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Skill over brawn in effective self defence
Scott Rohr is assisted by Jim
Jones in demonstrating some martial arts characteristics.
Skill over brawn can be the key in effective self
defence. If you know how to use pressure points on the body, you don’t have
to be young or physically fit or possess great strength to disable an
attacker. Self-defence has to do less with power and more with the element
of surprise.
 Scott
Rohr explains to his PCEC audience that they can learn a few martial arts
manoeuvres which can be used for self defence; they do not rely on strength,
but on skill that can be learned without regard to age and gender.
This was the central theme of a presentation and demonstration on the
martial arts’ once-secret movements at the Sunday, September 28, meeting of
the Pattaya City Expats Club; led by Scott Rohr, a highly successful student
and practitioner of the arts of karate and taekwondo. To begin, Scott
provided some background information about the origination of martial arts
and then led the audience in an interactive demonstration of self-defence
manoeuvres.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Scott Rohr is now a 56 year old expat
living in Pattaya. By the age of 17, Scott had earned a black belt in
karate. He has since risen to the rank of 9th degree black belt in both
Ryukyu Kempo Karate and taekwondo. With the assistance of Jim Jones, Scott
teaches karate three mornings a week. Expats are welcome to participate.
Interested persons should contact Jim Jones, who is present at most PCEC
Sunday meetings.
Scott Rohr demonstrates how to
use pressure points to repel an attacker that grabs your wrist.
Scott started studying martial arts in 1969 at the age of
12. In 1972, Scott began training with a Korean teacher in Portland, Oregon;
Master Tae Hong Choi in the arts of hapkido, taekwondo and judo. In 1993,
Scott began a student/teacher relationship with Karate Grand Master George
Dillman of Reading PA. Dillman opened the door for Scott to long hidden
neural pressure point knowledge in the iconic forms of karate (KATA).
Scott explained that contrary to popular belief, martial arts did not
originate in China. They started in northern and southern parts of India,
mixed in with natural medicine. They then expanded to other countries,
including China. In the late 14th century, because many families from South
China moved to Okinawa to handle a growing merchant trade, they brought the
martial arts with them.
Jim Jones watches as members
of the audience practice using pressure points for self defence.
The practitioners of martial arts in Okinawa were court
dignitaries, military officers, scholars and artisans. This was the genesis
of both karate and Taekwondo. It would be another 500 years before Americans
became involved. Scott explained that many American soldiers learned about
KATA from the grandmasters when they were stationed in Okinawa at the end of
World War II. However, the grandmasters possessed some secret moves that
they did not impart to their American students.
Many of these students opened karate schools when they returned to the U.S.
The number of schools grew exponentially as a result of an influx of foreign
teachers into the US after 1945. In the 1970s, Taekwondo spread rapidly
after being heavily promoted by the Korean government. Some of the American
students who had opened schools made pilgrimages back to Okinawa to see
their teachers. The teachers were impressed with the progress their students
had made and began to reveal some of the secrets they had kept from them.
MC Richard Silverberg presents
the PCEC’s Certificate of Appreciation to Scott Rohr for his presentation
and thanks member Jim Jones for his able assistance.
George Dillman was able to learn these moves from several
very old Okinawa grandmasters. Scott explained that when most people think
of karate, they see self-defence moves that involve blocking, punching and
kicking. But the secret, more esoteric movements involve learning the
correct angle and direction to attack pressure points in the body’s nerves
(known as the “neural” or “nervous” system). Attacking these pressure points
is very effective, and can cause unconsciousness and even death. Scott said
that this hidden knowledge profoundly changed his understanding of karate.
Previously, Scott said, karate felt like carrying a gun with no bullets.
Scott explained that there are about 700 pressure points on the body, 350 on
each side, and that martial arts use 30-40 of these points. The points are
where nerves begin or end, and where they split. About 10 of the points are
in the arm; two are in the wrist and one is in the hand. Scott showed the
audience that there is a pressure point under the wrist that, when pressed,
will immediately open up a fist.
With the assistance of club member Jim Jones, who has studied martial arts
and has a 2nd degree black belt, and with the participation of many members
of the audience, he further described and demonstrated four situations where
pressure points can be used to defend oneself from attack. The moves
involved being grabbed by the forearm; being pushed against the wall and
grabbed at the neck; dealing with an obnoxious and usually larger person
putting his arms around your shoulder and pushing you around that way; and
stopping a fist, slap or punch directed to your head.
Scott said that his best students are people in their 50s and 60s who are
serious about wanting to learn self-defence. Further, that most people who
learn self-defence skills are not likely to ever have to use them to ward
off an attack. However, he added, the skills can be useful in other ways,
such as learning how to fall without causing serious injury.
Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg then brought everyone up to date on
upcoming events and called on Roy Albiston to conduct the always informative
Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about expat living in
Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the PCEC’s many activities, visit their website at
www.pcecclub.org.
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Holiday Inn celebrates 5 years
Management and staff of the
Holiday Inn Pattaya celebrate the hotel’s 5th anniversary.
Urasin Khantaraphan
The Holiday Inn Pattaya marked the fifth anniversary of the modern
tourist and business hotel with old-style tradition.
