pic credit: http://www.falcon-kickboxing.co.uk

Before you accept a technique into your fighting vocabulary, run it  by these tests

1. does it expose your vulnerable parts? (groin, head, ribs, armpit, neck, back, eyes)

2. can you control strikes/ locks from the opponents free limbs?

3. can you move out easily if the technique fails?

4. do you have limbs free to tackle another attacker or two?

5. can you move to an ankle break finish and run away?

I teach techniques that I have put to the test. I suggest you analyse them likewise keep a hawk’s eye on your fighting and critically analyse each technique you use.

The best way to do this is to shoot a video of you fighting.

Bring it to my office for a free analysis!

Cheers,

Ash

An expression of freedom… beating the pace of the wind…  feet pushing against the roads, and sands and dust… Running, something that leaves you out of breath and sweating but as time goes, it becomes a much needed drug… and what gives it a higher kick is Parkour.

The art of movement, the aim of moving from one point to another as swiftly, smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible. Parkour makes you feel nimble, light, strong, powerful and yet amazingly free! Every Saturday and Sunday mornings begin with this awesome feeling, for the students of Independent Shootfighters Inc in Jayanagar. Hold on! even after being a part of class for sometime, if you are wondering what has Parkour got to do with Martial Arts… let me clear your doubts today!

Martial Arts and Parkour fit perfectly and compliment each other rather well! Er… well you see, we shootfighters aren’t like Rajanikanth who fights 20 people, and has not as much as a scratch on his body! But if its a race against 20 people we sure can win, cause obstacles do not exist… we just jump, leap, vault, climb, roll and carry on running! Parkour trains the body and mind to act as one single unit (which, is a crucial part of any martial art. You understand the body better, and helps avoiding injuries. Parkour is a statement, a condition of the body and the mind, there is no giving up, you need to be persistent and need to practise each movement till it is etched into your skull.

“From a martial arts point of view parkour improves your footwork to a great extent, you also learn aiming and the use of your whole body in punches and strikes. You suddenly get control over muscles, over which you had no control over.” Adds Ashwin.

The weekend morning classes begin with a run to Madhavan Park, with excessive leg work of going up and down the massive steps… we kick- start our parkour session- after which the real fun begins!

Wall climbs, vaults, parallel bar pull-ups… jumps and leaps… everything seemed like a wonder in the beginning. Understanding the concept of using both the leg and shoulder muscles to climb over a wall was difficult in the beginning. Well, the barriers and obstacles in the mind seemed bigger than any of the other obstacles in the park!  But many trials, scabby elbows and forearms, broke the mental obstacle and then climbing the walls was not that difficult anymore… (there is no greater feeling of freedom than getting the  body and mind to work in unison!)

Now that the wall was climbed… getting down… and with a jump…. sounds fun right! But then when you are up atleast a 5-7 feet high wall and you decide to jump… No I am not joking! You have somehow managed to climb one obstacle, another seems to cloud your eyes… FEAR! You vaguely hear Ashwin telling you come on! break your ankle or your spirit… you still sitting on top of the wall… and then you just decide and take that leap! No feeling is better than breaking the obstacle of fear!

Time for another short story on how to take a break while doing strenuous Kickboxing exercises . In class, ‘break’ could mean side bridge as well (previous article ‘break’ meant ironman). The side bridge works on the muscles on the side and the spine. It works on balance and is also a very effective core strengthening exercise. It works on your physical and mental endurance since holding the position for quite sometime can be quite arduous. The side bridge is a great way to get rid of those ‘love handles’ !

How to ‘take another effective break’

• Start by lying on your side with your legs straight out
• Lift your body, holding it up with one bent arm parallel to the floor.
• Make sure your entire body is in a straight line
• Your knees should be straight and not bent
• One leg should be on top of the other
• Keep your abs tight
• Try and hold the counts for as long as you can and then increase by 20 counts every time after you find out your initial limit

Things to watch out for are- not to let your hip go too low as you won’t be stressing the muscles on your side then!

