Posts
(newest first)
-
Martial Arts Evolution
Wing Chun Video
More about Eating and Dieting
Mixing it up - Kung Fu style
Dragon Sign Martial Arts
Eat to survive but diet to train
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Martial Arts Evolution
How do martial arts evolve?
Its interesting to think that a lot of Western martial arts, like fencing, Irish StickFighting (Bata - hence "I'm gonna Bata/Batter you" perhaps?), quarter staff etc, have evolved from the the same essential premise that all martial arts do - from battle and warfare, and to some extent hunting, and its interesting to see how they have evolved.
All major battles in European history show us that there are a range of different combatants and skills therefore, from the mounted heavy cavalry to the light footsoldier, each group requiring different skills and armament.
The dark age and middle age heavy weapons like Claymores and huge broadswords are more suited to the north europeans who are generally larger and taller than their eastern counterparts, so weaponry is tailored to this, hence the smaller swords of the east of the same period.
However, you see many similarities as warfare progresses, for example, horseback cavalry post middle ages were served with thinner, lighter swords, not entirely dissimilar to the tachi and katana of the same Japanese Edo period timeframe.
Weaponry is also very much dictated by technology, as the old bronze swords of Roman times show, compared with the advanced forged, folded steel of later ages, hence martial artists evolve their fighting styles to suit their weaponry.
Imagine a Roman foot soldier is faced with a gladiatori, his technique will be quickly dispatched against the specialised one-on-one technique of the gladiator, but the same gladiatori faced with a couple of bronze sword wielding foot soldiers might have had more trouble besides the stength in numbers, but the method employed by the foot soldiers is most effective in groups, not individuals. Might not be entirely true, as many gladiatori were ex soldiers, but I'm using it as an illustration of how martial arts styles differed with the weapons and general application.
Another interesting note, almost all cultures have some form of stick fighting, because one supposes you can usually find a stick where ever you are, be it indonesia (Kali escrima), european (Bata, Quarterstaff), etc, they might not all have names, but even a chimp can pick up a stick and use it for battle, so I think stick fighting is the most base weapons art you can deliver.
Anyway, the evolution of arts seems to be based on the function and application, and martial arts seem to be born from warfare, generally specific to the region because of peculiarities of the area's warfare, an epee or foil to poke into the vulnerable points on a suit of armour, huge swords to smash through heavy armour, long curved swords for horseback fighting, rice flails and bamboo spears as used by the peasants etc.
Is hand to hand combat also born of warfare?
No doubt, but perhaps more likely born of self defence, or a last resort alternative. If you had a stick in your hands facing multiple enemies, its more likely that you would want to retain that stick than drop it and take them on open handed. If you go to attack someone with a sword, you are much less likely to attempt it without a weapon of your own,its just common sense. But you'll want some form of combat if you are unarmed, hence the birth of open hand martial arts? Maybe
Anyway, heres an interesting site: http://www.maisters.demon.co.uk/index.htm
Its interesting to think that a lot of Western martial arts, like fencing, Irish StickFighting (Bata - hence "I'm gonna Bata/Batter you" perhaps?), quarter staff etc, have evolved from the the same essential premise that all martial arts do - from battle and warfare, and to some extent hunting, and its interesting to see how they have evolved.
All major battles in European history show us that there are a range of different combatants and skills therefore, from the mounted heavy cavalry to the light footsoldier, each group requiring different skills and armament.
The dark age and middle age heavy weapons like Claymores and huge broadswords are more suited to the north europeans who are generally larger and taller than their eastern counterparts, so weaponry is tailored to this, hence the smaller swords of the east of the same period.
However, you see many similarities as warfare progresses, for example, horseback cavalry post middle ages were served with thinner, lighter swords, not entirely dissimilar to the tachi and katana of the same Japanese Edo period timeframe.
Weaponry is also very much dictated by technology, as the old bronze swords of Roman times show, compared with the advanced forged, folded steel of later ages, hence martial artists evolve their fighting styles to suit their weaponry.
