martial arts magazine budo international december 2013

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It is with deepappreciation and aweregarding the Masters ofthe past that I write thisbook. But I also want toextend my gratitudetowards the ones whopractice these traditionstoday and for those whowill also learn to benefit

from this knowledgeby raising their

consciousness and plunging deeper intounraveling the mystery that surrounds us.

E-BUNTO

In this article,Shidoshi Jordan andShidoshi Juliana willhelp you understandthe essence and thetrue nature of theS a m u r a i ,unquestionably themost famous figure ofthe Japanese tradition

and the one that hasmore deeplyconquered the heartsof the West, and willintroduce you to theinteresting history oftheir own Shizenlineage.

BUGEI

The power of physical strengthrelies directly on muscularity; thelarger the muscle mass, thegreater its power of development,although there are some peoplewho have counteracted this withother methods: does not hitharder he who has biggermuscles, but the one who hasmore skill in doing it... Whatmakes a striker? What is thesecret of the striking power?

M.A. SPORTS POWER

BUDO INTERNATIONAL

is a publication of:BUDO INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.Central: Office:Andrs Mellado, 4228015 Madrid - SpanienLocal pages: Maurice [email protected] pages:Alfredo Tucci:[email protected]

Master Kam Yuen has written animportant chapter in the current historyof Martial Arts, especially in the West.He was already famous worldwide forhis skills in Kung Fu, and nowadays heis not less known for his method of

Chinese Energetic Medicine.

LIANG KAM YUEN

In my secondmonthly column forBudo International, Iwould like to explainand discuss theCRCA Wing Chunconcept of Facing.The term Facing(Ying Sai) in WingChun means the

frontal reference ofone fighter toanother.

WING CHUN

The largestmix martialarts andfitness gym inthe EastCoast. Theaddition ofthe new UFCGym in NewHyde Park

Nassau NY is a big step to get the UFC closerfor approval as a mix martial arts legal sportsin New York.

UFC GYM

"In martial arts thereare only two words:horizontal and vertical.If you end up on theground, you lose, if youare up and about,you've won". This is thephrase with which thecharacter of Ip Man

opens and closes thisinteresting film inspiredby his life.

MARTIAL CINEMA


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General Director & Art Director: Alfredo Tucci. Advertising: Maurice Elmalem [email protected] International pages:

Alfredo [email protected] Columnists: Don Wilson, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Cass Magda, Antonio Espins, Jim

Wagner, Coronel Sanchs, Marco De Cesaris, Lilla Distfano, Maurizio Maltese, Bob Dubljanin, Marc Denny, Salvador Herriz, Shi de

Yang, Sri Dinesh, Carlos Zerpa, Omar Martnez, Manu, Patrick Levet, Mike Anderson, Boulahfa Mimoum, Franco Vacirca, Bill Newman,

Jos M Pujadas, Paolo Cangelosi, Emilio Alpanseque, Sueyoshi Akeshi, Marcelo Pires, Angel Garca, Juan Daz. Photographers:

Carlos Contreras, Alfredo Tucci.

Grandmaster Presas diligentlyresearched the Filipino martial artsfor over 30 years to develop asystematic approach to theapplication of Arnis style into acomplete hand-to-hand combatstyle called Mano-Mano.

KOMBATAN WORLD COMMUNITY

S.D.S. Concept is aholistic self-defenseconcept created bywomen, together with self-defense experts, policeofficers, lawyers andpedagogues with thespecific skills and needs ofwomen and girls in mind.

SDS-CONCEPT

The axe - used with one hand, asthe American tomahawk, or withboth hands, as a battle axe - is oneof the oldest weapons known tomankind. Still, finding records oreven training and teaching venuesfor this very special weapon is quitedemanding. In this first part aboutaxe fighting we will focus on thebasics, special characteristics andconcepts.

SDS-CONCEPT

Sensei Taiji Kase has been one of thegreatest karate masters of the Twentiethcentury. Known worldwide as an outstandingfighter and as a teacher of high level, henever stopped perfecting his art and todevelop it up to create his own style. Beforepassing away in 2004, he created anInternational Academy (Kase Ha ShotokanRyu Karate-Do Academy) at the head ofwhich he has placed his closest students,including Sensei Pascal Lecourt (for France),6th dan, who hads been one of his closestassistants for nearly thirty years.

KARATE NO KOKOROFrom Budo International we wanted to

do an interview where we could give out tothe community of martial artists, andespecially the world of WingTsun, who isSifu Salvador, which are his motivationsand projects, but above everything, helpthe amateur who monthly reads oursection "Columns of WingTsun" to knowbetter this enthusiastic scholar of Martial

Ar ts an d cons tan t Wi ng Tsun Ku enresearcher.

WINGTSUN

The techniques of thesnake increase vitality and

internal power. Its technicsare based on thephilosophy of the elementwater. The snake is alwaysmoving. It uses the powerof the Qi for fast andpunctual strikes with thefingers to the opponents'weak spots or soft parts ofthe body.

SHAOLIN HUNG GAR KUNG FU

Pangamot, the martial artfrom the Philippines is fairlyunknown but is a veryrealistic, effective andaggressive fighting in myown way. Realistic, hard,fast and effective this ishow I would describePangamot.

SCS PANGAMOT


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he collective unconscious had beenannouncing it. Films like Matrix struck severelythe central axis of the consciousness of many.Artists and visionaries have been saying it;today, science itself opens its doors to newconsciential setups to reconsider the reality

and the real. In this editorial I'd like to share with you

readers this point of change of conscience and for that wehave to start by the beginning, like it belongs.The word "reality" comes from the Latin "realitas" which

originates in the word "res". Res has many meanings:material thing, being, fact, object, matter, subject,circumstance, experience, power, cause and others.

The adjective "realis" and the adverb "realiter" werecommonly used in the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinasconsidered the word "res" as a "transcendental".Transcendental were, in the classical doctrine, thoseproperties that can be attributed to any Being. Finally,Duns Scotus introduced the neologism "realitas" to referto that in which the various types of beings agree.

The curious thing about this etymological introduction isthat, by placing the term in its just original sense, it

describes itself in a very different way than that wenormally understand. Reality "is not" somethingmonolithic, univocal; actually it's nothing else than asimple consensus. In the words of Carlos Castaneda:"The world is a description". Carl Jung said the same inother way: "Everything depends on how we see things,not on how they really are." Reality, paradoxically, beyondthe tremendous power of the word, is nothing but anagreement, gentlemen.

Surprise!! Everything you blindly believe, fruit of yoursenses and your apprenticeship, may not exist in thatform beyond the particular own subjection of yourdescription of things; of course, repeatedly concurred forthe same consideration from those who surrounded you inyour learning process, embedded with your special

nature, crossed with your destiny, your evolutionaryneeds, your transformation opportunities, the energy thatsurrounds you and wraps you at all times and the energythat is crossing on your way, by virtue of the others withwhom you relate or related in the past and theenvironments through which you move until the momentof every here and now.

Does it seem a complicated formula to you? Well, youmust know it, even so is incomplete!

Who said understanding was easy?In opposition, how simple and plain is the flat

description of the only, univocal and rocky reality of ourcurrent paradigm. But even this is gnawing itself by theedges! And, in light of recent quantum experiments, evenby the middle!

The dominant paradigm on the planet, the science andits method, is reaching its own level of incompetence; thatis, through itself is questioning the basis of its owndescriptive schema of reality.

This is not new; even within its own discourse andmethod, the Newtonian Universe was destroyed byEinstein, and poor Einstein is being swallowed up now byhis own contradictions. God does not play dice ... butanyway, what if He does? I'll try to explain myself (ifpossible), and believe me I'm sorry, because this matterrequires of more solid brains than mine and perhaps even

a more appropriate means to "enter these gardens." Inother words, as usual, the forum in which I express myselfis apparently not the most suitable for such matter, or isit? But what can I do if life has placed me to preach in this(and not another) pulpit?

The quantum entanglement experiment of Dr. Blake T.Dotta, at Laurentian University in Canada, seems to provethe existence of a kind of central computer, a "commonfield" that stores information from the activity ofelementary particles. Dr. Gaona, who collaborated in theexperiment, says that this "common place" is a "space",to which particles resort no only to "save" theirinformation, but also the conscious (are we talking aboutthe Akashic record?).

The experiment itself was to create two identical quantic

situations, but separated by several kilometers. In it, twoinnocuous substances with one another, but whichrespond with light in the presence of a third reactiveelement, were activated simultaneously, but from only oneside of the space. Placing the reactant on one of thesides, the other one emitted light at the same and in theabsence thereof.

