The Shi Kon Training System
The Shi Kon training system explained by founder Steve Rowe.
It’s important to understand the depth, structure and synergy of the system you train in. With many ‘traditional’ training systems because of the lack of documentation and information we end up guessing what the founders of the system who have long departed this world thought. We also end up trying to understand any documentation and oral tradition through the near impossible cultural filter and language of the source Country. If you are training to learn the language and culture along with the art, that’s fine, but most of my students want to understand the ethos, philosophy, emotional intelligence, deep health, vitality and self defence skills that top quality Martial Arts training has to offer in plain English, using science and anatomy to reference the Japanese and Chinese Classics of Budo and Kung Fu.
I was trained in the ‘traditional’ way for over 40 years with weekly private lessons and classes by top Japanese, Chinese and English Masters. In Karate I was trained extensively by Toru Takamizawa, in Iaido by Okimitsu Fuji and Vic Cook and in Tai Chi by Jim Uglow and his teacher Ma Lee Yang. I have trained with many other top Instructors but with each of these properly and long term.
From the early 1970’s I have also worked in the security trade in a very wide variety of roles teaching self defence, restraint technique, powers of arrest search and questioning to Security Personnel, Law Enforcement Officers, Presidential Bodyguards and Night Club Doormen right up to the present time with a lot of ‘hands on’ experience.
shikonweblogoI am also a well renowned writer, writing for the biggest selling Martial Arts magazines with monthly columns for over 35 years and with the advent of the internet a well read blog on the deeper and more philosophical aspects of the Martial Arts. My studies have led me to study in depth, Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Meditation, Healing, Philosophy, Western Magic and Healing, Brain Mapping, Sports Coaching, Sports Science and Pedagogy.
The Shi Kon System was borne out of the needs of my students and after determining exactly what qualities we wanted as an end result, I worked backwards to devise a system that could be taught in plain English, was principle based, had synergy at each grade, could be remembered easily through mnemonics, was layered in an understandable way and was validated through practical methods.
If you look at the Shi Kon logo, the four circles can represent the learning method, the first one is the heart of the system, working outwards to the second circle representing the neigong and qigong, the third the principles and dynamics and these three underlay the fourth which is the techniques of the system.