by Ian Jenkins

The true facts of violence and self defense in the real world must be responsibly reported to students by instructors of any self defense/martial art class. By the true facts of violence I do not mean merely teaching students that sport or point sparring holds no meaning on the street. This fact is reported in many books and webpages and by many instructors, but it is unknown or unconsidered by a staggering number of martial artists. Many of these are truly unaware that in real fights no one need play by rules, spare the groin or knee, not throw things at you, and in general mind their manners, keep their distance, and refrain from simply shrugging off an ippon strike, throwing you to the ground and beating your noggin in. Maybe with their friends’ help.

No, I’m talking about the real world, and not the movie world. I’m not even talking about the handful of techniques useful to a victim, scared stiff, not warmed up, surprised in poor fighting attire and perhaps outnumbered and in an inconvenient setting like a slippery floor, rough surface, or tight quarters. I’m talking about what to do to rationally reduce your risks for violent injury in the world, because of the sad fact that injury threats come overwhelmingly from mates and family members not from strangers, with important exceptions for certain risky but often voluntary activities like getting drunk or ending up alone in an unsafe place, or owning a gun, or committing crimes. The hard facts
of assault must be confronted:

1) The greatest danger to you is a family member. Murders and beatings by intimate acquaintances are the most common type. Sexual assaults against wives/fiances/dates, children and siblings are the most common. About one in five to one in three women will suffer physical violence at the hands of a mate-1.6 to 4 million women every single year. Family violence is the second commonest cause of trauma in women seen at ER’s, with falls, the number one category, concealing more cases.

2) A handgun stored in the home increases your risk of death and injury by a variety of ways. First, by introducing a gun into the house, you increase the likelihood that you will kill your intimate acquaintances, or them you, many more times than the likelihood that you will defend yourself against an attack. Articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) repeatedly show that a gun in the home increases the risk of homicide about 3 fold, and that for every killed intruder, there are 1.3 accidental deaths, 4.6 homicides, and a whopping 37 suicides. For every killed stranger, 12 FRIENDS and 18 COHABITANTS are shot down. Simply owning a gun increases your suicide risk 5 TIMES. Potentially suicidal adolescents see their suicide risk expand 75 TIMES when a gun is available. If you ever have a depressed or impulsive (that is, adolescent) kid and a gun, you’re risking violent death. You might not feel suicidal now, so you might think having a gun around isn’t likely to make you shoot yourself. And you’re right. But an attack from a stranger in your home is even less likely.

3) Drug and Alcohol use are among your biggest enemies as far as intentional injuries are concerned. (as well as car, motorcycle, boat, pedestrian, and bicycle deaths). From a NEJM study: houses where someone drank were 2.5 times as likely to have a gun murder as dry houses; houses where alcohol caused problems at work were 20 times as likely to have these murders. Over 3/4 of studies show alcohol use in a mate increases your risk of getting beaten. Drinking can up your suicide risk 16 times, drugs 10 times. Most cases of stranger violence involve drugs and alcohol, and alcohol is used with shocking frequency as a date rape tool, as well as a vehicle for other drugs like rohypnol. Alcohol is a major factor in injuries/deaths caused from everything from falls, bike accidents, fire, and car crashes to suicides to homicides.

4) Common sense rules are your best protection against dating violence. This means: DON’T USE DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, DON’T TRAVEL ALONE, DON’T GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT PLANNING YOUR RETURN/KNOWING YOUR ROUTE, DON’T IGNORE YOUR INSTINCTS, DON’T IGNORE YOUR ENVIRONMENT, DON’T GO ANYWHERE WITH JUST A DATE, DON’T EXPECT ANYONE BESIDES YOURSELF TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY (Not a new boyfriend, and sadly, not many long-time boyfriends) but KNOW WHO CAN HELP. The risk of sexual assault in college is roughly ONE IN FOUR. Try to be/look like a person who knows where they’re going and isn’t afraid. Many attackers size up a potential victim for posture, diorientation, fear, etc, and even verbally test the person, before attacking. ASSERTIVE AND CONFIDENT APPEARANCES, ACTIONS AND SPEECH MAY DETER ASSAULT. But be ready to RUN.

5) Other methods of injury prevention far outweigh self-defense–and I’m not talking about conflict avoidance. Bike helmets, seatbelts, fire alarms and the like are much more important.

Domestic Violence

To assess your risk of violent injury, start at home. Locks, alarms and window bars may reduce your risk by a measly 20-40%, but that’s nothing compared to the risk from a gun-roughly 500% increases in risk, larger ones if the gun is unlocked or loaded. And the number of gun injuries is tiny relative to the number of partner beatings. So your first priority is assessing your past/present relationships, if any. The following things don’t seem to affect your risk very much, as far as YOUR characteristics are concerned (as a spouse only): your alcohol use, race, prior marriage, housewife status, or income, or many other things. What’s more important about YOU is

1) if you witnessed or experienced violence in your family as a child or adolescent.

2) if you use drugs.

3) Other factors: 60% of studies say a healthy self esteem can protect you; the rest say it doesn’t matter. Half the studies on the victims sex role beliefs suggested that having traditional sex role beliefs increased their risk of assault, and half say educational level affects violence-but half say they don’t matter.

Remember that though your drinking doesn’t make your spouse more likely to abuse you, it does make any boyfriend or date more likely to assault you. And more important than you is your mate, particularly your male mate. There isn’t enough known about violence between lesbians. Your mate represents an increased physical violence risk to you if

1) he is sexually aggressive toward you
2) he is violent toward any children
3) he witnessed or experienced violence as a child or adolescent
4) he is unemployed or has an arrest record.
5) Other: a higher income, education, or assertiveness MAY protect you. Only a third of studies said his need for power/dominance was a risk factor.

Your relationship tells you more about risk than your characteristics. Risk factors include:

1) Frequent arguments
2) Higher female religious involvement/education/occupational level

Marital dissatisfaction is not a risk factor. While all this may help to define your risk, the big point is WOMEN WHO KNOW MEN ARE AT RISK. Ending a relationship doesn’t end the risk. It’s essential that everyone know about domestic violence, and constantly watch for it. So keep in mind that domestic violence:

1) Is never the victim’s fault, is never legal, and is never “right.” No one deserves violence (excepting self defense) whether they drink, gain weight, become pregnant, (though about 15/100 preganant women are abused) wear certain clothes, walk certain places, or anything.

2) Often goes in cycles of anger, abuse, apology, calm, and more anger and worsening abuse. Don’t take excuses. Don’t give him another “chance” to behave. The large majority or seriously injured or killed women have histories of ongoing abuse.

3) Can consist of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse. (Anyone can refuse any sexual activity at any time, regardless of marriage, long relationship, starting sex, or any dating. And everyone deserves respect, dignity, privacy, and autonomy–the right to control their own lives, including their activities, relationships and finances and BODIES.)

4) Often begins before marriage

5) Sex with intoxicated persons, may be rape, because they cannot consent.

6) Is often tolerated because of serious threats to the victim or children

7) Leaves serious and often permanent psychological scars in victims

There are many things you can do if you’re a victim of abuse.

1) Make an escape plan and hiding escape supplies, such as money, clothes, spare car keys, documents, and so on. Don’t overpack–it may tip him off. If you can’t pack a bag at home try leaving one with a neighbor or organizing a drawer of a dresser.

2) If fighting is unavoidable, stay out of bathrooms (closed space, hard surfaces) and kitchens (knives).

3) Try to keep a list of emergency numbers and resources. Consider arranging an emergency signal with a neighbor. If you call the police, DO NOT SAY YOUR MATE IS ATTACKING YOU. They may arrive hours too late. Tell them a stranger is attacking you in your house.

4) Get help. Find the numbers of local sexual assault agencies and class them. (In Virginia Try contacting SHE (Shelter for Help in Emergency: 293-6155), SARA, (Sexual Assault Resource Agency: 977-7273 (977-RAPE)), VAASA (Virginians Aligned Against Sexual Assault: 295-7273) or Virginians against Domestic Violence (221-0990). In C-ville, Open House Hotline: 295-TALK.)