The consequences of this experiment are reallyextraordinary and would come to open the door to theproof of the deep knowledge that ancient people alreadyhad developed in their study of the invisible. It would alsoexplain scientifically what we know commonly astelepathy, opening at the same time a field of study aboutconcepts like wormholes, or inter dimensionalcommunication. Even under the weight of that rocky

imposition of what is real or not, we've all heard orexperienced extraordinary stories of synchronicity in ourlives or those of others: you're going to call someone andthe person calls you ... a mother knows that something isgoing wrong with her son in the very moment he is havingan accident ... someone is certain that his twin brother justdied ... a son sees the image of his mother, who is at a10,000 kilometers distance, when he passes the door ofhis room, just in the moment she dies ... etc.

As in other t imes in history, several intertwined andvirtually synchronous discoveries are occurring rightnow. It seems as if the very consciousness of the humangroup would be expanding at a time and touchingspecific understanding points. Not long ago we read inthe journal Nature the publishing of the first quantum

teleportation achieved by the team of Professor NicolasGisin, University of Geneva. As incredible as it mightseem, it is the first time in history that teleportation of aphoton at long distance has been achieved. Such

"I hate reality, but it's the only place

where you can eat a good steak."Federico Fellini

"Reality is nothing but the ability our senses

have to deceive themselves."Albert Einstein

T

"The only true realistic person is the visionary."Woody Allen


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attainment, that just a few years ago was considered pure sciencefiction, is happening now.

The funny thing is that scholars of hermetic, spiritual or occultistknowledge have been saying all this for centuries. Considered asheretics, demoniacs, ignorant witches, insane and all kinds ofdisqualifying labels, it turns out now that they not only were right, butthey also explained, in their own but unequivocal way, what science isnow just beginning to glimpse.

The visible is only one category of reality. The reality is an agreement,but other realities coexist, intersect and collide with ours continuously.In my latest book, "On the threshold of the invisible", The JapaneseShamanism of the Shizen Culture, I place the reader at the gateway tothe knowledge of the invisible of the Shizen Culture, an ancient culturethat delved into the study of these mysteries in an exceptional way.

The barrier between the physical and the metaphysical is cracking.The adventure of human consciousness is experiencing a newawakening. Today that science opens those doors, it's time toreconsider and hear with new ears and see with new eyes, howpeople like the Shizen, had the moral courage, the boldnessand the infinite bravery to navigate these stormy seas, to

bequeath a map of the invisible as detailed aspractical. My book is a small, tiny, testimony to theimmense hidden wisdom that they maintained andthat I keep studying.

Sending a photon through space-time is only asmall step; ancient shamans went themselvesto other dimensional planes or brought themhere at will; they jumped between worlds as achild jumps with a rope; they touched hightension forces without being touched bythese forces; they spoke with destinies,negotiated with immense forces or raisedpeople on the border of life and death. Thedeeds and the power of those Shizenpriests were legendary.

Broken the conceptual limits, even themost brainless will be able to conceiveand eventually try the quantum leap ofthe possible and the impossible. Alicecrossed the mirror, but we all can do it,because achieving it is within our powersand potentiality. We are spiritual beings livinga material existence and not vice versa. Butreaching the knowledge and the power to makesuch leaps is another matter, because in thispoint, as in many others, nobody gives anything forfree. The authentic spiritual paths always generate thenecessary transformations in our energetic structure andfunction conditioning our energy and tension bubblesfor that jump between worlds. The old reality is diluted

in a sea of multiple realities; the flat Universe getsconfounded in a multi-dimensional Universe; time asa linear concept is not sustained under the Universalrelativity; the world, our univocal and rocky reality iscrumbling. What a great adventure, my friends! It'stime to learn to look and see with new eyes.

Alfredo Tucci is Managing Director of

Budo INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.

E-mail: [email protected]

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When I considered the idea of making a cover and an article on the figure of theSamurai, immediately came to my mind the image of Shidoshi Jordan. To myknowledge, no one like him embodies the noble and brave figure of the exponent of theJapanese warrior. Because, well beyond the idea of the Warrior, of the hard anddevastating General, there is the other face of the man: brave, but tempered, faithful tohis tradition and rules and, above all, fair.

Shidoshi Jordan has compiled in more than 6,000 articles and thousands of videosavailable on the network, much of the tradition of his Martial Lineage, that of the Kazeno Ryu school. And not only in its martial aspects, because in his labor, and this is themost exceptional, Shidoshi Jordan has also retained the spiritual traditions of an entireculture, including its language, Shizengo. This titanic work is the basis that will allow inthe future, not only the maintenance of such knowledge, but the rebirth of a cultureextremely wise, deep and rich in multiple aspects, such as psychology, strategy,

philosophy, metaphysics or the spirituality of the Shizen people.In the Shizen tradition which this man represents like nobody else in the world, there

exist two archetypal figures among the categories of Senso Tengu, which perfectlyexpress this duality: Ama, Senso Tengu of the Earth element in positive, the one whocommands armies wisely and well organized, and his counterpart, Toshi, Senso Tenguof the Earth element in negative, the one that orders to destroy mercilessly anddecimate the enemy.

The figure of the Samurai has these two sides, but it also has a whole philosophy oflife that has seduced the West. The charm of this archetype has been able to overcomeeven the strong aversion that produces the impact of an extreme form of seeing theworld, when analyzed from the Western perspective. The idea of Seppuku (Hara Kiri), iswithout doubt one of the most shocking features in the Samurai idiosyncrasies, a senseof honor, almost scrupulous, impossible to be comprehended by an individualisticsociety, where the idea of the self-immolation is hard to assume and understand.

However, digging into the archetypal patterns of the Indo-European tradition, the idea

of the hero who sacrifices himself is not strange to us. The hero who, faithful to himself,fights to the end giving his live in the battle, even knowing he will die, advancesimpassively toward his destiny. Does it you sound to you? More than one religion wasbuilt in the past around a similar character!

In this article, Shidoshi Jordan and Shidoshi Juliana will help you understand theessence and the true nature of the Samurai, unquestionably the most famous figure ofthe Japanese tradition and the one that has more deeply conquered the hearts of theWest, and will introduce you to the interesting history of their own Shizen lineage.

Alfredo Tucci
http://www.bugei.eu/https://www.facebook.com/KazenoRyu.Bugei


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he culture of the Japanese warrior hasalways captivated the Westtranscending generations that haveidealized it searching to learn itsethical, moral, and technical conceptsthat lead to shape up one's own

character through that mystic aura which turnsaround the enigmatic and contradictory figurethat conquered the world of the arts of war.

Actually, each one of the aspects of the samuraiculture could fill a whole book, if we were to delveinto its most subtle aspects, hence, this articleaims to outline only a brief introduction so that the

reader can gain a better understanding of thehabits and values of the warriors, and a legacythat has spread all over the world. However, thetransmission of that heritage on foreign soil stops,inevitably, by the declining of the warrior status inJapanese soil itself.

Therefore, it would be impossible indeed toget to understand the Japanese arts of war andthe exportation process of its values without firststudying the history of Japan. Japanese culture,in all its aspects, was deeply marked by theinfluence exerted by the military powers in manydifferent aspects, from the moral behaviors,ceremonies and social events, to the indeliblefootmark they left in noble arts such as the Tea

Ceremony.Since the warrior culture seems inherent toJapanese people, who believed they weredestined to keep on fighting along history, itwould be difficult to grasp the aspects that led tothe development of the Japanese martial arts,and the reason for such specific characteristicswhich are present in all types of art, without aprevious analysis of their contents and the socialevents that occurred in the historical stages ofthe Land of the Rising Sun.

Trying superficially some of those details, eventhough the samurai caste had reached its goldenage - especially in times of intense internalwarfare - with the Edo Period (1615-1868) took

place the decline of the warrior class. That wouldexplain much of the historical process of thetransmission of traditional arts of war to othercountries in a past not so distant from ourgeneration.

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In the Edo period, Japanese social classeswere mainly divided into: samurai, farmers,craftsmen and merchants. Certainly therewere intermediate classes, like aristocrats,the imperial family and members of thenobility, but they didn't really have anypolitical or economic power.

Traders had reached living standards higherthan the dominant warriors, they had even gotto create a culture of their own, witharistocratic and warrior features. Suchtransformation had begun as an impulsetoward freedom, since the goal at the timewas material and economic welfare. The level

of the cities rose to a point that many samuraihad to get involved in luxury, which broughtabout major economic problems because thesamurai led a life of little consumption anddidn't produce anything.

By living under the oppression of peasants,that generated a drop in productivity, amanagerial crisis was embedded in society.The financial crack led many daimyo toborrow loans from traders and this markedthe beginning of the demoralization of thesamurai class.

