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.
PROPRIOCEPTION in SHEN CHUAN
by Dr. Larry Laurich
Pronounced PROH - PREE - OH - CEPTION.
Proprioception plays a major role in Shen Chuan. In fact, participants in Shen Chuan use it far more than many other forms of martial arts. The concepts and principals of Shen Chuan incorporate it without being obvious.
First let's review what proprioception is. Everyone uses receptors that are sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli. For example, the eye responds specifically to light waves. So when someone throws a punch the eyes pick up the light waves, which stimulate nerve endings that transmit this information to the brain. The brain then processes this information and we react by moving our muscles etc. This reaction happens very fast, which is obviously important when you are being attacked. In fact, other forms of martial arts as well as Shen Chuan use sight receptors along with hearing and other senses quite a bit. However, there are receptors that are even faster. This category of receptors is proprioception.
Let's define it.
Prorioception is "the process by which the body can vary muscle contraction in immediate response to incoming information regarding external forces." Basically these receptors tell you where a body part is, without looking at it. This allows you to walk or run without watching where you are placing your feet. Or for instance if you close your eyes and hold your hand or arm out you still know where it is. These receptors are found throughout the body's muscular system. They monitor length, tension, and pressure by telling the brain where a body part is and what position it is in. The proprioceptors fire far faster than the eye can relay a message to the brain and then the brain to the body. Proprieoceptors adjust the body's position almost instantaneously. This is how we can keep our balance and walk without falling.
How does this relate to Shen Chuan? One of the basic principles of Shen Chuan is to move in on your opponent and stay in contact.
"Get in touch, stay in touch".
In most cases even when you are going to strike you are still touching your opponent by intercepting with your other hand, or your knee may be in contact with his leg. In essence, this is extending the proprioceptors to his body. For example say you only have one finger on your opponent's arm or shoulder and for some reason you are looking elsewhere or your vision is blocked. When he starts to move or throw a punch proprieoreceptors tell you he is moving in that direction and therefore you can react without even looking at the attacking arm. In a sense you are extending your receptors from your body into and through his body. This gives your brain a lot more information. It tells you where your opponent is, the direction he is moving and the speed at which he is moving. This extra information gives you an edge so you can react appropriately.
Many other forms of martial arts have you step back and keep a distance between you and your opponent. In this situation you are only using visual receptors and eliminating the quicker proprioceptors.
So in conclusion, hit hard... hit fast... use your proprioceptors and go to the house.
As some of you may know, Sensei Jared Taylor has been competing in area "ultimate", or "mixed martial arts" competitions and he has been doing extremely well.
His latest run culminated a few weeks ago with an event held at the Oil Palace in Tyler, Texas. Professor Lansdale was in attendance, and said Sensei Jared did quite well.
The fight was for a championship, and as the Professor explained, Jared matched his opponent point for point. In the end the spoils went to his challenger, but only after being barely out pointed.
Congratulations Sensei Jared!
In other news... I have learned that Professor Coy's son, Conner, has been watching his shadow on the soccer field again. Having already been through similar situations with my own son on the baseball field, catching butterflies, eating dirt, doing the baby dance and generally showing a complete lack of interest in the game, I wanted to take this time to inform anyone who may attend one of these games to sit beyond arms length of Coy. You don't want to be within reach the next time Conner starts chasing his shadow. He is not handling it well and it could get ugly...
