harmoniouswarrior

White Warlock, Congratulations on a very fine piece. It took me half a century to understand how little I understand, especially about those who went before--those who made my journey possible. Nor do I know much about all the technological updating you mentioned in the followup, being a non-techie myself. But I know a little about teaching, and teaching from a place of experience and accomplishment, for which there's no substitute. So thanks for speaking the truth so articulately, profoundly, and fearlessly. Keep the faith. HW

I'm a teacher, both by profession and by hobby (martial arts), so this type of bullying really sets me off (also my only child is female--now an adult--so I spent 20 years watching and cheering all manner of girls' sports, including Shotokan at the collegiate level, so I hate it when someone tells me what girls can't do). If the instructor has set a tone of preferential treatment for males (which I happen to be, by the way), or worse, allows bullying in the studio, shame on him--I'm not surprised you didn't llike the instruction: the instructor either had no control or little honor, and so it probably was not a very high quality studio anyway. Find a good instructor/studio. Girls can do kung fu and excel at it! You'll love it.

As a Vietnam Vet I got to know maybe a dozen guys really well--combat vets. I can't recall one ever throwing around numbers of 'confirmed kills', as if killing human beings was a game with a scorebaord. If they talked about it at all, it was in hushed tones, and they never looked anyone in the eye while speaking. Taking life has its own price. As martial artists I believe we have a responsibility to honor the sanctity of life, not be preoccupied with methods of ending it. BTW, a couple of the most ferocious jungle fighters I knew--19 year-olds going on 500-- never made the re-entry into civilian life. For a long time now I've believed many are dead or living among the homeless. Sorry if I sound preachy, but this one strikes close to home.

San Soo is straight up combat, not sport (even in roughest forms as MMA, etc.), and not even self-defense. Kempo (I'm using the 'm' on purpose so it can be taken as either American Kenpo, Hawaiian Kempo, or Shaolin Kempo), is more self-defense. Drawback to San Soo for the street is you don't always want to maim or kill an opponent, but advantage is you'll probably live though the attack. A lesser drawback of San Soo as I learned it is the number of preset techniques (combinations) is few-to-none, so you're relying on 'lower' brain (or instinct) to come up with the right thing at the right time. Drawbacks to Kempo are: it's a mix of Japanese and Chinese methods (karate and kung fu), and so some of it is too rigid (squared up, straight ahead, responses mostly to single, in-front attacker) for me to deem reliable in all street situations. Advantages to Kempo are: it's a complex art with many, many techniques, so after a few years, you can begin to mix and match your own combinations (and pick out tried and true favorites). I guess in short, the two arts intersect through their kung fu, although Kempo has more karate mixed in (seems maybe 40-50% to me). If you get a chance to do work in both over time, it can really turn into something. Gives lots of confidence one can handle any situation with just the right amount of force necessary. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Well, as one of the earlier posts said (in essence), put it on the shelf, and they will come. The meaning of 'black belt' varies widely, of course, just as the quality of a college granting degrees can vary widely, and even the educational experience of two people graduating together can be worlds apart. Let's face it, it's up to the individual to make any achievement just that.

NM

I love it! As a Starbuck's addict, I'll have to add Starbuck's Fu to my styles On the serious side, I used to secretly deride the Northern Kung Fu I was learning at the same time as crosstraining in Southern Kung Fu San Soo. While it's true San Soo (and KM has some similarities) is what I fall back on when a situation seems truly dangerouis (not just some old cowboy haymaker that takes about five minutes to windup), the longer I study, practice, and live, the more benefit--defense benefit--I can see in the Northern Style (5 Animal Shaolin).

NM

There are many good posts here already, and truthfully, it probably depends on ones own training, style, and type of fighter one is. But I'd just like to offer a couple of ideas: 1) Why would I let a guy get in head butting range? (All my thoughts are for street combat--in the ring, you're on you're own ). If he's already got his hands up, or some other way signalling a fight is imminent, I willl probably strike first, fast, and hard to end the danger (my Kung Fu San Soo training). 2) Specifically, dealing with a hook, I might choose one of two general options: A hook is a circular blow (albeit a short, fast , probably well-practiced circle), and Ed Parker taught us that a line defeats a circle (My Kenpo training). So, (a), I'd move forward: interfere with the hook via a knife hand block, cutting block, etc. and throw a linear counter with opposite hand (palm heel to his nose; open tiger mouth or even lepard paw to his throat); (b) I'd move back, out of his range, and throw a front kick (ball kick to belly, snap kick to groin, side kick to lower leg, etc.). Add finishing technique as needed. Hope this helps. Best, HW

The five animals are generally characterized as/for: Tiger: strength and courage Dragon: flexibility and deceptiveness Snake: internal stregth (no limbs, so strength is from the inside out) Leopard: speed Crane: balance and grace. The problem with choosing 'the one' that best fits us is we miss out on stretching ourselves to learn/do more than we thought possible, and so becoming better, more complete martial artists. For example, when I began five animal kempo, thought very little of the crane. But over time, doing crane forms helped strenghten my old, beat up knees so I went from severe knee braces, to moderate, to none in a couple of years (and it built strength and flexibility in other joints as well). But if your system only teaches one, maybe that can be a launching point, and you can add from there. I once studied under one grandmaster who said in effect, I don't mind you learning other systems, just wait till you get to green belt before branching out. Pretty solid advice.

Well I wasn't physically present when Ed Parker and Jimmy Woo happened to be in the same room, and I hate to get into 'he said she said' stuff for which there is no resolution, but the evidence I've seen (and these happen to be the two arts I've studied/practiced more than any others), it was the other way around. At any rate, I can't imagine that what I've seen Jimmy do in the film footage could be derived from what I've seen of Kenpo/Kempo. But then, that's all conjecture--and does it really matter?

I mean that the art is taught as many different arts, built more around the personality and preferences of the particular instructor/studio owner than the founder (Jimmy Woo). This is true even in a small geographical area, such as Southern California where Jimmy taught, and even of those who learned directly from him. Example: Some issue belts, others do not: Some give themselves titles (e.g., Sifu), others follow Jimmy's lead and just go by their names; some wear gi's, others have affected Chinese Tai Chi Chuan style uniforms; etc.

Amazing. I find myself agreeing with almost everthing White Warlock said (my regular disagreement is more probably a reflection of my shortcomings than others' posts). The only thing I take exception to, is the value of forms in San Soo (Jimmy Woo's art). In my experience, this art has become fragmented, and the quality of instruction depends heavily on who the instructor is, his personal level of mastery and his ability as a teacher. Given a good instructor, who teaches forms which support the mechanics and flow of San Soo, I think forms can add to the practice of the art.