CQC guards are important skills components they combine with the stances and footwork to provide sound proven counter offensive capabilities. I've covered stances and footwork in previous editions of the close combat files and will now detail counteroffensive guarding. This file will cover guarding against unarmed threats from the front side and rear flanks. The […]
I’ve had martial arts teachers yell at me in Chinese, Thai, Khmer, Korean, and now, Vietnamese. You’ve NEVER been yelled at, till you’ve been yelled at in Korean. Somehow, I picture getting yelled at in Japanese as being even worse, blood-chilling. Getting yelled at in Vietnamese, however, is just confusing. The language sounds like they’re […]
Samantha Brown has been traveling the world for years on are various Travel Channel Series. In this episode, she comes to Fairtex Bangkok, where she learns some basic Muay Thai from Brooklyn Monk, Antonio Graceffo. Next, Antonio translates while Samantha gets a lesson from Kru Apidae, the living legend of Muay Thai. Now you’ll know […]
16 April 2011 Martial arts author Antonio Graceffo has been awarded the prestigious title of Pahlawan Silat Kalam (Kalam Warrior) in a ceremony attended by nearly 500 dignitaries in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The award honours Graceffo’s achievements in the Malaysian martial art of Silat Kalam. He is the first non-Muslim student to achieve this award. […]
The sons of Guru Mazlan Man prepare Brooklyn Monk, Antonio Graceffo to perform Silat Kalam in his first public demo for the Malaysian government, Tekun. After an intensive review session, filled with countless, painful throws and locks, Antonio attends the demo and awards ceremony. This is the first time that a non-Muslim/non-Malay has participated in […]
Combative foot work along with stance or stance and guard stability and mobility are critical requirements of armed and unarmed combat employments. Footwork in CQC or CQB is a most important tactical component of combative skills executions. In this edition of the close combat files I will cover the following categories of combative foot work. […]
In 2002 I wrote an article about my friend Roland John Wilson, or John as he was better known. Sadly, I now find myself adding to that article more details of John’s long and distinguished military and medical service history after he died December 28th 2010 aged 62. Wednesday January 5th 2011 John’s funeral was […]
Great boxing enthusiast and boxing trainer of high repute, Vic Gummer passed away at Te Mana rest home in Birkdale on Friday March 11th. Vic Gummer (right) with Barry Brown Victor Albert Gummer was a Birkenhead man through and through, and lived in Palmerston Road for many years. Vic was an inaugural member of the […]
Ken was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and was the oldest of four children having three sisters. He joined the Army’s 82nd airborne March 1956 and went through military police school with the 82nd MPs. Ken weighed barely 130 pounds just making the minimum required weight for jump school. Ken's active service with the […]
John Wilson was born in 1948 at New Plymouth and moved to Dunedin with his family when he was two years old. He attended Arthur Street School followed by Otago Boys High School during which he was a member of the army cadets where he had spent time at Burnham and moved through the cadet […]