Imagine a Roman foot soldier is faced with a gladiatori, his technique will be quickly dispatched against the specialised one-on-one technique of the gladiator, but the same gladiatori faced with a couple of bronze sword wielding foot soldiers might have had more trouble besides the stength in numbers, but the method employed by the foot soldiers is most effective in groups, not individuals. Might not be entirely true, as many gladiatori were ex soldiers, but I'm using it as an illustration of how martial arts styles differed with the weapons and general application.
Another interesting note, almost all cultures have some form of stick fighting, because one supposes you can usually find a stick where ever you are, be it indonesia (Kali escrima), european (Bata, Quarterstaff), etc, they might not all have names, but even a chimp can pick up a stick and use it for battle, so I think stick fighting is the most base weapons art you can deliver.
Anyway, the evolution of arts seems to be based on the function and application, and martial arts seem to be born from warfare, generally specific to the region because of peculiarities of the area's warfare, an epee or foil to poke into the vulnerable points on a suit of armour, huge swords to smash through heavy armour, long curved swords for horseback fighting, rice flails and bamboo spears as used by the peasants etc.
Is hand to hand combat also born of warfare?
No doubt, but perhaps more likely born of self defence, or a last resort alternative. If you had a stick in your hands facing multiple enemies, its more likely that you would want to retain that stick than drop it and take them on open handed. If you go to attack someone with a sword, you are much less likely to attempt it without a weapon of your own,its just common sense. But you'll want some form of combat if you are unarmed, hence the birth of open hand martial arts? Maybe
Anyway, heres an interesting site: http://www.maisters.demon.co.uk/index.htm
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wing Chun Video
I'm getting interested in Wing Chun again, and my personal style is evolving into a close range combative style, but using a lot of the locks and chokes I've learnt through the years.
This video shows the quite brutal but practical nature of Wing Chun, and it looks as though the practicioners on the video have been watching a lot of UFC, as they showcase clinching and slipping from clinches, locking and choking.
Coming from a background of Shaolin Hung Gar Kuen (it is the style taught to the kids in my home village in Canton), I see a lot of similarities to Wing Chun, though of course Wing Chun is not developed from the same animal and meditation exercise roots of Shaolin, and is a much more purely combative style, but there are similar stances, close range punching, arm locking/breaking and choking elements.
One also might see similarities because when Hung Kuen was revolutionised by Wong Fei Hung and his student Lam Sai Wing, one imagines they incorporated other elements of the Southern styles from practicioners they came up against and traded blows, as any expert fighter would.
One sees this in Choy Li Fut and Chow Gar Kuen as they are both Southern styles, and the similarities with Hung Gar bears thinking about. Did practicioners and masters of different styles gather in the old days to talk shop like they do nowadays? Or was each style quite insular and stand offish, one wonders?
Anyway, check out the video, it's quite impressive.
This video shows the quite brutal but practical nature of Wing Chun, and it looks as though the practicioners on the video have been watching a lot of UFC, as they showcase clinching and slipping from clinches, locking and choking.
Coming from a background of Shaolin Hung Gar Kuen (it is the style taught to the kids in my home village in Canton), I see a lot of similarities to Wing Chun, though of course Wing Chun is not developed from the same animal and meditation exercise roots of Shaolin, and is a much more purely combative style, but there are similar stances, close range punching, arm locking/breaking and choking elements.
One also might see similarities because when Hung Kuen was revolutionised by Wong Fei Hung and his student Lam Sai Wing, one imagines they incorporated other elements of the Southern styles from practicioners they came up against and traded blows, as any expert fighter would.
One sees this in Choy Li Fut and Chow Gar Kuen as they are both Southern styles, and the similarities with Hung Gar bears thinking about. Did practicioners and masters of different styles gather in the old days to talk shop like they do nowadays? Or was each style quite insular and stand offish, one wonders?
Anyway, check out the video, it's quite impressive.
More about Eating and Dieting
Have been thinking more about a good diet, and wanted to espouse how important fruit is.
Check out The Fruit Pages to read about the nutritious benefits of fruits.
Fruits are the most awesome foods around, and every year I do a fruit detox month, as a supplement to my high fruit diet, and the benefits are immediate and awesome, like more energy, a better constitution, alertness and improved hydration.
