About one year ago, I decided that I wanted to put up a wide variety of weapons forms on youtube for people to see. Since that time, I have put up 2 tonfa forms, 1 single stick form, 1 double stick form, 1 long staff (bo) form, and 1 double knife form. About 3 years ago, I also put up a saber form.
Last night, Chantel taped me performing another long staff form, called "Longe Hun Gwan" (Wandering Dragon Staff). Longe Hun Gwan is part of the Black Dragon System of Kung Fu, of which I am also a black belt. I am thankful to have learned this form from my former Kung Fu instructor, martial arts legend, Paul Chau. The link to the form can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B8GdyTBZeQ
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Great Time at 4th Annual Kenpo Karate Boot Camp
On March 20th, I had the opportunity of teaching three American Kenpo seminars at the 4th Annual Dynamic Academy of Martial Arts Boot Camp in Sarnia, Ontario, hosted by 6th Degree Black Belt, Rob Broad. Matt Trejo, one of my 3rd Degree Black Belts, was also a guest instructor at the camp. In my first seminar, I showed how Dance of Death, Thundering Hammers and Sleeper are family related techniques and how the what-if phase of training can be used to determine which technique should be used in a given situation. In my second seminar, I taught Short Form 3, and demonstrated the opposites and reverses throughout the form when executing the techniques. In my final seminar, I helped students improve their kickboxing skills by working various pad drill combinations. The last part of the seminar finished with some continuous fighting.
I was also very impressed by the dedication and talent of Rob Broad’s students, and Matt Trejo did a phenomenal job in showing how Striking Set 1 could be utilized in more practical, fighting applications. Rob Broad’s classes on Short Form 2 and weaponry were also very exciting.
Above are a couple of pictures from the event.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sean Kelley Seminars in Bradford, PA
Are you ready to take your martial art skills to the next level? If so, you will not want to miss the following Sean Kelley seminars hosted by my good friend, Michael Miller, May 20-21, 2011, in Bradford, Pennsylvania:
Friday, May 20 (6:00-7:30pm) Storm Techniques
Saturday, May 21 (1:00 – 2:30pm) Knife class
Saturday, May 21 (3:00 – 4:00pm) Kickboxing
Saturday, May 21 (4:00 - 4:30pm) Open sparring
The cost for all students traveling to this event is only $50. Checks can be made out to "Miller's Dojo."
Be there!
Friday, May 20 (6:00-7:30pm) Storm Techniques
Saturday, May 21 (1:00 – 2:30pm) Knife class
Saturday, May 21 (3:00 – 4:00pm) Kickboxing
Saturday, May 21 (4:00 - 4:30pm) Open sparring
The cost for all students traveling to this event is only $50. Checks can be made out to "Miller's Dojo."
Be there!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Summary of Last Weekend’s Kenpo Karate Seminars
Thanks to everyone who came out to my seminars last Friday night. In the first seminar, I taught the children Short Form 2. In the adult seminar, I focused on evolving techniques beginning with single-person attacks, and how those same techniques are then used subsequently in two-man attack scenarios. In the first seminar, I focused on proper utilization of the power principles, namely - torque, marriage of gravity, and backup mass. In the second seminar, the vast majority of the time was spent working the techniques on partners, and learning how to understand the moves in the ideal phase, what-if phase, and the formulation phase. Both of the seminars were well attended. Above are a couple of photos from the event.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Dynamic Academy of Martial Arts 4th Annual Boot Camp
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to let all of you know about an exciting martial arts boot camp being held in Sarnia, Ontario the weekend of March 18-20th. The training camp will be held at the Dynamic Academy of Martial Arts, 1886 London Line. This boot camp will consist of 15 hours of training over the course of three days, and if you pre-register by March 1st, the cost is only $125 ($140 after that date). I have been asked to be one of the camp’s instructors, along with several other American Kenpo Karate experts. The seminar topics for the camp are very diverse, giving each participant the exposure to many different facets of training. The seminar topics (and instructors) are as follows:
A. JEFF DUKES (9th Degree Shinja Ryu; 8th Degree American Kenpo)
(1) Transitional Stance Changing and the Universal Kenpo Patch
(2) Understanding Linear and Circular Motion
(3) Reality Street Self Defense: What Works and What Doesn't?
