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| | | "THIS IS WHAT TAI CHI
IS SUPPOSED TO BE."
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| ...A Cincinnati GC Seminar Review by Sifu Ken Gullette
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| "A GUIDED CHAOS WORKSHOP:
TAI CHI FIGHTING INSIGHTS FROM THE OUTSIDE"
"Those of us who practice Tai Chi (Taiji) as a fighting art pursue concepts that represent a holy grail. They are written about in the classics, and spoken of in quotes by long-dead masters including Chen Wangting, who supposedly said:
"I know everyone, but no one knows me."
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| When
I first became interested in the Kung Fu TV show back in the early
Seventies, one of the interesting quotes from the show was:
"A Shaolin monk, when reached for, cannot be felt."
When
I was 18 and watching that show, I thought that meant something
mystical, as if a Shaolin monk vanished in front of you. But the quote
resonated with me.
I have done push hands with some Chinese
instructors, including Chen Bing and Chen Xiaoxing, who, when I pushed
on them, they disappeared and very quickly I found myself off-balance
(or on the floor). When I reached for them, they could not be felt.
In other words, I could not find their center, but they could find mine."
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For
a long time, I've been working to get better at maintaining my center
while I control my opponent's center, setting him up for a counter.
There are muscular ways of achieving this, and more subtle ways. And
so, when my friend Evan Yeung introduced me to Guided Chaos, and its
practice of "contact flow," I immediately saw the connection between
this aspect of their art and the goal that eludes so many Tai Chi folks
who end up using muscle to overpower their opponents, rather than
relaxing, sensing, flowing, and controlling the opponent's center.
On
September 17, 2016, I spent a day in Cincinnati working on contact flow
with three talented Guided Chaos instructors: Lt. Col. Al Ridenhour,
Kevin Harrell, and Joe Martarano. It was my second time working with Al
and Kevin, and the first time I have met Joe. I hope it isn't the last. These guys are great martial artists.
Another
important phrase that we often repeat in martial arts is from Bruce
Lee, who borrowed from Taoist philosophy when he urged people to "be
water." Pour it into a cup and it becomes the cup, Bruce said. Water can
flow, and it can crash.
"Be water, my friend."
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Contact
flow, developed by the founder of Guided Chaos, John Perkins, teaches
you to relax and flow around obstacles, redirecting incoming force,
moving and maintaining your root, maintaining your center, and, as you
flow and find your way, you knock the crap out of your opponent.
This is what Tai Chi is supposed to be. Tai Chi is about fighting, but it aims for more subtle principles and body mechanics than some arts do.
Chen
Tai Chi push hands can be brutal. I know people who have gone to Chen
Village and come back nursing broken bones. There are strikes, throws,
joint locks and more. A good pluck can cause whiplash. If you aren't
careful, or if you get a little aggressive, someone will need to heal up
for a while. But in the beginning, you should develop sensitivity and
be able to move from form to fighting. To do that well, you should
develop subtle skills. At least that's what everyone talks about, but
few seem to do it.
Practicing
contact flow triggered insights and connected some of the dots of Tai
Chi in an effective way. A year ago, after my first Guided Chaos
workshop, it changed the way I thought about push hands, and this year,
it has changed the way I practice push hands.
You should
be able to learn some of these subtle skills, but it's not easy to find
good push hands instructors, or experienced push hands partners. Another
problem we face is that Americans simply do not grow up learning the
concept of relaxing and flowing while maintaining the ground, peng, and
using the spiraling movements of silk-reeling. Instead, we tense up and
want to smash like the Hulk. It's funny to me now when I push hands with
someone from outside the internal arts -- how tense they are. But that
is how we all feel until we learn, and practice, practice, practice.
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One
time, around 1999, a Chinese gongfu "master" came to the Quad Cities to
hold a workshop at my friend John Morrow's school. I attended, and at
one point during the workshop, the interpreter walked over to me and
said, "Master Wong says you have gongfu. He would like to visit your
school and practice with you."
I was very flattered. When he
visited my school a few days later, he had me put my hand on his chest,
and he put his on mine. He wanted me to push him off-balance. That was
the first time I ever pushed on someone whose center could not be found,
and he wasn't nearly as skilled as the Chen family. It was eye-opening.
