06.25.05 - Saturday Training

New Items Today:

1. Stance: Cat Stance
2. Rebounding

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Salute: Short Salute
2. Stance: Neutral Bow
3. Horizontal vs. Vertical kicks
4. Kick: Ball Kick
5. Kick: Roundhouse
6. Stance: Lunge Stance
7. Dead legging

Other items:

• Question on gauging depth of a stance when launching a kick

Quote: “The purpose of Kenpo is to create targets.”
This is a quote from Bill during a discussion regarding horizontal vs. vertical targets, in our case today he was specifically talking about targets for kicking. An example he used was the ball kick where, when kicking from the neutral bow position against an assailant that is generally upright and facing you, the horizontal targets that are available to you are the bottom of the chin and the groin – somewhat limited. However, if you were to deliver a strike to, say, the stomach, this action will generally cause the assailant to double over forward, thus creating additional horizontal targets to choose from.

Obviously we are just brushing the surface with this example. From what I have witnessed in class with the other guys (currently at purple belt), we will be learning much more about creating targets.

Quote: “Kenpo is about choices.”
Bill made this statement as a general statement regarding the art but used it specifically today as an aid to illustrate the problems with dead legging. When you are not in proper form and you lose the control of your own body motion, you restrict the number of choices you have regarding movement and posture. For instance, if you are affecting a ball kick but are leaning forward into your kick, you will likely be forced to plant that kicking leg back on the ground in a predictable spot to avoid toppling over. This condition gives the assailant additional options that would otherwise be limited, thus reducing the choices you can make regarding your own actions. By ensuring proper form, weight distribution, etc. you increase the number of choices you can make in a given situation.

Rebounding
Rebounding in concept is using a surface to launch a strike from. In practice, the surface can be the ground, a body surface presented by an assailant, or even your own body.

Questions
I asked Bill a question regarding a modification I made while practicing roundhouse kicks with Alexandra. I shortened the distance that I was bringing my back foot forward prior to launching the kick in order to accommodate the shorter distance between us. I asked if this modification was acceptable. Bill stated that this is correct and is part of gauging the distance to the target. Other alternatives may remove choices I have in the encounter.

Bill also went on to describe how what I was doing could be used at a more advanced level. The back leg is largely out of view of the assailant and can be adjusted to give you more options, such as a quick kick that we will learn later at a higher belt level. The point made was that this is a correct way to adjust and will be built upon more in the future.

Lunge Stance
Working with the lunge stance today I realized I need to practice it more. I seem to be fighting the transition of power/energy created with the back foot. Additionally, I need to be sure I am facing the target at the point in which the strike is launched. The punch should be done with a snap and quickly returned to the proper position – watch out for over cocking the arm back. And finally, Phil, Alex and Bill all commented that the padded targets should be hit like we mean it. I have been backing off the power when striking the targets and need to just hit the damn things with more commitment.

Study for next week:

1. Stance: Cat Stance
2. Stance: Lunge Stance
3. Extended outward blockUpward block

06.18.05 - Saturday Training

Covered several new items today:

1. Block: Extended Outward Block
2. Block: Upward
3. Kick: Ball KickKick: Roundhouse Kick

Reviewed other items:

1. Stance: Neutral Bow
2. Block: Inward Block
3. Foot Maneuver: Step-drag (forward & backward)
4. Proper fist

Other items:

1. Abdominal Breathing (Tan-Jon Ho Hup)
2. Qi
3. Properly hitting your target
4. Horizontal & vertical kicks
5. Dead legging
6. Burst of Attitude

Abdominal breathing exercises (tan-jon ho hup)
Part of our warm ups today included some breathing exercises. Bill stated that the name simply means “abdominal breathing” in Korean and was part of the regular exercise for Hapkido. With practice, it will increase lung capacity and focus our qi.

Qi
Pronounced “key” in Japanese and Korean, and “chee” in Chinese, this word basically means ‘energy’ or ‘flow of energy’. Bill did some demonstrations regarding qi such as the “unbendable arm” and an interesting little maneuver in which he was leading us (one at a time) in a hold and made a slight movement, basically throwing us off balance and on to the floor. He described this as ‘controlling our qi’ or energy of movement.

He went on to say that there isn’t anything mystical about qi, although some would disagree with him. My own opinions tend to be more along the lines of what Bill is saying as what I am observing is pure physics at work. By changing the leverage at specific fulcrum points, drastic kinetic energy shifts take place at rapid speeds, creating what looks like an amazing result. The only caveat that I am seeing is the assumed and controlled reaction of those people being manipulated as one needs to have a basic understanding of how the body reacts to specific stimuli and joint manipulation. Coupled together, it really does have a look of ‘mystical energy’ at work.

