Pierfrancesco Cravel (born 14 November 1969 in Aosta, Valle d'Aosta) is an Italian architect and designer.
After having worked to some projects such as the Lawrence Steele's Milanese interiors, 'The Vertical Home', ' Grand Vases' with Andrea Branzi, in 1998 he becomes art director of Trussardi Group where he designs the Trussardi fragrance bottle 'Python' and he conceives the advertising campaingns with photographers Satoshi Saikusa, Steven Klein and Armin Linke.
In 2000 he founds Italian architecture firm 'pfcarchitects' headquartered in Milan.
Notable projects by Cravel include theoretical Decostruction of Pirelli Milan's Skyscraper (1992), Villa Moda (2001), Milan's trans-Opaque loft (2002) Milan's disco 'Luminal' (2004), Kuwait Sport Centre(2001), restoration of Villa Beretta Trèves dock in Belgirate (2005), 'Babochka Gallery', department store in Saint Petersburg (2006), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) boulevard (2008), and work for Allegri (clothing retailer) (2009).
Cravel has collaborated with magazines such as Il Giornale, L'Uomo Vogue He has co-written with other famous Italian architects, such as Corrado Levi , Andrea Branzi, Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis, Fabio Novembre
He graduated at the Politecnico di Milano.
After having worked to some projects such as the Lawrence Steele's Milanese interiors, 'The Vertical Home', ' Grand Vases' with Andrea Branzi, in 1998 he becomes art director of Trussardi Group where he designs the Trussardi fragrance bottle 'Python' and he conceives the advertising campaingns with photographers Satoshi Saikusa, Steven Klein and Armin Linke.
In 2000 he founds Italian architecture firm 'pfcarchitects' headquartered in Milan.
Notable projects by Cravel include theoretical Decostruction of Pirelli Milan's Skyscraper (1992), Villa Moda (2001), Milan's trans-Opaque loft (2002) Milan's disco 'Luminal' (2004), Kuwait Sport Centre(2001), restoration of Villa Beretta Trèves dock in Belgirate (2005), 'Babochka Gallery', department store in Saint Petersburg (2006), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) boulevard (2008), and work for Allegri (clothing retailer) (2009).
Cravel has collaborated with magazines such as Il Giornale, L'Uomo Vogue He has co-written with other famous Italian architects, such as Corrado Levi , Andrea Branzi, Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis, Fabio Novembre
He graduated at the Politecnico di Milano.
In March 2008, it was announced that the BBC would take over coverage of Formula One from ITV after a 12 year absence since they lost the rights at the start of the 1997 season. It was later revealed that ITV had opened a "get out clause" in their contract with rights holder Bernie Ecclestone to stop covering the sport in 2009. This gave ITV the budget to televise more football, having just won a contract from the BBC to televise the FA Cup and England internationals.
History
The BBC held the rights to Formula One between 1976 and 1996. Over the years the BBC coverage developed around a strong team, particularly the commentators. Murray Walker was the lead from 1976 to 1996 (till 2001 on ITV). His co-commentator originally was James Hunt and later Jonathan Palmer. By the end of its tenure the BBC had various features such as a pre-race show, pit lane reporters and live qualifying (on Grandstand).
Intro
The famous theme by Fleetwood Mac (the end section of their song, The Chain) returned for the 2009 coverage. It was originally used as the BBC Formula One theme tune from 1978 through to 1996. The 2009 introduction was shot in High Definition and made extensive use of CGI.
Team
Jake Humphrey
Jake Humphrey anchors the BBC's Formula 1 coverage, assuming the equivalent role of ITV F1's former anchor Steve Rider. Having started his BBC career on CBBC, Humphrey more recently made the move to sports broadcasting, initially presenting Newsround spin off Sportsround. Over the course of 2006, 2007 and 2008 his sport experience grew; he anchored the BBC's coverage of the Women's FA Cup Final on BBC One, and deputised for Ray Stubbs and Manish Bhasin on Final Score and Football Focus (making him the youngest ever BBC Sport presenter to host all three shows). In October 2007, he became the BBC's first ever American Football host, subsequently presenting Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLIII live. He also had a major role in the BBC's coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games.
