THE IMPORTANCE OF SUBTLETIES

 by Yang Xuangxing

As you acquire more experience in your practice of martial arts, you have likely taken notice of numerous “subtleties” that can dramatically affect your technique and/or your ability to effectively apply it. At least I hope you have.

For instance, in iaido the sword is to be gripped just so. In fact, you mustn't use an actual “grip” (like holding a stick or baseball bat) when drawing the sword; the hand isn't closed as the sword is drawn! This has to be learned from a qualified instructor and it took me more than three years to get it (and I'm still working on it). In “open” tournament Weapons Division, it's not unusual to see a competitor swagger into the ring attired in a hakama (that often looks like it was made from the curtains of a New Orleans bordello) with his sword thrust improperly through his obi (wide sash). In fact, the sword is often placed on the left side, which is incorrect.

When said wannabe swordsman draws the weapon, he grasps the handle and pulls it from the scabbard. This is wholly incorrect; the scabbard is actually “removed” from the sword with the left hand. Learning to do this requires a great deal of practice over an extended period of time.

And yes, there are good reasons for gripping the sword in this way initially. It's not a Louiseville Slugger (an old brand-name baseball bat) and gripping it in that fashion makes the wrist all but totally inflexible, which slows down both the draw and the initial cut. And that means that you'd likely lose your hand at the very least...

Two-handed cuts with the Japanese katana are made mainly with the left hand. Cutting with the right is a serious error that causes momentary loss of control of the weapon. And you can imagine what that means. Learning to execute the cuts with the left hand requires years of practice.

Akira Hino, a Japanese martial arts genius who I met in Japan in 2016, emphasizes the importance of numerous subtleties...like the proper use of the elbow when punching or striking. It's very subtle and once fully understood (which takes quite a while), much practice is required. He emphasizes that one of the great secrets to emitting tremendous power with what appear to be a “casual” punch or strike is proper use of the elbow. And at the age of 72, he happily demonstrates it.

Tatsuya Naka, one of the top instructors of the Japan Karate Association, who I met in 2016 in Japan, also speaks of small subtlties that enable him to suddenly drive out and strike an opponent with a lunging thrust. He never misses and top-ranked martial artists who have practiced with him say that they just can't see it coming. One of the vital keys is the proper use of the front knee and hip. Like Hino sensei's advice, it is difficult to understand and once understood, it requires extensive practice.

Hino sensei also speaks of the correct use of weight shifting for power as well as stability as well as the use of the shoulders (especially in the use of weapons). Trying to observe these subtleties by watching such men perform is useless. The small nuances of which they speak are so small that they're truly invisible. But they make all the difference in the world.

HEIHO

 by Phillip Starr

In so far as (Japanese) martial arts are concerned, the term “heiho” is translated as “strategy.” In Chinese, the characters for heiho (兵法) are pronounced, “bingfa.” Literally, it means (roughly) “art of war.”

There is, however, a distinction between strategy and tactics. Strategy is the overall, big picture; tactics are the means by which you achieve it. For instance, if you are suddenly confronted by some thug, you have several choices of response;

• You can run away.

• You can do something to cause him some pain and when he is sufficiently distracted, you can run.

• If you must engage him, you can grapple with him and pin him to the ground until you both decide to go steady or whatever...

• You can turn him into dogmeat.

These are strategies...the general, overall picture. If, for instance, you decide that you must turn him into dogfood, just HOW you're going to do that involves the use of tactics. And effective tactics always achieve maximum effects with minimum effort.

Really effective heiho is plotted out prior to engagement, rather like a game of chess – actually, the old Japanese game of “go” (which originated in China where it was/is known as “weiqi”) is a much better example. And it is applied not only to martial arts, but business dealings as well.

For instance, one young martial artist who was visiting another school was asked for a “lesson” by the instructor. This is an old but acceptably polite way of issuing a challenge. Recognizing the request for what it was, the young man accepted and when asked what type of weapon he wished to employ, he selected a staff.

He then informed the school's instructor that at his school, it was customary to begin seated in seiza and bow. The instructor complied, seating himself on the floor facing his intended victim. He placed his wooden sword (bokken) on the floor at his left side, where he could quickly bring it into action. The visitor held his staff vertically, which is common for those seated in seiza, armed with this weapon.

