Tomify Blog :: Martial Arts Information and Reviews: Eagle Claw Kung Fu, Capoeira, Swai Jiao (Shuai Jiao)

Book Series Review: The Destroyer

Tom Parrish — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 06:34:10 GMT

As a child of the 80's, some of my early exposure to fantasy martial arts themed movies included films like The Karate Kid, The Last Dragon, and Big Trouble in Little China. While these movies part with the reality of martial arts in many ways, they can give you a fun ride as long as you suspend your disbelief.

One of my favorites films of this genre, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, features an ex-cop who is trained to be a deadly secret agent. When I looked up the movie years later, I found out it was based on a popular series of adventure novels called The Destroyer. The series was created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir and first published in 1971. The series has remained successful enough that book 146, Guardian Angel is due in May 2007.

As with most movies, Remo Williams isn't an exact match of the source material, but I feel the essence of the story is the same. Sometimes the books themselves don't even match the source material, since there have been different writers contributing to the Destroyer series over the past 3+ decades.

The Premise:: In the 30 or so books I've read from The Destroyer series, the basic premise is pretty simple: When very bad things happen, it's up to Remo Williams to save the day!
The Good:: Martial arts action
The Bad:: Martial arts action revolves around a fabricated fighting style that trivializes all the other martial arts. (Unfortunately, many martial artists criticize other styles in real life, too...)
The Bottom Line:: The Destroyer is a fantasy adventure series with 145 books and growing -- you're bound to find a story that interests you in there somewhere.

Fun with the photo shoot

Tom Parrish — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 01:09:19 GMT

Maria and I did a photo shoot over the weekend in the studio and at the Palace of Fine Arts. Can you tell I enjoy climbing?

District B13 and Parkour

Tom Parrish — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 07:10:18 GMT

If you're interested in martial arts or action movies, check out District B13 (a.k.a. Banlieue 13). The movie is a showcase for the skills of French martial artist and stuntman, Cyril Raffaelli, and Parkour founder, David Belle.

For those who don't speak French, the action will more than make up for the inconvenience of reading subtitles. Parkour won't seem completely new to anyone familiar with the style of stuntwork perfected by Jackie Chan. But there is enough freshness that District B13 should not only keep you entertained, it might inspire you to find new ways to scale your urban surroundings.

Here is a How-To guide for one of the "easy" (and potentially dangerous) Parkour movements: How to run up a wall and flip

Swai Jiao, Shuai Jiao, Shuai Chiao!

Tom Parrish — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:54:50 GMT

As part of my ongoing martial arts studies, I'm now helping to coach Swai Jiao under Sifu James Man Chin. This doesn't mean that I'm an expert at all, but that I have grasped enough of the basics to help others progress.

Fig. 1 -- Sifu James demonstrates a technique on me

So, what does Shuai Jiao mean? Here is the Wikipedia definition:

Shuai stands for "to throw onto the ground", while jiao may have two meanings: the first and oldest stands for "horns" and the second and recent stands for "wrestle" or "trip". Shuai Jiao therefore means either "to throw onto the ground using horns" or "to throw onto the ground through wrestling".

So, what is the correct way to spell "Swai Jiao"? In short, there isn't a correct way to spell it in English. As with many Chinese words represented in English, there are several spelling variations. Some of these are:

Mandarin
Swai jiao (Swai-jiao, Swaijiao)
Shuai jiao (Shuai-jiao, Shuaijiao)
Shuai chiao (Shuai-chiao, Shuaichiao)

Cantonese
Sut Gao (Sut-Gao, Sutgao)

Martial Arts Physics?

Tom Parrish — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:34:10 GMT

Here are a few interesting links:

The physics of Judo -- These concepts could apply to Swai Jiao.

The physics of Aikido -- These concepts could also apply to Swai Jiao and Eagle Claw Kung Fu.

The physics of breaking boards -- Although it is titled "Kung Fu Science", this web site has little to do specifically with Chinese martial arts. Board breaking is usually associated with external martial art styles such as Karate.

Kung fu versus Wushu :: Eagle Claw

Tom Parrish — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 08:31:21 GMT

Traditional Eagle Claw was created by a famous Chinese general (Yue Fei) around 1130 AD to train his soldiers for combat, and the training consisted of striking, trapping, and joint locking techniques. The Eagle Claw style has developed over the past millenium, but its core has always been focused on Chin Na techniques.

During my traditional Eagle Claw kung fu studies, I liked to cross train in other styles as a way to contrast and improve myself. During a tournament, I met a contemporary wushu Eagle Claw competitor who agreed to teach me the competition set. From what I had seen before, the wushu Eagle Claw form looked pretty cool, and it seemed like another way to help round out my Eagle Claw training. Instead, I learned that contemporary Eagle Claw has little to do with its traditional predecessor.

