VOL 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 4
The Ring of Fire Part 1
For the martial arts comprehensivist
Top Left - Te Waitere Jason Paahi Top Right - Riichi Kitano Bottom - Michelle Manu
VOLUME 1
Stick Arts ISSUE 4
The Ring of Fire Part 1
56 Michael Belzer
My Path to Menkyo
146 Dr. Michel Farivar
Geijin Ryu Staff Arts
238 Riichi Kitano
Katori Shinto Ryu
210 Mukatder Gül, Ph.D
The Wing Chun Long Pole
38
Daniel Schultz
Drunken Boxing: The Staff
228
Scott Meredith
Yiquan Staff Energy
CONTENTS
Vol. 1:4 - Stick Arts
The Ring of Fire, Part 1
14 Michelle Manu
Secrets of the Lua
102 Andrea Rollo
Various Types of Fighting in Filipino Martial Arts: Modernity and Tradition
262 Michael Mulconery
The One and the Many: Hawaiian Tobosa System
Michael Mulconery
136
Romeo Macapagal
Tatang Ilustrisimo's Combat Efficiency through Measure
222
Roedy Wiranatakusumah & Gending Raspuzi
History and Development of Ulin Limbuhan
166 Te Waitere Jason Paahi
Traditional Māori Martial Arts
334
The “Barabara” and Basic Long-Weapon Approach
MARTIAL ARTS IN THE
RING OF FIRE THIS ISSUE OF THE Immersion Review steps into the Ring of Fire. Even today, the notion of martial arts tends to bring to mind mainly East Asian forms of armed or unarmed fighting. Those versed deeper in the field may include Southeast Asian forms in their denotations. Still, despite these persistent imaginaries, martial arts can be found all around the world and, indeed, all around the Pacific. In the present issue of the Review, we trace the seams of the Pacific tectonic plates, the literal Ring
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of Fire, and cover arts all the way from Hawai’i, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China, to Japan. This journey through the fiery seams of the Pacific presents us with some of the panoply of fascinating indigenous forms of fighting that can be found within the ring. This issue includes many firsts. Although widely practiced outside Japan, Katori Shinto ryu has remained secretive about the advanced understanding of their tactics and techniques. In this issue,
From the Editors
though, we get some sense of ways of using long weapons in this art with a century-long unbroken lineage of teachers and teachings. We will also get to read about two lesser-known indigenous arts, namely Ku’ialua, the ancient combat art of the people of Hawai’i, and Mau Rakau, the traditional Māori fighting art from New Zealand. Martial art systems in the Ring of Fire are not only about physical confrontations and prowess in them. Indeed, maintaining the legacy of a martial art system can
also be about maintaining forms of life, and maintaining communities. Kumu Manu opens this issue of the Immersion Review by presenting us with the history and weaponry of Ku’ialua, the ancient combat art of the indigenous people of Hawai’i. Even though its public display was for a time forced underground, it remained a means to maintain forms of commitment, honor, integrity, respect, and perseverance as forms of life. The article provides us with a view on various combat tactics and the implements used in Lua.
