- 2 days ago
Okichitaw is a martial art founded by George J. Lépine in Toronto, one of the most populous cities in North America and also one of the most cosmopolitan in the world. Indeed, among its 2.8 million inhabitants, no fewer than 180 languages and dialects are spoken. The city is home to people of all origins, religions, and cultures. This cultural diversity is reflected in Okichitaw.
To develop this martial art, George J. Lépine drew inspiration from the martial practices of Canadian Indigenous peoples, which were not formally codified, as well as from historical research on various other combat techniques. The result is a martial art that combines diverse fighting techniques and ancestral Indigenous weapons, which has been modernized and codified. Today, Okichitaw is recognized as one of Toronto’s cultural treasures.
To develop this martial art, George J. Lépine drew inspiration from the martial practices of Canadian Indigenous peoples, which were not formally codified, as well as from historical research on various other combat techniques. The result is a martial art that combines diverse fighting techniques and ancestral Indigenous weapons, which has been modernized and codified. Today, Okichitaw is recognized as one of Toronto’s cultural treasures.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Thank you for listening.
01:30With its 2.8 million inhabitants, mixing 180 languages and dialects, Toronto is the fourth most populous city in North America behind Mexico, New York, and Los Angeles.
02:12It is a commercial art called Okichita.
02:14It is at the cultural center of the indigenous community,
02:43the native Canadian center, where George Lapine teaches Okichita, which he developed and set up in Canada.
02:51The martial art is based not only on technique, but also on methods of fighting the first nations of North America.
02:58It uses all the body parts and weapons used by the natives.
03:03Okay.
03:04Okay.
03:05Okay.
03:06Okay.
03:07Let's light up.
03:08Take a moment.
03:09Okay.
03:10Let's light up.
03:11Okay.
03:12Take a moment.
03:14Let's light up.
03:15Okay.
03:16Let's light up.
03:17Take a moment.
03:19Okay.
03:20Let's light up.
03:21Let's light up.
03:22Keep a moment.
03:23I'm going to do a left bird.
03:30He's going to move.
03:32Up here in the way.
03:33In the swing.
03:34Go.
03:53My name is Okimakan Kisuke no Humuku, George Lupin.
03:58I am the Chief Instructor of Okijita Martial Arts for Canada.
04:02I've been doing martial arts for many, many years,
04:04but I'm known as the Chief Instructor for this Indigenous martial arts system.
04:09I originally learned a lot of the different techniques of Indian wrestling
04:12and impact techniques when I was a very young boy with my family.
04:15My uncles were always teachers in Aboriginal martial arts
04:18and different types of tactics like knife fighting
04:21or the use of wrestling, things of this nature.
04:24We have a lot of our techniques,
04:26but we never ever had them really structured.
04:28So I originally started learning how to do some Indian wrestling
04:31and things of that nature and weapons as well.
04:33And I got into other martial arts and understood
04:35that we had to develop a structure
04:37so we could actually teach it to everybody.
04:41Besides fighting techniques,
04:43cardio exercises are very important in this martial art.
04:46For some, they even become Indigenous traditions.
04:50For some, it's just the other wrist.
04:56Both sides, both sides are going, both sides are going.
04:59For it.
05:06Okay, back down again.
05:07Slow down again.
05:08Slow down again.
05:09Slow down again.
05:10When I grab, I grab.
05:11I grab.
05:12Here.
05:13Here.
05:14Here.
05:15Here.
05:16Here.
05:17Here.
05:18Here.
05:19Here.
05:20Here.
05:21Here.
05:22Here.
05:23To better develop this art,
05:24Master Lapine was inspired by his own knowledge
05:26in fighting and martial arts
05:28that combined with its historical discoveries
05:30and Indigenous values.
05:31Here.
05:32Here.
05:33Here.
05:34Here.
05:35Here.
05:36Here.
05:39Here.
05:40Here.
05:41Here.
05:42Here.
05:43Here.
05:46Since 1997, Master Lapine has elaborated his knowledge to allow the Okichita to be the
06:05modern martial art it is today.
06:14So Okichita comes from the word Okichita Tawak, of worthy men, and what we're trying to do
06:39is we're trying to teach men to become worthy and to be warriors of peace within the community.
06:43So if you learn other martial arts, for example, you would learn that culture.
06:47When you learn Okichita, you learn the Plains Cree culture.
06:50So the Plains Indians, we have a certain type of culture associated with our living, and
06:55martial arts are tied into that. So you would learn the Plains way of doing things.
06:59So the ceremonies, the gifts of the Creator, things of that nature, and those types of tactics as well.
