Rueben Littlejohn & Sun Style in San Diego

I’ve just returned from a trip to California and was fortunate enough to be able to train with Rueben Littlejohn lǎo​shī​ in Carlsbad and San Diego. If you are looking to learn 孫祿堂 (Sūn Lùtáng)'s three Internal martial arts and can get to California, I recommend you seek him out. Rueben has won numerous tournaments in the Chinese martial arts and came across to me as capable, knowledgeable, skilled as well as a very warm & friendly person.

Rueben’s world class teachers include ‘the Queen of Tai Chi’ 蘇自芳 (Sū​ Zì​fāng)​ & Tim Cartmell who have both themselves studied with 孫劍雲 (Sūn Jiànyún​) Sūn Lùtáng’s daughter.

Rueben Littlejohn and I

Here’s a link where you can find information to contact Littlejohn lǎo​shī;
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarlsbadTaiChi?feature=watch

Wasters

劍 Jiàn (Double-edged blade sword) sparring is something you don’t find in every martial arts academy, even those that teach a sword form. I’ve recently found two groups of enthusiasts that are keen to change that:

1. The World Jiànshù League

( http://www.worldjianshu.org/ )

2. The Traditional Chinese Sword League

( http://www.swordleague.com/ )

They both have a set of competition rules for Jiàn sparring and both hold tournaments that you can participate in (I believe you have to join both organisations in order to compete though), which I’ve yet to do.

The WJL has produced a standardised Jiàn (available from their site) for particpation in their competitions, constructed from a flexibile yet strong polymer called the CSJian “Onyx” (See the black sword pictured below). It handles pretty well and feels well-blanced. The nice thing about this sword is that because of the plastic appearance I didn’t feel awkward about messing about with it in case I damaged it.

The CS Jian “Onyx”

The TCSL uses wooden swords for their tournaments. I currently don’t have one but Raven Studios
( http://www.little-raven.com/RS/MA/index.html )
produce a custom sword for the Great River Taoist Center (See the sword pictured below on a green background). The GRTC happens to be run by Scott Rodell, who also happens to be a big part of (if he doesn’t run it completely) the TCSL. There’s no official link between these groups -that I’ve seen- but I imagine the chances are good that the Raven Studios sword would be acceptable at a TCSL tournament (if you want to be sure - join the TCSL and find out!)

The Great River Taoist Center (Custom) Jian from Raven Studios

And finally here’s some pictures of a different Jiàn (in the 明朝 Míngcháo (Ming dynasty) style) that I recently bought from Raven Studios. I ordered the blade to be 32” which was the longest they offered outside of a custom job. And I chose that length because all the methods that I was reading about on how to work out the correct length for your body had -for me- the blade at 32” or a little longer (I guess I have a long body!) I also opted to have the tip rounded rather than pointed. This sword is well-balanced to handle and I find it to be an attractive object to own in it’s own right. It is without question exceptionally well-made.

Míng style Jiàn

‘Wasters’ is a term used for wooden (inexpensive/throwaway) swords used to train in sparring.

Mike Martello passes away

Mike Martello with 苗刀 Miáo Dāo

Mike Martello. Where do I start?
Died this morning the 2nd of June 2009.

In his life he won an obscene amount of medals for forms and fighting, ran his own school in Belgium (half the world away from New York & the land of his birth), spoke fluent Chinese and ran a yearly Beijing Chinese Martial Arts Camp that was growing stronger in numbers every year.

When I first met Mike he demonstrated how much you can achieve with persistant practice and since then, he helped me appreciate the Chinese Fighting Arts in a much broader sense. Also, with every word, he reminded me of the immense value of those arts.

I will treasure the training I did with Mike, and toast an antique glass of Port to him (as soon as I can get one) and recall the glass or two of such that he and I drained last September. 乾杯 (Gān Bēi)

I can’t believe I won’t see him again.

Cherish your teachers guys.

Mike and I in 2007

Tim Cartmell – Bāguà Sword seminar

Tim Cartmell, one of the States’ foremost leaders in the field of Chinese Internal Martial Arts is making a welcome return to Seattle to teach a couple of seminars.

Tim’s the one on the left.

1. Saturday 16th May 2009: Leg-locks.

This is purely for ground-fighting.
Worth noting: Tim is an international Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion.


2. Sunday 17th May 2009: 孫式八卦劍 Sūn style Bāguà Jiàn.

This is the double-edged straight sword of the Sūn style of Bāguàzhǎng.


For more information email Jake at; three_harmonies@hotmail.com

Warrior Spirit

With the rise of cage fighting into the public consciousness there has come a fashion that emphasizes an aggressive school of thought. With all the promotion of no-holds-barred fighting has come a plethora of tatoos and tatoo-style t-shirts (getting ‘inked’ seems almost compulsory for the modern cage-fighter). I have no problems with decorating ones body but in this arena it appears to be presented as an example of how tough the fighter is. Associations with gang affliations and prison culture abound, seemingly adding more menace to the fighters image. Then there’s the base and primal showmanship that seems coupled with the angry appearance.

Ken Shamrock – The angriest looking man I’ve seen since I last knocked over a pint.

At the most popular level, Dana White’s Ultimate Fighting Competition (UFC) has promoted many a cage fighter with seemingly the same flare as his fake fighting of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Chuck Lidell’s backwards lean & roar after a win is particularly notable in it’s caveman-esqueness. Before this gets away from me, let me get to my point; the Warrior Spirit. “Be a warrior” and similar soundbites are all over testosterone fueled promotions and magazines but is “No pain, no gain” really the way of the warrior?

