1. KM Chronicles1

Kali Majapahit: The Martial Arts Revolution

Kali Majapahit (KM) is a unified concept of Southeast Asian Martial Arts and traditional healing systems, where the martial art is not just about fighting, but also about healing and personal development.

Even though Kali Majapahit has its roots in the fighting arts of the Philippines, it also has elements of Indonesian Pencak Silat, Muay Thai, Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, Hakka Chinese Kung Fu, Western Boxing... and Parkour!

KM students learn to develop self-‐confidence and self-‐discipline, learn about respect for others and themselves, reinforce their health and energy level, while at the same time, enhancing fitness level and learning the deadly Filipino art of Kali.

Kali Majapahit’s founder, Guro Fred Evrard, has more than 30 years of experience in Martial Arts and Boxing systems, and owns 14 Black Belts and Instructor certificates. With such a background, no wonder Kali Majapahit is so special. From weapons to empty hands, kickboxing to trapping range, all distances are covered: Largo (long), Medio (medium) and Corto (short).

It is a common misconception that Martial Arts training is only for men, when actually everyone, men and women, youth and adults, can enjoy the benefits of it. Our Kali Majapahit Schools have an average of 30-‐40% female practitioners.

Unlike many Martial Arts schools, Kali Majapahit combines the fighting art with the art of healing the body and the mind. The instructors themselves are dedicated full time professionals who truly live what they teach. Guro Fred has been practicing Martial Arts since the age of 6, and his wife, Katalungan Guro Lila, since the age of 5.

After years of studies and experiences in Filipino Hilot and Chinese medicine, several traditional massage schools (Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian), and western osteopathy, Guro Fred has developed his own healing system: a synergy of Nutrition, Filipino Hilot, Tui Na (Chinese acupressure massage), Thai massage, osteopathy, Breathing exercises and

Psychology.

The Health and personal development aspect should not make people think the practical and self-‐defense aspect of our art has been forgotten. On the contrary... Kali Majapahit CQC (Close Quarter Combat) program is now taught to several Law enforcement units all over the world, especially one of Singapore’s best: Police Security Command (VIP Protection Unit).

If you enjoyed this article, and want to learn more about Fred Evrard’s philosophy of Martial Arts, Health, and Personal Development, check out the e-‐book: THE WARRIOR-‐MONK

Kali Majapahit sub-‐systems:

• KADENA DE MANO (Empty-‐hands / Self-‐defense) is a very efficient sub-‐system for CQC (Close Quarter Combat), and teaches how to flow from one movement to another, using punches, palm strikes, elbows, knees, head-‐butts, takedowns, etc. Kadena de Mano was founded by Filipino Master Max Sarmiento; it means "chain of the hands".

• STICK-‐FIGHTING (Single and Double Sticks) is great way to improve coordination, and one of the core sub-‐systems of Filipino Martial Arts. Using 1 or 2 sticks, at different distances, Filipino stick arts come from traditional fencing. Our double sticks system (doble baston) is called Sinawali ; Our single stick system (solo baston) is called Dequerdas (for Beginners) and Serrada (for Advanced). They all come from Inayan Eskrima.

• DAGA (Knife). Learnt for knife defense as well as cultural and historical purposes, knife training develops precision and speed in one’s martial practice. "Blade work" is a specialty of Filipino Martial Arts.

• PANUNTUKAN (Kickboxing) and DUMOG (Wrestling / Grappling). Often called "Filipino boxing", "dirty boxing" or "street boxing", Panuntukan is also an amazing workout and provides a great boost to self-‐confidence. Dumog completes Panuntukan with throws, take-‐downs and grappling; they both have similarities with Muay Thai and MMA.

• TRANKADA (Joint Locks and Pressure Points) is a very deep and advanced sub-‐system, using locks and counter-‐locks to control an opponent or reverse a dangerous situation. It has similarities with ju-‐jitsu and Chin-‐na.

• LARGO MANO (Long Range Combat) derives from the long Filipino Kampilan sword and is the long range sub-‐system of FMA. Kali Majapahit uses the Inayan Largo Mano system.

• ESPADA Y DAGA (Sword + Knife) is an advanced concept in FMA and brings stick (or sword) and knife training together, pushing the practitioner to become ambidextrous.

• SIBAT / BANGKOW (Spear / Long Staff) teaches students to manipulate longer weapons than the ones they are used to. The bangkow staff is approximately 150cm long and its use has similarities with "Northern Shaolin" long staff.

• PENCAK SILAT is a fighting art from the Malay peninsula (Indonesia / Malaysia / Singapore). It is a very efficient martial art, using empty hands, weapons, sarong, etc. We also find Silat in Southern Philippines, especially in Mindanao.

