08.06.05 - 2nd Annual West Coast Kenpo Confederation
BKF Kenpo
This was a great class. I wish it had been longer. Leading the class was Senior Grand Master Steve Muhammad (Sanders), Master Donnie Williams, and Professor Robert Temple. I was early to the class and was able to meet Mr. Muhammad and spoke with him briefly. He asked where I was from and what I thought of the Confederation this year. He also asked if I was familiar with the BKF and introduced me to Mr. Williams and Mr. Temple. Since I knew very little about the BKF, it was a little awkward at first as I didn’t know where to start. It didn’t’ take long though and others began filtering into the room and took the opportunity to meet the three I just mentioned. The room eventually filled up and we began the session.
We started with Donnie Williams running us through some basic drills – kicks, punches, step-throughs, and a few other things. He stated he was attempting to get an idea of the ‘cumulative level of knowledge in the room’, which I found to be an interesting statement given that the room was full – mostly with black belts from the IKCA. Never the less, we were promptly arranged according to rank and ability and then were told to have a seat. Mr. Muhammad was given a chair and read from some prepared notes.
The notes were basically some thoughts that he had put to paper regarding how he equated the movements of fighting to mathematics. It was interesting to listen to him speak. I may be off a bit in my assessment, but it appeared to me that he was holding back, like he didn’t want to overwhelm anyone with his knowledge and was metering it out slowly. I also quickly understood that this man was full of knowledge and wanted desperately to share it.
It didn’t take long to realize that the BKF, or at least this trio, was a very regimented group. Mr. Muhammad would be reading some notes and would occasionally pause and ask if we understood what he was saying. The first couple of times, there were several head bobs and murmurs to the affirmative but about the third time there was a question, Donnie Williams broke in and stated that we should loudly verbalize our responses with clear distinction. After that, the room responded largely with a loud “Yes, Sir!” when a question was asked. The one exception was a black belt that was loudly responding with “Yes, Grand Master”. Later in the class, he did a little spiel about respect, stating that Steve Muhammad was a founding Grand Master of a system and was due a distinction between being labeled as “Sir” and “Grand Master”. I think it was more of a method of showboating for his own purposes, but the gentlemen leading the class didn’t say anything one way or the other when he concluded.
Anyway, after Mr. Muhammad concluded his oral statements, he showed the class some techniques and drills. He demonstrated on Mr. Temple who was wearing some sort of padded body armor that seemed to only marginally stop the force of Muhammad’s blows. It was interesting to see how Muhammad taught. He has a gift of movement that he himself cannot explain. He does things with instinctive movements and acknowledges this. However, these are movements that can be taught and learned.
Muhammad related a story of when he was first learning with Chuck Sullivan. Chuck was asking different students to come up and demonstrate what they had learned and show any new skill that they had learned in the class. When Steve Muhammad’s (Sanders) turn was came up, he went up and stood with Chuck. Since he was new, Chuck was sort of taking him through a few steps in front of the class and decided to do some sparring techniques. This is where Muhammad shined. He had an ability to take the raw movements of a technique and turn them into something that worked for him, and Chuck Sullivan encouraged this. According to Steve, Chuck asked him to demonstrate a particular maneuver and Steve executed the maneuver but adjusted for range and closed the gap with another movement that wasn’t part of the technique. This was sort of the funny part of the story as Steve stated that he hadn’t really thought about doing it, he just moved. Chuck recognized this for what it was and, with gratitude from Steve, he didn’t ask him to repeat the move even though the rest of class at the time was begging him to do it again! The point that he wrapped up with after this story and demonstration was that there is no one system that is perfect for anyone. Every system needs to be custom tailored to the person learning it and the student and the art will grow together. This is what he loved about Kenpo and it is why he holds Chuck Sullivan in such high regard.
It was about this time that the official class time was over. Steve Muhammad was fine to just continue on and anyone that wanted to continue with him was welcome to stay – but Donnie William reminded him that the room was needed for the next class. Muhammad seemed a bit put out by this and actually continued on for several minutes longer before finally wrapping up the session. I have a much greater respect for Steve Muhammad now that I have had a chance to meet him and understand his background a little bit. It was interesting to me that, again, Steve Muhammad is not a ‘large’ man per se, but he was packing serious power into Mr. Temple’s pads – and he moved like a cat; very graceful and with purpose. Like I said in the beginning, I wish the class had been longer.
