Ilias Iliadis Wins Bronze Olympic Medal in Judo  and his coach  Iliadis Nikolaos 

The Greek Olympic mission in London is celebrating its first medal won by Ilias Iliadis. in Judo.

Iliadis won the bronze medal in the men’s 90 kg judo category just minutes earlier on Wednesday. The Greek Judoka defeated his Brazilian opponent Tiago Camilo by yuko and climbed up to the bronze podium joined by Japanese judoka Masashi Nishiyama, who beat his Russian opponent Kirill Denisov.
“Congratulations to the lad who won the very first medal for Greece in the London Games,” commented the Greek deputy Minister for Sports Yiannis Ioannidis.
The Greek athlete, who had won gold at the Olympic Games in Athens, was defeated by Russian Denisov and lost his chance of competing for gold, but won the Australian Anthony by ippon and the Brazilian Camilo by yuko and conquered the third place in the Olympics Judo podium.
 

	Iliadis Nikolaos Federal/National coach
	He was born on the 26th of April in 1957 at the Kvemo-Kedi in Georgia. His parents, Moses and Salome, were farmers. He went to school from 1964 until 1974. From 1975 until 1977 he served the army of the former Russia (in a special sport department as a member of the national judo and sampo team) From 1997 until 1982 he was a student in the economic department of the University of Tiflida. From 1982until 1984 he was the president of the national sport club Uruzae in the town of Dmanise in Georgia. From 1984 until 1987 he was the president of the municipally committee of sports. From 1984 until 1989 he was also studying in the department of physical education and sports in the university. He specialized in the training and coaching of judo and sampo. From 1988 until 1992 he was the director of a bakery, food, sweets and sodas factory. In 1983 he got married to Kitsa Kalanova, who is an English and German teacher. In 1993 they came to Greece and lived in Florina, in the village of Pelargos. Until 1995 he occupied himself with the cultivation of In 1995 along with his brothers they create the sport club Filippos in Amintaio. He worked in the club and the West prefecture of Macedonia as a judo coach until November 2000. From 1995 until today he is the head coach of the National teams in Greece. Presently he lives with his wife and five children in Athens. Sport Activity He began learning wrestling, judo and sampo from the age of 10. Form 1974 until 1980 he was member of the Georgian national judo team. After a decision of the Russian committee of physical education and sports of the of Ministers, he was announced "master sporta" in judo on September 1st in 1977 and "master sporta" in sampo on July 31st in 1978. His athletic career came to a stop in 1979 when he got injured during Spartakiada, where he took part as a member of the Russian national team. From 1982 until 1987 he was judo coach for the prefecture of Dmanise in Georgia. He also created the sport club Filippos in Amintaio. In the period form 1995 until 2000, Filippos club's athletes had many and important sporting distinctions. In total the athletes of this clubs had won 276 medals in the national championships. (in particular 125 gold medals, 70 silver and 81 bronze. From 2000 when he took over as a national coach for the national teams, the athletes have accomplished great victories on international level. In total they have achieved 166 international distinctions (in particular 1 gold Olympic medal, 5th and 7th place in Olympics, 5 medals on World Championships, 21 medals in European Championships, 42 in Balkan Games and 78 in international tournaments. In 2007 his athletes won 23 medals in international tournaments (10 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze). They also won 1 silver medal in the World Championship for men, 1 gold and 1 bronze medal in the World military Championship and 1 bronze in the European Championship for Cadets. In the Balkan Games they won 15 medals, 3 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze. Finally in the international championships for cadets and juniors they won 18 medals, 1 gold, 4 silver and 13 bronze. In 2006 his athletes gained 6 medals in international tournaments for men, 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. In the World Championship for juniors they won 3 medals: 1 gold and 2 bronze. In the European Championships for juniors and cadets they gained 5 medals: 1 gold and 4 bronze. In the World military Championship they won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal, while in international tournaments for cadets-juniors they won 3 bronze medals. In the Balkan games they also won 13 medals, 4 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze. In 2005 his athletes managed to gain 2 medals in international championships for men, 1 gold and 1 bronze. In the World Championship for men they won 1 silver medal while in the European championship for men they won 1 bronze medal. In the European Championship for juniors they won 3 bronze medals, while in the Mediterranean games 2 medals, 1 gold and 1 bronze. Finally in international tournaments they won 1 bronze medal. In 2004 his athletes won in international tournaments for men 3 medals, 1 gold and 2 bronze. In the European Championship for men they won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal. In the European Championship for juniors they won 2 gold medals, while in the Olympic Games of Athens they won 1 gold medal, 1 fifth position and 1 seventh position. In 2003 his athletes in international tournaments for men they won 5 medals: 1 silver and 4 bronze. In the European Championship for juniors they won 3 medals, 1 gold and bronze. Finally in the European Championship for cadets they won 1 gold medal. In 2002 his athletes won 2 silver and 2 bronze medals in international championships for men, 1 gold medal in the European Championship for cadets, 1 bronze in the European Championship for juniors and 4 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze in the Balkan Games. In 2001 his athletes won 3 bronze medals in international tournaments, 1 silver medal in the European Championship for juniors, and 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze in the Balkan games. In 2004 he was announced the best coach in Europe by the European Judo Federation. In 2006, he came 5th in the PSAT ranking for best coach. He has received the 6th DAN by the International Judo Federation.

