TRACY BLOG
Week 1 - Blog
TRACY BLOG
For those of you who are not familiar with Joe Lewis I have put up a video trailer of Joe in his prime. The trailer is from his movie Jaguar Lives. The movie is in avi format - you will need a video player on your computer such as Windows Media player. Joe was also a Kata Champion. At the beginning of the movie there are a few seconds of Joe doing Kata. Click Here to play the video. The video is 2 1/2 minutes. It may take a minute or two to load
12/29/09
THE 6TH BLACK DVD - IS NOT - IS NOT - AVAILABLE YET
I'm rushing to get this on the web - please excuse any typos.
Clarification of foundation
techniques: my own son, Mark, after reading the blog commented that he did not
know Ring of Fire, Fire Down Below, and Cobra Strike. Yes, you do, I informed
him. I have been teaching a whole series of techniques for the past 3
years in my seminars explaining they will be in the new 6th Black Video. As I
told Mark, you have had them for a long time; you just did not have the name.
There are still lots of techniques out there that have not been put into the
manuals. (Yet.)
Most of the techniques that will be
in the new 6th Black DVD are not long or difficult. Just the opposite. Most are
short and get to what I call the "Kill" on the first move. Because of
this, you are giving up extra safety to make everything happen on the first
count.
Example: On the gun technique, Uncovering
the Flame, you (1) parry with the right back hand, (2) grab the wrist with the
left hand and (3) strike with the right forearm, turning the gun back into the opponent.
You are making the kill movement on the third move.
On the technique Fire Down Below
(A), the step - parry-grab- and break of the elbow all come on the first move.
The trade off: advanced Speed vs.
beginner safety.
Hot off the press: I just got off the phone with Bart Vale, World Shootfighting
Champion. He just told me this Joe Lewis Story.
In the early 70's, Tom Dunne had Joe Lewis in for a seminar - and using a 3/4" u-matic Video recorder, they recorded some of Joe's freestyle matches with the students. The next day, after Joe had left, they sat down to review the video. There were six of them watching. In one match with Tom Thomas, they heard two pops where Joe had hit Tom. But at regular speed you only saw Joe's kick. They played it back several time with the same results. Tom Dunne then played it back frame by frame; only then could they see Joe's lead backhand that had caught Tom Thomas on the side of the head, followed by the side kick. But the backhand was so fast you could not see it at regular speed. Almost 20 years later Bart Vale still remembers the speed and power of Joe Lewis. Bart has other Joe Lewis stories I will get to in the future.
The following was is an e-mail from Joe Lewis containing several comments from different people on his list
From
joelewiskarate@msn.com
To patkenpo@aol.com
"This is interesting comment from one in the Uyechi-ryu group. Tracy's
must have been seen all over the world.
Lewis \From Robb Buckland:
Thats what happens when you fight w/the Tracys sign on your back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lewis subject: WOW?
Hey,
According to some on Face book, I am now a "Kenpo" legend, If only, someday, I could become a legend in my own style.
Kai Kenpo: Hi from France Kenpo Kai Honbu, to a martial arts and kenpo legend.
___________________________________________________________
I will give you some interesting facts and show how Joe Lewis ties into being a Kenpo legend.
From Google searches to show how
important any one or organization is: Number of pages:
American
Kenpo 106,000
Kenpo
Karate 288,000
`
Kenpo
926,000
Mile High
Karate 81,120
Tracys
Karate 6,030,000
Chuck
Norris 8,570,000
Bruce
Lee
30,000,000
I might be able to catch up with Chuck
- if I put out a movie or two. I probably won't be able to catch Bruce. But,
what the hell, Bruce is only gets 4-1/2 times more pages then I do. Yes, there
will be Bruce Lee stories. I will finally put up "The Fight that Bruce Lee
Did Not Win" soon.
One of the main reasons I have over 6
million pages is proper use of the Internet. All the experts hate my website.
They want to show me how to set it up right, meaning: how to make it look like every other
site on the web Google loves it. The only Kenpo site that is constantly rated
higher then mine is my brother Will's. Will does it for fun and never makes one
penny from it.
JOE LEWIS was one of the main reasons
that Tracy's Karate became the largest chain of studios in the world.
Joe is a great Martial Artist and a damn good writer - He has e-mailings that he sends out. I will find out how you can get on Joe's e-mail list.