5) Primary COLLEGE defenses are preventive: sobriety, caution, awareness, public places, groups, careful mate selection. University judicial panels can substitute for police involvement after the fact.

A lot of this applies more to women than men. That’s because more men abuse women than the other way around. And it’s also because women don’t do stupid things as often-like defend their macho reputation, pick fights, hang out with dangerous people, commit crimes, get rowdy at bars, and so on. But I don’t need to tell you how to reduce those risks, do I?

Ian Jenkins
University of Virginia School of Medicine ’01

Sources:
“Risk factors for fatal residential fires” NEJM 327(12) 859-63 1992
“Alcohol as a risk factor for injuries or death due to fires or burns”
Pub Health Reports 102:475-83 1987
“Violent deaths among alcoholics” J Stud Alc 44:938-49 1983
“Causes of death among alcoholics” Q. J Stud Alc 33:171-85 1972
“Effects of alcohol abuse on Readmission for Trauma” JAMA 270(16) 1962-4
1993
“Alcohol and Fatal Injuries among US adults” JAMA 260(17) 2529-32 1988
“Alcohol, Social factors, and mortality among young men” Br J Addic
86:877-87 1991
“Fatal Injuries and alcohol” Am J Prev Med 1:21-8 1985
“Drinking habits and death” Int J Epidem 12:145-50 1983
“Role of alcohol in mortality and morbidity from interpersonal violence”
Alc and Alcoholism 24: 565
1989
“Suicide in the home in relation to gun owenership” NEJM 3327: 476-72 1992
“Gun owndership as a risk factor for homicide in the home” NEJM
329:1084-91 1993
“Guns and adolescent suicides” JAMA 266: 3030
“Assoc between the purchase of a handgun and homicide or suicide” Am J
Pub Health 87: 974 1997
“Analysis of risk markers in husband and wife violence” Violence Victims
1:101-24 1986
SHE information packet

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The two articles on HIV/AIDS in the dojo are generally correct and suggest useful steps to prevent infection. Hepatitis, however, poses a greater threat. Its various forms are not as dangerous but more common and more transmissible, so the total risk of death it poses is higher. Hepatitis can live on countertops for days, unlike HIV, and the blood supply is less protected from some forms. Prevention is the same as for HIV, but I thought sparring supervisors who rightly conclude the HIV risk is tiny should know about it so they’re not tempted to ignore warnings.

Ian Jenkins
UVA medical school

Concerning the article on defensive mindset and karate by Dave Sargent: it may help to have students, after a “minor injury,” keep sparring to develop a survivalist attitude, but doing so is a real hazard, because it sometimes takes 15 minutes or more of rest/relaxation for the adrenaline to wear off and the damage to be noticed or appreciated. I had a student who tweaked a knee before class try to work out because he thought he was fine; I ordered him to sit it out. This injury turned out to require surgery, and kicks wouldn’t have helped. Others students have misclassified bone chips as “bonks.” I suggest resting any POTENTIALLY “structural” injury–pull/ fracture/sprain as opposed to bruise.

Ian Jenkins
Univ. of VA

by Bill Finnerty

Much is written,little is said. Much is taught,but little is actually
passed on.But why should it be? To fully understand the true depth of martial,you must study the ancient culture and all its strict traditions.

Rank does not denote knowledge, nor does it command the respect we think it does,by many true oriental Masters. In schools of old, master meant self mastery of ones true study. When Master Kanbum Uechi studied the old Chinese systems,he
was taught the three levels of learning,–Shoden–Chuden–Hiden. But in the third level,how much was actually passed on?

A student sees what is taught and what is said, but he must listen to what is not said,and not taught. Where in lies the true study. Many techniques taught,will not work in the streets. Kata is not kata,unless it encompasses three levels. “Oku” ——”Heiho” –and :”Dim-Mak”. These were and still are an integral part of the Masters training. But how much did he pass on?

In the Uechi ryu Sanchin kata, the master placed two self-defense hand positions. one is very apparent,but what is the second,and why its strong importance?It goes to follow, that the second is actually the first .

Master Uechi learned that—
Blocks are not blocks
Punches are not punches
Weapons are not weapons
Therefore–Kata is not kata.

“When the dragon roars–the student trembles
but when the dragon whispers–the wise student listens”
Think of all that i have not said.

by Van Canna, Kyoshi

Awareness

When each of us began to study karate, I am sure that one of the stronger motivations was to develop and cultivate the ability of self defense. Today if we were to question each student at any rank level as to their reasons why they continue to study karate, most of them would not admit that one of the strong motivating factors was self defense. I believe the reason for this is that we are all uncomfortable with mind images of ugly and violent confrontations; serious crippling injuries and or death and blows to self esteem if we are not able to successfully cope with the situation.

As a student progresses through the ranks, his confidence builds momentum in so far as potential responses to violent attacks, but I venture to say that a very insidious self doubt still persists as to his ultimate victory or even survival in a violent confrontation. One of the reasons for this self-doubt is that the ways we practice martial arts today we do not carry the fight through once the violent encounter gets beyond, or closer than, a certain point. We are functioning on the assumption that a well-placed kick or punch or whatever other karate technique we are being taught, will deal a final “Hammer of Thor” blow to the assailant, quickly ending the fight. Unfortunately and realistically, this is not always the case. On a physical level we must realize that we have certain weaknesses and limitations.

In spite of assiduous years of training, well-intentioned defensive blows might not have the desired or programed effect on an attacker. This is especially true if he is build like a football player or if he is heavy with natural padding. . . or that he is simply tough and mean!

I believe that on a psychological level, we all concede to the possibility that, once a confrontation begins, we will escape it untouched. When in the dojo wearing a uniform and a black belt, are among friends and are operating in a controlled situation, we are not crippled by negative emotions and are therefore capable of executing very skillful and powerful defensive techniques that bolster our confidence. However, picture yourself dressed up and all alone on a dark street at night, wearing street shoes that restricts your movements to a certain extent. It is easy to imagine that in a real situation your first reaction will undoubtedly be one of fear.

At this point there are a number of mental images coming into your head that you’ve never really had to deal with before while in the sanctity of the dojo. For example, in spite of your status as a karate practitioner, there is a very good possibility that you may be killed by a weapon or you might wind up with brain damage or fractures that will leave you paralyzed or a vegetable.

We should practice bringing these images to mind more often so we can deal with them and begin our mental preparation for survival. Some victims of beatings have sustained terrifying injuries, including exploded kidneys, disemboweled intestines and other ruptured organs. Some are now plugged into life support systems for the remainder of their lives. In addition, some of these injuries have resulted in such mental shock that a person is no longer able to function as a normal human being.

In is perfectly normal to experience fear before a potentially violent confrontation, but at times this fear brings on a paralyzing effect. A moment of indecision, linked to the flight or fight syndrome while all at the same time certain subtle changes are taking place within your body preparing you for some kind of response. If you allow total fear to overcome you, you will not be able to move fast, your mind will not be sharp and physical responses will lack power, accuracy and determination. A churning stomach and shaky knees will add to your discomfort. These are perfectly normal human responses and there is no shame in exposing them so we may understand them and eventually learn to control them.

You would do well to realize from the very beginning that even if you do not sustain a very serious injury, you will probably be hit hard and experience severe physical discomfort. The next question to deal with is what will you do when the fight begins. What will be your response both mentally and physically.

To be sure, I have read somewhere that most human beings are capable of being a hero but that at other times discretion is the better part of valor. If you are overwhelmed by the odds, you should retreat so that you may survive to fight another day. Keep in mind that your first obligation to yourself is to survive at all costs and not to win the fight. This is especially true if you find yourself in a confrontation when you have loved ones with you. Another thing to remember is that the very basic rule of violent encounters is that there is no such thing as a fair fight. If you choose to respond physically you must realize that you are now into a serious fight and that you better do something very quickly to come out of it in one piece.

I’ve talked to a large number of people involved in serious fights and I have been involved in a few myself. I can tell you in spite of your best intentions, your gallant effort in responding with effective karate techniques, just does not work all the time. You are still locked in a paralyzing moment out of fear and indecision. Your first response or timing may be off, or you may completely miss the target or hit a well-padded area of your assailant so that your response does not take immediate effect.

