Seminar Iain Abernethy, Drachten, Netherlands
On the weekend of September 16 and 17, 2023, five people from BOOZ ITF-Taekwon-Do Groningen participated in an Iain Abernethy's seminar. Iain is a highly regarded Karate instructor from Great Britain, who has immersed himself so deeply in the history and styles of Karate that he has become detached from it. He is above the subject matter. Everything is family and ITF Taekwon-Do is part of that, as first cousin (X). On Saturday, around 90 participants from different nationalities and different backgrounds came to Drachten to learn about close-quarters combat, trapping and grappling, close range striking and standing wrestling.
In the first session we learned the importance of keeping in touch, because tactile information is better than visual. When you hold someone's head, all you have to do is hit your own hand. And when you have someone's arm, you know that at the end of it is the head. “Limb control” is important, because first the protruding parts of the opponent must be out of the way and controlled in order to reach the goal. This included various parrying movements with and without re-gripping, to arrive at, for example, a “Sonkal Daebbi Makgi” or “Najunde Bakat Palmok Makgi” as a basis for a sequel. For those who have ever been involved in Radix, it was quite familiar territory.
Part two went into more detail about grabbing and hooking. We are not wrestlers, so being grabbed is to be avoided and we don't want to keep holding the other person for too long, but for self-defense it is necessary to be able to do something with it. The first exercise was from the “flinch” (startle response), where you are attacked at close range and your forearms stick forward like a wedge to grab what you hit (an arm, a head or both) upon contact. From there you often hold each other and it is important to free yourself so much that you get into a better position, away from your opponent's striking hand. Preferably you go to the back and end the fight from there, for example with a throw (and then hitting and/or running). Attention was also paid to “failure drills”: what if it doesn't work right away? The fact that things always go well only happens in films.
Saturday ended with the principles of throwing and clamping. When throwing, it is important to throw the opponent so off balance that he is no longer able to recover it. This can be done by preventing the other person from moving his foot, by lifting the other person off the ground with his foot or both feet, by disrupting his body position in such a way that he cannot take a step, by making him unconscious or a combination of all that. One of the “forgotten forgotten” throws of Karate that we learned was the “throat press” (Nodo-Osae). You enter the other person's space and, with an outstretched arm, push your opponent by the throat until he or she bends backwards, you quickly bend over, grab his foot with your other hand that is no longer bearing any weight, and quickly stand up again (lift your foot the leg) and turn to throw the opponent's standing leg.
On Sunday, 50 participants started with lying (vertical) wrestling, or groundwork. Iain has devised a Kata (Tul) for groundwork only, so that standing fighters also gain basic skill in this area. The idea is that the initiation of a choke or clamp is always parried at the initiation and is followed by a new attack or a takeover and so on, until the escape at the end. In total I counted eight sentences in that story. The idea is then to control both sides of the story, both as the one who attacks first and the one who defends first. It is also the intention that what you do clockwise, you also do counter clockwise (and the same amount). Once you've mastered the basics, you can start playing around with them by trying variations or adding some "dirt" here and there (scratching and biting, for example). Everything controlled and in moderation.
Motto: you can't be a specialist in everything, but you have to be able to do enough of everything to get by. You don't want to end up on the ground in a self-defense situation, but that can certainly happen. It is important for a standing fighter to learn how to get back upright. So don't be surprised if Sahyun Robert teaches us the basics of Judo...
All in all, another wonderful seminar. Iain is an engaging personality with a booming laugh and an excellent instructor too. The teaching material is very accessible and suitable for everyone. Short or tall, fat or thin, muscular or shrimp, child or adult, man, woman or X, it doesn't matter, so: highly recommended!
Boosabum Jan Douwes
