A.L.M.

A
A Little [about] Martial Arts
Print Edition
September 1999

Members Issue

“In a world of ignorance,

knowledge is power”
- Sun Zi

“In a world of ignorance,

 Table of Contents

3 Editor’s Corner
4 Martial Technique : Eagle Seizes Gullet
5 “May the Force...” : How to Learn Breathing in Meditation
7 Introduction to French Boxing
11 History of Martial Arts : How SAMBO was Created
17 Training Suggestion : A Date with Destiny
18 The Other Side of The Coin : Flexibility Part II
21 Interview: An Aikido Master, Suganuma Sensei
25 Users Corner, You Wrote ...
28 Chinese Set : “Leading the Bench”
31 Vengel Chronicle : The Chinese-Okinawan Connection
33 Chinese Set : Complete 1st Path of the 18 Hands of Luohan
40 Vietnamese Set : Cross-like Boxing, Final Part
45 Chinese Styles : Baji Quan 8 Extremes Boxing
49 Coming Soon ...
The authors and publishers of this material are NOT
RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury
which may occur through reading or following the
instructions in this publication.

The activities, physical or otherwise, described in this

material may be too strenuous or dangerous for some
people, and the reader(s) should consult both a physician
and qualified instructor before engaging in them.

This is issue #1 of ALMA printable version for Members

only.
This file has been last updated :
Tuesday August 31, 1999.

Thanks to:
Arthur Sennott, ALMA US editor
Christophe Frugier, ALMA Europe editor
Mark Kerr, ALMA advisor
Dick Vengel
Michail Lukashev
Kai Yu

You may submit material (text, photos) in a zip file to

alma@spheral.com. Note that submission does not guarantee
publication.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 2

 Editor’s Corner
Here We Go Again !
Exactly four years after the very first FTP transfer
which uploaded the brand new website that I called
ALMA, the very first printable version is presented
here for our members.
I decided that the name should
stand for ‘A Little [about]
Martial Arts’, but also chose it
because it means “soul” in
several languages, including
Latin, and because I thought it
would be never anything else
than “a little something” in the
vast world of Martial Arts. I
wonder now if it is still a “little
something”. Fabien Sena, ALMA founder ,
webmaster and executive editor.
I will certainly not transform the
world but I really hope that ALMA will help a few
fellow martial artists and make them want to know
even more with each visit.
Because knowledge without skills and sweat is like
high octane gasoline without a good motor, I
recommend you really try and train the techniques
demonstrated and explained here in our printable
version. Technology can be useful: you can just
print out the pages you want, go to the gym or the
park with them and play around, testing and trying
to integrate this new knowledge into your own
practice. The best is to even forget that you learned
it from a “book”. After all without your sweat all
the paper of the world is worthless when it comes
to Martial Arts.
We always try to promote an open-minded spirit
in our webpages, and we will keep this spirit alive
in these pages. Even if you think such or such an
article has nothing to do with your current practice,
please make the effort to read it as you mayfind
something inside that will help you understand
something else.
Then you will know you didn’t waste your money
;-)
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 3
Now I would like to talk to you about those without
who this version would never have existed.
About one year ago I started to
post on various message boards,
newsgroups and mailing lists in
order to find people of good will
to help me with ALMA. I got
many answers (a good sign) but
actually only one person was
there when I needed him: Arthur
Sennott III.
I now feel lucky that he chose to
stick with me in our travels
toward a better Martial Arts
world. His help and support are
priceless and greatly
appreciated. Plus, he is a very skilled and
knowledgeable Traditional Chinese and Japanese
Doctor, which is not an easy accomplishment for
anybody and even less so for a westerner. Arthur,
you are the wheels of my Bike. Merci.
At about the same time (should have been my
lucky star), I met Mark Kerr online on a now
defunct mailing list. He was also here when I
needed him and was always ready to give a hand
when he had the time. In and out, he produced a
huge amount of work, especially in translation and
proof-reading. He didn’t check this column so
please forgive the English syntax and spelling
mistakes. ;-) Mark’s support and advice are
always valuable and wise. Without him, you might
be reading a much worse version, completely
illogical and without any interest. ;-) Merci Mark
d’être là.
Last but not least, my third arm, the one who slaps
me in the morning, Christophe Frugier. I won’t say
anything else about him, as he already knows.
Finally thank you for trusting us enough to have
subscribed this issue. We will do our best to not
disappoint you.
 Martial Technique
Eagle Seizes Gullet/Gripping Through with Hand

Execution:
1. "A" stands with left foot forward, and "B" attacks
by stepping into a right Gong Bu and executing a
mid-level straight punch with his right hand.

2. "A" loops his left hand up and out to contact the

inside of "B's" forearm, and continues the circular
motion to seize "B's" wrist."A" completes the circle
twisting "B's" wrist so that his palm is now facing
upwards. "A" should make sure that this twisting
effects not only his opponent's wrist, but also his
elbow, shoulder, spine, and center. At this point 1
"A" should begin to step forward with his right
foot.

3. Coordinated with the finishing of his step

forward, "A" shoots out his right hand and seizes
"B's" throat, grasping high around the trachea. "A"
should squeeze his his thumb and fingers together,
attempting to make them touch behind the trachea.

Practice Points:
1. If "A" wishes to down his opponent, he should 2
make sure not to inadvertently hold him up with
his left hand but rather to control his opponent’s
arm. Also he must be sure to push frontward and
upward in order to uproot him.

2. If "A" wishes to choke his opponent, he should

make sure that the qin na on the opponent's right
arm encourages the opponent to keep from
backing away too much. Too induce
unconciousness, make sure that the thumb and
fingers are squeezing the arteries, as well as the
trachea. A variation of this technique can be made
by grabbing the trachea and arteries and pulling 3
them down. This works especially well if the
opponent has a little experience of the previous Neither the author nor the editing team will
technique and try to counter it by lowering his be held responsible for any damage resulting
gravity center. from practice of the portrayed techniques.
by Arthur Sennott Always be careful and consult a qualified
instructor.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 4

 “May the Force ...”
How to Learn Breathing in Meditation
Basic Steps to Energetic
Breathing
First of all, get comfortably installed in a place you
like and where you will not be disturbed for a while.
Turn off the cell-phone or pager, disconnect the
phone line, close the door and be cool.
You can either lay down your bed or sit on a chair,
or just be outside under a tree. It is better if you
can get fresh air (through an open window for
instance) but airconditioning is NOT a good idea.
Ready ? There are seven basic steps:
1. Start out with three or seven long in-
and-out breaths, thinking Yi (pronunce Yeee)-
with the in-breath and Su (pronunce Sooo) with
the out. Keep the meditation syllable for the same
lenght as the breath. It is normal if you can’t prevent
the sound from being emitted.
2. Be clearly aware of each in-and-out
breath cycle. Feel the trajectory of the air into
your body. Imagine you are breathing in fresh air
and breathing out old air.
3. Observe the breath as it goes in and out,
noticing whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable,
broad or narrow, obstructed or free-flowing, fast
or slow, short or long, and warm or cool. If the
breath doesn't feel comfortable, change it until
it does. For instance, if breathing in long and out
long is uncomfortable, try breathing in short and
out short. As soon as you find that your breathing
feels comfortable, let this comfortable breath
sensation spread to the different parts of the body.
A good way to find your own method of proper
breathing is to slightly force the two or three
inhalations (in-breath) and expirations (out-breath),
and then slowly go back to your “normal”
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 5
breathing.
To begin with, inhale with the breath sensation at
the base of the skull and let it flow all the way
down the spine. Then, if you are male, let it spread
down your right leg to the sole of your foot, to the
ends of your toes, and out into the air. Inhale the
breath sensation at the base of the skull again and
let it spread down your spine, down your left leg
to the ends of your toes and out into the air. If you
are female, begin with the left side first, because
the male and female energetic systems are different.
Then let the breath from the base of the skull spread
down over both shoulders, past your elbows and
wrists, to the tips of your fingers and out into the
air.
Let the breath at the base of the throat spread
down the central nerve path down the front of the
body, past the lungs and liver, all the way down to
the bladder and colon.
Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest
and let it go all the way down to your intestines
Let all these breath sensations spread so that they
connect and flow together, and you'll feel a greatly
improved sense of well-being.
4. Learn the four basic ways of adjusting the
breath:
a. in long and out long
b. in short and out short,
c. in short and out long,
d. in long and out short.
Breathe whichever way is most comfortable for
you. Or, better yet, learn to breathe comfortably
all four ways, because your physical condition and
your breath are always changing.

