Demonic Martial Arts

There are pastors who study martial arts, but not many who have studied for decades. So, I am among a rare few. (I am happy to say that I belong to that same small group of long-time martial arts practitioners/clergy as Black Belt Hall of Fame member Leo Fong. Rev. Fong is a retired clergy member of the same denomination of which I am a not-yet-retired clergy member.) This is why I am often approached with questions about Christianity and martial arts – usually, the phrase "how do you reconcile..." is used.

Generally, the questioners fall into one of two groups. One group of questioners , having been challenged in their practice by folks with a liberal or Quaker bias, wonders about reconciling martial arts practice with teachings of non-violence. The answer is simple, You can't. If Jesus taught pacifism – the absolute requirement that one never act violently toward another human being – then it is impossible to be a martial artist and be a Christian. Even the mere practice of martial arts (without any intention to actually use the skills learned) would be the cultivation of a violent heart.

But, I am a martial artist of 40 years. Clearly, I am no pacifist. I do not think that Jesus taught pacifism (as an absolute approach to life). And I do believe that sometimes an act of violence is a loving act. For example, if I were to come upon a woman being raped, I would intervene with violence because I would be acting in a loving way toward her. And I would also be acting in a loving way toward the rapist (the person upon whom I would be inflicting the violence) in as much as I am stopping him from committing a heinous sin. Likewise, if someone attacks me, and I defend myself, I am acting lovingly toward myself, and, by thwarting my attacker, I am acting lovingly toward him.

Having said that, I make three cautions. First, to accept a slap and not retaliate is the only sure way to topple an empire. Second, violence is overrated. It usually is the lazy-politicians solution to a problem, and the bully's sure proof of inner weakness. Every true martial artist knows that restraint is far more effective than blows. Third, the only valid use of violence is to stop the violent actions of the violent.

The second group of questioners, having been challenged in their practice by folks with a conservative or fundamentalist bias, wonders about martial arts practice being incompatible with Christian teaching because the martial arts are somehow demonic. To this I would make the simple observation that the measure of true evil is the harm it causes. By this measure there truly is a demonic martial art. It is an art that allows one to kill many people with virtually no effort, no discipline, no training, no practice. It allows great harm to be inflicted on others without ever having to learn control, restraint, or the simple truth of what it feels like to be on the receiving end.

Karate, aikido, tai chi chuan, taekwondo, and the rest do not even come close to fitting this definition. How can we tell? Simple: have you EVER heard of an outcast high schooler killing a dozen classmates with his karate skills? Have you ever heard of a broken-hearted lover killing coeds from atop a clock-tower using his ninja shuriken? Have you ever heard of a disgruntled employee "going postal" with his nunchaku?

You never have, and you never will. But, that disgruntled employee can walk into a gun-shop today, and be killing co-workers tomorrow. Now, I am not anti-gun. But, considering what we know to be true in this country (something like 15,000 gun-deaths per year, and how many "karate killings"? – 0?) it is just nonsense for anyone to hassle a hard working martial artist with accusations that somehow studying a martial art is in anyway akin to worshipping the devil.

Thanks for reading.

Now, go train!

Chris Thomas

Hard stuff

Both stylistically, and by temperament I tend towards the softer end of the spectrum in my martial arts. Sure, when I throw my partner hits the mat hard and when I apply a joint lock it hurts, but I aspire to use leverage and whole-body power, rather than the "brute" force of local muscle.

That said, lately I've wondered whether a teensy bit of "hard" practice might do me a bit of good. So I've picked three training drills that have a hard element and have added them to my personal routine: 2-5% hard, leaving 95-98% soft.

1. Horse stance with tension: Just stand in horse stance and tense every muscle, all at once, increasing the duration over time. Warning: If you try this do not allow pressure to build up in your head, as it can be dangerous.
2. Low forward stance: The front knee should be in line with the toes; the back leg braced straight. Sound hard? It is.
3. Circular punching: This should actually be fairly relaxed, but my shoulders and upper arms don't understand this, and tense up, making me want to stop.

Note that the former two exercises are static hard exercises, not dynamic. There's some virtue in exploring what hard feels like, as opposed to adopting it as a normal state of movement.

For dynamic I still want soft. The latter two drills are primarily hard in the sense of difficult, and this leads to hard in the form of unwanted tension. Certainly, the punching should become softer with practice.

What exercises do you find hard, in either or both senses? How do you balance hard and soft in your training?

