"Sifu David Crook- Bac Fu Do"
Sifu David Crook of Canberra's Bac Fu Do Kung-Fu Society has been involved in the
martial arts for over 25 years. He started off in karate and Ju-Jutsu but became involved
in Kung-Fu in the late 1960s. He now teaches a blend of Choy Li Fut, Wing Chun and
Northern Shaolin styles.
His early training was under now-deceased Sensei Moss Hollis of Adelaide - who believed
strongly for the cross-fertilisation between martial arts. Moss ensured that a succession
of guest instructors exposed his students to the concepts and principles of their
particular styles. The emphasis was on analysis of their techniques and "Why is his
sidekick so strong?" "Which move worked best under those circumstances?"
"Why did he do that technique that way?" and "How the Hell did he do
that?" were questions often asked within the walls of Sensei Hollis' Dojo.
Sifu Crook credits this early grounding as having a major impact on his own analytical
approach to martial arts. It was in part, responsible for his switch to Chinese styles -
apart from his own personal preference, he genuinely feels that they offer one of the most
complete combat systems in the world, when properly taught. In many Kung-Fu schools the
training covers striking, punching and kicking, grappling, ground fighting, weaponry and
therapeutic techniques and he fells that few other arts can offer such a complete package
based on wholly compatible concepts principles.
Sifu Crook feels that the most important part of the martial arts training is teaching
the concepts and intent behind the techniques.
"It is more important for a martial artist to have a firm grasp of the
concepts of his style and to be able to apply these concepts via his techniques under a
wide range of circumstances, than for them to be taught merely a range of physical
techniques."
For the above reason, Bac Fu Do training emphasizes the application of concepts.
There is very little static training or high repetition training involving 200 or so
reps of the same punch or kick. Instead, the student is introduced to the basic concepts
of the style by practice of short combinations. Sifu Crook said " What we normally do
is start with an opening move, say a high slap block and a simultaneous head punch. The
student practices that for a while and then we add another technique or two - it may be a
knife hand to the throat , which converts into a grab to pull the opponent down into a
knee, or an elbow to the ribs. The student practices this that for a while and then works
it with a partner. The next combination may start with the same opening move, but the
subsequent moves will be varied to cope with a change in circumstance- the student may
need to cope with a change in positioning by the opponent or with a follow-up punch by the
opponent."
The primary features of most of Sifu Crook's training sessions are
- An emphasis on combinations and the development of relaxed power throughout those
combinations by the use of structurally efficient techniques;
- The use of techniques utilising different levels of attack and angle of entry in order
to over-ride the opponent's defences;
- An emphasis on progressing from long range to close range to grappling range techniques
in a natural, flowing spontaneous manner.
- The use of sensitivity training drills utilising sticking, trapping, running and
unbalancing hand techniques;
- Ground fighting, escapes from common holds defences against weapons and use of common
weapons both traditional and environmental;
- Bag work and pad work which progresses from one-on-one training to multi target drills
using 4 or 5 pads in various configurations.
Sifu Crook firmly believes in exposing his students to other styles and it is not uncommon
to see a visiting black belt from another style working out with his senior grades. He
also organises occasional formal training sessions with other clubs, as well as
encouraging a regular open sparring session and an annual multi-style training camp. Sifu
Crook says "It is important to let your students know that other styles have their
good points. Of course, we all know that we're doing is the best (Ah! Ah!) and that's
true, from the viewpoint that certain individuals are best suited to certain styles
because of their physical and psychological make-up. However, I feel that it's important
to recognise that there are people out there who've put just as much sweat, blood and
effort into training as you have and who've developed techniques that can make work, even
if their different to yours. So, pay them the respect they're due and accept them as
martial arts brothers and you'll find that your own study becomes enriched and your
perceptions deepened."
Sifu Crook actively pursues this philosophy and maintains regular contact with senior
martial artists in over 20 countries as well as Australia. He has also held seminars in
many overseas clubs at the request of their instructors and benefited himself from the
guidance of many such people. "Over the last 5 years or so" he says "there
seems to be a more open-minded attitude developing in martial arts - possibly as a new
generation of instructors is growing up. I hope that this will lead to the breaking down
of inter-style barriers that were erected mainly out of ignorance and insecurity. I hope
to see a true spirit of Martial Arts Brotherhood developing and I'm happy that in some
small way, I've had a hand in helping it to develop."
|
