The Study Within

Engine design and Kata Training

2010-01-24T03:38:00.001-08:00

Kata training gets a lot of bad press by folks that don't understand it. Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate stated that "if you don't put yourself in the Kata, then you'll only be moving around like a dancer with no purpose."

Funakoshi Sensei was a very smart man.

There's a three principle approach to Kata training in three Japanese words, Shu, Ha and Ri.

Shu is the first phase of training. This phase a person is "polishing" or practicing the movements exactly over and over again. Muscle memory type stuff.

The Ha phase is where you break those movements down and completely take them apart. It's like a student learning to build a car engine (Shu) over and over again, and then in the Ha phase, the student rips the engine apart over and over, looking at different ways to put the engine back in ways that would make it more effective.

The Ri phase is one of understanding why the engine was designed like it was and why it is applicable to your use. Also, there's an appreciation of why the designers of the engine did things they way they did. It's doesn't mean that you can't design your own engine at this phase, it means that you have appreciation and respect for the designers that came before you that taught you about engine design through your study.

Good training,
Joe

2010 - It's about time

2010-01-17T03:50:00.000-08:00

2009 wasn't one of my "better" years. Professionally, I had to take a pay cut to save others within the Corporation from being let go. Philosophically, I have mixed emotions about what happened to my salary in helping others retain their jobs. I can argue both sides of the situation. Capitalism vs Socialism, Wall Street getting big payouts, all of the news headlines we all read during 2009 effected me in some way or another.

I'm glad it is a new year. I'm glad it is a new decade.

My priorities have shifted significantly.

I'm getting back to basics, keeping everything simple going forward.

I'm excited from a Martial Arts perspective as I will be more involved with the IUKF and George Mattson. George has been a pioneer in the Uechi-ryu world for a long time. Love him or hate him, George Sensei is one of those guys that put Uechi on the map and continues to do so.

I've heard from my friends in the larger Uechi-ryu Karate-do community that the Okikukai organization is going through another split. It's too bad. I question advanced stages of Karate study with ego, money and political power. Exactly what good Budo should not be.

I'm looking forward to working with my Coach Jake Steinmann this year in Muay Thai. I miss that guy. I miss having him yell at me too.

I'm grateful for Nate and Pat at MassBJJ letting me be part of the Academy there and look forward to seeing Professor Roberto Maia more this year too.

My small group of guys that work with me on Thursday nights are simply awesome. What a great work ethic and really an outstanding group of people. I want to say thank you to them for the inspiration they've given me through 2009.

I'm looking forward to working hard and seeing everyone.

There's a new Macaco fino in the house. He's hungry again!

Good training,
Joe

Styles make fights...what's your style?

2009-09-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

"Styles make fights" is a famous saying in combat sports. A couple of questions pop into my head when I hear that phrase:

What is style?
How does a person know what his style is?
How do you work and develop your style?
How can you work your style when you are fighting?
How does a person's personality affect his style of fighting?
How should someone use his personality to develop his style?

Fighting is a physical game. However, fighting is a mental game too. There's a lot of psychology that goes on in the prep before the fight, the fight itself and after.

What is interesting, is many fighters do not take the time to self analyze what is their style of fighting. A lot of fighters don't know what their strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to their fighting skill. Maybe it comes from a need for the fighter to be confident. Maybe it comes from them just doing what they were told to do and not to question what was said to them. I don't know. There could be a lot of reasons.

What I do know is that it is important for the fighter to think about these questions and talk with their trainer and training partners about them. Your trainer can be a great help if he is objective in looking at you as a complete fighter. He also should know a little bit of what goes on in your head and not just how you can throw shots or tap someone out. It's a two way street that you and your trainer have to walk down together. You, as a fighter might not see things too clearly and think you should be doing something that just isn't going to be effective for you. It's your trainer's job to get you back on track and working with you so you can fully develop "your style" and be the best you can be. These questions help get both parties to start the dialogue and help with the fighters future growth.

Good training.

Overcoming your Fears...

2009-09-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

From Stacia...

I am terrfied of deep water. That's right. Can't watch 'Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel...can't watch "The Abyss." I've even started to hyperventilate during the aforementioned film.

This summer, with the help of my outdoor-savvy little brother, I decided to conquer my fear of what lies beneath. So, with our sea kayak strapped to the top of his Jeep, we awoke at sunrise to launch into the mighty Atlantic. Initially, there was no opportunity to "showboat"...I did have to inform my brother that I was dreadfully close to vomiting. As time went on, however, not only did I overcome my fear of deep water, I came ashore to the high-fives and hoots of accomplishment from my brother.

That said, you'll still never find me on a Princess cruise. Not ever.

Fear takes many forms. Fear may overcome you the night before a big competition. It might envelop you the day you begin with a new trainer. Your fear might come in the form of a classroom full of new students or it might come in the form of walking out the front door of your house each morning.

Conquering your fear...no matter what it is...rewards you with a sense of empowerment, of invincibility, of vindication.

Honestly looking at yourself

2009-09-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

One of the toughest things to do is to self assess your fighting skills. In the same light, self assessing anything that you do in life is difficult. Coaches, teachers and training partners can give you their objective perspective on what you need to do to improve but you don't have to take their advice. In fact, you can rationalize that their advice is not accurate because they don't really know what you are capabile of as an individual.

A lot of combat athletes do this type of rationalization.

One of the ways to self assess is to use the mirror. Look at yourself. Whether you are shadow boxing, shadow wrestling (Dan Gable did shadow wrestling) or practicing traditional Kata, the mirror can be a great training tool IF you use it honestly. Once you understand the correct body mechanics of the movement, you can self assess. A video camera is another great tool to assess your movement. The challenge is not to get caught up in "looking at yourself" but to study yourself as you would if you were someone else being objectively critical.

Improvement comes through hard work and effort, however that diligence has to be correct technically. The mirror and video camera are great resource in which to begin.

Good luck.

PS I just finished Joe Frazier's book, Box Like the Pros This book was fantastic. It was straightforward and easy to read and understand. The ideas he outlines in the book are easy to incorporate into your everyday workouts. Next time I'm in Philadelphia, I can't wait to get over to his gym and hit those bags!

It's a New Year!

2009-01-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

The last several months have been very busy but very productive. We took some time to re-evaluate and start some new things. The Holidays were busy but they were great. We had some time to get away from our hectic schedules and to spend some time with the important people in our lives.

I've started to do a lot more cardio as of late. It's really been challenging but satisying. I can honestly admit that I don't enjoy the cardio as much as my martial arts training, but cardio really is extremely important if you want to be serious in your training.

Stacia has been doing a lot of Yoga. She's always practiced Yoga, however she's getting her Ashtanga Yoga certification this Spring. She'll be teaching Yoga classes in Lowell once she begins the process.

The room we practice in at Gary Card's Karate in Lowell has been remodeled. Gary Card has done an outstanding job in putting down a great floor and mirrors along the walls and we're very grateful for his enthusiasm. We're very excited to show our new students the space. It has a great feel.

Back Straight - that's all

2008-10-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

"Keep your back straight" is so important and so simple that I take it for granted a lot of the time:

My mom used to tell me to stand up straight.

Master Takara of the Shoehei/Uechi-ryu school Stated the importance of keeping your back straight during Kata. He emphasised this directly when speaking to us once at my dojo in Lowell, MA about the Kata SanSeiRyu. He stated that there were 8 directions you moved in but your spine being straight was the connection between heaven and earth.

Tim Cartmell taught me the importance of body mechanics and the importance of your spine, using it as a great lever.

The great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu folks I've had the opportunity to train with always have told me to "posture up."

Sometimes, the most simple thing to do is the hardest to do.
Just keep your spine straight, that's all...

Good training,
Joe

What's in a freakin' name?

2008-10-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

I guess I should have named my website, "do you have the balls to do this???"
The name the study within is too soft for most people. I don't do therapy. Although, the training I give the guys can be theraputic.

The guys that train with me, don't rub their navel and chant.

They work hard on mixing it up. They push themselves. For a lot of them, they're doing things they never thought they could do. They want to do Burpees every workout as part of the warm ups. They are freakin' nuts.

