Rambling Ruminations

Birmingham Seminar

written by Krishna Godhania

Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th May. Venue – Newman College, Birmingham, England.

Guro Marc Denny (aka Crafty Dog), the driving force behind the Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association, held a unique two day seminar on his concept of the 7 ranges of stickfighting. Hosted and organized by Pangulong Guro Krishna Godhania, the seminar gave a rare opportunity to train with a modern master of the Filipino Martial Arts. This chance was taken up by world champions and beginners alike and proved an education to all who attended.

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The Laboratory For Stickfighters

written by Burton Richardson

The Dog Brothers have taken theoretical stickfighting and thrown it right into the laboratory using themselves as the guinea pigs.
Science is a fine discipline. The quest for truth guides the scientist to look for new ideas that can tackle old problems. Years of schooling in the basics give the researcher the necessary knowledge to delve deep into his subject and produce new theories. Many martial artists take this same approach toward their respective arts. We train in the basics and eventually reach a level where new combinations, attacks, or defenses are discovered. In the realm of stickfighting, this has been happening for hundreds of years.

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What An Experience

written by Burton Richardson
Martial art is a strange endeavor in our modern society. We strive to better ourselves and understand the art better, but we have one restriction that no other artists have to endure: we are forbidden to truly express the art to its fullest extent.

The arts that we practice are about subduing a violent opponent through various methods under the most stressful conditions when our very life is at risk. Now this is a situation that we are supposed to encounter in the first place. Urban problems do make it more likely that we will find trouble, but most people will go through a lifetime without facing death at the hands of another.

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Mad Dogs And An Englishman

written by Paul Taylor

“Mad dogs and an Englishman beat the living daylights out of each other in the mid-day sun.” Apologies to Noel Coward for the misquote, but it seemed so apt.

IN September, 1998, Richard Killick flew to L.A. to fight at the tenth anniversary meeting of the infamous Dog Brothers. In doing so he became the first person from the U.K. to be invited over to participate in the “gathering of the Pack”.

The twice-yearly gatherings are seen as the ultimate test for the serious stick fighter and boast some of the very best exponents in the States. October’s event, held in Hermosa Beach, saw thirty-five such fighters take part and over three hundred spectators.

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Los Triques – Budo International

written by Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny
Crossbreeding Kali and Krabi Krabong

SECTION ONE: Cross breeding and fear of Inbreeding

One of the great strengths of the Dog Brothers is that we have different clans. Dog Brothers are spread around the United States, Canada, and now Switzerland (and Spain is under consideration) and those who train with a particular Dog Brother and become the clan of that area under his leadership. Thus, each clan develops its own distinctive flavor.

But it was not always so.

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Dog Brothers Are A Unique Breed

from Black Belt Magazine
LOS ANGELES-Marc Denny, also known as “Crafty Dog,” is, along with Eric “Top Dog” Knaus, co-founder and head instructor of Dog Brothers Martial Arts Inc. At 6-feet-l-inch and 190 pounds, Denny cuts an intimidating figure as he wields his single or double sticks in the face of oncoming attacks by a fellow “Dog Brother.” This interesting and extremely effective system has been turned down by the Ultimate Fighting Championship as “just too extreme.”

At their Gathering of the Pack, an event that has been held semi-annually for eight years, the Dog Brothers and other martial artists test their skills in “real-contact” stick fighting. This, according to Denny, is basically a Vale Tudo-version of Kali with one or two sticks. Denny says there are only three rules: “Use any attack you can think of, be friends at the end of the day, and no suing no one for nothin’ no how, no way!” The credo of the Dog Brothers is “higher consciousness through harder contact.” ? The term “real contact” is used to distinguish it from “full contact,” which usually means one or both fighters and/or the sticks are padded and some techniques are prohibited.

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Higher Consciousness Through Harder Contact ©

from Martial Arts Illustrated, by Terry L. Wilson

maillustratedThe Dog Brothers. An unusual name to be sure, but after watching these guys in action it’s obvious that they run on a different octane of testosterone than others of their species. The Dog Brothers claim to fame is that they beat each other to a pulp with hard rattan sticks for fun. “Real Contact Kali” is the name of their game and they play it for real. They use the term “Real Contact” to distinguish themselves from tournaments that use the term “Full Contact” but the fighters and/or the ticks are padded. In the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, before there were rules, the Dog Brothers were approached by the UFC about participating in a special weapons event to be held between the semi-finals and the finals. There were extensive conversations held. Eric “Top Dog” Knaus, the group’s best fighter, would have carried the flag for the Dog Brothers. But after seeing the Dog Brothers in action, the UFC had to pass. In a letter to Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny, the group’s guiding force, they wrote:

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The Dog Brothers

from Men’s Fitness, by Marc Jacobs

Iron John? Big wuss. Real me, say the Dog Brothers, beat the crap out of each other with 30-inch clubs.

Underdog is flailing away at Dog Steve with a pair of 30-inch sticks before the watchful eye of the Crafty Dog and his canine cohorts. “Stop backing up!” Top Dog orders as Dog Steve charges forward, slashing his club at Underdog, who is backpedaling furiously in an attempt to avoid massive head trauma, broken bones or a kidney-popping thrust into his bare body.

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Trapping

written by Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny What follows is a reworking of something that was originally posted on the Eskrima Digest on the subject of trapping. It began with a good question, a slightly edited version of which follows: “, , , , In short, Burt Richardson (and some others I know) seem to doubt … Read more

He Had His Art

Several years back, a man I had fought at a “Dog Brothers Gathering” went out behind his school and blew his brains out. He was involved in intense law enforcement work and I was told that his marriage was ending. He left two daughters and a separated wife.

He was a part of the extended Inosanto Tribe as well the Dog Brothers tribe and so I mentioned it to Guro Inosanto. He was surprised, and instantly exclaimed “How could he have done that? He had his Art!”

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