Lift Hands Volume 28 December 2023 - The Multi-Award Winning Martial Arts Magazine

volume 28

December 2023

Tenshin Shoden Ryu

Long Har Ch’uan Part 4: Advance, Parry, Grasp, Hammer

Goal Achievement Is As Easy As Breaking a Board

Energy Medicine and Bioenergetics — Awakening The Power Within Peasant Talk: 8 The First Method of the Wudang Knife

20 Questions:

Amazonia KM &

Terry Birkett

Editor

Nasser Butt

perception realization activation action

Lift Hands

The Internal Arts Magazine Volume 28 December 2023

Editor

Nasser Butt

L’orso Solitario

Published by L’orso Solitario Books, Leicester, United Kingdom Lift Hands The Internal Arts Magazine Volume 28 December 2023 Editor Nasser Butt Copyright © by Nasser Butt, 2023 & Fa-jing Ch’uan Internal Chinese Boxing Schools Nasser Butt asserts the moral right to be identified as the editor & owner of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the editor.

Waiver of Liability: The publisher assumes no liability for the use or misuse of information contained within this book. By purchasing or electronically downloading this publication, the reader hereby, waives any and all claims he or she may have now or in the future against Nasser Butt and Fa-Jing Ch’uan Internal Chinese Boxing Schools or its affiliates.

The points of view represented here are solely those of the authors’ concerned. You do not have to subscribe to them if you do not wish. Nor is their inclusion here necessarily an endorsement by Fa-jing Ch’uan Internal Chinese Boxing School or its affiliates.

Cover Photo [Main]: Amazonia KM — Photo Credit: Jessica Jones/Clare Bennett; Terry Birkett — Photo Credit: Nasser Butt Cover Design © Nasser Butt, 2023 Back Design: Copyright © Nasser Butt 2023

lift hands

December 2023

Celebrating 8 Years of the Multi-Award Winning Internal Martial Arts Magazine

contents

Editor’s Note

Page 9

The House of Mouse The Art of Amy Faulkner

Page 12

A Brief Interview With Master Zdenek Antos and David Kriz Daniel Jandac Page 16 As I Remember Jim (Sunny) Zermeno Sensei Katherine Loukopoulos

Page 31

20 Extended Questions with Amazonia KM

Page 41

The Sweetness of This Rain Dr Gregory T. Lawton

Page 71

Long Har Ch’uan — Dragon Prawn Boxing Part Four Advance, Parry, Grasp, Hammer Nasser Butt Page 73 Energy Medicine and Bioenergetics, Awakening the Power Within Dr Gregory T. Lawton Page 79 20 Extended Questions with Terry Birkett

Page 90

Goal Achievement Is As Easy As Breaking A Board Katherine Loukopoulos

Page 118

Bari 2024, Italia Camp Details

Page 122

Book Review

Page 124

In Memoriam

Page 129

Peasant Talk: 8 — The First Method of the Wudang Knife

Page 141

Useful Contacts

Page 144

The Art of Louiseneige Be

Page 145

Lift Hands Magazine Digital Purchase Links

Page 147

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English Edition Link Italian Edition Link

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W

elcome to the final issue of 2023 — Volume 28 of Lift Hands Magazine!

By the time you have this issue in your hands, Christmas festivities will have already passed and we will be on the cusp of 2024 — so what a great way to end the old year and start the new year!

I hope that you have all had a very Merry Christmas, holidays and festivities.

editor’s Note

Nasser Butt

We have another bumper packed issue for all our readers.

The central highlight is that for the first time not only do we have a double act — Amazonia KM— consisting of Jessica Jones and Clare Bennett for our 20 Questions, but you lucky readers get a second festive helping of 20 Questions with the powerhouse that is Terry Birkett!

I say festive… both the interviews were recorded in the summer for our Christmas issue and like telling someone Santa doesn’t exist, I had to break the news to Terry that all Christmas specials on Tv are usually recorded in the summer or autumn! Lol! On a serious note, I loved doing both interviews and some seriously good stuff emerges from them. We had a hoot doing them and I want to thank all three of the participants for their patience as I harassed them over the months for further information — or in Terry’s case, the harassment was in reverse… “When are you publishing this interview? It’ll be old!”

Well, Terry… I must say, the interview is as fresh and relevant today, as it was on the day when we sat down to do it, and further, I found myself giggling and laughing at your answers whilst I was editing it!

I know our readership will love it too.

My thanks also to the usual suspects — the beautiful Katherine Sensei and the amazing Dr. Gregory Lawton and all our other amazing contributors. I always look forward to reading each and every one of your articles.

Well, as 2023 draws to a close, I want to thank every single person who has helped make this another successful year for Lift Hands! Rest assured, 2024 will be bigger and better.

Most importantly, a massive thank you to all our readership across the world — it is your encouragement and support which helps us grow with each issue and year.

There is turmoil in the world again, let us hope the suffering of innocents ends wherever they may be.

I wish you all and your loved ones a happy New Year. A prosperous New Year! A healthy New Year! A successful New Year… but most importantly, I wish you a love-filled and peaceful New Year!

See you in 2024!

Nasser

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I walked past my doctor's office and noticed that the waiting room was empty. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to ask my doctor for advice about the pain in my lower back. I knocked on the door of the office and was asked to lie down on the bed.

"Are you sick?" she asked.

"No, but I sometimes have back pain," I replied.

"I'll take a look at it. Please lie on your back and raise your hands. Does it hurt now?”

“No." "All right, now raise your legs. Does it hurt now?”

“No." "Okay, now raise your arms and legs together. Does it hurt now?”

“No." "Turn over, and I'll examine you. Hmm, Mr. Antos, everything seems fine to me. So when and where does your back hurt?”

"When I do a cartwheel and then a Mawashi geri kick, that's when it hurts, right in the lower back.”

T

his story happened to our master, Zdeněk Antoš (75 years) in spring and proves the positive impact of the martial art for which he has had a lifelong passion. As he is the founder of TENSHIN SHODEN RYU based in Ceska Lipa, Czech republic, I conducted the following interview with him:

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What were your beginnings in martial arts?

It was 1969 when a fellow student approached me that there is a karate school in Prague's Smíchov. It was more of a selfdefense school with elements of karate. At that time, in Czechoslovakia, there was only judo, derived jujutsu, and the beginning of "Karate of the Kolar brothers” I stayed with karate for three years and then moved to the northern part of the country to Česká Lípa. There, in a similar spirit, I taught a few interested individuals. After some time, some karate practitioners joined, and I established the "Physical Education Unit of Judo and Karate." A few years later, I encountered Chinese martial arts systems, which fascinated me due to their diversity. Unlike the rigid style of karate, which resembled ordinary brawls without elegance, Chinese martial arts offered a broader range of movement and body control. In 1978, I decided to separate and establish the Tenshin Shoden Ryu school, which, being something unknown and potentially dangerous, attracted the attention of the State Security (STB). They assigned "observers" to ensure I wasn't creating any specially trained anti-state unit.

So, in 1978, the Tenshin Shoden Ryu school was founded?

Yes, the school began teaching all martial arts in a traditional manner, including the use of weapons. We taught jujutsu, kenjutsu, dai-sho-jutsu, and Chinese martial arts such as Chang-quan, Pa-Kua-quan, and Taiji-quan.

During my exploration of these martial arts, I realized that their diversity is like working in a kitchen while cooking: the same ingredients, but arranged and cut differently. Common principles underlie all martial arts.

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These principles are the foundation of martial arts, but students often struggle to grasp them since they're foreign to natural human movement.

Therefore, instruction often ends up with simple exercises that appear to involve just "waving arms and moving legs" without deeper meaning.

So, how should one teach martial arts?

I found that allowing the student to start learning under guidance at the right time is crucial. They cannot learn it poorly because they are closely monitored, and they accumulate the necessary repetitions required for the action's neural pathways and muscle memory. Another method to better connect with martial arts is performing forms in four ways: slowly, blindly, with strength, and quickly. This helps the practitioner understand the form better, improve spatial orientation, and identify areas for improvement. Breaking down the form into actions and figures and enhancing them through supplementary exercises is essential. For example, in Taiji-quan, I realized that newcomers from courses often didn't understand the purpose and underlying principles of specific movements.

This knowledge, when students can experiment with it themselves, makes learning easier and helps them realize that successful execution and application require specific supplementary exercises. This is crucial in arts like Jujutsu, which, in the first stage of instruction, focuses on the opponent's balance, in the second on joint mechanisms, and ultimately on the nervous system. The same practice is found in Pa-kua, Taiji, and Aikido.

Choosing to practice traditional martial arts means changing your lifestyle. While you can learn the basic style in a year or two, that's just the framework. People who attend training once or twice a week should consider how many years it would take to reach the actual level of Taiji if they only train for four hours a week. They must practice at home and understand that it's a lifelong commitment, an investment in something that only pays off later in life. I don't mean an advantage in a physical fight.

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Chi-kung and meditation require a lot of time.

Chi-kung and meditation can transform anyone into any form or style if all principles, including breathing during practice, are followed. Martial arts are a great way to develop both physical strength and mental balance. It's the most versatile physical activity. Often, the hands and feet perform entirely different movements at the same time, affecting both hemispheres of the brain. The student needs to learn to move properly, preserving the joint system, and the most critical practice for this is Pa-Kua quan. Martial arts are expected to provide tranquility, balance, and the ability to navigate problems easily. This is challenging in our fast-paced world. We have set goals that keep us living in tension and fear, focusing on things that ultimately don't matter for the duration of our lives. As I said, achieving results in martial arts means a lifestyle change. It is, or perhaps was, closely connected with Buddhist or Taoist philosophy.

Weapons are an interesting aspect of martial arts.

In any case, training with weapons enhances both strength and agility. Some weapons are simple, like San jie guan (three-parted pole), Guan Dao (Chinese halberd), Jian (Chinese straight sword), Dao (Chinese sabre), Katana (Japanese sword). These are introduced in all styles. Other weapons are unique to specific styles, like the three-parted staff or the fish-skin sabre. Each martial art uses these weapons differently, reflecting the style's uniqueness. Regarding health, there's no doubt that martial arts offer a holistic approach. Firstly, they develop all parts of the body simultaneously, deeply affecting one's mental state when performed correctly. They are the most versatile physical systems. Sometimes, the hands and feet perform entirely different movements at the same time, affecting both hemispheres. Students must learn to move correctly, protecting the joints, and this is where Pa-Kua quan is most important. Martial arts are supposed to bring tranquility, balance, and problem-solving skills.

Achieving this in our hectic world is a challenge. We set goals that keep us living in tension and fear, focusing on things that ultimately don't matter for the duration of our lives. Martial arts are a lifestyle change. It's closely connected to Buddhist and Taoist philosophies in their place of origin.

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One of the lifelong students is David Kriz who became the main coach and successor as the director of the Tenshin Shoden Ryu Ceska Lipa. I also asked him some questions:

How often do you teach, and what is the structure of the training sessions?

We teach three times a day from Monday to Thursday. We have morning training sessions for working adults on shifts, afternoon sessions for children, and evening sessions for students and adults.

The structure of the training sessions varies depending on whether it's a children's or adults' class, what specific skills or techniques people need to work on, whether the class consists of more advanced or beginner students, or if the students themselves come with specific issues they need help with (which often happens with children and young people who may be dealing with bullying, for example).

However, in general, the structure of our training sessions looks like this: • Short meditation (clearing the mind from everyday thoughts, preparing for the training), breathing exercises • Warm-up • Gymnastic elements within the warm-up (rolls, cartwheels, handstands, etc.)

• Toughening of striking and blocking surfaces and learning to absorb strikes • Practice or refinement of strikes, kicks, and blocks individually or in combinations • Evasions (backward steps, sidesteps, squats, leans, jumps, etc.) against kicks and strikes • Practice of specific Kata, Kuen, or Forms • Application of techniques from practiced Kata, Kuen, or Forms • Controlled or uncontrolled sparring (kumite) • Supplementary exercises to improve stability, precision, strength, speed, flexibility, toughness, etc.

What categories of people do you train?

Martial arts are versatile and have many applications. Everyone can choose what suits their needs, preferences, and abilities, and if they're unsure, we can help them select a style that would be suitable for them. As the saying goes, "Different strokes for different folks." You can engage in martial arts for physical and mental fitness, overall physical preparation (common among children), for self-defense, or to make it a lifestyle and strive for the highest level of mastery you can achieve.

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The most represented category is children. For young children aged 4-6, we have what's called the "Dai Sho kindergarten," which is a basic physical preparation class. For kids aged 7-13, we have Dai Sho Jutsu, which, with its variety of movements, is suitable for their overall development. Another category consists of students and adults in their productive years, as well as seniors, who choose what they want to focus on based on their needs within our training.

How do you approach teaching children?

As I mentioned earlier, we dedicate a lot of time and attention to children. In the current era where children's interest in sports and physical activity, in general, is declining, it's important to pay attention to them, care for them, and help raise them. We have two classes for them.

For the youngest children aged 4-6, we have the Dai Sho kindergarten. Here, children get accustomed to having a regular class once a week for 30 minutes. We play various physical games, do activities like running through obstacle courses, learn rolls, falls, stretch, and try out basic martial art movements such as blocking, striking, kicking, and defenses against shoving, pulling, or grabbing. We have found that children who go through this kindergarten often transition to the class for children of school age, aged 7-10, and work with them much better than with those who haven't experienced this preparation.

In the class for older children aged 7-13, we blend playful elements with technical training to make it fun, diverse, and educational. Within this age group, we aim to develop their flexibility, balance, strength, and endurance through various supplementary exercises.

We also aim to awaken their fighting spirit, in a positive sense. This is important due to the oversensitivity of the current generation. What I mean is that today's children tend to avoid healthy competition, they don't push each other, communicate less, and as a result, everything that requires effort isn't worth it for them, and they'd rather let the other person win. So we teach them to push each other, pull, not let a friend win just because they're friends, etc. It's about teaching them what was once natural among children but has to be learned now or, in the best case, awakened.

Another aspect I'd like to mention is the issue of attention. Due to the influence of modern technology and the abundance of information, children today have a harder time focusing and maintaining attention. To capture their attention during training, I demonstrate techniques without words. I play a mimicry game with them, aiming for them to imitate my movements as accurately as possible. This way, they can be more present and get into a state of flow.

In conclusion, what message would you like to send to your students and those interested in martial arts?

Don't be deceived by marketing tricks. There is no "best," "strongest," or "most realistic" style or system in the world. Every style is as good as its student. The time and purpose a student devotes to their training (joy, physical and mental fitness, competition, self-defense, achieving the highest rank, and continuing the tradition after their master) matter more than the style itself.

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Find a good teacher, choose one style to dedicate yourself to, study it in-depth, and draw inspiration from other styles and systems to incorporate that inspiration into your style if it lacks something.

Above all, enjoy your martial arts journey and be grateful for the opportunity to practice. It will improve your health, physical fitness, and mental resilience, and you can practice them anywhere, anytime. They will be your support in difficult times, and through them, you will meet many interesting people, some of whom may become your friends.

For more information please contact us on: Tenshin Shoden Ryu, z.s.

Chelcickeho 1610 Ceska Lipa 47001 Czech republic www.tenshinshodenryu.cz tenshin.shoden@seznam.cz FB Tenshin Shoden Ryu

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ometimes we know people in our lives, and we sort of take it for granted that they’ll always be there. One such person, Jim (Sunny) Zermeno was on my list to see once I returned to the United States, specifically Florida.

This was not to be!

Nearing 80 years old, Sunny Sensei as was affectionately called, left his last breath on January 24, 2016.

Ralph Garafalo Sensei happened to be in Florida at the time, and on February 6 he went to Fort Pierce for the Service accompanied by Robert Neirer Sensei who was Sunny Sensei’s long time student and stepson. Garafalo Sensei said, “I find it comforting that he found peace in the last few years teaching karate to students in a church. He had about 40-50 kids and many parents that loved him”.

The message sent a shrill through me. I would not get to share the tatami floor with Sunny Sensei ever again. The last time Sunny Sensei and I sweated together on the training floor was on July 29, 1994, when I returned for a brief visit from Okinawa to the United States. But I had met Sunny Sensei decades before…

As a member of the 72nd Street Budokan Dojo, I had the opportunity to see many Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu Greats!

In the 60’s and 70’s women were rare in the inner circles of black belt martial artists. We perceived these black belts as the ultimate in strength, knowhow, and bravery; we thought that we could never reach them. They stood up straight with ‘poker faces’ with the exception of one. Sunny Zermeno Sensei did smile.

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Master Shoshin Nagamine’s earlier visit to the United States is documented with this photo [above]. Zermeno Sensei is fifth from left and behind Master Shoshin Nagamine. Left of Master Nagamine is Ansei Ueshiro Sensei, and on his right is Chotoku Omine Sensei, followed by Zenko Heshiki Sensei.

Master Shoshin Nagamine’s book THE ESSENCE OF OKINAWAN KARATE DO was translated into English, and Nagamine Sensei was coming to New York City for a Karate-Zen Presentation. The host, Zenko Heshiki Sensei, organized huge preparations and countless training hours were dedicated to kata rehearsals. Everything to the smallest detail was given our most attention. Each student was assigned a job, and we trembled with the idea if we could not rise to the occasion of excellence.

