delta1

All right!!! RedJ & myself have checked with Patrick, and this is ok with him. For now, he suggested trying this on the Karate forum. If we getenough good, meaningful, positive input here, we can discuss the possibility of our own slot at KF. It's not a given that we'll get it- he has to ballance available space, costs, and who knows what else with the bennifits of a new forum. Let's keep it clean and respectful, and keep it comeing! Edit: let's start prefixing our topics with KEMPO: so that our posts can be easily spotted!

Chinese and American Kenpo. Grey belt (matches my ghi). I've trained with, and am very open to a lot of different systems and stylists. I seem to be most open dureing sparing, if you must know!

Passing the kick is an interesting option. Kenpo thinks more in terms of creating angles, which is another reason I'd step the trailing foot away. It would give some interesting open ended triangles to attack into. But so would that pass (or hard parry). That's what I like about this forum- you can get some good perspectives on tackling the same problem. Oh, and in Kenpo we allways stay loose until the moment of impact. I think most arts try to do this (with varrying degrees of success). Staying loose not only increases speed and reaction time, but power as well. But I'm going to have to think some on leaving the fingers out. It's possible that my way (making a fist) could leave the small bones in the back of your hand exposed a little more to dammage. Not too sure- I may see if I can find someone to kick me in the head a few times and work it out. Thanks for the input.

Good point, and picture as well! Looks like the upward elbow block I talked about (which would put the palm in for a double bone block) with an inward heel palm added for good measure. Only difference would be that the upward elbow block is done with a clenched fist at termination, which would tighten the arm more and protect the fingers. Is the hand left open for a quick trap, or some other reason?

Well, I'll be dipped! As I understand it, there are three points to the base in a WC kick- your supporting leg and his two legs. The kick is the connection between your base and his. This allows your kick to push through, and keep the forward motion and pressure that WC is noted for.

I'd have to look that one up, as I don't remember exactly when it was. But I think it was after Bruce Lee started to diverge from pure WC. As I've said elsewhere on this forum, that mixing of principles and concepts between systems was an emerging philosophy at the time, and there were several great martial artists who were doing this. It's actually allways been done, but not on the same scale as it was after WWII. There are a whole lot of similarities between WC and AK. AK starts you out immediately learning principles and concepts behind the moves. And, like WC, they are drilled untill they are second nature. But our 'singular moves' usually have to be extracted from the techniques. In fact, they were meant to be extracted, then recombined for different situations and applications. Probably somewhat similar to WC, not sure. Our zone theories would relate to WC's gates, and our dimensional control is a natural extension of WC's centerline theory. We trap and redirect a lot, but to start out you are doing more of the hard moves, then you work into softer traping. Both yield to allow the opponent to defeat himself. You could go on and on, and probably never find all the similarities. Some differences I've noted: Wc uses a three point stance in its' kicks. Kenpo tends more to the hard style kick and retract. Kenpo sometimes violates WC's rule of never crossing your own center line. This is one of the things that Bruce Lee pointed out, and Mr. Parker changed a few things in this respect. Mr. Parker was allways learning from other stylists, and encouraged others to do the same. WC focuses more on traping and in close work. AK works at all ranges and tries to achieve a bllance, while still allowing the student to concentrate more in areas he is comfortable with or interested in. I will say this, Kenpoists with a WC background can be a force to be reckoned with!

Heck! I'm overwhelmed already! At some level, I can almost allways find similarities between American Kenpo and other systems. Basic principles tend to carry over between arts, but it is what principles the arts focus on, and the concepts used to apply the principles, that makes the arts different. Even betwen Taiji (an 'internal' art) and Kenpo (external), there are a lot of similarities. A lot of the moves can be mixed, and understanding either system helps tremendously in understanding the other. Both initiate movement at the tantien. Both are fast and have flow. Both allow the opponent to defeat himself. Some differences: Kenpo is static- some moves stop, where in Taiji motion never stops. Kenpo uses primarily a 50/50 weight distribution in stances and footwork, where in Taiji this is undesireable (but occurs in transition). Taiji developes internal energy, where some of Kenpo's movements block internal energy flow. Other similarities with different systems are really too numerouse to list. AK has hard and soft, circular and linear, a full arsenal of kicks and strikes, joint locks and counters, and other stand up grappling moves, and some ground work can be extrapolated from the system. Strikes are emphasized much more than grappling, though. But there are AK systems that get much more into joint locks and ground work, and at least one that is very internally oriented. AK also works high/low simultaneously, has sweeps and throws, and defenses for same. Has a lot of distance, zone and centerline control work, demensional control, trapping, ... At this point, I would say we are looking at a universe of possibilities here. Others would just say I'm lost in space! I am, however, late again. See you all later!