Taekwon-do I.T.F, 15th Summer Camp 2011, Master Alexandris Vasilis (8th degree), Greece

The Power to Destroy

The Power to Destroy

The Three Types of Destructive Energy used in Martial Arts

By Stefan Verstappen

Originally published in Black Belt Magazine May 07

If there is one word that can sum up what martial arts teach, that is power. The creation and use of power or energy (Chi in Chinese or Ki in Japan) is the primary focus of many martial arts. Breathing techniques, weight training, conditioning exercises, drills, forms, nutrition, and meditation all are ways of generating and directing energy. All masters know that there are two forms of this energy, the yin and the yang, the creative and the destructive.

Martial arts rightly focus on generating creative energy through fitness, self-discipline, and honor. Nevertheless, a martial artist must also learn to master the dark side of the force, the creation and application of destructive energy. The following describes three types of destructive energy, how they work, and where and how to apply them in combat.

Penetrating Energy

All striking techniques generate one of three types of destructive energy: Penetrating, Crushing, and Transferring.

Penetrating strikes focus energy generated by velocity into a small surface that is directed into the body in such a way that the skin and muscle are forced inward and sometimes torn by the impact of the blow.

Anatomical weapons that utilize penetrating energy include fingertip and second knuckle strikes, lunge punches, knife-hand chops, and side-kicks. Examples of weapons that utilize penetrating energy include the spear, sword, and knife.

Penetrating strikes are best used against soft tissue targets such as nerve clusters, and internal organs. For example, if you were to use a Snake Hand strike (the hand extended flat using the fingertips as the striking surface) against an opponent’s chest, it has no chance of penetrating the sternum and a high chance of breaking your fingers. However, if delivered to the throat, it is capable of lacerating the larynx or blistering the carotid artery, both lethal injuries.

To apply penetrating energy requires you to focus through the intended target. For example, a punch to the solar plexus should be focused through the opponent's body as though attempting to strike the spine rather than the stomach. This helps to neutralize the subconscious tendency to slow down the strike as it nears the target. A simple way to train and test your penetrating strikes is to take an empty cardboard box like the kind your TV or Microwave came in. Then set it on a table and insure there is a clear area all around. Now strike the box using a Snake Hand, Leopard Paw or Phoenix Eye strike. If you can punch clean little holes in the cardboard without the box flying off the table, you will have mastered this method.

Crushing Energy

Crushing energy uses the weapon's mass to focus energy over a larger area to rupture nerves and blood vessels and to break bones. Anatomical weapons that use crushing energy include the head butt, elbow and knee strikes, most punches and kicks. Weapons that use crushing energy include the mace, war hammer, clubs, and baseball bats.