We were instructed that all seats in the theatre must be sold out… and that, we did!

It was a formidable program in which everyone participated. All 18 Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu Kata, Bunkai, Kumite and Zazen were presented. In the Grand Finale Master Shoshin Nagamine performed a dance to the music of ‘Karate Do Sanka’; words which he had written himself. In this historic demonstration, Jim (Sunny) Zermeno performed Naihanchi Shodan.

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Before the passing of Master Shoshin Nagamine, his son Soke Takayoshi Nagamine, Chotoku Omine Sensei, Seigi Nakamura Sensei, Ansei Ueshiro Sensei, Yasuharu Makishi Sensei, Morinobu Kadekaru Sensei, Kensei Taba Sensei, and a string of early American pioneers, Joseph Carbonara Sensei among the greatest, Americans were responsible for bringing Okinawan teachers to the United States in order to teach Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu. If we did not document and remembered their contributions, we would be ungrateful for their service and their contributions would be lost in the depths of time.

Regardless of small or large, we would become ignorant of important links of our history that have brought us to this point in time. Knowing our history is just as important as understanding the Bunkai of the 18 kata. For this reason I like to document that Jim (Sunny) Zermeno Sensei was a link in this historic chain.

18 years later Zermeno Sensei and I met again this time in his dojo and for three and a half hours we trained together. I feel obligated to contribute some photos of our training. As pictures are worth 1000 words, one can easily discern that Zermeno Sensei was dedicated, kind, knowledgeable, and passed on his art with sensitivity and passion.

We worked on group kata…

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We offered individual attention…

We played games, and had relay races…

The losing team paid the price in ‘karate style’…

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We sealed our training with a smile… and a group photo! July 29, 1994

Zermeno Sensei and I had promised to meet again… but…

I am sure that there are other martial artists who are more familiar and in greater detail of Zermeno Sensei’s contributions and I hope that they would take the time to document their memories for history.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 4, 1936, passed away in Florida on January 24, 2016. Zermeno Sensei was survived by his daughter Kim, and by his sons Richard and Michael. Sensei was also survived by five grandsons, one granddaughter, and one great grandson.

Katherine Loukopoulos Originally written on February 19, 2016

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n a warm June evening in Nottingham, whilst attending the Kaizen Adrenaline pre-event bash, I found myself seated next to two lovely ladies Clare Bennett and Jessica Jones. A few minutes earlier, I had been talking to Lucci Del-Gaudio — the man behind Kaizen — and he asked me if I had heard the story of Amazonia?

“Nope! Who are they?” I asked.

“The two women at your table,” he replied. “They have an interesting story, it’ll be a good 20 Questions for Lift Hands.”

I headed back to my table and sat down.

As the event started, in between the speeches, I casually turned to them and said, “I hear you have a story to tell?”

Taken aback at first by a stranger asking them such a question, they queried how I knew and I simply pointed in Lucci’s direction and then introduced myself.

The evening got interesting in earnest and chatting to both Clare and Jessica genuinely felt like they were someone whom I had known for ages! We simply got along. It is rare [sadly] to find genuine female self-defence instructors in the macho male-dominated martial arts industry — it is even rarer to find a double act! They are the yin and yang to the other!

Anyhow, we had a great evening at the end of which we agreed that we would meet up after our respective stints on the mats on the following day at Kaizen Adrenaline for our 20 Questions.

So, on Sunday, June 11 we sat outside in the shade of the wall of The Rushcliffe Arena — a sweltering day, made worse by the fact that the air-conditioning had broken down inside where hundreds of people were mingling and participating in the various sessions which were on offer.

I must add, this was one of the funnest 20 Questions I have done and I have nothing but respect and love for both these ladies [and I use the term “ladies” very loosely, since they are anything but ladies on the mats]!

I hope that the readers will enjoy reading about their journey to date as much as I did listening to them.

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They know their art and can deliver what they say… most of all they don’t have an arrogant bone between them!

If you get a chance, train with them — you’d be a fool not to!

Part One LH: Okay, 20 Questions with Amazonia — Jessica Jones! What a [whispers] fookin name! Jessica Jones!

And… Clare Bennett — I mean, you go from Jessica Jones [excitedly, see above] to Clare Bennett [drearily, see below]!

CB: You can go off people you know!

LH: I know, I know — you know, a lot of my family are Bennetts!

JJ: Talk fast Nasser! Talk fast! Once you’re in a hole, stop digging!

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LH: No, no, no — they are, they are, seriously!

CB: Well that’s good — I’ll let you off then!

LH: Okay, so we are here with Amazonia. Welcome to Lift Hands, it is great to have both of you with us. So, this is what we are going to do, we're going to be asking many questions, no peeking, so you can't have an idea or anything about what you are going to be asked. However, before we get to the 20 Questions, please give us a brief introduction about yourselves. Take it away…

CB: So, we are Amazonia Krav Maga, based in Manchester and we teach self-protection. We run two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we teach all aspects of self-protection — not just the fighting and the hitting! It’s the sexy stuff that people call non-sexy but, it's the actual sexy stuff — the awareness and situational awareness, environment awareness, you've got your instinct, your mindset! All of these things are encompassed looking after yourself so you don't have to get into a physical altercation.

LH: Fab, let’s have your bit…

JJ: I'm Jessica and I'm the other half of Amazonia.

LH: [Whispers] Jessica Jones… superhero, did I mention that? Jessica Jones! Oh, and, Clare Bennett… Ow! She knows where to poke people!

JJ: That’s her job! So, female Krav Maga instructors, we are pretty much like unicorns — like there's not a lot of us about you know! Um… We are able to access and teach people that wouldn't necessarily be comfortable with a big gnarly meathead instructor you know and I think it's really important. We teach in the Jewish community, we teach men and women.

We do lots of seminars and we travel internationally to train and study our skillset. We’re always learning, our logo is uh two snakes which represent me and Clare, but going around the edge is Hebrew and it's spelled “Sometimes a teacher, always a student,” and that is our core ethos. It doesn’t matter, we have been doing this for seven years. We're both 50 years old which again is…

LH: No, no, no — she’s [pointing at Clare] 49, she’s lying!

JJ: She’s 50 in August, ok! It sounds better if you round it off to like we’re both 50!

LH: No, no — she's younger than you and always will be, okay! You have the name, she has the age!

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“You have the name, she has the age!”

JJ: Okay, I like that, that's an equalizer right there! So, what we do is very important — we call it self-protection because it's a 360 degree peripheral! Everything is involved — the environment, everything, how you carry yourself, how you view people, how you are with people, everything… body language, gut instinct, it's not just about hitting and the punching, like Clare said. And we're not called self-defence, because if you happen to defend yourself it means that you’re already under attack ,which means something has gone very, very wrong at the beginning of your story! So, self-protection!

LH: Excellent, that’s the way it should be! So, what made you start training this? What made you start training martial arts?

CB: So, I used to go to the gym, just normal gym and I wasn’t really into Zumba and all that kind of stuff, it wasn't really my cup of tea, and then one day I went to the gym and there was a big poster and it was a woman… she had a guy in a headlock and I just thought I want to do that!

To begin with, you know we trained very much about hitting, punching, striking and all of that kind, but we've evolved so much from then. That was my initial starting point in Krav Maga you know, I went to the class at the local gym and that was nearly eight years ago — I just loved it! I think it's like marmite — you either love it or hate it, I just fell in love it!

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JJ: My story is slightly different in that I’m very good friends with… I’ve got two very important Clares in my life — she’s one of them and I have another Clare in my life. Basically, she’d come out from a very volatile horrific 17 year relationship — controlling, coercive relationship, it was horrific!

She ended up without this guy — which was brilliant and there was a restraining order between her and him, but there wasn't one between him and me, and he hated me with an all-consuming passion because he saw that I helped my friend, you know, get up and strong again… and this one night, I was asked to look after the children because she was a night shift in ICU in hospital, and I was up there in a very remote set of cottages where she lives and the little girl unwittingly told her father who was looking after them that night!

I rang my friend at work and said, listen, we have a bit of a problem — he knows where I am, he knows I'm here with his kids and anytime he can come and take those kids, and I have nothing — I’ve got to protect myself and I’ve got to protect them! Anyway, she freaked out, “I'm so sorry you need to make the house safe, make the kids safe! You have to do everything you can… lock the doors!” She was basically passing on her fear of this man to me! Anyway, the night passed, he didn't come up, thankfully the kids were safe, I was safe, but in the morning I was furious! I thought you know what, she has had 17 years of this I’ve had one night — one night and it's made me feel like this! I'm not having this man have this much control over me that he had over her! So, I looked around and I looked for local self-defence — what we called it back then — classes.

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JJ: I went to the same gym as Clare and I walked into my first class… have you seen the film Legally Blonde with Reece Witherspoon?

LH: Yes! JJ: You know, she walks up on his first day to law school, she's there with like a latte and she's all pink and sparkly like — that was me! I had like my shades on and a latte from Starbucks, and my pink sparkly gym bag — I like walked into the Krav Maga lesson literally just as this woman was like thrown across the room! I was like, oh hey, so I'm here for the Krav Maga and this guy, big silverback gorilla-like — just a meathead of a teacher — just went, "All right put your coffee down, put those mitts on that's who you're sparring with!” I was like, “Oh, no, no, no, you see I'm just here to listen and watch you know, might not be for me !” He was just like unrelenting — “Put your coffee down, put your mitts on that's who you're sparring with!” He pointed to Clare, and I was like, “I ain’t fighting her, she's a machine, look at her!” Unbeknownst to me, Clare had only joined like a month before me and we started sparring together and that was seven years ago, we didn’t know each other!

LH: So, that’s how you met? You didn’t know each other?

CB: That’s how we met, we didn’t know each other!

LH: Wow! That makes it interesting! So, what made you choose Krav Maga? Was that the first thing that you came across or was it something you went intentionally looking for?

CB: No, I think I'd always wanted to do some sort of self-defence classes you know, from a younger age, but to be fair you know a lot of the classes are run by big meathead guys and it's quite um… off-putting and it's quite you know intimidating! You go into a room like that and there’s… it's all men in there and it’s you know big, big instructors! I think by the time that I found this class, I was obviously a lot more mature shall we say, and so you know, I didn't feel that intimidation as much. So, yeah, it wasn't something that I was seeking it just kind of stumbled across me at that time, but in the past I had thought to do it and never done it .

JJ: I’d read about it in a book and it was a fictional book, and the female protagonist in this book had taken up Krav Maga because of the attacks that happened to her and I thought this sounds like really good and gnarly. It sounds effective! I mean I had no idea how hard it was going to be — I mean I’ve had some serious injuries — I've been battered seven years, been battered mainly by her! Broken bones and when you try and explain that to somebody they are like why would you do that? Well, because you know, the more you do it the harder you get, the tougher you get, the faster you get… and that's still, we're still evolving and doing that so!

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LH: Cool! How do you see the future of your particular art? You feel good strong bullshit politics?

JJ: We don’t court politics, we don't court bullshit, we don't court ego! We don't hold the belting system, we don't hold the grading system because belts hold your pants up — there’s no disrespect to the black belt out there you know big respect… you know it's very honourable and very structured, and you have tenacity and honesty to stick with that to get to the black belt level — no disrespect! My sons do black belt in Karate — it’s brilliant but it lulls you into a false sense of security in terms of what you can actually do… uh because the mindset’s not there!

You're in a sporting honourable mindset assuming that the guy that is coming at you — if he’s going to get that close — he's also a sportsman and also has honor and rules. No, we don’t! That’s not how violence works! So anybody that has the structure of a sport in a competitive background, isn't going to have the mindset to be able to go from a librarian to a lunatic back to a librarian and that's the platform where we teach from! But we teach very, very differently — very differently to our male brethren and the thing is it's not no disrespect to them because we have inherited some fantastic big brothers along the way, you know we’ve had some brilliant… really, we've got some really good support, we've had some brilliant laughs and experiences. We have travelled to different countries with them, it’s all been really good, but we are not them and they are not us!

They will never know what it’s like to be a woman, something to teach from a female's point of view and to be able to access that mindset — have to be able to switch it on, it's just a whole other different thing! But, in the terms of the future of Amazonia, we do a lot of corporate seminars now for female members of staff that work in your big organizations…

CB: And mixed seminars too. Jessica and I, you know, we want to help people, that’s what we want to do. We have a lot of information and a lot of knowledge, and we just want to share that with people, and if that's what can make them safe and get them home to the family then that's what Amazonia is about!

JJ: We don't belong to a federation. We are entirely independent, which is wonderful and we have full autonomy of how Amazonia operates. We're able to go and train with different federations and different organizations and different disciplines, different styles, and you know we will gather all this stuff, this information, and we pick out what we can teach and how it would work for us… it has to work for us, we have to be honest and true to ourselves because if we're teaching bullshit, every student in the land is going to go they're teaching bullshit! if we teach something that's not going to work and it isn't honest and true and effective, we're doing a massive disservice and that’s very irresponsible —dangerous! It's dangerous because we're never going to go totally… we'd never go toe to toe. We'd never say to our female and male students, you know what we'll teach you in class you'll be able to beat any guy with our skills — no, you won’t! If I went toe to toe with Nasser, you'd steal my face, you'd end me! Duking it out, toe for toe, punch for punch, you’re a machine — you’re not going to allow me to do that and that's not a sexist thing!

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LH: You’ve just got to flash at me and I’d be confused! That's what you ought to do, the old Phoebe trick [pretends to lift shirt up] put them out, I’ll be like what’s going on? And then, bang [intimates headbutt]!

JJ: But no seriously…

CB: Fight smart — fight smart, not hard!

LH: It’s not hard exactly, but you know what… right listen, I’m just going to jump in here with you guys, which is interesting, on this conversation because most meatheads you have this conversation with, they don't look at it that way yeah and you have to explain to people — you know the number of times you go to a martial arts class and a martial artist has learned something or whatever they've learned, they are going to say, “Yeah, I wouldn't do that! So, I'm going to change it this, is how I’m going to do it!”

JJ: It suits to switch their narrative!

LH: Exactly! So, what you say is — you know what, all martial arts regardless of what they are, irrespective, if they're true, there are only two fighting methods in the world! That's all there are — the large person's method and the small person's method…

JJ: I like that!

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LH: One is like a bull in a china shop, and the other one fights smart because he's got the bull facing him now, so he's going to be evasive, and he's going…

JJ: … to be clever, savvy!

LH: Exactly! He’s got to be savvy! So, a lot of times this is where people get it wrong because they see a martial art and they think, “Oh yeah, I wouldn't use that movement, so I’m going to throw it out!” You see, do you realize maybe that movement wasn't meant for you? It was meant for either, a bigger guy or a smaller person you know, but what you've done is you’ve thrown the baby out with the water!

JJ: You’ve disregard something which could be potentially life saving to someone else!

LH: Exactly! And so, what you've just said about fighting smart, that is true of whether you're a male or a female! It is true of both, but meat meatheads don’t unfortunately see it that way!

JJ: You see that now, when we first started our Krav Maga journey, the guy that we trained with we thought Krav Maga began and ended with him. He was the Krav Maga messiah! Turns out he was just a YouTube buffoon!

Honestly, he had kickboxing as a baseline — he was good at kickboxing and then he YouTubed a few Krav Maga moves, consulted a book and sold himself as a Krav Maga instructor! He wasn’t insured…

CB: He was! So, he’s gone from a silverback to a buffoon!

JJ: So, we’d say to him, the method you’ve shown, the technique just won’t work! “Well, it will if you do it right! You’re not doing it right!”

No, no, no, it's not working! So it was always dismissed! So we've now created this teaching and learning platform where both teachers and students learn from each other. Like, one of our students says, “That’s not working!” Okay, right, let's have a look at it, let’s look at why it is not working for you?

There's one woman who's got a really bad hip displacement, one of our students, she can't do the tactical get up. She can't do the lifting the ass up, the throwing the legs behind, the coming up in the defensive position — she can’t do it, she’s not quick enough! So she panics, and says, “What am I going to do, I can’t get up?”

Okay, what we’re going to do is get on the floor, let’s look at it from her angle, instead of standing above her! We got down on the floor with her,

50

JJ: getting on her level — let's look at what the problems are, so we modified the move that worked for her and she was so pleased and she felt so empowered that, well, I'm not useless after all, because she so totally put on a disability display — she was like I can't do anything and she wrote herself off — it's like no, let's find a way it's going to work for you! Also, we like it when our students question us don't we?

CB: Definitely! And it's healthy, it's good, it gets us thinking and we’re learning all the time so, it's good when they ask questions and challenge us —definitely! But I think, as well, from just the point of us being female instructors over the years of you know just being a male dominated arena, you know we've gone to classes where its been men instructing — women have come into the class where they're they've made an attack and held a knife to their throat and they have been triggered… they may have been attacked, held at knife-point — they’ve left that class, they needed to be there — because there is no welfare and no conversation, and no looking at things from a female perspective you know why are they here in the first place? It's massive because like I said, I felt intimidated the first time I walked into a class, you need to do these welfare checks on them, and make sure that they feel comfortable and they're in a safe environment, and that for women is really, really important.

