Open Hands

I've seen Kenpo as an uninitiated observer for years, first in movies, then in books and instructional videos. But after learning from an instructor for a few months, I realize how much, and how many different ways, open hands are used. (And I'm sure there are many other ways I haven't seen yet.)

Of course, everybody knows about the famous karate chop with the knife edge of the hand. On a side note, I find it quite amusing that Austin Powers always yells "Judo chop!" when lightly tapping a bad guy on the shoulder, causing him to crumble like telephone pole fell on him. Modern forms of judo normally focus on off-balancing (kazushi), throwing (nage), and locks or holds, but not striking (atemi) like jujitsu and aikido. But I guess that is the joke!

On the serious side, using the knife edge of the hand as a weapon can be very effective. The contact area is from the base joint of the pinky finger to the wrist bones. Closing your fingers together and pulling your thumb in protects your fingers and thumb, and also makes this edge of your palm more solid. If you deliver all the force that comes from hip rotation, shoulder muscles, and elbow extension through that narrow strip of flesh and bone, it is penetrating and painful, especially against the neck or collarbone. (A smaller surface of the striking weapon with the same amount of force behind it equals greater penetration.)

Some techniques in Kenpo use a short range, downward and forward cut with the knife edge of the hand to create space, bring the attacker's head forward for the next strike, to off-balance him, and to check his height. When I first saw the move, it looked like a push, and I didn't perceive it as delivering pain or even as being effective. Then my instructor gently delivered it properly down my lower ribs and into my stomach. Very painful and penetrating, even though he was being nice.

Let me get off track for a minute, since this reminds me of another moment of enlightenment. We were practicing a defense for an overhead club attack which involves a quick side-step right to move your head out of the path, a right inward parry, and a left outward block to the forearm holding the club. Being a former jujitsu student, I was puzzled why we were not controlling or grasping the weapon hand. Once you block the arm, the attacker can take that stick anywhere, including follow up strikes to your knee, arms, ribs, etc.! When I made this point to my instructor, rather than explain, he just handed me the stick and said "attack me". I expected he would talk me through technical points as he usually does while demonstrating a technique. But he simply blocked my arm and planted the ball of his foot in my lower stomach with a front thrust kick. The technique calls for a front snap kick to the groin, so he was being nice, but it caused me enough pain to make me double over and cough. And I noticed that my body folded at the hips as I was knocked back, leaving me in no position to execute follow up strikes with my stick. In fact, I nearly dropped the stick. The technique then calls for a side kick to the rear knee and a back knuckle strike to the head immediately following the front kick, so there would be no time to recover.  A completely different approach to dealing with an impact weapon from my previous training, but certainly effective.

Back to open hands: An open hand can also check, and there are different types of checking, or preventing an attacker from using his weapons effectively. There are finger pokes, which are most effective to the eyes. There is the "palm-claw" which begins as a palm strike to the face or groin and ends with a raking claw or a grab and pull. The opposite of a knifehand strike is a ridgehand or reverse knifehand. You strike with the bone at the base of your thumb. Of course, there are inward and outward parrys, which redirect incoming attacks. There is also a "crane" hook, where you point the fingertips and elbow down, creating an arch which can trap and manipulate attacking arms without latching on to your opponent. I noticed Kenpo seems to avoid techniques which bind or tie you to your opponent and might allow a bigger, stronger attacker to fling you around. Not being latched on also allows you to transition quickly to other moves or checks if needed.

When these open hand techniques are used in combination with punches, hammerfists, and back knuckle strikes, it begins to feel like you are constantly opening and clenching your fist. Seems like good training for coordination, and it also helps teach you to relax until the point of impact. A relaxed arm moves faster than a tense, stiff one. But my previous perception that open hand strikes are weaker, and you use them when you want to use less aggressive force, has been shattered.  When you take into consideration things like the "puzzle principle" (your weapons fitting into different targets on an attacker's body), open hand strikes could actually be more effective than a closed fist in certain applications.

Checking

I tried to learn Kenpo on my own for years. There were no nearby dojos in the various towns I lived in. I could pick up the basic movements from a book with some patience and perserverance, but I knew I was missing something. I just didn't know how much.

There were phrases like "left hand checks low".  I assumed that meant the left hand guards against incoming attacks. I was right, but it turns out, after taking Kenpo from an instructor for eight months, there is a LOT more to the concept of "checking".  Especially in self-defense techniques, a hand which is not striking, parrying, poking, or chopping should be held in a position to protect your vital areas. But Ed Parker, the founder of American Kenpo Karate, used the concept of width, depth, and height zones. Depth zones represent range, or the distance from you or your weapon (be it hand, foot, knee, or elbow) and your target (be it forearm, bicep, solar plexus, or kidney). Monitoring width allows for early detection of attacks. Controlling (or checking) width deprives your opponent of the angles he needs for powerful attacks on you.  Checking an opponent's height can render him unstable and off balance, or grounded and immobile.

My instructor often uses the phrases "checking his height" or "to check his width".  To illustrate, let me use a technique called "Deflecting Hammer". It's a simple technique taught to white belts, but it contains the potential to check width, depth, and height. This is a defense against a right, step-through, front kick. Your left foot steps back, which moves the target (your torso) back a bit and rotates the hips to a diagonal position (neutral bow stance). Previous training would have me using a striking block at right angles with the rising shin, but there are two reasons NOT to block straight across your body.

1. Attacking a shin straight on with your forearm will probably hurt your arm more than his leg.
2. Knocking the leg hard sideways could spin the opponent enough for him to raise his left arm in a backfist strike.

