Friday we had our second visit with Raffi - Mr. Filipino stick, knife, JKD, etc. Oh yea, and he's a godan in Uechi. Needless to say, we have fun.
Our day started early when Rich pick me up and we took Raffi and Susan (his new bride!!) to a private shooting range. There our favorite shooting instructor gave what amounts to a full course that would have enabled anyone to get a concealed gun permit in our state. Come to find out that both Susan and Raffi were very good shots. It was Susan's very first time (and Raffi's second), and Susan was shooting so well she was making her new husband very nervous. On his second round of 5 shots, Raffi had a stellar sequence.
Much of the day was actually spent talking and practicing. We spent a great deal of time doing very simple things like working on the stance and learning to squeeze the finger while holding the hands still. It seemed a lot like sanchin work to me! We finished the day with some fun with one of Rich's new shotgun toys. Tom - the gun instructor - used to be a police officer, and has quite a few scars to prove it. Tom showed us how this shotgun with a single lead slug was his weapon of choice when "going into a very bad situation." All I can say is you had to be there.... Scary!
For the knife and stick seminar, Raffi did the requisite work on basics. Then this time we specialized on some sparring with stick. Raffi had taken PVC pipe and covered it with foam that was all held together with duct tape. (Tim Allen would have smiled!) Then he had two people dress up in street hockey gear and basically smack the &*%$ out of each other. Needless to say, it was fun to watch. We had quite an audience staring through the glass at us from the general gym area.
Raffi spends an awful lot of time telling people to forget their karate and Uechi ryu when doing the stick and knife work. While I see what he means, I have to respectfully disagree. Basically we are both reading from the same good book. The problem isn't with the karate, but with most peoples' interpretation of karate. Frankly I think than anyone could benefit from this thinking "outside the box." It'll loosen you up and make you a much better fighter.
I understand Raffi will be down south for a winter camp in Florida along with George and Van. Should be fun.
- Bill
Raffi's comes back to Mid-Atlantic area
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Bill Glasheen
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- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
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RACastanet
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- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA
Raffi's comes back to Mid-Atlantic area
Yes, a visit from Raffi sensei/guro is great fun. His next visit to Richmond will be sometime in early March. That session may be dedicated to stick sparring. Watch for a notice on this and other forum sites!
Other thoughts:
Bill G. sensei referred to my new shotgun toy. Actually, I've had it for about 15 years. I purchased it when on an assignment in Ohio. The land is so flat and sparse only shotguns were permitted for deer season.
A popular gun at the time was the Ithica Featherlite that came with a modified choke barrel and an easily changed short slug barrel ('the DeerSlayer') complete with rifle sights. It is an effective high power rifle up to 100 yards. It is also an effective home defense weapon when loaded with buckshot or slugs.
It is not necessary to buy a 'combat' shotgun if you have a hunting gun already. The shortcoming is really shell capacity. A typical hunting gun holds one shell in the chamber and four in the magazine. The defense guns hold seven or more in the tube. However, they do not look politically correct. The standard Mossberg pump comes off the shelf with a wooden stock and a seven shot mag which would be just fine for most purposes. The Remington is perhaps better out of the box but holds only four shells. However, it can be easily modified to hold seven. And both retail under $300 at KMart, WalMart and most hunting shops.
If Y2K has you worried, a shotgun would be a great buy. In addition, even Massachussetts allows people to own them. (JT - any comment on this?)
Rich
Other thoughts:
Bill G. sensei referred to my new shotgun toy. Actually, I've had it for about 15 years. I purchased it when on an assignment in Ohio. The land is so flat and sparse only shotguns were permitted for deer season.
A popular gun at the time was the Ithica Featherlite that came with a modified choke barrel and an easily changed short slug barrel ('the DeerSlayer') complete with rifle sights. It is an effective high power rifle up to 100 yards. It is also an effective home defense weapon when loaded with buckshot or slugs.