LH: Yes, and an important part of teaching is also that you are teaching the person standing in front of you. Not, oh, I’m going to teach you this and everyone is going to learn it — everyone has different needs!

JJ: Yes, you said last night, everyone teaches at different levels. It's not a cookie cutter, not one size fits all. You have to modify it and bend and flex and adapt and change yourself as an instructor. We have to find a way otherwise what are we doing here?

LH: Yeah absolutely! So here you are eight years later right, if you could go back to when you started, with hindsight now obviously, is there anything you'd change?

JJ: Everything!

LH: Everything?

JJ: The first day we walked into that lesson, there’s a ditsy blonde with all the information I’ve got now and I walk through that door — I’d turn around and walk right back out again because that would not be the teaching platform that I’d be happy with.

LH: Likewise?

CB: Hmm… I think that kind of, no, I wouldn't change it! I wouldn't change it because we learn from that, we actually evolve from that and that was part of our journey…

JJ: We are, you’re right actually!

CB: So, your journey is wrong, like we always say, it's constant journey, there's no destination, there’s no end of that journey. You're just constantly on a journey and that was part of our journey…

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JJ: We can't rob the heritage! It was a slightly fraud beginning and we thought this guy was the be all and end all of the Krav…, CB: But when we found out, the measures that we took to evolve ourselves, the relentless training that we do, up and down the country — we both work, we both have jobs, we both have families and we invest so much ourselves into this because we want to help people. I fell like we, Amazonia, since we started two years ago have evolved fantastically and dramatically! I am super proud of ourselves and what we have achieved, and think we’ve done an amazing job.

JJ: Yeah, even though it was a ropey beginning and although at the time we didn’t know it was a ropey beginning — but with hindsight… wow! Yeah, I agree with you, we needed that journey — you need a comparison don’t you?

LH: So you've been through it yourself, for you to start it as beginners — any advice for those on the same journey as you? So what would you say to them, if somebody walks in your room, exactly the same journey as you — knows nothing… what would Clare and Jessica say to them?

Both: Don’t give up!

JJ: It’s going to hurt! Don’t give up, just come back to class because you've got the balls size enough to walk through that door in the first place! You're already working from a position of strength. We don't look at people who come through the door that you know that they’re injured, wounded, broken and traumatised. We don't look at them as victims, fragile like a flower, no — fragile like a bomb, they have so much potential because they walk through the door in the first place, which tells us that they are already warriors — we take that stance and work from there, because if we treat them like broken birds, it's only perpetuating their mindset — I’m no good, I’m traumatised, I’m weak, I’m this, I’m that! Unfortunately, the people who come through our doors, it's always historical cases we're having to deal with because nobody — now I don’t want to sound crude when I say this — nobody in the room is going to walk in and say, “On Wednesday, I think I’m going to get raped, so can I just have some skills to deal with that please?” It’s never happened! And unfortunately, we always get the case of , “This has happened to me and I can’t have it happen to me again — help me!” That’s people!

CB: When something has happened to them, a trauma like a sexual assault, or you know they're being stalked, so they’ve had this traumatic experience — they need to gain some control. There might be the fact that they didn't do anything about it, which you know, they then blame themselves and they need to get the control back, and by coming to our classes that is exactly the reason for that — it might be retrospective of what has happened but they need building up and get back control because that situation was out of their control… why didn’t they do this or that? Why didn’t they scream or shout?

LH: All right, what do you do when you're not training?

Both pause.

LH: Or shouldn’t I ask?

CB: Well we teach and we try to fit in time to train ourselves…

LH: When you’re not doing any of that!

CB: Well, we’ve done a bit of pole-dancing!

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JJ: And Burlesque!

LH: Now we’re talking!

CB: We like swimming. Being with families…

LH: You got photos?

JJ: Photos?

CB: Of what? The pole-dancing?

LH: Duh… yeah!

JJ: A lot!

LH: A lot? You know I’ll be expecting some… for the article, ahem!

JJ: We have videos, do you want a video of me doing a lap-dance for Clare or Clare doing a lap-dance for me?

LH: Either or…

JJ: Both!

CB: This is going in the gutter isn’t it?

JJ: I mean, where is this video going to air?

LH: What’s wrong with that? Girl on girl — always sells! I mean you brought it up… you brought it into the gutter, don’t blame me!

JJ: You asked the question, don’t ask the question if you can’t deal with the answer!

LH: Yeah, all right, all right, so here comes here comes your 20 questions. This is the fun part… now the idea is not to think about it yeah, just answer what comes to your mind!

53 You can break the law if you want to….

Part Two LH: So, decide who goes first? If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would you have wanted to have seen?

JJ: Dinosaurs! I love dinosaurs!

CB: My child being born, because as a woman, you don’t get to see that!

LH: Interesting!

JJ: Good answer! Can I change my answer?

LH: No, no, no! Cool name Jessica Jones — answer [in a dull tone] dinosaurs. Now, you can go into the gutter with this if you want to because many people have! Simon Oliver went straight with this, no messing around… what would you do if you were invisible for a day?

Both: Can it be illegal?

LH: Yeah! See, Simon Oliver, it’s on record, he said he'd go into Victoria's Secret changing rooms and sit there watching them all day long!

JJ: Well at least he is honest!

LH: Yep, and Tommy said he’d rob a bank JJ: I'm with Tommy! Because the thing is, I have to, I'm sorry, I need to just make sure that all the people in my life were financially cared for, and then, as long as it was an all, like, I didn't have to do jail time. I mean, I wouldn’t want to be the big fat bitch on G-Wing!

LH: You’re invisible!

CB: For24 hours!

JJ: Right, I'm robbing every bank that I can get my hands on, with my little invisible mitts. In 24 hours, I'm robbing the ass out of every single bank that I can get my hands on, and then I'll get Un-invisible again, and then I’ll... I'd give it to all the people who need it!

54 My wife might see it!

CB: Mine's a little bit more selfish.

LH: Go on…

CB: So as a child, I was obsessed with chimpanzees, so I would be in the forest of wherever and sit amongst the chimpanzees and watch them.

I'd be safe, because they can't see me, so they're not going to be threatened by me.

JJ: I don't even know what… why we’re friends! What kind of answer is that?

CB: [Laughs] That’s my answer! What do you mean what kind of an answer is that?

LH: Have you ever been to the monkey forest up near Stoke?

JJ: I don’t like monkeys!

CB: I’ve not been.

LH: It's beautiful. I've been there. They're lovely and you can do just that!

JJ: Do you like monkeys?

CB: Yeah, but in their natural habitat! Borneo jungle…

JJ: I've got attacked by an adult male baboon in South Africa. I don't like monkeys!

CB: I'm going to be invisible. They're not going to see me. They're not going to…

JJ: I have issues with monkeys. Invisible or not! I'm just saying.

CB: That's why your answer was different to mine.

JJ: Well, exactly! There you go!

55 My wife might see it!

LH: There you go. All right, moving on. As a child, what did you wish to become when you grew up?

CB: A dolphin trainer!

JJ: Oh, my GodI I have the same answer! Up top… boom!

CB: I mean, my mum used to say to me, Clare, there is no call for dolphin trainers in Manchester. I was like, I don't care, I want to be a dolphin trainer! I'm being honest.

JJ: I don't know, Manchester Canal! I can't believe that's the same answer. I knew we were friends for a reason.

LH: [Laughs] Okay, so what animal represents you and why? [Looks at Clare] A dolphin?

JJ: A chimpanzee!

CB: No! A lion!

LH: Okay, why?

CB: Because, you know, I'm calm and self-like, but if I need to turn on that fieriness and actually, you know, become that lion, I will.

LH: You know, for some people, that's a heck of a turn on!

JJ: Get your coat, you’ve pulled — you don’t need to buy her a drink first! For me… probably a panther! Yeah, a panther! It's just slick, it gets the job done, it's fast, it's effective, it doesn't fuck about. It's a bit like me but in a panther form!

LH: Excellent, right… So what's your greatest strength and weakness?

CB: It can be the same thing?

LH: It can be the same thing. It could be chocolate. I've consumed lots of it!

CB: Red wine is my weakness.

LH: Strength?

56 My wife might see it!

LH: What is your greatest strength or weakness? My best answer was, if I told you that, I'd have to kill you.

MT: Yeah… My greatest strength is probably... People say I'm stubborn. My wife says I'm stubborn. I see it as persistence.

LH: So do I! MT: And my biggest weakness? Probably…

LH: Your persistence?

MT: [Laughs]… Yeah, cakes, chocolate, confectionery, sweets, sugar. All that nonsense!

LH: This is usually one of my favourite questions because it gives you so many things… What is your favourite memory of any one of your grandparents?

MT: Any one of my grandparents? I didn't really know my grandparents, I only knew my… Well, my grandmothers. My favourite memory, I mean, they were just such characters. My paternal grandmother was an old Cockney — proper London… Cor blimey… love a duck, knocked ‘em in the Old Kent Road — no mistake!

And my other grandmother, my maternal grandmother, was Irish. Proper Irish! Yeah, I mean, they were just kind of opposite. I mean, you know, proper rural Ireland and like London — Cockneys! Absolutely opposite… big influences on me. Don't really remember… just the stories that they told.

JJ: Putting the lid back on the wine!

CB: All right, she knows me so well…. It’s probably my empathy, my compassion!

LH: Cool!

JJ: My strength is I can just get shit done!

LH: Weakness?

JJ: Haribo! Sugar, I need lots of sugar!

LH: Which ones though? The tangy ones?

JJ: No, no! Not the sour ones… they make you do that [sucks her cheeks in]!

LH: That's the whole point of eating them.

JJ: Hit me up with some Haribo! Haribo is my heroin!

LH: So what's your favourite memory of anyone or your grandparents? Pick one…

MT: Oh man, my favourite memory is of my grandad, who was my absolute hero.

LH: Mum’s side or dad's side?

JJ: Dad’s side — my dad's dad. And he used to make me the best stand-y-up eggs with dippy soldiers. And he just used to get it perfectly every single time. Oh, and he taught me how to skip. He was a PT in the army. He was a little dude, fiery little bugger, he didn't nonsense. He was called a little bastard in the army. Because he was! I'm swearing a lot on this, is that all right?

LH: Yeah, yeah… That’s all right…

CB: So, mine is my nana. I've got many, many, many, many fond memories. Funny memories! Lots of, you know, loving memories. The one I'll quote is to do with liquorice torpedoes. Remember the liquorice torpedoes?

57 My wife might see it!

LH: I do!

CB: My nana was very involved in my and my mother's life. And she would look after us in summer holidays, and we spent a lot of time together. You know, that smell of make-up, that old-fashioned make-up? You can smell it!

And whenever I get a smell of that, I think of my nana. But this particular time, she was taking us to the dentist and we brushed our teeth before we went. We were there with my nana, holding hands, walking up this path. This long path that took us up by the side of this field and we were walking up there and she pulls out the pocket a packet of liquorice torpedoes and she's handing these liquorice torpedoes to us… and we’re going through them and then we finished the bag, and then we both went, we're going to the dentist nana! She's like, OOH! Don’t tell your mum! And we're like this, trying to brush our teeth — with our fingers!

LH: Brilliant! All right…

JJ: Do you still like liquorice torpedoes?

CB: Erm, yeah! Yeah, because they remind me. I mean, they're not my favourite thing, but… it's a memory, it triggers a memory.

LH: Yeah! How do you want to be remembered?

CB: Just as a fucking good person!

LH: Cool, that's good! Jessica?

JJ: I think the legacy I'd like to leave is that I did good in life. And I know that what we've done thus far erm, even if we both died tomorrow, what we've done and what we've given people and maybe just made one person feel safe and help them, that's it.

LH: Yeah, yeah…excellent!

JJ: That’s what we want to do.

LH: What have you always ever wanted and did you ever get it?

CB: I always wanted a chimpanzee and I've never got it! I don’t think it’s ever going to happen!

58

JJ: No it’s not! You're in it with a pet monkey, we're done!

CB: I literally always wanted a chimpanzee. Always!

LH: It’s like your dinosaurs! If you could have a dinosaur, wouldn’t you want one as pet?

JJ: No, I don't want to own a dinosaur. I just want to be alive in the time of the dinosaurs, but keep away from the dinosaurs!

LH: If you had a dinosaur that’s your pet… it’d eat, anyone one who’d try to hurt you or come anywhere near you to harm you — wouldn’t you want one? You know, Fido… attack!

JJ: Fido? A Velociraptor! [Laughs] I don’t! Leave my dinosaur answer alone you guys! I'm not hating on you. Oh no, I am. I'm just hating on your chimpanzee. What was the question?

LH: What have you always ever wanted and did you ever get it? Or are you still working towards it?

JJ: Do you know what? I've always wanted to be with somebody that gets me and that makes me laugh, and makes me smile, and makes me happy and understands me, and doesn't try and change that and just embraces my craziness because I'm a little bit weird. And I have done.

LH: Good, good, good! Do you know your family heritage?

JJ: Unfortunately, yeah!

LH: Unfortunately you say, why?

JJ: I'm a Viking! Seriously, I am a Viking.

LH: How far can you trace it back?

JJ: No, I'm not sure how far it goes back… 1500s, something like that!

LH: Wow, okay, you can trace it back up until there?

JJ: Pretty much, yeah, but I’m… not the rest of my present day heritage.

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LH: Mancunians! Not much more to add! [Laughs] I’m a Liverpool fan!

JJ: No, no — stock answer, I am a Viking! Viking blood coursing through these veins!

LH: Excellent! And? CB: I don't know, I know we have Welsh and Irish.

LH: Are you still learning who you are?

JJ: Absolutely… Anyone who says they're not is lying.

CB: Absolutely! Yes, every day you learn. You learn things about yourself all the time — including things you don’t like about yourself!

LH: What, if anything, are you afraid of and why?

JJ: I’m afraid of anything happening to my sons… and that answers the second bit. My sons, my world!

LH: Yeah, sure!

CB: I think that's what most people fear… is something happening to the family. You know, you're very protective of your family, your children, you know, your parents and you need to protect them. That's like your worst fear, isn't it?

LH: That makes sense. What is the most memorable class you have ever taken? It doesn't have to be the same class. But since you work in Tandem, maybe?

CB: My most memorable class is when we'd done a seminar with Tommy, Tommy Joe Moore and Joe Saunders and he did a bit of a flavour of Sumo.

So we took that back to our students and we put on, you know, we're not Sumo experts, we don't know, but we took a flavour of that back to our students and we had a Sumo class when we created a dojo, and we had a tremendous amount of fun and the students embraced it and we just had an absolute blast.That was one of the funniest classes!

JJ: The best class I did, it was a field event that we did, we did a Team Amazonia beach group camp and we'd both been to Israel last year training.

We did a seven day Krav Maga camp in Israel and we trained in different environments, because it's not all going to happen in a gym environment, you get attacked in a gym environment, you're in loose fitting clothes and it's an air conditioned gym, battered floors, great, not going to happen!

So we trained in beaches, in the water, in forests, on concrete, all different kinds of environments. So we… there's a place called Formby, up near Liverpool actually, and its got everything. Its got a really good forest, its got an open air area, its got a brilliant beach and sea obviously, big sand dunes and the last day of our Israeli training was doing… it was like a gauntlet type thing, you had to do four hours of military style training to exhaust you and then you had to do this, this running up a sand dune, Windgate Hill like, and it was interspersed with different attackers! So you're running on sand, you're fatigued already, it's hot, you're wet, you've got sand where you don't want sand and then you had to fend off, zigzagging up this sand dune. There were six or seven different attackers and then when you got to the top of this sand dune you had to run the full length of the sand dune and then back up the beach and it was, I mean there were only three guys and one woman that did it twice, I was that one woman!

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JJ: So we wanted to replicate that for our students, so Formby presented all the components we needed to do Team Beach and we did all that with them.

There were sand dunes and we knackered them out in the water, and there was forest training, grappling and sand, we were wet press ups in the water and yeah it was good, so Team Amazonia Beach Bootcamp was my favourite class!

LH: Nice, nice, nice, all right, what book has influenced you the most?

JJ: Books?

LH: Any one book that you straight away think of… I like that!

JJ: Fifty Shades of Grey!

Clare gasps and holds head in hands!

LH: Excellent!

JJ: No it did, it was really odd! You can actually… do people really do that stuff? And then off to B&Q I went!

LH: Oh, I could say something there!

JJ: Don’t — It's you that's getting down in the gutter!

CB: [Laughing] Can I just say, she spends half her life in B&Q! JJ: I’m a painter and decorator that’s why!

CB: The book that influenced me the most Yeah, the one I think the one book that I can think of is The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker. Another book, When Violence Is The Answer, by Tim Larkin — I read it, JJ: You heard the audiobook, you didn’t read it!

CB: She’s very bossy isn't she?

JJ: I'm just keeping on track with you!

CB: I know! I think a lot of what was in the book resonated with me. It's helped us on our journey and in our teaching as well.