Courtesies were exchanged. Then the instructor advanced his left foot (which is normal) as he prepared to stand and adopt his fighting kamae (posture). The visitor raised the butt of his staff from the floor slightly and quickly slammed it down on his opponent's instep, causing him to grimace and gasp in pain. He then snapped the staff forward, striking the instructor on the forehead. Another squeak of pain. But he was a tough sucker and grabbed for his sword. Too late. The visitor was on his feet and easily knocked the bokken away, sending it skittering across the floor....and the predator found himself on his back with his intended victim holding the tip of his staff against his throat. The lesson was over.

Heiho.

Sun-Tzu's book, The Art of War, written around 512 BC, presents us with several fine ideas that can be readily used in single combat. For instance, he cautions against completely surrounding an enemy as this will cause the foe to fight with great ferocity, like a cornered tiger. Instead, he recommends that one should leave (what appears to be) an opening through which the enemy can escape. He'll make for this “hole” in our defenses and can then be ambushed by archers laying in wait, who will pick off his men easily.

When I visited Japan, one of the sites I saw was the Imperial Castle in which the Emperor is housed. Although outsiders cannot get inside the main walls, there's plenty to explore on the outside. As we walked into what appeared to be a small courtyard, my student (who was also my guide), Hiro, explained the setup to me. “The heavy wooden door to enter this area wasn't too difficult to break through”, he explained. “The enemy thought they had broken through, but this is just a small courtyard. That (he pointed to another large door) is almost impossible to break through...and up there (he pointed to a smaller building with slitted windows overlooking the little courtyard) were archers. They would pour arrows down onto the enemy. The doors through which they had come had been shut. They'd stepped into a terrible trap and would be slaughtered to the last man.

Apply these ideas to your sparring practice. Don't make your defensive posture impenetrable; leave an opening and allow the opponent to attempt to enter through it. Then bushwhack him. You are, in a very real sense, controlling what he does.

Heiho.

THE FUNCTIONS OF STANCE

 by Phillip Starr

For all the noise your teacher makes about your stances having to be exactly so, just what is/are the function(s) of stance, anyway? Why must they be so precise? Isn't just standing in a balanced position enough?

Well, the answer to that last question is an unequivocal “NO.”

Don't confuse stance with footwork. They're two very different things. Footwork is what happens BETWEEN stances. And it's a whole different can of worms...

The primary function of stance is to provide a platform from which powerful techniques can be delivered. If the stance lacks stability, it cannot fulfill that function. So the platform mustn't be too high or low, too short OR too long (which it often is, in the case of modern wushu-type practitioners). The depth and length of a given stance varies, depending on the height of the practitioner.

The length and width (when it is used; many stances have no width to speak of) are actually very easy to determine. In Yiliquan (the style of gong-fu that I teach), all novices learn a basic routine that is practiced in the manner of a form. This routine is known as jiubuquan (nine step form) and it teaches proper length and width of all nine basic stances that we use. Basically, all stances can be divided into two categories; short and long. The length (and in the case of the horse-riding stance, the width) of all long stances is two shoulder-widths. The length of all short stances is one shoulder width.

Moreover, you mustn't simply “stand” in a given stance. Remember their primary function... Secondarily, some of them act as a platform from which you can move quickly and easily. There's considerable difference between the two; those that are long are always used to stabilize you when you emit power. These stances should use “outward tension”; that is, the legs feel like they are pushing in opposite directions to some degree.

Short stances use “inward tension”; the muscles of the inner thighs are contracted (squeezed). In case where you must emit power from a short stance, this tension should be considerable. However, if you are not emitting power and your stance is to be used for quick and agile movement, the tension must be very slight. Strong tension will “lock” you into place, making quick movement impossible. This is seen in the karate form, “sanchin.” Lighter tension will set your stance on a “hair trigger”, enabling you to move faster than if you use too much tension or no tension at all.

In all stances, the toes should “grip” the floor. When emitting power, they should grip very firmly, like claws. When planning to move quickly, their grip is rather slight. They must NEVER be raised...not even slightly, since doing so destabilizes the stance.

The study of stance in a science unto itself. It's very worthwhile to study this subject very thoroughly. It's still one of the great secrets of the martial arts.

FOOTWORK

 by Phillip Starr

In a previous article, I wrote about the functions of stance. So you might ask, “Then what is footwork?” Footwork (known as “bufa” in Chinese) is what happens IN BETWEEN STANCES. And in the traditional martial arts, it doesn't involve bouncing around like a flea on amphetamines...

Different arts and styles of those arts utilize different forms of footwork. Some favor stepping heel-first, some (like baguazhang) emphasize that the whole sole of the foot comes down at once. Numerous Japanese martial disciplines utilize “suri-ashi” wherein the foot slides easily along the floor, as if a piece of thin paper is beneath it.

