He told me of the two hardest matches he ever had, one against a Zulu called Ganda ka Jobe and against another boy from the Tsomo district called Mpethu (maggot). This was the 50’s when stick fighting was banned and one could go to jail for it. The migrant workers used it a form of rebellion against their living conditions. To use my grandfather’s words, “We played sticks to prove that we weren’t tools for the system. We played because we were men and to show them (government) that though we lost our lands our spirit was never defeated”.

My grand uncle is 80 years old and is a wealth of information especially if you can keep him focused. So, as usual he went on this rambling story about his experiences in the mine playing with Zulu, Ndebele and Shangaan stick fighters in the Germiston men’s hostel. He said he had grown over-confident because he could win or intimidate some fighters with his size. That was until Ganda came along to challenge him; he was about the same size as him and was taller. On the following Sunday morning and they played on the mine dumps. He said for the first time in his life his guard was penetrated and he was thrown to the ground. The harder he hit Ganda the harder he came back, his nose flaring and his eyes red. He said the fight ended with a draw as both of them gave up.

The second fight was with a young man from a farm in Tsomo, he was apparently a strong fighter who had been easily beating some other boys. Apparently the young man heard he was there and came riding a horse at the crack of dawn to challenge him. He was unsure about this so he delayed until was left with no choice. Eventually they sparred and he lost to Mpethu. His older brother (my granddad) was angry about this and invited the boy to play with him the next week. Mpethu was then mercilessly thrashed and ended up with a broken arm. His family reacted and made things difficult for granddad and he had to leave Tsomo for Natal.

I finally tracked this Mpethu. He now owns a farm outside Grahamstown and spoke to me about the fight. He has such a wealth of information on technique and tradition, and tells some amazing stories of the stick fighters he knew in Tsomo, including my grandfather. The way he paints him, he had the same glint in his eyes that I have when speaking of Muhammad Ali, Yukio Tani or Helio Gracie. He did not even mind his arm getting broken and dismissed it as part of the game. His parents did not see it that way though; my grandfather had lifted his hand against a white farmer’s son and beat him. That was unheard of in 1940’s South Africa.

So I am looking at a stick fighting legend who is a white guy. That is why my door is open and I will welcome everyone of whatever race to learn stick fighting. You see, to me it is about two men facing each other in the quest for truth. If then it is for truth that I am searching, it should transcend all boundaries created by culture, language and race.

Share This

Now in the previous post I spoke about how South African native populations did not have a knife culture. Then the Malays and others were forcefully kidnapped from their countries and imprisoned in the Cape. I spoke about how some escaped into the native populations, and the integration that happened when they got there. The next period I will talk about is the frontier wars until the migrant labour system was in place.

Nguni people lived in their kraals having ritualised warfare until the late 1600s, when the trade in Zanzibar, Munumutapa (Great Zimbabwe) and Maputo changed from gold and agricultural products into slave trading. Credo Mutwa, a renowned Zulu shaman, storyteller and artist, is an amazing user of metaphors in depicting our historic legacy, pity some people are prone to take literally what he means figuratively. In his book “Indaba my children” tells an interesting story about how Portuguese came and introduced maize and chickens to the native populations. Prior to this, Sorghum and Millet were the staple diet and these grasses carried lower yield and therefore could not support huge populations. Mealies (Maize) had a shorter generative time, could produce huge yield and the canes could be used as a reserve cattle feed for the winter. This changed the agricultural systems and led to a rise in population levels and the organisation of societies, suddenly there was a need to have great centralisation of government and Kingdoms like the Tsonga, Rozwi/Munumatapa, Swahili and Asante became specialist slave traders.

Their slave raiding caused much destabilization and massive migration of people down into what is now South Africa. Then came the period of the war kings. First of these was Dingiswayo ka Jobe who was prodigy of Mthimkulu kaRhadebe and his rival Zwide kaLanga. There were others, like Makhedama of the Langeni, Shaka’s uncle and Macingwana of the Cunu. These men formed huge alienated kingdoms as a response to Arab and Portuguese slaving pressures in the East. These huge concentrations of people needed food and crops to get going so they took part in raiding and intimidating each other for tribute. Shaka was born into this and his father issues drove him to create the Zulu empire.

This happened after an attack by Matiwane of the Ngwane, where his father Mthimkhulu ka Rhadebe was killed. Matiwane in his turn was running away from an attack by Zwide of the Ndwandwe. This was the start of the Imfecane amd Shaka was only drawn into it by the defeat of Dingiswayo by Zwide. Shaka, as one Dingiswayo’s prodigies was firmly in Zwide’s eye. So he had to secure his position to avoid annihilation by the strong Ndwandwe. This he did through attacking and drafting into Zulu armies the young people from his neighbouring tribes; he even exchanged cattle for warriors and called on old tribal alliances which brought the Qwabe, Hlubi, Buthelizi and Mthethwa into the Zulu ranks.

The British ended slavery in the Cape in 1808 and this caused huge labour issues in the Cape, and according to works of Prof Julian Corbing of Rhodes University, this was one of the reasons that there was the Imfecane. It happened in the middle of a prolonged drought period where the land could not support huge population groups. Mantathisi of the Batlokwa was a formidable woman warrior who was building a nice kingdom for herself in the Caledon Valley and into what is now the Gauteng region. She and her people were formidable warriors; she defeated Moshoeshoe and his Mokoteli Kwena people and drove them to Thababusio in the Maluti Mountain where he founded the baSotho.

The Tlokwa were unbeaten by all other Sotho nations until red dust came from the east. Mpangazitha, the eldest son of Mthimkhulu, had taken his people and moved them west. He fell on and destroyed the Tlokwa Mantathisi, took the remnants and moved north. He then proceeded to draft the Sotho people into Hlubi armies and travelled north again, this time he met up with Matiwane and they fought the Hlubi, lost this one again and Mpangazitha was killed. The Hlubi broke into three one group joined the Ngwane, the other went North and became Ndebele and the last group went into the Eastern Cape to join the Xhosa. Matiwane also folled this way South but was beaten by a joint force of Thembu and Brittish scattering his people near uMthatha in the Transkei.

In the Cape, slavery has ended and the Trekkers were not happy and rebelled against British rule. They went North West creating the myth of the great trek. There was a need for cheap labour in the Cape. This is what caused the period of the Frontier wars. Also in the north, slave raiding Korana and Basters were carving huge chunks out of the Tlokwa and other Sotho groups and transporting them to the Cape. Two interesting characters in this period are Danster who was a renegade Xhosa cattle thief from the Cape, and the Afrikaaner, Coenraad Buys, who was also another thieving rascal. They joined forces raiding and stealing cattle from the colony and other black nations and both were never caught. Coenraad’s descendents founded Buys town up near Makhado and Danster’s descendants are to be found in the Klein Karoo.

