The Timing Hands Concept

[Van Canna]

_ By Bob Campbell_ Hanshi Kyudan

Motion & Physics Applications
From his Writings – Keeper of the Dragons Beard

In real life, does the good guy always win or does this just happen in the movies ? Can a well trained light weight martial artist’s defeat a much heavier street smart brute ? For sure, the heavier street fighter can produce enough mass and force to create serious damage on his victims.

What about our lightweight martial artist’s ? Could his/her speed, agility and technique overcome our street fighter or would it be wiser for our light weight to simply run away ?

The common thread in all martial & combative arts is the Center of Gravity. This is the key, the holy grail of sorts in combative martial arts principals.
There are various reasons for a person to want to raise, lower or keep mid-body centered regarding their Center of Gravity.

Sumo wrestlers build their pear shape bodies for several reasons. Most importantly, a large belly lowers their Center of Gravity thus making them more rooted and harder to push or move. Their bulk also helps magnify their hitting power and if you ever seen a Sumo match, one will note these men having amazing speed and agile reflexes and power.

[Van Canna]

In physics 101, we learn about momentum. Momentum is best understood when comparing the mass of a given object times the velocity.

From the writings of Dr. S. Hashmi ( Quote )

If we supplement the use of weight instead of mass and speed instead of velocity, the bigger street fighter, would appear to have the upper hand with this concept, due to his bigger size over a smaller person.

However, the lightweight fighter could compensate by increasing his/her speed of strikes. Although momentum may appear to be a greater property, it is a double edge sword. Further, our heavy weight street fighter requires a lot more energy to start moving, and once he is moving, it is also much harder for him to stop.

This gives our lightweight fighter the ability to out maneuver and outlast the heavier attacker. Further, our lightweight can use multiple combinations with speed and good technique against the heavier attacker. ( Unquote )

At this juncture, our lightweight defender is still in troubled waters
against his heavy weight attacker !

[Van Canna]

Introducing the Timing Hand Concept

Some Chinese martial artist’s refer to what they call Chi or Chi Gong. In the West, some refer to this hidden force as kinetic energy or energy of motion.

It is commonly known that Kinetic energy equals one half mass times velocity squared. If one doubles the mass of one strike, the kinetic energy will double.

By doubling the speed of this strike, one can increase the kinetic energy times 4.

Our lightweight fighter, being faster than the heavy weight attacker, can now use this kinetic energy to greatly increase his/her power.

Timing, speed, distance control, mechanical-body-limb-leverage with a solid Center of Gravity coupled with applying kinetic energy principles, are all key tools in the proper application of Timing Hand concepts.

Selective targeting of vital body areas & joints is also paramount in applying Timing Hand techniques.

All these things are found in almost all styles of martial arts. One just has to learn to see the hidden technique which, like all things in the arts, is best hidden, by having it right there in front of you but yet, unseen by most !

The key that opens the door of discovery how to apply Timing Hand techniques and applications, requires nothing more than an open mind and the willingness to learn by opening one’s eyes.

[Van Canna]

Bob Campbell sensei, welcomes any and all questions.
Let us take this statement

The key that opens the door of discovery how to apply Timing Hand techniques and applications, requires nothing more than an open mind and the willingness to learn by opening one’s eyes.

What questions should quickly come to mind here?

[Bill Glasheen]

Please give Bobby my best. It's been way too long...

- Bill

[Van Canna]

I will see him on 9-22 at the Halifax Country Club for his yearly fabulous Dinner Party, Bill, and will pass on your salutations.

[Bill Glasheen]

I had some time to think about Bobby's posts, Van.

For clarification purposes... For the rest of you, it's Mr. Campbell until he tells you otherwise. For me he'll always be Bobby. I first met him 35 years ago on a motorcycle road trip (with pretty lady in tow) up to the Cambridge and Hancock dojo (May, 1977). He spent time in the 1980s with me on a visit to UVa where I boarded him in a room on Thomas Jefferson's historic lawn near the Rotunda. We've seen each other only occasionally, but have known each other through several lifetimes. Or so it seems...

I have an interesting relationship with George, and I can say the same for Bobby. Our brains operate in different domains. But there's a respect there that transcends that which divides us.

What I love about Bobby is knowing his martial genius, and seeing how he articulates that via the English language. As a scientist, I have to squint my mental eyes to get what he's saying. It's all there... in a kind of stream of consciousness language. It makes me wonder how a brain like Bobby's works when he does what he does.

In a way Bobby has a more yin way of thinking. A yang compartmentalizes. A yin draws from way too many centers of the brain at the same time, and it all comes out in words as a bit of a mess. But by god, it's all there! And really... it's how the world works. Sometimes when daydreaming a female friend will ask me what I'm thinking. I'll look to her, and say I can't put it in words. Sometimes the brain thinks serially. When I'm in my creative mode - something necessary for my line of work - I'm parallel processing the way my Unix servers do when I unleash a multivariate analysis on millions of records of data. Try putting that parallel thinking down in a sequential human construct we call the English language. It's tough...

