TMA and MMA

Royce Gracie vs Matt Hughes - one of the first UFC events I ever watched

I have been a fan of MMA for a while, now--since some time in 2006 when I watched a UFC event and saw two young fighters battling it out with good technique, and having push-up contests between rounds and high-fiving and hugging each other afterward. Up until then, I had never been interested in it, and always just saw it as uncivilized brawling done by muscular guys with big egos. That one fight turned me around and showed me that MMA required skill and that at least some of the people that participated in it were good, respectful people. Ever since then, I've been hooked and watch as many MMA events as I can.

Myself competing at the Midwest Regional Championships as a Shuri-Ryu practitioner

2006 was also the year that I started training in traditional martial arts, practicing Shuri-Ryu karate at the Academy of Okinawan Karate. Just six months into my karate training, I started attending judo classes as well in order to learn grappling to compliment my striking. Since then, I have transitioned from Shuri-Ryu to practicing Shorin-Ryu karate at Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts, and I have been integrating my judo into my karate training since I started there, which is something I hadn't been doing before.

What MMA fans/practitioners think of TMA

Over the years, I have found that most traditional martial artists do not like MMA, and most MMA fans/practitioners do not like TMA (traditional martial arts). This tends to be because traditional martial artists see MMA as brutal, lacking skill/technique, and generally not adhering to the tenants of traditional arts, while MMA fans/practitioners see TMA as impractical, unrealistic, and a money-making scheme. There is a grain of truth to each of those views, of course. There are often times where MMA fights, especially at a lower level of competition, devolve into sloppy slugfests between disrespectful, egotistical fighters. There are also plenty of traditional schools that teach things that simply don't work if you try to use them on someone who is fighting back, but market them as practical and overcharge for everything. Still, for every bad example of TMA or MMA, there is a good example out there, somewhere.

The cover for the video of the first ever UFC event

As a TMA practitioner, but an MMA fan, I have a different perspective than most. I see MMA as entertainment, certainly, but I also value its role as a test for what striking and grappling techniques work under pressure against someone who is actively fighting back. It is definitely not the same as a self defense situation, but the techniques that work in MMA will also work just as well in self defense--a solid punch to the face is a solid punch to the face, as they say. Modern MMA really started with the Gracie family hosting the first UFC events to pit their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu against other martial arts, and the Gracies showed how important it was to be able to grapple. Since then, MMA has evolved to a well-balanced style of martial arts all its own, and it is still evolving.

Motobu Choki demonstrating a simple defense against someone attempting a throw

The concept of MMA, however, is much older. For as long as people have been fighting, they have sought out others to learn how to fight better. Within the realm of karate, as that is my chosen martial art, we even have written accounts of this occurring. Several Okinawan karate masters of antiquity trained with multiple teachers, and a great many of them also participated in tegumi, which was a native grappling art practiced for leisure/recreation in Okinawa that once included pins, joint locks, and chokes. That art has since evolved into a sumo-like sport called shima. The extensive grappling experience that they would have gained through tegumi practice would have carried over into their karate and make them a well-rounded martial artist. Many even participated in full-contact challenge matches to test themselves.

Iain Abernethy - karateka, judoka, and practical karate proponent

My martial arts goals have shifted and become more focused over the years, and I really want to bring my karate back to its roots. I want to pare down the number of kata that I practice and really dig into them and practice/teach practical, effective self defense techniques from them. I also want my training to be alive, with resistant opponents so that I have to make sure my techniques truly work. Cross-training is also a major factor in doing this, as my judo training has provided me a good base for grappling that I can apply throughout my karate training, but I have to incorporate them and drill them in an alive manner. As a test for myself, I have been intending to participate in an amateur MMA fight--a plan which was delayed due to an injury and then family issues.

Gerard Gordeau - the first karateka to compete in the UFC

I am certainly not the first "classically trained" martial artist to test myself through MMA competition, but other people doing it is not the same as doing it for myself. I would also be one of the (very) few Shorin-Ryu practitioners to compete in MMA--the only "mainstream" Shorin-Ryu-based MMA fighter that I am aware of is Mike Ciesnolevicz, and he hasn't fought in over 2 years. Last night, I started working with my Sensei on MMA-focused training, and we plan to continue that training to help me prepare. The things we are drilling are based on our karate fighting methods, my judo experience, and my instructor's eclectic mix of jujutsu experience, tempered with our knowledge of modern MMA. Will the traditional martial arts I practice be enough to beat someone trained with modern MMA methods? I believe so, but the only way to be sure is to do it.