But he had no idea how to explain it to me. So the concept remained
like the Shaolin monk. I reached for it, but could not find it.
Guided
Chaos has at least part of the answer, but as a combat art, it is about
a lot more than contact flow. It is a no-nonsense fighting art and they
will flat out kick your butt. I highly recommend any of their
workshops.
I could only spend one day at this year's
Cincinnati workshop because I had to return to teach my journalism
class. Even one day was enough to inform me on some of the next steps in
my own development. I am continuing to work on the relaxed strength,
moving, centering, and spiraling that makes up good internal arts, but
also allows you to flow like water, remain "out of reach" by your
opponent, and then, as Bruce Lee also said, "I don't hit. IT hits by
itself."
I can fight, but just fighting is no longer the goal for
me, especially at my age. There is something else, skills that have
been elusive.
I was working with Joe Martarano at one point
during the workshop, and I realized that I was repeating some habits
that have been part of my fighting but were not as efficient as I was
trying to achieve.
"I need to empty my cup," I said, scolding myself. But Joe disagreed.
"Empty your cup?" he asked. "You already emptied your cup or you wouldn't be here today."
Good point.
You never know when you will taste someone else's art and learn something that contributes to your own art."
--Sifu
Ken Gullette is certified as an instructor with the U.S. Chen Family
Chen Jiajou Taiji Quan Federation, connected directly to the Chen
Village tai chi school through Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing. Ken has
students all over the world, studying with him through his Online Internal Arts school and Internal Fighting Arts blog.
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| | "Before attending the seminar, to compare and to better enhance my
martial arts knowledge, I visited other non-East Asian (CJK) martial
arts classes in the Columbus and even in the Dayton area. Out of all
the martial arts styles and programs available to public and searchable
online, GC is no doubt the one and only school that has the most
comprehensive material on self-defense and on articulating the key
scientific principles underlying all non-weapons martial skills. I'm
certainly blown away by the dedication, work ethic, and long hours that
each GC instructors put in to make Guided Chaos a unique martial brand
that no other competitors can surpass or even successfully duplicate."
--Jau-Yon Chen, 2016 Cincinnati GC Seminar attendee
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"We had an awesome time, the venue was great [Five White Tigers], and
even though we are novices we learned a ton of practical tips. Places
like downtown Cincinnati are getting more and more unpredictable and
sketchy every day... this stuff will definitely come in handy!"
--Wayne Bothe, 2016 Cincinnati GC Seminar attendee
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| | SAN FRANCISCO SEMINAR, NOV. 12-13
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT ENDS OCT. 10.
~ SAVE $50 ~ |
| Can I learn how to fight for my life in 1 weekend?
Guided Chaos is the fastest way to learn how to fight for your life for 2 reasons:
1. It gives you simple tools [Guided Chaos Combatives] you can put to use immediately if heaven forbid you had to defend your life the minute you walked out the door. Nasty, ugly, brutal gutter fighting--just what you need against a thug, sociopath or rapist. While it can take as long as 6 weeks of hard practice to perfect the "simpler tools" of Guided Chaos Combatives, you only need 1 weekend to learn easy stuff that can save your life if you're attacked right now.
2. Guided Chaos provides you with a training methodology that can take you to the highest levels of mastery in the shortest period of time, without digression, formality or esoteric nonsense. While #2 can't be accomplished in a weekend, you can knocks years or decades off your goal to maximize whatever physical attributes you already have.
Guided Chaos uses Physics and Anatomy. Period. But its physics and nervous system training has been hailed by leading movement scientists as beyond anything they've ever experienced. In fact, one of them called John Perkins "The Einstein of Non-linear Learning."
Find out for yourself at the San Fran Nov. 12-13 Seminar. For beginners through experts. Really.
"EARLY ORDER" AND OTHER DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
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| GUIDED CHAOS is the GREASE that makes
all your OTHER training work BETTER.
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| | |
"After experiencing Contact Flow hands-on with the experts, I consider it to be the 'piece de resistance' of martial arts."
