White Crane Snow Tiger News – October 2006

New Website

Italy  

White Crane Speed & Evasion 4

Nine Dragons Martial Art Tours-China

Yamazato New Releases

Ken Penland - An old Tiger Fades Away!

Just wanted to let everybody know we have a new/updated website. Checkout www.worldbudokan.com Looks pretty good. We’ll also be adding more content to this site shortly. So check back periodically.

Getting ready for a tour of Italy. Blast off is tomorrow. Will be over there for two weeks. Wine tasting, gorging and site seeing, etc. FYI, we have an affiliated dojo in Florence. We have two seminars scheduled on Oct. 30^th & 31^st. If you just happen to be in Florence please drop by and say hello. Or better yet put your gi on and get out on the floor and let’s get a workout. I’ll give you a full report when I get back.

We recently finished shooting White Crane Speed & Evasion 4. This DVD will be ready to ship in about three weeks. Has Hakutsuru version of Seisan and Sanseiryu kata, bunkai, pressure point techniques, body conditioning from Yong Chun Village, China and fighting techniques. Should be a good one. Presently, we have DVDs with many of the kata and explanations on them. For more on this see Mastering White Crane Karate at www.yamazato-videos.com 

 

Our Nine Dragons Tour to China has been postponed until next year. Sorry, just too much traveling this year. So save you money starting now if you want to go to China and train at the source!

We recently finished an Aikijujitsu DVD with Sensei Gerardo Cantore. He is very accomplished at aikijujitsu as well as other martial arts. Check it out at www.yamazato-videos.com We’ve also added some new Chinese marital arts DVDs as well. Shaolin, sword, staff, etc.

Ken Penland - An old Tiger Fades Away!

As many of you know my good friend and colleague Hanshi Ken Penland passed away a week ago Sunday. Ken worked for LAPD for thirty–five years and taught defensive tactics as well as marital arts at the police academy, etc. A memorial service for Ken Penland will be held at 11am on Tuesday, October 24, 2006, at the Los Angeles Police Department's Police Academy Gymnasium, 1880 N. Academy Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90012. A graveside ceremony will follow the memorial service at the Live Oak Cemetery, 200 E. Duarte Rd., Monrovia, CA 91016.

I have decided to include an interview I did with Ken for Fighting Spirit Magazine a while ago entitled One Cut One Life. Additionally, included is a eulogy that sums up the essence of Hanshi Ken Penland and his martial arts. Thought it might be appropriate at this juncture.

In Memory of Hanshi Ken Penland:
Dear Friends: It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I address you now. My dear friend and colleague for many years Kenneth Lyle Penland has departed this world for another place. We are all sad and filled with remorse to see him go but our lives have been made richer for having known him. Anyone who knew Ken would tell you what a terrific person he truly was. Ken had a great zest for living that was easily discernable from his enthusiasm for the martial arts and his service to his community. He had much to give and was always willing to share his knowledge with anyone who had a sincere interest in the martial arts. Ken was a kind man and would unselfishly help anyone who needed it. I learned much from him. In many ways he was a mentor. For this I am eternally grateful.

At our first meeting Ken and I soon became fast friends. It was a close friendship that would last for many years. They say you can count on one hand the number of truly great friends you will have in a lifetime. For me Ken was certainly one of them. 

He lived his life as he wanted to and the way his heart told him to. I will always remember him the way he was, full of life and dedicated to his cause. He was a breath of fresh air in a world that oftentimes relies on pretense. Ken had no ego or falseness about him. He was a genuine and thoughtful human being and truly down to earth. 

There are no words that can describe how much we will all miss him.

My task now is to make sure his legacy lives on and to preserve the tradition of martial arts that he established. He will always be with me in my heart and training next to me. With much love and respect. Farewell Ken.

Sincerely,
Your friend and student always,
George Alexander 

One Cut One Life!

 

The Code of the Samurai

 

A Candid Interview with Master Swordsman Hanshi Ken Penland.

 

Hanshi Ken Penland is a senior martial artist with over forty years of experience in the martial arts. He makes his home in Los Angeles, California. As a Californian Hanshi Penland has seen the growth of the martial arts. He is also a long time practitioner of Japanese swordsmanship and in this article he gives his candid viewpoint on traditional Japanese swordsmanship and how it fits into the modern martial arts scene. Fighting Spirit of Martial Arts.

 

F.S. Tell us how you got involved in the martial arts?

 

K.P. Well, I started with my dad in the late 1950s. We practiced judo. He was in the U.S. Army and learned combat judo and jujitsu during World War Two. This is how many of today’s senior martial artists started their martial arts careers.

 

F.S. What other martial arts did you study after that?

 

K.P. In 1962, I met Ed Parker and began training in Kempo Karate. Later, I began studying Japanese karate and was eventually introduced to the Shorin Ryu style of Okinawa. In the 1970s I met Master Fusei Kise and began training under him in both karate and Okinawan weapons. Later, I was introduced to grand master Yuichi Kuda (1928-1999). I trained under him and learned his particular Shorin Ryu style and weapons system.   