So you had a lot of native people being transported to work in the Cape bringing with them their traditions and fighting methods creating a rather dangerous place in the Cape. After the end of the Colonial wars and when South Africa had become a Union there was the migrant labour system that forced young men to go and work in the cities. This disconnection from traditional roots and forced urbanisation created the character of Nongoloza, or Jan Note. Now came the fifties with influx control and pass laws, this resulted in large numbers of African people getting arrested and being jailed. Inside prisons, as a means of safety people had to join the prison gangs or be victims of them.

Forced removals and the eighties riots also lead to a large number of people getting arrested and sent to the prisons. This was when knives became popular in black communities. In my family my grandfather was a stick fighter, but his son (my dodgy uncle) was arrested about four times for stabbing people. Evidently he was the one who introduced me to knifing, or as he called it, Ghoni. So this just a brief sketch of what happened in our country and where our problem of crime and knifings comes from. Please Google some of the information to learn more.

Some interesting sites

http://www.ecu.edu/african/sersas/MasonSERSASF99.htm
The most spectacular custom of the Cape Malay is the performance of the Ratiep. It is an exhibition of skillful swordplay and symbolic of the power of faith. Many of the Imams disapprove of it. With a background of monotonous chanting and the rhythmical beating of drums, the performers go into a semi-hypnotised state. They stab the flesh with sharp instruments, wounding themselves without flinching. The name Chalifah is really the name for the leader who blesses the swords, directs the performance, and prays while it is being carried out.

South African numbers gang history concentrating on the numbers gangs and how they came to be.

• http://www.jstor.org/view/03057070/di013276/01p0581v/0
• http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biom3/math1.html

Colonial and Native wars

• http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/turningpoints/bk3/chapter1.htm
• http://www.thuto.org/ubh/ac/mfec.htm
• http://www.jstor.org/view/03617882/ap010087/01a00050/0
• http://www.jstor.org/view/03615413/sp040020/04×0383s/0
• http://www.dwaf.gov.za/Communications/MinisterSpeeches/Kasrils/1999/sandile.doc
• http://www.nguni.com/culture/virtualafrica/xhosa/history.html
• http://rapidttp.com/milhist/vol013pb.html
• http://www.jstor.org/view/00218537/ap010093/01a00160/1?frame=noframe&userID=92e78132@ru.ac.za/01cce4406500501b672fd&dpi=3&config=jstor

Mantantisi, the forgotten warrior Queen

• http://www.whoosh.org/issue35/carper16a.html
• http://rapidttp.com/milhist/vol013pb.html

Griqua, Korana and Baster Groups

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griqua
• http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/strachan/griqua.html
• http://www.ratelgat.co.za/history.htm

White Traders

• http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/PULA/pula011001/pula011001007.pdf

Pass Laws

• http://sahistory.org.za/pages/specialprojects/sharpevill/02_passlaws.htm

Sophiatown and District six

• http://www.capetown.at/heritage/history/apart_enforce_commun_art.htm
• http://africanhistory.about.com/b/a/239731.htm

Tsotsi culture

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsotsi
• http://www.chico.mweb.co.za/art/2006/2006feb/060203-tsotsi.html
• http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/05/18/features/WBANKEAS.HTM
• http://sahistory.org.za/pages/classroom/pages/projects/grade9/lesson1/unit4.htm

Share This

(flashback time)? Back in ‘96 I worked with a guy called Roy Adams (2nd dan Enshin karate), who had a cousin called Denver, who belonged to the notorious Americans gang (trust me, they fly ‘Old Glory’ for other reasons), who, by the way, had just paroled after serving 15yrs for a double homicide. Now while in prison, Denver was a member of the 27s (a numbers gang specialising in murder), and was extremely proficient in using a blade. So he starts to show Roy some of the’knife drills’ they do in prison, which then got taught to me. Now the drill was nothing new, but it was what they said during the movement that made it unique. You see, during this particular drill they would do a little shimmy, switch the blade from hand to hand and chant “1..2…3…Piper”. Now the word ‘Piper’ in the gang slang (Sabela) means to talk, to communicate, or in other gang circles, to stab or attack.

This made it easier for me to give this ‘thing’ a name, as I realised that calling it Cape knife or SA knife wasn’t being very specific, as my reason for creating Piper was not for worldwide release but for survival on OUR streets in Cape Town. My vision was to train as many martial artists living on the Cape Flats,in this method. Turning this into a controversial topic wasn’t my plan, as I figured Piper was the closest thing to an actual Cape/SA bad guy that one could study without getting stabbed or gang-raped for real. Piper was never meant to have left Cape Town at all, as I thought that it was just our problem. I never realised that it could be of any use to other cultures as well. Also, let us ask whats in a name? Before our initial research, this method had no one name, it was non-specific, no one even knew or believed that it existed. That’s how you keep a secret… you dont give it a name and you shroud its existence in myth. Simple.

Again,you must remember that Piper is the name of the researched material Lloyd, Jason, myself and others are currently practising. Piper isn’t what criminals are directly doing, but it is a physical study of what they do. Its movements and techniques were originally pieced together by myself over a period of 8-10yrs, with Lloyd delving into the criminal behavioural mindset and psyche, while Jason added the Nguni stickfighting element to fill in certain missing elements in the system. Also, it’s important to mention this - we don’t need to codify the knife movements anymore, as has been stated by others on our blogs, it’s been done already.

Piper has been a? teachable system since ‘99. The work we are still doing ,however, relates to developing a more user-friendly grading structure, better than the one I’m currently using. Another very important fact to mention is that Piper has been in the U.S. since 5 February 2001, so please don’t treat this method as if we are just starting our research. Next month it will be 6 years since Lloyd told the world of Piper, and that was purely coincidental (the infamous 7min tape).

Recently, a comment was passed by soemone who questioned the name Piper, saying it as sounded too much like something to do with a pipe or Rowdy Roddy Piper. I think its time he switched to decaf…

I’m not here to fight for Piper’s uniqueness, but to say that Piper is JKD, FMA, Pekiti Tersia and Doce Pares etc. all rolled into one, is ludicrous. I mean how did it get here then? Which guru trained our criminals? If Piper mimics the way our criminal moves, then by definition, our criminals are JKD, FMA, Pekiti Tersia and Doce Pares and Silat stylists. Wow, now THAT’S incredible!! To the genius who made this observation, let’s base our opinions on factual research and actual experience. It’s important to note that Piper’s existence is due to this country’s biggest problem…CRIME !! It exists due to criminal activity in the cities, not South African tribalism in rural areas.

I invite comments and input, but please focus on street crime, as this is my main concern. And let’s leave all rituals at the altars, ok?