5. Become acquainted with the bases or focal
points of the mind - the resting spots of the breath
- and center your awareness on whichever one
seems most comfortable. A few of these bases
are:
a. the top of the head
b. the root of eyebrows,
c. the center of the palms,
d. the center of the feet,
e. the solar plexus,
f. the dantian (near the navel).
If you suffer from frequent headaches or nervous
problems, don't focus on any spot above the base
of the throat. Also, don't try to force the breath or
put yourself into a trance. Breathe freely and
naturally. Stay focused on your body and on the
sounds (silent or not) Su and Yi.
Let the mind be at ease with the breath - but not
to the point where it slips away.
6. Spread your awareness - your sense of
conscious feeling - throughout the entire body.
7. Coordinate the breath sensations
throughout the body, letting them flow
together comfortably, keeping your
awareness as broad as possible. Once you are
fully aware of the aspects of the breath you already
know in your body, you'll come to know all many
other aspects as well. Breath, by its very nature,
has many facets: breath sensations flowing in the
nerves, those flowing around and about the nerves,
and those spreading from the nerves to every pore.
Beneficial breath sensations and harmful ones are
mixed together by their very nature. Don’t be
scared. If you feel really uncomfortable, relax. Do
other exercises or just your usual activities and try
later.
For beginners, it is useless to train breathing
meditation for more than 45 minutes.
If you practice diligently and reasonably, very soon
you should feel the effect of your energy (Qi)
flowing more freely. Later with other exercises you
will be able to control and direct it but there are
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 6
great chances that you will keep this basic drill as
an “energetic warm-up”.
Why Learn to Breath in
Meditation?
1. For the sake of both feeling and
experiencing the Qi inside you, and later in the
whole universe. Once you are able to clearly
recognize it, you will be able to work on it and be
more efficient.
2. For the sake of improving the energy
already existing in every part of your body, so
that you can contend with such things as disease
and pain.
3. For the sake of clarifying the knowledge
already within you, so that it can become a basis
for the skills leading to the cultivation and release
of the Qi.
You should always keep these seven steps in mind,
because they are absolutely basic to every aspect
of breath meditation. You may discover that they
can be even applied in motion meditation. When
you've mastered them, you will have cut a main
road. As for the side roads - the incidentals of
breath meditation - there are plenty of them, but
they aren't really important. You'll be perfectly
safe if you stick to these seven steps and practice
them as much as possible.
4. Simply to feel better, have less stress, and
enjoy breathing. After all, this is the most natural
act for every living being so just make the most of
it!
by Fabien Sena
 Introduction to
French Boxing
Origin
The history of martial arts in the West goes back
to pre-history. Archeological evidence suggests
that boxing was known in the Ancient Middle East
and Crete. The Ancient Greeks practiced boxing,
wrestling, and pankraton. The latter was a ‘no
holds barred’ art with only biting being forbidden.
The Roman legions spread pancraeous and cestus
(boxing with a special kind of gloves) throughout
the empire. These were continually developed
during the Middle Ages,when even St. Bernard of
Sienna was a known boxer..
In the eighteenth century, well-developed systems
cam into being. From those ancient roots boxing,
wrestling, Savate, Cornish wrestling, Lutte Breton,
Zapota, Makila, and other arts were developed.
Unlike their eastern analogs, the western arts did
not require accepting a specific belief system, nor
were they developed as part of a search for
enlightenment. Combat efficiency was the sole
criteria. These arts were often very different from
the ones carrying the same name today. Boxing
originally allowed strikes to the legs and grappling.
Savate
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 7
This French word means “old threaded down
shoe”, a metaphor for the old French method of
fighting in shoes, using hand strikes, if necessary.
Striking surfacs used for kicking were: the toe,
edge of foot, and heel of boot. Main targets include:
ankle, shin,and knee. The groin or abdomen were
too high to be targets, but kicks to those point s
were also used.
Fists were used less than the open hands. The
striking surfaces used were: the edge of hand, palm
heel, fingers, and back of hand. Main targets
included: ears, temples, nose, throat, carotid artery,
and back of the head.
The word “savate” demonstrates that it was a
combat method arising from the lower social
classes - as the higher social classes woremore
rigid shoes. There is no exact information about
savate’s origin, but we are sure that the following
facts contributed to its creation.
Since Celtic times, there was a game in some areas
of France in which two men had to kick each
other in the shins. At last this game came to Paris,
where this former popular game became a combat
method.
In the middle of XVIII century, the best known
master of “duel savate” was a man called Baptist,
a dancer who studied savate at the Duke of Berry’s
court. He is known for creating the high kick.
Besides Baptist, the best known savate masters
were Karp, Minion, Rauchero, Sabatier, Fanfan,
François and Champan. Because thesemasters did
not have surnames, we can only assume that they
were commoners.
Very quickly, savate was adopted by criminals.
They added different hand strikes, using knuckle-
dusters, clubs and knives.
Chausson
This word, meaning “soft shoe” or “slipper”, refers
to a kind of shoe which was used in fencing,
dancing , etc..
In the middle of the XVII century in Provence,
especially near Marseille, there were popular
“competitions”, where competitors tries to touch
each other with the toe in a specific zone above
the waist. It was called “jeux de Marseille”,
“Marseille’s game”. Sailors especially liked it,
because they could amuse themselves in this way
during their long journeys.
Gradually sailors began to use middle and high
kicks during fights in bars and similar places, but
their skill was poor. Very often those who tried to
kick an opponent’s head, lost their balance and
failed. Because of this, a new method was
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 8
developed: kicking while placing one’s hands on
the ground. Many grappling techniques were also
added.
In Paris, chausson became popular during the
1820s, a later date than savate. Most “savateurs”
were either workers or rich young idlers, though
usually it was the bourgeois, army’s officers, and
policemen who wanted to study self-defense
methods. Of course, the “noble public” didn’t want
any contact with these proletarians.
Because of this, two branches of savate were
developed. First, there was the “classical” savate
of the proletarians and criminals. Its technical
arsenal wasn’t very complicated, and power and
fierceness were emphasized. “Classical” savate
was popular till the beginning of the XXth century,
mainly in the countryside.
The other branch - “romantic” savate, included
complicated techniques, known as “leg-playing”.
“Romantic” savate wasn’t practiced on the streets.
It s home was the halls, as it required special soft
shoes, which didn’t damage parquet. It can be
described as a kind of “leg fencing”.
“Romantic” savate was a tool for the elite to be
strong without special training in power., and “jeux
de Marseille” was excellent for this. Chausson
arose from the mixing of “romantic savate” and
“jeux de Marseille”, with the term “chausson”
caming into popular use in 1829.
Besides soft shoes, teachers of chausson also used
big gloves - for the safety of both the fingers and
faces of their rich clients. The distinguished feature
of chausson was the high kick to the head , “fouétté
haut” or “chassé haut”. To this day, this kick is a
distinguishing feature of karate and taekwondo.
Chausson was very popular during the reign of
Louis-Phillippe (1830-1848).
Escrime (Fencing)

In classical French boxing, the influence of the
French fencing school was clearly noticable until
the end of WW2 . The on-guard position (la garde)
was similar to the one used in fencing. There was
no escaping an attack from the side. Instead of
this, parries (les parades) were used.
Its main techniques included straight punches and
kicks, and straight parries. Punches were made
while advancing the front leg, as is done in fencing
attacks. Also the body was balanced during kicks
by moving the hands in theopposite direction. A
kick’s precision and speed were more highly
esteemed than its power.
XIX Century - Golden Age
Michell Casseux was born near Paris in 1794.
Even during his childhood, he was familiar with
brutal fighting. In 1824, he published a book which
described the different methods of streetfighting.
which he called “savate”.
His system was based on front, side and
roundhouse kicks, executed by the foot reinforced
bystrong boots. The main targets were the shin,
ankle, and knee. The hands maintained a low
position for catching opponent’s legs and parrying
groin kicks, but if the opportunity presented itself,
Casseux also advised the use of open-hand strikes
to the head. In the worst situations, he advised the
use of a stick or knuckle-dusters.
Within a week, Casseux became a star. The
number of his students grew so much that by 1825
he already had to rent a new training hall (salle).
Among his students, it was possible to find people
of very class.
One of his students was the 16 year old Charles
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 9
Lecour. A couple of years later, he became the
master’s assistant. In 1830, he opened his own
school.
But Lecour didn’t like the fact that savate was
known as streetfighting and that it was first popular
among criminals. So he changed the place of
teaching to a new place closer to the city center
and began to select new students. His students
were mainly wealthy merchants, lawers, reporters,
painters.
Lecour was very skilled in savate and stick fencing.
At the end of 1830, he was defeated by Owen
Swift, one of the best English boxers who came
especially from Englandfor the match. Lecour
decided to study English boxing, and in the next
year moved to London, where he studied boxing
in the school of someone named Smith. He
returned to Paris a year later but continued studying
boxing with an English coach named Adams who
lived in Paris.
In 1832, Lecour began to teach a new martial art
which he called “French Boxing” (La Boxe
Francaise). He claimed the “Code of Honor”, and
published rules and technical methods. He also
claimed that any real man should be able to fence
with both the stick and sword.
1862-1924 is known as the “time of Charlemonts”.
Joseph-Pierre Charlemont began to study French
boxing in Algeria, where he was with the French
army. After retiring, he moved to Paris and began
to train in Vigneron’s school of French boxing. In
1862, Joseph made a tour of Europe, challenging
many famous boxers (of the English boxing school),
staff-fencers and other fighters. During these 10
years of challenges, he was never defeated.
In 1871, Charlemont was an active member of
Paris’s Commune, and he had to escape to Belgium
 magazine devoted to savate by himself.
after its falling. There he developed his own system,
which he described in a famous book (1877). Due
Finally, on January, 5, 1965, Pierre Baruzi
to his fame, Joseph Charlemont was amnestied
organized the National Committee of French
by the French government in the summer of 1879
Boxing. It was a federation comprised of 30 clubs.
- a year before the official communar’s amnesty.
Ten years later, this Committee was reorganized
After returning to Paris he opened his famous
into the National Federation. In 1985, the
“Academy of French Boxing”. He remained the
International Federation of French Boxing Savate
headmaster of the Academy until 1899, when his
was established.
son, Charles, replaced him.
Today, French Boxing is a well organized sport
Charles Charlemont was the first world champion
and continues to spreadthroughout the world.
of French boxing. In 1899, he won by a kick to
stomach in the sixth round of a fight against Jerry F.S.
Driskoll - Britain’s mid-weight boxing champion.
This was the final point in the dialogue between
English and French boxing.

Today
But in “Charlemont’s time”, there wasn’t a changing Want to know
of generations, and after WW1, a crisis began in
French boxing. Thousands of boxers were killed
or badly injured during the war.
more about this
The new president of the Academy after Charles subject?
Charlemont became Count Pierre Baruzi. It was
he who saved French boxing from dying
completely.

In 1937, the last French Boxing National

Check the
Championship took place. By this time, there were
not more than 500 french-boxers from several ALMA Online
clubs of Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille. In 1938,
Charlemont’s hall was closed forever. By the end
of the 1940s, only 100 boxers remained.
Bookstore
During Germany’s occupation and after the WW2,
Pierre Baruzi did everything possible to keep http://www.spheral.com/alma/
French boxing alive. He rented gyms, trained book/
coaches, paid them salaries, and organized
festivals. Up to 1960, he published a special