So, I'm going to keep the blog the same name. However, I'm trying to come up with a new name for the website. Something that people can sink their teeth into and not be embarassed about the name. Enough with the esoterical and more with the meat and potatoes.

Maybe it will be "Step up you sissy mary martial arts and killer arts"

Stay tuned...

To study the way is to study the self,
To study the self is to forget the self,
To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things...
- Zen Master Dogen

You have to want it

2008-10-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

Mindset.

It's the first tool you need to be successful in fighting or competing.
If you don't want it, you won't get it.

You have to want it.

Other tools are necessary too, but if you don't have the right mindset and want it, pack it in because all those other tools are useless.

That's why I named the site the study within. Your toughest opponent is yourself. You fight your own laziness, fear, guilt, busy schedule all the time.

You have to want it.

See you on the mat tonight...If you want it.

Is it the picture or the frame?

2008-09-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

All I can say is "wow." I had a conversation with a very dedicated martial artist who's practiced a traditional art for many years.

He did everything and believed everything the style stated. He never ever doubted the system. Until he had an encounter that made him almost loose everything. He was lucky...He only lost his confidence in his art after the incident. I told him it wasn't his art that let him down, it was him working with his art. It was as if he never saw the picture in the frame, he only saw at the frame around the picture.

I was really suprised that he never thought about other aspects of martial art training. I guess I shouldn't be all that suprised. He never thought he had to look at his study and pull the concepts and training practices apart to self inspect. He simply thought that he didn't have too.

I think a lot of people are like this too.

I think most martial artists either want to blindly believe and don't want to have to think. All they have to do is do what the "Sensei" says, while others believe that if they get tattoo's and hit each other hard, all is good.

That martial artist was lucky. His ego was bruised but he's not dead.

Where's the fight, inside yourself or out?

"Take what is useful"

2008-09-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

"Take what is useful" is a famous quote from Bruce Lee. It is a great piece of advice. In fact, many martial artists these days are taking pieces of useful techniques and using them. The "take what is useful" quote is a direct attack on another phrase Bruce Lee coined. That phrase was "classical mess."

Now, "classical mess" to me means, blindly following a process and protocol. Tens of thousands of martial artists do this continually. Why? Because it is easy to do. The martial artist doesn't have to think. Many martial artists don't want to self inspect, they are looking for the next best parlor trick.

So, "taking what is useful" is a very good thing, but if you want to go deeper into your art you must self inspect. You, as a martial artist must understand your strengths and weaknesses and build around them accordingly. This means understanding your physical attributes and your martial mindset. It's hard to self inspect. However, if you don't, just pulling useful techniques off the shelf will only get you partially complete in your art.

My concept of Martial Arts Fusion, the class I teach is built around:

- A solid use of technical martial skills, drawing from a variety of disciplines.
- The skill sets developed by my students will be different in each of my students, based upon their physical attributes and martial mindset.
- The concept of flow and proper body mechanics in chaining become vital to continued development.

I look forward to sharing these with you and look forward to seeing you on thursday nights. All are welcome.

Some videos you might find interesting...

2008-09-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2VGqi-6W9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2tsG5H0v7s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ImMi2DCGs

Real Tough Guys...

2008-09-14T03:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great training day at Sityodtong. My coach, Jake Steinmann, really pushed me hard. I wanted to quit during the last couple of rounds. I had no gas, my legs felt like lead and I was struggling with all my might to get all the air I could between the bells. Jake was constantly encouraging me, being positive, and passionately motivating me when my tenacity started to fail.

There's something gained in a relationship when you work through a physical challenge and someone helps you get through it. In the fighting arts, there's a bond that is created that is difficult to describe. The person experiencing the challenge exposes their vunerability and indicates, to his or her trainer, a need for help. The other person, because he is dedicated to his student, helps him or her to overcome the obstacle. In the fight game, this obstacle is usually a physical one, like getting through the last 30 seconds of a round. However, the impact of the comraderie developed often lasts far longer than the physical exercise. Often, it lasts a lifetime.

Yesterday, I watched Patrick Cote go through his conditioning exercises at Sityodtong. He ran sweating from station to station to complete his circuit. Patrick is fighting for the UFC middleweight championship in October against current champ Anderson Silva. With each circuit becoming harder and harder, Patrick kept up the pace and sprinted in the later rounds of circuits. While no one yesterday morning was helping him complete each circuit, every single person there was pulling for him. I spoke with him briefly after he completed his workout. Patrick is a sincerely genuine person and I wish him all the best. I'll be pulling for him for his middleweight title shot. BTW...for those of you that are interested, Stacia says he is WAY more handsome in person.

Kenny Florian came by to give Stacia a poster for her classroom. He didn't have to swing by Sityodtong and drop it off to her. It was an off-training day for Kenny and he was going to fly out to LA to do a promotional signing for the UFC later that afternoon. He is pressed for time these days. Kenny and I will be friends when he is no longer a UFC star. He was my friend before that and he'll be my friend after too.

That's the way it is when you share an experience with someone and there is genuine sincerity between the two people. Tim Cartmell once told me that we'll always be friends, even if we never did martial arts together again.

Those are the true tough guys. People that sincerely give something of themselves like Jake, Kenny, and Tim.

Last but certainly not least...Jake has a fight in NY on October 3rd. He's been training very hard for it, and I want to wish him the best of luck.

Kenny Florian is fighting on the UFC 91 card against Joe Stevenson. Best of luck, my friend. "Get his neck!"

"Game"

2008-09-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

There is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi manufacturer named Gameness. Gameness is an interesting word. I never really thought about or understood the significance of the word until recently. Gameness is usually an expression referred to the tenacity of a dog in a fight.

For the record, I am absolutely against any type of activity such as dog fighting. I believe that if you want to train something to fight, you should have the balls to train yourself and step up and YOU fight. Otherwise, for someone to train an animal to fight just so they can live vicariously through them as a "tough guy" is a disgrace...that type of person is just a coward to me.

But gameness or tenacity and determination is a huge attribute in any endeavor for success. As I tell my folks in class, you have to keep working the technique and push through, don't give up after the first try if it doesn't work. In life, most things don't work in the first shot.

It's too easy for people to give up on things these days. It's hard for kids to develop "game" when everyone gets a trophy. In a lot of ways, the school of hard knocks that teaches some folks gameness is the best lesson those folks can learn.

Without the pressure it is easy

2008-09-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

I've been watching both political conventions here in the States. I actually enjoy the carnival antics of the overall show. I love to see the passion and the conviction that is displayed by the folks speaking.

Speaking at a convention is easy. This is what politicians do, they speak. The only pressure the politicians might feel is speaking in front of a large crowd. But, any good politician lives for that very thing, speaking in front of a huge audience. The real pressure will come for them when those politicians have to "do" what they said they will do before their next re-election. Up until that time it's just words politicians say - really no pressure.

Same can be said about a personal relationship. Things are usually great in the beginning of a relationship. There's very little pressure. The pressure you might feel is how good do you look, or am I saying the right things to impress the other person. Where the rubber hits the road is how does the relationship manage when there is tension between the two people involved and how do they react to each other when that happens? That's where you see the real side of the other person involved in the relationship.

Feeling pressure is interesting. In a grappling situation, pressure feels like someone is squeezing you, you feel their heaviness or tightness, maybe making it difficult for you to breath. In a life situation, pressure might make you short of breath, a tightness in your chest and possibly make you react in ways that you might not want to react in (anger, outburst, frustration, desperation or worse etc).

Many people train in martial arts but never feel pressure. They think they do, but really, they don't. This is a huge unfair mistake by their instructors.

Life without pressure, is impossible. Everyone has pressure in one way or another.

In life, you see how people really are and really will really react when things don't go easy and they feel pressure.

Train in your art with pressure. Be reasonable and push yourself a little bit every time. You'll learn something physically and learn something about how you can deal with things mentally.

The next two months here in the States will be a floor show of political rhetoric. This for the politicians is the easy part - just words, just words...

"Music is the silence between the notes"

2008-09-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

I don't remember where I heard that phrase. However, it had a profound effect on how I view things. The phrase made me stop in my tracks and think about what does that sentence exactly mean? How does it apply to other aspects of my life?

