Martial Arts Tricks

For those of you interested in what is known as martial arts tricks, bilang.com has an excellent database of videos.  Martial art tricks are crazy kicks, flips and just moves with a lot of air time.  They might not necessarily be very useful in a real fight.  But heck, they are quite impressive!

Wooden Dummy – Part 3: Training

Wing Chun consists of three open hand forms, a wooden dummy form, a butterfly sword form and a staff form. Traditionally, the open hand forms are learned first, next the dummy and then the weapons are last. The weapons are supposed to be an extension of the hands. As a result, they are taught last.

A common misconception is that the dummy form is superior to the three open hand forms. Some people would say that all you need to do is learn the dummy form and you are set. You don’t have to learn the first three. This is incorrect. The order in which you learn the forms is a training process. The first three open hand forms are designed to give you a basic knowledge of Wing Chun. It is part of the foundation. These forms are designed to train your flexibility, strength in your joints (not muscles) and your concentration. The wooden dummy form is a culmination of the first three forms. Many of the techniques are repeated in the wooden dummy. As well, when first training in Wing Chun, one is encouraged to stretch his/her limbs in each motion, in an effort to train flexibility. Once the practitioner learns this flexibility, he/she learns to minimize his/her movements when training, in line with the centerline philosophy of Wing Chun. That is, the student is taught to keep his/her arms and legs in a tight area in the center of the body when training. This is exactly where the dummy falls in.

The arms of the dummy are positioned so that there is little space between them. A Wing Chun practitioner using the dummy can thus use it to make sure his/her arms are aligned in the center when applying the techniques. In other words, the dummy serves as a guide post to make sure the movements are in the correct position.

Another misconception is that the dummy is for training strength. Wing Chun is a southern martial art. And like most southern arts, it is a soft style with focus on the upper body. Beating the dummy with all your strength is not the point. And besides, it would hurt! Notice that the arms of the dummy are loosely fitted into the main shaft. Therefore, when you contact the dummy’s arms, they give a little, so that you won’t feel the force of hitting a solid piece of wood. So when properly applying Wing Chun techniques to the dummy, it shouldn’t hurt at all. Because in Wing Chun, the techniques are designed to use the opponent’s energy. So don’t be too impressed when you see somebody seemingly hitting the dummy with arms of steel. As for speed, you may have seen many online videos or movies (Jackie in Rumble in the Bronx) hitting the dummy at crazy speeds. Again, this is nothing magical. When hitting a dummy, you will feel a springy force push you back. The dummy should be mounted on a spring or set of springs. Combine that with the loose fitting of the dummy limbs, hitting the dummy is actually like hitting a huge rubber band. As a result, this reaction force actually helps your own hands pull back faster and you can launch your next strike quicker. So the final result is that you seem like a superstar when you are training with the dummy at high speeds.

Finally, once one is proficient in the dummy form, there is a variation called the “air dummy form”. Essentially, this just means training the dummy form without the dummy. This becomes a lot harder because you no longer have the guide post. And without the huge rubber band to help you, you cannot do the form as quickly. And of course since you are just hitting air, your elbows actually have to handle more torque each time you stretch your hand out. As a result, you actually tire more quickly.

Below is Jackie in Rumble in the Bronx showing off his speed on the dummy.

Wooden Dummy Blogging Series

Making of Ong Bak

Below is a video of the making of Tony Jaa's Ong Bak.  You can see they found an old warehouse and practiced alll the stunts before actually filming it for real.

Personally I'm not a big Tony Jaa fan.  I'm probably biased because I'm not too familiar with Muay Thai.  It seemed like every single move Tony made in Ong Bak was somehow purposely designed to use his elbow or knee.  I know that knees and elbows are Muay Thai specialities.  But some of the action sequences didn't seem 'realistic' in that why would you throw an elbow when you are obviously in punching distance?  Somehow I prefer Yuen Woo-ping style of choreography better.  The moves are more intricate and real and are actually a blessing to watch in slow motion.  By the same token, although I love Bruce Lee as a fighter, the fight sequences in his movies I actually find boring exactly because of his simple style of fight choreography.

Nonetheless, Tony Jaa is exciting to watch, especially for his youth, strength and flexibility.  Jet, Jackie and Donnie are really getting up there.  Lesser known is Wu Jing, a wushu champion out of China, a la Jet Li.  He has focused his career mainly in China.  But for those who have seen SPL, he is definitely a treat to watch too.

Nike + Wing Chun + hot girls

It seems the three really don't have much in common. Well, actually legend has it that Wing Chun was invented by a Buddhist nun.  But Nike?  Go figure.  Enjoy!

I believe the girl is practicing the wooden dummy form in the video before she takes on her opponent.

Jackie Chan plays a villain, sort of

Jackie Chan’s newest movie is called Rob-B-Hood.  After the success of the 2 Rush Hour movies, Jackie’s other made-for-America films just didn’t seem that popular.  Who actually saw The Medallion or The Tuxedo?  As a result, he went back to his roots and recently starred in two movies with more international appeal.  The Myth and New Police Story were quite successful in Asia but have yet to make officially make it to North American audiences.  Now, before going back to finish of the trilogy in Rush Hour 3, Jackie has made this new movie called Rob-B-Hood where he plays a ‘villain’ of sorts, stealing a baby for ransom money.  Nonetheless, the character he plays is still the main character and actually turns out to be a good guy.  Jackie would never play a bad guy!

Below is the Hong Kong trailer for the film.  It will be released in September for Asia.

Wooden Dummy – Part 2: History and Overview

The wooden dummy is a training tool used in Wing Chun. It is traditionally made from solid wood. But nowadays, variations in all sorts of materials are used. It has two protruding arms and a lower arm/high leg that sticks out around the waist level. At the bottom is a leg that barely touches the ground. The limbs are loosely mounted into the main body of the dummy so that they can move around easily. This allows the fighter to hit the dummy without injuring him or herself.