So many choices, so few opportunities to actually use them! I have a variation of 'Swinging Pendulum' that I like, where you don't step up the circle but instead step straight into his center. The universal is done hard and aimed just proximal to his knee, which really unballances him. The left immediately circles inward to check high, and you attack with elbows and hammerfists up and down his center line. I caught my brother once with a variation of the universal where the low block was more an outward on an almost horizontal plane, and the high was done sort of loke an elbow strike, only I just put it there and let his kick hit it. He gave himself the mutha of all charlie horses! But since the wolfman asked about traps, I left all that fun stuff out!

Thought of a couple of unique angles for a paper if you don't want to get bogged down in the protests. Research Robert McNamara. He was Secretary of Defense under Nixon, and him and his 'Whiz Kidds' were the first generation of computer geeks in cabinette level positions. Pioneers in some ways, but they also did a lot of dammage. For instance, their only interest was the 'bottom line', and their refusal to listen to experience was legendary. When the M-16 came out, they cut every corner they could to save money. The military told them that they needed to chrome the chamber of all military rifles. They refused, saying the cost was prohibitive, and a lot of American servicemen were killed as a result. Another topic might be a comparison of the primary service rifles of both sides at the time. The National Rifle Association would be a good source for this topic. Or possibly just focus on the developement of the M-16, the reasoning and concepts behind it.

Well, that should be a calm, nonpolitical topic for discussion!!! Contact the Swift Boat Vets and find out what the effect of the protests here at home had on the war. To get a feel for the warriors view, I'd recomend watching 'We Were Soldiers' with Mel Gibson, and 'Return With Honor', narrated by Tom Hanks. The second is a documentary. The first is one of the best movies I've ever seen to tell the truth about a part of that war. Niether is political in any way, but both will make an impact on how you view the service, and those who serve. They will provide a mental and emotional reference for you when you start digging through the lies and propoganda that obfuscate that war and the sacrifices of those who fought it.

AeroScout, BJJ is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a grappling art. MT is Muay Thai, a full contact sport striking art. CloudDragon had some excellant advice also. I'd suggest that in addition to tour duty firearms, you get familiar with as many of the weapons you are likely to find over there, both frriendly and enemy.

Some variation of the universal block is used in most martial arts I've seen. I don't know what the MT guys train really- I actually think that after a couple of years, the MTers just block with their head, as there's no longer anything there to injure! Just kidding, just kidding. Settle down guys! From a Kenpo perspective (which is what I know best), the first thing you'd have to understand is 'stepping up the circle'. Say you are in a fighting stance, right foot leads, and he throws a right roundhouse kick. Step your left foot back to your 4:30 into another fighting stance. This gets you moving away from the force of the kick, and allows you to assume a stable fighting stance in proper allignment to deal with the kick. At the same time, you put up a universal block. This is like a right inward and left downward block done simultaneously. The elbow of the right should support the elbow of the left, and the arms are not overextended, so they have some give. This protects a large area in case the kick did not go where you thought it was. To trap off the block as I described it, immediately (absolutely no break in flow) either crane with the right or circle under with the left. If you step farther up the circle, you can do a left inward and right downward universal block. (These are the adaptations of the Taiji energy ball, or basket, which is notoriouse for trapping). Crane over with the left as you roll the right elbow up to press in on his knee, and step your right behind his left (supporting) leg. I think you can finish it from here. This must be quick and smooth, because you are getting in close with that step up, and your back is partially exposed. What makes it work is the unballancing effect of the trap and inward elbow. You must also get that trap quickly, before he retracts the kick. His kick contacting is the force that drives your block into a trap. It is also important to anchor your elbows in the traps, otherwise the kicks will just drive your arms back. Also gives you leverage. Hope this helps. If you do Hsing Yi, I'm sure your instructor can help you out with this.

Ok, I see where the misunderstanding is. The jury can not actually determine applicability of any law except in the one specific case they are empanneled to consider. To completely nullify any law, it would take enough different jurries ruling against it to convince the legislature that the law needs to be reconsidered and either changed or thrown out. But it is still the legislature's responsibility to actually change the law (or leave it intact), not the jurries. Of course, as you brought up, there is still the initiative process. Jury duty was tied to voting rights for a specific reason. Jury duty is a function of your voting rights and responsibilities. The vote, including jury duty, is the peoples check on government! This is why I broke the topic out of the three branches. We review the other two branches at election time, or dureing a recall vote. The judicial branch reviews the laws, but we review the judicial branch directly through the court process, including the law and their interpretation of that law!. As to universal voting rights, I don't believe in this at all. Originally, only the male land owners could vote. They were considered to be the best educated and had the highest stake in government at the time. That would be a little extreme today, when we have better communication and universal (ahem) education. But i still think there should be limmits. A voter should have to be able to read and write in English, be an upstanding citizen (no polls in prisons), and a taxpayer (much as I dislike the IRS). But, that is my opinion. As for hijacking the thread, I think this discussion is more than germain to his original question. But we may be starting to drift a little too far into political views. Hard not to with this topic.Good discussion, though.

