The empty Force and the real force

The empty force and the real force

There seems to be much interest in what is now termed the "Empty Force". I recently attended a seminar, held by Richard Mooney, which purported to demonstrate these phenomena.
I went with a totally open mind, and was therefore not too upset when nothing out of the ordinary occurred, besides which my main reason for going was to see him perform the instant knockouts that I had heard so much about, here I was disappointed. In the Uechi-Ryu system of karate there are a host of nerve attacks, I had hoped to learn more and I did not. When I got home I researched any reference that I could find with regard to the empty force. The best and most informative source was the respected writer Jane Hallander. In a short essay she explained that the term had come about when another respected martial artist Doc Fai Wong had difficulty translating a Chinese term, the closest approximation he could find was the empty force. More interesting to me was the fact that the empty force was never intended as a martial technique and was used as part of a health promoting exercise, a form of chi-kung. I have practiced similar methods and though I can only give my subjective opinion, I feel that they are health promoting and a great antidote to the stress of modern life, and that they probably offer a lot more than that as well.
I must say though, that I did not think that Richard Mooney was a charlatan, I really believe that he believes he can do these things, and here My interest really deepens, and is the main point of this article. How can people accept these things as truth? , How did this mind frame develop?
In olden times it must have been of great assistance for martial artists to be thought of as super human, to have abilities that were mystical or magical. Imagine for a moment if you had never seen a karate man break an object with his hand. How awesome that would appear, also people will often interpret something that they see, to conform to their own understanding. A friend of mine, a tough street fighter, once witnessed somebody at a Uechi-Ryu club being tested in Sanchin, he wrongly assumed that they were taking full powered kicks to the groin, needless to say he did not want to try street fighting with them.
A couple of years ago I worked with a very disagreeable man. He was a bully and a loudmouth who would shout people down. We worked in an office and people were terrified of him. At lunchtime he would go to the local public house and drink large quantities of beer, then return in a bellicose state. Eventually he turned his attention to me. Here I must state that the reason he inspired such terror was his sheer physical size he had the build of an over weight sumo wrestler 6ft 4ins of huge quivering flesh
And at least 30stone.
Here trickery prevailed, he knew that I practiced martial arts and for a while goaded me about it, I did not rise to the bait. Then one Friday afternoon when we were in the office alone together and he could contain himself no longer he asked me how good my punch was .I said that my punch would probably kill him, but that if he held a telephone book to his left shoulder I would hit that lightly to show the tremendous power that I had, I then said that this to would be too dangerous and that I would punch from only a few inches away. He waited and then I punched and knocked him back about 4 feet. His face turned white, .I then took the telephone directory of him, for some time he had boasted of his great strength, and I ripped the directory in two and asked him if he could do that. He shook his head. I explained that I had mastered the power of chi. He looked dumbfounded, I held my arm out straight and asked him to bend it with both his arms, try as he might he could not. Finally I said that I could block any punch and to prove this I would teach him a simple Chinese exercise called silk reeling. While facing each other we both held out our arms so that our arms were touching. The object of the game was to try and touch each other’s body, and to prevent ourselves being touched we could circle our arms to deflect our opponent. After a few tries he could do it reasonably well, to make it easy for him, so I said, I would blindfold myself. Blindfolded I easily touched him many times but he could not touch me once. After this he never bothered me, and he never threw his weight around again, at least not when I was there.
All of the above things are tricks, easily learned and when presented correctly give the impression of tremendous power, The Real Force, and yet they are only tricks, here is
How you do them.
1.Short range punch.
This is not really a punch, practice firstly pushing at someone holding a telephone directory, or a punching pad .Get used to how a push feels, like when you push a car. Notice how straight you stand how the power is generated from your feet stepping forward, and how stiff and straight your arm is. Actively try and push your partner over from a still and standing position. The impact of the punch is the heel of your palm. Rest your fingertips against the directory and then snap your palm forward to strike the directory. What you have in effect is two strikes, a quick snappy palm heel and a slow powerful push. When the two are combined the effect is awesome speed and power from a very close position. Also in the scenario above I suckered our friend into believing that this strike wasn’t going to be anywhere as near as powerful as my punch.
2. Ripping a telephone directory in two is an awesome test of strength if done correctly, so I cheated. The trick is to hold the back spine with your two hands and then to break it against your knee while bending it back and forth, it will bend and tear quite easily, once it starts to rip it will tear in half really easily.
3.The unbend able arm. The old aikido favourite. Easy as pie, the elbow joint is on a hook system so that if you stretch your arm out i.e. reach out as though to touch something just out of reach, then your arm will lock, no magic here. It becomes unbend able ………I have seen small week women confound huge men with this one.
4. Silk reeling this was taught to me by a tai chi teacher. It is a form of pushing hands, and surprisingly it is easier to do with your eyes closed than open.
So there we are nothing mystical or strange in the least, but I guarantee that if you show these tricks to anybody who has not seen them they will be astounded. As the title indicates this to me is the Real Force. There are many other tricks in the martial
Arts that I do not know how to do, if anybody out there knows anymore I would be
Really interested to here them.