| Continuing our installments of Shen Chuan history book submissions, we will include an excerpt from Professor Eugene Frizzell, head of the Shen Chuan StickBoxing Division. Professor Frizzell was, in a sense, the first Shen Chuan student although it was not named as such at the time. I was there at the beginning of what would become Shen Chuan, Martial Science. I met Joe through a mutual friend, David Webb. I then ran into Joe at least once a week when I took my children to a local Tae Kwon Do class. Joe was taking the adult class, working toward a black belt, which he received. (An interesting point is that at the time Joe was taking this class, he already had over 25 years of martial arts experience. People who understood martial arts knew "something" was going on with this guy. However Joe simply took the class in a very humble way, never deviating from what he was taught. This was his way of respecting his teachers. Joe remains this way to this day). We often attend martial arts seminars and Joe shows respect to those teaching. He does this by honestly approaching the material as it is taught. Often Joe has more martial arts expertise than the teacher, but you would never know it. He's not one to show out or show up. We often see new students come through the door and can quite easily predict the one's that either won't come back or won't last long. A real predictor is the student who makes the statement that he's going to "empty his cup". This is a martial arts cliché at it's worst. Joe could actually say this, but has the class not to. Joe and I would visit between classes and our talk, of course, led to conversations about the martial arts. I had taken, for a short time, Shotokan Karate and found I was not drawn to the "traditional" martial arts. They simply had too much "stuff" just for the sake of tradition. Joe had many of these same feelings and was looking to move in another direction. About this time, Joe met Terry Thoburn, who taught Aikido and Shito Ryu Karate. Terry found a location in a dojo run by Richard Metteauer, and Joe and I were his first students. At the time, I knew nothing about the martial arts and thought Terry knew much more than he actually did. But Joe and I took from him, and learned the basic elements of Aikido. At the same time, Joe began teaching me his art, which was to grow and "morph" many times. We worked in my backyard several times weekly and I soon saw that Joe had an incredible knowledge of the arts. And as I knew more, I came to better understand the depth of Joe's knowledge. We worked on hand techniques taken from Joe's earlier Kenpo training and we worked on locking techniques from Joe's earlier training in Hapkido. We also began learning new techniques together. Joe purchased a book on stick disarms by Professor Remy Presis and we worked on these. We also worked on small circle concepts, taken from Professor Wally Jay. Joe had an incredible knowledge of the history of martial arts and he began teaching me this also. I can honestly say that the fundamentals I learned in my backyard are the foundation of the art I practice today. It soon became apparent to me that Joe was the one that should be teaching the entire class, including Terry. Because of Terry's ego, we both knew this would never happen. And it never did. Terry was never able to admit he could learn anything from Joe. His loss! It was at this time that I began encouraging Joe to develop a systematic approach of teaching "his art" and to begin teaching it in a classroom setting. I am so glad that Joe took this advice and began teaching. At first, he taught in the same class with Terry. The class would divide in half and each would teach for half the class-time. Then everyone would switch. The class was taught this way for quite some time and the system was called Matsukaze Budo. Coy Harry, Chad Francois, and I were the system's first, and only, black belts. The thing you figure out very early in your relationship with Joe is that he is never satisfied with the "status quo". He constantly strives to improve his art and this requires change. At Lansdale's Self Defense, "change is our friend". I believe this was first reason Joe began his split with Terry Thoburn. Joe believed the art was an ever-growing form of self-expression, to be directly influenced by a person's personality, ability, body type, etc. Terry believed the art was a static, traditional system that was "already good enough". He discouraged looking at other systems, thinking other thoughts, and expected "blind allegiance". Joe didn't think this way at all. Joe and Terry slowly began to grow apart because of this split in the "vision" of what the art is. Terry's arrogance didn't help the situation. And finally, the business aspects of the relationship became too pressure packed. Joe had the opportunity to buy a new building and my advice to him was to cut his ties to Terry. I believed that Joe's knowledge and expertise far surpassed Terry's, and that Terry was actually inhibiting the development of Shen Chuan. Joe was probably leaning this way anyway, but he listened to me and made the break. Joe took some students with him and Terry kept