HONOLULU, Oahu (HawaiiNewsNow) - You know Mark Dacascos the actor on Hawaii Five-0? He's an extremely accomplished martial artist. Probably because his dad is one of the leading martial arts instructors in the world. Al Dacascos lives right here in Hawaii and gave our own Malika Dudley an up close look at his unique martial art.
"The type of martial arts that we practice is called wun hop kuen do and actually comes from kaju kenbo which is our base, it stands for karate, judo, kenpo and chinese boxing," said Al. Sifu Al Dacascos has been doing martial arts for more than half a century. He's reached the level of 9th and 10th degree in different styles and founded Wun Hop Kuen Do, a style that takes technique and applies it to real-life.
He says, "Everything is based on simplicity, practicality and realism. Basically it's all the stuff you can't do in sports martial arts, that's what we do, it's practical self defense on the street."
Sifu Kai Li is one of Al's top black belt students. He says you don't have to be a grand master to know how to protect yourself. Here are a few of his simple tips. "If there is only one piece of advice it would be to make yourself unlikely to be a victim. You want to be difficult to attack, you want your profile as you move through the world to be confident," Kai said.
If you feel like you're in a bad situation, be vigilent, take a look at your surroundings. "What could you use as a weapon of opportunity your pen, your cell phone, any type of hard object can be an excellent source of self protection," said Kai. A toothbrush, purse or keys (or) "Something as simple as a folder I could be reading or something and he makes a movement I perceive as hostile and boom, he goes right into the concrete wall bang all the way down," said Kai.
He also suggests finding out what your initial reaction would be, should you get attacked. His advice? "You want to come from the truth so if you know you're already going to do this, if you already know that, than you want to work proactively from that position," he said.
Target soft spots. "Eyelids, in front of your throat, your groin, your armpits. Any type of fish hooking to the mouth, against the gum line, into the nose, the eyes all of these are great if you have a sharp object going into the ear canal. All these create instant changes, instant changes are good," said Kai.
Or, just use your hands. "The groin is obviously a good target but more if you can do sustained damage. In other words if someone is grabbing me and I pinch and twist it," said Kai. Wun Hop Kuen do practitioners go through years of training of course, but this advice is a good start for anyone. There are Wun Hop Kuen Do schools in several states across the nation. You can find one near you with a quick google search.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and KHNL, a Raycom Media Station. 
