THEORY & PRACTICE: TECHNIQUES & CONCEPTS/PRINCIPLES

Recently, this topic has reared its head on FACEBOOK in several ways all of which are interesting for those who try to understand more and to learn more,but somewhat controversial as will be shown where such impinges on this topic. IT IS TECHNIQUE THAT DEFINES THE MASTER,NOT ;HIS THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS! The special/specific techniques of martial arts masters(and for that matter of artists,sculptors, painters, craftsmen,writers,etc. are more priized than their concepts AND their masterpieces are more desired and remembered than their theoretical or aesthetic ideas and concepts......for most of humanity......usually.....possibly........ APPRENTICESHIP to masters,experts,etc. whether in crafts or labor or martial arts,etc. always consist of learning and duplicating specific and special techniques and not learning words and expressions of abstract notions. For those who think otherwise, I ask this question.....WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE YOUR KNIFE WOUNDS AND SWORD CUTS,ETC. RECEIVED ON YOUR BODY SEWED UP AND TREATED BY A SURGEON,MEDIC,HEALER,DOCTOR,ETC. WHO KNOWS AND USES ACTUAL TECHNIQUES OF ALL KINDS OR, a person well-versed in concepts and principles who has no real experience or mastery of techniques and fresh out of med/college/etc. studies???????

THE NUNCHAKU

I have decided to write some things on various martial arts 'weapons' or 'tools' and have chosen the NUNCHAKU as the first one to discuss,since a friend on FACEBOOK has asked me to assist him in learning and training with this device, which was immensely popular at one time and highly controversial, rendered illegal in most states and in some countries. Ironically, I carried and used such a thing while in the Philippines when it was under MARTIAL LAW and one should note that I was also teaching martial arts to various people in the Philippines as well. The ironic thing is that I had much more personal freedom at that time than I do now in the UNITED STATES. For instance, had I chose to do so, I could have carried a pistol or gun if I had joined a gun club in Manila,etc. during that time when guns were supposedly 'banned' and 'illegal'. I could also carry the BALISONG which is again a problematic,legal limbo for most would be martial artists in the US. I could also and did wear a bolo on the streets in many places and certainly in rural areas and I also had a sort of 'reputation' for carrying a spear that I had obtained in the Northern Philippines. I actually had wanted to acquire more of these plus head axes but lack of money and other things prevented from doing so at that time. THE HISTORY OF THE NUNCHAKU is still in need of more research and since most are alreay familiar with the basic legends and assumptions and claims for its origins, I will not go into this area unless it intrudes on things. Since I have written several articles that have been published on the nunchaku, I refer everyone to look at them and also at many other popular books,videos,etc. I acquired my first nunchaku during the 'BRUCE LEE CRAZE' when everyone was twirling such about. The nunchaku was also considered for use by law enforcement agencies but lost out in favor of the tonfa which was transformed into the Bradley Prosecutor, and similar police weapons. When I was a corrections officer some years back, special courses of certification were given to Corrections Officers, but I was not one of them at the time. Actually, I am grateful for not having such because those officers who did were the ones that had to go into the cells of recalcitrant and troublesome,hostile inmates and I knew full well that trying to use such in a regular cell had great drawbacks and some inmates, no doubt,could and would disarm the officer who attempted to use it for restraining purposes. I,personally, prefered 'empty hand/empty arm' methods and on some occasions did utilize such when needed and I had to control such inmates for various reasons. The Nunchaku is a weapon that really requires sufficient space to use in the manner that most manuals display and which most DVDs demonstrate. It can be used in a different manner than in the spectacular twirls and demos seen in tournaments but that takes a lot of practice and few really devote themselves to this aspect which is seen as being boring and sometimes self-evident by those who prefer the flamboyant uses. Ironically, one can make the nunchaku and its several variations and not buy the commercial ones, but these latter often have advantages as well as disadvantages. Small nunchaku can be more easily carried and concealed for use. Also, toy nunchakus can get you into trouble as well. Even if such are plastic,hard or soft,foam rubber, wielding them in public view and in public places can lead to brushes with the law in various ways. Attempts to ban the sales of all these things from real to toy still darken the horizons of most States and stringent laws are on the books in most cases everywhere. Dojos may or may not be exempt and some have 'a special dispensation' if the weapons are confined to the walls of the dojo as decorations, securely placed,etc. or used for practice and exercise in the dojos. As long as no one gets hurt, injured or killed and insurance exists then one can perhaps study and learn and practice such. For that reason, most things are not done in the manner conducive to active learning unless conducted in secret,and authorized sessions(usually law enforcement, and related military and security forces who are given a monopoly on such things,which the general public is prohibited. You figure it out. Amon my nunchaku collection I have one that I always take out to have 'hotshot performers' who twirl the light, plastic, aluminum,etc. devices in fancy maneuvers and dazzling arrays, use. Those who have experienced this device: THE IRON NUNCHAKU soon find they cannot wield this one in the ways they previously displayed, that is, without hittling the various parts of their bodies and receiving a number of impacts. The regular,standard nunchaku(s) do have a tendency to reverberate and sometimes strike the body of the user in ways they do not expect. For this reason, hitting heavy bags,wooden posts, trees, etc. is done to make one familiar with what can happen when something is actually struck rather than just free-flowing in the air unimpeded by solid objects. NOW, the nunchaku can be a great device for improving coordination and the like and since it requires a good deal of open area usually and also footwork, those who cannot really use these devices since they may be confined to wheel chairs, and other means of transport that do not allow them to make full use of footwork, if at all, or standing movements, and the like, plus other conditions that might prevent them from an effective use of such, some degree of reseach and experiment should be done by martial arts teachers and instructors, whom I am afraid avoid this and so neglect the actual needs of people in this situation. There have been some exceptions and these are rare where instructors set up classes for specific needs and special needs. So how does one who finds him or her self in this situation.

