Shen Chuan Review - The Official Newsletter of Lansdale's Self-Defense Systems

Senior Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan.

'Nuff said...

It was such a pleasure to have had Grandmaster Sullivan at one of our Camps, that words just won't do justice.

It's not often that you will find the man, who was there in the formative years of American Kenpo, knocking around Nacogdoches, and hitting the mat at a local dojo. Read that last part carefully. Hitting the mat.

The true testament of any great martial artist is the yearning for more knowledge, and the willingness to get out on that mat an DO something. When he wasn't instructing, Grandmaster Sullivan was out there twisting wrists, working balance disruptions, pressure point attacks and ground work retentions. And having them done on him. He ain't skeered!

I think I speak for all of us in saying that we held him in high regard if for nothing else than his rightful place in the history of American martial arts. That respect has jumped ten fold after working with him.

Thank you Grandmaster Sullivan for making Camp Lansdale #9 one to remember!

Friday night started off with a bang. Or was it a groan from a strike?

As the Professor and Grandmaster Sullivan were in route from the airport, we kicked off the Camp on Friday night with a session from Sifu Michael Billings on Kenpo Self Defense, followed by some self defense from Guru/Sensei Mike Casto and the I.M.P.A.C.T. Academy.

All of which was great stuff.

It's always a learning experience having both of these great martial artists at the school. Though their respective styles are vastly different, if you didn't learn something we can officially pronounce you brain dead.

The rest of the seminar was truly impressive, with Professor Lansdale pulling no punches. Literally. He was definitely "on". Kicking off Saturday with a healthy dose of pressure points and joint locks really got the juices flowing. Those of you who have been to one of our Camps know how intense they can be. And the Professor on the subject of pressure point and joint locks conjures up images of.. well... pain. Lots of pain. But boy do you walk away with an understanding.

Grandmaster Sullivan followed Professor's session, by showing us self defense techniques from the Karate Connection manual. Much of our hand work and striking comes from Kenpo, and Professor Lansdale's formative years learning that system. It was a real treat to witness a living legend show us where some roots of our system came from. And to explain how things evolved and transformed in American martial arts over the decades.

Two things that Grandmaster Sullivan said, that you will hear the Professor say time and again is "don't do things that are not necessary." As an example, Grandmaster relayed the story of how they were originally taught to "chamber" the fist at the waist. Most of us were. Many systems do this. He perpetuated this line of thinking in his own teaching until the day one of his students began free sparring. He was getting pummeled, because his fists were at his side, locked into classic position. Grandmaster informed him that he needed to make the "jump" from classic position, to hands ready sparring/fighting, hands out in front position. The inquisitive student promptly asked GM Sullivan "well why did you teach me to lock my fists' at my waist"? And as Grandmaster aptly put it, "why indeed". Practitioners of Shen Chuan may not fully understand that statement. You are taught from day one that ALL action takes place from where the hand or foot is located. And hopefully they are up, between you and the opponent, whether in fighting stance or in submissive folded hands. But there was a time when this was not the case. It is still done this way in some systems to this day. You have inherited progressive movements from progressive teachers who realized there was a problem in a certain line of thinking and made the change.

His other statement that stood out was to make your movements count. Don't waste them. Take the outside block of some systems. Designed to meet force with force and stop the forward movement of what is attacking. As GM Sullivan had us do in his drill, the Kenpo line of thinking is one that if I am blocking, why not make it an attack as well. Thus back to the drill, the outside block, with the slight upward angle that was also an attack to the arm and head of the attacker with one forceful movement.

Or in words that you are accustomed to, interceptions. You have been taught early on in Shen Chuan that we do not "block" per se, but rather "intercept" what is attacking us by destroying the attack or circumventing the attack on the way to an offensive movement. You know we do not simply block. We intercept and destroy. We are seldom defensive. Maybe initially. Just long enough to turn it offensive.

As in the first example, it was not always "the way". It may not have meant much to some, but to me it was hearing the history and evolution of the arts in America, at a time when there was little to no martial arts in America.

