786
What is the Black Dot Focus Concept ?
Having a significant background and exposure to the Japanese Martial Arts in Hawaii presented Ed Parker, with a dichotomy of perspectives when he made the transition to a wholly Chinese based methodology in Southern California around 1961.
One of the prevailing methods among some Japanese Stylists is the concept of the "One Punch Kill Philosophy." Although a misinterpretation of the Chinese Martial Sciences, it prevailed and dominated within the Japanese Cultural Arts in general, and the various Karate-do styles in particular. Some have philosophized its progenitor was in the teaching of the Japanese Sword Arts.
This concept emphasized the training of sharp powerful blows designed to incapacitate or "kill" with one strike, in conjunction with the pari passu position of the opposite striking hand to the hip.
Prevalent in Kata, and step sparring, it seemed in Parker's observations to be at odds with the combat experiences he had on the streets, and his training as a boxer, even though the Japanese were intensely finical in this aspect of their training. Parker considered this to be a tocsin in any interpretation of what he was exposed to, and clearly a questionable tactic.
Ultimately this flawed concept became completely exposed when Parker switched lineages. He often spoke of how he had acute dysphagia in this regard, and found its Kafkaesque nature obvious when the misinterpretation was placed in context. Clearly this was an unfledged perspective.
Explained by Sifu Ark Wong as a curate's egg methodology, it depended extensively on information not readily available to the perspective of the Japanese training, which emphasized the "do" aspect over function. Although potentially an artifice, clearly it was being misinterpreted.
Parker ultimately chose to demonstrate his perspicacity of the concept by inserting an elementary or simplified concept into his various teaching interpretations after his lineage change. He conceptually called it "White Dot versus Black Dot Focus."
From a superficies perspective, he assigned "White Dot" to the Japanese concept. This indicated the emphasis of striking with one hand while assigning the counter position of the opposing limb to "pulling back" to the hip, ostensibly to create a powerful strike. Although anatomically, in some applications, this can have a measure of viability, in other applications it ignore the reality of human physical confrontation and contested martial interactivity.
The "white dot" was to be visualized on a "black background," with the white dot representing the focus of the strike, with the exclusion of all other awareness or "blackness." While Parker allowed some validity to the concept of the pari passu, he felt to ignore other offensive possibilities of a combatant as folly and felt it necessary to interpellate the idea.
In the early years many old and transplanted students had great difficulty when Parker attempted to deracinate them from old habits. In many instances, he chose to let them continue even though he personally felt much of it was a tarradiddle at odds with purposeful applications.
Parker however, based his own applications on the "Black Dot Focus" perspective as emphasize by my first teacher, Ark Wong. Although stopping short of direct vilipend of the concept, Ark Wong often spoke of its misapplications.
"Black Dot Focus" as promoted by the Parker Concept visualized a "black dot on a white background." Here the black dot represented the striking point, and the white background reminded students to be aware of defensive and offensive possibilities beyond the strike emphasis. However, even though this is true, all applications are subject to the vicissitudes of the dynamics of human martial interactions of combat Kraiguar.
artyon:
Hey I thought I told you not to tell anyone without my permission! :yoda:
