunkai in class, explaining where it came from, to give students a deeper understanding, but they don't have to learn the whole kata.
In fact, I tend to start with bunkai and work back, so a kata is really a sequence of bunkai. This gives a greater understanding of what you are doing it for.
We also teach the 3 Wing Chun forms:
Sil Lum Tao
Chum Kil
Bil Jee
We also teach the Yang Tai Chi short form.
There will be weapons kata in the future for those who want to add that dimension to their kobudo.
We have kata for each of the Okinawan weapons:
Bo
Nuncha
Tonfa
Kama
Sai
in fact there are several nuncha kata we use.
There are forms for the WC Bart Charm Dao swords and the Kwane "Dragon" Pole, which is very different from Bo.
For the Japanese kobudo, "kata" means something different, so there are no set forms, although there is a Jo "kata" in Aikido worth learning.
Shiro Tora Karate - the White Tiger style
Our karate is Shiro Tora, Shihan's own style. As a 6th dan Kyoshi, Shihan is entitled to found his own style and call it what he wants. The style is Shiro Tora, the White Tiger style.
The background is the Funakoshi style developed in Japan from 1930 to 1950, originally called Shoto Kan (shoto's house). The modern Shotokan practiced in the UK is developed from Master Nakayama's 1957 JKA style. What is now called Shoto-Kai (Shoto's council), founded by Master Egami, is closer to Funakoshi's original Shoto-Kan.
Hence our style draws from modern Shotokan, which has more kumite drills, and ShotoKai, whch has more kata applications.
We also trace our style back to the Shorin and Shorei styles of Okinawa.
We also draw from Master Oyama's powerful kyukushinkai, especially some of our harder drills and knockdown kumite.
We have also studied Okinawan Goju and American Kenpo, to get a full flavour of the evolution of karate.
This karate system is kata based. We practice the 5 heian, 3 tekki, 2 bassai and 2 kanku as our first 12 forms. We then study a further 18 forms. Our study is heavy on bunkai, the application of the kata moves in self protection.
There are strong comparisons with Japanese Jujutsu and Chinese kung fu.
We also practice kihon solo drills, and kumite partner drills.
The background is the Funakoshi style developed in Japan from 1930 to 1950, originally called Shoto Kan (shoto's house). The modern Shotokan practiced in the UK is developed from Master Nakayama's 1957 JKA style. What is now called Shoto-Kai (Shoto's council), founded by Master Egami, is closer to Funakoshi's original Shoto-Kan.
Hence our style draws from modern Shotokan, which has more kumite drills, and ShotoKai, whch has more kata applications.
We also trace our style back to the Shorin and Shorei styles of Okinawa.
We also draw from Master Oyama's powerful kyukushinkai, especially some of our harder drills and knockdown kumite.
We have also studied Okinawan Goju and American Kenpo, to get a full flavour of the evolution of karate.
This karate system is kata based. We practice the 5 heian, 3 tekki, 2 bassai and 2 kanku as our first 12 forms. We then study a further 18 forms. Our study is heavy on bunkai, the application of the kata moves in self protection.
There are strong comparisons with Japanese Jujutsu and Chinese kung fu.
We also practice kihon solo drills, and kumite partner drills.
Freestyle Karate
Freestyle Karate and Semi Contact Kickboxing are pretty much the same thing. They have the same moves and ABCs and the same protective equipment and sparring rules.
J - Jab
gz - gyaku zuki
maw - mawashigeri - round kick
ura - uraken - backfist
haito - ridge hand
kek - kekome - side kick
mae - mygeri - front kick
hk - hook kick
r - rear
l - low
Basic ABCs:
J - gz
J - maw
gz - r ura
maw - gz
j - ura - gz
Gz - r haito
- henka "drive by"
- henka g, h, maw, ura
gz - j - gz
haito - gz
ura - gz - r maw
kek - ura
r maw - ura
ura - gz
mae - ura
maw - ura
angle maw
gz - r maw - gz
Advanced ABCs:
kek - maw - gz
gz - haito - r maw
hk - maw - kek
r maw - j - haito - hk
jump spin hook - gz
hk - spin hk - gz
(r hk) ura - spin ura - gz
lo j - spin hk
feint - hk - maw
kek - maw
maw - spin hk
gz - hk
gz - r hk
jump gz - maw
gz side door
- box guard
- SC guard
Sweeps:
hk, sweep, gz
ura - reap
de ashi - gz - r maw
Retreating:
jump haito
jump kek - spin hk
jump hk
kek, spin hook
defensive ABCs:
uke gz - r ged bar - r ura
uke gz - lo bon - ura
uke j - slip block - sweep - gz
J - Jab
gz - gyaku zuki
maw - mawashigeri - round kick
ura - uraken - backfist
haito - ridge hand
kek - kekome - side kick
mae - mygeri - front kick
hk - hook kick
r - rear
l - low
Basic ABCs:
J - gz
J - maw
gz - r ura
maw - gz
j - ura - gz
Gz - r haito
- henka "drive by"
- henka g, h, maw, ura
gz - j - gz
haito - gz
ura - gz - r maw
kek - ura
r maw - ura
ura - gz
mae - ura
maw - ura
angle maw
gz - r maw - gz
Advanced ABCs:
kek - maw - gz
gz - haito - r maw
hk - maw - kek
r maw - j - haito - hk
jump spin hook - gz
hk - spin hk - gz
(r hk) ura - spin ura - gz
lo j - spin hk
feint - hk - maw
kek - maw
maw - spin hk
gz - hk
gz - r hk
jump gz - maw
gz side door
- box guard
- SC guard
Sweeps:
hk, sweep, gz
ura - reap
de ashi - gz - r maw
Retreating:
jump haito
jump kek - spin hk
jump hk
kek, spin hook
defensive ABCs:
uke gz - r ged bar - r ura
uke gz - lo bon - ura
uke j - slip block - sweep - gz
Kihon - kata - kumite
Karate is made up of 3 parts - kihon, kata and kumite.
