ARTICLES
AND COMMENTARY
ISSHIN-RYU CROSS TRAINING
NEWS LETTER
JUNE 9, 2008
A HOT TIME IN
ATHENS
The title is
indicative of the training tempo and the broken air conditioning in the dojo.
The former kept the latter from being a problem. Although we sweated it out
during the hottest days of the year, the results and company made it worthwhile.
The air problem made it feel like days of old in all our dojo’s. It was when
only the strong survived.
Saturday (June
7th, 08), Jason Anzur, Leon Scott and I, traveled to Athens
Tennessee, to Dennis Thomas’s “One Heart Dojo.” We were there to teach an entry
level seminar on, “Dragon Sen-I” grappling and striking techniques. It was one
of the smoothest sessions I have ever taught. Reason being, (The Sensei) Dennis
Thomas and his well prepared black belts. This was a group who came to work and
had the attitude to support it all day. Master Dennis has a great looking dojo.
He has obviously put a lot of time into it… and it shows. He has also put a lot
of time into his students and that shows as well. They are a really positive,
hard working, group of people. It made our job easy and enjoyable. A plus was
the presence of Sid Wright. It had been a long time since I had seen him but I
can attest to the fact that he is staying in shape. He and Master Dennis were
partners; which at times presented a problem. I had to keep calling them down
for excessive activity. I made the point repeatedly that it needs to be training
not competition. Sid and Dennis could abide by that for a while and then, here
they would go. It was actually a positive part of the day as it provided humor
for the rest, as well as myself. You are never going to get in trouble with me
for being overly aggressive.
The day was also
successful for the Harold Long foundation as well as the Isshin-ryu
Cross-Training Alliance. Master Thomas and his dojo became donors and members.
We appreciate the support and look forward to continued training together in the
mixed arts.
SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE,
SEN-I FIGHTING TECHNIQUES !!
Although these techniques
are simple, they still need to be practiced. There are a couple of keys here
that make them almost rock solid and set up any further attacks if necessary.
Getting and keeping an angle is the most important. It minimizes the opponents
reach, maximizes yours and gives you enough room to deliver a powerful strike.
In the pictures, I will illustrate the proper angle. Basically it is off your
opponents outside hip. Never straight on. You should also move your feet to the
minimum. Close in, six inch to a foot distance, needs leg drive that is not
losing contact with the floor.
These are not “self defense” techniques, or manufactured bunkai.
These are dojo born and bred, tried and true, life savers.
First, the basic concept of the initial and all important move.
Unless you have decided to hit first and sort out the details later, you initial
block is king. Kata and kumite blocks are of no use here unless the person is
only going to fight with one arm. That second arm is on its way to hit or grab a
split second after the first.
Wrong block: This enables your attacker to hit you with a
hook; the most predominant punch in a street fight. It also minimizes your arm
angle and strength for control purposes. The first block/striking/ contact arm,
must be able to manipulate your attacker long enough for the next strike to
land.
CONTROL BLOCKS: Just what the
name indicates. It controls your attackers direction and momentum. It also
positions you for a better follow up to his other arm. See four examples of
blocks below that will enable you to carry out your attack.
THE SLIP BLOCK:
Fade to the outside, contact the
arm, twisting the hip; punch directly into the chest. The chest is a much better
target than the head, much easier to hit, and can be just a lethal. The attacker
also sets it up by turning into you in an effort to strike. Your left hand is
also free to follow up with either another strike or a take down of your choice.
You are in a very good position here.
WRAP OR CATCH BLOCK:
Catch, wrap, knee strike. Off arm slips down for a guillotine
(standing or lay out). Standing is preferred, but if you have a larger stronger
opponent, stretch him out. Don’t forget to wrap the legs and extend the hips
while choking. Roll the shoulders up and back, then pull with the back muscles;
not the traps. Traps tire and have a shorter range of motion. Back muscles are
superior for both.
DOUBLE BLOCK OR THE SWINGING GATE:
This could be bunkai just to make the purist happy. A bit of
Sunsu in with the footwork of Kusanku. The picture is pretty self explanatory,
but it doesn’t really show the full ferocity of this strike. You simply criss-cross
the body, using the lead hand as a striking/ blocking weapon and the follow hand
as a hammer fist and forearm strike. You then just reverse the process as many
times as necessary. After four …..run. you ain’t got this one.
BLOCK- CHOKE:
We affectionately call this the choke and puke. I think we got
the name from Joe Laney. At least it sounds like his names for things. Warning:
be careful practicing this. Your partner will puke at some point and so will you
if you start striking and gripping too hard. This is an easy one. You just have
to concentrate on your attackers throat.
Slide in at your angle, parry with an extension block (your arm is
almost straight and reaching between his head and attacking arm. Simultaneously
engage the throat with crab hand, while grabbing the back of the head. Push up
at the base of the brain while trying to get your fingers and thump around and
behind the trachea. Put your head very hard up against his. If you fall to the
ground, don’t let go. The more you can force his head forward the more your hand
will surround the trachea. It won’t be long. Just hope he hasn’t had anything
exotic for dinner. In all seriousness, this is a death grip and should you
engage someone in the street in this hold, they will not be able to ask you to
stop or say anything in about twenty seconds or so. There are several variations
of this and some additions. The basis is, that you will stop, seriously injure,
or kill your attacker. Even the first strike may do it. So use this one wisely.
I’ll stop here as it is
more important to learn a few things right than a lot of things that you can’t
possibly practice or remember. Unless you are going to spend a great deal of
time in the dojo (ten to twelve hours a week minimum) you need to simplify and
tailor your fighting to each individuals training time. You must be a good
manager of your training time. I only train with the weapons I’m going to carry
with me. I consider anything else poor time management and at best, traditional
exercise. Still we must all choose for ourselves. Other endeavors such as
weapons are fun and challenging for some. You have to do what you truly enjoy.
As long as it is just for you, go for it. But when you start teaching others,
you have a moral obligation to make it clear to the student what is just
traditional exercise and what is, ”get you home safe at night” information.
At our next “JAM” (our name for our group seminars and work outs),
the emphasis will be on techniques we can carry back to the dojo and train
ourselves and others on. We will ask all sensei’s to limit their demonstrations
and teachings to just two techniques a piece. People will be separated by
experience and each group will proceed with that in mind. This way, no one gets
held back and no one gets carried too fast. Because everyone is so eager to
learn, we have a tendency to pack too much into one day. This is one of the
reasons the “Isshin-ryu Cross-Trainers Alliance” was organized. We can share
information year round in and out of each others dojo’s, rather than just two or
three times a year.
If interested in the ICA, go to the Harold Long Foundation web
page, fill out the application, and send 25.00 to the address listed (http://www.haroldlongfoundation.org/main.html).
We will follow up with patches and your membership acknowledgement.
Details of the ICA is on this web page under “Dojo News” (http://www.shaffersdragons.com/ica).