• KUNTAO is a generic name for the Kung Fu styles of the Chinese Hakka people in Southeast Asia. The Hakka have migrated in mass, bringing their fighting arts to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, etc. Among famous Hakka styles are : Wing Chun, Pak Mei, Southern Praying Mantis, Phoenix Eye Fist... Hakka Kuntao has influenced Silat, Muay Thai, Filipino Kuntaw, JKD, etc.

• JEET KUNE DO. Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and its philosophy had a tremendous impact on Kali Majapahit. In the 60s Bruce Lee’s martial art evolved from what he called Jun Fan Kung Fu (his own interpretation of Wing Chun) to Jeet Kune Do (the Way of the Intercepting Fist). JKD has influences from Wing Chun of course, but also Filipino Kali, French Savate, Fencing, Western boxing, Southern Praying Mantis, Taiji Quan... Guro Fred had the honor to train in JKD with PG Jeff Espinous, Guro Bob Breen, and Sifu Richard Bustillo (one of Bruce Lees’s first student).

• HEALTH & WELLNESS. Our H&W program is composed of Dietetic and Nutrition, Posture Correction, Breathing, Psychology and Stress Management, Functional Conditioning, Meditation

Martial Arts History: Training with my Masters:

In a martial artist’s path, the most difficult part is to find a good instructor. Someone not only gifted technically, but with a great personality, pedagogy, sense of honor and humor as well. Personally, I believe I’ve always been blessed with great instructors, but 2 of them really changed my life. Punong Guro Jeff Espinous in 1994 and Mangisursuro Mike Inay in 1996.

Punong Guro Jeff Espinous was my very first FMA instructor. I will always remember the first time I saw him, and my first Kali class few hours later.

In the early 90’s, I was in the French Kung Fu National Team. I came back from Spain with the 1st place World Cup Trophy in my hands and an injured knee. It was time to switch from a “tournament martial art” to a more traditional martial art. After my military service in the French Paratroopers, I went back to Paris where I start looking for a Wing Chun school. One day, I saw a guy in a gym doing what I thought was Wing Chun: trapping hands, economy of motion, low kicks? Even though it didn’t look Chinese, what else could it be? I approached him, and we started to talk. I found out he was teaching Filipino Kali, and that his next class was in 3 hours, not far from here. His name was Jeff Espinous.

The same night, I tried his class. The variety of sub-‐systems (empty hands, weapons, kickboxing, ground-‐fight, etc.) was fascinating. I knew I was going to learn under him after 5 minutes of class. After 1 hour, I knew I was going to practice Kali for the rest of my life. I found a 2nd family that night and I fell in love with FMA.

After a while, I started traveling with Punong Guro Jeff, being his partner during international seminars, and one day, in San Jose California, he introduced me to one of his own Instructor and friend: Mangisursuro Mike Inay.

Meeting with Suro was something. Training under him was magic. He was charismatic, impressive, but also funny and had an open heart. I remember living with him and his 2 disciples Emmanuel (Hart) and Jon (Ward) in their house in San Jose. That was one of the best experiences of my life.

Suro had transformed his garage into a “FMA-‐traveler-‐guest room”, and "practice" was the main word in this house. Filipino weapons, sticks, books, photos were all around. Martial Arts Legends’ pictures like Angel Cabales or Max Sarmiento were "observing" me in my sleep! I was only 24 years old at the time? It was a like dream!

Practice was great, and Jon and Emmanuel were really there for me ; training me any free moment they had. When Suro came back from work, it was again more training, sometime 1 on 1 with me (what an honor). Even when we were resting at the end of the day, there was always some kind of training going on: Suro showing us his antique Krises, Emmanuel playing drums in the backyard and the rest of us being irresistibly attracted for a Karenza, or the simple game of “draw”, trying to draw our Spiderco knifes the fastest. Of course, I was always last.

Those days were gold. In 1998, I moved to Tahiti, with a 100 dollars and a 1-‐way plane ticket in my pocket. I didn’t know anything about the place, just that I really, really liked the beaches’ pictures. I opened my first Kali school there, in the small island of Moorea; the first Ni Tien Martial Arts school was born; Kali Majapahit was being created. That was the beginning of my personal path, with all the time in the world to digest what my beloved Instructors taught me, and nothing else to do but practice, think and share. After 2 years of training on my own and learning how to teach others, I decided to go to California in late 2000 to train with Suro Mike. This trip never took place. In September 2000, Mangisursuro passed away, doing what he loved most, teaching Inayan Eskrima.

As for Punong Guro Jeff Espinous, I still see him regularly if I go to Europe or when he comes visit us in Singapore. He is still my Master, my Mentor... my Friend

Black Belt: Expert or Master?

