ROMAN'S RED WARRIOR / TUSHKA-HOMA

 RED WARRIOR HAS EMERGED AS A NEW MARTIAL ARTS SYSTEM.

by  Robert G. Rose PhD. 

              Chief Assistant Bob Rose

All too often a conglomeration of techniques are thrown together and named as a new “system.”  True systems, like Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu and Kenpo each have an underlying philosophy that unites different techniques.  Of course, all martial arts systems have commonalities so that the same technique may show up in several systems; but there should be differentiation from any other system to avoid duplication.

Red Warrior meets the criteria of underlying logic and being similar yet distinct from other systems.   But first, let’s see where Red Warrior came from.

Appreciation for the system comes from knowing the Grandmaster, Adrian Roman, Martial Arts Hall of Fame member (“Chief” in the martial arts circles).

Chief is a full-blood Choctaw Indian.  He is an 8^th degree Kenpo black belt, who obtained his first black from one of Parker’s first generation black belts and went on to receive advanced rankings under Mr. Parker himself. 

But long before he studied boxing, Kenpo, Arnis and other martial arts Chief learned to fight from his father, uncles and other Choctaw tribesmen.  The influence of Native American fighting style was profound and enduring for Chief.

THE INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN INDIAN COMBAT ON THE TUSHKA-HOMA SYSTEM 

American Indian warriors were, of course, experts with a wide variety of weapons including bow and arrow, hatchet, club, lance and eventually the rifle.  But, in close range situations the universal weapon was the knife.  Indians carried knives as universally as European knights carried swords or as modern day Englishmen carry umbrellas.  And they didn’t put their knives away when altercations arose! 

Knife fighting is dangerous, even lethal; and, most demanding in the case of the combatant who has lost his knife and faces an armed attacker with his bare hands.  It demands a unique approach, so different from most approaches that many martial artists simply throw up their hands and say there is no possible defense!  The American Indian could not take that attitude.  Among the Choctaw the Baspo-tuska (“knife warrior”) was a martial artist with skill as rigorously achieved as the Sumo of Japan or the San Shou master of China.                                                                                                                                      

  Consider the unique demands of knife defense.  In fisticuffs, even among experts such as professional boxers, two men can pummel each other for thirty minutes and then have the decision made by a judge.  The same is true of wrestling, jujitsu and many other demanding hard-hitting systems.  In knife fighting one cut can be fatal – a judge is not required!  For this high-risk reason, the unarmed combatant had to consider his safety at every step, putting himself as much as possible out of harm’s way.  Paradoxically, he could not move too far from his assailant or he could not take the major step in self-protection – controlling the knife.   

The knife has other unique properties.  A club is dangerous only when moving with speed and force – a knife can maim by moving a fraction of an inch with very modest pressure.  Thus, where a slowed club can be grabbed anywhere,  the knife – which must be controlled – demands careful and precise grasping or the person will lose a thumb or sever arteries in the arm. 

Time leads to fatigue and mistakes and is thus on the side of the knife-wielder; if the assaulted person is to be successful he must move quickly. 

The Indian facing a knife had to use a system that contained near-contradictions:  working close while staying out of harm’s way, working fast while showing extreme finesse.  (No wonder many modern martial artists simply choose not to deal with the whole issue!) 

The Red Warrior system has excellent knife defense techniques but even the other hand-to-hand defenses benefit from the discipline imposed by the knife.  Before summarizing the system let’s do something that always aids in definition: comparison and contrast with existing systems.                                                                                                                                     

COMPARISON/CONTRAST WITH OTHER SYSTEMS

 Like Kenpo, boxing, May Thai, kung fu and tae kwon do, Red Warrior is a stand-up fighting system; but with less reliance of strikes, and the kicks that are used are used low and as assists rather than the major weapons.   Like jujitsu it use arm and leg locks; but, without going to the ground longer than necessary.  Like judo and the Chinese wrestling systems Red Warrior stays in close physical control but does not emphasize throwing to the assailant to the ground as an end in itself. (He might get back up!)

 Like American Kenpo as developed by Mr. Edmond K. Parker, Red Warrior Kenpo is supremely logical.  Just as all mathematical systems throughout the world converge, the universal logical principals so well expounded by Mr. Parker are found in Red Warrior.  Marriage of gravity, economy of motion, the importance of base and all of the other logical principles are to be found.

