News

Jiu-Jitsu is Growing

~ David Chan ~ Leave a comment

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After a couple of years of having Jiu-Jitsu classes only on Wednesdays, we are now expanding. There will be beginner Jiu-Jitsu classes:

Tuesdays: 5:45 pm – 6:45 pm
Wednesdays: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Fridays: 5:45 pm – 6:45 pm

If you live in or around Quincy, MA. Please let your friends and family members know about our Beginner Jiu-Jitsu program for adults. In this program, you will learn the 36 core techniques of Jiu-Jitsu in a fun, safe, and cooperative environment. Each one-hour lesson addresses one standing and one ground self-defense technique. You can start the program at any time and participate in any class without previous experience and, since safety is our number one concern, there is no competitive sparring in this program.

Although Jiu-Jitsu consists of over 600 techniques, studies of real fights conducted by members of the Gracie Family (founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) have shown that 36 techniques have been used more often and with greater success than all the other techniques combined. Originally developed for the U.S. Army, our Beginner Jiu-Jitsu Program is entirely dedicated to the mastery of these 36 essential techniques. You need absolutely no experience to start this program. Our instructor conduct all classes in a cooperative training environment and are committed to ensuring that every new student has an informative, enjoyable experience regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability.

UFC 168 Combative Breakdown

~ David Chan ~ Leave a comment

Chris Weidman shocked the world again by defeating the world’s best pound for pound combat sport’s competitor in the world (Anderson “The Spider” Silva). It was a very exciting fight, but much of that excitement stopped when the world saw Anderson Silva’s leg break. The slow motion replays and picture capture of the leg break is just painful!

UFC 168, Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman.
UFC 168, Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman.

“No matter what happened in this fight, he’s still the greatest of all time. I wish him the best, and God bless him,” Weidman said. “That was the No. 1 thing I got hit with the first fight. I worked a lot with guys with kicks. But it’s still crazy how that happened.”

After the first match between Silva and Wiedman, Weidman’s trainers knew that checking and blocking Silva’s round kicks are a must. Weidman did it at UFC 168, he checked Silva’s low round kick and it broke Silva’s shin. Similar events happened to fighters worldwide, including UFC fighter Corey Hill . Very serious martial artists should have a lot of questions! Should I be executing a round kick like that? How should I throw a round kick, so that I don’t break my own leg? Should I control how much force I throw in a round kick? Should I set up a round kick? How should I set up a round kick?

I wanted to make my own breakdown video, but someone already beat me to it. Check out this video from Bas Rutten, because he is going to say what I would.

The only thing I would add is the round kick needs to be set up! Any strikes that take a circular path will take more time then a strike on a straight path. Timing needs to be on your side when executing a low round kick. Watch out for the knees too!

Be safe everyone,

David Chan

I’m Back!

~ David Chan ~ Leave a comment

I know it has been a while since you have heard of any activity from me, but much has been going on. I have been busy with so much stuff and I have kept much people in the loop. Please stay tuned to some amazing updates. I just revised the Facebook page and twitter account, hopefully I figured out how all to link these accounts together.

Spring 2013 Promotional CONGRATULATIONS!

~ David Chan ~ 1 Comment

The Institute of Okinawan Karate-Do

Congratulations are in order to IOK’s David Chan in achieving the rank of San Dan at our group’s recent Spring Promotional.  David performed extremely well as was expected and is a credit to the dojo.  Hard work in Uechi-Shohei system, as well as a constant effort to expand and improve his martial arts base is what makes David an outstanding karateka.   IOK is certainly glad to have him.

At this promotion, our board of affiliates were also blessed with the presence of Jack Summers who appeared in fine form.  Jack was sure to reminded us not to let pass by an opportunity for teachers to emphasize hip recovery in our students’ forms training.  Hip exchange is critical to maintaining center through movement.  We are all wise to keep in mind that allowing training tools that assist in developing this habit to go under utilized can lead to an atrophy of this very basic concept in our karate.   It is easy to allow…

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~ David Chan ~ Leave a comment

The Institute of Okinawan Karate-Do

I will be teaching every third Thursday night of the month (advanced class), starting on Thursday, 2/21/13 (7:00-8:30 PM).  The class will be a lighter version of my Sunday class.  Please bring gloves (boxing gloves are preferred), shin pads, mouth piece, and cup.  The class is very safe (and fun) and you don’t have to spar if you don’t want to.

