University of Pennsylvania Ryukyu Kempo Club
Introductory Packet, 2006-2007
Welcome to the Penn Kempo Club. We are a student run organization dedicated to the study of the martial arts and self defense. We primarily practice Ryukyu Kempo, an Okinawan form of Karate (think The Karate Kid), and Modern Arnis, one of many styles of weapon based martial arts from the Philippines. We also incorporate ideas from western boxing and Wei Kuen Do, a style of Chinese boxing This information packet is intended to provide you some background information, to answer some questions you may have now, and also to begin to address some questions you’ll probably have in the coming months.
Our practices are not as formal as some traditional karate clubs. However, we do feel that maintaining an atmosphere of mutual respect during our training is very important. Please familiarize yourself with the following rules. If you have questions, we encourage you to ask an instructor or another member of the Club.
Penn Kempo Dojo Rules
1) Treat everyone with respect.
2) Dress code: Gi pants, martial arts T-shirt, belt, shoes. A “martial arts T-shirt” is any official club T-shirt, T-shirt from another club/school, or seminar T-shirt. Gi tops may also be worn in lieu of a T-shirt.
3) Good hygiene and personal cleanliness should be observed at all times. Wear clean clothes. Do not wear perfume or cologne to class.
4) Remove all jewelry: watches, rings, earrings, etc. This is for your safety as well as the safety of your partner.
5) Turn cell phones and pagers to off/vibrate during class unless it is absolutely necessary to take a call. If you must take a call, please inform an instructor before class starts.
6) Please arrive 15 minutes before class to change and warm up. It is expected that you will be stretched by the start of class.
7) Prior to the start of class, make sure the floor is clean. At the beginning of class, line up with the most experienced students to the front and to the right.
8) If you are late to class, please warm-up and stretch on the side. When you are ready, wait outside of the training area for an instructor to invite you to join class.
9) If you are injured or sick, please let the instructors know before the start of class. Also, be sure to inform any partners during class of your injury. Remember, you are responsible for you!
10) Follow all instructions quickly. If you hear the command “Break!” you should immediately stop what you are doing.
11) Be serious when you train; give your best effort. Do not talk while your instructor is speaking, and do not play around when you are supposed to be working.
12) If you need water, need to use the restroom, or need to leave class early, please speak with the instructor before walking off the training area. Obviously, in the case of an emergency, do what is necessary.
13) Exercise mental control. Never curse in anger or frustration.
14) Under no circumstances should you come to class under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Background of Ryukyu Kempo
The Ryukyu Islands are a chain of islands located between China and Japan. The largest and most famous of these islands is Okinawa. The terms kempo and karate refer to the empty hand fighting methods which developed in Okinawa during a long period of occupation by Japan. The Japanese banned private ownership of weapons, forcing the native population to resort to empty hands and farm tools. Most Okinawan combat forms are modifications of even older Chinese combat techniques. Even the practice of kempo was illegal until 1907, when Master Itosu and others began to teach the art publicly.
The term “Kempo” is used widely in the martial arts; it originally indicated the martial
arts of Okinawa which developed with some amount of influence from different Chinese styles.
Similarly, the original connotation of “Karate” was “China Hand,” implying Chinese fighting
techniques. Early in this century, the character for “China” was replaced by the character for
“empty,” thus karate became simply “empty hand” fighting. Today the term “Kempo” is used to
refer to many different systems of empty-hand fighting: Chinese, Okinawan, and even American.
Many of these arts share some similarities, but Ryukyu Kempo is also distinct in many ways.
Ryukyu Kempo is embodied in the kata (predetermined forms) that we practice. We consider the traditional kata to contain all of the information that we require when it comes to self defense techniques. They can be considered a code that can be deciphered through proper study. Specifically, we interpret kata through Bunkai, or breakdown of the movements, that translate the kata movements into defensive techniques. There are two primary characteristics of Ryukyu Kempo as a martial art. The first is Tuite-Jitsu, which is the art of hand-grappling and joint manipulation. All people have a similar physiology that will respond in a predetermined manner when specific pressures are applied to it. The second is Kyusho-Jitsu, the art of pressure point striking. Kyusho, as well as Tuite, is based on traditional Chinese medicine vital points, and requires the application of precision and technique, not strength.
A substantial portion of your training will relate to kata (especially as you progress
through the ranks). A kata is, in essence, a pattern of movements put together by a past
master encompassing his best fighting techniques. While the form of the techniques is immediately
obvious, the application seldom is. When you learn a new kata, you will be given some
applications and breakdown; it is your job to find others. Some points to keep in mind:
· In kata, you have only one opponent.
· Your opponent is normally directed in front you (although sometimes behind).
· A move to the side often means to go sideways on your opponent.
· A turn often indicates a throw.
· A move may indicate what your opponent is doing.
· Moves have more than one application.
· On one level, karate kata contain a grappling art similar to ju-jitsu known as tuite.
· Successful application of a movement begins with footwork.
· A fist often represents a grab.
· There are no “meaningless” moves in a kata; you are never “getting ready.”
· Applications involve the use of pressure points!
· Grapple in order to strike; strike in order to grapple!
We will often count in Japanese when doing group drills. You should learn how to count 1 – 10 in Japanese. Ichi (1), Ni (2), San (3), Shi (4), Go (5), Roku (6), Shichi (7), Hanchi (8), Ku (9), Ju (10), Ju-Ichi (11), Ju-Ni (12), ... , Ju-Ku (19), Ni-Ju (20), ... , San-Ju (30), etc.
