Martial Arts

Archive for October, 2006

Wesley Snipes martial arts prowess has arguably been the foundation of his action movie career. Although dramatic roles in early films such as New Jack City and White Men Can’t Jump did not require Snipes to display his formidable skills, it is interesting to note that many of his later roles involved a great deal of action fighting.

What is even more amazing is that in his best-known action role as Blade, the day-walking vampire hunter, Snipes acted as both producer and fight choreographer on the first two films in the series. Obviously, this is a man who loves his fighting arts.

Wesley Snipes martial arts training and background is impressive. A fifth degree black belt, with high ranks in Shotokan karate and extensive training in capoeira, he is an accomplished martial artist. Snipes first started training at the young age of 12, and credits his training for helping him overcome adversity. In an interview with the Calgary Sun, Snipes talked about how his early karate training taught him valuable life-skills:

“They are what taught me how to deal with adversity in my life. You have to endure and overcome so much physical pain to learn these moves that you can apply the same principles to life experiences. I was a small child. I matured late. It made growing up in a tough world even tougher. I started out using martial arts training to defend myself, so my style is traditional martial arts mixed with Bronx street fighting.”

Snipes seems evasive when asked directly what fighting arts he uses most in his films. Yet he never hesitates to give credit to his early training in traditional fighting styles, nor his ongoing passion for the Afro-Brazilian art of capoeira, which he studies under Mestre Jelon Vieira. However, he readily admits that he draws on several martial styles for his fight scenes, and it’s easy to see influences in his choreography from tae kwon do, hapkido, kenpo karate, and Filipino weapon arts.

No matter what style Wesley Snipes practices, there is no doubt that he is one of the most entertaining and engaging action film stars to hit the silver screen. If you’d like to check out some of his work on DVD, the following is a recommended list of the all-time best Wesley Snipes martial arts action flicks to watch: Passenger 57 Boiling Point Rising Sun Blade U.S. Marshals The Art of War Blade II: Bloodhunt Blade: Trinity

Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it’s definitely worth owning. One such book is Michael D. Echanis’, “Knife Self-Defense for Combat.” This book is directly influenced by the Korean martial art of Hwarang Do and its current Grandmaster Joo Bang Lee, who Echanis had studied under before his untimely demise in Nicaragua.

This book along with its two companion volumes, “Basic Stick Fighting for Combat” and “Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat,” were not initially released to the general public, but instead were only available to certified and recognized self-defense instructors. These books were originally intended to be military training manuals for the various elite units in the United States military. These were units such as the Special Forces, Army Rangers, Navy Seals, etc.

This volume, like the other two in this series, starts out with a brief section on the history of Hwarang Do and its relationship to hand-to-hand combat. This is followed by another brief section that looks at the theory and internal dynamics which make up this very impressive art.

The next section of this book goes over in very good detail the basic principles involved in defending oneself against an attacker armed with a knife. This section is very well done and provides a lot of very sound advice. It then concludes with the following:

4 Basic Rules in Unarmed Self-Defense Against a Weapons Attack

1. Clear your body of the weapon’s line of fire and angle of attack.

2. Stabilize and control the weapon…

3. Disarm the weapon…

4. Neutralize the enemy…

This section end with the following quote from the author, “No matter how proficient the unarmed expert becomes at disarming an armed assailant, he will remain vulnerable to even the smallest weapons expert.” Concerning the subject, have any truer words been said?

The author proceeds to demonstrate 38 basic methods for disarming an attacker who is armed with a knife. The author stresses that these are merely examples for the readers of this book to use as a guide for finding the right technique that works for them. It is by no means intended to be cure-all or gospel of knife self-defense. Use your own ingenuity to find and develop your own self-defense methods using the ones that the author has demonstrated as a guide.

I have read other reviews where the readers have criticized some of the moves in this book as being to complex and unrealistic in nature. I don’t feel that this is the case and did not see that when I read the book as the author intended. However, if you read this book under the impression that these 38 techniques are to be executed exactly as they are presented instead of as they were intended, which is as a guide to go by, then yes, I could see where that misinterpretation could come from.