Where I work, people concentrate on the end result. We call it the bottom line. The bottom line is the only thing that matters. Everyone rejoices when we achieve it. Everyone becomes concerned when we fall short of it. In fact, everyone drives to meeting the goal so hard, that we don't pay attention to what is going on around us during this drive. If the bottom line was a song, we would just focus on the end of the song. Nothing else within the song would be as important, as long as the end was played correctly.

Last week in class, I taught the rear naked choke. It was important that my students understood that the "choke" or end result (bottom line) is not the sole thing to focus on. To achieve success with the technique, you have to pay attention to all the little things that contribute to a successful completion of the technique. Only focusing on the end result will produce a shortsightedness in your growth in your martial arts development. To get better and continue growing, you have to pay attention to the silence between the notes.

It's September and I look forward to new students coming to class. It's a time to start to do something for yourself.

Everything Old is New Again...

2008-08-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last year, I lost Piggy, my 17 year old Staffordshire Terrier, after a courageous battle with mast cell tumors. This week, I rescued "Chicken" on the 1st anniversary of Piggy's death. His exuberance and unconditional love serve as a reminder not only of the dog I lost, but of the opportunities and new adventures that the future holds.

Chicken, in the past few days, has been making many friends and changing the perception of his breed. Yesterday at Sityodtong, Mark Dellagrotte graciously offered him gym space to play with his Cane Corso, Ducati. Kru Toy, whose father is the renowned leader of Sityodtong in Thailand and Mark's teacher, has spent the past month in the US, cornering Kenny Florian in his fight against Roger Huerta and spreading awareness of Muay Thai. After his last client, he spent ten minutes trying to teach Chicken how to give him his paw.

This brief interaction got me thinking about how the impact of something so small, like a new puppy or the kindness of others, can serve as a catalyst for motivation and renewed energy. I begin teaching this week and will be charged with inspiring the love of literature and writing in 150 young adult minds.

Fall also brings the excitement of a new season for thestudywithin and the prospect of educating new students and advancing the progress of our founding members.

Whatever your goals are for the upcoming months, I hope you too approach them with positivity and a renewed sense of interest. Be open to acts of kindness...perform them and receive them. You can never underestimate the effect they will have on your overall outlook and well-being.

Stacia

An honest interview...

2008-08-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

I pulled this off of Tim Cartmell's discussion board. I find it absolutely refreshing that a great Chinese martial artist like Mr. Zhao is so candid. Enjoy. - Joe

Tim Cartmell:
Thanks to Tom Campbell for sending me this, it's a very interesting interview. Zhao Daoxin was a student of Zhang Zhaodong, one of the most capable Xingyiquan fighters of the early 20th century, and Wang Xiangzhai, the founder of Yiquan, one of the only "Internal" martial arts experts with a verifiable fighting record.

I have often discussed the situation of "challenge matches" in China back in the last century and before. They were rarely full fights and had many more "rules" than modern MMA matches. Mr. Zhao has some relevant remarks.

INTERVIEW WITH ZHAO DAOXIN
Recorded by Huang Jitao
Translated from chinese by Andrzej Kalisz

Zhao Enqing originally was disciple of Zhang Zhankui (Zhang Zhaodong). Later he learned from the founder of yiquan – Wang Xiangzhai and became one of his best students, receiving from Wang a honorary name Daoxin.

The original interview was made by Huang Jitao in 4 sessions over 4 days and is quite long. Here is only a translation of small part.

Huang:
So also traditional wushu is not efficient in fighting?

Zhao:
People from traditional styles say that the modern wushu from national institutes is just „flowery forms". But it still doesn't mean that themselves they possess „true gongfu". The wushu from institutes neglects fighting side, while traditional wushu is talking about fighting. But it doesn't mean that it really got it... Contemporary traditional wushu, just like the wushu from institutes is mainly about training forms. Moreover there is a lot of symbolic or ritual gestures, with no relation to fighting. Looking from point of view of training – they still use old methods of low efficiency. In theory they should help to develop practical skills, but in fact are more like kind of praying, method of developing patience, and just a lot of useless efort. I don't know how many dozens of thousands of people practice traditional wushu in China. But I also don't know about any of them, who could prove their abilities in fighting on international stage.

Huang:
But in times when foreign fighting experts and strong men kept coming to China, Chinese masters of that generation defeated them many times...

Zhao:
If there are so many examples of Chinese master defeating foreigners, why we can only hear about it from our side, and they don't mention this? Maybe they don't want to talk about being defeated. But on the other side how many Chinese were defeated, but we didn't talk about it, because it would be humiliating. Anyway we don't know what were the proportions between victories and defeats. And if Wu Song had fought not a tiger, but just a cat, there wouldn't be reason to praise him for centuries. And what kind of opponents were those foreigners, who were defeated by our masters? My teacher (Zhang Zhankui) met Russian „strong man", I met Danish „boxer". Other friends had similiar situations. But our opponents were defeated after just one action, there was no real fight. But this was only because traditional Chinese wushu didn't meet real tigers. In those times you could easily became famous because of „defeating" some foreigner, but it was only because they were not any real experts.

More challenging was fighting with other Chinese at that time. No foreigners signed up for the leitai tournaments in Hangzhou or Shanghai. And the people from traditional styles, no matter if they were some monks or great masters famous in some place, they either became injured in fights or were not brave enough to fight. And the winners, although they signed up as representatives of some traditional systems, instead of forms and other methods of those systems, they were using completely different methods preparing for fighting.

Huang:
Could you tell us your opinion and views about chinese martial arts?

Zhao:
There is not much time. So I will only outline some issues. This will not be very systematic disscussion. And because people all the time talk a lot about advantages, I will say rather about problems.

Huang:
First tell us, what you think about the internal and external division, and division based on territory.

Zhao:
If we want Chinese martial arts develop, we must reject such divisions. It doesn't mean that there is no meaning in them at all. But they only partially describe way of demonstration, and they don't really say anything about way of fighting. Divisions in martial art should be based on effect in fighting, and not the way of practice, and they should not be effect of swindle. They should express human body and developing technique, and not sect-like customs nourished for hundreds and thousands years. The division for Shaolin, Wudang, Emei and Zhongnan arts is only expressing fact, that communication was difficult in old times. But it is past. And the internal-external division was made up by literatti fascinated by the style which they practiced, so they started calling it internal family art – skillfull writers created flowery descriptions. But in fact nobody would talk about himself being representative of external family art. In fact, in real fighting there are no styles.

Huang:
But the internal-external division is at least representing the real division for soft and hard.

Zhao:
This division is even more muddled. Some just use it to criticize other schools. But when they talk about their own school, they stress that „soft and hard supplement each other", that „internal and external are trained together". They maintain that it's only them who keep right balance between soft and hard, while others tend to much toward softness or hardness.

Huang:
But the concepts of internal-external, soft-hard, at least led to developing sophisticated theories of internal training – concept „from yi to qi to jin".

Zhao:
„Yi, qi, li", „jing, qi, shen" - those concepts related to internal training are hard to express with normal language. We could say that it is about using self-suggestion to induce feeling of comfort and strength. There are new concepts, at least evenly useful, and even more efficient in practical use.

Huang:
What are the shortcomings of Chinese martial arts if we are talking about way of fighting?

Zhao:
There is a lot of shortcomings and taboos. Apart from those which are common for all Chinese martial arts, there are other, specific for some school. For example everybody fears that his style will resemble some other, so they try hard to make it look different. If you tell some person doing baguazhang, that his movements resemble taijiquan, he will hardly accept such opinion. If you tell some xingyiquan practitioner that you notice some similarities to western boxing he will feel bad about it. But actually the differences between styles are more in ritual gestures than in the way of figthing. But those gestures are usefull only for demonstration or meeting, in fight they are useless and stupid.

There is also taboo of falling down. In challenges there was an unwritten rule, that touching ground with part of body different than feet meant defeat. So in the south they stress „ma", and in the north „zhuang". In many styles long, low postures and centered torso are stressed. But what is real value of those stable techniques? The principle „when leg is raised, half body is empty" results in loosing opportunity of efficient kicks and hitting with knee. And the force which can be generated from non-balance is not used conciously yet. Constant talking about „not loosing center" disturbs developing agile body work and fast footwork. What is rejected in Chinese martial arts, is exactly what is most valuable on the international martial arts stage. Traditional Chinese martial arts are old men arts. Old is seen as equal to saint, authority, deep knowledge. But for old man it's hard to raise leg for kick, and each falling down can be dangerous. So this hidden weakness of old master, in teaching process becomes taboo of „not loosing balance". But fighting is not limited to shuaijiao competitions. In many cases loosing balance or even falling down is not big price for getting opportunity of executing efficient action.