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 10

 History of Martial Arts
How SAMBO was Created
by Michail LUKASHEV
Fake History
Everything began on a cloudy December day in
1947, when I read a fascinating story by
Rahtanovin "Ogonyok" magazine: "History of
Sambo". With clever and lively language, he wrote
the story of Anatolii Kharlampiev - how he, due
to his father's advice, created a Soviet system of
free-style wrestling and self-defence - sambo.
He travelled throughout almost the whole Soviet
Union, finding and collecting the most effective
methods of wrestling and self-defence system from
every nationality. Later on,upon this base he
created a new principle and the best - Soviet -
system.
When, in 1938, some wrestlers came to Moscow
on all-USSR meeting, Anatolii said: "I propose that,
instead of engaging in exotic judo wrestling which
is alien to us, that you try your skills in our Soviet
free-style wrestling". Then, even with a bandage
on his eyes, he defeated any of them who had
doubts about the advantages of the beautiful system
he created. It was decided that this system would
be named "SAMBO" ("SAMozashchita Bez
Oruzhiya" or "Self-defence without weapons"),
because this system gave so many possibilities for
defense from attacks, even without a weapon.
Not every article has as much success at capturing
the reader's interest as Rahtanov's article had.
Though it was 50 years ago, I still remember how
my friends and I were impressed. The information
was absolutely new. This article was the first
information about sambo in a non-sport
publication. Almost everyone had heard of jujutsu,
but until recently when it came into the popular
sport life, sambo was not well-known.
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 11
Of course, at that time I believed every printed
word, and had no any doubts about Kharlampiev's
version of the story. The only thing that confused
me and was not understood was why Rahtanov,
in such an interesting story, did not mention
V.A.Spiridonov, who began to work in the field of
self-defence much earlier than Kharlampiev, and
also created a system which he called "sambo".
Spiridonov synthesized this aresneal from a
collection of the most effective methods of jujutsu,
French wrestling, American free-style wrestling,
everyday self-defence, and English and French
boxing.
At that time, though I was familiar with this system,
I didn't know anything about its author, except his
name. This practical acquaintance with
Spiridonov's system and perplexity about
Rahtanov's passing over it in silence was my first
impulse, resulting in many years of research which
allowed me to find the real history of sambo.
During the first stage, my focus was upon
Spiridonov exclusively: both his biography and
work. But this was very complicated work.
Spiridonov and his relatives were dead, and there
was no personnel file for him in the archives of the
"Dinamo" club, so during this long time the only
sources were oral stories from his friends,
colleagues, and neighbours.
Following up on this chain of events, I found
Fyodor Ivanovich Zhamkov, a master of sport
shooting, who was one of Spiridonov’s chiefs when
he worked his last years at "Dinamo". But the most
interesting information I found was not about
Spiridonov, it was instead information about
another man.
It was from Zhamkov that I heard for the first time
a previously unknown name - Oshchepkov - who
was Zhamkov’s student in the 1920s in
Vladivostok. From that point onward, I had a
second direction for my research. And again, many
years of work. From this point, it was not only a
time of collecting information, but also analysing
materials. Like a blind man, I found the lost paths
on which sambo should have developed toits
modern position. At that time I also understood
that this was not only interesting for me.
First Step on the Right
Track
V.S.Oshchepkov... At the end of the frost of
December 1892, in the village Alexandrovskii
penal colony, which housed Sakhalin island’s
female prisoners, the peasant widow Maria
Oshchepkova gave birth to a son.
At that time, this baby with two brands - illegally
born and the son of prison inmate- had a poor
future. When the boy became an orphan, he was
11 years old. But a few years later, the orphan's
path of life became lucky when it crossed with the
enlighted and noble path of a beautiful man - Japan
esearchibishop Nicolai.
[Two comments from translator for Western
readers: (1) After 1905, when Russia was defeated
in Russia-Japan war, Sakhalin became Japanese
territory. (2) Nicolai was Archbishop of the Russian
Orthodox Christian Church.]
With insufficient money, Nicolai managed to still
succeed in founding several schools in Japan. In
one of them, a spiritual seminary in Kyoto, due to
the support of an unknown sponsor a 14-year-
old orphan named Vasya Oshchepkov was
admitted.
The Archibishop was a man of large views, so in
the seminary it was even possible to study judo
wrestling, created by Jigoro Kano 25 years ago.
Vasilii quickly took to this new field. A clever and
adroit student, he quickly studied the techniques
of Japanese wrestling, was liked by his teacher,
who also did him an important service.
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 12
Once per year, the best students were selectedto
study at the famous institute Kodokan-judo. The
eacher , while swearing him t o secrecy, told the
Russian boy the unusual principle of this selection.
The solemn day came. Many young claimants sat
down on the straw mats, or tatami. Creator of judo,
doctor Jigoro Kano began his speech. A moralizing
speech was made which was very long and, quite
frankly, also very boring. With all respect to the
orator, it was extremely difficult for the young men
to not turn away to look at something else. But
Oshchepkov knew, that teachers of Kodokan
intently watched them from the rear. Every
movement of the claimants was considered as
inattention and even as disrespect to the judo
grandmaster. Vasilii didn't have very much
experience in keeping Japanese sitting positions -
without chair,resting on one’s own heels. He had
pins and needles in his legs, and though he wanted
to stretch them or simply move them a few inches,
he sat still without any change. When somebody
finally came up to him and said that he was
admitted to Kodokan, Oshchepkov tried to stand,
but could not do it and simply fell on his side.
A Russian in Kodokan
In Kodokan's archives, there is still exists a record
of Vasilii Oshchepkov’s admission on October, 29,
1911. Vasilii received full instruction at that time in
judo, though even now Japanese specialists think
that Japanese judo training is beyond a European's
strength. At that time, the training system was cruel
and uterrly pitiless. It was not a long time until after
the Russia-Japan war had ended that a Russian
fellow was willingly choosen as a sparring partner..
He was a non-conditional opponent, as he was a
real enemy. So the unskillful Oshchepkov was
ruthlessly thrown on the hard tatami, as more
experienced wrestlers strangled him and broke his
arms, but he, as is the custom in judo, thanked
them for the lesson by humbly bowing even when
they had broken one of his ribs. Soon, however,
he became a difficult opponent, even for the
experienced wrestlers.
Vasilii didn't simply finishhis training at this institute,
he acquired a master's degree. A half-year later
he received a black belt. At that time, the Japanese Military Soviet, Oshchepkov was assigned as a
were very demanding and critical when bestwoing military translator in one of the departments of the
degrees, and especially so for foreigners. Vasilii Headquarters of the Siberian Military District. As
became the first Russian, and one of only four Vasilii Sergeevich was a master of difficult Eastern
Europeans, to received first dan during those years. languages, even high-level specialists often asked
his advice. But wrestling and self-defence was one
Actually, the obstinate Russian youth was honoured of the main parts of his life, so in his new place of
with warm praise from grandmaster Kano himself, living he began to proclaim his science of self-
who was not known to be generous with such defence, an important topic for military men.
things. And Oshchepkov kept a Japanese
magazine by his side which conatined the words: Judo Demonstrations in
"Russian bear got his own way" for a long time. USSR
Soon Vasilii again passed his exams and received
second dan.
At the meeting of the Osoaviahim section at
Headquarters of the Siberian Military District (the
After returning to his motherland, Vasilii, who knew
all-USSR club for the military preparation of civilian
not only Japanese but also English, began work
men), Vasilii Sergeevich gave a speech about the
as a military translator. It was natural that he
art of self-defence, describing how judo is used in
became a pioneer of judo in Russia. In 1914,
the armies of many capitalist countries. Immediately
Japanese wrestling was new even for the western
following, he demonstrated various methods of
states, which first played a role in the sport, but in
disarmament. Novosibirsk's newspapers said,
the farthest provincial Russian town, there was judo
"The methods were clever, and all the spectators
club with a half-hundred members. After acquiring
were impressed." Oshchepkov agreed to yet
a basic knowledge of this style of wrestling,
another meeting to demonstrate the art of self
members began to stage inner-club competitions.
defence against a group of attackers.
The first international judo competition took place
not in Paris, London or New-York, but in a place
Immediately afterward, a group was founded for
called Vladivostok.
the studying of self-defence among the
headquarter's officers. Subsequently, Vasilii
From 1921 on, Oshchepkov was a commander
Sergeevich became very popular. He was invited
in the Red Army. But later he undertook very
to teach at the local "Dinamo" club (a training place
strange work for a regular army man: he began
for state-security officers) and the school for the
advertising and selling Soviet movies in China and
militia.
Japan. But this civil business was only a mask for
intellegence service work. At that time, China and
Later, the way of the developing of the art of self-
Japan were the USSR's enemies, and good
defence fell in the hands of Boris Sergeevich
knowledges of these countries, as well as his
Kalpus. An old sportsman, he was a General
knowledge of languages helped him to do this
(brigade commander), and had served as assistant
work. His skills in martial arts were not exactly an
inspector of non-military and physical education
obstacle either. In China, he used the opportunity
for the Red Army. After hearing about
to study Chinese martial arts, or wushu.
Oshchepkov's activity in Novosibirsk, he
immediately understood its value in developing
When Vasilii Sergeevich returned to Vladivostok,
military hand-to-hand combat, so Vasilii Sergeevich
he again undertook his favourite work: teaching
was invited to Moscow.
new-generation students.

Soon Oshchepkov moved to Novosibirsk.

According to the order of USSR's Revolutionary

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 13

Usually, Vasilii Sergeevich started his work with a
demonstration of his art. This time, however, he
entered the scene during a special organized sports
event of the Central House of Red Army.
Spectators with great interest looked at the tall
robust shaved-headed man dressed in a half-
military suit. After a short time, everyone
understood that he was a great master. He was
attacked by several "enemies" - barehanded,
armed with sabre, rifle, dagger, and gun. And this
was not playing, but using a real bayonet, and sharp
knife and sabre. Even the gun was loaded by
cartridge-case without gunpowder and bullet. The
supervisor stood behind Oshchepkov's back and
was able to say that the demonstrator really did
fend off the weapon before it was shot - as in this
case he clearly saw the small light in the barrel of
weapon, which was not hidden by Oshchepkov's
body.
Everything was real. Disarmed knives flew away.
Rifles and guns appeared in Oshchepkov's hands
without being fired while the "enemy" was either
thrown or cried out while held in a strong joint
lock. The nearest number of "Physical Culture and
Sport" included a photo report of this performance.
At the end of 1929, courses were scheduled for
commanders of the Moscow garrison in
preparation for organizing education in hand-to-
hand combat due to a new handbook. The
program included methods of self-defence and
disarmament. The head of these courses - Vasilii
Sergeevich.
Of course, he had taken part in creating this
handbook. When it was published, pictures and
descriptions were included of Oshchepkov's
beautiful methods on its pages. And Vasilii
Sergeevich was not restricted to theory alone, as
he also participated in the hand-to-hand combat
competitions, winning first place.
At that time the well-known physical culture
complex was established and named "Prepared
for Work and Defence". One of the second level
quota items was methods of self-defence and
disarmament, not for males only, but for females
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 14
too. This quota was developed by Oshchepkov.
Evolution of Techniques
Vasilii Sergeevich was able to see in the future, as
now kicks have an important place in hand-to-
hand combat. Even a half-century ago,
Oshchepkov recognized the importance of this
effective method of barehand fighting. His principle:
strike-throw-strike. But he understood that good
experience in kicking and defending against kicks
could only be obtained by free-fighting. Free
fighting, however, used such dangerous methods
that this was impossible. Therfore, he constructed
veneer "armour" and even "gloves for feet" for
softing the blows - like modern "feet" in kickboxing!
Though modern "sambo" wrestling has a name
created by Spiridonov, its contents were created
by Oshchepkov. He absolutely rejected the simple
studying of methods, based on his idea that good
skills in self-defence could only be brought up with
a large sports foundation. Though sport fighting is
limited, it trains such necessary fighting abilities as
the skill of quickly and correctly adapting to
rqapidly changing situations, and the skill of using
the most effective and expedient methods for a
particular situation. And all of these things in a
stressful situation. Sport fighting could develop
useful combat skills in the closest situation to real
fighting with the adequately realistic resistance of
an opponent.
But which kind of wrestling should be a base for
the training necessary for skill in combat? Though
I said above that Oshchepkov taught Japanese
judo, this was only true during the beginning stage
of his work. After some time the work of Vasilii
Sergeevich and his students became a research
laboratory for creating sambo - a new international
kind of wrestling, collecting the best achievements
of many international and national kinds of wrestling
- naturally including judo as well.
And what was the method used to create this new
kind of wrestling? Vasilii Sergeevich was a judo
master and knew all its good sides., but unlike many
foreign followers of this system he was also able
to see its bad side. He was not a timid student of
Japanese teachers, like the orthodox "copyists"
who avoid even the thought of breaking any of the
‘holy’ canons of judo established by Jigoro Kano.
Oshchepkov didn't intend to limit himself to things
made in Japan. He tried to create a new effective
system of applied wrestling and self-defence which
would be more effective than others.
The development of this system was absolutely
independent from any contact with foreign judo
schools - and even more importantly, without any
contact with canonical Japanese judo. Because of
this, Oshchepkov wasn't limited and was absolutely
free in his work. His approach was truly scientific,
demanding constant review and the changing of
any obsolete principles, with practical evaluation
based on new modern knowledge. This was the
approach used by Oshchepkov.
As these sportsmen didn’t have tatami, they instead
changed it to a soft wrestling cover. Instead of a
large Japanese kimono, they used tight jackets;
instead of judo bridges - sport shorts; instead of
barefoot wrestling - wrestling in special light shoes.
At first glance, it may seem that these are
insignificant changes, but these changes evoked
new aspects of technique which differed from
classical judo. For a better understanding, let's
remember an opposite example, when, in the
1960s, sambo wrestlers who participated judo
competitions had to restudy wrestling to
accomodate the trappings of a hard tatami, large
kimono and barefeet.
Soft cover allowed not only safe throws, resulting
in fewer injuries, but also helped to develop
ground-fighting methods. Later, the Japanese said
that this part of sambo technique was more
developed than in judo, and especially studied our
wrestling to enhance their personal arsenal.
Though it may sound strange, in Oshchepkov's time
even the Japanese did not possess good methods
for teaching judo, as every teacher taught on the
basis of his own experience and abilities. Also,
Japanese teachers denied the necessecity of
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 15
common physical exercises and ignored them.
Vasilii Sergeevich wrote, "Our task is to develop
the studying of jiu-do, especially from the methodic
and hygienic points of view, to a higher level than
that of the Germans,for example, for whom this
system has been a popular sport in recent years...
From the methodic point of view, we have a way,
different not only from German's but also from
Kodokan's... Even now, the Kodokan institute
doesn't have a section of preparing physical
exercises... It is impossible to develop an organism
without special exercises".
During these many years, Oshchepkov was not
limited to the judo cell. He also knew of the recent
achievements in the Russian, western European
and American sciences of physical education. This
gave him the possibility to complete the gaps in
the Japanese system on a scientific basis. For
example, as physical exercises he used so-called
"free movements" from the Swedish systems of
Muller, Buk, Suren. He also introduced strong
medical controls on the health of wrestlers.
Rules were also changed, approaching the rules
of other international styles of wrestling.
A New Approach
But it seems that most important thing for the
development of a new "synthetic" kind of wrestling
was the creation of a technical - and hence tactical
- arsenal. Oshchepkov thought long about this
question, understanding that this was a key factor.
He especially noted that it is not right to simply
study wrestling, "it is necessary to use it in
strenghtening the defence of our country, enriching
it by our achievements in the sense of methods of
studying, and methods of use."
Without hesitation, Oshchepkov threw away many
"antiquarian treasures" of judo and resolutely
renewed its techniques. Obsolete methods were
replaced by new more effective ones.
The enrichment and development oif techniques
by different ways was one of the main tasks of
Vasilii Sergeevich. First, he added joint locks for Now, Vasilii Sergeevich was not alone,as he
the legs which were absent in sport judo. These worked together with his students: V.G. Kuzovlev,
were also used in training-competition and in V.V. Sidorov, N.M. Galkovskii, I.V. Vasiliev, R.A.
practice by various students of Oshepkov and Shkolnikov, A.A. Kharlampiev and many others.
himself. This developed new enriching features in They taught not only in a number of groups in the
the "manner of performing the methods". This capital, but also in Leningrad, Kharkov and other
practice was received in a new, different light from cities. Gradually, self-defence, and sport wrestling
classical judo conditions, resulting in new based upon it, became a subject of study in all
independent methods and combinations. All four physical culture institutes and the twenty four
thesethings gave results, but still the decisive factor physical culture colleges of the country.
was missing.
To be continued
Oshchepkov analysed all existing international
styles of wrestling, Chinese wushu, and a number
of national kinds of wrestling from the point of view
of "application in real fighting". He concentrated
not only on strikes from wushu and English and
French boxing, but also on methods from "Finnish-
French" wrestling and a few other kinds of
wrestling, which Vasilii Sergeevich named "free-
style". These included American free-style
wrestling, Swiss wrestling, caucasian wrestling and
Persian wrestling. He specially noted that some
methods, and especially, throws, could be
applicable as self-defence methods.