Where all you can ‘take a break’

• Reading a book or comic
• Watching Television-who said you can’t get fit watching television,
• Watching movies, series on a laptop
• Chatting with somebody on the computer/laptop-since one hand is free that way you can improve your single handed typing
• Chatting with  a friend who came to visit you
• When someone needs an obstacle to jump over or practice taking rolls over an obstacle
• Kickboxing Class-since you do get tired, a ‘break’ is most needed 

I’m sure you can think up more ways to ‘take a break’. So add more to the list and continue to enjoy your journey to tougher abs and good core strength

What is higher is pulled down, and what is lower is raised up;
What is taller is shortened, and what is thinner is broadened;

pic credit Anoop

Tai chi is about harmony and balance and being exact. It’s not an easy state to grasp simply because of the force of habit.

Get out of the habit of doing extraneous movement or of  inaction when you need to act.

And you are getting close to fighting in the harmonious way.

The moves in taichi are exact and harmonious, there seems to be an answer to every attack.

Taichi anticipates the next move accurately based on the nature of the previous move. This study of this nature is the soul of taichi.

A raised leg has to be dropped, an extended fist has to be withdrawn, a crouched spine has to stretch, a twisted waist has to uncoil, understand the nature.

Does the hand wait for you to consciously command it?

No. It has it’s nature to guide it. Studying it is studying taichi chuan. Before it enters your conscious awareness your body is already halfway there.

Study it!

if you want something to expand push on it it will swell. if you want it to deplete pull it.

If you want to study it call me on 9845396360

classes at Lalbagh, weekdays 6:30am and at IHA Koramangala, weekends 9:30am

-Ash

Kurash is an ancient form of jacket wrestling originating in Uzbekistan. It literally means wrestling or grappling and is closely related to other wrestling arts originating from Central Asian nations.

Kurash incorporates features close to the spirit and character of the Uzbek people, namely courage, bravery, spiritual generosity, fairness and humanism- Islam Karimov

It has gone through a revival and has started to spread across the world since late 1990s.

One of the advantages of Kurash rules is that they prohibit ground wrestling. Once the knee of one of the players touches the floor the referee stops the action and players should restart action from the initial upright standing position. It is also not allowed to grapple below the waist.

The rules of Kurash strictly prohibit players to use any arm locks, chocking and strangling techniques. It helps players to avoid many injuries and makes Kurash one of the safest types of martial art to practice

New rules also specified the proportions of the field, length of the bout, and the dress to be worn. All these rules have contributed to making Kurash into a dynamic, fast, entertaining and safe sport. This has resulted in its current popularity as demonstrated by the participation of large numbers of players and spectators at international tournaments

Its benefits both physical and psychological were also appreciated. Presently there are over seventy national Kurash federations in all five continents. There is even an attempt to include it as an Olympic sport.

It is friendly, attractive, safe and rapidly developing sport. It is the synergy of philosophy and traditions of millenniums with the dynamically developing modern world.

Kateda is a self defense martial art. Its origins are claimed to be somewhere in the area of South Asia and/or South East Asia and is claimed to be at least 3,000 years old, perhaps even 10,000 years old which would put its emergence at the end of the last Ice Age !! Various different stories of its origins exist, but a common theme is that it originated in the Tibetan Himalayas and was then taken to Indonesia.

Kateda was originally used for self-protection against the harsh Himalayan environment and as a basic training for maintaining a natural and healthy lifestyle.This was during the time when wars were totally non existent, so the art eventually died out with the invention of weapons.

It is said that Kateda was lost for a long time and was rediscovered by a solitary man from the Himalayan region called Tagashi (or Takashi).When Tagashi was travelling in the North of Tibet,he found an ancient leather bound book written in symbolic form. For the next forty years he studied the book and made an intensive search for its origin, comparing it with other ancient books kept by the people of Tibet, Nepal and the Himalayas. He named the book “seven secrets”,and translated the symbols into seven different characters.

Very little is written in the public domain about Kateda, so what follows is told from firsthand experiences of training. The only official book about the art, written by Lionel Nasution, is now out of print and impossible to find.

The rare and out-of-print Kateda book says that it is based on seven elements:

* Bravery
* Challenges
* Leadership
* Sacrifices
* Togetherness
* Peace
* Knowledge.

Through the understanding and progression of these elements, individuals may be able to overcome their fears, negativity, stress, anger and other social problems. Training provides the opportunity for individuals to acknowledge their achievements of creativity, confidence, assertiveness, self-control, self-discipline, awareness, respect and understanding, to recognize and expand on their personal development.