Wing Chun is a fighting system that is ideal for small spaces. Legend has it that the Red Junk/Boat Opera, a group of traveling performers who were anti-imperial assassins by night would train in Wing Chun. Because of their small training spaces and lack of training partners, they developed the wooden dummy to aid them in their training.

 

Wooden Dummy Blogging Series

Wooden Dummy – Part 1: Introduction

In this blogging series, I will be writing about the wooden dummy. The wooden dummy is a training tool most notably used in Wing Chun and is often the interest of many martial arts enthusiasts.

I will use this post as an updated table of contents as I blog on each aspect of the wooden dummy.

Wooden Dummy Blogging Series

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: History and Overview
• Part 3: Training

UFC vs. Pride – Part 4: Champions

These are the current (as of June 5, 2006) champions of UFC and Pride. Note that some weight classes do not currently have champions.

UFC Champions

1. Heavyweight – Tim Sylvia
2. Light Heavyweight – Chuck Liddell
3. Middleweight – Rich Franklin
4. Welterweight – Matt Hughes

Pride Champions

1. Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix – Dan Henderson
2. Bushido Lightweight Grand Prix – Takanori Gomi
3. Grand Prix 2005 – Mauricio Rua
4. Heavyweight – Fedor Emelianenko
5. Middleweight – Wanderlei Silva

UFC vs. Pride Blogging Series

UFC vs. Pride – Part 3: Rules

UFC Rules

There are five weight categories in the UFC.

1. Lightweight: 146 to 155 pounds
2. Welterweight: 156 to 170 pounds
3. Middleweight: 171 to 185 pounds
4. Light Heavyweight: 186 to 205 pounds
5. Heavyweight: 206 to 265 pounds

Championship fights last up to 5 rounds and non-title fights last up to 3 rounds, all 5 minutes each. The fight is in a trademarked octagonal shaped cage as opposed to the traditional square boxing ring. If you watch the earlier UFC events, fighters often wore upper body clothing and had shoes. Today, the only allowed pieces of attire are approved shorts, gloves and mouth guard. The approved gloves allow the fingers to grab.

There are a number of ways to win a fight.

1. Submission by physical or verbal tap out.
2. Technical knockout and thus a referee stoppage.
3. Judges decision (unanimous, split, majority, draw)
4. Technical decision
5. Technical draw
6. Disqualification
7. Forfeit
8. No contest

Three judges score the fight if it comes down to a decision. In each round, the winning fighter receives 10 points and the loser receives 9 or less. If it’s a tie, both fighters get 10 points.

Fouls are instituted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. They include the following.

1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
8. Small joint manipulation.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
13. Grabbing the clavicle.
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
21. Spitting at an opponent.
22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
30. Interference by the corner.
31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

If a foul is committed, the fighter gets a point deducted. With all the rules, you can see the UFC is not the NHB style of competition it once was. That being said, the rules are designed in a way to maximize the fight quality without sacrificing the safety of the fighters.

Pride Rules

There are four weight categories in Pride.

1. Lightweight: less than 160 pounds
2. Welterweight: less than 183 pounds
3. Middleweight: less than 205 pounds
4. Heavyweight: more or equal to 205 pounds

In Pride fights, the first round is 10 minutes and then rounds 2 and 3 are 5 minutes each. There are 2 minutes of break time between rounds.

There are several ways to win a fight.

1. Ippon – A fighter taps the opponent or the mat three times.
2. Technical knockout – Referee stoppage, doctor stoppage or forfeited match.
3. Decision based on three judges. Unlike the UFC, the decision is based on the entire match as a whole, not round by round.
4. Disqualification
5. No Contest

Fighters are disqualified if they receive three warnings for not abiding in any of the following rules.

1. No head butting, eye gouging, hair pulling, biting or fish hooking.
2. No attacking the groin.
3. No strikes to the back of the head. This does not include the side of the head.
4. No small joint manipulation.
5. No elbow strikes to the head and face.
6. No intentionally throwing your opponent out of the ring.
7. No running out of the ring.
8. No purposely holding the ropes. Fighters cannot purposely hang an arm or leg on the ropes. Hanging on the ropes will result in an immediate warning.
9. No kicks or knees to the head or the face of an opponent who falls face down.
10. No application of oil, ointment, spray, Vaseline, massaging cream, hair cream, or any other substances is permitted to any part of the fighter’s body before and during the fights.

Notice that kicking and kneeing the head of an opponent on the ground is allowed in Pride but not in the UFC. However, elbows to the head and face are allowed in the UFC but not in Pride. So apparently, UFC views using the feet as a weapon against the head as more serious than using elbows. It’s really hard to say what is worse. But if you take out the use of elbows, the fight definitely is not as exciting, as any Muay Thai fighter would attest to.

UFC vs. Pride Blogging Series

ZeroGravity making a comeback?

ZeroGravity is without a doubt the best online group of amateur action film makers and choreographers.  They are a small group based in the California Bay Area who make low budget action films.  They specialize in fight choreography and filming.  They haven't made it to the big leagues yet, but they are well recognized in the martial arts choreography community.  Given the budget and resources they have to work with, the action sequences they produce are comparable to professional Hong Kong choreography quality.  Be sure to check out their films.

Unfortunately, ZeroGravity has pretty much been defunct over the past couple of years.  A lot of their films were in the middle of production but were sadly never completed.  Surprisingly, there seems to be hints of a comeback of sorts on the ZeroGravity forum.  From the looks of it, they are looking over some storyboards.  I'll definitely keep you posted as more concrete details come in.

Below is one of their demo videos from a while back.