Sensei David Kalish earned his third degree black belt on the same day. Sensei Kalish is the head instructor and operator of the United Martial Arts Center in Victor, NY. He and his phenomenal staff are directly responsible for facilitating the growth of hundreds of students since it’s opening in April of 2007. Sensei Kalish is an incredible tournament competitor and uses the skills that make him so good in that arena as attributes to bring out the best in all!

Sensei Pam Wright was awarded a fourth degree black belt during the ceremony. Sensei Wright opened UMAC with Sensei Ingallina in April of 1999 and has been directly responsible for its success throughout the years. The amount of space it would take to list her contributions would turn this into a ten page blog so we won’t even go there. She has been involved in EVERY ASPECT of EVERY PROGRAM that has been developed at UMAC. She developed the Little Dragon and Junior curriculum. The adult program was designed on her watch. Her kickboxing class has rocked Rochester for almost twelve years. She directly helps the lives of all in her role as a self defense instructor. And on and on… Although her titles are many, her biggest gifts cannot be measured. She is a role model to the young and old. She inspires people just from being with them. She is a friend, confidante, coach and inspiration to all of us. UMAC is what it is because of Sensei Pam Wright. Please let her know just how much she is appreciated and loved. There’s only one of her and we all feel lucky she’s ours!

The Hattatsu Ryu Yudanshakai takes great pride in welcoming its newest inductees after one of the most exciting Black Belt tests we have ever witnessed. Heidi Lyndaker, Andrew Wagoner, Kate James, Matt Healy and Kevin Mulvehill put it all on the line on August 14th as they demonstrated all their talents during a four-hour test. The candidates performed group kata (forms), individual kata, all waza (techniques), nage waza, (throws), katame waza (grappling), and goshin jitsu (self-defense) from both empty handed and armed attackers. They finished off with kumite (sparring) against their classmates then with each other.

Although words could never do justice to the immense sense of pride and gratitude we have for these students, suffice to say we are honored to have them as students and friends. We wish them all the best as their training continues. They know that although attaining a Black Belt in Hattatsu Ryu Karate shows they have an excellent understanding of their concepts and skills, it is a beginning to much more.

Please join us in congratulating them when you see them. Stop, bow and let them know how happy you are to have them in your life. We certainly are!

Sensei Kalish writes:

In karate, we spend a lot of time on kata. Kata is a stylized system of movements that helps to demonstrate a karate practioner’s skill and technical mastery of specific precise movements. Kata is art. It can be very basic when you are beginning (step and punch), or it can be incredibly specific when you advance in rank and skill and learn the nuances of all of the moves (your hand is placed here, your foot is turned this way, etc). That’s what makes kata challenging and fun.

Kata teaches us many things. It teaches us discipline, focus, perseverance, the technical aspect of traditional karate moves, the ability to flow from one series of movements to the next. But most importantly, in my opinion, it teaches us that in our art (and in life) there is always room for improvement.

I have been doing kata for close to thirty years. Taikyoko Shodan was the first kata I ever learned. And I have learned and re-learned it from many instructors, and performed it thousands of times. Every time I perform it, I find something new, something that I can improve upon. It is possible that I may have mastered the kata, but I have never performed it “perfectly.”

This is the Heart of our Art: Hattatsu Ryu – “The System of Progressive Growth”

Sensei Ingallina writes:

UMAC will be hosting a seminar by Hanshi Patrick McCarthy at Victor UMAC on Saturday, July 17, and Sunday, July 18. (There is also an additional “bonus” session for all registered seminar participants on Friday evening, July 16).

In this seminar, Hanshi McCarthy will introduce Koryu Uchinadi Kenpo Jutsu and present its history and the practical self-defense applications of kata. The participants will learn the theory and the application of a variety of effective martial arts techniques, including pressure points & joint locks (Kansetsu Waza), chokes & strangulations (Shime Waza), takedowns & throws (Nage Waza), grappling & groundwork (Ne Waza), and escapes & counterattacks (Gyaku Waza). Hanshi McCarthy will demonstrate many two-person drills that will help the participants better understand the principle techniques and its effective use in self-defense.

