Dragons IN Motion 2

[The Kai]

Actually there ere not any true blocks/strikes in the weapon forms. A lot of twirling.

The name is of course NunChucku, the stance was low??

 

[Aegis]

WOW I knew that you would find a closed minded way to make more of a pain.

Yes Bruce, I'm quite closed minded about teaching stuff that DOESN'T WORK. And the techniques you have shown us would not work AS SHOWN (which I said several times; I really do mean AS SHOWN, not "at all").

I am working with some of my students for our site not your training or amusement.

Yes, but why not work with them and show some good attacks and defences. A defence can only be as good as the attack, and against bad attacks most things will appear to work. As I mentioned, when you parried in clip 1, your student had already stopped moving his arm. In a self defence situation, had you waited that long you would have been hit. Simple fact.

In our style we use the Kenpo phylosophy of.. A Strike is a Block and a Block is a strike.

Yes, much like... most styles which use hard blocks in fact. However, without getting the hips involved, your block will never be a strike, instead it will be hammered out of the way as your opponent bears down on you at full force.

With proper snap to the radial nerve it is not required to drive a hard stance or Block.

Not quite sure what you're claiming here... With a solid block it is not necessary to block? That what you're getting at? If you want to do a hard block/striking block, you NEED to have your body weight behind it, or it becomes a game of strength against strength, which someone being attacked will often lose.

The strike and snap does the work.

Agreed, but not as shown.

I will not use full power techniques on my underbelts for your fun.

Not for my fun. I personally quite enjoy reviewing video clips like this, but to be honest the real reason I'm being ctritical is because you claimed to be a 10th dan in this system. Now, if that's your standard, and you are making the mistakes I pointed out, I hate to imagine the quality of your students. I'm sorry, but what you have shown me has not changed my opinion at all yet: you might have had the ability of a shodan a few years ago, but your grappling ability appears to leave a lot to be desired.

If it didn't work for you. All I can say is you didn't have the right training. It works for everyone of my students every time.

I would put money on it not working on either of my friends or myself. And the reason is that we haven't been conditioned to co-operate with your movements.

And the Lock in movement 2 needs a soft block and timing because you are using the other persons movement against him.

A soft block will not stop a proper roundhouse punch unless you also evade, which you clearly didn't

You do not want to stop him motion.

We use many techniques against roundhouse punches in my style. Some of them involve stopping the attack with a hard block, others involve flowing with the attack to use the movement against the attacker. Yours was neither: there was no movement for a soft block, nor was there enough bodyweight behind the block for a hard block.

as for movement 1 I have full control of the hand and it is not getting away and I teach distance to my students.

I'll admit that you MIGHT have control of that hand in the situation you showed, but against someone punching and withdrawing, you will have a lot more difficulty securing that hand without some movement on your part. Again, it works against a fairly static attack, but probably won't work against someone hitting properly

When you do a move you need to be at full reach.

Actually with a lot of moves you would be much better withing their reach, so close that they can't hit effectively. That shuts down a lot of their options.

In any case, you were not far enough away. At one point you leaned right in while both of your hands were securing the punching hand, which left your face completely exposed to a second punch with the opposite hand. Without an evasion, you are still right in his preferred target area.

If you are not at the right distance and something goes wrong you GET HIT. This is why I teach them to move back to the end of the punch on that move and let the opponent exaust his/her energy before you move.

If you let the opponent reacht he end of his punch before you start to parry, he will withdraw. He won't "expend his energy" and miraculously leave his hand there for you to do something to, he will pull it back to his guard, leaving you exactly where you were to begin with.

The Bad Guy dosen't know you are going to Block they expect the punch to lay you out or they wouldn'y throw it... Unless you only fight Martial Artist that expect Blocks and parrys.

The "Bad Guy" also won't leave his hand outstretched for you, nor will he attack the air 2 inches in front of your face, nor will he stop attacking just because you're doing something, nor will he fall for you without any balance breaking.

Like I said, your stuff as shown isn't exactly what I would expect from a 10th dan.

 

[Aegis]

Oh, one more thing: when you said "I will not use full power techniques on students", I meant to say that neither will I. However, I will not attack unrealistically either. I aim my punches for approximately 4 inches behing my partner's nose, and I throw some real weight behind the attacks. If they fail to avoid it, I will pull the attack if I can, but if they get hit then they can learn what being hit can feel like, and they also learn about blocking and dodging much faster than thinking "oh yeah, I might have been hit there, or I might have managed to block it, I don't really know, so I'll assume it was ok".