07:05Deeply respectful and attentive, students enjoy learning with a teacher with over 35 years' experience.
07:14A 6th Dan black belt in Taekwondo, a black belt in Hapkido, and a brown belt in Judo.
07:21Like many martial arts, movements are repeated several times until the perfect mastery of gesture.
07:26gesture.
07:45Like many martial arts, movements are repeated several times until the perfect mastery of gesture.
08:15So if we look at the martial art of Okichita, it's all based on the tomahawk, the gunstock war club, the knife, and if we name them in our language, we say Tamyak for the tomahawk,
08:32Doktina Mistik for the gunstock, and Mokkimman for the knife.
08:36And all the weapon techniques are applied to the hand techniques as well.
08:39So if you swing a tomahawk, we swing the hand the same way.
08:43If we press a knife into something, we press our hands into the same way.
08:46So all the philosophy and the structure is based on all the weapon techniques in Okichita.
08:51You know what, I'm doing nice, like this, just the reality.
08:54And then we start dealing with flicking, right?
08:57Something like this.
08:58This.
08:59Right?
09:00Totally different.
09:02I've got to be good.
09:04Oh, yeah.
09:06I've got to be, again, it's crushing and finishing up.
09:09So when we look at that last direction, it's crushing and finishing up.
09:12So the situation, one-on-one fights, they have a nice ability, their whole choreographed,
09:17and all the other stuff, right?
09:18But in reality, identify your opponent, challenge with courage, finish up, and move on to your next step.
09:24Then, oh, it makes it Merry go.
09:25Yeah.
09:26Oh, we've made it.
09:28classic discussions, end-up Despite this during weeks,
09:29or the polka cars don't take that suo,
09:31you know.
09:32Nice какие-to-ESE WEEX,
09:34and then to the lane erste and say the Ich- вот too,
09:35and unlike the miracents.
09:36We broke down.
09:37We broke down.
09:38We broke down, we broke down.
09:39We broke down.
09:40We broke down, we broke down, we broke down, we broke down.
09:42It's a big time, last year long, Saturday, March of the year.
10:01Toronto has a public transport system,
10:03which is the second longest urban network on the North American continent.
10:13That's a good one.
10:15That's a good one.
10:16That's a good one.
10:18Not far from the city are the Toronto Islands,
10:21an archipelago of small islands accessible by ferry,
10:24comparable to our river shuttles.
10:27Their location protects the port of Toronto.
11:00And the city of Florida has to walk the north.
11:02In the city of Florida,
11:03the city of Florida,
11:04and the city of Florida is a current city of York.
11:13The city of Florida has never belonged in the city of Florida.
11:16Below the area of the Toronto Islands Airport,
11:18Beyond the area of the Toronto Islands airport, car use is prohibited, making it the largest
11:32urban area without cars in North America.
11:46A small residential community has sprung up and walks in this area have become a popular
11:51destination as the amusement park on the islands.
12:12Besides being a haven of peace, the islands offer one of the best views of the city of
12:17Toronto.
12:24What is the best view?
13:05Fort York is a historic military fort whose construction located west of downtown Toronto was ordered by Colonel John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor of the British Province of Upper Canada. He chose this site to establish a naval base and control Lake Ontario due to a possible war with the United States.
13:26He also moved the provincial capital to Toronto, from the border and vulnerable town of Niagara. Toronto he later renamed York.
13:39The first garrison arrived in 1793, while the first barracks and brick were built in 1815.
13:52Today, Fort York is a museum where the barracks serve as fingerprints of history, restored as at the time, and to discover the lifestyle of these settlers who came to defend Canada.
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16:16keep our culture alive and and that's that's what we're doing and we're i'm a living example
16:24i i live my culture the best i can and and it's it's and i some native people think
16:33think they're hard done by because they're native people sorry for themselves i i tell them to you
16:38know take don't think that way be proud we have two cultures we have the culture of the dominant
16:45society and it's very dominant and we're part of it whether we like it or not we're a part of it
17:07the museum houses galleries featuring traditional items and weapons of the time
17:15so
17:34if you don't know your culture you don't know who you are i know who i am
17:39if you don't know your ancestors then you don't know who you are i know who my ancestors are
17:46and we're like a family when when i go there i the young people there when i go to support my nephew
17:52in the program they uh they see that and they they call me uncle or motion motion means grandfather
18:01and my name i've earned the name of the champion that said great grandfather
18:06a sin a sin means rock means stone and rock my beliefs is solid as a rock
18:20today is the support of the city of toronto but also friends of fort york and other community members
18:26that make this a living history museum
18:40so
18:46so
18:56toronto has many high rises
18:58where in 2014 it had 147 towers under construction more than new york
19:14and
19:17and
19:18and
19:20and
19:22and
19:24and
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19:32Contrary to what some might think, the Okichita is a martial art also allowed for children.