some students also, but the relationship completely ended at this time. Now Joe is very involved in the history of martial arts, in addition to being a martial artist. He reads, studies videotapes of other masters, and is a real student of the arts. He is what I would describe as an "intuitive" martial artist in this sense. He can see a technique and understand the "concepts and principles" that underlie it. He uses these concepts and principles to improve his own art. Over the years, I've had the pleasure to train with a number of excellent martial artists, either in a classroom setting or in seminars. These include Hock Hochhiem, Master John Pelligrini, Professor Remy Presas, Professor Wally Jay, Master George Kirby, Professor John Denora, and others too numerous to mention. Joe, Coy, and I have traveled to many places, trained, and I have had the pleasure to see Joe's art and expertise acknowledged. One of the things I have noticed is that we can generally do very well in these settings. I've had the opportunity to compare our school's "expertise" and have found we come away looking pretty good. Recently Joe has begun to do some duel seminars with some fine martial artists and Joe has been well received at these events. It's a real pleasure to see his martial arts expertise acknowledged. Now let me introduce you to a strange concept for a developer and head of a system. He not only allows, but actually solicits input from members of the system. From the start, Joe asked for and listened to my advice, even though it was obvious to anyone I had none of his skills. When Coy Harry joined us, he also gave input that has had a direct impact on the system. Joe encouraged Coy and I to train with Guro Hock Hochheim in the art of Arnis. Coy and I began a period of training in this system and we both have instructorships in the art. We began bringing back aspects of the art and Joe incorporated some of it into Shen Chuan. Joe continually encourages his students to train with other martial artists and to "expand their horizons" with respects to the arts. He is not threatened by this concept, which is very unusual. Many martial arts instructors either discourage or completely prevent their students from cross training in any other system. They view it as disloyal or think their students will "jump ship". Joe's students have trained in Arnis, Judo, Boxing, Akido, and some have left to pursue other martial arts options. Joe just wishes them well and lets them know they are always welcome to come back. He understands that we are all part of a "martial arts community" and all martial arts training is a valid, positive experience. It's this type of acceptance that allows other influences in and allows the system to grow. Joe is the "Professor" and is the acknowledged head of the Shen Chuan system. Every student respects Joe and his abilities. However, there is none of the (strange) worship that I see in other systems. When we are in the dojo, Joe is "Professor". Any other time, he is just Joe. I don't believe he would have it any other way. One way we keep everything in perspective is to have a "sense of humor". And Joe's not immune from this humor. Often when we train with other martial artists, I can see their astonishment when I make "fun" of Joe. They can't understand how I could do this and see this as a sign of disrespect. There are very few people I respect more than Joe, but I don't now, or will never worship him. In fact, we are all astonished when we see this kind of worship encouraged by the "masters" we meet. Like I said before, Joe is the head of the Shen Chuan system, but he's not the only one that has added to the system, or made it what it is. Joe is proud of these students and their contributions. I want to talk now about these students, who have helped "mold" the system. Coy Harry became a student early, when Terry and Joe were still teaching together and the system name was Matsukaze Budo. Coy is an imposing man, big and muscular. Most big men have the "big man" complex. I'm big, so I'm better. Coy is just Coy. He came into the school and became an instant influence. His influence has continued to grow, as has his ability. Joe has named Coy the successor to the system and Coy has my complete allegiance. He is the man to take over. Coy, like Joe, has an intuitive approach to the arts. He is able to see and do. He has grown into an excellent martial artist who represents Shen Chuan very well. Coy is ranked 5th Dan (now 6th) in Shen Chuan, is head of the Aki-Jitsu system, and is Soke-Dai to the system. Coy is also the only student who has black belt ranking in all of the Shen Chuan Divisions. Shihan Richard Metteauer has been with Shen Chuan from it's beginning. He's the head of Shen Chuan StreetBoxing / Maverick Taekwondo and is a 5th Dan in Shen Chuan. Shihan Metteauer was Professor Lansdale's instructor in Tae Kwon Do and they have been associated ever since. Shihan Metteauer brings a fundamental knowledge of the martial arts that has added greatly to the Shen Chuan system. You know he's the "real deal" when you see him work. He'd be a load if he didn't know anything. But he knows martial arts and