Kusanagi Video I-seng

Video I-seng

Home training documentation February 11th 2008
Techniques: Defense against jab and free practice

Video Training Documentation 26 Jan 08

Salam pendekar!

Video Training Documentation 26 Jan 08

Silat Paseban - Jurus Dasar

Salam Kesatria!

I'm posting Silat Paseban's basic technique or jurus as it is called in the Paseban system, you'll notice that the stances are progressively low and that it's trapping method is unique as the Paseban stylist would often feed a "faux" attack to lure the opponent in trapping range which would be followed by devastating close range techniques such as elbows, back fist strikes and low kicks aimed at vital areas, enjoy!

Thank you to Pak Cacang, Galih and Jamil for kindly demonstrating the art of Indonesian silat, may the art live on and pass on through the test of time, ensuring future generations the opportunity to learn and honor the "pendekar" spirit which is lost in today's modern Jakarta.

Salam kesatria!

Matriks Video

Assalamualaikum!

Just finished editing today's Matriks video shoot with Brams, and Sensei Saleh. The video below is part of an on-going video project I'm making aimed to promote self defense and personal safety at high school kids through the study of the Kusanagi system. The plan is to get everyone in Cempaka involved as the "bad guys" that way from a technical perspective, I'm not just showing the technique using the same "uke" over and over again. So Sumo, Senor Enrique, Rio and all the rest please bring your wardrobes for the next video shoot! :)

Cheers!

Kuda-kuda & Kuzushi

Assalamualaikum!

El - Uno here! just thought I'd share this nice piece of writing by Sensei Neil Ohlenkamp; a master coach in the art of judo, sharing his insights on the study of kuzushi. As a a reality based self defense advocate, the "kuzushi" aspect training in the grappling arts is often overlooked during the pressure drills that we do although in retrospect as a boy I vividly remember spending countless days and months re doing the same "kuda-kuda" over and over again during my backyard "father and son silat" sessions in our small place at Brasilia.

At that time I had no idea what the repetitions meant, all that computed was "oh so boring" yet as time passed I finally embraced the crucial lesson: "If your opponent is off balance, you can lead him anywhere you want" or as my father would say "Kuda-kuda lemah, muka cium tanah"

In the world of martial arts no other system perhaps stresses the importance of drilling your opponent off balance than the grappling arts, such as Judo, Sambo, and Wrestling since these arts effectively use the clinch phase as a launching pad towards the opponents agonizing and disorientating doom through the use of hip, feet, shoulder or sacrifice throws.

So friends have a read, because when the situation counts and deescalating methods have failed let's make our best effort to have our opponents face and kiss the ground hard!

Wassalam!

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The Study of Kuzushi

By Neil Ohlenkamp

I was teaching my Judo class the other day, and I tried to explain the principal of kuzushi, or breaking balance. The reason I was explaining kuzushi is because during practice that evening most of the students were focusing on how to get their bodies into the proper position to apply the technique we were studying. Very little attention was being focused on placing the partner's body into the proper position. As I explained the importance of breaking the opponent's balance I could see that everyone understood that it is easier to knock down another person when he or she is off-balance. In fact I've noticed that is quite common for the principles of Judo to be understood long before they can be applied effectively. It is obvious, even to someone who has never studied Judo, that a throw will be more effective and require less strength when applied to an opponent who is in a weakened state of balance.

© 1992 Oscar Ratti In this classical example of kuzushi being applied for the throw taiotoshi, tori's hands bring uke into a state of unbalance while tori remains in a strong, stable position ready to apply the throwing action. © 1992 Oscar Ratti From this position very little strength or energy is required for tori to complete the throw. Taiotoshi is classified by the Kodokan as a hand throw and it is easy to see how the hands pull uke off balance. Additional power is brought to the kuzushi during the pivoting action (taisabaki) as tori gets into position for the throw.

One of the things that distinguishes a beginner from a more advanced student is the ability to focus attention on your opponent's balance. It is one of the differences between learning a throw, and being able to effectively apply a throw. Many martial artists tell me that they know how to do basic Judo throws like seoinage (one arm shoulder throw) or osotogari (leg outer reaping throw) for example. However, learning to get your body into the proper position to effectively apply your strength is only part of learning a Judo throw. The real trick to making Judo techniques work easily is to find a way to catch your opponent off-balance or to force your opponent off-balance.

Most people do a fine job of getting off-balance by themselves. One way to apply Judo throws is simply to catch the opponent at every opportunity that he or she gives you. It is just not possible to move without some degree of imbalance. It is certainly not easy for your opponent to attack you without a force and movement that makes him or her vulnerable to your counter attack. However learning to take advantage of your opponent's imbalance requires a finely tuned sense of timing. In order to be at the right place at the right time, you generally have to anticipate the opponent's movements, a skill that requires a great deal of experience.

Another way to apply kuzushi is to set up or force your opponent into a weak position. There are many ways of moving that will result in your opponent responding in a predictable way so that you can anticipate it and take advantage of it. It can be as simple as stepping forward and pushing on your opponent, which usually results in the opponent stepping back, bracing, and pushing back. This in turn gives you the opportunity to throw them forward in the direction of their push. The most common way to force your opponent off-balance is to use combination throws, where the first throw attempted puts the opponent into an unstable position so that a subsequent attack can be successful.