The long peace brought seriousconsequences for the warrior class, whichwas forced to live off manual services. The

most cultured ones taught the children ofmerchants and those with military skil lsprovided services of bodyguards (yojimbo).The decline of the class came to the pointthat many warriors had to sell their ownswords, considered the soul of the samurai,and regrettably many turned into bandits orcriminals. Even though it was an upper class,it became the most miserable of Japan.

At that time, Confucianism was the base in

the government principles and it was taken soseriously that a specific event would markforever the history of the Japanese people -the 47 Ronin, shizushichi shi - already knownto many Westerners by reporting anddemonstrating the depth of the Japaneseconcepts of fidelity and honor.

At the end of the Edo Period, the idea ofdevotion to the emperor got back and theimperial restoration spirit grew, while reformsproved unable to bring concrete results. Alsothere were outside problems caused by thepresence of foreign ships, in an attempt toforce the opening of Japanese ports.

In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perryarrived in Japan commanding a powerful navalfleet, and bringing with him commercialproposals from the President of the UnitedStates, M. Fillmore. The trade agreement,signed in 1858, would mark the entry of Japanin the international business world. Many feudallords opposed, in a move against Tokugawa,and so they were persecuted. It was the so-called "Ansei Political Purge". Many anti-Tokugawa feudal leaders gathered strength tooverthrow the government. Sakamoto RyumaSakamoto and Nakaoka Shintaro, Tossa feudleaders, joined Saigo Takamori and OkuboToshimichi, of the Satsuma fief, to start out the

anti-feudal armed movement.In 1867, Yamanouchi Toyoshige, feudal lordof Tossa (K_chi), addressed himself toShogun Yoshinobu and advised him to returnthe executive power to the emperor, beforethe outbreak of a civil war. It was the end ofthe military government that had been rulingfor 700 years.

The Meiji Period (1868-1912) would markthe modernization of Japan. Without finding


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much resistance, imperial troops easily took overthe country and consolidated the politicalfoundation of the Empire. The capital was movedfrom Kyoto to Edo, which from then on began to beknown as Tokyo - Capital of the East. Themodernization process continued and from 1926(Showa Period), since the U.S. didn't acceptJapanese immigration, they began heading towardsSpanish America.

Despite having been for generations away from thehigh social strata and political power, some familiesof samurai origin have maintained the pride of theirancestors, preserving a knowledge that was oncesynonymous of glory for the country. With no proper

or decent financial conditions, many families sawemigration as a new chance to thriving, even if it wasin foreign lands. Many of them brought with them justthe old values of the past, developed in the ancientaspects of Bushido, now in disuse in the Land of theRising Sun and revived in times of war, with themilitary purposes of a Japan which was rising as aninternational power, whilst its domestic demandwished modern technological and cultural advances.

With the banning on "Jutsu" systems, manyschools fell into ostracism, or their masters werepersecuted and forced into a life in clandestineness.The traditional value given to the ancient martial artschanged, and the values of new objectives with onlyeducational purposes emerged. Families that have

kept the knowledge of their ancestors, brought theseeds of these arts to different distant lands and theprocess of trying to keep alive the traditions andcultures of the Japanese warriors sailed across thesame ocean that once had isolated Japan.

Thus, culture and thought were taken to otherparts of the world thanks to Japanese immigrationin other countries and, in the same way, knowledgeof Kaze no Ryu Bugei Ogawa Ha reached Brazil.

The Kaze no Ryu Bugei arrived in Brazil throughthe Ogawa family, who disembarked in Puerto de

Santos in 1935. Descendants of the Kawa village, inancient times located on the island of Hokkaido,North of Japan, they settled in the southern state ofParan, where they began their activities as farmers.By occasional circumstances, with members of thecolony began the Kenjutsu practice.

Due to the intervention of the Shindo Renmei,Hiroshi Ogawa guided Japanese immigrants whowere persecuted by the organization, in practicaland quick ways of self-defense. This was a stimulusfor the settlers to study the self-defense that theOgawa brothers knew.

The Shindo Renmei ("League of the Subjects'Path") was a patriotic organization, appeared in

Brazil after the end of World War II, formed byJapanese who did not accept the defeat of Japan inthe war.

The short and violent history of thisfundamentalist group, has been brilliantly told by

jour na li st Fernando Mora is , in his book "D ir tyHearts" published by "Companhia das Letras". Thework won the 2001 Jabuti Prize to the best book inthe category "non-fiction".

In the 1930s, Brazil already had the largestJapanese community in the world, with more thantwo hundred thousand people, most of them living inthe State of Sao Paulo. The big wave of Japaneseimmigration occurred between 1908 and 1938 andstarted to diminish by the pressure of Brazilians on

the government of Getulio Vargas, since it was fearedan "encysted" (the word used at the time) Japaneseoverpopulation forming a closed core in Brazil.

Founded in Marlia, in the inner So Paulo, in 1942(prior to the entry of Brazil in World War II), theShindo Renmei emerged as one of the manyJapanese nationalist organizations at the time,which were influenced by former Japanese militarywho immigrated to Brazil.

In 1942, Brazil ceased to maintain its status ofnonbelligerency and decide to intervene in the


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Second War, supporting the Allies(United States, England and France)against the Axis powers (Japan, Italyand Germany). Thereafter, there was astrong persecution of immigrantsarrived from Axis countries and theJapanese began to live in a land ofenemies. Getulio Vargas issued severelaws against those immigrants, whocould no longer speak or write in theirnative language, or gather in groups ofmore than three people.

For the Shindo Renmei, the

Japanese community was divided intoonly two groups: the "victorists"(kachigumi), belonging or sympathizedwith the organization, and the"defeatists" (makegumi) - also called"dirty Hearts" - who did not believe inthe victory of Japan and thereforeshould be punished. Whoever spokeout publicly admitting disbelief inJapan's victory, was bound to die.

The Shindo Renmei main goal wasto silence those who "defamed" theimage of Japan, using all possiblemeans: slandering, removing thecredibility and even killing those who

disagreed with the organization. Onlybetween January 1946 and February1947, there were 23 people killed and147 injured in actions of theorganization.

Due to these violent events and theneed for defense, it was planted thefirst seed of Bugei on Brazilian soil.Many events marked the course of theOgawa family in Brazil. Only in 1952,Hiroshi Ogawa accepted a small groupto study the family tradition. In thatgroup were Robert Kunio Araki,Massao Mizunaga, Abe Hideichi,Paulo Yoriki Hideoshi, Minoru

Nagatame, Toshimitsu Muramoto andKenichi Izawa, Isao Horibi, MiyoshiMassuda and Sadao Ebihara.

Thus, Bugei started its path inBrazil.

It was said that the Ogawa familydescended from a samurai lineagethat, as many other noble families,was in decline and living in poverty intheir home country, so they decided toemigrate and become farmers, likeeveryone else in that time. By comingfrom a Shizen tradition, besides theirmilitary status and together with thearts of war, they also brought withthemselves a mystical-philosophicalcultural heritage. With a strongJapanese pride, the Ogawa clan kept

the old Bushido values throughmodern times. As many know, theWarrior's Moral Code of Conduct isprobably the most popular feature ofthe samurai culture. This canoncontinues to inspire young people andpractitioners of Japanese martial artsworldwide and its full knowledge alsogoes by understanding the Japaneseculture in its political and philosophicalaspects.

Literally Bushido - m - meansethical path of the samurai. Putsimply: it consists of a set of laws thatguided the life and behavior of ancient

warriors of Japan.The term "SAMURAI", or "BUSHI",means "to serve and follow the Lord,accompany a higher to serve him."

Already in the book "Nihon Shoki" -Chronicle of Japan, written in 720 AD -are to be found references of thesamurai as being a person who servesthe master.

The Bushido evolved markedly afterthe conquering of power by themil i tary class (1192), under theleadership of Minamoto Yoritomo(Kamakura Bafuku). The Kamakuraperiod is characterized by the onset of

feudalism in Japan. Fearing to fall intothe same error than the Henshi, chiefGenji Minamoto no Yoritomo settled inKamakura so to stay away from Kyoto.In 1192 he was granted by the

emperor the honorary title of Shogun -literally, "military commander" - and inorder to maintain discipline, heimplanted a military regime based onmoral behavior, characteristic offeudalism, the relationship betweenlord and vassal. The strict conductrules sought to stop vassals fromimitating the decadent l ife ofaristocracy and thus avoidunnecessary expenses.

Af te r organi zing hi s gove rnmentpolicy, Yoritomo perfected the

standards of conduct and moralbetween vassal and lord, refining thesamurai ethics. The link between thetwo sides would consist of the "on"and the "gi". A vassal was to haveabsolute loyalty to his lord, in peace orin war. In return, the lord shouldensure the survival and welfare of thevassal. This would maintain theKamakura government for 150 years.

