Martial Arts

Rules for Instructors? Or just good rules for life?

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

I still don’t know if I’m going to study Aikido, but I am doing a lot of research on the topic. I came across these “13 Rules for Aikido Instructors” (yes I know, they only list 12). What I found interesting was, they weren’t just good rules for Aikido instructors, but generally were good humble rules for life. You may have to modify the wording slightly (e.g. #3 becomes simply “do not criticize”), but it’s pretty solid.

I opted to reprint them here, with some minor formatting changes. They are things I want to remember for myself.

Continue reading →

Running into Aikido?

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

One of the motivating factors in starting my practice of martial arts so many years ago was wanting something physical that got me out of the chair I sit in all day. But I didn’t just want something physical, I wanted something mental as well. Running held no allure for me because it didn’t have any mental stimulation, but martial arts had a lot of mental as well as physical.

Since I stopped regular martial arts class attendance a few months ago, I’ve been working out at home. Oddly, there was a voice in my head telling me to do something different: “Go running”.

Running

I’ve never enjoyed running. I don’t like how it pounds on my body. I don’t like how “mindless” of an activity it is. But that voice kept saying “go run”. I don’t know why. I don’t know where it came from. I ignored it thinking it was just a passing thing, but it kept calling to me. So a couple of weeks ago the voice came back and I just went with it and went out for a run.

That was painful. 🙂

I ran for a little bit, then had to walk, then a little more run, then a lot more walk. I’m in good shape, but these past some years my training has been a different sort of training. Sure I could go 3 3-minute rounds of sparring just fine, but that’s a different sort of training and muscular endurance than just running for a good 20-30 minutes. I also think part of it was due to 1. my body just wasn’t used to that activity, 2. nervousness about my ankles and my knees, which have issues, and I didn’t want to have my first time out be too strenuous. I need to work my way up to it.

After I came back from that first run I used Google Earth to measure the distance, and it’s about 1.5 miles. I figure that’s a good way to get started.

Since then I’ve gone out every 2-3 days and run the same route, trying to run a little more and walk a little less. Trying to improve my form so I’m not pounding my ankles and knees to death, but staying relaxed yet remembering to keep picking my legs up so I don’t eventually trip on my feet when I get to tired.

This morning I ran the entire route, no walking and only one stop at the mailbox on the way in. Did it in about 15 minutes. Not too bad, I suppose. I also had much better form and relaxation today. My brain wasn’t going “what the hell are you doing????” but was actually just calming down and being free with the run.

And that’s perhaps why my body is wanting to run right now: because it is mindless. My younger sister runs a lot (does half-marathons, 10K’s, and such) and she says she likes running because it’s mindless and she can just unwind from her day. I’ve been under lots of stress the past some months, my mind’s been very busy, and perhaps the old noodle just wants a break. I really don’t know why I’m running, but I’m running. Will I still with it? I don’t know. I’m just taking it day by day, because maybe something else will come along.

And that something else may be another martial art.

Aikido

No, I haven’t started any new formal martial arts practice, but it’s been on my mind. So what to practice?

I have thought about taking up Kuk Sool again. Part of me would like to get my 2nd degree black belt because I stopped half-way through testing and gosh it’d be nice to finish it. But…. the drama of WKSA is nothing I’m interested in. I wouldn’t be opposed to joining Master Lee’s new Mu Sool Won group (Master Lee, 9th degree, so close with the Suh family and WKSA for so many years, awesome man, and they treat him like they did and he understandably left… still teaching Kuk Sool but doing it on his own, good for him!), but I really don’t know if I want to go back into that world.

Why not go back to the kali/silat/muay thai study? I really liked that stuff, but I realized that the structure of my old school was part of the problem: there wasn’t much structure. Now, I did like how the class schedule was structured, e.g. you knew if you went Wednesday at 6:30 PM it was going to be weapons class, but what you did in that class was totally unknown until you got there and the grander scheme seemed rather free-form. For instance, I had no idea what I needed to know for the next rank. Contrast this to my Kuk Sool study where the schedule had basic structure (e.g. 11 AM, adult class), but the curriculum was very structured. I realize that between the two, I like the more formalized curriculum, or at least having some idea of what I should know and thus what I really need to focus on in my study and practice.

