Kenpo Fusion

Ed Cabrera was down this weekend to shoot some segments for KenpoTV. Ed is a boxer who won the Golden Gloves in Pennsylvania and is a black belt in two systems, with a 4th degree in Kenpo.
  His KTV series will teach the four basic punches and how to combine them, stances and footwork and his "Kenpo Fusion". His creation combines boxing into the kenpo techniques, rather like Frank Trejo's. You'll be able to see him soon on the website doing some of the techniques based on Raking Mace and Protecting Fans.

     One of Ed's students, Steve Torres, was with him and he donated his body to science for some segements. Look for them soon at http://www.kenpotv.net/.

Rules of Engagement

I recently shot a clip for Kenpo TV on Rules of Engagement and tied it to force progression. The main idea is the same as the people who wrote Meditations on Violence and The Little Black Book of Violence state. That idea is that you must have previously decided just what would make you use your knowledge. How far are you willing to go?
      In Massad Ayoob's book entitled The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry, he makes statements on page 51 that I thought were appropriate. The paragraph is titled Rules of Engagement and he says that situations vary widely and you need a formula to decide what to do. Knowing what would force you to apply what you know is part of the formula. He outlines what criteria must be present, legally, which are ability, opportunity and jeopardy.
     In the category of ability he mentions that if the attacker has "high skill at unarmed combat that is known to the attacker" there is a disparity of force that satisfies the ability criteria.
     That's pretty interesting in that if you are an instructor of the arts who is known to the person you get into a altercation with, they may be able to justify in shooting you. Just another reason to walk away from a fight.
     I'm not real concerned about getting shot in such a way but I'm glad I happened across the book and that paragraph. It brings another perspective into how we may be perceived by non-martial artists. Take a look next time you're in the local bookstore.

Horror story

Literally. One of our own, kenpo black belt Phil Buck in England has a second book out. He writes some pretty wierd horror. I've asked him how he sleeps and he says he doesn't. That explains a lot.
www.facebook.com/pages/Phil-Buck-Bestselling-Horror-Writer/277395071398

First Solo

It was 25 years ago on January 28, 1986 when I did my first solo in a fixed-wing aircraft. I'd been let loose to do my first trip around the traffic pattern alone by my instructor, Steve Bonk. Years later Steve would turn up at one of my seminars as a student of kenpo, using the training to keep himself in shape after a heart attack.
   The airplane jumped off the ground faster than I was used to, just as Steve had told me to expect. It was due to both the colder air and him not being in the airplane, so there was less to lift. Man, that right seat was empty but I could hear his voice, "Carb heat, power reduced, flaps 15." It came off without a hitch.
  I picked him up and we taxied in. (Instructors typically stand next to the runway at first solo. You let them out and they stand there to watch. Don't you dare forget to go get him or her after, excited or not. We got back to the office and heard the news; the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded. Mixed with the elation of doing my first solo I wanted to cry for the lost crew. To this day I get goosebumps when I think about it. It's an odd symmetry, my beginning my aviation career and an end to theirs.
   I eventually went on to become a flight instructor and solo my own students. I experienced the event of a first solo from both perspectives. When I moved to Florida I had a Challenger license plate on my car to remind me every day of the sacrifices brave men and women make. Today it's a US Air Force plate because I used my skills as a pilot to volunteer for the USAF auxiliary and our people overseas in harm's way but I never will forget those astronauts and the day of my first solo.

Tai chi postings

I've started another blog at http://www.taichiforlife.blogspot.com/ for articles on tai chi and related info. I'll keep this end to the more combative stuff.

Double Whammy

I was up in Spartanburg, SC over the weekend to teach seminars for Robert Wallace at Spartanburg Martial Arts. Friday night I did an intro to Russian Systema and Saturday we worked the Leaping Crane family group and "running the line" variations. We participants from Atlanta and all over South Carolina. It was really good to see that nobody, from the beginners to the high ranks, hestiated during the spontaneous self-defense. Nice job!
   I promoted Bruce Meyer of Columbia to 6th degree and Rober Wallace was presented his 6th degree certificate. Both these instructors teach the rules and principles and I see the results in their students. Too many teachers get the information but don't pass it on. It is a pleasure and and honor to have them both in my lineage  and wearing the rank.

New article posted.

This is an excerpt from a new article I have posted in the Member section of my site at http://www.leewedlake.com/. It's about reaction time and how some people use Hick's Law to support an argument that kenpo doesn't work.

The “kenpo doesn’t work” argument is that the amount of options (techniques) slows decision-making at a rate proportionate to the amount of options. The reasoning the adherents use is that if you are faced with a right punch and know 15 techniques to handle it versus one or two, you will take that much more time to respond. I believe this is a flawed premise.



