WHAT IS QUAN LI K'AN

Okay- you asked. Well first off I cannot possibly give you everything about a style in a few short pages so this is ONLY a brief synopsis.

I am not going to even try to make this a complete explanation and in fact this is only a short history of how QLK was created and some of its OVERALL philosophies.

ALSO please note this is MY version so it may not be the way that the other members of the board of governors necessarily agree on.

SO What QLK is:

• A style of martial arts that is based both on OLD information and Modern Western Science (that includes medicine, Physics, kinetics and physiology). Expect that you will have to learn anatomy and physiology principles of physics (we will teach you).
• A Style where EVERYTHING we do relates to real combat whether it be the street or actual military.
• A style that would rather control than kill but a style that understands WE will make that decision not the attacker!
• An ADULT style that is willing to look at the real (i.e. no tough guy) meaning of katas and techniques so as to use their secrets to unlock techniques that work in real live even when you opponent is bigger, tougher, stronger and faster ... and maybe high on drugs.
• A style that works when you get older ... even very old.
• A style that actually tests out what we do so we know how to use it and clean it up.
• A family that learns and trains together ... and shows respect to ALL of its members- not just the upper dan levels.
• It is very important to understand that we are NOT into flash so if you are expecting chest beating statements (that we are the best, etc) or have the latest (usually unproven) theories from from your favorite martial art magazine or movie forget it! We are interested in what works and WHY it works. So if you are looking for tournament tricks you would be best to spend your time elsewhere.

   

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In many ways it may help to understand by explaining what we are not ...

• QLK is not a touchy feely style... Our purpose is to learn ways of taking out the bad guy ... FAST! but without the need to be tough ... in REAL ways that give us the option to ensure that if we have to, the bad guys won't get back up again.”
• We are NOT a bad ass tough guy style ... so MMA and all that stuff is out ... including NO tournaments [if you like it fine but that is NOT what we are into ...] So you can see (hopefully from the two above statements) that we are a serious self-protection style that doesn't go looking for trouble but if trouble comes looking for us then we intend to be FAR more than it can handle.”
• WE are NOT Interested in techniques (or attitudes) that require you to be stronger, faster or tougher than your opponents. It is nice that you are big strong or in shape ... but you won't always be and even if you are .. you may wind up dealing with someone high on drugs ... sorry strength doesn't work in these circumstances!
• WE are Not an exercise course ... doing our stuff (QLK) won't make you stronger or faster ... [or even better looking (although I wish it did ... sigh)] .. again we deliberately avoid techniques that require you to be stronger of faster ... there is ALWAYS someone faster and stronger and tougher ... so what are you going to do ... accept they are better than you because of physical attributes ... we do not accept this fallacy! Thus we have figured out ways to take these attributes COMPLETELY out of the picture [I doubt you believe this and you would have to see / feel to truly understand ...
• • To many large people it is very scary to be the large strong person to suddenly realize these supposed advantages mean nothing ... most of these types who try us leave and quickly find other styles where they can be around other people that don't know or can ignore this reality. We encourage people to be in shape but don't think you will have an advantage because you are big and strong!
• We are NOT an exercise in beating the snot out of each other ... if you are into the concept that you need to hurt yourself or others to train ... find somewhere else to train - we have other lives that we need to do and getting busted up in training is NOT what we are about. Training hard yes .. hurtiung ourselves or our training partner - NO.
• We are also not a history course ... we appreciate the past (and even our history) and gratefully learn from the past but we refuse to be bound by it ... so you can forget worship of other cultures! (we have enough problems just being courteous to our own history!) ... you can also expect us to change our katas and techniques to include/ update our material with any principles we find that makes us more effective.  We won't keep doing something just because it has been done that way in the past. Again history is for learning not limiting!

A VERY Abbreviated History of QLK:

FORMALLY Started in 1982 (Well we were working it earlier but we formally recognized it was a separate style in 1982 and opened to the public in 1984) as a reformulation & combination of several established (read that well known) arts by 5 experienced martial artists.

Why bother doing this ... Well all of us were tired of the standard lines we had always gotten and conditions we had been put through - like;

1) The "wait 20 years and maybe we will tell you the answers

2) The attitudes of the belt assembly line schools and not teaching us "gajin" anything useful ... But more than willing to take our money

3) Techniques which we had been taught which flat out did not work in real life. We knew it, they knew it ... but no one was supposed to talk about it ...

4) People/ Instructors who acted like we were supposed to look up to them just because they were oriental and gracing us with their presence  ... as if we were privileged to be learning in their shadow.

5) The "my way or highway" attitudes of instructors ... god forbid you asked questions ...one didn't even think about cross training ...