The Bushido Code is rooted inBuddhism, Shintoism andConfucianism.

From Buddhism came tranquilityand trust in fate, the silent capitulation

to the inevitable, the stoic composurein sight of danger or misfortune, anddetachment to life and not fear death.

From Shinto came loyalty tosovereign, reverence to the memory ofancestors and filial piety.

Finally, from Confucianism came theethical teachings.

"Transport every day a handful ofearth and you will make a mountain"

(Confucius)

From all these influences, it wasformed the main ETHICAL PRECEPTS

of the samurai class:Righteousness and justice - "It's thepower to decide without waveringupon a correct course of conduct inaccordance with reason - to die when


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to die is right, to strike when to kill isright -", is the most compelling moralprecept of the samurai code.

Giri - "He who receives a favor orbenefit of someone or someinstitution, has an obligation to repay."It means right and just reason, or duty,sense of justice or duty.

Courage - Inseparable from thesamurai status. Spirit of courage andpatience. Always in favor of justiceand righteousness.

Benevolence - "Bushi no nasake"means the samurai's mercy or

compassion. The generosity andkindness with the weak and thevanquished is a highly appreciatedvirtue by the samurai.

Manners - Courtesy and civility arefeatures very cultivated by the warriorclass.

Truthfulness and Sincerity - "Bushino Ichigon", "the word of thesamurai". Lies and falsehood indicateweakness of character, deeplydishonorable for a warrior. The notionof shame (haji) forms a characteristicmoral background in the Japanesepeople culture.

Honor - "Ful l awareness of thedignity and personal value." It is oneof the qualities that are a must in thesamurai.

Duty and loyalty - The notion ofloyalty is so extreme that it is commonfor a samurai to commit suicide inorder to accompany his lord in death.

Education and Training - "Chi(wisdom), Jin (benevolence) and Yu(courage), form the tr ipod thatsupports the Bushido."

Self-control - The discipline ofpersonal control is another importantquality of the samurai. "Endure Pain

without groaning, or sadness withoutmanifest i t , aims to not spoi l thepleasure or serenity of others".

Institution of Suicide and Revenge -Ritual suicide or Seppuku is based on

the belief that the belly is the seat ofthe soul, opening the bowels or seatof the soul to show that it is clean.Revenge (Kataki-Uchi) is considered avirtue. It applies in the case ofavenging the death of one's father,brother or lord.

After reaching a certain prosperity inBrazil, Hiroshi Ogawa decided toresume safeguarding the arts of Bugei,enriching it with the knowledge ofother immigrants who had a legacy inthe noble Japanese arts.

To expand and improve the study of

the arts, many disciplines were added,some even reached their specializationin Brazil, due to the personal charactergiven to the development oftechniques, as is the case of Jujutsu,which counted on the "hand" ofOgawa Hiroshi in the Kihon, since theSeiteigata or classic sequences werenot altered by historical preservation.

After reaching a certain prosperityin Brazil, Hiroshi Ogawa decided toresume safeguarding the arts ofBugei, enriching it with theknowledge brought by otherimmigrants who had a legacy in the

noble Japanese arts.To expand and improve the study ofthe arts, many disciplines were added,some even reached their specializationin Brazil, due to the personal charactergiven to the development oftechniques, as is the case of Jujutsu,which counted on the "hand" ofOgawa Hiroshi in the Kihon, since theSeiteigata or classic sequences werenot altered by historical preservation.

Son of Saburo Ogawa, known as agreat samurai of an exquisite skill inregard to Kaze no Ryu, OgawaSensei was for years among the

world's great authorities of Jujutsuand its derivations. However, fewrecognized him as such , becausethe higher Japanese author i t iesquoted his name permanent ly

attached to Brazil. Perhaps, becauseof the xenophobia experienced bythe Japanese in relation toimmigrants, Ogawa Sensei tookyears for his name to be recognizedas one of the best . His sk i l lscontinued to be linked to the name ofhis father. The fact that his familywas traditional did not influenced inOgawa Hiroshi's personal evolution,due to the distance between Japanand Brazil. Communication betweenthe two countr ies was a lwaysprecarious at that time. Thus, only

after the year 1978 , the Japanesebegan to visit Brazil to know thefantastic technique presented byOgawa Sensei . His wi t andpreservation of tradition impressedseveral authorities of the Bugei.

Because the dream of keeping alivethe Japanese traditions, the 30 Bugeidisciplines, in Europe inspired theirintroduction depending of culturalaspects and deepening in intellectualknowledge, since Ogawa Senseidreamed of building a kind of a"university" where tradit ionalJapanese culture could be taught as a

whole.Much has been invested along thistime, in courses and seminars withteachers of the respective subjects,expressly arrived from Japan, for theproject to come to fruition. Finally, wecan say that todays, much has beenlost, and of this project, in an activeway, there are in fact 30 subjectswhich are taught in classes. Theremaining subjects are seen as extraor separate disciplines, whicheventually are treated in moresimplified or short courses.

So Kaze no Ryu has this vast

amount of disciplines, covering bothphysical arts (martial or not) andmental or spir i tual discipl ines,working on the preservation ofJapanese arts.


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Master Kam Yuen has written an important chapter in the currenthistory of Martial Arts, especially in the West. He was alreadyfamous worldwide for his skills in Kung Fu, and nowadays he is notless known for his method of Chinese Energetic Medicine. Fewmasters and experts can boast of having been the instructor of

celebrities such as the Jackson Five, Bob Dylan and, especially,David Carradine, of whom he was stunt and choreographer inthe Kung Fu series. Along his career, he's also shared hismartial knowledge with stars like Chuck Norris andSteven Seagal. Master Kam Yuen was also linked toBruce Lee.

Master Kam Yuen was a student and best friend ofWong Jack Man, who, as the reader will sureremember, challenged Bruce Lee. Should JackMan win the fight, the "Little Dragon" would beforced to stop teaching Caucasians. Ironically,years later, Kam Yuen choreographedBrandon Lee and even gave him some lessons

in the second installment of the Kung Fuseries... He was also an actor andchoreographer of the Bruce Lee's ill-fatedproject, "The silent flute". For all this andmany other virtues, Budo Internationalbrings him today to its pages.

Text; Salvador Mgica & Pedro Conde.Photos: Salvador Mgica.
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Master Liang Kam YuenMaster Liang Yuen Kam was born

in Hong Kong on March 10, 1941.He was the youngest of 7 boys and4 girls. At the age of eight he beganpracticing Kung Fu as a student at

Seven Star; Qi Xing Tang Lang withMaster Chen Zhen Yi, and Tai Ji TangLang with Master Chi Chuk Kai. InMaster Yuen's own words: "As in theWest people begin very young

pract ic ing sports wi th footbal l ,baseball, etc., in China, the learningof Kung Fu starts from childhood. I

sta rted at ei gh t an d it wa s li ke agame, because given my age, Ididn't perform intensive or adultsworkouts. Usually you begin with theShaolin style and then you specialize

in any of its styles; I opted by theMantis".

Years later, Shifu Liang Kam Yuenmoved to America with his family,where he continued his Kung Futraining with Master Mon Wong, inNew York. Afterwards, he studiedNorthern Shaolin in San Franciscowith Master Wong Jack Man, fromwhom he also learned the Hsing Yiand Baguazhang styles. In 1964 hegraduated from the ManhattanInstitute with a degree in engineering,through which he got his first job as

an engineer at Lockheed Aircraft,near San Jose, where he also openedhis f i rst Kung Fu school with hisfr iend, Master Paul Eng (he alsoworked at Hughes Aircraft and USEngineering Corporation). In 1969, he

left his job as an engineer anddecided to devote himself to theMartial Arts.

After a short stay in Los Angeles,Master Liang Kam Yuen returned toHong Kong to continue his studies inTai Ji Tang Lang with Master ChiChuk Kai. Liang Kam Yuen practicedday and night for several months. Onhis return to the United States hesettled in Los Angeles, where hewanted to share his new knowledgewith other pract i t ioners, giv ingnumerous c lasses at the YMCAfaci l i t ies, in the Chinatown

Recreation Hall, UCLA, and USC, inthe State of California.

Master Liang Kam Yuen foundedthe "Shaolin West Healing Center"

and was co-founder of the "Ta iMantis Kung Fu Association". He

soon at ta ined great fame and wasrequired by celebrit ies to impart histeachings, being also requested bythe Warner Brothers Studio to take

par t in the AB C tele vision series"Kung Fu".