So as I look around at what’s available to me, Aikido has a draw. First, the roots of Aikido and Kuk Sool (Hapkido) are similar, when you talk the joint lock, throw, projection, circular sorts of stuff. Aikido takes it further tho, because that’s mostly what Aikido is about. One reason I didn’t add BJJ to my previous study was because I wanted to narrow things down a bit and focus. Kuk Sool studied “everything” and that was a little too broad. With Aikido, it’s just one thing, if you will, and that sort of focus will be welcome. I want to explore more about body mechanics, locks, throws, circular movement; Aikido has that at its core. Plus there’s a formal curriculum. Yes it may vary from school to school, but there’s something to it. Plus there’s something to be said about having so many flavors of Aikido out there to see how others have interpreted it yet remain true to the core. Those others study and practice together, there isn’t a closed controlling notion.

One turnoff about Aikido is the philosophy. Now granted, that is what makes Aikido Aikido and distinct from other arts. But come on… I carry a gun. I acknowledge that sometimes deadly force is necessary and the only answer. But that’s also part of why I wish to study Aikido: to delve deeper into that contrast. I certainly wish to avoid use of deadly force, and if I can have greater resources at my disposal to do so, all the better.

I do not know if I actually will start to study this, but I’ve been pulling the Aikido books off my bookshelf and re-reading them. I’ve been looking up Aikido stuff online. I’ve been talking with an old friend that studied Aikido for a time. Yes, if I could study more full-time with Leslie Buck I would, but I can’t. There’s something about Aikido has pulls me, at least to explore it. Who knows. I may shake this off as a whim in a few days. I may try a few classes and not care for it. I may do it for a few months and then bail. Or I may end up studying it for the rest of my life. Who knows.

Whether it’s running or Aikido or whatever… just taking things as they come, enjoying life’s journey.

That Classical Mess

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

I was at a park and noticed a group off in one corner of the park. It was a martial arts class.

Of course I watched.

I’m not 100% sure what they were studying, but from the looks of the movements along with the clothing I suspect a form of ninjutsu.

They were practicing one-step sparring techniques. So teacher demonstrates technique, discusses aspects of it, then students pair off and practice the technique in a cooperative way.

Sounds familiar.

And as I watched, I saw good and bad. I saw a traditional martial art being taught, which is not a bad thing. I saw movements being taught that were unrealistic. For instance, opponent throws a right haymaker. The defense is to hard block with your lead arm (left arm in this case), then redirect their arm by moving your arm in a large counter-clockwise circle. The problem? First the meeting of force-with-force, which isn’t horrible, but then to try to change the direction of their movement to the total opposite direction using only the strength of your posterior deltoid vs. the whole of their body being behind that haymaker? I’m sorry, but I just don’t see it happening in a real situation. Furthermore, there was little footwork, and what there was tended to involve cross-stepping and putting yourself in twisted and positions of little balance.

However, I watched other techniques and saw some nice stuff. For instance, opponent comes with a right haymaker/straight-punch. You block with the lead arm in a sort of backfist-like movement meeting their forearm with your forearm, then you slide that left fist up to grab their lapel… now you’re inside and you can use the right to do all manner of things. I also saw some application of locks and pressure points for distraction to move then into sweeps and take downs.

So it was a mix.

I look upon it like a lot of traditional/classical martial arts. It’s not a bad thing. There’s much sound and good in it, and there are a lot of principles that are good to learn. However, to fight this way? I’m not sure. What I hope all students do, at least at the higher levels (once you get that black belt, at least), is to review the techniques you learn and question everything: the stances, the footwork, the kicks, the punches, the locks, the movements, the blocks, entries, exits, counters, reversals, attack, defense, everything. Find what is useful. That which doesn’t appear to be useful, see what it may be trying to teach — it may not be practical, but it may have good theoretical basis. Question everything.

The interesting thing? I had a feeling of really missing traditional martial arts study. 🙂

I heard good things about Blankenship’s internal arts practice. It seems to be just about doing and seeking enlightenment, instead of being rote. I could dig that.

How to handle your mistakes.

/ hsoi

When you make a mistake and flub something, what do you do? Do you stop and start over? Or do you just keep going?

Whatever you do, it’s been my experience that most people always do the same thing no matter the context. Today I write to say we need to consider how we recover from mistakes and choose the right approach based upon the context.