Fruit sugars are natural and quickly absorbed into the body providing essential energy. Fruits are very quickly digested in the stomach, less than an hour for almost all fruits, and provide fibre, protein, water and lots of vitamins.
You can substitute fruits for your entire diet, as Fruitarians know, as they eat only fruit.
What? No protein?
Well fruits like bananas and tomatoes contain all of the 8 essential amino acids which our body cannot naturally create, and these amino acids are what form the building blocks of our bodies' cells. The process of eating meats requires a slow and long breakdown of meat proteins into the amino acids, before they are rebuilt into the amino acid chains used in building the body, so eating fruit removes that lengthy, energy consuming process as fruits are digested very quickly.
Mind you, you have to eat more fruit to create the same amount of protein, but because fruits are quickly digested, its natural to munch all day on fruits and never feel hungry or overfull.
Are fruits more expensive? Not if you stop buying meat!
But even I can't resist the odd Sunday roast!
Here is a useful book about eating raw fruits, nuts and vegetables and recipes to follow as well as diet ideas.
Check out The Fruit Pages to read about the nutritious benefits of fruits.
Fruits are the most awesome foods around, and every year I do a fruit detox month, as a supplement to my high fruit diet, and the benefits are immediate and awesome, like more energy, a better constitution, alertness and improved hydration.
Fruit sugars are natural and quickly absorbed into the body providing essential energy. Fruits are very quickly digested in the stomach, less than an hour for almost all fruits, and provide fibre, protein, water and lots of vitamins.
You can substitute fruits for your entire diet, as Fruitarians know, as they eat only fruit.
What? No protein?
Well fruits like bananas and tomatoes contain all of the 8 essential amino acids which our body cannot naturally create, and these amino acids are what form the building blocks of our bodies' cells. The process of eating meats requires a slow and long breakdown of meat proteins into the amino acids, before they are rebuilt into the amino acid chains used in building the body, so eating fruit removes that lengthy, energy consuming process as fruits are digested very quickly.
Mind you, you have to eat more fruit to create the same amount of protein, but because fruits are quickly digested, its natural to munch all day on fruits and never feel hungry or overfull.
Are fruits more expensive? Not if you stop buying meat!
But even I can't resist the odd Sunday roast!
Here is a useful book about eating raw fruits, nuts and vegetables and recipes to follow as well as diet ideas.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Mixing it up - Kung Fu style
I think it's a given that most people who are into martial arts will not try just one style, and will look at a few before they find a style that suits them.
Here's the point, the style that most suits them: whether it is the fundamental basis that the style is formed from or the philosophy espoused by that style's teacher, one chooses a style for several reasons, but essentially, the decision comes from some sort of attraction.
Some people like the hard hitting style of Thai martial arts (not to say there are no soft forms, but fundamentally, Muay Thai is a very hard style) and feel it reflects parts of their personality, whether it be the aggression, power, spiritual etc blah blah, and equally, some people like softer, internal styles like Tai Chi and PaQua, for the opposite reasons.
Whatever the reason of your choice, your chosen martial art is a reflection of facets of yourself. Mixing styles is not a new phenomenom due to the shrinking global village. For centuries warriors and fighting monks alike have swapped styles and techniques and evolved their own fighting methods, so its hard to say whether any one style is less or more true to the 'original' founding forms.
The fact is its down to individuals, namely the teachers and masters and their disciples and students.
An old Chinese phrase, loosely translated, goes like this:
'One Style, One Master, Different Methods of Play"
or, essentially, that even though three masters might have been taught by the same grandmaster, each might have a different emphasis on their forms, techniques and methods, not to mention, different teaching techniques, different students and different attitudes.
There is no such thing as true to the original form, for each master evolves their style as they see fit, much as Wong Fei Hung and Lam Sai Wing revolutionised Hung Gar from just another Southern Shaolin style, to one of the most prominent styles in South China.
Why do styles evolve?
Usually evolution occurs due to improvement: the good parts are emphasized and expanded, and the redundant parts are filed B for Bin.
Styles evolve and become prominent largely through the teacher or an excellent student, and their own influences in life and martial arts colours their version of their style too.
