Martial Arts in the World: November 2009

The Virtues of Aikido

The popularity of aikido both in Japan and abroad is a post-World War II phenomenon. Early students of Founder Morihei Ueshiba such as Koichi Tohei, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, Gozo Shioda, Kenji Tomiki and others, followed by their students in turn, were mainly responsible for the growth of the art on an international scale.

What factors are responsible for aikido’s broad appeal? Many people observing the art for the first time comment on the beauty and gracefulness of aikido techniques. The attacker is thrown in a seemingly effortless manner yet suffers no apparent harm from the encounter. The promise of a self-defense art that protects the individual while sparing the aggressor is an attractive concept in philosophical and moral terms in a world where the specter of warfare seems ever present. Aikido’s ethical basis appeals to man’s deep-seated instinct for survival. At the same time, the art provides a unique alternative to the violent techniques of other martial arts—techniques that elicit moral repugnance in many.

On a physical level, aikido has much to offer for the health conscious. The accumulated benefits produced by warm-up, stretching, throwing and falling exercises are considerable. Many practitioners have undergone dramatic physical transformations through aikido training on their way to a fitness lifestyle.

The social milieu that develops in aikido dojos is an important part, too, of the training experience for many practitioners. Aikido tends to draw from a wide age range and students continue longer than practitioners of arts centered on competition, primarily the domain of young people. Also, I think it would be accurate to say that, as a percentage, aikido has a higher ratio of female participants than any other martial art. All of this contributes to a strong sense of community. For many students of aikido, the dojo is an extension of or even a substitute for their family.

Aikido: the non-martial art

For all of the positive benefits of aikido training, the art has not yet realized its great potential as a social force for promoting harmony among peoples. Although the relationship may not appear obvious, I think this is due in large part to the art’s distancing itself from its martial roots. It is the martial atmosphere of the dojo setting that allows students to develop real-world skills and elevates the level of training beyond that of a mere health system. The neglect of the martial side of aikido can be explained in part by historical circumstances.

Japanese society in the postwar era rejected the military mentality that led to the country’s involvement in the Second World War. Given this inhospitable climate where the practice of martial arts was forbidden for several years, the martial nature of aikido was suppressed. As a consequence, what remained of the art that was embraced by hundreds of thousands of practitioners was—with few exceptions—something quite different from the original concept of the Founder. The techniques of aikido retained only the outer form of a martial art and tended to be practiced in a setting devoid of martial intensity. Let us look at some of the factors that cause aikido to fall short as a martial art.

Weak attacks

The root of the problem as I see it lies in the weak attacks that are commonplace in aikido dojos nowadays. Students are seldom given training in how to execute an effective attack, be it in striking, grabbing or the occasional choking or kicking techniques. The situation is further exacerbated by a lack of committed intent or focus during attacks. This absence of firm intent on the part of the attacker affects his mental state and that of the person executing the technique. Both sides are aware—at least subconsciously—of the minimal risk of injury in training under these circumstances. Accordingly, the focused mind-set needed to develop realistic self-defense skills is absent from training.

Neglect of atemi and kiai

A study of the art of the Founder will reveal his emphasis on atemi (preemptive strikes) and kiai (combative shouts) as an integral part of techniques. O-Sensei can be seen executing atemi and kiai even in films from his final years when his aikido had become much less physical.

Atemi and kiai go hand in hand and are important tools for stopping or redirecting the mind of the attacker and successfully unbalancing him. Even if a physical strike is not actually employed, a mental state that preempts or disrupts the attack is a vital component of the aikido mind-set. Yet in many dojos today, the use of atemi or kiai will draw scorn from the teacher in charge who regards them as crude, violent means that have no place in an art of “harmony.” This common misconception bespeaks a lack of understanding of the martial origins of the art and the theory and practice of the Founder.

Failure to unbalance attacker

The combination of weak attacks, lack of atemi and kiai in aikido practice lead inevitably to practitioners attempting to execute techniques without first unbalancing the attacker. An uncommitted attacker having foreknowledge of the technique to be applied is not easily brought under control. This introduces an artificial element of collusion into the interaction between practitioners and results in a training atmosphere that is fundamentally different from the intensity of a real encounter.

Use of force and “make-believe” throws

The logical consequence of the above training lapses is the execution of sloppy, imprecise throws and pins. Since full control of the attacker is not achieved, it often becomes necessary for the person throwing to resort to physical strength in order to complete the technique. This leads to clashing and raises the risk of injury.

Another scenario is that neither of the two partners put any serious effort into the technique and the interplay between them is little more than choreographed collusion.

The progress of practitioners taught in a setting in which the “martial edge” is absent and where sound training principles are not observed will necessarily be retarded. What is worse, some who are products of this kind of training environment will entertain the illusion that their skills would be viable in a realistic situation.

Premature physical decline of instructors

I suspect that a certain segment of the aikido population would agree with the above observations. On the other hand, the next subject I will broach will no doubt elicit controversy in many quarters.

In my 40 years of involvement in aikido I have observed numerous teachers pass from their physical primes to a state of declining health and, in the cases of some, to an early demise. All too frequently they have accelerated the inevitable aging process through poor lifestyle choices. As their bodies age, teachers frequently adapt their techniques to compensate for their physical ailments and decreased ability to move. Moreover, they stop engaging in “give-and-take” practice where the roles of uke (the attacker) and nage (person throwing) are alternated. They become “teachers,” but cease to be “practitioners” in the way they were in their formative years of training.

The withdrawal of teachers from partnered training practice whether or not the result of a conscious decision has far-reaching effects on their aikido careers. By no longer doing warmup exercises and taking falls, they undermine their level of body conditioning and flexibility. Focusing exclusively on throwing contributes to a overall weakening of the body structure and muscular tone and invites injuries.

As teachers seldom practice with their peers beyond a certain point in their training, an artificial cap is placed on their progress because their pool of training partners is limited primarily to their own students who are almost always of a lesser skill level.

Remedies

Much of what needs to be done to restore the martial nature of aikido in accordance with the vision of O-Sensei involves correcting the poor training habits alluded to above. Here is a list of concrete steps than can be taken that would literally revolutionize aikido and restore its great potential as a force for social betterment.

Teaching attacking skills

First of all, great attention should be given to teaching aikido students how to attack effectively and with resolute intent. This may require some teachers to engage in cross-training of some sort in order to acquire the necessary skills themselves.

What kinds of attacks should be introduced in the aikido dojo? This will be a personal decision on the part of the instructor in charge. I think that basic punching skills from karate, boxing or other sophisticated systems should be considered.

Students should also become familiar with kicking at least at an elementary level. Although not as prevalent as punches, it is quite possible that one might be confronted with kicks in a real encounter.

Learning defenses against kicks also helps students overcome the common problem of “tunnel vision.” For example, beginners tend to focus their attention on the initial, overt aspect of an attack—usually a punch or grab—and fail to recognize the possibility of a secondary attack. When students realize that they must consider another attack such as a kick may be forthcoming, their state of alertness improves.

Learning how to kick properly will also improve the falling skills of aikido students because falls from kicks are more difficult and dangerous. Care should be taken to proceed slowly because the risk of injury is higher.

Among the existing aikido systems, Yoseikan Aikido developed by Minoru Mochizuki takes this sort of eclectic approach that incorporates elements from several arts. Students of this system are taught basic karate, judo and weapons skills as part of their training.

Beyond this, one might want to introduce attacks involving weapons—both bladed and non-bladed. Training with weapons is a useful tool to teach the importance of maai (distancing) under different circumstances and offers many other benefits. The Iwama Aikido curriculum of Morihiro Saito is an example of a systematic approach to weapons training.

The end result of improving the quality of attacks will be a greater focus during training and the creation of an atmosphere of seriousness and respect for one’s partner. The risk element always present in martial arts training will be recognized and due care taken to avoid behavior that leads to injuries.

Bringing back atemi and kiai

The use of atemi and kiai should be reintroduced and encouraged in aikido dojos. Atemi and kiai are extremely important in that they may allow a practitioner to overcome physical or numerical superiority in a real encounter. They are invaluable aids in neutralizing an attack and unbalancing an opponent. They pave the way for aikido techniques to be applied without force and against little resistance.

It should be possible to apply atemi or use kiai at virtually any stage of an aikido technique, not just the beginning. Students should be coached on how to recognize an opponent’s openings at every opportunity. Shoji Nishio has developed atemi skills to a high level and his martial-form of aikido is a valuable reference.

At a higher level, atemi may not even have a physical manifestation. An advanced martial artist can achieve the effect of an atemi through subtle body language alone as long as a mind-set preempting the attack is present. If you watch films of O-Sensei carefully you will see this principle in operation and it is a key element of so-called “no touch” throws.

Keeping the attacker off balance

A fundamental yet often neglected principle of aikido is the importance of unbalancing an attacker and maintaining control from the beginning of a technique to the decisive point involving a throw or pin. I have often observed techniques being taught to students where the attacker’s balance is first taken only to be given back immediately before the throw!