Nowadays, many martial arts instructors call themselves Grand Master, Great Grand Master, and even Supreme Great Grand Master (don’t laugh I’ve seen it). I can understand when those terms are used as a sign of respect by devoted students… But, I feel that, in the martial arts world, we have a tendency to over do it. Instructors are just instructors… teachers…Some better than others, some with more experience than others, but in my opinion, very very few are “Masters”. At best, some of us are “Maîtres d’armes” (master at arms). After our trip to India in 2011, it became even clearer, that a Master is someone who has mastered all desires, to fully enter the path of spirituality… the journey is long and complicated before deserving this title… Did you know that in many traditions, the Buddha, Jesus, Pythagoras, Socrates, Apollonius, are called Masters… We suddenly feel very small, with our little fists, or our little swords… So how should we call ourselves? It is an individual choice as for which tradition to follow. Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Indonesian… They all have their traditional names to refer to a martial arts instructor. I personally think that keeping our traditions alive is important; the world needs the respect and discipline that the Martial Arts can provide. In our modern societies, I am convinced that education would be much smoother if school students were to call their teachers “teacher”, “Sir, “Ma’am”, “Sensei”, “Guro”, instead of “dude”!! But we shouldn’t isolate ourselves from others by "over-‐using" martial arts titles. Inside our Kali Majapahit schools, instructors are called Guro (a custom that came not from us, but from our Filipino students), but outside the school, we are just Lila, Fred, Guillaume, Ben, Vincent, etc. After a "spiritual" trip to India, I seriously considered to stop teaching

martial arts at one point. Teaching people how to punch, kick, stab another human being… It felt so pointless, so futile, so empty. Then, I’ve realized that martial arts were just a tool; A way of teaching more universal truth, about Human behaviors, about health, about psychology, and even spirituality. Martial Arts instructors are not special. We are not special. But we are trying to DO something special. And that makes all the difference in the world. Peace. PS: I am talking about the martial arts world. Some other institutions use the world "master" to honor not a person, but a function... In this case, it is very different. If you enjoyed this article, and want to learn more about Kali Majapahit Instructor training program, check out our ONLINE INSTRUCTOR TRAINING ACADEMY:

<www.kali-‐majapahit.com/ITA>

Personal Growth: The art of loosing: your best investment!

In the Martial Arts world, many people unfortunately confuse the art of combat with the art of training for combat. Training should be a progression, a method. Therefore, the spirit behind cannot be the same as the one behind fighting. And here is the mistake, the common misconception: People train with “fighting spirit”, even anger, when they should train with “fighting attitude” and what Bruce Lee use to call “emotional content”. Strangely enough, one of the best ways to improve your skills in martial arts is to invest into loosing. Let’s say you are practicing Chi Sao, and you really don’t want to be touch, you don’t want to “loose”. You will tense up, forgetting the very essence of the exercise, and will have a tendency to only use the skills you’ve already mastered not to take any risk. At the end, you wouldn’t improve your fluidity, and you wouldn’t learn anything new. On the contrary, he, who relaxes, and really does not care about being touched, knowing that relaxation and feeling are more important things to learn at this stage of his practice, will not only develop better sensitivity and intuition in the art of combat, but will also be willing to try “new stuff”, to take risk, knowing he is in a secure and friendly environment. Not being stressed by the will to win, he would also have the time to observe the techniques used by his partner, consequently learning new moves. After few years of the exact same training, the student who invested into loosing, accepting being touched during drills, sparring games, etc., will develop much better skills in martial arts and in life as well, having learnt the art of fluidity, (Tuloy tuloy). The other guy will eventually get frustrated and his intuition will always be overcome by stress, tension, competition and anger. The “looser” becomes the “winner”, and the “winner”, the “looser”.

Personal Growth: Who do we fight?

The chances for a martial artist, who train more than 10 years to get into a fight, are very small. Less than 5%... So why do we train so hard for so long, if the odds to use our martial knowledge is so small? Who do we really fight?

The inner fight:

Our subconscious, also called our inner child, can either be a powerful ally, a source of intuition and innate wisdom, or a source of illusions, only allowing us to see the world through the filter of our memory and past experiences.

All our memories and traumas are recorded in our conscious and subconscious and if they gradually fade away from the first one, they leave indelible traces in the second. Thus, even if resolved intellectually (superficially), a problem will surface periodically (pain, illness, situations, etc) for as long as it is not treated in depth. The younger the person was when a particular trauma took place the more it is anchored into his/her subconscious. Being the most fearful part of us, linked to the survival and to the instinct of self-‐preservation, our subconscious prefers to not evolve rather to make us take the smallest risk.

This is why Buddhism describes the world as illusory. It doesn’t mean that the world does not exist, but that our perception of the world is an illusion. We do not see things as they really are, but in relationship to the memories they evoke and awaken in us.

In one word, our vision of the future is guided by our past experiences and disconnects us from the present moment.

In the martial arts, when facing an opponent, we have to cope not only with the present danger, but also and especially, with what this situation evokes in our subconscious. Our subconscious becomes then a more dangerous enemy than the opponent himself, and our vision of the reality is erased for the illusion of our past emotional traumas.