If you train without some realistic attacks, you are not learning. it is when the intensity goes up that your real ability shines through. Anything else is just demonstration in a stale environment.

 

[The Kai]

Do you think he has any training in the Kama?


Judging from the kata I'd say No, as far as a clue look at him watching the weapon twirl around his own hand

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Folks,
This seems to be turning a little ugly, and I'd prefer it doesn't. Bruce indicated teh clips are for his students enjoyment, and is sharing them with us out of courtesy. A lot of folks have offered him advice on improving, some of which I agree with, and some I am not qualified to digest yet. How about more folks toss up some clips of them doing stuff too? I'll be working on some stuff this week to add to my own site and will share it here.

 

[BruceCalkins]

Yes Bruce, I'm quite closed minded about teaching stuff that DOESN'T WORK. And the techniques you have shown us would not work AS SHOWN (which I said several times; I really do mean AS SHOWN, not "at all").


Yes, but why not work with them and show some good attacks and defences. A defence can only be as good as the attack, and against bad attacks most things will appear to work. As I mentioned, when you parried in clip 1, your student had already stopped moving his arm. In a self defence situation, had you waited that long you would have been hit. Simple fact.


Yes, much like... most styles which use hard blocks in fact. However, without getting the hips involved, your block will never be a strike, instead it will be hammered out of the way as your opponent bears down on you at full force.



Not quite sure what you're claiming here... With a solid block it is not necessary to block? That what you're getting at? If you want to do a hard block/striking block, you NEED to have your body weight behind it, or it becomes a game of strength against strength, which someone being attacked will often lose.



Agreed, but not as shown.


Not for my fun. I personally quite enjoy reviewing video clips like this, but to be honest the real reason I'm being ctritical is because you claimed to be a 10th dan in this system. Now, if that's your standard, and you are making the mistakes I pointed out, I hate to imagine the quality of your students. I'm sorry, but what you have shown me has not changed my opinion at all yet: you might have had the ability of a shodan a few years ago, but your grappling ability appears to leave a lot to be desired.


I would put money on it not working on either of my friends or myself. And the reason is that we haven't been conditioned to co-operate with your movements.


A soft block will not stop a proper roundhouse punch unless you also evade, which you clearly didn't


We use many techniques against roundhouse punches in my style. Some of them involve stopping the attack with a hard block, others involve flowing with the attack to use the movement against the attacker. Yours was neither: there was no movement for a soft block, nor was there enough bodyweight behind the block for a hard block.


I'll admit that you MIGHT have control of that hand in the situation you showed, but against someone punching and withdrawing, you will have a lot more difficulty securing that hand without some movement on your part. Again, it works against a fairly static attack, but probably won't work against someone hitting properly


Actually with a lot of moves you would be much better withing their reach, so close that they can't hit effectively. That shuts down a lot of their options.

In any case, you were not far enough away. At one point you leaned right in while both of your hands were securing the punching hand, which left your face completely exposed to a second punch with the opposite hand. Without an evasion, you are still right in his preferred target area.


If you let the opponent reacht he end of his punch before you start to parry, he will withdraw. He won't "expend his energy" and miraculously leave his hand there for you to do something to, he will pull it back to his guard, leaving you exactly where you were to begin with.


The "Bad Guy" also won't leave his hand outstretched for you, nor will he attack the air 2 inches in front of your face, nor will he stop attacking just because you're doing something, nor will he fall for you without any balance breaking.

Like I said, your stuff as shown isn't exactly what I would expect from a 10th dan.

In your Style.. You have no idea what goes on in my style or how my techniques work. I assure you that they do. Whether to believe it or not.. Is up to you. but you have no right to claim something you do not study doesn't work... I have studied Aikido. and I can tell you that 90% is a student /Uke going with the technique or it wouldn't work. Traditional Aikido have the student hang on for the ride... Watch some top level videos.. Unless they modify them they don't work.. But they do modify them for the right time. And then you see it different. I am doind these videos as help for my students not to be diasected by you who do not know our style. As for a soft block not working... Don't say that too loud around Aikido or Kung-Fu artist... Many Kung-Fu arts only block soft and Hit Hard... It is in the timing and flow not the Balance and Power for everything. I do teach Back Up Mass and Putting your Hip and Body behind moves but not these. They don't need it.

