GENZAI MAGAZINE: ISSUE I

T M

マ ガ ジ ン

CATCH AS CATCH

WIGAN

Roots The

Of MMA in Japan

ISSUE

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TableofContents: 5. BJJ & The Art of We - Stefan Kocev 13. Catch As Catch Can - Roy Wood 19. The Roots of MMA in Japan - Takeshi Yanagisawa 25. Yin & Yang - Matthew Struble & Guo XinMin 31. Sword of Mind - Nakamura Tenshin & Ide Ryusietsu 39. American Wrestler - Ryan Root 43. INTERNAL EXTERNAL - Ed & Meredith Coughlin 49. A Journey Through Japan - Jungo Endo 57. Leonidas Ruaro - Fighting For Kids Video Feature 63. JAPAN & BRAZIL - Roberto Sant Anna 69. JUDO - Old School & New School 74. Japan - Video Feature 76. Systema - Memory, Tension, & Striking - Martin Wheeler 81. Consistency > Perfection - Jason Roebig 87. The Blood in Your Belt - Adisa Banjoko 91. SUMO - Symbolism and Design 99. The Value of Footwork - Anthony Thomas 103. From Vale Tudo to MMA - Claudio Coelho 107. Bears, Vodka and Fighting - Sergey Morozov 111. Finding Strength - Rob Wilson 115. One’s Nature - A Digital Art Gallery - Ydali Acosta 121. Thai Flow - Muay Thai Video Feature

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Martial Arts is alive, a living history that is being practiced and tested throughout the world, in every moment.

Genzai is an ode to all martial artists who are moving with and expanding this history. Here, the arts express and collide uninhibited. Come, be so completely in the moment that instinct and excellence emerge.

GENZAI

Right now.

In this moment.

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Loveof Martial Arts For the

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BJJThe Art of We &

With Stefan Kocev | @stefankocev Stefan Kocev is an entrepreneur, a published photographer and black belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner. With artists and pioneers in his family heritage, he turned his experience in overcoming addiction to a life of service and being a beacon for success. His passion for martial arts informs his approach to life and enriches the essence of his interactions.

Where is your family from?

My dad escaped from Communist Bulgaria and came to this country not knowing how to speak English.

What is the signi cance of that heritage in terms of something you carry with you to this day?

Bulgarian heritage was my strongest cultural in uence growing up, you can trace our family back to Mongol tribes. My dad always instilled in me the importance of staying grateful and to not judge because I could easily be walking in someone else’s shoes. My mom’s side of the family is French and German, she was a ballet dancer and my grandmother was an opera singer. My grandfather was a writer. My mom’s brothers and sisters were all artists so I grew up with an immense amount of exposure to the arts and different mediums, it was very central to our family. A signi cant theme from both sides of my family was to always pursue what you’re passionate about and forget about money — that success will come as a result of following your heart and your passions.

Through all that you have experienced, with substance abuse and addiction, what would you say was the one thing that brought you forward the most?

People… it’s people helping people. Always, it’s nding the “we” in everything. Addiction is so isolating; I couldn’t break free on my own. I didn’t know the way out of the dark. I have had people to guide me in everything. I can’t do life on my own, just like I can’t do Jiu Jitsu on my own either. Life is about relationship, with myself and the world around me. I feel if I’m not connected and helping people, I’m missing the point.

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Photo: Stefan Kocev

BJJ

What year did you start training with Rickson?

introduced to Rockson Gracie [Rickson’s rst son] and the Paci c

What are some things you think the sport-style Jiu Jitsu schools miss relative to your early experience with the Rickson Dojo?

Palisades academy that Rickson had at the time. Even though I was

Most of the complex movements don’t apply to real life

exposed to Gracie Jiu Jitsu in

situations where you would have to defend yourself. Everyone

At

years old, through a best friend of mine, Eli Johnson, I was

lot to nd my way until

and loosely trained, I struggled a

, when l began somewhat of a spiritual

should know how to maintain space and distance, block a punch,

rebirth and Jiu Jitsu became a central part of my daily life… it

clinch, run away, escape being held or bring the ght to the

became my new addiction.

ground. We always had a fundamentals class and a competition class. Fundamentals was only focused on empowering the

Training at the Rickson Gracie Academy at that time was like training in Michael Jordan's practice gym, while he's in the height of his career. It would seem to be a pretty competitive environment. How were you able to stick with it as a beginner rising through the ranks?

The environment was de nitely competitive. As a white belt I wasn’t

weakest students and giving them the base elements they needed to have body awareness and the ability to defend themselves. So if someone wanted to exist there and never step into the shark tank, they could still learn to love Jiu Jitsu and have it be fun. Jiu Jitsu should be for everyone not just tough guys. We also had

doing much competing, I was just surviving. As dif cult as being

belt tests, which I think are so important. There was a

new is, overtime Jiu Jitsu is very empowering and I began to

curriculum, upfront you could study it and you had to learn and

welcome the stress. As competitive as it was, it was very supportive. I

be able to not only explain the techniques but implement them,

felt as if I was welcomed into a new tribe. There was a great

at every level from blue-stripe to black belt. They gave you a

community and many great teachers and role models, guys willing to

framework and more importantly it turned everyone into a

take time and show me the way.

future teacher.

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Rickson Gracie in Rio - Photo: Stefan Kocev

pertains to someone punching you in the face, even just rolling? How much does it inform your style

When I

rst started there was always this idea impressed

universally involved in the same way but bearing witness to

upon us that someone could walk in the door and we had

Kron's approach to training and breaking himself down

to be ready to ght at any time. That had happened when

until there is nothing more to break was inspiring. It was

Rickson fought Yoji Anjo in the Academy. In the gi or

impressive to watch Kron be open and willing to put

without the gi we would train with open-hand slaps; or two

himself in bad positions. I remember clearly the training

upper belts against a lower belt and you would have to

before ADCC, Kron would section off all the best black

survive for a minute and thirty seconds. Sometimes we

and brown belts, let them rest, then he would rotate guys

would play war, half the class against the other half, or in-

in; putting himself in the middle, setting the timer at one

house tournaments. Back then, I never thought of Jiu Jitsu

minute and letting us choose to start in any position or

as a sport, I thought of it as a

ght and learning how to

submission we wanted. He would then have to escape and

defend myself. From that era I was taught concepts that I

try to submit us. As you could imagine, as time continued

carry into my training mindset today: ) Having a Jiu Jitsu

into deeper waters, things would not fall in his favor. As the

that works in every situation: gi, no-gi, MMA, self-defense.

weeks and months went on, he transformed into a higher

) Asking myself why I do what I do. Does it work against

state where he became seemingly unbeatable, escaping the

nding the answer and

worst submissions by very fresh, skilled guys then

training it. ) The ability to maintain space and control

submitting them. Fast forward to Kron's performance at

distance or establishing a connection and always making

ADCC, submitting everyone and most notably his match

the other person feel uncomfortable, even when I’m in a

with Gary Tonon, it seemed Gary gained a lot of notoriety

bad position.

) No giving gifts or going backwards,

from his loss and performance with Kron, but all the

everyone has to earn everything and pay the price of

training and preparation came to fruition with Kron down

admission. ) To be ef cient and economical, time cannot

on points and time almost up. Gary got his back, Kron

exist. If my ability to perform is based on ten minutes, on a

escaped, took Gary’s back and submitted him. My takeaway

clock or a weight division, I don’t have Jiu Jitsu. I need to

from that is, in life you have to often lose a lot in order to

be able to survive no matter what the circumstance.

win, not to run from suffering but embrace it. Yin and

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over, I was able to be a part of his evolutionary process through osmosis. The teaching style has always been

Rio De Janeiro - Photo: Stefan Kocev fi

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When the changing of the guard happened and Kron took

versus only thinking about grappling?

everyone in all situations, if not,

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What is your mindset in Jiu Jitsu sparring as it

When Kron took over [Rickson’s dojo], what was the biggest takeaway given this next generation shift? Do you nd they are similar or very different in their teaching styles?

yang.

Kron Gracie in Los Angeles - Photo: Stefan Kocev

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Photos: Stefan Kocev

You are also a part-time Jiu Jitsu coach, professional photographer and a business owner with Bodhi Casa; where you give young people leadership in overcoming addiction. How has Jiu Jitsu in uenced your approach to your work, if at all?

Jiu Jitsu and mental health for recovery share many parallels. One constant in active addiction, early recovery, or severe depression is the inability to cope with and manage stresses and fear. Jiu Jitsu is so good at creating healthy stress in a controlled environment and building emotional elasticity and resilience. That’s so bene cial to someone with mental health struggles - people in a depressed or addicted state are in a dopamine imbalance de cit. There are inherent neurological bene ts, endorphin and dopamine responses that take place through intense physical activity and facilitate the body’s desire for homeostasis. The other thing is community. We live in a fragmented, often very isolating society, Jiu Jitsu and recovery offer deep and meaningful relationships with the largest cross sections of life. These connections, friendships, and bonds are so integral to a happy, purposeful life.

What are the main things you expect from yourself to help someone overcome their limitations with addiction?

I aim to look at every human interaction with people as an act of service. How can I be helpful? How can I leave this person better than I found them? Am I looking at what I can capture from this situation for myself or what I can add to it. I stay in the action of service and out of the results, the universe and life has its own ow and course. I just make an effort to build more bridges than dams.

You seem to have embraced a lifestyle of martial arts and you are an artist in every sense of the word. What is the deepest meaning of martial arts from your view?

Being a martial artist, to me, is approaching and embracing every moment and effort in life with my complete attention, meditating on it, drowning out all distraction and aiming for mastery. Looking for beauty, artistry and the good in even the most challenging moments, and ultimately to be a kind human being, who serves those around him — offering up more to the world. I will close with this… I had the great honor to travel to India and photograph Desmond Tutu with Citizens Of Humanity and spend time with him as he gave peace talks and lectures, it was a time I will forever hold in my heart. He told me “the key to life is wanting for others what you want for yourself and helping them achieve it.”

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Photo: Stefan Kocev

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“the key to life is wanting for others what you want for yourself and helping them achieve it.”

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CATCH CATCH CAN

AS

With Roy Wood

Produced by: Andrea Wood | @snakepitwigan From the coal pits in Northern England to the wrestling halls of fame, catch wrestling is an irreplaceable part of the fabric of global martial arts. With direct influences on styles like Russian Sambo, Brazilian Luta Livre as well as amateur wrestling worldwide.

Roy Wood is the successor of the world famous Snakepit (Riley’s) gym, handed down by the legend himself, Billy Riley.

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“I often had no skin on my knees and elbows.”

Roy Wood - Photo Courtesy: Snakepit Archive

Sir, what was your start in Catch Wrestling like?

I remember those early days and I would just get ‘clobbered’ all the time and I used to think, “I don’t know why I come.” You could only learn by watching. We trained on Tuesday and Thursday

Roy Wood:

years of age. I

nights. Anyone who had full time jobs, and the professionals who

had my apprenticeship at Leyland Motors and I would go to the

were not in other jobs, would train in the mornings. Then on a

gym after work. Billy Riley was the coach there. The gym was

Sunday we would all go down and train together. Wrestling was

situated in Whelley, Wigan. Whelley was about a mile from Aspull

often seen as a way out of the pit for people. A lot of people in the

where I was born and lived. I later moved to Whelley when I got

area worked in the pits and it was a hard job. I worked in the

married and raised my family there. The mat was only canvas and

foundry and was a moulder by trade. Billy Riley had the same

there were stitches in it and that’s how you would end up with cut

profession. The foundry wasn’t any better than the pits and it was

knees and elbows. I often had no skin on my knees and elbows. I

tough in there as well. Jobs then were very physical and so it was

once said this to Billy and he said, “Good wrestlers’ knees and

like training all day and then going to the gym after. Billy would say,

elbows never touch the oor.” You quickly learned... the hard way!

“it’s not my job to get you t, it’s my job to teach you to wrestle.”

When I rst started there were all heavy guys and only a handful of

He didn’t need to though, as we were all t anyway.

I would have been around

or

lightweights, but they dropped off over time which left me with the older and heavier fellas.

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Roy Wood in

at his home in Wigan.

When was the rst time you met Mr. Riley and what was that like?

Tommy Heyes took me down to the gym and Billy said, “Oh another Aspuller.”

There were a lot of wrestlers from Aspull

trained there. I was abbergasted at what was happening. I didn’t think there was anywhere like that. I was nervous. I quickly learned that you just got on with it. You were told to warm up yourselves. There were two hooks hanging down and I would put a bar through it and do as many chin-ups as I could and then I

How did you feel knowing Mr. Riley took the chair to allow you to teach in the new gym?

I felt very privileged and honoured. I took over gradually with him sitting at the side of me. We had a form (a bench) and he would hang his jacket at the back of it and we would sit side-by-side. I would sometimes go on the mat and show the kids. If I did anything wrong, Billy would tell me. Billy wasn’t very mobile and his legs weren’t great at this point. You could tell he had been involved in a hard sport.

would wrap my feet underneath it and do as many sit-ups as I

I never knew it was coming really or assumed anything. Although,

could. I copied the others. Then you would wrestle. You have to

I remember once in the gym when someone asked Billy what

understand that back then when you asked anyone for a wrestle it

would happen, about the gym closing after him, and Billy said, “no

was like asking for a ght. If you were getting beat up Billy would

it won’t, this lad will carry it on. He’ll run it.” I was on the mat at

say, “come off and have a rest.” It was hard, always hard. You had to

the time wrestling and felt proud, as I heard the conversation.

just watch, no one taught you anything. But then after a few years, Billy would take me to his house and he would tell me every move

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that I had done and what I had done wrong.

What is your most fond memory of Mr. Riley, how did that inspire you most?

It’s hard to say. They were all good, really. Probably after I had been going a long time and when I think of him taking his trilby off and stepping on the mat to show me a move. It was such an honour. You have to understand the culture of how the gym ran. People would struggle to understand it now. There was once, when I had trained on a Sunday morning (after I had been going for years) and I had, had a really good session. I went home and I was shattered and I put my bag down and said to my mum, “just let me sleep until I wake up.” This was on the back of a typical week of catching the bus at : was like an

am, working in the foundry all day from Monday to Friday (which

hour workout) and then Saturdays were spent doing everything that you didn’t get time to do — then a hard Sunday

morning session. Not long after I had been asleep, my mum woke me up (something she would never normally do if I was tired) and she said to me, “Billy and another fella are here in a taxi to see you.” I got up and Billy said, “Come on, have a wrestle with this fella.” I knew that Billy knew I was shattered, and I thought I had about a minute left in me and my towel and swimming costume that I had used to wrestle in the morning session were still soaking wet through but I wouldn’t have dreamt of saying no to Billy. I had too much respect for him. So I went. I got stuck in straight away and beat him easily. Billy then said, “Come off, go and get a shower.” The fella was an American who Billy called G.I. Joe. As I was having a shower Billy said to him, making sure I heard him, “I thought you could wrestle?” He replied, “I thought I could wrestle.” Billy then said, “he is the worst that comes here.” He was referring to me. Again, I know as I say this that people would struggle to understand this now, but Billy had a way of keeping you humble and he said it to keep me grounded. I had, had a cracking session that morning then beat this guy and Billy always made sure that no one ever got big headed in Riley’s. Billy would never allow it. Things like this are what made him a great coach and what built a wrestler's character.