Blocking (hammering) at a diagonal angle "deflects", rather than stops, the kick. With practice, you can guide the kicking foot to step down where ever you want it, setting up your opponent for a counter-attack. You can control the amount of horizontal/outward impact AND the diagonal, deflecting angle, almost pulling the leg toward you with the contact of your arm.
1. A little outward force turns him slightly away, but not so far that you don't have access to his ribs and head (checks width).
2. The deflecting angle of the block allows the foot to pass you, sucking the opponent in to meet your counter attack (checks depth).
3. The farther forward you cause him to plant the foot, the harder it will be to lift it (checks height).
So just with the contact of the block, you've already checked width, depth, and height.

Next, you  rotate clockwise, without moving your feet, into a forward bow. The hip rotation gives your left arm the range to "check" the opponent's right arm. Again, you check both width and height by slapping his upper arm and sliding the knife edge of your hand down into the elbow "pocket", creating "frictional pull". This keeps the opponent planted forward, jerks his head forward, and also keeps him from turning back into you. If you think about it, you are actually checking four limbs by your contact with one:

1. You momentarily pinned his right arm.
2. His right leg is grounded and he can't lift it to kick.
3. He can't rotate back toward you because you're blocking him with the check, so his left hand and
4. foot can't reach you - his own body blocks them.

The really amazing thing: you're not even grabbing or holding any part of his body, you're only pushing forward and down on his arm (this former jujitsu student is in awe).  Granted, this is will only work for a split second, but a split second is all you need to launch forward with your loaded left leg and use your body's momentum to run your right elbow into his head. If you're really quick, you can make him run into your elbow while he is planting his kicking leg forward. This is called "borrowed force" (using the attacker's movement to add impact to a strike). If he has already planted, the "frictional pull" into the elbow pocket can bring the head forward into your elbow.

Very simple moves, but there is a lot going on that is not obvious to the casual observer. This is the stuff you can't learn by reading "1. step back with left foot, right downward block, 2. left hand checks forward, 3. right inward elbow", and then mimmicking the motions. An instructor explained and demonstrated it to me (sometimes with painful reinforcement), and I have felt it work (and how it doesn't work) on fellow students of all shapes and sizes, and on myself. Checking (as opposed to grabbing, locking, or holding) allows for quick withdrawel or transition to other moves if things don't go as planned. Binding yourself to a bigger, stronger opponent gives him the opportunity to manipulate your body, when you want to influence his.

Now, believe it or not, I don't walk around thinking "I hope that dude tries to kick me so I can try out my moves!", but it facinates me how, in between the strikes and kicks I learned from Tae Kwon Do and Karate, little bits of light contact (checking) can influence an opponent's movements and set him up for the next strike in the sequence.  And I'm just a yellow belt - just a beginner.

December 2, 2010 - Application & Sparring

Monday night we had a rotating, double technique line. There were two lines of students facing each other with one line moving one direction and the other line moving the other way. We would do the same attack and technique 5 or 10 times with one person and then rotate to the next spot. This helps you get used to working "application" on different types of attitudes and bodies. I came to one guy who has a body of iron and a long pony tail. He's nice enough but it hurts to hit him just about anywhere. We were all doing a techniques that uses "frictional pull" to bring the attacker's head forward to meet elbow strikes. Well, my forearm rubbing on his bicep wasn't hardly moving him at all. So I had to get a bit more aggressive dragging down. The elbows were simply a touch to the jaw. If it were real, of course, it would knock the head back. Then the frictional pull would bring the head and shoulders back forward to be blasted again. Anyway, the next guy I worked on was my size and much more flexible. Having been conditioned by my previous partner, I rolled into the technique and heard him mutter "Geez! Oh man!" as his head jerked foward and then snapped back. "I apologize," I said to him, "I was just working with Troy and that guy is like a two ton statue." He was cool about it and just laughed.

Another highschool kid who is middle rank got poked in the eye on the same technique. There is an eye poke while you are retreating and sometimes the distance is hard to judge. He had to sit out for awhile because he couldn't see and his eye was watering. Mr. Steinman checked him out and said he was ok but probably not very comfortable. Then he told all of us, "That does make a point. We are being nice here. He barely got poked and he's pretty much out of the fight. Imagine if you were to really deliver with that!"

Last night we had a mix of highschoolers, yellow belts like me, and middle ranks. We did lung kicks (one knee nearly touches the floor before you push up off the other leg and kick) back and forth across the gymnasium sized dojo 5 or 6 times along with other kick combinations. My legs were burning and it's hard to walk normally this morning. I am REALLY bad at double kicks. I can pull off one kick (front, side, round) with control and power, but to keep the thigh up and execute a second extension is nearly impossible. Feels like I am fighting a bunch of thick rubberbands pulling my leg to the floor. My hips and legs are so inflexible that I spend all my energy fighting it instead of having the strength put into the kick itself.

Then Mr. Steinman did something he has not done before. He said he was going to give us "free time", and that he wanted to go around and work individually for few minutes with each of us to see what we needed and help us with whatever we were having trouble with.  "I want you to use the time constructively. While I'm working with Aaron here, you guys work on something with each other. No sitting down and socializing. If you're talking Karate, that's fine. Pick a partner and work on some stuff." I turned around and saw a white belt behind me. "Hey Joe. You wanna work on something." He is very shy and shrugged. So I started quizzing him about what he had learned so far. I helped him sharpen up the footwork and transitions on Short Form 1 and worked on a couple techniques with him. He mentioned that he was thinking about checking out some martial art schools in Olympia and Lacey. I asked him if he lived there and he said he lives in Yelm. "Well, Kenpo is pretty complex and it may not be for everybody." I admitted to him, "But I'll tell you that I've trained in a few other styles, and I did check out several schools in Olympia because I live there, but nothing compares to Kenpo, and I haven't yet met an instructor is as good as Mr. Steinman. That's why I take an hour round trip down here twice a week." He nodded, but I know he'll have to check it out for himself. If he's smart, he'll be back when he finds out he has to pay more for less.