Having had more than enough B. S. we broke away and decided to try and figure out things on our own. This was in the early 80's

So we took EVERYTHING apart but instead of discarding kata we researched out the reasons why things happened in kata. - FROM MULTIPLE STYLES - Especially we looked at the things which did work. We especially took them apart to learn WHY they worked.  With time we discovered PRINCIPLES behind why things worked which gave us clues to other answers which gave us other clues, etc.

Over time we came upon a set of rules to determine how we could tell if a technique was valid ... and if we should accept it into our system: We decided to base what we accept as valid techniques on the following concepts:

1) PROVE to me (show me ... on me) that it works while I am trying to keep it from happening (telling me it works doesn't count). If I have to cooperate to allow you to accomplish the effect ... it is NOT VALID! [The jerk on the street is not going to cooperate ... so ...]

2) There is only one rule. Win or die! The fight doesn't stop as long as you are above the ground! Thus if you are knocked down... well you are still above ground aren't you!

3) KISS (no battle plan survive contact with the enemy!) Forget fancy plans and large laundry list of thing to memorize! You haven't got the time for that when your enemy is trying to shove their fist or a knife down your throat! (You have 1/2 second to react EFFECTIVELY after that you are DEAD)

4) It is not allowed to simply add a technique or a kata to the style. Instead you must learn the scientific principle(s) behind why the technique works and then present that principle. If you can prove it works then we will (the board that governs the style) reexamine EVERYTHING we are already doing to see if old theories need cleaning up (again)

5) If you have to rely on strength or speed to make it happen ... then you have no clue why it is working. Go back to the drawing board!!! [This became one of MY main guiding principles]

We do believe that the martial artists of old really did know what they are doing. [WE also realize they may not have had a clue ... but that is a point deliberately ignore ... [Why ignore that probably reality? The perception that they did know is enough to make us look for better ways of doing things] Although our new theories may explain things better still, it is believed that knowledge has been lost though translation but is still present in the katas, IF we really understand ...thus we strive to get better!

6) We believe ALL techniques in kata are killing, KO or maiming techniques! You hopefully don't have to take it that far ... but the choice should be your not your attackers!

7) It MUST happen FAST ... you have 1 second to determine whether you win or die ... and the whole technique has to be completed in less than 3 seconds. [see the book called The meanings of forms and katas or the ADULT DVD of the same name if you need further information on why]

Based on those concepts we took apart the old katas and discovered what we believed is really happening on all 5 levels and then taught it/ rethought it/ taught it/ rethought/ etc. (And hopefully WILL keep changing things as we learn) along the way we learned a few things<G>

Some things are still different from other systems.

When we redid they understandings of our style we did such based on MWM... not on the old TCM paradigms! We are/ were not afraid to state that we don't have the answers but when we make a physiological explanation for a technique or principle then we want to be on firm footing and want anybody who decides to check up and to learn more about the principle to be able to do so at ANY location which discusses physiology from a MWM standpoint. Thus technique theories CAN be evaluated to see if they are the most efficient way of doing things, validated and used as firm stepping stones for future research.

Quan Li K'an also uses a 5 animal system with the above concepts! But combined in different ways so as to either enhance a persons natural abilities or more common as a way to counter an opponents advantages... for example snake is supple and bend around a strong opponents strength and thus nullifies strength versus tiger uses strength to maximize damage to an opponent.

It seems to work! But QLK is and always will be an evolving system as we constantly deliberately reexamine what we are doing so that we can go back and again "clean up" our techniques. Therefore even though our katas look generally much like you would see else where (if you took/combined katas from TKD, Tai Chi, Cheng Wei Quan, and the Okinawan systems) it is the combat/ street fighting emphasis which makes them IMHO valuable.

As far as the future ...

We continue learn from just about anybody but then we have to bring the theories back to the board and try to "prove" them.... <g> that gets real cute sometimes! <BIG GRIN> but as we do QLK improves ... and that and the people are what it is all about ...

Finally QLK schools are not owned by me nor controlled by me. We have a board of Governors and I am presently the HONORARY head but each school is run but the person who owns the school ... thus there are differences and each school is a bit different. No one else has the right to tell another school what to do ... we collaborate in the QLK system so as to spread knowledge. The system/ style is not designed to create profit. There is no dictatorship nor hero worship. We present seminars to other schools ( inside or outside the system). We don't try to convert people. We simply present ideas and explanations and let others decide on their own if it make sense to them. Hopefully we learn from them at the same time [See the section on the Free yearly bridge tours]

We don't see ourselves as "bad" or "tough" but rather as someone who ... is capable to self defense in ways that do not require size, strength or speed (as a prerequisite). We would rather avoid a fight than hurt someone but WILL defend at all costs if required.

But Mostly the QLK system is comprised of people who want to train and see each other as part of the QLK family. To me it is a great family to belong to.

Bruce Everett Miller

Tai Laoshi*

QLK

*BTW that simply translates into older teacher ... (nothing magical or mystical)

Thanks to taking to time to read all this. Feel free to write me with any questions.

Bruce

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