19:58It has just been adapted so that they can practice it more simply.
20:02This is particularly evident from the sessions that are more relaxed than for adults.
20:32As with adults, cardio is important and warming up begins the season.
20:44As with adults, cardio is important and warming up begins the same way.
21:03Okichita, it was kind of a gift that was brought towards me from the elders in our community.
21:18As a martial artist for over 40 years, I was approached by the elders to say, we need to have our own system taught to our community and to share our story.
21:25So I was actually pushed by the elders to be able to deliver this to our community and beyond.
21:32So I was actually empowered by our native leaders to be able to move forward on this.
21:37So it wasn't just me, it was our community that came together and also the guidance of our elders.
21:42As our elders say, we want to become warriors of peace.
21:44It's very, very important that we embrace the philosophy of peacefulness, but also have that application of courage as well.
21:50So if we look at Okichita, the philosophy behind Okichita is something like this, make my enemy strong, courageous and brave for if I defeat him, I will not be ashamed.
22:13So we want people to learn how we have our indomitable strength and power and also share our culture with them as well.
22:20So if you did Japanese martial arts, you would learn Japanese culture.
22:24You did Chinese martial arts, you would learn Chinese culture.
22:26When you do Okichita, you learn our Cree culture.
22:29And it's very, very important because we believe that we're inherently responsible for Mother Earth and we have a great connection to the Great Spirit.
22:36We want to share that with someone.
22:38And it's very, very important that we share our stories so we don't lose our history.
22:42Very quietly. Okay? Seek up to your target. Very quietly. Bring the legs.
22:48And first.
22:49Okay.
22:50Okay.
22:51Okay.
22:52Okay.
22:53Quiet.
22:54Quiet.
22:55Go.
22:56Go.
22:57Go.
22:58Go.
22:59Go.
23:00Go.
23:01Go.
23:02Go.
23:03Go.
23:04Go.
23:05Go.
23:06Go.
23:07Go.
23:08Go.
23:09Go.
23:10Go.
23:11Go.
23:12Go.
23:13Go.
23:14Children are as attentive as adults
23:43when Master Lapine provides technical explanations.
23:46And they seem more relaxed than adults
23:49if they remain highly concentrated.
24:06Even the children's classes are mixed.
24:13One of the challenges that we have
24:43with Okichita and our history as Indians in North America
24:46is that our translation of history
24:48has always been through oral translation.
24:50So we've always been able to speak
24:52about the techniques and show the techniques,
24:54but we've never had a formal writing system.
24:56We're in a society now where we have
24:58a variety of different media means and applications
25:00that we can actually record and document our system.
25:03And what we're looking for now is to be able to document
25:06and library and categorize our martial art
25:09in a structure that we can share it with the rest of the world.
25:12We always talk about the Indian way of sharing our story
25:15and our experiences and our beliefs.
25:17We believe that we are now moving into that realm now
25:19where we can actually use media to actually capture Okichita
25:23and share it with the rest of the world.
25:25That's what our community really wants to do
25:26and that's what our elders want us to do as well.
25:28and we will do that.
25:58Children have acquired great discipline over time with Master Lapine
26:22and are still amazed by the exercises done by adults.
26:26classical music playing
26:37Now you can't do a trouble pattern for the adult.
26:40See drop your shoulders right down before right.
26:43Then I'm going to break the startup up.
26:45I oh my goodness, when we're holding the mic,
26:48what i need is that are Ge Gelechart runs the laptop.
26:51Here, we do not distinguish between men and women because in combat, you cannot
27:21choose the sex of your opponent.
27:24This allows a large variety of fighters during training and belt passages.
27:30On the other hand, there is no competition for this martial art which, despite its many
27:35blends of combat sports, resembles a self-defense art.
27:51There are two combat sports in addition to the Cree style that is found in Okichita, Judo
28:04and Taekwondo.
28:34At the end of each training, everyone gives a hand in tidying up the room, a very important
29:01team spirit to master Lapine.
30:46Lake Ontario has an amazing view when joining the Niagara River with its famous waterfalls.
31:03Despite a variety of activities to do in the city of Niagara Falls, only the falls are known worldwide.
31:08The three falls are located at the U.S.-Canadian border and are 13 stories high.
31:22Although they are not very high, they are very impressive in their speed as they pour more than 6.8 million litres of water per second.