But despite Chief’s great admiration for his teacher, friend and mentor, Mr. Parker, and despite the influence of the American Kenpo system, Red Warrior is quite different than American Kenpo.

 First, as mentioned before, it does not rely as much on hard strikes.  It involves more contact.  And while it is complex, like American Kenpo it relies more on a modular concept.

 Consider a common debate in martial arts circles surrounding the simply vs. complex approach.  Kenpo techniques are complex and multi-strike on the grounds that every counterattack should be backed up by another. Like ranks of archers, one volley is followed by another.  In American Kenpo the trained fighter is like the wise general who does not want to assume the initial volley of arrows did the trick.  The Kenpo fighter has a hand sword followed by a punch that is followed by a heel of  palm strike that is followed by a claw to the face and so on. 

 On the other side of the issue other artists, such as the Muy Thai people, believe that under the stress of an actual fight the very complexity of the technique will lead to its breakdown in application.  They, therefore, emphasize using a few key strikes in a variety of situations.

  Red Warrior takes the approach that both philosophies are correct!  The base system of a Tushkahoma technique may be very simple: the follow up “volleys” can be chosen from a variety of finish-out techniques.  Thus, once an armbar is quickly obtained five different finish-outs can be used depending on the practical demands of the situation.  We have 60 base techniques – but these can become 200!

 Now let’s summarize the system behind Red Warrior  or Tushka-homa.

THE TUSHKA-HOMA SYSTEM

     1.      Stand-up Fighting.  While the “every fight goes to the ground” approach is not    without value, we  want to stay on our feet and when we fight on the ground it is to regain our feet.  Lying on your    back  may work well in tournaments. Lying on concrete and broken glass with your assailant’s friend standing around will not work. 

2.      Forgiving. If an initial part of the defense is not done exactly right we have still zoned out of harms way. If the lead hand misses the parry the backhand is not far behind.  We strive to be perfect – we recognize that feet can slip in the mud, sweaty arms are hard to hold and even the strongest warrior has an off day.

3.      Constant control.  We stay close to our assailant and try to maintain control once it is achieved.  Rarely do we release and stand back in preparation for a strike.  Rarely do we drop the person to the ground unless we have significantly disabled him.   

4.      Finesse vs.  force.  Our locks are absolute and once set cause excruciating pain, and cannot be countered by brute force even if the assailant has four times our physical strength.  However, in order to obtain this level of control we have intricate handwork that looks simple but often takes hundreds of repetitions to achieve.  

As a side effect of finesse, we can vary the outcome of the painful lock. If, unfortunately, we need to be sure we have disabled the person who was attacking with possibly lethal intentions, we can break bones with a fraction of force.  If help arrives or there is some other reason to expect the aggression to stop we can release the person and the pain disappears with no lasting effect. 

5.      Modularized.  Instead of teaching five separate techniques that differ only in finish-out we teach one technique and five finish-outs that can be used and combined as practicality demands.  

6.      Discipline vs. athleticism.  Many systems, such as boxing, demand speed and power.   Good athletes will love the Red Warrior system. In addition, however, because Red Warrior works close, maintains control, and calls for precision, older and smaller people can learn it – If they are willing to put in the time and effort required. 

7.   Flow.  While it may be of only aesthetic interest, Red Warrior can be recognized by its graceful flow.  Many martial arts systems have kata or forms based on smoothing out actual techniques to give them a dance-like quality.  All of the Red Warrior techniques look like brief kata because they flow so smoothly, a smoothness that is the natural outcome of the demands for close and finessefull action. 

8.   Raising the Bar/Standard.   As a student of American Kenpo, a system known for its sophistication, let me state this: Grandmaster Roman's Red Warrior System raises the bar even higher. The Red Warrior system starts with techniques comparable to the intermediate or advanced levels of American Kenpo. I asked Master Roman why he started at such a demanding level.

       He responded: "If the system is logical and based on sound principle the dedicated students can deliver what is asked of them because they aren't learning techniques arbitrarily combined -- they are learning a logical flow."

IN SHORT, this is a new system that not only honors the heritage of the original inhabitants of America but also provides a practical system of self-defense for a wide range of people. 

DR. ROBERT ROSE PHD. mailto:adrianroman@verizon.net

drbobrose@sbcglobal.net
adrianroman@verizon.net