They are fond memories for me as they taught me more than one can explain. You learned to do what you were told, be respectful and keep going regardless of praise.

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How was Mr. Riley involved with Japanese MMA? Who were his main students?

He wasn’t directly involved as far as I know. Billy, however, had coached great wrestlers who then went on to travel and work in Japan in Wrestling. The two that are better known for their trips overseas being Billy Robinson and Karl Gotch. John Foley and Bob Robinson also went over there. They all took the Catch techniques into the world of Professional Wrestling. They would always tell them that they had trained at Riley’s. Bob Robinson was sought after by the Japanese and as I always say, he was by far the best wrestler that ever came out of Riley's Gym. But Bob was very much a family man, he could have done so much more out there but Bob wouldn’t leave his family for long. It was because of Bob that I ended up going out there, as he recommended me to them, and that is how I ended up going. I remember Bob saying to me, “Don’t let them take liberties with you, Roy.” That was how Riley’s operated though. We would treat everyone as world class when we rst stepped on a mat and would never underestimate anyone.

We had been taught that from the beginning. I went to Japan and taught Catch and I also would explain that I had been coached by Billy. I went over a dozen times to Japan and was asked to spend more time there but I had my family at home, my businesses, my gym, my kids classes and team to think about and look after. When I was out there though I taught them Catch techniques and passed on what Billy had taught me.

Roy Wood with Mr. Fujinami (bottom left) and Mr. Nishimura (bottom middle) who he trained for a MUGA wrestling exhibition in Japan - Photo Courtesy: Snakepit Archive

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Billy Riley (top right and page - Photo Courtesy: Snakepit Archive

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The Roots of MMA in Japan A Rainy Day in Tokyo with Takeshi Yanagisawa Translated by: Max Masuzawa @maxjiujitsu_yogastudio

As a writer with deep history in the Japanese sports game, Yanagisawa-San understood the sentiment of our focus very well. He was passionate about anything related to combat sports and was in the process of writing another book on the subject, a Kazushi Sakuraba biopic. The interview was fun and light hearted, though backed by the serious research of this seasoned journalist. He was very deliberate with his meaning of things and was sure to correct the little English he could understand when things didn’t seem to connect.

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I did the rst martial arts special issue for Number Magazine and was at UFC in Denver, Colorado. I already had a deep interest in the Gracie family at that time. In I visited Brazil, watched the BJJ Mudial [Worlds] and also had a chance to visit Helio Gracie.

What’s the difference between Japanese MMA and everywhere else?

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It’s very unique, for example, Kazushi Sakuraba is one of the most famous ghters in Japan and he comes from a Pro Wrestling background. Antonio Inoki did a rare bout against Muhammad Ali, in what was considered a crazy, weird mixed martial arts bout. Everyone was expecting Inoki (the wrestler) to take Ali down, but he didn’t. Actually, he couldn’t. People don’t realize this but Japanese wrestlers don’t do a lot of takedowns as a general rule. So back to the ght between Inoki and Ali, the match was a real ght, not xed. People thought it was xed, but it wasn’t. The ght was really boring and included Inoki laying down and throwing a side kick at Ali’s legs. The match had a really bad reputation worldwide. Inoki was, at the time, promoting to his students that Pro Wrestling is the best style of ghting. All of his students believed him and believed it was real, when we all know Pro Wrestling has a lot of xed ghts. Actually, Inoki was a very hard worker, he trained really hard and really believed in himself. But much of the wrestling training started in turtle position (one person on allfours), so they didn’t practice takedowns as much as you’d think.

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What was your start as a martial arts writer?

There was a famous wrestler named Tiger Mask. He was a student of Satoru Sayama, who was frustrated by the “ xed” [predetermined] nature of Pro Wrestling matches in Japan. So Sayama-San, created UWF, which also did xed ghts but they were considered slightly more real. Tiger Mask was a famous wrestler who joined Sakuraba, who was a UWF wrestler, and they both began training “real” ghting in the gym. The different UWF wrestlers would see the UFC, as the ultimate ghting league that it was, and would want to train in a more real way. So Sakuraba was unique because he had a strong amateur wrestling background even before his Pro Wrestling, but also a knack for striking. He had access to an excellent Muay Thai coach who spent a lot of time with him as well as training catch wrestling. Sakuraba was the rst complete MMA ghter in my opinion.

How did Pride become a thing?

UWF International saw the UFC as a rival and wanted to have UWF ghters challenge UFC ghters. Actually, Yoji Anjo became the rst person to challenge Rickson Gracie because his brother Royce was not a free agent. Everyone knows that Anjo showed up to Rickson’s gym in California and got his butt whooped. Takada was a big Pro Wrestler in Japan at the time and decided to challenge Rickson to save the face of the Japanese Pro Wrestling scene and so he came up with the idea of ghting Rickson himself. That became Pride , Takada versus Rickson was a huge promotion but many Japanese fans and promoters really believed Takada was the better ghter because they believed Pro Wrestling was superior. So many fans didn’t even show up.

Pride was supposed to be a one time event but it didn’t really make that much money. Because of the increased debt from the event they needed to continue to do more shows to pay off the debt they had accumulated paying Rickson’s guarantee and building the promotion.

What is the significance of the Samurai in Japanese martial arts?

Samurai had phases of attack, on horseback they would shoot arrows, throw spears, then pull their swords, and if necessary they would grapple after they became too close to do anything else. They would lose their balance and fall on to the ground together. Yoroi-dōshi is the small sword, which they would try to pull and use from the top position to stab or slice their opponent’s throat. When all the weapons are gone, grappling decides your life, and position in grappling is very important. The rst Ju Jitsu groups, trained with a yoroi-dōshi, as part of their core curriculum. is the year of the rst Ju Jitsu training.

Then the Edo period went on for years with the Samurai ruling the country. During that period there were said to be over Ju Jitsu academies. Kenjitsu was also very prevalent. Among the social classes (samurai, farmers, craftsman, merchants), only the samurai were allowed to carry swords. As a result, martial artists of various styles began to include their own weapons, like the sickle of the farmer connected to a chain. It’s important to understand that Ju Jitsu contains the defense and usage of weapons across the board. Hand-to-hand combat would make up the majority of the training of these styles by the ’s (the Meiji period - the end of the samurai class).

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How did Sakuraba set himself apart?

What are your thoughts on Jigoro Kano?

There was a shift when the European invasion took place. Jigoro Kano was someone who understood that [change] and took to changing Ju Jitsu into something for other cultures and for Japanese people to adopt. I think Jigoro Kano took the idea of the ippon from wrestling and the “pin.” There were only two ways to win a Ju Jitsu match before Judo, choke or joint manipulation.

Jigoro Kano was very involved in education and was a school master of the national teacher training center in Japan. I can say that his Judo was modi ed to be useful as alternate education. Breaking someone’s arm or choking someone out was not considered educational. So Judo became very widely adopted across all of the education system as a result of the change to throwing and pinning versus going for submission. The number of Judo schools increased and the number of Ju Jitsu schools faded to very few today. Actually, I think its very interesting that the Gracie Family would pick up the traditional Ju Jitsu style and begin to popularize it around the world. For that reason I consider the Gracie family to be the real Samurai today.

What are your thoughts of Mitsuyo Maeda?

Mitsuyo Maeda, would play a big role in that.

He was a student of Jigoro Kano but he was already training the original Ju Jutsu style. He was a very strong and good student and did many challenge matches on behalf of Judo and Ju Jutsu. Jigoro Kano had a right-hand-man named Tomita, who took Mitsuyo Maeda with him traveling the World to educate westerners on the Kodokan style’s effectiveness. Whenever Tomita would show the crowd a demonstration some people would step up and question the techniques to a challenge. The one who would step up to accept the challenge was generally Maeda. Another interesting issue, Maeda would pull-guard (jumping to his back) and the western combatants would assume that was a loss (a pin). This is why the westerners did not accept Judo as part of their curriculum at the time. Maeda would take prize

ghts to make

money and ended up going his own way after some of the early Kodokan exhibitions. Maeda is really important in Japan now because his

Art: Haley Burns | @hbdessles

story includes teaching Carlos Gracie. “

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“I think its very interesting that the Gracie Family would pick up the traditional Ju Jitsu style and begin to popularize it around the world. For that reason I consider the Gracie family to be the real Samurai today.”

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Yin& Yang FROM: JIN GONG LI GANG QUI GONG - A BASICS MANUAL As taught by: Master Guo XinMin Written by: Matthew Struble Produced by: Loc Le Van

@loc.le.van | @chineseshaolins

When asking for a de nition of Qi, one seldom nds the same answer twice. Chinese doctors and martial arts masters all have their own de nition as they learned it from their respective masters. However, when dissected, the de nitions generally share the same basic principal: they all serve as personal metaphors for what Qi is, analogies for a force which impacts our lives constantly, but is subjectively felt.

One analogy that appears often is that Qi is like steam gathered in our bodies, which then helps us run, almost like a steam engine. A more scienti c de nition for Qi, which is gaining popularity, is that Qi is an electromagnetic force which connects our entire bodies to the world that surrounds us. It is as though we are conductors, gathering Qi from external sources, running it through circuits in our bodies called meridians and then reconnecting it with the universe.

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When our bodies become used to conducting, storing and harnessing Qi, it can help our bodies in a number of ways. Qi can help promote our body’s natural healing mechanisms and speed recovery, ght disease and lead to longevity. Through the practice of cultivating Qi, the mind is also relaxed and cognition increased. This practice of cultivating, storing and harnessing Qi is called Qi Gong and there are many different styles all with their own bene ts. Jin Gang Li Gang Qi Gong is one such style; a complete system, rooted in martial arts, robust in history and practice methods.

The following is a guide to the basics of practicing the system as taught by Master Guo XinMin.

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Yin

Female Left Side Soft Cold Moon Night

Jin Gang Li Gang is rooted in Taoist theory, as such, many of the principals of the practice relate directly to Yin and Yang, the two sides of creation in Taoist philosophy. Everything in the universe can be broken down into a respective side.

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Yang Male Right Side Hard Heat Sun Day

It is important to remember that Yin and Yang are two sides of creation, without one there cannot be the other, there is no back without a front. So important is this co-dependent relationship that Yin always has a piece of Yang in it, and Yang always has a piece of Yin in it. The two create a balance with each other and need one another to exist.

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energypoints

ofQiGong

Lower Dantien – The lower dantien is a major point in the body for the practice of Qi Gong, it acts as a storage center for Qi which is gathered during practice. It is located approximately two ngers below the belly button.

Middle Dantien – The middle dantien sits at the sternum, the bottom center of the rib cage. It allows Qi to ow to the rest of the upper body, especially the arms. Before preparing to use hard Qi Gong such as brick breaking with the hands it is best to focus Qi through the middle Dantien.

Upper Dantien – The upper dantien is located slightly above and between the two eyes.

Ba Hui Point – The Ba Hui point sits at the crown of the head, if one drew a string over the head from the top of each ear, and from the nose, it would center at the Ba Hui point. It is the point which transfers Qi between the sky and body.

Lao Gong Points – The Lao Gong points are located in the center of the palm of each hand. If you bend the middle nger in to touch the palm, it will land on the Lao Gong point. These points transfer Qi to and from the hands and are important in Jin Gang Li Gong Qi Gong during such exercises as “pulling the Qi.” Yongquan Points – The Yongquan points are located in the center of the bottoms of the feet. They are the points which transfer Qi to and from the earth below our feet.

First and most importantly, when practicing Qi Gong one should keep the body relaxed. This is not a requirement that is generally met instantly before practicing but should be a constant practice in improvement.

Some parts of the body will not be easy to relax initially, and some have never been relaxed while performing these routines. years of practice are required in order to fully relax the body, however one should constantly check themselves as they practice to make sure that every part of their body is relaxed until it becomes a

subconscious act. Some

movements in moving Qi Gong will create tension or must be done quickly or tensed, but one should always return to a relaxed state once the movement is completed.

While being relaxed is key, it is imperative that one should not slouch or keep bad posture as they practice. The back should always be

upright, not in an over-exaggerated manner, keeping the natural curve of the spine, but always

straight upright, never bent forward. The posture should be as if a string was pulling up on your body from the Bai Hui point. Shoulders should be pulled back and then the chest

hollowed.

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The

mouth should be kept closed, teeth gently clasped together, and the tongue should be kept tucked to the

roof of the mouth, through which Qi travels to the body. This is also a good position for the mouth to be in during martial arts in general as it will prevent the teeth from banging together, and the tongue from being bitten in the case of a blow to the jaw.

Breath should be slow and controlled going in and out through the nose. If the nose is blocked due to sickness or injury, one can breathe through the mouth, but it is still best to try to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth if possible. It is good to remember to breathe, never too shallow and never too big a breath, not too slow, or too fast.

“Inner and exterior, form and spirit are an interconnected and unified whole.”

It is a major feature of Chinese martial arts not only to study the standard forms but also to follow the idea of spiritual transmission, the overall view of internal and external unity. The inner means heart, spirit, will and other mental activities and the

ow and circulation of Qi. The exterior means hands, eyes, body, steps, and

other physical activities. Inner and exterior, form and spirit are an interconnected and uni ed whole. The martial arts characterizes the unity of internal and external. All forms require the combination and integration of the inner (spirit) and exterior body, in technique to achieve physical movements along with mental movement. Even with a pause in exterior body movements, the movement of mental consciousness still maintains the inner Qi. Qi links all movements under the situation of potential fracture of momentum. The idea is to harmonize the mind and body with a combination of the following eight laws: hands, eyes, body positioning, steps, spirit, mind, Qi and force.

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SWORD of MIND

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Nakamura Tenshin studied Tenshin Ryu under 8th Grandmaster Ishii Seizo, who was born as the 4th son to Grand master Ishii Benzo in 1892. In that period people did not think highly of traditional martial arts in Japan, but he learned from his father at home. Even still, the succession of samurai styles of war have their challenges and Nakamura Tenshin was Ishii’s only student because the training was too intense for most. He even lost ngers in training. The continuation of their style continues today with the Tenshin Ryu dojo in Tokyo, Japan headed by Nakamura’s students Kuwami Masakumo and Ide Ryusetsu.

NAKAMURA TENSHIN Words of Nakamura Tenshin, founder of Tenshin Ryu, translated by Ide Ryusietsu. @tenshinryu @ideryusetsu @ericuysphotography

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“We tend to forget this fact when it comes to martial arts.”