Huang:
Let's now talk about training methods.

Zhao:
Our martial arts teachers like to seek for differences in techniques and to hide „secrets" in techniques. But in fact, where can be real differences, and where could be secrets is training methods. Combat efficiency is decided by way of training. And methods of traditional training have low efficiency. You need a lot of time, and even after long time you are not sure if you will be able to use your skills in fighting. Training is a complex science – on border of many disciplines. Just repeating some exercises for dozens of years is not enough. I will not talk much, I will only mention several discrepancies.

First there is discrepancy between training and use. No matter which style, the problem is lack of actual fighting training. In which traditional school most time is spend on fighting training? Traditional teachers make two funny mistakes. First – they say that fighting training can only be the last part of training process, that only when you have gongli, you can start testing it in fight. Second – they think that when you become proficient in tui shou and other exercises with partner which resemble fighting, it means that you developed fighting skill. Of course it is difficult to introduce hard fighting during training. Martial arts hobbysts don't want to go to work next day with swollen face, and bruised legs. But if you want to achieve high level in martial art, you must make it. From the beginning you should train like you will fight.

Next is discrepancy between fatigue and intensity of training. Traditional teachers talk about practicing many hours a day. This is long time training but with low intensity. Muscles and nervous system are not activated in a way which is necessary for fighting. Those teacher hate using modern training equipment, and will not ask other person to train together. They prefer to hide in dark place, keep repeating some movements and pondering over theory.

Then there is also discrepancy between theory and practice, between technique and physical attributes, between what is practiced in public and behind closed door. These are only some examples.

Huang:
We were talking about Chinese martial arts in general. Would you care to talk about specific styles?

Zhao:
Let's start from xingyiquan and baguazhang...
...first xingyiquan. In 1920s and 1930s there were many representatives of xingyiquan among winners of leitai tournaments. But today „power" of xingyiquan decreased. The reason is that apart from problems common for all chinese martial arts, this one which stresses harmony-unity has many aspects where there is lack of such harmony.

For example there is lack of harmony between technique and force. In xingyiquan hitting technique is powered by pushing force. Fists or palms mainly push opponent, in small part causing damage. But it also doesn't allow pushing opponent far away in pushing hands. Actually, it seems as if xingyiquan people have not decided whether their technique is for san shou or for tui shou.

And lack of harmony between form and intention. All are talking about form and intention both being important, but actually they go close toward one of the extremes... There is also lack of harmony between fighting methods and exercises.

People like comparing xingyiquan to western boxing. But they also fear this comparing. They think that Chinese „thing" should be pure. So when there is even coincidencal similarity, they prefer to get rid of it. But I think, that as for training methods and competition, xingyiquan should learn from boxing.

Huang:
Was creation of xingyibagua a result of trying to fill shortcomings of xingyiquan by using baguazhang?

Zhao:
Mutual supplementing started from friendly contacts between Dong Haichuang and Guo Yunshen and between their students. Then Zhan Zhankui linked them together into one system. But shortcomings of xingyi cannot be filled by using bagua. Bagua also has a lot of shortcomings, and they cannot be filled by using xingyi. Baguazhang has a thick outside layers through which it is difficult to see anything. If you look from outside, there is only impression of complexness and mystery. Big part of first layer are legends about Dong Haichuan and his students. Second layer is the unnecessary and forced use of the theory of eight trigrams. Baguazhang teachers always talked about „Book of changes", but nobody could explain at least one necessary link between this martial art and that classic book. Third layer is not distinguishing between basic exercises and fighting. Even teachers think „how to use this change", „how to move around opponent with tangnibu steps", „how to move behind opponent and attack his back" - that's just illusory thoughts. And beyond the third layer – practitioners expand their arms and move around, like people starting to learn skating, and sometimes they make some change into extremely twisted position. So this is mix of legends, old saint books and strange techniques.

Huang:
Taijiquan is attracting a lot of people, because of theory and health benefits. But many people doubt that such soft and slow method could work against explosive power...

Zhao:
Layman has not developed prejudice, so his first impression can be quite right. Taijiquan has its own form of comparing skill – tui shou. Why not be happy with just this? Not every martial art must be good for real figthing. I remember as in period of Republic of China taijiquan experts explained that the reason for no taijiquan people being able to prove their fighting skill at leitai tournaments is because taijiquan is too profund and it's difficult to master it. Was this some kind of excuse or sincere statement? Taijiquan theory looks great and could be a model for other classical theories of martial art. The main idea is relation between yin and yang. You want to be hard? So start from being as soft as possible, because ultimate softness changes into hardness. You want to be fast? Then start from slowness. This philosophy, that after achieving extreme some attribute changes into its opposite is attracting many people. But did anyone test it? No, if you see what those taijiquan masters, who can demonstrate issuing power are practicing in secret, you will understand what I'm talking about.

Huang:
So you say that those young people who want to develop fighting skills are in some part misled by taijiquan concepts. If so, then maybe Shaolin is more sincere? They stress hard, fast, fierce, using both hands and legs. People think that Shaolin monks are the last kings of real fighting.

Zhao:
Ming dynasty generals went to Shaolin temple, having such opinion, and they became disappointed. Today many young people leave school and go to Shaolin. With the same effect – their faith in Shaolin becomes ashes. They come with thought of developing incredible fighting skill, not available for normal people. But in fact they just learn some acrobatics tricks. Training methods which they learn are outdated and not useful for developing real fighting skills. Breaking stones, standing upside-down on fingers, taking hits, when you make such demonstrations, with addition of some tricks typical for illusionists – public will be delighted. Ma Liang's new wushu (Ma Liang published book „New Chinese wushu" in 1918) and modern wushu, despised even by representatives of traditional systems, are based on Shaolin. And I remember as in 1920s and 1930s those „last kings of real fighting" kept loosing at leitai tournaments and were going away like rats, one after another.

Huang:
And what you think about southern systems.

Zhao:
When we look at southern styles, we can see that they have their own, quite different character. But I cannot say much, as I didn't study them. But from what I saw at the tournaments at end of 1920s „southern wind is not making you freeze".

Huang:
Finally, please tell us about the martial art created by yourself.

Zhao:
My „thing" comes from mistakes and losts. When I was young I liked to fight with famous experts. I had no respect for them, and when I defeated them, I didn't care about some good things they had anyway. It not only disturbed exchange of knowledge, but also hurt feelings. And because disputing and maintaining different views from the main stream of Chinese martial arts, I kept some distance from the martial arts circles. Until now people call me excentric and stubborn.

At beginning I created xinhuizhang, in order to explain traditional methods of using force, but actually this is just a form, and cannot efficiently improve practitioner's combat abilities. Only now I'm working on summarizing all those training methods and fighting methods which I benefited from, with thought of supplementing xinhuizhang. But the way of competitive fighting on international scene is constantly changing. So my „things" are constantly being outmached by others. If will not work on improving it, there will be no progress. Lately I'm worried about xinhuizhang explosive issuing power with legs, so far I have not resolved this problem. And I hope that younger will criticize me.

Winning and Losing, Success and Failure

2008-08-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

When you win, you lose.
When you lose, you win.

When you fail, you succeed.
When you succeed, you fail.

These simple four sentences appear to be, as my mother would state, "crazy talk, Joseph." On the surface, the words have opposite meaning from the other, win/lose, succeed/fail. In reality, they are two sides of one coin.

What is important is that you should learn something about yourself. Personal and emotional sacrifices that accompany successes and wins can be viewed as failures and losses. It depends on the perspective of the observer. Failures and losses that occur can be viewed as great motivators and teaching mechanisms, acting as catalysts for self-improvement.

Be mindful of your attitude and how it relates to your physical training. Be open to the notion that training is both winning and losing, succeeding and failing. It is just one coin with two perspectives. On which side it finally lands is up to you.

