TRADITIONAL
AFRICAN
MARTIAL
ARTS
Every nation, or tribe, in Africa has its own complex and complete martial
arts styles. In whatever language they speak, Africans, traditionally,
refer to their martial arts simply as wrestling. The African concept of
wrestling, however, is quite different from the Asian or Western concept
of wrestling.
In the African martial arts, to wrestle means to put your opponent on his
back, belly, or side in order to render him more vulnerable to a finishing
technique. This goal can be achieved by any means: strikes, throws, sweeps,
joint-locks, or weapon attacks. Thus, if you hit your opponent in the head
with a club and he falls from the force of the blow, you have by African
standards wrestled him.
Furthermore, the martial arts of Africa follow Five Basic Principles, which
are the principles that govern traditional African life:
THE FOUR ELEMENTS
In African societies, there are four elements, which are considered the vital
materials found in every living creature on Earth.
These four elements are:
Earth
Air
Fire
Water
Earth
The element of Earth represents the stances in the African martial arts.
Within the Earth Element are Three Foundations:
Wood
High, narrow stances. Wood stances are extremely mobile and are used for
fast, upright fighting and self-defense.
Stone
Low, wide stances. Stone stances are extremely stable and are used for
grappling and for fighting with a weapon.
Metal
Low, narrow stances. Metal stances are extremely malleable and are used
for grappling and ground-fighting.
Air
The element of Air represents the footwork and movements in the African
martial arts. A practitioner of the African martial arts can move like
a gentle breeze, a gale wind, or a whirlwind.
Fire
The element of Fire represents the masculine energy and techniques in
the African martial arts. Fire techniques are forceful, penetrating
and explosive.
Water
The element of Water represents the feminine energy and techniques in
the African martial arts. Water techniques are yielding, encircling
and deceptively powerful.
POLYRHYTHMIC APPLICATION
Like the African drum, the techniques in the African martial arts are
polyrhythmic; meaning a practitioner of the African martial arts seeks
to touch his opponent in two or more places at once. An offense and a
defense are usually applied simultaneously, or the offense is the defense.
THE UNBROKEN CIRCLE
The principle of The Unbroken Circle is also referred to as Call and Response.
A practitioner of the African martial arts seeks to blend with, and adapt to,
the actions and rhythms of his partner or opponent, creating a never ending
circle. A practitioner of the African martial arts does not meet force with
force, but rather takes his opponent?s force and uses it against him.
THE WIND HAS ONE NAME
The African martial arts simplify self-defense by dealing not with a specific
attack, but with the angle of the attack. The African martial arts recognize
that there are only fifteen angles an opponent can attack from, so instead of
being concerned with the infinite variations of attacks, the African martial
arts deal with finite angles. The African martial arts further simplify combat
by teaching that every block is a strike and every strike is a block. Thus,
when an African martial artist learns an offensive technique, he has, in effect
learned a defensive technique.
WASTE NO PART OF THE ANIMAL
The African martial arts stress economy of motion. The idea is: ?If it?s there,
use it.? Thus, if you strike an assailant in the chin with an uppercut, you
should continue that upward motion and hit him in the throat with an upward elbow,
because after the punch, your elbow is in perfect position to strike your opponent.
EGBE OGUN
We have looked at the strategy of wrestling, as well as the Five Basic Principles,
both of which are inherent in the African martial arts. Now, let's examine Egbe Ogun,
a comprehensive, synergistic system of the African martial arts, which is growing
increasingly popular in the United States due to its efficient and effective
techniques and the dynamic teaching methods of its instructors.
Let's first look at the meaning of the phrase Egbe Ogun:
EGBE
In the lands of the Yoruba speaking people of Africa which encompasses Western
Nigeria, as well as parts of Togo and Benin each city and town has a number of
societies called egbe. Each egbe preserves the wisdom and technology of various
social and ceremonial functions within the community. Each egbe also serves as a
craft guild and is closely associated with a force of nature. Farmers belong to
Egbe Orisa Oko; market women belong to Egbe Oya; woodcarvers, blacksmiths,
surgeons, barbers, hunters, warriors and those who facilitate male passage rites
belong to Egbe Ogun.