For example, I was doing dry-fire practice working on drawing my pistol from a concealment holster. Typical ways to flub the draw are the shirt doesn’t get out of or remains in the way, or your strong hand gets a poor initial grip. What do you do? As soon as you notice the flub do you stop and start over? or do you acknowledge the flub but proceed and work to recover from it to still reach your end goal? I used to stop and start over, but now I want to keep going. My reasoning? If the day comes and my life is on the line, I could well flub things. In a situation like that, what should my ingrained response be? Recover and move on? Or go “damnit! I screwed up!” reholster and ask for a do-over? I don’t think the latter is reasonable for the situation, so the only option is to recover and move on. Thus I must train myself to acknowledge the flub (must know what went wrong so I know what course of action to take to recover) then immediately recover from it, keeping my cool the whole time. This is the response I would want to have if my life depended upon it, so that’s how I must train.

Let’s consider my martial arts practice, specifically working on forms. If I was working on a form because I was entering a competition, I’d probably want to train myself to recover and move on. You’re performing, and the show must go on! But these days I do not participate in martial arts tournaments, so if I’m working on a form it’s because I want to get it correct, because there’s something in my own body and soul I wish to feel. Plus I’ve been away from Kuk Sool for almost a year and I admit some things are slipping my mind. Thus stopping and fixing is fine for me here because the context may dictate it (i.e. I forgot) or perhaps because I came to a point in my practice where I realized something and wish to focus on it. My goals here are different, and how I contend with mistakes must serve the end goal.

This reminds me of when I was in undergrad and played in a rock band. We were doing some basement recordings. We only had so much tape, so when we’d screw up I’d tell the guy running the board “Rewind and erase that.”  But he never listened to me and kept tape rolling. In my mind there was no point in keeping bad takes, especially when we had a finite amount of tape. However I’m glad he kept the tape rolling because it captured some gems. Looking back I can say we should have handled it both ways. When we’re working out a new song, sure we have to stop when mistakes are made because we’re still learning. But once the song is known, when we’re doing rehearsals for gigs, just keep going… unexpected things could happen during the gig and we wouldn’t come to a halt on stage, so practice accordingly.

Be clear on your end goal(s) and ensure you work towards it. One part we overlook is how we handle our mistakes. The way we handle our mistakes may need to change based upon the context, so be sure to analyze, figure out the plan, and behave accordingly… especially as you practice. Train yourself to handle your mistakes as the context dictates. Your life may depend upon it.

Advanced (Kuk Sool) Kick Routine

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I’m cleaning up some files on my computer and I came across a file that contained an advanced kick routine that KJN Dewain Perry had us do from time to time. I don’t know if this is a wider Kuk Sool kick routine or just something Dewain came up with, but it’s certainly a challenging kick sequence.

You start in defensive stance (Bahng Uh Jah Sae)

  • Rear leg inside kick
    • You’ll end up in offensive stance
  • High 360Âş spin kick
  • Low 360Âş spin kick
  • Jump 360Âş spin kick
    • End up in offensive stance
  • Switch your stance (back to defensive)
  • Popup (front leg) outside kick
  • Rear leg roundhouse kick
    • Now in offensive stance
  • 360Âş spin kick
  • Rear leg inside kick
  • Jump inside kick
    • End in defensive stance
  • Popup side kick
  • Popup hook kick
  • Spin back kick
    • Now in offensive stance
  • Jump spin back kick
    • Now in defensive stance
  • Step through/across 360Âş spin kick
  • Double front kick
  • Split kick
  • Scissors kick

Don’t ask me to demo it. 🙂

Kuk Sool Cane – He-Young Kimm

/ hsoi

Cool video of Dr. He-Young Kimm. This was back when he was in the World Kuk Sool Association (WKSA). Demonstration of cane technique. Thing is, these aren’t the rote 10 Ji Pang Ee techniques. You can see the fundamentals are all there, but it’s more.

Improvised Weapons – Magazine

/ hsoi / 12 Comments

While we all would prefer to have the right tool for the job, sometimes you just have to roll with what’s available to you. Improvised tools and weaponry is better than nothing.

A rolled up magazine? Yes, you could use that as an improvised weapon. A lot of dan bong techniques can be applied using a rolled up magazine.

But really… the best thing about using a magazine as a weapon? The comedy gold:

Updated: hrm. Seems the video changed to private after I posted it. Updated with new link.

Edged Weapon Defense I

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

While I may have put regularly scheduled empty-hand training on the backburner for a little while, that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped practicing martial arts. Yesterday I took part in a seminar on Edged Weapon Defense.

Continue reading →