that makes him dangerous. Chad Francois came into Matsukaze Budo also and added much to the system. He is also one of the first black belts for Shen Chuan. He came to the dojo with martial arts skills, in the form of traditional kicks and punches. He was young, athletic and very talented. His abilities in these areas were an influence to the system. He no longer trains in Shen Chuan, but he's still part of us. Billy Jack Worsham has also been with system almost since it's inception. He started training with Sensei Richard Metteauer in Tae Kwon Do and then moved into Matsukaze Budo and then Shen Chuan. He currently holds the rank of 5th Dan and is a master instructor in the system. He's known as the "Rabid Chihuahua." He's not big in stature, but I don't know a "bigger" man. He's such an excellent role model for those still to come. Paul Britt is the only instructor to take Shen Chuan to another city and this year one of his students received a black belt in Shen Chuan. Paul is one of the early students and through his dedication Shen Chuan has grown. Paul has done exactly what the Professor envisioned when he created the system. Paul has taken the basic elements of the system and added his own "style" to it. It's really good, and it's definitely "Paul." Sensei Jim Moore came into the system after it became Shen Chuan. Jim had experience in Tae Kwon do and he brought this with him. But most of all Jim brought his amazing character. Jim is a good and honorable man who has definitely left his mark on all of us involved in Shen Chuan. He is a role model for the new students, because he encompasses what a "student" is. Guro Mike Casto came to Shen Chuan late, but he was already an accomplished martial artist, trained in the arts of the Philippines and Indonesia. He moved to Nacogdoches, trained with us for a little over a year, and then moved on. He now has his own school and will periodically "show up" to train with us. He is an exceptional martial artist and we wish him well. This is a list of the some of the people that have influenced the system and made Shen Chuan better. It's not the complete list. People like Kelly Owens, Jared Taylor, Ryan Dewitt, Chad Curry, Richard Hartstein, Norma Almanza, Bob Lacher, Rick Abel and Jeremy Bidwell all have added their special "flavor" to the system. I head the Shen Chuan StickBoxing division of Shen Chuan. This is a system that combines weapons training and empty hand techniques. The base systems are Filipino Arnis and Shen Chuan. I have taken many attribute building drills, and stick and knife techniques, and blended them with Shen Chuan concepts and principles. This division's purpose is to directly enhance the main system. Many of the concepts and principles of Shen Chuan are emphasized in Shen Chuan StickBoxing. These include economy of motion, body contouring, relaxation, and balance disruption. This system is a complete system, but also greatly enhances Shen Chuan in general. The system of Shen Chuan has grown over the years, is becoming well know nationally, and ever evolving for the better. This is a dynamic art and change is a symptom of its health. Joe is never and will never be satisfied with "being average". He has managed to pass this "vision" on to his students. The success of a system can be seen by the quality of the system's students. Shen Chuan produces excellent students of the martial arts. Shen Chuan students are a direct reflection of the ability of the man that leads us all. The system and the students revolve around the Professor, each with their own attributes and skills. They are not made to "fit" the system. Instead the system is flexible enough to "fit" them. The Shen Chuan system is a system that anyone would be proud of. It turns out excellent martial artists, but more importantly it turns out people with extraordinary character. The vision of Professor will continue to grow through his leadership and through the dedication of his students. |
CAMP PHOTO's:
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Wonder what they are discussing?? |
 Professor Harry and Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan |
Shihan Paul has a captive audience... |
 Professor Frizzell and Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan |
 Left to Right: Professor Coy Harry, Darren Dailey, Shihan Paul Britt, Professor Lansdale, Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan and Shihan Billy Jack Worsham |
 Adam Coats and Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan |
 Shihan Billy Jack Worsham and Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan |
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Compiled by the LANSDALE'S SELF-DEFENSE SYSTEM STAFF, including Professor Eugene Frizzell, Professor Coy Harry, Shihan Billy Jack Worsham, and Karen Lansdale, Grandmaster and Sensei of the Lansdale household.
Special thanks to Dr. Larry Laurich for his contribution.
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Lansdale's Self-Defense Systems
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2820 Stallings Drive Nacogdoches, Texas 75961 Phone: (936) 569-0708 Fax: (936) 569-2155 Email: sensei6@joerlansdale.com |