Share This

Hi there everyone. Hope all is well in your world. Soooooo…. Lots of interesting conversations and confrontations happening here on the blog. My personal view is that it’s a good thing. I have always been ”the glass is half full” kind of guy. Over the past couple of posts I think we have all learned a great deal about each other, and I for one am grateful to be a part of it. I look forward to future conversations as I feel we all still have a lot more to offer each other.

I have made it clear in my comments that I am not going to get into the culture / ancestry / heritage debate. It’s not my thing. If it involves hands, weapons and intent, then we’re talking. Well that’s enough of the soppy stuff, it’s time to get down to business.

This post is about a knife assault, a stabbing where one of my extended family members was the victim. Let me first just put it out there that this is not Piper, it’s not a Piper stabbing, but it is the very reason Piper was created, to help survive such situations. I will give a detailed account about what occurred from the victim’s perspective, and attempt to explain the attackers intentions, with regard to weapons choice and intent the best I can. I will also tell about the repercussions. What follows is common where we live, as I am sure it is common all over the world, this is just the way we do it. Maybe in the following comments sections you guys can post some of you own experiences. This could give us all a better understanding about the street life out there and it’s methodologies. This is after all what we are here for…I hope.

Ok. It happened about 3 weeks ago. The dude that got stabbed is my fiancées brother Morne’. He’s a good guy overall, about 20 years old and his is big into riding his bmx. He stays in an area called Elsies River on the Cape Flats. This particular part of Elsies River is called, “ DC” or, Dark City. It’s the area where Nigel grew up. “I can’t believe I mix with these people.” Anyways…Morne’ was riding his bmx around the hood when four guys approached him. They never wasted time with niceties and immediately flanked him and demanded his bike, saying that if he refused they would put the dogs on him, which by now were damn near foaming at the mouth from being hyped up. From Morne’s account these dudes had two pit-bull terriers with them. This is common around here. The guys steal the dogs, breed them and then pit them against each other in dogfights for money. They also use them during robberies, as is the case here.

The two guys with the dogs stayed to his right while the other two blocked his left and tried to grab the bike when he would not give it to them. He held on to the bike with his left arm when they tried to grab it. He then saw one of the guys on his left pull out a knife, but not just any knife, this dude pulled a Stanley knife, I think the common term is box cutter. Now I don’t know about ya’ll, but if I had to choose between being attacked with a Stanley knife or a regular knife, I would opt for the latter. The guy then picked for his chest with a reverse grip,( why a reverse grip with a cutting weapon with barely 20mm worth of exposed blade you ask,” I will explain later.) Morne’ instinctively jumped back and avoided the stab, while holding onto his bike. I am not sure if this was a conscious decision but the bike acted as a buffer between him and the attacker. The guy went for him again, but this time with more intent, Morne’ was unable to evade but did manage to put his hand across his chest with his wrist covering his heart area…and that is just where the blade landed…squarely on his wrist…in front of his heart.

The dudes with the dogs were about to jump in but these few seconds of scuffle were enough to draw some attention from passers by, so they gave up on Morne’ and his bike in hope of an easier victim. I can’t remember exactly who helped Morne’ out after the ordeal I just know that is was either a shop keeper or something who took him inside and bandaged up the wound while waiting for the ambulance. I saw him that evening in the hospital. Now I never saw the wound until after is was bandaged up by the hospital but here’s what the Doc said. If the blade had gone a few millimeters deeper it would have found an artery and the blood loss could have been fatal. The attack did manage to do major damage to the muscle and tendons in his forearm. He was unable to move his thumb and for-finger after the attack, not because of pain but because he just could not feel them there. They operated the next morning and he now has partial mobility of the digits again but just how much mobility he will have in the future is uncertain. I am sure with the right physiotherapy he will be ok though, at least I hope so.

His aunt and cousins that saw the wound could not believe the damage the attack had done to his arm. They told of a huge gaping wound where one could see most everything inside his arm. They say is was just one big hole there. Now some might find this strange when one takes into account that is was a box cutter being used. These things are usually very sharp, cutting instruments. Even blunt ones are sharper than most knives, I know, I work with them and have cut myself numerous times Logically, the wound should have been neat and straight, not ripped and torn.

If you track back in this post I refer to the damage that the attack did, not the blade. This is a Cape Flats thing. The knifers down here stab, rip and tear. They pick at their victims for the reasons above. They do not want a neat wound that a few stitches can fix. They want to damage and maim, just like with Morne’. He may never have full use of his fingers again. These guys know this, and they never learned it in a book or dojo, they learned it by living it and practicing it on real, opposing victims. Maybe these types of attacks happen elsewhere as well, I am sure it does. If so I would like to know so please put that in the comments.

Weapon

Ok so lets talk about the choice of weapon, the Stanley blade. Clearly this weapon does a lot more damage when slashing. When stabbing with this weapon it is a lot less likely, note I said less likely, not impossible, than it would be fatal. The thing is the bad guys know this. Stabbings are so common around here that it hardly even goes to court. Hell, sometimes the police don’t even pitch. A fatal stabbing however, pulls a lot more attention. So the box cutter works for them. It’s capable of causing massive damage by ripping and tearing flesh, and on the other hand can be used to cut at the neck or other sensitive areas and be more fatal. In what happened to Morne’ the guys went for his chest. You can stab with a decent amount of pressure to the chest with this weapon and the blade would not make it far past the breast plate so no fatality there. This guy got lucky when Morne’ put up his arm and managed to do more damage to his wrist, unluckily for Morne’

Retribution

Once all the smoke had cleared that evening, with all the family and cousins sitting around talking about the events it came out that the cousins actually new who the attacker was form Morne’s description. After talking to some of the people around the hood they found out that Morne’ was not the first or the last victim of the day. Prior to Morne’s incident these guys these dudes robbed and stabbed somebody else in the inner thigh. What concerns me here is why go for the inner thigh. We all know about the major artery found there. Do these guys know too? And if so did they plan for it to be fatal? I don’t know cos I was not there. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

After Morne’ they robbed somebody else too. I am not sure if the blade was used there though. Now that the family knew who the swine was it was time to take things to the next level. They picked Morne’ up from hospital the following afternoon and drove around the hood looking for him. When they found him on the corner they confirmed it with Morne’, who was in the back seat keeping a low profile. They pulled up close to him and called him to the car while Morne’ kept his head turned. He came to the car but did so cautiously with his hand in his pocket holding the blade, a very common approach round here. When he got to the car he saw Morne’ and immediately pulled the knife from his pocket and exposed the blade. By this time the passenger was already out of the car going for the boot where he pulled out the handle of a Pickaxe, which is always in the boot of the car for just such an occasion. The guy turned to run but the guy swung Babe’ Ruth style and connected the guy behind the knees and he fell to the ground. He actually wanted the kneecaps While this was going on one of the other passengers pulled a tyre iron form the boot to get some of the action. The guy then got up and ran…well….limped very quickly to the park where there were friends of his, which was not far away. They laid into him some more and then somebody hear the word….GUN! At which point everybody scattered.