One only has to carefully observe the center of gravity of uke to determine whether or not his balance has been taken. Students should be constantly vigilant of their partner’s center of gravity in order to determine if their techniques are being effective.

Before leaving this subject, an interesting exercise when attending an aikido demonstration is to watch the movements of uke rather than nage. If uke’s balance is being controled throughout the technique then you are observing a true master.

Posture and breath control

Other areas that are often overlooked in aikido training are correct posture and breathing. Nage should cultivate good posture and keep his balance throughout the technique.

Attention to breathing habits is seldom stressed in dojo training. By pacing your breathing it is possible to create and maintain an internal body rhythm that will reduce fatigue and make it easier to keep one’s composure under the stress of vigorous training. Learning to observe one’s own breathing will also develop the ability to “read” an opponent’s breathing. This is useful to sense the timing and intent of an attack at a stage prior to its physical manifestation.

Instructors should get back into training

The most common reasons given for aikido teachers ceasing to participate in normal dojo training are the limiting effects of aging and the accumulation of injuries. It is certainly not possible for anyone to escape the effects of time and the wear-and-tear on the body of vigorous aikido training.

This being said, there is nothing to prevent teachers from training within their individual limits and at their own pace. As I see it, the key element is to continue to do stretching, warmups and take falls to the extent possible. You either do it or you don’t!

The Founder maintained his suppleness well into his 80s and was even capable of doing the splits. Also, he can be seen taking falls for a child at about age 79 in one of the surviving films.

In many kobujutsu schools it is the custom for the teacher and seniors to assume the role of attacker and take falls for junior students where required. You will see this if you attend a demonstration of classical martial arts. Imagine for a moment how it would change things if the top aikido instructors were capable of and actually took falls for their students during demonstrations! And what better way than this would there be for teachers to accelerate the improvement of their students?

I truly believe that it is possible to add ten good years to one’s aikido career by adopting the approaches suggested here. I’ll let you know in about 20 years time how this theory works out in my personal case!

Cross-training

I think one of the most positive things that instructors and practitioners alike should consider is cross-training in other arts. Here again we can look to the example of O-Sensei who studied a number of martial arts in his lifetime. He also arranged for the marriage of his daughter to a famous kendo expert and allowed a kendo group to form and practice in the old Kobukan Dojo. At age 54, the Founder formally enrolled in the Kashima Shinto-ryu, a classical school with a several-centuries-long tradition. He drew heavily from the Kashima Shinto-ryu curriculum in developing his aiki ken. O-Sensei also invited masters of other arts to the Aikikai Hombu Dojo to visit and give demonstrations. He was always prepared to “steal techniques” from other experts through keen observation.

One of the prime purposes of the annual Aiki Expo event sponsored by Aikido Journal is to encourage and facilitate cross-training among different groups.

Conclusion

I have attempted to explain how what is accepted as “modern aikido” is really a permutation of the original concepts underlying the aikido of the Founder. Due to the considerable spread of the art in the postwar Japan and abroad and the passage of more than five decades, these changed forms of aikido have come to be considered the norm. The assumption of most is that these new approaches reflect the intent of the Founder whereas, to a large degree, this is not the case. Most of the criticisms of aikido today arise because the modern forms of aikido have strayed from the Founder’s main precepts. The suggestions offered in this article would, if adopted by a significant section of the aikido population, produce a major change in the quality of the art and how it is perceived by sceptical outsiders. It is our intention to lead the way toward this desirable end by organizing future events such as the Aiki Expo.

Stanley Pranin

Different Styles Of Boxing Around The World

Boxing is a Natural Fighting Technique that has been Stylized and Refined in Different Ways

Punching with your fists and kicking with your feet come naturally when untrained fighters fight with each other. Add a few other tactics such as elbowing, kneeing, biting and head butting, and you have a complete fighting routine. Many of these are in fact are elements of some boxing styles like Muay Thai or Thai Boxing.

When the boxing becomes a trained discipline, the techniques are refined so that their effectiveness is enhanced and they are adapted to different fighting situations. In particular, training can help fighters counter opponents better and increase the impact of their own punches, kicks and other kinds of attacks.

Boxing has thus been developed into formalized systems with codified practices in different regions of the world. In addition to Muay Thai, there are other systems such as Burmese Boxing, French Boxing and modern Western Boxing.

Thai Boxing or Muay Thai

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The process of refining techniques can be illustrated by looking at some practices of Muay Thai. In this system of boxing, the use of feet for kicking has been abandoned in favor of kicking with the shin. The feet contain many fragile bones that can easily get broken if used for kicking. The shin, while quite sensitive in an untrained person, can be developed into a formidable weapon through training. Thai boxing also minimizes hand punching at the body of the opponent, instead focusing on the head. The theory is that when you try to punch lower, your own head is exposed to attack by the opponent's elbows and knees.

Muay Thai involves extensive use of hands, shins, elbows and knees, and is known as the Art of Eight Limbs. In the traditional style, a ninth limb, the head, was also used. Head butting has been banned in modern Muay Thai. This style of boxing also uses grappling to some extent. Clinching, where you hold the opponent's head with your hands while kneeing the person, for example.

Strikes like punches, kicks and others involve the use of the full body. The fighter turns the full body from the hip while striking, and thus adds considerable force to the attack.

Thai boxing originally used a flat handed kind of punching, striking with the heel of the palm. It has now incorporated all the different punches of modern boxing, such as jabs, hooks and upper cuts with fists and knuckles.

Other fighting techniques of Muay Thai include:

Kicking with the shin,

Different types of Elbowing,

Jumping, flying and straight Knee strikes,

Clinching the opponent's head while striking with the knee and

Foot Thrusts to throw the opponent off balance

Defensive techniques include Blocking, Redirection, Avoidance, Evasion, Disruption and Anticipation.

Modern Boxing

Barrera vs Morales Boxing Autographs

Western boxing, with its focus on reducing boxing to a rules-based sport and minimizing injuries is what we call modern boxing. It had its origin in the Greek Olympics of pre-Christian era. The boxing of Greek times was different from what we know as modern boxing, and serious injury was common.

Modern boxing places considerable focus on minimizing such serious injury. Heavy gloves have to be worn by the contestants, and only hits by the gloved fists are allowed in fighting. No elbowing, kneeing, head butting or biting are allowed. Referees can stop the fight if one of the contestants is deemed to be unable to continue fighting.

The rules of modern boxing include:

The use of three minute "rounds" of fighting with one minute rests between each round

The use of "corners" where the boxer can rest during the break, and can receive help and advice from coach and helpers

Prohibition of certain kinds of attacks, such as hitting below the belt, holding the opponent while striking and the elbowing, kneeing etc mentioned earlier

Three methods of deciding a winner, viz. Knockout when one of the fighters touches the floor of the ring for a count of ten, Technical Knockout when the referee determines that one of the contestants cannot continue the fighting and Referee Decision or Judges' Points if neither Knockout nor Technical Knockout occurs

The use of a referee, who monitors the fight closely working inside the ring, and ringside judges who score points for each boxer

Modern boxing also ensures that only fighters with similar weights are matched against each other. Even in this case, if the fighting shows that the fighters are seriously mismatched, the referee can stop the fight. Amateur boxers are also required to wear headgear while fighting.

Modern boxing is thus very different from traditional fighting that allowed all kinds of attacks, such as kneeing, elbowing, biting and head butting. However, many of these elements can be seen in other boxing styles such as Thai Boxing. Even in these cases, rules have minimized their lethal character so that contestants are not maimed or killed.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Is A Modern Form Of Jujutsu, The Ancient Japanese Martial Art

Like Jujutsu, Jiu Jitsu Also Focuses on Leverage and Balance Rather Than Brute Force

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The ancient Japanese martial art of jujutsu was developed to fight bare handed against armed and armored opponents during Samurai days. This technique depended on balance and leverage to use the opponent's momentum against himself and throw him off balance. The unbalanced opponent was thrown, immobilized, maimed, choked or otherwise rendered ineffective.

While the ancient jujutsu used all kinds of attacks designed to kill or seriously maim the opponent, modern jiu jitsu is used in a far more restrained fashion, for self defense or in competitive events. The common element between the ancient and modern practice is the use of leverage rather than strength to defeat an opponent.

Modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

A Japanese master of Kodokan Judo, who was sent abroad to popularize the new martial art of Judo all over the world, found support in Brazil and the Brazilian martial art of Jiu Jitsu developed as a result. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a grappling technique that, unlike Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Judo, is primarily fought on the ground. Today Jiu Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are often thought to be synonymous. Though they are distinct systems, for the remainder of this article the terms will be used interchangeably

Fighting on the ground neutralizes much of the advantage of a stronger opponent and the Jiu Jitsu practitioner focuses primarily on getting the opponent to the ground. Several techniques are available to achieve this objective and once on the ground, the practitioner uses a number of maneuvers to gain dominance and get the opponent into a position where immobilizing holds can be applied.