David Coulthard
Over the course of a long career, David raced for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. Having achieved 13 career wins and second place in the championship in 2001, David retired in 2008, and jumped straight in to the BBC Sport team as a pundit alongside Eddie Jordan. David still tests for Red Bull Racing as well as being a consultant and reserve driver for the team. In 2010, he is also making a return to racing, competing in the DTM touring car series.
Eddie Jordan
Eddie Jordan, ex-principal of the Jordan F1 Team appears alongside David Coulthard as a pundit for BBC Sport. Jordan was team owner of Jordan from 1991 to 2004, guiding the team to third in the Championship in 1999. Jordan is well known in the F1 paddock for his lively character and opinionated nature.
Coulthard and Jordan replace ITV F1's Mark Blundell.
Jonathan Legard
Jonathan Legard is the main commentator for BBC's coverage, replacing the role of ITV F1's James Allen. Jonathan is a BBC Sport veteran, having been Radio 5 Live's first ever sports news correspondent. He was then 5 Live's F1 commentator from 1997 to 2004, before handing the role to Maurice Hamilton and subsequently David Croft. He became 5 Live's Football correspondent from 2004 until 2008, before taking up the role of BBC F1 Commentator in 2009.
Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle retains the role he had with ITV F1, this time being partnered by Jonathan Legard in place of James Allen. Brundle started in the role in 1997, when ITV first acquired the rights to Formula 1 from the BBC. He formed a popular partnership with Murray Walker until he retired in 2001. Brundle became an extremely popular part of ITV's coverage, winning multiple awards for his commentary. His "grid walk" in which Martin, whilst live on air walks along the grid interviewing whoever he can find provided some excellent television and became a highlight of ITV's pre race show. This feature continues on the BBC coverage.
Ted Kravitz
Ted Kravitz, alongside Lee McKenzie, continues the role he played in ITV F1 as F1 news and pit lane reporter. Along with Brundle, they are the only two members of the ITV team to make the transition to BBC Sport. Kravitz took over the role of ITV pit lane reporter in 2001 following James Allen's move to commentator, replacing the retiring Murray Walker. Prior to this, Kravitz had been ITV's commentary box producer.
Lee McKenzie
Daughter of Bob McKenzie, Lee McKenzie assists Ted Kravitz in her role of reporter. She is the only female member of the BBC F1 team, effectively replacing ITV's Louise Goodman in the roles of providing features for pre- and post-race shows and interviewing retiring drivers during the race.
Murray Walker
The 'voice of F1', Murray Walker, at the age of 86, returned to the BBC F1 coverage on the BBC Formula 1 website. He has his own video blog previewing and reviewing each race, and answering fans' questions. Walker previously commentated for the BBC and ITV before retiring in 2001. Whenever Walker is absent from his blog, Jonathan Legard fills in.
Mike Gascoyne
Mike Gascoyne is a designer of Formula One cars. Gascoyne has worked for several grand prix teams including McLaren, Force India and Renault.
He was a temporary replacement for Eddie Jordan at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix (19 April 2009), and is currently the Chief Technical Officer at the new Lotus F1 Racing (due to make its debut at the start of the 2010 season).
Anthony Davidson
Former Super Aguri driver teams up with David Croft and Maurice Hamilton to cover all sessions on Radio 5 Live. He has also appeared on the F1 forum substituting for Martin Brundle.
Coverage
BBC coverage starts the week prior with 'Classic' Grand Prix of that particular circuit being shown on the red button and the website. There may also be a preview done by Murray Walker or another member of the team. The two Friday and one Saturday practice is shown online and the red button with commentary by the Radio 5 Live team (occasionally a guest commentator such as Sir Jackie Stewart). There is then usually a 130 minute qualifying programme that includes, qualifying and various other features. The race day programme usually lasts 170 minutes with various features such as the grid walk and uniterupted coverage of the race. There are various features available during the race such as different commentary and in car camera angles. After the programme there is an hour long 'F1 Forum', with Jake Humphrey, Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard and Martin Brundle (substituted once by Anthony Davidson), along with some of the drivers or key members of the Teams who drop in for an informal chat about the race. For the 'early morning' races (lights out before 8am UK time) the race is repeated in full during the afternoon of the same day. After the race a 90 second summary is usually produced on the website and a highlights show can be seen on BBC Three. Monday after a race Martin Brundle will complete his analysis, and Murray Walker will review the race. Murray will also respond to viewers questions in between Grand Prix.