Editorial | 5
Our next stop is in China, where Daniel Schultz shows us how the staff is used in the style of Drunken boxing. Shultz goes through the three common ways of using the staff in Chinese arts, namely the dragon pole or single-ended staff, the box or double-ended staff, and the old man staff. These ways of holding the staff accord with the progression of a practitioner from an “infant” to a “cocky teen,” and finally to an “old man.” Like with many other forms of Chinese staff arts, its applications in Drunken boxing concern profound principles and philosophical ideas. Our exploration of Japanese arts begins with how Michael Belzer, who has had an important role in preserving Donn F. Draeger’s hoplological archive, describes his path to the rank of menkyo in Shindo Muso ryu jojutsu. The beginnings of this journey go back all the way to the 1970s, and show a glimpse to a past era of martial training and pioneering international exploration of Japanese martial arts. Belzer’s path also showcases the multiple aspects of Japanese martial
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culture that go beyond the use of weapons and unarmed techniques, like the value of learning calligraphy. Indeed, training martial arts can be as much about culture and philosophy as fighting skills. Andrea Rollo begins the presentation of Southeast Asian arts with a discussion of different formats of stick dueling in the Philippines. Indeed, agreed-upon engagements with sticks have abided by a great number of different rules or conventions. Some sports associations have detailed rules for giving points in matches, yet the times of old had shared understanding of what was appropriate in different types of stick fights, and what the criteria of winning were. Fights could consist of merely “marking” a place where there would have been a hit to “full play” where nothing was out of bounds. Rollo suggests that this is the origin of the notion of the legendary “death matches” retold outside the Philippines. As such, death did occur as a result of such duels, but it was not always a necessity. Indeed, stick duels could range from friendly
[Photo credit: The Ring Of Fire by GaryMachen]
plays between masters to serious challenges where the health and life of the players was at stake. Full duels were not always limited to the use of sticks. Indeed, one legendary figure of such contests was Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo. Accordingly, the Southeast Asian leg of our journey in the ring continues with Romeo Macapagal’s discussion of measure in Ilustrisimo’s fighting system. While there are multiple categories of measure,
the most famous one is to have the opponent miss you by “one inch” while you are able to reach them with deadly effect. The mastery of simple movements taken at the right time and at the right place requires a thorough investigation of geometry and efficiency. Moving away from an attack, while doing a riposte without a parry, is one of the most important—and impressive—means of gaining such efficiency in combative engagements.
Editorial | 7
The secret to such mastery can be found in the deployment of correct footwork like the elastico-retirada and the doble carrera. Simplicity and effectiveness is emphasized in Illustrisimo’s system. Physiological functionality is also essential in the principles at play in Geijin ryu staff arts that are introduced to us by Michel Farivar. The art emphasizes the seamless transition between armed and unarmed techniques. At the same time, blocking is avoided as it hinders the flow of energy in the bodily movement. This is particularly important as Genjin ryu explores how parts and elements of the human body align in movement and deployment of techniques. Unlike in many Okinawan and Chinese martial arts, Genjin ryu does not have any solo forms, or kata, but uses partnered exercises as a form of bodily discussion. The art also does not work through categorization, but through sensory experience in applied scenarios that aim at realism.
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Allowing us a rare glimpse into Māori forms of fighting, Te Waitere Jason Paahi starts his discussion with Mau Rakau, the traditional Māori art of wielding the taiaha, a two-handed flat “bladed” hardwood weapon. This, however, is only the beginning as he situates Mau Rakau in the much wider context of the Māori warrior culture. This, in turn, contains a comprehensive set of weapons and a holistic worldview, constituting a form of life comparable—and rivaling— that of the classical Japanese weapon arts. As such, these arts are also seen as a cultural revival of “the old ways” resulting in healthier and more resilient communities. Mukatder Gül gives us insight on Wing Chun kung fu’s use of the sixand-a-half-point long pole form from the Ip Man – Ip Ching lineage. He argues that the roots of the long pole form date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s and the famous Red Boat Opera Company. When using the pole as a weapon (or, indeed, the system as a whole), key factors in play are simplicity, effectiveness, and explosiveness.