Despite this 'watering down' or 'loss of originality', one must remember that a teacher or master who has used and proven their style has tested their theories and practice, and one can never dismiss the changes made, for they were probably made for a reason.
Back to the point of mixing styles though, I personally think it makes one a more rounded martial artist, because when you have the experience of differing styles, and you have the intuition to examine yourself and your technique thoroughly, you can apply the parts of each style you've experienced and adapt it to your own particular physicality, mentality and spiritual attitudes etc blah blah.
A martial artist is a martial artist no matter the style.
J
Here's the point, the style that most suits them: whether it is the fundamental basis that the style is formed from or the philosophy espoused by that style's teacher, one chooses a style for several reasons, but essentially, the decision comes from some sort of attraction.
Some people like the hard hitting style of Thai martial arts (not to say there are no soft forms, but fundamentally, Muay Thai is a very hard style) and feel it reflects parts of their personality, whether it be the aggression, power, spiritual etc blah blah, and equally, some people like softer, internal styles like Tai Chi and PaQua, for the opposite reasons.
Whatever the reason of your choice, your chosen martial art is a reflection of facets of yourself. Mixing styles is not a new phenomenom due to the shrinking global village. For centuries warriors and fighting monks alike have swapped styles and techniques and evolved their own fighting methods, so its hard to say whether any one style is less or more true to the 'original' founding forms.
The fact is its down to individuals, namely the teachers and masters and their disciples and students.
An old Chinese phrase, loosely translated, goes like this:
'One Style, One Master, Different Methods of Play"
or, essentially, that even though three masters might have been taught by the same grandmaster, each might have a different emphasis on their forms, techniques and methods, not to mention, different teaching techniques, different students and different attitudes.
There is no such thing as true to the original form, for each master evolves their style as they see fit, much as Wong Fei Hung and Lam Sai Wing revolutionised Hung Gar from just another Southern Shaolin style, to one of the most prominent styles in South China.
Why do styles evolve?
Usually evolution occurs due to improvement: the good parts are emphasized and expanded, and the redundant parts are filed B for Bin.
Styles evolve and become prominent largely through the teacher or an excellent student, and their own influences in life and martial arts colours their version of their style too.
Despite this 'watering down' or 'loss of originality', one must remember that a teacher or master who has used and proven their style has tested their theories and practice, and one can never dismiss the changes made, for they were probably made for a reason.
Back to the point of mixing styles though, I personally think it makes one a more rounded martial artist, because when you have the experience of differing styles, and you have the intuition to examine yourself and your technique thoroughly, you can apply the parts of each style you've experienced and adapt it to your own particular physicality, mentality and spiritual attitudes etc blah blah.
A martial artist is a martial artist no matter the style.
J
Dragon Sign Martial Arts
Just a quick plug for my bud Tom's website and club, Dragon Sign Martial Arts.
Tom is a old friend from Uni, where we met and became friends in Hung Gar Kuen class, and he since moved on to Hong Kong and studied Kung Fu out there for several years, and became a prominent and respected martial artist in Hong Kong, before bringing back his Master's style to the UK.
A philosophy graduate and excellent martial artist, his views and opinions are always worth listening to! If you are interested in discussions in Martial Arts, please visit the Dragon Sign website and join the Forum.
Toodle pip!
Tom is a old friend from Uni, where we met and became friends in Hung Gar Kuen class, and he since moved on to Hong Kong and studied Kung Fu out there for several years, and became a prominent and respected martial artist in Hong Kong, before bringing back his Master's style to the UK.
A philosophy graduate and excellent martial artist, his views and opinions are always worth listening to! If you are interested in discussions in Martial Arts, please visit the Dragon Sign website and join the Forum.
Toodle pip!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Eat to survive but diet to train
In this day and age where image seems to be everything, it's easy to lose track of why we do things. Why do you pick Coke over Pepsi? Is it qualitative or personal or an image induced reason?
Personally, I avoid fizzy carbonated drinks for qualitative and personal reasons.
