November 2, 2005
Students share Kuntaw studies
Exchange students find common ground in Filipino martial arts
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
From four corners of the globe, three exchange students from vastly different cultures are finding common ground at a local martial arts dojo.
Nikolay Todorov of Bulgaria, Yun Kim of South Korea and Aleksey Raskhedehikov of Russia are all students at West High School this year. The martial arts veterans spend part of their free time at the Northern Martial Arts Academy studying Kuntaw. Under the guidance of Brian "Buzz" Smith, who holds a 5th degree black belt in the Filipino art and founded the Academy in 1989, they can continue their martial arts training and development.
"When Nikolay and Yun got here, they wanted to participate in whatever sports they could, but it was too late because they got here just four days before school started," said Smith, who is hosting the two at his home for the year. "And Aleksey went to [West's] athletic department and said he wanted to join the school's karate program. When he found out they didn't have one, he said, 'But every school in Russia has a karate program.'"
Raskhedehikov connected with Smith and all three students began training with him. Smith said his mentoring of the trio could be likened to Mr. Miyagi's relationship with Daniel in the movie "Karate Kid": trading his time and training for their help around home, for his two students, and the academy.
"I'm their Mr. Miyagi," said Smith, who has taught Kuntaw at Northwestern Michigan College for 23 years. "I just wanted them to get interested in another martial art so they could continue their training."
"I know they're having a good time and enjoying what they are doing: they're there for every class and staying long after class," he added.
Todorov, who has studied the traditional Japanese art of Aikido for years, is very intrigued by the style, moves and mindset of Kuntaw. The no-holds-barred approach is a 'street' martial art, a practical approach to fighting that is not about postures or winning points in competitions. However, the underlying concept of not fighting force with force is the same as with Aikido.
"Kuntaw is not that hard work, it teaches you to be more flexible, like the water in a stream," he said. "The water doesn't go through the rock, it flows around it."
Yun, who is fluent in Korean, English and Japanese with some Chinese, studied another Japanese martial art, Hapkido, for 18 months at his home in Pohang. Smith said that while Hapkido is more about leg movements, Yun is quickly mastering the hand fluidity of Kuntaw.
"Yun's picking it up faster than the other two," he said. "I find him out at 9 or 10 o'clock at night in the backyard, working on his stick work."
Here after winning a scholarship, Raskhedehikov has studied martial arts such as Judo, Karate and Kyo Kushin Kai since he was ten. He likes Kuntaw's real world approach to self defense, noting that Karate is not that useful if attacked on the street.
"At first I had to unlearn some dogmas from Karate," he said. "Some things are difficult to translate, karate is a very hard style - only one way to hold the fist. But in street fighting, you can just find your own way."
"That's the advantage of Kuntaw," he added.
Taken with the effective and adaptable Filipino art, which is rarely taught outside of the Philippines, Raskhedehikov plans to study Kuntaw intensely all year. He also hopes to bring it back to his hometown of Murmansk. Todorov, too, is hoping to continue studying Kuntaw when he returns home next year.
"I was really surprised that a couple of them mentioned they wanted to take it back with them," said Smith. "My students, I want them to explore. In my art, I want them to have as much possible knowledge."