• [CANCELLED!] Gathering of the Ohana: ‘Princess Bride’ for free at Art Hill

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 5th June, 2014, 12:18 PM
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    brute-squad-science

    Gathering of the Ohana:  Friday, July 19 2013 has been cancelled due to heat.  We will schedule something else.

    Art Hill in Forest Park: 1 Fine Arts Dr  Saint Louis, MO 63110

    The Princess Bride  (1987, 98 minutes, color)
    Directed by Rob Reiner;  starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin and Chris Sarandon

    Because “I am not left-handed” and “I just want you to feel like you are doing well.”

    A classic fairy tale (as read by a kindly grandfather) with swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing.

    Click here for St. Louis Art Museum Film Series Details and FAQ

    The free movies are shown outdoors on Art Hill. The screen will be located midway down Art Hill facing the Museum.Free public parking is available in the northwest and northeast parking lots flanking the statue of St. Louis in front of the main entrance to the Museum. Street parking along Fine Arts Drive is also available.
    Free music and festivities start at 7:00 pm; films begin promptly at 9:00 pm. You are welcome to arrive any time to claim your spot on Art Hill.

    Picnic materials, lawn chairs, candles, food, beverages (alcoholic beverages are permitted), blankets, and bug repellent are our suggestions. Pets on a leash are welcome.

    Thanks to Brother Andy Chadwick for finding the “Fezziks: Brute Squad Science” shirt.  LOL!


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  • Quote from one of the legends of Okinawan Kenpo Karate-jutsu

    Posted on by Dave 1 Comment
    Last Modified: 5th May, 2017, 10:44 AM
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    “The blocking hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant.  Blocking with one hand and then countering with the other is not true bujutsu.  Real bujutsu presses forward and blocks and counters in the same motion.”  — Motobu Chōki, circa 1920’s-1930’s

    Pressing forward… Blocks and strikes with the same motion…  Sounds familiar.

    It is very likely that James Mitose’s real teacher –if any– was Motobu Chōki, Mizhuo Mutsu or even, Kamesuke Higashionna.  Mizhuo Mutsu was originally a student of Gichin Funakoshi and later trained with Motobu Chōki.  Kamesuke Higashionna’s mother is said to have lived on the Big Island, where Mitose was from.  Mitose also lists Kamesuke Higashionna (also known as Kamesuke Higaonna, Hiroshi Higashionna, and Hiroshi Higaonna) as a “master of Karate Kenpo”.   Higashionna was a student of Motobu in 1933 and they both went to Hawaii in 1933 at Motobu’s urging.

    Mitose’s main source of information might have simply been books written by Motobu Chōki and/or Mutsu Mizuho, especially seeing how he plagiarized parts of them.

    The point is, that Mitose’s “kempo” training –if any– was probably from the Motobu Chōki lineage.  He would have had considerable exposure to Seishiro Okazaki‘s danzan-ryu as well.  This does not imply that he earned any sort of black belt or instructor’s credentials from any of them.

    Simply put, the origins of “kosho-ryu kenpo” as told by Mitose is very likely a complete lie & fabrication.

    It is almost certain that the kenpo/kempo styles that originated in Hawaii with James Mitose and William Chow — Ed Parker’s Kenpo, Kajukenbo, & all of the others — are of Okinawan descent andnot from some hidden Japanese temple.

    Did Mitose learn from Motobu or his students?

    kosho-ryuA.  Where they were –and when– overlaps often

    B.  James Mitose only taught the Naihanchi kata – at least in the days of Chow & Emperado.  The oldest known reference to Naihanchi are in the books of Motobu Choki.  Why would a Japanese system that was supposedly around 700 years old use a 200 year old Okinawan kata?

    C.  It is said that Motobu Chōki sometimes used the 3-hand symbols as in the Mitose crest (left).

    D.  Mitose demonstrated ‘makiwara‘ use (an Okinawan method, neither Japanese nor Chinese).

    E.  Mitose gave Chōki Motobu and Kamesuke Higashionna prominent pictures and credits as a masters of Karate-Kenpo in his first book, ‘WHAT IS SELF-DEFENSE? (Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu)‘

    Do some research and come to your own conclusions.