"At that time, it was only knownabout Karate and Judo in the West;not even Tae Kwon Do, which wasoriginally called "Korean Karate", had

still arrived. I started doing exhibitionsand demonstrations in order to expand

an d ma ke Ku ng Fu kn own to thewestern world. I thought the best wayto do it was to reach the movies or TV,

bu t in thos e da ys nobo dy kn ewanything about it and there was nochance to do it. However, thanks tothe fame I had got in demonstrations

and in my involvement in Martial Artsevents, when they started filming the

series, I was called..."Master Kan Yuen was the

choreographer in the series, in whichhe also participated as an actor insome chapters as wel l as DavidCarradine's stunt man in action

scenes:"Yes, indeed, I participated actively

in th e se ri es , at the beginn ing wechoreographed the fights with several

pe opl e. Upo n is su an ce of somechapters, David started coming to my

gym, there he rea lized that what hehad been really doing in the fights ofthe early chapters, was Judo, so I hadto start being the body double ofCarradine, because nobody knew

almost nothing of Kung-Fu at the time.

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Anyway, after doing the dirty work ofthe series, I had no recognit ionwhatsoever, so I decided to leave; butDavid, being the star of the show, had

a specific weight on the series and hespoke with the Warner managers and

told them he wanted me in the series,so th ey de ci de d to se t as ide th eservices of the former choreographerand gave me that responsibility."

From that moment, Master Yuenbecame officially the master of DavidCarradine:

"At first, David Carradine didn'tknow anything about Kung Fu. Keep inmi nd th at in th e begin nin g of th eseries, he practically made only judo;but he had good qualities and pickedthe movements quickly. Furthermore,for a year he had been practicingdancing, so he had good elasticity and

coordination, therefore, as the seriesprogressed, he improved significantly.He was very disciplined and had a real

in te res t in le ar nin g, al thou ghsometimes it was a pain having to waitfor him to start... When the seriesended, I continued to give him

lessons, but now and then, the timefrom one class to the next was too

lon g sin ce his pro fe ss io nalcommitments forced him often totravel not only around the country but

also abroad."To palliate that as far as possible,

David Carradine introduced Master

Kam Yuen in every project in which heparticipated; among them we musthighlight his work as an actor andchoreographer, along with Joe Lewis,James Coburn and Sterling Silliphant,in the Bruce Lee's ill-fated project:"The silent flute". In this film he fightswith his student. The master recalls...

"I participated with some of mystudents; there were many interestingideas in the script, however, the resultwas not good; it was the first timeRichard Moore directed a fi lm onMartial Arts, a subject to which he was

not acc usto me d an d ha d no

experience, it took him too long torecord the scenes ... Also, the fightswere not well shot, the angles were

not the right ones."That was not the only time in which

they both participated in a film, therewere others:

"David Carradine was always doingwhatever possible so that we could

work together; in some of his projects Idid odd jobs or collaborations, whilst

in others I participated in a more activeway, l ike in the fi lm "ProjectEliminator", or the documentary "Zen

an d Now : A Di nn er wi th Da vid

Carradine & Friends".Master Yuen gets excited when he

talks about his pupil; it's inevitable toask him about the actor's death ..."That was a hard shock, really

painful... Two days before his death wehad been talking, I had given him myaddress in Ch ina so that he couldcome and visit me at home. David

knew my method of Chinese EnergeticMedicine and its beneficial effects, hewanted to help me make it known tothe world. Unfortunately, that meeting

never took place."It was not the first time that Liang

Kam Yuen was going through thistrance; formerly he had also sufferedthe loss of another famous pupil,Michael Jackson. For a time, MasterYuen was the teacher of the"Jackson Five":

"I instructed the Jackson Five in theNorthern Shaolin for five years, ofcourse, when their commitments
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al lowed them. I taught the four ofthem, but especially Jermaine, who

pu t a lo t of in te re st . Bu t Michae l,being very disciplined and fast, stoodover his brothers and because of his

natural coordination he was the best

of them all..."Michael Jackson was not the only

superstar in the music world to whomhe has coached. Bob Dylan and hisfamily also benefited from MasterYuen's knowledge: "Bob is great, he

has good concentration and memoryfor Kung-Fu. He grabs the

movements immediately because heis a genius . But hi s ch ildren needmore disc ipline. I should have beenthere every day for they to real ly

learn, but at that time I could onlyattend them once a week. The onlyway to make Carradine and Dylan

improve signif icantly their Kung Fuwould have been that I had opened a

gym in Malibu; but at that time I livedin Torrance, which is further south.Anyway, the most difficult thing withDylan was that he could find sparetime so that we could train".

Another Master Yuan's famous pupilwas Chuck Norris, but this was longbefore the American colossus wasknown for his feature fi lms. " His

house was relatively close to my gymso he used to come vis it me with acertain frequency, and that pleased

me. At that time I was working on the

Kung Fu series, so he wanted me tohe lp hi m ha ve a phot o shoo t wi thDavid Carradine. Chuck Norris wantedto achieve fame and star movies, so hethought this would serve to promote

himself. Chuck is a great person, wehave a lot of stories together... We metbefore he became famous."

The master Yuen also shared hisknowledge with Steven Seagal: "I had

less re lat ionship with him; in thosedays he was very young and he was

ba sic al ly in te res te d in Ja pa ne seMartial Arts, although he was really

interested in any eastern discipline

including Oriental Medicine."Witness of a unique time at martiallevel, Master Yuen knows manyaspects of the Martial Arts and hasdeep information about historicalfacts; he was the best student ofWong Jack Man, who challengedBruce Lee. If he won that fight, "LittleDragon" had to stop teachingwesterners... "Wong Jack Man didn'ttalk much about that combat; if heever mentioned it he'd make somecomment, but nothing else, it was

nothing to brag about it... We had arelationship beyond pupil and master,

we were very good friends; we wantedto do something good for the KungFu, though I was in New York and hewas in San Francisco. Now about thechallenge, it was not an impressive

fight, at that time Bruce Lee was notas go od as he beca me la te r. Thatchallenge or duel was not because ofteaching westerners, as it has been

said, but for criticizing the methods ofChinese traditionalists teachings, very

str ic t an d cl ose d; no t the wa y hethought i t was right. A proof ofeverything I'm saying is that I waschoreographer for the series Kung Fu

and I never had any problem showingKung Fu to westerner people."

Kam Yuen was not present at thechallenge; however, he alwaysremained close to his master andfriend...

"Bruce Lee gave his life to do thatin which he believed, he had to maketough decisions to get where he got

and I deeply respect this fact. Whilehe was alive I didn't pay him much

attention, i.e., he was doing his thing,his Mar tia l Ar ts, an d I wa s do in gmine. We knew each other because arelative of mine was good friends withhim, and so we met on someoccasions; however, for respect to myfriend and master Wong Jack Man, I

avoided deal ing with him; I kept mydistance. It was after his death that he

became famous and I began toappreciate what he had done for theMartial Arts and Kung Fu. It may

se em od d, bu t so me ti me s I fe el Iconnect with the spirit of Bruce Lee

and his ideas, but not only with him,

also with those of his fol lowers andadmirers. Some people think that if hewas alive, he'd be probably doingwhat I do..."

By a coincidence of destiny, KamYuen worked and helped spread theKung Fu and Martial Arts in the West.The series was based on the originalidea of Bruce Lee. Later, Master Yuenhelped materialize Bruce's ill-fatedproject "The silent flute" and finally, hewas the first "step" in the film career ofBruce's eldest son:

"It's not that Brandon trained onlywith me, I simply was the

choreographer in the pilot episode ofthe second installment and I had toarrange his fight scenes. Actually, hisfighting instructor was Dan Inosanto.For Brandon, Martial Arts meant

someth ing very di fferent than theywere for his father. He was not so

serious and dedicated in his training aswas Bruce Lee. He was a very nice

young man who had started Martia lArts and later he wanted to dedicatecompletely to interpreting and get asfar as possible with his career as an

actor. Martial Arts were not a priority inhis life."

Having reached the top at a martiallevel, Master Yuen decides to leaveeverything and devote himself entirelyto the method of Chinese EnergeticMedicine.

"This way of looking at things is away to change them like never before

has it been possible doing! You makechanges quickly ... for example, when

you train, changes come slowly andyou have to make them faster."

On what is based the ChineseEnergetic Medicine method? Why hasit so many fans around the world?What makes it different from others?

"It is based on the universal law, notin the spiritual part, but in the physical,because it is generally assumed thatthe spiritual level is above the physical,

but it is not so. I direct the energy theyhave to the weakness they suffer, inorder to be aware of which is and so

rei nfo rce it . Th e res ult isinstantaneous. I've been doing this forabout 30 years."

How do Martial Arts fit into all this?

"I think the Martial Arts tradition is allright, but it's something that has toevolve. Although something haschanged, they are basically the same

as before, but there are more thingsthat we ignore than those we know. So

it's time for us to be more physical,beca us e we ar e cr ea tu res on th isplanet.