Crushing energy strikes are best directed at areas less massive than the weapon used. For example, a punch to the bridge of the nose can easily crush and break the septal cartilage causing extreme pain and bleeding, but a punch to the forehead will probably break the puncher’s hand instead.

To apply crushing energy, you must engage as much of the body's mass into the strike as possible. To bring the body’s mass into a technique requires that the centre of gravity move along with the impact. For example, in executing a Hammer Fist strike to the opponent's collarbone, you must lower your centre of gravity by bending the knees with the impact. This adds the body's mass to that of the fist. In punching forwards, the legs are used to propel your centre of gravity forward behind the punch as though the arm where a battering ram and the body the carriage. The best way to test and train your crushing power is through breaking techniques.

Transferring Energy

A strike that uses transferring energy causes a concussion by creating a pressure wave that transfers energy directly into the body without penetrating the outer skin and muscle. This principle can be seen in action on the pool table. Using of bit of ‘English’ (backspin), a cue ball striking a stationary billiard ball will come to a complete stop while the billiard ball rolls away with the momentum the cue ball had. The cue ball had transferred all its kinetic energy into the billiard ball. Transferring energy strikes work in the same way, the striking weapon comes to a stop on the surface of the opponent's body but the energy has been transferred into the body in the form of a pressure wave.

Anatomical weapons that employ transferring energy include certain punches, palms strikes, and the roundhouse kick. Because of the complexity this technique, few ancient weapons employed it. To some extent, whips and flails such as the Nunchakus employ transference energy. A bullwhip, while it uses the reverse motion to generate an energy wave, focuses the wave into the whip itself to increase velocity so that the tip becomes a cutting weapon.

A legendary example of a transference strike is the `Heart Palm' strike. The Heart Palm is executed using the heel of the palm and is targeted to the centre of the chest. The energy is transferred through the chest wall and into the heart's pacemaker located just behind the sternum. The pacemaker is a magnetically polarized patch of tissue that regulates the heartbeat. Like an iron nail that has been given a magnetic charge (by rubbing with a magnet), a sudden shock like dropping the nail will cause the nail to lose its charge. So too the pacemaker can lose its magnetic charge through a sudden shock. This can result in a twitching of the heart muscle (ventricular fribulation) and eventually to cardiac arrest if not treated immediately. On the surface, there is no sign of injury since the energy has been transferred through the surface to cause damage internally.

To apply a transferring strike you must incorporate a reverse motion to the technique by drawing back on the strike just before impact. This can be likened to a whip, in order to `crack' the whip you must pull back just before the end of the swing. This pulling back is best done by using the waist and is called Silk Reeling in the Chinese styles. For example, to add concussion energy to a reverse punch, your hips should first shift forwards throwing the weight of the body into the punch, but just before impact, the hips shift back so that the kinetic energy behind the punch travels into the target but the fist does not.

To train and test you concussion strikes, set up a candle on a table, clear the area, and be prepared to have hot wax splashed across the room. Aim a punch or palm strike directly at the flame but make sure you stop short about an inch away from the flame. Done correctly, the flame will be extinguished with a slight popping sound. Done incorrectly, and you usually have a mess to clean up.

Conclusion

These three destructive forces have been used in warfare since earliest time. The spear, club and flail are probably the earliest weapons invented that use these three forces. Even modern warfare employs these time-honored principles. For example, to disable armored vehicles the military developed three weapons. The SBOT round, which is a sharp hard projectile made from depleted uranium designed to Penetrate the vehicle’s armor. The HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) round uses high explosive to Crush a vehicle, and the old fashioned bazooka or Panzerfaust uses the Transference principle to blast off a scab of amour plating from the interior sending chucks of metal ricocheting inside the vehicle.

The martial arts teach not only how to develop strength and power but also the knowledge and skill to deliver the three types of destructive energy to their appropriate targets. A side-kick to the solar plexus (Penetrating), a hammer-fist to the brachial plexus (Crushing), or a  palm strike to the forehead (Concussion), will often instantly knock an attacker unconscious while causing him or her the least injury. In this way, even the dark side of the force can be used for good, to protect you and you family, and cause the least amount of harm in return.