Proper Target Focus
As with all of my past instruction, this deals with where you should envision the focused point of impact for any strike you throw. Bill was less specific about a particular measurement, but basically pointed out that the target is not the surface of where you are connecting, but rather should be at some distance beyond that surface. Of course, control is a major part of this concept as you can ‘project’ the energy of the blow to certain depths of the body depending on technique and study of qi.

On a basic level, you should always punch through your target, with the envisioned target being somewhere beyond that which you actually see. Bill went on to describe some who have mastered the projection of energy and focus. He illustrated this point by saying that a person who has mastered this can, for instance, stack several bricks in a pile and break a selected brick from somewhere in the center by striking the top brick in the pile. I can only imagine the internal effects on a person should this be used irresponsibly.

Horizontal vs. Vertical Targets
Bill mainly just mentioned this as an example of what not to do when kicking. It basically is the result of using, say, a kick designed for a horizontal target on a vertical target. The result is minimal contact where the kick simply slides by or brushes the intended target.

Dead Legging
The most important concept to remember about dead legging is that it takes away your options. Dead legging is when you are off balance or out of position during a kick, whereby you lose control of your stance or ability to move. When dead legging, you often wind up moving in a predictable manor (often to the benefit of your assailant) in order to correct the problem. Bill spent a fair amount of time with me on the proper technique of the ball kick because I was dead legging. I was leaning and didn’t have my leg bent during the kick, which caused me to move forward to catch my balance. He went through the stance thoroughly with me and I can feel a drastic difference now (see technical notes on the ball kick for info).

Burst of Attitude
Bill states that I will hear this phrase quite a bit from Vic LeRoux in reference to an attacker. Bill says it’s sort an ability to flip a switch on when an attacker invades your circle of space. You turn it on and to respond to the threat and turn it off immediately once the threat is diminished or eliminated. Doing this requires and demonstrates control on several levels and can possibly end an altercation by itself. Bill also stated that to ‘flip on’ the attitude and not turn it back off again once the threat is contained is simply unacceptable.

Study for next week:

• Ball kick
• Roundhouse kick
• Extended outward block
• Upward block

06.11.05 - Saturday Training

Covered 4 new items today:

1. Stretching techniques (dynamic vs. static)
2. Stance: Lunge Stance
3. Block: Inside Block
4. Proper Fist

Reviewed several other items today:

1. Stance: Neutral Bow
2. Foot Maneuver: Step-drag (forward & backward)
3. Foot Maneuver: Cover
4. Foot Maneuver: Switch
5. Salutation: Short Salute

Block: Inside Block
Quote: “If a block ends a fight, that’s enough.”
Part of the demonstration of the inside block was showing how effective a block could be at causing pain or injury to the assailant. Bill stated that in some cases, a well executed block may cause the attacker enough pain that he may call it quits – at which time the confrontation should be ended. I’ve seen Bill state in closings on the web: “May you never have to use your art.”… I think that statement is in line with this quote.

On a similar track, he went on to describe what a witness may describe to a police officer after an altercation. Bill stated that all Kenpo strikes can be performed with an open hand, giving the appearance that the original assailant is being “slapped around” as opposed to being struck with a closed fist. Just something to consider should we ever be placed in such a predicament.

Quote: “Never go East when you want to go West”
This is a statement that Bill said we would be hearing a lot of as we go through our Kenpo training. In this instance, he was illustrating how it was inefficient and unnecessary to cock back the arm to intercept a strike when blocking. He further demonstrated some techniques we have not yet learned that clearly shows the economy of motion in Kenpo without reducing effectiveness.

Other items
Bill reviewed my notes from the previous week. He questioned my illustration of the switch maneuver but after I explained to him how I came up with it, he stated that he understood but had never seen it shown that way. He mentioned that the brain has a tendency to become somewhat ‘confused’ if the feet are pointing in opposite directions as the brain can’t tell which way you intend to move. My diagram showed exactly this and that was his cause for concern. He also noted that I had improperly illustrated the cover maneuver, which I promptly corrected.

Bill has ordered my gi and it should be here within the next 2-3 weeks. The patch was also ordered but will need to be sewn on.

Study for next week:

• Lunge stance
• Inside block
• Step-drag foot maneuver (forward & backward)

First Day in Kenpo

Covered 5 main items today:

1. Foot Maneuver: Switch
2. Salutation: Short Salute
3. Stance: Neutral Bow
4. Foot Maneuver: Step-dragFoot Maneuver: Cover

Salutation: Short Salute
The bow at the end of the short salute requires the head be up and the eyes forward. Note that this conflicts with bowing in Taekwondo where it is considered a challenge if you maintain eye contact during a bow.

Stance: Neutral Bow
The trailing hand in the neutral bow stance is at the solar plexus. Note that this conflicts with Taekwondo where the trailing hand is held in a similar position but at the waist instead of the solar plexus.

Study for next week:

• 12 points of the neutral bow stance
• Step-drag foot maneuver
• Cover & switch foot maneuvers
• Short salute