History
The BBC held the rights to Formula One between 1976 and 1996. Over the years the BBC coverage developed around a strong team, particularly the commentators. Murray Walker was the lead from 1976 to 1996 (till 2001 on ITV). His co-commentator originally was James Hunt and later Jonathan Palmer. By the end of its tenure the BBC had various features such as a pre-race show, pit lane reporters and live qualifying (on Grandstand).
Intro
The famous theme by Fleetwood Mac (the end section of their song, The Chain) returned for the 2009 coverage. It was originally used as the BBC Formula One theme tune from 1978 through to 1996. The 2009 introduction was shot in High Definition and made extensive use of CGI.
Team
Jake Humphrey
Jake Humphrey anchors the BBC's Formula 1 coverage, assuming the equivalent role of ITV F1's former anchor Steve Rider. Having started his BBC career on CBBC, Humphrey more recently made the move to sports broadcasting, initially presenting Newsround spin off Sportsround. Over the course of 2006, 2007 and 2008 his sport experience grew; he anchored the BBC's coverage of the Women's FA Cup Final on BBC One, and deputised for Ray Stubbs and Manish Bhasin on Final Score and Football Focus (making him the youngest ever BBC Sport presenter to host all three shows). In October 2007, he became the BBC's first ever American Football host, subsequently presenting Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLIII live. He also had a major role in the BBC's coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games.
David Coulthard
Over the course of a long career, David raced for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. Having achieved 13 career wins and second place in the championship in 2001, David retired in 2008, and jumped straight in to the BBC Sport team as a pundit alongside Eddie Jordan. David still tests for Red Bull Racing as well as being a consultant and reserve driver for the team. In 2010, he is also making a return to racing, competing in the DTM touring car series.
Eddie Jordan
Eddie Jordan, ex-principal of the Jordan F1 Team appears alongside David Coulthard as a pundit for BBC Sport. Jordan was team owner of Jordan from 1991 to 2004, guiding the team to third in the Championship in 1999. Jordan is well known in the F1 paddock for his lively character and opinionated nature.
Coulthard and Jordan replace ITV F1's Mark Blundell.
Jonathan Legard
Jonathan Legard is the main commentator for BBC's coverage, replacing the role of ITV F1's James Allen. Jonathan is a BBC Sport veteran, having been Radio 5 Live's first ever sports news correspondent. He was then 5 Live's F1 commentator from 1997 to 2004, before handing the role to Maurice Hamilton and subsequently David Croft. He became 5 Live's Football correspondent from 2004 until 2008, before taking up the role of BBC F1 Commentator in 2009.
Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle retains the role he had with ITV F1, this time being partnered by Jonathan Legard in place of James Allen. Brundle started in the role in 1997, when ITV first acquired the rights to Formula 1 from the BBC. He formed a popular partnership with Murray Walker until he retired in 2001. Brundle became an extremely popular part of ITV's coverage, winning multiple awards for his commentary. His "grid walk" in which Martin, whilst live on air walks along the grid interviewing whoever he can find provided some excellent television and became a highlight of ITV's pre race show. This feature continues on the BBC coverage.
Ted Kravitz
Ted Kravitz, alongside Lee McKenzie, continues the role he played in ITV F1 as F1 news and pit lane reporter. Along with Brundle, they are the only two members of the ITV team to make the transition to BBC Sport. Kravitz took over the role of ITV pit lane reporter in 2001 following James Allen's move to commentator, replacing the retiring Murray Walker. Prior to this, Kravitz had been ITV's commentary box producer.
Lee McKenzie
Daughter of Bob McKenzie, Lee McKenzie assists Ted Kravitz in her role of reporter. She is the only female member of the BBC F1 team, effectively replacing ITV's Louise Goodman in the roles of providing features for pre- and post-race shows and interviewing retiring drivers during the race.