He described the teaching as “a structural anatomy of human inner force, built by the seven purest elements of natural inner strength”. He believed the human body has an internal power and this internal power is separated into seven natural and pure parts. In the old ages these powers and knowledge were used only for the protection of life and the convenience of mankind, for example: to confront the wild nature, to confront fierce animals, the cold and the heat and even for peace and harmony between people.”

There are three main aspects to the Kateda training- Physical fitness, Self Defence and Central Power.  These are used to improve mind strength, respiratory and nervous systems, co-ordination, balance and instincts; work all voluntary/in-voluntary, internal/external muscle groups; all necessary requirements for the basic training of Kateda self-defence. They will produce the positive side effects of increased stamina, relaxation and simultaneously reduce overweight and stress without the use of any drug.

These abilities can only be achieved by the intensive training in self-discipline, self control and mind concentration.Note that fighting plays no part in Kateda Self Defense. The aim is for the individual to develop a peaceful mentality over one’s anger and aggression.

After learning the basic movements of the art, which are simply numbered from 1 to 10 and comprise a variety of punches, blocks, kicks and vigorous leaps, one moves on to learning how to deliver and maintain Central Power. The steps become dramatically more powerful when combined with Central Power.

Like many martial arts it also promises spiritual development, via the invokation of Central Power. Central Power is developed through unique breathing, physical and mental exercises. One exercise is called “kei”, which suggests some kind of common thread with other oriental martial arts. This may be a linguistic accident, but the similarity to the Chinese word Qi or Chi is clear.!!

A student’s proficiency in delivering Central Power through the body’s nervous system is tested in a variety of ways
* For men, break bricks hit on the solar plexus!(ouch!)
* For women, to kick and break bricks with the sides of the feet
* Receiving punches delivered to the solar plexus!
* Withstanding strangulation
* Rapid, repetitive punching iron plates with the knuckles
* Jumping knuckle press-ups on iron plates
* Being hit with an iron bar
* Being punched simultaneously from all sides by as many as eight people !

alll this without being injured or suffering any pain, of course!!

In today’s society Kateda is now needed to protect one’s Body and Mind  from some of the negative influences that exist within our communities, such as drugs, crime and violence to name a few.

Stav is a martial art and philosophical system which uses runes and Norse Mythology in its teaching. It comes from the expression sette stav (to set staves), which was how the training was described.

Stav is intended to be a flexible set of principles instead of techniques, focusing on finding the lines of attack and defense in any combat situation and exploiting them to the student’s benefit. Stav practitioners usually begin by using staffs or cudgels as training weapons.

It contains many aspects, including healings arts. Stav Healing contains the use of postures, breath techniques, herbalism, joint manipulation, massage, counseling (via the runes) and many other aspects, which can be equated to other better-known systems.

One major aspect is the stances, these are at the core of Stav; they are the embodiment of the runes on which they are based. The stances bring many benefits including low impact exercises, promoting healthy natural breathing, improved posture and relaxation.

In addition to the physical benefits they also promote the flow of megin (life force). In this aspect Stav is a lot like Tai Chi.

“Regular practice of the stances brings other benefits including improved body posture, firmer stomach muscles and increased flexibility.. The stances can also be a form of moving meditation which is useful for relaxation and in relieving stress and tension.” - Phillip Brough.

Two direct and almost immediate benefits can be obtained are:

• The first is that they exercise the body gently and without pressure. They are very low impact exercises which can be performed no matter what your age or ability. The stances can be modified to compensate for injury and disability in order to gain the maximum benefit from them.
• The second is that they promote complete breathing using the whole of the lungs. This has shown to be beneficial to asthma and other respiratory ailment sufferers.

To Glima with something means to struggle with something. It’s the Icelandic national style of amateur folk wrestling. It’s a very old combative style of martial arts which dates back to almost 12^th century.

Traditional glima requires proper skills and techniques. Comprises of eight main ‘brad’ (techniques) which form the basic training to execute a throw or a takedown.