His ride came and he left. Then an orange belt girl (the rank above me) wandered over and said the guys she was working with were getting a little crazy for her taste. I glanced and saw one guy fighting off 3 others armed with sticks. Yep. Crazy. I worked on a couple techniques with her for a few minutes. The middle ranks and highschoolers left one by one until Mr. Steinman figured he better wrap things up before everybody was gone. After class he encouraged sparring, but only four of us stuck around. I put on my pads for the second time since 2003 in Jonesboro. I ended up getting paired with the orange belt girl. She always talks lazy, like she doesn't want to do anything or exhert an effort. But when I worked application with her she was precise and forceful, much tougher than I would have expected just looking at her. We stared sparring and I immediately noticed she was hitting me in places I thought I had covered. Either I didn't cover as well as I thought, or she was using my reactions to create openings. She was very quick, but she had uniform intensity, which suggested control to me. I don't have uniform intensity. I have to slow myself down because I get too "into it" and don't know how hard I am hitting. But at least I am aware of it.

Well, all the other places I've sparred had mats or carpet, not slippery hardwood floor, and the nylon/elastic strap that wraps under my pads across the balls of my feet slips easily if my whole foot is not planted.  She would kick and follow with a strike combo and there were be a flurry between us before we backed off. I kept hitting her headgear and turning it so she would have to straighten it. She kept hitting me in the ribs and stomach while I was extended. Then she went for my ribs again and I tried to dodge. My strap slipped on the floor and I lost my balance. I threw my arms out to steady myself and my forearm hit her across the nose. She backed away and I asked her if I hit her. She nodded and was touching her nose. Then she started sparring me again, only to stop and check her nose again.  It was bleeding. I felt really bad and apologized but she said she was fine. I was impressed she kept up her uniform intensity. Most people are either more cautious or more aggressive after getting hit hard. They either want to pay you back or make sure it doesn't happen again.

Then we switched partners. I was already drenched in sweat and my next sparring partner was a military officer who has taken Muay Tai and Aikido before. He hunkered down and looked like he was ready to eat me alive, so I played it safe and threw a few half-hearted kicks. Sure enough, as soon as my hand or foot reached out he would storm in with punch combos. He got me multiple times in the jaw and torso when my hands were busy and he had a great sense of timing.  I would snap back from his strikes then jump back in range when he was retreating to pop the side of his head. About the 4th time I aimed for his head he lunged under my arm in a tackle. I simply let my arm circle around the back of his head into a reverse headlock. When he tried to off balance me by picking up my weight, I took my feet off the ground and wrapped them around his lower body. There was nothing he could do but try to shake me off and hit me in the sides, and I heard Mr Steinman laughing. When I put my feet back down he tried to pivot and throw me. But I did take Jujitsu and I guess I can still feel that intention. So I planted my weight and put my hand on his lower back to keep his hips forward so he couldn't pull me over. Fun stuff. But I think he was better at the boxing part because he got me quite a few times in the face and it was really hard to get to his head. The other guy who I did not spar that time, told me he thought the MP was pretty aggressive. He said when the MP came after him the first couple times, he kicked him in the cup (groin) and it slowed him down. I was never allowed to kick legs or groin in previous training, so the thought never occured to me.  But I'll remember that. Of course, if I got mugged, that would be a primary target.

So this was the first time I've sparred with people (other than an instructor) that I thought were actually better or more skilled than me. They had better control and better timing. I could only get them by being very quick or very tricky. These people are my rank or barely above, which tells me I'd get eaten alive by a higher rank student. Maybe I am just getting old and slow.

November 4, 2010 - Unintentionally

My Kenpo instructor has said several times, "There's two ways to get hit: Intentionally and unintentionally."  At first I was a little confused. Why would I ever get hit on purpose?  But he is talking about the other guy's intention.  Usually, he's trying to hit you in a specific place. But there are times when you do a silly move, like what I did last night, which makes him hit you in a way he did not intend. 

Mr. Steinman told us a story about how he was training with a 6th degree black belt and another black belt. He was firing off a complicated technique when his circling arm caught his opponent's arm causing the other guy to slap him in the face.  He was hoping nobody noticed when the 6th degree jumped up and said, "Awesome!" But he continued, "No, no! It was awesome how you made him slap you! Priceless!"

Last night we were doing a multiple attacker drill.  With one person in the middle and three around him, we each attacked the middle guy with a different attack as he responded with the appropriate technique.  While this is somewhat staged, it does help us learn to transition from one attack and defense into another from a different angle very quickly and smoothly.  It so happened that I was one of the attackers and I was stepping in with a roundhouse punch just as the guy in the middle was finishing his technique on the other attacker.  One thing that we do on some techniques (the person attacking and receiving the technique) involving chops to the neck is to place our hand, palm out, in front of our neck so person executing the technique can chop and make solid contact without hurting his partner. As the guy blocked my punch and started firing off strikes across my head and body, I tried to move my right hand across to the left side of my neck, knowing his last 2 strikes would hit there. One of his shooting hands knocked my own knuckles into my lip, busting it open! Well, I thought, that doesn't work! I better leave my hands down!