The immobilizing holds can take the form of joint-locks or choke-holds. In joint-locks, some particular joint of the opponent, such as a wrist, elbow, knee or ankle is held and leverage is used to move the joint beyond its normal range of movement. By applying pressure in a controlled manner, the opponent is made to suffer intolerable pain and admit defeat. Under sporting conditions, the opponent usually indicates submission in some recognized manner, e.g. "tapping out". In real combat conditions, the joint can be broken and the opponent seriously injured.

Chokes involve constricting the windpipe or the carotid artery (called strangulation). Air chokes have the potential to damage the opponent's trachea and even to cause death. Strangulation results in unconsciousness, and provided it is released before brain damage from oxygen deprivation begins, does not cause permanent damage.

People learn jiu jitsu for self defense or for taking part in competitive tournaments. Jiu jitsu skills can come in handy in grappling and mixed martial art competitions. Due to the use on technique and leverage over raw force, jiu jitsu can neutralize larger and stronger opponents in both self defense and competition scenarios.

Jiu Jitsu Training and Grading

Training to acquire jiu jitsu skills typically involve the following practices:

Technique drills against a non-resisting partner

Position drills where no submissions are applied and partners vie to take and hold a dominant position.

Isolation sparring where only a particular technique or limited range of techniques are practiced

Full sparring where each partner tries to get the other person to submit, using all legal techniques

Physical conditioning

Grading seeks to assess the practitioner's

Grasp of technical knowledge as demonstrated through drills above and

Performance in sparring and actual competitions

Practitioners are encouraged to adapt the techniques to suit their body type, preferences and athleticism.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art form that allows people, regardless of size, to defend themselves against attacks from larger or stronger opponents by using correct technique and leverage. The right techniques need to be learned through extensive practice. Once mastered the techniques can help the practitioner throw stronger opponents off-balance and use that person's momentum against himself in combat situations. Opponents thrown to the ground lose some of their strength and size advantages. They can then be maneuvered into positions where joint-locks or choke-holds can be applied to defeat them.

Jujutsu ----the martial art of Japan

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Jujutsu (柔術:じゅうじゅつ jūjutsu?), literally translates to "art of pliance". More accurately, however, it means the art of using indirect force, such as joint locks or throwing techniques, to defeat an opponent, as opposed to direct force such as a punch or a kick. This is not to imply that jujutsu does not teach or employ strikes, but rather that the art's aim is the ability to use an attacker's force against him or her, and counter-attack where they are weakest or least defended.
Methods of combat included striking (kicking, punching), throwing (body throws, joint-lock throws, unbalance throws), restraining (pinning, strangulating, grappling, wrestling) and weaponry. Defensive tactics included blocking, evading, off balancing, blending and escaping. Minor weapons such as the tantō (dagger), ryufundo kusari (weighted chain), jutte (helmet smasher), and kakushi buki (secret or disguised weapons) were almost always included in koryū jujutsu.
Most of these were battlefield-based systems to be practiced as companion arts to the more common and vital weapon systems. At the time, these fighting arts went by many different names, including kogusoku, yawara, kumiuchi, and hakuda. In reality, these grappling systems were not really unarmed systems of combat, but are more accurately described as means whereby an unarmed or lightly armed warrior could defeat a heavily armed and armored enemy on the battlefield. Ideally, the samurai would be armed and would not need to rely on such techniques.
In later times, other koryū developed into systems more familiar to the practitioners of the jujutsu commonly seen today. These systems are generally designed to deal with opponents neither wearing armor nor in a battlefield environment. For this reason, they include extensive use of atemi waza (vital-striking technique). These tactics would be of little use against an armored opponent on a battlefield. They would, however, be quite valuable to anyone confronting an enemy or opponent during peacetime dressed in normal street attire. Occasionally, inconspicuous weapons such as knives or tessen (iron fans) were included in the curriculum.
Today, jujutsu is practiced in many forms, both ancient and modern. Various methods of jujutsu have been incorporated or synthesized into judo and aikido, as well as being exported throughout the world and transformed into sport wrestling systems, adopted in whole or part by schools of karate or other unrelated martial arts, still practiced as they were centuries ago, or all of the above.

China to refurbish homeplace of Shaolin kung fu

China plans to give a large-scale facelift to the Shaolin Temple area in central Henan Province, where the renowned Shaolin kung fu (martial art) originated.

More than 1,000 enterprises, martial art schools, shops and households covering some 300,000 square meters are scheduled to be moved away from eight sightseeing areas in the city of Dengfeng, Henan, according to Jin Yindong, head of the city's cultural heritage administration.

Archeological experts will also repair and renovate the dagobas of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in the city.

The project, set to be completed by the end of this year, is aimed at clearing away constructions that diminish the image of the eight ancient cultural heritage areas.

Three of them, including the Shaolin dagobas and Songyang Academy -- one of the four most important schools in ancient China, are vying for the World Heritage status.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has granted the status to 35 sites in China, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City in Beijing, the 2,200-year-old terracotta warriors in the northwestern city of Xi'an, and the newly-added Diaolou watchtowers in Guangdong Province.

Local authorities are busy preparing a detailed plan of the project and compensation measures for the businesses and people to be relocated.

Dengfeng, China's best-known home of martial arts, also boasts 16 cultural relics under the state protection list.

Ten Train Wreck Wrestling Promos

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As we experienced this week, wrestling promos are usually good for a surprise and a laugh. Physical prowess and a chiseled body are just half the battle on the road to a successful wrestling career. Charisma and skills on the microphone can be the difference between having a career like the Rock, or toiling on the mid-card for life. Take Ken Shamrock for example, he had the look, the athleticism, and the body… but he couldn’t talk his way out of parking ticket. For better or for worse, below are ten wrestling promos that went way wrong (or way right) depending on how you look at them.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Jake Roberts made his name by popularizing one of the most devastating finishing moves of its time, the DDT. That and he carried his pet snake Damien around in a bag. Years later Roberts was still traipsing around America wrestling in high school gymnasiums and casinos. Roberts has a well documented history with drug use, and I’m not so sure what he was using before this interview, but it’s obvious that a casino may not have been the best place to take it.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper

Here we have the iconic “Scottish” bad boy Roddy Piper, evidently high on gas, rambling on about The Village People, lipstick, Jacques Cousteau, having his dick taken away, and insinuates that The Mountie may actually be gay for him. Remember kids, don’t do drugs.

Booker T

All you can do is laugh when Booker T realizes he accidentally dropped an “N-bomb” while calling out Hulk Hogan. Sensational Sherry finds it funny, but Booker is beside himself.

Jumpin Jeff Farmer

There’s a reason you’ve never heard of Jumpin Jeff Farmer and uh… this is it.

“Psycho” Sid

Sid kind of looked like Ted Danson’s steroid taking half-brother with a sick Jheri curl. He was infamous for botching shoots and interviews, here he asks for a redo during a live promo. Ahh, no.

Scott Hall

This might help you recall how much of a waste pit WCW was during their downward spiral. It’s not that Scott Hall is garbage on the microphone here, the fans are tossing junk in the ring because they’re allowed. That kind of shit would get you tossed in the WWF. It’s a creeper, but wait until about the :46 mark. Stay classy, WCW fans.

Booker T

Booker’s got a better sense of humor this time around. Neither X-Pac or Kevin Nash can keep it together when Booker T mocks Shawn Michaels’ entrance theme. Booker himself seems to have gotten the biggest kick out of it.

Lex Luger

Everything bad you’ve ever heard about the effects of steroids is on display here. The “Total Package” Lex Luger is erupting with rage over being booked in some backwoods wrestling promotion (like he could get work somewhere else?). He can’t even get out of his shirt he’s so jacked up.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage

Some consider him among the greatest wrestlers of all time. That’s warranted, he could topple or match anyone on the microphone, and in his day he was a high-flying daredevil. He was crazy, he still is crazy, but he fucking rules.

The Ultimate Warrior

Derangement, lunacy, senselessness, idiocy. All would be fair when describing the one and only Ultimate Warrior.

The story about Sin She Lo Siauw Gok

SinShe LO SIAUW GOK was born in Semarang (Indonesia) on 09.12.1931 as a son of the, in whole south-east Asia, famous SinShe Lo Ban Teng and his wife Go Bin Nio. He was given birth as second son of altogether 12 children. Before his father died in 1958 he imparted his complete knowledge of the fighting art and the medicine to him.
He then took over the famous "Rumah Obat" (house of the medicine) in Jakarta, which was conducted by his father, and proceeded to run the school of fighting art of his father in which he already was active since 1954. The name of the school and the fame of the fighting art of master Lo Siauw Gok reached till Berlin. So I decided to fly to Indonesia in 1981 and to try to study from SinShe Lo Siauw Gok.
At first I was taken to the bus station, called Ban Teng, but later on, with the help of a friend, when I finally met SinShe Lo, he wanted to know everything about me and of course he wanted me to show him my attainments. When I showed him my techniques, declining he said: Ach, ShanTung.
SinShe Lo Siauw Gok had 27 master-students and I was very grateful to him for accepting me as his 28th and also his last student. In the course of the years he introduced me to many of them (now, most of them are well-known masters of the fighting art themselves), among them the fight coach of the Indonesian army.