Although the clarity of the photographs was outstanding and easy to follow, I felt that the descriptions themselves could have been a little bit longer and more detailed. I would have also liked to have seen some close-up photographs of some of the grabs and hand positions. Other than that, this is a very good book and one that should be on your list too buy, if you don’t own it already.

The art of warfare or Martial Arts is derived from the word Mars which symbolizes Roman god of wars. The person who learns this form of self defense is known as a Martial Artist. Based on the historical method of fighting using Martial Arts the methods are now being reconstructed and so various forms of Martial Arts have emerged.

The forms and styles of fighting are different in different countries, however Europe is considered to be the home for Martial Arts. The styles like Jogo do Pau and Savate, a kicking style was established in Europe. Some countries on the other hand have open hand wrestling and kick boxing that have been named under the styles of Martial Arts. Each and every style is unique and has different rules to follow, but a common characteristic is the system of fighting techniques.

The individual who seeks to learn this Art has to undergo an intense training where they are graded based on periodic assessments and training by their respective teachers. The testing phase is the most important phase in Martial Arts as it determines the level of progression and the level of skill obtained by the student. It is usually determined by the achievement of colored belts and titles.

The various forms of this Art are often included in the tournaments of championships which are arranged for students of the Martial Art Institutes all over the world. They share a single platform to test their fighting skill on a global level.

Though this Art is a combating technique but due to its varied forms and styles it is incorporated into sports. It is a major event in Olympics if considered as a sport on a global level. People from Asia, America, Africa and others participate with huge anticipation.

Martial Art not only encourages self defense, today it has evolved into a practice that helps an individual to improve both his corporal and spiritual features. While learning this Art, an individual improves body strength, concentration, stamina, flexibility etc. Thus it not only teaches one to self defense but also enables him to overcome fear psychologically. Self control is another very important characteristic which the trainee achieves while learning this Art. This not only helps him to deal with the situation but also helps to enrich their gross motor skills that help to overcome stress.

Thus Martial Art is always a golden self defense tool which not only teaches how to self defend but to overcome fear and stress psychologically.

Are you interested in learning martial arts? Won’t it be great if you can train your mind to learn martial arts faster and in a more effective fashion? Do you think that’s not possible? Well read on to find out how you can program your mind to be a master fighter.

Neuro Linguistic Programming:

Scientists have discovered a kind of programming of the mind termed ‘Neuro Linguistic Programming’ or NLP that has modernized all human functioning enhancements radically. NLP is targeted at observing an expert from any field, identifying, and separating the average from the extraordinary.

The Fundamentals:

The basic model of the NLP is taken from any skilled professional of any field. The expert could be a dentist, a lawyer, a sportsman, surfer, or in any area. The modeler studies with precision every aspect of this expert. That includes his or her values, ethics, behavior, habits, etc. The modeler then imitates the expert. Once the modeler becomes adept at this, the person begins to reduce his activity. He discards anything that has no significant effect on his functioning and brings it down to a level where he only needs to work at core techniques that help him gain expertise.

The success of the modeling NLP depends on whether he has been able to train someone else in the technique successfully. If the results are the same, the experiment is a success.

How NLP Can Help Martial Arts:

We all know how hard it is to train to become a black belt. One has to train for years and years. It is not just a long process but also an extremely laborious and challenging task. That is what makes it worth it.

NLP puts you on the race faster, giving a better platform to meet this challenge. It will enhance your capabilities and increase your tenacity. In short, it will program you to build your mettle.

The modeling NLP does not claim to make you a genius. Metaphorically speaking it programs your genes to be one. What it does is documents the brain’s knowledge and transfers it by imitating and training. The modelers own capabilities are also an important factor, which grows and develops with more experience.

Martial Arts fuse attack and defense into the same mechanism. When you can do that, your performance is perfect and your mind is clear. Your every move looks pre synchronized as onlookers watch you fight your opponent. Every action is precisely timed and perfectly executed. If you have heard about the ancient masters, you will know how unperturbed their state of mind was even at the most tense moments.

Building the ‘Second You’:

It is possible to build on one’s sub consciousness using hypnotherapy. Many experts use hypnosis for all sorts of things but building on one’s neural connections is really what makes you the smart student in martial arts. It is difficult to unlearn things that become part of your sub conscious and muscle memory.