THE APO-BALINTAWAK ESKRIMA SELF-DEFENSE SYSTEM

THE APO-BALINTAWAK ESKRIMA SELF-DEFENSE SYSTEM

APO-Balintawak Esrkrima Self Defense Organization is headed by Martial Arts Guru Andrew P. Obon. This blog-site was made in an attempt to give interested individuals a fast and comprehensive information about Balintawak Eskrima and APO-Balintawak as a Combat and Self Defense System.

RATIONALE: There are a few good and practical Martial Arts which one can learn; to be able to defend oneself effectively against potential assailants. However, the more popular Oriental Martial Arts may not be as effective and practical as our Filipino Martial Arts, specifically Balintawak Eskrima. 
Balintawak Eskrima or popularly known as Arnis, treats the stick, its basic weapon, merely as an extension of the arms. The principles of the weapon techniques are applicable to the bare hands. Thus, it gives the Eskrimador greater flexibility in defending against attacks like bladed weapons. 
Moreover, advocating Eskrima or Arnis as a Self-defense system of choice is a way of promoting our very own heritage, and it enhances in us the spirit of nationalism. 
What is Balintawak Eskrima? Balintawak Eskrima is a Combat System developed by Grandmaster Anciong Bacon in the 1950s. It was named after a small street in Cebu City where the first club was founded. Balintawak differ from most martial arts in that it uses close range fighting drills. Its primary training tool is the single stick. It integrates in its system techniques like punching, kicking, throwing, etc.

THE APO-BALINTAWAK SELF DEFENSE ORGANIZATION

THE ORGANIZATION’S VISION, MISSION and PURPOSE

VISION: A critical mass of significant Balintawak Eskrimadors, providing leadership, and Contributing to the betterment in their respective societies.
MISSION: We are committed to train the Mind, Body, and Spirit, of each member Eskrimador into a true Martial Artist, instilling the Virtues, Principles, Philosophy, and Discipline of Balintawak Eskrima.
GENERAL PURPOSE: To develop each practitioner into a significant Eskrimador who is mild outside but strong within, through the education, training and practice of the art of Balintawak Eskrima Self Defense System.
SPECIFIC PURPOSE:

• To instill in each practitioner the Virtues of the Art.

• To develop and enhance discipline, self-control, and respect among its practitioners.

• To inculcate in each practitioner the true meaning, purpose, and practice of the Charter of APO-Balintawak Eskrima.

CHARTER OF APO-BALINTAWAK ESKRIMA

Respect for human life is equally important as protecting one’s life in APO-Balintawak. Our basic charter is for all members to protect life, even that of an enemy. Inculcating reverence for nature, with emphasis on beauty, simplicity, speed, fluidity, and integrity.

CAMPEONATO LATINOAMERICANO Y DEL CARIBE EN CARACAS VENEZUELA

SI QUIERES MAS INFORMACIÓN Y COMPETIR EN EL CAMPEONATO LATINOAMERICANO Y DEL CARIBE EN CARACAS VENEZUELA ESCRIBENOS AL FITV_VENEZUELA@YAHOO.COM, TAEKWON!!!