Kata I've explained in it's own post.
Kihon is a set of moved you practice on your own. Single punches, kicks, blocks and strikes.
These are first practiced on the spot, then moving - forward, backward, and turning.
Then you practice combinations.
Kumite is pre-arranged partner exercises.
Tori steps forward and punches, uke steps back and blocks. That sort of thing.
There is 5 step, 3 step and one step sparring, then one step semi free. Free kumite is free sparring.
In a way kata incorporates kihon and kumite, if done to it's obvious potential.
Take a section of kata and you are practicing kihon. Practice the bunkai with a partner and you are practicing kumite.
In fact, at Black Belt classes this is how I teach kata.
Students learn the basic kata on the way to Black Belt. I then use the kihon and kumite method to teach the advanced katas.
Kata I've explained in it's own post.
Kihon is a set of moved you practice on your own. Single punches, kicks, blocks and strikes.
These are first practiced on the spot, then moving - forward, backward, and turning.
Then you practice combinations.
Kumite is pre-arranged partner exercises.
Tori steps forward and punches, uke steps back and blocks. That sort of thing.
There is 5 step, 3 step and one step sparring, then one step semi free. Free kumite is free sparring.
In a way kata incorporates kihon and kumite, if done to it's obvious potential.
Take a section of kata and you are practicing kihon. Practice the bunkai with a partner and you are practicing kumite.
In fact, at Black Belt classes this is how I teach kata.
Students learn the basic kata on the way to Black Belt. I then use the kihon and kumite method to teach the advanced katas.
Tameshiwari
Tameshiwari means "trial by wood". It is the breaking of wood boards with the body weapons.
Traditionally this is done on a pine board as it has the same density as human bone.
It is said that to break 3 boards with a technique means you have mastered that technique.
Kyukushinkai have taken breaking to it's extreme, breaking bricks, stone, ice, and using all body weapons including the head.
TKD break boards with a range of kicks.
For 1st dan at ST Karate you need to break a board with both fudoken clenched fist and shuto knife hand.
For 2nd dan you need to break two boards.
For 3rd dan you need to break a stack of 3 boards with each. This shows you have mastered both the closed fist and knife had of karate.
Traditionally this is done on a pine board as it has the same density as human bone.
It is said that to break 3 boards with a technique means you have mastered that technique.
Kyukushinkai have taken breaking to it's extreme, breaking bricks, stone, ice, and using all body weapons including the head.
TKD break boards with a range of kicks.
For 1st dan at ST Karate you need to break a board with both fudoken clenched fist and shuto knife hand.
For 2nd dan you need to break two boards.
For 3rd dan you need to break a stack of 3 boards with each. This shows you have mastered both the closed fist and knife had of karate.
Friday 23 October 2009
STMA kit - Essential and recommended list
At some point every member will need kit to progress so we are now going to label certain kit as essential for STMA training:
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
You can make do with bag gloves for impact and light sparring.
However at some point you might want to consider boxing gloves for FC. You will also need a gumshield.
Stix
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Even if you are not intending to take your weapons training to any particular level, you will need to do these basic drills to make your STMA fully functional.
Judo gi
Specifically the jacket.
You need to wear something for grappling, and the proper gi is the best thing. Also advanced grappling and self defence makes use of the collar.
Recomended list:
Groin guard
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head
FC full face
Shinguards
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants
Boxing boots
Weapons
Bokken
Tonfa
Check the price list here:
http://shirotoratiger.blogspot.com/2009/08/feng-wei-at-white-tiger.html
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
You can make do with bag gloves for impact and light sparring.
However at some point you might want to consider boxing gloves for FC. You will also need a gumshield.
Stix
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Even if you are not intending to take your weapons training to any particular level, you will need to do these basic drills to make your STMA fully functional.
Judo gi
Specifically the jacket.
You need to wear something for grappling, and the proper gi is the best thing. Also advanced grappling and self defence makes use of the collar.
Recomended list:
Groin guard
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head
FC full face
Shinguards
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants
Boxing boots
Weapons
Bokken
Tonfa
Check the price list here:
http://shirotoratiger.blogspot.com/2009/08/feng-wei-at-white-tiger.html
Weapons sparring in 2010
This involves the skills built in the stick drills from Kali, Eskrima, Silat, and Krabi Krabong.
Like Kendo, we spar in armour.
Strikes are made to:
men - helmet
Do - body, though we also include the arms in stick
kote - wrists
Sune - we also strike to shins and knee - this is not done in standard kendo sparring, but it is done with naginata
We then remove the body armour.
We then remove the gloves
We then spar with just a fencing mask to protect the teeth and eyes (and nose for those of you who haven't had a break yet)
One of the goals for 2010 at STMA will be to add stick and the sword sparring in the armour.
We will use the excess funds to purchase 2 sets of student armour, then work to build up skill until weapon sparrng is as regular as rolling and kb.
We also spar nunchaku - with the foam chucks, though in armour we can use rattan chux.
Obviously we have the rattan stix for single and double sparring.
Members will need to look at getting either a rattan sword or shinai for kendo, rattan nuncha, and then later the longer rattan sticks Jo and Bo.