Oshchepkov wanted to widely disseminate useful

methods of hand-to-hand combat, so he worked
in many different military and civilian organisations.
But the real "star hour" of his work was when he
taught at the Moscow Institute of Physical Culture.
Advancing the spread of this new wrestling and
self-defence art throughout the country was only
possible with a large number of coaches, so Vasilii
Sergeevich taught young people, who later taught Want to know more
many other men in different cities.
about this subject or
other Russian points of
view on Martial Arts ?

Visit SATBI
http://cclib.nsu.ru/
projects/satbi/

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 16

 Training Advice
10. A Date With Destiny

By Arthur Sennott ©Arthur Sennott 1999, All rights reserved

After 20 years of training, I have found the About the author: Arthur L. Sennott began his
regularity, and consistency of a training schedule, combined study of Asian healing and martial arts
to be much more far reaching than it would initially 20 years ago. He currently maintains a split practice
seem. Its not just about amount, or quality of between Cape Cod, MA, and Milford, NH. Arthur
combines his knowledge of Sotai, Kappo, and
training. Its about consistency. Its about dedicating
Traditional Chinese Herbalism, to specialize in
a reserved time of your life for something, day in, degenerative musculo-skeletal disorders, and
day out whether you feel like it or not. Having a traumatic injury management.
regular practice time, that does not get interfered
with, whether it is 4 hours a day, or 4 hours a
month, teaches the mind about dedication, and
follow through. Furthermore, the ability to put a
consistent time aside for the self, whether it is for
martial arts, meditation, reading or car washing, is
of the utmost importance to a humans health and
happiness.

When I have a patient, and I say, “I want you to

put a half hour a day, aside for doing something by
yourself, that you truly enjoy, with absolutely no
interruptions”, and they say, “I don’t think I can
do that”, I know they will NEVER get better. I
know they have no real interest in improving the
quality of their own life, let alone their health. If
say, Sundays at 9:00 are your time by yourself,
and you allow that time to be changed by the
influence of an external force, you have lost internal
control. You break a promise to yourself, and begin
not to trust your own self. This can have dire
consequences in life. You need to be able to believe Verse 1 of the Yi Jing (I Ching)
yourself, when you say “I am going to do this”. If
you cannot believe your own words, you will
eventually become frightened to tackle big tasks,
you will be afraid to attempt self-reliance, because
you know you are not to be trusted.

This is why, for a martial artist, sticking to a regular

practice schedule, in addition to practicing a
particular amount is so important. Martial arts
should build confidence, not destroy it. Be careful
in your approach to training. It echo’s your whole
life.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 17

 The Other side of the Coin
TCM Chronicle #2-Flexibility, Part II
If we wish to be more flexible, we now know that
we must have a balanced, free flowing Liver with
an adequate supply of Yin, and of Blood. The
question remains, how do we do this. Well, there
are many methodologies of Chinese Medicine, and
each of these can play a role. I shall go through
each of our 3 requirements for flexibility, and
discuss some methods of application from the
branches appropriate to the task.
In Chinese Medicine we say that the Spleen
makes the Blood. This can be seen as a metaphor,
indicating that our choice of foods, and our ability
to assimilate them, has direct relationship to the
quality of our blood,and its ability to exchange
nutrients for waste products. Thus the Spleen,
which in Chinese medicine, is responsible for
transformation of food nutrients, must be strong, if
the body is to build sufficient amounts of quality
Blood. Sufficient, quality Blood is, afterall, vital to
the attainment of flexibility.
For the Spleen to be strong we must eat healthy,
easily digestible, balanced meals. What makes a
healthy meal, is of course a topic of great debate
in Western medicine these days, but from a Chinese
viewpoint, it means several things. Some of which
may seem in opposition to commonly held beliefs
in the West about nutrition.
Firstly, the food should not be too cold in
temperature. The digestive system must heat all
things eaten to above body temperature before
they can be digested. As we want the energy in
our food to go toward building health, and not to
be wasted on the digestion process itself, it is
preferable to eat foods that are at least as warm
as one’s body. This means that chilled foods, such
as iced drinks, ice cream and chilled fruits should
be avoided.
Secondly, the closer a food is to the state its in
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 18
when extraction is taking place, the more easily
digestible it is. In Western nutrition circles, the
virtues of raw foods are often praised because of
their higher nutrient count. However, it is not the
nutrients within the food that is of concern, it is the
nutrients we can extract from the food that is vital.
This is why Chinese nutrition prefers foods that
have already been “pre-digested” by the cooking
process. All this means that soups, stews and
congees are to be considered desirable, and quite
beneficial, while salads, raw fruits and vegetables
should be avoided.
Thirdly, thought (and worry) are the emotions
associated with the Spleen.
Engaging these emotions while eating, can be
detrimental to the Spleen.
It is best to pay attention to ones food while eating,
and not to the days events, or other concerns. Even
from a WSM (Western Scientific Medecine) point
of view, a sizable amount of digestion takes place
during the chewing process, and inattention to ones
food can result in hasty chewing.
Rushed chewing impedes digestion.
Chinese Medicine regards certain foods as being
superior to tone various bodily systems. Listed
below are some everyday foods that specifically
target the Spleen and Blood. These are foods that
are desireable, if one wishes to gain maximum
flexibility.
Blood Spleen/Qi
Beef Chicken
Duck Curred Pork (Ham)
Egg Pork Liver
Spinach Soybean
Litchi Fava beans
Red GrapesPineapple
In addition to these everyday foods, there are a
number of Chinese medicinals that are suitable for
everyday consumption. These are most easily
prepared as broth components for a soup or stew.
For some recipes, please refer to the related article
“TCM Cooking”. A few of the more palatable
Chinese Herbs are:
Blood Spleen/Qi
Shu Di Huang Lian Zi
Gou Qi Zi Dang Shen
Rou Gui Fu Ling
Dang Gui Yi Mi Ren
Though a proper diet is the most important factor
in proper Spleen function and Blood production,
these processes can be strengthened through
other means as well. Most notably Herbalism,
Acutherapy and Qi Gong.
Herbal Formulas For
Blood And Spleen
The most common formula for simultaneously
boosting Spleen function and Blood production
is Ba Zhen Tang (Eight Precious Soup). This is
one of the core tonification formulas of Chinese
medicine, and is actually composed of the two most
basic formulas in the Chinese pharmacopoeia. Ba
Zhen Tang is comprised of Si Jun Zi Tang (4
Gentlemen Soup) and Si Wu Tang (4 Things
Soup).
Si Jun Zi Tang is 4 part formula designed to tonify
the Spleen and Qi. Its counterpart, Si Wu Tang is
directed at the Blood, and functions to both tone
and invigorate the Blood. When these two formula
are combined they form Ba Zhen Tang. Ba Zhen
Tang is available as a patent medicine called Ba
Zhen Wan (eight precious pill). In America, the
prepared, or “patent” version is often referred to
as “women’s precious pills”. Don't be fooled by
the name, its equally good for both men and
women, especially those desiring increased
flexibility.In a healthy individual, this preparation
makes an excellent tonification formula, and as it
is fully balanced, can be taken without an Herbalists
recommendation, provided one is not already ill.
Additionally, the herbs in this formula can be added
to soups, and eaten, as they are mild in taste
(though some taste better than others), and quite
nutritious.
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 19
Another, simpler formula for Spleen and Blood
Tonification is “Shaolin Return To Origins Pills”.
This is a formula of only two herbs, Huang Qi
(Astragalus) and Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis).
It is classically prepared as a pill, but is easier and
more economical to make as a wine.
5 Qian (15 grams) of each herb in a liter of Vodka
or Gin, will do.
Let it sit a month or more to extract, then drink a
shot or two per day. You can microwave the shot
to boil off the alcohol, if you like.
Eliminating the alcohol will be better for the Spleen,
but less efficacious for the Blood.
Summary
This brings us near the end of this month’s
installment. Before we end though, I’d like to
summarize what we have learned in both installment
one and two. First we covered a few general ideas
about flexibility.
These are:
mFlexibility is Important for injury
prevention, as well as speed and
power generation
mStretching is necessary, but far
from the only issue in flexibility
enhancement
mChinese medicine can significantly
increase your ability to become
flexible
Then we went on to look at TCM’s ideas about
flexibility, and what the basic requirements are for
flexibility. These are:
mThe Liver rules the sinews, and thus
exerts a strong influence on
flexibility
mThe Liver must have enough Yin,
to create a flexible state
mThe Liver must have enough Blood
to create a flexible state
mWe must strengthen the Spleen to
increase Blood production
mWe must eat foods capable of
producing Blood to allow the Spleen
to manufacture Blood

In terms of applications, we have discussed
creating an internal environment conducive to
Blood nourishment, and therefore, flexibility. If we
include this month’s teaser, we have also shown
two techniques employing point therapy to facilitate
an immediate, if temporary increase in flexibility.
Now slowly rotate your finger clockwise, while
imagining you are shooting warm, gentle energy
out of your finger. 6-9 seconds should do. Now
repeat the stretch. Did you see any change? Leave
a message on the ALMA message board to let
me know. I can also be contacted for questions
and comments at arthur@spheral.com

Attempting to create lasting change with point ©Arthur Sennott 1999, All rights reserved
therapy and some other “tricks”, is ultimately futile,
without first changing the internal environment. About the author: Arthur L. Sennott began his
Think of this internal therapy as jiebegong (basic combined study of Asian healing and martial arts
drill) for the health. 20 years ago. He currently maintains a split practice
between Cape Cod, MA, and Milford, NH. Arthur
Your homework this month is to : combines his knowledge of Sotai, Kappo, and
- Eat right for flexibility Traditional Chinese Herbalism, to specialize in
degenerative musculo-skeletal disorders, and
- Incorporate some of the foods
traumatic injury management.
listed, at least three times a week,
hopefully everyday
- With permission of a qualified
Chinese herbalist, try out some of the
herbs listed
- Try the new “Magic Finger” technique
(see below)
- Try to figure out why/how the
“Magic Finger” technique works