General Manager Kate Gerits invited nine months from Nongprue Temple to chant
for good fortune while hotel executives lit sticks of incense at two spirit
houses. To make merit for the hotel, the monks were given lunch.
It helped the Holiday Inn’s fortunes that the day was special on the Buddhist
calendar: the eighth day of the 11th month on the Thai calendar.
Located in North Pattaya, the Holiday Inn opened in 2009 with 367 rooms. This
year it added the 200-room Executive Tower, which also features numerous
convention halls and meeting rooms.
The main hotel offers spacious rooms of 33-46 sq. meters with family suites of
86 sq. meters and a “King Ocean Suite” covering 119 sq. meters. Modern
amenities, including large flat-screen TVs and high-speed Internet access, are
matched with gardens, swimming pools and spas.
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Movers & Shakers get down to business at the ‘Workshop’
Adam Sutcliffe, sales director for
Thailand-proerty.com hands over a hotel voucher to the lucky winner.
Paul Strachan
The corporate networking phenomena Movers & Shakers rolled back into
town on Friday the 19th of September and chose the stunning ‘Workshop’, the
meeting area at the new executive tower of the Holiday Inn.
For many this was their first look at Workshop. The whole floor pays homage to
the industrial aspect of the Eastern Seaboard with metal plating on the walls
and features a one-of-a-kind purpose built auditorium.
The Riviera Group, who are responsible for the stunning condominium developments
The Riviera Wongamat and The Riviera Jomtien, have come on board as the primary
sponsor and have signed up for a year for the monthly events in Bangkok and the
quarterly events in Pattaya.
Secondary sponsors were Bartercard, the popular trading system where you can buy
products/services, and a new company called Thailand property.com which is a
property portal website listing thousands of properties in Thailand.
Over 230 people came along to the networking event and enjoyed the convivial
atmosphere, red & white wine, chilled Heineken and soft drinks, as well as
delicious snacks including roast pork, fried rice and spicy chicken wraps.
Brand ambassador for The Riviera Group, Kamonrat Ladseeta (Emmy), who is a
professional model and can be seen on all The Riviera Wongamat marketing,
brought a bit of glamour to the proceedings and as it was her birthday she was
presented with a cake as the crowd sung Happy Birthday to her.
A spot prize of a night’s stay in Bangkok was donated by Thailand property. com
and Bartercard donated a prize of a ‘Flyboard ‘experience which is an adrenaline
pumping new water sports craze.
Entry for Movers & Shakers is open to everybody; the cost is 400 baht for ladies
and 750 baht for men. It’s a great way to make new business connections or
simply to socialize.
For more information visit: ww.facebook.com/MoversShakersPattaya
Janey from Riviera Group presents Kamonrat Ladseeta
(Emmy) with some gifts for her birthday.
The beautiful Rivieria girls keep
up the ‘Glamorous Lifestyle Ocean Dreams’ concept.
Ubonjitr Thamchop Min Hudson - Marketing Manager for
The Riviera Group introduces the The Riviera Wongamat Beach as well as announces
the launch of The Riviera Jomtien.
Pongstorn Sangruchi seen enjoying a photo
opportunity with ‘The Riviera Girls’.
(R to L) Cees Cuijpers, founder of Movers & Shakers,
with Brand Ambassador for Riviera Group Kamonrat Ladseeta (Emmy) and her husband
Antoine.
Kamonrat Ladseeta (Emmy) blows out the candles on
her birthday cake.
Junior Shaw from Bartercard presents a Flyboard
experience to a lucky winner.
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Over 30,000 baht raised at PILC charity bingo night
One of our many excited younger
winners.
Nancy Aly-Hegazy,
Special Events Chair PILC
Saturday 13th September was the Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) Bingo
Night at Linda’s Restaurant in Jomtien.
Bingo Night is another highly anticipated annual special event organised by the
Pattaya International Ladies Club. The event this year managed to be both
successful (we managed to raise over 30,000 baht for our charities) and fun for
the club’s members, families and friends. We had plenty of winners (both young
and old) who won all sorts of prizes from bottles of wine to Lego sets. The aim
this year was to introduce younger family members to the fun of Bingo.
A big thank you must go to our dear friend Linda whose huge contribution to the
event helped the fundraising effort. Linda put on an amazing buffet for our
guests that included delicious dishes from the kitchens at Linda’s Restaurant.
Linda tempted us with her specialty beef stroganoff, stir-fries, pasta dishes
and salads as well as an amazing array of desserts.
Thank you to all our members and friends who joined us and to Ray who was our
caller for the night.
The event was a sell-out and we had almost 90 people attend. Once again it was
great to see so many different nationalities, and families from all over Pattaya
and beyond join in the event.
PILC looks forward to seeing you all at our next event being held at the Pullman
Hotel and which celebrates the Melbourne Cup - email [email protected]
for more information.
And of course don’t forget that this year the PILC Christmas Bazaar will be held
at the Holiday Inn on Sunday 23rd November. See you soon!
Members of the PILC Committee congratulating another
winner.
Bottles of wine were amongst the many prizes.
The buffet was a huge hit with the hungry crowd.
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