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LH: What ridiculous thing has someone tricked you into doing or believing?

JJ: When I was younger, I used to do a thing called YTS. It was just as you left school. You're probably old enough to remember that?

LH: I am unfortunately!

JJ: I got YTS in British Home Stores in Manchester. British Home Stores was in Market Street, massive long street. They said to me that every morning they mop their section outside the British Home Stores door on the tiles and the entrance to the store. “Ok, right, so that's your job Jess!” I said, no problem. So, I got my mop bucket, and set about mopping our bit and then the manager of the store, they saw them come in and they said, “Ok Jess, you can get back in now!” Because they're both playing a trick on me, they don't want to get into trouble and I had cottoned on, that this isn't what people do, they don't mop the street! I was like, no, no, it's ok, I'll just do the next door, and I'll just do down to Debenhams and I ended up mopping all of Market Street to get them into trouble! So initially the trick was on me, but I flipped it and I stitched them up — they got into a lot of trouble for stitching up the YTS kid!

LH: Nice!

CB: The thing that kind of springs in my mind it's like a real young childhood memory… so when I started in primary school and my brother was older than me and he had a teacher called Mr Ogden, and he kept saying to me whenever you see, if you come across Mr Ogden everybody has to go, “Oggy, Oggy, Oggy!” and then all the kids go, “Oi, Oi, Oi!” So, if you ever come across Mr Ogden and you don't do that, he'll be offended! This was told to me over and over and over again, and then I was sent from my class to Mr Ogden's class to ask for something, I can't remember what it was, sweeping brush or something, and I went in the class and I like knocked on the door and went in and I was like Mr Ogden — and he went, “Yes?” And I went, “Oggy, Oggy, Oggy!” and everyone in the class went, “Oi, Oi, Oi!” and he went mad, he was like, “What is this?” I was like mortified, but that's the influence of an older brother you know, you believe them you trust them!

LH: That’s funny! Ok… Who or what has been the greatest influence on you?

JJ: My grandad!

CB: My mum!

LH: What is the craziest thing any one of your teachers has had you do as a part of your training?

CB: I'll do mine. So mine was when we went to Portland to train with Mo Teague and he brought me up into the centre of the room, there was everybody all around and he was like we're going to do the heavy hand you know, and I was a willing victim!

I was like, yes, ok so he's like, “Can I see your teeth Clare?” and he slapped me on the face and he went, “Did that hurt?” I was like, “No!” It really did hurt! He's like,”Ok, let's do it again!” And he proper, I mean, he did it! I felt like he did it the first time, the second time he nearly knocked me into next week, I felt my brain rattle — I felt the rattle in my head! I was like, why have I just volunteered myself to come up and do this?

A Mo Teague heavy hand why?

Why did I do that?

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JJ: I think it would be with a guy that we did a seminar with and he was doing the shoulder shock thing — and he had us all lining up he said, “Can I have a volunteer?”

So I was like, well I'll do it and he said, “Ok.” So, he turned me back and it's about your traps here at the pressure point or something, he did this double karate chop on the thing on my traps here and I just, I've never known a pain like it I was like, why have I just volunteered for this?

And he literally sent this electric shock down my body, and I just crumpled and just sat on the floor sobbing and I couldn't get up, I couldn't gather myself or anything, I just knelt, I couldn't do anything, it was horrible! And then he said, “Right, get up! You now need to do it to everybody else!” I was like, why would I do that?

But I did! It's silly, rather than going no, this is ridiculous and it's painful stop it, you do it! Because when you're a bit of a nobby …

LH: A nobby? A nobhead?

JJ: [Laughing] That was the hybrid of a newbie and novice — when you're a bit of a nobby like I am, no when you're a bit of a novice and a newbie — you kind of do it and actually you think this is really unsafe and it's not kind, it's not nice ,but you do it ! You’re a bit of a nobby, so there's a few bits I'm sure that we could dig around in, but that's the answer.

LH: All right, now remember this is going to be public, so think about this one! When did you screw everything up, but no one ever found out it was you? So you're admitting to it now!

JJ: Oh, ok — I worked in a bleach factory when I was at college and this bleach factory dealt with fabric conditioner, washing up liquid all household products. It wasn't just bleach. It was only a college job for like 6 weeks while we were on college break and I'm super helpful, super tidy and at the end of every line of production is a big vat of anti-foam, which they tip into the gutter to stop it from foaming up if it gets a bit more watery and slippy, and I thought this was a bucket of washing up liquid so I was being a helpy-helper to them so I took this bucket of anti-foam and I tipped it into this massive vat of washing up liquid that we're currently cooking and it neutralised the whole batch and the whole batch had to be binned and the line manager was going, “Who's done this?”

And I was going, “What a terrible thing! I mean, who'd do that?”

I was like, oh my god, I've just cost this company like thousands of pounds of washing up liquid by anti-foaming it — they never knew!

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CB: I don't know how to follow that! I think mine's just going to be like really, really boring like when I reversed my dad's car into a wall!

LH: Excellent, you never told him it was you?

CB: No, no! He just thought something happened when his car was parked up! Yeah, look at that can you imagine, they haven't told you and left a note on your car windscreen to tell you that they've hit your car!

LH: Brilliant, brilliant! If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romanticcomedy, action film or science fiction?

CB: A drama!

LH: All right, fair enough!

JJ: I think mine would be a hybrid of everything other than the sci-fi. People have said to me that, oh my god because I'm in a rather colourful life thus far, it's just getting more colourful, “You should write a book, you should absolutely write a book about your life,” and I'm like, “nah, people wouldn't believe it!” It would have to be a non-fiction film, because there's just so much stuff happening to me, people would just go nah, but yeah rom-com, drama, comedy, definitely comedy!

LH: Right… if you could select one person from history and ask them one question — who would the person be and what would the question be?

JJ: I think it would have to be Hitler — What the fuck were you thinking?

CB: Yep! That was exactly what I was thinking!

LH: Final question in this segment — how would you describe your art in ten words or less?

CB: Important, essential, sexy…

LH: See how she looks at me when she says, “Sexy?”

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JJ: I know…

CB: … relevant.

LH: It doesn’t have to be ten, it can be less!

JJ: Important, safe, practical, fun, informative and match them with Clare’s words!

LH: Well, that is the end of 20 Questions, all right, one more question, so if you didn't have any pockets, if you didn't have any bags or anything, if you had to hide something on your person, where would it be?

Both laughing: We know where this is going!

JJ: Straight down the rack! So for example, I don't carry bags, and if I have a dress with no pockets, and my friend doesn't have a dress with any pockets, or my friend doesn’t have a handbag and we both chew gum and I need to store my gum somewhere, so I get two, three pieces of gum out of the pocket, out of the tub, straight down the left cup of my bra! Then what happens is I forget that it's down my bra and when I take my bra off at night, it all gets a little bit sticky down there!

LH: I've got a follow up question with that…have you ever forgotten the gum was there and you were taking your bits off when you were with someone, and suddenly…?

JJ: No, I do have standards you know!

LH: All right, all right, I’m just kind of following that on!

JJ: No, no! I haven’t! Have I? I used to chew and put my chewed gum down my sports bra when I was training because I was always chewing gum, because if you're in close proximity with someone, the worst thing is bad breath! We all know this right, we've all been there, so I used to chew gum and sometimes if we're doing like chokeholds or something which requires a gum shield — a gum shield and chew gum — so it's like, fuck it, down it goes.

I've forgotten that was there, messy but nobody died!

LH: [To Clare] Have you ever taken it out?

CB:[Laughing] Not for the Youtube version!

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JJ: Yeah, we're that close — if you needed a piece of gum, I'd be like yeah, reach in sister, do what you want, get a piece of gum!

CB: … it's a handful of gum!

LH: Brilliant!

JJ: You had to do it didn't you, you had to go there?

LH: Yep, had to go there! Brilliant 20 Questions, Amazonia thank you! It really, really has been a pleasure talking to you wonderful ladies! That was brilliant!

JJ: Thank you, I enjoyed it!

CB: Thank you very much, that was good fun!

LH: Let’s do this again soon! Time to head back inside.

My thanks to Ramakrishna for his patient videography!

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The Sweetness of this Rain Dr Gregory T. Lawton The winds of love are drifting my way again And carrying with them clouds of mystic wonder.

God has awakened the sleeper within my breast And stirred up the mystic knower.

Why you ask?

You might as well try to penetrate the clouds of unknowing Or separate the scent from the magnolia flower.

No common bee can sip the nectar of this flower Or taste the rapture of its intoxication.

The pearl inside this oyster Is the treasure of your heart.

This upturned face is a landscape for the falling rain And a horizon for the rising sun.

The sun rises in my right hand and sets in my left And sprinkles mysteries like fireflies between them.

We are stone cold and moons of dust And mere mirrors of your light.

Draw this mirror to Thy face And bless him with Thy countenance, Embrace him with Thy mercy and pardon, And grant this new moon Thy eternal blessing of light.

(Quotes from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá) No matter how dense or dark are the clouds The sun, the stars, and the moon shine above them.

I rise upon a mere wisp of cloud and disappear Into the fog of a vaporous mist.

As I sing...

“Let me taste of the sweetness of this rain And I will swallow the seas.”

About the authorDr. Gregory T. Lawton is an author of many books, most of them in the area of health science, but also in the genre of Asian martial arts, philosophy, poetry, and prose. Dr. Lawton is a passionate award winning artist and photographer who finds his artistic and creative inspiration in nature, and who frequently attributes the source of his images and writing to the 19th century Persian Prophet, Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, and the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi Mystic Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī. Dr. Lawton has been a member of the Baha’i Faith since 1970 and embraces the Faith’s principles related to the promotion of world unity and peace.

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Kindly reprinted with permission from: The Silence Between Words 2016, Revised 2019 Dr. Gregory T. Lawton 2040 Raybrook Street, SE Suite 104 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 616-285-9999

Lift Hands would like to thank Katherine Loukopoulos Sensei for providing this exclusive book free of charge to our readers. To get your download link please visit and join our group page on FaceBook: Lift Hands: The Internal Arts Magazine

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dvance, Parry, Grasp, Hammer [Step Forward Parry and Punch] is the fourth method of Long Har Ch’uan.

It is directly based upon the posture from Taijiquan and its small frame level contains all four of the primary gates of P’eng, Lu, Ji and Arn. However, in the training method we are primarily using ‘natural’ Lu and ‘obstinate’ Lu with Arn. Its main function is to teach us about total body movement, both upper and lower, whilst splitting our directions, thus moving with and against the flow of energy simultaneously!

The method consists of two parts — the main method [Closed-side] and its peripheral [Open-side] — and how to switch between the two, moving from the outside in and inside out!

We need to understand that these are NOT techniques, nor that this is how you would use it in actual combat!

Again, the method is deliberately designed to be ‘awkward’ in order for us to understand how to move the whole body and not just fight using a limb or a peripheral! There are many things happening here all at once, providing us with the necessary torques for both the hand strikes and the kick, and giving us total body power — the way of internal Gung-fu!

In this method, the kick is done with the rear leg and not the lead leg as is usually the custom! However, the diligent student will note that the torque created is identical to the lead leg kick!

[A note for the reader: it is important to remember that we are using static images in this article for illustrative purposes only, so the true dynamic and explosive nature of the movements cannot be represented. It is important that you seek out a qualified and competent instructor to teach you these methods!]

The Solo Method [Photos 1-12]/The Peripheral Method [Photos 13-17] 1. From a neutral position, you take a V-step with your left foot as your waist turns to the left causing your arms to naturally swing across your body like a pendulum [Photos 1-3].

2. Your waist instantly swings back to the right, causing both hands and the right leg to ‘load’. As the waist continues turning to the right, the right back-fist strikes, followed by the left palm [Photos 4-5].

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3. The resultant opposing torque between the upper and lower body now powers the right leg forward into a heel kick as the left palm ricochets forward, with both the kick and palm arriving together [Photo 6].

4. From the previous position, you simply place the right foot down into a V-step and reverse all the movements [Photos 7-12]. The method continues by simply alternating and reversing the steps left and right.

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The Peripheral Method is essentially identical to the main method!

1. From the posture in [Photo 12], you simply reload both your hands and feet and fire the strikes [Photos 13-14].

2. Now, the left foot will go down and you will switch sides, to reverse back to the main method, you simply repeat the last movement on whichever side without putting the foot down and then continue.

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Two-Person Main Method

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The main points which are being struck here in the training method are, Colon [Co]10/12 and Gallbladder [GB]3, although in terms of selfprotection anything can be struck including the neck!

Above, left to right: Colon [Co/Large Intestine] Meridian; Gallbladder [GB] Meridian

WARNING: DO NOT STRIKE ANY OF THE NECK OR HEAD POINTS DURING TRAINING AS SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH CAN OCCUR!

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1. Your partner attacks with a straight right [A].

2. You ‘V-step’ to the left as your waist turns left, causing the right shoulder to align with your opponent’s centre [Photos A/B]and the right hand and left palm to arc up [Photo C].

3. As the waist turns to the right, the centrifugal force generated, cause the fingers of the right hand to snap shut into a back-fist and strike Colon 10 [Co10], just below the elbow, as your left palm strikes Colon 12 [Co12], [Photo D].

4. The waist continues turning to the right, creating a torque which powers the right leg into a heel kick across the patella. The knuckles of the back-fist continue sliding down his right forearm, thus upsetting his internal energy and causing his centre to move forward — destabilising him physically as the left palm ricochets into Gallbladder 3 [GB3], [Photos E/F].

It is imperative that reader understands that we are using static images to break down a fluid attack which happens on the count of one! The single body motion powers all four strikes!

6. To reverse sides, your partner now throws a straight left. You simply step straight into a V-step to the right and repeat the entire drill in reverse [Photos G-J].

7. You continue to alternate between the outer gates.

The Peripheral Method The Peripheral Method in this case is almost identical to the main method. However now, you’ll be switching from the closed-side [outside] to the open-side [inside]. In order to do this, from the posture in Photo J, your partner throws a low body hook with his right, [Photo K]. Without placing your left foot on the ground, you simply re-load and repeat the attacks on the inside of his right arm with the left fist, as the right palm strikes near the elbow crease and ricochets up to GB3 or anywhere on the neck, [Photo L].

You can continue alternating on the inside now as your partner continues throwing low body hooks.

In order to return back to the outer or closed side, if you are in position [Photo L] and your partner throws a left straight, you reload without putting the left foot down and switch the attack immediately to the outside, [Photos M/N].

In this method, it is your partner who forces you to switch from the outside in and vice versa by changing his attack! This makes this method perhaps the most difficult, as well as the most robust to perform in terms of

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cardio. Your balance and co-ordination are tested to the max, along with your awareness. Initially your partner will throw punches in a fixed order before they become random!

We have a simple training method to ensure that the body is relaxed and in a state of soong to ensure maximum power.

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Your partner stands with a mitt [Photo O], you simply repeat the main method as described above, striking and dragging on the mitt [Photos P/Q/R/S]. When struck correctly, on the count of one, your body will release tremendous power! Note in Photos Q/R, that the back-fist strikes and drags before the right hand and left knifeedge strike together [Photo S]. A common error occurs when students kick in tandem with the back-fist!

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Self-protection In terms of self-protection, it is the understanding of body movements and how to generate internal power which are the keys to this training method! It is not a technique in itself, however, its principles can be used in any scenario!

This concludes the four main training methods of Long Har Ch’uan. These methods have many peripherals and off-shoots. I have simply illustrated the training methods at their most basic level. Once again, I’ll remind the student that these are not techniques — they are merely the route to understanding internal body mechanics, power and the principles of combat hidden within the abstract forms!

My thanks, once again, to Ramakrishna Pillay for being my ‘wooden man’ in the compilation of these images.

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Energy Medicine and Bioenergetics, awakening the power within Dr Gregory T. Lawton

Introduction Energy medicine is a branch of health care that focuses on the use of energy fields to promote healing and wellbeing. It is based on the belief that the human body has an energy field that can be stimulated to improve health and well-being. Energy medicine practitioners use various techniques to balance and restore the flow of energy in the body, such as acupuncture, acupressure, Chi Kung, Dao Yin, and Reiki.

Chi Kung and Reiki are both ancient disciplines based on the principle of “life energy”. However, they differ in their approach and techniques. What are the differences between these two energy healing disciplines? In addition to the disciplines of energy medicine cited above there is also an entire category of healing referred to as “spiritual healing”. In the article to follow we will briefly delve into the similarities and the differences between Chi Kung, Reiki, and spiritual healing.

Energy Healing There is a strong interest among my students and patients in the concept of “spiritual healing” or what some call “energy healing”. Some of these students or patients identify as members or followers of a specific religious movement, others as simply “spiritual," and others relate to energy healing strictly as a bioelectromagnetic energy field dissociated from any relationship to religion or spirituality. My motive in writing this article is to assist the reader in gaining an understanding of spiritual or energy healing and for those who want to utilize these systems of healing to be more proficient in manifesting this type of healing energy in their lives.