Next Month: we will finish our discussion of the

Spleen and Blood, by looking at the role
Acupunture, Moxibustion and Qi Gong can play
in assisting our quest for ultimate flexibility. I
promise their will be plenty of “points” to play with.
We will also revisit the Liver, and begin to examine
how we can influence it, to our best advantage.
Interested in buying
This Month’s Teaser herbs or formulas ?
Contact Sennott Sensei
If you liked last month’s Tiger Balm trick, your
directly for ingredients
going to love this month’s little application. I call
this one “The Magic Finger”. and their preparation.
Have your partner lie on their back. Perform a
Hamstring stretch on their left leg, and gauge the
distance of their stretch. Lower their leg, have
them place the leg in lateral rotation with partial A glossary is available online, as is
hip and knee flexion (as though they were going to is the full recipe of the soups.
do a butterfly stretch). You can also contact Sennott
Now clear your mind, lightly place your right index Sensei directly for any problems
finger on their left leg Lv-8. Your finger should press related to Traditional Chinese
just hard enough to take the slack out of the “skin” Medicine, like herbs and formulas.
without pressing “into the muscle”.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 20

 An Aikido Master
Interview with Suganuma Sensei
Q ) Please tell us about your early experiences in
Aikido.
A ) In April of 1963, I was twenty years old and
attending Asia University in Tokyo. It was at that
time that I first became involved in Aikido through
the University's Aikido Club. The Head Instructor
for that club was Tamura Sensei (Tamura Sensei
is now a Chief Instructor of the French Aikido
Federation). Tamura Sensei's size belied his
extraordinarily powerful waza. But of all his
characteristics, the one that endeared most people
to him (including myself) was his humanity. I think
many people, of course including myself, began
(and continue to begin) Aikido thanks to this
wonderful man. So it was April when I first entered
the Aikido Club, and the next testing was in June.
That was the first time I met O-sensei (Morihei
Ueshiba). I was fascinated about the atmosphere
that surrounded him. He was completely different
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 21
from what I imagined a Martial Artist to be like.
He seemed to have a divine sense of purpose. The
impression I got from him was that anyone could
improve their inner-self by continued practice of
Aikido.
Life as O-Sensei Uchi-
Deshi
Q) Please tell us about your experience as
uchideshi (live-in student , apprentice) to O-sensei.
A) It was in 1967 that I officially became uchideshi
to the Founder. I had been going to Hombu Dojo
for the previous five years, as well as training at
the University Club Dojo. As uchideshi, I was often
able to take ukemi for Osensei. That was the main
way that he taught us. Also I accompanied the
Founder during his journeys. And while in Tokyo,
I would meet him before the morning practice, and
then go in to practice with him. Aside from that
there were always small things that needed doing
around the Dojo. I guess you could say that my
main job was to see to the every day happenings
at the Dojo. There was always something to keep
me busy.
Q) What were some of Osensei's teachings that
you find most important?
A) That we are "living here and now" and we
should do our best at this point in time. The
Founder said to me "Aikido is a plus within a circle"
. The circle symbolizes the Universe, and the plus
is a point in space without time. To be here now is
most important. If you spend time worrying about
tomorrow or yesterday, it is empty here and now."
Although planning and reflection are important, you
should concentrate on doing your best right now.
This is similar with a philosophy of Zen. The
Founder was at an old age when I became his
pupil. To look at him you wouldn't think it, but he
was very strong. Another thing that impressed me
about him was his generosity. When we would have
tea together, he would offer me half of his okashi
(a Japanese snack) saying "you, eat!". There were
frequent times during traveling when we would eat
at a restaurant. Before leaving, the Founder would
often purchase a small gift. This he would give to
his wife upon returning home. He was always very
kind to her. She was always around and we called
her Oku-sama (honorable wife). The Founder was
also very devout. Whenever we would pass in front
of a shrine, he surely clasped his hands together
and said a silent prayer. I didn't feel that the
Founder was the type of mystical person that some
people had written about in books. I would
describe him as a strict teacher, but also very kind,
warm, sympathetic and magnanimous. I believe
he had a deep love for all life.
Daily Schedule of a young
master
Q) What was your daily schedule when you were
an uchideshi?
A) I would arrive at the dojo at 5:30 am. First I
would clean the office and then the hall. Shortly
before 6:30, I would meet O-sensei in his room
on the second floor. Then we would go to the third
floor for practice. Practice lasted for an hour (until
7:30). There was a short break, and then another
practice at 8:00. After that practice there was a
morning meeting at 9:30. When the meeting finished
I would have breakfast. At 10:30 there was
Tokukei practice which is like a private lesson.
After that, if there were some errands to do I would
do them, or if Osensei was going out, I would go
with him. I would usually have some lunch around
this time. There was practice again from 3:00-4:00,
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 22
and from 5:00-6:00, and the last from 6:30-7:30.
I used to like to practice Shodo (Japanese
Calligraphy) when I found some time. Once,
Osawa Sensei (Hombu Dojo Chief Instructor)
found me and asked "Did you clean?" I answered
him "No, not yet." He told me: "First of all you
should do your job--after that -- do your studies."
I believe this was pp a valuable lesson for me.
Q) Could you please tell us about training at
Hombu Dojo at that time.
A) It was quite the same as it is here (at Shohei
juku, Suganuma Sensei's home dojo). The practice
commenced with some warm up exercises
(stretching). Then we would start with a tenkan or
other similar basic waza. Every eight minutes or
so, the waza would change, or we would change
partners. The waza was always basic waza. The
more experienced people would work with the
less experienced ones. There was a great
atmosphere in the dojo. Practice was a joy. We
would usually end with Kokyu-ho and maybe a
stretching exercise.
Q) Could you tell us about your move to Fukuoka
in 1970?
A) Osensei passed away in 1969. At around the
same time, the job of head instructor in Kyushu
opened up. Talk at Hombu was to send someone
as a replacement. That's how I arrived here in April
of 1970.
Q) What was the situation that you found in
Fukuoka?
A) I felt that there was a lot of room for expansion.
There is a large population base here, and I felt it
was important to make dojos at spread out
locations so that everyone who wanted to practice
could do so close to their home.
Q) Do you feel that the shidoins who teach classes
every day are on their way to becoming teachers
in their own right?
A) I think it is up to them. Of course I think there
is a responsibility for people who learn and benefit
from Aikido to turn around and teach those things
to the new people who come along. Someone who
has a good feel for Aikido and who wants to extend
their knowledge to others, I think I would like that
person to help with training at the dojo, and
eventually I would hope to be able to entrust the
matter to them.
Q ) How does a person who wants to improve go
about doing so?
A) Get up in the morning, go to practice, have
some breakfast, go to work. In the evening, go to
practice again.
Philosophy of Aikido
Q) If we concern ourselves with the physical parts
of practice, how can we improve our spirit?
A) The philosophy of Aikido is inside every basic
waza. The Founder said "Aikido is misogi". Thus
Aikido removes the wickedness from our hearts
and helps us to recover pureness (a pure heart).
As you follow the path of Aikido, you may feel
that you must beat your rival, and that you must
be strong during practice. But I think that if you
continue Aikido, you will find the purity that you
seek. Eiji Yoshikawa (Author of Musashi, and
many other famous texts) once said, when he goes
to meet someone for the first time he massages his
face in order to give a "softer impression". We
Japanese don't smile a lot. However, when we
smile others smile too. This is also true in Aikido.
Q) You have quoted often from Genpei Seisuiki
(The struggles between Minamoto and Taira).
Could you please once again explain the quote
"We are ruined by fighting for power above virtue".
A) If a ruler reaches for power, as in war, then he
can put forth the power of ten. His opponent puts
forth fifteen. He, twenty. The opponent, thirty.
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 23
Eventually they are both destroyed. But if a ruler
is a person of virtue: embodying kindness, love,
and consideration, then his power will never wane.
He has no warring ambition, yet he will never be
defeated. Another way of saying this is: he that
rules by power is bound to fail, but he who rules
by good will shall prosper. Aikido is a discipline
of both the body and the mind. Skill is important
but it is no good with out purity of heart. That is
what led many people to follow Osensei. It wasn't
just his excellent skills, because there were many
with such skills. It was his good will that attracted
many to follow him. I'm reminded of another saying
that is important for Aikido practitioners: it is
"masakatsu, agatsu" This basically means "play fair"
. If you win, do so reasonably. Don't win with
wickedness. This saying also means to "conquer
(over come) yourself". First control yourself. This
is very important.
Thank you very much to Suganuma Sensei and
his senior uchideshi Nobuaki Nakamura and
Hideki Takemura. Thanks also to the people
who made this interview possible
What is Shohei Juku ?
Shohei Juku Aikido dojo is located in Fukuoka
Japan. Fukuoka is the largest city on the major
island of Kyushu in western Japan. Shohei Juku is
actually a group of over 50 dojos, all under the
direction of Shihan Morito Suganuma. Suganuma
sensei was sent to Fukuoka in 1970 by Hombu at
Dojo in Tokyo. Since that time, Suganuma sensei
has opened a new dojo or Aikido group at an
average rate of better than one new training center
every year. Suganuma sensei has at present
approximately 4000 students, including many non-
Japanese students. If you want to
The term "Shohei Juku" was given to name have your own
Suganuma sensei's dojo group by Doshu
Kisshomaru Ueshiba. The name was taken from
Doshu and Osensei's first name: "Sho" from
interview
Kisshomaru and "hei" from Morihei. published on &
in ALMA,
Despite its size, Shohei juku is a very close,
personal and family style dojo. Classes are
scheduled frequently, and each has its own unique
structure. Practice is always conducted in a logical, contact us at
constructive and meaningful way. The
atmospherethe dojo is serious yet cheerful. Sempai
alma@spheral.com
(senior students) take their responsibility to pass
on what they have learned with determination and
and specify
dedication. “Interview” in
the subject

You can find out more about

Suganuma Sensei Dojo at :
http://www.geocities.com/
To k y o / D o j o / 8 8 4 6 /
home.htm
where this interview comes
from.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 24

 Users Corner
You wrote us ...
Before I go on, I will tell you a little bit about myself.
I am 26 years old, and I live in Zoetermeer,
Holland. I have got a Bachelors degree and am
now studying Chinese cultures and languages .
When I was 6 years old I started with Judo at
local school, I trained for a couple of years. After
that I started looking for a Kung Fu school in my
hometown.
When I was 12 I started with Wing Chun Kung
Fu at a school ran by a student of Wang Kiu. I left
the school at the age of 16, disappointed and I did
not learn much over there. Later I would found
out that the school had a bad reputation in the
Martial Art world in Holland.
At that age I started to find out more and more
about the Chinese Martial Arts. In about 1990 a
read an old article about “Kung Fu Lee” and his
Martial Art, I was impressed and at that moment I
thought it would be great to train under him. The
article was about Mr. Sai Bah Lee from Malaysia,
and his martial art was called Sao Lim Kung Fu.
In 1993 I and a friend of mine decided to contact
him. Since then I have been training Sao Lim Kung
Fu. As time went on I learnt a little bit more about
the backgrounds of out art. So I learnt that the art
was from Penang, Malaysia. That a “shaolin monk”
started a temple there in the shaolin tradition. This
was at the beginning of this century. Mr. Lee does
not talk much about the backgrounds of the style,
because he developed the traditional art onto a
modern art, which was started by him. He every
now and then talks about the time he was trained
in the temple in Malaysia. When he was very young
(between 4 and 6 years of age) he brought to the
temple by his mother. He was selected, and he
began his training under the monk Sik Koe Chum.
The name I later found out when I got the Lohan
book by Master P’ng. Master P’ng and Master
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 25
Lee have got the same teacher, but Master P’ng
is older than Mr. Lee and Master P’ng was the
successor in the style, and he is still teaching the
traditional art. When Mr. Lee was 17 he came to
Europe and started teaching (and his martial art
developed from then on).
In 1995 I started getting problems with my knee
(irritated patella) which forced me to stop training
in 1998. In the beginning of this year I started
training again: my knee problems will probably
never go away fully. On top of that I had a viral
infection which took me out for another 3 months.
After that I went on a vacation to Singapore and
Malaysia, I have been traveling over there for 7
and a half weeks.
I went to see Master P’ng Chye Khim, but it was
on a Saturday morning, so the school was closed.
Because I was staying in Kulim, with relatives of
my girlfriend, I could not travel alone . There was
no other opportunity to go back again, so after al
those years I finally was in Malaysia, and I did not
see anything or anybody!
In Holland we train three times a week, about 2
hours per lesson. Actual teaching by Mr. Lee takes
about one hour, per lesson. We train in a public
gym hall, which is also used by others, so we do
not have a permanent training area. This means
that we cannot set up any equipment. Because of
that, and because of our limited training hours, Mr
Lee cannot teach in the same manner as he would
do in M’sia. Mr. Lee was 17 when he came to
Europe, and since that time his Martial Art is in
development. This means that some things in the
style have been changed. I do not know exactly
which things, but I do know that he adapted the
style to make it more suitable for us Europeans.
Only a few of us trained the “Iron Fist” because of
the reasons mentioned above; we do not have
sandbags, hardening stones or a wooden dummy.
Some have started but gave up within a half year.