The next day the tables turned again when Morne’s cousins heard they were being hunted for the Pick Axe incident. Apparently this dude was part of one of the neighborhood gangs. He was a small player but a player no less. The cousins laid really low for about a week until things cooled down. They still can’t walk around like they please though. Turns out that the attackers Father came to apologize for his son’s behavior and gave Morne’s family permission to deal with him using whatever means necessary. This is usually a sever beating like with the pickaxe. The Sunday after the incident Morne’s uncle got word that Morne’s attacker was sitting at a shebeen, (illegal drinking house, usually someone’s yard). He planned to go around and just scare the shit out of the dude, which he did. He put a toy gun in his waist and walked to the shebeen. When the attacker saw him he knew what was coming and immediately started talking, saying shit like it was just a misunderstanding. He said that he was only trying to help Morne’ because some other guys were robbing him….funny.

Morne’s uncle never entertained this too long and smacked the dude with a really heavy open hand. Morne’s uncle is a diesel mechanic with diesel mechanic hands, so you can imagine. Also getting hit with a flat hand is really embarrassing. The guy hit the floor and was picked up for another few licks. They showed him the fake gun and this seemed to be too much for him to take and the little bitch started crying. He was slapped a little more and made to apologize. This to the attacker is a lot worse than being dealt with by the police. If the police had gotten him he would most likely have gotten off and then been a hero on the streets for a little while. Now he has been beaten with a flat hand and made to cry in front of all his buddies with a plastic gun. That will stay with him for a long time. His gang now knows how weak he is…and round here, the weak are preyed upon.

Morne’ is back on his bmx again but pulling tricks with one hand, quite impressive actually. The cousins still go about their lives but constantly look over their shoulder. The rest of us will try to stay out of such situations, but should anything arise, we will keep you informed. Stay tuned though. I am currently putting something together on Form Style fighting. The kind that is practiced in our reformatories.

I will post more soon.

Stay well

Jason

Share This

I want to thank those who responded in various ways to the previous post, it left me with much food for thought. I have the intuition that this is a subject that I will refer to again in future. While I’m pondering some Piper-related thoughts on knife-duelling (or Proportional Armament, or Symmetrical Combat, or whatever the latest buzz phrase is) that I want to publish, I want to revisit this topic. One response I would like in the comments is for those who read this to let us know exactly what you mean when you say you are African. I believe this will go a long way to clarify our understanding. Comments and input are invited and always welcomed.

The feedback received has helped to explain the difficult reception Piper has had in various circles, seeing it is African - and African martial arts are often not well received by the mainstream, and many of those those punting African martial arts are not the most open of sources. I’ve had many who are completely unwilling to speak, those who are unwilling to share their name and those who will only tell us about their sources in exchange for money, without providing information on what the value of those sources is. In my view this secretiveness only harms the African systems being promoted. It also reinforces my discomfort with the experience I’ve had of black Americans not teaching their fighting traditions to anyone other than black people, white people being excluded from learning. This is unfortunate, as here in South Africa we have had to learn to integrate and accept our countrymen of all shades, and we teach what we know openly to all who want to learn, and assist those we can’t help directly in finding avenues of learning.

For the guy who’s somehow become ‘The Druid’ , we’d like to say thank you for the really educational response on your blog, answering questions about the impact the Zulu have had on Western/American consciousness, and on the search for identity and a place to belong. The article can be found here: http://jianghu.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/searching-for-authenticity/. I recommend it as a read, since it has relevance to my thoughts here, provides answers to questions I raised in the previous blog, and I don’t want to repeat what has been so well said. I did unsuccessfully try to post a comment on your blog, however I don’t think they are enabled.

Fahness Lutalo from Zulu Kai wrote to me, and I learned a great deal from him, and it echoes what I have learned from The Druid and Mushtaq Ali (The Traceless Warrior). I’m glad to be speaking with him, and what he said has been humbling. I feel a genuine connection with what he says, and the thoughts expressed below are a distillation of his insightful response to me. If the writing is disjointed sometimes it is because I am inserting someone else’s words and thoughts with my own. Fahness’ words to me were elegant and heartfelt. Any inelegance is my own.

Many thoughts have arisen out of this last exchange, yet I hadn’t originally intended to go down this road (I was just idly browsing), however it is perhaps relevant. It is an existing issue in the (martial arts) world at large and it may be an opportunity to contribute positively to the development and credibility of African martial arts.

From what I have learned, black Americans, torn from ancestral roots, transplanted into a new culture where they still are made to feel like second class citizens, where their ancestry and culture were stripped from them, losing their original cultures and identity, losing the connection to their ancestral root - have suffered a destructive influence on communities and on their concept of self that few of us can relate to. There has been a powerful consciousness movement attempting to offset this effect, which created a new search for legitimacy, for belonging, for a spiritual home and acceptance by the continent and people that spawned their ancestors so long ago.

When one pauses to think about the other cultures that are resident in the US, they have a link to their ancestral roots - be they Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Indian or Caucasian. Black people in the US have borrowed names and a borrowed culture, much like Coloured people here in South Africa have a culture and names borrowed from Western society, without reference to their indigenous origins. I do need to state that the terms ‘Coloured’ and ‘Black’ are not contentious terms here in my country - they are accepted as normal, even though they are reminders of our racist past. We have learned to forgive, to move forward and to embrace the future, and we as a culture would prefer to move forward and not backwards.

Seeing other races in touch with their culture, the close ties with friends and family and the land of their parents and grandparent’s birth is a hurtful reminder of how their culture was stripped away and replaced with someone else’s during a period of slavery. Calling oneself an African American returns a sense of pride, a sense of knowing that you come from somewhere, somewhere you belonged, where you aren’t the hand-me-downs of slave ancestors.

So if using the name Shaka Zulu makes for better people, heals wounded psyches and uplifts communities then I can only support that. If seeking to bond with and associate with the root of black American’s African ancestry helps a people find a home, find a place to put down their burden and gain an identity, a sense of belonging to something more and it gives them pride and a sense of ‘family’, I support that. If it helps them find a greater attachment to their history to research their ancestral martial arts roots (as martial artists), then I can only endeavour to assist that process. Enthusiasm, dedication and passion of that nature is what we need to see the African branch of the world’s martial arts traditions blossom and become widely known - and we can all benefit from that achievement.

