My Family Tree of Black Belts

This January will mark 16 years straight of running my Kenpo Karate school here in London, Ontario. We have changed locations a few times, but have happily found our home at the Berkshire Club, at 500 Berkshire Drive, over the past several years. In addition, this January will mark my 26th year of training in the art of Kenpo Karate. Our school has never been stronger, thanks to the help of God, my wife, my black belt and brown belt assistants, and of course, my dedicated students.

In case some are unaware, there is a valuable resource on the internet which keeps track of all the students I have ever promoted to black belt. It can be found here:

http://www.kenponet.com/flame/tree/s/jamie_seabrook.html

As can be seen, I have promoted 21 students to black belt level over the course of almost 16 years. Of the 21, the following 6 black belts continue to train with me to this day: Craig Cote (3rd Degree Black Belt), John McDonald (2nd Degree Black Belt), Matt Trejo (3rd Degree Black Belt), Alexa Vreman (2nd Degree Black Belt), Ryan Welsh (1st Degree Black Belt), and Evan Wiley (3rd Degree Black Belt). I have also recently welcomed 3 other black belts from different schools that have joined my school over the past month, all of whom may eventually test for black belt level and higher in American Kenpo.

Just over 2 years ago, I made a change in my lineage and decided to follow the direction of the Chinese Karate Federation (CKF) under the tutelage of CKF President, Sean P. Kelley. In addition to his tremendous knowledge of the Kenpo Karate system, Mr. Kelley is a strong leader, and someone in whom I have developed a very close friendship. Unlike many Kenpo organizations, in the CKF the focus is not on one person, but rather the gathering or alliance of some of the best Kenpo Karate practitioners and martial artists on the globe. Moreover, the CKF is about refining and evolving our skills in ways that move beyond the academic stage of training into the more combative realm. Too many black belts today think they “have arrived” upon obtaining a black belt. The reality is that one’s training is just beginning.

CKF Kickboxing and Use of the High-Wide Kneel Stance

One of the great things about being part of the Chinese Karate Federation (CKF) is that amount of time we spend working on Kickboxing. Over the past two years, I have had the pleasure of participating in four Kickboxing seminars taught by CKF President Sean P. Kelley (7th Degree American Kenpo Karate, 5th Degree in Joe Lewis’ American Karate Systems), and one seminar on kicking techniques as taught by Bill “Superfoot” Wallace (10th Degree Black Belt), who is also a CKF Board Member. I have also had the honor of teaching a Kickboxing seminar in Bradford, Pennsylvania at one of the CKF events. Most of these seminars finish with some hands-on sparring with lots of opponents before we call it a day.

A key rule that we emphasize in the CKF when working on Kickboxing is to “face our work” by use of high-wide kneel stance. In this stance, the rear foot is positioned on the ground as a bracing angle, allowing the foot to be launched quickly from that location. In essence, the foot is like an aircraft getting reading to take off, positioning itself as a catapult carrying its mass in a forward position. The value of this position is that it aids in the force of a strike when hitting a target. Moreover, by proper use of economy of motion, it eliminates the “and then” by not forcing you to waste energy and time. A good fighter knows this. Indeed, “position” is one of the eight considerations of combat in American Kenpo.

Interestingly enough, the vast majority of Kenpo Karate practitioners do not face their work when they do their Kenpo (I used to be in this boat as well). This can be detected by the posture that people take when preparing to spar or execute self-defense techniques. Just prior to the act of engagement, most Kenpo Karate practitioners will use the neutral bow stance, which the law of physics show is an improper position. In short, learn to face your work!

Summary of Sean Kelley Seminars in London, Ontario

Last weekend, Sean Kelley conducted three Kenpo Karate seminars in London, Ontario. In the first seminar, Mr. Kelley taught the self-defense techniques “Obstructing the Storm” and “Capturing the Storm” and broke each of these club self-defenses down with a lot of detail. He also taught various lock and flow drills, as well as some give-and-take drills utilizing Wing Chun Kung Fu. In the second seminar, Mr. Kelley spent 2 hours on the self-defense technique “Glancing Lance” and showed how the common way this technique is taught is flawed and dangerous. Instead, Mr. Kelley provided a more realistic way of making Glancing Lance work. Finally, in the third seminar, Mr. Kelley taught on kickboxing. Students had the opportunity to work various punch, kick, punch-kick, kick-punch, and footwork maneuvers on partners. A special thanks also goes out to Steve Beecroft for allowing me to conduct the seminars at his school. Below are a couple of photos from the event:

Congratulations goes out to Dana Broadhead, a 3rd Degree Brown Belt under me in American Kenpo Karate, who just won the Gold Medal in Women's Chinese Forms at the 2010 World Karate & Kickboxing Council World Championships in Albufeira, Portugal. Dana performed the American Kenpo form, "Long Form 3".