Hand-y hints

In judo and jiu-jitsu we generally:

• Keep our thumbs and fingers together (not splayed), so that an adversary can't snap 'em off, and for concentrated force
• Grip more tightly with the weaker fourth and fifth fingers to strengthen them, while keeping the thumb, index and middle finger more relaxed and sensitive; these guidelines apply whether taking a grip of your partner's gi, forming a fist, or a holding a sword
• Breakfall mainly with the hands (thumb and fingers together!), even though there is greater surface contact with the fleshy part of the forearms.

It's one thing to read tips like this; it's another to make them second nature. Good luck!

Cambridge fighter Tommy “Two Gunz” Maguire wins MMA Welterweight title

Cambridge fighter Tommy “Two Gunz” Maguire wears his soubriquet well as he shot down title holder Nigel Whitear at this Anger Management MMA Welterweight title fight in the first round.

There was much anticipation regarding this Mixed Martial Art fight and the local crowd in Kidderminster gave Maguire a hard time as he made his way into the packed hall. The atmosphere was electric as these fighters entered the cage and Maguire looked pensive as he focused hard to keep out the boos from the audience. As they lined up toe to toe we knew one way or another the fight would be explosive. Little did we know just how explosive.

Maguire, representing Tsunami Fight Gym, came out swiftly while Whitear seemed to be gauging the lie of the land, possibly planning his moves. Before he could do anything Maguire struck. Maguire pounded into Whitear rocking his opponent back onto his heels before rolling him over and onto the ground. Maguire, on top, faked an arm bar getting Whitear to respond one way but before he knew what had happened Maguire had flipped it and went for and succeeded with a Triangle choke, forcing Whitear to submit in a total of one minute and nine seconds.

Maguire, buzzing from adrenalin, took the belt still punching the air and Cambridge's Tsunami gym added another title to it's cabinet. Given Maguire's emphatic win he'll be relishing the next three defence fights for this title and the opportunity to use those 'Gunz'!

Martial artists leave man in wheelchair stranded up Snowden!

So much for 'integrity', 'No retreat in battle' , 'perseverance' and 'indomitable spirit'...

This shocking story shows a real lack of moral fortitude or at the very least of intelligence. A group of martial artists ascend Mount Snowdon in a very noble fundraising attempt carrying a wheelchair bound guy with them. Having just checked out some photos of Llanberis Pass where they climbed they must have known they had their work cut out for them. Little did they know that when the hike up the path became too tough they'd decide to leave the man in the wheelchair and finish the climb, returning to pick him up some time later. This seems crazy already but there is still more to come! When they came back to pick him and his wheelchair up for the descent they realised they were too tired to take him down and called mountain rescue!

I don't think mountain rescue were that impressed saying that it was "cheeky"and a call-out could have been avoided if the group had decided to turn around altogether rather than ascending to the summit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/8313108.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6880145.ece

My Approach to Teaching Self Defense

I was reading a military hand-to-hand (H2H) training manual, and recognized that the program had been influenced by the Filipino martial arts. One chapter covered the 12 angles of attack, showing the angles with knife, then fairly standard Filipino patterns for dealing with knife attacks bare-handed. The next chapter showed the 12 angles of attack with fixed bayonet. Then it showed defenses against those angles. But, here was the problem, the manual showed completely different ways of dealing with the bayonet than the methods for dealing with knife. In other words, they showed twelve angles of attack, and 24 different responses to attacks along those lines. And it got even worse. As I went through the book, I counted some 75 unique techniques. And this was supposed to be the basic military training manual.

Most training programs are developed in a similar fashion. They consist of handfuls of tricks and techniques designed to solve a variety of situations or attacks. So, the usual "basic" self-defense or H2H course consists 20 or so common self-defense scenarios, each with a unique solution. If your attacker does this you, do that; if your attacker does such, you do so. One solution to each scenario. I call this approach Single Scenario Tactical Solutions (SSTS). Of course, the trained martial artist usually has dozens of solutions to any given tactical scenario. That's what competency is all about. However, when training non-martial artists in short term courses for self-defense or unarmed combat, this is a ridiculous approach.

Instead, the approach I advocate is to teach a simple curriculum that handles a variety of scenarios with the one basic skill set. This is called a Multiple Scenario Tactical Solution (MSTS). I teach this concept using a basic, four step action, which is then applied against a wide spectrum of attacks. I teach the basic sequence starting with a simple assault scenario, like a front choke. Then, I teach people to apply this same solution up against a wall, or in a chair, or on the ground. The next step is to apply this simple response against punches, varying grabs, even knife and gun assaults (depending on the group).