Furthermore, Gül discusses the ways in which the long pole training connects to and improves all the understanding contained in the first four forms of the system. He also argues that, unfortunately, the true form has been lost in some Wing Chun lineages. Roedy Wiranatakusumah and Gending Raspuzi shed light on the history and development of Ulin Limbuhan, a style of pencak silat specializing—perhaps surprisingly in the context of Indonesian arts— in the use of sticks. The roots of the art, however, are deeply in traditional West Javanese forms of silat. The founder of the system, Gending Raspuzi, came to realize the interconnectedness between, firstly, armed and unarmed training and, secondly, different training forms, or jurus. He also gives us a brief outline of the structure of the Ulin Limbuhan system. Scott Meredith describes the physical and energetic dynamics of Yiquan long staff training for internal energy. Although the art is historically derived from Xingy-
iquan, the training methodologies of these two arts are quite different. At first glance, Yiquan seems to begin from a rather abstract and pared-down form of solo training. At a closer look, though, the three seemingly simple exercises described by Meredith contain a wealth of concepts and ideas to start one on the path to understanding this unique art. Our journey also includes rare insights into Katori Shinto ryu’s use of long weapons from Riichi Kitano. The weapons discussed here include the yari and naginata. Indeed, while Katori Shinto ryu is perhaps most well-known for its use of the katana sword, the art consists of training with multiple weapons. When engaged in battle, a samurai had to be prepared to handle situations where their spear tips were broken and the yari essentially turned into a bo staff. Such flexibility on a battlefield requires training that supports encounters with asymmetric weapons and the use of various different types of weapons. While the weapons of the samurai are no longer in
Editorial | 9
everyday use, training with them— and thus following the principles of Katori Shinto ryu—can still instill a practitioner with confidence that translates into other aspects of life beyond combat.
set required to speak the language of Casag fluently. Mulconery finishes the exploration of Casag with a brief introduction to ways of using the barabara (staff) on its own, or as part of Casag.
Michael Mulconery provides us with a long article on Casag and the Tobosa School of Arnis-Kali-Escrima from Hawai’i. His is a rare and detailed insight into the formative years, multiple influences, and comprehensive martial arts background of the Tobosas, leading, first to the KAJI Kumi system and finally to Estilo Casag. The strategy of Casag is quite simply to use all of the eight directions to drive an opponent to angles that disadvantage them. Still, simple does not mean easy. This strategy requires one to be able to immediately translate one’s responses according to the relative distances and positions—“to speak with meaning in all situations,” to paraphrase the writer. What follows is an analysis of the different strategies, tactics, and training methodologies, not to mention the mind-
All in all, our brief tour of martial arts in the Pacific has veered open the door of some secretive martial traditions, shed light on different ways of fighting with sticks, and shared insights from personal martial art journeys. Despite the persistence of the Asian martial art imaginary, the richness of other martial traditions, too, is beginning to come to light. Like the tectonic plates of the Ring of Fire, hoplology shifts to produce new heights in comprehending the pluralities of human combatives and martial arts.
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Mahipal Lunia Executive Editor
Juha A. Vuori, Ph.D Managing Editor
Mika Harju-Seppänen Managing Editor
Editorial | 11
“BY THE 18TH CENTURY, each major island chiefdom had a Hālau Ku’ialua where was taught the martial arts science blending harmony of the loina wahine a me loina kāne (duality in nature) with mauliola (harmony of life’s principle) and with evenly balanced intellect, spirit, and emotion. As a physical art, the purest form of Ku'ialua comprises the arts of lima hāmama (open-handed techniques), including defensive and offensive strategy, stealth, invisibility, ritual participation, and ceremonial dance. Knowledge surrounding the ‘oihana lapa’au (medicinal profession), ‘oihana limalima (physiotherapy), hahā (diagnostics), ha’iha’i (acupressure and osteopathy), and mea ai (diet) completed the picture. At the onset of the seventeenth century, maximized armed tactics were introduced, augmenting the function of all major weapons, altering the warrior’s fighting style from that time onward.”1
SECRETS OF THE
LUA
Michelle Manu
DRUNKEN BOXING THE STAFF Daniel Schultz
THE STAFF IS ONE OF THE most common and fundamental weapons found in many Asian martial arts. It has evolved from a simple walking stick into an improvised weapon like other weapons have. Throughout history, we see that evolution, from simple weapons like tying a stick to a rock together to make a mace, and later to the development of spears, swords, and other polearms. Yet the staff remains unchanged—it is essentially a big stick. You would not
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DRUNKEN BOXING
· Daniel Schultz | 39
MY PATH TO
JODO MENKYO Michael Belzer
WHY SHINDO MUSO RYU? Over the past decade, I have dedicated myself to walking the path of jojutsu—the art of Japanese stick fighting. I could not have had a better introduction to the art than when I was 18 years old and training at the Rembukan dojo in 1974 under the 25th Headmaster, Shimizu Takaji, and later in 1979 under Donn F. Draeger Sensei in Malaysia. Although I was occasionally able to pick up a jo and practice with some folks between 1979 and 2007 (a break of 28 years), I really thought that my experience in Shindo
Muso ryu was limited to an excellent introduction and that was the end of that chapter in my martial career. As fate would have it, in 2007 I took my wife, Meredith, on a trip to Kyoto. While I was in Japan, I took the opportunity to visit Otake Sensei of the Katori Shinto ryu and also Ono Sensei of the Takenouchi ryu. The experiences I had at both of these dojo reignited my interest in the koryu of Japan. When I returned to Los Angeles, I decided to Google around to see if, after 30 years, there were finally any qualified teachers of the art that I started a lifetime ago—Shindo Muso ryu.