It is not necessary to buy a 'combat' shotgun if you have a hunting gun already. The shortcoming is really shell capacity. A typical hunting gun holds one shell in the chamber and four in the magazine. The defense guns hold seven or more in the tube. However, they do not look politically correct. The standard Mossberg pump comes off the shelf with a wooden stock and a seven shot mag which would be just fine for most purposes. The Remington is perhaps better out of the box but holds only four shells. However, it can be easily modified to hold seven. And both retail under $300 at KMart, WalMart and most hunting shops.
If Y2K has you worried, a shotgun would be a great buy. In addition, even Massachussetts allows people to own them. (JT - any comment on this?)
Rich
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Raffi Derderian
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Raffi's comes back to Mid-Atlantic area
Hi Bill,
Point well taken. Instead of telling the people who come to my seminars to "forget" their Uechi, I should perhaps tell them to "put aside their Uechi" during the seminar.
See, I know YOU know what I mean and why I am saying it. If I get a little sharp it is only because I want the others to know it too.
There is a time to put aside Uechi when learning another method. This is true of any system. For example,if I let those students keep their hands in sanchin, knife in the right hand, then the left will get clobbered. If not by a knife then by a stick. I tell people this, I show them why. They agree. Then they keep doing it. Why I don't know. It could be that they are relunctant to let go of what their teacher tells them. It may be they are trying and just can't do it. Regardless, I'll keep pounding it into them.
In the end, as we have talked about, if they can combine what they have been taught with their Uechi-ryu the result will be incredible. Am I making sense here?? Anybody have any comments?
Hope all is well, my friend. I had a great time last weekend. Look forward to the next visit.
Raffi
Point well taken. Instead of telling the people who come to my seminars to "forget" their Uechi, I should perhaps tell them to "put aside their Uechi" during the seminar.
See, I know YOU know what I mean and why I am saying it. If I get a little sharp it is only because I want the others to know it too.
There is a time to put aside Uechi when learning another method. This is true of any system. For example,if I let those students keep their hands in sanchin, knife in the right hand, then the left will get clobbered. If not by a knife then by a stick. I tell people this, I show them why. They agree. Then they keep doing it. Why I don't know. It could be that they are relunctant to let go of what their teacher tells them. It may be they are trying and just can't do it. Regardless, I'll keep pounding it into them.
In the end, as we have talked about, if they can combine what they have been taught with their Uechi-ryu the result will be incredible. Am I making sense here?? Anybody have any comments?
Hope all is well, my friend. I had a great time last weekend. Look forward to the next visit.
Raffi
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Raffi's comes back to Mid-Atlantic area
Raffi
As I stated before, we are both reading from the same book.
But I like the way you re-phrased it. Yes, one needs to put the Uechi ryu aside for a bit when doing the knife work....because most people will bring their inappropriate preconceived ideas into this new learning. The problem isn't the style, it's in the individual's understanding of the style.
Many people never get beyond a literal understanding of the sanchin kata. Yes, there are extreme examples of this. For instance, I remember a student stating once that the reason why he did his sanchin strikes at a certain level was because he believed that sanchin was supposed to teach you how to do deadly throat strikes with your spear hands. Now most people can see how ridiculous this thinking is. But as we learn more and more about sanchin, we see that a lot of our ideas about what it is are unfounded. So yes, the only way to break out of that rigid thinking is to put it all aside for a bit.
One needs to enter a new arena with the aid of but without the potential burden of past knowledge. Yes, one needs to view everything as potentially new and open one's mind to new ideas and concepts. I know brains naturally operate in a manner where we simplify by working new ideas into our own collection of experiences. Often this makes us pick concepts up quicker. Occasionally though that foundation gets in the way. So when do we turn our knowledge filter on, and when do we shut it off and download everything new verbatim? Good question.
