Kenshiro Abbe Sensei (chinese martial arts gear) 50th Celebrations
August 9th, 2007
Kenshiro Abbe Sensei 50th Celebrations
THE KENSHIRO ABBE 50th CELEBRATION EVENT
14th May 2005 Crystal Palace Sports Centre London. UK
By Henry Ellis
Henry Ellis, a direct student of the legendary Budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, from 1957 describes the great event at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre, London, to celebrate this great teacher and his arrival to Great Britain in 1955 and the subsequent inception of Aikido. Tribute website to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei at http://www.KenshiroAbbe.com . . .
The Bushido ZaZen International Society Annual Dinner
In February 2004 Derek Eastman and I were invited as guests at the annual dinner of The Bushido Za Zen International Society by its Chairman Mr Arnold Davies Hanshi an old student of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei and a close friend of my own good friend Bill Woods Sensei. These names alone meant that this evening was to be something special with so much history and martial arts background between us.
As we arrived we were met by Mr Clive MacDonald, a member of the Bushido ZaZen. Mr MacDonald and Mr Davies had been instrumental in putting together many of the facts to help with the protection of the true history of British Aikido during the great British Aikido Board Controversy.
Memories of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei
Mr MacDonald immediately brought several pints of beer to our table and from then on the conversation flowed along with the beer. As we spoke of our memories of the legendary master, Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, I said ” Do you realize that it is 50 years next year since Abbe Sensei arrived in Britain ! “. We all discussed the importance of this date, I then suggested that, as we all belonged to the Essex Aikido Forum ( EAF ), which is a group of like minded people interested only in Aikido without its politics, we agreed that we should organise a celebration of such an important date. Mr MacDonald called over Mr Davies who, without a moments hesitation, gave the event his full support and financial backing.
The Organising Committee
Before the evening was over we realised that this event would be bigger than anything ever previously organised by the EAF or any other Aikido organisation for that matter. We decided there and then that we would need a working committee if we were to put this very special event together. Mr MacDonald approached two other senior EAF member, Mr Mike Leavy and Mr Eric Gillett, who agreed to join our organising committee. I then approached Mr David Humm the administrator of the very popular website the ” National Aikido Communication DataBase ” . Mr Humm had also been involved in our efforts to protect the history of British Aikido. He also became a willing committee member. Mr Rob Peck agreed to be the secretary We now had a full committee of seven members who were now totally committed and dedicated to putting together the greatest Aikido seminar ever in the United Kingdom. I don’t believe that any one of us on this night were able to grasp the enormity of the task we had pledged to undertake.
The Venue
As the word spread throughout the Aikido and MartialArts communities and, from the interest that was now being generated, we now knew that we would need a prestigious venue After much deliberation and following a visit to Crystal Palace Sports Centre, we soon realised that this was to be the final venue. This was to be a wise decision as, with its great hall and facilities along with the accommodation blocks and restaurants, It would later prove to be capable of hosting the planned event comfortably. The event attracted 430 students. 60 guests, 370 spectators and visitors totalling almost one thousand people on the day With students from all over the UK — USA — France — Holland — Germany, Czechoslvakia.
The Teachers of the Day
As this day was to celebrate the arrival in the UK of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei in 1955, and the subsequent inception of Aikido. It was decided to invite the five surviving direct students of Abbe Sensei from the 1950’s/60’s mentioned below.
I, Henry Ellis and Derek Eastman had already agreed, now I had to approach my old friends, Sensei Ralph Reynolds and Sensei Hayden Foster, who willingly offered their support.
Sensei Ken Williams, first student of Abbe Sensei, was also approached. He had to decline due to prior commitments. He did however provided a letter of dedication to be read out at the event. I then approached Sensei Bill Smith Shihan MBE, who sadly had to decline due to health issues. His son Phillip attended to represent his father and the AikiKai. Now we had a full Aikido teaching team. The event was officially under-way. We also received a letter of tribute to the memory of Abbe Sensei from the Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba ..
The Guests
The guest list was a who’s who of the Martial-Arts world in the UK. There were 60 guests and, with respect, I am unable to mention them all but, the following will give some insight.
Mr F Motai of the Japanese Embassy — Sensei Bill Woods Aide / Secretary to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei 1955 - Sensei Bill Stopps, Personal Aide to Matsutaro Otani Sensei from 1947. - Sensei Robin Otani, Pesident of the British Judo Council. - Mr P, Don of Sport England. - Sensei N Jones, my personal guest. - Ms Jenny Earle, World Judo champion.
Mr Ken Cottier Shihan, a member of the Aiki-Kai World Council. Mr Gigs Shouten, a special guest from Holland. Joe Curran Sensei who read a letter of tribute to Abbe Sensei from Kazuo Chiba Shihan.