At this point it should dawn on you that the confrontation has degenerated into an extremely close quarter and grappling situation. The question now is whether you will be successful in prevailing with your conventional close quarter fighting techniques, particularly if you are in pain from counterattacks or if your assailant is bigger and stronger than you are. Once you have become aware of these particular mental and physical scenarios, you will do well to think in terms of dealing with the problem. Start developing a winning attitude, both physically and mentally.

There is nothing wrong with fear, as long as you don’t allow it to paralyze your emotions and actions. Experts in this matter say that you should use fear to your advantage by channeling it into controlled anger against your attacker.

You can survive and win if you are tough. Anyone can be tough if they believe they are tough, and part of the toughness means not to let pain from injuries destroy your will to fight and gaining control of the situation. In addition, if you respond with explosive counterattacks, you will completely surprise your assailant because most likely he is not expecting resistance from you. Also the display of an attitude that projects strength and decisiveness is very important to cultivate and in a great number of cases is enough to prevent a fight from even beginning. Just as in a tough sparring match, in most physical encounters there will be a few moments of sizing up the opposition. You’ll do it and so will the potential assailant. You must then put a determined look in your eyes and project the impression that: “Well if you’re pushing me into a fight, here I am and I am going to do anything necessary to survive.”

Take a strong physical posture and be prepared to tough it out until the end. Strike back in a ruthless manner without holding back and follow through until you see the attacker is incapable of further action against you. You will do well to develop some of the awareness principles outlined above and most important, work on developing some serious “stopping power” in your physical techniques.

Van Canna is a 7th degree black belt and Kyoshi in the Uechi-ryu Karate Association.

by Frank Thiboutot

In The Middle Kingdom, there is no sky. At least there’s no sky as we know it. Just a gray and orange layer of smog blocking the sun and eliminating any view of a blue sky even in the countryside. China is experiencing its own industrial revolution with coal smokestacks extending toward the heavens to perhaps someday catch up to the west in wealth and technology. For now, it seems to be the thinking of their leaders that the environment might have to be sacrificed in order achieve that standard of living found (but not admitting exists) in the west. Hong Kong and certain parts of Beijing may boast its ultra modern and high tech office buildings, hotels and businesses, but its the exception rather than the rule.

In early December, I was contacted by the ShanXi Fighting Tackunobo Association to organize a team of kickboxers from the U.S. to compete for the first time in TaiYuan City in ShanXi Province. There was also a team of Japanese invited to participate as well. After two months of phone calls and a stack of faxes an inch thick we made the historical journey having obtained our visas only one day before we left for Beijing on February 8th.

It’s every martial artist’s dream to visit the region of China where our sport has its roots. But, because China had been basically closed to the outside western world since the communists took over in 1949, I personally didn’t think I was ever going have that opportunity. I am an experienced traveler having been to approximately fifty countries in my lifetime. I had been all around the region from Hong Kong to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan after a two year stint in the Peace Corps in Korea in the mid-seventies. Even though we didn’t quite make it to Henan Province, where the original Shaolin temples once stood and another six hour ride by bus, to me, this trip was an opportunity of a lifetime. I also had no trouble soliciting my good friend, Bruce Marshall, of Marshall’e Kenpo Karate in Newburyport, MA to accompany me as a coach and for him to convince Jonas Nunez, America’s Finest Karate and Kickboxing in Elizabeth, NJ, to come along as a trainer and chief second.

The problem was in convincing the fighters that we could actually pull off this trip. Those involved in the fight game recognize it’s pitfalls pertaining to matchmaking let alone some guy from Maine calling them to travel half way around the world to fight in a communist country. This lead to a number of anxious moments even on the morning we left from Logan airport. We hadn’t heard from Felisberto Fernandes, Dorchester, MA, for a week despite numerous phone calls and then he was late in arriving because he went to another terminal. It wasn’t exactly a Kodak moment, but it sure was a relief that he and John Hunt, Watertown, MA, both made the plane with Bruce and I to JFK where we were to meet up with the other half of the eight man team and all fly together to China. Maybe it’s because to me they’re just kids, but it never fails to amaze me how oblivious fighters seem to be about time, deadlines, and making phone calls to let you know everything is on schedule with them. I guess if promoting and matchmaking were easy at this level, everyone would be doing it.

Speaking of promoting, a Boston based TV crew boarded the flight before we took off to film a family who was going to Nagano to watch their daughter play for the American Women’s Hockey Team. After this was announced by the stewardess and they received a polite applause, I asked her to make the announcement that half the members of the U.S. Kickboxing Team were on the plane as well and were on their way to China. They received a rousing applause and were asked to stand to identify themselves. Only a few years ago, most people would not even know what kickboxing was……..Making progress.

At JFK, Peter Kaljevic, by way of Yugoslavia who now makes his home in Queens, was the first to arrive along with Orlando Cintron, the Bronx, and Olando Rivera, from Staten Island, and the man who pulled it all together for the New York contingent, Jonas Nunez. I felt as though my job was done just before we all boarded the United Airline Flight to Tokyo which was full because the Winter Olympics had just started in Nagano. My thoughts were on how hard our travel agents Samantha and Rene in Hampton, NH worked to help us put this together. If someone hadn’t shown up for whatever reason, I wasn’t going to go myself because I would’ve lost face by not being able to deliver what I promised our hosts in China. I distributed the red, white and blue USA team robes and cornerman jackets that were express mailed by Ringside Products only one day earlier. High fives were given all around, “now I could relax”, I felt…………….NOT!

Little did I know that the total travel time, with layovers, was 27 hours from the time we left until we landed in Beijing. The worst leg was the 14 hour bedhead flight from JFK to Tokyo. We were met after we cleared customs at about 8:30pm on Sunday, February 8th by our interpreter, Wang Fei, whose American name is Danny and Huang JianFu, the coach of the Chinese team. I was reminded of Mr. Galacawitz in the Budweiser commercial when I saw the placard with my name on it, but instead of a limousine we had a comfortable mini-bus to take us to the Rainbow Hotel across town. I had expected the accommodations to be about the same as the hotel I stayed in while in Kiev in the Ukraine several years prior. But, this was surprisingly comfortable and about the equivalent of a Ramada or Holiday Inn.

I was also surprised that they had booked Bruce and I into our own separate rooms. This was indeed a happy moment since Bruce has been known to peel the paint off the walls with his snoring. We then had a brief meeting with Danny and Mr. Huang to discuss some of the business details and the rules for the event. We gave them copies of the rule books, world ratings, and catalogues in our possession to bring them up to speed with what is going on in the sport in the outside world. In our correspondences prior to leaving the States, we were under the supposition that we would be fighting Thai Style rules (without elbows) for these bouts, but that was to change. More on that later.

The next morning I got up at 6:00am to go for a run. It was still quite dark and eerily quiet in my room. There was no traffic noise which you’d expect even that early in the morning in a city with 12 million people. When I got outside, the streets were teeming with people walking and riding bicycles. If this were New York City, the horns would be

blarring. I’m assuming that the masses of Chinese, as I felt with the Ukranians, were simply less expressive (which could also be interpreted as more polite and better mannered) and were used to harnessing their emotions more so than people in the west. I also didn’t get the long stares and catcalls that I expected as I rambled along the streets and sidewalks in my colorful workout clothes. Is it a result of their subjugation by the

communists, I don’t know. I’ll leave those conclusions to the social psychologists, but, it

was certainly strange. At the beginning of my run, I saw Orlando Cintron who was on his way back from his run. Most of the guys went out early simply to flush their bodies, get their bodies back on track and keep their weight in check. And yes, I did see some elderly people doing light exercises and also practicing Tai Chi on the sidewalks in front of their shops.