Lo Siauw Gok wasn't only a respected healer of the traditional Chinese medicine (SinShe) but also a respected master of the Chinese fighting art (Quan Fa) like his father and teacher. I knew him as a sensitive, patient teacher, always paying attention on precision, who very concentrated pursued and corrected my movements during the lessons. Only after rendering optimal performances, he rewarded me with a content smile. Although at first we only could talk in a language-mixture of Indonesian, Chinese, Dutch and English, he patiently has explained all techniques to me till he noticed that I have really understood. He did not simply showed me the techniques but also explained the backgrounds and the application to me.

Lo Siauw Gok taught me to work with the TjioSo and to harden the arms with the method NgoKie and the legs with the method KongKa. During NgoKie and KongKa exercises with him, I could always only envyingly fully admire his strong arms and his very hard shins, because I had nothing to put against that.
He showed me the execution of correct, hard and fast blows which bring the maximum energy into the technique by correct movement of the body, and also how to receive a blow correctly. SinShe Lo showed me the right application of the Sok as well as the exercise TjingTjio TanKie, right breathing LayKang (to reach and provide Qi).
He introduced me to the cutting techniques (Siang) and showed me the importance of exact timing. Lo Siauw Gok had not only taught me the techniques mentioned in the story of his father, but he also begun to introduce me with the art of the Chinese medicine. Among other things he taught me to produce the medicine TieTa YaoGin.
He made a master of the Ho Yang Pay of me, but unfortunately, he could not instruct me with the complete HoYang Pay.
That he gave me the name LOAHIM was a very great honor for me and I am very proud of it.

We always sat together after the training and drank tea and if we didn't speak about the fighting art, he was very much interested in my reports about Europe and quite especially about Berlin, which at that time was still divided.
Whether after the private lessons or after the common lessons, together with his Chinese students, he liked very much to joke and he laughed very often. He also enjoyed to eat good food. He hasn't only introduced me with the local but also with the Chinese kitchen. Very often he organized banquet similar meals at which many of his current and also former students and almost always all family members were present.
Some years later my master planned intensive seminars which he carried out together with other masters of the Ho Yang Pay (as well students of him as of his father) and he allowed me to bring my students. At the end of these seminars and sometimes also in between he organized excursions at which we always laughed much and had good food. How you may look up in the story of his father, he wasn't only a well-known and very much respected personality in whole Indonesia but also in south-east Asia.
Even I, as a student of Lo Siauw Gok, was received respectfully in FuJian in 1995 during a meeting of the NanShaoLin WuZuQuan and got distinguished at the end of the exchange and the demonstrations for my performances with a signed sword.

Lo Siauw Gok died at the age of 59 years in Jakarta (Indonesia) on 03.07.1991. His mortal remains became incinerated on 07.07.1991 and in a following Sea-funeral his ashes were ceded into the Sea.

His death came for all of us very surprising and unfortunately much too early and means a very painful loss for us. He was more than only an excellent, famous master of the fighting art and SinShe for me, he was my Chinese father and I miss him very much.

*

Many members of the family Lo have very good skills in the fighting art.
As well the daughter (A Swan), a successful business woman, fighting art and fitness-teacher for women and youth, with her husband (A Kim) who is a successful and famous fighting athlete, as also the two sons of SinShe Lo Siauw Gok (A Seng and A Lun) have reported to continue with the heir in the tradition of the Ho Yang Pay in Indonesia.

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http://hokkian-siauwlim.de/LSGgb.html

The story about Sin She Lo Ban Teng

Pek Bin Kim Kong (The angel with the white face)

SinShe Lo Ban Teng died at the age of 72 years in Jakarta (Indonesia) on 27.07.1958. His body became incinerated on 01.08.1958 in Muara Karang (Java). He wasn't only a respected healer of the Chinese medicine (SinShe) but also a confessed and respected master of the Chinese fighting art (KunThao). He was always honest, straight and sometimes hard to everybody, identical whether poor or rich. This story not only reports about his strong points but also about his weaknesses and the interested reader will find out, which of these events are possible. Thanks belong as well to SinShe Lo Boen Lioe, a nephew of Lo Ban Teng from Kongsi-Besar, to Thio Tjing Tjo from Angke (district of Jakarta), a close friend, as to the inheritors, who made the material available and had given the permission for the publication.

In 1885 Lo Ka Liong moved from Eng Teng (Hok Kian) with his wife and two daughters to Tjio Bee (province Hok Kian, China) and opened the arrack shop Kim Oen Hap in the district of Tang Oa Bee Kee. He was a simple, modest man who did not like to argue and who was just lucky to be in this town. On 01.06.2437 (1886) his wife gave birth to a healthy son, they called him Ban Teng and he became all the devotion. As a child, Ban Teng caused a lot of worry to his parents. He was impudent and not easy to be controlled. The school made little delight to him, he rather wanted to play than to study. In spite of all art of persuasion and threats, after three years of school he wanted to quit. At that time he had to help the father in the business. The local people from Tjio Bee were very much distrustful about strangers and they also felt this about Ka Liong and his family. Ban Teng was often annoyed and slogged by the children of the town. He always came out as winner in the single combat because he was simply stronger. During the day he wanted to go out of the house reluctantly, since he feared the attacks of the children. He wanted to take revenge, but his father however tried to change his mind.
One day the neighbours attacked the business and destroyed the arrack vessels. Ka Liong was about to give up. Ban Teng was furious and angry because he could not do anything. He decided to learn fighting at the age of 14. After two years of lessons in Tjio Bee however he had no success. He was still slogged. He was not discouraged however and went on practising. Ka Liong was very worried about the development of his son. When Ban Teng was approximately 17 years old, his father sent him to Lo Ban Keng, a cousin, to Semarang (Indonesia). After 7 months he returned to China, because he did not like it over there. The inhabitants of Tjio Bee disturb Ka Liong more frequently, which in Ban Teng strengthens the wish to study the fighting art.
To distract Ban Teng from these ideas, at the age of 19, his father made him marry a girl from Eng Teng, named Lie Hong Lan. Together they have a daughter, Lo Lee Hwa. Ban Teng practises every day in the fighting art and with the customers of the business he speaks about nothing else. His mother and also his father died in succession in his 23rd year of life. He kept on running the business, Kim Oen Hap, of his father. Since his marriage was childless except for Lee Hwa, he adopts a boy and gives him the name Siauw Eng.
One day a customer tells him of a master who can reputedly jump on houses because he has practised with wooden sandals to which he always had tied stones. He increased the size of the stones. He advises Ban Teng to practise this also. Ban Teng goes down town to a stonecutter and orders a pair of shoes made of stone with a weight of 5 kg each. The stonecutter is wondering about the unusual order and asks: "what do you need shoes from stone for?", Ban Teng answers irritated: "I want to practise the high jump". The stonecutter begins to laugh and it seems as if he never wants to stop. Ban Teng who in the meantime gets furious, wonders: "what's so funny, are you laughing about me?". The old man calms down slowly and points at the street where two men carrying long poles about the shoulder to whose ends respectively hang large baskets in which they transported garbage. If you think that these men can fly when they put down their burden, you are stupid, the stonecutter said.
Ban Teng feels attacked and wants to demand the old stonecutter to a fight. He takes Ban Teng to a side room and fetches a stone from under the bed, with a build in handle (Tjio So) which weighs approx. 25 kg. Ban Teng takes this for a test of strength and presses the stone a couple of times in the air. However the old man only shakes his head and says: "only empty energy, wasted power". The stonecutter takes the stone with ease, as if it hadn't any weight and throws it in the air. The stone circles the horizontal axis once. When it comes back down, the old, gaunt man catches it exactly at the handle without either trembling or loosing balance.