 

F.S. How did you get interested in swordsmanship?

 

K.P. You might say it was a natural progression from judo to karate and then to swordsmanship. These arts were imported to this country in that chronological order. But remember that the ultimate symbol of the Japanese martial arts is the sword. So, it was only logical that I was attracted to it as part of my martial arts quest. 

 

F.S. What are the origins of swordsmanhip?

 

K.P. Wow! That’s a question that could take days to answer.

 

F.S. Well just give us the abbreviated answer. Our readers would like to know.

 

K.P.  OK! I’ll give you the short version. Swordsmanship originated in medieval Japan. Because Japan’s history is a tale of continual warfare it is also the history of the martial arts. The samurai warrior class arose around 1185 AD. Feudal lords were engaged in constant warfare over control of the rice fields in Japan. The samurai warriors were retainers who served these lords and were sworn to the utmost loyalty. The samurai were fierce fighters who wielded the katana or samurai sword with great skill.

In the late Heian Period two samurai clans, the Taira and Minamoto Clans, were warring factions in one of Japan’s many internal power struggles. By 1185 the Minamoto finally defeated the Taira Clan.

 

This period of continual warfare gave rise to the samurai or bushi as a distinct class within Japanese society.  At this time the code of the samurai known as bushido or “Way of the Warrior” was developed. The code of the samurai emphasized three significant virtues, honor, loyalty and courage. The legacy of the samurai continues even until today and is a deep part of Japanese culture.

 

F.S. Are there different styles of swordsmanship?

 

K.P. Most definitely! There are literally hundreds of different styles that evolved. They developed in every corner of Japan. The great military battles of Japan were over by the beginning of the seventeenth century. After this there were no more great battles but many individual duels.

It was then that the various schools or styles of swordsmanship developed. The sword became a way of life for many samurai. If a master were particularly skilled in one technique or another he would base his teaching or style around this technique or concept. Around this time the art of the quick draw became important. A samurai had to deal with many close combat engagements or ambushes. So being able to respond to a surprise attack was a necessary skill. In fact, many of the kata or forms that we practice today are based on this concept.

 

 

F.S. What style do you practice?

 

K.P. The system I do was originally called Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu founded by Hasagawa in the 1500s but it is known today as Kushin Ryu. 

 

F.S. What does a sword class consist of?

 

K.P. Basically, we practice various fighting postures and then combine them with basic movements. These are cuts in swordsmanship practiced in a drill called happo no giri or eight cuts. Then there are the solo kata or forms of swordsmanship. These are the cornerstone of the martial art and are practiced over and over to perfect them. We also practice two-man kata known as kumiuchi or fighting sets. These are practiced with a partner using bokken or wooden swords. Finally, taemaeshigiri or test cutting is performed not only to test one’s skill in cutting but also to learn to cut or more precisely learn the feel of cutting.

 

F.S. I understand there is some controversy over what real swordsmanship is. What is the difference between modern kendo and kenjutsu or iaijutsu?

 

K.P. What people are really referring to here is the difference between sport kendo and martial arts that are practiced for the sake of spiritual development and the preservation of an older martial discipline. The big controversy as you put it [which really isn’t so big], is that modern kendo uses a shinai or bamboo sword and the other forms of swordsmanship use a real sword. The idea is that modern kendo is relatively safe because the shinai and armor that is worn called dogu affords a certain amount of protection against the opponent‘s blows. However, the use of a shinai doesn’t teach one how to properly use a real sword. There is a distinct difference in involved in knowing how to cut with a sword. Many people who practice kendo overlook this. However, modern kendo has many attributes. It builds stamina, fighting spirit and teaches combative engagement skills with a sword. The use of a real sword is just the other side of the equation or the big picture.  

 

F.S. How does the traditional style of swordsmanship fit in with today’s martial arts?

 

K.P. Hmm! Well, traditional Japanese swordsmanship is the senior martial art. The other arts such as judo, karate and aikido all get their philosophy and ideology from the sword arts. Karate and judo are weaponless arts. But their practice can be enhanced by the practice of the sword. The discipline and concentration necessary to practice the sword is helpful in the practice of the other martial arts.  In Japan there is competition in both kata and cutting. However, the Japanese are still very traditional when it comes to the sword. Here in America we have taken some license with the traditional kata especially in tournament competition. Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of what you see in the movies is not real swordsmanship. It’s the movie version. Real swordsmanship is epitomized by a life and death struggle between two skilled opponents who only have one cut and one life!  

 

End

 

Wishing all of you the best in your martial arts endeavors. Stay strong, stay healthy! Finally, anyone interested in membership in the Okinawa Hakutsuru Kenpo Association/Shorin Ryu Karate/Jujitsu/Sword or any of our other marital disciplines check out the new website and contact me at the email address listed below.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

George W. Alexander, President

Okinawa Hakutsuru Kenpo Association

International Shorin Ryu Karate Kobudo Federation

Shorinji Ryu Jujitsu Federation

World Budokan Kendo Federation
Yamazato International
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www.worldbudokan.com
alexyama@mindspring.com