Sorry for the delay ladies and gents. I’ve been busy this week and had a minor surgical deal which took me out for two days. Krav Maga just keeps getting bigger. The challenge is to keep it interesting as the level one layer is somewhat thin in regards to the number of techniques and defenses. The thinness of the level one curriculum is appropriate. It t requires me to constantly reinvent drills and combos to keep it fresh and exciting for everyone.
Traditional Karate- We had a particularly good summer for sign ups thus far. I expect that to continue as we get closer to the new school year. August is a tough month and most people save their vacation times for this period. That being said, it has been nice to instruct smaller classes for the past couple of weeks.
Now to the main topic of discussion- Kung Fu! Kung Fu is a style of martial arts indigenous to China. There are many different types and styles of Kung Fu within China. Some of the styles are extremely different and unique, while other styles seem similar to each other. One thing that I’ve always admired about Kung Fu is many of the styles were developed or modeled after the defenses of particular animals and or insects. For example, you have a monkey style, a mantis style, and tiger claw style, ect… It’s fascinating to me that a Kung Fu pioneer studied the defenses of an animal or insect and then built an entire system on how that animal moves and defends itself. It’s taking nature and making it work for humans. Fascinating.
Our traditional Goju-Ryu karate system was created by an Okinawan named Miyagi. Miyagi Sensei spent many years abroad in China studying Kung Fu. Miyagi Sensei returned to Okinawa and used his Kung Fu experiences to create the Okinawan Karate system which is closely related to Kung Fu. I’ve always been fascinated with Kung Fu. Which leads to my recent passion of Kung Fu movies. Two in particular- ‘Grandmaster Ip Man’, which is a biographical film about the Wing Chun Grandmaster whom happened to teach Bruce Lee. The other film is Jet Li’s ‘Fist of Legend’. Regardless of your martial arts background these are two films that possess the proper martial arts spirit, great stories, and outstanding fight scenes.
To my students- I am practicing Kung Fu fight philosophy on a Wooden Dummy. We will see if this training can bring a broader foundation to my own fighting and self defense.
Cheers
“Pain is weakness leaving the body.”
