THE TAO OF ATHOS ANTONIADES
Taught by Steve Antoniou (Everyone's a Winner - Mar 2006 Issue 27)

American Kenpo Taiji is based on energy disruption and subconscious reaction, and not solely on physical strength.

It is a natural progression to American Kenpo and takes the Art onto a higher realm. Kenpo Taiji sees the most fundamental changes to Kenpo since Ed Parker adapted William Chows system.

Although an excellent system for providing the student with the tools for fighting American Kenpo as it was actually falls short of making the student into a natural fighter.

It is too logical a system based primarily on pre-arranged techniques but real street fighting or self defense is totally illogical. Under no circumstances are you able to apply a logical system to an illogical situation, for this reason fighting must be a sub-concious reaction.

Wild Animals are natural fighters. They have to be in order to survive their environment, humans are not. There is no doubt that training in techniques and forms is an imperative part of any system as this is where we learn about balance, coordination, timing, connectivity and rooting as well as an excellent way of practicing our kicks and hand strikes. However it is wrong to regard the techniques as an end in themselves, they are only a means to an end.

In order to make American Kenpo into a true self-defense system, we have to make it reflex and to do this we much internalise it, which I have done by incorporating training methods of the internal systems into the style, being an instructor of the original style of Yang Style Tai-Chi and Chi Kung as well as American Kenpo it was a matter of blending the styles together to create the formidable style of American Kenpo Taiji.

Reflex actions are illogical as indeed self defense should be wild animals do not plan their attacks they just happen reflexively.

We too are capable of this if we train in internal methods which serve to awaken our Reptile Brain, which has been lying dormant for centuries, which is effectively our survival brain.

The Reptile Brain is the first brain that anything ever had and reptiles such as snakes and crocodiles still only have this one brain. Their only concern is therefore their survival. Most other animals also have the second brain, which is the paleo-mallion brain in addition to the Reptile Brain. Humans have both these brains in addition to the neo-mallion or human brain. This is the brain that we use at least 90% of the time. It is our logical thinking brain and cannot be used in fighting which is basically an illogical situation and here lies the difference between Kenpo and Kenpo Taiji. The latter takes the responsibility for fighting away from our human brain and makes it subconscious by transferring it to the Reptile Brain. Teaching the student how to enter and make full use of the Reptilian Brain is a major part of the Kenpo Taiji curriculum training methods from the Internal Arts have been incorporated into the system from yellow belt through to black belt and beyond. A requirement for the student to be awarded a black belt is to learn the original Yang Style Tai Chi form. This is the best method for effectively re-enacting the survival brain.

The form has an additional advantage, in that each posture is a strike to a Dim-Mak point.

Dim Mak is also a prominent part of American Kenpo Taiji. The students are taught from the beginning that techniques should not be seen as an end in themselves but as training methods which are used to teach Dim Mak points and practice all that was mentioned earlier. Nerve strikes and neurological shut down are also taught.

Internalising the Art also involves using Yin force which when added to our Yang force can increase our striking power up to seven times.

Anything in American Kenpo which I felt did not work or taught the wrong approach has been changed or removed.

In the interest of making American Kenpo a truly superior style I am happy to share my knowledge with American Kenpo instructors (and others) throughout the world. I truly hope that those wishing to take their teaching and training to a higher realm will contact me and not allow ego to hinder their progress.