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Darwin's Doubt 5:010:00/5:01
The Basic 45 DVD/BlueRay Set
Sifu Juan Meza
Sifu Juan Meza demonstrates 3 hours of 1080 DVD/BlueRay video on the Basic 45 Kung Fu San Soo techniques. $99.00 with free shipping. Signed copy upon request.
Kung Fu Concepts
Kung Fu Concepts- Book
Master RJ Becker
From the studio, to the street. Martial smarts in real life. Studio training in most martial arts studios cannot be applied to situations you encounter in the real world. The mechanical moves may work, but the mindset, awareness, application, strategy, etcetera is totally different. Study mode verse street mode. Two different attitudes. This book is an organized compilation of writings from years of personal training and study. Martial art mechanics, strategies and attitudes are explained and applied to real life situations, with personal examples. Provacative. Informative. This book will help you reach your own informed conclusions that you can own and trust.
Kung Fu Concepts- Book Introduction
Introduction
“You can take my life, but you can’t take my confidence
Jimmy H Woo
Kung Fu. What goes through your mind when you hear those words? Perhaps you picture some Chinese man doing contorted moves just before he’s going to get his butt kicked? Or maybe some “B” film with fake sound effects choreographed to fancy “combat” techniques? Maybe Bruce Lee? “Grasshopper… Kung Fu is much more than this.”
Kung Fu is understood in many ways. I’ve heard it describing someone who is good at something, or a professional… like a Kung Fu chef or Kung Fu baker for example. I’ve heard it used as out-smarting or out-maneuvering someone. “I Kung Fued him!”
One Chinese perspective of Kung Fu is that it is a lifestyle. It’s not something you do but something you are. Westerners, we have jobs and technology and toys, and we have no time or desire for a lifestyle change. A hobby is as far as most people go. But then there are some…
If you are interested in the carbon-based unit you reside in while here on earth (your body) and how to preserve it and keep it in good working order for as long as possible, then Kung Fu may be for you. If you are interested in the efficiency of motion and conservation of energy as it pertains to your body or are interested in body mechanics, then Kung Fu may be for you. If you are interested in working around your limitations because of handicaps, or are tired of being bullied, scared or intimidated all the time, then kung Fu may be for you.
If you are easily offended and think most of the bad things that happen to you is someone else’s fault, or the worlds wars can be prevented by “talking” things out, then this book may not be for you. If you are the kind of person that thinks the people of this world can someday all get along by talking and reasoning with them, then this book may not be for you. (We may get along for a few years, but it will always revert to conflict and violence because of our corrupt human nature). If you just stroll thru life not really caring about much except your next meal, then Kung Fu may not interest you.
From a western perspective, Kung Fu mostly has something to do with fighting or combat. But it offers much more than just being able to defend yourself. Kung Fu San Soo is a style of Kung Fu that focuses on practical physical, mechanical, and efficient movements of the body for fitness, health, confidence, awareness and more. And yes, Kung Fu San Soo has combat as an important focus. But not tournament fighting or sport fighting. It is more like street fighting with no rules or laws (whatever you want to call them). Anything is allowed. You can use any weapon available to you at the time, fists, legs, feet, teeth, a towel, shirt, rope, chain, or a club of some sort. Use a screwdriver or a popsicle stick for poking or piercing. Use a book, wall, glass window, corner of a desk, whatever. But your most effective tool in your weapon hierarchy is your mind. You are taught how to use it. Targets are whatever you want. Hit to the groin, eyes, throat, base of the neck. You force limbs (his) to move beyond their design limitations. An arm works well when it is within its owners’ view, but as it escapes his field of view, it gets weaker from a leverage and mechanical standpoint. This is where I want to get his arm, and where I want to make sure no one forces mine. A first strike or “Cheap Shot” is fair game… but bullies we are not. Nor are we bullied.
Kung Fu San Soo is said to be the most lethal of the martial arts. Opinions differ. Many martial artists that have been training for years will tell you that their style is the best. The original. The most historical, etcetera. Try to tell a Catholic or Protestant he is wrong, or a Democrat or Republican. Can you say “Lone Gunman”?