I conduct training classes for my students and patients in Dao Yin, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan and within those classes I teach a spiritual approach to health and healing. Dao Yin, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan seek to promote balance and harmony in the human body, to increase the body’s energy, and its unobstructed and natural movement throughout the human body. From a traditional Asian medicine and health perspective this is the definition of health and well-being and this concept, and its principles is similar to the principles and practices within the healing arts of acupuncture, acupressure and tui na.

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The methods used within the disciplines of Dao Yin, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan include physical exercise, meditation, breathwork, and spiritual practices including prayer, chanting, and visualization.

True healing is most often not an event or “miracle,” it is rather a process that involves self-discipline, regular practice, and most importantly, faith.

The Bioelectromagnetic Energy Field of the Human Body The bioelectromagnetic energy field of the human body has been the subject of modern scientific inquiry for over one hundred years, and still more questions than answers remain.

This bioelectromagnetic field of the human body is also known as the “human energy field” or “biofield”. It is an invisible energy surrounding the human body and is an integral part of many belief systems and alternative healing practices rooted in ancient spiritual traditions. This human energy field is thought to have multiple levels, and each level is proposed to have its own function. The five levels of the human energy field are categorized in some spiritual healing systems as: 1.

2.

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Physical: Directly connected to the physical body.

Etheric: The subtle energy blueprint for the physical body.

Emotional: Contains emotions and feelings.

Mental: Linked to thoughts, beliefs, and mental processes.

Spiritual: What connects humans with the divine.

Aspects of the human energy field can be detected with instruments. The human body emits low-level light, heat, and acoustical energy, has electrical and magnetic properties, and may also transduce energy that cannot be easily defined by physics and chemistry. All these emissions are part of the human energy field. Instrumentation exists and is used to measure electrical activity at the cellular and sub-cellular level, in muscle tissue, as well as measuring the bioelectromagnetic energy of the heart and the brain. A technique used to measure one aspect of the human energy field is magnetocardiography which measures the magnetic field produced by the heart. The heart is a major source of the human electrical field and has been described as a “step down transducer”. A transducer is a device that converts any physical quantities into a proportional electrical signal (voltage and current). In other words, a transducer is a device that converts one form of energy into another form which is measurable as an electrical signal. That process of converting energy from one form to another form is known as transduction.

Magnetoencephalography involves a machine that measures the magnetic field produced by the brain.

Electromyography utilizes a machine that measures the electrical activity of muscles. While we can measure electrical activity and magnetic fields within the body and its cells and organs, no scientifically accepted method or instrumentation currently exists to measure the overall or total bioelectromagnetic energy field of the human body.

This field is however, exactly what acupuncture charts with meridian pathways is attempting to map and represent.

Spiritual Traditions and Magnetic Healing Because the concept of the human energy field is not universally accepted in the scientific community, belief in this concept is largely supported by spiritual traditions and faith. Some studies suggest that the electromagnetic field of the human body can have psychophysiological benefits for people who come in contact with other people, or in other words person to person transmission of energy. While more research is needed to understand the nature of the human energy field and its potential effects, spiritual healers will continue to follow traditional beliefs and practices. According to some belief systems and healing practices rooted in spiritual traditions, a person with a strong energy field can affect a person with a weak energy field.

Shamanism and energy healing are related in that they both seek to heal individuals by working on subtle levels of energy rather than simply treating the physical body. Both practices aim to balance the energy centers of the body, whether known as meridians or chakras, and remove blockages that may be causing physical or emotional pain. Modern acupuncture, its point locations, and meridian map, have all evolved from shamanistic practices and beliefs as well as astrology.

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The phrase "eyes are the window to the soul" is a metaphorical concept that suggests that you can understand a person’s emotions and sometimes thoughts by looking into his or her eyes. In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught His disciples that the eye is the light of the soul. The poet Rumi said, “The window of my soul opens, and from the purity of the Unseen World, the Book of God comes to me straight.”

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In the Christian Bible we can find several examples of healing by the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is described as having the power to heal people. For example, in Acts 10:38, it is written that God gave Jesus the Holy Spirit and power, and Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ruled by the devil because God was with him. In First Corinthians 12, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed, and one of them is the gift of healing.

Also, in the Christian bible we find many examples of healing with the laying on of hands. In the Old Testament, the prophet Elisha healed a child by stretching himself out on the child and placing his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on the child's eyes, and his hands on the child's hands. In the New Testament, Jesus healed many people by laying his hands on them. For example, he healed a blind man by taking him by the hand and leading him out of the village and laying his hands on him. He also healed a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years by placing his hands on her.

The practice of laying on of hands for healing is still used today in some Christian denominations. In James 5:14-15 Christian believers are instructed to call for the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord for healing.

In Islam, the Quran contains verses that are believed to have healing properties. These verses are called Ruqyah and are recited for the purpose of healing. Ruqyah is an Islamic practice of treating illnesses through the recitation of Qur'anic verses and supplications prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad. It is a means of cure for physical, mental, and spiritual ailments. The word "Ruqyah" comes from the Arabic word "Raqa," which means "to overcome" or "to conquer". In the third chapter (surah) of the Quran, Al Imran, verses 18 and 19 are used in Ruqyah to seek protection from evil and to cure illnesses. Verses 18 and 19 state, “Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge — [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”

In the Bahá’í writings, of the Bahá’í Faith, we find extensive information pertaining to health and healing practices including descriptions and recommendations for “magnetic” or spiritual healing practices and the Bahá’í writings outline four kinds of healing of which two kinds are material and two are spiritual. One kind of material healing is explained to be like the contagion or transfer of disease organisms from one person to another only rather than being a disease process the transfer of healing energy from one person to another is viewed as a positive process. The second kind of material healing is described as a “magnetic force” interacting between two individuals. However, both kinds of material healing are described as being “weak” and as having effects only on minor illnesses.

In the Bahá’í writings we also find descriptions of two kinds of spiritual healing. The first kind of spiritual healing results from the total concentration of one person on another person suffering from an illness. This concentration may involve positive thoughts, meditation, or prayer. The second type of spiritual healing as noted in the Bahá’í Faith, is through the agency of the Holy Spirit and is like beliefs found in other religions such as Christianity.

The Buddha is believed to have healed people. In Buddhism, the Buddha is often referred to as the “Great Healer”. The Buddha's teachings on the Four Noble Truths follow the classical medical model of diagnosis, treatment, and cure. The Buddha is said to have healed people through his teachings and by performing miracles.

The Medicine Buddha is a healing Buddha from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Many cultures have healing deities or rituals, and the Medicine Buddha is a profound practice for healing physical, mental, and emotional ailments.

Shamanism is a spiritual practice that has been around for thousands of years and is still practiced today in many cultures around the world. Shamanic traditions for healing by spiritual means vary depending on the culture, but they often involve the use of rituals, prayer, meditation, dance, chanting, herbs, and physical manipulation.

Daoism is largely a shamanistic spiritual and philosophical tradition that originated in China. It emphasizes living in harmony with the Dao, which is often translated as "the way" or "the path". There is an entire branch of Daoist concentration and visualization exercises to cleanse the mental and physical channels of the body for purification and rejuvenation.

Daoism is largely a shamanistic spiritual and philosophical tradition that originated in China. It emphasizes living in harmony with the Dao, which is often translated as "the way" or "the path". There is an entire branch of Daoist concentration and visualization exercises to cleanse the mental and physical channels of the body for

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purification and rejuvenation.

Daoist healing practices aim to restore balance and harmony to the body, mind, and spirit. The practice of Chi Kung, which combines physical movements, breathing techniques, and meditation, is a popular Daoist healing practice. Chi Kung is believed by Daoists to help balance the flow of energy in the body and promote healing.

Daoist healing methods found in Chi Kung and Dao Yin also involve the practice of self-massage and the stimulation of acupressure points.

Daoism also emphasizes the importance of living in harmony with nature and the universe. The Laozi, a central text of Daoism, teaches that the universe is a self-regulating system that is always in balance. Daoist healing practices aim to restore this balance and harmony to the individual, the natural environment, and the universe.

Looking at Traditional Medical Chi Kung and Reiki Reiki is a form of energy healing that was created in Japan. It is based upon much older energy healing practices that originated in Egypt and that over hundreds of years moved east into India and China. The Japanese adopted many of the cultural, religious, and healing practices of China.

Japanese acupuncture began in the 6th century when a Chinese monk-physician named Chiso brought acupuncture and other medical techniques to Japan along with Buddhism. However, Japanese acupuncture developed its own distinctive features and styles over time, influenced by various historical and cultural factors.

The transformation of Chinese Chi Kung to Reiki has a similar story.

Reiki is thought to involve the transfer of universal life force energy from the practitioner's hands to the client's body, with the aim of promoting relaxation, stress reduction, and healing.

Reiki practitioners believe that by improving the flow and balance of energy around the body, they can enhance the well-being of the mind, body, and emotions.

The founder of Reiki is Mikao Usui, a Japanese therapist and spiritual teacher who lived from 1865 to 1926. He discovered and developed his style of Reiki, which he called Usui Reiki Ryoho, after a mystical experience on Kurama Yama (Mount Kurama) in 1922². He taught Reiki to over 2,000 students and established the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Method Society) to continue his legacy. He is also known as Usui Sensei, a respectful term for a teacher or master, by his Japanese students. He is widely regarded as the father of Reiki and a pioneer of Japanese energy healing.

Usui was raised as a samurai from childhood and was trained in the martial arts techniques of aiki. He traveled to several Western countries, including the Americas, Europe, and China, as part of his continued study. His studies included history, medicine, Buddhism, Christianity, psychology, and Daoism. Usui's teachings aimed to provide a method for students to achieve connection with the "universal life force" energy that would help them in their self-development. What sets Usui's teachings apart from other hands-on healing methods is his use of reiju or attunement to remind students of their spiritual connection.

Reiki is based on the concept of ki, which is the vital energy that flows through all living things. Ki is also known as chi in Chinese, prana in Sanskrit, or mana in Hawaiian. Reiki practitioners use their hands to channel this energy to the client, either by touching them lightly or holding their hands above them. Reiki can be performed in a variety of settings, such as a peaceful, private room, a hospital, or a hospice. Reiki sessions typically last from fifteen to ninety minutes, depending on the client's needs and preferences.

Reiki has many reported benefits, such as: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Bringing on a meditative state.

Reducing stress and anxiety.

Promoting natural self-healing.

Relieving pain.

Supporting the well-being of people receiving traditional medical treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and kidney dialysis.

Reiki is a safe, gentle, and non-invasive form of natural healing that anyone can learn and practice.

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A person becomes a Reiki practitioner through a process called, attunement” (Reiju). A Reiki attunement is a process by which a person receives the ability to channel Reiki energy for healing themselves and others.

Attunement is performed by a Reiki master who uses special symbols and techniques in a Reiki spiritual ceremony to connect the student to the source of Reiki. A Reiki master typically charges a fee for an attunement ceremony with fees ranging from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending upon the perceived abilities and level of the Reiki master providing the ceremony.

A Reiki student will receive Reiki symbols during the Reiki ceremony at each level of obtainment. Reiki symbols are sacred healing symbols used in Reiki practice to enhance healing energy. There are many types of Reiki, and each has multiple symbols. Here are some of the most used Reiki symbols: 1. Cho Ku Rei: The power symbol used to increase power and focus energy.

2. Sei Hei Ki: The mental and emotional symbol used to balance the mind and emotions.

3. Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen: The distance symbol used to send Reiki energy across time and space for distant healing.

4. Dai Ko Myo: The master symbol used to activate all other symbols and increase the flow of Reiki energy.

These symbols can be used individually or combined to increase power, clear negative energy, and promote spiritual enlightenment.

An artistic representation of the Cho Ku Rei symbol used in Reiki. Cho Ku Rei, which is one of the first symbols used in Reiki essentially means “Placing all the powers of the universe here”. The Reiki power symbol is thought by Reiki practitioners to work as a “switch” that helps to instantly increase a Reiki practitioner’s ability to channel universal energy.

Becoming a Reiki practitioner requires training and practice in the art of Reiki healing. There are three levels of Reiki training: level one, level two, and level three or master level. Each level has its own requirements and benefits, and the time it takes to complete them may vary depending on the individual and the teacher.

The average time it takes to become a Reiki practitioner varies from a few hours to a weekend, or to two years.

The timeframe depends upon the teacher and how they have marketed and priced their Reiki training and attunement ceremonies. Reiki is normally taught through levels one through three and with the final level being the Reiki master.

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Level One: This is the beginner level, where students learn the basic principles and techniques of Reiki, and how to practice it. It usually takes one or two days to complete a level 1 course.

Level Two: This is the intermediate level, where students learn the Reiki symbols and how to use them for distance healing and mental and emotional healing. It also takes one or two days to complete a level two course.

Level Three or Master level: This is the advanced level, where students receive the master attunement and symbol, and learn how to teach and initiate others in Reiki. It can take from 1 day to several months to complete a master level course, depending on the teacher and the curriculum.

It is not unusual for a modern Reiki practitioner to have received their training and attunement online.

What is Chi Kung?

Chinese Chi Kung, also known as qigong, is both a system of coordinated body postures and movements, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training as well as a system of energy medicine and healing. It involves enhancing and harmonizing the vital energy or chi, which is believed to flow through all living things. Chi Kung has many benefits, such as promoting relaxation, stress reduction, self-healing, and well-being. Chi Kung was developed in China thousands of years ago as part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, and tuina or Chinese massage therapy. Chi Kung can be placed into two main categories — medical Chi Kung and martial Chi Kung.

Medical Chi Kung is a form of energy healing that applies the principles and techniques of Chi Kung within the larger framework of traditional Chinese medicine. It involves the diagnosis and treatment of various health conditions by manipulating the flow and balance of chi, or vital energy in the body. Medical Chi Kung practitioners use their own chi to heal others, either by direct contact or at a distance. Medical Chi Kung practice and methods can also teach patients how to practice Chi Kung exercises for self-care and prevention. Medical Chi Kung is a holistic and natural therapy that can complement other forms of medicine.

A classical representation of Yin and Yang symbolism. The Yin and Yang symbol represents duality, or the idea that two opposite characteristics can exist in harmony and complement each other. The black segment of the symbol represents yin, which represents femaleness or feminine energy, while the white segment represents yang, which represents maleness or masculine energy. The symbol holds its roots in Taoism/ Daoism, a Chinese religion and philosophy, and is used to represent the simultaneous unity and duality of nature and everything on earth.

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Yin and Yang are two complementary forces that are present in all that exists according to traditional Yin-Yang theory. In Chi Kung, these forces are used to maintain a perfect balance between softness and hardness. The objective is to achieve a state of harmony between these two forces, which are inseparable and interdependent.

The Yin force is associated with darkness, cold, femininity, softness, curves, and the moon, while the Yang force is associated with light, heat, masculinity, hardness, straightness, and the sun. The two forces are not opposing but two aspects of the same reality, and they exist in relation to each other. The Yin-Yang theory also establishes certain laws in the relationship of these two principles, such as the fact that all existing things have a Yin aspect and a Yang aspect.

In Chi Kung, the Yin and Yang forces are used to create a balance between the body and mind. The practice involves a series of movements and breathing techniques that help to balance the Yin and Yang forces in the body. The aim is to achieve a state of harmony between these two forces, which are inseparable and interdependent. The practice of Chi Kung is believed to help improve physical health, mental clarity, and emotional well-being through the balance and harmony of Yin and Yang forces.

There are many different styles of Chi Kung, both medical and martial, and often the two types of Chi Kung overlap, and the distinction between them is not clear. Different styles and schools of Chi Kung may have different criteria and standards for mastery. During my training it was generally accepted that it took between 10 and 12 years to become proficient as a Chi Kung healer.

The National Qigong Association (NQA) is a professional organization for Chi Kung practitioners and teachers in the United States. According to the NQA, there are four levels of Chi Kung instructor certification, each with its own requirements of formal Chi Kung training, personal Chi Kung practice, and teaching experience. The highest level, Qigong Senior Teacher Level IV, requires 1000 hours of documented formal Chi Kung training, 10 years of personal Chi Kung practice, and 5 years of experience teaching teachers, clinical practitioners, or both.

If one meets these requirements, it will take at least 10 years to become a Chi Kung master by the NQA standards.

However, this is not the only way to define Chi Kung mastery, and some may argue that certification does not necessarily reflect the true depth and quality of one's Chi Kung skills and knowledge. Chi Kung is a lifelong journey of learning and refining one's energy, mind, and spirit, and there is always room for improvement and discovery. Therefore, becoming a Chi Kung master may not be a matter of time, but of dedication, passion, personal transformation and spiritual growth and development.

My own path, beginning with martial Chi Kung training in Kosho Ryu Kenpo in 1971 and then in medical or health Chi Kung at the Chinese Cultural Academy has involved over 50 years of continual practice.

I often have individuals or students introduce themselves to me as “masters” of energy healing, a claim that I do not make, but for a proficient Chi Kung practitioner it is very easy to determine if an individual indeed has mastery over their body and its energy. If they cannot demonstrate the ability to relax (sung) and to breathe correctly under physical exertion or stress, they have little or no control over their innate vital energy.

