Is a cigar just a cigar?

[Bill Glasheen]

Awe Gee sorry Bill..but I though that Uechi went to China to learn kung fu with a guy called Sushiwa or somesuch......my bad

That's what you get when you read Shawn's outline rather than the whole book.

I suggest you start with this book. (You can also order it from this website.)

Secrets of Uechi Ryu Karate and the Mysteries of Okinawa

If you read Japanese and Hoggen, then you can graduate to Uechi Kanei's book. Fortunately that will eventually be translated.

Then if you're in a traveling mood, you can tour both in and out of Okinawa to see the many ways Kanbun's style has blossomed.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Post deleted.

[MikeK]

And all of this has to do with original topic in what way?

What I don't get is why seeing a circle in movement so surprising, the body naturally has a bunch of movements that are circles or parts of circles, it also a few linear ones too. People use parts of circles when they look behind them, swing their arms and turn a door knob. People also use circles when they pivot to change direction. Seeing circles as something common is no big deal and may be too granular of a construct to get excited about.

[Bill Glasheen]

It's a method, Mike. It's the way Kanbun's system is constructed. And truth be told, I can't teach Seisan and Sanseiryu without a student having a deep understanding of the way the circle is done in Sanchin. The level of effort placed on those circles in Sanchin (along with accompanying exercises) is considerable.

It's simple only on the surface. There's very much a pat-the-head, rub-the-tummy element to it. It's coordinated arm movements with different distances traveled and speeds of movement, orthogonal planes of movement, etc. Eliminating the cross-talk takes a long time. And that's vital for doing both the more complex circles as well as learning how to integrate that with footwork and other movements.

The number of Uechi practitioners who consider those circles as primarily blocks is scary. Van understands what I'm talking about here. Good fighters can't be reactive. The mindset can't stay defensive.

It's more than just circles. I used elbow techniques as another example above, giving many examples of the applications. Some will disagree with me that my list is "Uechi." Whatever... I don't let others limit my thinking. It's all the same posture to me, applied in many different ways.

All of this seems simple - until you start doing it.

And some of the really advanced moves seem impossible - until you can get someone (ahem) who can deconstruct them and show how many simple parts can be put together to create a complex and elaborate whole. Again though, that's how Kanbun's system is constructed.

Folks wondered how someone like Bobby Campbell could have such "stealing eyes." I'm beginning to understand now. It's like listening to a piece of music and being able to pick out the individual instruments in your head. It seems impossible at first. But some can do it. And a rare few can do that and run with it, creating their own variations on the theme - all on the fly. (a.k.a. jazz)

When I was talking to Ray Berry last week, he was telling me an exercise they do. He calls it "Giving up the face." Essentially you charge in without a plan, and just see what happens. I'm sure it's a disaster at first. But with excellent training and a freeform mind, good things can come forth. Ray was telling me that the RMC basketball coach asked him to teach their players the exercise, only with basketball in hand. And so it goes...

- Bill

[JimHawkins]

You're nothing if not consistent Bill.... I knew we'd get to the weight room before too long..

While he did take the time to get books from me and see what I was doing, his "customized" weight training program for myself and my classes didn't look like punches, kicks, or choke holds with weights attached. They were the basics: bench, squat, power cleans, etc. with barbells and dumbbells. They employed complex methods such as periodization. But when doing a dumbbell press, you didn't worry too much about whether or not you were doing a punch.

You mean the weight program didn't look like a kata?

Say it ain't so...

When weight programs are katas cranes will nest in Alaska..

Even when doing jar training in Uechi Ryu, you don't worry about anything more than picking up weighted jars with your boshiken hands and walking in Sanchin. It's simple. No applications need apply.

The application work comes later.

No waukes with the jars? No thrusts? Hard to believe... A huge jar is just a huge jar...

But bushikens for the jar? That training and more is also used extensively in more than one style of CMA white crane for one..

It is normally used to train a claw type grab--part of SCMA known as *seizing*, where the claw 'grab' controls but also destroys tissue and tendens, etc... I've had it done to me and even done lightly in sparring it can draw blood.. (not for grabbing gi sleeves either )

I didn't think the bushiken resembled that kind of claw grab...

Bruce Lee used to sing the praises of Choy Li Fut - particularly in its utility for multiple opponents.

I'd need to see some supporting evidence on this one Bill.. Any will do..

CLF and WCK were bitter rivals in Hong Kong back in the 50s--Bruce's training days..

--------------

Some of the circles we do are used to change lines, inside, let force go and then take/attack the line--timed with the energy/resistance of the opponent, using his energy against him..

Rarely are any of our circles done on a flat plane (2 dimensional), in fact they won't work if done so...

Not something you can just pick up without doing it over and over against resistance either.. and that's just one slice of the circle.

[Bill Glasheen]

Bruce Lee used to sing the praises of Choy Li Fut - particularly in its utility for multiple opponents.

I'd need to see some supporting evidence on this one Bill.. Any will do..