NICKELSTICK ESKRIMA

About Balintawak Born in 1912, Venancio “Anciong” Bacon would later become one of the Philippines’ legendary and most influential eskrimadors in history. He was born in Carcar, Cebu, and moved later to San Nicolas Town, just outside of Cebu City. He learned eskrima in the 1920s as a teenager. His evolution as an eskrimador began in San Nicolas. This journey would later lead him to death matches, attacks, and eventually to jail. But, not all of this journey was dismal. Along the way, Venancio Bacon made life long friends, and cultivated a loyal cadre of students, who to this day maintain an affinity incomparable towards him. Venancio Bacon’s legacy, Balintawak, has become a title synonymous to Deadly. Balintawak eskrima is Economy, Elegance, Strength, and Speed expertly woven into one art form. This is the story of Great Grandmaster Venancio Bacon and the account of his legacy. In the early 1900s, the Spaniards had just left the Philippines, ending their 300 year rule. In their place, came the Americans. The vanguard elite of Cebu still spoke Spanish, while the Americans began to “pacify” and teach the rest of the Filipinos American English and culture. It was during this time that Venancio Bacon was born into, a nation in the midst of change and upheaval. He was born in Carcar, Cebu, but grew up in San Nicolas Town outside of Ciudad de Cebu, which at that time was populated by Cebu’s elite upper class. This elite class was made up of Europeans, Americans, Chinese and mestizo Filipinos. In contrast, San Nicolas was composed of local Cebuanos and immigrants from neighboring towns, or from other islands in the Visayas. The people who lived in San Nicolas were farmers, carpenters, fishermen, peasants, cargadors and the servants for the City of Cebu’s upper class. Venancio Bacon began training in the art of eskrima in the 1920s. His only teacher was Lorenzo “Ensong” Saavedra, of San Nicolas, who during this time had established the historic Labangon Fencing Club. At a time when many different styles of eskrima abound, Lorenzo Saavedra’s was called the Corto Linear, although he was also known to have mastered other styles. His best students would be Teodoro “Doring” Saavedra, his nephew, and Venancio Bacon. The two were also very close friends. Both matured into great eskrimadors, improving each other’s skills and answering challenge matches that came as a result of their newly acquired titles. The Labangon Fencing Club eventually dissipated into oblivion, giving way to a new organization borne out of its ashes. In 1933, the Doce Pares Club was formed. Headed by Lorenzo Saavedra, the club was composed of three Saavedra eskrimadors and nine from the Canete family. This composed the original twelve needed to symbolically actualize the title Doce Pares, which was taken from a popular roving play in the Philippines during the late 1800s and early 1900s depicting the twelve warrior swordsmen of Charlemagne. Another twelve were inducted to the club soon after, making the initial membership twenty-four, or Twelve Pairs. Venancio Bacon was among the first twenty-four. Although there were certain personalities in the club which ran counter to Venancio Bacon’s own personality, he stayed and carried his weight as one of its representing eskrimadors. World War II broke out in the 1940s. With the onset of Japanese occupation, many eskrimadors became guerilla fighters, employing their art for the defense of their nation. It was during this time that, Teodoro Saavedra died at the hands of Japanese soldier-executioners. Long after the War, in 1952, Venancio Bacon established the club now known as Balintawak. He finally had enough of the personal bickerings and internal politics of the Doce Pares club. Along with Vincente “Inting” Atillo, Delfin Lopez, Jesus Cui, Timoteo “ Timor” Maranga, Lorenzo Gonzales, Isidro Bardilas, Andres Olaibar, and a few others, Venancio Bacon began a new club. The newly formed club started training in the backyard of a watch shop owned by Eduardo Baculi, one of Venancio Bacon’s students. This shop was located in a small side street in Colon, called Balintawak Street. The significance of the name Balintawak evoked the three virtues of strength, courage, and honor befitting that of the new club. So, from that day forth the word Balintawak would forever be intertwined with the name Venancio Bacon and to the style of eskrima which has proven its calculated violence effective time and again. Standing at 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighting no more that 120 pounds, Venancio Bacon was a very unassuming man. He was a veteran of a great many death matches in Cebu. Described by many of his students as lightning fast, Venancio Bacon maneuvered through a fight smoothly while exploiting his opponents’ balance and coordination. He was known to be very surgical with a stick, able to employ varying force to his exact targets throughout his adversary’s body. But, his greatest virtue and asset was his constant desire to innovate and improve his art, diligently discovering techniques through the years, never ceasing in this path. He taught his art to those who desired to learn it. Among his very first students was Delfin Lopez, a Cebu icon in his own right. He was a tough cop, a strike breaker, enforcer, and a womanizer. Delfin Lopez was already an experienced fighter when he met Venancio Bacon, but he saw something in the small man. Mr. Lopez stood at 5 feet, 10 inches, muscular, easily towering over the diminutive Venancio Bacon. Testing his strength in a light, friendly match with Venancio Bacon, Delfin Lopez soon realized the sad reality of his skills as a fighter. The two men with single sticks faced off, Mr. Lopez took the offensive and rushed towards his opponent only to be disarmed and tripped. Having received multiple lashes to his body, Delfin Lopez laid on the ground, beneath the shadow of Venancio Bacon. The fight only took a few seconds, but for Mr. Lopez, Venancio Bacon had just won over another loyal student. The 1950s and 1960s saw the “Golden Age” of eskrima in Cebu. Eskrimadors from various camps, mainly the two already mentioned, tested each other’s skills in all out challenges. These resulted in injuries and sometimes deaths. Some were under honorable circumstances, while others treacherous. Vincente “Inting” Carin of Doce Pares found himself attacked by multiple assailants, incurring various injuries, while doubly reciprocating lethal injuries on to his attackers. Delfin Lopez was knifed from behind, placing him in a small lot in Calamba Cemetary. Venancio Bacon was ambushed in the dark while walking to his home in Labangon. He killed his assailant. It was during this time that legends were made and skills were tested. The survivors of this short lived era have accepted their place in history. Many Balintawak eskrimadors have carved their names in the walls of history, forever etched in the halls of time. Some of the more illustrious of these fighters were Timoteo “ Timor” Maranga, Arnulfo Mongcal, Jose Villasin, Teodoro “Teddy” Buot, and Teofilo Velez. They were also the men who would later be responsible for introducing Balintawak to the rest of the world. Venancio Bacon was paroled from prison in the mid-1970s. When he returned to Cebu, he continued to check up on students, making sure the quality of Balintawak was still up to his standards since he left it. Mr. Bacon regularly attended training sessions conducted by Jose Villasin and Teofilo Velez. It was here that Venancio Bacon saw a glimpse of the next generation of Balintawak fighters. He was satisfied. Venancio Bacon knew that his old students, Arnulfo Mongcal, Jose Villasin, Teodoro Buot, Teofilo Velez, and a few others would carry on the name Balintawak and produce high caliber eskrimadors for years to come. A few years after, Venancio Bacon died, leaving behind a legacy now known around the world as Balintawak. Today, through the efforts of master eskrimadors like Nick Elizar, Bobby Taboada, and Nene Gaabucayan, Balintawak is known the world over as one of the most respected styles of eskrima. back to top