Murray Walker
The 'voice of F1', Murray Walker, at the age of 86, returned to the BBC F1 coverage on the BBC Formula 1 website. He has his own video blog previewing and reviewing each race, and answering fans' questions. Walker previously commentated for the BBC and ITV before retiring in 2001. Whenever Walker is absent from his blog, Jonathan Legard fills in.
Mike Gascoyne
Mike Gascoyne is a designer of Formula One cars. Gascoyne has worked for several grand prix teams including McLaren, Force India and Renault.
He was a temporary replacement for Eddie Jordan at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix (19 April 2009), and is currently the Chief Technical Officer at the new Lotus F1 Racing (due to make its debut at the start of the 2010 season).
Anthony Davidson
Former Super Aguri driver teams up with David Croft and Maurice Hamilton to cover all sessions on Radio 5 Live. He has also appeared on the F1 forum substituting for Martin Brundle.
Coverage
BBC coverage starts the week prior with 'Classic' Grand Prix of that particular circuit being shown on the red button and the website. There may also be a preview done by Murray Walker or another member of the team. The two Friday and one Saturday practice is shown online and the red button with commentary by the Radio 5 Live team (occasionally a guest commentator such as Sir Jackie Stewart). There is then usually a 130 minute qualifying programme that includes, qualifying and various other features. The race day programme usually lasts 170 minutes with various features such as the grid walk and uniterupted coverage of the race. There are various features available during the race such as different commentary and in car camera angles. After the programme there is an hour long 'F1 Forum', with Jake Humphrey, Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard and Martin Brundle (substituted once by Anthony Davidson), along with some of the drivers or key members of the Teams who drop in for an informal chat about the race. For the 'early morning' races (lights out before 8am UK time) the race is repeated in full during the afternoon of the same day. After the race a 90 second summary is usually produced on the website and a highlights show can be seen on BBC Three. Monday after a race Martin Brundle will complete his analysis, and Murray Walker will review the race. Murray will also respond to viewers questions in between Grand Prix.
Kateda is a self defense martial art. Its origins are claimed to be somewhere in the area of South Asia and/or South East Asia and is claimed to date from 1000 BC or even earlier; its teachers say it "was one of many knowledges that existed at that time". Various different stories of its origins exist, but a common theme is that it originated in the Tibetan Himalayas and was then taken to Indonesia.
Kateda was first described in English by Lionel Nasution in his 1984 book Kateda. The book is now extremely rare and laid out sketchy details of various aspects of Central Power. It also laid out the idea of a New World Peace Force. It is unknown whether this book is a translation of the original leather volume found by Tagashi, or to what extent it is an original work.
Kateda was originally used for self-protection against the harsh Himalayan environment and as a basic training for maintaining a natural and healthy lifestyle. The book Kateda says that it is based on seven elements: bravery, challenges, leadership, sacrifices, togetherness, peace, and knowledge.. Keeping this in mind, one could say Kateda, or Kixa training, offers a good solution to living a peaceful life, in a simplistic setting, being able to defend oneself from outside attack, and happy with one's state; this scenario may be considered ideal in more natural conditions to those offered by modern society, although it could be suited to those to whom money is not a concern. This unsuitability, attributed to Kateda's focus on physical self defence and peace of mind, could be made up for if Kateda training incorporated intellectual development in order to deal with modern society. The opening of central halls at various locations incorporates an educational program incorporating such aspects, as well as existing ones, one could see Kateda attaining sustained popularity; however, this sort of approach would have to be initially targeted towards a wide, open minded audience, the likes of which may be found in the third world, and introduced in analogy to introduction of education to wider audiences in England by the advent of public schools in the 1300s.
Training
Training is usually conducted once- or twice-weekly and takes place in a mixed class of all degrees of proficiency, lead by a black belt or higher. Students practice the basic movements, numbered 1 to 10, a series of combination movements, numbered 11 to 20, and Central Power.
Some say they felt a high comparable to those attained by use of hard drugs through the training. This may be caused by the rush of endorphins and sympathetic drive created through such strenuous exercise.