The Rembukan dojo, 1975. Back row: Mike Belzer (far right), Larry Bieri (3rd from left). Front row: Nishioka (2nd from left), Shimizu (center), Kuroda (3rd from right), Kaminoda (far right).
Shimizu Takaji (25th Headmaster) & Kuroda Ichitaro (Shihanke).
JODO MENKYO
· Michael Belzer | 57
VARIOUS TYPES OF FIGHTING IN FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS MODERNITY & TRADITION
Andrea Rollo
Sports Competitions FEDERATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, schools, and masters in the Philippines have in recent decades been engaged in the promotion of Filipino martial arts by organizing tournaments and sports competitions at both national and international levels. A large number of different styles, and the technical variety, typical of the fighting arts in the Philippines, have resulted in the existence of several different sporting specializations. The most common are generally: •
single-stick (or single olisi)
•
double-stick (or sinawali)
•
knife
But there are also competitions of: •
espada y daga (or baston y daga)
•
Filipino boxing (suntukan – also known in the US as panantukan)
•
Filipino wrestling (or dumog/ buno)
The baston, or stick, being the basic weapon in most Filipino martial arts systems, the pre-eminent specialty is undoubtedly the single-stick.
FMA STYLES
· Andrea Rollo | 103
GEIJIN RYU STAFF ARTS
Dr. Michel Farivar
Geijin ryu is a martial art that expresses its combative relevance through an understanding of the anatomy, and, amongst other strategies, the kinetic physiology of the body. This is as relevant in armed as in unarmed combat. The art maximizes, wherever possible, the potential of weapons in a strategic manner. Keeping this in mind, we can begin to explore some of the features of staff arts as understood in this discipline.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY from the outset, that in Geijin ryu, no distinction is made in the general approach between staves and other weapons that share their basic characteristics, other than the additional potential afforded by attaching blades, hooks, and chains to polearms and sticks. In Geijin ryu, working the staff does not involve blocking techniques. There is a clear differentiation between blocking versus infiltrative and strategic counter-strikes, in that the former involves a dead stop to the kinetic motion of the enemy’s weapon. The latter attacks the enemy at a vulnerable point and disables the attack. Blocking constitutes a hindrance to effective infiltration, interception, and counterattacks. At its most basic, the potential afforded by the use of a weapon relies on how the weapon both enhances and limits movement. Once committed to a certain movement, other potential movements or
GEIJIN RYU
· Dr. Michel Farivar | 147
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TRADITIONAL
MĀORI MARTIAL ARTS Te Waitere Jason Paahi Taura Pouwhakarae UmuTawhearangi
MAU RĀKAU IS WELL-KNOWN as a Māori stick fighting art. However, its scope is much wider than just fighting with a stick. Mau Rākau means “to wield a weapon” and is a general term referring to the skilled use of weapons. Mau Rākau covers a whole range of close-combat weapons and contains within it holistically much more than “just” fighting. Tra-
TRADITIONAL MAORI ARTS
· Te Waitere Jason Paahi | 167
THE
WING CHUN LONG POLE LOOK DIM BOON QUAN / SIX-AND-A-HALF-POINT LONG POLE FORM
Mukatder Gül, Ph.D