Oak weapons are OK for drilling but are not suitable for sparring, even in armour - we will use the lighter rattan weapons.
We'll start with stix then progress through the weapons.
As we have moved KB sparring up to Full Contact structure, adding boxing, kb and Thai, and full use of pads for drills, then protective equipment for the sparring, we'll do the same in the kobudo for those who want to take it to it's extremes.
Nobody HAS to do weapons work or sparring, it is something we are adding for those interested in exploring this diemnsion of MA and combat.
Like Kendo, we spar in armour.
Strikes are made to:
men - helmet
Do - body, though we also include the arms in stick
kote - wrists
Sune - we also strike to shins and knee - this is not done in standard kendo sparring, but it is done with naginata
We then remove the body armour.
We then remove the gloves
We then spar with just a fencing mask to protect the teeth and eyes (and nose for those of you who haven't had a break yet)
One of the goals for 2010 at STMA will be to add stick and the sword sparring in the armour.
We will use the excess funds to purchase 2 sets of student armour, then work to build up skill until weapon sparrng is as regular as rolling and kb.
We also spar nunchaku - with the foam chucks, though in armour we can use rattan chux.
Obviously we have the rattan stix for single and double sparring.
Members will need to look at getting either a rattan sword or shinai for kendo, rattan nuncha, and then later the longer rattan sticks Jo and Bo.
Oak weapons are OK for drilling but are not suitable for sparring, even in armour - we will use the lighter rattan weapons.
We'll start with stix then progress through the weapons.
As we have moved KB sparring up to Full Contact structure, adding boxing, kb and Thai, and full use of pads for drills, then protective equipment for the sparring, we'll do the same in the kobudo for those who want to take it to it's extremes.
Nobody HAS to do weapons work or sparring, it is something we are adding for those interested in exploring this diemnsion of MA and combat.
STMA Kit Price List
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50
Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Judo gi £30
Recomended list:
Groin guard £10
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30
Shinguards £10
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25
Weapons
Bokken £10
Tonfa £20 pair
Shinai £20
Gloves for sparring
Bag gloves for impact and light sparring £15
Boxing gloves for FC £20
Gumshield £1.50
Stix £15
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Judo gi £30
Recomended list:
Groin guard £10
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head £15
FC full face £30
Shinguards £10
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants or gi pants £10
Boxing boots £25
Weapons
Bokken £10
Tonfa £20 pair
Shinai £20
Thursday 22 October
We started with a group working for the first hour on traditional Jujutsu waza.
This involved responses against grabs to the gi collar.
This training comes from a traditional Jujutsu ryu and goes back centuries. We are able to give it a modern application as the 3 most common attacks in a street fight are:
1. Collar grab and reverse punch
2. Reverse punch
3. Double collar grab
Obviously people don't wear gi these days. But in winter you will most likely be wearing an overcoat or a leather jacket. If I am standing outside a nightclub at 11pm in November I certainly will be.
So I dress accordingly.
So I expect my collar to be grabbed
So I train accodingly
Make sense?
Against the grab and punch - using the back stance - kokutsu dachi - we gained control and then responded with a ken kudaki (not a block) and then variations on the basic wristlocks kote gaeshi and kote hineri.
Against the double collar grab we used two techniques to lock the shoulder and takedown or throw.
As we had time we also looked at Crane - an application from Bassai kata against the collar grab - striking to various kyusho pressure points including uchi jaku zawa, yako, and areas such as the ribs and sternum.
Seniors also practiced the ude kansetsu kyusho in the grab, and came to appreciate the usefulness of REAL pressure point fighting.
We then bifurcated the class into karate and kobudo where I was able to drill the paddies in karate ABCs for sparring, and drill the woodies in sinwallli and bokken.
There was sparring for all at the end during the freeplay.
POINTS TO NOTE:
There are 3 Points of View in a fight.
The attacker
The defender
A third person watching
It is important to view the fight from all 3 POVs to completely understand it. We cover this reguarly in STMA training.
Pressure points are one of the most misunderstood and exaggerated areas of MA.
Kyusho is the Japanese word.
PSNA stands for Pressure Sensitive Nerve Areas, an American anacronysm.
People who don't know about them claim there are anywhere between 25 and 360 and they do various things. You can buy lists and charts showing all kinds of alleged PSNA. Most of these do nothing. The ones that do something are meaningless unless you are shown how to apply them in combat in real tme.
For example, we punch to the chin for a KO. A groin kick will stop an attacker. But to actually land these shots you need to train for them, not just know them theoretically. So it is with PSNA.
I teach a primary list of 54 PSNA for use in combat.
(One for each week of the year more or less!)
I do not give out lists and charts to be memorised. You learn these PSNA in context, in the dojo, and you remember them.
There are 3 kinds of PSNA:
ones you strike
ones you press
ones you rub
What I NEVER want to see is people in class trying to explain to each other what PSNA are "There's one there", "there's one there", things like that. You learn these at the proper time in the proper context, not from some chart or book, or what "a mate who does Jujutsu showed me".
Practice, not theory!
Keep I mind you can strike and grind these points with stick as well as your "body tools".
Torite is the art of seizing limbs and locking joints.
It also covers kyusho - Pressure Points.
In Chinese this system is called Chin Na.
Although it is a subset of Jujutsu, Karate, Kung Fu, Kali, etc, it is also a complete MA system in it's own right if developed to a high enough level.
In class, you may hear me refer to Chin Na or Torite in context, or that we are having a "Chin Na" session.