No Martial Artist in the United has as long or successful career as Joe. If there were no Joe Lewis there would be no MMA - or Ultimate Fights or Fighters. In 1970 Joe created American Kick Boxing and would dominate the fighting world for 10 years. Joe trained with the best and fought the best in the world. He was light years ahead of the Martial Artists of his time. Every time you see a MMA match you are seeing clones of Joe Lewis when it comes to the "stand-up" portion of the fight. As the comparison that Sigmund Freud gave of his critics:
"A pigmy can see a long ways when he is standing on the shoulders of a
giant."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the future I will be archiving
these blogs on a week by week basis.
Tomorrow I will share with you a very
interesting e-mail I got from Joe Lewis.
I will be starting a series:
Joe Lewis as I knew him back in the day. There are a lot of great Joe Lewis stories.
Here is one: In a conversation I had
with Bruce Lee the subject of kicking came up. Bruce told me the most powerful
kick he had ever seen was Joe Lewis's crossing side kick. Bruce knew this first
hand because Joe trained with Bruce!
12/28/09
Kenpo History
In the early 80's I had a student in New Orleans by the name of Guy Delahoussaya. I promoted him to Shodan (B-121 - Feb. 1, 1983) and he is listed on my family tree. Because of a disagreement over rank and requirements Guy would leave Tracy's and eventually go with another Kenpo Organization.
A few years later I got a phone call from Guy. He informed me that he had some information he would like to share with me. He had held a seminar at his school for his new instructor. After the seminar he related to Guy the following information: When he left Professor Chow to come to the Mainland he asked Chow who he should continue his training with. Professor Chow told him the only people teaching "True" Karate was Tracy's. After coming to the mainland he enrolled at a Tracy's studio and would end up being an instructor there. Because of a disagreement with the owner of the Tracy studio he would leave and eventually form his own organization.
Little known facts about Ed Parker's martial arts training:
Ed Parker would have the following training:
Boxing
Ed was a Sandan (3rd Black) in Judo. Mills Crenshaw claims Ed
did not study Judo. Ed Parker has proof! Who do you believe?
Kenpo - under Professor Chow
Ed Parker trained with Hank Slomanski. Do you think it was
just by chance that Ed send Elvis to train and test with Hank? And after
Elvis tested with Hank, he instructed Elvis to continue his training with
Ed. There is more to this story but both Ed and Hank were Island
Boys: they were both from Hawaii.
Ed studied "Bando" with Dr. Mung Gyii. Because of
this, many Tracy studio owners would study "Bando" in Ohio.
Studied with James Woo - who would have the greatest influence on Kenpo
Ed was taught forms from Professor Wong's system by James
Lee. Ed filmed James Lee on 16mm film, and shared these films with me. I have them
somewhere in my archives.
Ed's son informed us that Ed also studied Tae Kwon Do.
Ed's son said that Ed enrolled him in a Tae Kwon Do
Studio.
Ed would also studio various Kung Fu styles.
12/27/09
The promotions of Ed Parker I want to cover are for 7th and 8th Dans. I will be posting other blogs of his earlier promotions.
Ed started the Parker Internationals in 1964. They were held in Long Beach, and he would continue to hold them annually the first weekend in August.
The 2nd Internationals were held Friday, August 6, with coaches meetings and demonstrations. The actual tournament was held Saturday, August 7.
Ed Parker's promotion to 7th Dan.
Friday, August 6, 1965 - Mills Crenshaw called for a business meeting to be held in his hotel room at 6PM. The following people were present: myself, my brothers, Tom Connor, Ed Parker and Mills Crenshaw.
Mills Crenshaw got right down to the purpose of the meeting: it was to advance Ed Parker in rank. Mills then proposed that "The appropriate rank for the head of the IKKA should be 7th Dan." Remember that at this time, Ed Parker was only 36 years old. All of us agreed that 7th Dan was an appropriate rank.
It was then proposed that the attending senior members of Kenpo be promoted to 3rd Dan. Mills Crenshaw then proposed that since I was the driving force after Ed Parker that I be promoted to 5th Dan which I turned down. It was then suggested that the promotions be backdated one year to December of 1964. This was also agreed to. That ended the meeting.
The actual diplomas were prepared by Ed Parker that following Monday, August 9, 1965. The other person at the signing and issuing of the diplomas was Charlotte Connor who signed as a witness; she was Tom Connor's wife and is still alive. Mills Crenshaw was not present at the signing of the diplomas.