This was a great class. I wish it had been longer. Leading the class was Senior Grand Master Steve Muhammad (Sanders), Master Donnie Williams, and Professor Robert Temple. I was early to the class and was able to meet Mr. Muhammad and spoke with him briefly. He asked where I was from and what I thought of the Confederation this year. He also asked if I was familiar with the BKF and introduced me to Mr. Williams and Mr. Temple. Since I knew very little about the BKF, it was a little awkward at first as I didn’t know where to start. It didn’t’ take long though and others began filtering into the room and took the opportunity to meet the three I just mentioned. The room eventually filled up and we began the session.
We started with Donnie Williams running us through some basic drills – kicks, punches, step-throughs, and a few other things. He stated he was attempting to get an idea of the ‘cumulative level of knowledge in the room’, which I found to be an interesting statement given that the room was full – mostly with black belts from the IKCA. Never the less, we were promptly arranged according to rank and ability and then were told to have a seat. Mr. Muhammad was given a chair and read from some prepared notes.
The notes were basically some thoughts that he had put to paper regarding how he equated the movements of fighting to mathematics. It was interesting to listen to him speak. I may be off a bit in my assessment, but it appeared to me that he was holding back, like he didn’t want to overwhelm anyone with his knowledge and was metering it out slowly. I also quickly understood that this man was full of knowledge and wanted desperately to share it.
It didn’t take long to realize that the BKF, or at least this trio, was a very regimented group. Mr. Muhammad would be reading some notes and would occasionally pause and ask if we understood what he was saying. The first couple of times, there were several head bobs and murmurs to the affirmative but about the third time there was a question, Donnie Williams broke in and stated that we should loudly verbalize our responses with clear distinction. After that, the room responded largely with a loud “Yes, Sir!” when a question was asked. The one exception was a black belt that was loudly responding with “Yes, Grand Master”. Later in the class, he did a little spiel about respect, stating that Steve Muhammad was a founding Grand Master of a system and was due a distinction between being labeled as “Sir” and “Grand Master”. I think it was more of a method of showboating for his own purposes, but the gentlemen leading the class didn’t say anything one way or the other when he concluded.
Anyway, after Mr. Muhammad concluded his oral statements, he showed the class some techniques and drills. He demonstrated on Mr. Temple who was wearing some sort of padded body armor that seemed to only marginally stop the force of Muhammad’s blows. It was interesting to see how Muhammad taught. He has a gift of movement that he himself cannot explain. He does things with instinctive movements and acknowledges this. However, these are movements that can be taught and learned.
Muhammad related a story of when he was first learning with Chuck Sullivan. Chuck was asking different students to come up and demonstrate what they had learned and show any new skill that they had learned in the class. When Steve Muhammad’s (Sanders) turn was came up, he went up and stood with Chuck. Since he was new, Chuck was sort of taking him through a few steps in front of the class and decided to do some sparring techniques. This is where Muhammad shined. He had an ability to take the raw movements of a technique and turn them into something that worked for him, and Chuck Sullivan encouraged this. According to Steve, Chuck asked him to demonstrate a particular maneuver and Steve executed the maneuver but adjusted for range and closed the gap with another movement that wasn’t part of the technique. This was sort of the funny part of the story as Steve stated that he hadn’t really thought about doing it, he just moved. Chuck recognized this for what it was and, with gratitude from Steve, he didn’t ask him to repeat the move even though the rest of class at the time was begging him to do it again! The point that he wrapped up with after this story and demonstration was that there is no one system that is perfect for anyone. Every system needs to be custom tailored to the person learning it and the student and the art will grow together. This is what he loved about Kenpo and it is why he holds Chuck Sullivan in such high regard.
It was about this time that the official class time was over. Steve Muhammad was fine to just continue on and anyone that wanted to continue with him was welcome to stay – but Donnie William reminded him that the room was needed for the next class. Muhammad seemed a bit put out by this and actually continued on for several minutes longer before finally wrapping up the session. I have a much greater respect for Steve Muhammad now that I have had a chance to meet him and understand his background a little bit. It was interesting to me that, again, Steve Muhammad is not a ‘large’ man per se, but he was packing serious power into Mr. Temple’s pads – and he moved like a cat; very graceful and with purpose. Like I said in the beginning, I wish the class had been longer.
posted by Bonzai at 8/06/2005 11:12:00 AM
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