Most Martial Arts teach you HOW to do a technique, how to punch, how to kick.
So do we - it's the basics.
But most MA have no idea WHY you do that technique or WHEN in the fight you do it.
WHY do you do a cross there?
WHY do a kick that particular way?
WHY use that throw or that lock?
WHY use that counter to that attack?
WHEN do you do it?
You can have the fastest punch or strongest kick in the world, but without a sense or proper timing you'll never land it. Without the proper sense of distance you'll never be in range, always too near or too far.
We don't just teach the HOW at STMA, we teach the WHY and WHEN.
This involved responses against grabs to the gi collar.
This training comes from a traditional Jujutsu ryu and goes back centuries. We are able to give it a modern application as the 3 most common attacks in a street fight are:
1. Collar grab and reverse punch
2. Reverse punch
3. Double collar grab
Obviously people don't wear gi these days. But in winter you will most likely be wearing an overcoat or a leather jacket. If I am standing outside a nightclub at 11pm in November I certainly will be.
So I dress accordingly.
So I expect my collar to be grabbed
So I train accodingly
Make sense?
Against the grab and punch - using the back stance - kokutsu dachi - we gained control and then responded with a ken kudaki (not a block) and then variations on the basic wristlocks kote gaeshi and kote hineri.
Against the double collar grab we used two techniques to lock the shoulder and takedown or throw.
As we had time we also looked at Crane - an application from Bassai kata against the collar grab - striking to various kyusho pressure points including uchi jaku zawa, yako, and areas such as the ribs and sternum.
Seniors also practiced the ude kansetsu kyusho in the grab, and came to appreciate the usefulness of REAL pressure point fighting.
We then bifurcated the class into karate and kobudo where I was able to drill the paddies in karate ABCs for sparring, and drill the woodies in sinwallli and bokken.
There was sparring for all at the end during the freeplay.
POINTS TO NOTE:
There are 3 Points of View in a fight.
The attacker
The defender
A third person watching
It is important to view the fight from all 3 POVs to completely understand it. We cover this reguarly in STMA training.
Pressure points are one of the most misunderstood and exaggerated areas of MA.
Kyusho is the Japanese word.
PSNA stands for Pressure Sensitive Nerve Areas, an American anacronysm.
People who don't know about them claim there are anywhere between 25 and 360 and they do various things. You can buy lists and charts showing all kinds of alleged PSNA. Most of these do nothing. The ones that do something are meaningless unless you are shown how to apply them in combat in real tme.
For example, we punch to the chin for a KO. A groin kick will stop an attacker. But to actually land these shots you need to train for them, not just know them theoretically. So it is with PSNA.
I teach a primary list of 54 PSNA for use in combat.
(One for each week of the year more or less!)
I do not give out lists and charts to be memorised. You learn these PSNA in context, in the dojo, and you remember them.
There are 3 kinds of PSNA:
ones you strike
ones you press
ones you rub
What I NEVER want to see is people in class trying to explain to each other what PSNA are "There's one there", "there's one there", things like that. You learn these at the proper time in the proper context, not from some chart or book, or what "a mate who does Jujutsu showed me".
Practice, not theory!
Keep I mind you can strike and grind these points with stick as well as your "body tools".
Torite is the art of seizing limbs and locking joints.
It also covers kyusho - Pressure Points.
In Chinese this system is called Chin Na.
Although it is a subset of Jujutsu, Karate, Kung Fu, Kali, etc, it is also a complete MA system in it's own right if developed to a high enough level.
In class, you may hear me refer to Chin Na or Torite in context, or that we are having a "Chin Na" session.
Most Martial Arts teach you HOW to do a technique, how to punch, how to kick.
So do we - it's the basics.
But most MA have no idea WHY you do that technique or WHEN in the fight you do it.
WHY do you do a cross there?
WHY do a kick that particular way?
WHY use that throw or that lock?
WHY use that counter to that attack?
WHEN do you do it?
You can have the fastest punch or strongest kick in the world, but without a sense or proper timing you'll never land it. Without the proper sense of distance you'll never be in range, always too near or too far.
We don't just teach the HOW at STMA, we teach the WHY and WHEN.
Thursday 22 October 2009
Grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo at Shiro Tora
The way we do this is start on the ground. We do some stretches from yoga that are relevant to the muscles used in grappling, then play some moves and transitions as a warmup. Then we pair up and play pins. We use the Newaza from Judo and the basic ground moves from Brazilian Jujutsu as they complement each other perfectly and don't leave any gaps.
Each pin has an escape and we play these, also drills such as pass the guard-escape the mount. Then we look at finishes from each position - chokes and locks. Then we look at the counters and reversals.
Then we stand up and look at throws, simple moves from Judo and wrestling such as Kata guruma - cross hip, seoinage - flying mare, o soto gari, simple stuff like that, so we know how to get there, and moves such as morote gari and other leg takedowns, and how not to get caught in the guard. Also pad drills on the ground, punching the pads while in the mount and guard.
Then by adding back in strikes to vertical grappling, the Thai clinch drill, and HKE, we can progress to kickboxing on the mat, and from the clinch, go to ground, practice ground and pound, and grappling.
