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South African Martial Arts -A Personal Journey:
By Richard Garcia Recently I visited South Africa on a journey to learn and teach martial arts. My trip was two fold. I was scheduled as one of the top JKD concepts instructors to teach to members of the South African Fanchento Kung Fu group, and to learn as much about the rich martial arts of South Africa as I could while there. My trip turned out to be an experience that I will never forget and was filled with many fond memories. I made friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life and came away a better man for having visited this wonderful country.
The Martial Arts of South Africa:
The martial arts of South Africa vary by region but they share a common linkage that is evident in many of the styles. One would have to see this in person to get a full perspective as the Zulu and Xhosa influence is imbedded into the skeletal structure of each native art. I have over the years heard many claims as to what is Zulu and what is not. Now having spent time among many Zulu I would like to shed some real light on the subject. I counted the number of four main styles of martial arts native to South Africa. These are what you might think of as traditional martial arts. These arts include:
Before I go on and give a description of these arts, I’d like to first comment on the mindset of the South African warrior. First and foremost there is no kicking in South African martial arts. I got this from several of my South African friends, one of which is Bandile Dlabantu. Bandile is one of the nation’s top Xhosa stick fighters had this to say: “It is considered against the warrior code of South Africa to hit someone with your foot, kicking is not a South African thing”.
Needless to say, many a South African young person studies karate, and kickboxing but these are foreign concepts and imported martial art forms. They are not native to South Africa . Some practitioners have added kicking to their martial art in an attempt to capture the Zulu spirit. I have heard of some studying Zulu dance which has high kicking as part of it.
I studied Zulu dance at a warrior gathering in Maglisburg in a camp just a few short miles from what is known as “the cradle of mankind” or the very location where the oldest human remains were found. I learned the Zulu dance and danced around a huge blazing fire. It was exhilarating to say the least but after the ceremony I asked the young Zulu men if the kicks were a part of a martial art. It certainly seemed so, giving the fact that we have the arts of Capoeira and Ladja in the Caribbean and South America. But each Zulu I asked made it clear that kicking is not South African.
Another thing about South African martial culture is the fact that wrestling is not really a South African thing. This seemed really amazing given the plethora of wrestling styles in Africa in general. You have Libande in the Kongo, you have Laamb in Senegal. Yourban or Nuba wrestling as well as other forms are also prevalent in Africa. But the South Africans are not wrestling kind of guys by nature.
I also asked why and was given this answer by my host and stick fighting teacher Bandile “We are a warrior people who were adept with the asagai (short spear) and induku (stick). All of our movements are based on military weaponry so in the battle field wrestling could be dangerous. Bandile explained that a Zulu warrior would crash with his shield, and than stab with his asagai. Wrestling an opponent on the ground would mean he would be speared rapidly. So it is not in a Zulu or Xhosa fighters’ interest to ever get too close to his enemy. He also explained that South Africa maintained its traditional military structure until the late 19th century when firearms were prevalent, with rifles fired from the British you could never get close enough to wrestle anyway.
Now that we have considered the way the South African thinks in terms of fighting I will describe each art briefly:
Zulu stick fighting:
I have heard some African American teachers claiming much Zulu ancestry and techniques, and with all due respect I have to scoff at just how little these guys truly understand about real Zulus. To understand Zulu stick fighting you need to first look at the weapons themselves. The Zulu use a stick that has weight at the tip of the stick unlike a stick from the Philippines which is even in terms of weight and balance. The way to wield such a stick requires use of the whole body to strike and avoid strikes.
After practicing the Zulu stick I find it very difficult to practice with anything other than an authentic Zulu stick. The weight factor is just too strong. Another fact that needs to be addressed is the Zulu use a blocking stick about the size of a short bo or jo staff and a small shield attached to it. The blocking stick is used to only block an incoming strike and under the warrior code is never to be used for striking.
Today many young Zulu and Xhosa stick fighters leave out the traditional shield in favor of just using a boxing glove to protect the blocking stick hand. The Xhosa boys use a regular bath towel to wrap around there hand for protection. The striking is not used like a blade such as Kali which is based on the bolo or machete. The Zulu striking is brutal with a heavy whipping motion that is aimed anywhere on the body from the legs to head although the head is the favorite spot. The strike makes a stomach turning crack as it connects with bone leaving its victim unconscious or bleeding heavily. The Zulu is a man of honor and once the opponent is hurt he leaves him be, and is considered the winner.