A truly proficient energy medicine practitioner should be capable of demonstrating mastery of certain of their own body functions including respiration and blood circulation. Remember, chi is defined as breath, blood, and energy. Through long-term practice we can learn to control our respiration and blood flow. For example, a simple beginning practice in internal Chinese arts such as Dao Yin and Chi Kung is to learn to master the opening or vasodilation of the blood vessels in the hands and fingers. A demonstration of this ability results in the reddening of the palms, increased heat in the hands, and a physical sensation of swelling and pulsing in the hands and fingers. This pulsing sensation is a result vasodilation of the small arterioles in the fingers and the arterial pulse wave that travels through the body’s arterial system. When this ability is demonstrated it is a sign of increased energy in the hands and fingers because blood cannot move through the circulatory system without energy driving it.

This simple ability, the capability of opening the blood vessels in the hands through concentration, is a basic and preliminary step in all forms of manual therapy, including acupressure and tui na. This ability is also a preliminary step in what is referred to as fa jing release in Tai Chi Chuan and other internal martial arts as well as a necessary aspect of mobilizing defensive chi when practicing Iron Shirt Chi Kung. In these examples, the practitioner moves beyond the capability of controlling blood flow into the hands to being able to increase blood flow, demonstrated by vasodilation and increased heat, to any part of the body.

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Conclusion We can see that healing by energetic and spiritual means has long been a practice of humankind and indigenous peoples. Spiritual methods of healing are presently very common and are practiced not only by people who identify as members of a specific religion but also among people who identify with contemporary new age practices or who simply consider themselves to be “spiritual”.

The main difference that I see between a Reiki practitioner and a Chi Kung practitioner is that the Reiki practitioner believes that once they are attuned through the attunement ceremony, they are connected to a source of healing energy regardless of their mental, physical, or spiritual condition.

This is not true for most Chi Kung practitioners who through ongoing training and practice of Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan (or other internal arts), along with certain dietary practices, and herbal medicines continue to cultivate their chi, their health, and their longevity.

My goal through my classes in internal health practices such as Dao Yin, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan, is to help my students through movement, breath, and chi practice to truly learn how to master themselves and to help to heal others.

About the Author and Course Instructor: Dr. Gregory T. Lawton is an author of many books, most of them in health science, but also in the genre of Asian martial arts, philosophy, and poetry. Dr. Lawton is a licensed chiropractor, naprapath, and acupuncturist. Dr. Gregory T. Lawton has studied and trained in comparative religion and martial arts such as Jujitsu, Kenpo, and Tai Chi Chuan since the early 1960s.

Dr. Lawton’s main and most noted Asian martial art instructor was Professor Huo Chi-Kwang. Professor Huo was a renowned Chinese scholar, artist, and calligrapher who served as Taiwan's ambassador to France and the Vatican.

References and Recommended Reading: Adams, P. M. (2022). The Power of the Healing Field: Energy Medicine, Psi Abilities, and Ancestral Healing.

Inner Traditions/Bear & Co. Markov, M. S. (2015). Electromagnetic Fields in Biology and Medicine. CRC Press.

Rosch, P. J. (2015). Bioelectromagnetic and Subtle Energy Medicine. CRC Press.

Villoldo, A. (2000). Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas. Harmony.

Wong, K. (2000). The Art of Chi Kung: Making the Most of Your Vital Energy. Harmony.

Yang, J. (1997). The Root of Chinese Qigong. YMAA Publication Center.

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W replied.

alking around at the Kaizen Adrenaline pre-event bash in June, I waltzed across to say hello to the legend which is Simon Oliver Sensei. After we exchanged our usual pleasantries and hugs, he pointed to the powerhouse seated next to him, “Do you know Terry?” He asked. “No, I haven’t had the pleasure,” I

“Terry Birkett!”

“Ah, I am familiar with the name!”

“Well, you ought to do your 20 Questions with him! It’ll be a very interesting read!”

So, that was my formal introduction to Terry. We shook hands and promised to meet up during the main event the following day for our 20 Questions session.

Kaizen Adrenaline was a huge success on a scorching hot June day! The Rushcliffe Arena in Nottingham was bustling with people, the mats were jam packed and the air-conditioning in the main hall failed quite early on during the day. Luckily, I had requested one of the earlier slots in the morning, knowing that that would give me plenty of time for the interviews I had planned later in the afternoon.

As the day progressed, the temperature in the arena soared uncomfortably. Lady Luck was once again smiling by the time I caught up with Terry at the end of the day. As folk started to pack up, we found ourselves in the vicinity of the snooker room — quiet, with tables and chairs, and the air-conditioning blasting!

We sat down and made ourselves comfortable. Krish, once again, took control of the camera — his third session at holding it steady for the next 40 minutes or so!

Part One LH: All right. Welcome to Lift Hands, great to have you here!

TB: What's it called?

LH: Lift Hands Magazine! I'll give you a bit of background. I started this magazine about seven years ago. It started out as a rant, I needed to get things off my chest. Most people write blogs, I started a magazine! But then what happened, you suddenly find that there were a lot of old school people who needed to get things off their chest, and then slowly, slowly, we've become — I mean, we've been going for seven years, over 30,000 readers, 105 countries.

TB: Awesome!

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LH: It's free, it's online, we don't charge.

TB: Do you do any printed copies?

LH: We do, we do, I always post a digital copy on a print-on-demand site. So, if anybody wants a printed copy, they just go there and order them and whatever they're charging, they're charged.

TB: I remember, like back in the MAI and Traditional Karate days, you know, you'd have a magazine every month, you'd say, like, I've got hundreds of magazines, and then you'd look back at articles from, like, 30 years ago.

LH: Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly! So what we've done is we post it online, it's free, so anyone can access it anytime, it's all up there. We wanted to be able to give out information about the people, and about what people had kind of really done, you know. We wanted stories, we wanted people… everyone in these magazines are celebrities, it's about selling products, it's about, do this, and you get a six-pack….

TB: Yeah, yeah… but what have you actually done?

LH: What have you actually done? Exactly! So this was about people who had stories. So each time when we do this, we find people like yourself — who have a story, and find out their story, and stuff like that.

So it's in two parts. The first part is just a wee general thing, all right? So we'll just jump straight into it, give us a brief introduction about yourself and what you've done?

TB: So I started like a lot of people, I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle!

LH: Which one?

TB: Raphael, all the way! Raphael, all the way!

LH: Not Michaelangelo?

TB: No, Raphael, Michelangelo was a party dude, I was a bit more serious. Raphael was the serious dude. He was the serious kicker, and I like red!

So got into a karate club, Kyokushin by chance, you know, so I didn't join like a Shotokan club or Wadō ryū, and Kyokushin is the… it’s branded as the hardest style of karate. It was the first full-contact style of karate. So I landed in a Kyokushin dojo, and that was me!

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TB: That was me, that was my bread and butter, I meshed with it. I started when I was 11, well I'm 43 now, this year and I haven't stopped since.

LH: What made you come into the martial arts?

TB: Ninja turtle!

LH: Just literally? Wow! TB: I wanted to be a ninja turtle! I was 10, 11. You know, so a kid, and you watch all the ninja films, you watch the martial arts, and you watch The Karate Kid, and I then looked at it and was like, I want to be able to do, not that I wanted to be a turtle, I wanted to be able to do what the turtles could do. So that's why I started training.

LH: Yeah, right, okay… Just stuck to the one discipline, or did you train multiple?

TB: No, I did Kyokushin a couple of years, and then I started looking at other stuff. I started doing Aikido, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo. Basically, anything that was around me, I would do, but I grew up in the valleys or country part. There wasn't a lot of stuff around you, so I managed to get into a bit of Jiu-Jitsu, a bit of Aikido, a bit of sword work, whatever I could get my hands on, but Kyokushin was my main all the way through it. I've done that non-stop.

LH: Yeah, yeah! I know exactly what you're saying. A lot of my main training was done around the Black Mountains My teacher, Erle, who was Australian, he moved there. So I used to kind of drive down, you know, all the way to Wales, train, come back, because there was nowhere to stay, and then drive down again the next morning!

TB: Live in tent!

LH: Yeah, you know what, I did that one night — you know what, the lowest temperature I've ever been in is minus 13, and it was, you know, no problem…

TB: The thing is Wales is different.

LH: Wales, I was in minus seven in the Black Mountains on an exposed hill.

TB: But we've got wind, we've got wind…

LH: Yeah…

74 Raphael all the way!

TB: It’s not so much the temperature, it's the wind that cuts into you. Because of the mountains and stuff we've got, and especially with a little bit of damp in the air, this wind cuts into you, which would mean it could be like minus five, and it'd actually feel like minus 20!

LH: Yeah, absolutely right, absolutely right! All right, so which of your disciplines has influenced you the most?

TB: Kyokushin! Kyokushin is, how could you say it, Kyokushin is my guiding compass in life. That's my base, everything else is on top of that.

LH: And did you, I mean, did you just stumble upon Kyokushin?

TB: Yeah, pure fluke, pure fluke! That was the karate club that I'd gone into. It was a Kyokushin dojo. I probably think, had I gone into another dojo, maybe like Shotokan or something that wasn't so vigorous in its training, I probably would have gravitated towards a Kyokushin dojo.

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TB: Because once I'd become exposed to it and seen the level of training and fighting, I'd be like, that's what I want to do. That… it fitted me, it fitted my personality.

LH: All right, so you've been doing this literally for 30 plus years.

TB: 32 years!

LH: 32 years, yeah, right — so how do you see the future of your particular art?

TB: Of Kyokushin? Kyokushin has changed already!

LH: So… compared to how it was?

TB: This is how, this is what I am, Kyokushin. So, I started doing Kyokushin, I started in the early 90s.

I think that was the end of the golden era of Kyokushin Oyama was still alive and the tournaments were big and hard. It became a little bit more kickboxing-ish as it went on and it became all about tournaments.

So you've got Kyokushin, but what people are doing is essentially knockdown! Knockdown is the style of fighting.

Kyokushin is the art. Knockdown is just a rule set within the art. You've also got Shinken Shobu, which is gloves and headshots. So that is within Kyokushin as well.

But because the tournaments were such a massive success, the world tournaments, everybody started training to win the tournament. They forgot the Kuzushi. They forgot the throws. They didn't do headshots. They only trained for tournament karate and that's the way it went. So, that's what we were doing. You know, I was like 10 to 17 — was that. Then I read a book called ‘Watch My Back’ by Jeff Thompson. That changed my trajectory then. I was like, oh, there's other stuff to this! I want to be a bouncer. I was like, I want to be a doorman. I want to do this. So I started training with doormen. And then the stuff that we were doing was like, you know, you can't do that!

LH: No, no TB: I'll never forget once I was working with one of the guys, one of the big guys and they were like, “Oh, put me in a hold.”

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TB: Put him in a hold, got him in a hold. He bit me! He bit my arm! And I'm like, you can't bite! What are you doing?

You can't bite each other! You can't do that!

He's like, “Of course you can, you can do whatever you want!”

So I was like… Oh! That opened my eyes. So then the next time we were doing something, he put his arm on me. I went to bite in. But, he's a fully grown man. I was 17. He just wrenched his arm into my jaw! You realize then that, oh, this guy is immensely stronger than me. So strength is a massive factor in this fighting sort of stuff. So my training changed. I became more about realism and then I started going back to original Kyokushin— Kyokushin from the 60s!

Because the World Tournament was mid-70s and from the mid-70s onwards, it slowly started becoming a bit of a sport. Pre-date that, you've got to throw in the grabbing the kuzushi, the head shots. It was all there in Kyokushin.

Kyokushin was originally designed for you, the Kyokushin practitioner, to be able to hold your own against anyone.

If he's a Judo guy, you can hold your own. A Jiu-jitsu guy, you can hold your own on it — ok. But it did morph and change into something else.

So my karate had to go back to its roots and I find myself a big fan of Motobu Chōki’s stuff.

LH: Right!

TB: I think if I hadn't walked into a Kyokushin dojo and I walked into a Motobu dojo… how I would have come then, because it's quite similar stuff. But I find myself looking at Motobu's work a lot, because that relates to real stuff outside. And that's where my forties at the moment is — actual fighting, not tournament fighting!

LH: Yeah, no, no, no, that makes all sense.

TB: Well, and that's because of the environment I was in. I wanted to be a doorman I started working as a doorman and this juggling about, screaming, looking for points crap, doesn't work when you're in the middle of a nightclub! So your training had to change, the violence changed, the threat changed. I evolved as a person and I see you kind of become this monster, because you're in that environment. I did become this monster that was, you're looking me the wrong way, I'll knock you clean out!

LH: Yeah, you're absolutely right. And a lot of people do sparring, and it is tournament sparring. It's not real, they're pulling, or they're not really trying to hurt. It has rules, you can't hit certain targets. So you're training and that's what's going to happen… in reality — you’ll fight the same!

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LH: I'll tell you an interesting story about what you were just talking about — how one of the guys who got a shock!

We were training one day and this guy was a grappler — he literally threw this other guy and sat on him with a full mount…and as he went to do that [throw a punch], the other guy, literally from the position he was in, raised his chest, opened his mouth and put his ball bag in his mouth.

Seriously, and looked at him and as if to say, punch, and guess what goes? As soon as you punch, my teeth clamp down! And to see a guy with another guy’s nuts in his mouth and the guy on the top thinking, and he just went… raised his hands!

TB: But that is, that's kind of something that you can't always teach! That's this raw survival instinct! That's in everyone because it's prehistoric, it's inbuilt. You've got to coax it out a little bit. When you're in that, I may never get back up — if I go down, I may never get back up — So I've got to fight with everything!

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TB: Bite, scram, eye gouge, grab a bottle, grab keys, do whatever I can to make sure I get back up and survive this!

LH: Yeah, absolutely! All right, so if you could go back and change anything, would you or would your journey still be the same?

TB: That's an interesting question.

So people say this to me now, what I'm teaching now in my dojo, I'm still teaching traditional stuff. We still do all the katas, although I do believe there's not a lot of point in doing the katas because unless you know the bunkai to it, it's just a dance. And to be honest, trying to pull the bunkai out of a kata from 150 years ago, there's much better ways of learning it!

Like, if you want to learn a Seoi nage shoulder throw, go to judo and learn how to do the shoulder throw rather than trying to pull this throw from a kata. There are better ways to learn these things. But I also think, without being arrogant, I was quite formidable. [Leans forward smiling] I still am, still am! And I think if I had done something differently, would I have been different?

LH: Exactly!

TB: So like my students said to me, why are we doing the katas then if you say there's no point in doing them? And I'm like, because if we skip a step, you might not be where I want you to be! So we're still going to do them because even if you don't know what you're doing, you're still working on athleticism, your kime, your focus, your sharpness, your balance, your coordination, your striking. It's still all in me, but we do the real stuff as well.

LH: Sure, exactly!

TB: So the theory on it is like, yeah, I would maybe take things out, but if I take that out, what if they don't develop?

LH: Exactly!

TB: So it's difficult to say, isn't it?

LH: Yeah, yeah, yeah! Because let me say, at the end of the day, if you are the person now that you’ve become and you're happy with it and you want to be, then you think, well, you're the sum of your experiences. If you change something…

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“… if we skip a step, you might not be where I want you to be!”

TB: If I miss, if I skip a step, I may not have been. Because I’m not a thug. I was never a thug. I was, you know, Karate golden boy. Karate solves everything, you know. We’re standing, we’re punching… I was in it, completely immersed in it! So it was very wholesome. I was never one of the little street chaps, I was like a wholesome kid.

I think if I hadn't have gone through that, maybe I just would have been a bully. Maybe I would have ended up in prison sooner and you don't know which trajectory you're going to take. So it's kind of like, no, we can't go back and change anything because it might change where I am now!

LH: All right, so again, going back in time slightly…

TB: Maybe less sugar?

LH: You know, that's true for all of us! Any person who you would have liked to have trained with who's not around anymore?

74 “Maybe less sugar?”

TB: Oyama! Sosai Oyama!

I was, so I started karate in 92. I was like 12. By age 14, I was like, this is me. I want to go to Japan and I want to do the Uchi-deshi program. So, Oyama had an Uchi-deshi program where you go to Japan for three years, you live in Honbu and you train every day. So I was like, that's what I want to do. I want to do it now! I want to do it! So at that point, I'm 13, but I've decided that's my thing in life. That's what I want to do.

1994, Oyama suddenly dies! So it's like, shit, the dream is gone then to go and do that! So I never ever have a chance to train under Oyama. But my instructor trained under Oyama. He went to Japan in the early 70s. He stayed in Japan for a year, Gary Bufton, and he got his Shodan direct under Sosai.

So, I like to think my karate is very close to Sosai's Karate. It hasn't been filtered down through dozens of people!

LH: Yeah, yeah, yeah! There’s only one between you.

TB: But it would definitely be Oyama and then second would be Motobu. I just think they fit me better.

Funakoshi, no, doesn't appeal to me! Some of the other guys, Miyagi would have been, Chōjun Miyagi, the founder of Gōjū, would have been good as well. I would have liked to have trained, not so much Jigoro Kano, but maybe Masahiko Kimura. I would have liked to have trained with Kimura because he was friends with Oyama.