Here’s the law, as taken from a description in Wikipedia.


“Hick’s Law describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a result of the possible choices he or she has. The Hick-Hyman Law assesses cognitive information capacity in choice reaction experiments.”


Note the word “choice” in the definition.


It’s not that simple. All this is tied into reaction time, also called processing time, stimulus/response and more elements I’ll list later. Reaction time was first researched in about 1885 and it was supposed that more choices did indeed slow processing time. A method to figure out the raw time was created but it was pointed out that it was flawed due to not compensating for the changes in the remaining perception and reaction processes that its removal caused.

Join the member section of the site for $29/yr. Monthly updates and access to technical and historical information. http://www.leewedlake.com/

Rather interesting, but late?

This article has some good points about unqualified instructors but seems to be overdue.
http://www.personalliberty.com/alternative-medicine/cardio-kickboxing-healthful-or-harmful/?eiid=&rmid=2011_01_18_PLA_[PIZ0311B]&rrid=306979077

Australia needs help

Floods cover an area in Queensland the size of Texas. People are dying. There are crocodiles and poisionous snakes in the water where the people are. And we have Kenpo people in the middle of it. If you can help, here's where to send it. Sent by Tony Perez there.

 Brisbane itself has had over 25,000 homes and businesses either totally or partially affected by flooding. Tragically we've had 15 confirmed dead and over 50 are reported missing. The death toll is expected to increase - emergency personal just haven't been able to get into some areas. We now have the Australian Defence Force actively involved - the army is being used for clean up and search and rescue and our heavy lift Air Force assets are transporting food and medical supplies as major roads have been cut isoloating many rural towns. Rebuilding is going to be of a "post war scale" and is expected to take over 2 years. I've lived in Brisbane over 30 years and I've never seen anything like this. Whilst my home and family are safe and well, we have many friends who have lost everything.

Donate by internet banking:


The account details for donations are:
Account Name: Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal

BSB: 064 013

Account number: 1000 6800

SWIFT code for international donations: CTBAAU2S

Finally, I've included a link below to our city's major Newspaper - The Courier Mail - which has all the news and photo galleries associated with this tragic event. Read some of these stories - it is so heartbreaking.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

Thank for any help you may be able to provide.
Cheers,
Tony Perez

The King's Speech

I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this movie but it was great! It's one of those that the audience clapped at the end.
  It's based on true events but the real meat of it is the bond that develops between the King and his friend. What I liked about it was that I could relate it to the interactions between an instructor and a student. The King resists instruction at first. If you're a teacher you've experienced this. The teacher tries different approaches and persists, gaining some success over time. Sound familiar?
  The student softens and more achievements follow. A bond forms and friendship follows. At times, since it's such a personal thing, the lines get blurred and even crosed. The result is hurt feelings, anger, resentment. Others, being objective, intercede to help patch things up because they see the progress and growth.
  The end result is that good and even great things happen and a lifelong relationship is cemented. If you've been an instructor of anything you're familiar with all this; the resistance, the bonding, the upsets, the animosity, apologies and reconciliations, the resultant victories, however small.
  It's well done. Go see it.

We've lost a good one

Francis Rene of New Orleans passed away Friday, January 7 after a long bout with cancer. I'd known Francis since the 1980's and met him at the Pasadena studio when he was out for the Internationals. He knew everyone and has been around the kenpo scene forever. That's Francis in the center above, flanked on the left by Hanshi Richie bernard and 8th degree Steve White and on the right by myself and Master Don MacKay.
  He was a true student if there was one. He always sought out knowledge with a genuine interest, not to get rank rank or lord it over someone that he knew something and another did not. Francis and I had long conversations on lots of topics and he was inquisitive. It was always a pleasure to be around him. He was a Southern Gentleman. His joie de vivre filled a room. He always had a story to tell and was ready to laugh.
  Francis left behind a wife, Cindy and a son, Etienne. He also left behind more friends than he knew. I will miss him.

Judo deaths

Judo is a well-regulated sport, so this is a bit of a shock.
http://www.france24.com/en/20110102-judo-deaths-alarm-japanese-parents

Bullied Brain

I get a newspaper called Brain in the News (http://www.dana.org/ to get a free subscription) and it reprints significant articles pertaining to brain research. The last issue had an article from the Boston Globe in which studies show that those who have been bullied, both physically and emotionally have physical changes to their brains that are permanent. So it's not just a matter of "manning up" when bullied, there seem to be significant impacts on brain. Take a minute to read it.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/11/28/inside_the_bullied_brain/
   The same issue of the newspaper had an article that says those youngsters who have had physical trauma, such as being knocked out, were more likely to get in trouble with the law. It points at physical abuse as being a contributing factor. Interesting stuff.