Move! This is the problem with light or no contact sparing- it builds bad habbits. First off, either get out of the way or go in and jam it. But, since you asked about blocks, I'll answer mostly about that. The definition of a block is to meet force with force to stop an attack. As you saw, in a clash between an arm and a leg, the arm looses! This is why I prefer the term 'recieve' rather than block. To recieve implies that you do something more. In this case, if you must throw op a 'block' to deal with a high kick, you should also start to move away from the force of that kick. It also helps to throw up a universal (double arm) block so you aren't taking it all on one arm. And you can trap off the universal as well. If you are too late, and the kick is going to connect good, bring your arm up like an elbow strike, but close against your head. And you should still move away as much as you can.

vito, I agree on packing heat. So does the Army! But, I think what he's talking about is the possibility that he's captured (the enemy doesn't believe we should carry heat in that situation) or in an escape and evasion situation- like being shot down in hostile territory. H2H and sentry removal skills, quick and silent kills, and sometimes securing locals who may not be combatants but may be sympathetic to them, are the order of the day. BJJ or Sambo are good, but you'd need something a little more direct and well rounded than Muay Thai. Use of improvised weapons, weapons defenses, knife work, and a lot of self defense are important, as well as the offensive aspects of the ma's. Having said all that, it would still be good to find some MT guys and train with them. A lot can be gleaned from them and incorporated to his base, after he does the CQC course. Same with any other fighting art. In his situation, where he could be transfered anywhere and doesn't know what will be available, getting a good base and adding to it from different systems could be the way to go. Just my take on it.

Good post! Excellant evaluation!

You're both. If he doesn't believe it, just hit him!

https://www.scrappleface.com You guys have to see this site. It's political, and leans toward Bush. But it is funnier than heck, and they get at George a little too. For example, they have an ad for a Bush-Cheney-Rice bumper sticker, the proceeds of which go to The National Endowment for the Otts.

The executive branch appoints, and the legislative branches approval is one of the checks in our system. But you are correct, they can be, and have often been, in 'cahoots'. That is why we the people have the final check in our court system. It isn't 'mob' review. It is review by a jury, selected from voters (not drivers!) , which is empanneled to consider evidence and find a verdict. These people are considered responsible enough to determine the fate of another human being, so surely they are responsiale enough to determine the applicability of the law in that persons case. Actually, laws are very specific. What is (intentionally) vague is the legal use of the English language. For example, in modern legalese, 'must' means 'may'. Now, when I hear the word 'must', I think I 'must'. So, using that one word in a law can keep you in line, even if it would be illegal to force you to do the thing they want. They, of course, aren't, since you only 'may' comply, if you only knew. I don't want to get into politics (and I'm not a Libertarian- I'm an independant), so I won't go too much into this topic. However, what you bring up is a good example of abuse of the system. The military traditionally votes conservative. Remember last election in Florida, the Democratic party disenfranchised the military vote by claiming the military postmark was not valid. They insisted that only the US Mail postmark was valid, so most of the overseas military absentee ballots were disqualified. This is just the same tactic repackaged nationally. And, where the courts are packed with activist judges, it will stand. Unfortunately, Jury Nullification won't work in this case because it is not a criminal case. However, if the Grand Jury in the districts where this occured knew their rights and responsibilities, they coud initiate an investigation and hand down indightments where they found evidence of wrong doing, and no activist judge could stop them. Then it would go to a petit jury to either convict or find not guilty. Go to the link I provided. This organization explains this better than I could ever do, and they cite numerouse examples. A little over 20 years ago, they virtually shut down IRS suits in one judicial district for a long time by getting the word out so well on Jury Nullification. Read their info- you'll be surprised at what you didn't learn in civics class!

