MARTIAL ARTS
I have had the pleasure of spending a great deal of my time between gigs practising various healing arts and training through martial arts to both purge ills and galvanise the spirit. Through the years I have honed down what I have learnt into very useable techniques designed to focus oneself in any given moment for any given task. I continue to seek and digest knowledge, and to adapt what I learn in these arts to enrich my favourite art - Music. Music and Martial Arts have a symbiotic relationship in my life, the Zen of music being the same as Martial Arts. Also, quite notably the illogical nature of the music industry is balanced out by the logical nature of the martial arts, IE: You do the hard work = You get the grades....whereas, the music industry is really just a lottery. So for me, the feelings of attainment within the martial arts have been very healing and fortifying. This in itself is only one aspect of the countless positive aspects I have gained from my years of practice.
HISTORY
1973 Chidokan Karate and basic Judo training to green belt ( Auckland/NZ )
1976 Hatha Yoga study and practice including Meditation ( Manchester/GB )
1977 Buddhism and General Eastern Philosophy studies. ( ManchesterGB )
1980 Tai Chi training with Patrick Kelly ( Auckland/NZ )
1992 Meditation practice with Pranayama, Bastrika and Chi Gung. ( Newport/Aus )
1997 Firestick and development of Vortexmaster tm. ( Byron Bay/Aus )
1998 ITF Rhee Taekwondo study and practice to Brown belt ( Noosa/Aus )
1999 WTF Taekwondo ( Noosa/Aus ) Grandmaster Sung Soo Lee related school.( Noosa/Aus )
2000 1st Dan Taekwondo.( Noosa/Aus )
2001 Ving Tsun Kung Fu basics. 8 months ( Newcastle/Aus )
2002 WTF Taekwondo at ECTA with Chris Pennington in his Grandmaster Sung Soo Lee related school.( Long Jetty/Aus )
2005 2nd Dan Taekwondo and Red tip Blue belt Hapkido at East Coast Taekwondo Academy ( Long jetty ) Also, State championship GOLD MEDAL in Taekwondo patterns.
TAEKWONDO
I took up Taekwondo just 5 years ago and I am now a 2nd Dan black belt. These days TKD is my number one martial art, in so far as the amount of training I do. It pays to hammer away at it rather than lay around getting a soft belly and tight hamstrings :) Initially, it was a demonstration at the local school day fete that attracted me into my first 'hard style' martial art. Previously I had practised only Tai Chi, but had done that for some years. I had decided that Tai Chi was pretty much the direction I needed to go as I had done a year of Karate in my early teens and as much as I felt drawn in, it didn't hit me where I lived ( 'scuze the pun! ) I think one responds to the right martial art at the right time for them. There is no one best martial art, but there is the best one for you. You decide. Choose your school and instructor carefully, and make sure it suits you first. Try to ascertain the motivation behind the school, because you'll become a part of that and with hard styles it's important to know as these have a dynamic effect upon your life. I have been in one or two ireputable schools and advise from experience. You do not want to walk away from a year of hard work with a broken rib and no usable grade! So, make sure the school is run by approachable people and that their attitude is helpful and informative - right there is a good first indication.
WHATEVER YOU DO, CONSIDER YOUR REASONS FOR STUDYING MARTIAL ARTS AND BEAR IN MIND THAT IT'S TRUE POWER LIES IN THE FOUNDING PRICIPLES WHICH ARE BUDDHIST IN NATURE - AND SO PARADOXICALLY PASSIVE. THESE PRINCIPLES RESOUND THROUGHOUT MOST MARTIAL ARTS IN ONE FORM OR OTHER, AND CAN BE EASY TO MISS THE IMPORTANCE OF. HARDER STILL TO UNDERSTAND AND APPLY, BUT VITAL TO THE TRUE EQUILIBRIUM OF THESE ARTS INTO ONESELF WITH HONOUR.
I'm in a good school now - It's run by 6th Dan TKD Master Chris Pennington who also holds a 4th Dan in Hapkido. He's a great guy and an amazingly dedicated individual. I have never seen anyone train like him, he is a huge inspiration to me. The massive amounts of knowledge he has to impart is staggering. Also, he makes it an enjoyable process. The school is called East Coast Taekwondo Academy and is directly related to the teachings of Grand Master Sung Soo lee - who is the only living double ninth Dan holder ( Taekwondo and Hapkido as well as a number of other black belts! ) The link for East coast Taekwondo Academy is coming soon.
I train 2 hours a day now plus 3-4 weekly sessions at ECTA. As a musician this is a challenge, but one that the martial arts will teach me how to deal with. I have felt for some time that that amount of training is ideally what I need to achieve and maintain the standard I visualise. I get close to it ( close enough for jazz ) quite often and the more I work the easier it becomes as it weaves into my freeform lifestyle.
HAPKIDO
More recently I began practising Hapkido. As with Taekwondo, this is another Korean martial art. I'm fascinated by Hapkido, not only because it's new to me but because of it's scientific nature. It clearly uses body mechanics and kinetic energy wrapped up in circular motion that adds up to devastating techniques that do not require strength or agility on the same level as TKD. I see it as a mix of Aikido, Judo and Kung Fu.
WEAPONS
As one rises up through the ranks weapons training becomes more prevalent as well as diverse. Even though I wasn't completely aware of it, when I started twirling a firestick years ago I had commenced my weapons training. Now though I find it's down to a more formal approach. Freeform work is useful and important in it';s own way, but one must get the basics down somewhere along the line. Let's face it many thousands of practitioners have developed theses techniques and handed them down over thousands of years for the benefit of those who want to learn. So basics is always good.
Summary
THESE DAYS MY PRACTICE IS CONSTANT, ENCOMPASSING MEDITATION - PRANAYAMA - BASTRIKA - CHIGUNG -TAICHI - YOGA & TAEKWONDO. I ALSO PRACTICE FIRESTICK AS WELL AS TRAIN WITH OTHER WEAPONS, MAINLY ONE OF MY OWN INVENTIONS WHICH IS A SOLO SPARRING AID. IN A NUTSHELL ALL THESE PASTIMES HELP FORGE THE SPIRIT AND FOCUS THE MIND AS WELL AS BRING A SENSE OF SATISFACTION TO BALANCE THE ILLOGICAL INDUSTRY IN WHICH I MAKE MY MUSIC. MORE THAN ANYTHING THEY SUPPLY A SPIRITUAL PLATFORM WITH WHICH I CAN CONNECT DAILY.
more to follow