The Liverpool Nutter

Some years ago I read a book that was to become a classic. "Secret Fighting Arts of The world ", by John F Gilbey.
The book was filled with tales of martial artists with secret skills, way ahead of its time, few people had even heard of karate .It was always questionable as to the veracity of some of the tales told by Mr.Gilbey, and yet they contained more than a grain of truth, and the liberal use of poetic licence added to the telling of the tale. The stories conveyed the qualities that seem so absent in the martial arts today. I had the privileged feeling that I was receiving esoteric knowledge available to few others. All Mr. Gilbey’s heroes were anonymous quiet men, who had to be sought out.
Not the posturing squealing bodybuilder, sat in the full splits, so common nowadays. One chapter in his book refers to an unlikely warrior " The Liverpool Nutter." .He was a character who had developed the unusual art of head butting to a high degree. He had a method, and a way to train. I would like to discuss that unlikely art.
I have lived in Liverpool all my life, and though it may seem fanciful, most of the street fights that I have witnessed at some point employed the use of the head, it may well be the case that this occurs in all major cities the world over, but it seems strange to me, that, what an American visitor witnessed almost three decades ago, should still be available today. In all of the martial arts clubs that I have attended in Liverpool over the years, at some point I was introduced to methods of defence against the head butt. It is such a common attack, however to defend against it one must be able to understand how it is used and the advantages of such a method.

I should also like to make clear that I had serious misgivings about writing this article, I read of the awful attack on innocent people on September 11 in America, and was appalled to learn that some of the perpetrators had learned martial arts. I feel that all serious martial artists must be careful of disclosing their arts to others, in case they are misused. In the case of the head butt however, I feel that street fighters are already aware of its uses and by making others aware of it I am" levelling the field ".
The advantage of the head butt is its speed and tremendous power, and also surprise. The head being used as a weapon could well have developed from English football or "soccer" as all the skills and qualities that need to be learned are well trained in that game. Watch any soccer match and you will notice that when somebody performs a "header " on the ball, what tremendous power and speed is developed. When applied in a fight, this would usually results in an instant knockout or a broken nose, but I am convinced that it could also result in a fatality.
There are really only a few ways to use the head in a fight, but consider this, a boxer also has very few moves and yet boxing is one of the most effective, and in the early stages one of the easiest methods to learn. You must learn firstly, to attack only with your forehead, this is the contact area. To develop power you must bend your knees, pull back at the waist and then lunge forward, your head must aim to contact with your opponents nose, mouth or jaw. To aid this basic attack, a common method is to grab your enemy’s jacket lapels and pull him towards you There are variations to this method Whilst having your right foot forward you may attack to the right side of his head or on the left side, similarly. Alternately, the head may swing in to the right, and then sweep past and, after making contact swing in from the left. - A really nasty one, two combination. - Another method requiring less power is to grab the lapel and only swing the head from the neck, rather like shaking the head, this is infinitely quicker but only marginally less effective and can also easily result in a knockout. These are the basic methods, they may be varied, mixed in with other techniques, such as punches, used to begin or end a fight, in combination with sneak tactics. The possibilities are considerable.
Training these methods is also an easy matter; all you need is a football and an empty piece of wall. Throw the ball up and try and head it at the wall, when it bounces back head it again, keep doing this until you lose contact with the ball, it would take years to develop the skill of a professional football player, but after a short couple of weeks you should be able to use your head really well. Then try practising these simple moves with a friend or good training partner, but beware, always air on the side of caution, be very careful to avoid any contact whatsoever. Women especially can benefit from this type of training, a woman is easily capable of knocking a man out with a head butt, and to see a women use such a method is a real shock.
To defend against a head butt the best defence is awareness, which hopefully you should have after reading this article. There are other methods. If somebody grabs your jacket lapels (he will undoubtedly be using a head butting attack) then bend your knees and lower your head, you will either beat him to the butt or he will smash his face into the top of your head. If somebody lunges at you, to butt you, then try and raise your elbow so that your elbow covers your face, your right palm should be able to cover your right ear from this position. He should then butt the point of your elbow. Be aware though, that this is not a formalised fighting method such as in some styles of karate, when somebody attacks with the head they are much more likely to move like a boxer or a footballer, they should be very light and very quick so be aware and beware. The traditional stance of Uechi-Ryu with the hands held forward is also an excellent method to ward of an attack.
As a final note I have yet to see a martial art that is concerned with the use of the head. I do find it strange that there are methods, which focus primarily on the feet. Many others, before me have talked of the shortcomings of such martial arts .I feel that the head is an infinitely superior choice. It is easier to learn, there is no loss of balance and powerful techniques are guaranteed. Yet, as I say I am unaware of any head based martial art, if anyone is aware of such arts please do contact me.