EVERYTHING I CAN SAY OR write about Wing Chun long pole is based on my experiences and training. The most important and authentic source for me is, of course, my Sifu Ip Ching, who taught me the long pole form and the use of the weapon. Of course, I also asked him about the historical aspects of the long pole. In addition, I am in constant contact with my friends who are themselves Sifus in several other Wing Chun lineages, such as Wong Shun Leung, Ip Chun, and Leung Sheung. Therefore, I have insight also into the different interpretations and versions of the Wing Chun long pole. My Sifu Ip Ching Ip Ching was born in Foshan, China, and is the youngest son of Grandmaster Ip Man. Even at an early age, he showed great interest in martial arts and began his Wing Chun training under the guidance of his father at the age of seven. Ip Man taught his students fre-
quently at the family home and as Ip Ching lived with his father, this gave him tremendous insights into the Wing Chun system and his father’s teaching methods. Because of this fact, he assisted his father in teaching the students in Wing Chun until his death in 1972. Ip Ching knows exactly who learned what from his father. As an honorable disciple and a committed son, Ip Ching is following his father’s footsteps as his successor in the Wing Chun system. Among others, he is honored with the titles of The Master of the Keys and The Keeper of the Art and, for me, he is currently the highest authority in the Ip Man Wing Chun system. His authority does not rest only on his knowledge of the art; the character—the honesty, patience, and the warmth he gives to a student—of this extraordinary man is equally important. It is always the person behind the martial art who makes the art successful.
WING CHUN
· Mukatder Gül, Ph.D | 211
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF
ULIN LIMBUHAN Roedy Wiranatakusumah & Gending Raspuzi
ULIN LIMBUHAN IS AN ARMED martial art system that originates from traditional West Javanese martial arts, especially the Cimande style of martial arts. I began to know the meaning of the term, limbuhan, first around 1977 when I learned pencak silat from (the late)
Mr. Moch. Saleh, and he taught me three series of forms (jurus) known as Jalan Limbuhan. Mr. Saleh got these forms from Abah Aleh, founder of HPS (Himpunan Pencak Silat) Panglipur Pusat. Abah Aleh, on the other hand, got these from Mr. Ujang, a teacher from the Cimande school.
When I learned the Jalan Limbuhan style, Mr. Saleh said that it is the basis of all armed games. If you have mastered the Limbuhan Kick, you will be able to use other weapons such as machetes, tridents (trisula, cabang), and so on. In addition, it will also be possible to perform armed moves by taking empty-handed moves from any style as the source of movement. Around 1989, I studied the cimande style of pencak silat at Babakan Tarikkolot, Bogor, from Abah Haji Darwis. I received 33 Buang Kelid Cimande forms (empty-hand forms) and 17 Pepedangan forms (weapon forms). It was only when I learned swordsmanship that I realized that the “Limbuhan Way” received from Mr. Saleh came from the swordsmanship technique. Jalan Limbuhan 1 comes from Kick Pepedangan 1, Jalan Limbuhan 2 comes from Kick Pepedangan 17, and Jalan Limbuhan 3 comes from Kick Pepedangan 4. The pattern of Jalan Limbuhan is exactly the same with Pepedangan Kick, but in the use of weapons, Jalan Limbuhan looks more varied.