One can only think of the results if one combined weight training with kixa training on the acquired physical strength one may gain.
Sparring and fighting
Although Kateda is a spectacularly aggressive martial art with heavy emphasis on what looks to the newcomer like extreme physical endurance of all forms, fighting plays no part in Kateda Self Defence below black belt. Students of above black belt engage in sparring while delivering Central Power to their limbs. This is done under strict supervision only once the individual has developed a peaceful mentality and demonstrated control over anger and aggression. Only at this point are students permitted to combine Central Power with Self Defence movements.
Grandtraining
Kateda holds an annual "Grandtraining", which is an intensive weekend-long training event. Through this weekend camp, students engage in intensive martial arts and Central Power training. Grade-holders are expected to push themselves to their limits and go without sleep, engaging in deep Central Power training which is used to keep them warm. Conditions are very basic and little food is distributed, as this is meant to go some way in replicating the harsh Tibetan environment in which Kateda was supposedly developed many thousands of years ago.
Controversy
Kateda gained popularity in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, under the Grandmaster Lionel Nasution, which lead to the worldwide headquarters of Kateda being moved to London. Nasution was said to have learned directly from Tagashi. The art grew rapidly and had many hundreds if not thousands of students, but a BBC television programme in the early 1990s made dramatic claims about cultish behaviour, murky financial issues and serious injuries. A great many Kateda classes were run in West London, which was home to many BBC employees; it was predictable that at least one BBC journalist would be attending. Evidence for the documentary's claims came from first-hand testimonies of ex-students and ex-instructors.
Doubt was also cast over students' apparent rapid promotion through the coloured belts, with some being granted a black belt after just one year of training. This was in sharp contrast to arts such as karate, where it can take a decade to reach black belt. Critics viewed Kateda therefore as just a black belt factory and claimed that a Kateda black-belt would offer no defence against an attack from a holder of a far lesser belt of a "more serious" martial art. Whilst this point was never formally tested in an inter-art sparring contest, the spectacular feats of Kateda's students, instructors and masters were never under doubt and the sparring that took place above black belt certainly looked authentic and was frequently captured on video. Additionally, the way in which Masters, the Vice-masters and the Grandmaster sent assailants hurtling on the floor could probably not be faked on such a scale.
The justification within Kateda for the rapid progress of students was the somewhat mystical idea that "progress always speeds up just before a new Grandmaster is going to take over". However, there were persistent rumours that instructors were graded on the basis of how many new recruits they got in the door, which if true would explain why high-grade instructors tended to be so charismatic and focused on finding new recruits and encouraging existing recruits to pay up for the Grandtraining weekends. There was regular speculation over which of the Eighth-Graders was going to be stay as Vice-master and perhaps appointed successor; the Grandmaster regularly stripped them of their titles because they were not training "well enough." Critics said that this was just a sham designed to inject integrity into an elaborate con trick. It was also unclear what would happen to the existing Grandmaster when the new one took over since there could only be one Grandmaster at a time; would the old Grandmaster lose his super-duper Grandmasterly abilities, or perhaps die? This point was never addressed satisfactorily by the organisation and students were told not to question the Grandmaster.
Nasution reportedly left England and returned to Indonesia in the immediate wake of the BBC documentary, which did nothing to dispel the atmosphere of suspicion. Certainly the Kateda organisation encouraged its students to socialise at the organisation's headquarters in suburban London although this can hardly be deemed absolute proof of cultist behaviour, or perhaps it was simply a cult of having fun with like-minded people. Perhaps more sinisterly, however, Instructors and Masters were encouraged to drive souped-up black cars, to listen to preprepared tapes of music and spoken words and join the un-publicised Kateda Car Club (KCC). At meetings of the KCC, students allegedly engaged in even more extreme physical tests of Central Power but such stories were kept quiet by those involved. Additionally, the Kateda Book's description of the New World Peace Force only added to the allegations of cultishness.
Related Arts and Present Day
After the BBC exposé on Kateda, the art seemed to go underground. It still survives but offshoots from the original organisation have appeared to have attempted to escape the controversy, under the names of Kixa, Keita and Keinja. Kixa seems to be the largest. A number of apparently related arts are also practiced, such as Sindo and the very obscure Nearu.