But....those that occasionally think with the open mind of a child then have the chance to go back and reevaluate this new knowledge juxtaposed against what we believed in the past. This then leads us to a situation where we can make the connection between new and old, discard the new knowledge as invalid, or rethink the way we previously viewed the world (paradigm shift). Whenever the latter event occurs, we have often gone through a profound learning experience.
Now as for the hands in sanchin.... Yes, when our hands our empty and we have this generic "thingy" that we are doing with them (the tiger claw or the sanchin nukite), then it makes sense to assume nothing and put one in the most general posture. But put a knife in one hand and that changes everything.
It's like a waiter holding a tray of food, and somebody comes by and puts a bottle of catsup on one end. The waiter is going to have to change where he puts his hand on the tray to accommodate the change in center of balance on the tray. And the same will need to happen with the person in sanchin. If right hand does a wauke, the left hand provides a supporting role for the right wauke. If right hand holds a knife, the left hand needs to accommodate the right in similar fashion. THAT is sanchin. Anybody who thinks otherwise has the sanchin IQ of a beginner.
This reminds me of a story about women who were cleaning in the White House circa the time I believe of President Roosevelt. Apparently the first lady witnessed the cleaning women scrubbing and dusting the floor on their hands and knees. So she ordered the White House to buy brooms. She came back a month later, and discovered that the cleaning women had cut the brooms off so that they had 6-inch handles, and were on their knees swooshing the dust into dustpans.
- Bill
As I stated before, we are both reading from the same book.
But I like the way you re-phrased it. Yes, one needs to put the Uechi ryu aside for a bit when doing the knife work....because most people will bring their inappropriate preconceived ideas into this new learning. The problem isn't the style, it's in the individual's understanding of the style.
Many people never get beyond a literal understanding of the sanchin kata. Yes, there are extreme examples of this. For instance, I remember a student stating once that the reason why he did his sanchin strikes at a certain level was because he believed that sanchin was supposed to teach you how to do deadly throat strikes with your spear hands. Now most people can see how ridiculous this thinking is. But as we learn more and more about sanchin, we see that a lot of our ideas about what it is are unfounded. So yes, the only way to break out of that rigid thinking is to put it all aside for a bit.
One needs to enter a new arena with the aid of but without the potential burden of past knowledge. Yes, one needs to view everything as potentially new and open one's mind to new ideas and concepts. I know brains naturally operate in a manner where we simplify by working new ideas into our own collection of experiences. Often this makes us pick concepts up quicker. Occasionally though that foundation gets in the way. So when do we turn our knowledge filter on, and when do we shut it off and download everything new verbatim? Good question.
But....those that occasionally think with the open mind of a child then have the chance to go back and reevaluate this new knowledge juxtaposed against what we believed in the past. This then leads us to a situation where we can make the connection between new and old, discard the new knowledge as invalid, or rethink the way we previously viewed the world (paradigm shift). Whenever the latter event occurs, we have often gone through a profound learning experience.
Now as for the hands in sanchin.... Yes, when our hands our empty and we have this generic "thingy" that we are doing with them (the tiger claw or the sanchin nukite), then it makes sense to assume nothing and put one in the most general posture. But put a knife in one hand and that changes everything.
It's like a waiter holding a tray of food, and somebody comes by and puts a bottle of catsup on one end. The waiter is going to have to change where he puts his hand on the tray to accommodate the change in center of balance on the tray. And the same will need to happen with the person in sanchin. If right hand does a wauke, the left hand provides a supporting role for the right wauke. If right hand holds a knife, the left hand needs to accommodate the right in similar fashion. THAT is sanchin. Anybody who thinks otherwise has the sanchin IQ of a beginner.
This reminds me of a story about women who were cleaning in the White House circa the time I believe of President Roosevelt. Apparently the first lady witnessed the cleaning women scrubbing and dusting the floor on their hands and knees. So she ordered the White House to buy brooms. She came back a month later, and discovered that the cleaning women had cut the brooms off so that they had 6-inch handles, and were on their knees swooshing the dust into dustpans.
- Bill