With the new mats at the club, we can regularly explore grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo, and devote maybe an hour from a 2 hour class to this dimension of our fight training.
newaza shime - chokes
No gi:
hadaka bar
sleeper choke
sangaku triangle
do jime - body choke
guillotine
kata gatame - from kesa or mount
Gi:
ashi jime
juji jime
3 henka - gyaku, kata, nami
okuri eri jime
kata eri jime
kata hajime
kakato jime
koshi jime
sode jime
hadaka bar
sleeper choke
sangaku triangle
do jime - body choke
guillotine
kata gatame - from kesa or mount
Gi:
ashi jime
juji jime
3 henka - gyaku, kata, nami
okuri eri jime
kata eri jime
kata hajime
kakato jime
koshi jime
sode jime
newaza neck locks
from kesa
kesa neck crush
stocks
from mount - kubi neck crank
from guard - reverse crush
from 4s - atama hishigi - head crush
kesa neck crush
stocks
from mount - kubi neck crank
from guard - reverse crush
from 4s - atama hishigi - head crush
Newaza arm locks
Juji gatame
kuzure kuru garami - juji henka
kesa garami
gyaku kesa garami - from ushiro kesa
ude gatame
ude garami - 2 versions - up and down
hantai kujiki - straight arm
waki gatame
ashi gatame
kuzure kuru garami - juji henka
kesa garami
gyaku kesa garami - from ushiro kesa
ude gatame
ude garami - 2 versions - up and down
hantai kujiki - straight arm
waki gatame
ashi gatame
Newaza The Guard
Finishes from the guard:
Sangaku jime - triangle choke
Juji gatame - arm bar
3 versions - uke standing, lie back, facedown
further locks:
ryo hiza - double knee
shime garami - knee
ude hishigi
ude gaeshi
uberplata - arm lock
Sangaku jime - triangle choke
Juji gatame - arm bar
3 versions - uke standing, lie back, facedown
further locks:
ryo hiza - double knee
shime garami - knee
ude hishigi
ude gaeshi
uberplata - arm lock
Newaza Pins
We have 8 basic pins we use:
Kesa gatama - scarf hold
Kata gatama
Makura kesa gatame
yoko or mune gatame
tate shiho gatame
kami shiho gatame
kuzure kami shiho
ushiro kesa
we also have The Mount and The Guard
Kesa gatama - scarf hold
Kata gatama
Makura kesa gatame
yoko or mune gatame
tate shiho gatame
kami shiho gatame
kuzure kami shiho
ushiro kesa
we also have The Mount and The Guard
Judo Gokyo
The Gokyo are the 40 throws of Judo. They are split into 8 sets of 5, hence "go" kyo.
There are about 100 throws in Jujutsu, some of which are variations on a basic theme.
40 of these throws made the Judo gokyo, the safe format that can be used competitively in randori and shiai. You learn the gokyo in Judo as your syllabus on the way to your black belt.
However Judoka pick only 2 or 3 throws to focus on for their use in randori, with 2 or 3 as backup. Nobody tries to perfect all 40 throws for daily use. In fact, most competitors don't start to really examine the gokyo until they retire from competition and start working on getting their higher dan grades.
In STMA we have picked the most applicable throws whcih work in randori and have combat application.
Judoka who train with us need to keep in mind that what we practice is Jujutsu not Judo and we are ultimately interested in combat throws not competition moves.
We also practice throws without the gi jacket, using the "wrestling concept" of collar and elbow tie up.
Finally, in a Judo match you will be against another skilled grappler fighting for throws. Your opponent on the street will not be a skilled grappler. He will also not be restricted to grappling and will be trying to strike you and maybe have a weapon. This is fine with us as we practice Atemi strikes "Blow before throw", such as HKE.
There are about 100 throws in Jujutsu, some of which are variations on a basic theme.
40 of these throws made the Judo gokyo, the safe format that can be used competitively in randori and shiai. You learn the gokyo in Judo as your syllabus on the way to your black belt.
However Judoka pick only 2 or 3 throws to focus on for their use in randori, with 2 or 3 as backup. Nobody tries to perfect all 40 throws for daily use. In fact, most competitors don't start to really examine the gokyo until they retire from competition and start working on getting their higher dan grades.
In STMA we have picked the most applicable throws whcih work in randori and have combat application.
Judoka who train with us need to keep in mind that what we practice is Jujutsu not Judo and we are ultimately interested in combat throws not competition moves.
We also practice throws without the gi jacket, using the "wrestling concept" of collar and elbow tie up.
Finally, in a Judo match you will be against another skilled grappler fighting for throws. Your opponent on the street will not be a skilled grappler. He will also not be restricted to grappling and will be trying to strike you and maybe have a weapon. This is fine with us as we practice Atemi strikes "Blow before throw", such as HKE.
Throws
Though there are about 100 throws in Jujutsu and 40 that made the Judo gokyo, we have 10 primary combat throws which we will practice on the mats.
The first 5 are hip throw:
O Goshi - Major Hip Throw
Koshi Guruma or Cross hip or Hip Wheel
Tai Otoshi - body drop
Uchi mata - inner thigh throw
Harai goshi - sweeping hip throw
Seoinage - shoulder throw or flying mare
O Soto Gari - major outer reap
O Uchi Gari - Major inner reap
Morote Gari - double leg takedown
Single leg takedown
However as you progress through your training you will encounter many other throws. Some you will want to add to your personal repertoire, which is to be encouraged.
Shihan Mifune 10th Dan Judo lists over 100 throws in his texts. Coming from Jujutsu, these can all be classified as Judo throws.
Here are some of my favourite secondary throws:
Okuri ashi harai
Kata guruma - shoulder wheel
Soto makikomi
Tani otoshi - valley drop
Tomoe nage - stomach throw
Kani basami - crab scissors
Kuchiki taoshi - rotten tree fall
and three from wrestling:
belly-belly suplex
belly-back suplex
rice bail
However:
The rice bail appears in Judo as tawara gaeshi.