So if we went back, it'd be Oyama and Kimura together, and see how long I’d survive that for!

LH: Nice, nice! All right, so before we get on to the main 20 Questions, which is the fun part — any tips or advice for people around the world who are just starting their journey?

TB: It depends what you want? What do you want in karate? What do you want and what you're doing? It will change. I started karate, I wanted to be a ninja turtle and I wanted to be able to do that stuff. And then as I was doing karate, I wanted to be a champion. I wanted to win tournaments. And then after I won tournaments, I wanted to be the most formidable fighting machine I could create, which is what I did! And then afterwards you're like, really now it's just a vehicle of self-discovery. I don't need to go and fight someone. I know how it’s going to end… Either me on the floor covered in blood, or them on the floor covered in blood, and me in a prison cell!

The idea is to train to the point where you can transcend the violence. You're like, listen, I don't need to fight you, because if I do, I know I'm going to ruin you, you know, so I'll just leave it!

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“You can’t fight!”

TB: But people leave this. They don't become formidable! They're like, Karate is all about spiritualness. I'm not fighting. Listen, you can't fight! You can't fight — That's why you're not fighting! You've got to get to the point where you can actually fight to be able to abstain from it!

LH: Musashi — he did that!

TB: Which you've got to! You've got to be like, listen, it's no point me fighting. I'm going to abstain from fighting because I'm going to hurt you! That is a noble thing. That's a pure thing! Abstain from fighting because you can't fight — It's not noble.

You can't fight!

LH: No, no, no…It’s just an easy way out!

Part Two LH: All right… So, here comes the 20 Questions! This is the fun part. So there's no right or wrong answer, all right?

Whatever comes to mind… If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would it be?

TB: You can't just ask a question like that!

LH: I can!

TB: Off the cuff things!

LH: Exactly! That’s the whole point of it! Anything in time… If you could have witnessed it.

TB: Anything…? I don't think there's no one particular thing. You can argue all sorts of things. It'd be like, am I going to witness it and be as I am now? Or am I going to be at that time? You've got to set the parameters in this. Am I in that time or am I witnessing it and then coming back here?

LH: You witness it and you come back here, so if you could?

TB: I want to go to the crucifixion of Christ and see if it actually happened!

LH: Right!

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TB: And see if it happened the way they say it happened. Just to see exactly what's going on. Because it's not like, well, there are different religions, there's so many different versions. But I'd be like, listen, I was there, I've seen what happened! Just for my own peace of mind. So that would be a thing to go to.

LH: Yeah, that's interesting, that's interesting, that is.

TB: [Laughing] No martial arts in it!

LH: I’m going to dread asking you this question, all right… What would you do if you were invisible for a day?

TB: Well, there's things I would do that we're not really going to put into this!

LH: You can do, you can do…

TB: Well, are you asking the 15-year-old Terry Birkett or the 43-year-old Terry Birkett?

LH: Let's ask them both!

TB: [Laughing] Probably the same answer! Invisible…?

LH: For a day, you can do it. Remember, you're invisible, so you're never going to get caught, whatever you do.

TB: But are you invisible naked, invisible, or clothed invisible?

LH: It doesn't matter. You're invisible!

TB: You're obviously just going to walk around in the changing rooms, aren't you? That's what you're going to do!

You're just going to go…

LH: Simon Oliver! Simon bloody Oliver!

TB: With men, if we could be invisible, we're just going to walk into changing rooms, just stand there like… [Mouth wide open] LH: Yeah, Simon Oliver was, well, he was a little bit more specific.

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“Simon Bloody Oliver!”

“…if we could be invisible, we're just going to walk into changing rooms, just stand there like…”

“Not a school changing room was it?”

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“I would be wanting to see the people I know naked!”

TB: Not a school changing room, was it?

LH: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Victoria’s Secrets — the models — their changing rooms!

TB: I wouldn’t be interested in them! No… because they all look the same! I would be wanting to see the people I know naked! I want to see my mate’s wife naked! I’d be like watching them changing and say, “I’ve seen it all, I was stood there while you were changing — In fact, I was stood there the night you were together!”

So there, that’s what I would be doing! Nothing spiritual, I wouldn’t cure world hunger! I’d just go around watching a lot of people naked!

LH: Why not? Yeah, listen, you're invisible, no one's going to catch you. Everyone's going to know now!

TB: Everyone's going to know, so if you happen to be naked and you feel like a presence or you, you're not suddenly invisible. Could be, could be me or Simon invisible!

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LH: Could be, could be that! You’ve partially answered this question. As a child, what did you wish you'd become when you grew up?

TB: [Laughing] An invisible ninja turtle! That’s ticked all the boxes!

LH: Ticked all the boxes! There you go! All right, what animal best represents you and why?

TB: That's a difficult one because there's different parts. Lion and tiger! But lions are pack animals. I’m not really a pack animal. I would say wolf — wolves are also pack animals!

LH: True, true!

TB: Wolves are very pack orientated. I am and I aren’t. I am and I'm not, to be honest. I'd probably say a tiger.

LH: All right, yeah, yeah, yeah.

TB: A tiger because I'm quite fierce when I want to be. I'm a decent size, a tiger probably, because I can be with people and I can be on my own as well.

That's a cliche answer, isn't it? Tiger, lion, giraffe!

LH: Giraffe, yeah, that'd be interesting.

TB: I tell you, actually, you say that. Probably, I'd probably say my spirit animal is a Silverback. Thinking about it, that's, I'm being very strength oriented. I’d come in bowl people over, hit hard. Silverback, that's what it'd be! Slim ones, obviously slim ones!

LH: All right, what is your greatest strength and weakness?

TB: I would say, no one actually knows this yet…

LH: We are now!

TB: This is actually a first for you…

LH: Okay…

74 “That’s a cliche answer, isn’t it?”

TB: Actually, no one knows. Some people know it, but I've never publicly talked about it. So, my son is autistic, and what we've discovered now is that I'm on the autistic spectrum as well. So he's got his autism from me. I'm semiautistic. I'm not Rain Man, but I'm definitely neuro-divergent.

I think about things completely differently to how other people think of them. And I think that's been one of my greatest strengths, because when people are like, “Oh, I love that clothing brand, I want to buy that!”

And I'm like, “Oh, I like that brand, I’ll start my own fucking brand!” Rolling Life is my brand. I'm like, oh, I'll do my own thing. Oh, I don't like the way they're doing that. I'll do it myself, and I'll make it my own way. So I've started my own companies, I've run my own doors, I run three companies now. I teach, I do my own stuff. So that different way of thinking about something is definitely a strength, but it can also be a little bit of a hindrance as well, because when you're talking about the normal constraints of society, like with filters, I don't really have a filter!

I just tend to say whatever I'm thinking, which upsets a lot of people. So it's a good thing and a bad thing. And I just look at things completely differently. My wife and I argue all the time, she's like, “Why didn't you pick that up by there?”

“It's because it wasn't fucking by there and that's what I was expecting it! You moved it and it doesn't even exist to me anymore!”

So little bits like that sometimes.

LH: Yeah, yeah, yeah… no, I get that! All right, what is your favourite memory of any one of your grandparents?

TB: Never knew anyone!

LH: That’s fine… How do you want to be remembered?

TB: As someone not to fuck around with, but he was a nice guy!

LH: Sounds good enough to me! What have you always wanted and did you get it?

TB: I'm still working on what I want. What I want changes and you'll find that you want something and then as you're getting closer to it, it changes. I'll give you an example… So in business, a Bentley GT Continental. It's not my dream car. That's the car I'm going for. So I get a Bentley and I tick that off my thing because I like the GT Continental. And the closer I've got to it, now I'm like, I could probably scrape and get one. I'm like, no, I don't want a Bentley anymore — I want a Rolls Royce Wraith! That's what I want now.

74 “I'm semi-autistic. I'm not Rain Man, but I'm definitely neuro-divergent.”

LH: Right…

TB: So the closer I got to it, I'm like, that's too low. I need to be going for this. So the thing, you know, goals change.

Millionaire down, that's from a business point of view. That was always the case of you need to be a millionaire. You need to be worth a few million. That's what we're working on. That's what we do in business. Martial arts is just continuing to improve. I'm carrying a bit of chunk at the moment. I'm the biggest I've ever been on the belly. So it would, you know, I need to lose that, I need to trim that back, but you know in your early 40s you'll tend to relax, chill a bit with like a little food, a little beer and stuff and it piles onto you.

LH: Yeah absolutely, absolutely! All right, do you know your family heritage?

TB: I do. Which side?

LH: Both! All Welsh?

TB: No! My father was English. So I'm half Saxon, half Celt.

LH: Okay, so which half is more dominant in you — the one that you relate to?

TB: No, I don't relate to… I would say because my biological family are all wasters!

LH: Right…

TB: They're all criminals. All career criminals! But the Birketts have got a streak in them! They've got this wild, untameable streak! They're a bit like gypsies sort of thing, but a bit like that they are. That's in me, I've got that streak but I was fostered at a very young age. I was in a very good wholesome family. I was taken away from problems and brought up in a country in a farming area. So I didn't have these issues. I was brought up very wholesome, started doing karate from the age of 10. That channeled all my energy, all my aggression, everything into that. If I hadn't, I probably would have ended up like all of my siblings in and out of prison. All of my siblings are in and out of prison!

So that’s… I'm the black sheep of the family, because I haven't been to prison.

LH: [Laughing] Yeah… The invisible thing might get you there!

TB: [Laughing] Yeah… They can’t see me!

LH: They can't see you. No, no, they can't see you! Are you still learning who you are?

74 “They've got this wild, untameable streak!”

“They can’t see me!”

TB: Develop who I am every day. So it's only last year that we discovered that I am on the autistic spectrum. So I'm constantly evolving, and things make so much sense now. Because my son's autistic, our son…So we started researching autism, and reading books on it and stuff. And I'm reading these books and I'm thinking, fucking hell that's me! That's me, that's exactly how I feel! That's how I felt as a kid. And that was a very upsetting, it was a very upsetting moment — not upsetting for me now, because I've created a persona that is, fuck you! If you don't, if it doesn't go the way I want it to go, fuck you and fuck everyone! I'll make it my own way.

That's what I've had to create that, so you don't get too upset. But when I think back, I was a little 10 year old Terry, when he was in school and stuff, and I would never quite fit in. You know, I tended to float between the… what’s a word we can call them, today that'll be acceptable? The delinquent sort of area, and then like the top yard rugby team boy. I used to float in between all of it, and I was kind of accepted in all of it. But that was quite an emotional thing, discovering that. So the more as we go on now, and I've also got ADHD, so that's very difficult on things to keep concentration. And as I know these things now, I can be like, oh yeah, that's because of this, and that's because of that.

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“I’ve created a persona that is, fuck you!”

LH: All right, we're kind of linked into it already… what, if anything, are you afraid of and why?

TB: What am I afraid of?

I'm not afraid of anyone! I'm not afraid of most things! My own ethos on like, you know, when someone says like, “Oh, but what if someone was torturing you and setting you on fire?” Well, I deal with it when I come to it. I'm not afraid of anything. I don't think about things happening to me. I think my biggest fear would be anything happening to my child or my children. That would be my biggest fear — of something happening to them and me not being able to be there…like a kidnapping or something like that. That's my biggest fear!

LH: Yeah, yeah, yeah… I relate to that!

TB: In fact so much so, we've got a rule in my house, we don't fucking talk about it! I don't care what's happening in the papers. I don't want to see it! I don't want to know! I know it happens. I know it happens. I don't want to know about it. I don't want that imagery in my head. I don't want to think about it!

So that is my biggest fear of something happening to my kids.

LH: No, no, no… I relate to that wholeheartedly!

TB: I think that's a lot of parents — A lot of fathers!

LH: It is a lot of parents. It is a lot of fathers. And also, you know, when you've got children who may be vulnerable — I have a special needs daughter myself — so I relate to a lot of what you just said. And that is, you know, you'll be like...

TB: You are very protective…

LH: Yeah, yeah, yeah… I relate to that and my wife says that to me all the time!

TB: My wife is as well… because he doesn't speak.And he's a big boy. He's six, but he's a big boy! And I was in the park once and this little girl — was only about five — and she was like, “Why is he such a weirdo?”And I'm like, “Why are you such a fucking weirdo? Fuck off!” And straight up, I mean she is only a kid herself, but I'm so protective!

LH: Yeah, yeah… I get that! Right… What is the most memorable class you've ever taken? Something that stuck in your head.

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“So that is my biggest fear of something happening to my kids.”

TB: All classes stick in my head really! So I think it's like I trained with a lot of the top Japanese Kyokushin guys. Been out to Japan twice. I fought in the World Tournament. I’ve trained under a lot of the top people. Trained under Geoff… Peter Consterdine in the early days. In fact, about 20 years ago, I did a seminar with Mo Teague in the BCA when it first formed — Mo was doing some Filipino stuff. I remember that!

I remember the session with Geoff. I remember all the sessions to be honest! Sessions that there was something good in, I remember, maybe that's the neuro-divergent thing. I remember taking bits from it. I can remember with absolute clarity what colour T-shirts they were wearing at the time, but I can't remember what I did yesterday!

I can't remember what I did yesterday. But I remember 24 years ago when this happened! Nothing stands out to be honest, but I do pretty much remember lots of stuff.

LH: That’s good! And that happens. You've got highlights in several things…

TB: I’ve got bits from everywhere!

LH: Which book has influenced you the most?

TB: Richest Man in Babylon! It's not a martial arts book. It's a book written on biblical parables, but they're parables with a lesson on finance.

So, that's probably the most influential book I've read.

You know, you talk about Oyama's books, I've read them, yes. But it would be Richest Man in Babylon and Watch My Back.

Because Watch My Back changed the trajectory of my life. So it would be that. First Watch My Back changed where I was going in terms of my training, and then from a business point of view it would be the Richest Man in Babylon.

LH: What ridiculous thing has someone ever tricked you into believing or making you do something?

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“You’re blocking the sun out of your eyes!”

TB: Lots of stuff in martial arts because a lot of instructors will be like, they don't know what it is, so they'll make something up. In one of my kata's we've got this… and they were like, “Oh yeah, you're blocking the sun out of your eyes!” Because the sun's in your eyes and you block the sun out and then you strike him. And shit like that! And you're like, “Oh yeah, yeah, you're blocking the sun! Obviously that makes sense because Japan is really sunny, wasn't it?” [Laughing] Obviously we're fighting and you block the sun out and then you strike with it and that sort of crap!

But I think probably the most ridiculous, one of the most ridiculous things was, I used to go out in the ferms a lot when I was a kid, when I was growing up, I was in the country. And in the ferms you'd have like, it looked like spit.

It was like spit and there'd be like a little grub inside it and someone told me that's cuckoo spit. I don't know who told me, it might be my mother! And I believed that right up until my mid-30s because I had my wife now and we were out walking through the ferms…

TB:“Look at that, look, look, that's cuckoo spit! That's cuckoo spit — cuckoo spit it out and there's a little grub inside it!” And I was like, actually no, that doesn't make any fucking sense at all! That's fly larvae. That's a larvae! That's a fly growing in a larvae! It's not cuckoo spit at all. “Ignore that babe!”

And it was only when I said, look, look, it's cuckoo spit. As I started explaining to her what cuckoo spit is, then I was like, oh no, that's not a fucking thing, is it?

So yeah, that sticks in my mind, that does.

“I was like, actually no, that doesn't make any fucking sense at all!”

LH: Brilliant! Who or what has been the greatest influence in your life?

TB: [Thinks] Hmm, Jesus! [Laughs] I'm not religious, so no! Influence in my life must be Mas Oyama’s teachings, because karate has guided my life completely. So it would be Mas Oyama first, as an influence for good, and then it would have to be again, Geoff Thompson's work. It would have to be Geoff’s book, Watch My Back, that changed my life completely. So it would have to be that.

Oyama from the original learnings of everything, and Budo karate or else I’d have been a thug — Budo karate, about character development and then Watch My Back!

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LH: What's the craziest thing any one of your teachers has ever made you do in training?

TB: Gary used to make me do some crazy shit!

We got waterfall training in January up in the Brecon Beacons. So we went to one waterfall and there was a big ledge going off into a lagoon and he wanted the black belts to do like a Yoko Tobi Geri, flying kick, off a side of it. So, I must have been about 16.

So he was like, to one of the black belts, “Do the kick and I'll take a picture.” “No, no, I don't think so!”

“I don't think so.” Whatever black belt — “I don't think so.”

“Osu! I’ll do it! Osu!” So I'm climbing up this fucking thing on the top of this ledge and we're talking a good 20 foot up, and I don't know what's in this lagoon. Could be giant eels in there, and all sorts of stuff! So we were just like, “Yeah, I'll do it.” Bang! Done it! Got a picture that I've never seen, landed in a lagoon, done that! Because you, you know, Shihan tells you to do something. They tell you when you you’re going to do something that's, you know, crazy, where you would be like jumping off a cliff into water.

