review: aaron bank's world of oriental self-defense.

Two weeks ago I attended Aaron Banks's 44th Annual World of Oriental Self-Defense. Mr. Banks has been producing exhibitions and later tournaments that showcase a variety Asian martial arts since 1963. This particular show has played in Madison Square Garden, been featured on ABC's Wide World of Sports and was the subject of a Sports Illustrated article. Famous martial artists have gotten started through demonstrations or tournaments held by Mr. Banks and few would doubt his influence in growing the popularity of martial arts. Unfortunately, those golden years have long since passed and while it is great to see a continuing tradition, this most recent performance makes a youngblood like myself wonder if it's not a shadow of its former self.

masters, grandmasters and great grandmasters

The show began with a not too long introduction/speech/gripe session by Great Grandmaster Aaaron Banks. Let me repeat that: Great Grandmaster. Now everyone performing did- as I would imagine the majority of those in the public martial arts world would- give Mr. Banks a high level of respect. He is widely regarded for his promotional efforts and dedication to breaking down barriers between different arts; but Great Grandmaster? I've never even heard of that before. Frankly, to me, that's a pretty cocky, arrogant title to bestow upon yourself. If you wanna be called that you better be able to shoot lasers from your eyes and live to 300 years or some such. As far I've been able to tell, Mr. Banks was awarded a black belt in Shotokan and then opened a school. It was influential in that he brought in people from many different systems to teach in one place and he personally experimented with these. Still, does being an influential promoter and early advocate make one a great grandmaster of what he is promoting? Would anyone call Don King the "Mega Heavyweight Champion" or Solomon Guggenheim the "Arch-Superior Painter?" I don't think so. A little humility please.

This attitude of entitlement to title pervaded the atmosphere as almost all the demonstrators were so-called grandmasters (see the demonstrator list at the bottom of this post). Mr. Banks's opening monologue was in fact interesting and informative. Unfortunately it was shaded by a pervasive attitude of "why not me?" Throughout the show he ranted intermittently about movie stars and how they're inauthentic and how these performers are the real stars and they should be famous and wealthy. This chip on the shoulder attitude seems to be the imputes for all these self-awarded accolades. Mr. Banks also seems to like to give out 8th and even 10th Dan rankings through the auspices of his existing only in name WPMAO (World Professional Martial Arts Organization) as evidenced here, here and here.

highlights

Once the actual show started there was an interesting variety of demonstrations. They were primarily Japanese arts, especially different styles of Jujitsu and Karate. Rico Guy brought out two students who had a Kendo match. Another interesting break in routine was the exhibition by Tony Loupakis and his students. Their performance was primarily gymnastics, particularly complex and challenging human constructions- think cheerleader pyramids times ten. At the end, Master Loupakis demonstrated some discipline techniques including laying on a pile of broken glass while cinderblocks were broken over his stomach and chest.

One of Mr. Banks's senior students, Ernest Hyman gave a quality showing, exhibiting a Kata and some breaking. While there was nothing incredible about what he demonstrated (the breaks we're all wood boards) I think it was largely his soft and friendly demeanor that set his performance apart. You got the feeling that this was a man who's life and disposition were truly enhanced by his studies. As well, he spoke some enlightened words about the value of forms and one's relationship to them. Here is the same Kata from another occasion.

Toward the end of the program, Professor Sayfullaah Al-Amriykiy was introduced. A proponent of Sanuces-Ryu, he gave a humble introduction about how he was unsure if he could do the memory of Moses Powell justice. As a solution he felt he should "call up the family." At this point about 15 men, and one woman walked out across the stage and took their turn showing forms and self-defense. Through much of it Fela Kuti was pounding in the background and it was the one performance during which Mr. Banks gave no comments from the peanut gallery. They showed a level of discipline and technique unmatched during the evening and definitely stole the show.

Also of note was the discipline technique showing by . he laid on a nailbed, had a female student stand on his groin, a massive male student (easily 200+) stand on his neck and simultaneously had two cinderblocks smashed over his stomach/chest.

lowlights

The first performance of the night came from "Soke Grandmaster Dr Irving Soto." To be honest I was initially impressed by his showing of Aikijujutsu. There was some self-defense with mixed levels of quality and then demonstrations of "iron palm" strikes whereby he knocked out his students ("masters") in different ways. After watching the Youtube of his performance below, I became skeptical. After visiting his website I decided he was definitely fraudulent. Visit the site- the claims he makes and hyperbole he uses are absurd in the extreme. Being a co-founder of the WPMAO along with Mr. Banks I suppose this should not have been surprising. The icing on the cake was his photos and video with notorious bullshit artist and "fellow kumite champion" Frank Dux. If that's who use to lend yourself authenticity, well... I'm not buying.

There were plenty of other mediocre performances- no-touch Taekwondo fighting, limp Karate forms and "masters" breaking pine boards. Unless you're using your nose or finger tip or- as Ernest Haynes did- your chin, a board really isn't going to impress anyone. And if you're claiming to be a master even these soft point breaks aren't that special. At a demonstration at Barry Gray's school in Newark a couple years ago I saw an advanced student break a cinderslab with his fingertips.

The final performer of the night, Dennis Burgess- broke cinder slabs, 4 or 5 at a time. Although, like most other performers, he used spacers which greatly reduces the difficulty of a break. As well, he jumped up and twisted his body so as to use torque and all of his considerable weight to muscle through his breaks.

conclusion

I realize that I have been critical to say the least, but I do want to say that I feel shows like this are very important. It is a good opportunity to keep martial arts- not just MMA and Brazilian Jujitsu- in the public conscious and to serve as a platform for exchange and discussion. If I have been unduly negative it is only because I am aware of how uncommon gatherings of this ilk have become. In a time when public exhibitions of traditional martial arts have become more and more rarefied, it is a shame when you see someone unabashedly use it for self-promotion and outright fraudulent behavior. It detracts from the higher aims of the arts themselves and provides ammunition to those who would disparage their worth.

In the end, Mr. Banks is 84 years old. He can be forgiven some eccentricities in favor of using the reputation he's built to promote the arts. But, if he's going to destroy his own reputation in the process by making a clown of himself, then simply put he should retire. He should pass on or sell the licensing rights to his show to someone younger and more in tune with marketing who can put it to better use. I was only aware of the show because my school is well known so they bothered to send someone with a small stack of amateurish flyers. The show itself didn't even sell out the 100 person theater.

These shows are harder to find without traveling to the big Wushu and Karate tournaments in Florida, Texas or California. We should work to enhance the quality level of what little product is left to ensure a market for this type of performance continues. At the current rate, the Oriental World of Self-Defense will likely die out with Mr. Banks. Will there be anything to replace it?