N.B. If you want to do an exercise that will really tax your anaerobic system, do Burpees in your training. They will improve your fitness and if done sincerely, will kick your butt.

Small Victories...

2008-07-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, I ran into a former classmate from graduate school. She had just finished teaching summer school and apparently used an anecdote about me in her classroom. "The kids still can't get over why you left a job in New York City with [an haute couture designer] to become a teacher. They think you're nuts." It's not the first time I've heard this sentiment, from kids and overly superficial adults alike, but it hits me like a round kick in the stomach on every occasion. Are children and their educations viewed with such aloofness and apathy that a career in fashion is seen as more appealing and rewarding than that of an educator?

Maybe you're wondering where I'm going with this...it all ties in with my strong belief in leaving one's comfort zone and taking risks. Sure...it would have been easy to keep running a boutique where $200,000 gowns and $1,400 shoes were effortlessly sold to celebrities and socialites, but my heart and my mind were someplace else.

The same sentiment is true of my foray into the martial arts. I practice an hour of vinyasa yoga each day and hone my Muay Thai skills with Jake at Sityodtong. The seeming dichotomy that one might assume exists between a serene discipline like yoga and a faster paced punching and kicking sport like Muay Thai does not exist for me. Instead, both compliment each other. While yoga strengthens my mind and body, Muay Thai allows me to do the same through a different vehicle. The two arts meld into feelings of empowerment, strength, mindfulness, and tranquility that, for me, are essential to how well I live my life.

Had I resisted Joe's invitation to meet and train with Jake, it would have been because I was afraid of the unknown and leery of expressing myself in a way with which I was not familiar. Had I stopped to think about it, maybe I would have been imtimidated by the fact that I had never seen much less attempted the Muay Thai style of boxing and, quite often, I am the only woman in the gym. Thankfully, I jumped in with both feet. And it has been one of the best blind leaps of faith I have ever made.

Often, when we are faced with changes or opportunities that are unfamiliar, we are impeded by a lack of motivation or self-assuredness about how we will perform. Turns out that I'm pretty good at Muay Thai, really good at yoga, and aspire to be one of the teachers my kids will remember at the end of their academic careers and throughout their adult lives.

Martial arts has become one of the vehicles through which I have found confidence and purpose in my chosen pursuits. No matter what your pursuits are, should they include martial arts or not, have your own vehicles through which you can build your physical, spiritual, and emotional foundations. Have the courage and conviction to try something new. What my younger brother calls "small victories" soon add up to major achievement.

Stacia

Take your mental lumps...

2008-07-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

If you train with any intensity, you will go through different feelings. Emotionally, these feelings can range from extreme satisfaction to a "I suck - what am I doing here." Emotions like this happen. It is normal.

One thing is for sure though, the folks that get "good" at this stuff are consistent.

Makes sense right?

So, what is the hardest thing about being consistent in training? Sometimes, it's a physical injury. Sometimes, it is life committments. However, more often than not, it's your mental attitude.

Yup, it is your mind.

For example; sometimes, it is very difficult for me to go to the Academy and know that I have to roll with a lot of guys that want to tap you like a sewing machine. The belt around my waist sometimes feels very, very heavy.

Who makes my belt feel heavy? ... Me. Where's the problem? It's in my head.

The question is how do I get around my head problem? The answer...be consistent and take your mental lumps and be consistent and go back for more.
You will never fail, unless you quit...

Eventually, the mental lumps will be farther and farther apart.

Besides, this is where you really learn about yourself.

Dana White UFC President

2008-07-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

I like Dana White. I never met the man. However, there is a couple of things that I appreciate about him. As a Director of several different Engineering organizations, watching others practice their management/leadership styles can be very enlightening.

1. Dana White is an excellent President of his company (UFC). He has demonstrated a great understanding of what his competition is doing and he has acted in ways to crush the competition and propel his company's brand name worldwide. He's thrusted the UFC name into the average household making it a common word in everyday speech.

2. As a manager and more importantly a leader of his organization, he's taken some pretty aggressive business moves to maintain his market dominance.

3. He's originally from Boston...

While many will argue that Mr. White is not good for the sport, I would argue that his strategic moves for his company have been good for the sport.

As a management professional, I applaud his tenacity and guts to do what he thinks is right.

He has balls.

I'd like to work with him.

Don't fool yourself...

2008-07-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Do you know people still wearing clothing styles from the 1970's or 80's? I know some people that do wear clothing styles from the 70's and feel very comfortable doing so. This is great for them. They understand that this is what they like to wear and that the current clothing styles are different and it doesn't matter to them.

Too bad martial artists don't have the same confidence in what they do.

The martial artists I'm referring to are the same martial artists that will tell you that the clothing that they are wearing (their one dimensional traditional style) from the 70's are too stylish (deadly) for the latest clothing trend (MMA).

I think they should stop lying to themselves.

How ironic.

Name a traditional martial art and look to see how it developed and you'll see that it developed out of influences of different martial arts. What I'm saying is the old men of China and Japan crossed trained to make them better fighters.

But today, the traditionalists will state, "we don't fight because the real fight is within yourself."

While I do agree with this propaganda to a certain extent, the philosophy can only be realized after you test yourself and mix it up. One of the attributes of training in martial arts is to help make you realize how tough you really are not. You can't do that if you never mix it up. It takes balls to step up and all those butterflies in your stomach is where the fight within yourself takes place. Working hard and testing yourself only reinforces that on any given day someone can kick your ass. Training properly actually humbles you. It quiets your ego. There's no shame in winning or losing as long as you step up.

Someone go tell the traditionalists. There's too many fat ass black belts walking around with their hands in their belts, teaching little kids and speaking in languages that they don't understand to create an illusion.

If you train traditionally and understand why you do it and what it is and is not, great. Just don't fool yourself and get out of the way of the guys that want to mix it up.

Societal Implications of Submission Grappling Tournaments...

2008-06-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

From Stacia:

This weekend I attended a submission grappling tournament in Fall River, Massachusetts. Joe, incidentally, won a bronze medal fighting in a younger age and higher weight bracket.

This all-day event was nothing short of spectacle and is a microcosm of the sport's appeal which spans generations and socio-economic backgrounds. The most jarring aspect of this tournament was the involvement of boys and girls no older than 6 or 7years of age. As I walked into the venue's women's locker room on my way to the lavatory, I noticed a tiny competitor climbing the stairs in front of me. Her blonde hair was meticulously french-braided, her gi was spotless, and she turned to me with dancing blue eyes and asked, "Can you please help me find the bathroom?" Less than an hour later, I watched from the bleachers as she was taken, motionless on a stretcher, to an awaiting ambulance. She had lost her match against a boy, clearly bigger and stronger than she, and was seriously injured.

A few age brackets later, I noticed an older dark-haired girl with a hot pink gi also grappling with a boy who was undoubtedly dominating the match. When she stood up for the referee to raise her opponent's arm in victory, she was sobbing uncontrollably. A medic brought her a large bag of ice which she rested on her shoulder. It remained there until it was time for her next match...with a boy...which she lost.

I can hear it now and I've only just begun to share my list of observations with you. "Girls can do anything boys can do." "Girls should not be raised to think they are inferior to the opposite sex." You're preaching to the choir. I would rather tile my own bathroom or change my own tire than have someone offer to do it for me because I'm a woman. The key word here, dear reader, is "woman." My body has matured and I keep it fit with yoga and muay thai boxing. What about the bodies of these young boys and girls already cutting weight, already saddled with an unhealthy body image? What are we doing to the physiologies of these children? What about the adolescent boy outside the venue who was jumping rope in 85 degree weather because he had to "cut half a pound?" What about the psyches of young boys who get their asses kicked by girls in wrestling tournaments? It's a good thing it's the summertime. They don't have to endure the embarrassment and teasing at school on Monday.

And in fairness to the pig-tailed wrestler clutching the first-place sword, flanked by second and third place boys, you go, girl. As a woman, how can I not be inspired by this kid's victory over the opposite gender? I might even applaud a little. But then, reality sets in and my thoughts become more sobering. What will her body look like in five years? Will her insides do what they're supposed to do in ten or fifteen years? Will she be plagued by an eating disorder for the rest of her life? My brother, who is 38 years old, had a buddy in middle school who developed an ulcer, a painful result of cutting weight, in the sixth grade. To this day, his friend is still afflicted with gastrointestinal flare-ups.