Ban Teng is convinced that the old man who has just taught him a lesson must be a master of the fighting art. Ban Teng later learns that he was no less a man than Yoe Tjoen Gan, one of the five best students of Tjoa Giok Beng from Tjoan Tjiu, master of the Siauw Lim Ho Yang Pay. The next day Ban Teng went again to ask the stonecutter to accept him as his student, however he was declined. Ban Teng did not give up and this went on for one year; but the old stonecutter was adamant, till the business decreased and Tjoen Gan had to give up. Ban Teng offers him to live at his place, however he declines. Anyway, after several vain attempts, Tjoen Gan gives way and moves into the house of Ban Teng and his family. To reward him for this, he shows him techniques of his art. Ban Teng kneels in front of the old man and showed him Pay Koei. Ever since the old stonecutter lived with him. He gets the best room and a servant. Ban Teng practises daily and speaks much with his teacher about the fighting art. He neglects business and family and he gets into quarrel about this with his wife. He gathers friends and acquaintance and they practice together in a Bu Kwan. Every student pays 12 Kouw of which he gives his teacher 2 Kouw daily. One day, when Ban Teng was a little late and Tjoen Gan conducts the exercises alone, some students doubt about the abilities of the old man. Since he doesn't look half as strong as Ban Teng, the four largest and strongest students want to practise Ngo Kie with him, but however, no one can even keep up twice against him. They had the feeling to beat against an extremely rough joist with sharp edges.
With an employee who works in his arrack shop of which Ban Teng knows that he also deals with fighting arts, Ban Teng wants to compete, however he is subject to him. A day Ban Teng has to go to Amoy and Tjoen Gan asks him to greet a con-student (Su Heng) of him who lives there and the name is Goei In Lam (also called: Panther, who defeats the sky). Ban Teng is introducing himself as a student of Tjoen Gan and bringing the greetings he asks him if he would check his techniques. While Ban Teng shows him his techniques, In Lam shakes his head but says nothing. In Lam gives Ban Teng a message for Tjoen Gan at his departure, saying that he shall come to Amoy as soon as possible, because In Lam wants to speak to him absolutely. When Tjoen Gan reads the message, his features change to a gotten face. As soon as possible he travels to Amoy getting the rebukes from In Lam. Tjoen Gan had to listen to the reproach, that although he always has received all support, he hasn't taught right and not seriously his hardworking, interested and quick learning student Ban Teng and that he shall teach him all he knows, if he doesn't want to harm the good name of Ho Yang Pay.
Tjoen Gan returns to Tjio Bee and instructs Ban Teng in HoYang Pay completely. The correct technique of the blow, the correct movement of the body to produce the most power into the techniques (like a chicken cleans his feathers from dust), how to receive a blow and to move arm and leg correctly at the same time. Ban Teng understands the essence of the Ho Yang Pay.
Three months later Ban Teng fights with his employee again and he defeats him this time. With two movements he throws him against a barrel full of excrements. He demands his opponents from the youth one after another for a fight and wins. At that time the name Lo Ban Teng becomes famous in Tjio Bee and the residents are pondered hostile opposite him but they were afraid of him.
Ban Teng is 27 years old and his technique is still not quite perfect when his teacher and master Tjoen Gan dies. Shortly before his death, he handed over a belt and 2 books to his student. The belt which accompanied him always on his migrations, a book about medicine and one about the Ho Yang Pay. Ban Teng furnished him a worthy ceremony. He mourns very much about the painful loss and if he should have a son, he wants to call him Yoe in honour of his master. Goei In Lam as well as Liem Kioe Djie and Ong Tjian Pwee two other masters of the Ho Yang Pay are very much impressed by the behaviour Ban Teng was showing to his master. They often go to see him and enlarge his knowledge and dexterities.
Liem Kioe Djie is expert in hand and arm techniques, particularly for hard and fast blows executed together with a body movement bringing the energy in direction of arm and fist, as well as in medicine (specially healing inner wounds by intense blows (Siang) and broken bones or dislocations). Ong Tjian Pwee (also called Ong Tiauw Gan) expert in leg techniques has a very hard shin and the hardest kick. His favourite technique is Tjeng Hong Kui Tie (a mild wind sweeps the earth). He is also expert in Bong Meh (pulse diagnosis), he treats different inner and outer illnesses teething troubles, woman illnesses and illnesses related to a particular age.
Goei In Lam is expert in the cutting techniques, in exact timing as well as in Lay Kang (breathing technique, providing inner energy).
Liem Thian In, son of Kioe Djie and Ban Teng are equal strong. He is young, large, firm, has a violent voice and is a master of the fighting art. No-one can defeat the other, therefore Thian In asks his father not to show everything to Ban Teng about Ho Yang Pay and he responds: "if not to him, to whom else"?
At the age of 29, Ban Teng receives the permission to open a house of medicine and becomes Sin She. He gives up the arrack business in favour of the healing- and the fighting art and fast attains local celebrity, because he can cure many people fast.

A day Ban Teng hears that Heng Goan Say, the teacher and leader of several fighting schools in EngTeng, is in Tjio Bee and speaks bad about the Ho Yang Pay. He is famous for his lightning kick. He announces that the opponent will spit blood after only one kick and who doesn't believe it shall try it. Ban Teng reaches Goan Say with 12 Kouw and a visiting card. He says he wants to become his student, however he wants to see his technique before. Hearing the name Ban Teng, Goan Say retreats respectfully, but nevertheless he admits in a fight.
During the fight Ban Teng suddenly is attacked by the son from behind with a firm punch. However with a sudden sidestep Ban Teng executes the technique Kee Bo Tjeng Sit with which he breaks the arm of the attacker. Goan Say attacks once more with lightning kicks. Ban Teng however can evade each of these firm kicks.
Goan Say changes his tactic and attacks Ban Teng with a fast and powerful punch towards his chest. Ban Teng defends himself with the technique In Thien Shou and with a firm kick under the shoulder Goan Say collapses yelling. Lo Ban Teng leaves his visiting card, takes his 12 Kouw and goes. Goan Say grabbed his stuff, went back to his village and never again said something against the Ho Yang Pay.

One day Ban Teng hears that a Koyo seller tells that he had knocked down Goei In Lam. Ban Teng becomes furious and goes to see him. The salesmen is just demonstrating his abilities in a crowd when Ban Teng asks him whether it is correct, that he claims to have defeated Goei In Lam. When the salesmen recognizes Ban Teng he is frightened and denies it. Ban Teng calls him a liar and wants to fight with him. He wants to defeat him with three techniques but the salesmen already gave up after two techniques (Kao Ta and Siang Pee). Ban Teng takes the weapons of the salesmen and brings them to In Lam to Amoy. Goei laughs warmly when he hears what has happened. Ban Teng lets the salesmen know, that he can collect his weapons from Goei In Lam in Amoy.
When he gets there ashamedly, In Lam pretends he doesn't know what had happened. Goei In Lam shames the salesmen still more by telling him that Ban Teng is still green and inexperienced. The salesmen asks for his weapons and disappears.

A quality of Lo Ban Teng was always, to help or defend others if necessary. One day Lim Kiang, a training comrade from Tang Bwee, tells him that he had quarrel with a teacher of the Yao Tjong Pay. Ban Teng accompanies his friend.
A fight shall take place in the temple Yo Thiu Bio in which a stage was set up already. When Lim Kiang and Ban Teng arrive, the supporters of the Yao Tjong Pay were already present. However for their surprise many of them were armed with guns. The teacher of the Yao Tjong Pay is very much surprised when he recognized Ban Teng, he fears that Ban Teng wants to interfere in the fight. Ban Teng recognizes that this quarrel is not just any trifle. The crowd is very outraged and he fears riots in view of the guns but thinks that the fight shall take place since a stage is already built up. The local police suddenly appears, forbids the fight and lets dismantle the stage.

Lo Ban Teng became always more famous and acquires always more respect in Tjio Bee, Eng Teng, Amoy, Tang Bwee and Tjoan Tjiu and he gets the title Pek Bin Kim Kong (the angel with the white face) of Ho Yang Pay.
No other fighting art teacher dares without permission of Ban Teng to teach and no Koyo salesman dares to sell or to practise at one of these places. He is respected in circles of the Ho Yang Pay.
In the meantime his abilities had progressed so much that he could be a good match for his teachers.

Ban Teng as a young man however still has faults and weaknesses. He is wild, often spends the nights in the entertainments district, so contacts to persons of the sub-world don't stay away. His habits one day involved him in a rather funny event. An acquaintance of Ban Teng has quarrel with a rich man from Tjio Bee because he deals with his wife. The rich man learns of a meeting of his wife with this man at a pleasure place.
Since he knows that the man is a fighting art expert, he takes two hand grenades, goes to the rendezvous and requires that his wife immediately shall come with him or else he would throw the shells. The present had panic-stricken fear, only one remained cool. Ban Teng gets up of his seat, he approaches quietly and request the man: "please throw the shell". The man goes some steps back, takes the shells highly and threatens to drop them if he comes closer. With the words: "well drop them, go ahead, make it fast" Ban Teng approaches. The man turns around and leaves the place head over heels.
Ban Teng laughs loudly, the friend comes relieved shaking his head and wonders why he is so crazy asking what he would have done if he had dropped the shells. Ban Teng laughs and explains his behaviour to him that rich people generally fear dying and all of them laughed.

It would lead too far for this story to follow every step Lo Ban Teng made in China. As long as he was in south China, he couldn't find any opponent who could beat him. He has found and defeated all fighting experts who gave themselves airs and spoke badly of him or of the Ho Yang Pay.