The gray dobok, the unfulfilled dream of the founder of Traditional Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi!

In the following photos you can see the first gray dobok implanted by General Choi Hong Hi to practice his martial art.

Mario Pons and Masiá Loles appear on this photo with a North Korea team member of Traditional Taekwon-Do, whose demonstration was held in Vienna (Austria) on March 24th 1986, at the World Headquarters of the International Federation.

In the second picture we see General Choi teaching a course in which nearly all attendees wear the gray dobok.

The dream of General Choi Hong Hi to implement the gray dobok was that his Taekwon-Do was differentiated from the Olympic Taekwon-Do and Karate.

As happens in Master Ed Parker Kenpo Karate. In the beginning all wore white suit. With the maturity of the style and to differentiate from Karate, Master Parker introduced the black suit.

Nowadays Master Parker Kenpo Karate is different from Karate because of the black suit. In the same way, in the 80's, General Choi wanted to differ from other styles by implanting the gray dobok, whose theory, if anyone wants to know it, will be explained in our courses, because there was nothing that General Choi did not give a consistent and clear meaning.

His idea of using a grey dobok was not followed by his direct students, who wanted him to forget about it. From ITTAF, we want to preserve the idea of General Choi and we will implement and realize his dream of using a gray dobok; with the clear idea he had to differentiate ourselves from other styles.

In ITTAF nothing is being done free will. ITTAF works and will work to make the dreams of our founder, General Choi Hong Hi, come true.

His story and work are our main source of inspiration.

All together in memory of General Choi.

Taekwon!

Mario Pons SM 8 ° Dan
ITTAF Interim Secretary
E-mail: mariopons@mariopons.com