ULIN LIMBUHAN
The guidance of another Cimande teacher, namely the late Mr. Beni Azhar (Abah Haji Ishak’s student, Babakan Tarikkolot Cimande), has opened my horizons even more. The 33 Cimande Throwing Kicks, which I previously understood were just empty-handed moves, turned out to be the source of armed technique. According to him, it is said that cimande’s moves were originally a sword-fighting stance, Wallohu A’lam. Since then, I have started to explore the three ways of the Limbuhan Way, the 33 Ways of Throwing Kelids, and the 17 Ways of the Swordsmanship, so that finally a systematic exercise called Ulin Limbuhan was arranged. Ulin means “game” or “science,” and limbuhan means “bat.” So Ulin Limbuhan can be interpreted as “martial arts using a stick.” It is a fact that the first known martial art using sticks in the world is arnis/kali/eskrima originating from the Philippines, an art which is now developing in America and Europe. Meanwhile, pencak silat
· Roedy Wiranatakusumah & Gending Raspuzi | 223
KATORI SHINTO RYU Riichi Kitano
KATORI SHINTO RYU WAS founded in the mid-Muromachi era (AD 1400s) by Iizasa Choisai Ienao (1387-1488). It is known to be one of the oldest martial arts in Japan and also considered as one of the roots of Japanese martial arts. The history of Katori Shinto ryu can go back in time as early as the era of the deities. Historically, people believed in multiple gods in
238 | The Immersion Review
KATORI SHINTO RYU
· Riichi Kitano | 239
THE ONE AND THE MANY:
HAWAIIAN TOBOSA SYSTEM Michael Mulconery
“As one thinks, so does one become. You can do anything if you follow through. You should always have confidence in your abilities. No matter how strong you may be, you cannot break barriers with strength alone. Strength alone is not Kali.” -Grandmaster Raymond Tobosa
Danlan sa Kasag—The Way of the Crab
THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT ONE thing and many things. The many-things are the history, foundation, and substance of the onething. For no one-thing stands alone, and every-thing comes from something else. The “one-thing,” which is two-things, because they are inseparable, is the journey of the Tobosa brothers and their founding of the Tobosa School of Arnis-Kali-Escrima. Raymond Tobosa, whom we called Batikan and Teofisto (Toby) Tobosa, whom we called Manoy, founded their discipline after many years of study and
selection of systems of combat, which seemed to them to work together well. The Tobosa School of Filipino Fencing, as it was called early on, can also be known as Estilo Casag, Estilong ang Kasag, or Danlan sa Kasag. These terms—Crab Style, Swimming Crab Style, and Way of the Crab—are simply shortened into Casag. It is a Filipino/Hawaiian system that was developed, or we could say, “knit together,” by Raymond and Toby Tobosa in Hawaii, over a number of years.
HAWAIIAN TOBOSA SYSTEM
· Michael Mulconery | 263
THE "BARABARA" AND BASIC LONG-WEAPON APPROACH
Michael Mulconery
THE CEBUANO TERM, barabara, primarily means “staff ” but interestingly, it is also translated as “backing up—blocking, or clogging up,” as in “something that stops the flow of something else.” Barabara primarily uses a 42-inch stick or staff, but a 36-inch cane is also used at times. It has qualities applicable to the use of a spear and many of the principles can be applied to longer impact weapons such as a 60-inch or 72-inch staff or spear. To whatever degree it may have been, Batikan learned the Barabara system from the kali grandmaster, Feliciano Magsanide (19001983). Magsanide worked in the sugarcane fields and had lived in Lahaina Maui, Kauai, and finally on Oahu at Waipahu (Batikan’s hometown). It appears that he later moved to the Kalihi-Palama area of Honolulu, which is about a 19-minute drive from where Batikan then lived in Pearl City. Batikan related that Grandmaster Magsanide trained many of the full contact escrima fighters for the Honolulu civic auditorium fights
that took place in the 1930s and 1940s. He said that Great-Grandmaster Floro Villabrille was well acquainted with Magsanide’s approach and, in fact, that they were good friends. Casag (to the best of my estimation) has only bits and pieces of the Barabara system—really only some tactical approaches and practical applications. The reason for this is probably that Batikan did not want the unique qualities of the long-stick methods to become a distractor for the core principles of Casag. Additionally, it may simply be that Batikan died before he was able to demonstrate and articulate much of this system to us. At any rate, I do not interject these methods into training until students are advanced enough to sufficiently understand the application of Casag principles and methods as they apply to multiple types of weapons. As was his way, much of what Batikan related about people and their approach to training or their particular systems was mostly done during times of “story talk” but
BARABARA & LONG WEAPONS
· Michael Mulconery | 335
Stick Arts VOL 1, ISSUE 4
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