Opening Words

     This article is about “Martial Arts Tricking”. It tries to demystify the complexity of Tricking and also focuses on some of the basic essentials of Tricking. It was written by Sesshoumaru, one of the best out there! Till the age of 14 he was raised in Japan and studied Martial Arts from a very young age on. He became a Tricking legend because of his extremely difficult combinations and his unique style.
Originally he wrote 3 continuous articles, but he didn’t have the possibilities to share them the way it deserves. Sessh put a lot of work into creating this masterpiece Tricking “bible” to help interested people and other Trickers all over the world to learn more about this young sport.


Sesshoumaru also was a “Special Guest” at the big Loopkicks Camp event which took place in San Jose / California. He is featured on the official Loopkicks DVD. If you want to see him in action then I would recommend to check out the promotional video for the DVD on www.loopkicks-dvd.com The 2nd Disc of the Loopkicks DVD holds 20 Video Tutorials (How2s) of the following Tricks: pop 360 | 540 | Aerial | Au-Batido | Backflip | Backhandspring | B-Twist | Raiz | Basic Kicking | Basic Handtechniques | Cheat 720 | Cheat 900 | Doubleleg | Fulltwist | Gainer Variations | Webster | Corkscrew | reverse Webster | Sideswipe | Jacknife It is a well considered list of tricks that includes all body movements needed in Tricking to go on to variations and more difficult tricks. Also check out www.bilang.com for the Martial Arts Tricking Community and more Tricking Videos! Best wishes and fun while reading, Tong-Len

Tricking 101: Putting It All In Perspective…

FORWARD

The main objective of tricking is to perform a visually impressive display of movements (derived from various "hard" & "soft" styles of martial arts,

gymnastics, capoeira, and breakdancing elements), to entertain a 3rd party by way of artistic impression.

Since the creator is "humanity" and the driving force is "artistic impression", then tricking as "a system of uniform movements" will obviously be flawed. This

is because as living entities, humans are flawed...and since given dominion over the world, mankind finds no fault in what it does. Blatantly speaking (in terms

of tricking), we tend to believe that any deviation from a standard trick results in the creation of a "new" trick. This methodology results in a whole onslaught of

tricks being taken out context, and not appreciated/recognized properly.

…this brings me to the topic of this post. Below I will attempt to breakdown "recognized" tricks, and fully categorize them by various attributes…but first…

MAKING THE MOST OF THIS PHILOSOPHY

In order to further our standing in tricking, or life for that matter, we must understand the purpose of life. As artists we express ourselves constantly. Through

the way we walk, to the way we talk…and at the end of the day, when it’s all over, we hope that we’ll be remembered. A “legacy” is what it’s called, and by all

means I intend to leave one behind, and I hope that you do to. It doesn’t have to be associated with tricking, it could be anything. Just make sure that it

reaches those who need it, and maybe it’ll better their situation in life. Tricking is unique in the way it motivates people to push themselves over their limits.

When given an opportunity, few will try to get by on the tricks that are “easy” for them to do. This is admiration to astonish in it’s purest form. You may call it

“showing off”, but what type of a man would you be if you didn’t take risks? It’s human nature to brave notions such as: cause & effect, success or failure,

reward or consequence, etc. The important thing is that you learn and understand the “risk/payoff ratio”. Low-risk = low-payoff, high-risk = high payoff. Only a

coward wouldn’t try to extend himself to be in a position to bask in glory.

When I choose to try a combo, let’s say:

Butterfly Twist --> Snapuswipe --> Doubleleg --> MissLeg Hook --> SwingThru Gumbi --> SwingThru Boxcutter

I don’t want to do it because it’s easy…I want to do it because it’s hard. It’s not “showing off”, it’s just me trying to be the best I can, if I can. That’s what

martial arts are about, and that’s what tricking should produce. Sharp minds who want to give everything in life 100%, but before we do that we gotta learn

the fundamentals of the game. Figure out the many components of life, and understand how they play a role in everything we do. That’s the only way we’re

gonna have the knowledge to advance our standing…the basics, in tricking and life.

THE BASICS

Here it is…the answers! In tricking, every problem you can solve begins here! Punches will one day be considered, but kicks are the primary agent used in

martial arts tricking as of lately. Below is a list of basic kicks and movements you’re gonna wanna be familiar with before you try the actual tricks… front kick, round/roundhouse kick, side kick, hook kick, inside/outside crescent kick, reverse -side kick, reverse-hook kick, reverse-roundhouse kick, spin -

outside crescent kick, sweep/back sweep, front sweep, jump front kick, jump side kick, jump hook kick, jump split kick, flying side kick, flying split scissor kick,

and tornado kick.

…also, check out these Capoeira basics as well: Ginga, Negativa, Meia Lua de Frente, Meia Lua de Compasso, Queixada, Armada, and Au/Cartwheel.

The basics are pretty much the combat applicable techniques found within tricking. It is important to be familiar with them, because it’s the only part of

tricking that essentially has meaning. If the basics aren’t stressed and enforced then tricking will lack “substance”, and quickly produce images of people

spinning and twisting through the air “aimlessly”. As practicioners, we don’t want that…tricking should be far from being an “empty” art-form.