I dislike the amounts of sugars and additives in fizzy soft drinks - qualitative- , but also I avoid processed sugary foods as a rule anyway for personal health reasons, but not due to any illness - I just want to continue and preserve my health, and one way of doing so is to watch and decide carefully on what I eat.
We all know what is good or bad for you, but we don't necessarily stick to it. I've been known to have the odd tipple and a smoke, but I view what I eat with a much more discerning eye, for we are quite literally what we eat.
Eating processed foods, like reconstituted proteins or sugary snacks or fried crisps/chips/fries heavy in trans-fats we all know is detrimental to our health in the long run and everyone who's seen Supersize Me knows that it doesn't take that long for the body to react to the substances we intake.
The detrimental fats and processed foods have been proven to debilitate the brain's natural functioning, kids have increased attention deficits and their capacity for learning is impaired, energy levels are low and in adults in particular, it causes lethargy, lack of libido and general poor health, with associated psychological effects too.
You are what you eat!
Everyone knows that fresh fruits and vegetables, good proteins and good, natural carbohydrate sources are what you should eat in a balanced diet to best promote good health, but not everybody sticks to it.
If you're a martial artist, and want to peak your training regime and push yourself, then the first thing you need to factor in is not the amount of time you train in a week, but how are you supplementing your body's needs to maximise your training.
As you age, your bodies natural response to toxins and unhealthy substances slows, so its best to get into a habit of eating good foods whilst your body can clean out the years of abuse you've given it before.
So start eating as part of your training, as any athlete will tell you.
Stick to fruits or natural, unprocessed snacks like oatmeal or muesli bars with fruits and nuts, and shy away from processed, high street chocolate (organic chocolate is better). If you can afford to, buy organic foods when you are not buying fruits and veg, like organic yogurt, ice cream etc.
READ the calorie count on the packets, though this is tedious, and I have my own method - look at the fat count per 100g/ml - anything over 15g per 100g is a no no.
Also look at the sugar present, anything more than 15g is also way too much for me.
Instead of a portion of chips/fries, go get a baked potato - less fat, easy to digest carbohydrate. Instead of pizza or a kebab, get a chinese or thai take out. Instead of soft fizzy drinks, try 100% pressed fruit juice like Tropicana (not from concentrate).
Get unprocessed meats like steaks or chops, not hot dogs or reconstituted chicken breast. Better yet, go for fish and seafood, although the marine stocks are depleting due to overfishing, so instead look to freshwater or farmed fish stock, especially trout, salmon etc. Shellfish is hugely good for you as they contain certain enzymes which break down fats amongst other things.
Remember, despite the foods you eat, its when you eat and how much you eat.
We all know breakfast is important for everyday, so make sure you have a little breakfast, be it just cereal or a fruit, and the occasional fried breakfast is not amiss.
But, next point, in moderation. A fried breakfast is nice to eat, but having one everyday will load your body full of cholesterol and fat.
When you eat, you know when your stomach is full, so just learn to stop when you get there. The world will not end if you do not eat your whole plate.
Request smaller portions so you are less tempted to eat more.
Eat carbs and drink plenty of water at least an hour before you train and after training make sure you have the time to eat some good proteins and rehydrate in the two hour window after. If you train in the evening, make sure you have a couple of hours wind down time before you sleep.
Just ensure you meet your requirements of roughly 2000 to 2200 calories for men and 1800 to 2000 calories for women, give or take a few hundred depending on your body size.
Remember that a lot of your body is water based, so keep drinking water and juice to top up your body's levels.
Lastly, just look after yourself in general - if you dont look after your body, your body can't be relied to look after you. Take the time to think about what you do to your body, the environment you put it in and the lifestyle you lead. Are your living quarters clean and hygienic? Is your commute to work a friendly and environmentally clean period of time? Do you surround yourself with conveniences, luxuries or necessities? Are your habits beneficial or detrimental to you or others?
Don't live life for someone else, live life for yourself, but with the least detrimental impact on others. It starts with yourself, so take time to care for yourself, and you'll learn to care for others, and keep that in mind, for a true martial artist is diligent unto others as to themselves.
Ciao, J
Personally, I avoid fizzy carbonated drinks for qualitative and personal reasons.