“A Japanese TV personality once said on the radio, "I can almost always understand quiz shows when I'm watching them, but when I'm on the show, I can't come up with the right words. I get so nervous that I can't do what I should be able to do. This is something that we all experience, but since we are fortunate enough to live in an age where we don't have the opportunity to experience the exchange of lives, we tend to forget this fact when it comes to martial arts.”

- Nakamura Tenshin

Photo Courtesy: Tenshin Ryu Dojo Archive

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“Itcan

“This is a candle cutting performance by Nakamura Tenshin when he was years old. Not many years had passed since he joined the school. This photo is of him “cutting the sky,” but since there was no such thing as continuous shooting, they couldn't take a photo of him in action, so this is a test shot of him “cutting the sky” before the performance. Tenshin sensei said he had given it away a long time ago, but the sword he was using was a thin, worn-out . inch blade.

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His predecessor, Ishii sensei had taught him, "The real skill is to be able to do it in front of others," and samurai of the past would test their skills in such a way. Even if you can do it at home or in the training hall, it is very dif cult to show the same performance in a tense situation. In a life-and-death situation, it can be the difference between life and death.” - Ide Ryusetsu

A letter from Ide Ryusietsu I have a Kuwaiti friend who gives me Arabic lessons once a week. The other day, I wanted to introduce myself in Arabic, so I asked him to write up a speech for me. Since Arabic is dif cult to pronounce, I asked him to send me a recording of him reading the text. He said to me, "If you want to make a good speech, practice reading the text 100 times.”

But do I really need to read the text 100 times? If I were to repeat it ten times, I would know how to pronounce it, and it would stay in my memory long enough. And since I don't even need to memorize the manuscript, I don't need to repeat it that many times. That's overreacting, I thought. However, people who think this way often do not have the experience of repeating a hundred times. I, like many others, had never repeated it 100 times. At most, I think it was about 30 times. Even though I had never tried it before, I stopped because I thought it was meaningless and there was no need to go that far.

The Arabic speech I ordered this time was only about 1-2 minutes long, so 4 hours would be enough to repeat it 100 times. However, before I could practice for four hours straight, my throat would dry up and I would start to have trouble speaking properly. In addition, intonation and accent become a concern, and the pauses between sentences are unique and different from Japanese and Arabic. As you can see, the more you get used to writing a speech, the more you will nd things that bother you. This is why it is so important to repeat yourself 100 times.

However, just repeating the speech mechanically 100 times is meaningless. As a Kuwaiti friend of mine said. Repeat it a hundred times with the right pronunciation. If you don't repeat it 100 times with correct pronunciation, you will remember the sentence incorrectly and it will be a complete waste of time. The same can be said for Tenshin-ryu practice. Repeat the same action in the correct sequence. I feel that this is a common concept that can be applied to any eld.

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武⼠ ひく 私は知らなかった 私が死ん だことすでに 喪に服してい ただろう 私の命の喪失。 Ota Dokan (1432–1486)

桜よりも、 それらを奪うために ウィントを招待する。

More than cherry blossoms, inviting a wind to take them away. I wonder what to do with the rest of spring.

Asano Naganori (1667-1701)

Hosokawa Fujitaka (1534–1610)

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私たちが花を集めない化⽯の⽊の ように、私の⼈⽣は実を結ぶこと Like a fossil tree from which we gather no flowers, sad has なく運命づけられてきました。 been my life fated no fruit to produce.

Minamoto No Yorimasa (1106-1180)

Both the victor and the vanquished are but drops of dew, but bolts of lightning thus should we view the world.

Ouchi Yoshitaka (1507-1551)

Shimazu Yoshihiro (1535–1619)

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AMERICAN WRESTLER With RYAN ROOT

What was the rst time you remember wrestling for yourself? How did you feel about it?

I remember the rst practice my father took me … I was four years old. I remember working on stance and motion before learning a duck under. With our move to the wrestling-rich state of Pennsylvania, things intensi ed, and a lot more time was spent in the sport. With so much time on the mat, a lot of my friendships were developed through wrestling. But I can honestly say, I didn’t “love” the sport.

Around fourth grade, my brother and I were invited to join a program called Foxcatcher Kids. Foxcatcher was a stateof-the-art training center in Newton Square, PA. It changed the sport for me. Legends like Mark Shultz, Dave Schultz, Greg Stobel, Kevin Jackson, and Dan Chaid were training there. The program allowed a select group of young wrestlers to learn from the best of the sport. That was probably the rst time that I felt I was wrestling for myself.

Your father was big into Wrestling and Football, what was his in uence like?

I lost my father about

years ago. It was the toughest thing I’ve experienced thus far in my life. He provided me with

so much love and support in my

years with him. He also provided a great deal of opportunity. He was very

successful in the nancial world and used that success to provide my brothers and me a lot of opportunities to travel the country and train with and compete against the best wrestlers available. With all of that said, you have to also understand the competitor that lived inside him. It was a grind. At a very early age, we were going through practices that were similar to what I experienced in college. When I was born, he bought a wrestling mat, and I can honestly say that in all my years with him, I never lived in a house that didn’t have a wrestling room. He instilled a work ethic, which while I am very thankful for today, could have driven me away from the sport. Ken Root was an intense man, he was passionate, and before this starts to look like something I view as negative, I will openly state, I wouldn’t change a thing. He gave me the opportunity to grow and become great and supported me every step of the way.

In addition to competing for Penn State, you also had success in Freestyle and Greco-Roman. What was that experience like? What is the difference between the two modalities?

Wrestling essentially has three styles. Americans have their own style called Folkstyle, or collegiate, while the rest of the world has two additional styles Freestyle and Greco-Roman. I was raised competing in all three. There are slight variations, but in the end, I feel they are all very similar… position and technique.

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Image: Ryan with his parents Tara and Kenneth - Photo Courtesy: Ryan Root Archive

Rules and strategies are obviously different, but it's all grappling. Folkstyle is really designed around controlling your opponent, while the international styles are designed to attack your opponent. They overlap in so many ways, but the subtle differences are easy to spot. As I said, Folkstyle focuses on controlling your opponent on the mat. Points are awarded for holding your opponent in a position, exposing his back to the mat for a count… whereas the international style awards points for even the slightest exposure. Greco doesn’t allow competitors to touch in any area below the hips resulting in more hand ghting and throws, while Freestyle doesn’t have this exclusion, you see more leg attacks. My time at Foxcatcher was focused on the two international styles.

Learning techniques from the best wrestlers of that period had a fairly profound in uence and also created a great technical foundation to build upon. My time at Penn State was focused on Folkstyle. Both were positive experiences, but college is a grind.

It’s tough to “enjoy.”

Ever thought of going the pro wrestling route or competing in MMA yourself?

The world of pro wrestling never seemed to attract me. There is a lot of showmanship, and the athletic ability of most is off the charts, but I guess, I always had a negative connotation growing up thinking it was fake. I would have liked to throw my hat in the MMA ring. I have this built-in competitive drive to compete, and to me, it’s the ultimate form of competition. There is no room for errors. There was probably a time when I could have, but essentially, life got in the way. I have no regrets and still have all of my teeth, but I would have liked to give it a whirl and test myself.

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What age do you think most people will peak in wrestling competition starting from a very young age and staying dedicated to college or after?

I love this question… And I have a very unique answer. I think that wrestlers have - years of weight cutting in them before they burn out. That means if they are cutting weight at a young age, they’ll likely drop off in high school. The emphasis should be on technical development, not convincing kids that they can only win by losing more weight. I say all of this because parents usually screw their kids up while trying to win some worthless youth national tournament… and killing the trajectory of their career. In a perfect scenario, I think wrestlers’ optimal age to compete is probably between

-

. If you look at the

numbers and examine the best of the best they are coming out of college and attacking the world level. Some start to zzle after college because they lose the daily consistency of practice, but the greats continue to grow and evolve. In reading your question again, the answer is probably about

-

. This is because only about - % of wrestlers compete in college, so it

becomes a numbers game.

Have you sparred with Judokas? If so, how did that feel?

My Judo sensei was about ’ ’

pounds. He was from Japan. Multiple-time world champ. Lived in the US for

barely spoke a lick of English… but that man was the best coach I ever had. I’m a big guy ( ’ ,

years and

pounds at the time) and I

have a unique level of athleticism for my size… and yet he seemed to effortlessly throw me around. He had such a feel for the sport that it still amazes me today. It was almost like he knew the perfect way to shift my weight before attacking.

Did you ever watch PRIDE FC? Were you a fan of Mark Kerr or any other PRIDE ghters?

I did watch Pride. I think that MMA has had a huge impact on wrestling. Not in the sense that it changed our sport, but it did give it a stage to show its value. Mark Kerr, Dan Henderson, and Mark Coleman… were great ghters but they were also great wrestlers, and they brought interest back to wrestling. The wrestling community is a tight-knit group, but getting people to join that group is tough. I think that the success some of the “ex-wrestlers” had in the early days of pride helped a resurgence in the sport of wrestling.

In your coaching, what makes a good athlete in terms of demeanor? How much raw aggression do you want from a young athlete going into competition versus calculated execution etc.?

I think certain tools make athletes better at any given sport. I am a rm believer that perfect technique can be executed on anyone; that is a set, an attack, and a nish. I think the beauty of our sport is that size and shape don’t matter. I’ve had kids that looked like they were on the chess team, that could beat the hell out of their muscle-bound opponent. That’s not to say that physical attributes don’t help, they do in every sport… a ’ ”

-pound man probably isn’t going to win the high jump. With

wrestling speed and power help. A lot of what is taught is very technical, but when techniques are hit with a level of explosiveness it’s tough to stop. I was always quicker than my opponents. It’s tough to defend someone when you can’t keep up with their attack. Removing the physical and focusing on the individual… con dence wins. The guy that thinks he’s going to win usually does, and when both feel the same way, you have a great match. Part of that con dence is just ingrained in the person, and the rest comes with the work.

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Do you feel like there is a disconnect between the old school/new school of amateur Wrestling? When you were coming up and the coaching/training you felt versus younger generations today?

Absolutely. I have a lot of old school in me. I think the world is becoming soft because we pamper today's youth, rather than forcing them to learn and grow. With that said, I also see a lot of the aws in where we came from. I grew up in a time when little kids cut a lot of weight. I thought it was normal to sit in a sauna growing up. There are still a few that carry the weight-cutting view forward, but it’s shrinking more each year. From a technical side, I see a lot of differences. The old school world hasn’t kept up with the evolution of our sport and the expanding techniques that are now available. Running a practice built around drills from the ’

s and ’

s is probably going to taper kids out of the sport. There is certainly

something to say about fundamentals, but the sport has grown so much in such a short period of time. I think the biggest change since I was competing is the number of options for young athletes to train. Today, there are so many great clubs to join.

Ryan (on the right) at a high school State Tournament - Photo Courtesy: Ryan Root Archive

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INTERNAL|EXTERNAL withEd&MeredithCOUGHLIN Meredith and Sifu Ed Coughlin are the de nition of a power couple. They emit rare, deep mastery and connection that they share generously with their community. Meredith, a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a Zen Buddhist and a long time Kung Fu and Qigong disciple, is an example of the “soft” side of martial arts. Her work in healing through touch and releasing the tension of life’s journey is deeper than one may realize from the outside looking in. You need to feel it! The body holds information from our birth to present. Our stories, held in the body, have valuable messages available to us if we have the strength to look and acknowledge them.

According to Mrs. Coughlin, only at the point of complete attention will the true healing begin. She and her husband Ed, also a healer and martial arts master, represent a throwback of empowerment origins. Ed is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Kung Fu master of multiple forms. If you ask Ed, who has studied martial arts for the better part of his life, ghting and healing are one and the same. He tells stories of how the old Chinese

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masters are often doctors, bonesetters and healers.

“Ihadgonethroughtheabyss veryyoung.Ihavebeenon thispathsincethatpoint.”

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“YOUNEEDTO LETTHOSE THINGSCOME UPANDSEE THEMFOR WHATTHEY ARE.ONCEYOU ACKNOWLEDGE THEMTHE HEALING PROCESS BEGINS.”

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“I DO MOST OF MY WORK WITH MY EYES CLOSED. CONTACT IS MY ART . THEY SAY IN CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT BREAK WHAT YOU CANNOT HEAL . AS SOMEONE WHO PRACTICES JIU JITSU, AND OTHER STYLES, I FEEL VERY CONNECTEDTOTHATNOTION.”

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A Photo Journey Through Japan Courtesy of Jungo Endo | @jungoendo

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“That’s Mr. Yuki Nakai, who fought Rickson at Vale Tudo Japan. I asked him to take this photo when I took a private lesson with him at his academy in Tokyo.”

The Journey Never Ends

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“I’m nobody in Jiu Jitsu, but we help a lot of kids.”

`

Leonidas Ruaro @leosurfjitero Leo is an important gure in Costa Rican martial arts and community development.

Offering free Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lessons through his non-pro t, Pura Vida Fighting For Kids, he’s actively building a stronger support system for the youth.

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@Puravida ghtingforkids

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THE SAN FRANCISCO CALi; FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1905.

4

HYDE SCORES A VICTORY IN MEETING DICKENS RELICS SENATE COMMITTEE AIMS ANCIENT BRIBE BLOW AT PRESIDENT. OF DIRECTORS OF EQUITABLE COMPANY WILL BE SOLD MONEY STOLEN

JAPANESE WRESTLER THROWS A PRINCETON FOOTBALL MAN Concern to Be Made a Mutual One but He WillRetain His Position.

Interesting Notes Penned by the Famous Novelist to Be Auctioned in London WHISTLER

ANTI

Dispatch

Alleges Loss of Was Once tho Property of Judas Iscariot

BILLCollector Coin That

the President, order strike authorized Kittredge INInteroceanic the chief executive's authority the

the United States Senate Committee on Senator to prepare a bill curtailing in canal zone. This measure was pre-

at

to

EXHIBITION

Leigh Hunt's House Is Soon to Be Torn Down to Make Room for New Buildings Special

- ADMINISTRATION Canals

WOMAN

to The Call.

IGNORES HOUSE

HOUSE PASSES

THE MANN BILL

——

—

—

Special Dispatch to Th« Call.

