Jesse wrote: "15 - seems more Kung-fu to me
13 - all Villari
11 - Def. Kempo. the ending when you grab the leg and flip them over for the hip dislocation was done by the Late David German all the time.
Hi Jesse, hope all is well with you and yours. #15 is one of the original KGS combs of SGM. Pesare's. You will see it demonstated (I believe by George Pesare himself in his 60's DVD but I'd have to check, I know it's on there though). I saw a Kajukenbo version back in the 80's, same begining but instead of re-directing to the groin, you circle your right hand around the attacker's right wrist bringing your right hand behind you to your right kidney as your left coils around the neck into a ridge hand to the throat, bending him back and following with a right knee to his kidney area. By the way, I also seen this armlock/ridge hand to throat in one of my Wah Lum Kung Fu forms ("Straight Form") and just the armlock is also in Shou Tung Kwok. EPAK has a knife defense that is also similiar. I strongly suggest anyone truly interested in the history of Karazenpo and Shaolin Kempo Karate should really get DVD from SGM. Pesare. It's really great stuff.
#13 is actually not GM. Villari at all. I went over the 21 combinations of SGM. Pesare comparing them with the SKK ones I got in the 70's with GM. Marc Ayotte of George Pesare's Kempo/Kenpo Karate Institute a while ago and #13 was another original. It was done almost exactly the way I learned it from Mr. Villari, Mr. Fritz and Mr. Seavey back then except the application of dropping the loop around the neck was done slightly different. Other than that minor variation, it was the same.
#11 I'm a little fuzzy on as an original. I remember going over it with Marc but can't recall if it's an original. I'd have to check but I know it was handed down from Prof. Cerio to Gm. Villari. As a matter of fact, the takedown is one of Cerio's favorites and he included it in Circle of the Tiger. Circle of the Tiger, as we know, was inspired by KGS/SKK #1 kata (now called #1 pinan at Mr. Pesare's school) and Prof. Cerio replaced the ankle throw in it with the takedown from #11 when he reworked the form.
Jesse, I believe you mentioned the scissor kick as Tae Kwon Do. In the original #3 kata of George Pesare/Sonny Gascon it was actually a Kajukenbo switch kick which more than likely came from the Korean arts. In the #3 kata I learned from Mr. V's system, we would do a circular sweep then squat down feet together (ducking) facing 12 o'clock and jump up with the scissor kick (jump front ball w/ a back kick to an opponent behind you). There was way more juice on the front kick then the back kick though. Once while looking through a Tae Kwon Do book, I saw this exact technique (minus the opponet to the rear) as a defense against a Bo or long weapon. The attacker swings at the head, the defender drops down, the attacker then cross swings downward at the defender and the defender jumps over the bo and executes the jump from kick into the attacker. This is a little too 'theatrical' for me to teach as reality based self defense, lol, so I wouldn't but it's a good exercise in agility, timing and leg strength and looks nice in tournament competition.
I have also seen it reported widely on the forums that Fred Villari created all the combinations after 26. I have a problem with that one and here's why. Years ago, while studying under Prof. Cerio, I asked him. He told me as far as the numerical combinations went, he taught Fred V. around 35. Looking at these combinations myself I can believe this, I also recognize #39 very similar to one of Prof. Cerio's techniques in NCK (Spinning Sword) but using a knife hand instead of a backfist, etc., (concept was the same though.), so Mr. Cerio is in the ballpark on his recollection of this. Back in the 70's going into the next decade, at Mr. Villari's Black Belt workouts, he usually covered up to #39. I also noticed F.V. #40 is similiar to EPAK's Leaping Crane.
KenpoJoe Rebelo once asked Ed Parker if he knew Fred Villari. He stated he never met the man. Again, I take issue with this. Perhaps, it's just because it was so long ago and Mr. Villari was not a big name to remember back in the later 60's. Fred V. started with Nick Cerio in 1967. Mr. Cerio told me he used to take Villari with him to the Ed Parker workouts when Cerio was the east coast director of the IKKA. Nick also told this to Craig Seavey and that Prof. Larry Garron of Framingham, Massachusetts also attended and confirmed this. I'm sure Mr. Villari picked up things from these workouts.
Also, Gm. Villari did tell me back in the 70's, it was 1978, that he had the 108 combinations back then and some 50 plus forms, I think 54(?) at this time, however, he decided to 'streamline' the system, to prevent overkill of curriculum, to 50 combinations and 21 forms. The forms were 1-5 pinan, Statue of the Crane, 1-6 Kata, Honsuki (Hansuki), Shou Tung Kwok (original spelling), Nenglis North & South, Swift Tigers, Invincible Wall, Five Dragons Facing the Four Winds, one basic Bo form and one basic Japanese sword form. We also had the 8 point, 10 point and Plum Tree Blocking systems. Later, after I left, he went back to the expanded curriculum as many other also did. "Joe"