A moment later blood was oozing from my lip, though I don't know how much because there were no nearby mirrors.  A teenage boy asked me, "Are you bleeding?"
I nodded, "Yeah a little bit."
One of the older guys said "He's tough!"
I just smiled with my fat lip and said, "Well it's been a lot worse."
The teenager asked his dad, who was the one who hit me, "Did you do that?"
I answered for him, "No, I did that. I tried to move my hand through the flurry to cover my neck and found out it doesn't work on this technique. Ended up hitting myself."
We all had a laugh. 

So I managed to get through seven months of applying and "being applied on" with nothing but bruises. It is pretty amazing really, considering all the crazy moves we do and how close we get to damaging our targets. I think it says something about our control and consideration for our fellow students.  But I worked with a purple belt and green belt last night (middle ranks on the way to black), and they actually hit me with impact, but without really hurting me. So I think as I progress, and as my control develops more, it should get closer and closer to the real thing. 

Just when I start feeling comfortable and confident with moves and forms, my instructor makes us do something simple that shows me how weak and clumbsy I really am (like doing a super slooooow kick, or a crouching, twisting stance) and I have to struggle to keep my balance, even though no one is attacking me.

October 21, 2010 - Journals and hitting fellow students

I've been trying catch up on Kenpo documentation and journaling.  Last Friday I rearranged my office at work.  I used to have the desk in the middle of the room with file cabinets and book cases surrounding it. I moved all the file cabinets to one row, put the bookshelves in one corner, and took the return off my desk and pushed it up against the front wall. So I now have about a 6x10 space in the middle where I can practice Kenpo on lunchbreaks (or anytime my fingers and toes get cold from sitting there doing nothing but type and move papers).

I misunderstood Mr. Steinman when he said he was going to make a "journal" required.  I started making notes on how to do different techniques and exercises and making observations about what I thought was important.  Turns out he wants us to document our practice and classes. He wants to inspect our journals once in awhile to see where we are and make sure he doesn't miss teaching us something critical.  He said he also knows that having to keep a pratice journal will motivate students to practice more, and it shows you how much or how little time you are putting into your own development.  He told me last night that some students told him they didn't want to do it.  He said, "No problem. But you won't promote." 

He is getting ready to test for 4th degree black in November.  In my opinion, with my limited exposure to other 3rd and 4th degree blackbelts, his calibre and the quality of his instruction is way above average.  I noticed our workouts are more physically demanding (he did warn us). I almost died last night doing jumping jacks. We went from flapping arms to making big inward and outward circles, then went from jumping feet spread-then-together to alternating crossing our feet every other jump, then alternating front and back feet, all while still circling our arms in wide circles. Coordination for an exercise like this is tough, but the cardio is severly taxed at the same time. I thought I was going to collapse right before he told us to stop. 

There are three girls who started coming, one early teen and a couple I'd guess in early 20's. They evidently took Kenpo years ago as kids and are coming back.  I worked with one of them last night.  It took her a few tries to dust off some of the techniques she learned before, but then she was firing away with good accuracy and power. It hurt every time her fist hit my sternum or she did striking blocks to my arms.  When I did a technique on her I was snapping my strikes to her body but stopping on the surface without any "thump".  "You are allowed to hit me, you know," she told me.  I told her I was insecure about my control. Not a lie.  It's easy to pull a punch with a little practice, or really blast somebody, but much harder to find the right balance so there is impact without pain.

The early teen was standing next to me when we closed class last night.  We have the tradition of passing a backfist to the stomach down the line. Mr. Steinman made us start over 3 times once because I didn't hit the little girl (different girl) next to me hard enough. Last night I whacked the poor girl pretty good I guess and I could see it on her face, even though she tried to be tough. "Was that too hard?" I asked her after we bowed out. "It hurt." she said. Her dad was standing behind her and told her that it was supposed to hurt, and if it didn't, we were not showing each other the proper respect. He was right, but  I apologized and said I would tone it down a bit next time. I felt bad. In a way, Kenpo is good for delicate girls because it toughens them up and they will be better prepared if a guy grabs them on the street.  And while I want to help them build that toughness and get used to dealing with physical attack, I don't want to hurt anybody, especially not a sweet little girl.

Speaking of whacking each other, I noticed something that contradicts logic.  You would think that using your arm and shoulder muscles to snap your fist out sideways would make you hit harder.  But I am finding that when you relax your arm and only use enough muscle to move it, the strike can be both faster and have more impact. The best way I could compare it is to a bo staff (long, solid piece of wood) and a flexible chain/rope weapon, maybe a nunchuku or manriki (chain with a weight or knife on the end). The chain itself seems weak and not solid at all, but the laws of physics allow the tip to travel faster and hit harder than when the same force or energy is put into a staff strike. Anyway, it is something to consider, both because you could hit harder than you mean to using a relaxed, flinging motion, and because this type of strike takes less energy but causes more damage. Always a good thing if you really need to use it. The principle works for knife-hand and hammerfist strikes, and many blocks, but it feels a little harder to pull off with straight punches.

Anyway, fascinating stuff to me and I hope I'm not boring you.

August 31, 2010 - A full course meal

(When I wrote the following, I had recently passed my yellow belt test.)

I am constantly amazed at how slight motions that don't appear to be strikes or blocks, but casual or passive in nature, serve to manipulate the opponent or protect yourself. A slight downward "frictional pull" on the opponents bicep with your forearm can ground the front leg (prevent it from kicking) and bring the head forward into an uppercut. These are the things you can't learn from a book (I should know, I've tried). Just moving your hand four inches to the right and turning your chest slightly toward the opponent creates an opening and invites an attack to that region. One of the most valuable skills in martial arts is being able to anticipate the opponent's next move. In Kenpo the concept is to trick, lead, and tempt the opponent in such a way that you know what his next move will be because you are guiding him to it. This is a daunting skill to even think about trying to master, especially when I am just trying to angle my block in such a way that I don't accidentally cause my opponent to head-butt me!