NEW YORK, Feb. 18—That ther« had been stolen from him by his housekeeper, whom he accused in court, one of the thirty pieces of silver which wer© paid to Judaa Iscarlot for his betrayal of the Savior, was asserted by Mark Fisher In a West Side court this afternoon. In addition to this coin, |M said, the woman took many others, the total collection being valued at from

BITTER REBUKE

will be sold at auction In London this month. They were written by the author of "Pickwick" to Georgre Cattermole, who illustrated "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge." CatWASHINGTON, Feb. WASHINGTON, Feb. 16—The Mann 16.— Without WASHINGTON. Feb. I«.—The House termole was one of Dickens' favsVite for the to-day entered an emphatic protest illustrators, as well as his close friend. [ waiting for the Mann canal bill to come bill to provide a government against House, canal passed by from the the Senate Committee zone was the House the action of the Senate sugThe letters show what detailed gestions Dickens was in the habit of on Interoceanic Canals authorized Sen- to-day. The bill gives all the right of amending the agricultural appropriamaking regarding the pictures for his |ator Kittredge to prepare a new bill for government of the canal zone to the tion bill so as to eliminate the drawDingley tariff act novels. The following one, written by : the committee and"^ introduce it in the President until the end of the next back feature of the wheat. Both Payn« of New Dickens to Cattermole in 1841, refers to Senate, which was done to-day. The Congress, but provides that the gov- affecting York, the majority leader, and Wila drawing for "Barnaby Rudge": committee has been sittingfor several ernment shall be so exercised as to pro- liams of Mississippi, th« minority Can you do for me by Saturday evening? Iweeks, having before it the Mann bill tect the inhabitants in the free enjoy- leader, urged that the bill bo tent back know the time U short, but Ithink the subject A :as originally reported in the House and will suit you, and Iam greatly pressed. ment of their liberty, prosperity and re- to the Senate. party of rioters (with Hugh and Simon Tapp«rreported on Febru- j the amendments Payne said he did not intend to disligion. It abolishes the Isthmian Canal fli conspicuous among them) in old John Willrt's bar turning: the liquor taps to their own . ary 1. cuss the merits of the Senate amendadvantage s»mashine buttles cutting down thr The Mann bill provides specifically : Commission and places the work of the ment, whether i< was wise or unon casks prnv* of lemons— KlttinK astride , construction of the canal in the hands eating: the !for the repeal of that part of the canal wise. He was loudly applauded by driijkitiKout of the best iiinchbowls smoking sacred pipes, etc., etc. ; act authorizing the appointment of the of the President and such persons groat cheese as both Republicans and Democrats when John Willet. fallen backward in his chair, re- ; Isthmian Canal Commission and fixing he may appoint and employ. It does he asserted that the main question was garding them with a stupid horror, and <iuite : alont* among Utah, with none of the Maypole its duties and powers. This section is j not undertake to determine whether the "whether that clause in the constituur-tomers at his back. It's in your way, and eliminated from the Senate bill and the tion which declares that all bills for you'll do it a, hundred times better than I can entire question is covered in the first canal orshall be constructed as a sea- raising revenue shall originate in the Euggest it to you, I know. a lock-level waterway. section, which extends the present canal j level House Evidently he did; for in another let- j shall be cherished by this House While the bill abolishes the canal 8« one of its privileges." The quester to Oattermole, dated August 19, |act. The bill introduced by Senator ; commission so far as the law Js con- tion, he said, IS4I, Dirkens says: "John Willet's bar IKittredge follows out practically all j cerned, was "whether we Mann i it authorizes the President to will resent any also infringement from any is noble."

Then he outlines another j the remaining provisions of the ibill, but provides also a number of new j retain the commission as a commission source of that clause of the constitu"Barnaby Rudge" picture as follows: or its individual members as consultifeatures. tion."

When Hugh and a small body of the rioters, ing engineers if he shall so desire. , in the secimportant change One is Williams, the minority leader, alluded cut off from the Warren unbeknown to their Authority to condemn 3031 shares of to pals, they forced Into a ramshackle postchaise tion which extends the authority now the action of the Senate "in engagDolly Varden and Emma Haredale, and bore enjoyed by stock conin the Panama for the Railroad now the President in ing a strenuous effort to prevent a real them away with all possible rapidity, one of their company driving and the rest running be- | trol of the canal zone. The Senate bill the hands of private owners is carried supposed attack by the executive or side the ohaisw. climbing up behind, extends this authority until the end of in the bill, and the President is author- a usurpation in the opinion on the top, lighting the way with their torches, I of the ized, when full and complete control of Senate upon its 'function and dignity," \u25a0 etc.. etc. If you un express the women inside the next regular session of Congress, wlthoui sbowtag them— as by a fluttering veil. while the Mann bill provided for an ex- I the railroad is acquired, to operate it and said it was a peculiarly inapproa delicate arm, or so forth appearing at the tension until the end through such persons as he may select priate time for the Senate to attempt of the next Conhalf-cloced window- so much the better. Mr. j in order that the road may be used, Tappertit stands on the steps, which arc partly i gress. "to make a plain, palpably obvious and down. and. hanging on to the window with one Another new feature of the Senate as far as Is necessary, as a part of the aggressive attack upon the dignity of hand and extending the other with great majesty, addresses a few words of encouragement construction work on the canal. bill is as follows: the House." to the driver and attendants.

All income at any time received by the The resolution returning th<- bill from rentals, dividends or othCHANGES ANNOUNCED Cattermole's drawings for "The Old United States as amended to the Senate was adopted Curiosity Shop" drew the highest sort !erwise in respect of any property now posIN FORESTRY SERVICE on a yea and nay vote— 26l to s— those essed or hereafter acquired in connection with of praise from Dickens. He wrote: voting against it being { the canal or railroad works shall be turned Davis and OlmInto and credited to the fund for the con- Secretary Wilson, Now In Control, stead of It i!» impossible for me to tell you how greatly Btruction Minnesota. Adams of Wisconof said canal and works.

I am charmed with those beautiful pictures, in I Sends Letter Announcing Polsin, Marshall of North Dakota and which the whole feeling and thought and exnew sections are added, \>ne beTwo to icy Plnchot. ip rendered to the inp: as follows: pression of the little story Jones of Washington, all Republicans. gratification of my inmost heart; and on which !

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.— Secretary you have lavished those amazing resources of That all laws affecting imports, goods, wares Wilson of the Department of Agriculyours with a power at which I fairly wondered KNOW-IT-ALL JAKE and merchandise and entry of persons Into tlie before them. 1 , I'nited States from foreign countries shall apwhen I eat down yesterday ture has notified Gifford Pinchot, Is shown that politeness Is oft a t.iok them to Mac. straightway, in a cab— and ; ply to articles, goods, wares and merchandise chief of the forestry bureau, of the boomerang.

In next Sunday's comic it would have done you good if you could have ! and persons coming from the canal zone, isth: BBSS and h.*ard them.

You can't think how muß of Panama, and seeking entry into any approval by the President of the act section. moved he was hy the old man in the church, State or Territory of the United States or the transferring the forest reserves from or how proud Iwas to have chosen It before he iDistrict of Columbia.

You arc such a queer felthe care of the Department of the Ins;tw tho drawings.

The other provides for the deposit of terior to low, and hold yourself so much aloof, that I In which said reserves «r» respectively that of the Department of Tory am afraid to say half Iwould say touching my [ not to exceed $1,500,000 with a bank Agriculture, situated. grateful admiration.

So you shall Imagine the i having a fiscal agent on the isthmus of and sets forth in general Sec. 5. That all money received from the any products or the use of any land rest. sale of policy the and will rules that be foliPanama in order that there may be a resources of said forest reserves shall b.

These letters are part of a valuable lowed in the administration of the or covered into the Treasury of tbe United sufficient supply of money to meet the forestry States, of literary and musical relics |necessary act, collection bureau.

The and for a period of flve years from which expenses of the Government.

PRESIDENT AXD VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EQUITABLE ASSURANCE COMthe passage of thU act shall constitute a of the late Julian Marshall. Itincludes makes some important changes in ex- special rAST, WHO SETTLED THEIR DIFFERENCES IN THE DIRECTORS' MEET- ' fuml available, until expended, as the isting conditions, is as follows: ING BEARING ON THE CONTROL. AND POLICY OF THE CONCERN. one letter by Matthew Arnold and two Secretary Agriculture may direct of for the JOHNNY SMART, The Secretary of the Department of Agri- protection, admanistration, improvement and

by Robert Browning, not to mention siunts. proposes to Miss culture shall, from and alter the passage of extension of Federal forest reserve* manuscripts by Handel, Bach, Haydn, Who does this act. execute or cause to be executed all NEW YORK, Feb. 16.--James Secretary W. ing. Friend? of Vice President Hyde Donizetti, Gounod. Spohr, Gluck and Jolly. Nothing doing. In next Sun- laws The announces affecting: public lands heretofore or herethat all Alexander and Jam< s EL Hyde were were disposed to view the outcome as Chopin. One of the Browning letters day's comic section. after reserved under the provisions of section officers of the reserve service transtwenty-four of the act entitled "An act to vic<- presi- a victory for their side, but in other ferred will be subject to the instrucre-elected president and repeal the. timber-culture laws, and for other is addressed to an amateur poet, who report directly to the chief tions and dent respectively of the Equitable Life quarters the result was regarded as a wrote purposes," approved March thinl. eighteen asking his advice about publish- PLANS TO PLACE BMME It is also announced that Assurance Society at the adjourned and ninety-one, and acts supplemental forester. ral compromise, in which the con- ing a volume of verse. One paragraph UPON INNOCENT PERSON hundred to and amendatory thereof, after such lands under an order signed by the Presimeeting of the directors to-day. All tending factions met half way. have been so reserved, excepting such laws a* dent on December 17, 1904, the whole runs: the other officers whose terms had exeurveylng, prospecting, locating ap- forest reserve That Hyde had a majority of the affect the sad to that Evil Scheme Discovered In Connection service is classified and It sounds strange and almost me ptr«4 were re-elected. propriating, entering, relinquishing, reconvey- placed under the civil service directors with him, however, was never I should be imagined of authority In thiE kind, law. ing, certifying, or patenting of any such lands.

Guilty With Pawnbroker of get not a line printed A resolution was adopted recom- in doubt. His election to the chairman- Iwno for years could Sec. 2. That pulp wood or wood pulp The Secretary further states the polbegan half Receiving Stolen Goods. mending that policy holders be given ship of the executive and finance com- except at my own expense, and I manufactured from timber in the district of icy of the department will be for the a century ago. or more.

Alaska may be exported therefrom. protection of YORK, permanent Edward M. the directors, right regarded th" to vote for NEW Feb. 16. resources and a mitices was as significant in Sec. 3. That forest supervisors and rangers KIPLIXG AND FAMILY. of the reserve and "that the wood, Harlam, one of the wealthiest pawn- shall committee which includes President this connection. practicable, from be selected, when water and forage thereof shall be One of Rudyard Kipling's fellow pas- brokers In the city, has pleaded guilty qualified citizens of the States or Territories To-day's solution of the Alexander and Vice President Hyde society's and wwely conserved used for the voyage reserves, to the to an indictment charging hinf with in which the said respectively, are was* appointed to carry out this step, troubles was largely due, it is under- sengers on his recent situated. benefit of the homebuilder first of being a receiver of stolen goods. He Pec. 4. That rights of way for the con- all." which is practically the policy of mu- stood, to the conciliatory methods em- Cape says of the novelist: every and maintenance of dams, reservoirs, Kipling made a, delightful impress on tualization advocated by President ployed by Senator Depew and Jacob was remanded to prison to await sen- structionplants, He concludes his letter by saying ditches, flumes, pipes, tunnels, water on board. He was cheery and courteous, Alexander.

H. Schiff. Contrary to report, Schiff one He tence. and canals, within and across the forest re- that questions of conflicting interests and not at all averse to conversation. of the United States, are hereby grant- must be decided on the principle of The results outlined were reached had not arrayed himself on either side didn't display a great deal of energy, and he Affidavits are said to be in posses- serves good to the greatest number to citizens and corporations of the I'nited greatest avoided moet of the games played on sffr a protracted session, which was and was among those who favored obviously District Attorney showing ed ship, though once or twice he took a hand at sion of the States for municipal or mining purposes", and in the long run and that the adminismarked at times by considerable feel- mutualization. quoits witlf Mrs. Kipling. Generally he was that some person had offered to pay for the purposes of the milling and reduction tration of each reserve is to be left Ilanking the deck, talking or sitting quietly two city detectives $10,000 each and of ores, during the period of their beneficial very largely in the hands of the local use, under such rules and regulations as may reading.

Sometimes he wrote in the smokeby the Secretary of the Interior officers under the eye of thoroughly room. He smoked pipes and cigarettes and another man $5000 if they would ar- be prescribed which would have and subject to the laws of the State or Terri- trained and competent inspectors. never played cards, though he admitted cas- range evidence MEXICANCHILDREN SAID LIVELY YEAR ALONG ually on one occasion that he had "heard of an innocent TO BE IV INDIAN' SCHOOLS he was seen playing shifted the case toward EUREKA'S WATER FRONT bridge." One niomlng with one of the new pneumatic toy motor cars person, an ignorant foreigner having ADVERTISEMENTS. and evidently extracting a good deal of been selected.

In the latter's rooms diked States Agent Visits Points In Report of Harbor Commissioners amusement from the manipulation of its steerShows That Great Deal of Busiit was proposed to place a quantity ing apparatus.

Southwest to Make Investisilk, figures whole his chief car* seemed to But on the of stolen ness Was Done. some of which gation. center on his wife and children, and when he EUREKA, Feb. 16.— The official re- \u25a0was not with the former he could generally in the case.

EL PAPO. Texas. Feb. 16. H. B. port be found playing with the latter, chatting of the Board of Harbor CommisPears, agent for the United thoroughly entering and gaily with them States into ANNOUNCEMENT MADE enjoyment. On Christmas day he joined Indian Bureau. Is here investigating sioners for the Dort of Eureka for the tbelr vigorously in a game of "follow my leader," OF ROYAL ENGAGEMENT the report that Mexican children have year ending December 31, 1904, shows and taking he was observed on one occasiondinner that during period that table his children there were Ice cream from the to been sent to the Government Indian shipped 272,000,000 feet of In their cabins. Miss Klsie Kipling, aged 8. is Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to •chool from various parts of year the lumber, from there the elder and her brother John Is a 6,000,000 pounds of dairy younger.

Wed a Niece of the German country on false affidavits that they They are both pretty good children, products, 12.000.000 pounds livestock, with good features, a happy and judicious Empress. \u25a0were of one-fourth Indian blood. of mother and father. blend 6,000,000 pounds of fruit, 3,000,000 COBURG, Feb. 16. The betrothal It is claimed that hundreds of chilCosmo Hamilton, known in America is announced of the Duke of Saxedren have been rejected recently from pounds of grain, 4,000,000 pounds of chiefly by means of his entertaining the Oklahoma school for this reason, farm vegetables and 1,000,000 pounds magazine stories, is having a run of Coburg and Gotha to the Princess Victoria, eldest daughter of Duke while others, it Is stated, are to be of high-grade wool. popularity over here at present.

He By greater far part of Eureka's the found in all the Indian schools. has just been made editor of that staid Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonlarge trade is with San Francisco. derburg-Glucksburg.

The Princess is fashionable unillustrated weekly, Of the vessels entering the port dur- and Resigns From Naval Service.

"The World;" his musical comedy, a niece of the German Empress, while WASHINGTON, Feb. 16. Passed ing the year 702 were steamships and "The Catch of the Season," is having the bridegroom-elect is a nephew of Assistant Paymaster G. R. Madden has 120 sailing vessels (tonnage 395,000), a remarkably successful run; he has King Edward of England.