Contrary to what I have seen here in the
United States there is also no disarming techniques in the Zulu
tradition as it is again against warrior code. If a fighter drops
his stick his opponent must allow him to pick it so they can
continue fairly. Musangwe (Venda) boxing:
I picked up this art form almost accidentally since I had no knowledge of it until I met my house guest in Johannesburg who was an elder from Venda. He blessed me with incredible knowledge of the Venda boxing art form and helped shed some light on a martial art rare even among the South Africans.
Venda hosts a boxing event once a year called Musangwe. This event is a bare knuckle deal that the cattle herders and local tough guys of Venda take part in. It is similar to the Hausa boxing of Nigeria in its brutal fistic fury. It is also different in many ways.
I was taught cobra style which was perfect for my rather medium size compared to the bigger boxers. The cobra style uses a wave like motion that was very unique and made many boxers miss when they come in with their freight train barrage of punches. The Venda boxers keeps his hands away from his body almost like you see in those old boxing photos. This allows faster access to the straight line hitting but also makes for an interesting type of fork blocking commonly used, in which the upper body twist using the arms to fork or catch the straight line hit.
I spent an interesting day in an old hut in Joburg practicing the Venda and trying my best not to get KO’d. I was impressed by the power of the Musangwe boxing and vowed to practice much once I got back home to the U.S.
Piper Knife Fighting and Form Style of Cape Town South Africa
After I spent some time in Johannesburg I took a plane down to Cape Town to visit some interesting guys, Nigel February and Jason Williams, with whom I had been corresponding for about a year. From what I was told these dudes from Cape Town were said to be some nasty fighters.
Once I got off the plane in Cape Town, I met a gentleman who wore a Bruce Lee shirt; he wore the shirt as a gesture since he knew I was a JKD teacher. He introduced himself as Jason and I knew we’d get along. While we drove to his house to begin Piper knife fighting and Form style we exchanged thoughts on the martial arts. Jason was eager to share with me and seemed very easy going.
He spoke to me about Form style, a fist fighting style that is short for reformatory style. It was developed in the juvenile centers near Cape Town much like Jailhouse Rock in the U.S. and was used as a way for the kids to pass the time. We connected since I am also a practitioner of Jailhouse Rock which shares a similar heritage. Jason also spoke about Piper which was created by Nigel February who codified different knife tactics being practiced on the street and in the harsh prisons such as Polls Moore. Polls Moore once held Nelson Mandela. Later that night in his driveway, in the dark, Jason began to teach the basics of both Piper and Form and I had a blast having his okapi (A native South African blade) thrust just inches from my body.
I later met Nigel and spent a week at his house practicing Piper, learning more about the gangsters of the cape flats and how they like to fight. What is interesting is that Nigel was able to show that Piper and Form share ancestry of the Zulu and Xhosa and that the core movements are linked. This was very helpful when studying these arts because I felt all the South African arts were a part of a common view of warrior ship. In fact the Form style is practiced like a Zulu wielding his stick and was breathtaking to see.
I, as a Jeet Kune Do practitioner, instantly saw how this unique method of blocking and hitting would be perfect when combined with MMA and left feeling excited by the possibilities. I also sparred with a few of their guys in stick fighting, Form style, and Piper and got to share some good old fashion American fighting tactics.. The experience was amazing and I left with a bunch of new brothers.
South Africa is a beautiful place, a place with a rich and powerful warrior heritage. I ask teachers of the African marital arts to actually visit South Africa and pick up some of these arts. They are among some of the world’s best and I feel proud with being one of the few Americans who not only learned them but spent time in Africa, in a give and take role. As more and more of us visit the Motherland, South African martial arts will get the coverage that they deserve.
Richard Garcia
Richard Garcia is a New York City based martial artist with over fifteen years teaching and competing in the martial arts. Mr. Garcia holds a 4th degree Black Belt in American Karate under Jun Po Dennis Kelly, a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do under Ul Sool Kim, and is ranked as a full instructor under Paul Vunak in JKD concepts and the Filipino martial arts. He runs Ultimate Karate USA a major dojo in East Harlem that has a cage which allows him to train Mixed Martial Artists in a realistic environment. Mr. Garcia fields an MMA fight team where African martial arts are integrated into MMA training. He has traveled to South Africa on a journey to study the South African martial arts and has been given the authority to teach these arts.
Sensei_rgarcia@msn.com (212) 426-4666 www.ultimatekarateusa.com
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