I’m not here to set the record straight. There are plenty of people that will try to do that for you. This is not a book on the history of Kung Fu San Soo and the martial arts. If you want Kung Fu history, check the internet and other sources. This is not a book of Kung Fu San Soo techniques. (The best place to learn techniques is in the dojo {Fighting School}, not from a book or an internet video). This is, however, a book on San Soo technique and San Soo concepts and principles. This book is about the art and science of fighting. On developing a fighting attitude and combat psychology; on combat fundamentals. It’s about confidence and getting more of it. You’ll learn about biomechanics/kinesiology (“Kinesiology”: The scientific study of movement of the human body; the study of the human body as a mechanical machine; physics of the human body). Kung Fu San Soo is a study in movement, health, form, exercise, posture, confidence, self-control, and the control of your (and his) emotions. You learn to reprogram your subconscious; to have your mind control your body, not your body control your mind… and much more.
If you have no knowledge of Kung Fu San Soo, this will be a good introduction for you. If you have no martial art knowledge or background, I hope this will give you an idea of the “Fighting Arts”. If you are an accomplished San Soo artist (or other style), I hope this book will be helpful to you. One of my goals is to stimulate you to think, which is one of the hardest things to get a person to do. I hope you will learn how to think more strategically, become intuitively more aware of your surroundings, and be able to “read’ people more effectively. In a word, “profile”… a word people and your government are terrified to use, yet one of our best tools. I hope you will develop more confidence in yourself, avoid danger/trouble before it happens, and not be as fearful in everyday life situations.
In my city, there was this martial art studio in a back alley teaching this unknown (to me) art, Kung Fu San Soo. I checked it out. What? No floor mats? Just carpet… with no padding?? What was this all about?
“So, what about when you fall. How do you not get hurt?”
“I teach you how to fall and not get hurt. Watch… Falling in here similar to falling in that parking lot. You get used to mats and you get soft. I teach you practical things. Things you will retain and use. If you train for a month, and never again, a good percentage of what was taught will be retained.”
With no contract (CCCCommitment), I thought I’d give it a try. A couple weeks into it, I was going to hang it up. I realized I’m not the martial art type… so I thought. (Little did I know that the “martial art type” has much more to do with the mind and attitude than how you can physically control your body). After staying a few more weeks, I started to get the hang of it physically and mentally. I learned to use my mind to navigate around my weak areas and monopolize on my strong ones. What a concept. Confidence was building. Something that I coveted but lacked.
It takes much confidence (or stupidity) to fight. There is a definite “art” to fighting. Take the piano for instance. You don’t just grow up and automatically know how to play the piano. You need to train at it. Like many things, the art of fighting is a perishable skill. If you don’t continue training, you will lose a percentage as time goes by. But the mental/intellectual aspect of fighting, like riding a bicycle, is hard to lose. It becomes a part of you... if you let it.
From the first day I started my training, I’ve kept personal journals of all my techniques and things I was taught and learned. This continues to this day, with teachings from my current instructor, quotes and teachings from internet searches and videos, and personal experiences. This book is an organized (somewhat) collection of what is in my journals. There are many examples of Kung Fu applied to real life situations. My intent is not to sell you on my interpretation of San Soo and fighting. I am sharing with you how I understood what I was taught and what I learned through my martial art journey. Some people may (will) disagree with what I write. There is plenty here to offend everyone.
Another goal is to stimulate you enough to want to find the truth of whatever it is you disagree with me on and resolve it in your own mind, so it is sensible and of use to you and advances your martial art goals.
This book is about conflict and resolving it. It is about war at a personal level. It is about not being bullied anymore and changing your mindset and attitude that is aggressive when needed and is based in confidence. The confident and secure person cannot be offended.
I’ll leave you with this thought…
I am just opening a door. You decide if you want to go through it, close it, or choose another.
Robert J Becker / Master, Kung Fu San Soo Robert@SanSooKungFuUSA.com