After a solid American style buffet breakfast, we met as a group to do a little sightseeing. We were scheduled to see the Imperial Palace, also known as the Forbidden City, in the morning and The Summer Palace in the afternoon. I can tell you this much (because you just have to see these places for yourself to feel the impact of their massiveness and beauty) all the work Bruce, Jonas and I had done for the past two months were completely wiped clean by these two tours alone. Spectacular and awesome don’t even begin to describe them…and it was in the middle of winter. I can’t imagine how beautiful these two places would be in the summertime! Bruce had repeated the word “Wow!” so often that I was beginning to think it was the only word in his vocabulary until he injected “Look at That” either before or after the “Wow”. I’m personally all in favor of a democracy over a monarchy except, of course, if I were the king! What a life that must’ve been. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India and the King’s Palace in Madrid, Spain were in first and second place on my list of all time most impressive sites that I had been fortunate to visit previously. Now, they’re in third and fourth place.

That evening after dinner in the hotel lounge, I met with Danny, Mr. Huang and the two Japanese coaches from Tokyo, Toshihiro Yamaki and Hiromasa Yaginuma. Having been in the Peace Corps in Korea in the early eighties, it gave me the opportunity travel to Japan. They also travel often to Korea for kickboxing events which opened a line of conversation for us. Later on, the U.S. and Japananese fighters would form an alliance against the Chinese fighters. How’s that for a turn of events in comparison to WWII? At this time, we were notified that the rounds were to be reduced from 5 three-minute rounds to 3 two-minute rounds, otherwise, the show would last all night with 10 bouts. It gave me cause for suspicion as to their experience and conditioning levels, but when in Rome………….

On Tuesday morning, we had breakfast and the U.S. team members had cranked up their diplomatic relations and cross-cultural experiences with the host country nationals, particularly, the waitresses. It was difficult to get them to smile and open up mainly because they’re still considered to be second class citizens with their roles clearly defined. It’s definitly a man’s world in China, but these Americans, who are are

naturally gregarious by nature, made it their personal secondary mission on this trip to promote how we do things in the west by sweet talking as many females as humanly possible in one week.

They also began their incessant harangues about the quality of the food. Chinese food in China is not like it is in the States. Our hosts gave us the best they had to offer and as much of whatever we wanted. Even our interpreters didn’t recognize many of the dishes we were offered. It was above their normal fare of white rice and vegetables. They did realize, however, that I was eating frog legs on one occasion, which I thought was chicken, but of course didn’t say anything until after I asked. For weight conscious fighters in need of carbos, most of the dishes were not suitable to their palats. It has always amazed me how conscientious fighters are about what they take into their temples (bodies)…prior to their fights. Afterwards, they force as much alcohol as posssible into that same temple without any reservation. Makes sense to me???

At 10:00am, we boarded our mini-bus to begin our 500 km. ride to TaiYuan in ShanXi Province where the event was scheduled to take place with the U.S. Team on one bus and the Japanese Team on another. Just about an hour later, on the outskirts of the city, we broke down. But, as luck would have it, we were picked up by a Greyhound style bus with available seats which was also on its way to TaiYuan. Better yet, we were also treated to a Jackie Chan film to pass the time.

The countryside is mainly farmland with villages (collectives) scattered here and there. It was difficult to tell what types of crops they grew since it was wintertime. Every available piece of earth was utilized, however. Even the sides of the hills had a stepped system with various sized patches of earth to plant crops. I was surprised that there was no snow even in the mountain passes. Must of been because of El Nino.

China is one of the top coal, cement and iron and steel producing countries in the world. It is also produces non-ferrous metals, petroleum and mineral products for chemical industrial output. Wherever there wasn’t a farm, there was a factory. As an outsider looking in, I had to believe that it was a very harsh and stoic existence for the ordinary citizen even in the best of times.

I noticed at the rest stops, a number of young Chinese men who seemed to be stuck in a time warp. They were dressed like 1920s style gangsters with black suits and white ties with the proverbial cigarette dangling loosly from their lower lip. Either that or they had seen too many low budget movies produced in Hong Kong. There were also virtually no women to be seen. I guess they still stay at home while the men conduct business. In Korea, they are known as pak-ay (outside) and an-ay (inside) serams (people).

We arrived in TaiYuan at the ShanXi Coal Tower Hotel and were greeted with a large banner over the front entrance and several TV camera crews. Again, it was an impressive 26-story modern hotel with an auspicious welcome to this small city of only 3 million.

We settled in and got ready for the reception dinner scheduled for that evening which

also turned out to be very inspiring. After so very many years of matter-of-factness whenever a kickboxing event takes place in the U.S., it was almost overwhelming to be treated like celebrities or royalty halfway around the globe. The members of the

Tackunobo Association gave us a standing ovation as we entered the room. There were

welcoming speeches from the dignataries followed by a first-class dinner.

Kevin Garnett gets a contract for 126 million dollars for 7 years to play basketball.

As much as I believe in capitalism and the free-enterprise system, I get awfully sick and tired of the whining, bad behavior, and often poor performances from the overpaid professional athletes involved in the major sports in our country. The fighters, trainers, managers, promoters and officials who participate in our sport, pretty much for the sheer love of the game, in comparison, are always clinging to the hope that we will eventually make our sport a financial success. These rewards may not come in our lifetime, but it does feel damn good when our efforts are visibly appreciated by some and that we can at least say we had a role in paving the way for those who wish to travel this path in the future.

On Tuesday, we spent some time walking around in the area of the hotel where we saw people playing billiards on tables on the sidewalks. We then wandered into a shopping district filled full of small shops, push carts and restaurants. We sensed that they knew who we were because they were very friendly and were very accommodating about having their pictures taken. It was truly amazing and I personally felt, at that point, that, “Hey, I’m really am in the heart of mainland China!”

That evening prior to it opening, we met in the disco to workout and flush out the cobwebs. It was great to sweat and try to keep up with those half my age. It felt so good to skip rope, shadowbox, hit the punch mitts and do some light sparring mainly for calming the nerves and keeping the fighters’ weights in check. Because the dance floor was slippery, I worked out barefoot for the first time in 15 years and it promptly tore the skin off my feet, but it didn’t matter, it felt g-o-o-d to get some real exercise!

Even though I’m heavily into kickboxing for fitness, at 48, I couldn’t help but get the sinking feeling that the game itself, in the physical sense, has passed me by. I ate a few of Jonas’s sidekicks when we went one-on-one, but that didn’t bother me since I do that all the time in my classes, too. While watching the fighters shadowbox, I was thinking how extremely talented these high caliber athletes are and that they deserve more recognition and support. These days, I can only make an impact on the game in an administrative capacity. I was also thinking that at some point, Jonas, too, will have to also confront these demons and make the break from hangin’ and messin’ with the fighters to more of a management position…..which is hard to do, especially when you absolutely love the game as much as he does. I even had to chastise and threaten him that I wouldn’t take his photo because in every picture he was in, he was in some sort of fighter’s pose or karate stance. The break, however, will have to come sooner or later.

On Wednesday morning, I read my clock wrong and got up 6:00am instead of 7:00am. Incidentally, it was a travel alarm that I picked up in a Rite-Aid before I left which was

“Made In China”. I had a chance to channel surf the TV which included a program that was an MTV imitation, some cartoons, along with the news and weather. There was also a montage of activities on one station that included T’ai Chi, synchronized swimming, figure skating, and Chinese couples dancing latin style dances in a competition on a basketball court. “The best of the west has come east”, I thought.

Wednesday turned out to be The Festival of the Lanterns thus explaining all the brightly colored paper lanterns hung everywhere. The weigh-ins at 7:30am went well with all of the U.S. and Japanese fighters making their agreed upon weight. Some of the Chinese fighters were delayed because their train was late and had to weigh-in on the day of the fight. The weigh-ins are another behind the scenes thing that is an integral part of our sport about which the general public doesn’t have much of a sense. It’s best described as a ritual with an aire of tension as the fighters and trainers try to size each other up with their game faces on. Finally, there’s a huge relief by the promoters, officials and fighters alike when all the weights are verified and recorded.