You will find that most of what we do is rooted in Uechi Ryu karate.

You can go at your own pace and watch parts that you don’t want to participate in. As we progress with the class we can customize it to the needs of specific requests. Please let me know if there are any areas that you are interested in exploring.

The following is a representation of the class curriculum:

1.       Warm up: light exercises for 10 minutes ( could be cardio kata or other drills)

2.      …

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Controlling the Fight

~ David Chan ~ Leave a comment

“The one that controls the distance, controls the fight”

In a combative situation, both you and the enemy are at blows with each other. Whether it is hundreds of meters away from each other on the battlefield or within the confines of a MMA cage, the principle remains the same, “The one that controls the distance, controls the fight.”

This basic yet simple principle has been taught by martial artists for thousands of years, from ancient martial artists to Bruce Lee to Rener Gracie. In the striking arts you have to utilize footwork to close the distance on an opponent to land your strikes and use your footwork to evade theirs. In grappling arts you have to close the distance on the enemy to prevent their strikes being effective, or to break distance far enough away.

The control of the distances during the fight is constantly in flux, one moment the distance is closed and the other moment the distance is too far away. Understanding distance control can be more important than the techniques to injure. If you are a serious martial artist, this specific principle can not go untrained.

R.I.P. Shinyu Gushi Sensei

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We are sad to hear that Shinyu Gushi Sensei has past away. His devotion and perpetuation of Karate is a strong example of his lifestyle. Most notably is Gushi Sensei’s athletic physique, developed from a hard and dedicated work ethic, a training methodology that was exemplified during his teachings. Gushi Sensei will be missed and always be honored.

Ryron Gracie Keeping it Playful at Gracie Worlds

~ David Chan ~ 2 Comments

In this cool video produced by MMA Video Magazine, you’ll follow Ryron up to San Jose, CA where he went to teach a seminar and compete in the Gracie Worlds Jiu-Jitsu tournament. This year’s tournament is the first world tournament to abandon the points system, so the only way to win is by submission. Since there were no points in the tournament, Ryron engaged in his matches with the objective of keeping it as playful as possible, and that he did. Check out the video below.

P.S. –  Someone forgot to tell Ryron that you’re not supposed to play catch and release in jiu-jitsu tournaments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAMwCX6hf7M&feature=youtu.be

Gracie Garage Quincy Success

~ David Chan ~ 2 Comments

On February 1, 2012 one man’s dream to share Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the world happened in Quincy, Massachusetts. They all came; men and women, young to old all showed up at an open house held at the Institute of Okinawan Karate-Do. The open house was an hour and half long consisting of an introduction to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, history, philosophy and training.

Now more than a month into training after the grand opening. Only a dedicated group of individuals stay and train Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to its fullest. People here are just amazed of the self-defense effectiveness and the very enjoyable training Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has to offers.

Our group is excited to continue training and learning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu for a long time. Our goal is to eventually become a certified training center. So look out, the Gracies will be visiting the city of presidents soon!

http://www.gracieacademy.com/

https://www.gracieuniversity.com/

SPECIAL: An interview with Shifu Heng Zhen Shi of the Boston Shaolin Kung Fu Center

~ David Chan ~ Leave a comment

Eric Chadbourne (iokarate.com) and David Chan (instituteofcombativearts.com) take a look at the Boston Shaolin Kung Fu Center and sit down with Sifu Heng Zhen Shi to learn about his background and what inspired him to start the school in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Please go to http://sampan.org/ to read the whole interview.

I was very fortunate to team up with Eric Chadbourne from Sampan to conduct and publish this interview. It was just wonderful to experience and watch what is known to be one of the oldest forms of martial arts.