B. JAMIE SEABROOK (6th Degree American Kenpo Black Belt)
(1) Kickboxing (bring boxing gloves/hand gear & t-shirt)
(2) Family Related Self-Defense Techniques
(3) Short Form 3: Opposites, Reverses, and Mirror Mechanics
C. JASON ARNOLD (5th Degree American Kenpo Black Belt)
(1) Lock flows, Sensitivity and Energy Drills
(2) Kenpo from the Ground Perspective
(3) Kenpo Knife Work
D. Rob Broad (5th Degree American Kenpo Black Belt)
(1) Belt Defenses
(2) Short Stick Techniques
To register, please call 519-344-3221 or email: info@dynamickenpo.ca
I wanted to let all of you know about an exciting martial arts boot camp being held in Sarnia, Ontario the weekend of March 18-20th. The training camp will be held at the Dynamic Academy of Martial Arts, 1886 London Line. This boot camp will consist of 15 hours of training over the course of three days, and if you pre-register by March 1st, the cost is only $125 ($140 after that date). I have been asked to be one of the camp’s instructors, along with several other American Kenpo Karate experts. The seminar topics for the camp are very diverse, giving each participant the exposure to many different facets of training. The seminar topics (and instructors) are as follows:
A. JEFF DUKES (9th Degree Shinja Ryu; 8th Degree American Kenpo)
(1) Transitional Stance Changing and the Universal Kenpo Patch
(2) Understanding Linear and Circular Motion
(3) Reality Street Self Defense: What Works and What Doesn't?
B. JAMIE SEABROOK (6th Degree American Kenpo Black Belt)
(1) Kickboxing (bring boxing gloves/hand gear & t-shirt)
(2) Family Related Self-Defense Techniques
(3) Short Form 3: Opposites, Reverses, and Mirror Mechanics
C. JASON ARNOLD (5th Degree American Kenpo Black Belt)
(1) Lock flows, Sensitivity and Energy Drills
(2) Kenpo from the Ground Perspective
(3) Kenpo Knife Work
D. Rob Broad (5th Degree American Kenpo Black Belt)
(1) Belt Defenses
(2) Short Stick Techniques
To register, please call 519-344-3221 or email: info@dynamickenpo.ca
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Bowing in the Martial Arts
One of my students asked me the purpose behind bowing in the martial arts. Although I could give many answers to this, I would like to give my own slant on the purpose and meaning behind bowing. Please note that there are some traditions that I choose to follow, and others not; many of the traditions that I do not follow (or ask my students to follow) have to do with my Christian faith.
One of the most common traditions in martial arts training is to bow before entering and leaving the dojo (training area). By bowing, we are not worshipping the area, but rather are showing respect to the area in which we are to train, and are showing that we don’t take our training lightly. In some schools, thousands upon thousands of classes have been taught in that particular training area, and some highly skilled black belts have been produced in that very setting. By bowing, we show respect to the instructor(s) of the school, to fellow classmates, and to the knowledge that one is about to or has already acquired.
Another common tradition in martial arts is bowing to your opponent when engaging in sparring, or when practicing techniques. By bowing, we are demonstrating that we value the person that we are working with, and that the purpose of the fight or technique is to mutually improve one another’s skills. We often will bow to the referee as well, to acknowledge that the referee is in charge of conducting the fight and ensuring fairness, and that the referee may see things that we did not when engaged in our fight. A similar tradition is followed when being evaluated by several judges in a tournament forms/kata competition.
We also bow when commencing and finishing each class. The bow shows mutual respect in that students are thankful for the knowledge they have acquired (or are about to acquire) from the instructor, they honor the martial art that they are learning, and the instructor is thankful to have students committed to his/her teaching methods.
All of these traditions are beneficial in my opinion because they instill discipline, humility, courtesy, and respect for the system of American Kenpo, as well as for teachers and fellow students. There are times, however, where I believe that bowing can be misused. For example, at some schools students must find the head instructor before doing anything else and immediately bow to him (even if he is in his own office). Often, the bow is not reciprocated from instructor to student. That’s called pride, and it makes the head instructor out to be almost godlike.
Some Japanese/Okinawan martial art schools even have students shout out at the beginning of class “Onegaishimasu” which translated means, “Teach me, I beg of you.” Beg? Really? Tell me that won’t inflate an instructor’s ego. Don’t get me wrong; it’s important to respect and honor one’s instructor. But we need to be careful not to put the individual on a pedestal. It’s very possible for an instructor to be espousing perseverance and self-control, for example, while also having a very difficult time with anger management and fidelity. The reality is that the instructor may not be practicing what he preaches.