Breakfast consisted of fried eggs, rice soup, rice cakes chicken wings and warm milk, but was welcomed by John and Olando who had been particulary worried about making weight. Felisberto, who looks like a mini-Evander Holyfield, never gave it a second thought, knows his body and ate pretty much what he wanted throughout the week. But, both Peter and Orlando had lost weight from their disinterest in the style of food, but there was no lack of what we had come to know as “Stormisms” from Orlando “The Storm” Cintron. For examples, a fork = technology (as opposed to chop sticks); his idol = Ghengis Khan; the Japanese fighters = Remember Pearl Harbor . Don’t ask me to clarify them. In context, they were really funny quips that came naturally one right after the other from the dynamo from the Bronx.

After breakfast, we all went as a group to check out the arena. It was primitive in its naked state by our standards and only had a capacity for 3,000 spectators. The association intended to give away all the tickets to dignataries and associates for this first time event.. The ring was small with the ropes being approximately 14’ x 14’ inside. They were in the process of setting up the lights for TV production, but the fighters climbed into the ring anyway to get a feel for the canvas…..another long standing ritual.

After we returned to the hotel, Bruce, Jonas and I met with the Japanese trainers, the Chinese coaches, Jian JianGuo and Huang JianFu, and the chief referee for the bouts, Liu YuFu, for an explanation of the rules which we then learned were the Wushu Shan Shou system of fighting. Their scoring system was cumulative over the three rounds (which was originally scheduled for five), not the 10 point “must” system that we are accustomed to using. Points were awarded similar to a point karate tournament with two

points for a kick or punch to the body and one point for a punch to the head or a kick to the legs. Takedowns were emphasized. In fact, two points are awarded for a takedown or throw, which is illegal and considered a foul in international kickboxing rules. What were we going to do now? Go home? Again, it’s never easy when you’re first at anything.

Afterwards, I had a private meeting in my room with a reporter from the press explaining the need to standardize rules. When boxing is mentioned to a person even only casually interested in the sport, he has an understanding of the rules. The word kickboxing, on the other hand, conjures up all sorts of notions and I’m not even bringing the various karate style tournaments into the mix. Above the waist kicking, leg kicks; elbows, no elbows; clinching, no clinching; long pants, short pants; now, takedowns. And then we have grappling and shootfighting to explain to the public. Where’s it going to end? No wonder the sport continues to struggle. I think I’ll get into the golf business…..

I decided it was time to introduce Bruce to the public bathouse. He had obviously heard about it from the fighters who manage to learn the lay of the land much more quickly than us old folks. Because I had spent time in Korea over 23 years ago, the concept was not new to me yet, it was also remarkably vivid. Now, don’t get any ideas; it’s really a legitimate bathouse that is usually located on the floor beneath the lobby in most hotels. Most of them are now called saunas in China. In the States we call them spas and charge

exorbitant fees for the same services.

There are also free-standing saunas for the general public who can’t afford a full bathroom in their home or apartment. I’ve also only been to the ones that are not co-ed. It’s a great treat for the body for approximately $4.00 plus tip. It was also one of the only things that weren’t paid for by our hosts. That and any souvineers that we wanted to take home with us. First, you take a shower and then make the circuit from the sauna or steam room to the hot tub, and then cold tub once or several times. A washdown by a male attendant does not sound very enticing to those who are as comfortable with their manhood as Tim The Tool Man Taylor. However, for those willing to go for it, like someone who is as shy as Jonas, the rewards are worth it. The attendant washes you down while at the same time, with a coarse towel, he scrapes off all the old dead skin which is visibly apparent on the towel. When finished, you’re completely relaxed. Afterwards, you shower, put on a robe and sip tea in a recliner until you stop perspiring so that you can get dressed. The pleasure police in this country, the ones who don’t want you to go to the beach without sunblock, or to eat movie theater popcorn or drive SUVs, would be clamoring about the bacteria in the water, too, if this luxury were common here. Suffice it to say, thankfully, that the oldest continuous civilization with a history dating back 5,000 years continues to retain this custom, at least out of necessity.

At dinner that evening, we were informed that there was no opponent for Stormy. By the look on his face, I actually thought he was going to break down at the table. He was so discouraged at the thought of having come so far for nothing…the training, the money lost from the time off from training his personal fitness clients and then having to explain that he went all this way and there wasn’t an opponent to be found among 1.2 billion Chinese??? See, I told you my job wasn’t over after I got on the plane at JFK.

Well, we had to scramble at that point and plead for the Chinese to find us a fighter. As it turned out, there was one available at 126lbs. while Storm weighed in at 117. That’s quite a spread for people in that weight range. These aren’t heavyweights. I left it up to Storm and Jonas and it was decided they would go with it. It’s never an easy decision one way or the other, but these guys are warriors, no questions asked.

***

Finally, February 12, 1998, the day we’ve all been waiting for, had finally arrived. Now, would you have waded through this whole narrative if I had posted the results of the bouts at the beginning of this article?

We had a police escort on the way to the arena. When cars would get in the way, the driver blarred over the loudspeaker to clear the way. Apparently, there was an accident somewhere up ahead and some resourceful drivers decided to drive on the sidewalks to avoid the tie-up. As we pulled into the driveway, there was a company of soldiers standing at attention in the parking lot. “Whoah,” I thought.! “I guess there won’t be any antics by our cornermen like Lou Duva might pull, if we happened to receive a bad decision”.

After the soldiers marched into the building, we followed them in and discovered that all three teams would be using the same locker room. Another first.

After marking our territory in a corner of the room, we began to get ready and started taping the fighter’s hands. The trainers kept their suits and ties on since all three teams had to march into the arena promptly at 7:30pm. It was a smaller version of the opening ceremony of the Olympics and just as tasteful. After marching into the auditorium and positioning ourselves in front of the dignitaries, speeches were given including one given by myself with the aid of Danny, our translator. Gifts were exchanged with the Japanese presenting a beautiful honorary title belt to the Chinese coach. We presented PKF Certificates and tee-shirts….what a surprise! Our team received a beautiful gold

warrior statuette that the team awarded to Jonas as the chief second which he would later place in his karate school in Elizabeth, NJ.

The arena certainly looked different when it was filled to capacity than it did the day before. It takes nerve to do what we do in this business anyway, but in the middle of China? Talk about a “homecourt” advantage. I can only describe the fights when the Americans fought because I didn’t leave the locker room to watch the Japanese bouts.

As the event progressed, a bond and comradery developed between the Japanese and American teams pulling for each other against the Chinese team members.

Both the Japanese and American teams only won one out of five bouts under the Shan Shou format. The Japanese coach certainly had less than fond comments and felt it wasn’t kickboxing as practiced worldwide. It could best describe it as “free-style kickboxing with an emphasis on takedowns and throws.” Plus, it wasn’t as “pretty” to watch from a spectator’s point of view. The flow of action was constantly interrupted with the fighters going to the mat and getting up off the canvas, and re-starting.

Chinese Team U.S. & Japanese Teams

Bout 1

Cheng Qingshen def. Ishibashi Tomokazu

114 lbs. Japan

Bout 2

Tang Feilong def. Orlando “Storm” Cintron

126 lbs 117 lbs.-USA

Even though Storm had wrestling experience and was strong for his weight, the 9 pound differential was too much to overcome. His energy was sapped from not having enough to eat during the week and lost the decision. If this were straight-up kickboxing, I have no doubt that Storm would’ve won.

Bout 3

Liu Wen Chong def. Yamaguchi Tetsuo

123 lbs. Japan

Bout 4

Liu Ya def. Felisberto “Chongi” Fernandes

132 lbs. USA

Chongi’s boxing skills and movement were far superior, but he had trouble getting inside. We felt if he pressured his opponent more, he would’ve won. It was a close and competitive fight, but Ya got the decision. Chongi will do well in boxing, kickboxing or Thai style kickboxing as a professional.

Bout 5

Liu Wei def. Asami Masayuki

138 lbs. Japan

Bout 6

Zhao Zhiqiang def. John (Fairtex) Hunt

143 lbs. USA

John, aka, “GQ”, was our most experienced Thai style fighter, but he also, coincidentally, drew their fighter with the most experience as well which made for a great matchup. I thought John won the first two rounds by forcing the action. In the third, he got caught with several lead leg side kicks that didn’t do any damage but built up points for the Chinese fighter who was awarded the decision.