Mr. Steinman told us last night, "You guys are way beyond yellow belt calibur, and that's why I'm showing you some things I normally don't introduce until higher ranks. You are self-correcting, you are understanding the concepts and principles behind the techniques..." I told him, "To be honest, since I've been here I've felt that it's harder for me to learn and pick things up, both physically and mentally. Maybe I'm older, and for sure we are working much harder to refine little details that weren't even touched on in other styles I took."  He said his goal is to get us to a higher level, and that he's had the experience of going to conventions and seeing or hearing about other students wanting to work with his students because of how sharp they are and how well they know their stuff. But he said, "If you feel like you're struggling, it's a good thing. If you push yourself through those stages, you'll come out on the other side MUCH better, and with a higher level of skill."

I've never been good at complicated combos, and since that's mostly what Kenpo is, I could just be feeling clumbsy. But after all the years of admiring Kenpo, I only recently understood that it really is a modern and more sophisticated system than traditional karate. It combines elements from both karate and kung fu, but Mr. Parker, the genius who created the system, inserted so many practical things, that Tae Kwon Do or karate just don't compare! In Tae Kwon Do, I learned to punch and kick harder, and with more accuracy. In karate, I learned more of the same (although the style of moving was different), along with ways to make your body tougher. Blocks, kicks, and punches, and different ways to perform each. In contrast, Mr. Steinman compares Kenpo to "a full course meal". Striking and incapacitating the weapons (arms and legs) thrust at you are "appetizers". Working your way into the vital targets like the neck, solar plexis, and groin is "the main course".  "Dessert" is the eye pokes and back fist strikes "on the way back out". And there is so much more to all this than just blocks, kicks, and punches.

Most people probably couldn't care less about this stuff. I find it fascinating.

June 25, 2010 - On a lighter note...

Gas and Karate don't mix. They are both just too powerful. Huh?  Well, you try doing crunches surrounded by fellow karate students when you have a big gas bubble in your stomach trying to escape. Stomach muscles push it down, butt muscles push back up, stomach muscles down, butt muscles up, over and over. "Must... not... release... gas!" It almost hurts more than the aching abs!

Jumping jacks are even worse! How in the world are you supposed to hold a fart in when you come down and hit the floor with your legs spread wide???  So far, only one has escaped during class drills. Fortunately, everybody yelled at the same instant, so only the guy next to me probably heard it.  My own yell and dropping my weight was what pushed it out. "Hya!/pppttttt!" Wow! I can kiai out both ends at the same time! But I don't think gassing your attacker is a valid Kenpo technique.

June 15, 2010 - Spontaneity and Control

Last night, the old Filipino blackbelt (Mr. Olivar, 78 I think) was showing us a "double technique line".  We have something called a technique line where everybody lines up to attack one person.  The person being attacked gets to see and feel the same attack by different people and see how the self-defense technique has to be applied differently on different people and their ways of attacking. So Mr. Olivar had one person stand in the middle with two lines out to either side. We were supposed to look straight and use periferal vision to pick up incoming attacks from either side.  And instead of a specific attack and technique, both attacker and defender could do whatever they wanted.  An exercise like this teaches you very quickly what happens when things are not "scripted". I found myself falling into a pattern of using the same motions, even for different attacks (it seems I am very comfortable with blocking or parrying and whipping a backfist to the head). I hesitated after the first defesive move and strike when I should have been nailing follow up strikes.  It's amazing how the neatness and precision just falls apart for everybody! I felt very clumbsy, awkward, and unskilled. I react very quickly, but then it's like I don't know what to do next.  I'm probably thinking too much. When I got a fights as a teenager, before taking martial arts, I never thought about what to do, it just happened.

One girl had a large frame and a fist like a man's! When I attacked her, she kicked me pretty hard in the stomach and nailed my back ribs with her big knuckles.  She took Kenpo years ago and she's just starting again, with her dad who is like a big, good-natured bear. Rainheart said she got him pretty good too.  I think, as whitebelts, we are afraid of making contact when practicing a technique on other students because it might be too hard, and some people can take more than others.  One higher ranking student told me to hit harder. I said, "Are you sure? You know I'm a whitebelt and I haven't learned control yet." She laughed and said "I'm keeping my eye on you!" The concept of control, and being able to strike quickly but with light contact, is something most whitebelts don't fully understand. I'm cautious, especially when chopping the neck or kicking the stomach, ribs, or knees. All it takes is for another person to step or lean slightly forward into your kick or strike, and you end up delivering way more force than you intended.  On the other hand, you can't always pull punches or do "Air Karate" as Mr Steinman calls it, because if you have to use Karate on the street, somebody is going to be pounding on you without mercy and you can't let it distract you from taking them down. Making contact also increases accuracy. The edge of your hand and your knuckles get used to feeling where they need to penetrate.

The was a tiny little girl standing next to me last night at the end of class. Barely 5 feet tall and probably 80 pounds, even though she is 19. We were doing a Kenpo tradition of backfisting the person next to us in the stomach. We pass it along the line and then it comes back to the instructor (Mr. Steinman qualified that, officially, the backfists only travel from black to white, not back up the line). It is supposed to be like bowing, or showing respect. Yeah, I know, strange ways. The instructor kicks you hard enough to knock you off your feet if you're not prepared when you get promoted, another tradition.  Anyway, Mr. Steinman made us start the the backfisting progression over twice because I was hitting the guy on my right harder than the little girl on my left. The second time she turned away so that my forearm hit her arm instead of her stomach. Mr. Steinman didn't hear the whack sound, and we had to go the third round. I finally got a solid hit, but not too hard, and he was satisfied.