The Budo Demonstrations
During the mid day part of the event there was a break for the students while the Budo demonstrations were carried out by some of the very best exponents of the various arts on display. This was a unique event where students were now able to witness many of the Budo arts that they had never seen before.
Aikido -Judo — Karate — Iaido — Kyudo — Kendo — JuJutsu — Ju Kendo
The Event and The Day
This was a very wonderful and special day for me after almost 50 years of practicing Aikido. On the morning of the event as I entered the great hall at Crystal Palace Sports Centre to the electrifying sound of the Taiko Drummers and masses of students around the mat area plus many more queuing at the door to register. I walked onto the concourse floor to see all the various stalls set out. Mr Don Baney a specialist in Japanese works of art had a fine display of Samurai armour and swords, for more information visit: http://www.geocities.com/britishaikido/japanese_swords.htm The atmosphere was fantastic, an indication of the great day ahead. I met so many people that I had not seen for so many years.
There was a raffle at the end of the day with a prized valuable ShinKen sword, presented by Nine Circles Budo Equipment Supplies. A hand made Tanto presented by Sensei Dave Rogers of New Mexic,o USA. Other prizes included the book ” Positive Aikido”, Gi’s, bokkens, shinai’s and many commemorative T-Shirts.
This was indeed a very special day.
I was privileged to be at the great event in 1963 held by Abbe Sensei at the Royal Albert Hall in London where I was assistant to Mikoto Nakazono Sensei. I never thought that I would ever see another event to equal that one. On this day of celebration and commemoration of the life of Abbe Sensei, I believe I saw the event to eclipse all others.
Henry Ellis Event Liasion Officer
Co-Author of Positive Aikido
Principal Coach Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido
http://www.EllisAikido.org
http://www.geocities.com/britishAikido
Henry Ellis born 1936. Co -author of Positive Aikido. A direct student of the legendary Budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957. Ellis has had articles published in several International Martial Arts magazines, he has written several articles on the proud history and lineage of British Aikido. Protecting the legacy left by Abbe Sensei from those that have attempted to alter the facts to advance their insatiable ego’s.
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Henry Ellis co-author of Positive Aikido and the Principal Coach of the Ellis SChools of Traditional Aikido UK - USA.. He is a direct student from 1957 of the legendary Budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sensie. Ellis has written many articles on the history and lineage of British Aikido, several articles have been published in International Martial Arts magazines.
Martial Arts Book Review: Real Fighting by Peyton Quinn
Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it’s definitely worth owning. One such book is Peyton Quinn’s, “Real Fighting.”
On a personal note, I found it quite interesting how certain people?s paths can cross without either one knowing about the other. A case in point, Peyton relates a story about a massive brawl which took place at a very prestigious bare-knuckle karate tournament in Denver, Colorado. Which just so happened to be the very same tournament that I competed in and also had the misfortune to witness the very disgusting behavior of a certain so called martial artist and his friends. I often wondered if he recalled seeing me compete.
I found Peyton’s book to be a very good “reality check” for those of you out there that think that your “martial art” is superior to everyone else’s. Well guess what, its not! As every person who has more than a passing resemblance to a human being will tell you, there are no superior martial arts, just superior martial artists. One particular quote that I really had to agree with was, ?Concepts are more important than specific techniques.? Boy did Peyton hit the nail right on the head with this one. From that one quote alone, I knew that he definitely knew what he was talking about.
The most important thing to remember when reading this, or any book dealing with self-defense techniques, is that the principles behind the technique are far more important than the technique itself. Peyton does a great job of this, and you would do well to sit down and read this book from cover to cover several times in order to grasp what he is trying to teach you.
Another important point that is brought out in this book is your need to develop your own personal awareness of yourself and your surroundings. By being aware of what is going on around you, you can avoid a lot of potential problems and be able to spot the preliminary signals that are always present before the first blow is actually thrown.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed what Peyton had to teach in his book, I must admit that I am not a big fan of the generalization that seems to take place when people compare “real fighting” to the martial arts. It seems that a lot of the martial arts are pigeonholed into the prevalent “McDojo’s” that seem to be so popular these days. That simply is not the case.
Peyton is one of the few “self-defense” authors out there that seems to realize this. He not only respects the teachings of the martial arts, but also understands their overall purpose and the benefits derived from them for those of us that study and live the martial way.
Peyton does do a really good job in differentiating between the ?sport? mentality that seems to be so prevalent in many martial arts these days, and the ?self-defense? mentality that has all put disappeared from all, but a few martial arts schools in existence today.
I am a traditionally trained martial artist in both Karate and Tae Kwon Do, as well as being ranked in several other disciplines. However, unlike a lot of schools that seem to have degenerated down to teaching a diluted “sport” version of these arts, I was fortunate enough to be taught the practical version of each technique alongside the traditional version.