Look, we've blogged a bit about this before. I expect arguments and I expect adulation. That's what makes the world go 'round.

Now...on to my next observation.

I interviewed our friend Kenny Florian for a cultural analysis paper I wrote for graduate school. What bigger cultural phenomena can one speak of than mixed martial arts and submission grappling? The UFC is the fastest growing sports commodity in the United States, grossing more Pay-Per-View revenues in 2006 than any other promotional event. What is so tantalizing about the UFC is that it appeals to Everyman. It is high culture. It is low culture.

Americans have become "profoundly bored by, even dissatisfied with, their ordinary lives. Turning to a world of entertainment where the line between fantasy and reality has been blurred, they can find a lack of compensation for the lack of excitement in everyday life” (Maasic and Solomon, 2006.)The semiotics of the UFC, as Kenny pointed out, are multi-leveled and found across all socio-economic and cultural societies.

This past weekend, I was struck by the masses of people filing into this field house in Fall River. I get much of my fodder for writing from watching people and their behaviors at events such as these, so I will share some of it with you.

Kenny speaks of the time that he was first intrigued by mixed martial arts. After seeing an event on television that featured a “skinny Brazilian guy” that excelled at jiu-jitsu, he thought, “Hey…I can do this too. This is something I want to try.” This mentality, Florian believes, is part of the cultural allure of the UFC. “Someone can watch an event and think, ‘If he can do that in the ring, maybe I could do that in some other aspect of my life.’ The UFC provides the fantasy of empowerment,” he adds.

It certainly does.

In today's economy, it is as common to see a high-level executive on the unemployment line as it is to see a tow truck driver. When I asked Kenny how he explains the popularity of the sport, he was extremely insightful. As a culture in general, Americans are a “consumption community,” in love with excess and consumed by the desire for instant gratification. “The UFC offers everything at lightning speed. It’s appealing to a younger audience because it’s an overload of the senses,” Florian says.

One doesn’t need to look too far for examples of sensory overload in American culture. Between Microsoft’s X-Box, the Nintendo Wii, and the Sony Playstation, you too can have action at your fingertips. You can shoot and kill your enemies; you can be a rock star; you can be a professional athlete; you can be an Indy car driver. Florian continues. “Boxing is your father’s sport. The UFC speeds up boxing and makes it more exciting. Boxing is to mixed martial arts as checkers is to chess. The UFC is a cultural unifier. It catches everyone by surprise.” He observes: “The UFC is a culmination of everything: skill, mental triumph, training, defeating your doubts, and experiencing the thrill when you realize that hard work is worth it. After all, sports are a metaphor for what we do. Everyone in our culture is constantly striving to prove that ‘I’m better than you.’” While Florian calls the UFC the “sport of the future,” he also draws a parallel to the gladiators being turned out of Rome. “They were more powerful than Caesar and people loved and followed them. There’s something honorable about using your hands and feet to defeat another person. It’s a survival instinct, man as a hunter-gatherer.” Maasik and Solomon echo this sentiment: “Athletic performances, for males, embodies an ideal of beauty and truth…The tendency to bond with other males in intensely purposeful and dangerous activity is said to come from the collective demands of pursuing large animals."

Here's the equalizer between the unemployed CEO and the out-of-work truck driver. Both sitting on their couches. Both watching the sport for the same reasons.

Honor. Bonding. Purpose. Survival. I saw many examples of each of these traits this past Saturday. I purposely kept my eye on a particular gentlemen throughout the day. He was in his mid-twenties and dressed to the nines in a Tapout skully and t-shirt and Sprawl shorts. He wasn't a competitor. He had paid the $15 spectator fee. He bounced from scoring table to scoring table chatting up participants and fellow fans alike. He wasn't a fighter but he identified so closely with this group of people and was so absolutely-beside-himself-thrilled to be among them, that he would have paid $150 for the experience.

Kenny told me: “There’s something about it that keeps everyone intrigued.” He continues: “Rooting for someone. Rooting for the underdog. You know, love and hate are equally as powerful.” He raises an interesting point. Why do we as a culture always root for the underdog? After all, the Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series pennant in eighty-six years. Still, the fans’ passion never waned. Think back to your childhood and the classic book The Little Engine that Could. The words ‘I think I can’ are as carved into our collective memory as ‘I have a dream,’ and ‘One small step for man’ (Allison & Devine, 2006). The underdog is a cultural signifier that provides hope for every man and woman who endeavors to overcome the obstacles he or she faces in his or her life. We as a culture have all faced challenges. Therefore, it may be relatively easy for us to take the perspective of those who are also struggling or competing against formidable odds.

Formidable odds. Brings me to my next point: Accessibility. Not in any other professional sport, it seems, can an amateur pay $80 for admission to a venue where your fight may very well be witnessed by a UFC scout or someone coaching on a bigger and better known team. For a small fee, you can't just walk into an NFL combine or show up for batting practice on an MLB farm team. In the world of submission grappling, you can walk out your front door, maybe you've just finished washing your car in the driveway, and enter an arena electric with the excitement of competition and the cheers of hundreds of the sport's devoted fans. And the prospect of being the next Forrest Griffin is a lot easier to get your head aroung than the prospect of being the next Tom Brady.

I'll give Kenny the last word.

“It will be interesting to see how the sport evolves. UFC is a legitimate sport where people fall in love with a story line. It’s a classic example of domination, of the strong overcoming the weak, of the little guy overcoming the bully. Isn’t that what life is all about?”

Ritual, Sincerity, and Training

2008-06-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've recently re-evaluated my feelings about the many rituals that accompany martial practice and have come to embrace them with a sense of purpose that creates mindfulness and consistency before I engage in my martial practice. When I was younger, I went through the motions of "bowing" just to get it out of the way so I could quickly move on to "the good stuff." I didn't realize that the sincerity contained in ritual prepares a mindfulness that enhances the "good stuff" so much more. The practice becomes an extension of both my physical and mental self.

I respectfully hold my hands together in front of my chest before I enter the ring at Sityodtong or when I greet or leave one of the trainers there. I enjoy bowing as I walk into a dojo or before I step out on the mat for Jiu Jitsu practice. I bow my martial art fusion class in as a group and we clap twice in unison, signifying the cleansing of the area in the beginning of the class so we can focus on ourselves and our martial practice. At the end of class, we clap twice to signify that we have created an energy while practicing, and that our efforts and focus have helped us to release ourselves back into our everyday world. The devotion I give to the rituals helps me to be fully present during practice. The rituals become a tool, enabling me to unite my mindset with my physical practice.

The old philosophies of the traditional practices can coincide with the new practices of martial arts. It's important to me to pass them along in my martial arts fusion classes since martial arts are more than just about the physical challenge.

Now that I'm charged with fostering a love of the discipline in my students, I am honored to have the good fortune to be equiped with enough knowledge that will allow me to instill it in the minds and hearts of my class. Each week, I am both humbled and empowered by being the person that hopes to impart my knowledge into the students before me. I have forgotten how wonderful it feels to see the look of understanding and appreciation on a students face once he or she connects a movement to the concept behind it.

That is truly the "good stuff."

What's in a Name?

2008-06-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been hard pressed to come up with a nice, neat, clearly-defined description for what I've recently begun to teach. Because I've practiced a variety of martial art forms and am versed in the philosophies that accompany them, it is important to me to give my students, many of whom have never practiced any form of marital art, the most thorough overview of these disciplines.

My intent is teach more than just pure mma technique so I've chosen to incorporate more traditional forms and philosophies. This way, students will be empowered to choose their particular path of study.

This "fusion" of old and new, traditional and contemporary, is the formula that is the most cohesive way to describe my style, as well as what I hope to impart to my students.

First Class Under My Belt...Get It?

2008-06-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

I have officially begun my teaching after a long absence. I can't say enough how energizing and rewarding it is to be back. Below is an outline of my first class.

Power Exercises

Ground Exercises

Basic stances
Simple foot movement (forward/back/side)
Jab
Cross
Front kick
Roundhouse

Pad work (2 man work)

Concept training (Wauke block)

Clinch work
Elbow/hand positions (2 man work)

Sanchin Kata
Concepts and practice

End workout

No matter what your skill level, I am confident that this structure offers opportunity for students of all abilities to benefit.