After class, Mr. Steinman showed me technique I had previously been shown my another student. I commented that I had missed a couple points completely when learning it from someone else. He always shows the targets and how they are supposed to be used, how the angle of a block or chop can direct the opponents body and movement. (Hammering straight down on someone's arm when they grab you may cause them to headbutt you.)  He explained that the techniques are like basic building blocks. You have to learn them first, but then they are made to be adapted and expanded. He said it is "the ideal" but in real combat, instead of blocking, kicking and chopping one person, you might hammer block one person's arm, chop someone else in the neck and then kick the third person coming in. Same moves, but out of sequence and in different directions. So the ultimate goal is to teach your body the moves, and then get creative and spontaneous. Whew! I have a long way to go!

June 3, 2010 - Marriage of Gravity

Last night Mr Steinman had us all lined up doing warm up drills and stretches. 
"I tried on a white belt the other night while nobody was around. I probably shouldn't be telling you guys this. Man! That messes with your head!" He told us.
"Almost like trying on women's underwear..." I mumbled (before I realized that implied I had tried women's underwear).  He cracked up. This came up when one student ended up at class without his belt. "Let's see if you can do what you're supposed to know without your belt on." Mr Steinman said, "Oh, you can do an extended outward block without it. I think you'll be ok." There is a lot of tradition, symbolism, and almost superstitious practice surrounding the martial arts belt. You don't let it touch the floor, you don't wear it outside the dojo, it represents your knowledge and skill, etc. So it's kind of funny to joke about somebody losing their knowledge or ability to perform when they don't have their belt. This school even has students move their knots to the side, unless testing, out of respect. I've never seen that before.

My latest struggle involves what Kenpo calls the "marriage of gravity". The term doesn't really make sense to me.  It refers to using the settling of your body weight to add power to strikes and blocks. For example: when you kick, and then place your foot down, your body weight settles back into a stance. At the instant your foot makes contact with the ground and starts to bear your body's weight, you punch or block. It's like suddenly bending your knees on a bathroom scale and watching the needle jump up for a fraction of a second. For that fraction of a second, your weight, or pressure on the ground, is more than if you were standing at rest. It allows for harder punches and more solid blocks. So maybe you are "marrying" your slight downward momentum (and the halting of that momentum) with natural gravity.

Anyway, my struggle with this comes from my Tae Kwon Do training in Harrison.  In TKD, to get the absolute most power out of this concept, they drop the body weight heavily and lunge forward slightly at the same time. This combines downward and forward momentum at the same instant. It truely does generate a lot of power. In fact, while taking Freestyle Kenpo in Jonesboro, I applied this while practicing power punches with other students. Weight drop + visualizing a target behind the target + forward body momentum = power. The guy holding the shield pad said, "Eric, I don't know what you're doing, but I can feel it! You are hitting harder than anybody else." In American Kenpo, however, the forward body momentum, created by a step forward or lunge, is not utilized because it creates a vulnerability and has the potential to throw you off balance. Someone could use your forward momentum against you. Several beginning techniques use a neck chop at the end where this settling of the body weight is used for power. I keep lunging, or "falling into it" as Mr Steinman calls it. I naturally emphasize the forward motion because of previous training. But when I watch him demonstrate, he settles DOWN, and hardly moves foward at all, even when stepping down forward. His shoulders stay directly over his hips and he does not lean. Seems to me this would reduce power, but greatly increase solid balance and speed up recovery from offensive moves.  Since Kenpo is more about overwhelming speed than power, it fits. Don't get me wrong, he just flicked the back of his open hand at my solar plexus and nearly knocked the wind out of me when I wasn't expecting it. He generates a lot of power along with the speed, as a 3rd degree black belt should.

So I have to work on settling down, and not following my foot forward when I step down from a front kick, AND not reaching for the chop. When I practiced on a person, their neck is a lot closer than I imagined, so you don't need to move forward. As Mr Steinman puts it, "When you kick them in the groin, they will graciously present their neck to you by bending forward." Where self-defense is concerned, Kenpo appears to be an "all or nothing" style. Jujitsu has moves that allow you to restrain an opponent without injuring them until you can determine whether their intent is to kill you or simply harrass you. I don't want to kill the guy five times before he hits the ground if he's just being a jerk. So Kenpo requires more mental judgement. If things have progressed to the point where you need to use it, then you are in real trouble and you need to disable your attackers quickly.

Outside of self-defense, it is just a blast to practice! We were doing warm up drills last week, led by a higher ranking student while Mr. Steinman worked with a couple of his upper ranks in a back room. I happened to see him through the partially open door. He looked just like the cartoon Tazmanian devil! A whirlwind of feet, elbows, and fists! And they were shooting every direction around him! Very impressive.

When we were leaving, two the highschool students were discussing drivers ed and complained about how hard parallel parking was. Mr. Steinman said, "Yeah, there's definately a science to that." And he started describing it just like he teaches karate, talking about 45 degree angles, etc. "And then you get the car in a neutral bow stance..." I said. Rainheart added, "Yeah, but the right, back wheel has to be in a cat stance!" Too funny.

May 25, 2010 - Adjustments

I spend half my time fixing and correcting old, subconscious habits that were drilled into me from Tae Kwon Do and Karate. 