It is an excellent counter to morote gari attack from a shooter.
Belly back suplex appears in Judo as corner drop
Kuchiki is similar to aikido's irimi nage, though here we use an o soto step to block the back of the opponent's leg.
In Tomiki shomen ate is another variation of this technique.
That's 3 different variations from 3 different arts - Judo, Aikido, and Tomiki - arts that all stem from JJ.
That's what the eclecticism of STMA is all about!
The first 5 are hip throw:
O Goshi - Major Hip Throw
Koshi Guruma or Cross hip or Hip Wheel
Tai Otoshi - body drop
Uchi mata - inner thigh throw
Harai goshi - sweeping hip throw
Seoinage - shoulder throw or flying mare
O Soto Gari - major outer reap
O Uchi Gari - Major inner reap
Morote Gari - double leg takedown
Single leg takedown
However as you progress through your training you will encounter many other throws. Some you will want to add to your personal repertoire, which is to be encouraged.
Shihan Mifune 10th Dan Judo lists over 100 throws in his texts. Coming from Jujutsu, these can all be classified as Judo throws.
Here are some of my favourite secondary throws:
Okuri ashi harai
Kata guruma - shoulder wheel
Soto makikomi
Tani otoshi - valley drop
Tomoe nage - stomach throw
Kani basami - crab scissors
Kuchiki taoshi - rotten tree fall
and three from wrestling:
belly-belly suplex
belly-back suplex
rice bail
However:
The rice bail appears in Judo as tawara gaeshi.
It is an excellent counter to morote gari attack from a shooter.
Belly back suplex appears in Judo as corner drop
Kuchiki is similar to aikido's irimi nage, though here we use an o soto step to block the back of the opponent's leg.
In Tomiki shomen ate is another variation of this technique.
That's 3 different variations from 3 different arts - Judo, Aikido, and Tomiki - arts that all stem from JJ.
That's what the eclecticism of STMA is all about!
Wednesday 21st October
Everybody got to try hubud, initially from corto with the stick. We'll look at the knife and the empty hand version as we progress. It's the first NRG drill that everybody needs to learn.
Seniors will progress with chi sao, though this will be at a slower pace, as it takes longer and can't be rushed.
Woodies got to try sinawalli and krabi, and those with tonfa brought them into the mix.
I was able to demonstrate the use of tonfa and nunchaku in close quarters, and how these Ok-Kob weapons tie in with karate.
We drilled some KB concepts and ABCs from freestyle karate and Muay Thai before sparring.
We had a great group sparring FC structure, including boxing, Kickboxing, and Thai boxing.
And good to see yet another new lady member join us!
Seniors will progress with chi sao, though this will be at a slower pace, as it takes longer and can't be rushed.
Woodies got to try sinawalli and krabi, and those with tonfa brought them into the mix.
I was able to demonstrate the use of tonfa and nunchaku in close quarters, and how these Ok-Kob weapons tie in with karate.
We drilled some KB concepts and ABCs from freestyle karate and Muay Thai before sparring.
We had a great group sparring FC structure, including boxing, Kickboxing, and Thai boxing.
And good to see yet another new lady member join us!
STMA kit list
At some point every member will need kit to progress so we are now going to label certain kit as essential for STMA training:
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
You can make do with bag gloves for impact and light sparring.
However at some point you might want to consider boxing gloves for FC. You will also need a gumshield.
Stix
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Even if you are not intending to take your weapons training to any particular level, you will need to do these basic drills to make your STMA fully functional.
Judo gi
Specifically the jacket.
You need to wear something for grappling, and the proper gi is the best thing. Also advanced grappling and self defence makes use of the collar.
Recomended list:
Groin guard
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head
FC full face
Shinguards
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants
Boxing boots
Weapons
Bokken
Tonfa
Essential list
Gloves for sparring
You can make do with bag gloves for impact and light sparring.
However at some point you might want to consider boxing gloves for FC. You will also need a gumshield.
Stix
A pair of stix for krabi, sinawalli and serrada.
Even if you are not intending to take your weapons training to any particular level, you will need to do these basic drills to make your STMA fully functional.
Judo gi
Specifically the jacket.
You need to wear something for grappling, and the proper gi is the best thing. Also advanced grappling and self defence makes use of the collar.
Recomended list:
Groin guard
for guys
Headguard
SC foam head
FC full face
Shinguards
For kb
Clothing
Kung fu pants
Boxing boots
Weapons
Bokken
Tonfa
Tuesday 20 October 2009
Monday 19 October 2009
Grappling class
The grappling class is done on mats and looks at non striking combat involving throws and groundgrappling.
The core is Jujutsu, and it has many street fighting and combat applications. It is realistic and full on, but also fun and safe.
Throws are from JJ and Judo, as well as Western wrestling systems such as Olympic Freestyle, Greco Roman, and Russian Sombo.
Sparring is done fighting for throws, randori style with jackets as in Judo, and wrestling style with no jackets.
Groundgrappling is drawn from Judo and Brazilian Jujutsu, as well as a lot of wrestling techniques with and without the gi jacket.
Ground sparring is progressive:
pins,
submission using chokes and armlocks,
add use of leglocks
Grappling can start from kneeling, or from standing where a throw or takedown has to be made before grappling can start.
This has skills from Judo, Jujutsu, Brazilian Jujutsu and wrestling systems such as Freestyle, Greco and Sombo.
It's about learning throws then how to spar with throws, like in randori.