Bout 7

Li YongLiang def. by Ito Takashi

Japan

Bout 8

Yang Zhiqiang def. Peter “TKO” Kaljevic

154 lbs. USA

It’s the age old amateur pace vs. the pro pace that were at odds. Peter is a slow starter and used to the longer rounds rather than getting it done in three rounds. Just as he was getting cranked up, the bout was over and the decision went to the Chinese fighter.

Bout 9

Cui Shengyi def. Tashiro Yoshiharu

165 lbs. Japan

Bout 10

Zhang Hesong def. by Olando “Warrior” Rivera

176 lbs. USA

This is the bout we needed in order not to get shut out and the K.I.C.K. World Light-Heavyweight Champion delivered. Olando’s reputation was that he doesn’t seem to get motivated until he gets hit. In this case, his opponent tried to push Olando over the top of the ropes above our corner in the first round. This definitely got his attention. In round two, Olando worked the body while inside not giving his opponent an opportunity to clinch and try to take him down. Towards the end of the round, Olando backed Hesong into his own corner and landed a stiff right hand on the button and followed it with a left hook afterwhich their corner threw in the towel to end the only bout that didn’t go the distance.

Since it was the last bout of the night, bedlam and exuberance broke out with everyone glad to have the event behind them. No one got hurt and we made a good showing. “GQ”

said that in every fight he’s had previously he had at least a few bumps and bruises, but didn’t get a single ding in this one. No fighter likes to lose, but under these circumstances everyone was a winner for participating in such a historical event. There were TV interviews by the press and team photos. The Chinese youngsters were wide-eyed at seeing Americans in the flesh and we encouraged them to have their pictures taken with the fighters. I said to one reporter that I wasn’t sure if I were willing to help promote Shan Shou internationally, but if invited to organize another team, I may change my mind.

On Friday morning, before leaving, Bruce and I personally met with General Secretary, Mr. Yin Xiping, “a very powerful man in ShanXi Province”, and we were presented with two more statuettes of ancient Chinese warriors. By now, we were a bit weary of the private meetings which were significant in number, but it gave us an opportunity to personally express our gratitude to the leader for being invited to compete in this event.

We then departed for Beijing on a large bus with both teams. This time we saw the uncut version of the Big Boss as well as a movie that had a scene with a real dog fight in it which was quite brutal. It was a comfortable ride, but the fighters were obviously a bit bummed at losing. How do you explain the outcome when you get back home? What’s going to be reported in the karate magazines? The results may just perpetuate the myth that since the martial arts originated in China, they were still the best fighters on the planet. Without sounding that I’m whining or that this is a case of sour grapes, I think the Americans are as good, if not better than anyone at this game. The Thais excel in Muay Thai, The Koreans excel in TaeKwonDo, the Americans, Canadians, Europeans and C.I.S. fighters excel in Full-Contact (international style kickboxing) and the Chinese excel in Shan Shou and so on. It’s my personal belief that it’s the fighter not the system that he trained under that makes him great or not. It’s like comparing rugby to American football; differnt rules, different contest. The challenge is to get everyone on the same page. That’s not easy as can be attested to by the traditional martial arts community in this country when its time to enter an open tournament. What’s a legitimate point?

That night, after arriving in Beijing and back at the Rainbow Hotel, the fighters went to the night clubs in search of what they do best, act as ambassadors of the U.S. to improve diplomatic relations between themselvess and as many young Chinese women as possible. Bruce, Jonas and I were invited to have dinner with Mr. Lei Wei, President of

the China Xinghua Group who was one of the sponsors of the event. Jonas declined the invitaton and went with the stormtroopers. It’s his perogative since he is still on the bubble between retiring as a fighter and moving into a role as an administrator.

It was at this time that I became aware that there are definitely two distinct Chinas. The one which is very old and traditional but economically poor, and the other which is very modern and high tech and run by the crony capitalists. (It’s a descriptive term similar to our limousine liberals here in this country). The city is, and I’m guessing now, about 70 miles in diameter. It took us almost an hour to get from our hotel to the China World Hotel passing the infamous Tiananmen Square on the way.

I couldn’t believe how many modern hotels and office buildings there were. The whole area was lit up and reminded me a lot of Hong Kong in some respects and Tokyo in others. It was impressive. I’ve been told that ShanXi with a population of 20 million is in an even a bigger building boom with skyscrapers going up all over the place.

The hotel was impeccable. The lobby was tastefully done in rich Chinese traditional colors and decorations with all marble floors and beautiful carpeting. There was a quintet of musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments on the way to our private room and dinner with Mr. Lei. I’ve been in a lot of high class hotels all over the globe, but this was outstanding especially since it wasn’t your typical Intercontinental, Hyatt or Marriot cookie cutter interior design.

Danny and Mr. Huang accompanied Bruce and I and the five of us sat down to dinner.

Bruce was asked to select the wine and fortunately didn’t pick out a $1,000. bottle which probably wouldn’t have even raised an eyebrow. He settled on a more moderate red cabernet for $93….twice. Then, they brought out the appetizers which included an uncooked lobster that was still twitching after its insides were laid open. The main course consisted of Peking duck which was perfect.

The conversation centered around President Clinton’s involvement with Monica Lewinsky and the American economy. I realized that our mainstream liberal media had done their job in defending Clinton when he said, Every man is entitled to one mistake.” (I was wondering if he personally knew Mr. “Charlie” Yah Lin Trie or Mr. John Chung, who were accused of funneling illegal foreign campaign contributions to the Democratic National Committee, but didn’t ask). We learned that the Xinghua Group was a young company that dealt in technology, industry and trading services, but is also involved with developing business in tourism, real estate, advertising and marketing. Mr. Lei also has has an office in Los Angeles where one of his employees, Mr. Yong Gong, works. Mr. Gong helped us with the last minute details and preparations for this trip regarding our obtaining visas. In 1993, Mr. Lei’s company promoted the first and only professional boxing event in China known as “The Brawl at the Wall” held at The Capital Arena in Beijing. Muhammed Ali was the guest of honor and Michael Buffer was the ring announcer.

When it was revealed that the coach, Mr. Huang, and Mr. Lei were lifelong best friends, both Bruce and I gave it our best effort to pump them for information as to their future plans for kickboxing in China. Bruce was subtley bouncing up and down in his chair at the possibilites of where this meeting might take us. It was like playing cards with professionals, however, neither ever specifically revealing his hand other than to say this will be an annual event. When the topic came up that these weren’t the rules we were used to competing under, all Mr. Lei had to say was, “we needed to practice harder.” It’s safe to assume that their agenda is to promote Wushu Shan Shou regardless of the progress made internationally with the ISKA, WKA and KICK sanctioning bodies. The night ended with Mr. Lei giving us each a set of traditional hand painted eggs for a souvineer. After another of several cell phone calls came in for Mr. Lei, we shook hands and left. Now, it was my turn and all I could say was, “Wow!” This guy was younger than I was.

We left for the airport at around 7:30am. There were a few anxious moments because one of the fighters, who went out to a club and had met a young lady the previous evening, hadn’t yet returned. I wound up packing his bags for him, but he just made the departure of our bus. He paid me handsomely not to reveal his name.

At the airport, we were required to pay an exit fee of $12.00 per person which the Association paid on our behalf. There was then just a little time left to pick up a few tee-shirts which, surprisingly, were not readily available elsewhere. We left for our flight to Tokyo, picked up a few more souvineers at Narita Airport during the layover and then boarded United Airlines Flight 800 (uh, oh) to JFK where we would all once again blend back into the scenery, become non-descript ordinary citizens once again and get on with our day-to-day businesses. For a brief period of time, we feel like stars and and could escape the mundane routines of our daily lives which may also be one reason why we all continue to do this. Those who can keep their heads on straight make out fine after the spotlight is turned off. Those that continue to think that the sun doesn’t shine until they get up in the morning, eventually wind up in politics or try to become Hollywood entertainers.