The specific curriculum I utilize I call Flux (for Flexible-Application Unarmed Combat Skill). It is easily adapted for a variety of different populations, from civilian to professional applications. And while the different populations require slightly different elements, the over-all concept and underlying principles are the same.

This is such a simple approach that many martial artists have a sense of discomfort when they see it. "Yeah, but what about XYZ techniques?" They wonder. Think of it this way – a maker of fine furniture has many tools which are only used in one single step in the process of making a piece. But, if I have a hammer, a saw, some nails and some lumber, I can make a table. It won't be pretty, but it will hold up my dinner plate. In the same way, as martial artists we have many very elegant ways of dealing with different attacks. But, a woman who takes a self defense class doesn't have the time to learn elegant solutions. She needs a couple of things that will work well-enough to use as her response to whatever comes her way.

And, of course, my simple four-step solutions can't solve every problem. But, I would rather teach something simple that can deal with 25 different problems, than teach 25 solutions which each can only deal with one problem.

Well, thanks for reading.

Now, go train.

Chris Thomas

Milton Park and River Cam run

On my way round during the river leg I overheard a rowing coach say to his ladies four boat to just maintain balance, don't worry about anything else and enjoy the beautiful morning. What sound advice! A lovely October morning: bright and cool. I tried to enjoy this lovely morning and to forget about the other runners I saw who I was convinced were: a. running faster than me (even though they were running in the opposite direction!) and b. were ridiculing me for my shuffling speed.

Enjoyable too as you pass through the Country Park, pass Baits Bite Lock, the river Cam and a Local Nature Reserve called Logan's Meadow.

Final tally: 4.71 miles at 47 minutes. No change on my speed, but I didn't stop!

View Milton Park and River Cam run in a larger map

Pro Am Fight Centre flyer

Ok, so it's flyer season and I'm helping Pro-Am Fight Centre out with some marketing communications so here's the second flyer in the series.... :)

They do pretty much what it says on the tin..er I mean flyer. MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, boxing, muay thai as well as full on weights gym and training cage, all in the centre of Cambridge!

Go...fight!

Fencing Foil Positions

Is her back hand supposed to be that far over?

Teaching at Tang Soo Do

Tuesday night's Tang Soo Do was less sweaty and more cerebral. It's good to explore lesser taught aspects of the art and tonight meant much in-depth teaching of forms and one steps. I love to teach forms and their applications: it's somewhere you can find real depth in karate so needless to say I had a fun time and loved grilling students to make sure stances were in order. I enjoyed seeing a beginner react to my tuition and 'get it'. She was executing movements in the last phase of the step and from the elbow. A step through and punch should be one fluid movement starting from the front stance, flowing through with the step, arms engaging and body weight and momentum adding power to the torquing punch. Once I'd explained that this step and punch was one movement she stopped prodding the air and got it together! Fantastic. I hope she gets more from her forms now. Hyung is a connected and organic entity not really a series of movements. Describing it as a series of movements almost implies that the movements are disparate. It really shouldn't be considered as 35 moves nor should it be thought of as one 'process'. Usually forms can be conceptualised as 4 or 5 grand processes within one entity. (See also Rhythm in Hyungs)

On that note I am pleased to say that I learned a new form. Something I haven't done in years so it was a pleasant experience. It seems a completely different process from when I was a white belt. Back then I struggled with basic concepts such as low block or front stance or (as above) dealing with chunks of form rather than piecemeal. Now I know how to execute a low block so I don't need to expend energy on that but I do need to dig deeper into the application and rhythm (or punctuation) which is challenging but in a different way!

This is not the style of Rohai I learned but this is beautiful to see:

New books

Found a book on fencing in the library and bought another on Medieval Combat.

Unfortunately the fencing book I borrowed 'blind' as I ordered it from another library over the web so didn't see the contents beforehand. This meant I was a little disappointed as what I really needed was a broad overview of the basic foot movements, stances and positions. This is undoubtedly a detailed book but this is for the advanced fencer. I have gleaned some interesting information: prime, seconde, tierce, quarte, quinte, sixte, septime, octave... but on the whole too advanced for me. (Fencing: Essential Skills Training by Ed Rogers)

Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer (ed Mark Rector) seems more my thing. I won't be taking any lessons from this into the salle or the dojang (particularly the illustration of trial by ordeal of a man in hole pitted against a woman with a club...!) but it's given me more to get my teeth into.