However I do ask that African Americans learn that Africa is a highly diverse continent, with many countries, many languages, people of many complexions, many religions, many widely different ways of life; and to understand that Africa is not a museum. The Africa that you return to now is not the Africa of the time when the first slave ships took away your ancestors to the US.

Many black Americans who come here fail to understand how ‘American’ they are, and how ‘un-African’ this makes them. Please understand, we mean no disrespect, however we see Americans when we see Americans of African descent - we don’t see Africans. However, it does not mean we do not acknowledge the association to the root that you have in your blood. We are glad you choose to associate to the root, still, I have experienced too much frustration and hypocrisy from visitors to be comfortable. We have different values, different ways of perceiving the world, different influences and do not necessariy share your way of perceiving the world, your political views or racial outlook. Yes, there are commonalities, yet there are also differences. Genealogically you are of African descent - this we do not deny, however your values and world view are different, you were not formed by forces on this continent, but by forces on yours.

The oldest human settlers of the African continent were brown skinned, like the Khoe (previously spelled Khoi). The name is derived from the Nama word Khoekhoen (and the adjective Khoekhoe) meaning people, and the San (pronounced Saan, replacing the term Bushmen). They weren’t black, many people in Africa are not black skinned. I have had hints that seemed to say that because I am not jet black I am not true African, as well as statements that because I do not practise African traditions from 400 years ago (traditions from cultures far away from my home) that I am not African. To that I must say that Africans ‘practice Africa’ in many different ways. There exists a romanticised view of Africa, a foreigner’s concept of how he thinks they should be. The only place where that view of Africa will exist is in works of fiction, in novels and movies. Again, please understand Africa’s diversity and evolution.

On the topic of slavery, which has also arisen, Dr Francois Verster at the National Archives in Cape Town has original slave registers, Nigel has handled some that date from 1669. My family name appears in the records, the earliest dated March 1689. My family on my father’s side were slaves who took their owner’s name. Maybe we have more in common than we realise?

A 100 000 years ago the earliest modern man lived in this province, having originated here in Africa. The earliest modern fossils are from Klasies River and Border Cave, not far from my home city. The first true humans are found at Sterkfontein and Olduvai - and new evidence to support the origin of man in southern Africa, a missing link, was recently uncovered a few weeks ago.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20070112014337485C491040

The Western Cape, the province I call my home, was home to the Khoe and the San people. The Khoe were cattle herders, the San were hunter-gatherers. They were brown-skinned, not black. The first settlers and the earliest explorers here in the Cape met the Strandlopers (it translates to walkers on the beaches) and the Khoesan, the indigenous people of this area, who were brown-skinned. Today, the brown-skinned people in the Cape are called Coloured, or Cape Coloured, as a specific ethnic group.

I know I have expressed annoyance in harsh terms, I have expressed my frustration at what I perceive as ignorance and arrogance, at hypocrisy, pretence and efforts to usurp a culture without understanding it. I will let those comments stand, though I may remove one or two of them. In my country we have learned to get over our anger, to forgive, to embrace and accept diversity, to evolve. Those who read my views now will hopefully see those qualities. I hope these words go a long way to forging fresh links to those wishing to build bridges to the continent of Africa and to her people, and makes friends and partners on a lifelong journey.

Share This

Or is it??

What is this fascination amongst us as martial artist, with a weapon that is synonymous with murder, violent rape, assault, armed robbery and 70% of all serial killings? Am I missing something? No disrespect to all knife handlers, but let’s put a few things in perspective. All the weapons in the martial arts we currently study have been used on some battlefield in some war centuries ago. We also study the weaponry used during invasions of past cultures, and of course, the inevitable resistance or rebellion that follows. For example, the samurai and the ninja, the Spanish and the Philippinos, the Chinese and the Mongolians, and let’s not forget the African continental wars to name but a few. I only mentioned a few (more popular) cultures everyone’s familiar with, to help my point.

You see, all these cultures have at some point in their various historical time lines experienced major conflicts which caused massive socio-economic change due to these small battles and larger scale wars. Of course,these are documented, which we inevitably study for various reasons. However, upon closer inspection we find that the knife wasn’t and could not be the deciding factor in any of these battles, no matter how large or small. So our attention is drawn to CRIME - the only thing that affects a modern day society in a major way. As civilians not experiencing large scale foreign invasions, a street scuffle, car jacking, drunken brawl and typical mugging is the order of the day (besides, in modern-day warfare, guns are used, not knives or sticks).

Now crime is not a competition. It doesn’t give you time to prepare or warm up. It doesn’t guarantee 1-on-1 match-ups. It’s not a fair match. Its, uh, not a match at all. Commercial sponsors don’t usually advertise their products during a mugging. So why the need to call it knife fighting,when no sane person will ever want to engage in a lethal blade vs blade exchange? If you are ever faced with a knife in a threatening manner it simply means you are a victim of crime. When this happens the criminal assumes you are unarmed, and if you were armed, he’d rather get the jump on you before you retrieve whatever it is you’re carrying. Now the question is, would he have done the same if you were already brandishing a like weapon before his initial attack?

I think not. To quote Marc McYoung, “a criminal is a middle-line predator. He’s the hunter and the hunted’. This simply means that if a criminal sees that you’re no push-over, he would try to extract himself from this situation and find a weaker, more compliant target, otherwise he risks serious injury or death to himself. Note that I used the word ‘criminal’ and not the usual ‘opponent’, because only a criminal would pull a knife on somebody, an opponent is usually found in a dojo or martial arts studio holding a training knife, which also means that an opponent lacks the one necessary component vital to the attack - INTENT !!!

Without proper intent there can be no attack, no urgency to defend oneself, no motivation to stay alive. So why then do we train knife attacks in the same way as ordinary sparring, when knife encounters are assaults dependent on surprise and your lack of preparation? If you were to spar with your classmate, would you start to attack him while he is busy putting on his gloves or when he’s at the urinal? Thats how a knife attack works. It’s unfair, scary and usually occurs when you least expect it. In a dojo however, you are already psychologically aware and prepared for any attack, and the chances of you succeeding in your defense will be greater just because you know your opponent will not possess the intent found in a typical street encounter. We tend to overlook that factor most of the time when we train.

While we are looking at a more in-depth discussion of the issue of what we prefer to call knife assaults, this beginning article should get your mind questioning and reevaluating the concepts that you may have learned about how knives are used and are trained in the modern dojo. The Piper System is a study of how skilled, experienced and murderous criminals in our culture use knives and other improvised weapons, and the lessons we have learned from our and others’ experiences, as well as from criminals directly have iven us an entirely different perspective from what we have found to be the common (flawed and incomplete) paradigm in dojos and training halls today.