8 Basic Tricks, each of course has variations:

• The Outside Stroke
• The inside-click, the cross-click & back-heel
• The twist over the knee, the outside hipe
• The hook
• The cross buttock
• The inside-hipe
• The cross-buttock aloft
• The full or half buttock

The key points are the correct grip that a wrestler must have on the belt and have a proper technique in throwing their opponent on the ground, and playing sportsmen like while standing upright. Surrounding glima is a code of honor called Drengskapur that calls for fairness, respect for and caring about the security of one’s training partners.

Glima comes in two forms:

A version for self-defense and a version for friendly competition. In either all kinds of wrestling techniques are allowed but in the friendly version they are still taught to be executed in a way so they won’t cause the opponent injury. This means that if both the opponents fall to the ground together the match will continue on the ground by the use of techniques to keep the other down while getting up one. The winner is considered the one who is standing tall while the other is lying on the ground.

In Glima strength isn’t as important as technical skill and balance. The combatants brought each other down with lightening quick moves and tricks as much with the feet as with the hands.

Glima is definitely an interesting sport where you can learn many techniques, and behavioral skills like respecting and treating your opponent with care.

Han Moo Do might sound funny to be a martial arts form but it is a Korean style martial arts founded in Finland and mainly practiced in other Nordic countries.

It contains almost all sectors of traditional martial arts. It has descended from various other styles including Taekwando.

When watched the style of HanMooDo, it appears fluid and effortless with the practitioner looking relaxed. The theory is that more speed and flexibility can be gained from a loose limb than one that is stiff and tense. The power in the strikes comes from the move’s finish, which can be likened to a whip crack or snake striking a target.

HanMooDo itself can be broken down into three sections:
Fighting/Sparring- where students learn and use punches, kicks, throws/takedowns, break falls and some basic grappling. In competitions the fights are full contact, with no punches allowed to the head and kicks allowed to the body (above the belt) and head. The rules for competitions start at a basic level for beginners allowing only a few techniques and as the student progresses through the art they are allowed use more techniques, by the time the student is a brown or black belt they can employ all the fighting techniques mentioned above.
Self-defense- in which students learn various locks and chokes and how to employ them. Students are also encouraged to take part in self-defense demonstrations and there is a section in competition for students who perform such demonstrations.

Weapons- which consist of Nunchaku, Bo-Staff and Katana and are mostly taught when the student has reached the higher level belts (purple belt and above).

This sport is suitable for everyone and for every age, although a lower limit could be 13 years of age. – Normal basic condition is enough and it does not matter if it would be even lower; it will get better during the basic course.

Training is always very personal. Unnecessary discipline and yelling are not included in this sport. Continues development is the key word to describe the training. The benefits of this form of martial arts include-

• Better physical condition,
• Self defense skills and
• Good team spirit among people engaged with it.

Kapap short for Krav panieme el panieme translated as ‘face to face combat’ is a combat system of defensive tactics.

It comprises of

• Hand to hand combat
• Self defense tactics

Kappa training dates back to the early 1930’s when the concept of kappa was defined in a motto as:

‘Fighting to end the fight’

It basically understood the mindset of the fearless and determined. It is still employed mainly for special operations and anti-terrorist units.

The main focus of this training is to upgrade physical endurance, elevate and strengthen the spirit, and to develop defensive and offensive skill set as and when needed. Therefore it’s a combination of:

• Physical training
• Weapon practical usage
• Boxing and jujutsu
• Knife and stick fighting

Kapap system was based on principles and not on techniques. It is not a traditional martial art. No katas. No rituals. Based on simple principles and instinctive movements, this reality-based system is designed to teach real self-defense in the shortest possible time. You’ll learn to defend against common chokes and grabs from all angles, punches and kicks, and weapons such as guns, knives, and sticks.

Kapap training includes:

• Proper body posture
• Striking methods
• Stick/Baton attacks
• Stick/Baton defense

Just as important, Kapap will teach you to function under stress, shock and adrenaline rush of a sudden, violent encounter.

Training must be based on research and focus on examining performance under stress. Combat fitness is recognized as an integral component of survival and use of force training. The combination of aerobic and anaerobic conditioning contributes to long term health benefits.

Tested on the battlefield and in today’s streets, Kapap’s practical approach to self-defense will make you feel safer and more secure.