Anyhow, I just thought I'd share that.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

One the good - and bad - things Okinawa has done to Kanbun's style (in my opinion...) is breaking things down in what we do. They've taken a reductionist approach to our material. The individual elements are there. The individual elements are clear.

What I haven't seen a lot of is the ability to put those elements back together again, and in countless permutations. Bobby's great at that. Unlike many in the martial world, he moves and does at the same time. That's really the holy grail of martial arts, and most other sports activities for that matter. The pieces have to come together in an essential synergy where the whole transcends the individual parts.

Breaking things down is necessary. So is putting it back together again. The former is very Okinawan. The latter seems very Chinese.

Being able to operate back and forth from one domain to the next is key. Teaching with that in mind is so important. Few teachers have that gift. It's one I strive for, and take pride in when I pull it off.

When you read Bobby's writing, he has it. His language comes out in a way where everything's there but it takes time to appreciate that. It reflects both his baseline personality and his eclectic lifetime martial experience.

- Bill

[Rick Potrekus]

What we see all too often is the statement " this is what I was taught what this technique is for" and that person is comfortable with being pigeon holed and not exploring further. Kick punch YA YA YA!! Let's get strong and hard and we can do anything? A the risk of over simplifying something there is a simple progression that I teach. 1. What you need to do (not get hit) basic drills, what you can do (avoid the first consistently through training) kata, bunkai and yakusoku then what you want to do (tactics). How many really understand what Uke means. To receive, redirect, and suppress. According to Itokazu Sensei this eventually happens in smooth sequence with finely tuned timing. Early training is one, two, or one two three. Eventually it is onetwo or onetwothree. He would have me punch and then using mawashi uke and it would be rat,tat,tat and you were hit. Some times he would voice dadada as he smacked me. It became apparent that the importance of timing between the Uke and counter was crucial. Three strikes your out. Four strikes your history.
"Tosh's favorite teacher was Takara Sensei. A student once asked Tosh what would happen if he had to fight Sensei Takara. Without blinking Tosh said that "he would kill me easy". The student asked you mean beat you up and Tosh said no "die".
Steve B has an interesting story about Takara Sensei. If he is willing to share.

Enough rambling, as Bill has stated before we need to look at the moves between the moves. We need to see that what looks like a furi higi can be part of a grapple not just an elbow strike. Kata gives us direction and a vast variety of technique. It is up to us to recognize the myriad of possibilities in between. "Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the Heavenly glory"

PS: Talking about efficiency in striking I once was finishing my Makiwara routine and told Tosh that I didn't feel that I was progressing with my power. He laughed at me and said that I was hitting it harder than I thought and that I was learning how to not let it hit back. HMM, Leaving on target?

[Van Canna]

Great post Rick, thank you.

A the risk of over simplifying something there is a simple progression that I teach. 1. What you need to do (not get hit) basic drills, what you can do (avoid the first consistently through training) kata, bunkai and yakusoku then what you want to do (tactics). How many really understand what Uke means. To receive, redirect, and suppress.

It is the evasive footwork we have in our hojo undo and kata that does not receive much attention, stuck as most of us are on 'standing our ground' ...

[Bill Glasheen]

post removed and put elsewhere

[Ed Poitras]

It is an interesting question Van. When I first started training I was told to keep my breathing low as a baby's does. If you notice them as they sleep, their stomaches- not their chests move in and out. That is the natural way to breath and if practiced over a period of years a persons center of gravity naturally lowers. That breathing also increases the amount of oxygen the body can take in allowing much more time between breathes in combat. I found that a side benefit of this breathing allows me to float in the water no matter salt or fresh.
It is also said to sink the Chi and allow that force to be used in striking. As far as how light weight people should act toward a much bigger opponent it should in my opinion go without saying that the fight is forced upon the person and with that in mind all is brought to bear on that opponent and all open handed techniques apply as needed to defend yourself. If one uses the skills used in Uechiryu and the targets of weakness in the body I believe the defender has better a than average chance. Of course with that said, it all depends on the first second or 2 of the fight does it not?

E.

[Van Canna]

Good post Rick and I agree...surely Bob Campbell will also, as he has put all of this into action as the head of President Marcus' body guard unit, and as a trainer of the Honk Kong police. I have some stories...

TRIVIA

Bob Campbell, on his mothers side, Mary Bixler ( his Mom's maiden name, a very beautiful woman ) ...is directly related to the famous American Outdoorsmen, Daniel Boone, the man that discovered the Cumberland Gap, thru the Appalachia Mountains. Bob's cousin did the research and she got most of the documentations from the Mormons Library in Salt Lake City.