CLF and WCK were bitter rivals in Hong Kong back in the 50s--Bruce's training days..

Choy Li Fut is the most effective system that I've seen for fighting more than one person. [It] is one of the most difficult styles to attack and defend against. Choy Li Fut is the only style [of kung fu] that traveled to Thailand to fight the Thai boxers and hadn't lost.

Between Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do, Author:Jesse Glover, Pub:Glover Publications (Page 67) (January 1, 1976) ISBN 096023280X ISBN 978-0960232802

[Bill Glasheen]

You're nothing if not consistent Bill.... I knew we'd get to the weight room before too long..

As do most people who train, practice, and teach rather than spend all their time behind keyboards. Training with weights and devices was a very important part of Kanbun's art.

Even when doing jar training in Uechi Ryu, you don't worry about anything more than picking up weighted jars with your boshiken hands and walking in Sanchin. It's simple. No applications need apply.

The application work comes later.

No waukes with the jars? No thrusts? Hard to believe... A huge jar is just a huge jar...

But bushikens for the jar? That training and more is also used extensively in more than one style of CMA white crane for one..

It is normally used to train a claw type grab--part of SCMA known as *seizing*, where the claw 'grab' controls but also destroys tissue and tendens, etc... I've had it done to me and even done lightly in sparring it can draw blood.. (not for grabbing gi sleeves either )

I didn't think the bushiken resembled that kind of claw grab...

First, it isn't bushiken. It is boshiken. Boshi = thumb, ken = fist.

Second... You spend a lot of time telling us how we should be practicing Uechi style, and yet this most basic element of training of Kanbun's art is foreign to you? I find this revealing at best.

Furthermore, it also demonstrates your general disdain for the topic of this thread. Remember the thread? I talked about the dual nature (yin/yang) of the boshiken very early on. It is BOTH grabbing and thrusting weapon - as are many Uechi Ryu tools. Freezing your brain on it being only one kind of tool will literally restrict you from half the art. People who do so demonstrate the need for the approach to our material that is the topic of this thread.

As I tell my students, the original name Kanbun gave the art (pangainoon) means more than the literal half hard, half soft. It speaks to a yin/yang duality in the approach to the material, methods, and mindset.

The Discovery Channel's special on martial arts has a piece on Shinjo Narahiro doing jar training. The methods are well documented. With the right video equipment, you'll be able to see the boshiken grab on the lips of the jars. That is the one and only way Uechi practitioners (who have been properly instructed) grab the jar in this training.

I also recommend you looking at Uechi Kanei's big blue book. In it are very large and very well done pictures of the boshiken from a number of different angles. And the correct spelling (in hiragana) is also there.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Here is a very nice short article (most of it) which I found on Wellsphere martial arts community. I want to thank Mike for giving me the idea which led me to the Google search.

I needed to search around for some images to embellish the article. The ones with the article wouldn't hotlink.

- Bill

Martial arts - abstract or unrealistic?
Posted Dec 12 08 1:20pm

What is it that makes a martial art an artform? I'm not a student of fine arts (at least in the traditional sense) but I've thought about this question for a long, long time and I've come to the conclusion that what makes a martial art a kind of fine art is abstraction. You see, in any artform there is abstraction. The artist is taking some aspect of reality and representing it through his medium with a certain degree of abstraction. It is the management of that abstraction and the medium that makes an art.

Take, for example, sculpture. The most amazing, lifelike sculpture I have ever seen was a baroque bust of a lady wearing a veil.



The sculpture was so masterful that it gave the illusion of a translucent veil over a face. But even if the artist has near god-like skill, a sculpture will still not be the same as the model. There is an artistic management of the distortion created by the translation of reality into stone.

As another example, consider photography. A good picture is not a representation of what is really there. There is distortion. What the lens sees and records on the film is different from what is really there, the light, color, the composition of what is in the frame, etc...



Same goes for videography.

So, a martial art is a representation of reality (combat, conflict, violence) through the medium of human motion. How the artist decides to manage the distortion inherent in that representation is what makes it an artform.

But does the fact that there is distortion make the artform unrealistic? No, absolutely not. Have you ever heard the axiom that a great novel can be more real than the truth itself? Through the distortion of the artistic process, the artist brings emphasis and focus onto some aspect of interest. Have you ever noticed that you can often learn more from a line drawing than from a photo of an action?



***

[Bill Glasheen]

This blog is from Urban Sketchers. About them...

Urban Sketchers is a network of artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel to. We have this blog, which is by invitation, and a Flickr group where anyone can share their location drawings. USk was started by Seattle journalist and illustrator Gabriel Campanario.

Our Manifesto 1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation. 2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel. 3. Our drawings are a record of time and place. 4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness. 5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles. 6. We support each other and draw together. 7. We share our drawings online. 8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

I thought it interesting to see the art of aikido through the eyes of a non-martial artist. Interesting...

This is from Veronica Lawlor's blog. Maybe she'll benefit from some freebie exposure. In order to get the full drawing and not screw up the thread, I just created hotlinks to the drawings.