31:31The falls are also a huge source of hydroelectric power, while preservation remains a real ecological challenge.
31:47This natural wonder has been an ideal place for tourists for over a century.
33:15Another National Historic Site of Upper Canada is Fort George.
33:30It was in the Victorian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, formerly Newark, where you can discover and
33:36visit this fort which served as a military post in the battle against the United States
33:41during the War of 1812.
33:49So this ritual, what I'm doing right now, this is a ritual, and that's very important.
33:56We call it smudging, but the proper name is Ritual of Purification.
34:01What I'm doing is cleaning myself to step into the circle.
34:06Everything that we do, I serve.
34:10So when I do it, and when I work with the little people, and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren,
34:17I teach them, I say, you clean your mouth so you can say good things.
34:22You clean your ears so you can hear good things.
34:26You clean your eyes so you can see good things.
34:29And most of all, you clean your spirit so you can feel good things.
34:34And we do this, and anything we are going to do of importance at ceremonies or anything we're
34:42going to do before we go into martial arts, before we do anything, we do this ritual.
34:48This is very special, you notice that it's braided, it's braided, and when I don't have my bonnet
34:58on, I have my braid, and the braid represents our Mother Earth's hair.
35:04Sweetgrass is our Mother Earth's hair.
35:09And respect for women, and for the culture, we braid her hair, and we braid the sweetgrass,
35:18because this is Mother Earth's hair, our hair.
35:22See, they have the little windows locked on, so they get light in there, but also the soldiers
35:31can put their guns through the other time.
35:34See.
36:04In 1796, the construction of the fort began, and even today you can see the fort surrounded
36:17by its stockade, planted above the curtain of earth that connected two of the six stone
36:22bastions of the fort.
36:25It is called a prayer pipe, and a lot of times, a lot of non-Native people, they think that
36:39they've seen too many John Wayne movies, and they call it a peace pipe.
36:43There's no such thing as a peace pipe, it's a prayer pipe, prayer pipe, and we pray for
36:50peace, we pray, even when we use it, go into war, we pray, it's not a peace pipe, it's a
36:55prayer pipe.
36:56In many ways, it's our Bible, we consider this is our Bible, and as my nephew mentioned
37:06about the sweat lodge, the purification lodge ceremony is our synagogue, our church, our
37:14cathedral.
37:15It's so natural to sit on Mother Earth and we pray, and we heat up grandfather rocks, and
37:24then we put water on them, and we clean ourselves from the breath of the rocks.
37:31It's been a martial arts center, our native center.
37:32Yeah.
37:33Yeah.
37:34Yeah.
37:35Yeah.
37:41Okay.
37:42Yeah.
37:42Okay.
37:43Yeah.
37:47Yeah.
38:19Like many other U.S. cities with large skyscrapers, it is a real industrial center, important commercially and financially, and produces more than half of the manufactured goods from Canada. Its economic dynamism attracts all kinds of industries such as media, advertising and fashion, but also service companies such as insurance, banks or health-related organizations.
38:49At nightfall, the second life begins for the people of Toronto. It is not uncommon to see them doing an activity after dinner. Indoor or outdoors, people like to enjoy this diverse city.
40:13The bars and restaurants of Toronto are just as cosmopolitan as the city. It includes all the cuisines of the world.
40:28The bars and restaurants of Toronto are just as cosmopolitan as its capital.
40:44In order to teach Okichi taught to as many as possible, Master Lapine also lectures in other places, as here in the Riverdale neighborhood, which became, over time, one of the new Chinese neighborhoods in the city.
41:14Master Lapine carries on traditions with fun warm-ups to the sound of drums and Native American chants.
41:27Heels up.
41:28You're going to hit one quad harder than the other.
41:37Crossy step.
41:39We want to get both hands involved.
42:04Three weapons are used mainly in learning the Okichi taught, whose Notini Tawan mystic is the war club, and Mokoman, the Native American knife, as seen here.
42:17All right.
42:34Okay.
42:35Here.
42:36Here.
42:37Here.
42:38Here.
42:39Here.
42:40Here.
42:41Here.
42:42Here.
42:43Here.
42:44Here.
42:45Here.
42:46Here.
42:47Here.
42:48Here.
42:49Here.
42:50Here.
42:51Here.
42:52Here.
42:53If the first usage of the knife was for hunting or camping, it soon became useful for hand-to-hand combat during the wars.
43:00Here.
43:01Here.
43:02Here.
43:03Here.
43:04Here.
43:05Here.
43:06Here.
43:07Here.
43:08Here.
43:09Here.