It is for those reasons that all ancient and modern texts on the Martial Arts’ philosophy talk about the fight against ourselves and the notion of Mushin (no-‐thought) ; in order to defeat our fears and free ourselves from the influence of the subconscious on the intellect. When our intellect is shut down and our mental is at peace, the connections between our past and our present vision loose power and only then, the Human Being can obtain what he illusory thought he had before: Free Will.

Modern over-‐protection… Should human be forbid from moving?

We all know that our modern society pushes us to live in fear. And we’ve seen the results of over-‐protected communities: Lazy, unhealthy, scared, non-‐adventurist, bored, depressed, and sometime racist citizens! What does it mean “No Parkour”? Does it mean no running? No jumping? No movement? Can we imagine for one second, in the animal kingdom, a monkey politician who would one day claim: “OK guys, no more climbing trees… Too dangerous. From now on, we will play on the ground, even if we get eaten by predators, or get overweight, or get new diseases… Doesn’t matter, but at least, we won’t fall from trees anymore!” Of course not! Only humans are that stupid. No politician dares talking about banning cigarettes, alcohol, Mac Donald’s, or KFC. No… But moving, jumping, climbing… MOVEMENT. That, OMG yes: Dangerous, dangerous, and dangerous! We don’t want to fight obesity, cancer, heart diseases… Noooo, we want to fight nature: Kids, stop running on the stairs, you’re gonna fall. Don’t climb the tree, you’re gonna get hurt, Don’t fight in school, you’re gonna get punched. But eat like a pig, that’s OK; sleep in front of the damn TV, no problem; play video games instead of getting fresh air; eat chemical, processed food because organic is too expensive, drink sodas because water has no taste... L’Art Du Deplacement, or Parkour, is not a new sport. It’s not a new activity. It’s a REVOLUTION. It’s a handful of healthy, smart people telling the rest of us, that being overweight, sitting in front of a computer all day, loosing your hair, wearing glasses… All of those are NOT NATURAL… And they are DANGEROUS. Move. Because movement is a therapy!

And if you fall, get back up and keep trying. Is it possible that one day, one guy will die prematurely doing Parkour? Yes, it is. But without movement, we will all die prematurely anyway, so… This is just a wild guess, but… isn’t it better to loose one (even though tragic), that to loose the entire human race. And believe me, this is where we’re going. We are planning, with the support of big corporates and governments, our OWN EXTINCTION, and probably the one of the entire planet. People need to wake up and start doing things we were designed to do, eat food we were designed to eat… As for me, Ecology is my future; Martial Arts is my way; A healthy diet is my fuel; Movement is my nature. Live by your fears or live by your dreams… Your choice.

Health & Nutrition: The tips everyone need

The myth that athletes can’t thrive on a vegan diet should have died long ago. But like many other untruths about veganism, it seems to live on.

What about "super athletes" like Carl Lewis, Brendan Brazier, Noel Polando, Tim Van Orden, Kenneth G. Williams? All amazing, muscular, energetic vegan athletes, with extraordinary performances in their field... What about Tony Robbins and his incredible energy, what about public figures like Mike Tyson, Brad Pitt or Hugh Jackman turning vegan...

Years ago, I did an experimentation and switched from a "part-‐time vegetarian" to a full time strict vegan diet for 3 years. Searching for as many information I could on the vegan life-‐style and athletic performances, I end up on 3 websites that introduced me to the RAW VEGAN life-‐style, and more specifically to 3 "partially raw" and "fully-‐raw" vegan athletes: Brendan Brazier, Tim Van Orden and Noel Polanco.

This, plus many hours of researches convinced me that eating an Organic-‐Raw-‐Vegan diet was an amazing way to nourish the body. Our cousins, Chimps and Gorillas eat a plant-‐based diet of raw vegetable and fruits, with very little or no animal proteins (even though some chimpanzee hunt on rare occasions)... They are strong, agile, muscular, very little body fat, and they’re rarely sick...

I’ve decided to give it a try, and there… surprise!! My body fat went way down and my energy level went up to the roof. I have never felt better.

Here is an article based on a fantastic "Raw food" book I just bought, called "The Art of Raw Living Food", by Doreen Virtue and Jenny Ross:

"Around the world, a revolution is quietly occurring as more and more people switch to "raw food" diets. Raw foodists, with their youthful complexion, vibrant health, radiant skin, silky hair, and clear eyes, are inspiring others to add "living foods" into their meal plans. This way of eating is delicious, easy, and fun... and it’s the ultimate contribution to going green for the world’s environment and the best way to stay healthy.

Far from just boring salads, "living cuisine", consists of incredible dishes all cleverly created from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains. Restaurants devoted to raw food are popping up internationally, and celebrities touting its fountain of youth benefits.