In training Mr. Lee focuses on self defense and
practical moves, and of course practice of several
patterns. The school we train in is accessible for
everybody, but Mr. Lee does not advertise, for
years he wasn’t even listed in the Yellow Pages.
About 10-15 years ago he would appear in a
Martial Arts magazine every now and again, but
now he does not do that anymore. Only 15-20
people train in our school, and about 10 of them
are senior students, and 2 of them are students of
Mr. Lee for over 25 years now. They are the only
two in Holland that have a Assistant Instructor
Diploma. Besides the open school, Mr. Lee
teaches privately everyday, and has got private
students all over Europe.
Sao Lim Kung Fu (or Guo Shu) is not much wide
spread. Master P’ng has groomed over 50
instructors and has associate organisations in
Switzerland, America, Ireland and France with
more than 5,000 students. Mr. Lee has not, as I
mentioned above, got very many students, and is
teaching ‘New&Improved" Sao Lim.
Over the years I got more and more interested in
the background of Sao Lim and how it was
originally practiced. Mr. Lee does not talk much
about the background of the style, even if we ask
about it. He never talks about people, places and
dates. What he does do is tell stories of how things
were when he lived in the temple.
Sometimes senior students tell us about some
things, but they do not know much either. So I
have been roaming on the internet searching for
anything and anybody that has got something to
do with Sao Lim, as introduced by Sik Koe Chum.
It is not easy to find anything. Some people “have
heard something” about it, and tell me stories and
legends (also about general Shaolin), but what I
am really interested in is facts. And facts are
presented in documents about the time when the
document is written. As I am studying Chinese at
Leiden University, Holland, I can search in the
biggest library about Chinese languages and history
in Europe! But that takes a VERY lot of time, and
so does studying Chinese. So what I am looking
for is names of document, writers, periods (which
dynasty etc.) A lot of legends and stories are
known, but I want to know about what scholars
think, people that made a serious study out of it,
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 26
representing a well know University. I know that it
is a lot to ask, and I will probably have to do many
things by myself.
What I am trying to do now is connecting Sao
Lim Guo Shu in Malaysia to the Henan Shaolin
temple. I want to take Sao Lim as the example for
traditional Buddhist Martial Art in modern society,
witch has got ties with real the real Shaolin Temple,
confirmed by documents.
I truly hope that you can help me out, in some way
or an other.
Dion Scholten, Holland
Saolim is the name of a school/style mainly
practiced in Malaysia, in the Penang Island.Saolim
indeed is a Fujian pronunciation, but you have to
keep in mind that most of the Chinese “overseas”
are from southern China. In Malaysia, they came
from Fujian. Tthat is why this dialect is widely
spoken there. In Vietnam, where another master
stayed, it became Thieu Lam. So people from
Fujian can speak about “mainland shaolin” and say
saolim but it is widely accepted that Saolim refers
to the Malaysian school (located in Penang actually
but it is very sad that you couldn’t meet anyone
there. Mmaybe a matter of fate ?).
It is a major shaolin derived style because the
founder of this school was one of the few genuine
monks who escaped Henan shaolin’s destruction
in 1928. Unlike many other survivors, this monk
had already reached master level and thus
promoted a very high quality teaching. There are
archives with his name and his level kept in the
Henan temple (at least they were kept there until
1952), and both the training work and practice he
transmitted are obvious evidence that he achieved
a high level. Ssuch a level can be only gained under
the guidance of one or several masters .... It’s a
kind of initiation mark.
But nowadays, I don’t think there are any “genuine”
Shaolin Archives left. The last big destruction was
in 1928 by the Jiang Jieshi (Chang Kai Chek) army
when they were trying to “capture” a local warlord
friend with the Shaolin Abbot. It was probably
the most terrible one because they used cannons
and rifles.The whole library was burned and
hundreds of monks died. It is strange that Shaolin
temple, famous for its nationalist fights in the past,
was destroying by the Nationalist Army. fighter.
However, some copies or reconstitutions have Your teacher probably thought that this kind of
been made quite soon afterward (around 1930) exercises would suit you properly and that you
based upon drafts, oral tradition and the memories would be able to make the most of it.
of survivors. Those precious copies have been kept So keep training hard and enjoy it. ;-)
very carefully but didn’t escape the tragedy of the ffab
whole country. First in 1942 and then again in
1952, most of them were lost and the cultural
revolution finished the job. What we have now
are only copies of copies (in the best case).
But in the case of Shi Gao Can (Sik Koe Chum),
it was recorded that he was in the temple prior to
1928 and that he did spend a good amount of
time there (As he had already aquired the title of
“respected”.). I didn’t see the “genuine” post 1928
archives myself but had in my hands copies of them
(which were accessible at least until 1992).
The Saolim school (Fujian and later Malaysian
transcription for Shaolin) is very famous for its “iron
hand” techniques and the current master is Pong
Chye Kim who, with Don Draegger, wrote a book
about shaolin Lohan kungfu (which you can find in
the ALMA bookstore).

Good luck with your training and be careful with

your health.
ffab

Hello, Send your comments,

My Sifu, started to teach me some wing chun
techniques, and I was wondering, if I can use them
questions, ideas and
as Tang Lang´s. I think thats why he´s teaching me suggestions to the
wing chun and some training with wooden dummy. editor.
Is it a good idea?
Hugo Maradiaga, Tegucigalpa alma@spheral.com
First of all, I cannot make any comment on your Letters may be edited
Shifu, allowing that a Shifu knows what he is doing
and that an outsider’s eye may not be able to
for reasons of space
percieve his real goal. and clarity (but not
But anyway, Tanglang and wingchun share many always ;-).
basic principles (like the centerline, sticking hands,
bridging, intercepting hands...) so I guess it is a If you do not wish to have your
good idea to use some WC techniques to develop message published, please let us
tanglang skills. The dummy drills can be useful for know.
every stylist, no matter whether long or close range.
Afterall, it will become what you do with it, so if
you can intelligently integrate WC and Tanglang,
you will be a very strong close to middle range

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 27

 Chinese Set
Ban Deng Quan : Leading the Bench Boxing

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 28

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 29
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 30
 Vengel Chronicle
The Chinese-Okinawan Connection
Therehas been a lot written on the descent of at
least some of theOkinawan Martial Arts from
China, but not much in the way of specific
information outside of a few books here and there.
I don’t propose to revolutionize Martial Arts
history here either, but a few jottings on the subject
are in order, as my friend Fabien Sena has
requested me to write somethings for you.
As a long-time practitioner of MA of China,
Okinawa, Japan and Indonesia, I’m in somewhat
of a position to comment here, particularly on the
art of Okinawan Kenpo, and it’s connection with
Chinese Kenpo.
Origin of Okinawan
Kenpo
Okinawan Kenpo is a style founded in 1953 based
on the life-long practice of Mr. Shigeru Nakamura
of Okinawa. He studied Shorin-Ryu with Kentsu
Yabu, a senior student of Anko Itosu, who was a
senior student of Sokon Matsumura, founder of
Shorin-Ryu. Matsumura studied from many people
including Tote Sakugawa, who studied from,
among others, a Chinese Military Attache to
Okinawa named Kung Hsiang Chung [Gong
Xiangzhong], pronounced Kusankuin in Japanese,
who was an expert in an unnamed Chinese art
some of whose techniques suggested Luo Han
Ch’uan [luohan quan]. The ultimate Kata of
Shorin-Ryu, Kusanku, supposedly created by his
student Sakugawa to reflect his teachings, was
named in his honor.
Mr. Nakamura studied Goju-Ryu, to some extent
at last, with Mr. Chojun Miyagi, founder of Goju-
ryu, who was the captain of the Iichu Prefectural
school karate team, of which Mr. Nakamura was
a member. Though Kentsu Yabu was the Instructor
of this club, Miyagi sometimes ran the basic
practice. This gives the Okinawan Kenpo basics
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 31
a distinctly Goju-Ryu flavor, while half the Kata
practiced in the style are Shorin-Ryu, and the other
half are Tomari-te, of which more anon.
Goju ryu and Chinese
forms
Mr. Miyagi was a student of Kanryo Higashonna,
who studied a style of Kung Fu, probably Wu Chu
Ch’uan [wuzu quan] or Ngo Cho Ch’uen as it is
also called,”Five Ancestors Boxing”. At least some
of the forms of Goju-ryu are found in Ngo Cho
Ch’uen, while others are influenced by Baihe
Ch’uan [baihe quan] (WhiteCrane Boxing), which
Mr. Miyagi learned from a tea merchant native to
Fujian whose name was Wu Guan Kui or Go Gen
Ki on Okinawa. I have seen photos of this man
teaching White crane on Okinawa, and possess a
couple of these photos, so this is no fiction,
guaranteed.
On several occasions, Mr. Miyagi went to China
for a while. Tthis was during the early years of
20th century up to about 1930. Hhe made several
trips to study several martial arts, reportedly even
Pa Kua [bagua zhang]. Miyagi’s revised version
of Sanchin contains the single palm change from
that art, and his seipai kata appears to have a
version of the double palm change,complete with
footwork. Reportedly he even studied Qigong at
the Ching Wu [jingwu tiyu hui] Institute in Shanghai.
This I can not verify, but Miyagi’s warm-up drills
show evidence of familiarity with the Baduanjin
(Eight Pieces of Brocade) excercise.
Mr. Nakamura’s teacher of Tomari-te (The Hand
of Tomari Village, Okinawa) was Shinkichi Peichin
Kuniyoshi. Peichin is a title in Okinawan nobility.
Kuniyoshi had traveled extensively in Northern
China and Manchuria, where he actually joined a
bandit gang and rode with them on horseback
through several provinces!
Legacy of the “Punch Facts: Some islands of
Knight” Okinawa (Yaeyama islands)
are only 150 km away from
Kuniyoshi returned to Okinawa with a vast
knowledge of martial arts and an enormous Taiwan and 250 km from
collection of Chinese weapons, and the ability to Chinese shores. Those same
use them all quite well. He taught Nakamura the
other half of the Okinawa Kenpo Katas, and some
islands are 900 km away
weapons forms as well. from the closest “Japanese”
Okinawan Kenpo is thought by many masters on town (on Kyushu Island) and
Okinawa to be the style both closest to the original
more than 2500 km away
Okinawan Shorin forms, and one of the most
combat effective. Many Okinawan karate masters from Tokyo.
who now head their own styles once studied under
Mr. Nakamura, because they felt that his kata Facts: Ryukyu Kingdom
(forms) were closest to the Chinese originals , and (Okinawa) was, until 400
because Mr.Nakamura, known on Okinawa as
Chizikun-Bushi (Punch Knight) had such powerful years ago, a semi-
fighting skills that he could knock out any opponent independant state with close
with either hand or foot. My own teacher, who relationship to the Chinese
received his first black Belt from Mr.Nakamura
directly, was a recipient of this on occasion, so it’s Imperial Court (Ming then
no rumor.:-) Qing).
Mr.Nakamura passed on in 1969, after having The Japanese invaded the
affected many lives for the better. His art, so
intimately connected from three different lineages Ryu-kyu kingdom in 1609 to
with those of China, continues to do so. obtain sugar and silk from
China.
by Dick Vengel
Facts: Okinawa’s biggest
About the author : Dick Vengel is a long time
practitioner of martial arts. With more than 30 years island is Naha where 80% of
of Japanese Arts, 17 years of Chinese Arts and the US Army in Japan is
many years of several other arts, he gained deep located. Many karate schools
knowledge and wisdom on the topic. Thanks to
many trips in Asia, Master Vengel met with very have been created especially
secretive Masters and exchanged with them for US soldiers. The only
thoughts on the true philosophy of Fighting and Japanese in the class is the
Survival Practice. He kindly accepted to write a
series of texts for ALMA to transmit his rare teacher.
insights to our users.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 32

