forum to date

[Art Rabesa]

So far, my forum has been very interesting for me. I have always kept a pretty low profile, so posting topics and answering questions is very new. I really appreciate the interest I see in uechi ryu. I have scanned the other forums and found them to be well run and informative. Furthering the art is very important to me. I feel that uechi ryu can now come to the head of the line in the martial arts. So, keep your interest up and let us know what is on your mind. -------Happy Trails --------Art Rabesa

[Art Rabesa]

I would really love to hear from those of you who have been on my web site. Going around the uechi ryu wheel hopefully will bring some questions. There is much more I could have added to the site, but the material present covers a lot of training. Take a look at your training and see if there is anything on the site that will help you. This forum is the place to get help with your training. That is what I do. -----Happy Trails------ Art

[Josann]

I am enjoying the practical applications of uechi on your site, especially the in close aspect of your teaching. What is your opinion on locks and takedowns? Do you teach or train those? What's your views on the practical applications of these?

[Art Rabesa]

When you train to explode into your strikes, and fire techniques on the move, your opponent will be going down. OK now what? Do you wait for him to get up or go down after him? That is why the training needs to cover ground work. I train to be comfortable on the ground. Know how to hit hard on the ground. Practice take downs. Know how to fall and slide out or over or around the bad guy. You don't want to be in a grappling situation and not know how to react. I prefer to strike on the ground, but I do practice chokes also. I have a lot of respect for a good ground fighter. That is why I train for them. However, if you can hit real hard from real close, you will most likely make out OK. -----Happy Trails------Art

[Art Rabesa]

I DO HEAR FROM TEACHERS ON DIFFERENT TOPICS. I DO ENJOY DISCUSSING TEACHING AND HELPING OUT WHERE I CAN. i WOULD REALLY LIKE TO START HEARING FROM THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE TRAINING. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT LEVEL YOU ARE. i KNOW YOU HAVE QUESTIONS CONCERNING YOUR TRAINING. LET ME KNOW WHAT. i ENJOY TALKING TO ANYONE TRAINING. NOT JUST UECHI RYU EITHER. HOPE TO HEAR FROM SOME OF YOU. Happy Trails-------Art

[Josann]

I'd be interested in how you train bunkai. i know we all study the formalized bunkai of our teachers and the varied uechi association but how do you train bunkai from the uechi kata?

I have found your you tube stuff very enlightening and a similar analysis of bunkai would be great.

[Art Rabesa]

JOSANN-----BUNKAI
I teach bunkai like anything else that is prearranged. Since you know what the attack is going to be, wait for it to begin before moving. As you know, the movement is always demonstrated first, followed by the attack. "Just like the kata", is said throughout the bunkai. What I do not want is for the student to react to the kata movement. I want the student to react to the strike that is on its way. I do not want you to be waiting for that punch or kick. That attack is coming ----then you react. Teaching proper hand position and a quick snapping turn into the attack is essential. When a voice command is called for, wait until it is given before turning. Do not anticipate ----just react. Even though it is the kata movements, it is performed tighter and crisper than the actal kata. I just posted a topic called "How long can you wait". This will back up what I'm saying here. Thanks for the question. ----Happy Trails -------Art

[Art Rabesa]

I try to post something on a regular basis. What I post usually comes after a class, or my personal workout.Sometimes, something will come to me when I'm relaxing watching T.V. I'll jump up and get to the computer right away. My wife is used to that by now. It used to bug her, but now she just gives me "the look". All you married guys know what "the look" is. There usually is something that goes on when I'm teaching, that gets posted. I learn a lot from those I teach. I tend to try new things.Sometimes I keep it ,and sometimes it goes in the out file. Not all of my teaching ideas have panned out.Some I won't ever discuss. If Van Canna and I had a forum back in the early 60's, it would have been insane. That is when everyone was trying to figure out how the sparring should be brought into the curriculum. It was Van and myself ----that was it. Van would say "Okay Arthur, I've been working on this technique. Lets see if it works". After I came too, we decided it was a pretty good one. The way we ran that fighting class made it difficult to get anyone in there with us. We could have posted lots of crazy topics, just from those sessions. So, the forum is keeping me constantly thinking about topics. Its good for me and my teaching. I hope to keep thinking about things that will help your training. I have a class tomorrow AM. I bet I'll find something to put on the forum. -----Happy Trails-----Art

[Van Canna]

Art wrote

What I do not want is for the student to react to the kata movement. I want the student to react to the strike that is on its way. I do not want you to be waiting for that punch or kick. That attack is coming ----then you react.

Art is 100% correct here because he is talking about the blend of technique/concept...

Walter Mattson, as per Master Takara, says the same thing...a predetermined bunkai is only there to stimulate a student's understanding of the conceptual dynamics of particular attack and the kata 'suggested' response action.

