MCC - 380 Improvised Self Defense #1

The Olympia Session
DISCLAIMER:
These clips are for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We are not instructing you, or encouraging you to do or to believe anything, except to view, enjoy, and think. Never forget that martial arts, like any rigorous course of physical activity, presents the risk of injury, sometimes serious, disabling, or even fatal. Actual techniques should only be practiced in a controlled environment emphasizing safety, under the direct supervision of a Black Belt instructor (in whom you have trust and confidence), and only after you have been cleared by your personal physician.
Archie at 52
Among Gun Fu students, it's referred to as the "Evergreen Demo." Gun Fu students (incorrectly) believe the demonstration took place at Evergreen College in Olympia, WA. In fact, the video was shot at South Puget Sound Community College. The event took place in late 1984 possibly early 1985. Master Archibeque was 52 years old at the time. Video cameras sold for hefty prices in those days, and were rarely seen. Only a handful of the general population could afford them, and those who had them were very popular among their martial arts friends. Regrettably, many martial artists had either passed on, or passed beyond their primes before the advent of sophisticated camcorders. Their skills are preserved only in the recollections of those who saw first hand, and the occasional surviving images, or primitive film records.
There are literally hundreds of films of Master Archibeque, especially after his classes were regularly being filmed from the mid 1990's. But there is only one film that captures him still at his physical prime. It was indeed a serendipitous event, completely unplanned, when Master Archibeque went on the floor, and over the course of one half hour, left an indelible record of his remarkable skills for all time. The now deteriorated video is digitized and enhanced, allowing you the viewer a peek through the keyhole of time ... at what once was.
My good friend and colleague, Master Charles Wilk, is still a young man here, and already manifesting the unlimited potential which he eventually fulfilled over a lifetime of martial arts adventures. He remembers:
"...I was 19 or 20 years old at the time. Although I was a student at Evergreen during this period, the demo actually took place at South Puget Sound Community College. I was teaching a gung fu class at the college, part of their physical education program. I had been learning with Archie for several years and we had just finished a lesson out at his place. I asked him if he would like to come along with me and show his stuff to the students at the college. He happily agreed and the rest is on the tape. We really had fun that night....He liked to do demos with me and we did quite a few of them. Archie liked my 'gung fu' and always gave me praise on my developing skills. Of course he would tease me at the same time. 'Your stance is too wide,' and 'You kick too high, you are going to end up on the ground!', and such. The 'old man' took good care of me. He wanted me to learn the martial arts inside and out. Nothing was ever the same and I never knew what I was in for when I would go to visit Archibeque. Good times!"
Though only a young man at the time, Sifu Wilk eventually became a recognized teacher, and heads Black Dragon Kung Fu of Portland and the Yama Kawa Ninja Clan (sssshhhh! It's a secret!). He has achieved advanced levels in Aikijujitsu Gun Fu and several other Gung Fu styles, and is a genuine Ninja. We celebrate his youthful enthusiasm, so obvious on the clips, and commemorate his evolution and growth in the martial arts by also sharing his performances of "Dragon Breathing", "Drunken Monkey" and "The Black Dragon Form." Be sure to check out: / madchazproductions
For those who know him, it goes without saying that Master Archibeque improvises everything while executing. The forms and techniques he shares are entirely made up on the spot. On another day, in front of another audience, all would be different and new. His is an art which truly lives in the moment!
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Used with Permission. Copyright 2000-2015, Mc Cabe and Associates, Tacoma, WA. All rights reserved.