Knives are generally the tools of the criminal. They are short-range weapons, they depend on concealment and surprise, and criminals seek to avoid knife duelling at all costs. Think about these points and we’ll come back to the subject again soon.

Your comments and input are welcomed, as always.

Share This

From the Malay in the Bokaap, the Xhosa in the valleys, the Sotho in the mountains, the Nama in the desert and the Zulu in the highlands, South Africa is made up of a number of population groups, each with its own religions, traditions and languages. These differing groups are entwined and linked by history and genetic heritage. The history we share is both our greatest treasure and curse, so I will speak for all Africans.

[Editor's note:
The Cape Malay does not hail from Malaysia, but rather from Indonesia, as brought here by the V.O.C (Dutch East India Company). This information was given to us by historians at the National Archives in Cape Town). The Bokaap refers to the Malay Quarter in Cape Town.]

Africans and their fighting arts

The Abantu group is made up of over 400 nations, and each nation is divided into the various tribes, and each tribe divided into clans, each clan divided into houses, each house will have a family name and families will then have people. So as you can see, that is a lot of people, so just to neaten things out I will only speak about the people in South Africa. This is not to say we are separated from the rest of Africa.

The original inhabitants of Southern Africa were the Khoi khoi [Editor's note: It seems historians are now adopting the spelling Khoe khoe] cattle herders and the San hunter-gatherers. The Abantu group entered South Africa from the east around 2000 years ago. There is ample evidence showing that this might have happened earlier from artefacts found to be about 5000 years old, that show that the Abantu were already here, but here I will describe full-scale settlement of the area. These people are divided into the Sotho-Tswana, Nguni, and Venda-Tonga groups. The Sotho groups tended to live in stone houses in big clustered village towns. The Venda groups also tended to congregate in similar dwellings. The Nguni lived in Kraal (Imizi) these were made out of mud and grass built in beehive form around a central cattle hold. This central place was sacred and could only be accessed by members of the family and clan (both sexes). These kraals were located far in between in valleys and hills.

When sons had attained their majority they would move away from home to start their own Kraal. This isolation meant that each home was vulnerable to attack and could not count on raising reinforcements when attacked. It was therefore necessary for every male child to be able to use a weapon in order to defend himself and his people. This is when the trying rights of passage were firmly established to teach self-reliance and to make one lose the fear of death.

Boys of the same age group would be gathered into an (Intanga) age group gang and learnt herb lore, how to fight with sticks, how to hunt and how to survive in the bush and most importantly how to defend the herds from wild animals. During this time they were never allowed to use a bladed weapon, they had to fight with sticks. When they were ready, they had to be circumcised with a spear. The belief was that if a man knows what it feels like to be cut by a spear he would never be hasty in using it.

They learned their tribal history and where they fit into it, they would learn how to sing, dance and how to compose and recite poetry (Izibongo). During this time they would be lent a spear to practise with under the teaching of elders. Those who survived would then be moved back home were a party would be held. They would then be presented to the King or Chief, who would then give them the right to carry a bladed weapon, and create a regiment (Ibutho) out of the group. The regiment would then be allowed to go and build a village, which would be named after them. This helped expand the reaches of the Tribe as these young men conquered new areas. So the ability to survive was the main selective criteria and produced a proud, obstinate, fearless warrior who would be gentle to his family and honour his duty to his people and King.

Other Northern Nguni people e.g. the Mthethwa under Dingiswayo, removed the initiation stage and instead drafted the young men into their father’s regiment. This was done in order to insure that there were enough men to serve in the Mthethwa army. Shaka was drafted into one of these regiments when he came of age, his Intanga was the enDlatsheni. Only after the period of service was finished (10 or so years) were they allowed to marry and start families. When an Ibutho proves its bravery they may be allowed to wear the resin headband (Isicoco) that released him to family life. Examples of these are Izicwe regiment, famous for producing Shaka, Mdlaka and Mgobhozi of the mountain (Mthethwa), the Matlama regiment, of Moshoeshoe (Sotho), the Jingqi regiment of Maqoma (Xhosa).

This approach allowed the Nguni to have much dominance over the area. Xhosa moved into Khoi territories, the Nothern Nguni went into Tonga, Sotho and Karanga territories. This lead to the adoption of standing armies, and the adoption of the stabbing spear and the creation of the buffalo horn formation that is so erroneously credited to Shaka. Earlier Portuguese documents in northern Zimbabwe describe the Buffalo Head formation being used about two hundred years before Shaka. The short stabbing spear was known among the Xhosa and most Nguni groups but was used as a secondary weapon when the call “ phakathi” or charge was called. Some warriors broke the shaft of their spears in order to have the right length for hand to hand combat.

Shaka could afford to pay a large number of blacksmiths and had access to huge iron ore deposits. The fact that Dingiswayo, Mthimkhulu and Donda, powerful leaders of that time, favoured him made it easier for him to recruit men. During this time there was no knife carrying or fighting culture in Southern Africa and fighting was done with club, axe and spear.

So these people were moving and fighting in the Cape. The Khoi were busy with two threats, the Xhosa from the rear and the Dutch who we building a “Refuelling Station” in the Cape. In the end, absorption into Xhosa tribes, intermarriages, disease and relentless hunting by the Dutch led to a weakening of Khoi culture and the rise of Cape Coloured culture. The Dutch bought with them slaves from Guinea, Angola, Zanzibar, Bantam, Batavia, China, India and Madagascar. These slaves brought with them the knife culture that is so strong in our cities. The Orang Cayen, who were a warrior caste, were also exiled into the Cape. The earliest recording of a stabbing was by a Chinese convict called Yatchoo (1600’s) who stabbed and killed another slave over a bet, this and other cases are to be found in the records of the Cape.

Slaves were not allowed to use firearms and fought on the side of the Dutch against the Khoi with pitchforks knives, spears and clubs. This meant death for any slave who, when escaping, found themselves in Khoi territories. Those who managed to escape the Dutch and crossed into Xhosa lands were retained and used as warriors. Then came the Frontier wars between the settlers (Dutch and British) that lasted 200 years. During this time many Xhosa who were prisoners of war were forced to work in servitude in the Cape. These were mainly women and children and there were some warriors too. Some warriors were held in jail cells, with a number of those descended from the slaves and there was naturally a sharing of ideas and a change in outlook.

To be continued…

Share This

Lloyd

—————

Hi all

In reply to my refuting the myth of African Guru’s and Zulu warrior castes, I have just received e-mail from Afrikans overseas asking me who I am to speak about African Martial Arts. So if the administrator will indulge me I’ll put up a brief bio.

Why I speak about Africa and African Martial Arts

I am Bandile Dlabantu, born in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. I am a Xhosa speaker of Hlubi descent. Other languages I speak are Tekela Nguni, Zulu, seSotho, Afrikaans, a bit of kiSwahili and Shona.