 

[The Kai]

Is it mind over matter??

 

[Aegis]

In your Style.. You have no idea what goes on in my style or how my techniques work. I assure you that they do. Whether to believe it or not.. Is up to you.

Bruce: According to your bio, I have done quite a bit more grappling than you in my life, and I can assure you that those techniques won't work against someone who does not want them applied in the cases you have demonstrated. Maybe with a slight change in application they could work, but you will do in a fight what you trained the most, and if you train like that it will not work.

but you have no right to claim something you do not study doesn't work... I have studied Aikido. and I can tell you that 90% is a student /Uke going with the technique or it wouldn't work.

Aikido "blocks" tend to flow with the motion then trap the limb from what I've seen. They evade the attack, then trap and deal with it. They don't just stand there with a hand in the air and expect attacks to stop on it.

I tell you what, you can clear this one up for everyone quite simply: do that exact same technique against someone throwing a roundhouse punch with 2 weeks of boxing training under their belt (so to speak).

I am doind these videos as help for my students not to be diasected by you who do not know our style.

Host it on the web and post the address to people and you WILL get feedback, both good and bad.

As for a soft block not working... Don't say that too loud around Aikido or Kung-Fu artist...

I think you misread my post. I never said that soft blocks didn't work. As it happens, soft blocks are my absolute favourate method of defending an attack. However, a soft block involves movement of the entire body, not just waving your hand at the attacking arm.

It is in the timing and flow not the Balance and Power for everything.

Sorry Bruce, but EVERYTHING in martial arts is about timing, flow, balance, power and distance. Ignore any of them and the whole thing falls apart.

I do teach Back Up Mass and Putting your Hip and Body behind moves but not these. They don't need it.

As I said, try the same technique against even a beginning boxer who is physically stronger than you and you will see what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I'm going to stop critiquing these techniques for now. If you want me to continue, feel free to post more comments, I will respond, but I'm not going to say anything more without some new material. I will also be there to look at any further videos posted of your style.

Have a great day!

 

[Bester]

Kaith asked us to be polite. I will be.

I must first thank Mr. Calkins for sharing. We have hammered on him pretty heavy, yet he still has the courage to continue. Despite our other differences, I must acknowledge you for this. :asian:

I now offer my critique.
- The video quality is very good for web clips. This allows one to see more than normal.
- The clips overall are good for entry level demonstrations. We must also allow that they are just that, demos, most likely done by amature filmers so some slight pauses are to be expected.
- I cannot comment on the Kama or NunChucku as I am not familiar with those weapons.
- The throws looked to be good. Could they have been better? Sure, but so could we all.
- The stick work was not that good. Mr. Calkins appears stiff, lacking the polish and flexibility I've seen in experienced stick-jocks. He indicated that it was based on a Kenpo stick form, and my opinion on kenpo weapon forms is not very positive. Compared to the FMA clips I have seen, it wasn't good.

 

[Cryozombie]

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[evenflow1121]

Ok, once again someone has given me negative reputation for asking what I think is a perfectly reasonable question. So, once again, I ask whoever it is to have the common decency to at least contact me by PM to discuss what they mean by the word "chill". I'm not going to stop questioning what I feel is something worth the effort because of a few negative reputation points, so if you want a real effect, try communicating!

Of course, given the fact that so far all of the negative reputation points I've recieved have been anonymous, I won't hold my breath for someone to actually talk to me about what they feel is wrong with my posts.

Constructive criticism people! That's what I'm trying to do here, at least return the favour!

Apologies for the brief topic hijack.

I dont mean to troll but I do want to make a point here, I think there should be a way for you to know who left you any kind of feedback. I mean if you are going to leave negative or positive feedback then why not disclose who you are.

Bruce, I meant how many techniques per belt are required in order to move up in rank?

 

[Ceicei]

Mr. Calkins did say more than once in this and other threads he had injured his back and had surgery. Could that account for the "stiffness" you see in his movements? Perhaps.

He also is tough/brave. How many will post clips, and continue to post more, even after people offer strongly worded observations and criticisms? :idunnno: He must see value in the comments, both positive and negative. For what it's worth, I applaud the establishment of this forum. I do enjoy seeing clips.

- Ceicei

 

[Rick Wade]

Bruce is a tough guy. I am just a guilty for dog piling on him.