Sindo is either identical or almost identical to Kateda. The founder of Sindo, Jimmy Thaibsyah trained with Lionel Nasution between 1972 and 1986 but has said that there are differences between the two arts and that Mount Bromo has no significance to Sindo. It appears that Sindo is therefore an art that developed in parallel to Kateda.
Although many consider Nearu as a fusion of Kateda but actually the grand master of Nearu, Amir Lotfi, learned and practiced Kateda as many other martial arts; such as Karate, Thai-chi, Aikido, Judo and Silat, he studied before registering Nearu.
The story gets more complex with Kixa, however, which employs a schematic log of Mount Bromo that engulfs the word 'Kixa'. This is all-but-identical to the Kateda logo and suggests strongly that Kixa is essentially a "phoenix" organisation.
Notwithstanding Kixa's emergence, Kateda appears to continue to exist in some form but details are sketchy. Both Kateda and Kixa classes are held in London but the extent to which the organisations are related is presently undetermined.
Kixa itself claims on its website to be the "closest art to Shaolin". Since the Shaolin arts were probably brought to the Shaolin Temple in China by a Persian monk, this claim is perhaps at odds with other histories. However, the similarity between Kixa/Kateda and the feats of which practitioners of Qigong and Yiquan are capable and the prevalence of Kuntao arts across the Malaysian peninsula and Indonesian archipelago suggest more than just an obtuse link. However such a link might be seen to loosen Kateda's claims of Tibetan origin, unless of course the Persian monk who arrived in Shaolin himself was a disciple of an earlier Tibetan tradition.
Similarity to yoga
Kateda's intense focus on breathing and muscle techniques is very similar to the exercises of Yoga. Ashtanga yoga in particular shares Kateda's precise synchronisation of breathing and movement. However, Kateda practitioners instruct the release of breath into a movemen whilst Ashtanga teaches the reverse. Additionally, Yoga recognises a series of bandhas, which map directly to the muscle groups involved in the muscle control phase of Central Power. One of the bandhas described in Yoga is located in the solar plexus, upon which Kateda places great emphasis. Another bandha (uddayana bandha) is the same as the "stomach lock" in Kateda. Yoga's use of candles in "tatrika" (eye purification) is exactly parallel to the use of the same props in Kateda's development of "One Direction".
Kateda was first described in English by Lionel Nasution in his 1984 book Kateda. The book is now extremely rare and laid out sketchy details of various aspects of Central Power. It also laid out the idea of a New World Peace Force. It is unknown whether this book is a translation of the original leather volume found by Tagashi, or to what extent it is an original work.
Kateda was originally used for self-protection against the harsh Himalayan environment and as a basic training for maintaining a natural and healthy lifestyle. The book Kateda says that it is based on seven elements: bravery, challenges, leadership, sacrifices, togetherness, peace, and knowledge.. Keeping this in mind, one could say Kateda, or Kixa training, offers a good solution to living a peaceful life, in a simplistic setting, being able to defend oneself from outside attack, and happy with one's state; this scenario may be considered ideal in more natural conditions to those offered by modern society, although it could be suited to those to whom money is not a concern. This unsuitability, attributed to Kateda's focus on physical self defence and peace of mind, could be made up for if Kateda training incorporated intellectual development in order to deal with modern society. The opening of central halls at various locations incorporates an educational program incorporating such aspects, as well as existing ones, one could see Kateda attaining sustained popularity; however, this sort of approach would have to be initially targeted towards a wide, open minded audience, the likes of which may be found in the third world, and introduced in analogy to introduction of education to wider audiences in England by the advent of public schools in the 1300s.
Training
Training is usually conducted once- or twice-weekly and takes place in a mixed class of all degrees of proficiency, lead by a black belt or higher. Students practice the basic movements, numbered 1 to 10, a series of combination movements, numbered 11 to 20, and Central Power.
Some say they felt a high comparable to those attained by use of hard drugs through the training. This may be caused by the rush of endorphins and sympathetic drive created through such strenuous exercise.