701 steamships and 134 sailing tendered his resignation from the and more orders for plays than he could vessels cleared therefrom (tonnage naval service. Ithas been considered turn out even if he w,ere two or three authorities, 396,625.)

Of these 685 were frbm Cosmo

by Secretary who rarely make such a Hamiltons; and he has Morton and will probfinthe San Francisco and 676 bound there- ished a society novel entitled Just ably be accepted. Madden entered the "DukVs concession the "Carlyle" from Corporation Glasgow, and service in 1902, being appointed from for. published Son," which is to be imme- the "Sarasate"Gallery in Carnegie GalEXTRA PAIR OF PANTS WITH ANY SUIT receipts port The total the of were diately. It deals with the fashionable from the California. r $2,030,001.

OR OVERCOAT MADE TO ORDER FOR The excess of exports business of making a living out of lery, Pittsburg. Most of the gems of Imports for the year was $2,627 over the magnificent collection of Whistler OMAHA. Feb. 16.—Thre« coaches on th« cheating at bridge. north-boond Missouri Pacific passenger train 293. etchings owned by Howard Mansfield IN MEMORY OF WHISTLER. No. 71 were overturned near Avoca to-day of New York will also be on view. as the result of a broken rail. Fireman RolThe coming Whistler Memorial Kxlins was killed, D. I. Dean (engineer). Miss JAPANESE WRESTLER THROWS LANDMARK DOOMED. Nellie Johnson and Express Messenger Foster A PRINCETON FOOTBALL MAN hibilJon In London, which will open all ef Syracuse. Neb., were seriously hurt and Still another of London's landmarks on Washington's Birthday, promises to Fcver&l passengers were bruised.

College Students Given an Exhibition be an uncommonly complete and rep- is doomed, and this time one wellof Jiu-jitsu by Exresentative collection of the American known to Americans Leigh Hunt's All new and up-to-date goods to select from. TWO PAIRS ADV^RTISEMEXTS. artist's work in every style. Prac- house in. Kensington. The house, which perts. of Pants go with every coat and vest.

PRINCETON, N. J., Feb. 16. Pro- tically every Whistler picture of note stands in Edwarries Square, is to be 0 The last of our GREAT CLEARING SALE—Don't miss this fessors T. Tornita and Y. Maeda of will be on view, excepting the portrait torn down to make room for a proposed Campbell, building.

Lady Archibald flat lived Leigh of with Here Hunt Tokio gave an exhibition of Jiu-jitsu big sale. This week, remember, any Suit or Overcoat in our which the trustees of the Philadelphia for eleven years, which were the most % Are very often attributed to biliousness, before 1000 Princeton students toare not allowed by law to prosperous, the most industrious, and house MADE TO ORDER for ::::::::: and the stomach is treated to cathartics. day. Professor Tornita is said .to Museum That's wrong:.

1840, part.

The International Society of the most happy of his life. Up to Faint spells are often accompanied by have Instructed President Roosevelt Sculptors, Painters Graveurs, Square, anl when he moved to Edwardes biliousness, but you will also ' notice in the new manly art. organizing this exhibition, and Hunt lived at No. 4 Upper Cheyne Row shortness of breath, asthmatic breathMaeda called upon the students for which is Ing, oppressed feeling in chest, weak or of which Whistler was the first presi- in Chelsea, where he had Carlyle as his hungry spells, which are all early syxnp-. volunteers to wrestle with him, and dent, greatly the generous near neighbor and friend, and in these appreciates Toms of heart weakness.

B. Tooker. a football player and Don't make the mistake of treating the champion wrestler, treatment which it has received from days the author of "Abou Ben Adhem" stepped forth. owners stomach when the heart Is the source of He was quickly of the artist's works the was harassed constantly bji money world thrown. Feagles, the over Americas in particular. the trouble.

WITH AN EXTRA PAIR OF PANTS * troubles. gymnastic instructor, then took a picture which will have Perhaps change the after his Soon of residence, turn. By a quick attack he put the TWO STORES IN THIS SALE ONLY. however, Hunt's annoyances were Japanese on his back, but the Prince- the greatest Interest for connoisseurs that known as "The Large brought to an end by the grant to him man soon lost the advantage and will beGirl," ton strengths* Will the nerves and. muscles White owned by Whittemore of of a pension of $1000 a year from the of tlie heart.* and the fainting spells.* to- was easily downed.

New Haven. This is the picture which CivilList and the receipt of an annuity gether with all other heart - troubles, jwilt painted by Whistler in the early of $600 from Shelley's son. "A heaven was disappear. _^ Checks Marriage After Divorce. was very low with | "Four years ago I sixties and rejected at the Salon in fall," he called it, "one of the wishes HELENA, Mont., Feb. heart trouble, could hardly walk. One 16. The 1863, bnt later shown In the Salon dcs of my beloved friend, Shelley."

At the had a fainting spell, and thought IHouse this afternoon passed day I Repre- Refuses side by side with work by Edwardes Square house, Hunt did most began using Dr. would die. Soon after I taking three !sentative Bennett's bill preventing the Manet, Fantin Latour and others. It of his best work, including "Palfrey," Miles' Heart and 1842 TULARE STREET, FRESNO, CAL. ' Cure, and after suit, a j defendant in divorce feel that I bottles I am cured." where un- went to the United States soon after. the "Jar of Honey," the "Old Court EFOTE CLOUGH. ' -Ellsworth " Falls. j faithfulness is the charge, from re- Other famous works of Whistler at the Suburb," , OPEN SATURDAY EVENING UNTIL 10. the "Stories From the Italian Maine. marrying: within five years, and then exhibition will be "The Artist's Poets," much of his autobiography, The flret bettlt willbenefit. Ifnet, the ij only »n proof of rood behavior. ftrofgist will return your money.

Mother"—loaned by the Luxembourg anti a good deal of miscellaneous work.

CANAL MEASURE

TO THE SENATE

$50,000

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PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 16, 1905 — Professors T. Tomita and Y. Maeda of Tokio gave an exhibition of Jiu Jitsu before 1000 Princeton students today.

Professor Tomita is said to have instructed President Roosevelt in the new manly art. s

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BABY BIX>WX TWENTY FEET BtT ESCAPES UNINJURED Hurled Through Air by Explosion, but Land* Safely in Its •

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Carriage.

DES MOINES, lowa, F>b. I«.— By the explosion of a soft coal range today the 14-months-old baby of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dale was blown out of the high rhair in which it was sitting and hurled twenty feet Into an

adjoining room, landing squarely in The mother was the baby carriage. attending to her work in the kitchen while the child was eating its break-

fast. When the woman rallied from the shock of the terrific explosion she ran for the chiM and found it in tbfl baby carriage, where It was screaming in a high key, its clothing covered with dust and soot. The kltch«n was a wreck.

When the physicians announce^ that the child was not injured the mother fainted.

SALE OF THE METHODIST PROPERTY NOT CANCEL KI>

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to $60,000.

Fisher is a member of the Automobile Exchange. He has been collecting rare coins for years. The silver piece which is supposed to havo passed through the hands of the traitor Judas was the star of his collection. He was offered $22,000 for it by the Rothschilds In London last summer, he says. woman, Wallmer, Margaret The whom he had employed only a few days ago. disappeared shortly after Fisher missed his box of coins. Detectives arrested the woman, who denied the theft. She was held and will remain in custody until her trunks are brought back from Greenwich, Conn.

The box. according to Fisher, contained also many other valuable coins, two of which are more than $3000 years old.

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ARRESTED

Claims Domestic Pilfered Piece of Siher for Which He Was Offered $22,000

sented yesterday, simultaneously with the passage by the House of the Mann bill, embodying the President's views. The House yesterday, Republicans and Democrats concurring, bitterly rebuked the Senate for exceeding its rights in amending the agricultural appropriation bill.

LONDON, Feb. 16.— Some of the most genuinely interesting letters of Charles Dickens in existence at the present time

IS

-

Transaction Affecting San Francisco Book Concern Remains as It Was. NEW YORK, Feb. 15.—Dr. Main of the Methodist Book Concern to-day:

The sale of cur San Francisco property to Louis Friedman has not been canceled, as reported in San Francisco.

If Mr. Friedman desires to relinquish his purchase he will be allowed to do so, but under no circumstances pay bonus.

The title la clear ana will we a everything has been regular. We do not Believe that Mr. Friedman will desire to give up his purchase, but if he should so de9l?> the property will be transferred to our Cl3I ctnnati house at the same prica Mr. Friedman has agreed

to pay.

LIBRARIES COST CARNEGIE THE SUM OP 559.000.000 Steel King Has Provided for Total of Twelve Hundred of Them.

NEW YORK, Feb. I«.—Since Andrew Carnegie decided that he would die poor he has given more than $39.000,000 for libraries, there being no less than 12»0 of these in various parts of the United States, Canada and England.

These figures were comCarnagie's secrepiled by Betram. tary, who spent thirty days looking up

the statistics.

NEW YORK. Feb. IS.—Bishop McUnn of been very ill for some time,

Chicago, who ha« is reported worse.

TAILORS] PLAID SCOTCH Maeda called upon students for i THREE DAYS' EXTRA SPECIAL SALE S volunteers to wrestle with him, B. I IT^ ~"!

FRIDAY and SATURDAY MONDAY I • Feb. 18th Feb. — Jj^: Tooker, a football player andFREE— champion 1 FREE-^FREE. f%f !

• !rjL%&L^& • wrestler, stepped- forth. He was quickly iImB!$81&$\ Mors $15.00 No Less 1 INo thrown. Feagles, the gymnastic — • • • • \\jU^tflS^& Faint Spells instructor, then took a turn.

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JAPAN & By: Roberto Sant Anna

Translated By: Rose Gracie | @rosegracie

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BRAZIL Roberto Sant Anna is the rst Brazilian to reach the 6th Dan in Shotokan Karate through the IKA and WTKO, with over 40 years dedicated to the art. He is also an avid BJJ practitioner and writer.

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We will start by going back a bit in history. After the end of the Samurai era, around

and with the

ascendancy of Emperor Meiji in Japan, the use of the sword was prohibited; which up to that point was the greatest symbol of Bushido (the warrior's way). With that decision, the Samurai class, which had always acted as the defense arm of any territory, didn't see another option but to open dojos and teach their arts, but in a slightly different way than before. They forbid death duels and dojo yaburi (challenges) that were common up to that point as a way to show the ef ciency of any martial art style over another within a ght. Years later, here in Brazil, this strategy was also used as a catchy advertisement for new students, as we will see as follows.

The Meiji dynasty organized the practice of martial arts as a form of education, introducing them into elementary, middle and high schools and implementing the suf x ‘do’ instead of the old ‘jutsu’ (technique).

‘Do’ means path and ‘Jutsu’ had a connotation only of the practical part of the technique, without the concern with educational formation. All martial arts that were using ‘jutsu,’ started to use ‘do’ in their names.

Aiki Jutsu became Aikido, Ju Jutsu became Judo, Karate Jutsu became Karate-do and so on. As Japan, through the Meiji era, becomes a peaceful country without wars there would be no reason for bloody practices among its people.

At around

, a Japanese immigration colony arrived in our country, Brazil. The rst round of Japanese

immigrants came with the objective of implementing agriculture here; since they had the knowledge and far more superior technology to ours. Amongst these people was Mitsuyo Maeda or Esai Maeda, a ’ ” Japanese man, known in Japan as the man with

victories in Kodokan Judo. The Kodokan was very famous in

Japan, due to the masterful work of Master Jigoro Kano, a former practitioner of two styles of Ju Jutsu, Tenshin Shinyo and Daito Ryu. He established new training rules, developed the kimono (gi), Judogi, as mandatory attire for the practice and established guidelines for the students that could develop themselves in an intelligent and systematic way. It must be stated here that Master Kano was a man of noble virtues. He spoke

different languages, and because of that, he was the rst Japanese man to work for the International

Olympic Committee. Returning to Brazil, Mitsuyo Maeda, in recognition and gratitude for the help he received from the Patriarch of the Gracie Family, Mr. Gastão Gracie, agrees to teach the former Kano Jiu Jitsu (Judo’s predecessor) to his children, particularly to Carlos Gracie the eldest son.

Over time Judo becomes a sport, losing its essence of self defense, while the Gracie’s Jiu Jitsu preserves the entire arsenal of the martial art; distancing themselves further apart from one another. Knowing the entire history of the Niponica Art, the Gracie’s adopt a way of attracting students, the famous Gracie Challenge calling practitioners of all styles of martial arts that existed here for closed duels, winning the vast majority of them, and creating the reputation of invincibility here in Brazil.

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I started my martial arts training in Judo in

and a year later I moved to Karate-do. It better adapted to my

long biotype and natural speed that I always had. My emphasis on Karate-do was always to learn a self defense martial art rst, then competing when necessary. However, in competition Karate-do, striking your opponent is forbidden. You must stop the movement within centimeters of distance from your opponent's anatomy, under penalty of causing serious bruises. This makes Karate a very subjective sport and majority of the time it brings a false sense of security; since in real combat, you will have to really strike your opponent if you want to come out of a ght alive. Your brain becomes accustomed to always stopping the strike. Inside the dojo things are quite different, there we have moderate contact, to get as close as possible to the reality of combat.

Karate practitioners performing katas in Okinawa, Japan.

“Jiu Jitsu wins again.

The four Gracie brothers, professors at the

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Academia de Jiu Jitsu.”

In

I was introduced to Gracie Jiu Jitsu through George Gracie, who came to teach a seminar to the

Military Police in my city. Totally focused on self defense, I fell in love with the art. In

’, with the launch

of the basic GJJ video series, I was able to train techniques with my Karate students in my dojo. I went to the United States in

and met Royce and Rorion Gracie. I did a few seminars and adopted GJJ within

my classes, as a complement to Karate-do. Since then, I have been teaching in several countries around the world, such as South Africa, Greece, Australia and nowadays in my new dojo, with a total structure to practice the correct Japanese Budo. Maybe I was one of the rst professional Karatekas in Brazil to adopt GJJ in Karate; meaning, in order to graduate in Karate our students have to show basic ground knowledge as well.

As an in-depth student of Japanese budo, I recognize the courage Helio Gracie had in facing the great Japanese masters; it made all the difference in the movement of GJJ’s growth worldwide. From the start I followed the herculean work of Mr. Rorion Gracie in spreading the art in Uncle Sam’s land. From the classes at home in his garage, the Playboy article “The Most Powerful Man on the Planet,” the Gracie Challenge and eventually the creation of the UFC. He showed the world courage and the most perfect of techniques suited to a real ght. If citizens want to learn to defend themselves, in a short period of time, there isn’t another martial art that can provide this besides Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The method developed by the Gracie family is sensational, and it truly prepares any individual for the job. No wonder that GJJ has been sought after for a long time by police of cers, politicians, executives and people connected with the public safety and public security of ces. I can attest that even I, a karate-do practitioner, have faced some challenging situations - mainly in seminars that I gave in different countries and thanks to the studies and practice of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, I did well in every situation.