Jamie Seabrook
Chinese Karate Federation (CKF)
www.jamieseabrook.com

Sean Kelley Seminars in London, Ontario, Nov 12-13th

Sean Kelley Seminars in London, Ontario, Nov 12-13th

Hi Everyone,

This is to inform you that I will be having my instructor, CKF President Sean Kelley, come teach seminars in London, Ontario the weekend of November 12-13th. The seminar registration package is attached to this email. As can be seen below, participants save a lot of money if pre-registered by October 22nd. Since the Berkshire Club has been previously booked for a wedding, the seminars will take place at the Spiritual Martial Arts Center, 186 King Street (Park Tower, basement level) in downtown, London, Ontario. The seminars are open to all styles of martial arts, and to people with all levels of experience. The seminar topics are as follows:


Friday, November 12th


6:30-8:00 pm – Club Self Defense Techniques



Saturday, November 13th


10:00-10:45 am – Kids Self-Defense

11:00 -12:00 – Glancing Lance (Knife self-defense technique)

12:15 pm – 1:45 pm – Kickboxing (t-shirt only and bring gear)



Fees:

$25 for 1 adult seminar (by Oct 22nd or $30 after Oct 22nd)

$40 for 2 adult seminars (by Oct 22nd or $50 after Oct 22nd)

$50 for ALL 3 adult seminars (by Oct 22nd or $65 after Oct 22nd)

$15 for children’s seminar (by Oct 22nd or $20 after Oct 22nd)

(Note: Child blue belts and higher can attend the child or adult seminars, or all 4 for just $55 by Oct 22nd!)


Hope to see you all there!

Jamie Seabrook
CKF Canadian Representative

www.jamieseabrook.com

My New Red Belt

As some of you may know, on Saturday, September 11, 2010, Mr. Kelley presented me and my good friend Kevin Kuliga with a new red belt for each of our ranks. For those wondering, I am still a 6th Degree Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate, but all CKF black belts who are 5th Degree and higher are going to be wearing red belts with the corresponding black bar and number of stripes (to show the reverse of what is typically done in American Kenpo – a red bar and red stripes on a black belt). To be awarded this new belt from Mr. Kelley was a big honor, as we want to be different in the CKF, especially considering how the typical black belt has been so devalued in recent times as people jump through the dan ranks like candy. For more information about the history of the Red Belt, please see Bill Larson’s article at:

http://chinesekaratefederation.com/2010/06/the-history-of-the-red-belt-or-red-sash/

Summary of the CKF Seminars in Bradford, PA, September 2010

I have said this before, and I will likely say it again – Sean Kelley’s seminars just get better and better. Mr. Kelley taught Short Form 2 and Long Form 2, as well as the “what-if” phase of Kenpo on the Friday night. Mr. Kelley taught the theme of Long Form 2, how and why the universal block breaks the order of the inward, outward, upward and downward sequence, how Kenpo is taught as a category completion system as evidenced by the single and dual setups through the dictionary forms, and how Kenpo is a study of motion. He also showed how the basics from the isolations at the end of Long Form 1 are contained in Long Form 2. Although we typically use a neutral bow when striking with the front hand, and a forward bow when striking with the rear hand, Mr. Kelley explained how it is not necessary to move to a forward bow when executing the eye pokes since the target is soft anyway. Also, understanding the timing separation of “distance with rotation” and then “rotation with distance” in Long Form 2 is a critical aspect to the form.

On the Saturday, Mr. Kelley taught seminars on the Storm (club) techniques and on kickboxing. He taught Evading the Storm and Checking the Storm, and showed how Checking the Storm really teaches what not to do, and why Evading the Storm is a much more logical and practical technique. The kickboxing class including hand drills, kicking techniques, leg sweeps, leg buckles, and pad drills. Matt Trejo, John McDonald and I were all there for the seminars and had a fantastic time.