The Yoruba word for the physical heart the organ that regulates the flow of blood
through the body is called okan, In traditional African societies, there is a
basic concept that what appears in the physical world is always supported by its
counterpart in the spiritual world. It is believed that within the okan is a
spiritual heart, or power center, which regulates the flow of emotions. This
spiritual heart is called egbe.
The word egbe is also translated as society or collective. In this context, the
meaning is similar to the English expression: ?the heart of the group.
The dual meaning of the word egbe suggests that the spiritual force that supports
the heart of an individual also supports the hearts of the community.
In Egbe Ogun, students are taught to draw spiritual power which is regulated by
the egbe into the body through various power centers that control the constant
flow of energy between self and world. These power centers are called awuje. The
awuje draw on a form of energy called ase, which is the dynamic energy that brings
Creation into being.
OGUN
Ogun is the Yoruba word used to describe the forces of nature that have the unique
function of removing all obstacles that block the path of physical, mental and
spiritual evolution. These forces Ogun are regarded as the Warrior Spirit. It is
the function of Ogun, as a warrior, to clear away the obstacles that exist along
the road towards attaining balanced character (iwa pele). In Egbe Ogun, it is
understood that these obstacles may be either internal or external.
Ogun represents aggression, which is an integral part of the dynamics of nature.
This aggression is linked to the will to survive, which exists in all species on
Earth.
As part of the socialization process, the aggression associated with the Warrior
Spirit remains a necessary aspect of survival.
This socialization process is based on the relationship between the forces of
nature called Ogun and the forces of nature called ?Obatala?, the spirit of peace,
laughter, patience, intelligence, cleanliness and morality. It is the function of
Obatala to determine when and how the Warrior Spirit is to manifest. Those warriors
who maintain their martial arts discipline learn to access and to suppress the
powers represented by Ogun. The dynamic, aggressive element of Ogun is kept in
balance by the principles of justice and equality.
EGBE OGUN
We have examined the concept of Egbe and the concept of Ogun. Now let?s look deeper
into the synergy of these two concepts, manifested as the martial art Egbe Ogun.
In Yorubaland, the word Ijala, on one level, means warrior. Ijala is a contraction of
the word ija, which means to fight and the word ala, which means White Cloth. The symbol
of the white cloth is associated with Obatala, which means King of the White Cloth. One
of the functions of Obatala is to maintain ethical standards within society. The word
Ijala suggests that the essence of the warrior is aligned with moral principles and the
ideals that are at the foundation of spiritual transformation.
Ijala are also the poems chanted by Warriors in honor of Ogun. These poems (Ijala Ogun)
are the source of today?s rap and hip-hop movement.
On a deeper level, Ijala translates to mean warrior skills guided by White Cloth. This
indicates that the Forces in nature that guide life on Earth form the foundation of the
fighting techniques in Egbe Ogun.
In Egbe Ogun, Warriors learn to connect to the inner self (?Ori Inu?). It is through this
connection that the student of Egbe Ogun can invoke the forces that give added power (ase)
to acquired and inherent fighting skills.
The integration of ase (power) and iwa pele (balanced character) is the responsibility and
goal of every African Warrior. It is said of those who achieve this state of oneness with
power and character (Ogun and Obatala): ?Ijalagun molu?, or ?Those who integrate the power
of Ogun and Obatala never lose.
Egbe Ogun, The Society of Warriors, is rapidly growing in popularity, particularly among
the youth and the hip-hop community and will be featured in two upcoming documentaries one
produced by actor, Wesley Snipes and one by rapper, Stic.man of Dead Prez, so while the
martial arts of Africa are ancient, their future looks very, very bright.
Traditional African Martial Arts
http://www.martialtalk.com/threads/traditional-african-martial-arts.59587/
African
and
Caribbean
Martial Arts
http://www.martialtalk.com/threads/african-and-caribbean-martial-arts-list.12661/