This book is a reproduction of Hans Talhoffer's fifteenth century treatise on combat and fencing called 'Fechtbuch'. Smashing illustrations showing combat covering wrestling, sword work, pikes, daggers as well as mounted conflict. Very interesting to see the parries, stances and weapon positions used plus plenty of blood with hewing of heads and murder strokes as well as weird 'judicial duels' where the loser would fight in front of his own coffin.

Great insight into medieval justice, fighting techniques and attitudes towards weapons.

Go on: Put me in a lock!

In jiu-jitsu we learn a lot of joint lots, mainly as part of our restraint and control syllabus.

To apply them for real you need to be more skilful than your opponent because people will try to naturally try to escape, typically by either using muscular resistance or trying to twist themselves out. Part of the art is first breaking your partner's balance, so that (s)he loses the ability to effectively resist, as well as adapting to whatever response they (s)he manages to muster.

But what happens if your opponent is simply much, much better than you? Check it out:

Although the attacker is allowed to start to apply locks, at no stage does he control the defender's balance (or center). Quite the reverse!

New Shorinji Kempo ad

I've worked up a new flyer for the Shorinji Kempo club:

http://cambridge.shorinji.org.uk/

Mudrunner 2009

Ten kilometres of real hell and pain mixed with comedy, laughter and occasional breathtaking scenery! Amazing where you go to in your head on a long pound like this. Occasionally I found myself counting in Japanese up to ten repeatedly just to keep a rhythm going. One step in front of the other.... Keep on going, keep breathing...

6 miles of the Land Rover test course over rough terrain, sharp and long inclines, mud baths, fording becks and slog, slog, slog. I made it in where all the fairly fit non-runners came: 279 out of 400 competitors in a reasonable time of 1 hour 34 mins. Way more (in my naivety) than I thought I'd make.

Roll on next year.

This is a photo link which will probably expire sometime soon.

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Never judge a book by its cover

...or a lesson in not underestimating one's adversary.

Worth a watch as 'drag queen', Steve floors thugs on a night out in Swansea. The interesting bit starts at about one minute in.

Does the dragged up victor then scrawl lipstick on the thug's chest? Sweet.

Turns out the 'drag queens' were cage fighters...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8296403.stm

(Thanks CS)

Seminar Reactions

Two weeks ago the head of our martial arts organization, Kancho Barry Bradshaw, hosted and co-presented a series of three seminars along with two guest instructors: Perth-based karate master Hanshi Tony Jackson, and local karate master and zoo-keeper (more on this later) Shihan Angelo Foresi. Other local karate luminaries also dropped by.

I made it along to the middle seminar, and was gratified that three of my students -- Lejoe, Jeremy, and Damian -- all new to jiu-jitsu this year, but keen! -- also made the trip out to the Honbu dojo for two packed hours.

At the next class at my club, following the lesson, I asked the seminar attendees them to join me at the front of the class and talk a bit about their seminar experience by describing a personal highlight. These included:

• Damian seeing "fireworks" when Kancho struck a couple of pressure-points on his wrist.
• Lejoe seeing a technique demonstrated in the middle and wondering whether Kancho's uke was just "falling for him", until Kancho repeated the technique on Lejoe, and all doubt as to its efficacy vanished
• Learning about breathing, mental aspects, and of course martial arts applications of animal movements from both guest instructors
• Shihan Angelo's message to work to simplify your martial art as you progress

My own highlights included having Hanshi refer to our Kancho as "young fella", and the opportunity to train with and share knowledge with martial artists from other schools and other arts.

Some of the animals discussed were the crane (pictured), tiger, monkey, snake, deer, gorilla, and even the squid.

I also liked this format: I would happily attend a series of seminars given by any of the presenting masters, but it was also inspiring to see them working together. I was left wanting more.

* * *

It's also worth mentioning that Shihan Angelo blends his day job as a zoo-keeper with his martial arts avocation. Rather than learn about animal styles from other humans he has used his day-job as a zoo-keeper as an opportunity to extensively study from the ultimate source, the animals themselves. In turn his karate has been influenced by what he has learned from his decades of working with and observing the animals, supplemented by additional, more traditional studies leading to his own unique blend.

Now for the plug: Shihan Angelo offers a fairly regular and, I dare-say, unique one-session class open to the general public entitled Animals and the Martial Arts, held at the Melbourne Zoo. Having heard how great the seminar was, many of my students were keen on a visit to the zoo with a difference. I plan to get along at some stage, too.

Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful

My fellow blogger Kick Ass Sue asks: Should women train differently from men in martial arts? based "on the premise that traditional fighting arts were developed by men for men to fight other men and are thus best suited for the male physique".