    “Mitose called his art Kenpo Jujitsu. He told us that he had learned it from Choki Motobu. I never heard the term “Kosho Ryu Kenpo” until he went to prison and some other instructors visited him and got master certificates in Kosho Ryu.   I also never heard from him the story about the Kosho family temple.” — Adriano Emperado,  in a recommended interview for ‘Centuron Negro’ by John Bishop, archived here at: http://www.cqbkajukenbo.com/the-sijo-emperado-interview-from/

    A Look at James Mitose @ kempoinfo.com

    Shaka-In notarized statement

    Kamesuke Higashionna

    James Mitose

    AN INTERVIEW WITH ADRIANO D. EMPERADO: Interview for Centuron Negro by John Bishop

    My related post on the subject on the Kajukenbo Cafe: Okinawan Karate and it’s relationship with Kajukenbo 

     


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  • Home invasion caught on a Nanny-Cam. Story on News12 NJ

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 30th April, 2014, 11:06 AM
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    Originally posted by Alain Burrese at the Warrior’s Edge here

    Huffington Post article & follow-up:  Shawn Custis Arrested For NJ Nanny Cam Home Invasion

    “NEWARK, N.J. — Authorities have arrested a man wanted in a New Jersey home invasion that left a mother beaten, an attack that was captured on a nanny cam {on Friday June 21, 2013}.

    The Essex County prosecutor’s office said 42-year-old Shawn Custis was arrested Friday in Manhattan by the prosecutor’s office and the FBI. Custis faces charges of attempted murder, robbery, burglary and child endangerment.
    The attack last Friday {June 21, 2013} in Millburn was captured on a hidden camera in the woman’s home. A man can be seen bursting into the home, punching and kicking the woman and throwing her down stairs while her 3-year-old daughter cowered on a couch. Police withheld the names of the woman and child.
    County chief of detectives Anthony Ambrose said Friday that Custis was being transported to an undisclosed location in New Jersey.”


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  • Fighter gives opponent free shot, gets knocked out (Oct 2012)

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 30th April, 2014, 11:06 AM
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    Brother Steve found this.  It demonstrates Kajukenbo Rule #1: Don’t block with your face.

    Origin: Fighter gives opponent free shot, gets knocked out
    By Larry Brown October 30, 2012

    “Sometimes in combat sports, justice is served.  That’s what happened with the bald dude in the video above.

    This video is short on details, but long on awesomeness, and we can obviously describe what we see.  The larger dude got caught with a few punches, but didn’t want to concede anything to his opponent.  His solution was to say, “Hey, that was nothing.  That’s all you got?”  So he opened up his hands and gave his opponent several more free shots as if to say, “You can’t hurt me.”

    Sure enough, right after pounding his head in a display of toughness, bald dude got dropped by a left hook to the face.  Fat boy goes to sleep.  Pure awesomeness.”


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  • Kindred spirit: St. Louis detective teaches self-defense with street smarts

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 16th July, 2013, 9:19 AM
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    Brother Steve emailed this back in January.

    January 13, 2013 12:15 am

    The fraud investigator is trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys so he can defend himself against them — and teach others to do the same.

    Mayberry, 43, and his wife, Jennifer Mayberry, 33, own and operate the St. Louis Combat Institute, based in a former storage garage in a small business park on the Hill. They teach kickboxing, Israeli martial art Krav Maga, and Systema, a Russian martial art.  While kickboxing and Krav Maga are taught at several other area schools, the Mayberrys say they are the only Systema instructors in the area.”

    Complete story here

    You can contact Joe and find out more at St. Louis Systema


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  • Bullying Victims Fight Back With Help From Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Royalty (Aug 2011)

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 30th April, 2014, 10:39 AM
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    From Brother John Glendening, a few years ago.