A lot of traditional martial artists may find the information contained in this book a little disheartening, but take it from me, if you have one ounce of sense you will buy this book and study it. And when you think you?re finished and have learned everything in this book, take it off the shelf and read it again.
Finally, this book gives you a great overview on Peyton?s scenario based training principles in which he utilizes his Bulletman? suits and instructors. Although you will never get the full effect of this type of training from this book, you will get that which is most important, the concepts behind it.
I think we would all do well to remember that the most important element that the martial arts teach you is not technique, but respect, self-control and self-discipline!
Tito Ortiz vs Chuck Liddell - It's on (again)
Chuck Liddell vs Tito Oriz - It’s on (again) Call me crazy, most people do, but I think Chuck Liddell is going to have a lot of trouble on December 30, 2006 when he faces Tito Ortiz for the second time. A little history first. On April 2, 2004, Tito Ortiz faced Chuck Liddell in the UFC octagon for the first time. It was supposed to be a war to end all wars, entitled “It’s On!” (i.e. it’s finally on), making reference to how long fans had to wait to finally see this match up. If memory serves me correctly, it was two years between when Chuck was considered the #1 contender and when we finally got to see the fight. I was at the 2004 fight, $350 seats which didn’t put me on the floor, but I was awfully close. It was a fantastic event, I’ve never been to a sporting event like it. There were about 10,000 people there, but it sounded like 50,000. There was so much energy and 99% of the people there were hard core fans, really into the fights. The fans that night were split about 50/50 with who they were rooting for. In the end, Chuck knocked Tito out early in the second round. Tito never did mount an offence and for some reason decided to stand and trade punches with Chuck instead of taking him to the mat. He says he was trying to prove something, I think it was just a bad game plan, derived loosly from Randy Couture’s victory over chuck previous to this (Randy also traded punches, and won…worth noting that Randy has lost to Chuck twice since then, both by knock out). So, what makes me think things will be different this time. Age, maturity, complacency, courage, cardio, experience and strategy. Age You see, both fighters are 2 1/2 years older. The difference being that Tito will be 31 vs Chuck’s 37. Anyone over 40 will tell you that there is a much bigger difference between 35 and 37 than there is between 29 and 31. Chucks a great athlete and champion, but we all slow down sometime. Maturity Again, we are not talking absolutes here, but relative. Relative to the fight 2 1/2 years ago, I think Tito has matured more than Chuck. He’s had time off to reflect, changes in his personal life and he still trains like he’s 25. Complacency I’m not even sure what that means, but if it means what I think it means, Chuck’s gotta be it. He’s won easily in his last few outings, hardly breaking a sweat. That’s gotta mess with your head. Courage Hey, lets be serious here. Tito was a little afraid of Chuck the first time around, but let me tell you something. Any man who’s willing to step into the bedroom with Jenna Jameson should have no trouble facing Chuck Liddell. Cardio Anyone who watch the Ulitmate Fighter season 3 knows that Tito is a cardio freak. Nobody trains cardio like Tito. On the other hand, while Chuck is a great fighter, he hasn’t been pushed for a very long time (since his first fight with Randy). Experience I’m talking recent experience here. Tito’s simply gone more rounds than Chuck in recent fights. Although, maybe that’s not quite true…his last two fights with Ken Shamrock didn’t even amount to a single round. Ok, this ones a non-issue. Strategy If Tito comes out with the same strategy as last time, I’ll write him off for good. It was flawed when Tito used it last time and things won’t change if he uses it again. On the other hand, if Tito is committed to making Chuck work, even if it’s repeatedly trying to avoid takedowns, at some point Tito’s superior cardio will take over. So there you have it, my final prediction, Tito Ortiz by ref stoppage. Could I be wrong? Of course I could, if the fight doesn’t make it to the 3rd round, or Tito can’t take him down, then it’s Chucks to win. If it goes 3 rounds or deeper, I’ll take Tito for sure. Also, if Tito can put Chuck on his back, then I’ll take Tito. One thing is for certain, I’ll be watching the fight on December 30th, on the edge of my seat!