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“Brazilians in general, have always been very courageous and lovers of

fighting.”

I have faced Karate world champions, in several countries, who at rst wouldn’t understand how I was able to take the strongest ones to the ground and then submit them. Many of my Karate friends still don’t understand the necessity of complementing their training with the unique self defense techniques used in Jiu Jitsu. They think that with Karate alone they can get away from any situation. As much as I would like to maintain that they are wrong, the lack of humility in accepting it leaves them blind. Karate-do is a martial art that in its essence seeks the TODOME WAZA (unique technique), that is, Karate practitioners believe that a single strike would end the combat if executed correctly. Helio Gracie showed the world that this does not exist and several members of the Gracie Family con rmed this. The Todome Waza is important as a spiritual tool during practice. Focused mind in doing the technique correctly at rst, not admitting mistakes. But reality presents itself differently. Only one in ten situations would end using this principle. This is exactly what gives GJJ the technical superiority as a Martial Art, a fact that is still being argued till this day by other martial artists. Pure math. But let’s leave that alone….

I am grateful every single day of my life for getting to know the magni cent martial art of GJJ and of having the opportunity to aggregate it to my Karate-do. I even personally trained with Grandmaster Helio Gracie in Itaipava (Rio de Janeiro) a bit before his passing. He treated me very kindly, played games with me, and showed himself to be a true BRAZILIAN SAMURAI. Gambate Kudasai.

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OLD SCHOOL & NEW SCHOOL With Sensei Akamine-San Translation by: Max Masuzawa

Sensei Akamine-San is the head master of a Kodokan Affiliate Dojo in Tokyo, Japan. A humble and well respected member of the Judo Community, he stands as a powerful reference for the evolution of the sport and a Budo lifestyle.

I started training Judo in the southern part of Tokyo, Kyushu, in my high school.

I moved to Tokyo after graduation and began training at the Kodokan after work. Training was every day from - pm. I would train basically every day.

After years of training I was chosen to be the team leader for the white and red team matches. After those competition days I was asked by the senior practitioner at the time to become a teacher at the Chiyoda Budokan, which is where I teach till this day.

I received my th degree on my black belt at the age of

. It has been

years since I began teaching Judo

at this location.

Most of my students are working folks. On average we have

students in a class, which is more than the

Kodokan often has in a single class. This school has grown primarily through word of mouth.

When I teach, my focus is to keep everyone safe, because my students are mostly ordinary working folks, they can not afford to get hurt.

I would like to expand the number of classes but because this is a community center it is a more bureaucratic system, making it dif cult to have more than a few classes per week.

Nowadays the moral standards are different from what I used to learn and train. Because students are more of a modern working class, they le more complaints if something is not desirable to them. Today they are

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more naive to the circumstances of a traditional dojo.

Backintheday, therewasno suchthingas, “I’mtired.”

The way we were taught, the dojo encompasses the standards of respect and dignity, being fair and polite were considered core to the philosophy.

Back in the day, there was no such thing as “I’m tired,” you couldn’t even say that. You needed to just keep up with everyone to get better. Now a days it’s quite common. I know now that you can’t push everyone to their limits if you want to have more students.

At this point, I want my students to reach a higher level by staying committed to practice over a longer period of time, rather than pushing their limits in each class.

I have been training for over 60 years and I am still learning. I am still not complete in my training. I have not arrived at any destination.

- Sensei Akamine-San

⽇本 74

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RUSSIAN

SYSTEMA

MEMORY TENSION & STRIKING By: Martin Wheeler @wheelersystema

Martin Wheeler is a Systema master with decades of experience training high-level military and law enforcement personnel. He is also a passionate screenwriter and has published many articles on the subject of Systema and martial arts more broadly. Mr. Wheeler would consider his style of “fighting” more of a complete response framework than a system of movement for self defense. It is his belief that by applying the style of Systema one can understand the deepest levels of opposition and force.

From Left to Right: Martin Wheeler, Mikhail Ryabko and Vladimir Vasiliev.

I know when I rst started training with Vladimir [Vasiliev] I was overwhelmed by the fact that I seemed to be giving away such huge swathes of mental and physical information about myself, that I felt practically naked in front of the man. If I moved - he countered, if I prepared to strike - he struck. If I did land a shot it was all but laughed off; and when I was hit, just how devastating the effect of the strikes were (and are). But for all my efforts, eventually through soft training, gentle coaxing and a monumental amount of patience on Vladimir’s behalf, even the most dyedin-the-wool martial artist will

nally get the point that far more is going on here than the simple or even

sophisticated techniques employed by most

ghting systems. Now I am often assailed by the same questions at

seminars and training sessions that I asked of him- mainly how do you see the tension and make use of it?

We are born and we eventually die, an over simpli cation of life I know, but the only framework that I have to work in. In between those events are our lives and everything we learn, love, hate and achieve. Every event from suckling a breast, to being punched for the rst time, to driving a car and taking our second-to-last breath are irrevocably writ into physiology, psychology and movement; and in turn can be read by a practiced eye (I use eye in the metaphorical as well as the physical sense here). The reason your own eyes are scanning these words the way they are, the way you are sitting to read this, the way your hand is moving to either scroll down further or shut this crap off and ip to Youtube has been learned by your body through a series of trials and errors which allow you to exist in your environment in the most comfortable way possible.

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Nobody does anything to be uncomfortable, no one intentionally walks awkwardly, intentionally throws a ball poorly (if they are genuine in their purpose to do it well), or ghts you in a way which is uncomfortable to the individuals mechanics or psyche. Even though these actions may be born out of stressful situations, no one intentionally makes themselves more uncoordinated or clumsy than they naturally are or have trained themselves to be. They will work in the most ef cient way that their memory, subconscious or conscious, and mechanical physiology allows for. The inevitable tension created by the muscles and tendons that must

re to coordinate

these movements are linked to the memories and experiences of our life, whether those experiences have been good or bad, right, wrong or indifferent. When someone moves they are showing you far more than just their movement. The body is essentially a book of the mind, it is the physical manifestation of the individual’s whole life experience. When someone moves they are showing you their life, all of it up till that point. The tension points that you are attempting to seek and feel through the soft work employed in Systema training could be considered as layer upon layer of memory bound experiences that are literally holding the person up; not only physically but also mentally and spiritually stable - allowing them to perceive the world and their spatial awareness in it and not independent of their experience of it. This is why when striking, the effect of (positive) striking can have a far more devastating effect on the receiver than the usual method of blunt force hitting employed in many martial systems.

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Not that blunt force hitting doesn’t have its merits and effectiveness, ask any poor sucker-punched sap or highly trained MMA

ghter waking up from the effects of a well placed shot, but that is not what I am attempting to

unravel here. Systema striking should at its most fundamental function be a deep level of touching. Essentially, no different from the lightest level of contact employed by the ngertips, soft but deep enough to release the memories bound in the movement at a subconscious level. At that point we have literally invested ourselves at that moment. I think back to the ghts I have been in “for real’ or ‘training’, the ones I have won and the ones I have lost, each its own unique and intimate learning experience and each a moment I would swap for no other in my life. However, as I look back on them for all their unique components there was always the commonality of having someone to ght.

No matter who the opponent, from some ‘dude’ to various top level professionals in multiple arenas, they always gave me someone to

ght. The more and the harder they hit me, threw me, choked me. The list goes on… the

greater my desire to defeat them in some way, if I could. The harder they came, the more navigation points they gave me to direct my will at. Give me someone to ght, whether I win or lose, I will ght them. I’m pretty sure many reading this will have shared this feeling at some point. I then think back to the times in my life when I have been reduced to a quivering husk of a man unable to even stand on the legs right under me, for whatever personal reasons that I am not prepared to go into at this time, suf ce to say I am also pretty sure that most of us have experienced the same emotions. For example, the loss of a loved one, the thought of a desolating event befalling us, the apprehension of news we know we are simply not prepared to handle at this very moment in our lives, etc. My point being that often the only things that we cannot face are those locked deep inside of us, those things that take us out of our level of comfort and force us to confront our greatest and darkest fears of the unknown, and until competently guided, the unknowable. That is, to my mind, one of the reasons why the strikes work so effectively.

Skillful, intuitive placement of deep level strikes touches and releases untended memories and experiences into the individual - giving the ‘opponent’ no one to ght other than themselves. This creates an almost insurmountable wall for them to climb, a ailing sense of loss as the familiar navigation points of perception and experience are skewed, if not totally removed. Strangely enough this is also the healthiest thing that can happen to the person being struck if they are indeed being struck by someone with skill and positive intention. As those fearful memories and experiences are expunged and faced and replaced by a positive, healthy and ultimately survivable experience.

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“Often the only things that we cannot face are those locked deep inside of us.”

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A path of martial arts and traditional craftsmanship With Jason Roebig | @jroebig What was your rst introduction to the martial arts?

As a young kid I was fascinated in Martial Arts. I was always drawn to it and I can’t even remember why. I remember watching TV one afternoon and this cartoon came on, I saw this dog jumping out of a ling cabinet which appeared to be his actual of ce. He was dressed in a Karate uniform and I was like, “wow, how cool!” The dog was playing the role of a cop and the cartoon was called Hong Kong Phooey. I was very young and only saw a couple of episodes before it disappeared from television but that was % the start of me wanting more. Of course, like most people of my generation, Bruce Lee was the rst, real-life in uence and the driving force behind my love of martial Arts.

What styles of martial arts have you studied?

I came from a very small country town so it was very dif cult to nd a martial arts school, the only thing that was available there was Taekwondo, Karate and Judo. My Mum actually studied Judo before I did. I don’t think it was her thing so

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she didn’t last too long. We were pretty poor and as much as I begged at the time we just couldn’t afford for me to go to class. I used to run from soccer training to the local hall up the road and just watch the classes as often as I could. I had to keep an eye on the time so as to get back to the soccer eld in time for pick up. Not exactly proud of it now, but on occasions I would steal some coins from the piggy bank that sat next to our phone in the lounge room, just to be able to get to class. fi

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CONSISTENCY > PERFECTION I would nd friends at school that did martial arts and we would go down to the oval at lunchtime and practice. I would show him what I learned in Taekwondo and he would teach me what he learned in Judo. It was the favorite part of my day, everyday.

I went to a strict boys school called Christian Brothers College and we would get into big trouble if we fought. The rst bully in my life was my year teacher. He was a big guy and really mean and he would smash my hands with a thick leather strap every morning if I got a word wrong in our morning spelling test. He called the strap Freddy and he used to house it in a leather box that had a velvet interior. I swore that I would not accept this treatment as I got older, so my drive to defend myself got even stronger.

We had a school reunion about years ago and I traveled four hours to attend. My plan was to confront him about what he did to me and then beat the fuck out of him. As it turned out, he didn’t come so I was pissed off. Probably for the better because I’d be in jail for sure. Ha ha! So in order it would be Taekwondo, Judo, a little Karate but only with friends, Traditional Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Ninjutsu, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido and Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

My introduction to Gracie Jiu Jitsu was when I was running a training academy with a team of security in Surfers Paradise. At the time I was bouncing in the clubs and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt was in town and teaching at the university he was attending. At that time there were no BJJ academies on the Gold Coast, so he was almost like royalty in town. I was introduced to him on the door of the club and I invited him to come to one of our sessions. At the time my Newaza skills (ground work) was made up of Ko Ryu Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. At the end of the class I rolled with him and held my own pretty well but eventually he tapped me with an arm bar. He was smaller than me but I was impressed with his skill. Not long after I traveled to Japan, my girlfriend (we later married) was South African and she could no longer extend her visa so we moved to Japan. I was only doing traditional Japanese arts, primarily the Aiki Arts and Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido under Professor Glen Stockwell, a th degree Black Belt at the time and student of Yasuyoshi Kimura-Sensei of Osaka’s Meishinkan. A very dear Japanese friend of mine who was my student and

Jason performing an opening ceremony before the 2001 All Japan Championships.

sur ng buddy in Australia called me and said I was to meet one of his Judo friends in Shibuya and he was going to take me to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy in Tokyo. The academy was called Axis Jiu-Jitsu and the head coach and owner was a brown belt under Rickson Gracie.

His name was Takamasa Watanabe and he was, and still is, an amazing teacher. He would, and still does, teach the class in

languages

seamlessly, swapping between Japanese, Portuguese and English. I’m pretty sure I’m still to this day one of Taka’s biggest fans. We are now of course good friends and I still visit him every year to train. I will never forget my rst training session. I was rolling with everyone and at the time as a white belt I used to roll hard and rough. I found out later that Taka had given the nod to his best student at the time, Cristiano Kamanishi (a

kg

year old purple belt). I was

at the time. I’m pretty sure Cris won the worlds that year or the next. Back

then, at purple belt, he was winning everything and was on the podium beating Cyborg and Andre Galvao. That night Cristiano wiped the oor with me. I just couldn’t believe the skill he had. I mean I literally had nothing for this guy. The head like a movie on repeat of what had just happened. The following day at

min ride home I ran through my

am I was back at Axis signing up.

What do you think was missing from BJJ culture that you felt in more traditional styles you had practiced?

The thing that struck me the most coming from very strict Japanese samurai arts and into a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy was a lack of etiquette. I don’t mean this in a bad way. BJJ mat culture was very relaxed and friendly and that is something that I really enjoyed away from the seriousness of the traditional samurai arts. In the traditional styles there is a code of conduct; you didn’t dare step out of line.

However, it was also a very spiritual way of training. The Japanese masters are deep thinkers and full of theory and philosophy. Japanese combative arts are steeped in history, so it truly is an 'art form’, not just training the body on the mat but training the mind off the mat as well. I literally lived and breathed it and I didn’t even have to try. It was just a part of my make up, a true passion that I just loved. For me

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What was your introduction to Gracie Jiu Jitsu?

What was the story of when you got your black belt in Jiu Jitsu? Was it a surprise? How did you feel?

It de nitely was a surprise. I knew it was coming at some stage because I’d been a brown belt for

years. The

Rickson Gracie

Cup was coming up so I had tee’d up with Kron to go over and train with him in LA in preparation. He was in competition as well so I did

weeks of prep at the academy before rst ying home and then meeting Kron in Japan a week later in Tokyo.

I had just nished watching Kron win the semi- nals across the mat from me when I walked onto the mat for the nals of my division.

I had torn the meniscus in my right knee in the match before so my performance wasn’t great in the nals and unfortunately the match went to my opponent via a refs decision. However as I walked off the mat Kron was at the sideline taking his belt off. As I walked up to him he told me to “take that old thing off”. My brown belt was almost white. He proceeded to tie his black belt around my waist and congratulated me. He then said “ok, now give it back to me I have to ght in the nals now…” Ha ha! After he won he called me over with Rickson and Taka present and gave me the black belt of cially. It was a great day. Taka also later awarded me back at the academy as well. So I was super stoked to be recognized by Taka also.

