American Freestyle Karate • Modern Arnis • Self-Defense

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is the difference between what you do and Taekwondo/Japanese Karate/Kempo/Kung Fu?
• What does the American Freestyle Karate Symbol mean?
• What order do the colored belts go in and what are the objectives for each belt?
• Miscellaneous Questions and Answers

What is the difference between what you do and Taekwondo/Japanese Karate/Kempo/Kung Fu?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions of our students so I thought I'd give you a brief description of the above and how we are different.

Taekwondo is of Korean origin. It came out of a blend of Japanese Karate and Tae Kyon, a Korean kicking art. The blend occurred around 1945 under the direction of General Choi Hong Hi and sponsored by the Korean government. It is what I call Long Range fighting art, one which operates at a full arm and leg extensions distance away from the opponent. Taekwondo stresses a lot of kicking, very little punching and very little defense. Sport Taekwondo is almost all kicks and no punches. The main techniques they use is a back leg angle kick, spin back kick and ax kick.

Karate was introduced to Japan by Gichin Funakoshi in the early 1900's. From that point over 100 styles have come into existence. The best known styles are Shotokan, Goju, Shorinryu, Wado, Shito and Kyokushin. These are also predominantly Long Range styles of fighting. They are fast, aggressive styles which use mostly the back leg front or angle kick and rear punch as their offensive weapons. Defensively they'll use either block and hit back or back up and then hit back.

Okinawan Karate uses smaller stances and shorter techniques. By this I mean they don't extend techniques as far out as either Japanese Karate or Taekwondo do and they hit from a closer range. Most Okinawan styles are what I'd call Medium Range styles. Okinawan Karate also tends to use a bit more grappling and pressure point hitting than either Karate or Taekwondo. The main styles are Shorinryu, Isshinryu, Gojuryu and Uechiryu.

Kenpo (or Kempo) is a style introduced to the mainland U.S. from Hawaii by Ed Parker. This is a fast hands, few kicks, close range street oriented style. Ed Parker had taught since the 1950's and most of all the Kenpo taught in the U.S. are either directly influenced by or are off shoots of him.

Kung Fu (or Gung Fu) is a generic term for Chinese martial arts. There are as many different styles of Kung Fu as there are types of people so it's hard to pigeon hole Kung Fu into any one type of category. Most traditional styles of Kung Fu use forms practice as the main method of learning and performing their techniques. In their sparing, most traditional Kung Fu uses one side predominantly, i.e. right hand right leg.

So, where does American Freestyle Karate differ from all of these? First, the idea is in the term "Freestyle." In, freestyle wrestling one can use all sorts of techniques. In Judo (a type of Japanese wrestling) one begins with a grip on the jacket. In Greco-Roman wrestling you can use only standing types of throws. A freestyle wrestler would have the advantage because he wouldn't be so limited. A freestyle approach is an inclusive one. Each style mentioned has its own strengths and weaknesses. American Freestyle Karate works to maximize and expand the strengths to their fullest potential.

The main points which make American Freestyle Karate different are:

1. Ambidexterity - training of both sides of the body and equality of both hand and leg skills.
2. An effective blocking system.
3. An ability to work from all ranges, not just one.
4. Training in all aspects of Karate; street defense, art form, competition and personal enhancement.

How do you describe American Freestyle Karate to someone who trains in another Karate style? Simple. It's an American style founded by Dan Anderson which stresses ambidexterity and effective defense, relies heavily on partner training and stresses both street and sparring application.

American Freestyle Karate is NOT a "best of all styles" approach (example: taking Taekwondo kicks and mixing them with Karate punches, etc.). All the kicks and punches from all different styles are pretty much the same. The difference is in the stress of application. How close, how far, singly or in combinations, block first or wade right in? Those types of considerations are what makes a style.

American Freestyle Karate is inclusive in terms of approach and covers all kinds of attacks and defense. A kicker is in trouble if a wrestler grabs his leg. A long range puncher will get creamed if he's cornered by a good in-fighter. A boxer will be hurt if a good kicker breaks his legs and so on. American Freestyle Karate includes all of this so that if you ever come up against someone, he won't have a move or approach that you've never seen before and that can make the difference between winning or losing a fight.

This is an overview of American Freestyle Karate and it's relationship to the other kinds of unarmed combat styles. I personally like to think of it as the next step in it's evolutionary growth. The main thing to remember about American Freestyle Karate is that it is an inclusive rather than limited style of Karate, which aims to teach a student to be prepared for anything.

What does the American Freestyle Karate Symbol Mean?

SAM BO HEEN MO MOON Three Stages Revealing The Martial Method. Sam Bo Heen Mo Moon is three stage plan for unfolding the understanding of martial arts using Karate, Kung Fu, Modern Arnis (Filipino stick art represented by the cane). KARATE - EMPTY HAND A hand devoid of weapons, clear and empty of ill intentions. KUNG FU - ENERGY TIME When one devotes an amount of time to a study, and skill results, one has Kung Fu in that study. TAO - The way, the path.

The symbol on our shirt has many meanings when totally broken down, and could fill many pages, so what I'll do here is break it down to its basic meaning. The translations of the Chinese characters (lettering) are in the sidebar. Sam Bo Heen Mo Moon is below the triangle. On the left of the circle is "Karate" and on the right is "Kung Fu".

Although the bulk of my personal training has been in Karate, the street fighting aspect has been heavily influenced by Kung Fu, most notably the Kajukenbo and Mo Duk Pai styles.

In the center of the circle is the word "tao" (dow). This means the way or path that one travels. The circle enclosing the way has this meaning - "Once you start training in the martial arts you are on a path that has no finite end". Absolute perfection is unattainable, so you are continuing to attain more knowledge and skill. You can enter into the line of the circle at any point, but the circle continues as the line never ends.