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--Dr. Jan Bloem, one of Europe's leading authorities teaching special police and military special operation units, www.datmovement.nl |
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"Guided
Chaos should be required training for anyone interested in push hands
and the self-defense aspects of the internal arts."
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--Sifu Ken Gullette, certified as an instructor with the U.S.
Chen Family, connected directly to the
Chen Village tai chi school through Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing. http://www.internalarts.typepad.com/ |
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WANT A SEMINAR IN YOUR AREA?
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| | | YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO SAVE YOUR LIFE WITH THESE
TWO COMBOS:
|
| COMBO 1: Your 1-2 Knockout Punch...
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|
THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION,
PART ONE
In PART ONE you will learn simple, effective techniques created
for U.S. soldiers in World War II and used in thousands of documented
police and military conflicts, modified by John Perkins and enhanced by
Guided Chaos dynamic motion principles.
PART ONE COVERS IN DEPTH:
- Awareness and avoidance
- Warrior mentality
- Simple striking tools and Close Combat methodology.
- Everything you ever wanted to know about developing Dropping Energy to enhance your hitting power.
- Dramatically
increase hitting speed, power, balance and footwork skills that you can
practice on your own–and put to use immediately.
- Master the above in 6 weeks
(with diligent training).
This material is absolutely essential as it provides all the basic weaponry you'll need to understand the more advanced principles of Guided Chaos in parts TWO and THREE.
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| "Your system of using the Dropping Energy on striking has tripled the power of my strikes..."
"I
have followed the instructions on your dvds [Guided Chaos Combatives
& Attackproof Companion Part 1], what a difference, it is hard to
believe even as I am doing it how well your system works."
--Roderick, Los Angeles
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| GUIDED CHAOS COMBATIVES
Shot on Day 3 of the 2014 Boot Camp, the GUIDED CHAOS COMBATIVES DVD is the perfect complement to the Attackproof Companion Part 1 DVD but with UPDATED and far more focused material. It also is the essential training guide for
those seeking GCC Course Completion or GCC Instructor Certification.
Additionally, all the methodologies on the GCC DVDs are prerequisites for GC 1st degree. Although there is some overlap between Part 1 and the GCC
DVD, they each have critical training not found in the other.
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| "WOW." I just watched like 4 minutes of the new GCC video. WOW. I've been using and training GCC since 2000 and GC since 2003. You guys know my story:) I'm actually speechless. It's that good and has evolved that much! Just the little course correction, I watched on the GCC chop (saying "hi") is a gold mine and could be a life saver when fractions of a second count. I'm very honored to be considered part of the GC family. I'm so impressed that you never stop refining and finding ways to make this art teachable to all kinds of people. Love you guys." --Bob
[Bob Miller is a Corrections Officer at the largest facility in Oregon. He is also a GC 2nd degree and teaches locally in Oregon/Idaho. --ed]
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| | COMBO 2: Learn TOTAL Reactive Freedom...
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ALL THE BASIC GUIDED CHAOS PRINCIPLES...
AND THEIR DRILLS
THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PART 2
"Next to a real, 'living' instructor your DVD series is probably the best training that any person can hope for...better than many of the instructors you get out there, because of the nonsense that so many of them teach...the 'Attackproof Companion Series' stands unparalleled in the annals of self-defence and security training." --Charl (Morpheus) Viljoen, Regional Director, The Guardian Angels, Capetown, South Africa-- "The Most Violent City In the World"
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ALL THE BASIC GUIDED CHAOS DRILLS
--THE WORKOUT
COMBAT CONDITIONING
The
best solo training DVD. All the Guided Chaos drills (well, 90% of them)
back-to-back and set to Native American music (like we do in class)
with just a short application demo at the end of each drill so you can
keep your workout going. |
| | | WHICH DVD OR DOWNLOAD SHOULD I GET?
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|
NOTE: Because of how they are edited, Guided Chaos DVDs and On Demand Downloads have more vital info packed into them than virtually any other self defense DVDs available.
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| | | | Web and video production for ATTACKPROOF.INC provided by:
Mad Squirrel Productions Inc., P.O. Box 163, Croton, NY 10520, United States
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