What is the meaning of self defense to you?

To be honest….anything that actually works. I’ve seen lots of altercations when I was at school, especially at the school bus stop. There were always little gangs from other schools waiting around for their bus to arrive and if they got wind of anyone that was considered a tough guy it was on. Martial arts was popular so you’d always see lots of different engagements and half the time it just didn’t work.

Working as a bouncer in the clubs during my

’s also saw heaps of action. Back then kickboxing was really popular, so too was Karate,

and Taekwondo. When shit hit the fan inside the club you really saw a lot of the effectiveness go out the door.

Kron Gracie and Jason.

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How did you begin to understand and appreciate Japanese architecture?

What principles, if any, did you carry into your

From a young age, actually. I used to go to the school library and

Martial arts and the traditional Japanese arts go hand-in-hand.

take out books on Japan, the samurai and books on Japan’s

Anyone that has ever had the privilege of watching a Japanese

history. That’s when I read about the Japanese carpenters

craftsman work their skill set will see that the tools are just an

specializing in joinery. I was amazed that they could build these

extension of their hands. What is most amazing is that there is a

incredible structures without the use of bolts and nails. The fact

speciality for every single part of a whole product. It’s something

that they could build a temple and it last hundreds of years then

that is somewhat absent in modern craftsmanship and maybe it

take it down and relocate it amazed me. You can’t do that in

has to do with the many different elements of the individual

western construction because of the use of metal straps, nails

piece. For example, in the making of a Japanese katana, it will

and bolts etc.

pass through at least

What made you begin to take that on as an occupation?

My father was a builder and his dad was a mechanic so working with our hands ran in the family. My father left carpentry when he was in his early

’s, to become a manual arts teacher.

Sometimes he would take me with him on the weekends to his school manual arts room with all the tools and equipment and

architecture from martial arts, or vice versa?

completing the

sets of master craftsmen before

nal product.

Each one of these hands is a

master of some part of the sword's makeup. The blade itself is crafted

rst before handing it off to the polisher. Metalwork

masters then craft the Tsuba (Sword Guard) and Seppa (the washers that absorb the impact as the sword makes contact with the target). It will pass on to the Saya master (woodworking for the creation of the scabbard) and so on.

give me little things to do. I was always tinkering around with things growing up, in many ways I was pretty much self taught. I

What would you say the structures you built meant in

had studied Japanese cultural arts for

years and while on any

terms of the spiritual or natural bene ts to humans

trip to Japan whether it be for

months or two years - I

who inhabit those spaces?

weeks,

would spend my free time between training sessions at the dojo,

Whether it be a Washitsu (traditional Japanese tatami room) or a

walking the streets of Japan and watching craftsmen at work. My

zen garden, it is mostly viewed as a place of peace, re ection and

friends thought I was weird because I always wanted to visit

a place to empty one's mind. It is this emptiness that people

temples and gardens. Their impression was once you’d seen one

seek, an unwinding after a hard day's work or a place to put

you’d seen them all but I was looking at things they could not

yourself for inspiration or re ection. A washitsu is very simple in

see. For me it was about education and ideas.

design. As soon as you enter you can feel that it has a special

On many occasions I would come across craftsmen at work and I

energy, completely different to the rest of the house. To sit

would just stop and watch them. I once stopped to watch a

without clutter is to un-clutter the mind. Your eyes have nothing

tatami craftsman in the open window of his little shop front and

to look at except to where the lines of the wall take them. You

he called me in to help him. The language barrier was there but

may look at the walls for a short period of time but your eyes will

we didn’t need it. It was a case of just watching and doing. I

always fall back to the point of interest. This, in most cases,

think he got a huge amount of enjoyment in showing me his

would be nothing more than a kakejiku (a Japanese hand

craft just because I was a westerner interested in his art. I spent

brushed hanging scroll with some Ikebana ( ower arrangement)

the entire day with him and ended up missing my evening class

set off to the side. This is the introduction to nature, to the

at the Aiki Kai. He even offered me some cash at the end of the

washitsu, representing form and balance, it is a space for ideas,

day for helping him but I of course declined. I was just so super

re ection and meditation.

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stoked to be there.

Meditation comes in many forms and techniques. Of course we

In thinking of the correlation between traditional styles

have guidelines to follow but my idea of meditation might not be

of martial arts and traditional styles of design/

meditation to you. This doesn’t mean it’s wrong, just that it ts

architecture, What do you think we miss as a society by

me and my ki (energy ow) or seimeigen (energy source). What

not learning and preserving traditions like those?

some people nd calming others nd distracting… music for example. I’ve seen people laughing and crying in my gardens.

That’s because the Japanese garden brings out emotion from deep inside. It encourages you to think clearly or empty your thoughts. Many Japanese arts and beliefs pay homage to nature's elements such as Earth, Water, Wind, Fire and Void.

Damn! What a great question. Kind of tough to answer because so many different examples can be made to re ect this. So what do we miss? So much. I don’t like to be one of those people that say “When I was your age I used to have to do it this way, and kids these days have got it so easy.” My parents said it to me and my grandparents said it to them. It’s usually a comment thrown out as a negative but this comment is based on a comparison of what they remember to be important to them. It is the disappointment or realization in the loss of values and respect and I don’t mean respect for the elderly, I mean respect in general.

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Jason’s work.

If you are looking for perfection, you’re not going to nd it. Consistency is more important than perfection. In martial arts whether it be Jiu Jitsu or Iaido (the art of drawing the sword), if you can’t do it slow then you sure as hell can’t do it fast. Just like traditional craftsmen when mastering the tools needed to complete the task. It takes time to master an art. You need patience, tolerance and determination and that is the expectation. There is a famous sushi chef in Japan named Jiro Ono. He is the receiver of the prestigious Michelin Star award. He made his son practice the sweet Japanese omelet dish Tamago for

years before allowing it to be served to

his customers. This is what I think we are missing by not learning and preserving traditional arts/methods and styles. Can you imagine saying this to your son? “Listen mate, the modern day argument now is speed, that took too long, I need it done yesterday.” The age of entitlement and instant grati cation is a big part of our modern day problem.

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Jason teaching at Axis HQ in Australia.

TheBlood inYourBelt By: Adisa Banjoko | @bishopchronicles

Adisa “The Bishop” Banjoko has authored two books on advanced closed guard techniques:

The Iron Hook Scroll & The Cloud Scroll He is based between the SF Bay Area and London, UK. Adisa is host of Bishop Chronicles

podcast

on

stoic

resilience

and

the

art

of

not

quitting,

available on most streaming platforms.

On July , my jiu-jitsu instructor Alan “Gumby” Marques, owner and head instructor at Heroes Martial Arts, awarded me my black belt at the Heroes HQ in San Jose, CA. We had begun our martial arts journeys together under Ralph “The Pitbull” Gracie in the early days of Jiu Jitsu’s rise to martial arts prominence in the U.S. We were surrounded by greatness, and the likes of Bobby Southworth, Dave Camarillo, and BJ Penn would go on to forge their own paths in the world of mixed martial arts competition. Gumby himself would become one of Ralph’s most consistent students and would eventually be awarded Ralph’s very own black belt, which he removed ceremoniously from his waist and then secured around Gumby’s. My journey to the heights of the sport would take a bit longer. In fact, it would take a quarter century for me to receive my black belt,

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at the spry age of

.

I started training in Jiu Jitsu to protect my ex-wife and kids. It was a compromise, because my ex was uncomfortable having a weapon in the house for protection; so I resolved to make myself our protection. Ralph Gracie and his methodology were, at the time, just what I needed - martial arts that had been proven on the mat, in the ring and in real life.

Unfortunately, juggling family and work, my training was sporadic. But within that inconsistency, I maintained a sense of commitment that would serve to keep me connected with the sport over the next years, as a participant, journalist, and sincere a cionado of the art. That commitment, in a sad twist of fate, even outlasted my marriage itself. I would train when I could and would work Jiu Jitsu drills on my living room oor when I couldn’t, to just stay sharp and familiar with the sport’s intricate chess-like movements.

Over time, I would progress through all but one of the belt levels Jiu Jitsu has to offer white, blue, purple, brown. All but the coveted black belt eluded me; however I remained steadfast in my commitment, and layered in yoga, soaking in the works of Marcus Aurelius to Al-Ghazali, Taoism, and consistent therapy as I navigated the challenges of post-marital life.

My road to the ultimate honor in the sport would be long and circuitous, and would take me across the U.S. and even to foreign shores. In fact, one of the biggest stepping stones toward my elusive black belt, was a -month stint in the UK that began in December .

During that time I wrote, traveled, and had the privilege of continuing my Jiu Jitsu training under Prof. Eamonn Madden at Aeon BJJ in London, and under Prof. Mike Bates at Gracie Barra in Leeds. Both experiences broadened my horizons in the sport, deepened my connection to the broader international Jiu Jitsu family, and taught me important lessons that would ultimately help shape me into the very persona of a black belt even before the honor had been bestowed upon me of cially.

As I re ect on my journey, I am reminded of Jigoro Kano, the iconic founder of Judo, who wrote, “Before and after practicing Judo or engaging in a match, opponents bow to each other. Bowing is an expression of gratitude and respect. In effect, you are thanking your opponent for giving you the opportunity to improve your technique.”

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I carry both Gumby’s lessons and Kano’s insights (as well as those of others) forward with me as an instructor. When I teach, we close each class by shaking hands and saying, “Thank you for improving me,” to one another. I also remind them that it is one’s opponent who helps each individual rise to any given occasion. I tell them, “you cannot arm bar or double leg yourself. The most awe-inspiring moves Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant ever made were in equal proportion to the level of pressure directed at them in that moment. Thus, your opponent’s skill ensures that you improve your own skill level. It is the same for Gordan Ryan or Tim Spriggs.”

The night I received my black belt I wrote a Japanese haiku poem to express my gratitude to Gumby for his years of friendship and leadership, both on and off the mat:

MY MASTER TAUGHT ME IRON FLEXIBILITY HEROES FOREVER 89

You might be a white belt reading this after your rst lesson. You might be a blue, purple or brown belt working your way up the ladder. Or maybe you just got your black belt. Whatever the case may be, congratulations are in order; because no matter where you are in your journey, know that others sweated, bled, drilled, and watched footage over and over so that you could train and be victorious today.

Every day I tie this black belt around my waist, the sweat and blood of Ralph Gracie, Charles G r a c i e, G u m b y, a n d e v e r y training partner I have ever rolled with, are in my belt. At my gym, Bobby, Chuck, Trevor, and Dante help me grow. Outside of my gym, Billy Ray, Leo, Ali, and Denny Prokopos help me understand the art more effectively. So please take a few moments right now to call some of your training partners, family members, and friends who helped you improve. Thank them and continue to learn from them. And most of all, enjoy the journey. Peace!

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Sumo wrestler = RIKISHI The belt = MAWASHI First recorded bout = Origin story =

BC Originally existed as a ritual within shinto shrines and in the elds as a way of making contact between man and spirit.

The ring = DOHYO The edge of the ring = Clay mound = Circle = Building the ring =

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Symbolism&Design

RICE STRAW BALES INCHES FEET DAYS

Rituals performed by both wrestlers include: -Throwing salt to purify proceedings -Stomping to drive out evil spirits -Clapping to attract the attention of the Gods -Turning palms up to show they are unarmed -Rinsing their mouths with water and cleansing their bodies with paper

-More salt-throwing and more stomping -Only then, when satis

ed, both wrestlers will crouch down on their

marks to glare at each other

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referees dressed in white consecrate wooden sticks representing the

seasons

The words, “long life to earth and may wind and rain faithfully follow.”

An earthenware pot lled with good luck charms such as dried chestnuts, seaweed and cuttle sh is buried in the centre of the ring.

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THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RING ENDS IN AN OPENING CEREMONY THE DAY BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT.

which silk tassels hang from each corner in the colors of the

seasons:

GREEN | Spring | East

The rice straw circle represents the ritual of harvest and contains the ring itself which is “the realm of the absolute.”

It is regarded as sacred ground.

) Benevolence

) Justice ) Behavior ) Knowledge ) Integrity

Five Virtues : ) Piety ) Justice ) Altruism ) Loyalty ) Ceremony

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Hanging above the Dohyo is the wooden roof of a Shinto shrine from

TheValueofFootwork By: Anthony Thomas | @thomas_martial_arts

There is an old saying that goes something along the lines of, “you will always win the ght that you avoid.” I like that. I think second on that list would be, “before you go on the offensive, be as safe as possible.” In a world where images of ultra-aggressive, charge-straight-in sports combatants are blasted over the media, few people realize that VERY few of those types of ghters are successful, and fewer than that, at the highest level. Among the greatest of those sport combatants are those who can in ict damage, only after making sure that they are safe themselves.

Examples of those people in the boxing world are Muhammad Ali in his prime, Sugar Ray Leonard, Willie Pep, Pernell Whitaker, Roy Jones, and Floyd Mayweather. In the early days of NHB/MMA Marco Ruas, Maurice Smith, and others were able to mount devastating offense, AFTER the correct use of distance and angle. Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva did the same later on. So if one were to ask what ties those champions together, the answer is very simple: Footwork. Footwork refers to the use of movement with the legs in such a way as to make it easy for you to attack your opponent while making it dif cult for THEM to attack YOU. I have taught many seminars and hosted many self-defense classes, with the emphasis being on footwork. Footwork in my opinion is the LEAST focused on skill in self-defense and combat sports, while simultaneously being the MOST important skill, aside from avoidance of a

ght altogether. Many people argue about the use of footwork in their

respective styles, while missing the point ENTIRELY when it comes to how good footwork is created on a conceptual level. For example, people like to argue over the use of footwork in boxing as opposed to MMA, Thai Boxing, Free Style Wrestling, or Karate. Too many people argue over the use of different footwork in their respective combat sports, while neglecting how that may not serve you in real self-defense.

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Allow me to clarify this point. My father, Sensei Bobby Thomas is a multiple time Long Beach International sparring champion, and the winner of many other regional and local titles. He holds a low level contempt when watching the wide open stances of MMA and Thai Boxing competitors. NOT because he thinks that there is something wrong with their sports per se, but because he only looks at things from a self-defense perspective. When my father was competing, kicks to the groin were legal. The way to protect your groin was to change your stance, and that change affects how you use your footwork. So let’s just jump right in, shall we? In SPORT form, the use of footwork can differ dramatically, based on the rules of your sport. Boxing, while respected for the use of head movement and combination punching, is largely ignored when it comes to its extensive use of footwork. In my opinion, if there was only ONE thing that people should take from boxing, it is the footwork.

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I hear people say stuff like, “MMA boxing is different.”