Because Ryukyu Kempo involves the study of vital points, a working knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine meridians and energy theory will eventually be useful to you. In brief, the pressure points we use can be mapped onto the nervous system; pressure points occur where nerves cross, split, or end. A series of pressure points is grouped into a meridian. These meridians are named after organs of the body, like Heart, Lung, Spleen, etc. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) teaches that the points along a particular organ's meridian correspond to the function and liveliness of that organ. These topics will be covered in class as necessary, and there are many resources on the Internet and in book form.
Background of Modern Arnis
To understand the history of Modern Arnis, it is important know of its creator. Modern Arnis is a Filipino Martial Art (FMA) covering stick, knife, and empty hand fighting that was brought to the United States by the late Professor Remy Presas. It is Professor Presas’s legacy, his personal expression of the group of arts generically called “Arnis”. Professor Presas studied multiple Filipino martial arts, as well as other martial styles including Shotokan Karate and Judo. Early on he was involved in many street fights and full contact fights with other Arnis practitioners. At that time, it was common to challenge others who claimed to be masters of the art. Practicing the art was very physically demanding, and often resulted in bruises, blood, and broken bones. As he learned more and began to teach, Professor Presas decided that he wanted to spread the art he loved as far as he could. He saw that foreign arts such as Karate and Kung Fu were attracting people because they took less of a toll on the body than Arnis, and he came to the realization that some changes would have to be made in how Arnis was taught. He began teaching at West Negros College, and introduced the idea of targeting the cane, rather than the hand and arm. Eventually Professor Presas became the Philippine's first official ambassador of goodwill, and promoted his national art all over the world. Later, the political pressures caused by the imposition of martial law in the Philippines forced Professor Presas to flee to the United States where he continued teaching and promoting his Modern Arnis through seminars all over the country and world.
The sticks that we use in training are hardened rattan, a vine that is plentiful in southeast Asia. A stick may also be called a cane, baston, or olisi. In battle, hardwood sticks or swords would be used rather than the light rattan. These sticks are not just for show, a Filipino chieftan named Lapu Lapu killed Magellan with them and turned back the first Spanish invasion. Because of the many Filipino dialects, and also the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, there are many names for Arnis. The most common ones are Kali and Escrima.
Professor Presas used to speak of Modern Arnis as “the art within your art” when he dealt with other martial artists. This refers to how the fundamental movements it teaches are found in other arts, but not always in such a straightforward fashion.
(image adapted from www.wmarnis.com).
While we study Arnis as an art for its own sake, this idea is at the root of why it blends so nice with our Kempo. Arnis is a very effective paradigm for teaching body mechanics and self defense techniques. In addition, Arnis practitioners have also developed many useful drills and shells that we use to aid our development as martial artists. Unlike Kempo, we do not emphasize kata as a teaching tool in Arnis.
One basic skill that you should master early is the numbering system we use in Arnis to refer to different strikes. When you have a stick in your hand, there are only so many ways that you can attack someone with it. Empty hand systems, like boxing or karate, often refer to different strikes by name, such as jab, cross, backfist, reverse punch, etc. In FMAs, we refer to the angle of the strike by assigning them numbers. We use several different numbering systems, but the most common is the Modern Arnis 12 angles of attack. The arrows represent angles and targets for striking or cutting motions, and the circles represent targets for pokes.
Students of karate learn stances like “cat stance” “scissor stance” and “horse stance,” which are all strong stationary stances (we call them “rooted”). In Modern Arnis, you will learn to have effective mobile footwork. All of our footwork in Arnis is based on the idea of moving along the 45’s of an equilateral triangle. We utilize a forward pointing triangle, and a backward pointing triangle at different times, but the idea is the same. This can only be learned by example and repetition, but it is important to keep in mind as you practice all of the drills.
Wei Kuen Do
An integral, but not always as prominant, element of our practice comes from Grand Master Leo T. Fong., who has studied western boxing extensively, as well as various forms of Chinese boxing. He was a fried and sometimes training partner of the late Bruce Lee. Currently, Leo Fong teaches his own art, Wei Kuen Do, that he has synthesized from his over 50 years of martial arts experience. Wei Kuen Do roughly translates in English to “the way of the integrated fist.” We draw on GM Fong’s art to provide a foundation in boxing style body mechanics built on very mobile footwork. He is also the source of several hand trapping forms and many punching combinations that we use in our practice.
Our Philosophy
The Penn Kempo Club offers an approach to the martial arts that is unique on Penn’s campus. We have a strong effective base built on the theories of Kempo and Arnis, but we are constantly searching out new perspectives on the arts. Our journey is to make sense of all of the differences, and figure out what is the same. Classes with the Penn Kempo club are a mixing bowl to blend these different approaches into the core that we have forged from RyuKyu Kempo and Modern Arnis. In this light, as members of the club, we hope to teach you to be thoughtful martial artists. You will learn the “what” and the “how”, but more importantly we hope to teach you how to figure out the “why”. There are only so many ways the body can move, but every different teacher has a different way to get where they are going, and different energy along the way. Our hope is to teach you how to be a student, so that you can build your own personal practice and personal style as a martial artist. Practicing with us is a great complement to other training in the martial arts, and provides a foundation for future study.
We think is worth mentioning that many new students are at first overwhelmed and confused by the martial arts experience. This is normal, and everyone you see at class has been through the same difficulties. There is a great deal to learn, for some the study of martial arts is a lifelong journey, so take your time and work at a rate that is good for you. In maintaining a martial arts practice, consistency is important. It’s better to come once a week every week than to come for 4 classes in a row, and then not at all for a month. Of course, ask questions of your classmates and instructors. They can help to provide insight and perspective that you may find useful.