I have been asked about what can be learned from the videos of Grandmaster Woo. I produced a few clips so we can go over and explain things that I was taught and the value of the Art we learned. There are many levels that one should travel to reach Master some learned and some remained stagnant. Some advanced to flowing movement, triangulation, subconscious movement, leverage and power when needed. The others learned many techniques using power and leverage however many of Grandmaster’s nuances have been lost. I will go through these clips and will explain and breakdown what I see. Some have said, “he looks so relaxed, how can that be fighting”, his purpose was to be relaxed to show it is not necessary to be tensed up because it slows you down. If he added power and speed the guy goes down very quickly. See more below
Video 1: Notice the approach, there are horses but they are subtle to hide what is coming.
+Broken Rhythm-Notice on move 2&3 how he sped up, fighting is like music it has beat and half beat to confuse your opponent.
+He turned after his kick to the groin so he could stomp the foot with his left heel to break many bones.
Video 2: The second time he did the move is correct, he tightened up his moves to illuminate wasted movement. His hand is already out, he grabs the opponent moving him to the position he wants. Notice after he forearm hammers (which is actually 3 smooth movements) he pushes down with the forearm (near the elbow) which buckles him to his right as grabs the throat which forces his head back. He holds the throat and steps back using a slightly circular turn combing with a fast throat pull that takes him out. You can see Barbara in 1&2 (against the wall) learning the moves.
Video 3: There is a lot to share on this clip that many miss. He uses the rotation turn to raise the arm, the top of his rear forearm braces under opponent’s elbow to stabilize. Then a rear outside of leg kick (similar to a crescent kick), as he drops his knee to the ground he pulls this other knee back to protect it as he throws you. The drop to the ground is what throws you, most drop to the ground and pull you over, not right. Next are 2 very important issues that many misunderstood, as he dropped to the ground it looked like he sat on the up heel, most of the time it did not touch but it covered that exposed heel to protect it if someone should fall on it. The second issue is many place the top of their foot next to the ground when they drop which GMW never did. I can not imagine the pain if you fell back or someone stepped on it.
As always, I welcome your respectful questions or comments and will attempt to answer them in a timely manner. If enough interest is shown, there will be many more videos to follow.
Nice to see some vintage Jimmy. Hope to see more. I like to think that I still teach San Soo the way It was taught then. These clips are priceless. A picture is worth a thousand words.
San Soo Salute
If there is interest I will continue however if there is no response or questions it seems like it is a waste of time to break down the lessons. You can hear him, see him and read how and why it works. There are many things I would like to share that have not used in demo’s that I have seen for years. They are packed away, it would take much time and effort to put it together.
Thanks,
RG
Please share as much as you can.