Kuzushi is very often thought of as simply pushing or pulling. At more advanced levels however it is much more than that. For example, kuzushi can also be achieved by breaking the opponent's rhythm, fake attacks, strikes, changes of body position or grip, kiai (a shout), or a sudden change in speed or tempo. A critical element in kuzushi is that it should disrupt more than the body. Kuzushi is very much a mental thing. Kuzushi should always disrupt the opponent's concentration, resulting in a momentary opportunity for an attack. This is one of the reasons confidence is such an important factor in Judo. A strong and positive mental attitude can often dominate a weaker state of mind, resulting in effective kuzushi.

Regardless of the physical size and strength of the opponent, kuzushi will always make a throw work more efficiently. Of course the same principle applies to any technique, including grappling techniques such as chokes and joint locks. Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, made the principle of kuzushi one of the fundamental elements of Judo, distinguishing it from old schools of jujitsu. The principle of kuzushi is still considered to be one of his major contributions to the study of martial arts. Don't neglect it in your study of Judo.

Continuum of Violence: The Traffic Light System

In bushfire season in Australia, there's a warning system where they stick a sign by roads, which carries a kind of gauge or bushfire "speedometer". Fire danger ranges from green, which is low, to red, which is high. Yellow and orange are in the middle. An arrow points to the colour of the warning for the day.

I'm suggesting we use a similar, or "traffic light" system, in our minds to grade the levels of violence and avoid training bad habits and inappropriate responses.

There's a continuum of violence, ranging from, say, a Satpam putting a restraining hand on your shoulder, to a Hell's Angels Biker or Ambonese Preman wanting to fuck you up with a knife.

Our responses should also come in grades. If some Warung guy ogles your girl, it's better to just keep walking. Giving him a Shuto to the side of the kneck followed by Thai-knee strikes to the solar plexus is a bit much. We should defend our bodies, not our egos.

We shouldn't flinch from nasty moves when we have to. Society conditions us not to be violent and not to hit people. That's the reason for the "pre-fight ritual," so many bouncers talk about. It's a way for people to psych themselves into fighting mode. Criminals, however, those most likely to fuck us up, can do it in fairly cold blood.

I recommend we use a four stage traffic light system, with green, yellow, orange and red lights. (I could only find pictures of three light units).



Here's why:

You tend to fight the way you train.

Numero Uno tells a story of a BJJ guy, attacked on the street in LA. BJJ man downs one with a takedown, puts the other into an arm bar, but lets go when the man taps. BJJ man's performance was superb and a compliment to the style, except for one thing. His ring and Dojo training build bad combat habits.

Former FBI agents tell stories of colleagues killed in shootouts, who'd piled ammunition neatly, just as they did in training. Little stacks of empty cartridges sat by their corpses when they found them. Training programs certain habits into you.

1.Green Light: Normal state, no danger. Normal activties. Regular Rolling in BJJ, or Randori in Judo is green stage.

2.Yellow Light: Bad vibe, pre-violent phase. Heated arguments, posturing, swearing, the equivalent of dogs or apes bearing their teeth. (Yes, people human beings are animals as well and have animal responses hard-wired into us).

You might have to use your skills at yellow stage. I did recently when a drunken Englishman put me in a friendly headlock in a lift. He didn't mean any harm, but was volatile and started getting a bit aggressive. A quick lift to a gentle arm bar did the trick.

No immediate danger, maintain space, but get ready, it can escalate to orange in a flash.

3. Orange Light: Non-lethal violence. I'd say this goes from someone very aggressively invading your personal space, positioning themselves for a strike, or even initial pushing and punching. A brawl at an ice hockey match, or on the soccer field is orange.

At orange you use your skills. It might be a restraint, taking his back and sending him to the ground. You might simply intercept a strike and move away. Depends on the situation.

4. Red Light: Life or death or imminent extreme violence. Rape, murder, multiple attackers, armed attackers, and even people much bigger than you are all red.

I think we need to mentally flash a light on in our minds for each situation.

Different arts tend to be better at different stages. 99 percent of my dangerous encounters have been in yellow stage. Ironically, the art I criticize the most, Aikido, has served me the best. Aikido's unaggressive wristlock releases and conflict-avoiding attitude has been very effective in the yellow stage.

Traditional stand-up Jujitsu's also good for a transition from yellow to orange. In orange, Judo tends to come into its own, as does BJJ. Krav Maga tends to focus exclusively on red phase. They've got their reasons for doing so.

Train safe. Sumo Semar is keen to hear your thoughts.

A Blast from The Past - Shanghai Municipal Police Self-Defense Manual

And here we come to another edition of my favourite show, A Blast from The Past.

The show where we showcase ancient, venereal (honestly though, I don't know what that means, lest whether that word is actually appropriate here) self-defense knowledge from masters of old.

Remember W.E. Fairbairn with his classic book on self-offense, Get Tough? Here's one from his tenure as the Shanghai Municipal Police Chief, The Shanghai Municipal Police Self-Defense Manual, so kindly provided by our friends from Judo Info website.

If the Judo Info guys do not take kindly of me directlinking to files on their site, then they should come and get me! HAH *hides under a rock*

You will find many more thingies from that site. Enjoy.

Anyways, we leave you with a snippet of wise words mauled from the mouth of Kyokushinkai's Grand Poobah himself, Mas Oyama:

"SELF-DEFENSE is for WOMEN and SISSIES. REAL MEN would throw a STRAIGHT PUNCH to the MOUTH!"

As a note, that is one statement I won't be bothered to research the veracity of. I leave it as homework for you kiddies.

Keep safe.