Akira Hino sensei, a martial arts researcher and genius, believes that suri-ashi is a relative modern creation because back when Japanese martial arts were being developed, training usually took place outdoors. Performing suri-ashi would have been not only very foolish, but extremely difficult as the ground might be rocky, muddy, covered in high grass, and so on. I have to agree with him. When most martial forms began practicing regularly in dojos with polished wooden floors, suri-ashi would be much easier to do. In Okinawa, where the ground is very rocky, it would have been really foolhardy to try it.

Regardless, all of these martial disciplines stress that the step(s) and body movements are to be made from the “hips” - the dantien (“tanden” in Japanese). Exactly how this is done is discussed and illustrated in my books, MARTIAL MECHANICS and MARTIAL STRUCTURE. This way of moving maintains stability while moving the whole body at once – as a unified whole. There is no other way to do it.

Bufa is used only when necessary; it is used to move inside your opponent's defense perimeter so that you can land an effective blow, to move outside of his reach or evade his attack, or to move into effective striking distance (for you). That's it. It isn't done just to be moving or to help reduce nervousness or the “jitters.” There are some who allege that bouncy movements make one a moving target that is difficult to hit. They're wrong and have clearly never had to engage a real opponent on the street. Most real self-defense occurs at very close range without any “squaring off” in a fighting stance. However, in any scuffle that begins at some distance, anyone who starts bouncing around is going to get turned into breakfast food (toast) very quickly.

Move with a purpose and if you're not far outside your opponent's reach (or, God forbid, within his reach), DON'T start bouncing around! Otherwise it'll be a very short skirmish. Your dentist may thank you for putting his kids through college, too...

Move with a purpose.

THE FIRST THING YOU LEARN

 by Phillip Starr

It was obvious that the young man was very excited about joining my martial arts school. He was all smiles as he asked, “So, what's the first thing I'll learn?” My response didn't do anything to keep the smile on his face. “Courtesy”, I said. “And manners.”

And that's exactly what I told anyone who asked me about what students learned first in my school. They were generally rather surprised; they were expecting to hear something about the horse-riding stance or basic punch. But it was important to me that students begin by learning proper behavior and protocols before engaging in more exciting things.

Most Westerners are something less than thrilled at having to learn and adhere to special forms of courtesy and manners. Most of us tend to be what we call “laid back.” Very casual. And although Eastern folks are, for the most part, equally “casual”, they still follow certain protocols and their martial arts teachers often tend to adhere very closely to them. For instance, it's important to learn not only when and to whom or what one should bow, but exactly HOW to do it...many, many Westerners (including those who teach martial arts) think they're doing it correctly but they're wrong and although an Eastern instructor might not curtly correct them (particularly if they're in the Eastern country), they do make a mental note of it...

Frankly, when I was sometimes confronted with a potential enrollee who lacked good manners, I regarded him as undisciplined (I still do) and I figured he wasn't particularly teachable. In any case, he'd make a poor student.

So make it an important point to master the courtesies of the culture from which you martial form is born. Consider how the teachers of that culture would see you if you didn't do so; if you haven't bothered to take the time and effort to learn fundamental courtesies, how can they expect you to put in the necessary time and discipline to learn the art that they teach? If you're not serious about the most basic things, you're clearly not very serious about more advanced things...

FIRST AID?

 By Phillip Starr

I have always believed that it's very important for all instructors (and students as well) to be trained in basic first-aid. After all, we practice martial arts....which are designed for actual combat and try as we might to prevent injuries, they still happen from time to time.

Common martial arts class injuries would include minor things such as split lips, bloody noses, jammed fingers and toes, and the like. But it's always possible that other more serious injuries might occur; things like concussions (resulting from knockouts or falls), broken fingers or toes, cracked ribs, and even broken bones in the arms or legs.

In the many years that I have taught martial arts, none of my students ever suffered a serious injury due to training...and we have NEVER used padded mittens or footgear. Even so, minor injuries were not uncommon and a basic knowledge of first-aid has always been a part of my training program.

Learning CPR as well as the Heimlich Maneuver can be very useful in daily life. A local kempo instructor taught a special class to his students here and a short time later, one of his students was in a restaurant when a young boy began choking on his food. Noticing that the boy wasn't able to breathe and everyone was horrified and unable to help, the student jumped up and performed the Heimlich Maneuver on him. It saved his life.

To this day, I require students of various grades to be proficient in forms of first-aid, including the aforementioned life-saving techniques. I encourage all instructors to do the same and to maintain a proper first-aid kit in their school.