The MMA promotion I will be fighting in

I have been in contact with a local MMA promotion called Rage in the Cage, and as long as they can find an opponent for me, I will be fighting in the Amateur Welterweight division on August 10th at the Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, AZ. The fight should be recorded on video, so I should be able to do a post-fight breakdown of my failings and successes.

Visiting Old Friends

Myself, Sensei Joey Johnston (Yondan, Shuri-Ryu), and Tyler Peifer

My wife and I spent last week in Illinois, spending time with her mother in the hospital. During that week, I did get a little bit of time to get some training in, and went over to my old stomping ground--the Academy of Okinawan Karate dojo in Morton, IL--for the Advanced Class. I expected the workout to be tough (for some reason I get a lot more worn-out training in Illinois than I do in Arizona) and I was hoping to see some friends while I was there. While I didn't get to see everyone I used to train with or teach, I did get to see several old friends and that made it a great visit. My old Shuri-Ryu instructor, Sensei Joey Johnston, was there, as were Mr. and Mrs. Lee (I was an attacker for their Shodan exam). I also got to see Mr. Woodall (a long-time Ikkyu and next up for Shodan), Tyler, Jake, and Isaac (all great young karateka that I taught their first classes), and a few other people I recognized from my past.

A youth student from the AOK dojo in Morton, performing Enpi Sho

Class started off with the AOK standard warm-ups; side-tipping, heel raises, ankle rocking, head shaking/nodding in kiba-dachi (horse stance), knee bends, single hip twists (one foot pivoting on the heel), finger and wrist flexing, arm circles, and arm strikes. After that, we went through a few variations of push-ups to get the arms tired, then we worked on the 7 kogeki (offensive stepping methods) of Shuri-Ryu, with strikes, up and down the mat. Those low Shuri-Ryu stances (as can be seen in the photo above) really blasted my legs!

Sensei Johnston performing the Shuri-Ryu kata Kanku Sho

After that, we went through kata starting with Sanchin, which I now do a little differently thanks to working it with my Sensei, who knows a Goju-Ryu version as well as the Shuri-Ryu version. From there, everyone else did Shuri-Ryu Naihanchi Sho, while I did Shorin-Ryu Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan. After that, they did Bassai Dai while I did our Passai Dai, and then they did their Kanku Sho while I did our Kusanku Sho. All-in-all, it wasn't really that much kata practice, but after the kogeki practice I don't know how much more I could've done.

Youth students at the AOK dojo in Eureka sparring

For the last 15 minutes, or so, everyone put on pads to spar. An interesting thing that I noticed about this particular sparring session was that they didn't do typical point sparring. The way we always sparred when I trained there, and the way I've seen it done during my previous visits since I moved to Arizona, was standard light-contact point sparring where the referee breaks you up after a point is scored. This particular night, however, they were doing continuous sparring (no breaks after scoring) and the intensity level was ramped up, although the contact was still pretty light and there were still no leg kicks or takedowns. Tyler mentioned that he "got his butt kicked" at the Shuri-Ryu seminar in Fort Wayne, IN the weekend before, and that made me wonder if the rest of the Shuri-Ryu organization is changing how they spar, leading to the change I saw on my visit.

Grappling while sparring with Mr. Getz at our last open sparring event

Regardless, I was glad to be able to spar with everyone in a ruleset that is a little closer to how I train now, although I still had to make a conscious effort not to throw leg kicks or attempt takedowns. I did notice that I occasionally faked a takedown attempt out of habit, but it just made me look like I was being sloppy because nobody reacted to it as if it was a takedown attempt, since they don't spar with those. I also discovered that I need to work on my counters to limb control in sparring, because when I sparred with Sensei Johnston he trapped one of my arms to throw strikes to my body and head, which resulted in me mirroring him rather then employing the techniques I know from Naihanchi to counter that situation.