Of the people involved with the promotion of Ed Parker, five are still alive.
Remember that date: August 6, 1965!
Ed Parker's promotion to 8th Dan.
3 years later Sterling Peacock (Matthias David), who was now running Ed's studios, suggested that we promote Ed Parker to 8th Dan. The members of the Yudanshakai agreed to this and were all present at the promotion along with invited guests. Sterling arranged for the formal promotion to be held at Ed's Pasadena studio. Mills Crenshaw was not part of the promotion group.
In the last phone conversation I had
with Matthias (Sterling Peacock) he reminded me that he (Sterling) was the one
who had the plaque made that we presented Ed Parker, promoting him
to 8th Dan. Matthias is still alive.
There are still at least 10 people who are still alive who attended Ed Parkers'
promotion to 8th Dan
Its going to be interesting to see the
comments that will come up on the Kenpo Discussion boards.
Historical Note: I was also present when Ed Parker was promoted to 5th Dan and
presented with a diploma. But that is another story!
I am going to wait a month or so
before I drop a couple of bombs!
- Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!____________________________________________________
You won't want to miss tomorrows Blog. It will be: "Chapter Two" where Ed Parker got his rank!
12/26/09
"The first techniques you learn will be the last techniques you learn"A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS
Miyamoto Musashi
1584-1645
This book should be in everyone's Martial Arts libraryOver the years there have been lots of misinformation about the KEY/FOUNDATION techniques that form the "Building Blocks" of Kenpo.
WARNING: Unless you know "Traditional Kenpo" you will not know what I am talking about. Many of the techniques I will be listing are no longer taught in American Kenpo, or they have been changed.
NOTE: The Tracy brothers created all the original names for the self defense techniques. Years later Ed Parker would create his own set of names.I will list about 20 - there are more. I will then give a detailed explanation and breakdown of "SUMO" to show why this technique forms the foundation for many other techniques.
Techniques listed, but not in order of importance.
Sumo, Chinese Sword, Japanese Sword, Fang of the Cobra, Knee of Vengeance, Kimono Grab, Lever/Inside Lever, Evasion, Darkness, Sleeper, Locking the Gate, Dancer, Fire Below, Ring of Fire, Aiming the Spear, Cobra Strike, Crashing Elbow.Historical Note: In Ed Parker's original studio, Sumo and Kimono Grab were two of the first techniques taught. As a general rule, every demonstration would start out with Kimono Grab - it always got everyone's attention.
Story Time: One of the magazines was interviewing a top martial artist. One of the questions they asked him was: "what got you into the Martial Arts?" His answer: " I went into this Karate Studio for an introductory course. The first self defense technique they taught me devastated a person. The name of the technique was 'Kimono Grab' and I never forgot it."Breakdown of Sumo: Two hand grab low (The grab can be at any level.)
1. The first move introduces the most important principal of
settling/rooting for developing power, balance and focus.
2. It introduces the Square Horse
3. It introduces the points of both elbows as weapons
4. It introduces the radial and medial nerves as targets
5. It introduces the spear hand as a weapon
6. It introduces the throat as a target
7. It introduces the "Kiai" and breathing
8. It introduces the "Cat Stance" as a transition step
9. It introduces "Center Line Control"
10. It introduces "Bridging the Gap"
11. It introduces the shuffle
12. It introduces the "Vertical Forearm" as a weapon
13. It introduces the "Cover Hand" - high for protecting the face
14. It introduces the rib cage and solar plexus as targets
15. It introduces the "Soft Bow"
16. It introduces the "Hammer Fist"
17. It introduces the groin as a target
18. It introduces the "Slanting Upward Back Kick" to the Groin
(Since no other styles used it - in the studio it was referred to
as the "Parker Back Kick")
19. It introduces the "Kick and Cover"At each step of teaching "Sumo" you would explain and demonstrate exactly what you were doing
____________________________________________________________
12/25/09Reality: Please excuse the poor typing - I have to type with one finger of my left hand. I will be having surgery on my right hand to repair the damage caused by all the breaking of boards and bricks I did throughout the years.
What advice should I give people when they ask me if they should develop their hands and is it necessary to break boards and bricks?
FACT: Many schools still require breaking for belt promotions.