I'm not so sure about the premise. Men, who as a broad generalization start out strong and top-heavy, have the option of developing their strengths while they are young, but this is a short-cut to nowhere. As we age, if this strength, speed, and even flexibility are the basis of our ability, the young guys will soon overtake us. The natural strengths of women -- low center of gravity, strong legs and core, superior grace and rhythm -- on the other hand, are a more sound and long-lasting basis out of which to build a martial artist.

On another point, though, in this day and age it is true that there are more senior male martial artists than females, and therefore fewer role models for aspiring female martial artists to look up to. In Sue's post she mentions the legendary founder of Wing Chun, Shaolin nun Ng Mui. But what about living female role models?

The amazing Keiko Fukuda springs to mind. Her grandfather was the first significant Jiu-jitsu teacher of Judo founder Jigoro Kano. In turn Kano taught Judo to Fukuda in the Kodokan's women's division. As a 5th dan, at the 1964 Olympics she demonstrated the advanced Judo two-person kata Ju No Kata, which she also wrote the book on.

At time of writing she still teaches judo 3 times a week at age 96, is the highest ranked female-judoka ever (9th dan). Fukuda's life is the subject of a forthcoming film, set for release in (northern hemisphere) Summer 2010. Extended trailer:

Here's the blurb:

Her destiny was set two generations before her birth, during the final days of the samurai era. In 1934, at 21 years of age, Keiko Fukuda embarked on a long journey with judo as her vehicle. This path meant giving up marriage, family, and her Japanese citizenship. She has endured war, discrimination, and crossed oceans, to become the highest ranking woman in judo history. She is the last living link to judo’s original history. Today at 96, she still teaches judo three times a week, and through her gentle soul she exudes wisdom and inspiration to all who come in contact with her. “Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful,” is an hour‐long documentary film about K it eiko Fukuda’s inspirational journey.

I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Some Judo hand-throws and their Jiu-jitsu relatives

Judo techniques are great training for the body (and mind); in jiu-jitsu the techniques are more directly applicable to self-defence. In judo we start from a standard grip, where both partners hold each other's collar and sleeve (symmetry); in jiu-jitsu we often respond to an attack (asymmetry).

There are similarities too: The underlying gross -- meaning broad, not 'yuck' -- body movements are the same. The jiu-jitsu techniques add more pain by way of additional locks, strikes or strangles.

In class this week we looked at and practiced several of the judo hand-throws, immediately followed by one or more of their jiu-jitsu relatives:

1. Tai otoshi (Body drop, Judo): Throat Attack & Double-strike turning throw (Jiu-jitsu)
2. Uki otoshi (Floating drop): Lapel choke takedown & Sleeve pivot throw
3. Kuki nage (Minor floating throw)
4. Hiji otoshi (Elbow drop): Defence against a straight-arm choke from the front
5. Mochiage otoshi (Lifting drop)
6. Sukui nage (Scooping throw)
7. Sumi otoshi (Corner drop): A follow-on to the Come-along armbar
8. Obi otoshi (Belt drop)
9. Kata ashi dori (Single leg drop): Pressure-point take-down to the lower leg
10. Ryo ashi dori (Double leg drop)

There are, of course, others.

Walking in the air

Dean Potter seems, to me, an unusual guy. He is an avid rock climber and in addition he loves to highine. Highlining involves crossing a nylon cord tethered at both ends: a bit like tight rope walking but the nylon is about an inch wide and seems to be usually flat.

Nothing unusual so far. This sort of 'rope walking' might be a great way to improve balance and sharpen focus when attached a few feet off the ground. The unusual thing is that Dean Potter likes to do this whilst the line is tethered between rock faces. Oh yeah...nearly forgot...he likes to do it without any safety harness....!

Whilst this sort of thing seems crazy to me I was drawn into the documentary I saw the other night called 'The Sky Walker' on channel 4 and saw some obvious parallels with the martial arts. I'm intrigued as to the way he deals with the fear. An earlier pioneer highliner who used safety lines spoke of the amazing fear you get, even knowing that when the same line is tethered low to the ground can be almost jogged across! This pioneer took many times before he could get across to the other side. He says that it's difficult to combat animal instincts of fear of falling and self preservation: all his fibres in his body screaming at him to stay on the ledge and not venture out. the pay off of course is the feeling of being alive upon arrival on the other side...