I dislike the amounts of sugars and additives in fizzy soft drinks - qualitative- , but also I avoid processed sugary foods as a rule anyway for personal health reasons, but not due to any illness - I just want to continue and preserve my health, and one way of doing so is to watch and decide carefully on what I eat.
We all know what is good or bad for you, but we don't necessarily stick to it. I've been known to have the odd tipple and a smoke, but I view what I eat with a much more discerning eye, for we are quite literally what we eat.
Eating processed foods, like reconstituted proteins or sugary snacks or fried crisps/chips/fries heavy in trans-fats we all know is detrimental to our health in the long run and everyone who's seen Supersize Me knows that it doesn't take that long for the body to react to the substances we intake.
The detrimental fats and processed foods have been proven to debilitate the brain's natural functioning, kids have increased attention deficits and their capacity for learning is impaired, energy levels are low and in adults in particular, it causes lethargy, lack of libido and general poor health, with associated psychological effects too.
You are what you eat!
Everyone knows that fresh fruits and vegetables, good proteins and good, natural carbohydrate sources are what you should eat in a balanced diet to best promote good health, but not everybody sticks to it.
If you're a martial artist, and want to peak your training regime and push yourself, then the first thing you need to factor in is not the amount of time you train in a week, but how are you supplementing your body's needs to maximise your training.
As you age, your bodies natural response to toxins and unhealthy substances slows, so its best to get into a habit of eating good foods whilst your body can clean out the years of abuse you've given it before.
So start eating as part of your training, as any athlete will tell you.
Stick to fruits or natural, unprocessed snacks like oatmeal or muesli bars with fruits and nuts, and shy away from processed, high street chocolate (organic chocolate is better). If you can afford to, buy organic foods when you are not buying fruits and veg, like organic yogurt, ice cream etc.
READ the calorie count on the packets, though this is tedious, and I have my own method - look at the fat count per 100g/ml - anything over 15g per 100g is a no no.
Also look at the sugar present, anything more than 15g is also way too much for me.
Instead of a portion of chips/fries, go get a baked potato - less fat, easy to digest carbohydrate. Instead of pizza or a kebab, get a chinese or thai take out. Instead of soft fizzy drinks, try 100% pressed fruit juice like Tropicana (not from concentrate).
Get unprocessed meats like steaks or chops, not hot dogs or reconstituted chicken breast. Better yet, go for fish and seafood, although the marine stocks are depleting due to overfishing, so instead look to freshwater or farmed fish stock, especially trout, salmon etc. Shellfish is hugely good for you as they contain certain enzymes which break down fats amongst other things.
Remember, despite the foods you eat, its when you eat and how much you eat.
We all know breakfast is important for everyday, so make sure you have a little breakfast, be it just cereal or a fruit, and the occasional fried breakfast is not amiss.
But, next point, in moderation. A fried breakfast is nice to eat, but having one everyday will load your body full of cholesterol and fat.
When you eat, you know when your stomach is full, so just learn to stop when you get there. The world will not end if you do not eat your whole plate.
Request smaller portions so you are less tempted to eat more.
Eat carbs and drink plenty of water at least an hour before you train and after training make sure you have the time to eat some good proteins and rehydrate in the two hour window after. If you train in the evening, make sure you have a couple of hours wind down time before you sleep.
Just ensure you meet your requirements of roughly 2000 to 2200 calories for men and 1800 to 2000 calories for women, give or take a few hundred depending on your body size.
Remember that a lot of your body is water based, so keep drinking water and juice to top up your body's levels.
Lastly, just look after yourself in general - if you dont look after your body, your body can't be relied to look after you. Take the time to think about what you do to your body, the environment you put it in and the lifestyle you lead. Are your living quarters clean and hygienic? Is your commute to work a friendly and environmentally clean period of time? Do you surround yourself with conveniences, luxuries or necessities? Are your habits beneficial or detrimental to you or others?
Don't live life for someone else, live life for yourself, but with the least detrimental impact on others. It starts with yourself, so take time to care for yourself, and you'll learn to care for others, and keep that in mind, for a true martial artist is diligent unto others as to themselves.
Ciao, J