 Chinese Set
First Path of the 18 Hands of the Arahants

Song of the First Path

For 1000 autumns, the martial arts of Shaolin have been
transmitted, this has been permitted by the 18 Techniques
of the Arhats;
The patriarch greets and kisses the moon with two hands;
The white tiger washes his face and water flows;
In the mud, grow onions which reinforce muscles and
tendons;
Knock over defensive walls to hunt scoundrels;
The flowery palm hits trees and cuts them down;
Blood flows when the face meets hands and arms;
As a one thousand pound hammer, the two hands fall;
Display the elbow and the joy of the Heaven King
overwhelms him;
A hand is sufficient to break a brick of gold;
One-handed the hermit firmly pulls out eggplants ;
One turns around and breaks a log in two;
One pierces the court with a valiant elbow;
Again an elbow on the other hand, like the dragon in
trade winds;
One flowery hand goes up and three not tight;
The hermit goes in to his underground cave and a song
of victory is raised;
Back on the mountain, one lavishes the eighteen
techniques, and during one thousand autumns Shaolin
remains heroic.

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 33

 Chinese Set
1st Path of 18 hands of Arahants : Taolu

This set must be done in a vigourous 2) The Patriarch's Salute

and vivid way at first. Then with time
and skills, it can be done almost as The left foot advances a half step, the right foot
slowly as Taijiquan. It is good to vary following and coming up to join it (bingbu: 'joined
the speed and rhythm of this set in order feet'). The two hands leave the sides and travel
forward, elbows bent, and cross themselves in front
to appreciate its physical, internal,
of the chest (Technique: 'Plant a Flower').
energetic, and even spiritual aspects. The left hand is on top, the right hand below, with
palms turned toward the outside, fingers pointed
Remember that it was created to provide upward.
a good exercise after long sessions of The gaze is upon the hands. (Fig.2)
meditation. Most of the applications are
multilayered. Once you understand the
striking and blocking techniques, try to
find the hidden take-down and Qinna
(joint locking) techniques.

1) Beginning Stance

Standing with feet together and slightly opened,

shoulders held low, fingers unfolded along the body.
The body is straight, and the gaze is toward the
front. (Fig.1)

3) Kissing The Moon

The feet remain immobile. The two hands
simultaneously rise from the sides, then the elbows
bend so that they come to rest lightly upon the
ribs.
The hands cross themselves before the chest, left
hand on top.
The gaze is upon the hands (Fig. 3).

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 34

 with the tip of the foot touching the ground (xubu:
'empty stance'). The left palm slices downward
from the right. The right palm shoots upwards to
the right (loushou: 'collected hand'), then comes
to rest in a guarding position before the chest, with
the palm facing the inside. At the same time, the
two legs bend.
The gaze follows the left palm (Fig. 5).

4) White Tiger Washes Its

Face
The feet do not move. Hands describe a circular
arc with the palms adhering together. The right palm
pushes the left one toward the outside and the top,
elbows bent; fingers pointing upward. 6) Advance a Step and
The gaze is upon the right hand (Fig. 4).
Knock Over the Wall

The left heel travels back to rest on the ground.

The top of the body revolves 45° toward the left.
The right foot advances a step toward the front,
and the right leg is stretched (gongbu: 'bow stance').
The two palms push toward the front, turned
toward the front with upward fingers.
The gaze is upon the two hands (Fig. 6).

5) Onion Grows in the Mud

The right foot doesn't move. The top of the body

revolves 45° toward the left. The left heel rises,

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 35

7) Take a Step and Lightly 9) Display Right Elbow
Touch the Hands
The left foot pushes the ground; the right foot
advances a step. The two feet anchor to the
The right foot doesn't move, the left foot advances
ground, the body revolving 90° toward the left.
and comes to rest next to the right foot in xubu
The right palm slices in a circular arc toward the
('empty stance'). At the same time, the top of the
outside, then the elbow bends and hits from the
body revolves 90° toward the right. The left hand
right to the left.
returns to the front of the chest and slices
The gaze is toward the front right (Fig. 9).
downward from the top left. The right hand travels
back from the right toward the left in guard position
in front of the chest, elbow bent, pressing upward
with the palm turned toward the inside.
The gaze is upon the left palm (Fig. 7).

10) Display the Elbow on

8) Lower Palms While
Pulling Toward Oneself
The left heel descends to the ground, while the
right foot doesn't move. The left leg does a lateral
step to form mabu ('rider stance'). The left hand
goes up toward the left and rests in a position to
pull, with the palm facing the inside, fingers slightly
upward. The right hand protects the torso.
The gaze is upon the left hand (Fig. 8).
the Left Side
With the two feet screwed into the ground, the
body revolves 180° toward the right. The left foot
advances one large step, knee bent, to form a left
gongbu. The right palm describes a circular arc
from the right while slicing. Then the left elbow
rises and parries, tip forward. The right palm guards
the chest.
The gaze is toward the right (Fig.10).

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 36

11) Raise the Hand and
Slice
The right foot doesn't move, while the left foot
comes up to meet it in xubu ('empty stance'). At
the same time, the body turns almost completely
toward the right, knees bent into a squat. The left
palm slices from the right downward to the left.
The right palm guards the chest.
The gaze is toward the left (Fig. 11).
12) Hermit Picks Eggplants
The right leg goes up with the knee raised, and the
body revolves 45° toward the right. The left palm
rises up from the left. The right hand sharply pierces
toward the front, palm turned upward, fingers
tensed forward.
The gaze is upon the right palm (Fig. 12).
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 37
13) The Ferocious Tiger
Turns Around
The right foot goes forward. With both feet on the
ground; the body revolves 180° toward the left in
left gongbu (‘bow stance’). At the same time, the
two hands grab frontward.
Then the two palms come back to cross before
the chest with the elbows bent.
The gaze is toward the right (Fig. 13).
14) Elbow Explodes the
Court
Both feet are firmly screwed into the ground. The
body turns 180° toward the right, with the right
foot stepping forward to form a right gongbu (‘bow
stance’). The right elbow hits toward the front right,
fist closed with knuckles skyward.
The gaze is toward the front right (Fig. 14).
15) Turn and Parry the
Elbow
The left foot advances a step, and the two feet
secure themselves to the ground. The body
revolves 90° to the right to form mabu (‘rider
stance’). At the same time, the arms gather
themselves and the elbows hit the two sides
simultaneously.
The gaze is toward toward the left (Fig. 15).
16) Pivot and Posture of
the Gold Chisel
The two feet are screwed into the ground. The
body turns 90° to the right. The left foot advances
a step, left leg bent to form left gongbu (‘bow
stance’). At the same time, the two palms come
back from the outside, crossing before the chest.
The elbows are bent, with the left hand on the
outside, right hand on the inside, and with both
palms turned toward the outside.
The gaze is upon the two hands (Fig. 15).
17) Small Monkey Grabs
With Its Claws
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 38
The foot right advances a step. Both feet are
screwed into the ground, legs turning 90° to the
left to form mabu (‘rider stance’). In the same
movement, the body turns 45° to the left, and the
two palms circularly grab from right to left. Then
the elbows are gathered with the palms turned
toward the inside.
The gaze is toward the right side (Fig. 17).
18) The Hermit Returns To
His Underground Cave
The left foot goes back next to the right foot in
bingbu. The two palms hit from both sides in a
circular movement from the inside toward the
outside, coming back and then crossing upward
in front of the chest. The elbows are bent, fingers
upward, with the palms toward the outside.
The gaze is upon the right (Fig. 18).
19) The Old Tiger Leans on
the Mountain
The right foot makes a lateral step to form left
gongbu (‘bow stance’). At the same time, the two
hands push upward. Then the fists close and come
to hit forcefully toward the front. The right fist
guards the chest, while the left fist guards the waist.
The elbows are bent.
The gaze is upon the right (Fig. 19).
Pictures from Shaolin Da Quan, first edition
Translation from Chinese by Abel Segretin
English translation and editing by Mark Kerr
Executive editor : Fabien Sena
© A.L.M.A [Fabien Sena] 1999
All rights reserved.

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20) Closing Stance our future
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The left foot goes back next to the right foot. Stand
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ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 39