One can only think of the results if one combined weight training with kixa training on the acquired physical strength one may gain.
Sparring and fighting
Although Kateda is a spectacularly aggressive martial art with heavy emphasis on what looks to the newcomer like extreme physical endurance of all forms, fighting plays no part in Kateda Self Defence below black belt. Students of above black belt engage in sparring while delivering Central Power to their limbs. This is done under strict supervision only once the individual has developed a peaceful mentality and demonstrated control over anger and aggression. Only at this point are students permitted to combine Central Power with Self Defence movements.
Grandtraining
Kateda holds an annual "Grandtraining", which is an intensive weekend-long training event. Through this weekend camp, students engage in intensive martial arts and Central Power training. Grade-holders are expected to push themselves to their limits and go without sleep, engaging in deep Central Power training which is used to keep them warm. Conditions are very basic and little food is distributed, as this is meant to go some way in replicating the harsh Tibetan environment in which Kateda was supposedly developed many thousands of years ago.
Controversy
Kateda gained popularity in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, under the Grandmaster Lionel Nasution, which lead to the worldwide headquarters of Kateda being moved to London. Nasution was said to have learned directly from Tagashi. The art grew rapidly and had many hundreds if not thousands of students, but a BBC television programme in the early 1990s made dramatic claims about cultish behaviour, murky financial issues and serious injuries. A great many Kateda classes were run in West London, which was home to many BBC employees; it was predictable that at least one BBC journalist would be attending. Evidence for the documentary's claims came from first-hand testimonies of ex-students and ex-instructors.
Doubt was also cast over students' apparent rapid promotion through the coloured belts, with some being granted a black belt after just one year of training. This was in sharp contrast to arts such as karate, where it can take a decade to reach black belt. Critics viewed Kateda therefore as just a black belt factory and claimed that a Kateda black-belt would offer no defence against an attack from a holder of a far lesser belt of a "more serious" martial art. Whilst this point was never formally tested in an inter-art sparring contest, the spectacular feats of Kateda's students, instructors and masters were never under doubt and the sparring that took place above black belt certainly looked authentic and was frequently captured on video. Additionally, the way in which Masters, the Vice-masters and the Grandmaster sent assailants hurtling on the floor could probably not be faked on such a scale.
The justification within Kateda for the rapid progress of students was the somewhat mystical idea that "progress always speeds up just before a new Grandmaster is going to take over". However, there were persistent rumours that instructors were graded on the basis of how many new recruits they got in the door, which if true would explain why high-grade instructors tended to be so charismatic and focused on finding new recruits and encouraging existing recruits to pay up for the Grandtraining weekends. There was regular speculation over which of the Eighth-Graders was going to be stay as Vice-master and perhaps appointed successor; the Grandmaster regularly stripped them of their titles because they were not training "well enough." Critics said that this was just a sham designed to inject integrity into an elaborate con trick. It was also unclear what would happen to the existing Grandmaster when the new one took over since there could only be one Grandmaster at a time; would the old Grandmaster lose his super-duper Grandmasterly abilities, or perhaps die? This point was never addressed satisfactorily by the organisation and students were told not to question the Grandmaster.
Nasution reportedly left England and returned to Indonesia in the immediate wake of the BBC documentary, which did nothing to dispel the atmosphere of suspicion. Certainly the Kateda organisation encouraged its students to socialise at the organisation's headquarters in suburban London although this can hardly be deemed absolute proof of cultist behaviour, or perhaps it was simply a cult of having fun with like-minded people. Perhaps more sinisterly, however, Instructors and Masters were encouraged to drive souped-up black cars, to listen to preprepared tapes of music and spoken words and join the un-publicised Kateda Car Club (KCC). At meetings of the KCC, students allegedly engaged in even more extreme physical tests of Central Power but such stories were kept quiet by those involved. Additionally, the Kateda Book's description of the New World Peace Force only added to the allegations of cultishness.
Related Arts and Present Day
After the BBC exposé on Kateda, the art seemed to go underground. It still survives but offshoots from the original organisation have appeared to have attempted to escape the controversy, under the names of Kixa, Keita and Keinja. Kixa seems to be the largest. A number of apparently related arts are also practiced, such as Sindo and the very obscure Nearu.