My clan name is Rhadebe of the right hand house of Ludidi (Dlabantu) ka Mthimkhulu. This makes me a descendent of the Hlubi Royal House.

Dingiswayo, who was Shaka’s mentor, spent 15 years as an Hlubi warrior in the Makhabaludaka regiment serving Mthimkhulu. My ancestors fought along Shaka in his Izicwe regiment and supported his growth as paramount. Ludidi served in the uFasimba regiment of the Zulu.

When Shaka was killed he fled North from Shaka’s murderer Dingane, to find Mehlomakhulu. Together they moved north to what is currently Gauteng, to join Mzilikazi’s Ndebele. After a quarrel with Mzilikazi they moved over the Drakensberg into Lesotho to the Eastern Cape where they settled in Griqualand East, Mount Fletcher and Tsomo region of the Transkei.

So I was born in Africa, I come from generations of African warriors and have a strong African lineage. I have also gone for all the rights of passage expected of a Hlubi and know about my history and heritage.

Martial Arts

My introduction to martial arts was through listening to stories told by my grandfather about stick fighting in the Amathole region and Tsomo in the Xhosa tribal territories. One of my fondest memories of that time was stick playing with reed canes with my cousins from the Ciskei when they came to visit.

In 1985 I started training in Kyokushin Karate with a Sensei Mpaka who was my uncle’s friend.

In 1987 we moved from P.E. because of the riots and settled in a Pineapple farm outside Grahamstown where my mother was a schoolteacher. There I was reintroduced to stick fighting that happened by a river in the farm every Friday after school. As a younger and smaller boy I had to fight, and as result learned pretty quickly the advantage of being the strongest. At this time the worst thing that happened was when a younger boy lost an eye during a rather heated fight.

After this I moved to Grahamstown and started Shotokan Karate at Noluthando Hall in Jozaa, the class was taught by a Sensei Peters.

In 1990 I went back to P.E. and went to Kyokushin classes - the highlight of which was performing Sanchin kata in front of Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, late founder of Kyokushin Karate when he came to South Africa.

The martial arts ranks I now have are:

• Kyokushin Karate – 1st Kyu (1991)
• Shotokan Karate – 2 Kyu (1990)
• Shaolin Lung Xing Chuan Kung Fu – Level 3 (Jr Instructor 1996)
• Goshin Ryu Jujitsu – 2nd Dan (2006)
• Kodokan Judo – 1st Kyu (2006)
• Fanchento Kung Fu – Grey Sash (Jr instructor 2004)

Through my continued interest in martial arts I have managed to train and compete in the following disciplines:

• Israeli Hisardut Jujitsu
• Gendan Ninjutsu
• Kali escrima
• Russian Sambo
• Brazillian Jujitsu
• Pankration
• Free Style wrestling
• Libande Lute
• Traditional Congolese Laamb
• Go Ju Ryu Karate
• Aikido
• Capoiera Regional and Angola

My interest now is in traditional African martial arts, which had me travelling to the Eastern Cape and kwaZulu Natal in order to learn more about stick fighting. I am also now trying to explore other arts like Nigel February’s Piper System and Venda Musangwe.

Due to the cosmopolitan nature of Rhodes University, I met friends who enable me to travel to the Congo (Libande), Senegal, Cameroon (Laamb), Tanzania (Silat Mumbai), Mozambique (Capoiera), England and the US.

I am currently teaching African stickfighting, Fanchento Kung Fu and Jujitsu at the Judo Training Academy in Fairmount with Sensei Mickey Davidow 10th Dan. I also train in Cage fighting with Sensei Dion Fransman 4th Dan Hisardut. I am also continuing my studies in Fanchento with Sigung Jeff Ginsberg in Norwood, and Judo with Sensei Irvin Ginsberg.

If you are interested in looking up my martial arts history, please feel free to contact:

Sensei Mickey Davidow at 082 643 1981

Sensei Clint Cockcroft at 046 622 4465

Or what the hell, email me and ask

Share This

It’s a reality check on what it must be like to be orphaned by history and circumstance, having your lineage snatched from you and suffer the indignity of being reminded that you are not from here all the time, that you should go back to Africa, only to be tossed back by the Africans, claiming that you’re not African because you not from ‘here’.

Well, therein lies a dilemma. The name of this piece is taken from the title of a Johnny Clegg song, ‘The Scatterlings of Africa’. I felt it was time to start lighting the torches on our side because I have the feeling that Africa opens its arms to its scattered children, and we can help pave the way.

Now before I continue, for the purpose of this article I have to define my terms with regard to how I’m seeing things. First, there are two groups of Africans. “Orphaned” Africans and “Immigrant” Africans. Orphaned Africans are those who were forcibly taken from here to other continents, and Immigrant Africans are those who were forcibly brought here, or settled here through the years. Many of you might not be too comfortable with these terms, but then again I’m being direct and need to establish and reinforce my point here.

I was born and live at the southernmost tip of Africa, in a country named after its geographical position on this end of the continent. Aptly named South Africa (or Azania if you like). This country has been through great change in the last century alone, but so have most of the other African nations. Having said that, we South Africans have fought extreme racism and ethnic predjudice - and won! We saw an amazing triumph over an oppressive regime, replacing them with the black man this very regime imprisoned for 27 years, Mr Nelson Mandela, who as the 1st black president, led a peaceful transition into our democracy.

This story the world knows and to most it still comes across as a fairy tale, however as South Africans we must remember to extend a bit more of ourselves when we meet up with Africa’s scattered children, because we were the lucky ones when we dealt with oppression. We got our country back, but what about those brothers and sisters who were deprived of their countries and pride?

They research their roots, their traditions. And through this research they help to rebuild and restore another part of Africa stolen from them and their ancestors. Since we Africans already have this continent, what do the children of the African have? Memories of a lost and forgotten time? How about invaluable contributions and cooperation to a continent ravaged by 1st world exploitation? Or cultural treasures that were thought to be long lost to this great continent, since the slave ships took those as well. Africans are gearing themselves and Africa for survival in the 21st century, yet there are those Africans who practise older traditions that help remind us of what Africa was like before colonisation. For this we should be thankful, for as every ancient African art is researched, another part of this great continent comes to life again.

I cannot speak for all of Africa, but I can speak for all cultures in our beautiful country when I say *thank you* to all those that inspired us during our darkest hour. To the children of the Orphans of Africa, who spawned the Civil Rights movement, who helped the ’scatterlings of Africa’ find a home in their ancestral roots & who started ressurrecting the old traditions Africa in an attempt to piece together the wayward shards of their Mother’s heart.