HOW MANY TIMES HAS A KICK TO THE GROIN STOPPED A RAPIST?

The answer to this question is: VERY FEW,IF EVER, TIMES! The reasons are that many women cannot kick high enough or effectively enough to incapacitate a determined and experienced and ready multiple rapist or attacker. Sad as it may seem, many of the self-defense moves and systems that women, girls, boys,etc. have taken simply do not prepare them for the brutality and shock of such attacks in various circumstances,etc. This is a complicated subject and various namby-pamby legalities are always raised in discussing this area. Here is my answer: I would rather be on trial for manslaughter with a jury of peers than in a funeral home while my friends and family attend my funeral.

HOW LONG CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH?

This question might well appear to be meaningless to most people especially those who are not athletic in nature and for those who do not breathe deeply and so forth. The fact is that in any situation where someone has you by the throat and is trying to kill you, that will be the moment when you will have wished you knew and also what you could do about it as you will have probably at best around six seconds to escape, if at all. Sometimes these attacks are so overwhelming and the attacker so skilled and tough the victim can only die. The firs thing a rapist does usually is to overpower his victim, usually by grabbing the neck and the throat and trying to stifle in the case of women, their screams which are shrill generally and which could summon help or rescue, although in present society this doesn't hold water as many cases exist where people stood around and watched the thing. Protecting you neck and throat and being able to get out of such strangleholds and chokes,etc. is a priority in rape prevention and should be given to women along with very aggressive moves to effect release from attackers.

WHEN IT COMES TO CHI: DO ONLY WHAT YOU CAN DO & BE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

One can assemble a great deal of reference material,such as, books, photos, magazines, newspapers & clippings, and the like, not to mention anecdotes and testamonials galore, to bolster the claims of both distinct camps on the issue of Chi, Ki, Ghi, Prana, Kundalini, etc.,etc. These camps consist, of course, of those who believe wholeheartedly,if not fanatically, in the existence of such forces, powers, abilities, and the like, and of those who disbelieve entirely in such, which is dismissed a fraudulent, undemonstrable, explainable in physical or scientific terms or as sheer nonsense. Marvelous feats and deed, often described as psychic, supernatural, mystical, or magical, have a strong appeal for people, regardless of culture, religion, or socieity and the literature of nearly all peoples is apt to be most overwhelming. For those in martial arts, of whatever persuasion, style, school or system, especially for nearly all beginners, young or old, THEPATH IS FRAUGHT WITH PERIL for those who seek to cultivate extraordinary powers of any kind, beyond physical prowness and mental focus and strewn with both failures and successes as well as pitfalls awaiting many.

