Since I was specifically asked to post this. . . There's a judan who's trained with me since he moved out here as a new godan, who now also has his own dojo about an hour away in Martinez. He has this student I'll call Juan, since that's his name. Juan has this sick habit of collecting 30-second video clips of himself attacking Bujinkan senior instructors and suffering the consequences. Last year he "collected" several Japanese shihan and a couple of Aussies; and back in December he finally got his own instructor and me. With Juan's permission I've had my WebMistress upload "my" video at my website so I could share it, and some of you might enjoy a look as it does capture the "fun" feeling of training in my dojo. (I love it when another student, holding the camera, tells him he still has 20 seconds to go.) This is totally unscripted, but there ARE constraints: Juan gets to do whatever he wants to try to take me out, while I'm making a point of not injuring him -- so I'm not striking, kicking, using joint-breaking locks or throws, or using weapons, which allows things to be drawn out much longer. (His specific request was "Just don't break anything".) Basically I'm just "playing with the space". www.bujinkansf.org/seago.mpg I think the really funny part is at the end, when he's still trying to squirm loose (until I put my fingertips suggestively on his eyelids) while muttering, "kill. . .kill. . ."
I notice that Juan starts all his attacks with a punch off the rear side. No wonder he keeps getting floored.... Nice throws, though ^_^. I'm curious - how long has he been training?
Thank you for putting this up Dale, I really enjoy it. My main reason for asking this to be posted was for Dale's demonstration of using space, as he stated. Doesn't matter what attack Juan starts with, Dale is controlling his space. Not fighting him, not even trying to hurt him, just controlling the space. Now, imagine what it would be like if Juan was not a student and was someone trying to kill or otherwise hurt Dale. How many times in the short clip did you see Dale strike or where he could have kicked? Our art is more about controlling the space, distance (which are 2 completely seperate yet united things) and the timing of a conflict. Whether it be physical or emotional or mental. It's not about who can hurt who first.
Hilarious. The boy can't do a thing. I'd really love to see the other clips, if only to laugh when Juan squirms like a prawn ^_^
Thats good. I like it. Not dis-similar to my own train of thought...... Control the head, you control the body.....
I just went back and looked for the first time in a month or so. Actually, he didn't: On the 2nd and 4th of his 4 attacks he's trying to grab me with his left hand and punch with the right. On the 3rd one he tried to set up to catch me as I was retreating, then just as he formed the intention of launching his punch I changed the distance and the "shape of the space" by flowing in at an angle toward him, controlling his centerline space before he realized I was there and causing him to unbalance himself as he tried to adjust to my movement and position. If you look carefully at the throw via stop-motion or slow-motion, you can see that I never grab him at all -- I'm just "guiding" his own movement while also using his own skeletal structure against him. Thanks, glad you liked that. If you work with the space properly, there's room for all kinds of things to happen within it -- strikes, kicks, use of weapons, you name it -- if it becomes necessary. There's a portion of the FAQ at my website that's relevant to this: Learning techniques is just one of the "baby steps" in one's progress in the Bujinkan.
I got one word for you: and I have several for you Read MAP TOS 4.3 .. If you have nothing constructive to add, add nothing.
Ok so I guess my comment wasn't welcome, even tho it was the obvious truth, so i will try to say my opinion nicely: The fight was lame, very lame, the lamest fight I ever saw. I mean that was nice for a circus show but that’s about it. I wasn't sure if others there were laughing because the "master" was so proficient at restricting the opponent, OR because the whole thing was just so damn funny. But that’s just my humble opinion. cheers
Why was it lame? First off, it wasn't a fight in the traditional sense of the word. Second, it was funny. It was also done in the spirit of fun and learning. But lame? I don't think so. I think it was a good example of controlling your opponent by controlling the space around them. but, maybe I saw more in it than some others because that's how we train.
Well, i dont think so. Monkey see, monkey do. So if master was showing an example of valid (read: applicable) "street" self defense, then hell yeah it was mad funny. I'd like to see his "controling" of space in real envinronment.