When Art says he doesn't want you to be waiting for that punch or kick...at least to me it means 'when did the attack really start'? When does any attack really start in any street encounter?

I.e., if some irate pickup truck driver jumps out with a baseball bat in his hands and runs at you with the bat held low... chances are he will lift it into a swing at your head or legs as he closes the distance.

So when did the attack really start? When he first came out of the truck with a bat...or when he begins to cock the weapon to take your head off or to swing low to break your leg?

So when do you react?

[Van Canna]

Art

What I do not want is for the student to react to the kata movement. I want the student to react to the strike that is on its way. I do not want you to be waiting for that punch or kick. That attack is coming ----then you react.

There another excellent reason in what Art writes...and it is this: Learning nice sequences where "if they do this, then you do this" simply becomes a crap shoot under the huge adrenaline dump when up against someone who is really trying to hurt you bad or kill you.

So learning to react, as he puts it, conceptually _instead of strict kata Bunkai application_ is the best way to practice for advanced students after they have learned the basic moves from the style.

And choose an 'attacker' in class that will come at you with power and momentum and intent to hurt you bad.

That's when you learn not to be a slave to any individual kata defensive technique...you may find yourself moving differently but all emerging from the kata conceptually.

Understanding a system's methodology allows one to explore beyond its core, and in that, other methodologies and ideologies can be then added to ones core of said practitioner.

[Art Rabesa]

Thanks Van. You 're right on the money. I posted a topic called "How long can you wait". This is what we're discussing here. When you are practicing your blocks, wait until the attack is actually on it's way. It might be taken from a kata, but treat it like any attack. The kata block will not be like the one in a real attack. It will be shorter and much harder.So the general rule of thumb in anything pre arranged, is to wait. You know what is coming, and you really want to move before the strike even gets started. DON'T. ------Happy Trails -----Art

[Art Rabesa]

Just got my tickets to Florida for Sensei Mattson's winter camp in Mt. Dora. I'm looking out my window at my truck - stuck in my driveway. There is so much snow and ice that I don't know when I'll be able to reach the main road. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to some Florida sun. One of my senior students from New Port Richie will fetch me at the Tampa airport. Faustine Bonito 8th dan is his name. He built a small Uechi Ryu dojo in his back yard about 20 years ago. He has a small number of students training there, including Ken George 6 dan. I trained Faustine hard so he knows no other way. He trains his small group the same way. I quess that's why we never had a lot of students. I've always said that running a dojo is a business. I'm not the one to ask about the business part of running a dojo. So Florida --- I'm coming ----Buckle Up. ----Happy Trails ----Art

[Art Rabesa]

I'm back from Sensei George Mattson's winter fest in Mount Dora, Florida. It was nice to get away from all this snow and cold for a little while. I didn't see many senior people this year. I think it was the price of the airfare. It was really steep to Florida this time of year. Spent time with my student Faustine in New Port Richey. His backyard dojo is small, but very well built. He has 4 black belts and a brown belt, and 4 children, including his granddaughter. It was real nice to teach with the AC on. Quite a difference from the space heater I have on in my small training area. I'm getting use to traveling to teach. I'm all over the place teaching Uechi-Ryu. It's my responsibility to keep Uechi-Ryu strong and in the know. Have gi will travel. Time for class ---See ya. -----Happy Trails-----Art

[Art Rabesa]

I am now linking many of my videos to certain posts. I hope that by doing this, it will clarify the topic. I hope to have a video that will cover any question or discussion. If I do not, I will make a video that will. If a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe a video is worth even more. I hope. -----Happy Trails ----Art

[Art Rabesa]

It is coming up to a year since my forum was introduced. Just an infant compared to the other forums on Uechi-Ryu.com forums. I'm still learning. That's the way Uechi Ryu is, always learning. It is very interesting to me how topics seem to pop up. When I do not think I can post anything else, another subject comes to the surface. I hear from old friends, as well as new ones from time to time. This is one of the best things about the forum. To hear other opinions and thoughts. Since the majority of my posts pertain to Uechi Ryu training, I do not hear from many viewers. I do check the number of viewers however. I am pleased and flattered, to see so many viewing the posts. I keep telling myself that others are watching, so I might as well continue. I do plan on doing more videos to link in to my forum. I hope the second year of my forum is as interesting as the first. I hope to hear from more viewers as the forum goes along. Grand Master Van Canna has had his forum going for at least 16 years. Being one of my closest friends, Van has helped me establish the forum. George Mattson Sensei suggested that I do this forum, and I thank him for having faith in my ability to do so. SO -- I sure hope I can continue to post topics of interest. Onto the second year. -------Happy Trails -----Art