Hence we must separate the mindfrom the physical so that we can seethe potential that corresponds to thephysical universe. In that way we canbe as fast as the universe, because theuniverse is very fast, coordinated and

very strong, so we have to reciprocatewith the physical potential of theuniverse and not just stay on thespiritual side. You have to give peopleconfidence so they have enoughenergy, which cannot be obtained byusing Martial Arts only as a path.

Since Master Yuen began teachinghis method, he has appeared inseveral publications and on differentmedia. Since then he hasn't stoppedsharing his knowledge and skil lsthroughout the world, helping manypeople. Is in Spain where we did thisinterview.

"I have been several times in Spain;I've been to Barcelona, Malaga andMadrid. With my method I have been

able to help more than 1,000 patientshere."

Master Liang Kam Yuen l ivescurrently in Canoga Park, California(USA); he keeps training Martial Artsal though not in an intense orconstant way:

"I don't practice them physically,but I do the actions. If I realize whatmy weakest point is when I put themto work, I improve it immediately. So,

almost in the moment, I can improve

at neuromuscular level my strength,flexibility, endurance, etc."Master Yuen travels the world

teaching and applying his method ofChinese Energetic Medicine.
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what he didn't know is that hewas to become one of thebiggest movie stars of HongKong, with over 30 years ofexperience and more than a

hundred films to his credit.Leung is one of the favoriteactors of Hong Kong directorWong Kar-Wai, with whom hehas worked seven times.

Zhang Ziyi (Er Gong) - Born inBeijing, she began to be knownafter winning a national dancecontest at the age of 15. It wasthen that director Zhang Yimouhired her to the film "The RoadHome" (1999). The strength ofher performing highly pleasedthe journalists in her country andin less than three months she

was selected to star in theacclaimed "Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon" (2000). Sincethen, her figure has become verynotable with blockbusters in boththe Chinese and internationalcinema.

Chang Chen ("The Razor") -Born in Taipei in October 1976(the year of the Dragon in the Chinesezodiac), Chang's foray into the filmindustry was not accidental. His father,Kuo-Chu Chang, is one of the mostfamous actors of Taiwan and his olderbrother, Chang Han, is also a well-

known actor. Chang achieved fameafter starring in the film "CrouchingTiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000). Sincethen, Chang has shot many criticallyacclaimed films, collaborating with thebest directors and actors.

In this film there are many styles andmany teachers, but according to what

history tells us, and given the

circumstances of each one, only one ofthem was able to make transcend his

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About the Production

The director Wong Kar-Wai is known for takinga long time to finish his films and his tendencynot to stick to production deadlines. The originalscript was written in 2001, and after a longjourney through deep China, visiting more than

one hundred traditional Wushu Masters, the filmwould begin shooting in 2009, to be released onJanuary 8, 2013. The original concept was topresent ten teachers in ten separate chapters, butthis would have resulted in an excessively longand complicated fi lm. It is said that theproduction team came to have up to four hours offilmed material arranged and ready to be used, whichhad to be reduced to 130 minutes, which is the durationof the official version of the film.

It's to be emphasized that the director Wong Kar-Wairequired his three main actors practicing TraditionalWushu for three years before he started shooting. TonyLeung devoted himself to the practice of Wing Chun bythe hand of Master Duncan Leung, a former student ofthe real Ip Man, his son Darren and his pupil HenryAraneda.

As for Zhang Ziyi, she learned Baguazhang from theexpert of modern and traditional Wushu, Ge Chunyan,female member of the original team of Beijing Wushu.Final ly, Chang Chen trained Baj iquan under thetutelage of Master Wang Shiquan of Beijing for threeyears and got to compete in China, earning a goldmedal at the 2009 nat ional championships oftraditional Bajiquan.

On the Fight Scenes

The martial arts sequences in THE GRANDMASTERwere choreographed by the legendary action directorYuen Woo-Ping, who was also in charge of directingthe Mart ia l Arts scenes in "The Matr ix" (1999),"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000), "Kill Bill Vol1" (2003), "The Forbidden Kingdom" (2008) and manyother productions, along his career spanning morethan four decades. And this time, Yuen also playsbriefly the role of Chan Wah-Shun, the master of IpMan in real life.

Under the instruction of Wong Kar-Wai, the fightscenes appear really exquisite for those who appreciatethe technical beauty of each style, their particularmovements, or even of a single blow or stance. Inaddition to the aforementioned styles, we can seeexamples of Hung Gar, Xingyi, Mantis and more. Master
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Yuen, along with Frenchcinematographer Philippe Le Sourd,dazzle us repeatedly with theirintensity and imagination, with agreat cinematic style choreography

instead of thrilling fights, such asthose of "Ip Man" (2008) starringDonnie Yen.

The fights become elegant andceremonial encounters, in somecases demonstrating martial ethicsand mutual respect. According to thekey theme of the film, everything isto be seen in the details. Thecameras zoom in and show theprecise footwork, palm movementsin spiral, torsion blows, etc. Martialmovie legends like Bruce Leung,professional wrestler Cung Le, theexpert of Hung Gar Lau Kar-Wing or

the Wushu female champion ZhouXiaofei, really force the actor TonyLeung to fully util ize his martialtraining and acting talent. Just aswell, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chenturn out to be totally convincingfighters before the cameras.

Our Critics

THE GRANDMASTER certainlyaims to provide more substancethan simple bumps and this isimportant, it is something to keep inmind before visioning this film. It is

not "Ong Bak" (2003) or "The Raid"(2011), but rather a contemplativefilm in which Wong Kar- Wai, verymuch in his line, uses traditionalWushu styles and other visualelements as tools of expression ofhis ideas. For example: the centralcharacters, Ip Man and Er Gongrepresent through Wing Chun andBaguazhang respectively, their ownattitudes toward life itself. The WingChun basically considers the straightline as the best way of attack, whilethe Baguazhang is famous for itscircular steps and spiraling energy.This describes the personality of IpMan, who is always direct and looksahead, while Er Gong merely sticksto his past and tries to escape fromhis present. And this is just oneexample of the kind of metaphorsthat the director uses.

In this film there are many stylesand many teachers, but according towhat history tells us, and given thecircumstances of each one, only oneof them was able to make transcendhis art to the rest of the world. Weare referring to Ip Man, who, born in

1893, lived in the era of EmperorGuang Xu, the last emperor Pu Yi,the establishment of NationalistChina, the Second Sino-Japanese

War and the founding of thePeople's Republic of China, momentin which he fled to Hong Kong,where he began to teach publicly theart of Wing Chun, leaving behind old

traditions and passing the baton ofknowledge to subsequentgenerations beyond his own life.That's why the name of the movie isTHE GRANDMASTER, singular.

Martial Cinema


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Best Karate Kumite. George Bierman Generallyspeaking, if you ask someone, why are you inMartial Arts, they will tell you it's because they wantto learn how to fight. You usually never hear them

say that they wanted to learn kata, weapons orwazas. I guess all of us have a little of that I want tobe a tough guy or you could be motivated

by a real need to protect yourself.Whatever the reason, in this DVD I

discuss Basic and Advancedkumite techniques and

concepts that all of us shouldknow, whether you are anadvanced student or justbeginning, and somethings that have workedfor me over and over.Some can be used on

the street but I'm mainlyfocusing on tournamenttechniques. I can tell youover and over to keep

your hands up to protectyour face . So me of youmay do it and some may

not. Once you get hit in theface several times by not

doing it, you will. I began myMartial Arts training in 1973 and

this is a collection of proventechniques and strategies that have

worked well for me in competition to present day.

I have combined strategies, footwork, techniquesand combinations that lead me to well over 2000tournament wins and a World Champion fighter inSt. Petersburg, Russia. They work!

LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, ESPAOL,ITALIANO, FRANAIS

REF.: BIERMAN3REF.: BIERMAN3

All DVDs, wichi is produced by Budo

International, si provided and alone in the

formats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivX

or the like is however neves offered with aspecial holograma sticker. Besi des our

DVD is characteristed coverings by the hig

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Major Avi Nardia is one of the leading head officialinstructors for the Israelite army and police in anti

terrorism and CQB, he along with Ben

Krajmalnik have made a new basic

dvd in the field of firearms and

safety, training techniques in

IPSC. Instinctive Shooting in

Combat. Combat Instinctive

Point Shooting - IPSC is a

shooting method based

on instinctive reactions

and kinematics to shoot

short distances fast and

in dynamic situations. A

self defense disciplinein order to survive in life

t h r e a t e n i n g

situatuations , where

you need a very fast and

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abilities, when you must

take the gun out as soon as

possible and shoot at a short

distance without using the sight.