1927 in his 41 year of life Ban Teng gets an invitation from Jo Kian Ting, a Chinese resident of Indonesia, to come to Semarang. Since he knew that Ban Teng doesn't have any opponent in south China, he wanted to arrange a fight between Ban Teng and a Coloured which organizes in Indonesia events to demonstrate his powers and to criticize the Chinese fighting art, for what Jo was very much annoyed about.
Ban Teng intended to go to Indonesia to show his cousin, Lo Ban Keng, who took him for useless earlier, that he is very respected now. Lo Boen Lioe (a nephew of Ban Teng) at that time lived already in Tjirebon, Indonesia. He taught there fighting art and his fame reached beyond Semarang.
Lo Ban Teng comes together with Lim Tjoei Kang to Indonesia, who later on gets famous in fighting art. Lim Tjoei Kang is student of Sim Jang Tek which is very respected as SinShe and fighting art teacher in Singapore. The school however is conducted by his daughter. Although it is not easy for Sim to let Tjoei Kang go together with Ban Teng nevertheless and because Ban Teng says that, since he doesn't have any sons, he likes to pass his abilities on to Tjoei Kang and Boen Lioe. Ban Teng did not want to remain for long in Indonesia and bring back Tjoei Kang soon. In addition he still needed a partner for his training because he doesn't know anybody in Semarang and Boen Lioe lives in Tjirebon.
The arrival of Ban Teng in Semarang and the rumour, that possibly a fight with the Coloured will take place, causes excitement with the Chinese. Jo immediately starts with the preparations and the stage construction. Since the government refuses the permission however the fight had to be cancelled.

Lo Ban Teng intended to remain in Indonesia not more than 8 months. He likes to return to China. Acquaintance and people Ban Teng helped to get healthy, ask him to stay in Semarang. He remains, opened a medicine house and practises there as Sin She. In his spare time he practices with Tjoei Kang.
After a short time in Semarang he gets to know a very kind, soft, good looking young woman with good manners, named Go Bin Nio. Ban Teng feels attracted by her. By arrangement of relatives and friends the wedding took place soon and she became the second Mrs Lo. A son gets born after a year. They call him Siauw Hong. Ban Teng is very happy but also a little worried because he thinks that he can not train his son correctly since he is already so old.
Ban Teng also remembers the promises which he gave to the died Yoe Tjoen Gan that he always wants to bring this child up in his meaning.
The second son, Lo Siauw Gok is given birth in 1931 to whom Ban Teng has bequeathed his complete abilities of the fighting art and the knowledge about the medicine.

In the same year Lo Ban Teng organizes a Tjing Pie Say, a feast at which much fighting art is shown. This message worries the Chinese population, because in Chinese tradition the one who organizes something like this, is courageous and ready to proof his abilities no matter against whom. Lo Ban Teng wants to state, whether there are other capable masters of the fighting art at Java.
Lo Boen Lioe, Lim Tjoei Kang and Tan Hoei Liong as well as Eng Bu Kwan (a student of Lo Boen Lioe and Tan Hoei Liong) are also present. The events take place in Semarang, Solo and Jogja and are well frequented.
Also posters were stuck for these events, with the contents: Tjing Pie Pek Bak Pay (green nose, white eyebrows), Bwee Pa, Tju Li Lay ( if you like to try, please come on up), Kia Sia Em Tang Lay ( if you fear to die, better don't come), Pa Sie Ka Tie Tay (if you get hit fatally, look after your own burial). These impudent and provocative posters did not find any consents with the fighting art experts living at Java at that time.
They even had anonymous letters in consequence in which Lo Ban Teng was threatened that if he doesn't keep his mouth shut, he will be send to China with a kick.
Lo Ban Teng reacted with an indication in Chinese newspapers in which he asked the authors let himself be seen in public with him.
On these Barongsay events Lo Boen Lioe showed his abilities with a particular weapon, the Siang Gan (also known as Poan Koan Pit), which looks like a pencil, pointed with his short, pentagonal shaft. Sin She Lim Tjoei Kang demonstrated the energy Lay Kang by lying down on his back weighted with four sacks of rice on which still stood five persons swinging triangular flags with which they wrote Giok Beng into the air, the name of the Grand Master of the Ho Yang Pay.
Sin She Tan Hoei Liong demonstrated his power, by having his stomach beaten with a large Chinese stone (Siang Tjio) (this stone later became his gravestone). In addition he swallowed a sword, which came back out only with the power of his breath (Lay Kang).
SinShe Lo Ban Teng held lectures on the essence of the Chinese fighting art of which Tat Mo Tiouw Soe and Thio Sam Hong are considered as the founders. Furthermore he gave demonstrations over training methods and their results as well as about the energy of the body-shaking in which he led animals as example.
Because of the high costs of the event and that the aim wasn't reached, to find out whether there are any good masters of the fighting art, the events were cancelled uncompleted.

At that time the first wife of Lo Ban Teng heard that her husband in Indonesia have got infatuated of a beautiful woman in China. This news was even still exaggerated by being said that he lives a slippery way of life with his second wife, that he live in luxury, would have a car and if he wanted to send money to his first wife, his second wife would impede.
Insecure by this and because Lo Ban Teng hasn't sent any money for a long time, his first wife decides to travel to Indonesia together with the adopted son Lo Siauw Eng, her daughter Lo Lee Hwa and their husband, to free Lo Ban Teng from the claws of this woman. Lo Ban Teng who had already enough sorrows together with the difficulties with the Barongsay events and because of the anonymous insults, feared to be insulted by his wife coming from China.
When his first wife (Lie Hong Lan) wants to return to China with her children again she invites the second woman (Go Bin Nio ), to come to China with her. So Ban Teng goes back to China with both women, the two little children, Siauw Hong and Siauw Gok furthermore Siauw Eng, Lee Hwa and her husband. The Indonesian mother-in-law asks Ban Teng not to let the two children in China but to bring them back to Indonesia again.

When Ban Teng arrived China he went straight to the grave of Yoe Tjoen Gan with his family. He introduced his son (Siauw Hong) to his deceased teacher, whom he dedicated to him.
After approx. seven months, Ban Teng wants to return to Indonesia again with his second wife and the two children. Since the two women in the meantime get on well, Mrs Lie asks Mrs Go to let one of the children stay with her as her old-age provision and also for another possible meeting. (The wish for another reunion though should not be fulfilled up to the death of his first wife). It is difficult for Mrs Go to decide which of the two children shall remain in China. Ban Teng and she decide to let Siauw Gok there. Mrs Lie was glad about the decision.
Shortly before the departure Siauw Gok gets ill and the medications cannot help him. After that, they decided to let Siauw Hong in China. Strange is that when the ship leaves the port Siauw Gok gets healthy again. Lo Ban Teng shook the head, Hoa Say (this is how he called his master Yoe Tjoen Gan) apparently didn't want him.

The marriage with Mrs Go didn't bring out less than 12 children, not counted Lee Hwa and Siauw Eng.
The children are Siauw Hong (born 1930) and Siauw Gok (born 1931). Afterwards came Siauw Bok (born 1934) he likes music and dance. Siauw Tiauw (born 1934) becomes a master of table tennis, who is well known among the athletes also in the foreign countries. All of them were born in Semarang. In 1938 family Lo moved, together with Lo Boen Lioe from Semarang to Kongsi Besar (district of Jakarta). In the same year a daughter, Siauw Loan, got born, she studied in China. Siauw Gim (also a daughter) got born in 1939. When Japan attacked Indonesia in 1941 family Lo moved to Solo, at first into the house of Sin She Lim Tjoei Kang, later into an own one. At that time Mrs Lo was pregnant again, this pregnancy lasted for 12 months. While the Japanese army came into the country, Siauw Tjoen got born. Because of the unusual duration the pregnancy Ban Teng called him to Gek But (stubborn) and because he had a protuberant forehead as child he was called Ong Nga. In 1943 the daughter Siauw Ling and in 1947 the daughter Siauw Tjiok were given birth, in 1949 the son Siauw Tjioe, 1952 the daughter Siauw Koan and in 1955 as twelfth child, Siauw Njo, also a daughter. Some children of the family Lo have good knowledge of the fighting art. Lee Hwa, the daughter of Ban Teng in China, got instructed since she was 14, when Sin She Lo was 34 years old. She was very talented and learned very fast. As a child, she had a plait (Tauw Tjang) and her blow was so hard, that her plait would deal around her own forehead like a whip. Sin She Lo often said about Lee Hwa, that although she is a woman, her blows are harder than the ones of Siauw Gok. People who know how hard the blow of Siauw Gok is, can imagine how hard a blow of Lee Hwa must have been.

It is told that at a street party in Tjio Bee to which also many people came from other towns. Many young people came not only because of the celebration but also because of the many pretty girls. When the young men saw the pretty Lee Hwa which only came for this feast in company of her mother they got courageous and made indecent remarks. Lee Hwa stayed cool, however when the young men became more courageously and one even tried to touch her chest, with a lightning blow she beat against his ribs that made him fall down moaning. Lee Hwa kept on going as if nothing happened. A young man (Tjiok Kim Gwan) watched the event from the top floor of a house. He was glad about the way it ended and felt so very attracted of Lee Hwa, that he asked for her hand and they got married later.