Hanshi McCarthy’s old-school two-person practices are based upon the most realistic contextual premise imaginable — those original empty-handed and one-on-one acts of physical violence, which habitually plagued the culture in which this art evolved. The groundbreaking results of his study have saved instructors the time and trouble of wandering through an endless minefield of myth and mysticism, and the quagmire of half-truths and self-serving propaganda that so frequently impede the learning process. His old-school two-person drills leave no room for the kind of ambiguity exampled elsewhere in modern/traditional karate (i.e., the kind of ambiguity which has sometimes given kata “a bad name”).

Hanshi McCarthy is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the civil fighting traditions (Koryu Uchinadi Kenpo Jutsu) of Okinawa. He is one of few foreigners ever to teach karate-do in Japan and has received an 8th Dan Teacher’s License. He is a best selling author with his publication of, “The Bible of Karate: Bubishi.” He has authored, “The Classical Kata of Okinawan Karate”, as well as numerous other books, magazine articles and DVDs.

A gifted speaker and talented martial artist, Hanshi McCarthy has traveled the world to share his deep knowledge of the secrets of karate. He has captivated and opened the minds of thousands of martial artists, irrespective of “style”.

Registration forms for the event are available on our web site.

This is a fantastic opportunity to extend your knowledge as martial artists, and we would highly encourage everyone to participate.

Hanshi Patrick McCarthy’s Karate Application Seminar

Discover how the [Chinese] pioneers of quanfa developed solo fighting routines [kata] by using the HAPV-Theory [the habitual acts of physical violence] as its contextual premise. Learn the highly functional old-school two-person application practices and discover how their solo representations became linked together to create something greater than the sum total of its individual parts.

As traditional Japanese karate kata is linked to the ancestral kata of Okinawan karate — which, in turn, traces its origins back to southern-based quanfa, before the modern emergence of “styles” — it stands to reason that what applied to the fundamental meaning of those progenitor forms also applies to today’s practices. Having made a study of such history and conceptual practices, author & researcher, Patrick McCarthy, Hanshi 8th degree black belt, has been successful unravelling much of the ambiguity that shrouded the inner-workings of Kata. This has resulted in a much clearer understanding of kata and the original art.

Rather than haphazardly teaching “fighting technique,” or kata, and then show the application practices, after the fact, Hanshi McCarthy first introduces the learner to the habitual acts of physical violence [HAPV]—historically representing the original contextual premise on which prescribed template application concepts were first developed—through two-person drills. After gaining a reasonable level of competency [against aggressive resistance] KU learners are taught how to rehearse the prescribed application modules by themselves — culminating the lessons learned. By linking together the individual modules into unique geometrical configurations something greater than the sum total of its individual parts appear – kata. McCarthy sensei also explains how, practiced by themselves, kata also serve as creative mechanisms through which to express individual prowess while strengthening one’s overall mental, physical and holistic conditioning.

Without question, these old-school practices represent a pathway through which to improve your understanding of karate.

If you always knew that karate offered more than what you were being taught, and are willing to look outside your peer group, this seminar will definitely appeal to you. If you’re looking for progressive mentorship, while not losing any of the value of tradition, attending McCarthy sensei’s seminar might be just what you need.

More information about Hanshi McCarthy and Koryu Uchinadi is available on the Koryu Uchinadi web site.

]]> http://www.selfdefensecenter.com/koryu-uchinadi-kenpo-jutsu-seminar-is-coming/feed/ 0 http://www.selfdefensecenter.com/2009-umac-invitational/ http://www.selfdefensecenter.com/2009-umac-invitational/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:52:16 +0000 Matt Healy http://www.selfdefensecenter.com/?p=680

EXAMPLE VIDEO CLIPS

Please note: The video clips below have been processed to reduce their size for web viewing. Rest assured that the actual DVD video quality is of the professional, high-quality level that you would expect.

SERIES CONTENTS

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4