I have recently aquired a copy of Nelson Mandela’s new book, ‘Madiba Speaks’, which features parliamentary speeches he gave during his tenure as State president. Here is an extract from his last state of the nation address: ‘Let us refrain from chauvinistic breast-beating; but let us also not underrate what we have achieved in establishing: a stable and progressive democracy where we take freedom seriously,in building national unity in spite of decades and centuries of apartheid and colonial rule, in creating a culture in which we increasingly respect the dignity of all. In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many. We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people. We accord a person’s dignity by assuming that they are good, that they share the human qualities we ascribe to ourselves.’

This may have been meant for us at the time, but in the spirit of Ubuntu, I think Madiba addressed the humanity in all of us, and as African martial artists researching our past, let us not wage war against each other but instead focus on learning, sharing and co-operation. Let’s not get into any ghetto battles anymore, since rough ‘hoods’ are nothing new and nothing to be proud of.

Let us also stop attacking each other’s beliefs, especially regarding Africa, its history, its cultures and pure splendour. I sound like I’m running for president, but I feel that for most of us it’s a lot more convenient to be selfish and harsh because of our fear of lthe truth by denying new knowledge and ideas. We South Africans should know better, so let’s continue to teach and learn. To end off, let me quote a line from another Johnny Clegg song: “I’m searching for the spirit of the great heart under African skies.”

Go well

Nigel February

Share This

I’ve been searching the net for references on African martial arts, out of idle curiosity more than anything specific - but what I found seems to do a disservice to the subject. I believe I may well end up deleting this post, for the reasons that it may be controversial in some of the views I will express, and that I may want to go back and do more research.

I’m African. I was born and raised in Africa. There are 54 African countries. There is however, no strong African voice on the subject of African martial arts traditions. But that’s okay, Africa is a HUGE continent. There should be many voices. But how come all the African experts are American?

One organisation that may carry weight is the De-Bordes Foundation, however this is not an endorsement of them. I’ve only recently heard of them and know of no locals who have. They seem to be a well organised group however, and I’m open to learning more.

Quote what statistics to me you like, but I feel the need to say this: the average African is more likely to be exposed to or be a victim of crime and violence than the average American or European. Therefore, the average African is more exposed to the kind of aggressive behaviour that can flash into physical violence, is more likely to see this as ‘normal’, is more willing to use force and can switch over to violence faster. Life’s a little rougher out here, but feel free to argue the point.

Everywhere, Africa is constantly referred to as if it is one big country like the US, when it is a continent with many different countries, all with diverse languages, cultures and traditions - like Europe. The French would hardly like to be seen as much like the Polish, the Germans a lot like the Italians, and the Spaniards much like the Swiss just because they all occupy one general land mass. This ‘African wrestling’ and ‘African boxing’ is far too vague. If I told you I’m learning ‘European dance’ and have some ‘European food’ at home wouldn’t that be too vague? I’ve heard of Spanish Flamenco, Swiss Waltz, French Ballet - so I’m sure it’s possible to be more specific. Food-wise, is it Danish pastry, French toast, English muffins, Swedish Cardamom or German apple strudel? I doubt English pub cuisine, ‘European’ as it might be, is representative of ‘European food’ or ‘European cuisine’.

The other thing that I find, which has also come up in face-to-face discussions with black Americans, is the fascination with all things Zulu. What’s that about? No one makes a big deal out of the Zulu here in South Africa (except for the Zulu), and I actually live in the same country the Zulus live in. Does someone please want to enlighten me? Why the need to change your name to Chaka/Shaka Something or Something Zulu? There are lots of other respectable Zulu names one could use.

For the Americans that seem to harp on this deep connection with Africa (”The Motherland”… said with reverence), from where I’m sitting you’re black and American, not African. Please decide whether you desire to be spiritually in tune with Africa and honestly embrace black people in Africa (but please don’t start wearing some random African countries’ traditional garb or a Nelson Mandela shirt) by embracing a somewhat chequered historical legacy as your ancestral roots, accept the fact that you and most Africans will have nothing in common and can’t relate - or decide if you’re so much more sophisticated and educated than these poor uneducated black people in Africa and did so well for yourself when you do get here; but really, I’ve had enough of the hypocrisy.

Then there’s the ‘African and African Diaspora martial arts research’ I read so much about. I would like to invite these researchers to contact me or Nigel, we’re researchers too. Yet, how come none of the African combat research people have mailed us to ask about Africa and its combat legacy from our perspective, even those that know about us and are excited about Piper going public?

I wrote to three email addresses for a web site on apparently African-based martial arts, looking to open a dialogue. All three addresses bounced. See http://www.zujitsu.com, I don’t know how much Zulu content there is, still I’d like to talk and learn more if they can get their email up. I wrote to Zulu Kai and Mukhanda Enterprise, check on Google. I’d like to hear back from them too. All the same, I feel ambivalent about people using Zulu/Shaka/Africa references too lightly to give their schools some sort of African authenticity. And where’s this Afrika place that I see mentioned? To me it makes Africa seem a little more primitive somehow. Anyway, for the researchers out there, my email is lloyd@pipersystem.com.

All this makes me think it’s time that the Piper web site changed a little bit. Well, the front page anyway. That being said, I would like to see more credibility with regard to African martial arts on the net. More local voices and better web sites wouldn’t hurt. If you lack the skills or the infrastructure to set one up, drop me an email and I’ll assist you.
I would prefer to see less ‘Zulu everything’ online, and less stealing authenticity by using the name Shaka Zulu. It makes for a less authentic feeling from what I can gather. Would you take me more, or less, seriously if I changed my name to Bruce Lee?

These are some random thoughts with no major point, however they are my thoughts after a period of browsing the net today. I’ve found too much that (to me, as an African) seemed inauthentic.

[ Perhaps here I should make a distinction. In my view, African systems of combat are less martial 'arts' than means of violence. They're rougher and readier, more raw and physical. They have less flow, are perhaps cruder with more "I am going to f*** you up" in them, less about elegance than about effectiveness. They are not easy to document in that they have added emotional dimensions which need to be understood non-intellectually, and are less apologetic about what they exist for. When seen through the typical Western lens they don't seem to translate so well. ]

The ’secret arts’ secretiveness makes it seem like there’s something to hide. The need to impress upon the world that Africa was there first and we have lots of super duper martial arts and so on really harms the growth and exposure of these systems. Yes, I do believe Africans are more innately aggressive and experienced with raw violence, that African have been using sticks as weapons for a long long time, and Africa can still be a wild place - but let’s stop with the amateur hour Zulu nonsense. Let’s stop making it look like African martial arts practitioners and genuine researchers are bullsh*t artists.

Comments are invited. Please click the comments link that follows. Our thanks to those who have commented on previous blogs, they’ve provided inspiration for additional articles.

Lloyd

Share This