The philosophy behind raw food is both nutritional and spiritual. Fresh products contain living and healthful enzymes, which are killed when it is cooked above 50 degrees. I know that the enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and pure energy within raw food can heal and detoxify the body. Many formerly ill people credit their raw diets with saving their life.

The highly processed, cooked food of the standard western diet, contribute to lethargy, obesity, and diseases. Just by adding a small percentage of raw food to their diet, people loose weight, heal, and feel better.

Raw food also answers the call to “Go Green”, since it supports sustainable organic farming; and as a vegetarian diet, it’s a cruelty-‐free lifestyle. Those who "go raw" find that their intuitive and psychic abilities immediately increase because of the Qi (life force) of those foods.”

In 2004, Medical News Today reported raw food as one of the 7 most popular diets in the world. "google.com" has 1.7 millions sites devoted to this style of eating.

This type of food promotes health and life. Raw living food has been known to:

Increase stamina and internal energy

Improve mental focus and clarity

Lower cholesterol

Reverse certain "life-‐threatening" diseases and conditions

Promote healthy skin and hair growth

Improve vision

Create a youthful, glowing complexion

Revitalize overworked organs

Prevent osteoporosis

Maintain longevity

Stabilize moods and emotions

Increase spiritual awareness

The more fresh, organic, raw-‐living foods we consume daily, the healthier our minds and bodies will be.

But I have to admit, it is hard to stay on a 100% Raw Vegan diet, not only for our social life, but also as athletes and martial artists, some of us may loose a bit too much weight. Like Anthony Robbins says: “Discipline only last for so long”. Today, after years and years of research in the field of sports nutrition (from hard core raw vegan diet to Paleo diet, via Acid/Alkaline balance), I came out with “my” ultimate nutrition, getting the best of each system.

From Paleo diet and Tim Ferriss “4-‐hour-‐body” diet, I took the following:

-‐ No processed food (except food supplement VEGA 1) -‐ No sugar -‐ Very little complex carbohydrates with almost no grains or cereals -‐ Definitely no wheat and gluten -‐ 1 “cheating day” per week where (almost) anything goes -‐ I now include a little fish into my diet

From vegetarian and vegan diets, I took:

-‐ No meat -‐ No processed food -‐ No dairy -‐ 80% plant-‐based diet -‐ Mostly Organic (100% if I can)

From the Raw Vegan movement, I took:

-‐ 60 to 80% Raw Vegan “alive” food -‐ Most of it using a “Vitamix” blender

From common sense:

-‐ No coffee -‐ No alcohol -‐ No sweet drinks or sodas -‐ No cigarettes or drugs

So, to summarize it all:

I eat (and teach my students to eat) a 70% organic plant-‐based diet, of which 60% is raw and blended. I include fish about 2 times a week, I ONLY drink water, green tea and my blended green smoothies, I never do fried food or meat, and I stay away from cereals and sugar. I have 1 “free” or “cheating” day per week, when I do my “Carb-‐Reload”, and usually go for pasta or pizza (vegetarian of course). When I cook, I use only Olive or Coconut oils.

When did self-‐destruction become cool?

What happened to us (Human Beings)? When did self-‐destruction become "cool"? Why are smoking, drinking alcohol, lack of sleep, etc. so normal that what is weird is not "doing it", but "not doing it"?

Yesterday night, Lila and I went to a MMA championship to support one of our friends from the Filipino Team Lakay, in his fight against a professional Thai fighter. Kevin won by technical knock out on the ground after only 2:30mn.

But the MMA fights were not the only things happening that night. Lots of other fights were going on, and I could see around 80% of the 3000 people’s crowd fighting against their own bodies.

I was shocked by the huge amount of ladies (I should say girls, because when you drink that much, you loose the title of lady!), drinking giant plastic glasses of beer like if it was water. And it was SO natural. SO normal!

It’s like beer is the new water. We already knew men were stupid enough to drink it bottle after bottle but women? Why? Do we really feel cooler with something in our hand? Is it the only way to temporary break the heavy barriers of our emotional traumas and lack of self-‐confidence so we have to hide behind a glass of beer or a cigarette?

It’s not because it tastes good! It does not. It is only a conditioning (from family, friends-‐, films, society...) that makes us think it tastes good. But try to give a glass of beer or a cigarette to someone non-‐conditioned like a young kid or a wild man in an African jungle, and you’ll see how good it taste for a real Human Being!

I was in Asia first in 1991, and even in big cities, you could rarely see a woman smoking or being drunk. Today, 2010, I live in Singapore and it seems that almost everybody smokes. Everywhere I look, people are drinking beer, coke, or try to feel Frenchy with a glass of wine. Go downstairs the building of any company, and at any time of the day, you’ll

see 5 to 10 guys (and girls) taking their "Cancer break". A break; Yes, they’re going to get one. A break from living.

I keep asking myself the same question and I don’t find any answer. When did drinking become cool? When did smoking become cool? When did getting up in the morning with a headache, bad breathe, and 20mn late for work become cool?