Contemporary wushu Eagle Claw mimics the actions and shape of an eagle spreading its wings.

Throughout the set, the hands switch back and forth between wing mode and a sort of scraping motion. Traditional Eagle Claw, on the other hand, gets its name from the way an eagle seizes its prey, rather than literal mimicry of the eagle's movements. Each technique is precise with a direct application to combat and defense.

Of course it's no secret that there are differences between contemporary wushu and traditional kung fu. Contemporary wushu forms can also be a good method to help practice certain movements; just don't expect the same depth as traditional kung fu techniques.

Kung fu versus Wushu :: Lost in Translation

Tom Parrish — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 04:35:44 GMT

During the opening ceremony of a tournament in mainland China, all the international teams were lined up and ready for the procession into the arena. Each team was given a banner to display the name of their martial arts school. My Eagle Claw kung fu school is based in the United States, so our banner was written in both Chinese and English. The English part of our banner did not say Eagle Claw, but was written instead as Hawk Paw. This seemed more annoying to me because every other banner was written correctly. There were no Praying Mantis schools renamed Grasshopper style or no Snake school becoming Worm fist.

The main translation issue is that many Chinese terms don't have a literal English counterpart. As an example, let's try to define Chinese martial arts. Probably since the rise of Bruce Lee films, Kung Fu has become a blanket term for Chinese martial arts in America, although it roughly translates as hard work.

What about Wushu, then? That more literally translates as martial arts, but the term Wushu has become more associated with China's national sport. Wushu, which originally developed from Kuo Shu (National Art), was created by the Chinese government as a way to unify martial arts into a national sport, thereby eliminating rebellions caused by seperate factions of martial arts. In the sport of Wushu, most of the defining techniques that differentiate martial arts styles have been removed. In essence, the martial aspects are diluted.

This brings us back to Kung Fu, which is more widely accepted by traditional Chinese martial artists to describe their styles. Confused yet? At any rate, it is probably best to let each group define themselves. And I know I've never studied Hawk Paw.

The Matrix Has You

Tom Parrish — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:35:07 GMT

From the article, "Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die" on Wired.com:

You think technology benefits you because it gives you an easier row to hoe? Bollocks. The ease it provides is illusory. It has trapped you, made you a slave to things you don't even need but suddenly can't live without. So you rot in a cubicle trying to get the money to get the stuff, when you should be out walking in a meadow or wooing a lover or writing a song.

A good point. Although, I suppose technology could enable you to work remotely from the meadow.

De-Sign?

Tom Parrish — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 23:25:05 GMT

During my History of Design course at SFSU, Professor Chu began by asking us What is design? In a class of ~70 students majoring in Design and Industry, there was no definitive answer. Apparently, design meant a lot of things to a lot of different people.

If you begin by deconstructing the word design, you get "De" (remove or undo) and "Sign" (a symbol or representation). From this definition, design means to translate a represention into something more understandable. That makes design seem very subjective, because everyone has a different basis for understanding. But that's one of the main challenges of design.

In essence, design means problem solving, and the solution is composed of form and function. Form, or visual appearance, usually gets the most attention; however, function is equally important and also helps distinguish design from art. I'm sure everyone has an experience with things that look nice but don't fuction properly: advertisements that you can't figure out what the product is, websites that you can't navigate, or products that are impossible to use. On the other hand, function without form results in something that nobody would want to look at or use in the first place.

There is no fine line between art and design, and attempting to define Art is even more complicated than defining design. In general, Design is like art with a commercial purpose. But it will always be a lot of things to a lot of different people.

Forming Misconceptions about Forms

Tom Parrish — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 06:51:39 GMT

The use of forms in martial arts has been debated for awhile. I think the main confusion centers around the use of forms in fighting. I'm sure there are plenty of examples that illustrate this misconception, but the finale of The Karate Kid 3 sticks out in my mind. In the final showdown, Daniel is getting owned in a sparring match, but after he starts performing a kata while he is fighting, Daniel ends up winning. I wonder if anyone actually tried this during their sparring matches? Regardless, that's not what martial arts forms are about.

I guess one comparison would be with the "ABC Song." Sure, there are other ways to learn the letters of the alphabet, but the "ABC Song" gives us a mnemonic device to make it easier. Similarly, forms string techniques together into one package that can be practiced and passed on to others. Eagle Claw Kung Fu, for instance, has 108 chin-na (joint locking) techniques. Sparring drills are a big part of learning these techniques, but without forms to help balance this out, it would be a much different learning experience.

Of course there are other aspects of forms, from artistic to meditative, but that's a discussion for another time. Forms may not be an exact formula for self defense, but they do provide a good method to help remember techniques when practiced properly. As Sifu James says, the way you practice is the way you will respond in real life.