But Dean Potter takes this to another dimension. Sure, he admits nerves and we see him trying out the walk on the highline with a safety harness but he's learnt to control his fear. I think he mentioned that this is what drives him: the feeling of being alive! I don't think he's blase about the risks he's taking; he mentions a good friend who died (doing extreme mountaineering) but he needs to feel this aliveness and has to go through a process of fear to get there. In order to do this he controls his fear through breathing and focus, "I'm focusing on my breath and trying to stay real calm", he says. As well as giving him a massive rush it also heightens his awareness to the extent, he says, that in extreme moments he can see the air move.

Now I think he is unusual, not because he wants to conquer fear but he goes to such extreme lengths to do so. We all want to conquer fear. We all have demons to face (this phrase always mystified me when I used to watch trashy martial arts films but I've solved that now- I don't watch them any more!) but most of us are happy enough to deal with tricky presentations at work or a karate championship. That sudden burst of adrenalin, pounding heart and cold sweat in the hands but despite all this you know you have to perform. Occasionally I can drop out of this cycle by recognising that this sales pitch or kata I need to perform isn't a life threatening situation. It just has to be done. But to be honest I find that this takes the edge off my performance and actually the adrenalin squirt helps keep me sharp. Focusing on the task and breathing regulation as Dean Potter does helps enormously but in his case, it really is life or death.

I watched the documentary with detached interest and admiration for the guy 'til it got to the scene where the camera records his passage across the line at considerable height and it was then that I realised explicitly what sort of situation this guy was putting himself in. See for yourself here: (note, although some of the film shows footage directly under his feet I believe this was due to a downward facing camera rather than him looking directly down)

A case of stating the bleedin' obvious

"The taste of your own blood in your mouth while someone is punching you in the face is not a nice thing"

(Commentator on the Phil Goodwin / Bob Ajisafe boxing match)

Wimpole Hall 10k run

I started today's run in the front section, encouraged by EP to start in the 'those who think they'll finish under 1 hour'. This was ok as we set off and I felt good running with the lead pack. At the back of the lead pack, I grant you. Slowly over the course the rear pack one by one or in pairs would overtake and jog on by. I really had to stay focused and not worry too much about other people's races. This was me and the course and the time: that's it. It was good to have people all around to keep me on track and enjoying the day.

View Wimpole Hall Run: 10km in a larger map

It was much hillier than I had thought. I know Wimpole Hall and the surroundings and I imagined slightly undulating wooded areas. It turns out I don't know the area so well. Lots of (what I consider) gruesome hills, through woods and over fields. At one particularly sadistic part of the course it descended sharply over a grassy slope for two hundred metres or so. At the bottom: turn round and get back up the slope. Gasp.

I plodded on and didn't finish last. My time was curiously a little worse than last week but with hindsight I reckon this week was a hillier.

Final time over 6miles: 65minutes.

Theme of the month October 2009: Handy hand-throws

Theme of the month returns, with a difference: This October we will focus on a particular area of the syllabus: Hand throws.

In class we will concentrate on the 10 hand-throws in our system, explore some of the principles that they embody, and finding connections to other techniques and especially to self-defence applications.

Hand throw #2: Uki otoshi

Note that while in the Kodokan's gokyo the shoulder and hand throws are considered a single grouping, in the Kawaishi classification the shoulder throws are split off as a separate group, leaving ten hand throws:

1. Tai otoshi (Body drop): A handy take-down method for self-defence. Adding pain compliance makes it very effective. Note: The version that we do doesn't put the leg across.
2. Uki otoshi (Floating drop): Almost like a half-sutemi, wherein tori drops to a knee rather than the back or side.
3. Kuki nage (Minor floating throw): Performed as a combination technique
4. Hiji otoshi (Elbow drop): Includes an arm-lock
5. Mochiage otoshi (Lifting drop): A very useful technique for use in groundwork
6. Sukui nage (Scooping throw)
7. Sumi otoshi (Corner drop): Another effective self-defence takedown method
8. Obi otoshi (Belt drop)
9. Kata ashi dori (Single leg drop)
10. Ryo ashi dori (Double leg drop): Similar to the double-leg takedown beloved by the BJJ-ers

Most of these throws are challenging to pull off in competition, since most offer limited connection to the partner: Feel and timing become all-important. Switch to self-defence though, add a little pain compliance, and it's a different story.

Practicing the hand throws instills effective body movements which are highly applicable to self-defence.

Indonesia quake

Spare a thought for the Indonesian quake victims.

Martial arts class flattened during earthquake; survivors crawl from debris:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8287159.stm