 Vietnamese Set
Thap Tu Quyen (Cross-like boxing) Part 2/2

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 40

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 41
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 42
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 43
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 44
 Chinese Styles
Eight Extremes Boxing : Ba Ji Quan
General Introduction to
Ba Ji
Ba ji is an approximately three-hundred year old
Gong-Fu style with an impressive and glorious
history. Since Yung Zheng’s time (Yung Zheng was
an early emperor of the Qing Dynasty), almost
every emperor of the Qing Dynasty studied Ba Ji
and employed Ba Ji practitioners as his bodyguards
or as trainers for his high-level military officers.
Emperor Qian Lung said, "For peace and soft style,
we have Tai Chi, but for fighting and conquesting,
we have Ba Ji."
Ba Ji earned its high reputation in China because
of its violent, sudden release of explosive power
combined with its simple, yet very efficient
techniques. Today this style is still very popular in
north China, especially among young people.
Since traditional training is very hard and takes
diligent practice, and also because many traditional
Chinese Kung Fu masters are often very cautious
with whom they share their knowledge, fewer and
fewer people can obtain such a high level of
competency. Consequently, fewer people have the
opportunity to learn the original traditional forms
and to obtain a high level of skill.
In present times, it is sometimes difficult to
differentiate between Ba Ji and other styles such
as Long Fist when modern players practice these
sets. Since the end of the cultural revolution in
China, one may be able to find a few people who
have made efforts to retrace and keep the original
Ba Ji trainings that had been previously delivered
generation by generation.
The Origin of Ba Ji
Several different stories exist about the originator
of Ba Ji, Zhung Wu. There even exist several
versions of the Quan Pu (the secret book of each
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 45
style that is handed down generation by
generation). The original “Quan Pu”(delivered by
a grandmaster from “Ba Ji Village” who served
the last emperor, Pu Yi, as his bodyguard and Sifu)
records a very detailed story.
According to this account, Wu was born in the
Shangdong Province of China to a rich family. Since
childhood, he had a great interest in Kung Fu and
tried to learn from every famous great master during
that time. After a number of years of studying and
training, he achieved a very high level of Kung Fu
and had great difficulty finding a better teacher to
improve his Kung Fu. So he announced that if
someone could beat him and show something
special, he would give his property to that person
and become his student.
One day, a couple came in and showed something
very special. Wu thought he had found the right
people and became their student. During a routine
visit to the couple while the husband was away,
the man’s wife wanted to test Wu’s Kung Fu.
During the confrontation, the woman threw Wu to
the ground with only one action. The woman felt
very sorry for Wu because her husband had taught
Wu for twenty years, yet Wu’s Kung Fu was still
not good enough. Then the woman showed Wu
some secret things. The next day, when the man
returned and saw Wu’s practice, he was surprised.
He asked his wife about Wu and was told what
happened. The man said that they no longer had
anything to teach Wu, for his Kung Fu was now
better than theirs. Then the couple disappeared in
silence.
Later, Wu went to the famous Shaolin Temple for
three years to study Qi Kung from the chief monk.
After he left Shaolin Temple, Wu happened to meet
another monk, Kui-Yuan Lai, and learned the spear
technique from him for another three years. Then,
he worked as a transportation guard. He traveled
around the country and met no competitor. Some
time later, he went to Beijing and showed his Ba Ji
and spear . His special Kung Fu surprised
everybody including the Emperor and earned his
reputation as “Magic Spear Wu”. In his later life,
he stayed in Meng Chun with his daughter, Wu
Rong, and his first student, Wu Yung who came
from Meng Chun, and taught Ba Ji there. Today
people call Meng Chun the Ba Ji Village.
Ba Ji Training
In the original Ba Ji system, there were not as many
routines or forms as found today. Many new Ba Ji
students who had previously become
accomplished in other styles, brought many
additional routines to present day Ba Ji. The original
forms (excluding the weapons forms) are: Jin Gang
Ba Shi (gold-steal eight forms), Ba Ji Xiao Jia (Ba
Ji Short Form), Ba Ji(Ba Ji Long form), Ba Ji Two
Person Routine(application), and Liou Da Kai(six
big open). Ba Ji training includes spiritual training,
external body building, internal Qi Gung training
and technique training. The spiritual training
develops eight different kinds of spirits. The
external movement and technique training teaches
to move like eight different kinds of animal and
builds eight different kinds of skills. And the Qi
Gung training combined with spirit training enables
people to release the special explosive Ba Ji power.
The training procedure of the Ba Ji system includes
three stages. The first stage includes: (a) Zhang
Zhuang (stance) or Di Pen Bu; (b) Jin Gang Ba
Shi and; (c) Ba Ji Xiao Jia. The stance, which helps
to build leg strength, strengthen the spirit, and sink
the Qi, is the first and most difficult training for Ba
Ji students. Jin Gang Ba Shi is used to develop Ba
Ji power. Ba Ji Xiao Jia is for the training of body
movement, basic techniques and body built-up.
The first stage usually takes one to three years.
After finishing the first stage, it can be said that
the Ba Ji student has a small completion.
The second stage includes: Ba Ji, Ba Ji Two People
Routine, and Liou Da Ka. All of them are for the
training of the body’s internal and external
movement and technique. This stage takes three
more
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 46
years. After this stage, one’s external strength,
internal feeling, and Qi Gung power should be
great.
The final stage is dedicated to internal training. It
includes: Xu Xi Gung ( Qi Gung, number counting
style to enhance the inside-body), Nei Dong Gung
(Qi Gung, internal movement style, for feeling and
health) and Kou Qi Gung (Qi Gung, mouth gas
style for power). It is believed that all these Qi
Gung styles originated from Shaolin Temple. No
person can claim that he has completed the highest
level. But there is a common saying: “After ten
years of serious training, people can claim to have
a big completion.”
Ba Ji Principles and
Theory
Ba Ji theory is quite simple. Imagine a situation in
which there are four people holding your arms and
your legs to the ground with a fifth person
threatening to cut your arm off. You are scared.
You forget everything and try to escape from the
four people. At this moment, even though you are
a normal person, you may somehow be able to
show a great power and successfully escape from
the four people’s control. But later, when asked
to show this power again, you cannot do so. Why?
In the Ba Ji theory, it is believed that before you
are born, you have a natural power attached to
your body, but after birth, you are taught how to
walk, how to use your hands, and how to enhance
your muscles. As a result, you develop the learned
muscular power and forget the natural one. Later
in daily life, when you need to use your power,
you naturally do it by using the learned way. But
sometimes when you have an empty mind or a
crazy mind, you forget the learned way and the
natural power may readily surface. This power is
one of the major treasures of Ba Ji. From this point
of view, the first stage of training in Ba Ji system
transforms the learned power to the natural one
thus the first stage is most important in the Ba Ji
training system.
In this century, almost all the top Chinese governors
are guarded by Ba Ji practitioners.
Basic Power and
Punching Technique
Ba Ji power, in the traditional group, is called Ba
Ji San Chui Li, or three step power, or a power
with three sources. The first is the shoulder power,
the second is the waist springing power, and the
third is the stamping and dropping power. If
somebody can use the internal Qi to coordinate
these three sources to release power in a moment,
the person will be great and any simple action will
be extremely explosive and powerful enough to
cause great damage to an enemy. The people who
seriously want to learn this magic power should
try to find a real traditional Ba Ji master. After three
years of serious training with a qualified teacher,
one should expect to obtain some of this power.
But one should be aware that there is no short-cut
way to get this power. How good one’s power is
depends on how hard and how much he trains in
the correct way. Punching is a big attack weapon
for empty hand competition. But in the modern
Kung Fu world, it seems that not many people
can claim that a single punch is powerful and
explosive enough to cause serious internal injury
and kill people. If a person wishes to develop his
punching skills, he should pay attention to the
following major points translated from a Chinese
poem common to the traditional Kung Fu world:
(1) Make the movement of the three
sections of your body clear;
(2) The activities of the four internal and
external ends of your body should start
and stop at the same moment;
(3) Tie your five elements;
(4) Keep the six kinds of human desires
away from your mind.
The human body can be divided into three big
sections and three small sections. The first major
point means that when you punch, you should
know the order of the movements among the three
sections. The second point means that you should
coordinate your feet and hands, and your mind,
Spirit, and Blood into a union. Any movement
should be your whole body’s coordinated
movement. The third point means that you should
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 47
coordinate the muscles in your body to release
power. The fourth point means to clean and
concentrate your mind into one point — your target
— so that you can recall the natural power. If you
correctly follow these four points, or even if you
can have some understanding of them, your
punching will be very special.
This punching technique usually does not take a
long time to master for experienced students if they
follow the correct way, commonly one or two
months. But if someone goes about it incorrectly,
the consequences will be quite different. Tenseness
and relaxation are two opposite directions in martial
arts practice. The deepest relaxation can be
achieved from the tensest practice and the sharpest
momentary tenseness can only be achieved from
the deepest relaxation. Therefore any type of
explosive power release can only be achieved from
some level of relaxation. The best stylist should
have both the deepest relaxation and sharpest
momentary tenseness.
When talking at this level, regular techniques can
be ignored. Real KUNG FU in the martial art sense
means suddenly released power, the sensitivity of
the body, and durability, not some pieces of
superior techniques. This level of Kung Fu can
never be topped. How high one’s Kung Fu level
is can be illustrated from his one moment. Nothing
can be hidden. The one with higher level of Kung
Fu can usually learns all kinds of new techniques
quicker and performs them better (even better
than the ones who teach the techniques).
The Characteristics of Ba
Ji
In last two century, almost all the top Chinese
governers selected Ba Ji masters as their body
guards. You may wonder why this style is so
special. Ba Ji is a very effective style not because
it has some superior techniques. All the Ba Ji
techniques are very simple, straightforward and
solid. As a classical Ba Ji grappling technique, a
Ba Ji practitioner can momentarily break the
opponent’s arm by only grabbing his arm and
suddenly snapping the whole body.
The major purpose of Ba Ji training is to develop
the ultimate snapping power. After gaining this type
of power, some very efficient techniques can be
performed or applied. Therefore, Ba Ji power
constitutes the foundation of Ba Ji system. Without
this power, Baji techniques are no different (or
even worse) from other styles. The power is very
violent and sharply released. A top Ba Ji master
can suddenly move out of the way of a bullet from
a close range handgun(this level is not very usual,
so please don’t try this on any BaJi practitioners).
Ba Ji, like many other Kung Fu styles, is a complete
system. Based on the core power, many striking,
grappling, and throwing techniques are developed.
1. A typical Ba Ji striking technique is: walk in,
drop body by stamping, and suddenly snap the
whole body when touching the target.
Theoretically, this strike can generate an unlimited
force. A Ba Ji practitioner can easily break his
own arm if not destroying the target. About 70
years ago, grandmaster Li, Suwen (a top martial
artist at the time in China) and his fourth student
Huo, Diange(the last emperor’s body Guard)
seriously wounded many of their challengers by
using this technique. (Those fights usually lasted
less than one second). Other striking techniques
are designed for close range fight.
2. Ba Ji grappling techniques are also simple. Inside
a human body, there are many levers inter-
connected by some joints. The joints can move in
certain ranges. Any movement out of the ranges
may break the joints. In Ba Ji offensive grappling,
a practitioner can lock an opponent’s particular
lever with the two sides of his body and suddenly
snap the whole body to break the lever. In
defensive grappling, if one side of the body is
locked, a practitioner can put the other side of his
body on the opponent and snap to forcibly escape
from the lock. Ba Ji grappling techniques consists
of Body Twine (Da Chan) and Arm Lock (Xiao
Chan)
3. Throwing Techniques, in other words, low body
striking, are based on Ba Ji foot work. A typical
Ba Ji throwing technique is a leg lock and body
snap throw. Throwing is a fight for balence. The
solid foot work and rotating body make these Ba
ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 48
Ji techniques very special.
The Power developed in Ba Ji exercise msy also
very be helpful in doin a better job in all other
martial arts styles.
Benefits and New
Things In Ba Ji Training
Ba Ji exercise is very helpful for one’s health. In
Ba Ji exercise, a practitioner needs to fully stretch
his tendons in a circular manner. He needs to be
deeply relaxed physically and mentally. This
exercise is as the same as the one in Tai Chi. It
helps to improve internal circulation and heal some
chronic diseases.
You may wonder why Ba Ji practitioners are not
good if it is such a good style. In Ba Ji histroy,
most of the masters are doers, not talkers. They
worked very hard and built the BaJi principles
into their body under their consciousness. When
teaching students, they only can state the principle
in a very vague way and ask their students just to
do more practice. In my teaching, I usually first
clarify the Ba Ji principle to students in an accurate
way which is a result of my teaching. The students
just need to drive their body according to the
principle in their form exercise. After one year of
training, most of the students can understand the
principle very well. But how well their bodies
follow the principle to release certain power
depends on how much work they have done in
the course of building the principle into their body.
by Kai Yu
 Coming Soon
Next month...

Martial Technique : Bagua Application

“May the Force...” : Basic Qigong Drill
How to Overcome without Fighting
History of Martial Arts : How SAMBO was Created (2/2)
Training Suggestion
The Other Side of The Coin : Flexibility Part III
Users Corner, You wrote ...
Chinese Set : Jingang Quan (Diamond Boxing)
Vengel Chronicle
Quick History of Martial Arts
Chinese Styles : Baji Quan Eight Extremes Boxing
Japanese Kata
More techniques, more
informations, more forms
and many many good
surprises !!

See you next month...

Be careful, keep training.

The ALMA Team

“I will have to wait then ...”

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 49

ALMA SPECIAL MEMBER’S EDITION • SEPTEMBER 1999 50