NO IT IS NOT! What they are talking about is the different stance, so that leg kicks can be checked, and takedowns effectively defended. People are missing the fact they can absolutely use footwork in the same way that boxers do. The part that they are missing is the OBJECTIVE of the footwork. Like I mentioned before, the ENTIRE point of footwork is to put you into an advantageous position. In sport combat, it may be to allow you to attack, or even defend an attack. In selfdefense, where it matters most, good footwork will allow you to completely disengage from or avoid an attacker altogether. In the sport of boxing, a skilled boxer has a very particular placement of their lead foot, which allows Art: Haley Burns | @hbdessles

them to dart in and out without being struck.

The typical boxing stance also allows the jab to be thrown in such a way that it gets a lot of “snap” at the end of it.

Boxing is also a waist and up only sport, so the WAY that they use their footwork is largely predicated on the fact that they do not have to defend takedowns or leg kicks. Regardless of that fact, they are able to defend and avoid punches merely by being able to keep themselves out of the range of their attacker. Muay Thai in the traditional sense is very much a stand and bang art. They do NOT use much footwork, and it was not until the Dutch incorporated more western boxing into it, did they use a signi cant amount of head movement. Their movement was largely linear, as they are looking to nd the openings to deliver their leg kicks and knee strikes. In the modernized Muay Thai, they use boxing hooks, along with their elbows, which is why the adopted use of western footwork has served them well. They have been able to land more circular strikes, and use footwork to give super angles from

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which to deliver kicks to the legs and torso.

With Karate it is a bit of a different story. Traditional Karate often has a wide stance, what many styles would call a side horse stance. In MMA Lyoto Machida has used it quite effectively because he was able to dart in and out without being struck back. That traditional Karate stance also has allowed him to use that leg sweep takedown that is so effective from Shotokan Karate. Keep in mind also that Lyoto Machida can do the splits, so he is able to use that stance more effectively than those who are less exible. Lyoto uses a very linear kind of footwork, much like an olympic fencer does. Nowadays however, we need to consider the use of footwork in modern Karate. Anyone who is serious about self-defense realizes that MANY things have changed since the days of traditional Karate. If a person is serious about their training, they will likely use a higher stance, and stay on the balls of their feet much like a boxer. The Karateka should have a larger arsenal than a Thai Boxer, or even an MMA ghter in most cases, so the need for footwork is even more important.

If you want to see the use of modern Karate footwork, just look at what Wonder Boy has done in MMA. To modern Karate stylists, this is classic and rudimentary, but its effectiveness is very apparent. He uses the in and out style of tournament point sparring, but often uses that

degree angle that is so prevalent in Kenpo Karate. Now, I think

that Martial Artists would be well served to think about footwork. Regardless of your particular sport or selfdefense style, the point of good footwork is to create advantageous openings using space and angle. Don’t spend so much time looking at a tree, that you miss the entire forest.

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From VALE TUDO To MMA Claudio Coelho Founder | Academia De Boxe NOBRE ARTE Rio De Janeiro, Brasil @Claudio.coelho1

Mr. Coelho is a gem of a human being. Running a boxing gym in the Favela (SLUMS) in Rio, he spends his time with elite fighters and members of society while also bringing up the most vulnerable youth as a counselor and coach. his passion is expressed with every word and every movement of his body as he speaks.

“

For example, I am

years old and when I trained it was completely different. It was an easier training…

For me it all started with Judo. I started with Judo but then I went to Jiu-Jitsu and it was at Jiu Jitsu that I met my Boxing instructor. I was enamored by Boxing so then what happened was that my identi cation with Boxing made me slowly separate myself from Judo and Jiu Jitsu. Eventually I had to get better to be transformed into a trainer because my Boxing instructor went to live in the U.S. and he left the responsibility of taking over the gym in my hands and I had the responsibility of guiding the academy as a boxing academy.

”

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“

Back then, about

years ago, here in Brazil…

There was a battle between Luta Livre (Catch Wrestling) and Jiu Jitsu — and I trained a lot of the Jiu Jitsu guys. They set up a Vale Tudo event between Jiu Jitsu and Luta Livre and that’s when Boxing started to come up… because I would train the Jiu Jitsu guys and most of the Jiu Jitsu guys could exchange standing up, and they started to understand since that time that just Jiu Jitsu wasn’t enough…

”

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they needed to learn the art of punching.

“The training, any training of any style, during any time period, when you liked training, it was always a heavy practice… And in the proportion that you start to develop, the actual training gets more intense.

This would happen to me as I was a practitioner and being tested at practice sessions and it was a very heavy training which forced me to evolve, especially in boxing sparring …because you had to take punches.

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”

“That’s why a lot of people didn't like Boxing, at that time they practiced a lot of Judo and Jiu Jitsu, but why? Because Boxing was not seen as a fun thing because of the punches ... nobody wants to get punched in the face, very few… and it only happened later that people would embrace Boxing… they needed it for Vale Tudo and MMA. They had to learn punches. So at that time, the training was already heavy in any style. In Jiu Jitsu, in Luta Livre, in Karate, in Boxing, in Muay Thai these practices were always super hard at the time. But today, as a whole, the practice is more complete... why?

Because today we have the MMA fever! The guy that is going to do MMA today, he has to train between or different modalities; so the training is harder and it requires an infrastructure. So today I can say that the practices are much heavier than before because it requires bigger and better physical conditioning.

”

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BEARS, VODKA AND Sergey Morozov | FIGHTING

@ilmma.gjjrussia

(and other Russian stereotypes)

Sergey & Sambo master Mikhail Rayvich

Please introduce yourself and your martial arts?

Good day.

My name is Sergey Morozov and I am a senior instructor of the International League of Mixed Fighting Arts

(ILMMA). We are from Russia, Moscow. At the moment, the organization is already

years old, we began in

teaching the

disciplines of Sambo, Boxing and Muay Thai. At this point more disciplines have been added, these are MMA, BJJ, Grappling and Combat Sambo. We compete under the team name ILMMA FIGHT TEAM.

What is your rst memory of training martial arts or ght sports in your life?

I started boxing when I was

years old (

) and it was not easy times in Russia. I had to ght more on the street than in the

ring. At that time the rst UFC championships began to appear on video tapes (called ghts without rules) and, of course, we young boys were rooting for our own. Naturally, for Oleg Taktarov, “The Russian Bear.” My boxing training ended when the boxing school closed. So I switched to Judo and Sambo.

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Is the stereotype about Russians loving vodka and ghting true?

How did the International League of Fighting Arts get started?

In general, the ability to ght has always been of value in Russia.

Since the

's, even in the USSR, guys fought just for fun, not out

In

, my friend Mikhail Rayvich and I, opened the club

of evil intentions, after dancing or a feast in a restaurant. Later,

and began training people. We invited our friend Kamilov

after the onset of

Magomed, a champion Thai boxer, and despite the fact

’, with the collapse of the USSR, this turned

into self-defense or money making in sport. So yes, in Russia we

that he was still an active ghter and participated in ghts

like to ght. Not all people of course, but a lot.

in the Arbat Casino, he began to teach Thai Boxing in our gym. And, accordingly, we also began to comprehend the

There is a rumor that Oleg Taktarov drank a th of vodka before his ghts, is that true?

I am not

art of Muay Thai and we tried, as we saw it, to combine wrestling and striking techniques.

% sure but I think that is a myth. Mihhail could do

that but I have not heard of Oleg, at least he never told me he did.

(Top) Sergey and Oleg “The Russian Bear” Taktarov

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(Bottom) kids warming up at ILMMA HQ in Moscow

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Of cially, there was a division within Sambo from Sports Sambo and Combat Sambo. In the USSR, ordinary people were engaged in sport schools throughout the country since childhood: Sambo, classical Boxing, freestyle, Greco-Roman Wrestling and other sports at will. Combat Sambo was a section of training in the army. After

’ a lot changed and in general the times were not the

best for sports. Many athletes, due to lack of money, turned into bandits, while few remained in sports but it was very dif cult. Later, closer to

, it became easier to make a living as a ghter or teacher.

What is the difference between Sambo and BJJ? Echoes of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu began to appear, in particular, the rst black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Russia is the excellent master Leonid Gatovsky. Naturally, there is a difference between BJJ and Sambo, which is determined by the rules of the competition. You can discuss the pros and cons for a long time, but in the end, the individual skill of the athlete generally decides superiority in a ght.

When Victor Spiridonov and Fyodor Oshchepkov developed and systematized Sambo, they collected the best, in their opinion, from Japanese Judo, United Kingdom and various national wrestling styles of the USSR republics.

But in general, if you do not pay

attention to the rules of the competition, then BJJ and Sambo differ very little. In BJJ there is more

ghting on the ground, in

Sambo there are no chokes and a focus on attacking the legs.

In Combat Sambo strangulations are legal and you can strike to the head; you can punch, kick, knee and perform takedowns, submit or punch on the ground. It’s like MMA with a gi top, shorts and small gloves.

Back in the days of the USSR, different Sambo schools in different cities specialized in wrestling on the ground, whereas others would specialize in standing and takedowns. It depended on the coach who taught. Our approach to preparing children is such that they can compete in different competitions. But to be honest, now they mostly compete in grappling.

There is a federation that is

qualitatively and successfully developing grappling sports in Russia.

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Mikhail Rayvich fi

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Combat Sambo is very similar to MMA, when did it become a sport in Russia?

What is your approach for children learning to train or compete? Do you push all your students to compete?

There are many children training with us, but not all are ready to compete seriously. Therefore, we regularly organize inhouse (BJJ) submission-only tournaments, to introduce and test newcomers for possible future competitive potential.

Approximately half of those involved simply continue to compete exclusively in our club tournaments and are quite happy to do so. Our main task is to prepare them for a possible attack on the street and to build character.

You competed in Sambo, did you ever think about your training as being for real ghting or primarily for sport?

On the instructions of Oleg Taktarov, Mikhail and our friend from New York, Viktor Tatarkin, it happened like this… “We decided, Serioga, you will go to the American Championship in May, and you need to win.” Well, that's all. Training complete with boxing and wrestling began. Friends helped, Max Tatarinov, a Russian boxing champion and his friend Dmitry, who was a master of sports Sambo. We started training at the end of January, twice a day very intensely. My view was no different than training for a street ght. It was not like we are ghting on the street from morning to evening, it’s just inspiring to be open for the intensity. It can be different, for example, someone may focus only on a classic sport approach. Which is also very good.

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Mikhail Rayvich 2008 American Sambo Championship, winner of the Combat Sambo 68 kg weight division, Sergey center.

Finding trength S Rob Wilson

@preparetoperform

+

Photos: @jungoendo

Rob Wilson, along with his partners at SH//FT create unique ways for people to experience stress. Environmental and physiological conditions manipulated to achieve mastery of self. Mind and body, martial arts, and the way one can achieve equilibrium, all play a role in the strategies they implement. We were inspired by Rob’s steady stream of Instagram posts on subjects ranging from bone structure to the ego and the ways we define our existence. For this article we asked Mr. Wilson if he wouldn’t mind that we combine a few of his Instagram captions in a feature, he was impressed by our selections and how they seemed to fit so well together. We were also impressed, but not in ourselves.

Photos from Jungo Endo paired seamlessly with the complexity and power of the his text.

S

ome will argue strength is measured by the weight on a barbell. Others will say it’s the iron cross or bending a horseshoe with your bare hands. Still others will look to examples of will, courage, and sacri ce. To some degree, they’re all right. One thing is certain: we all know when we feel and act strong and we all know when we feel and act weak. From a strictly scienti c standpoint strength is the ability of a material to withstand force or pressure. We’ll keep referring back to this and its analogs as a guide rail for this article. When I think of strength, I generally think of three categories:

| PHYSICAL - strength of the body | PSYCHO-EMOTIONAL - strength of the mind | SOCIAL - strength of relationships

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Like everything with human beings, these three are interwoven into our existence. They can and do effect one another. We all naturally excel in some categories and have to work harder to excel in others. If we train these strengths well we can leverage and buttress them against each other to help build stronger human beings on every level.

“Stronger people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.”

- Mark Rippetoe When we think of strength of the body it’s a pretty simple concept: the ability to produce force. But perhaps there’s a bit more to it than that. The ability to resist forceful inputs from a variety of vectors and resist deformation from both intense and unexpected environmental stimuli are factors in the picture of total strength.

Strongmen of old were massively versatile in their ability to display force production across a broad range of disciplines and movement patterns. The ability to coordinate extreme levels of tensional calibration in the body continues to boggle the mind a century later. Tension might be the king of physical strength and to see proof of that look no further than men’s gymnastics. Elite gymnasts are known to deadlift near x their bodyweight.

Coordinated efforts of the entire system to an end of singularly applied force is impressive for sure but can lose its effectiveness when only used in sagittal applications. This narrow window of force application can be a problem under awkward and unpredictable conditions. The foundations of strength are the same regardless of chosen avenue. Tension, drive, and effort seem to be tied into the development of strength for whatever tools of torture tickle your fancy. As you choose your path, be open to exploration of different approaches and remember the words of O-Sensei: “Even the most powerful human being has a limited sphere of strength.

Draw him outside that sphere and into your own and his strength will dissipate.”

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One could argue that training for physical strength creates mental strength. To some degree that’s true. It takes discipline to show up every day and do the years of work it takes to become truly strong. But if I tell the truth, I’ve met some strong people who had the emotional fortitude of a pancake. They could push through the pain and monotony of training but were completely useless otherwise. Out of control ego, lack of compassion, and no concern for others is weak AF in my book. Being physically capable doesn’t mean you won’t fold like a swap meet display table when the pressure is on. Holding somebody’s hand while they die takes strength. Facing inner demons takes strength. Fighting on behalf of those who may be weaker is strength. Patiently waiting behind an old woman in the store and offering help is strength. Might is not mutually exclusive from character and resolve but it is not a given either. Many a bad actor with god-given physicality has abused that power and hurt others who are vulnerable to them. I don’t care how much you deadlift; if you are inauthentic and hurt others, you are acting weak. So while I believe hard training presents an opportunity to develop strength of character, it’s not obligatory. Like most things the adaptation is speci c unless we choose to generalize it. When I think of mental strength it means resolve, compassion, and authentic self-re ection.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will.”

- Gandhi

The grind alone is not enough. Deeper and subtler layers of stimulation and direction to physiology can offer meaningful results not available to siloed focus on the more gross block of clay. The mind alone is not enough. Thinking things to death is a vain attempt to avoid the pain of the path. Some risk is necessary for real understanding. Over analysis of a pursuit can sti e starting energy. Just get to it. Lack of any forethought and we can be easily derailed before we get to the heart of things. Cultivating awareness in practice can keep us from straying too far into physical rudiments for their own sake and at the same time prevents an overzealous intellect from blocking the real experience.

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“The physically bound go for puf ng and straining and miss the delicate way; the intellectually bound go for idealism and exotics and lack ef ciency and actually seeing into realities.”

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- Bruce Lee

Ydali Acosta

ONE’S/NATURE

@YDALI_

2/22

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@AT TACHAI MUA YTHAI

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