I don’t know. But what I do know is this: I am really looking forward to the day we, Humans, will finally take a step up, and when drinking water, being vegetarian, breathing fresh air, not messing up our Ozone, will be COOL.

I am looking forward to the day when instead of fighting each others in the name of a Messiah or a Prophet, we will start to apply what those great Instructors taught us thousands of years ago, and that we never truly understood.

If we are not capable of taking care of the temple of our body, to love and respect each other, to live in harmony with our environment, WHY do we go to church, temple, mosque, etc. Why do we pray or do Ramadan once a year? To buy ourselves a good conscience? Well, believe it or not, you do not bargain with God. You live clean or you don’t. But no Sunday is going to buy you a chair upstairs!

Some people think Martial Arts / Boxing / MMA fights are violent, hard for the body, inhuman... Well think twice. Yesterday night in the ring, those 2 warriors looked much more Human to me than this group of 10 people (5 girls, 5 guys) in front of us, eating those strange-‐smell-‐dead-‐meat-‐burgers and drinking liters of beers!

What do we do with our time?

Your life span is approximately 75 years. That’s 900 months. 3,900 weeks. 27, 375 days. 657,000 hours.

That’s what you have to work with...now lets break it down even further :

From age 0 to 10, you don’t really do anything besides, sleep, eat, play. That’s 87,600 hours gone.

So there’s 569,400 hours left in your life.

Now let’s assume between all the naps you took during math classes in school, 12 hour sleep binges after parties and adult responsibility of work most of us will sleep 8 hours a day everyday for the next 65 years.

So from age 10 to 75 we’ll all sleep an average of 8 hours a day.

That’s 189, 800 hours gone.


And lets say that from age 10 to 22, you were in school roughly from 8am to 3pm during the weekdays, that’s 7 hours for school and high school and roughly the same for College. But that’s only from September through May, so that’s 8 months out of the year (if we compress all the Holidays in summer).

That’s 15,456 hours gone.


And lets say from age 22 to 65 you’re working a standard 8 hour a day job, which you probably don’t like, during 5 week days for 43 years.



But, lets say that you get 3 weeks a year off for vacation and sick days.

That’s 15 workdays of 8 hours off for the next 43 years. That’s plus 5,160 to your life. So add that back on for a new total of 279,520 hours.


That’s a remainder of 279,520 hours of free time from age 10 to 75 that you can use for free time.

But let’s get real, from age 65 to 75 we will spend most our time watching TV or focusing on health problems (being sick or almost) because of all those years we didn’t take good care of our health, diet, etc.

So those 8 hours that were once spent working during the 22-‐65 years are now being used trying to catch up with Health.



Now lets factor in the unmentionables, eating 3 times a day will equal about 2 hours, so from eating alone let’s say that number from ages 10 to 75 will be 47,450 hours of eating.



And let’s consider the combined hours from all the bathroom breaks taken per day equals 1/2 hour, for 65 years.



And lets consider grooming. Avoiding the male/female clichés of how much time we spend getting ready to present ourselves to society. Let’s say, on average, between showering, drying, spraying, shaving, brushing, combing, deciding which clothes to wear, putting them on, and crossing the threshold to the outside world, that it’s 1 hour a day from age 10 to 75, so that total is 23,725 hours.



That’s about 7 hours a day from age 10 to 75 you can do whatever you want with.

Most people will NOT DO ANYTHING else than watching TV, playing video games, arguing with husband/wife/kids, feeling sorry for oneself and complaining about life, money, the weather, the neighbors, etc., during 4 of

those 7 hours.

2 more of those 7 hours will be spent half-‐sleepy, dreaming about the future or the past.

MOST OF US will have, for the rest of our lives, an average of 1 hour a day being free, happy, doing things we really like, being useful to others, following our personal path and contributing to the growth of Humanity.

Want a little piece of advise?

Look at yourself in the mirror and GET YOUR LIFE BACK NOW!

Those 7 hours are yours. Use them wisely. Try to make them 8, 9, 10 hours a day for yourself and the things you really love to do (hopefully, it will include the people you love.

Posture and Health: Say goodbye to back pain!

The posture of a person tells us a great deal about his state of health, his psychological state, as well as about the traumas of his childhood.

It is not my purpose to provide here a class of body mechanics or osteopathy, but only to give some advice, which seems to me fundamental to integrate in one’s daily life, as well as in the practice of the martial arts.

The 10 toes must touch the ground (this is not always the case with Westerners, due to shoes, worn from the first months of life). It is easy to correct them, by walking bare feet as frequently as possible and distributing the weight of the body (its mass) between the 10 toes, the bowl of the foot and the heel. A bad bone position of the feet inexorably entails abnormal ligament tractions, provoking compensations, modification of the balance, joints and muscular weaknesses, torsions and pinches to the spine and inter-‐vertebral discs, compression of the nerve endings, etc.