Coming back from lunch, we jumped into the frying pan with Professor Eugene Frizzell and some Shen Chuan StickBoxing. Professor Frizzell has taken the concepts and principles of Shen Chuan and applied them to all of the weapon arts that he and Shihan Coy worked so hard to learn in the early years. The system he has created is one of the most formidable weapons systems around. Fairly evident to all in attendance, a Shen Chuan practitioner needn't be concerned whether his hands are empty, or grasping a stick, knife, gun or bazooka. The concepts and principles are the same. Deadly and effective. Professor Frizzell did a wonderful job of laying the foundation for his session by showing the drills empty handed, and with weapons. The crossover was beautiful!

Professor Lansdale and Grandmaster Sullivan finished out the day with some excellent instruction and kick ass technique.

We decided at the end of the day to continue the camaraderie over some supper at the Lansdale Diner. That's not really the name, but it should be with the amount of time the Professor Lansdale spends there.

It was a real treat listening to the stories Grandmaster Sullivan told. His encounters with Bruce Lee, martial arts in the early day's on the West Coast and of course his time with Ed Parker. Maybe it's the love of history combined with the love of martial arts, but many of us were captivated.

Sunday morning rolled around and it was back to the dojo for another day of mat bangin', wrist twistin', balance disrupting fun. The day culminated in the closing ceremonies in which Professor Frizzell and Shihan Coy received 6th Dan's in Shen Chuan. Shihan Coy's title was upgraded to the status of Professor in the system of Shen Chuan, Martial Science. And the real kicker, was that their certificates contain the witness signature of none other than Senior Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan. What an honor.

Be sure to check out the pictures at the back of the newsletter!

Now on to our first article.

Proprioception in Shen Chuan? That ain't Chinese??

Those that have been in Shen Chuan any length of time will quickly learn that there is reason behind the label Science, as in Shen Chuan, Martial Science. Being western thinking people, we tend to look for "western" explanations as to why things work as they do in the arts. One of the things that make Shen Chuan so great, are the inquisitive minds in its ranks. Chi, or cheese as our beloved Professor prefers to call it, is often given as the explanation as to why something works the way it does, when it cannot be explained, or is sorely misunderstood. Many of the things taken as word of mouth reasons have been dissected and picked apart under the Shen Chuan microscope.

To that end, we have an article submitted by Dr. Laurich, a second degree Brown Belt in Shen Chuan.

Following is his explanation of the anatomical workings behind a concept/principle that we use regularly, "get in touch-stay in touch", and why we do so.

