Martial Art System
Stratiotia Christou
Sensei Don and Sensei Charlaine founded Stratiotia Christou and registered it with Black Belts of the Faith International and Koininia Fellowship of Christian Martial Artists. It is a blend of
· Okinawan Shorinji (their original system),
· Budoshin Jujitsu,
· Chinese Kempo,
· Aikido,
· Aikijutsu,
· general grappling,
· various breaking skills,
· third party defense,
· handicap defense,
· American Nunchaku,
· European sword and battle axe
· Krav Maga
· general weapons work with sai, tonfa, kama, jo staff, hoe, cane, escrima, and other basic household items as weapons.
It was desired to build a broad range system that would work for anyone. This system uses the hard, forward stances, blocks, and strikes that one might see in Shotokan and other Japanese styles. But it also has soft, fluid movements with deflecting blocks, moving stances, and open hand techniques much like Aikido, and the soft Chinese styles. Since martial arts is a sport, an art, and a defense system, it was felt that Stratiotia Christou should span all these areas. This is taught from a concept approach with rote memory as a reinforcing and evaluation tool. Students learn the components as building blocks then are encouraged to put them together in Life Preservation as simulated situations are presented. It is important for one's own self-defense to be able to think and respond on the fly. Forms (kata) are rote memory, but are broken down and worked through with and without "opponents". This puts the intensity, targetting, and focus that "show the attacker". Basics are taught from a guard in the various stances then retracted as opposed to static stances with strikes and blocks being held out or kicks landing back where it began. Realistic instruction styling has proven to help the students build good fighting habits for the student's personal arsenal.
Our students from white belt to black 3rd Degree (Dan) are expected to learn an overall knowledge of physical techniques, leadership, Bible knowledge and application, history of our art, self-control, and discipline. The overriding principle taught in these things is life preservation. We believe that God meant it when He said that we should not kill. We teach our students to preserve their lives, those who are with them, and the attacker's life. We have set an order of priority as follows: Attacker's life, our life, our limbs, the attacker's limbs. We have a responsibility to stop an attacker's sin against us. If we do nothing, then we participate in the sin. Only in the case of persecution of our faith in Jesus Christ do we encourage our students to do nothing. In doing so, we have a greater opportunity of ministry. Defense techniques should be done without vengeance or malice, but with firmness. Christians are not the soft "push-overs" the world depicts us to be. This is done through teaching the value of all human life to God and the great sacrifice He made for us.
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