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Aug 08 2017

2017, Bob White, & Bodhidharma

American Kenpo Karate in Orange County, CA

We have had a tough 2017.

Mr. Bob Mitchell lost his wife of 44 years, Diane, to liver disease on June 18th. My wife, Debbie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Finally, my friend & teacher, Mr. Bob White, was diagnosed with both pancreatic cancer and throat cancer.

I have been honored to be able to call Bob White ‘instructor’ and friend for many years. He is a pillar of American Kenpo and martial arts, but now he’s fighting two cancers. Still, he is the model of strength and he still has time to talk about things I’m going through. He has such high praise for his wife, Barbara, who is also going through her own battles yet her major concern is him. Find out more about Mr. Bob White here.

Here are a few notes about Bodhidharma. There is a lot of legend mixed with some truths. This is some of what his Wikipedia article has to say:

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kung fu. In Japan, he is known as Daruma.

Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend.

According to the principal Chinese sources, Bodhidharma came from the Western Regions, which refers to Central Asia but may also include the Indian subcontinent, and was either a “Persian Central Asian” or a “South Indian […] the third son of a great Indian king.” Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as an ill-tempered, profusely-bearded, wide-eyed non-Chinese person. He is referred as “The Blue-Eyed Barbarian” (Chinese: 碧眼胡; pinyin: Bìyǎnhú) in Chan texts.

Aside from the Chinese accounts, several popular traditions also exist regarding Bodhidharma’s origins.

The accounts also differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account claiming that he arrived during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) and later accounts dating his arrival to the Liang dynasty (502–557). Bodhidharma was primarily active in the territory of the Northern Wei (386-634). Modern scholarship dates him to about the early 5th century.

Bodhidharma’s teachings and practice centered on meditation and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952) identifies Bodhidharma as the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in an uninterrupted line that extends all the way back to the Gautama Buddha himself.

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Written by MJ · Categorized: 2017, blog, bob white · Tagged: 2017, bob white, bodhidharma

Jan 30 2017

January 2017 – Basics

American Kenpo Karate basics

The philosophy behind karate is vast and complex. It stems from thousands of years of armed and unarmed combat. Techniques that were perfected hundreds of years ago are still being perfected over and over again by each new generation. Buddhism, Taoism, and the code of Bushido have all played parts in the development of the martial arts philosophy.

There are three stages of learning:

• Primitive – As a beginner, you are learning the basic movements that appear in techniques and forms.

• Mechanical – You understand the mechanics involved in the execution of the techniques, but not necessarily the flow between techniques. You can neither react very instinctively to an attack or adapt techniques to variations in the attacks (or factors such as the force of the attack or height & weight of the aggressor).

• Spontaneous: You understand both the execution of the techniques and how they flow together. You react appropriately to an attack without having to think.

• If you do not have a solidly based stance, you will easily lose balance and nothing will work correctly.
• Keep distances: stay clear from the attacker and get off the line of attack.
• Control, disarm and execute the technique: The priority in an attack is to not get hit then control any weapon the aggressor may have. Once this is done, we can run the technique to eliminate the threat of a new attack.
• Strike and check: When we strike we must control and avoid being hit with an arm, hand, or leg, the possible cons of our opponent. The check avoids exposing vital areas to the agressor.
• Economy of movement: You must not squander energy with unnecessary movements and displacements.
• Action-reaction: Each action of the opponent must be followed by a reaction.
• Instantaneous acceleration: You must be relaxed right until the moment of the impact, so that the power is maximum

Written by MJ · Categorized: 2017, blog · Tagged: 2017, basics, january

Kellogg's American Kenpo Karate

3420 W. MacArthur Blvd., Suite K, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Call: 714-863-1955    Email: wycl55@sbcglobal.net
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