	Camp Lansdale #9: One for the Books Senior Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan. 'Nuff said... It was such a pleasure to have had Grandmaster Sullivan at one of our Camps, that words just won't do justice. It's not often that you will find the man, who was there in the formative years of American Kenpo, knocking around Nacogdoches, and hitting the mat at a local dojo. Read that last part carefully. Hitting the mat. The true testament of any great martial artist is the yearning for more knowledge, and the willingness to get out on that mat an DO something. When he wasn't instructing, Grandmaster Sullivan was out there twisting wrists, working balance disruptions, pressure point attacks and ground work retentions. And having them done on him. He ain't skeered! I think I speak for all of us in saying that we held him in high regard if for nothing else than his rightful place in the history of American martial arts. That respect has jumped ten fold after working with him. Thank you Grandmaster Sullivan for making Camp Lansdale #9 one to remember! Friday night started off with a bang. Or was it a groan from a strike? As the Professor and Grandmaster Sullivan were in route from the airport, we kicked off the Camp on Friday night with a session from Sifu Michael Billings on Kenpo Self Defense, followed by some self defense from Guru/Sensei Mike Casto and the I.M.P.A.C.T. Academy. All of which was great stuff. It's always a learning experience having both of these great martial artists at the school. Though their respective styles are vastly different, if you didn't learn something we can officially pronounce you brain dead. The rest of the seminar was truly impressive, with Professor Lansdale pulling no punches. Literally. He was definitely "on". Kicking off Saturday with a healthy dose of pressure points and joint locks really got the juices flowing. Those of you who have been to one of our Camps know how intense they can be. And the Professor on the subject of pressure point and joint locks conjures up images of.. well... pain. Lots of pain. But boy do you walk away with an understanding. Grandmaster Sullivan followed Professor's session, by showing us self defense techniques from the Karate Connection manual. Much of our hand work and striking comes from Kenpo, and Professor Lansdale's formative years learning that system. It was a real treat to witness a living legend show us where some roots of our system came from. And to explain how things evolved and transformed in American martial arts over the decades. Two things that Grandmaster Sullivan said, that you will hear the Professor say time and again is "don't do things that are not necessary." As an example, Grandmaster relayed the story of how they were originally taught to "chamber" the fist at the waist. Most of us were. Many systems do this. He perpetuated this line of thinking in his own teaching until the day one of his students began free sparring. He was getting pummeled, because his fists were at his side, locked into classic position. Grandmaster informed him that he needed to make the "jump" from classic position, to hands ready sparring/fighting, hands out in front position. The inquisitive student promptly asked GM Sullivan "well why did you teach me to lock my fists' at my waist"? And as Grandmaster aptly put it, "why indeed". Practitioners of Shen Chuan may not fully understand that statement. You are taught from day one that ALL action takes place from where the hand or foot is located. And hopefully they are up, between you and the opponent, whether in fighting stance or in submissive folded hands. But there was a time when this was not the case. It is still done this way in some systems to this day. You have inherited progressive movements from progressive teachers who realized there was a problem in a certain line of thinking and made the change. His other statement that stood out was to make your movements count. Don't waste them. Take the outside block of some systems. Designed to meet force with force and stop the forward movement of what is attacking. As GM Sullivan had us do in his drill, the Kenpo line of thinking is one that if I am blocking, why not make it an attack as well. Thus back to the drill, the outside block, with the slight upward angle that was also an attack to the arm and head of the attacker with one forceful movement. Or in words that you are accustomed to, interceptions. You have been taught early on in Shen Chuan that we do not "block" per se, but rather "intercept" what is attacking us by destroying the attack or circumventing the attack on the way to an offensive movement. You know we do not simply block. We intercept and destroy. We are seldom defensive. Maybe initially. Just long enough to turn it offensive. As in the first example, it was not always "the way". It may not have meant much to some, but to me it was hearing the history and evolution of the arts in America, at a time when there was little to no martial arts in America. Coming back from lunch, we jumped into the frying pan with Professor Eugene Frizzell and some Shen Chuan StickBoxing. Professor Frizzell has taken the concepts and principles of Shen Chuan and applied them to all of the weapon arts that he and Shihan Coy worked so hard to learn in the early years. The system he has created is one of the most formidable weapons systems around. Fairly evident to all in attendance, a Shen Chuan practitioner needn't be concerned whether his hands are empty, or grasping a stick, knife, gun or bazooka. The concepts and principles are the same. Deadly and effective. Professor Frizzell did a wonderful job of laying the foundation for his session by showing the drills empty handed, and with weapons. The crossover was beautiful! Professor Lansdale and Grandmaster Sullivan finished out the day with some excellent instruction and kick ass technique. We decided at the end of the day to continue the camaraderie over some supper at the Lansdale Diner. That's not really the name, but it should be with the amount of time the Professor Lansdale spends there. It was a real treat listening to the stories Grandmaster Sullivan told. His encounters with Bruce Lee, martial arts in the early day's on the West Coast and of course his time with Ed Parker. Maybe it's the love of history combined with the love of martial arts, but many of us were captivated. Sunday morning rolled around and it was back to the dojo for another day of mat bangin', wrist twistin', balance disrupting fun. The day culminated in the closing ceremonies in which Professor Frizzell and Shihan Coy received 6th Dan's in Shen Chuan. Shihan Coy's title was upgraded to the status of Professor in the system of Shen Chuan, Martial Science. And the real kicker, was that their certificates contain the witness signature of none other than Senior Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan. What an honor. Be sure to check out the pictures at the back of the newsletter! Now on to our first article. Proprioception in Shen Chuan? That ain't Chinese?? Those that have been in Shen Chuan any length of time will quickly learn that there is reason behind the label Science, as in Shen Chuan, Martial Science. Being western thinking people, we tend to look for "western" explanations as to why things work as they do in the arts. One of the things that make Shen Chuan so great, are the inquisitive minds in its ranks. Chi, or cheese as our beloved Professor prefers to call it, is often given as the explanation as to why something works the way it does, when it cannot be explained, or is sorely misunderstood. Many of the things taken as word of mouth reasons have been dissected and picked apart under the Shen Chuan microscope. To that end, we have an article submitted by Dr. Laurich, a second degree Brown Belt in Shen Chuan. Following is his explanation of the anatomical workings behind a concept/principle that we use regularly, "get in touch-stay in touch", and why we do so.