|
 SYSTEM 5
AMERICAN COMBAT
KARATE
The system was developed in the 1970's by Grandmaster's Bruce
and Dan Norris (no relation to Chuck). Master
Sensei Steve Fossum (Right with Mr. Woodall) is the sole inheritor
of the system holding the rank of 9th degree Black Belt (Masters rank).
Mr. Fossum also holds a 2nd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and a 1st degree
Black Belt in Shotokan.
The system was originally developed from five core
arts: Kempo, Judo, Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do, and Kung Fu. Since
Mr. Fossum took over the system he has added
skills and training methods from many different styles. The system is also based
heavily in the military training method STIHC
(Pronounced STI-HICK, special training in hand to hand combat). STIHC training was developed and used to train the
elite special forces units of our military. Mr.
Fossum holds a civilian certification to teach STIHC
to military special forces units. Mr. Fossum is
also the President of the largest kickboxing sanctioning body in the world (International Kick-boxing Federation, IKF).
You
can read more about System 5 Karate and the IKF by
looking on their website at www.ikfkickboxing.com. Mr.
Woodall received his 4th degree Black Belt directly
under the tutelage of Master Sensei Steve Fossum. Mr. Woodall continues to
cross train in System 5 with a few of the other Black Belts under Mr. Fossum.
 SHAOLIN KEMPO
The origins of Kempo/Kenpo have been the subject of debate
since the late James Mitose (Right) passed away in Folsom Prison. For
the purposes of simplicity, the following information is a very basic outline of
the Shaolin Kempo lineage.
It is generally accepted that Kempo/Kenpo was
developed in the Shaolin Temple (called Chuan Fa) and carried over to
Japan in 1560 by a Shinto priest. The art was brought into the Mitose family
where it was given the name "Kempo" (which translates into "fist
law" or "Chuan Fa" in Chinese). The art was passed down
through the Mitose family and James Mitose taught the art to William K. S. Chow
(Right). Mr. Chow taught Edmund Parker, who is considered by most to be
the father of American Karate (Kempo/Kenpo). Mr. Parker brought
Kempo/Kenpo to the states in 1954 where he continued to revise the system. Mr. Parker taught
 Nick Cerio (Left) who had
training in various other martial arts. Mr. Cerio was introduced to William K.
S. Chow by Mr. Parker. Mr. Cerio then spent several years traveling to Hawaii to
train directly under William K. S. Chow. Mr. Cerio attained several high ranks
under many different instructors. He was personally promoted by William K. S.
Chow to the rank of 5th degree Black belt. The rank of Grandmaster (10th
degree Black Belt) was awarded to Mr. Cerio in 1989 by the world counsel of
sokes. Mr. Cerio promoted Charles A. Mattera to the rank of 9th degree Black
Belt. This was the highest certification of rank ever given out by Mr. Cerio.
Master Mattera founded and heads the "United
Studio's of Self Defense," one of largest martial arts organization in
the United States. In June of 2000, Master Mattera traveled to the Shaolin
Temple and received his Grandmasters rank (10th degree Black Belt)
directly from Great Grandmaster Shi Yongxin (the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple).
Mr. Woodall's Kempo instructor (Mr. Christopher De Friese) has a 3rd
degree Black in the United Studio's system of Shaolin Kempo. One of Master
Mattera's students (Scott Woods, 7th degree Black Belt) started his own
off shoot system of Shaolin Kempo (Karate International). Mr. Woodall
received his Black Belt directly under the instruction of Mr. De Friese, who now
teaches under the Karate International banner.
Reference:
United Studios of Self Defense web site:
www.ussd.com/lineagecerio.asp.
 BRAZILAIN JIU-JITSU
While Mr. Woodall does not hold rank in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu he
has had the privilege of training directly under
Ralph Gracie (Left) from November of 1997 to
November of 1998, and he is currently training under an affiliate school of the
Rickson Gracie International Jiu-Jitsu Association (Rickson Gracie, Right,
is considered to be the best submission fighter in the world). Mr. Woodall
plans on continuing his training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for years to come. There
is simply no better art available to teach you how to survive a grappling
situation.
In 1914, Japanese Jiu-jitsu champion Esai Maeda arrived in Brazil
where he developed a relationship with the Gracie family. Maeda taught his
Japanese system to Carlos Gracie and Carlos instructed his brothers Oswaldo,
Gastao, Jorge, and Helio. In 1925 they opened the first Jiu-jitsu Academy in a
district of Rio de Janeiro. Helio Gracie revolutionized the old Japanese system
into the modern Gracie Jui-jitsu system that is taught today. Rickson Gracie is
a 7th Degree Black belt in the family system and is the youngest son of Helio's
first marriage. Mr. Woodall currently trains under David Terry who is a Brown
Belt under Rickson Gracie. Mr. Terry runs an affiliate school in Carmichael, CA.