An Xtreme Xperience...

2008-05-29T19:11:00.001-07:00

Last week I had the good fortune to experience a personal training session at Randy Couture's gym in Las Vegas. John "The Natural" Alessio was a knowledgable instructor who asked a lot of questions to determine the areas on which I wanted to focus. I came away with a lot of valuable clinch pointers and encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take advantage of your own personal time in the octagon.

To Bite or Not to Bite?

2008-05-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

The ancient Greek Olympic games had three combat sports. They were boxing, wrestling and pankration. Pankration was the ancient equivalent of today's cultural phenomenon, mixed martial arts.

Pankration of the ancient Greek era wasn't without its critics. The people of ancient Greece, specifically the Spartans, were critical of the rules imposed during pankration. This is not unlike what is happening in the UFC today. The Spartans objected to the amount of rules imposed during the ancient pankration matches. They believed these matches were governed by too many regulations. The rules in ancient pankration were as follows:
No biting.
No hair pulling.
No fishhooking. (fingers pulling the sides of the mouth)
No eye poking.

Anything other manuevers were fair game and there was no time limit to the matches.

Today's MMA's scene continues to evolve. During the inception of the UFC and other MMA tournaments, there were fewer rules. As the sport continues to grow, rules creep in and continue to mount. Rules are certainly intended to maintain the fighters' safety, but they also have an influence on the outcomes of the matches. One can comfortably argue that legal hair-pulling by Royce Gracie favorably influenced the outcome of his fight against Kimo.

How will the sport evolve next? It will be interesting to see if the the changes will mirror that of traditional martial arts or evolve in a way that will push combat sports into new and innovative directions.

I like the rawness of MMA. Its primitive nature seems to offer an antidote to the edge that the traditional martial arts is lacking. That's why I continue to train in other combat sports. It enhances and inspires my traditional study.

Coming Around Again...

2008-05-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

I've missed teaching martial arts. For a long time, teaching martial arts was a big part of who I was, how I saw myself. It wasn't because I thought that I was a tough guy by teaching, it was because I saw people do things, with my help, that they never thought they could do. By teaching, I learned. Seeing others get inspired by martial arts inspired me.

I stopped teaching 10 years ago. I shut the doors of the dojo that I had owned for 9 years. It was very, very difficult for me to close the dojo and to stop teaching. I felt like I lost a little bit of myself in doing so.

I never stopped learning and practicing martial arts. In some ways, I think by getting exposed and training in the martial arts, the experience broadened my view and appreciation for training overall. I can rationalize that it was good for me and my growth, and it was...technically. Emotionally and spiritually, though, I missed teaching.

With the support of Stacia and a generous offer by my long time friend and fellow martial artist Gary Card, I will begin to teach again. Gary Card is giving me the opportunity to have a space one night a week at his dojo in Lowell.

I'll begin teaching Thursday nights. Emotions run deep as the practice has always been, to me, much more than physical. Some of my old friends and students will rejoin me in the journey and I look forward to the new friends that will accompany me in my endeavor.

I eagerly anticipate teaching once again. I look forward to sharing, working, learning, and growing.

I hope to see some of you. All of you are welcome.

- Joe

Breathe

2008-05-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Breathing...I don't think about it usually. Breathing just happens for me and I've taken it for granted. Recently, situations in both my life and in martial arts training, have shown me how important breathing can be to help your challenges and the stress that accompanies them.

I trained with Keith Florian this week in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Keith is a great technician and strategist for ground fighting. But, my lesson this past week with Keith transended just the physical movements of the discipline.

When we were rolling, Keith would put me in defensive positions that I felt uncomfortable in. He would "pressure" me physically using his weight. I, in response, would hold my breath and try to muscle out of the situation. The pressure I felt from Keith made things extremely uncomfortable for me, and I found myself compensating for this by not breathing. This, in turn, would lead to additional stress.

I've had similar experiences in my daily life, where the stress of a particular situation would cause me to hold my breath and tighten up. The feeling of tightening up and lack of breath felt the same in both situations.

Keith recognized my problem. He told me that everytime I feel pressure, I should focus on my breathing and work my way out of the problem. He then gave me homework. Keith stated, that everytime I feel pressure in my day-to-day challenges, I ahould breathe. Keith said, "This way, the next time we train together, you will have been practicing your martial art without me there."

By controlling my breath, I control myself.

A Separate Peace

2008-05-05T03:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Joe and I trained with Jake at Sityodtong in Somerville. As we headed home, instead of feeling the usual adrenaline rush that accompanies my post-workout, I felt a peacefulness, a serenity, that was, at first, hard to pinpoint.

Then, sometime during the afternoon, I realized just what I was feeling. Earlier that morning, I had poured over a makeshift shrine on a ledge above a set of wall mats. The Sityodtong family had paid tribute to Eric Armington, one of their own, who had tragically lost his life two weeks before in a motorcycle accident on Route 93.

Eric's shrine included of a pair of his gloves, his Mong Kon, medals, a framed photograph from the gym's gallery, incense...and a bottle of red Gatorade, artfully placed in the middle of his Twins.

I did not know Eric, but the heartfelt sentiments and carefully chosen items that comprised his tribute made me think...about the person he was and how the age-old traditions of the art we practice only become more meaningful when we interject them with our own contemporary lives.

Kru Mark has obviously gone to great lengths in his gym to embody the Muay Thai culture and the artifacts that adorn the walls only serve to strengthen that awareness. After seeing posterboard collages of snapshots of Eric and his family and friends taped to filing cabinets, I thought about the vulnerability one can experience in being charged with maintaining martial art traditions while also being contemporarily human. We respect and do our best to adhere to the culture of the art we practice, but how beautiful, and wonderfully mortal, to integrate those traditions...with a bottle of red Gatorade.

Stacia

Kenny Florian and Social Consciousness

2008-04-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today, Kenny Florian came to the Bartlett School for Community Partnership in Lowell, Massachusetts. I am finishing my practicum there and when I mentioned to Joe that Kenny would make a huge impact on the kids there, he called Kenny and Kenny graciously agreed. The kids at this school face what often appear to be insurmountable obstacles on a daily basis.

This morning, they heard from Kenny that there are no such things as obstacles, only "small hurdles." Small hurdles in this school community include saying no to drugs, to alcohol, to joining gangs, to dropping out of school. Today, even the kids who are seemingly jaded and "checked out" hooted and cheered after Kenny had finished his speech. He talked about making the right choices, of staying out of street fights-"only cowards fight in the street,"-the importance of never giving up, and of staying in school.

Today, Kenny Florian gave 200 at-risk kids a day they will never forget. And it's something we should all keep in mind when we're asked to make a difference.

Stacia

Ninety-nine failures

2008-04-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

Tatsugami Roshi said, "A tiger catches a mouse with his whole strength." The tiger catches the mouse with the same intensity the way he catches a bigger animal. The tiger totally focuses on whatever action he is taking. He doesn't worry about the size of his "problem." The tiger does not think that because he didn't catch something the last time,he won't catch something the next.

Sometimes we all have difficulty practicing our respective arts. Dogen Zenji once proclaimed, "Hitting the mark is the result of ninety-nine failures." Failures are only a part of the process of success. "It's the last arrow that hits the mark, but only after ninety-nine failures." Failures are acceptable, and even valuable, as long as you keep them in perspective and know that they are a means to achieving your goal. The only real failure is not to shoot the one hundredth arrow.

Each time you practice, do your best. Be tiger-like in your effort. Physically and spiritually, you will benefit.

"You Travel in Good Company..."

2008-04-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, I entered into a conversation with Stacia about the commercialism of martial arts versus the fundamental integrity of practicing them. Kanei Uechi once said that no one under the age of seventeen should be taught karate. Perhaps he said this for the following reasons:

1) Physically, the bodies of young children are not mature enough to properly execute and withstand the rigorous training that the martial arts demands.
2) Children do not understand the philosophical concepts that are embedded in these ancient practices.

