Stickgrappler's Sojourn of Septillion Steps: September 2015

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Raven S1E6: Prey (Sep 26, 1992)

I'm posting an episode from the 1992 TV series, Raven, which aired on this date 23 years ago.

Enjoy!

Background:

Jonathan Raven (portrayed by Jeffrey Meek) is a ninja, former member of the Black Dragons clan and also a former Special Forces agent. Now he lives in Hawaii, helping those in trouble and searching for his long-lost son, while avoiding assassins sent to kill him by the Black Dragon clan. Herman 'Ski' Jablonski (played by veteran TV actor, Lee Majors), an extravagant private investigator and Jonathon's best friend, is helping him.

This Episode:

Jonathan goes away for a little retreat on a deserted island. When he gets there he finds a young girl there. what he doesn't know is that the Black Dragon have sent someone to get him.

Other Raven/Jeffrey Meek episodes posted:

Remo Williams: The Prophecy (Aug 15, 1988)

For more information:

Terry Gibson - The Art of Elbow Wrenching

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18 years ago on this date of September 26th, Terry Gibson passed away at the age of 44. He was a Full Instructor of Jun Fan Gung Fu (as well as other arts I'm sure) under Dan Inosanto.

In memory of Terry Gibson, I'm posting an article he wrote to Quest Magazine.

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The Art of Elbow Wrenching
By Terry Gibson
Quest Magazine
Vol. 1, #1
February 1994
Pages 4-5

The elbow is a vicious close range fighting weapon. Its potential to do serious damage at a distance of as little as one inch is amazing. The elbow's slashing strikes to the face often cut and if placed to the chin or temple area can knock an opponent stone cold. The elbow can also be very effective as a strike into the body. As used in Thai Boxing, Jun Fan Gung Fu/JKD, Silat and Kali the elbow, when used properly, provides you with an awesome self defense tool.

On the other hand, the elbow joint itself is very susceptible to attack and injury given the right circumstances. Wrenching the elbow is itself an art requiring excellent timing, accuracy and sensitivity. You can wrench an opponent's with a slap of your hans, with your forearm, with your bicep, with the side or top of your shoulder, with your neck or head, with your knees or legs and even with your feet. Essentially, if you can at least temporarily anchor your opponent's wrist, you have a potential elbow wrench.

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Let's look at a couple of examples. First, we'll visualize your opponent throwing a straight left jab at your face. Assuming left leads, you parry with your right as you slide in a left eye jab, grab his left wrist with your left hand and pivot, to your left. Use your right hand, forearm, bicep, shoulder or elbow to wrench his elbow. Apply the force right behind and above his elbow joint. Done with the ballistic movement of your pivot this will injure or break his elbow. Obviously when you are working out with your training partner you have to use controlled movement. Whether on purpose or by accident, you may sometimes find yourself inside your opponent's arm. This situation may occur if you've entered on the inside against a right hook because a second opponent has come into dangerous proximity. Assume you entered with a left arm cover and right elbow to the body. Control his right wrist with your left hand and use your right inside wrist bone-place it behind his right elbow and jerk it toward your body. This is a surprisingly powerful and effective elbow wrench.

There are many drills to work on elbow wrenching skills. Here are a couple: 1) Have your partner throw a variety of punches at you. Start at half speed or less, then build up from there. Work on closing the gap and controlling his arm. Also, work on a variety of tools (forearm, bicep, shoulder) with which to perform the elbow wrench. As you get better, have your partner pick up the pace as well as begin faking and the use of more foot work. 2) Filipino Hubud - This is a great drill for practicing close range elbow wrenching as you parry, trap and hit in the"flow" of the drill. Start applying the concept of how to wrench the elbow. Let your imagination go and see how many different possibilities you can come up with.

In case you missed the previous article by Terry Gibson I posted, you can find it here:

Silat: The Deadly Art of Indonesia and Malaysia by Terry H. Gibson

Friday, September 25, 2015

Punong Guro Edgar Sulite Remembered

PG Edgar Sulite (September 25, 1957 - April 10, 1997) would've been 58 today!

In his honor, I'm posting an excerpt from a new book by Guro David E. Gould.

Enjoy!

Sifu Alex Co Remembers Guro Edgar Sulite

*The following is excerpted from the new book, Lameco Eskrima: The Legacy of Edgar Sulite.