In this first volume you will study

how to handle the weapon ( revolver

and semi -automatic ) dry firing practice and

security, "Point Shooting" or instinctive shooting , at a

close range and a series of movements and exercisesfor weapon retention , low stress and multiple attackers ;

exercises on how to recharge with one hand, ... and

finally practice shooting gallery with guns such as

AK- 74, M -4 , M -249 machine gun and even M -16

grenade launchers .

REF.: KAPAP7REF.: KAPAP7

All DVDs, wichi is produced by Budo

International, si provided and alone in the

formats DVD-5 or MPEG-2, in VCD, DivX

or the like is however neves offered with a

spec ial holograma sticker. Besides ourDVD is characteristed coverings by the hig

quality in pressure and material. If this

DVD and/or the DVD covering do not

corespond to the requirements specified

above, it concerns illegal pirat copy.

Budo international. netORDERS:
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rnesto Amador Presaswas born in Hinigaran,Philippines on May 20,1945.

He began his training inthe Filipino martial arts at the age ofeight under his father, Jose Presas.

Grandmaster Ernesto Presas was amulti-talented athlete.

He was a collegiate athlete in trackand field, football and basketball. Histraining in the martial arts is eclectic.He held the rank of Lakan Sampu(10th Dan) in Arnis, Lakan Sampu(10th Dan) in Mano-Mano and 10thDan in Filipino weaponry. He wasrecognized as a ranking expert inJudo, Jujitsu, Bo Jitsu, Kendo, Tonfa,Sai, Chaku, Balisong, and Karate.

As a young man, his dream was toreintroduce the art that was so longan integral part of Filipino history andculture. However, he realized that theclassical systems presented a limitedappeal to those living in the modernworld. By analyzing the conceptual

framework of the classical systems,he revolutionized the native martialarts into a complete effective fightingsystem appealing to martial artsstudents in contemporary society.

A turning point came in 1970 forGrandmaster Presas. He beganteaching the Filipino martial arts at theUniversity of the Philippines,University of Santo Tomas and theLyceum of the Philippines.

In the same year, he was invited toJapan to demonstrate the art of Arnisat "Expo 70." Challenged to compare

Arnis to the well-known sword stylesof Japan, he quickly earned therespect of the Japanese masters whocalled his art Filipino Kendo.

Af te r re tu rni ng to Ma ni la , heestablished his first dojo. Later thatyear, Grandmaster Presas foundedthe Modern Arnis Association of thePhilippines International and

ARJ UK EN (A rni s- Juj ut su -K en do )Karate Association International toformally propagate the native artwithin the Philippines.

His martial arts teaching dutiesexpanded to include classes at theUniversity of Santo Tomas, CentralColleges of the Philippines, the FarEastern Military Academy, PhilippineNational Police Academy and thePhilippines Air Force Officer's School.

Grandmaster Presas yearned tointroduce the Filipino martial arts to theoutside world. In 1975, he founded the

International Philippine Martial ArtsFederation. From that point on, hisPresas Arnis style and techniquesbecame widely adopted in Germany,Denmark, Sweden, Norway,Switzerland, Canada, United States,Mexico, Puerto Rico, New Zealand,Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Australia.

He has published extensively. Hisbooks, The Art of Arnis, published in1981 and Arnis: Presas Style and

Balisong, in 1985 demonstrate thebasic techniques of single and doublecane, espada y daga and the balisongknife as well as co-authored Kickingand Stretching for Children with GMJuerg Ziegler.

Grandmaster Presas diligentlyresearched the Filipino martial arts forover 30 years to develop a systematicapproach to the application of Arnisstyle into a complete

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hand-to-hand combatstyle called Mano-Mano. In the June 1991issue of Inside Kung-Fu, he was featured in the coverarticle "Ernesto Presas: The Fatherof Mano-Mano." In the same year(1991) he was invited to a "BudoGala" in Germany. "Budo Gala"gathers together all the respectedmartial artists from all around theworld. Mano-Mano, introducing uniquehand techniques, was a huge success.

Grandmaster Presas traveled theworld teaching seminars to propagatethis Filipino art. In turn, numerousmartial arts students and instructorsfrom around the world expresshomage by taking advanced lessonsfrom him in the Philippines. OnSeptember 6th, 1996 he was awardedthe "Grandmaster's Award" inJacksonville, Florida.

On 8th July 1996 a great and fruitfulrelationship started between GGMErnesto A. Presas and with GMJuerg Ziegler from Switzerland(www.kuungfu.ch) which became sointense that GM Juerg Ziegler becamethe Switzerland Representative forGGM Ernesto A. Presas. Also GMJuerg became the true Pioneer forKombatan/Modern Arnis for many

countries worldwide and establishedthe Art of GGM Ernesto A. Presas.

In 2001 GM Juerg was promotedand tested to Master Instructor by hismentor, teacher, compadre and truefriend, GGM Ernesto A. Presas,receving all the rights to furtherpromote and establishKombatan/Modern Arnis without anyrestrictions.

Grandmaster Juerg Ziegler wasresponsible to launch Kombatan inSwitzerland, Finland, Latvia (EastEuropean Countries), Portugal as wellas Cambodia, Singapore andMalaysia, etc. All his family is active inKombatan. On 21st Jan 2008Grandmaster Juerg Ziegler wasgraded and promoted byGrandmaster Ernesto A. Presas to 9thDan Kombatan. He is the Chairpersonof the World Kombatan Community- appointed and authorised byGrandmaster Ernesto A. Presas.

Sadly GGM Ernesto A. Presas

passed away on 1st November 2010leaving behind a great legacy to becontinued by his senior studentsworldwide and especially also withthe World Kombatan Community(www.kombatan.eu)

Kombatan combines severaltraditional Filipino styles that havebeen blended into a single art:

Palis Hirada Batangueno Sungkiti Tutsada Abaniko Largo / Corto Doblada / Doblete Banda y Banda Sinawali Espada Y Daga Daga sa Daga Dulo Dulo Dos Puntas Tres Puntas Sibat / Bangkaw Mano-Mano Sipaan Dumog
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Serie tcnica
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Artes Flipinas
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Interview with Sifu Salvador Snchez, founder of the TAOWSAcademy and Technical Director of the WingTsun Departmentof the Spanish Federation of Wrestling

It is now a couple of years that Sifu Salvador Snchez began writing on these pages. During

this time, many have wondered about the philosophy, objectives and method of his proposal.The world of WingTsun in Spain was orphaned from his father and founder, Sifu Victor Gutierrez.It seems indisputable that there is a before and an after the arrival of Dai Sifu Victor to Spain.His legacy was for all WT fans in this country. When Victor decided to take a step in theevolution of his personal style and create a new project, there were not few those who stayedalone. After all these events and several comings and goings, many left the practice to pursueother alternatives.

Among the various projects and organizations that have begun to spread in Spain in thelast years with a strong projection to Europe and America, it must be emphasized theTAOWS Academy, now on its way to become one of the most important references in theWingTsun world. In just two years it has managed to gather 40 instructors / schools and,what is more important, to bind many advanced degrees of the old OEWT that now,organized around the project of Sifu Salvador Sanchez, is conducting a daunting task.New ideas, new methods and, especially, new attitudes to prepare its opening toEurope and America.

From Budo International we wanted to do an interview where we could give out to thecommunity of martial artists, and especially the world of WingTsun, who is Sifu Salvador,which are his motivations and projects, but above everything, help the amateur whomonthly reads our section "Columns of WingTsun" to know better this enthusiasticscholar of Martial Arts and constant WingTsun Kuen researcher.

Budo International: Welcome. Thanks for attending us.Sifu Salvador: Thank you. It is an honor.

B.I.: Tell us, how did you begin practicing Martial Arts?S. S.: It was long ago. I started when I was five years old, practicing Judo in my

hometown (Caravaca de la Cruz / Murcia). Later I got into Sambo, Greco-Roman,Wrestling and Olympic Free Style Wrestling, Ninjutsu and some other systems. I wasa lover of Martial Arts from the start and, in one way or another, I was alwaysconnected to the practice thereof. I've never stopped practicing for 35 years, but

with no doubt, my approach both technically and professionally changed when Imet my Sifu Victor Gutierrez and WingTsun and I decided to devote myself bodyand soul to this style. Sifu Victor was always a very inspiring person for me, inevery way.