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The heirs of the HO YANG PAY

The fighting art was passed on to the children of the died Lo Ban Teng and additional the knowledge of the medicine, to his son Lo Siauw Gok. He ran the business from the father of the Chinese medicine and because of his abilities in the fighting art, he took the heir of the Ho Yang Pay in Indonesia. But Siauw Gok had almost failed there because in his youth he did not practice enough to master the fighting art. He rather played with his friends around the house. In school he fought frequently but most of the time he got beat and the friends teased him saying that as son of a master of the fighting art, he knows nothing at all and he started to practise more seriously in the 17. year of life to the delight of his father.

At that time SinShe Lo was already 60 years old and because he wanted to teach everything to Siauw Gok as fast as possible, he gave him a hard time. This way at first he reached the opposite. Instead of getting better, Siauw Gok became more mindless and his father became always more impatient and swore at him always more. This went on, that one day Siauw Gok even considered to stop to practise with his father and to continue somewhere else.
The family also reproached him, that he does not want to learn correctly. That he becomes always worse and that he is a useless tramp, who if the father dies, will probably become a beggar. These hard reproaches opened the eyes of Siauw Gok and strengthen his will to learn the fighting art and the Chinese medicine in despite of the insults of his father.

Within the first two years Siauw Gok merely became instructed in the bases of the Ho Yang Pay. Of prime importance he got taught to breathe right (Lay Kang). In addition to this he studied the exercise Tjing Tjio Tan Kie, also Kao Ta and Tjeng Tjeng (with the left and with the right), how one develops a hard blow as well as the ability to bear the hard blow of an opponent. Furthermore the feeling for speed and timing, the ability to move arm and leg simultaneously, to throw Tjio So and to toughen up the arms with the method Ngo Kie.

In the meantime Lo Siauw Gok who made good progress in the fighting art and had control of the Chinese medicine that he was able to cure illnesses went to Bandung in 1952. There he opened a Toko Obat however since he wasn't very successful, he went back to Jakarta in 1954 and helped since then in the Toko Obat of his father in Djelakeng.

Besides Siauw Gok also Siauw Tjoen had great abilities in the fighting art. He was already rather tall when he was 17 years old. He was very stubborn and Sin She Lo was often furious with him. But Siauw Tjoen also was the child who dared to talk casually with the father. The other children respected the father so very much, that they dared not to come too near if they weren't called. A day Siauw Tjoen should prepare medicine, however he tried to back out by pretending to have much to work for the school. Although his father scolded him very much Siauw Tjoen knew how to calm him down again.

During conversations, Sin She Lo frequently had with his children and friends, he could speak for hours about his experiences with the fighting art and he answered all questions.
Somebody wanted to know whether it is true that masters of the fighting art can not have children. He answered that he has many children. Whether one shall urinate before the morning training he affirmed obviously and added, that it is important not to eat much before the training.
A friend wanted to know, whether it possible to practise Kiu Sien (move in the testicles) and Tiap Kut (organize the bones in sitting). Sin She Lo laughed and explained that there was a master of the fighting art in China which had a student that shot his nerves because he asked so much, one day his teacher told him he shall practise Kiu Sien and Tiap Kut. If he can do it well, no-one can get too close to him. The student was very interested but simultaneously irritated. He never suspected that he has got on his nerves that the teacher wanted his death; because with the testicles inside, a man almost dies and to organize the bones correctly, one only can do at a skeleton.
Sin She Lo was asked if a man can jump on a roof how it often occurs in the stories. He explained, that a man without aid, no matter how intensive he practises, cannot jump higher than his own body size. Only living beings, with the knees turned to behind like cats, dogs, antelopes, grasshopper crickets etc. can skip repeatedly their own body size. Whoever claims he can jump on a roof, lies. If it was so easy, he could earn money with it. He could sell tickets and with two or three jumps he could be a rich man.
An acquaintance of Sin She Lo asked the question whether it is true that a fighting art teacher, who is really good, cannot get hit at the Twi Tju (training) and if he gets hit, that one can say that he still isn't good. Sin She Lo answered that every teacher who teaches his student really seriously and gives him the opportunity to attack him, that it can happen to get hit. The difference is that by his experience the blow doesn't arrive so hard. Most teachers don't like it to get hit during the training. They don't give their students any opportunity of this. Every time if the student tries to attack, the teacher anticipates him and with the time the student gets anxious and loses his self-confidence, so that he advances no more. There is always the possibility to receive a blow, whether at the Twi Tju or at the actual fight. Therefore we must practise Lay Kang. Then receiving a blow will no longer be so hard. In boxing there is not any master, who never received a punch. The difference lies in the temper of the blow and the one with the harder blow wins.
As somebody wondered, whether it is meaningful to master Thiam Hwee Kin (beat on the veins, that the opponent grow stiff), SinShe Lo replied laughing if it was really so simple one could beat a rich man on his veins with Thiam, that he cannot move and take his money away from him. This doesn't work like that. There are several weak places at the human body like the throat the joints, the tendons etc. and if one gets hit at these places, one can feel very weakly no matter how strong this place was hit. If we try to meet these places, one will be able to meet them only by chance. He explains further, that after a blow on these specific points to particular times, according to Chinese medicine teaching, it will have heavy consequences in the blood circulation of the man. However one cannot pay attention to the time and line up his blows after this during a fight. Because if it is not exactly the time, the desired effect can not be reached and as said already it isn't easy to meet these part of the bodies.
Sin She Lo also explained, that it isn't true that somebody can fight incessantly for hours and that it is not correct either that somebody can run as fast as a horse. Also that the art of the Hwi Heng Sut (to make the body light) doesn't exist.
On the question whether it is possible to train the fingers that they get so strong to make holes in a wall, he answered, you can never train the fingers of the people to make holes in a hard wall. The fingers can be invigorated but the fingernails would always break very painfully. Some of these examples describe exactly how the teaching of the Chinese fighting art is thought-out. Sin She Lo always told the truth about the fighting art to withdraw misunderstandings from circulation, by classifying the stories, like jumping on roofs, beating on veins etc., as untrue. But he also said, that one have to master the knowledge of the Chinese fighting arts to be successful in this art.

He listed the following at this: 1. determination/fearlessness, 2. intelligence, 3. a hard punch, 4. energy, to receive a hard blow of the opponent, 5. speed and a sharp eye, 6. good timing (to anticipate the opponent), 7. to assess distance exactly, whether the blow can reach the body of the opponent (Tji Li), 8. sharp senses to know on time where the opponent will move arms or legs (Kui), 9. tranquillity/calmness 10. self-confidence.

During his whole life Sin She Lo permanently deepened his knowledge in the fighting art. He also watched the habits of domestic animals. He watched exactly their movements at the fight, the behaviour at attack and defence. Some of his techniques had their origin in the movements of the animals (e.g. shaking the body during the blow ). The manner of receiving a blow by toughening up the body or pulling it together. By tensing the tendons, it is comparable with the reactions of animals if they are attacked suddenly. He demonstrated how roosters, cats or dogs (at an attack) shout and tenses the body. He checked the Lay Kang of Siauw Gok again and again by pushing him from behind to see whether the reaction was carried out correct.

Besides Lo Boen Lioe and Lim Tjoei Kang, SinShe Lo had accepted still other students in Indonesia. He trained Tan Tjoen Siang during the Japanese occupation, for which he was very grateful to Sin She Lo. He helped with the wedding of Lo Siauw Gok like a brother and provided his car. He set up an altar for the ashes when Sin She Lo died and contributed much to the smooth course of the ceremony.
Another student was Lie Kim Bie, but because Sin She Lo already could not see so well at that time (1955), Lo Siauw Gok trained Lie Kim Bie further for six months.
In 1955 the eyes of Sin She Lo became always weaker and he got cataract which he had operated in a hospital in Jogja in 1957. A year after he came back, he got a bad illness which also had to be operated. When he was dismissed after 46 days staying in the hospital, physically he was very much weakened. He got another illness at which he died on 27.07.1958 in the age of 72 years. During the cremation of Sin She Lo once again they had to put on more wood because the body still had not become ashes, everybody wondered whether this is because of the powerful trained body during all the years, which should be submitted to the fire.

Source : http://hokkian-siauwlim.de/LBTgb.html

TAIJIQUAN TECHNIQUES AGAINST KNEE JABS

What could a Taijiquan master like Yang Lu Chan do if a Muai Thai fighter grabs his neck or head and throws continuous knees into his ribs?

If he is a modern Taiji dance instructor, there is nothing much he could do, as he neither has the internal force nor knows the techniques to defend against any attacks. He is often quite helpless even if a Taekwondo blue belt attacks him with a high kick or an ordinary untrained person rushes in with haphazard punches.

