Wen Hsiu Quan

Jesse's articles have always been really informative and straight to the point. If you have read his article on Ki you would know that he is not really one for the esoteric aspects of martial arts. His down to earth, no-nonsense style of writing is something that I have gotten used to. Also the fact that, as who is probably Karate's biggest promotor I came to expect him to write about- well... Karate. This article is about a topic that came up a week ago in our dojo as well- Pressure Points! http://www.karatebyjesse.com/exclusive-interview-evan-pantazi-the-pressure-point-picasso-pt-2/ Now- I'll be honest. I have once seen a chart like this- and told myself- this will take far too much thinking for a quick response in a fight so- let me NOT get involved with that. Nonetheless- there were people who stake their lives on it. Well- it got me thinking. It happens too often that we get taught HOW to hit, but how many times do we get taught WHERE to hit? And NO! The...

I have been working a lot on my speed lately. At the dojo Sensei has told us that competition fights are now being won by those who can cross long distances the fastest to deliver a gyakuzuki. Having taken it upon myself to give spectators a bit more to watch than just a gyakuzuki contest I have taken it to heart and streamlined my kicks as well. Fact is- there are some pretty fast people out there. Nonetheless- timing beats speed anytime, so we wil not get obsessed about it. Amidst the hustle and bustle for the last tournament I have managed to learn 2 new katas, though. Having left karate all those years ago and having moved through 12 katas when I joined the other dojo in 2014 before leaving again have not really enabled me to settle down and learn new katas. Besides- I have been busy working on WSKF basics for the last couple of months since my joining, since it needed a lot of tuning up. Nonetheless- the fates were kind. Now I have Gojushiho Sho and Kanku Dai. Th...

Working on my first book I focussed a lot on the basics of grappling, but have far from exhausted the subject. Most techniques I have explained used a manipulation of the wrist or leg. One other lever I did give brief attention to was the philtrum- the spot right at the bottom of the nose.   In Judo our opponent wears a gi with a belt, sleeves and lapels that can be grabbed. In actual fights outside the dojo (which you should of course not actively pursue) we do not have those handholds. We dn't have rules either. Last night- surfing Youtube- my attention was brought to the head. This is how it happened: I have recently learnt Gojushiho Sho from my Sensei. For those of you that don't study Japanese Karate this is a kata that is taught at senior level. It is officially the most advanced kata I know. I have supplied a link to a video of this awesome kata below: https://youtu.be/FxyScLnqdIg You will notice the quick open hand thrusts that make up a lar...

 Long ago I have read the story of Musashi Miyamoto who at the age of 13 killed a much older opponent by unexpectedly stalling the confrontation by unexpectedly stalling the confrontation. First he arrived late, then he took time to remove his shoes, then he first warmed up... By the time he did get to fighting his opponent was already furious and made that last fatal mistake of eagerly rushing in. Jesse Enkamp (we all know him, right?) told a story of himself getting out of a confrontation by telling a really hostile individual about the height of a wall. In the art of fighting we become aware of the nature and course of events. We know what is in place, what is to be expected- and from there we find the opportunities to do the unexpected. When working with your enemies you will use these tactics to prevent them from functioning properly. At present I have a feeling that employers and managers in the workplace often use these tactics on the people that are actually...

This is my third month with my Shotokan club and I am enjoying it more and more, I am glad to say. Usually the White River branch- that is sort-of like our hombu dojo- has a Saturday morning class for brown and black belts in White River. I have not made that trip yet. Quite frankly- club/ federation/ association activities are not a priority for me and I doubt that it ever will be. That does not mean that I do not enjoy it, though. I have just happened to land myself into a long weekend and received notification of our Lowveld Gasshuku. While part of my long weekend got spent on educating a certain Peter Barakan on why it is wrong to call Babymetal a mere"Idol Band" I reckoned "why not?"  So- that Friday evening I got the Saturday kit and had my Saturday workout then so that I could show up at Klipkopje Dam with my braai meat and karate gear to take part in a 3 hour gasshuku and the braai afterwards. Non-South Africans who do not know what...

Hi, Everyone Last night I got a group of four kids to teach for the very first time. Ages were 13, 11, 10 and 5. Because it was a self defense class I did not intend to give too much attention to strict karate basics. As the students struggled to make their techniques work, however, we realised that a good grasp of the basics is necessary- especially with regard to stances. What never gets old with teaching kids throws is when they start with "But he's too big!" and later on end up with that excited look when they realise they have just done that throw. Those are the bigger kids. As for the 5 year old boy we started with basic stances and blocks. A fun thing to do with kungfu is to teach them the different animals found in the movements. I prefer not to teach fighting to kids at such a young age, but the basic movements do wonders for their development. You all know Mahiro, right? I wonder what she and those other kids get taught...     ...

As you know by now I train at our Shotokan dojo. That is on Mondays and Wednesdays. I have kickboxing on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This has led to Saturdays being put aside to do the type of training I like and enjoy. Saturdays are Wenhsiuquan days. I have come to accept that you have no control over what martial arts schools you will find in your area. For a lot this is not a problem, because they have no idea what variations of martial arts training exist in the world when they sign up, but with me it has become an issue when I realised that things like spinning kicks and meditation were things that I had to learn by myself, because my school did not offer that. Now- when I joined my new Shotokan dojo I knew for certain that they would be able to help me get back my poise and polish my technique. The way I was going started to worry me and in time, because overemphasis on power had led to a lot of my techniques being telegraphed. Still, though- I do not feel comfortab...