Bunkai and Storytime with Hanshi Perry

Hanshi Perry and I after class

Last night was Hanshi Doug Perry's visit to our dojo, and he taught a kobudo class, followed by a karate class. I didn't attend the kobudo session, but I was very eager to get into the karate session. In the class, we focused on oyo bunkai (personal applications of kata) for a couple Pinan kata, Gojushiho, Passai, Kusanku, Hakutsuru, and a kata that Hanshi Perry knows that I have never heard of or seen before.

Hanshi Perry explaining an application for Pinan Yondan

Since we only had a little over an hour, we went through things quite fast, but I noticed that most of the things he taught were things that he had gone over in his seminar last year. This class was very much a refresher course, with two or three extras. Obviously, in that amount of time we could not go through an application for every movement in every kata I listed above. What Hanshi Perry chose to do, for the most part, was teach concepts that could be applied to similar movements across the different kata. Hakutsuru was a bit of an exception, since its movements are quite dissimilar from the other kata we practiced bunkai for.

Hanshi Perry demonstrating part of Hakutsuru

If I had to say that there was something I did not like about the class, it was something completely unrelated to Hanshi Perry and his teaching--it was the partnering. Just like the seminar last year, all of the black belts immediately partnered with each other, leaving all of the mudansha (students ranked under black belt) to partner with each other. All but one other brown belt in the class were 14 years old or younger, and they all partnered with each other for the most part. I had really been hoping to work with an adult martial artist with as much (or preferably, more) experience as me, so that I could really dive into the material. I ended up partnered with an adult orange belt and helped him through a lot of the techniques, which is fine because I do love teaching and I have no problem working with less experienced people--it just wasn't what I was hoping to do in this particular class.

Hanshi Perry clarifying a technique by demonstrating it on me

To be fair, I suppose it could be my wrinkled, creased, sweat-stained (but CLEAN!) uniform that turns off the higher ranks. As you can see from the photos, everyone else seems to have ironed their gi before coming to class, while I simply pulled mine out of the dryer. I suppose it may give a bad impression of me--that I don't care for my uniform properly--but I see them as extra-durable workout clothes, so I suppose I am a bit of a heretic.  That said, it didn't stop Hanshi Perry from helping me during class, or answering my questions, so I must not be too terrible.

Hanshi Perry answering my question about Takemyoshi Sensei

At the end of class, I asked Hanshi Perry about his training with Takemyoshi Sensei (possibly Takamayoshi--that is how it is pronounced, but I always see it spelled the other way) in Okinawa. I have been very curious about that ever since I heard about it, because the Takemyoshi family has their own style of karate, and they do not teach it outside of the family. In fact, there is really no information about them online at all. While I didn't get the chance to ask follow-up questions to fully satisfy my desire for knowledge on this topic, I did get some insight into it.

Hanshi Perry explaining his time with Takemyoshi Sensei

According to Hanshi Perry, he met a member of the Takemyoshi family while he was stationed in Okinawa. The man that he met was not much older than him, and was actually the nephew of the man who was the head of the family style (the "official" Takemyoshi Sensei, who was quite old at the time) whom he never got the chance to meet. They started training together in a field and the first day they trained together, Takemyoshi asked if he knew what the movements of Naihanchi were for, and proceeded to demonstrate a technique that threw Hanshi Perry out into the field and onto his back. This started a training partnership that lasted for some time (he didn't specify exactly how long) and in that time, Hanshi Perry learned at least Rokishu, Hakutsuru, a nuntebo kata, and a tekko kata, all of which came from the Takemyoshi family system.

Everyone who attended class, minus Brent and Tiffany

Overall, I very much enjoyed training with Hanshi Perry--he has a great wealth of knowledge, his level of skill and fitness is still very high at the age of 76, and he is very good at making learning fun while cramming massive amounts of information into your brain. Hopefully the next time I see him I will get the chance to ask a few more questions about the development of the Takemyoshi family system, as well as some questions about kata concepts. I also hope that I'll get to work with more experienced karateka the next time around so I can really explore the techniques and concepts he teaches. This August, he will be hosting a karate camp again (for the past year or two he hasn't done one, although he had done one every year for quite a long time before that) and it would be a great opportunity, but I don't know that I can afford to go. I already have the Shorinkan Camp in Winterhaven this November to try and go to, so I rather doubt I'll be able to do both--I may not even have the chance to do one.

For more photos from Hanshi Perry's visit, click here.