As a third example, some instructors insist that their students call them “Master.” Again, I am all for “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” “Mam,” and “Sir.” Those words are ones we should all use more. But insisting or better yet correcting a student for calling him “Mr. Smith” versus “Master Smith” is called pride. Interestingly, in the Chinese Karate Federation (CKF), one is not even considered a “Master” until one has obtained the rank of 9th Degree Black Belt (an “Associate Master” is an 8th Degree Black Belt). Today, I see all kinds of “Masters” with lower-ranked black belts, or who have high-ranking black belts with amateur skills at best. For the record, my students refer to me as “Mr. Seabrook” and always will. My master died a brutal death on a Cross for me 2000 years ago.
One of the most common traditions in martial arts training is to bow before entering and leaving the dojo (training area). By bowing, we are not worshipping the area, but rather are showing respect to the area in which we are to train, and are showing that we don’t take our training lightly. In some schools, thousands upon thousands of classes have been taught in that particular training area, and some highly skilled black belts have been produced in that very setting. By bowing, we show respect to the instructor(s) of the school, to fellow classmates, and to the knowledge that one is about to or has already acquired.
Another common tradition in martial arts is bowing to your opponent when engaging in sparring, or when practicing techniques. By bowing, we are demonstrating that we value the person that we are working with, and that the purpose of the fight or technique is to mutually improve one another’s skills. We often will bow to the referee as well, to acknowledge that the referee is in charge of conducting the fight and ensuring fairness, and that the referee may see things that we did not when engaged in our fight. A similar tradition is followed when being evaluated by several judges in a tournament forms/kata competition.
We also bow when commencing and finishing each class. The bow shows mutual respect in that students are thankful for the knowledge they have acquired (or are about to acquire) from the instructor, they honor the martial art that they are learning, and the instructor is thankful to have students committed to his/her teaching methods.
All of these traditions are beneficial in my opinion because they instill discipline, humility, courtesy, and respect for the system of American Kenpo, as well as for teachers and fellow students. There are times, however, where I believe that bowing can be misused. For example, at some schools students must find the head instructor before doing anything else and immediately bow to him (even if he is in his own office). Often, the bow is not reciprocated from instructor to student. That’s called pride, and it makes the head instructor out to be almost godlike.
Some Japanese/Okinawan martial art schools even have students shout out at the beginning of class “Onegaishimasu” which translated means, “Teach me, I beg of you.” Beg? Really? Tell me that won’t inflate an instructor’s ego. Don’t get me wrong; it’s important to respect and honor one’s instructor. But we need to be careful not to put the individual on a pedestal. It’s very possible for an instructor to be espousing perseverance and self-control, for example, while also having a very difficult time with anger management and fidelity. The reality is that the instructor may not be practicing what he preaches.
As a third example, some instructors insist that their students call them “Master.” Again, I am all for “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” “Mam,” and “Sir.” Those words are ones we should all use more. But insisting or better yet correcting a student for calling him “Mr. Smith” versus “Master Smith” is called pride. Interestingly, in the Chinese Karate Federation (CKF), one is not even considered a “Master” until one has obtained the rank of 9th Degree Black Belt (an “Associate Master” is an 8th Degree Black Belt). Today, I see all kinds of “Masters” with lower-ranked black belts, or who have high-ranking black belts with amateur skills at best. For the record, my students refer to me as “Mr. Seabrook” and always will. My master died a brutal death on a Cross for me 2000 years ago.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Jamie Seabrook American Kenpo Karate Seminars
On Friday, January 28th, I will be teaching two seminars at the Berkshire Club in London, Ontario. The first seminar will be for children, and I will be teaching the American Kenpo Karate Purple Belt form, Short Form 2. The children’s seminar will run from 6:00-7:00 pm and the cost of the seminar is $15. The second seminar will be for adults and will run from 7:00-8:30 pm. The adult seminar will focus on evolving techniques in the American Kenpo Karate system. Specifically, I will show how self-defence techniques that were taught earlier in the American Kenpo curriculum are utilized later in the system when dealing with multiple attackers. The cost of the adult seminar is $25. Everyone is welcome to attend this event. I hope to see you there.
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