And another thing he'd have me doing is jumping through a hoop of fire. You see where they have like this hoop and then you do the kick through it. So he'd be outside his house on the pavement, we were practicing this for the demo.

So we built up to it and then he got a hoop, but he proper set it on fire! It was like, there was no little bit of fire. This was just a wall of flame! So we were like, jump through the hoop, done it, jump through the hoop, done it, done it again. And he was like, well, all his neighbours are coming by now, watching what's going on? Because it's in the middle of the housing estate. And he's like, do one more Terry. So I was a little bit tired at that point. So, I done it!

But I lifted the hoop, because it was just on a hook. I lifted this hoop up and it was on my shoulder and it started hula hooping around my body. And I'm like, it's burning me as it's going around! And I'm like, “Ah, ah, ah, ah!” And it drops on the floor, singes all my hair, burns me and stuff. Not badly, little burns. And like, he was, and it was on the on the tarmac, burning. So he goes in and gets a bucket of water, comes in, tips it on the fucking tarmac to stop it melting the tarmac! “Don't worry about me, just make sure the tarmac doesn't melt outside the house!”

So lots, lots of stuff like that we used to do!

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“I'm like,“Ah, ah, ah, ah!”

“Don't worry about me, just make sure the tarmac doesn't melt outside the house!”

LH: All right, now remember, this is going to be public, so think about it. When did you screw everything up when no one found out it was you?

TB: Everyday! Anyone who knows me — I screw things up, I fucking do it properly and you know it's me!

LH: Brilliant! Yeah, if you're going to do it right!

TB: Yeah, if you're going to fuck things up, fuck it up properly so everyone knows it's you!

LH: All right, if someone made a movie of your life, would it be a drama, comedy, a rom-com, sci-fi?

TB: It would be all of those! Because I like to put a lot of comedy into my training. You've got to have humour. If you haven't got humour, what's the fucking point? You've got to have humour. So it would be all of those things.

It would be action. It would be drama. There would be a little bit of sci-fi in there. We would think about stuff.

There would be a lot of action. A lot of action!

LH: If you could select one person from history and ask them one question — Who would the person be? What would the question be?

TB: Again, that question would change, it would depend on what frame of mind I’m in. It would completely change. I could be reading something and I want to fucking know what that was? I want to ask him what happened at that time? But if you’re asking me now — so anyone from time, I'm just going to ask them a question?

LH: Yeah, any question you want, wherever it is from time. Anyone!

TB: I couldn't put anything on it. I couldn't put something on it. I'd probably ask for a question. I'd go to Chōki Motobu — I’d be like, “Let’s go and fuck Funakoshi up together! Why haven't we gone and shut him down?”

That's probably what I'd do! If you ask me right now, because there's so much, so much bad surrounding stuff.

I'd be like, let's go and shut him down. Me and you, we're going to do it together!

LH: Why not? Last question. How would you describe your art in ten words or less?

TB: My art?

LH: In ten words or less, how would you describe it?

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Terry Birkett!

TB: What do you mean by “my art”? Knockdown? Kyokushin? The stuff I do? The stuff I teach?

LH: What you do!

TB: What I do…

LH: Yeah…

TB: I would describe me of what I do…. And that would be a trailblazing maverick!

LH: Brilliant! Terry Birkett! Thank you sir, it’s been a pleasure!

TB: Thank you!

Postscript 20 Questions with Terry Birkett, probably has to be one of my favourite interviews ever! This was the first time I had gone into a 20 Question session relatively blind — where I literally knew nothing about Terry, other than being familiar with his name from the martial arts circuit! As I said at the beginning — Simon Oliver Sensei had suggested that I interview Terry and that for me was good enough!

By the time the interview ended and the cleaners frantically waved for us to vacate the room, I felt like I had known Terry all my life! There is much which we have in common both, in our personal lives and the way we feel about our respective arts! Terry is honest! He doesn’t hide behind anything and owns everything — the good and the bad — and that is a rarity and a breath of fresh air! He indeed injects humour into his training — yet, he is deadly serious about his art and delivers the goods in every department! I left the interview with immense respect for the man and his art, and his belief system. I hope that we can get Terry to share some more thoughts in future issues of Lift Hands.

For those who are interested in training with Terry [and I highly recommend that if you do get the opportunity, you take it up], he can be contacted via his social media networks below: BackStreet Karate Channel — https://youtube.com/@BackStreetKarate FaceBook — https://www.facebook.com/BackStreetKarate Instagram — https://instagram.com/terry_roninway.uk TikTok — terry_roninway.uk

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Multiethnic companies and their employees were making money in the Middle East. In the State of Kuwait, Combat Support Associates had a ten year contract with the US Government to provide all sorts of services. As a Researcher I wrote White Papers which were sent up all the way to Congress by the Executive Branch. I wrote articles for the company’s Wing weekly magazine, and performed teaching duties as required by Human Resources.

Training Managers and other key personnel in all positions was a main focus. Accidents were due to lack of training, and they were inexcusable. A single accident due to negligence was a reason for an employee to be sent home. ‘Education and Training’ were the company’s motto. The company spent time and money educating ‘us’ and educating ‘them’.

‘Goal achievement should not be so hard’ I thought. I convinced my boss to allow me to make an experiment in the next Managers Training. The idea was simple: I would teach them to ‘see’ their goal and to ‘break through’ the difficulty of achievement.

I found Kuwaiti companies that worked with wood. I gave specifications of cutting the wood in board breaking size, and loaded up a few dozen in my trunk. Kuwaiti men were not used to seeing females wanting wood for breaking. In fact I tested the wood by breaking a few boards in their presence after teaching them how to hold for support. In the months that followed this became much fun. While waited for my order I enjoyed some aromatic coffee which was made by one of their Sri Lanka or Indian employees.

2009 July 9 – This was our first experiment date at the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) Instructional and Organizational Development.

Participants were given the following instructions: 1. Each person takes one board.

2. Write a single ‘thing’ that you would like to improve on, or to achieve.

3. Color it; decorate it; make a picture of it, hug it. (All color magic markers were made available.)

The managers were not martial artists. The idea was to break thought their fears on their way to achieve their goals without an injury. As you will observe from the photos they made a tight fist and hit the board downward with all of their strength.

Team Work specifies that one person supports another in order for the entire group to succeed. I gave each participant one sheet of instructions:

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Points to remember when assisting in board breaking: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We maintain a solid stance.

The back leg is at a 45-degree angle.

The front knee is on a vertical straight line with our front foot.

Our elbows are kept close to our torso.

Our forearms are tight although they are not locked. (For a straight punch, elbows lock but not for the 45 degree angle break.)

At the point of impact, we tighten our latissimus dorsi muscles. (Made sure the participants knew those muscles.)

At the point of impact, we exhale forcibly with a yell originating deep in the abdomen, and we slightly lean into the break.

We breathe in and out from the abdomen without moving our upper torso.

Board faces in an angle; we adjust according to our partner’s height.

We synchronize our breathing with the person who is preparing to do the break.

If the partner needs more time, we stop, and set up again.

We put 100 percent concentration on the task at hand.

We make sure that our fingers are not smashed by keeping the grip close to the edges of the board. This grip is also stronger than if the fingers were kind of extended.

And, we think that this entire practice is… fun!

Now everyone was ready to achieve their goals!

We made a circle, because we were a Team!

Everyone assisted in the breaking and everyone broke.

First I demonstrated that it was easy as breaking through a single sheet of paper; and then, I broke through a board. And the rest… was history!

Katherine Loukopoulos Forensic Psychologist

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Fa-jing Ch'uan Internal Chinese Boxing Schools are pleased to announce our return to Italy in April 2024 Once again, we will be meeting in Bari, in the scenic region of Puglia in

Southern Italy continuing on from our successful meet in 2023.

THE VENUE IN ADVANCE REGARDLESS.)

Whether you are a novice or already have some experience and would simply like to brush up on the foundations, or have ever wondered how the art is used as a system of selfdefence — then this will be the perfect way to get a great insight into T'ai chi Ch’uan (Taijiquan).

Date: Friday - Sunday 19-21 APRIL 2024 Training will begin at 3pm Friday.

The camp includes: Qigong Old Yang Style T'ai Chi Practical Training Methods For Health/ Martial Arts Self-Defence

Cost of training: 250 Euros for those registering by Friday 1 March 2024. (The cost will rise to 280 Euros for those registering after this date.) A 50% deposit is required to book your place.

(PLEASE NOTE ALL DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS ARE NONREFUNDABLE SINCE WE HAVE TO PAY FOR

Venue: Edian Danza A.S.D. Via Marcello Celentano, 17/21 70121 Bari BA Accommodation: Please contact Monica Mitoli for advice on local accommodation, meals and transportation too and from Bari.

Participants will be expected to arrive on site by Friday (19 April) morning latest and can leave after the final training session on Sunday, unless they have extended their stay in advance and are departing later depending upon flights.

Please contact Nasser Butt in the UK for further information and registration: Tel: +44(0)7792242150 Email: explosivefist@gmail. com Monica Mitoli in Italy Tel: +39 3922914108 Email: monica.mitoli@gmail. com

Visit our website for further information on what we teach: www.fajingchuan.co.uk

According to the 1973 Preface by Yeung [Yang] Sau Chung, the Chinese edition of Practical Use of Tai Chi Chuan [Its Applications & Variations] was first published in 1962.

The Gin Soon Tai Chi Chuan Federation publication by Chu Gin Soon, first appeared in 1976 and is currently in its third printing according to the publisher’s themselves, and “Aside from the insertion of … three portraits, the rest of the book is in its original format, written by my master, Yeung Sau Chung.”

It is this third printing in English, published in 2012, which we are reviewing today.

I first heard about this book many years ago, when I began my journey into the Way of Taijiquan. I was very excited that an update existed to the book of Yang Cheng-fu’s, The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan, published in 1934.

The book, I have to say, on a personal note was a disappointment for myself. Perhaps, I was expecting too much — I shall delve into the reason further below.

Portrait of Yeung Sau Chung as it appears in the book.

In terms of historical context, the book contains standard Yang family text along with the original photos of Master Yang Cheng-fu demonstrating applications contained within his ‘own’ earlier publication. I have placed ‘own’ in inverted commas for a reason, both publications which appeared in the 1930s were in reality written by others, namely — Dong Yingjie in 1931, Methods of Applying Taiji Boxing, and it was this book which was revised and added to by Cheng Man-ching in 1934 under the title of The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan!

To these applications, appearing in the earlier books, Yeung Sau Cheung adds further images as a possible “follow up action,” using his wife, his daughters Amy and Mary, his disciple Ip Tai Tak, and student Fong Toa Yiu as opponents.

Taijiquan is close-quarter combat system, there is nothing in these variations which is remotely suggesting that! In the image below, for example, taken from the publication, we see Ip Tai Tak attacking Yeung — nobody in reality would ever attack you in such a way, leaving themselves wholly open to a counter!

What we see are really ‘applications’ from the modern Yang style as opposed to the Old Yang — the brutality of the small frame of Shao-hou, and even Banhou and Jian-hou is non-existent!

Don’t get me wrong, the principles of Taijiquan are all there in the descriptions, its the practicality and close-quarter functionality which is lacking.

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Having said that, the book still contains some interesting historical information. It comes with a small fold-up double-sided chart containing the 124 numbered images of Yang Cheng-fu’s demonstration of his form, with the name or description of each numbered posture on the reverse.

However, the most valuable piece of information in my opinion is Yeung’s Preface, itself.

Hidden within are a few golden nuggets for historians, or those who have ever wondered why there are so many variations of Taiji forms or styles — each claiming the true transmission. Yeung tells us: “I always exercise great care in the choice of employing different approaches in my teaching so as to suit the learning level, individual capability and physique of each student.”

In other words, as we say in English — “horses for courses”!

What we are being told in plain words is that each student got what the teacher thought would serve their needs. In other words, its not like going to school or college and studying a subject in which all students in the class would learn and be taught all the material in a given, progressive order!

So, if a student was of average skill, or their learning level or ability was less than say another — each would depart from their teacher with different knowledge and skill-sets, yet both would claim authentic lineage and thus an authentic and true transmission, yet one would most certainly be lacking!

Now, this shouldn’t come as a surprise all the Yangs did this. Many teachers do this, I do it, as did my teacher.

However, in a world where lineages are held up like a Wonka ‘golden ticket’ — this should serve as a warning.

Lineage doesn’t guarantee the whole transmission or even the best transmission, or even the best understanding of the said transmission!

The book is worth a spot on your martial bookshelf purely from a historical perspective — nothing more. It is available from the website of the Gin Soon Tai Chi Chuan Federation: www.gstaichi.org

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Reverend Anthony Sean Bedlam Pillage 1961 - 2018

Grandmaster Brian Jones A Pioneer of British Martial Arts 1939 - 2019

Scott ‘The Devil’ Caldwell 1973 - 2018

Alexander M. Krych 1957 - 2014 Chief Instructor of the Erle Montaigue System North America Pictured here with the legendary Fu Shu-yun - his teacher before meeting and continuing his training under Erle.

Erle Montaigue 1949 - 2011

The Oldest Established School of The Erle Montaigue System In The UK

Ammanford Scouts Hall Monday 7.30 - 9.15pm Wednesday 7.00 - 9.00pm Sunday Full Day (Monthly)

Peter Jones Chief Instructor Taiji Pa-Kua Internal Fighting Arts

taijipakua@gmail.com

Gaku Shi Juku Kendo Kai www.leicesterkendo.com

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nife fighting in the Internal Arts, like the empty hands, is taught via a brief or short set of training methods. These are sometimes referred to as forms, but in reality they are training methods and hidden within each brief set is the abstract or the subconscious way of knife fighting.

These methods or forms are not techniques! In doing the movements you may see a ‘technique’ however, the ‘technique’ is merely illustrating a series of whole body mechanics which are subconsciously registering within the brain.

By repeated training of these methods over the weeks, months and years, the movements become subconscious reflexive action — in other words you don’t think, your body automatically reacts.

I will briefly be covering the first method here called, ‘8’.

The movements are all in circles or spirals — even what appears to be a linear motion, is in reality part of a circle or a spiral.

As the name suggests, you are simply making a figure 8, however, it is not the limbs which are making the movement — it is the core or centre with minute weight shifts forwards and backwards.

The movements are repeated endlessly and fluidly with the body in a state of soong until they can be done at a true fajing level. The illustrations here are of static images performed very expansively so that mechanic can be observed, so the true nature of the power and fluidity cannot really be demonstrated since the actual movement is over in the blink of an eye.

A word of warning — knives are one of the oldest and dangerous weapons.

Please respect the weapon and realise that the reality of a knife fight is lethal. In training do not begin with a live blade — use a training knife until the basic skills have been acquired. Your ultimate training must be done with a live blade!

It is nether my intention here, nor the remit of the article to go into the physical or psychological aspects of knife-fighting. All that is being presented here is a training method in its simplest form. There are advancements upon these ideas, but we will leave those for another time.

Please seek out a competent teacher who is well-versed in these training methods.

They are dangerous in the hands of both incompetent teachers and students!

The Method 1. You start in a reverse bow stance with your weight sat slightly back of fifty percent. This is purely to help develop the necessary torques in the upper and the lower body, [Photo1].

2. The knife is held in the right hand with the sharp edge pointing slightly away from the body.

3. As your waist turns to the left, you begin the ‘8’ from the bottom as your right hand cuts upwards in a curve, [Photos 2-4] as you weight shifts slightly forward. Note how the left hands is moving downwards in the opposite direction to the blade.

4. As the waist starts to turn to the right, the blade rotates, cutting downwards in an arc, thus competing the ‘8,’ [Photos 5-9] as the weight shifts slightly backwards.

5. The waist contracts further to the right, causing a compression as the left hand pushes across to the right, and the right hands starts to roll up between the body and the left forearm, with the blade edge turned away from the body, [Photos 10-12].

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6. As the waist rapidly turns left and right, the right hands whips out in a curve with the wrist snapping into position, thus ‘straightening’ the knife, [Photos 13-15]. The straightening of the blade is an illusion, it is actually a part of the circle in the lateral plane which is utilised by the fajing to cut and thrust in multiple directions! The weight shifts slightly forwards and finishes resting slightly backwards to restart the sequence.

Photos A-L on the next page, show the sequence from a ‘technique’ perspective as what is happening. Again the movements have been exaggerated for visual clarity and safety, since I am using a live blade!

As your opponent thrusts, you cut the inside and the outside of their wrist using the figure 8. This is followed by knocking their knife hand downwards, as your loaded knife springs out, cutting and thrusting into the pit of the throat!

Photos M-T show a training method using a wood stick or broom handle to develop the power to deliver the ‘8’!

Your training partner thrusts at you with the wooden pole/stick, you rapidly perform the ‘8,’ cutting the stick both on the inside and outside. As the power of your fa-jing builds up, you will start to cut pieces out from the wood.

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In the traditional training method, you continued with the drill until the wood was whittled away to a stub.

You then replaced the pole and repeated the drill with the opposite hand. This would happen over a period of time by the end of which you would have developed the power to cut to the bone in a single stroke or sever a tendon instantly!

Please heed the warnings in this article and train safely.

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