You train both your mind and your body until your every move becomes of secondary nature. Hypnosis can help with teaching your subconscious. It is all a matter of practice that takes you to the art level of martial arts.

Martial arts, is one of the best physical and mental activities that it also can help the mind grow and develop. Martial arts, is physical but it is also mental the martial arts can benefit the whole person it can help with flood development. It is not just a bunch of kicks, punches and throws. The mental art can plays a very large part on assisting a person to become better people. When I say better I am saying that martial arts is 10% physical and 90% mental. Please remember the mind guides the body. Martial arts like Karate, Jujutsu are outstanding not only for health but for self-defense, self-confidence, self-control, balance, stress reduction, social skills, and conditioning. This again is not just in the body it is very much in the mind.

Even if you are not yet ready to start your martial arts training but have a real desire to learn martial arts. You have to believe that you are ready in your mind first. You have to have a keep a positive outlook and create positive ways of seeing yourself in everything. Martial arts schools like the San Yama Bushi and Combination GoJu school of Self Defense (SYBCG) can help you. IMAGINATION – A mind once stretched by a new idea. Never regains its original dimensions. We are like fine wine. We can get better with age under the correct conditions. You control the conditions. In the martial arts, one of the first things that you have to do is find the right school and the right person to train with to assist you in your goal. Look for school and instructors with a positive feel and way of thing. I by no means, mean find a candy land school or instructor. I am also not saying find a school that has a kill or be killed mind-set. My goal here is to point you at a school that meets your needs and is real. Most of us are not actively in combat situations nor do we live in a prefect harmless world. Find a school with a good sound balance. Martial arts school can give you a great work-out, it should also be a place where you feel comfortable. The school and training should help you in many ways on your way to the goals. Once you start working out on any physical program at any level you should take it slow. Here is an area that we all should make sure we paid attention to that is stretching not just on the physical level but also on the mental level. We all have a lot to learn. Those that stop learning stop growing. Many people young and old do not open their mind to enough positive things. We need to surround ourselves with positives on all levels, that is people, places and things. It would also be to our benefit to us all to understand that being right is not always important. We could benefit from learning to let it go. As we get older, we lose flexibility in more areas then just our physical bodies. This lost of flexibility is on a mental level.

This again does not have to happen, however we see ever day in traffic, online, at home and in our schools etc. Just look at the morning news in the morning can be seen across the world. I have an instructor who is over 73 years of age he is in better physical condition then many 25 years old that I know. His name is Grand Master Reno Morales, he prefers Reno he is very active, so active that at his present age he is still ACTIVE as a bodyguard and his is an ACTIVE bounty hurter. I am not kidding. His have over 60 years in the martial arts. Please understand he trains everyday, eats correctly, has a positive mind attitude and has a fantastic memory. Please understand I am not saying that the martial arts, is the key to the fountain of youth, or that everyone that training has a positive mental attitude but I am saying that it has helped many. You mind and body, are very complicated machines if you do not take care of them they may not be able to take care of you. Keep them well tuned and in great shape. We at the SYBCG school of Self Defense work to assist all our students in always. We offer training is karate, jujutsu, cardio kickboxing, rape aggression defense, resisting aggression defensively, positive self-defense, DT and more. We also do want to help you to be the best person you can be as a whole person. Our school, systems and instructor are well rounded. Our training is in martial arts, martial arts sciences, natural health, reiki, mediation, personal fitness, trigger-point therapy, CPR, first aid, positive self-defense, etc. Please remember you can be better and improve your overall wellness. Martial arts can be a great path to better and longer good overall health and abilities. Keep this in mind. The thing is not what happens. It is in the interpretation of what we believe has happened means.

Life and time are precious lets use it and enjoy it for as long as we can. You are where you are by your habits. Change your habits change your life. Now let us change it for the better. Most of these changes are small but there effect can be huge. My oldest son is 24 my youngest is 9 years old, they are both in great physical health. I can present at 45 plus years of age out run them both. I can also keep up with all of my 4 children along with nieces and nephews in most activities. This to me is priceless.