A couple of doctors and a stick

I was talking with Dr. Rowe and Rick Stone about weapon concepts in different cultures. The subject came up about taking a strike from a stick; should you let it hit the muscle or the bone? Assuming you had no chance to avoid, of course.
  Marc related a conversation he and a group of doctors had in which the question was; what part of the body would they hit with a stick? As a group they decided the best parts were the bony ones. Knees, shins and elbows were their primary choices. Fingers were in there, too. The docs settled on those due to the abundance of nerve endings which would send huge amounts of pain information to the brain.
   The head was not on the top of the list. It's spherical, harder to break. I've seen people cracked upside the head with a stick in real confrontations. One guy, all it did was make him mad. But crack him in the knees and the results differ.
   I'm passing this along because I thought it was interesting that a group of non-martial artists, looking at it from  a medical standpoint, would select the same targets we teach. They did it based on what they know of the body and how it works. I speculate we figured it out a thousand or more years ago purely from hitting people and watching their reactions.

Tim Walker's studio

One of my black belts, Tim Walker, has a studio in Brandon, Florida. He sent these photos along recently. His studio has a clean, bright look to it.
Tim has black belt ranking in two Kenpo systems. You can see his website at http://www.akkuinc.com/

New nunchaku program

Jim Peacock of New Hampshire has produced a booklet and DVD of a nunchaku course based on Short Form One. He covers the grips, carries, swings and they are indexed in the form. Mr. Peacock likes the term "nunchuck" as it's the colloquial American term for the Okinawan weapon.

The Kenpo Nunchuck dvd:

Time : 8:03
Content: The dvd contains a demonstration of the form from 3 different angles, and provides a glimpse of the supplemental 5 week curriculum that goes with it ( the text is done, I need to shoot some more video for it ) .

The Kenpo Nunchuck Booklet:
81/2 x 11, bound, 7 pages
The booklet contains explanations and pictures describing the terminology used for teaching this form, as well as a written description of how to do the form.

The set is $25 until Christmas. You can get them direct from him. They will soon be available thru my online store as well. http://www.kenponunchuck/.com/

Think about what you would do

In my seminars I refer to an incident in New York with a woman named Kitty Genovese in which 50  bystanders watched her killed and did nothing. Here's a similar story with input from sociologists.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/28/california.gang.rape.bystander/index.html

Manchester seminars

The 25th anniversary celebration of the founding of Steve White's studio in Manchester, NH was well-attended and tons of fun. The right photo, from left, shows Goju-ryu 10th degree Richie Bernard, Steve White, Francis Rene of New Orleans, myself and Don MacKay.

Hanshi Bernard was there to teach elments of traditional Japanese Goju with his first teacher, Kyoshi Ronnie Martin of Pennsylvania. Their time slot was chock-full of good information on fighting strategy. Steve White did an excellent seminar on kenpo takedowns that was followed by one of Olympic judo competitor Jimmy Pedro's black belts, the dynamic Ms. Chandler, covering ground work. Jim Peacock did a seminar on his new nunchaku program in a well-thought-out presentation. I wrapped up the day with teaching the Spear Set to the group, the first time ever since I learned it many years ago.
Mr. Rene thought a birthday couldn't happen without a present and Mr. White was given a ring with his school crest on it. The ring was done by our own Brad Congress of Bradley's Fine Jeweler's here in Ft. Myers.
   At a small gathering in Steve's home later that evening I was able to sit and talk with Mr. Martin, who was one of the best known tournament fighters in the US back in the 60s and 70s. We knew many of the same people and traded stories. It was great to have the opportunity to meet and talk with him. I caught up with Don MacKay as well. I met Don way back in the early 80s and he was instrumental in connecting Steve and myself.
   Congrats to MKS!

Congrats to Steve White

I'm off to Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend to participate in the 25th anniversay of Steve White's Manchester Karate Studio. I'm on the seminar staff for the event along with other excellent instructors. I'd met Steve back when his school was new and he was still working his regular job. He made the decision to go full-time back then and his school has been very successful. He is a model for achieving one's goals.
Once again, congratulation to Mr. White, his staff and students on 25 years!

Please help

Jim Peacock's Mt. Vernon, NH studio are holding an event to benefit the Cates family. The mother and her daughter were attacked in their home early one morning recently and the mother was murdered. The father was away on business. The daughter is a junior black belt under Mr. Peacock and they attribute her survival to her kenpo training.
You can contact Jim Peacock to contribute at the number below (it's a 603 area code) or  by e-mail at mvkarate@yahoo.com.
Take a look at this, too.
http://www.wearebetterthanthis.com/

The Mont Vernon Karate Studio Is Sponsoring a Penny Sale Fundraiser to Benefit The Cates Family
Saturday, November 7th at the Mont Vernon Village School.
Doors open at 5:00 - Drawings start at 7:00

We have LOTS of great prizes to raffle already, but we need MORE! Make your personal or business contribution today! Call the Mont Vernon Karate Studio at 603-672 - 3570 for more info.

All proceeds go directly to the Cates family

“ Never Give Up! “