You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion. If you thought that's what it was, then you clearly didn't read my comments leading up to the link to the clip. Perhaps a remedial reading comprehension course could help you. I really doubt that you would. To me, a "real environment" is crazies or terrorists trying to whack my principal and, in the process, me and my team. That's the world I live and work in: I'm not a "professional" martial arts teacher and don't teach for a living. Since you obviously didn't do your homework on me, my employer, or my background, all of which are easily searchable on the Net, I'll help you: http://www.steelefoundation.com/services/services.php http://www.steelefoundation.com/images/newsletter/banner0205_itg.htm http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c...hive/2004/11/21/BUGQT9TPGO1.DTL&type=business http://www.bujinkansf.org/dale/ If you really think you have what it takes to live in my world, you're welcome to apply to one of my employer's training courses -- but I have the feeling somehow that you probably wouldn't even be able to pass the background screening to qualify. I could be wrong, of course; so if you care to put your money where your mouth is then by all means go ahead. (EDIT:You might also want to take into consideration the fact that I did a variety of martial arts for about 15 years before I began with the Bujinkan. 15 years is about 75% of your lifespan to date. . . . . .And that I've been training in the Bujinkan since a few months before you were born -- specifically, since November 1983. Putting it another way: I've been training in the Bujinkan longer than you've even been alive, and done a smorgasbord of other arts since 'way before you were born. Not to mention all the military and protective services stuff. Just a little advice from a longtime survivor and trainer of survivors. )
Dale, Just to say I was really inspired by your video. You demonstrated what a master of martial arts is all about - calm, humourous, with a just the right hint of lethalness that says 'Don't mess with this guy!'. Great post, I'd love to see more. Gyaku
Agreed, if there were more clips available, I'd like to see them..... btw: Thats an impressive resume Dale.....
I'd love to put them up, but it would require getting permission from the other shihan involved, translating letters into Japanese, etc. -- a major pain in the tail. However, it looks like I'll be out on video soon. . .My friend Pete Kautz of Alliance Martial Arts in new York, and HIS friend James Keating, are launching a new "video magazine" on knife combatives, and I've been asked to be a featured instructor for (probably) issue 2. Each "magazine" will feature a number of instructors from different disciplines, each teaching for about ten minutes on techniques, practice drills, combative scenarios, etc. By the way, I have no freakin' idea yet what I'm going to show, so if anyone has any recommendations I'm all ears!! Getting back to the "use of space" thing, here are some still photos which may further help to get the concept across. In the first three, taken in December, I'm showing use of the tachi, the battlefield sword which was used prior to the katana in Japan. It may be a bit surprising -- though it shouldn't be, considering the original use of this weapon by horsemen -- that tachi methods include a lot of one-handed, "saber-like" use, something less emphasized in kenjutsu using the katana. In the stills, it's hard to understand just what's happening, so I'll explain a bit: In this first one, I've just deflected the opponent's attempt to split my helmet or at least "ring my chimes" with a downward cut, while I simultaneously shifted a bit forward and "inside" the line of his attack. I'm now "controlling the space" he needs to be able to do anything effective to me -- he's already defeated at this point. From there I shifted in with a right punch -- actually striking with the tsuba -- under the chin to rock his head further back and expose the neck (in armor, the weight of his own kabuto would assist with that) as I take his left wrist. (The precise direction of the strike also sets his skeletal structure and balance point in such a way that he can't move his feet to reposition as I continue moving.) Continuing, I place the edge of the "sword" across his throat (with the point out toward my right) and step past his right (leading) foot with my right and lock his leg with his left arm across my body, where I execute a sort of "gyaku soto nage", simultaneously cutting the neck and breaking his left elbow across my body as I slam him down to his right rear. This second one shows pretty much the same initial situation. I think what I did from there was place the edge of the "sword" against the neck on his right side (where it could slide up under the kabuto or helmet) while inserting my left arm in-between his arms, pinning his left arm against my left side with his sword extending harmlessly past my body, then stepping across his body with my left foot to execute a ganseki-nage throw while simultaneously cutting his neck. And just for grins, in this one I've just tied up two swordsmen who tried to take me out: This last one was taken a year or so earlier, doing "unarmed vs. a swordsman" stuff. Uke tries to draw his sword to cut me down; as he begins I drift into "safe-shaped space" and slam him down with a punch (executed with my body, not my arm) as I just walk on through:
Wow! Dale-- Excellent video clip. I just watched it here at school, fast download, while another professor was here saying hello. She was impressed by your ability to not injure Juan--to control his movement in and through the space. She told me she could appreciate the fact that your movement could have had devastating consequences (there were more potential hits in there than at a Jefferson Airplane party...) but also that what you did could be used against a "loved one who'd had too many hot Toddies" [sp???]. In other words in these days when many opponents are apt to practice lawyerjutsu afterwards, such a range of feeling [?] is most helpful, if "survival" is to be considered--personal and professional. I also appreciated the explanation as told by Jack Hoban--that was a great analogy that increased my "visual" understanding of this. --Snake
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but does anyone else find it funny that after Dale pointed out his real life experience, and made an offer of put up or shut up, to JKD_forever, that we didn't ever hear from him again in the thread?