I keep pulling my fist back into a chamber every time my opposite arm blocks or strikes. Good form for "classical martial arts", as Mr. Steinman calls them, but I just saw a YouTube video of Kenpo founder Ed Parker saying he was a street fighter in Honolulu in his youth. He said he wanted to create something more practical.  So Kenpo does not usually chamber (pull the fist back to the side of ribs) during self defense techniques. Instead the hand that is not striking or blocking, is "checking" or "covering" possible incoming attacks.  My hand chambers unconsciously and without my permission, so I have to consciously put it where it should be: protecting my vital spots.

My front foot points at my target whether punching or kicking in neutral and forward stances. This is Tae Kwon Do and Karate training. I can hardly stop it. Every time I recover from a kick or a pivot, I have to twist the foot consciously to point inward and forward so that my knee angle provides some protection for my groin. I'm getting better at it, but some of this stuff feels so awkward! I understand it, my body just doesn't want to do it. Mr. Steinman is good at spotting these things and helping to correct them.

He told me that when his instructor left and he took over, he was very relaxed and was everybody's friend. But discipline and structure fell apart. He saw that wasn't good so he swung the other direction and became a drill sergeant. Then he said, "I ended up with nothing but a bunch of hard asses. Scared everybody else away." Now he thinks he's found a balance between discipline and a family friendly environment.

May 13, 2010 - Kenpo training as a whitebelt

There is a Filipino man (Mr. Olivar) who my instructor has been encouraging to teach us some things this past week. He is 70-something and has black belts in Shorin-Ryu Karate and Judo. It just amazes me how strong he is. He is the stereotypical little, old, Asian master who can pulverize you with his pinky finger. My instructor, Mr Steinman, told him I had trained in Jujitsu, so he singled me out for his demonstration "uki". Fortunately, my body still remembers how to land when flipped over the hip or shoulder. The pads they have are much thinner and harder than the ones we had in Jujitsu. Some people were trying to do it and I winced watching some students fall on their elbows and knees instead of their sides and shoulders. I remember the desire to reach down to break my fall, but the only thing you'll break is your arm. Also, some students, who suddenly find themselves horizontal in the air, try to turn over and land on all fours like cats. But a wrist joint or a knee does not hold up too well when hitting the ground with your entire body weight and falling momentum over it. This is why the first few weeks or months in Judo and Jujitsu focus on rolling and falling, so that you know how to protect your own body during practice.

So I was the star pupil because of previous training. But sometimes previous training gets in the way. Last night I didn't do so well. I was very tired when I left work and my mind had a hard time focusing. The instructor had us do a simple form, but starting in different directions, with alternating rhythm, and on the left side (we've mostly practiced on the right side). I got pretty turned around and started high blocking when I was supposed to inner-forearm block. Mr. Steinman laughed and said, "I didn't even see that and you didn't even look guilty!" Then he started us across the training hall telling us we could hit or kick however we wanted to. Then he said we would probably notice some patterns. I knew what he was getting at and tried very hard to mix kicks and strikes and pivot in different ways as I worked my way across the hall, but I felt terribly awkward and my arms and legs felt very clumsy with no pre-set pattern to follow. In truth, spontaneity and adaptability is the ultimate goal. Patterns, forms, kata all just teach your body how to move.  In the end, sparring, or even a real fight, looks nothing like the training exercises. But the power, accuracy, and speed are there.

Next Mr. Steinman rolled a stand-up punching bag into the middle and had us take turns going crazy on it for 2 minutes or so, just attacking it however we wanted. I felt horribly awkward and exposed again, with everyone watching me this time. But I did my best to mix things up and still be accurate and focused. I noticed as each student had a turn that they all got so tired they could hardly punch or kick with any power after over a minute of solid punches and kicks. It didn't matter if they were 50's or teens. I didn't seem to have that problem at all, and I started wondering why. Is it my healthy diet? I know I'm out of shape. Why is it that I can still hit and kick hard longer than most of them? Anyway, this could be an advantage in sparring, if they slow down and I still have speed and accuracy. On a side note, the guys two ranks above me were more precise and neat about their moves than I was.

Mr. Olivar then had us do partner stretches, with one person's back against the wall and their leg on the other person's shoulder.  We did these a lot in Jonesboro Kenpo, and I was much more flexible at the time. Again, he chose me for demonstration, and I thought "Uh oh! This is NOT my strong area!" The little, old man hiked my leg up and my butt came away from the wall. "Get against the wall." He said. "I'm sorry, sir, I can't. I'm too stiff!" Mr. Steinman was watching at a distance and chuckling. Then he turned my foot sideways to immitate a knife edge kick at head level. I had removed my martial arts shoes when we started practicing partner drills to avoid stepping on toes, and I was in socks on a hardwood floor. My hip joints reached their limit and my ground foot slipped out. I landed on my side against the wall, one foot still on his shoulder and the other shot between his feet. He got somebody more flexible for his next demonstration. "Flexibility is probably my biggest weakness", I told a fellow student. Mr. Steinman overheard me and looked over at me and nodded, "Me too!"

It's very interesting to note that I can rip off a simple form with ease, until I get thrown into a disorienting situation or have to do it in a different way, like use the opposite arm or leg. From a self-defense perspective, this tells me that knowing how to pull the moves isn't enough. It has to become automatic, which means LOTS of practice! Also, I noticed that when I am shown something new, my brain understands very quickly what I need to do and the meaning or purpose behind it.  It's my body that must be taught, and this takes more time. I've heard it called "muscle memory", like when a tire rolls over the same surface over and over until it creates a rut that it naturally falls into. It's very easy for me to do something I've practiced alot, but very hard to modify the mechanics, like I have to do now with things I studied and learned on my own, but learning to do them better with an instructor.