This is still on the subject of the thread. I'm no artist, but I appreciate art. And I appreciate the fact that we all have ways to visualize and represent information.

- Bill

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
More Aikido Drawings

So I had the chance to do some more Aikido drawings the other day at Long Island Aikiki. (For those of you who don't know, Long Island is literally a long island off New York City. Geographically speaking, Brooklyn and Queens are part of Long Island.)

I really enjoy trying to capture the movement of the Aikido students as they flip each other like pancakes. It's about taking your opponents energy and using it rather than opposing it. Go with the flow, or something like that. I liked going with the flow of the drawing.

Throwing techniques

The second drawing shows the Aikido practitioners performing their end of workout stretch, which involves leaning backwards on each other. Again, using energy as a method of exchange. Great. The last little drawing is one of the men bowing to sensei...

Partner Stretching and Bowing to Sensei

Posted by Veronica Lawlor at 5:19 AM

[jorvik]

What you been smokin Bill

[Van Canna]

Couple of things:

1. Specific/Judicious weighty training will give you the body and the attributes you need the most in your chosen field of activity.

If you are a serious athlete, as opposed to a plodder, first you determine the Primary Performance Muscle Groups of your activity.

Let's say your sport is Soccer : running, sprinting, twisting, side-stepping, turning and setting for a tackle. It is essential that the chains of muscles used in these activities, which are called the "anterior and posterior chain," are developed for strength, stability and power and endurance as well.

I'm talking about the lower back, gluteals (butt), the hip flexors, the hamstrings, quadriceps, muscles of the back, and front of the thighs, as well as the abdominals. This is the powerhouse upon which most of your running athletic movement and explosive performance will depend.

My soccer avatar represents the above very well.

Enough training and the proper weight training to achieve maximum performance that made me a feared forward striker by the goalkeepers.

Before that it was a similar approach by our rowing coach and my track and field coach [shot put] ….

Later it was what prepared me well for the tournaments…and it still continues today…three times a week, in addition to Uechi.

Joe Lewis was an avid weight training practitioner during his fighting career and he wrote an article on Black Belt magazine regarding karate and weight training.

2. The Boshiken and the jars training are not quite understood by non Uechi practitioners. I have felt the claw of Nakahodo sensei and it will paralyze you when it grabs any part of your body.

Some of us seniors have developed the same type of crushing and ripping claw, ahead of the thumb strike.
Art Rabesa for example will tear muscle and tendons from the bone.

That the boshiken is BOTH a grabbing and thrusting weapon becomes apparent only to a dedicated and knowledgeable practitioner of the system.

[JimHawkins]

Choy Li Fut is the most effective system that I've seen for fighting more than one person. [It] is one of the most difficult styles to attack and defend against. Choy Li Fut is the only style [of kung fu] that traveled to Thailand to fight the Thai boxers and hadn't lost.

Between Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do, Author:Jesse Glover, Pub:Glover Publications (Page 67) (January 1, 1976) ISBN 096023280X ISBN 978-0960232802

Isn't that Jesse talking?

I'll have to look and see if I can find my copy of this book.. Haven't seen it in a while...

Not much from CLF ever got into JKD which was laden with WCK...

[Bill Glasheen]

Isn't that Jesse talking?

No. I provided the reference where he was quoted.

Choy Li Fut is the most effective system that I've seen for fighting more than one person. [It] is one of the most difficult styles to attack and defend against. Choy Li Fut is the only style [of kung fu] that traveled to Thailand to fight the Thai boxers and hadn't lost.

- BRUCE LEE

[Bill Glasheen]

What you been smokin Bill

Now there's a man with an open mind - you can feel the breeze from here!

[Bill Glasheen]

Some of us seniors have developed the same type of crushing and ripping claw, ahead of the thumb strike.
Art Rabesa for example will tear muscle and tendons from the bone.

That the boshiken is BOTH a grabbing and thrusting weapon becomes apparent only to a dedicated and knowledgeable practitioner of the system.

Like quite a few things in my life, I had distorted images of what I might or might not be able to accomplish with time. With Uechi's style, I never dreamed I'd be doing what I do today. As a youth I was running off of energy and my leg power from years of track. But... I had faith in process. I was fortunate to have good teachers, and have been gifted with dogged persistence.

Interestingly enough, Van, my experience with the boshiken is the same as what you stated. The utility as a gripping weapon came much sooner than the thumb strike. I'm not entirely sure why; it just happened the way it did.

The real "aha" moment however came not from years of dedicated training (as in a Saturday mantinee kung fu movie) but from being shown (by a former green beret) what you could do with this gripping weapon.

Ooooohhhh!!!!!!

And then... what you find is that your "kung fu grip" really isn't the rate-limiting step in the process towards your technique "of doom." It's... your mindset. Do you reallly think you could do that?

No, it's not a sport technique. And it's not something you fool around with.

Grossman talks about the mindset training needed to use this in combat. In fact he gives a training example - using this very tool. Pretty hairy stuff!

- Bill