    Bullying Victims Fight Back With Help From Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Royalty
    Wednesday, August 24, 2011 1:17 am

    UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro this weekend will rightly include homage to the iconic Gracie family, creators of Brazilian jiu-jitsu nearly 100 years ago, creators of the Ultimate Fighting Championship nearly 20 years ago, creators of legendary family fighting figures and jiu-jitsu instructors that span the globe.

    But the Gracies’ most positive impact might be felt at a middle school in a Denver suburb where a seventh grader is unafraid of bullies for the first time since he can remember.

    Martin Hendricks, 12, spent a week this summer at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, Calif., in an intensive program designed to make him “Bullyproof.” He learned as many jiu-jitsu self-defense techniques as a kid can absorb in five days, he memorized a blueprint for dealing with a bully fairly and squarely, and he gained self-confidence. The first week of school he put the lessons into practice.

    “I’m still a little nervous but it all went well,” Hendricks said quietly in a phone call to Rener Gracie, his personal instructor at the academy. “He’ll never bother me again. Let me tell you about it.”

    Full article here.


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  • Martial arts experts foil armed robbery at hotel in LA (Nov 2011)

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 30th April, 2014, 11:07 AM
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    From Officer / Special Agent –and CQB Kajukenbo brown belt– Ron Keel.  The event happened a while back but it is still good to see.

    Officer Keel had this perspective: “I would not suggest this course of action in 99.9% of the cases.   Be the best witness possible, but if faced w him pulling the trigger, then take any and all action you deem necessary!!”

    Martial arts experts foil armed robbery at hotel in LA – Saturday, November 05, 2011
     LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Martial arts experts acting as Good Samaritans foiled an armed robbery at a hotel in Los Angeles.

    “The incident happened at a Comfort Inn in the 300 block of North Vermont Avenue on Wednesday.

    According to Los Angeles police, a man with a backpack walked into the hotel lobby at about 11:40 p.m. He approached the lone clerk, asked about the price of a room, and then pointed a gun at him and demanded money.

    Fearing he may be shot, the clerk complied with the suspect’s demands, opened the register and gave him money.

    At that point, two martial arts experts, who were guests at the hotel, entered the lobby. They were visiting Los Angeles from Oregon for a martial arts tournament.

    They heard the clerk’s cry for help and immediately jumped into action.

    “I hear ‘Gun. He’s got a gun, he just robbed me,'” said Brent Alvarez, an MMA fighter. “At that point I’d already stepped one foot off the elevator and the guy and the gun was on me. He’s putting it in the back and thought he was going to be sneaky and escape.”

    “Bret was in front and he’s trying to be the diplomatic guy, trying to calm the guy down, tell him, ‘Hey, man. It was a bad decision. Let’s make it right from here,'” said MMA fighter Billy Denney. “From there we disarmed him, we got the money.”

    The two grabbed the suspect, wrestled the gun away from him, took him down to the ground and held him until officers arrived.

    The suspect was identified as 31-year-old Luis Rosales of Los Angeles. Officers found a loaded 9 mm handgun and cash taken from the hotel register in Rosales’ backpack. He was booked for armed robbery with a firearm with bail set at $101,250.”

     


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  • Communities Against Terrorism: Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities Related to Martial Arts and Paintball Activities

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 14th July, 2013, 9:07 AM
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    If you cannot tell who the bad guys are -and you try to teach viable personal protection skills as a martial arts or self defense instructor- then you should just stop teaching and training.  This was from a while back but I still cannot believe how asinine it is.  If you cannot recognize ‘suspicious behavior’ as a martial artist then you need to either stay home or train somewhere else.

    Several posters from the Joint Regional *Intelligence* Center (JRIC): FBI “Communities Against Terrorism” Suspicious Activity Reporting Flyers

    Actual ‘martial arts’ poster is here:  http://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-SuspiciousActivity/Martial_Arts_and_Paintball.pdf

    Some tips to make sure you are not training bad guys, thanks to the flyer – and some observations from me…

    * Interest in learning offensive moves in a confined space
    – If you MUST use offensive moves then you will always have plenty of room to maneuver.  You may have room and time to escape as well, so run away.  Your foes will not follow you and the danger will pass.