It is necessary to visualize out two feet as being two triangles whose bases would be the toes and the summits the two heels. The three points of each triangle (the big toe, the little toe and the heel) must be touching the ground to be in balance. If one of the three is not, the balance is broken.

The knees and the toes must go in the same direction. It is necessary to avoid locking them, and to have flexible thighs not to drag the kneecap and the patellae tendon upwards. It is good, while standing, to bend the legs just a little in order not to put too much pressure on the knees.

The pelvis slightly tilted forward and upward to avoid an excessive camber.

The spine has to be straight, respecting its natural curves without exaggerating them.

Pull the top of the skull upwards and bring the chin slightly in, in order to reduce the cervical hollow and thus align the head with the body.

I insist on the word “posture” because the posture is for me the opposite of a “position”.

I often see martial arts practitioners trying to correct their stances, their fighting positions. That doesn’t make any sense because position does not exist in combat. Combat is nothing but pure movement, continuous, uninterrupted, and fluid. For a position to exist, it is necessary for one to stop, which is impossible in a fight. To focus on posture is of course necessary at the beginning, but one has to rapidly move to movement and intuition exercises to be effective in combat.

Also, one has less risk of injury while doing martial arts if not training with complicated stances or positions where joints can get hurt. To correct his own posture allows the practitioner to fix all the little mysterious pains of every day life.

Martial arts and sport instructors in general, must be very vigilant on the correct posture of each student, as well as on stretching exercises which can be really dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. A lot of body-‐mechanic mistakes were slipped into the stretches of classical martial arts schools, such as a bad knee position when doing lateral split, bad pelvis position when doing a full front split, or even rounded back for any kind of stretch.

I was lucky to be able to correct my routines because of appropriate meetings with physiotherapists and osteopaths, and I encourage any martial arts instructor to go to such persons in order to protect his health and his students’.

Nutrition Tips: Do we drink enough Water?

H²0: 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen atoms. This element, better known as water, is the most essential, next to air, to our survival.

Water makes up more than two thirds of the weight of the human body, and without it, humans would die in a few days. The human brain is made up of 95% water; blood has 82% and lungs 90%. A mere 2% drop in our body’s water supply can trigger signs of dehydration: fuzzy short-‐term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on smaller print, such as a computer screen. (Are you having trouble reading this? Drink up!) Mild dehydration is also one of the most common causes of daytime fatigue. An estimated seventy-‐five percent of Americans have mild, chronic dehydration. Pretty scary statistic for a developed country, where water is readily available through the tap or bottle.

Water is important to the mechanics of the human body. The body cannot work without it, just as a car cannot run without gas and oil. In fact, all the cell and organ functions made up in our entire anatomy and physiology depend on water for their functioning.

Water serves as a lubricant

Water forms the base for saliva

Water forms the fluids that surround the joints.

Water regulates the body temperature, as the cooling and heating is distributed through perspiration.

Water helps to alleviate constipation by moving food through the intestinal tract and thereby eliminating waste

Water is the best “detox” agent.

Regulates metabolism

In addition to the daily maintenance of our bodies, water also plays a key role in the prevention of disease. Drinking at least 2 litters of water daily

can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%, bladder cancer by 50% and it can potentially even reduce the risk of breast cancer. And those are just a few examples! As you follow other links on our website, you can read more in depth about how water can aid in the prevention and cure of many types of diseases, ailments and disorders that affect the many systems of our bodies. For those of us living in hot and humid countries, as well as for active people, 2.5 to 3 litters of water per day should become a habit.

Health Tips: Breathing and Energy

If the modern man still knew how to breathe properly, he would get everything he needs to fight against the stresses of everyday life, junk food that leads him to dig his own grave with his mouth, weariness, pollution, coldness, depression, his mother-‐in-‐law, his boss, taxations, etc. In brief, there is always a good pretext to not come to grips with his health and enjoy life at full eagerness! Thus we are often under “hypo-‐oxygenation”. In addition to that, if we live in a place surrounded by buildings, our brain has to work overtime to function with the tiny amount of oxygen it has at its disposal. While he’s smoking, the smoker absorbs in one drag the tobacco smoke, the paper, the nicotine, the tar (the same as the one we use for making highways), and many other unpronounceable drugs and harmful chemicals. Tobacco companies are producing those chemicals to make customers manageable and dependent. As I previously said, F absorbs a high amount of oxygen while he smokes, thus the brain realizes that the only moment it can receive a normal dose of oxygen is when F is smoking! Consequently the brain makes an unconscious association between smoking and well-‐being from breathing, and that’s how the smoker becomes addicted to both nicotine… and oxygen. It’s possible to stop this confusion by relearning how to breathe properly. The deeper and the longer the breathing will last, the better it will be. The blood will be recharged with oxygen, the body will relax, the mind will become focused, the nervous system is calmed down and the emotions are stable. The way we breathe is crucial, because it determines our level of consciousness and energy (the Chinese word for breathing and vital energy is the same: CHI). Most traditions agree with regard to breathing. It must starts from the belly area, not from the chest, and is done in six phases:

Breathing in by the nose, one first pushes the guts forward out, to make room for the lower part of the lungs to fill up with air, which loosens the diaphragm and allows breathing with full lung capacity. Breathing out, one starts by emptying the belly area, after which the diaphragm compresses the lungs, removing most of the CO2. The vital energy thus penetrates into our organism and is transported along the meridians to be stored in the Tan Dian (3 fingers under the navel). At a higher level, the practitioner will breathe “with the back”. This is a more complicated concept and should be explained in class by an advanced instructor. Breathing properly is one of the two most important things we can do for our health, along with eating real food instead of processed and chemical food!

Health Tips for Women: Giving birth without pain

To all pregnant women in the world:

The lying position for baby delivery is the most unnatural, painful and uncomfortable position for a human female to deliver her baby. The organs are compressed, the earth gravity doesn’t help, and the muscle contraction used (instead of gravity) by the future mother, not only hurts and tires her, but is responsible for lots of the post delivery problems (low back pain, vagina tear, abdominal contraction, internal bleeding, etc.).

The delivery lying position actually does not exist in ancient traditions, and is not natural for humans; it all started with King Louis XIV in France in the 17th century. It is said that the King wanted his wife to deliver in a more appropriate and descent position for a queen so he had her lying down with a cover on her legs...

Whatever the truth, the lying down position to deliver a baby was unknown before Louis XIV. The French culture (fashion) being predominant at the time, this (bad) habit became practiced in entire Europe. Modern medicine and the Catholic missionary priests finished the work (tragedy) by bringing it to the rest of the world.

3 to 4 generations ago, in India, women were giving birth seated (bend knees) or standing, gently hanging to a tree branch or a rope (feet on the floor). Same in China, Africa, America, etc. In coastal countries and islands (California, Tahiti, Hawaii, etc.), women used to deliver in the ocean or in lagoons, bended knees with the lower body in the water. This technique is still applied sometimes in Tahiti, and more and more in modern societies (Belgium, France, Russia, USA). Researches show (by controlling the heart beats) that this is 80 to 99% less painful than giving birth lying down.

After 30 years of researches (started in Russia), it also shows that babies born in water, without the mother suffering, will develop less sickness in their youth, and will be stronger physically, and have better results in their studies. They will also, as babies, sleep much better at night, be calmer, and learn faster. This has to do with the energy field of the baby being on

the same level of vibration than the water, but also with the skull of the baby not being squeezed by the mother s contraction. It is a well known scientific fact today, than the osteopathic traumas of a “classical (lying down) delivery” are the roots of many problems and diseases for many people; To the point that it is now consider normal to have a 3 weeks old baby having an osteopathy cranium session to counter the negative effect of the mother contractions. Of course, being born in the water, resolves all those problems at once.

With a bit of knowledge, a bit of good sense, a bit of tradition, and of course a good dietetic and posture correction, pregnancy and birth do not have to be a nightmare for the mother nor for the baby.

Save the environment

Take a moment to think: In the past second, one and a half acres of rain-‐forest were cut down, destroying the homes of many species of wildlife. In the past minute, the energy used in the UK was equal to 313 million tons of oil, which we can never get back. In the past hour, 160 children died from lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

It is no secret the planet is in trouble. In just 50 years, mankind has modified the planet’s environment faster than in the whole history of humanity!

We live a decisive moment -‐ right now! Just like any change in our lives, it takes action.

The media has done its fair share emphasizing the problem. Yet, there is a bright side. Our greatest strength as human beings is the ability to think and to take action. We can try to put a stop to these global dilemmas.

It is our responsibility to make it possible “to meet present needs without compromising the needs of future generations”. We are personally responsible for the future of our Earth, and each of us has a role to play. Again, we all have the duty to take action.

It doesn’t take more than common sense to understand that using natural resources to a point that it exceeds sustainability is not propaganda. I agree with some that it is not about saving the planet; it is about saving ourselves! Without us, the planet would be perfectly fine. We abused our resources (energy, wildlife, minerals...) and now we need to find alternatives before it runs out.

Every day, people everywhere are doing their bit, from recycling newspapers at home, to developing energy technologies in a lab. We are finally entering an era where engineering and technology are making the world a better place. Take the time to think, for just a moment. Now stop, and act towards the future.

Take a look at this documentary called "HOME". Beautiful footage and an

amazing message that we all have to follow. A wake up call.

Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

And remember: THE WORLD WILL CHANGE ONLY WHEN PEOPLE CHANGE!

Documents

1. KM Chronicles1