She mused about the fact that just about every strip mall we had passed had a karate or tae-kwon-do studio inside. What would motivate the discerning patron of martial arts to enroll his or her child in a strip mall dojo? How can you tell whether or not the instruction that would be received was of quality or was based in authentic principles?

What often gets sold by these strip mall senseis is the ideal of YOUR child benfitting from confidence and mind and body awareness. What actually happens, though, could be the polar opposite. Just as you choose your doctor, your dentist, or your mechanic, you must choose your martial arts instructor with the same well-informed criteria that you would apply to other practitioners.

Beware of the snake-oil peddlers. You get what you pay for.

BTW...This photo is of Joe Graziano, Dave Cedrone, and myself at a recent demo where we performed Jifa and Sanchin Kata. You won't find these forms being taught in your average strip mall dojo. Unfortunately, less and less people are being schooled in the ancient rituals.

Put your mind in your practice

2008-04-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

To be skillful in martial arts requires time and effort. You have to first learn the techniques properly to be able to do them efficiently. Learning body mechanics takes patience. It takes practice to perfect the movements.

To be effective in martial arts you have to create a focused, bellicose mindset with the physical practice.

Having great mechanics and practicing martial arts without having a focused combative mindset is like doing a dance. You might execute the movements flawlessly. You might have perfect form. But, you are not practicing martial arts.

Just because someone does a Kata does not mean they are practicing martial arts. When you do the movements of a Kata without the proper combative mindset, it is like a Ferrari without gasoline to make it move. The car won't move without gasoline. It might look great, but it is useless in actually getting you somewhere. Practicing your Kata like this won't take you anywhere in your development of martial arts. It is a waste of time.

What is important?

What are you looking for?

2008-04-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Kenny Florian won his UFC fight last night. I've been very lucky to have trained with Kenny, as well as with many good martial artists over the years. I was really excited for Kenny. He's worked incredibly hard to achieve his current status.

There's a lot of controversy when it comes to the combat arts. Questions are often asked: "Is this style is better than that style?" "Is this type of training better than that type of training?" The word "better" means nothing.

I've enclosed a link to my friend and teacher Tim Cartmell's website on an article he wrote on "Combat to Sport." Hopefully, it will help some folks understand more in terms of the context of why and what they are trying to achieve in their practice and study.

http://www.shenwu.com/Combat_To_Sport.htm

Whether you train in MMA or traditional arts, it all depends on what you're looking for in your training. The trick is not to try and fool yourself.

"Fighting in the pocket"

2008-03-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday's I usually train at Sitydotong (Muay Thai) with my coach Jake Steinmann. Sityodtong is a great fight gym. Mark DellaGrote, who owns and runs the gym, not only produces great fighters but also produces great trainers. Jake Steinmann is one of them. Jake is a sharp guy. Not only does he possess some very excellent martial skills, he's a great educator. This is what he does professionally. This combination makes him a very good teacher for Muay Thai.

Jake has been working with me on focusing my Muay Thai on infighting. Lately, we've been training with my back against a corner of the gym to develop these skills. Jake has been reinforcing my infighting even while we've when doing pad work. He has been focusing me on "fighting in the pocket." Meaning, I have to stay close to the other person to work on both defensive and offensive movement, playing to my strength as a fighter.

Sometimes, seeing what we should do physically to get the best results and play to our strengths, isn't as easy to see in other aspects of your life. After Saturday's workout, I started thinking of where I could "fight in the pocket" to better help me grow professionally or personally.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. While it's important to develop your weaknesses, everyone should understand where their strengths are and why they are your strengths. This reflection will help in continued development.

So, for now I'm "fighting in the pocket."

Makes sense.

Just Relax...Proper "mechanics"

2008-03-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

My friend and teacher, Tim Cartmell once told me that the difference between good martial arts and great martial arts is your ability to relax and use proper body mechanics while executing to produce the greatest output of efficient energy.

This of course, is easier said than done.
It takes years to master the physical. It's no different than any other endeavor, whether it's swinging a baseball bat, hitting a tennis ball, kicking a soccer ball, etc.

But my question is, how can I "use" my ability to relax with "proper mechanics" that I learn in a martial setting and apply it to my everyday life? After all most of the time we all are working, dealing with loved ones and living a normal existence.

While I might be able to relax while rolling with someone or mix it up a little sparring; my ability to "deal" with pressure from non-martial stress often fails. Tension creeps in and clarity becomes muddled because of stress. The phrase, "keep a cool head" comes immediately to mind. This is difficult for me.

I find this type of tension tremendously difficult to contain. It's hard to have to deal with yourself. It is for me. I'd rather have someone try to choke me out or take some punches at me. That's external, physical, tangible. The "inside" stuff is difficult to pin.

High level arts can transcend. There's a need to work on ourselves by using the principles that we learn in our physical study. How and if we apply these physical principles of relaxing with good mechanics into our normal daily lives is the challenge.

Think?

Below is a clip of my good friend and teacher Tim Cartmell. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuP6cApKAD8

A straightforward way to approach your martial arts and your life.

2008-03-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Uechi Kanbun, founder of Uechi-ryu Karate-do, had 5 Principles that can apply to any martial art. Special thanks to the Uechi-ryu-journal.com folks for sharing Master Uechi’s 5 Directions. Special thanks to Tim Cartmell sharing Dai Long Bang’s Xing I Chuan 6 Harmonies Principles. These actions can apply to any martial art for effective execution and power generation.

1 - The purpose of karate training is to build and nourish a strong physique.
2 - The purpose of karate training is to develop the mental, spiritual, and human characteristics.
3 - The purpose of karate training is never to attack, but to defend only.
4 - The purpose of karate training is never to fight or harm others in any way by actions, words, or thoughts.
5 - The purpose of karate training is to develop stamina, endurance, and patience in order to calmly accept life’s responsibilities and overcome any difficult situation.

The Six harmonies refer to the Three Internal Harmonies and the three External Harmonies:

The three Internal Harmonies are -

The heart or desire harmonizes [coordinate] with the intent,
The intent harmonizes with the Qi or vital energy,
The Qi harmonizes with the physical strength –

Three External Harmonies –
The shoulders harmonize [coordinate] with the hips,
The elbows harmonize with the knees,
The hands harmonize with the feet.

Positivity...KenFlo Style

2008-03-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

I talked with my friend Kenny Florian today. Kenny is a MMA fighter who is enjoying a very successful career. A lot of people know Kenny as a tough competitor. A lot of people don't know that as tough as he is physically, he's much stronger mentally. One of Kenny's strengths that keeps him at the top of his profession is perseverance.

Talking to Kenny today reminded me that a positive attitude is imperative to any endeavor. Kenny is often judged by critics as being too small and too weak.

Kenny doesn't listen to critics. Kenny listens to himself.

Because of his faith in himself and his ability, Kenny possesses a confidence that is fostered by an iron-clad work ethic and an acute awareness of his spiritual beliefs.

Generally, when people think of mixed martial artists, they think of kick-ass tough guys who like nothing more than pummeling someone into submission. Compare this to a traditional discipline like Karate-do, which is usually thought of as a more peaceful or serene form of martial art. Mixed martial arts seem primal and injurious.

Kenny Florian, however, possesses a socially conscious and spiritual ethic that often takes most UFC fans by surprise. He is the quintessential example of what we strive to achieve through the vehicle of traditional martial arts.

While some mixed martial artists are focused primarily on their public persona, Kenny is focused on his self imposed expectations of his mind and body. This endeavor, for Kenny, is a work in progress whose finality will be achieved not when Kenny wins a world title, but when Kenny Florian deems it so.

I'm proud to call him my friend.

The Vehicle...for me

2008-03-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

… What is apparent is seldom the objective. The vehicle here is a martial art, but, we ourselves are the objects of study. What happens to us, our reactions to what happens, and our efforts to influence these happenings are at the core of our fascination. Although it is an individual art, the study takes place in a group setting requiring cooperation, mutual respect, self-control, and diligence. Martial arts is a physically demanding activity, but is accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

So, the rhetorical question really is - where really is the fight? Physical chess? I've heard it described as such. Step out there and expose yourself; that's where you face yourself. Isn't it? Excuses come easily; pushing through is where you learn about yourself.

Martial arts is a vehicle for some. It is an exercise for others. For all of us, though, it is a means to an end.

What is it for you?