Then it's about groundfighting, as in newaza.
Both styles of sparring are done with and without gi jackets.
There is full wrestling done from standing and incorporating groundwork.
Sparring:
randori - fight for throws
wrestling - pins
- submission
The submission techniques include chokes, armlocks and leglocks.
The core is Jujutsu, and it has many street fighting and combat applications. It is realistic and full on, but also fun and safe.
Throws are from JJ and Judo, as well as Western wrestling systems such as Olympic Freestyle, Greco Roman, and Russian Sombo.
Sparring is done fighting for throws, randori style with jackets as in Judo, and wrestling style with no jackets.
Groundgrappling is drawn from Judo and Brazilian Jujutsu, as well as a lot of wrestling techniques with and without the gi jacket.
Ground sparring is progressive:
pins,
submission using chokes and armlocks,
add use of leglocks
Grappling can start from kneeling, or from standing where a throw or takedown has to be made before grappling can start.
This has skills from Judo, Jujutsu, Brazilian Jujutsu and wrestling systems such as Freestyle, Greco and Sombo.
It's about learning throws then how to spar with throws, like in randori.
Then it's about groundfighting, as in newaza.
Both styles of sparring are done with and without gi jackets.
There is full wrestling done from standing and incorporating groundwork.
Sparring:
randori - fight for throws
wrestling - pins
- submission
The submission techniques include chokes, armlocks and leglocks.
Matwork at the White Tiger
Matwork will give everybody the chance to practice the added dimension of going to the ground and fighting on the ground.
And this doesn't mean just grappling.
Vale Tudo drills involve "ground and pound" - punching from the mount and the guard, first on the pads, then with boxing gloves. We look at using the whole range of strikes in a ground fight.
We also use stix on the ground for when a stick fight ends there, including close ranges strikes, chokes and locks done with the stick.
And this doesn't mean just grappling.
Vale Tudo drills involve "ground and pound" - punching from the mount and the guard, first on the pads, then with boxing gloves. We look at using the whole range of strikes in a ground fight.
We also use stix on the ground for when a stick fight ends there, including close ranges strikes, chokes and locks done with the stick.
Matwork
Grappling
The first thing you learn is the pins.
In certain competitions, such as Judo or wrestling, you can win a match by pinning the opponent's shoulders to the mat.
In submission wrestling or combat grappling you need to pin the opponent before you can move to a finish.
So you learn the pins first:
The Mount
Kesa gatame - the scarf hold
Yoko gatame - the side hold
The Guard
Pins such as Kami shiho gatame and kata gatame, which some of you are familiar with are secondary pins.
Each pin has various escapes and you learn these in time, how to turn a position of disadvantage into one of advantage.
An early drill we pactice is escape the mount - pass the guard.
Submissions
We cause the opponet to submit or "tap out" by putting them in a choke or jointlock.
In Judo you are only allowed to lock the elbow, whereas in free fighting you can lock the wrist, knee or ankle.
The achilles lock is a particularly good leg techniques, a pressure point lock.
You learn straight armbars such as juji gatame, and the bent arm variations.
There are leg variations of some of these done from the guard.
Mount - ude garame, juji gatame
Yoko - ude gaeshi, both up and down branch
Scarf - choke, juji
Guard - sangaku jime, juji, ude gaeshi
Leg open - achilles, ankle lock
Uke turtles - take the back - choke, leglock, arm hammer
These are some basic moves, there are further secondary moves you learn later.
Every move also has a counter and reversal.
Throws
We focus on the Jujutsu nage as they are refined in Judo.
The first thing you learn is the appropriate breakfall for the throw to be practiced.
Then you practice uchikomi - the entry.
Then you learn to give and take the throw.
Then you practice throw for throw loop drill for flight time.
Turning throws include:
o goshi hip throw
koshi guruma - cross hip throw
seoinage - flying mare
Reaps include o soto gari and morote gari leg takedowns.
There are also single leg takedowns.
Sweeps
There are sweeps done in Judo, which we cover, but we focus more on sweeps as they appear in karate.
You can use them as part of an attacking combination (ABC) - kick, punch, sweep - or in defence where you sweep the opponent's kicking leg or his support leg.
There are also waza where you catch his kicking leg and take him down.
There is a whole dimension to leglocks done here.
Locks
We also practice our Jujutsu locks, taking the uke right to the mat for a finish. These are done more "positively" then possible on the wood.
We also practice locks with the stix and tonfa here.
The first thing you learn is the pins.
In certain competitions, such as Judo or wrestling, you can win a match by pinning the opponent's shoulders to the mat.
In submission wrestling or combat grappling you need to pin the opponent before you can move to a finish.
So you learn the pins first:
The Mount
Kesa gatame - the scarf hold
Yoko gatame - the side hold
The Guard
Pins such as Kami shiho gatame and kata gatame, which some of you are familiar with are secondary pins.
Each pin has various escapes and you learn these in time, how to turn a position of disadvantage into one of advantage.
An early drill we pactice is escape the mount - pass the guard.
Submissions
We cause the opponet to submit or "tap out" by putting them in a choke or jointlock.
In Judo you are only allowed to lock the elbow, whereas in free fighting you can lock the wrist, knee or ankle.
The achilles lock is a particularly good leg techniques, a pressure point lock.
You learn straight armbars such as juji gatame, and the bent arm variations.
There are leg variations of some of these done from the guard.
Mount - ude garame, juji gatame
Yoko - ude gaeshi, both up and down branch
Scarf - choke, juji
Guard - sangaku jime, juji, ude gaeshi
Leg open - achilles, ankle lock
Uke turtles - take the back - choke, leglock, arm hammer
These are some basic moves, there are further secondary moves you learn later.