    * Interest in learning the use of hidden weapons
    – Walking down the street carrying a sword is legal now.  No need for a CCW.  Carrying machetes and 2-foot pieces of rattan is OK too.

    * Interest in learning kill and restraint techniques with no occupational need
    – If your “occupation” has nothing to do with protecting yourself or others then there is no need to train in martial arts or self defense.  Fortunately, your life will never be threatened because that is not your occupation.

    * Individuals who together are interested in learning group tactics
    – Understanding things like multi-man attacks, stacking and team control & restraint techniques are a thing of the past.  Take that stuff out of your programs or the ter’rists win!

    * Incorporating close combat or hand-to-hand fighting into training
    – Start all training by backing up outside of kicking range or simply turn your back on the threat and run away.  There will probably be space and time to do this, as mentioned previously.

    * Creating scenarios that incorporate law enforcement
    – To be safe, LEOs should no longer be welcome in martial arts schools or Defensive Tactics classes.  Of course, since it is their “occupation” (see above) we sort of have a Catch-22 if LEOs *want* to train.
    If you DO allow LEOs in your classes then under no circumstances should you consider their specific needs and perils when they train.  If the implication here is that the student wants to learn how do harm to or otherwise neutralize LEOs in the line of duty then simply beat the stuffing out of them and call the local PD or FBI.   Duh.

    * Operating a private facility that’s not available or advertised to the public
    – Immediately stop teaching in places like parks, garages, basements, beaches or anywhere that does not have a store front and a listing in the yellow pages.


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  • Karate punching power ‘all in the brain’

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 12th July, 2013, 2:28 PM
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    In CQB Kajukenbo, I explain Mind > Body > Spirit, and we develop CBM – “Coordinated Body Motion”.   Coincidence?

    Original BBC article here: Karate punching power ‘all in the brain’

    By Jonathan Ball BBC News  {20 August 2012 Last updated at 05:54 ET}

    Packing an impressive karate punch has more to do with brain power than muscle power, according to research.

    In a close-range punching contest described in Cerebral Cortex, experts consistently out-hit novices.

    Scientists peered deep into the brains of the experts to reveal alterations in regions controlling movement.

    These changes were linked with better coordination and speed of punch,  a team from Imperial College London and University College London concluded.

    Ed Roberts from Imperial College London, who led the study, said: “The karate black belts were able to repeatedly coordinate their punching action with a level of coordination that novices can’t produce.   We think that ability might be related to fine tuning of neural connections in the cerebellum.”

    To determine the speed of the punch, the researchers filmed and timed the movement of the infrared sensors attached to shoulders, elbows, wrists and hips of the people.

    The study of brain structure and function has been accelerated by the development of new medical imaging techniques, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

    The current study used a special MRI technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging.  This is useful in the investigation of a variety of brain disorders such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, brain abscesses and brain tumors.

    The brain contains two main types of tissue – grey and white matter.  The regions controlling and coordinating movement are known as the cerebellum and the primary motor cortex and are composed of both.  However, the study showed that changes in the structure of the white matter were associated with improved coordination.

    Changes in white matter structure have been observed in other individuals engaged in repetitive physical activity – pianists for example – and can also be induced simply by thought.

    In a study published in the journal PNAS, the authors showed that regular meditation resulted in white matter changes in regions of the brain associated with emotion.

    Commenting on his findings, Dr Roberts said: “Most research on how the brain controls movement has been based on examining how diseases can impair motor skills.

    “We took a different approach, by looking at what enables experts to perform better than novices in tests of physical skill.”

    Also, by looking at healthy subjects, it is hoped that scientists will gain a better understanding of how movement is controlled.

    One of the main diseases affecting white matter is multiple sclerosis (MS).  This is a chronic degenerative disease that affects millions of people around the world.  But the cause of MS remains unknown.