B.I.: How were your beginnings in WingTsun?S.S.: Well, I must be honest about it ... it was almost by accident. I saw an ad

in this same journal, where my Sifu Victor Gutierrez appeared with GM LeungTing. I found it a very rare style (it didn't have the aesthetics of other Martial Arts).At that time I was always looking for things that could help me improve as amartial artist, so I called Sifu Victor and invited him to give a seminar in my smallschool of traditional Martial Arts (the Ta Sheng Yuan Institute). On the appointedday, there came a man with a strong Basque accent, dressed in black, with redstriped trousers, accompanied by an attendant named Javier Manso Martin (hisright hand and one of the most important exponents in the Spanish WingTsun) withan aspect that had little to do with the Martial Arts I knew so far. And they evenwalked into my tatami with their shoes on! (Laughter...) And, of course, that was tooprovocative. I tried to hit them!

B.I.: And how was it?S. S.: Well, I tried. Believe me; I tried with all my might.

My students told me: "Don't let them, master. Attackthem! But the fact is they played with me as if I was asmall child. There were several things that surprised me inthat first meeting, but one of them was really shocking. Itwas when Sifu Victor said to me: "Attack me, please." Towhich I replied: How? Do you prefer a hand attack, with myleg...? Then he answered: "Since when the defenderdecides the attack of his aggressor?" And yes, it was that

response that sparked something within me. It was like a shock. I fell in love withthat style, now it's been twenty years that I started and I haven't stopped practicingever since. I liked it very much. I was captivated. Shortly after I read the book of mySigung KR Kernspecht, "The Art of Combat", and if I had any doubt left it

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Interview

dissipated like smoke in the breeze ... This style of Chinese boxing had everything I wanted todo in the Martial Arts.

B.I.: Has WingTsun changed much in Europe in those twenty years?S.S.: Oh, yes, much. Too much, I'd say! It looks like a totally different style. There have been many

things that have made it worse, go backwards, while I recognize that other changes have beenhighly positive. I firmly believe that nothing is completely good or bad. It all depends from whichperspective you look at it. The truth is that for many years things were badly done. As one of myteachers often says: "It was done much for business, but little for the art", and, in that equation,the art is always the loser. In any case, it's true that the WT went from being an art unknown inSpain to become highly recognized, at least in the MMAA world. Anyway, this style has beenchanging constantly since its inception, by a simple reason: styles are practiced by "live"people and therefore they are constantly evolving.

B.I.: But you were practically Sifu Victor's right hand... What were the reasons for notfollowing his new venture with him?

S.S.: It is not my way (firm). It's no secret that I was directly and personally formed byhim. I have accompanied him and served him as assistant in hundreds of coursesthroughout Spain, USA, Germany, Italy, etc... I have known from first hand all his concerns,thoughts, exceptional ideas. I lived his growth at the institutional level from the nothingness

to his elevation in the world of Martial Arts, but what he is doing right now is not my way. Irecognize it is a much more interesting matter than what it might seem at first, but it's notmy theme. A certain MMAA master says that once reached a specific maturing moment inyour martial apprenticeship you have to "kill the master" (not physically, it's obvious!) and Ithink my maturity time has come. I learned the entire system until the 5th GP in a direct way.Later I learned from another master (whom I don't cite by his express request) the Long Stickform and the Bart Cham Dao form, and, once completed the system, it came my time to workalone. I think it is the law of life. Something necessary without the imposition or supervision ofanyone.

B.I.: Why the TAOWS Academy?S.S.: Well, I must admit that I received some offers to be representative in Spain of several

WingTsun organizations. I even evaluated the possibility of joining the EWTO again, under theorders of my Sigung (whom I deeply respect) but after assessing and reflect about all theimportant elements, I made up my mind that if I wanted to do something nice for me, for my

family and for the WingTsun itself, I had to change all the things that in my opinion were notgood for the Art. And that was not possible under the tutelage of anyone who wanted toimpose his way of seeing things, his ideas or a business model. I was sure I could achievea balance between Art and Profession. Please, understand me, I want to live from myclasses and my organization. I have a series of economic needs (I have family andobligations like everyone else), but I will never let financial problems to be placedabove this ancient art that came down to me transmitted for generations from fatherto son, for 500 years. My responsibility is to try to care for it so it can last at leastanother 500 years. Such is the responsibility of a Martial Arts master: to keep thepearls of ancient wisdom and transmit them to others. So I decided, without manyambitions, to found a small Martial Arts school with my most loyal instructors andfriends. The surprise came when, in less than a year, the number of calls from schoolsand groups from different cities inquiring what I was suggesting and which my planswere for the WingTsun, didn't stop coming. I could barely meet the demand for seminarsand courses! And we grew so fast that we were surprised at all levels (individual,institutional, etc.). To date we have achieved more schools than most of the organizationsthat offered me to be their representative in Spain and, frankly, that makes me feel veryproud. It's the award to a well done job. We are happy.

B.I.: How would you define your WingTsun?S.S.: If there's anything I do not like the in the world of

WingTsun is the continuing search for labels. Most are muchmore concerned to put a name to what they do todistinguish themselves from the rest than to study, practiceand deepen into the techniques, tactics and ideas of thesystem. I teach WingTsun. GM Yip Man said that if it met theprinciples it was WingTsun... and my training is constantlyseeking to implement the four principles and the four laws offorce. I therefore understand it is "pure" WingTsun. True, I am

pretty much concerned in improving our training programs. I believe this system can betaught in a much better way than it what has been done until now, and I specially thinkthat it can be practiced a lot better than it was. It may sound presumptuous, but it is afairly simple matter ... Today we have many more technical, tactical and technological


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knowledge than twenty years ago on many disciplines. And I firmly believe that it is necessaryto rely on them if we are to improve our forming and training systems. Living with our backturned to them is just stupid. Excuses used by some that sound little consistent usingarguments little convincing. I respect any option, path or election, but obviously I do not share it.I am convinced that if a practitioner knows the why, the what, the how and the when, can

significantly improve his practice and therefore his general level will increase. I don't believe inthe hackneyed phrase, "Do not ask, just practice ..." In fact, I find it absolutely vile.

B.I.: You must be doing something well. You've grown a lot as an organization inrecent years. Why do you think it has been?

S.S.: I usually say that we have grown "accidentally", because although we are obviouslyvery proud of our growth and that more and more schools, instructors and practitioners arejoining our project, we never thought about it. For me, for us, the most important part of allthis is to practice an ancestral ART, to enjoy doing it. The rest are "collateral effects" of thepractice. In this time we have made great achievements: the creation of a department ofWingTsun in the Spanish Federation of Olympic Free Fight Styles and AssociatedDisciplines (of which I have the honor of being national coach); to be the first associationin Spain that imparts Official Training Course in the Spanish University (Universidad deAlicante). We have opened 35 schools in just over two years and in the midst of theworst economic crisis in living memory in our country. Undoubtedly, all of these things

are very important but, recognizing these tremendous achievements, let me cite asmuch more important, in my view, the fact of being able to see the smile in the face ofmany instructors, practitioners and students when they are practicing this beautifulsystem. Some, quite reluctant in the start to get to know our work, "dared" to do it andtoday they are quite happy with the practice. That is for me the most importantachievement: being happy and making many people happy by practicing Martial Arts.

B.I.: Which are your plans for the WingTsun and for your organization?S.S.: Well ... as I said, for me it is essential to maintain a spirit of practice above anything

else. Currently there is already a solid structure that has four departments (WingTsun, EscrimaConcepts, BJJ / Grappling and Internal Martial Arts). We have formed these departmentswith confirmed professionals of internationally prestige like GM Steve Tappin, Jair Correaor Dr. Pedro Garcia Arteaoitia. Having completed these structures and alliances withsuch extraordinary masters we can now focus on what is really important for us: MartialArts training.

As for WingTsun, which is undoubtedly the cornerstone of TAOWS Academy, I amfinishing my second book which will be available in a few months and shortly it willalso be published a DVD, where we will show our ideas about WingTsun and ourpoint of view.

Also, next year we will begin our "opening" to other countries for which we arealready organizing some events in Germany, France, Italy and England.

We also have almost settled a seminar tour of South America and USA, whichwill take place in the final phase of next year.

And keep training and working humbly in this that we like so much.

B.I.: Your career backs you. You have a lot of work ahead.S.S.: They are significant challenges, but I am eager and full of enthusiasm. I

worked over 15 years for my old organization, being responsible for the OEWT inthe East Coast of Spain. I had the honor of being the instructor that formed thehighest number of technical degrees (Black Belts) in Spain. Today, some of themare leaders in WingTsun organizations and they lead large groups. I have trainedover 1000 students in my career. I find that now, starting from zero, I have therequired point of maturity to make things a little better and Ifeel highly motivated and eager.

I receive invitations and projects from different parts of theworld who want to know my training system and offer me toparticipate in various Martial Arts events. I feel proud andthat gives me the strength to go forward.

B.I.: Thank you for having dedicated your time with us.S.S.: Thank you. It is an honor being able to express and

show my ideas in this magazine which

martial arts magazine budo international december 2013

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