I've learned 4 new techniques, or self-defense sequences, this week. While I have been shown about 9 or so, they are still shakey and I'll have to practice a lot more to prepare for my first belt test. The number of requirements for one rank advance is staggering compared to other styles I've trained in.  But I understand more fully now why Kenpo experts are so effective and versatile. This has been a humbling experience.  I was proud of my diverse training background, and it did instil in me good basics, but it doesn't hold a candle to what these guys do! I am weak and slow, but through practice I can improve, and that's what I try to keep in mind.

April 19, 2010 - Mind over Body

I am intrigued by the power our conscious minds have over body functions that are normally controlled by the subconscious. Here are a couple interesting experiences:

When I went to the gym in California, I started experimenting with trying to conciously control my heart rate.  I did this while riding a stationary exercise bike. These bikes had special sensors in the grips that detected your heart rate, and they seemed quite accurate. After about 10 minutes of steady pedalling with a medium resistance setting, my HR would get up to the 130 range. Once or twice it nearly reached 150, which I thought might be a bit high.  So when it neared 130, I did not slow my pedaling or breathing, but I concentrated on relaxing all parts of my body not involved in pedaling, and imagined my inner processes slowing down.  While this was initiated by logical thought, it was more a feeling that I induced and it is hard to explain exactly how I did it. I was able to lower my heart rate about 10 bpm without slowing my pedaling or reducing the resistance setting.

The other night at Kenpo, the instructor had us holding our legs straight in front, out to the side, and out behind us for 30 seconds each. This pose requires the abdomen to be a counter-balance to the outstretched leg.  We were supposed to keep our arms close to our bodies in a defensive position, which meant that stretching them out for balance broke the rules.  I tottered and wobbled with my leg stretching to my left and my body tilted to my right. The more I struggled to maintain my balance, the more I wobbled and tipped, and my one foot planted on the floor was making constant adjustments to conpensate. The instructor was grinning at me and I was shaking my head in embarassment. For all my flurry of micro adjustments, I could not keep my balance and my foot up. My stiffness was also a detriment here.

But then I took my mind off the instructor and the other students. I stared at my own body in the mirror, and focused on relaxing my attitude from frantic struggling to a peaceful calm. I visualized everything slowing down inside of me. Almost instantly, my wobbling body stabilized and centered my weight quietly. Wow! That was cool!

April 15, 2010 - Kenpo Initial Impressions

I am pulling  some comments I've written elsewhere and earlier this year:

"Two students did belt tests last night and I was very impressed. The orange belt testing for purple was 16. He was expected to know 60 different self-defense techniques in addition to several forms or sets (At this level in Tae Kwon Do, I had to know 15 "one-steps" and 3 forms). He ripped off one technique after another, both in the air and on fellow students, without hesitation when the names were called. He had very sharp and precise form. Sometimes sharpness and energy can be due to the student's personality or physical ability, but I believe these students are well taught because of their movements. I've seen easier black belt tests in other styles. He also had to spar a big biker-looking dude that kicked like a mule! He did well, waiting for openings and using a variety of techniques. That alone was impressive, going beyond basic blocks, kicks, and punches and using combos in sparring is very difficult, but the instructor said "We are doing Kenpo, not kickboxing."

When the students received their belts, there was an interesting ritual I have not seen before. In most schools there is a lot of bowing and a certain way to take the belt when it is offered. But this instructor laid the belt on the floor between him and the student, placed his hands on the ends and his forhead on the middle for a few seconds. This symbolizes knowledge being passed from instructor to student, and also emphasizes that you should use your head BEFORE you use karate. Then the student placed his hands on the floor and his forehead on the belt. Next the student ties only half the knot on the new belt, the instructor finishes the knot, symbolizing that the student promises to do their part, and the instructor promises to do his part as well.

 So I learned a few things last night. First of all, I've never practiced much outside the dojo in other styles I've trained in. That will not fly here. I will have to study and practice at home if I want to get anywhere. This is a complex style, much more so at lower levels than Tae Kwon Do and Shorin-ryu. This is a little different than a college exam. Your brain has to understand the movement and its purpose, but your body must also learn the feel of the movements in order to pull them smoothly and quickly. Not only are there more things to learn for each belt, but each technique is more complex. Example: Tae Kwon Do = Low block, punch, kick. Kenpo = low parry, elbow strike, simultaneous knife hand chop and kick, punch, second kick, retreating footwork to safety. Some techniques can involved 20 movements (like mini-forms) and many times hands and feet are doing 3 different things at the same time. When learning something like this for the first time it's like being a fish out of water! It feels so awkard and slow. So I have my work cut out for me! But I have to say, if a young orange belt can pull off what that kid did last night, I have high respect for any black belt from that school! They didn't just serve their time, they know their stuff and can do it well. From my observation, a Kenpo student with the same color belt as most other styles as taught in the US, will have much better odds of surviving a suprise attack or dangerous self-defense situation. But he'll also have to explain to the judge (if charges are pressed) why he hit the guy 10 times before the guy hit the ground! 

As you can imagine, all this speedy movement is great exercise, which is another reason I want to pursue this. There's a LOT of material to practice for exercise, and it won't get monotonous or boring. After only one class, my arms, chest and stomach felt tighter and more firm (my legs were killing me from all the lunges, squats, and low stances). This morning I noticed that my lungs are used to taking in a certain amount of air (not much), and now every few minutes I unconciously take a deeper breath. My body wants to breath deeper but it's not used to it, and it's having to adapt."