A Muai Thai kickboxer is a ferocious fighter, and his knee jabs, even a single one, can break the ribs of an ordinary person. When faced with continuous knee attacks from a Muai Thai fighter, the Taiji dance instructor as well as all his students will, unfortunately, become sitting ducks. This is inevitable because in all their training, they have never learnt and practised how to fight.

But a Taijiquan master is different. If he has practised Taijiquan as an internal martial art, which it is, he will have many options to use against Muai Thai knee attacks. One option, which may come as a surprise to Taiji dancers, is the Taijiquan pattern called "Repulse Monkey".as shown in the picture on the left.

In fact the name of the pattern "Repulse Monkey" is very apt. In kungfu, round-house kicks which are called whirl-wind kicks in kungfu terminology, and knee jabs are characteristic of the Monkey style. "Repulse Monkey" is an effective counter against such kicks. The sequence below shows an application of "Repulse Monkey" against knee attacks.

I use the Taijiquan poise pattern "Lifting Hands" to observe Goh Kok Hin. Goh moves in with a thrust punch, and I response with the typical Taijiquan counter, the "peng" technique of "Grasping Sparrow's Tail". The second picture above shows that I am in the process of moving my front leg backward to avoid the full force of Goh's attack.

But Goh's initial attack is a feign move. As soon as I use the "peng" technique", he swiftly moves forward, pushes my head down towards his right, uses his left hand to guard against a possible counter attack of my right hand, and strikes my left ribs with his right knee.

If you have fought with Muai Thai fighters often, you would have noticed that they do not hold your head on both sides of your neck as they strike you with their knees, because as strangling is not permitted in Muai Thai rules, doing so would not give them any advantage. On the other hand, holding your head on one side and pulling it down towards the striking knee will cause you to loose balance, giving the Muai Thai fighters an advantage.

To counter Goh's knee attack, I continue moving my left leg but instead of moving it backward directly as initially intended, I move it in a big arc backward diagonally to my right so as to avoid the full force of the knee attack. At the same time I place my left arm, bent at the elbow, beneath his right thigh and pull his leg towards me, and use my right arm to push away his two arms and then push at his face. Continuing the combined actions, I fell Goh to the ground, still holding his right leg in my left bent arm.

If you successfully apply "Repulse Monkey" this way, even if your opponent intends to throw continuous knees into your ribs, he would be unable to do so now. You have a few ways to apply your coup de grace. You could, if you want to be nasty, step on his groins; but it would be sufficient if you just kick his left knee.

The pictures below show another sequence countering knee attacks.

In the first picture above, Goh Kok Hin attacks me with a typical Muai Thai knee jab to my ribs. I move my right leg diagonally backward to avoid the full force of his knee jab, and simultaneously jerk down my left elbow to deflect his knee attack. Immediately I push away his right arm and strike his chest with my right palm. A palm strike packed with internal force by a Taijiquan master on the heart or lungs of an opponent could kill or maim him, giving him no chance to continuous his numerous knee jabs.

Suppose a young child of five uses continuous Muai Thai knee jabs to attack a powerful adult. Suppose the adult is brutal and has no care for life. He needs not bother about the continuous knee jabs, which could not cause him much harm. All the brute has to do, though extremely cruel, is to give a powerful blow to the child's head, and this could kill or maim the child.

There is a tremendous gap between the standard of martial arts today when they are taken as sports, and that of the past when they were seriously used for life and death combat. In terms of power and combat efficiency, martial artists today, including ferocious Muai Thai fighters and myself, when compared to martial art masters of the past like Yang Lu Chan, are like children compared to powerful adults.

So if a modern fighter were so foolish as to grab Yang Lu Chan's neck or head and threw continuous knees into his ribs, the Taijiquan patriarch might not even bother to apply those counter techniques illustrated by Goh and me above, he would just give the attacker a powerful palm strike. Yang Lu Chan would not kill him, although he could, but he would send the attacker falling many feet away.

Hence, in life-death combat in the past no experienced fighters would grab his opponent's head or neck and throw continuous knees into his ribs. Not only such a mode of attack would render the attackers unprotected and therefore exposed to possible fatal counter strikes -- something no experienced kungfu fighters would ever do -- it was also not necessary.

If an attacker could grab his opponent's neck or head, there was no need to throw continuous knees into the opponent's ribs; he could kill the opponent by dislocating the opponent's head. Or, if he did not want to kill the opponent, he could twist the latter's neck and held him under control.

If, for some reasons, the attacker wanted to break the opponent's ribs with knee jabs, considering the tremendous power past fighters had, just one or the most two jabs would do. If he could not bring the opponent down with one or two knee jabs, he would jump away or continue with other modes of combat. Continuing to throw ineffectual knee jabs would make himself vulnerable to deadly counter attacks.

Let us examine another counter a Taijiquan master could use against a Muai Thai knee attack.

In the first picture above, Goh Kok Hin grabs my neck and strikes me with his right knee, using a pattern known in Shaolin Kungfu as "Jade Girl Kicks Shuttle". Please note that here Goh is holding my neck on both sides, and not on one side as in a typical Muai Thai knee jab. Such a way of holding an opponent's neck is often done by those not familiar with Muai Thai but imitate Muai Thai knee jabs.

Paradoxically, experienced kungfu fighters would also hold the opponent's neck in this way -- for a different reason. As kungfu is not limited by safety rules, the kungfu fighter not only holds the neck but also presses on vital points on the neck. Hence, his attack is not just from his knee but also from the thumbs and fingers of his both hands. The knee attack may be damaging, but the finger attacks can be fatal; that is why this is not allowed in the sport of Muai Thai.

In this"Jade Girl Kicks Shuttle" pattern Goh has to be careful of my possible counter-attack. Should I be foolhardy to ignore his attack and counter strike at the same time, he would be ready to neutralize my counter. For example, I may strike his chest with my right palm, in which case he would lower his left hand to brush away my palm strike, while continuing his right finger and knee attacks.

The Taijiquan pattern "Golden Cockerel Stands Alone" is excellent to counter this triple attack. I lift up both arms to jerk at Goh's elbows, thus dislodging his hold on my neck, and simultaneously lift up my left knee to deflect his right knee jab. Immediately I kick at his groins with my left shin.

But don't think that this "Golden Cockerel" will finish off Goh. As a properly trained Shaolin fighter, he would know the weakness of every attack pattern he uses, and would therefore be prepared for any eventualities. In this case he has a number of effective response to the Golden Cockerel counter attack. One way is to bring his right leg backward to a left Bow-Arrow Stance, and simultaneously strike my attacking shin with a left whip-fist.

History of Tai Chi Chuan

Tai Chi Chuan, meaning Grand Ultimate Fist, is one of the highest levels of martial art and health practice. Founded in China over fifteen hundred years ago, Tai Chi Chuan is one of the oldest documented forms of martial art. The history of Tai Chi can be summed up as part legend and part historical record. Legend would have Tai Chi being started by inspired sage or Taoist immortal in the Wu Dang Mountains. History would dictate that Tai Chi was started by men who dedicated themselves to the painstaking process of self-cultivation through martial art.

Tracing back to the Liang Period (AD 502-557) of China's Northern and Southern Dynasty, Tai Chi was first documented by military general by the name of Cheng Ling-Xi. Although not believed to be the founder of Tai Chi, Cheng was the first to write about the success of Tai Chi used in military combat. Later, during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), a martial artist name Xu Xin-Ping recorded his Tai Chi knowledge. Referred to as Tai Chi Chi Kung, Xu Xin-Ping's version also became known as the 37 form. With no beginning or ending and pauses between postures, Xu's version has many movements that resemble the Tai Chi practiced today. It is because of these similarities that we can verify the age of our own Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Today

The Tai Chi of today can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368) to a Taoist scholar by the name of Zhang San-Feng. Zhang, who gave up his job as a government official to become a recluse and study longevity, would later be credited for adding Taoist principles to the art. Already an old man before beginning his Tai Chi training, Zhang added theory and concept that would allow him to defeat younger and stronger opponents. It is his theories that would shape the evolution of Tai Chi for the next several hundred years.

Several generations later, a man named Jiang Fa brought Tai Chi to the village of Chen-Jia Gou. The inhabitants of Chen Village were known for practicing a Shaolin-like martial art that was passed down from the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) called Pow-Chui, or cannon fist. After observing the stiff and tense movements of Pow-Chui, Jiang Fa could not help but laugh out loud and wonder why the practitioners used such brute force. His laughter was seen as an insult and soon he was challenged by one of villagers by the name of Chen Chang-Xing. Chen was dumbfounded at the ease by which Jiang Fa shrugged off his attack, and realizing Jiang's superiority, begged him to take him as a student. This would begin the legacy of Chen Family Tai Chi.

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TAIJIQUAN TECHNIQUES AGAINST KNEE JABS

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