I think he probably gets his strength from the church. I don't know if he is religious however he does teach out of a church and it seems to me that they wouldn't allow him to teach out of a church unless he was a member. I also think that is where he gets his extremely positive spin on life as well as the Martial Arts. For that I applaud him and admire him. I would definitely like to get together with him next year when I move to the east coast and work out (just him and me) and compare notes.

Bruce,

Until I get to meet you face to face (because feeling believing) I will ease up but still expect some tough questions.

V/R

Rick

 

[arnisador]

And another thread bites the dust...

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I sat down with a friend who is a kenpo instructor. She never heard of Kenpo 5 line stick drill. This doesn't mean much though as the curiculum at the IBBA has evolved over the years and may no longer be a part of the current mix.

Drill resembles the 1st 5 strikes in the Modern Arnis system I study, though there are differences. (I'll add a clip of my flavor shortly.)

Stick drill commentary
* grip on stick looks loose
* blocking hand has fingers spread apart
* stances are poor by FMA/Kenpo standards, if modified slightly would be good for fencing.

I have to agree with Bester on the polish part. I've seen better.
I've also seen worse and done worse myself.

:asian:

 

[Bob Hubbard]

And another thread bites the dust...

???

 

[arnisador]

I meant, it's bleeding out from critiquing and questioning what's here to a more general witch-hunt, ISTM.

In teh stick stuff, I thought there were too many strikes that were just snapped from the wrist rather than legitimate strikes.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Witch hunting isn't the reason this forum exists. Hopefully, we can stick to the more professional critiquing.

Now, regarding the stick work, you know better than I on how effective it might be. Were my observations accurate, or am I off base?

 

[BruceCalkins]

I dont mean to troll but I do want to make a point here, I think there should be a way for you to know who left you any kind of feedback. I mean if you are going to leave negative or positive feedback then why not disclose who you are.

Bruce, I meant how many techniques per belt are required in order to move up in rank?

let me see...
White 7 Techniques and 4 Pracitcal.
Yellow 20 Techniques and 1 Kata
Orange 29 Techniques and 2 Kata
Green 35 Techniques , Breaking Requirement, Club Attack, 4 Sweeps, 2 Kata
Purple 15 Techniques , 4 Basic Jui Jitsu Holds and 2 Chokes, A Self Defense Portion and 1 Kata
3rd Brown 9 Techniques, Floor Defense (Fighting Up and Getting Back to your Feet, Not Grappling) Knowledge of striking Points, Pressure Points and Death Blows.(Knowing what strikes can cause death), Breaking Requirement,
2nd Brown Review for teaching and Theorys, 2 Man Attack, Defense from Chair and Saiza Position
1st Brown Review for Shodan Level testing, Must know defenses against 2 man attacks one Armed, Working Knowledge of Katsu First Aid, Advanced Club Attacks,
Shodan All techniques to be done expertly, Know all Japanese terms In Our Manual, Show and teach Bushido: 1) Truth 2) Bravery 3) Compassion 4) Courtesy 5) Sincerity 6) Loyalty 7) Good Judgment 8) Faith, Breaking: (Tamishiwara) Punch (1 Block & 4 Boards) Kick (1 Block & 4 Boards) Strike (1 Block & 4 Boards), Defend Against 3 Person Attack, Defend Against Knife Attacks, Satisfy Minimum Age for Shodan (16) (Students who do not fulfill the minimum age requirements for Shodan may be awarded a Junior Black Belt: Junior Black Belts will have a White Stripe down the middle.)

Now We have requirements beyond to 10th but I think this is what you wanted. Also when we test the student is required to take the test as follows..
White Belt:
For Yellow, They Take White & Yellow Belt test:
For Orange the Take White, Yellow and Orange Belt Tests: And so on. This way they constantly review every technique in the manual.

 

[BruceCalkins]

Bruce is a tough guy. I am just a guilty for dog piling on him.

I think he probably gets his strength from the church. I don't know if he is religious however he does teach out of a church and it seems to me that they wouldn't allow him to teach out of a church unless he was a member. I also think that is where he gets his extremely positive spin on life as well as the Martial Arts. For that I applaud him and admire him. I would definitely like to get together with him next year when I move to the east coast and work out (just him and me) and compare notes.

Bruce,

Until I get to meet you face to face (because feeling believing) I will ease up but still expect some tough questions.

V/R

Rick

I would be proud to have you. I might be coming to Hawaii In the fall