This will be a new series - usually updated as I read or see something that I either agree or disagree with. Many times it will simply be passing on truthful information, or pointing out statements that are false. I will put false or suspect claims in RED
12/25/09
*The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."*
and where Mills Crenshaw and Ron Chapel
came up with all this crap
about the origin of Kenpo Katas
*Lewis Carroll
Through the looking glass
Assisted by Al Tracy
Fact: My brothers and I are the only living people who were there when Kenpo Katas (sets/forms) were created or introduced into Kenpo.
Fact: All of the original katas were made of
original Kenpo Self Defense Techniques. There would be no American Kenpo or New
American Kenpo Techniques until the early 70's.
Link to the history oaf the origin of Kenpo Katas (Sets), (Forms) -- CLICK HERE
12/24/09
God made Big Men
God made Small Men
Sam Colt made the 45 and made all men equal
God made Big Grapplers
Then he decided not to waste his time making Small Grapplers
The latest in claiming to be the best system!
The new Buzz Words:
Reality Based
Commando/Combat
Also, wearing a piece of camouflage equipment (pants or tank top) shows you they
are
really tough and experts at what they're doing
Example of ads from Black Belt;
#1 Combat Hapkido
"The FIRST
and ONLY TRULY COMPREHENSIVE REALITY-
BASED MARTIAL ART"
Its nice that after 4000+++ years of war and
fighting John Pellegrini is here to show us what REALITY is.
#2 Combat Krav Maga
"The fastest growing reality-based
system in the world"
The world is an awfully big place.
How big is Krav Maga in the Muslim countries of the world?
How fast is it growing in China and India with 1/2 the world's population?
#3 Get certified in Krav Maga by EYAL YANILOV
Train &Teach the most realistic self
defense system out there.
One problem - there must now be 12 different
styles of Krav Maga. Which style is the most reality based?
Two questions that are about reality in the
everyday world.
Story Time:
Story one: At the end of a recent seminar I gave in California, a young (18-19)
frail girl came up to me - there were tears in her eyes and she asked me one
simple question:
"WHEN DOES THE FEAR GO AWAY?"
She had been brutally RAPED and the attacker was still out there.
The truth is the fear will probably never go away, and she will be scarred
emotionally for the rest of her life.
Fact: Last year in the US there were over 100,000 reported rapes. And the authorities
know many rapes are never reported.
Story Two: Same seminar. A young (age12)
Jewish boy raised in Israel came up to me with his problem. He told me that when
he was in Israel he was not afraid of the suicide bombers or the rocket attacks -
what scares him are
ALL THE BULLIES IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS!
WHAT CAN HE DO? THE
SCHOOLS WILL DO NOTHING. If you fight back you are suspended.
Fact: The #1 fear of youth - both males and females - is of being bullied. Many
videos on youtube show some of the most vicious attacks are by females.
It has been estimated there are over 4 million bullies in our public schools.
Many of these bullies come from broken homes were they are physically and emotionally
abused. Most schools just look the other way. If they expel the bullies they will
lose $7,000-$10,000 they get from the state for each student. But many of
these bullies come from well-to-do or middle class families.
12/22/09
This will be a new series. Usually updated as I
read or see something that I either agree or disagree with. Many times it will simply
be passing on truthful information, or pointing out statements that are false. I
will put false or suspect claims in RED
EXAMPLE: Its a known fact that 90% of all fights end up on
the ground!
From FBI statistics involving hundreds of fights that end up being reported to
the police or requiring medical care;.
1. 50% of all fights last less than 10 seconds
(Does not leave much time to fight on the ground.)
2. 85% of all fights last less than 1 minute
3. The single most effective strike is a SUCKER PUNCH
4. The most effective kick is a side kick
5. 10% of the fighters injured their hands.
FROM HOSPITAL STATISTICS FROM THE BRITISH ISLES COVERING 30,000 ASSAULTS OVER 10
YEARS:
1. One out of every four attacks were by three or more people.
2. When a gun was not used the most effective weapon was the shoe! (A person
being stomped!)
#1 RULE OF WAR (COMBAT)
Train as you will fight!
Fight as you were trained!
#1 RULE OF MMA
Never strike anything without wrapping your hands to avoid hand injuries! In a
real fight your hands are never wrapped.
WARNING: If you always train with wrapped hands you will never be able to make a
proper fist for striking bare knuckle.
The top UFC fighters with actual street experience will warn you not to strike
with the fist, but use a heel palm.