The whole trip was an educational experience and conducted in a first-class fashion from our interpreters, to the sightseeing, and the ceremonies. Even the programs for the event, the gifts, the dinners, the meetings and so on were as they should be. To voice our displeasure at the outcome of the bouts, would only cheapen the stature of event. For a first-time promotion with athletes invited to a country that has been virtually closed to the outside world since 1949, would be totally disrespectful. Do the Chinese have their own personal agenda? Probably. Were they using us to further promote their own style of fighting? Definitely. Are they using sport to further the cause of Chinese nationalism and way of life? Of course. Every country does. Some just disguise it better than others. But, no one can deny that it was an experience that our eight man team will never forget.

Finally, these few words of wisdom: two Sominex, (not Melatonex, thank you) work just fine, if you find it difficult to sleep on a plane for a trans-Pacific flight……………

by Tom Seabourne

Some sportsmen concentrate on strengthening certain muscle groups depending on their sport. Sprinters work on their legs. But if they do not train their upper bodies they will not run as fast. Similarly, why should a martial artist train his abdominals (abs) when he uses his arms and legs to punch and kick?
Although your abs do not appear to be involved in karate, they are. You can move with increased balance and body control if your midsection is strong enough to steady your movement. Improving strength in your abs will help you change directions. Your back won’t get sore after training. You can lift twice as many groceries. You may hit your first home run in baseball. And you can run faster and jump higher.The center of your body is the place where your power begins. Martial artists have known this for centuries. You focus your “chi” from a place two inches below your naval. If you are centered, you will increase your energy and power. A powerful midline provides a base so you may explode your reverse punch. Whether you punch or kick, all force is generated from your midsection. If your abs are weak, your power chain is broken. A strong middle, connects your upper and lower body. Sprinters must run with their arms pumping straight ahead. Unnecessary sideward motion detracts from forward momentum. A strong abdomen stabilizes motion for peak efficiency. Even when you are tapping in a putt, your abdominals must stabilize your torso.
Muscles in your abs are responsible for maintaining your posture. A strong midline prevents injury. You can move at a variety of angles and feel secure if your abs are trained. But depending on your activity, your center of gravity changes. For example, during a flying side kick, your center of gravity is outside of your body. A karate practitioner lowers his center of gravity by bending his knees to deliver a commanding punch. Therefore you should prepare your torso for flexion (leaning forward), extension (leaning backward), and rotation (turning sideways) by training your abs and obliques. There is no magic to developing your core. Instead, it requires disciplined daily training. An Ab©Roller is fine, but you can obtain the same results from crunches. Crunches train your rectus abdominus muscles (two thin strips of muscle that extend from your breastbone to the pelvis), and three layers of muscle that flank your abs. To perform a perfect crunch, begin each repetition as if you were in slow motion. Contract your rectus abdominus and exhale as you let your muscles pull your shoulder blades off the floor. Exhaling on each repetition will allow you to squeeze your abs without arching your back. If crunches are too difficult, raise yourself off the floor with your arms and perform a crunch on the down phase.

When you are attempting to train your abs, other, more powerful muscles called your hip flexors (iliopsoas) do most of the work. Even when you perform a crunch correctly, your rectus abdominus begins the movement but your hip flexors cannot help but become involved; especially if you attempt to perform crunches quickly. Raising slowly, and only coming up part way is your best method for working your rectus abdominus instead of your hip flexors.

If you anchor your feet, you work mostly hip flexors. With your feet anchored, your back may arch straining the quadratus laborum (lower back muscles). Don’t try twisting your elbow toward your knee at the top of your crunch. Instead, if you wish

Karate practitioners often complain of low back pain. Bend your index finger back until it feels uncomfortable. An xªray won’t show what is causing your pain. When you return your finger back to normal, it feels fine. Similarly, some karate postures make your back “unhappy.” When a random sampling of subjects were required to have their backs x©rayed, some showed abnormalities and others did not. Amazingly, some of the folks with spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis were pain free. Others, who complained of severe back pain showed no sign of deformity. Weak abdominals are not always to blame for low back pain. Usually tight hamstrings are the culprit. Fitness testing may help determine the origin of your pain. If you score high in the bent knee curl up test, but low on the sit and reach trunk flexion test, focus on improving your hamstring flexibility. Muscles can be short or overtight from disuse.

Poor fitness leads to poor posture. If you carry most of your weight in your abdomen, your back muscles must counterbalance. Some “masters” allow their chi to drop from their chest to their waist. The same is true concerning the relationship between your quadriceps and hamstrings. Your hamstrings should be at least 60 percent as strong as your quadriceps (thigh muscles). Tight hip flexors and hamstrings, combined with weak abdominals and upper back may be a prime cause for your suffering.

Drop your pen on the floor. Bend down to pick it up. You probably twisted in your chair and leaned over sideways from your waist. Unsupported forward flexion with a shearing diagonal force is unhealthy for the disks in your low back.

Your disks are collagen packets filled with water. You are taller in the morning because your disks are not compressed from hours of daily standing or sitting. When you wake up, sit on the potty, and proceed directly into your abdominal training, your inflated disks may protrude into your spinal nerve causing pain. Therefore, perform your crunches later in the day.

Does your back hurt when you walk? Walking loads and unloads your disks, like a massage. With most muscular problems, moving around helps to relieve pain. But more serious ailments could be aggravated while walking or moving. This may be due to a nerve impingement or herniated disk. In these cases, walking exacerbates pain because of nerve involvement. Pulsing and throbbing pain, or temperature disturbances may be a vascular issue.

Bend forward from your waist. At about 15 degrees of flexion your back muscles (erector spinae, quadratus laborum) eccentrically lengthen. When you bend to about 45 degrees your hips take over. Bend past 90 degrees and your back is supported by ligaments. Pain receptors called nociceptors are in these ligaments. Sit in your chair with your left leg on the floor and your right ankle crossed over your left knee in a figure 4 position. Slowly bring your chest toward your right knee. Did you feel pain? Try your other leg. Disc injuries, muscular imbalances, lack of flexibility in the gluteals and piriformis (muscle under your hip) can create sciatic nerve problems. Check with your doctor if you feel tingling or numbness radiating down your leg.

Other stretches may relieve your low back pain:
1. Lie on your back and bring your knees to your chest in a fetal position. This stretches your erector spinae and quadratus laborum.
2. Lift one knee to your chest and grab it with your arms. Let your other leg remain on the floor. Switch legs and repeat. This stretches your hip flexor muscles.
3. Lean sideways into a wall keeping your pelvis stable. Bend sideways not forward. This may help if you have a disk that protrudes sideways.
4. Sit in your chair and slowly twist sideways maintaining a neutral spine throughout. This may relieve pressure on your disks.
5. Lie on your stomach. Raise your right arm and your left leg. Raise your left arm and right leg. This “Superman” exercise strengthens your erector spinae and quadratus laborum in your back.
6. Roll over onto your hands and knees. Lift your upper back and stretch resembling a “mad cat”. Hold this stretch for 3 seconds.
7. Stand with your right hand against a wall. Grab the top of your left foot with your left hand. Bend your left knee until you feel a stretch in your left quadriceps. Switch legs and repeat. Martial Artists who watch the silver screen spend a lot of
time training their abdominal muscles. It is not beneficial to possess awesome abs at the expense of awesome low back pain. I have seen people do bizarre exercises in the gym in an attempt to gain awesome abs. One young man placed a twenty five pound weight on his face while he performed situps. His nose protruded through the hole in the middle of the plate so he could breathe. If your lower back hurts, begin with trunk stabilization movements. Lie on your back and lift your arm and opposite knee toward your chest while maintaining a neutral spine. Next perform pelvic tilts. To perform a pelvic tilt, place your palms over your abdomen and chest so that the pinky of one hand is above the thumb of the other. Those fingers do not touch each
other while you are in a relaxed position. When you posteriorly tilt your pelvis your pinky and thumb touch.