Reference: Rickson Gracie web site: 1)
http://rickson.com/people/rickson.html
2) http://rickson.com/aboutjj.html
 LAW
ENFORCEMENT
INSTRUCTOR BACKROUND
Mr. Woodall is a certified instructor in the following Law
Enforcement Impact Weapons: Midrange Baton, Long range Baton, Expandable Baton,
Side Handled Baton (Tonfa),Yawara Stick (or Kubaton), OPN (police
Nunchaka), and the Short Billy Club. The system from which the training was
derived from is called Aiki-Jujitsu. This system is a mixture of the arts of
Aikido and traditional Jujitsu.
These traditional arts have been modified to be adaptable for
the situations that police officers encounter on the street. The instructor of
the system is Don Cameron. Mr.
Cameron has over 30 years of experience in the field of training law enforcement
officers and is considered an expert in court room testimony in use of force
issues relating to all aspects of force used by police officers.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
MARTIAL
ARTS
Most historians agree that the oldest recorded organized system
of martial arts belongs to the Greek art called Pankration. The word Pankration
translates into "all powers." In 648 B.C.E., Pankration was
officially entered into the Olympic Games, almost a century after the founding
of the Olympics in ancient Greece.  Prior
to that, in approximately 350 B.C.E. the famous Philosopher, Plato, wrote about
a martial art type "war dance" in a passage from Laws.
Some
historians argue that the Indian vajramushti system is the oldest system.
However, Pankration and Plato's writings predate the Indian statues depicting
temple guards in poses similar to those used in latter day fighting arts.
To
add more controversy to the debate, archaeologists have unearthed a series of
Babylonian plaques depicting figures in fighting stances using counter-blocking
techniques. These plaques date back more than 5,000 years. This suggests that
there was possibly a systemized method of unarmed fighting around the fertile
crest in Mesopotamia. Perhaps this system moved eastward to India and then on
further to China.
How martial arts developed or progressed in-between the
time of the Olympics and the sixth century A.D. is not well documented.
The
most popular account of what happened next in the evolution of the martial arts
claims that in the sixth century A.D. Bodhidarma (the founder of what is now
called Zen) traveled from India, across the Himalayas, to China. He ended up
in the famous Shaolin Temple where it is believed that he introduced a system of
18 martial arts movements (known as the 18 hands of Lohan or muscle/tendon
classic) to the  monks. Bodhidarma died
at the Shaolin Temple in 539 A.D. at the age of 57.
Once again, some
historians dispute aspects of the Bodhidarma account. Some historians like to
point out that there are Chinese military manuals and documents dated from 206
B.C.E. to 220 A.D. that prove Han Emperors actively funded the study and
refinement of the martial arts far beyond any of the known fighting systems in
India during that time. In any account, few people try and dispute the fact that
the most significant transformation in martial arts evolution took place under
the roof of the Shaolin Temple.
The Shaolin monks took the original movements that Bodhidarma
showed them and evolved it into the Shaolin 5 Animals Styles (Tiger,
Leopard, Dragon, Snake, & Crane). The monastery flourished for over a
thousand years and through further development, accredited to Shaolin monks Gok
Yuen, Lee Sau and Bak Juk Fung , the 18 Hands of Lohan (Lohan means a
disciple of Buddha) was increased to 170 movements.
In 1644 A.D. the
Manchurians from Mongolia invaded China and overthrew the Ming Dynasty and set
up the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911). Legend tells of 108 Shaolin monks
defeating 10,000 Manchurians in a single afternoon. The monks began teaching
martial arts for the first time outside of the temple walls to eager Chinese who
were willing to fight the Manchurian rule. This helped start the spread and
development of the martial arts heritage that many styles still practice to this
day.
Shortly after that, in 1647, the Shaolin monks were asked by Emperor
K`ang-His to assist his troops in defeating the invading hordes attacking
China's eastern borders. The monks put together an army and were successful in
thwarting the invasion. After witnessing the monks fighting prowess court
officials convinced the emperor that he should disband the force of the fighting
monks because they could be a threat to the throne. Eventually the emperor gave
the order to destroy the temple. Aided by a renegade monk the emperors armies
gained secret passage into the temple and all but 128 of the monks were killed.