<b>John is a huge MMA fan. Check out his MMA web sites below:</b>
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<a href="http://mma.gocurious.com/" target="_blank">Real MMA</a>
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<a href="http://mmaforums.gocurious.com/" target="_blank">Real MMA Forums</a>
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<a href="http://www.gocurious.com/" target="_blank">GoCurious.com</a>and<br>
http://www.gocurious.com/
Learn How To Kick: Kicking Effectively in a Self-Defense or Combat Situation Part 1 of 10
This ten article series will deal with the various components that need to be addressed when considering the utilization of a particular kick in a combat or self-defense situation. These ten components can also be used by the tournament competitor although certain segments would have to be modified slightly for the tournament aspects of kicking, rather than the more intensive nature of using a kick or kicks in combat. Although all of these individual components are important, they are most effective when combined together and utilized correctly when executing a kick. Although I will only be discussing one of the components in this article, here is the complete list of all ten of them. 1. Your Kicking Ability
2. Your Intended Application
3. The Environment
4. Telegraphing
5. Striking Implement
6. Striking the Correct Target
7. Initial Impact
8. Impact
9. Retraction or Follow Through
10. Return to Fighting Position Component One; Your Kicking Ability: Your kicking ability is just that, your kicking ability. Not your perceived kicking ability, but your actual reality based kicking ability. This may be a hard pill to swallow, but you may not have the ability to utilize all of those flashy spinning and flying kicks effectively in an actual self-defense situation. Now the good news, if you can realize this and accept it, then you are off to a lot better start than most people who like to kick. Awareness is the key to survival, and nothing is more important than self-awareness. Now there are a lot of self-defense experts out there than dont advocate kicking at all in a self-defense situation. However, when you do a little research into why they believe this, most of the time you will find out that they had a bad experience and/or witnessed a bad experience with someone who tried kicking and ended up getting the worst end of the beating. This is almost certainly due to a lack of proper knowledge not only of how to kick, but also the who, what, where, when, and why of correctly applying a kick. Which unfortunately seems to be fairly common with a lot of the McDojos that are so prevalent in todays society. These articles will help clear up some if not all of those problems. For as many of the self-defense experts that are out there that dont advocate kicking, there are many more that do, although they recommend that you should never kick above waist high. For the most part this is very sound and intelligent advice, and should be adhered to for the most part by everyone. However, like every known rule or law, there are exceptions. For those few individuals out there who are truly gifted in the art of kicking you can, with careful planning and intelligence, execute kicks to a standing opponents head with amazing results. I know Ive done just that on numerous occasions. Now how do you know just how good you are at kicking? Well, first and foremost unless you are a truly perceptive and honest person with yourself, you can forget about asking yourself. If you do, youll probably be able to execute any one of a dozen or more jump spinning kicks taking out as many as two dozen ninja villains before your feet ever touch back down on the ground. Way to go Hollywood! The first person you should consult with is your instructor. If he is qualified and competent (you shouldnt be with him or her if they arent) he will be able to fully assess your ability and give you his honest and forthright opinion. The next group of people you should speak with is your senior classmates. They too should be able to give you their assessment of your kicking abilities. Now after you have spoken with your instructor and your senior classmates, you can then talk to yourself. Now I dont recommend doing this in a public place or your liable to end up getting a visit from the large men dressed in white carrying the butterfly net and the canvas jacket with extra long sleeves. What I do recommend is a private time of self-reflection where you can honestly evaluate your own abilities. Here is a list of the important items that I feel you need to look at when considering what level your kicking ability is at. 1. Length of time spent learning those kicking skills. 2. The degree of flexibility that you have in your legs. 3. The amount of power that you are able to generate with your kicks. 4. Your ability to execute every aspect of those kicks correctly from start to finish. 5. Your own past experiences in actual fights, not sparring in the dojo or at a tournament. 6. Your ability to effectively and consistently land a kick on a training partner anywhere from the waist down without them seeing it even after it hits them. 7. Your ability to execute that very same kick without telegraphing it. 8. Your attitude towards being confronted with a violent situation. 9. Your overall physical condition. 10. Your ability to use your brain intelligently. One of the best training aids that I have ever used and still do is a large full length mirror. I have used a mirror to train with ever since I first started taking lessons over 25 years ago. It is without a doubt the most important piece of training equipment that you can use, if it is used correctly. What you want to do is to stand in front of the mirror in a fighting position. Then without thinking about it, execute a kick at your reflection in the mirror. Now a word of caution, make sure you are back far enough from the mirror that you arent going to actually hit it. This can not only be dangerous to yourself and be very expensive, but you could also end up with seven years of bad luck. If you believe in that sort of thing. When you can stand in front of the mirror and execute a kick, or any technique for that matter, without telegraphing it then youre starting to make some real progress. This is not an easy thing to do, but you can do it. It just takes a lot of time, hard work, and proper instruction. The next article in this series will deal with the second of ten components needed to kick effectively in a combat or self-defense situation. That component is, Your Intended Kicking Application.
Shawn Kovacich is a high ranking black belt in both Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Shawn is also a two time world record holder for endurance high kicking as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Shawn is the author of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chikara-kan.com/shoppingcart/Back-Kick-p-16133.html">Back Kick</a>, volume one in the highly acclaimed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chikara-kan.com/shoppingcart">Achieving Kicking Excellence</a> series.
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