Hi Folks,
I've been made aware of this thread and finally got around to writing about Sijo Bob "Dragon" Smith. I've know Sijo Smith for over 17 years and I'll let you know some info about "dragon" as he likes to be called...
His Kung Fu training was under a Wing Pong Sung in Boston's Chinatown in the 1960's. His sifu instructed Shaolin,Hung Gar, Choy Lee Fut and Kenpo techniques [no forms were taught in the kenpo portion]at his location there. When students asked about "rank", he simply taught the skills he knew and after Mr. Smith had trained with Sifu he was told that in regards to "rank", he would have placed him at the level of a brown belt because it was considered a level before black belt [or instructor level]. Sifu Sung returned to China and Mr. Smith was without an instructor. Because of the relationship to Japanese oriented rank, he felt he needed to get a "black Belt" to be formally recognized and performed all the chinese martial arts material before a group of local martial arts instructors to be "recognized" as an instructor, as is the case with many "Martial Arts orphans". He contacted Robert Hoe of Kosho Ryu and had him recognize him as a Black Belt in Kenpo. Over the years, he would re-organize the various chinese arts he had learned and formated the 5 animal actions he had learned into a 5 animal master form with 10 to 12 techniques for each individual animal as well as catalog all the various chin na techniques he had learned from his sifu and organize them, as well as create new techniques based on his own ideas and meeting with various martial artists over the years. He would call his new creation "Shao Choy Hung Kung Fu" and, as the founder of this unique hybrid, he was Sijo [founder] of that art and the sub-systems under it. [for those people who did not grasp the concept of founder, he equated it with the japanese ranking system for uneducated individuals to understand the concept and time in grade involved in his study of the arts. Other organizations would later recognize his efforts and award him roughly equivalent rank in the divisions where his art could be acknowledged [chin na=jujutsu] and he could acknowledged as the founder of his own unique art. any rank that is preceded by "Shao Choy Hung" is his unique outlook on that particular art and is not subject to ranking from other arts per se. I have studied under Sijo Smith, attended seminars that he has taught, sat on testing boards for his students and recently, have filmed every class or seminar that he offered to offer a future video on his art.
He has endured several medical conditions that unfortunately have now confined him to a wheelchair and unfortunately he is staying at a veteran's care facility. Because of that, he has asked that the website be taken down because he "can no longer teach and feels he has nothing to teach anyone anymore" yet, I have seen this man always enlighten various martial artists with his natural ability to elevate a given technique or enhance a particular performer, as well as technique a plethora or techniques. It has been my honor to know Sijo Smith and a pleasure to work with him over the years. But in his present physical condition, He is far more concerned with whether he will ever walk again to worrying about internet mud slinging.
Thank you for your time,
I hope that I was of some service,
KENPOJOE
