Observations on 3 Combination

I was watching YouTube videos on 3 Combination today.

There are lot of them.  Many of them want to 'fix' problems with combination.

IMO, those problems come from not executing 3 Combination correctly.

For example, the second strike is not a back fist.  It's a back two knuckle punch.  The person in the video made a good point about hurting the bones in the back of your hand if you missed the target with a back fist.  The replacement strike he offered in the place of the back fist was a hammer strike, which is the same as the back fist in gross motor skills. I still prefer the back two knuckle punch, which is a linear strike, as opposed the circular strike of the back fist or hammer.

There are also a lot of good videos that show some interesting variations of 3 combination.  I'll post links to those later.

New Class

My teaching schedule has changed.

I'm now running the Adult Black Belt Classes.

I've done Black Belt only classes before and they are fun.  Especially when you have Sandan & Yondan's in the class.  

You can go deeper into concepts and principles, which is way cool.

Spend most of last class digging into Swift Tigers with the upper ranks.  

The lower ranks were analyzing each other doing Six Kata.  A good skill for them to develop.

Eight hands of the Leopard

One of the other black belts at the school (Tom) found this technique.

I like it.  Interested in your opinions.



I like that the opening block is counted in the "eight hands."  That fits with my "blocking is striking, striking is blocking" mantra.

Really old school Kempo

I picked up a copy of Dr. Bruce Clayton's book, Shotokan's Secret: Expanded Edition. This books dives into the roots of Japanese Karate, Okinawan Karate. This "history of Shotokan" book doesn't even mention Gichin Funakoshi until page 140!

However, this is a Kempo blog, not a Shotokan blog, so bringing things back to the topic at hand, is the short passage on Okinawan Kempo on page 136.

"For the record, we also see a fourth kind of karate in Japan and Okinawa, usually labeled kempo. "Kenpo" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese "chuan fa' kanji. Kenpo is originally kung fu in a Japanese uniform, but in recent years it has mixed in liberal amounts of other martial arts."

This quote was in a section on the three main, distinct schools of Okinawan Karate (Naha-te, Shuri-te and the arts based on ChotokuKyan).

Personally, I like Dr. Clayton's description of Kempo, even though he gives in a fairly dismissive and offhand matter. It does actually describe the early history of Kempo in the United States, and in particular, the martial arts melting pot of Hawaii in the 1950s and 1960s.

Recent Black Belt Test

MetroWest Martial Arts and Wellness in Westborough, MA recently held another Black Belt test.

I was one of the people giving the test. It's only been three years since my last test, so I'm good for awhile. :-)

The test went well and the folks going for Shodan & Nidan really shined.

In case any of my dear readers are still spreading that myth about belts slowly getting dirtier over time until the advanced students belts were black, here is the true history of using colored belts for ranking.

Customizing Kempo

One of the basic principles of teaching Kempo is that Kempo changes to fit the student.

This doesn't mean you don't have to learn the basics. It means that as an instructor, you should modify techniques you teach to fit the student.

A petite female who weighs 110 pounds soaking wet is going to have a different fighting style than a 200 pound man a foot or more taller.

There are differences beyond the obvious size and weight difference. They have a very different center of balance. The man will generally have much more upper body strength. Then there is overall social conditioning that the different genders gets.

You want to successfully teach women and young girls in your school, you will need to understand these differences and be able to adjust your teaching style for each different kind of student you have.

Fifth Law of Kempo

Law of Kicking

Kempo's mandate to kick low is based on logic. A roundhouse kick and spinning reverse crescent kick to the head maybe flashy and impressive, but such maneuvers take longer to execute because your legs has to travel farther. They also expose your groin to your opponent's kick.

Kicking high requires superior balance and focus, you should practice your leg techniques high, and deliver them low for self-defense. Kicking low to the legs, executing a "pillar attack" can break your opponent's balance and legs.

As I tell my students, when your opponent is on the ground is the best time to kick them in the head.

Fourth Law of Kempo

Law of Targets

You are not going to break your knuckles punching an attacker's temple. A kick to the groin will not fracture your instep. A knife hand strike to the throat will hurt the throat more than your hand.

Kempo teaches you to choose your targets in order to maximize damage to your opponent while minimizing damage to yourself.

Third Law of Kempo

Law of Multiple Strikes

Kempo teaches you to strike first and strike often in rapid succession. You train to hit high, low, straight in, and along a circular path.

First you stun, distract, and slow your opponent. Then you take him/her/whatever out.

Teaching today

I'm off to teach the Saturday Adult Kempo class.

A good teacher

I was at the dojo tonight working on the computer system and got to watch Dan teach for a while. Dan is a really good teacher. As an instructor myself, I like to watch other instructors at work. There is always something to learn. Dan has been teaching for a long time, and I like his style of teaching. He teaches principles as well as good technique.

Kempo FAQ

There is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list for the Kempo/Kempo Martial Arts.

More book recommendations

School in Milbury closed.

The Villari Shaolin Kempo school in Milbury recently closed.

The students should do what some of the black belts did, and go to MetroWest Martial Arts in Westborough.

Testing yesterday

We conducted a kids test yesterday. Mostly higher ranks. They looked good and worked hard.

Books and Videos