Kung Fu: Northern Praying Mantis

Jim Smyer and the students of Pong Lai Wu Nashville will be performing a demonstration of the Northern Praying Mantis system of Kung Fu. The Northern systems of the Chinese arts feature very long and powerful kicking and striking techniques, which are used to defend against multiple attackers. Northern Mantis also makes use of the traditional weapons used in the Chinese Martial arts.

Kung Fu: Shaolin Concepts

Shaolin Concepts of East Nashville will be performing a demostration of the programs offered at their location. Sigung David “Donnavan” Steven offers instruction in Ng Family Monkey Kung Fu, Kenpo Karate and Ju Klum Southern Praying Manis Kung Fu.

Capoeira: The Deadly Dance

Capoeira is a fighting form developed by African slaves who lived captivity in Brazil. It was based on form of African tribal combat. The slave owners did not allow the pratice of any combative arts in fear of revolt. Therefore, Capoeira was developed as a means of disguising the martial art in dance. Set to music, and featuring many erradic and acrobatic movements, Capoeira is dangerously deceptive. Today Capoeira is performed as a martial art and expression of cultural solidarity. The music of Capoeira is led by a traditional African chordophone called a berimbau and features many types of drums and vocal accompaniment.

Jeet Kun Do: The Original Mixed Martial Art

In the 1960’s, martial arts legend Bruce Lee pioneered a new fighting system based on the idea of combat effectiveness over rigid traditional practices. The original system comprised of elements of Wing Chun, western boxing, fencing, and Savate. The system was founded on the idea of using what works and discarding what doesn’t. Taking from many other sources, the practitioner will become a more well rounded fighter. In fact, Bruce Lee is quoted as saying he wished he did not have a name for his system because a name denotes style and form, something the practitioner aims to eliminate. Jeet Kun Do can be summed up in the words of Bruce Lee from his book, The Tao of Jeet Kun Do, “Using no way as a way, using no limitation as limitation.”

Kali: The Fighting Art of the Philippines

Kali is one of the world oldest surviving fighting arts. Kali differs from other Asian fighting forms, in that the practitioner begins his or her training with and eventually moves gradually to unarmed combat. The weapons form easily translates into the empty hands, therefore, the practitioner is learning many areas of combatives at once. Some of the weapons of Kali include the sticks, knives, axes, swords and pole-arms. Kali has been used to repel foreign invasion including the Spanish colonization in the 16th-19th centuries and the Japanese occupation during WWII.