The temple was burned and the 128 surviving monks were hunted down and killed.
Five monks escaped across the yellow river.
Those surviving five monks vowed
to set up their own monasteries as centers for resistance against the Ching
Dynasty and went on to form the first triad secret society (Chinese
equivalent to the Italian Mafia). They continued to spread the fighting arts
of the Shaolin.
Thanks to the cultivation of the martial arts in the Shaolin
Temple we now have a deep and rich history of training that can be traced back
over a thousand years. There are said to be over 300 distinct forms of Kung Fu
taught in China today. Many of those systems still adhere to strict vows of
secrecy and some systems are only taught to family members or full blooded
Chinese. The majority of the popular systems taught publicly today can trace
their arts beginnings back to the Shaolin Temple.
Reference:
Lewis, Peter (1987). Martial Arts. New York: Gallery Books.
 BRUCE
LEE'S
CONTRIBUTION TO THE
MODERN MARTIAL ARTS
Bruce Lee (Right) had an enormous impact on modern
martial arts. He was the first person to publicly argue the fact that
traditional martial arts techniques are antiquated and simply do not prepare a
student for survival on today's streets. He felt that traditional martial artist
spent too much time kicking and punching in the air, as opposed to his preferred
methods of training on bags and engaging in realistic contact training. When
asked about his belt rank Bruce once said
 "I don't
have any belt whatsoever. Unless you can really do it, that belt doesn't mean
anything. I think it might be useful to hold up your pants."
His biggest criticism of traditional martial arts was focused
on the long hours spent on forms and kata training. This is clearly evident in a
page written to a friend and student George Lee. Bruce Lee outlined a drawing of
a miniature tomb and asked George Lee to make it for him for display purposes.
The message on the tombstone read
"in memory of a once fluid man crammed and distorted
by the classical mess."
Bruce Lee broke away from the "classical mess" and
not only changed martial arts but he was also on the forefront of state of the
art training methods and equipment. He blazed the path for eclectic systems (such
as the one taught here at our school) by being the first individual to
condone cross training in the martial arts. It is written that Bruce Lee took
aspects of 26 different martial arts to develop the theories he used to create
Jeet Kune Do. He realized back in the early 1960's what the martial arts
community is just now starting to accept. You cannot be a one dimensional
fighter. This has been proven over and over again in the world of reality
fighting. You have to have good stand up skills and good grappling skills. The
martial arts community has been forced to accept or at least acknowledge this
fact by watching it unfold in front of them via reality based submission
 fighting. Bruce Lee was years ahead
of his time and we are just now realizing how truly amazing and insightful he
really was.
Not only was Bruce Lee and incredible martial artist, he was a
scholar. He studied Philosophy at the University of Washington and his personal
library of books was said to be in excess of 2000. This is one aspect of the
traditional martial arts that very few martial artist still adhere to. Many of
the greatest martial artist were also  scholars
and monks. In China, knowledge is guarded for only those chosen few who will use
it properly. The knowledge of the martial arts has been cloaked in secrecy
throughout its development. Bruce Lee broke the secrecy barrier and began
teaching Americans the fighting secrets of Chinese martial arts.
In January of 1963, Wong Jak Man arrived in Bruce Lee's Oakland
school and challenged him to a fight or close his school because he was teaching
non-Orientals. Bruce's wife, Linda Lee Caldwell, witnessed the fight. Bruce won
the fight but it is reported to have taken several minutes for him to beat his
opponent. It was at this point that he began to change and alter his training
methods to create a new more practical form of martial arts. Since he won the
fight he was allowed to continue teaching whoever and however he wanted.
If he were still alive today, I am sure Bruce Lee would be
continuing to refine his art, and by doing so, leading the forefront of modern
martial arts training.
References: 1) Little, John (1996).
The Warrior Within. Chicago: Contemporary Books. 2) Corcoran, John & Farkas,
Emil (1977). The Complete Martial Arts Catalogue. New York: Simon &
Schuster. 3) Bleecker, Tom (1996). Unsettled Matters. California: Gilderoy
Publications.
Bruce Lee on the scene of Enter the Dragon taken from:
Martial
Arts Legends magazine, special edition 1994.
"I cannot teach you, only help you to explore
yourself. Nothing more."
Bruce Lee
- If you have any further questions or would like to sign up for the free
introductory class please contact the school by any of the following means:
© Copyright Woodall's Self Defense &
Fitness Center - 2003
| 