Sindo is either identical or almost identical to Kateda. The founder of Sindo, Jimmy Thaibsyah trained with Lionel Nasution between 1972 and 1986 but has said that there are differences between the two arts and that Mount Bromo has no significance to Sindo. It appears that Sindo is therefore an art that developed in parallel to Kateda.
Although many consider Nearu as a fusion of Kateda but actually the grand master of Nearu, Amir Lotfi, learned and practiced Kateda as many other martial arts; such as Karate, Thai-chi, Aikido, Judo and Silat, he studied before registering Nearu.
The story gets more complex with Kixa, however, which employs a schematic log of Mount Bromo that engulfs the word 'Kixa'. This is all-but-identical to the Kateda logo and suggests strongly that Kixa is essentially a "phoenix" organisation.
Notwithstanding Kixa's emergence, Kateda appears to continue to exist in some form but details are sketchy. Both Kateda and Kixa classes are held in London but the extent to which the organisations are related is presently undetermined.
Kixa itself claims on its website to be the "closest art to Shaolin". Since the Shaolin arts were probably brought to the Shaolin Temple in China by a Persian monk, this claim is perhaps at odds with other histories. However, the similarity between Kixa/Kateda and the feats of which practitioners of Qigong and Yiquan are capable and the prevalence of Kuntao arts across the Malaysian peninsula and Indonesian archipelago suggest more than just an obtuse link. However such a link might be seen to loosen Kateda's claims of Tibetan origin, unless of course the Persian monk who arrived in Shaolin himself was a disciple of an earlier Tibetan tradition.
Similarity to yoga
Kateda's intense focus on breathing and muscle techniques is very similar to the exercises of Yoga. Ashtanga yoga in particular shares Kateda's precise synchronisation of breathing and movement. However, Kateda practitioners instruct the release of breath into a movemen whilst Ashtanga teaches the reverse. Additionally, Yoga recognises a series of bandhas, which map directly to the muscle groups involved in the muscle control phase of Central Power. One of the bandhas described in Yoga is located in the solar plexus, upon which Kateda places great emphasis. Another bandha (uddayana bandha) is the same as the "stomach lock" in Kateda. Yoga's use of candles in "tatrika" (eye purification) is exactly parallel to the use of the same props in Kateda's development of "One Direction".
Marudio is a film by Kyle Kozaczka. It is currently in pre-production.
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PLOT SUMMARY
Jake is a 17 year old boy who is tormented by a single repeating dream. In the dream, exists a world with constant repeating actions, and constant repeating days. The few people in this world(including Jake) posess the ability to remember what happened the day before, and can change their responses to these unchanging actions. As Jake's mind begins to blend the real and dream worlds together, nothing is exactly as it seems.
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NAME
Marudio is the Swahili word for repetition.
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CAST
Kyle Kozaczka.........Jake
Connor Harrington.....Sam
Drew Manuel...........Marty
Chloe Forrant.........Nora
Alexis Periera........Walker
Kamryn Kozaczka.......Nina
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CREW
Writen and Directed By
Kyle Kozaczka
Produced by
Connor Harrington
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OTHER FILMS
The Hidden(2010)(Producer/Actor)
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PLOT SUMMARY
Jake is a 17 year old boy who is tormented by a single repeating dream. In the dream, exists a world with constant repeating actions, and constant repeating days. The few people in this world(including Jake) posess the ability to remember what happened the day before, and can change their responses to these unchanging actions. As Jake's mind begins to blend the real and dream worlds together, nothing is exactly as it seems.
----
NAME
Marudio is the Swahili word for repetition.
----
CAST
Kyle Kozaczka.........Jake
Connor Harrington.....Sam
Drew Manuel...........Marty
Chloe Forrant.........Nora
Alexis Periera........Walker
Kamryn Kozaczka.......Nina
----
CREW
Writen and Directed By
Kyle Kozaczka
Produced by
Connor Harrington
----
OTHER FILMS
The Hidden(2010)(Producer/Actor)