I first met Edgar Sulite in the early 1980s under very unique circumstances. I was invited by Yuli Romo, an Arnis grandmaster, to attend a tournament sponsored by Master Picate. Yuli told me that the grandmaster considered the “King of Kings” in the field of Arnis, named Antonio “Tatang” Ilustrisimo, shall be present in the tournament. Usually, I don’t attend tournaments because I find them boring, as I am already used to their routines. But this time, curiosity got the better of me; I desired to meet the grand master touted to be the king of Arnis. Ironically, as even in kung-fu events, which is my field, I am hardly present; but in this event, with its system then alien to me, I was very visible.

I asked my best buddy, Topher Ricketts, to come along with me. It was when we reached the tournament site that we found out that Yuli will challenge and fight a young master from Cagayan de Oro, one of the provinces of the Mindanao region. Their fight will be the main highlight of the event, using live sticks and without the use of body armor. Unfortunately, their anticipated fight did not push through, as Master Picate failed to come up with the prize money. Considering that the renowned masters were already in the venue, it was decided that there would be a demonstration where each master would be presented. In the event, I was introduced by Yuli to the great “Tatang” Ilustrisimo. I cannot remember the other demonstrators, but what I vividly remembered were the ones presented by Grandmaster “Tatang” Ilustrisimo and Ka Piryong Lanada of the Lanada Style. “Tatang” did the single baston, and Ka Piryong did the double baston. The reason why I singled out these two was simply because they were the ones I knew; “Tatang” having been introduced to me there by Yuli, and Lanada, who had been featured in Inside Kung-Fu magazine through the workings of his students in the U.S. So basically, knowledge wise at that time, I could not distinguish the versatility and salient points of their different styles.

After the tournament, Yuli introduced me to Edgar Sulite, whom I noticed to be very well mannered, respectful and who projected an aura of self-confidence, though still younger than most masters. I had just finished publication of my first book on Ngo Cho Kun, and I was aware that there as a demand for reference materials for the ever-growing market of Arnis practitioners. During those times, the only available book on Arnis was the one published by Remy Presas.

In the course of our conversation, publishing a book on Arnis came up. I thought a book on the art would be a great idea as the art of Arnis, though well-known in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, was then not so well-known in the metropolis of Manila and its neighboring cities. In fact, it was widely believed that Arnis was personified and represented only by the style of Remy Presas, who had established quite a name in this field, by virtue of his book. I found the young Edgar Sulite very skilled, educated and very passionate about Arnis. I gave my business card to him to pay me a visit, and sure enough, the following week, he appeared at my doorstep, presented me with a manuscript of his work, and was indeed looking for a publisher.

This started our business and personal relationship, and together with Topher Ricketts, we three established a lifelong friendship. Edgar would come to my office almost every day to discuss his book and demonstrate his Arnis knowledge to us. I would in turn expose him to the field of kung-fu, sharing my knowledge of Ngo Cho, Hung-gar, Praying Mantis, internal strength training, while Topher would delve into full-contact, pugilistic fighting with boxing basics and scientific training methods. So, in essence, we three became brothers in the martial arts, and at nighttime, would regularly practice at the penthouse of my residence in Makati.

Since the three of us were in constant company, I got to introduce Edgar and Topher to the different kung-fu masters, and Edgar also utilized some internal kung-fu techniques in his Lameco Eskrima, which explains his seemingly internal strength. I also learned Edgar’s Arnis style: Lameco. So the three of us each had knowledge in Arnis, Kung-fu, pugilistic fighting with specific strength on our own individual systems.

The publication of Edgar Sulite’s book was a great challenge to me. First, we had to change his original manuscript to be able to appeal to the readers. As I was more experienced in the field of book publishing I suggested we incorporate many items to make the book attractive enough to the readers, like putting its history, calisthenics, basics and fundamentals, strides, attack and defense techniques, closed inter-relations between a stick and dagger, plus introduction to some well-known masters. The latter was to expose these masters so their students would like to have their own copies, like a sort of marketing strategy. I published his first book with the title Secrets of Arnis.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Chen Kuan-tai in Shaolin King Boxer (aka Iron Fists) (1979) (Full movie)

Happy 70th Birthday Chen Kuan-tai!!

In his honor, I'm posting one of his movies.

Enjoy!

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Plot: Two mercenaries attempt to break out their partner from prison. They are stopped by a local hero and a policeman. The evil duo take it out on the hero's family. Now it's personal.