That is the point to taking a CQC course. War, and especially capture by Muslim extremists, is brutal. Training for that eventuality should be realistic, not palatable. And due to time constraints he needs a course that he can gain a level of competency in quickly. That is what the CQC courses were designed for. Given this, I'd suggest you really try to get togethr a few friends and work on your own while still taking advantage of whatever the Army will give you. After taking the CQC course(s), it would be a good idea to learn a more in deapth martial art. But you are apparently a career soldier, so you will have to consider availability of classes in different areas you may be stationed at. TKD is readily available, and can be trained as an effective combative art. But it is rarely done so. Also, the combative TKD schools I've seen and worked out with added other systems to round out their curriculum. A combative art should train at all ranges as well, and TKD is more long range/kicking. It has some excellant in close moves, but few practitioners can extrapolate them. The FMA's (Filipino Martial Arts) are popular, and most are very effective- especially if you can find one that incorporates Fillipino grappling. But again, you have to watch out for the tendency to fight at long range only, depending on the weapon to keep your opponent at bay. A good FMA fights at largo (long), medio (medium), and corto (close) ranges, and does stand up and ground grappling. My base is American Kenpo, and it is an excellant combative art. My school is about a three hour drive away, so I take private lessons instead of a regular class. It is a good way to go, but slow to learn as I only go to class once a month. Doing it this way, you definately need at least one (more is better) good partner to train and work out with regularly, and to share expenses with. I also do a video course, which keeps me going. It is the IKCA Kenpo course, and it is very popular to mix with either Kenpo/Kempo styles, or with other styles. The thing about Kenpo is that it teaches not only basics and moves, but understanding. It trains understanding of not only applications, but principles and concepts. PM me if you are interested, and I'll give you some contact information. There are a lot of other very effective systems out there. The real challenge is finding one that meeets your needs, and suits your personality. Good luck in your search.

IKCA. It is a short (55 technique) version of Parker Kenpo. It was developed by Chuck Sullivan (one of the most senior of Mr. Parkers students) and Vic LeRoux, with Mr. Parkers blessings. They call it Chinese Kenpo, and they do a few things different. But it is unquestionably Parker based, and a good system. There are a few things you don't get, like extensive family groupings and multiple escapes. But all the principles and concepts are there. I do IKCA and AKTS Kenpo, and I find them compatable. The IKCA curriculum gives me a different perspective on a lot of things, though.

First, sir, I wish to thank you for your service in time of war! And it is not lost on us that we have a volunteer Army. In your case, I'd recomend one of the short, reality CQC courses. My opinion is that the ones based on Fairbane-Sykes and Col. Rex Applegate's WWII combatives are some of the best out there. there are others that also do a good job, and some that don't. Krav Maga is the flavor of the month right now, and some swear by it. Some don't care for it, and I find that they can be dangerouse to the practitioner as much as the opponent. If you can find a school, my advice is to check it out, but use a lot of discretion. Actually, that goes for any school or system you try. What I look for in a reality based fighting art: * First off, DO THEY SPAR? They should spar often, and sometimes with hard contact. Stress should be added to their sparing also. * Do they train for situational awareness? Recognition of signs of imminent assault? De-escalation skills? * What about psychological and phisiological factors? * Post fight concerns, such as restraint, personal expedient first aid, clearing a scene, etc.? * Obviousely, weapons use and disarms would be good (one area that KM is woefully ineffective at, from the little I've seen). * In your case, I'd look at escape, evasion, orienteering and also survival. The more of these the school does, the more realistic it is. You may have to go to more than one school to get a lot of this. There are also resources on the net and, in your case, military manuals and training. You might consider getting a group together and training a lot on your own. Go to your Training Officer and see what he can do for you. See if there are any current or ex SF/SPEC OPS personnel that would be willing to help you out. I wish you 'fair winds and following seas'- or is that 'fair skies and tail winds'? At any rate, good luck!

Found it! Go Mamma! http://www.caught.net/juror.htm

Judges are appointed, courts are established institutions. What jury nullification works around is the possibility that a bunch of scoundrels fool enough people to get elected, then pass oppressive laws and appoint activists to the bench. Each time an infraction goes before a jury, both the defendant and the law are on trial. I'm not surprised. I'd bet most people here think that, since that is what we are taught in our uneducation system. That is one of the responsibilities. But no law is perfect, and in some instances should not apply. For example, there is a legal doctrine that says that in an emergency, if a person breaks the law, but acted in a way that a reasonable person might act, then he is not guilty of an infraction. And if the jury finds the law onerouse, they can find 'Not Guilty!' because of this, and no other reason is required. Another (bad) example of jury nullification was OJ Simpson- any system can be abused. But this is what is meant by 'Better ten guilty go free than one innocent be punnished.' He basically went free because the jury thought he was black. He may have been, but I know a lot of decent black folks that don't claim him as representative of their values. I don't disparage the system, just the modern application. And the fact is that what we have now IS mostly judicial activism! But if the people understood how the courts were meant to work, they couldn't get away with it! This is precisely the kind of thing that our court system was set up to check. It is our final check before revolution on a governments tendency to assume too much power!

Excellant point! Attacking on two levels and keeping your base and ballance in tact while destroying his is extremely effective. Here's an example sort of along those lines: http://www.unitedparkerskenpo.com/Onthemat.html One thing, when Mr. Ryer talks about pinning the foot, it is a momentary pin- NOT a long term immobilization! Also, this is a basic drill, not a fight sequence (for those that take everything litteraly). Try to glean what it teaches instead of memorizing the sequences. Look at it with a view to adding in your own strikes, changing the footwork, etc. Maybe modify it to work with your own systems footwork and strikes. Enjoy!