Performing hundreds of crunches a day may be harmful to your disks. Crunching forward forces the annulus of lower back disks into your spinal nerve causing pain. After you finish your abdominal workout, perform some hyperextensions to move your lower back disk material back into place. You would probably rather take a blow to your midsection than to your upper abs. Your abdominal wall is thinner toward your ribs near your solar plexus. That is one reason the upper part of your rectus abdominus fatigues quickly when you perform crunches. Your hip flexors do most of the work when you execute reverse crunches. It feels as if you are training your lower abdomen, but it is simply the close proximity of your hip flexors to your rectus abdominus. Consider it a case of referred soreness.

Test the balance of strength between your lower back and abdominal muscles by performing the following exercise. Lie on your back and keep your lower back flat while you extend your legs toward the ceiling. Slowly drop your legs while attempting to hold your lower back flat to the floor. If you can pull this off, your abdominals are strong enough to counter the pull from your hip flexors. When you develop powerful obliques (the abdominal muscles on the sides of your torso), you receive an added bonus of muscular love handles over your hips. Training obliques does not make your waist smaller. In fact if you overload your muscles, your waist may grow larger. When your abdominals contract they produce an innertube like
effect to stabilize your torso. When you flex your obliques you provide structural support to your spine as if filling an innertube. In karate classes your instructor may have discipled you to “pull your belly button to your spine” to protect your lower back. Ironically it is not your abdominals that hold your belly button in, it is your diaphragm. A preferred guideline is to maintain a neutral spine when performing your abdominals. A neutral spine is a slight arch in your low back. If you own a large buttocks you may be incapable of holding your lower back to the floor. If you have a heavy chest or thick legs, crunches and reverse crunches are difficult.

Low back pain may be caused by weakness in your abdominals or lower back muscles. It may be tightness in your hamstrings or hip flexors. Or you might have a structural problem such as scoliosis (S-curve), no curve, or bone degeneration. Screenings such as trunk flexibility tests, hamstring flexibility tests, and bent knee curl up tests can help to determine the problem. A leg length discrepancy may cause pain on one side of your back. Good posture while sitting and bad posture while standing could be an indication for leg length problems. Do’s and Don’ts for abdominal exercise:
1. Do contract your abdominal muscles.
2. Don’t hold your breath.
3. Don’t arch your back too much, keep a neutral spine.
4. Don’t pull on your neck.
5. Do use slow and controlled movements.
6. Don’t swing your legs.
7. Don’t continue repetitions if you lose your form.

by Charles Roberts

… In one of the article’s I have been reading you stated that you would like to do Sanchin in an airplane.
I was thinking how about making a floor out of 2×4′s and suspend it form the ceiling, so it would be no more than 3″ off the floor. Then place around it bumpers, to keep the floor from swinging too much. Also, it would aid in the change in direction. This floor does not have to be very big, no more than a sheet of plywood (4×8) …

Side View

Bottom View

This is a drawing only to show how the floor may look after construction. You may build it any size you want and you can replace the suspension wires for rollers.
The Bumpers can be placed about six inches away from the edge of the floor to allow for more swing or roll. You will need about eight of them, two per side. They can be 4X4 that is cut about one foot in length and placed in a bracket that is used for a patio corner post. Bolt them to the floor.
If you use the wire, make sure it will support the weight of the floor and then some. (like 50% more).
suggestion:
The floor should be as a working area of a kata plus two to three feet more on each side for a buffer.

Enjoy,
Charles Roberts

I met Joan and John over ten years ago through an activity that made irrevocable changes in all our lives: Uechi-Ryu Karate Do. I am happy to say that these are two of the most ethical and enlightened practitioners our club at UVa ever produced, and while none of us are actively practicing Uechi Ryu now, there are two concepts from that training which may be applied to today’s event: sparring, and first-degree black belt.

Because of general public misconceptions about these ideas, you may think I’m wacked for bringing up such topics now, in front of the Justice of the Peace, but let me point out that “martial” and “marital” are anagrams of each other.

First, I’d like to explore the concept of sparring, or “kumite”, which, contrary to popular belief does not mean “crush the other in order to win.” Examining the calligraphic characters, one finds the definition “group hand.” This reveals that the true nature of this training exercise is a collaboration in which the sharing of skills and energies hones the characters and abilities of the participants. Rather than a competition for power and control over the other, sparring is a commitment to helping develop each other’s fullest potential through honest communication about your weaknesses and strengths. It requires exposing your
own vulnerabilities and being open to learning and change.

The second term, “shodan,” means first-degree black belt. This is not synonymous with “karate expert”. Another, and I believe, more accurate, translation is “the leading edge of a bolt of silk cloth.” This illustrates that this accomplishment is not an end in and of itself, but the first step in unrolling a fabric of great strength and beauty, from which anything–from lingerie to yurts and tents–can be made, according to the skill and inclination of the tailors.

Joan, John, it’s been a long time since the three of us were first introduced to these ideas. I hope they serve you well as you create a new way and place together. May your interpersonal kumite always be a dynamic, co-creative evolutionary experience, and may the fabric of your lives together be strongly woven, richly textured, and brilliantly colored with
joy and love.

Maria Olivas

Copyright 1998 by Maria Olivas. All rights reserved.

by Van Canna

This defensive mindset series is nothing more than a time honored exercise in intuition ,the development of skills in a systematic fashion to identify and predict potentially dangerous situations and to respond with the survival
instinct best suited to the threat whether it be fight or flight!! It has nothing to do with “OBSESSION” or teaching trough fear as it has been suggested !

In the “gift of fear” DR DeBecker described men’s internal EARLY WARNING SYSTEM , a mechanism in place long before we used language to help us discern friend from foe ! In the book the doctor argues that social conventions often work to cause us to deny danger until it is too late! !We also invite danger unwittingly by the subconscious projection of symbolism which is seen as a challenge to a certain cast of villains at large!

My intent here is to stretch out the usually mundane “awareness” concepts into a more perfect fabric blend of the survival equation , mental, physical, criminal and civil exposure !!

There is a very good tool in use by lethal force experts called “THE SURVIVAL TRIANGLE”. Picture an equilateral triangle with the words “”"MIND SET”"” written across it’s base; the words “”skill”" written along it’s left side and the words “”"TACTICS”"”"” written along it’s right side!!!! This is the working blend you carry with you , should carry with you , in BRAIN LOCK fashion if you are really in thought of self preservation and if you PURPORT to teach SELF DEFENSE to your students!!

Out of the three components , mindset and tactics are more important than skill for lot’s of reasons, not the least of which being that, most often they keep you from having to fight in the first place. Winning does not necessarily mean physically beating your opponent!! It means being able to walk from harms way in one piece by identifying the threat, predicting the outcome, deciding and executing the survival action called for whether by avoidance ,
de-escalation, cunning , flight or , at the last resort ,THE VERY LAST, countervailing force!!When violence finally comes to you in spite of your best deterrence efforts, your response action better be launched the best it can be or you may not be around for the “debriefing”!!!

The denial factor, expounded by Doctor DeBecker, is responsible for our improper or non existent mindset and failure to even entertain a study of basic “WHAT IF” tactics which put us at ruinous disadvantage in a confrontation!!

The advantage of visualizing and analyzing the three concepts of mindset, skill and tactics through the experience of others, is an accepted standard of mind conditioning in the deadly serious business of lethal force application involving use of firearms!! While attending the lethal force institute [run by Massad Ayoob], there were a number of police officers who had killed felons in the line of duty and who were gently prodded by the teaching staff to share their capers with us so we could vicariously and effectively be touched by “FIRE”!!! The resultant triggered “chemical cocktail” was then enhanced by physically running full speed 100 yards to get us as close as possible to the hand shaking, hyperventilating ,mistake prone confused state of mind of real life encounters and, in this state, we were next put to work in tactical combat scenarios of cover and concealment, building clearing drills , shoot/no shoot decisions, reminding yourself to breathe while avoiding well thought out ambushes and testing your problem solving abilities under stress!

The episodes as related by Dave Moy and others [ especially the one in NY Chinatown] are perfect examples of SURVIVAL TACTICS , one of the component of the survival triangle enumerated above!! NO !! The immersion into this forum’s mindset principles does not predispose someone to more violence; quite the contrary, it will program a rational survival attitude while promoting the will to employ your karate tools if and when absolutely necessary and tactically feasible !!

Van Canna