Chen Kuan Tai in Death Ring (1984) (Full movie)

Happy 70th Birthday Chen Kuan-tai!!

In his honor, I'm posting one of his movies.

Enjoy!

Click for superlarge resolution picture

For more information, please check out:

For other Chen Kuan-tai posts, please see:

Monday, September 21, 2015

7 GIFs of stickchoke from Blindspot S01E01

"Blindspot" is a TV series which debuted Sep 21, 2015. It focuses on a mysterious tattooed woman, "Jane Doe" (Jaimie Alexander), who has lost her memory and does not know her own identity. The FBI discovers that each tattoo contains a clue to a crime they will have to solve.

The pilot episode treated viewers with 3 fights, one of which featured stickgrappling. I made 7 animated GIFs of the fight involving stickgrappling!

Enjoy!

Full Scene

Scene spliced up into 5 GIFs

Watch out Jane! The building's Super is coming after you with a knife!

Hi-yah!

Jane "defangs the snake" on the Super's "Angle #2" attack!

Bet you that the random bad guy regrets sneaking up on Jane Doe!

Jane Doe was not able to properly apply the stickgrappling version of the Rear Naked Choke (RNC).
It turns into a Strangle. In the empty-hand RNC, the crook of the elbow should be used to constrict the neck and not the forearm bone right on the adam's apple which is a strangle.

Bonus GIF isolating just for the botched Stick Choke

For other animated GIFs of stickgrappling, please check out:

5 GIFs of stickchoke from Daredevil S01E08

NOTE: Posted Sep 25, 2015 and backdated to Sep 21 to reflect the broadcast date of the episode. Props to my training partner "T" for the heads-up!!

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas (Sep. 21, 1974)

"Kung Fu Fighting" was at No.1 on the UK singles chart for Carl Douglas on this date of September 21st in 1974. The song was recorded in 10 minutes, had started out as a B-side and went on to sell over 10 million and made Douglas a One Hit Wonder.

The Original Video

Video with lyrics

"Kung Fu Fighting"

Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah

[Chorus:]
Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting
Those kicks were fast as lightning
In fact, it was a little bit frightening
But they fought with expert timing

There was funky China men from funky Chinatown
They were chopping them up
They were chopping them down
It's an ancient Chinese art
And everybody knew their part
From a fainting, to a slip
And a kickin' from the hip
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
But they fought with expert timing

There was funky Billie Chin and little Sammy Chong
He said, here comes the big boss, let's get it on
We took the bow and made a stand
Started swaying with the hand
A sudden motion made me skip
Now we're into a brand new trip

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
But they did it with expert timing

Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh, ha
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh, ha
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-ha
Keep on, keep on, keep on
Sure enough
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
Make sure you have expert timing
Kung Fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning...

“Kung Fu Fighting” was written by Carl Douglas and Biddu Appaiah (who also produced the song).

The song was originally meant to be the B-side to the track “I Want to Give You My Everything.”

Biddu originally hired Carl to sing the song, but he needed something to record for the B-side of the record and he asked Carl if he had any lyrics they could use.

Carl chose the lyrics that would be called “Kung Fu Fighting” and worked on a melody for it without taking it too seriously.

[Due to a three-hour time constraint at the recording studio, the song was quickly recorded in the last ten minutes of the session.

At first, the song didn’t get any airplay on the radio for the first five weeks, but it later became popular in dance clubs.

“Kung Fu Fighting” topped the charts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Africa.]

It became Carl Douglas' only hit to date, making him a “one-hit wonder.”

NOTE: Kind appreciation to my friend Robert R. for the heads-up!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Happy 53rd Birthday Dustin Nguyen! Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (2013) (Full movie)

Happy 53rd Birthday Dustin Nguyen!

In honor of his birthday, I'm posting the full movie of Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (2013). Nguyen directed, produced, wrote the screenplay as well as starred in it. It is Vietnamese only with NO English subtitles.

Enjoy!

Trivia:

This is the first Vietnamese action fantasy film.
It was released on August 22, 2013.
This is the 4th movie and 7th project that Dustin produced.
This is Dustin's 2nd directorial effort. His first, the TV series, The Amazing Race Vietnam.
This is only the second screenplay Dustin wrote. His first was "Fool for Love".

For more information:

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Saturday, September 26, 2015

Friday, September 25, 2015

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Monday, September 21, 2015

Thursday, September 17, 2015