At bear minimum warriors –by definition- take part in war, they fight, but not always out of choice. Just because they might be good at it doesn’t mean they take pleasure in bloodying or killing someone. Think of the Mexican youths who enlists in the Amercian military as a path to ease citizenship. On the frontlines of the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan, do you think they are all thinking “yay, I just killed someone, now to get a knife and a snake permanently scribed on my arm!” – I doubt it. The heavy conflict of war affects a person. That’s one of the reasons traditional martial arts have tied in a mental focus & spiritual development aspect to their martial outlook, as a coping mechanism.

Are these cage-fighters any stronger for their aggressive image? I share the quite common opinon that strength is fighting back when you are completely drained & have nothing left, ultimately a mental component. Strength is something we aspire to acquire, aggression not always so. Aggression is driving violently forward irrespective of why. Sometimes we need to find some fire for our bellies, sometimes there is a need to fight, but isn’t a warrior one who is strong enough to seek resolution first? As an experienced warrior has seen bloodshed (and perhaps death) I would think he would not wish that on anyone.

Isn’t a warrior spirit, not then one that seeks peace more than any other?

K.F.B.s

Loyalty / 忠誠 (Zhōng chéng). What’s it mean to you? It’s often spoken of when people try to think about higher ideals they wish to ascribe to, martial virtues, when you see a plaque on the wall of the guǎn (training hall), but how many people make the cut? I feel that when you have a good group of friends within your training-world or even one for that matter you are a lucky person. If they stand by you consistently through good times then you are fortunate; through bad times,… then treasure those people.

The specific relevance in martial arts is typically ascribed to the student-teacher relationship, but I feel there is an unsung hero oft forgot; the good training partner. If you want to be a great martial artist you’ll need –more than anything else, even more than a great teacher- a good training partner.

For me a good training partner is one that turns up when he dosen’t feel like training, turns up when he feels like training, is able to focus on the task at hand and is open to working through ideas he thinks unfeasible, stupid or slightly dangerous (to you). He should strive for a great level of control over his attacks, able to pull the punch that got through your defence instead of busting your nose for the sake of it. That lesson can still get taught with a pulled blow: You should learn to tell when -if it had landed- it would have been nasty for you, not have to rely on your partner being over-zealous to land a ‘live’ shot. The more people like you that work at being good training partners, the better your chances of you finding one.

It can be easy to see why loyalty to one’s teacher has been stressed through history but take a second to look around you and see who else contributes to lifting up your game. Maybe it’s the nice lady/man who sorts out the paperwork for the school so you have a place to train and under a teacher who’s not then frustrated with non-martial matters, maybe it’s your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/(parents even!) who makes it possible for you to get out and make that class/lesson you love. Take a moment and give thanks to them.

I count every one of them as one of my K.F.B.s (Kung Fu Brothers).

Finishing school

It’s my opinion that 太極拳 (Tàijíquán / T’ai Chi Ch'üan), 形意拳 (Xíngyìquán / Hsing I Ch'üan), and
八卦掌 (Bāguàzhǎng / Pakuachang) are advanced arts.

When I say this, I’m not trying to say that they are superior to other martial arts, just that they are lousy at teaching basic fighting and they are nigh-on impossible to get the best out of, if you’re new to martial arts. The skills they teach can only be built upon a firm foundation of previous experience.

If you have just passed your driving test the last thing you want is to be behind the wheel of a formula 1 racing car or a suped-up Ferrari – you’ll get yourself killed real fast unless you take it extra slow and careful, and what’s the point in driving those type of cars if you can’t take advantage of their speed. Sure you may look like a big guy but, well… motion of the ocean – if you know what I mean. Which brings this blog to it’s second half; Big words, shallow skill.

There is a huge number of T'ai Chi practioners out there that have great faith in their system. There is nothing wrong with that but when individuals go around slandering others with an air of snobbery then there are a few egos that should be checked. The issue I have is, that the martial prowess of the average T'ai Chi person is not called into question. I know, I know, this must seem like I’m bashing on the peaceniks but far from it, the average person who would like to enjoy some movement classes, raise their level of fitness and overall health slightly and maybe address issues like breathing and coordination I have no problem with, but when it’s when their classmates start to shout about town about how their teacher is the greatest fighter of all time and should have fought Muhammad Ali because he could have shown him a thing or two about boxing, then I take exception.

Muhummad Ali, my teacher could’ve whupped his ass!

If you drive the fast car you should be able to drive, if you know what I mean. You can’t brag about your driving skill just because you borrowed your teacher’s car. There are too many keyboard warriors out there today boasting martial prowess who need testing. If you actually spar fairly frequently in class and maybe compete occasionally, then you begin to appreciate that it’s not all about knowing which accupressure point to hit someone on. Humility can come thick and fast when you frquently get knocked on your behind. Eventually you say to yourself “maybe I’m not the best, maybe I can learn a thing or two from others.”

And this is my point; If you take up an advanced art, be sure to have your humility in check and your fighting basics covered first before you begin to shout about fighting ability, otherwise sooner or later someone’ll cross your path and take exception to you, and maybe get you to test those ‘advanced’ skills.

If T’ai Chi and the other Chinese internal martial arts are a finishing school for martial artists, you don’t walk in the front door as a beginner and begin to brag after a few months, you might get finished.