Every move also has a counter and reversal.
Throws
We focus on the Jujutsu nage as they are refined in Judo.
The first thing you learn is the appropriate breakfall for the throw to be practiced.
Then you practice uchikomi - the entry.
Then you learn to give and take the throw.
Then you practice throw for throw loop drill for flight time.
Turning throws include:
o goshi hip throw
koshi guruma - cross hip throw
seoinage - flying mare
Reaps include o soto gari and morote gari leg takedowns.
There are also single leg takedowns.
Sweeps
There are sweeps done in Judo, which we cover, but we focus more on sweeps as they appear in karate.
You can use them as part of an attacking combination (ABC) - kick, punch, sweep - or in defence where you sweep the opponent's kicking leg or his support leg.
There are also waza where you catch his kicking leg and take him down.
There is a whole dimension to leglocks done here.
Locks
We also practice our Jujutsu locks, taking the uke right to the mat for a finish. These are done more "positively" then possible on the wood.
We also practice locks with the stix and tonfa here.
Grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo at the White Tiger
The way we do this is start on the ground. We do some stretches from yoga that are relevant to the muscles used in grappling, then play some moves and transitions as a warmup. Then we pair up and play pins. We use the Newaza from Judo and the basic ground moves from Brazilian Jujutsu as they complement each other perfectly and don't leave any gaps.
Each pin has an escape and we play these, also drills such as pass the guard-escape the mount. Then we look at finishes from each position - chokes and locks. Then we look at the counters and reversals.
Then we stand up and look at throws, simple moves from Judo and wrestling such as Kata guruma - cross hip, seoinage - flying mare, o soto gari, simple stuff like that, so we know how to get there, and moves such as morote gari and other leg takedowns, and how not to get caught in the guard. Also pad drills on the ground, punching the pads while in the mount and guard.
Then by adding back in strikes to vertical grappling, the Thai clinch drill, and HKE, we can progress to kickboxing on the mat, and from the clinch, go to ground, practice ground and pound, and grappling.
With the new mats at the club, we can regularly explore grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo, and devote maybe an hour from a 2 hour class to this dimension of our fight training.
Each pin has an escape and we play these, also drills such as pass the guard-escape the mount. Then we look at finishes from each position - chokes and locks. Then we look at the counters and reversals.
Then we stand up and look at throws, simple moves from Judo and wrestling such as Kata guruma - cross hip, seoinage - flying mare, o soto gari, simple stuff like that, so we know how to get there, and moves such as morote gari and other leg takedowns, and how not to get caught in the guard. Also pad drills on the ground, punching the pads while in the mount and guard.
Then by adding back in strikes to vertical grappling, the Thai clinch drill, and HKE, we can progress to kickboxing on the mat, and from the clinch, go to ground, practice ground and pound, and grappling.
With the new mats at the club, we can regularly explore grappling, MMA and Vale Tudo, and devote maybe an hour from a 2 hour class to this dimension of our fight training.
Friday 16 October 2009
Kobudo - Weapons at STMA
Progressive weapons training.
We start with the single stick drills of serada escrima, developing over 4 ranges:
largo (long), medio (mid range), Quarto (close) and grappling.
We then move to sinawalli double stick drills, which are done at the largo range.
These become increasingly complex as you progress.
Sparring is done in armour:
men - helmet
do - body armour
kote - gauntlets
A harder style of "dog" fighting is done at the higher level, with less protection, eventually wearing only a fencing mask.
The 2nd weapon you learn is the tonfa side handled baton.
As well as block and counter drills there is a wide range of grappling techniques, including many locks.
There is no tonfa sparring as such.
The 3rd weapon you learn is the nunchaku.
First singlely, then doublely, there are many challenging and exciting drills.
Sparring is done in the armour, usually with a single chuck of foam rubber.
After this you move onto two handed weapons.
The sword is an eclectic mix of Japanese kenjutusu, as well as the ninja art of kukkishinden ryu. We also employ drills from Filipino kampilan.
Sparring is done kendo style, in armour, with like baboo shinai or rattan bokuto.
We then move onto the
hanbo 3 foot stick
Jo 4 foot stick
Bo 6 foot stick.
After Bo there are drills with the yari spear and naginate halberd for those who want to take their training to higher levels.
There is possible sparring between swords, staves and spears, an art called To-So-Jutsu at the higher level.
This is basically a weapons based class. It takes the same spirit as systems such as kukushinden ryu, one of the nine schools of ninjutsu, which starts students with weapons training.
The first weapon is the single stick - serrada escrima - close quarter combat. Easy to learn and remember drills.
As early as this students can begin sparring in armour.
Armour is similar to kendo armour:
men helmet
do body armour
kote gloves
From single stick they progress to double sticks - the sinawalli drills.
There are also stick defences and disarms as well as stick locks.
There is double stick sparring
The second weapon is the tonfa - used single or in pairs, against sticks and other weapons.
There are a lot of tonfa locks.
There is no real practical tonfa sparring.
The 3rd weapon is the nuncha.
Initially single, later in pairs.
There is nuncha sparring.
Then we move onto longer weapons.
This is a more advanced stage of the student's training.
The short sword, as in katana and ninja to.
The hanbo, 3ft stick, which has a lot of locks.
The Jo staff and Bo staff.
Sparring is first done with shinai, as in kendo, and also with bokken.
We then use jo, bokken and bo against each other in drilling then sparring.
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