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  • Fighting may have shaped evolution of human hand

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 12th July, 2013, 2:20 PM
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    — Brother Steve Todd sent me this a while back.

    {20 December 2012 Last updated at 02:45 ET}

    Fighting may have shaped the evolution of the human hand, according to a new study by a US team.The University of Utah researchers used instruments to measure the forces and acceleration when martial artists hit a punch bag.  They found that the structure of the fist provides support that increases the ability of the knuckles to transmit “punching” force.  Details have been published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.  “We asked the question: ‘can you strike harder with a fist than with an open palm?’,” co-author David Carrier told BBC News.

    “We were surprised because the fist strikes were not more forceful than the strikes with the palm. In terms of the work on the bag there is really no difference.”

    Of course, the surface that strikes the target with a fist is smaller, so there is more stress from a fist strike.

    “The force per area is higher in a fist strike and that is what causes localised tissue damage,” said Prof Carrier.

    “There is a performance advantage in that regard. But the real focus of the study was whether the proportions of the human hand allow buttressing (support).”

    The team found that making a clenched fist did indeed provide protective buttressing for the delicate bones of the hand. Making a fist increased the stiffness of the second meta-carpo-phalangeal, or MCP, joint (these joints are the knuckles visible when the hand is clenched as a fist) by a factor of four.

    It also doubled the ability of the proximal phalanges (the bones of the fingers that articulate with the MCP joints) to transmit a punching force.

    Dual useIn their paper, Prof Carrier and Michael H Morgan from the University of Utah’s school of medicine, point out that the human hand has also been shaped by the need for manual dexterity. But they say that a number of different hand proportions are compatible with an enhanced ability to manipulate objects.

    “There may, however, be only one set of skeletal proportions that allows the hand to function both as a mechanism for precise manipulation and as a club for striking,” the researchers write.

    “Ultimately, the evolutionary significance of the human hand may lie in its remarkable ability to serve two seemingly incompatible, but intrinsically human, functions.”

    Our closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos do not generally form fists, and the researchers think they are unable to: when a chimp curls up its fingers it forms a doughnut shape.

    Prof Carrier commented: “The question for me is ‘why wasn’t this discussed 30, 40 years ago.’ As far as I know it isn’t in the literature.”

    Asked whether the idea that aggression may have played a key role in shaping the human body might previously have been unpalatable to researchers, Prof Carrier explained: “I think we’re more in that situation now than we were in the past.

    “I think there is a lot of resistance, maybe more so among academics than people in general – resistance to the idea that, at some level humans are by nature aggressive animals. I actually think that attitude, and the people who have tried to make the case that we don’t have a nature – those people have not served us well.

    “I think we would be better off if we faced the reality that we have these strong emotions and sometimes they prime us to behave in violent ways. I think if we acknowledged that we’d be better able to prevent violence in future.”

     BBC

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  • Women Self Defense – 1947

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 30th April, 2014, 11:08 AM
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    Women self defense in 1947.  Producer and director, William Forest Crouch.

    JUDO JYMNASTICS. Soundies Films, Inc.,  B&W, 16mm.  A Filmcraft production.

    It looks a lot like our {William Fairbairn / Rex Applegate / Bill Underwood} stuff.  Interesting piece of history.

    All before anyone in the United States knew anything about ‘Krav Maga‘, obviously.


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  • Book recommendation – Special Forces Unarmed Combat Guide

    Posted on by Dave Comment
    Last Modified: 30th April, 2014, 11:09 AM
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    SFUCG

    ‘Special Forces Unarmed Combat Guide: Hand-to-Hand Fighting Skills From The World’s Most Elite Military Units‘
    by Martin J. Dougherty
    Paperback
    ISBN-10: 1435122690
    ISBN-13: 978-1435122697

    I used to give copies of this out in class because many of the techniques presented are identical to our own.

    Unfortunately it appears to be out of print now.

    I recommend picking up a copy if you see it somewhere.  Click on one of the vendor links or scan the bar code with your smartphone.

    Amazon               Barnes & NobleSFUCG-barcode


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