Kempo Karate Techniques, Principles, and Theory: An Online Newlsetter
Picture the scene—a grand European casino filled with well-dressed patrons. A strikingly handsome spy stands at the craps table. He replies to the waitress asking for his drink, “A martini, shaken, not stirred.” There is a difference between shaking and stirring—words and mindset matter. Eventually, the theme song begins, and some criminal attacks the heroic […]
This gruesome story illustrates a valuable fact of combat – defensive use of the line of attack. The angry bull charges the lone matador, yet the bull cannot gore the matador with his horns. With a subtle turn of the hips, the matador avoids the bull by inches. He does this repeatedly until the bull […]
There’s a story about a family cooking a dinner ham. The daughter asks the mother, “Why do you cut the two ends off the ham?” Mom replies, “I don’t know. That’s how my mother did it.” They call grandma and ask her about the ham. She replies, “I don’t know. That’s how my mother did […]
Over the years, I saw lots of students leave the school. Many of these long-time students were also family members. Most of them still wish to train in Kempo with me, yet the sheer distance involved doesn’t facilitate the desire. To solve this dilemma, I’ve decided to do something anathema to “true” martial arts teachers. […]
You’ve seen the television trope where a young woman in heels leaves the well-lit streets in a bad neighborhood to venture down a dark alley. Unsurprisingly, she is caught off-guard by four tough-looking gang members who pop out from the shadowy path. The woman is attacked and robbed, or worse. Why did this happen? The […]
I remember talking with my uncle, a Vietnam vet and 1st Lieutenant in the US Army, about the similarities between sports and combat. He told me that football plays are like military tactics, with screens, flanks, and lines. The concepts found in martial arts are also in sports. For instance, football has two types of […]
I grew up watching Jackie Chan movies. His movies are slapstick Kung-Fu comedies, and it is obvious he and the other actors have excellent skills in Chinese Kung-Fu. Jackie’s characters would get into fights often, so Jackie would grab the closest object—an umbrella, a bench, or a robe—to defend himself from the bad guys. It […]
My parents bought me an action figure when I was a child. I loved it because it looked so cool. The figure was ready for adventure in his action pose. I got my other toys and tried to stand my action figure up on the floor. The figure fell over. I stood it up again, […]
I have attended many weddings over the years. When one of my favorite songs starts to play, the Chicken Dance, it draws guests of all ages off their seats and onto the dance floor. The crazy hand movements and funny walk bring a smile to everyone’s face. However, the flapping elbows simulating flapping wings is […]
When I was a child, I remember watching many cartoon shows on Saturday mornings, such as Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker. A classic gag used by these shows was the bite the stick and pull out the teeth that look like dentures trope. The character’s mouth would shrivel, and they couldn’t bite anything. They became […]