The triangle represents the structure of a person: the being themselves, the body and their mind. My viewpoint is that you are you. You are not your body, you are not your mind. You have a body and a mind to use like a driver and the car. The car is not the driver. The driver drives the car. You are the same with your body and your mind. Our training is geared towards you learning to use your mind and control your body to result in a stronger you.

When you take a look at the definitions of Karate and Kung Fu, (below) you notice that the terms themselves have nothing to do with fighting. The whole idea is to be able to keep from fighting by ones familiarity with and ability to confront fighting. Also, there is a set of ethics taught along with the techniques so that as one is learning potentially destructive moves, one is learning how to be responsible with those moves so as not to cause harm or injury to another. "There is no first offense* in Karate" is our motto here.

*Offense here is looked in the broader sense and not just an attack. It is any type of offending and includes name calling, insulting, etc. Anything which would cause another to take a swing at you would be considered an offense.

The cane at the bottom of the triangle represents the Filipino art of Modern Arnis as founded by Professor Remy Presas. We use the stick and knife techniques of Modern Arnis to gain skill in defense against weapons. The entirety of the art helps round out the overall skill and flow of a karate person and we use that aspect of it here.

The last thing is that even though we teach an American style of Karate, it did originate in the Orient, and to recognize this, the Oriental lettering is used in the symbol.

I hope this gives you an idea of what the meaning is behind the symbol of American Freestyle Karate.

What order do the colored belts go in and what are the objectives for each belt?
The order of the belts is: White, Gold, Orange, Blue, Purple, Green, Red, Brown, Black. Each of these belts (excluding white) has two levels - normal and senior. Senior belts have a solid black stripe through the length of the belt.

The colored belts signify different levels of skill. Each solid color has its own product, so to speak, a particular set of skills an abilities. Each color holds true for all students, regardless of age. A peewee Gold belt will spar the same as a junior or adult Gold belt and so on. Each stripe on a belt is a step toward the final objective of that belt. Here are the skills attained at each belt:

WHITE through ORANGE BELT: Orientation to the basics of karate. and skill at throwing basic combinations and blocking skills.

SENIOR ORANGE through SENIOR BLUE BELT: Basic street defense skills taught. Higher skill with combinations and the ability to stop combinations through the use of blocking and countering.

PURPLE BELT through SENIOR GREEN BELT: Skill at indirect methods of attack and defense utilizing faking and defensive footwork (angling) in sparring.

RED through SENIOR BROWN BELT: This level is where you combine all of the skills of the lower ranks and become unpredictable. Your ability to change from being very direct in your offense and defense to very indirect and crafty is what is gotten here.

BLACK BELT: This is where you take everything you have learned in your training and apply it according to your personal body style and attitude.

This should give you an idea of each level of ranking in my school and what each belt level represents.

Miscellaneous Questions and Answers

How do I go about signing up for karate?
You can call and talk to any one of our staff: Prof. Dan Anderson, Marie Anderson, Tom Corsin or Jessica Shipp and set yourself up with an appointment for a free class.

Am I required to make any kind of commitment when I take the free class?
No. The free class is for you to try it out and see if Karate is the right activity for you.

What is required of me if I sign up for lessons?
Just a personal desire to learn. When you sign up for classes, we like you to commit for a minimum of 6 months of training. This way, if you have to discontinue for any reason, you will have trained long enough to have the necessary skills to defend yourself.

Do you have the adults train with the little kids?
No. We have certain classes for the children to train in. We have found over the last 16 years that the children like to train with kids their own age and actually progress faster if they do so. Adults also feel safer training with people their own age, as well.

How long will it take me to become reasonably proficient?
The time it will take you to become proficient will vary depending on basic ability, however, if you train a minimum of two days a week you'll progress at a good rate.

Can I train more than just two days a week?
Yes and if you do you will become more comfortable with the techniques in a shorter time.

What will my first class be like?
In the first class you will be taught the basic techniques to defend yourself from strikes as well as a couple of techniques. You will be paired with an instructor and fellow white belts right from the beginning.

Shouldn't I get in shape first to do karate?
That would be like "getting in shape first so you can then get in shape." The karate training itself will get you into shape. The key point here is that you will go at your own level and build up to being in shape.

Is meditation part of this training?
No. This is an American style of karate and meditation plays no part on the training.

Will karate training make my child too aggressive?
In this school, the children are taught that karate is a way to handle violence and aggression, not a way to become violent and aggressive. Our students become very good at recognizing fight situations and handling them without getting into a fight themselves.

Is sparring necessary to learn karate?
In this school it is an absolute necessity. You do not begin to spar until you have demonstrated control over your techniques and can defend against the actions of your partner and then, you begin slowly.

What are the chances of getting injured?
Very small. I have personally taught for over 38 years and I have not had anyone damage themselves in my care yet. The stress is on safety and the training is supervised so that nothing like this occurs. The protective gear worn by the students is a greatly helping factor in our safety record being as good as it is.

How much does Karate cost?
Rates for the 3-4 year olds are $60 per month. Rates for students 5 years old and up are $95 per month.
For discounted family rates you can consult the Professor, Tom Corsin, Jessica Shipp or Marie Anderson.

How many classes a week does this include?
Two times a week plus a class on Saturday at 11:30 AM for extra training or a make up class.

What are the class times for my child?
See Class Schedule

What do you teach my child?
The Karate training includes working on manners, self control, self respect and respect for others. The emphasis of the Karate itself is on defense, not offense.

How much is the Karate uniform?
Uniforms are $40.

When do I pay?
On either the 1st or 15th of each month.