TAISHO (also, TAISO)

TAISHO is basically forms of 'ORIENTAL CALISTHENICS" designed to make the body lithe,agile, & flexible and should be prevalent or present in any MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING or program,whether group or solo! Done for conditioning,muscle-compounding exercises(also found in the martial arts forms and techniques) may also be done for one's own personal 'recreation'(in the actual sense of RE-CREATING) or in groups. There are several advantages of these exercises when done over a period of years, from an early age to advanced years, a LIFETIME actually, if possible and life permits. THESE FORMS can be varied, done slowly or fast, with rhythm and/or intensity, with or without tension, as well as performed with wrist or ankle or weighted vests and even with paired dumbbells, in sets of high or low repetitions and increase or decrease of weight amounts within one's limitations and desired goals or aims. Moreover, one need never consider su;ch as a basis for competition or award but as one's own ritual and training that needs little or no outside or extreme assistance from others, save in some rare and extreme cases or situations,etc.,such as, workijng around special or painful injuries and conditions,etc. You can do all of this in a very limited areas, in a closet or a bedroom or your living room,celler,or garage or backyard, patio or even attic. You can also do certain stepping and moving patters to break monotony and add other devices as well. Wearing weight belts and vests,for example. But nothing need be carried to any great extreme unless desired. You can do these outside or inside,in heat or cold, sunny or rainy weather, provided you can endure such conditions NATURE imposes. You can do them in darkness or in daylight as well. When you impose things on any of this training be sure to keep a record at first and also make note of your personal feelings, moods, energy levels,etc. until the time you reach an age where all such things can be dispensed with or ignored!

THE MOST IMPORTANT TRAINING DEVICE IN MARTIAL ARTS

The most important training device or tool is not what is usually considered in most discussions on martial arts. It is not what usually comes to mind in dojos, gyms, etc where exercise and equipment of all kinds abound. It is not mats, assorted punching bags, weights, ropes,weapons,etc. although such are useful and usual nowadays. Taking a tip from dedicated body builders of the past, the tool is simply this: A LARGE MIRROR. THIS MIRROR(we might well term it, a 'magic mirror' of sorts) is NOT for admiring your looks, yoiur physique, yourself,etc. but a way to look at certain things now apparent to the usual eye. THE IMAGE IN THE MIRROR is your greatest opponent and represents all opponents you will ever encounter if you will look further than to what initially 'meets the eye' and do not become beguiled by your self image reflected in the mirror as Narcissus of myth did). The mirror is important for special reasons. You can develop a technical precision in all your forms, strikes, blows, hits, stabs, kicks,etc. and you can also undergo marvelous exercise at the same time that will benefit you greatly. To understand how to deal with multiple opponents, take another mirror and position it so that you can see multiple images of yourself reflected in what appears to be an infinite series of images of yourself and you will see that each image represents all the opponents you need consider for purposes of mastery and self-defense,etc. if you analyze and work at things beyond the obvious. If you take average scenario of attack or defense and merely think in terms of just a single opponent or if you worry and fret over multiple opponents, always adding up, in this way, 'Oh, there are two guys, there are three, there are six,etc.! What shall I do?" and also if there is a mob, how do you survive and fight? Do you face each one separately or do you deal with all of them as is THEY ARE A SINGLE OPPONENT and for that you will deliver a SINGLE STRIKE OR USE A SPECIAL WEAPON OR WHATEVER IN THIS CONFRONTATION? In the early days of karate training KUMITE was just that and one eventually went to dealing with several opponents at a time, not just one or two. Then a progression on such was done to have everyone in the group or exercise fight each other at the same time, taking no side but trying to defeat everyone,going from one to another and back and forth,etc. You learned to take punches, blocks and kicks,etc. and to deal with sticks and knives,etc. as you progressed along this vigorous path. But all this presupposes that you have some understanding and mastery of THE BASICS! You can achieve mastery of the basics by using the mirror if you are fortunate enough to have one where you train,especially at home. You need not involve others in this special training. You will also see that no single target on your mirror image need be looked at but that you can develop the ability to see multiple targets and deliver multiple kicks and strikes, and blows,etc. to several in various successions and directions,etc. You will have to undertake your own efforts to understand and utilize what is said here. No one can do it for you. More on aspects of this SOLO TRAINING which is much neglected these days for group training and learning,which is apt to become mechanical and 'militaristic' in nature.