43:10Here.
43:11Here.
43:12Here.
43:13Here.
43:14Here.
43:15Here.
43:16Here.
43:17Here.
43:18Here.
43:19Here.
43:20Here.
43:21Here.
43:22Here.
43:23Here.
43:24Here.
43:25Here.
43:26Here.
43:27Here.
43:28Here.
43:29Our martial art is non-competitive.
43:46We believe that competition is actually weakening.
43:50And the other application of Okichita, the techniques are very, very aggressive and very
43:54hard as far as physical force that's executed.
43:57So they're very committed and we don't limit ourselves by rules and applications because
44:03we believe in warfare or any type of combat engagement.
44:06It's about self-preservation.
44:08So the techniques in Okichita are very aggressive and they're techniques to finish out your opponent.
44:13We deliver it through four applications.
44:16The east, the south, the north and the western direction.
44:21So we identify our challenge, embrace with courage, finish out as soon as possible and
44:26move on to our next adversary or challenge.
44:28And those happen very, very quickly in Okichita.
44:33So we're just going to go through elimination.
44:40So if anyone loses that, they'll just go back to the circle and they can come back in again.
44:48Ok?
44:49Ok?
44:50Ok, here we go.
44:51I'm ready.
44:52Ready?
44:53One?
44:54Two?
44:55Three?
44:56Three?
44:57One.
44:58Two?
44:59Three?
45:00Three.
45:01It's still alive.
45:02It's still alive.
45:03Still on.
45:04It's still alive.
45:05Still on.
45:06It's still alive.
45:07Still on.
45:08You can win from the ground.
45:10It's good.
45:11I can.
45:12... get it back.
45:13OK?
45:14One way to see if the teachings were assimilated after learning is the game of the knife fight.
45:39The rule is simple. The first one who is touched by the knife blade loses
45:43and the winner remains in play until another one wins.
45:46Again, we see that the gender of the student does not come into consideration for the choice of opponent,
45:49only the technique counts.
45:52Again, we see that the gender of the student does not come into consideration for the choice of opponent,
45:57only the technique counts.
45:59One, two, three.
46:00Walk it.
46:01Push, push.
46:02Body, body, body.
46:10Again, we see that the gender of the student does not come into consideration for the choice of opponent,
46:15only the technique counts.
46:17The third weapon mainly used in Okichita is the chikiikunis, the Native American tomahawk.
46:40In Okichita, what we embrace is that we do have a bit of a formal belt system, but it's very loosely applied.
46:51And what I mean by this is we look for the commitment of the warrior to be able to embrace the philosophy
46:56and the physical attributes of Okichita.
46:58So it takes quite a long time for someone to reach a level of, say, black.
47:02We look at black, that color, as the great mystery.
47:05We believe that when we move into black, it's very, very difficult and you learn new things.
47:10The application to move to red belt is basically that somebody is dealing with struggle continuously
47:16to make themselves a great warrior of peace.
47:19Until they move into the southern doorway, they start in the eastern doorway, they're brand new.
47:22They move to the southern doorway, they start embracing struggle and challenge and difficulty.
47:26And when they move to the northern doorway, they start learning the gifts of the warrior.
47:30And they're able to share those experiences with other people in their community.
47:33When we see them move to the northern doorway, then they move to the belt of red.
47:37That means they embrace that philosophy.
47:39And then eventually they move to the western doorway to show that there are embracing of worthy men.
47:44They're being what we call Nehe'awak.
47:46In the Cree way, that means a true warrior.
48:03As warriors of peace, it's very, very important that we understand the beauty around us.
48:21As warriors of peace, it's very, very important that we understand the beauty around us.
48:32And when we have our prayers, we pray to the great spirit, to our brother, our eagle staff
48:37and things of that nature.
48:38But it's very simple.
48:39We're only humans and he has to have pity on us, but we're trying to make ourselves
48:43better people every day.
48:44And by being a warrior of peace, we give back to the community.
48:47The first person I want to honor today is David.
48:56Master Lapine burns sage before presenting the colored belts to his students.
49:00Let me change color if you can handle this stuff or I'll sweat it.
49:06Okay, and the other person on the right side is the end.
49:12He's, uh, you know, what's great about him?
49:21Allows to embrace our teachings of our past and make our nation stronger for the future.
49:26As we move to the southern doorway, the doorway of struggle, the doorway of challenge.
49:30Allows to take those people to be healthy, the followers, your teachers' great spirit,
49:35to be sure that we're going to the doorway, the doorway of the great warriors.
49:40The warriors of crazy horse, big bears, cynical.
49:42As we move to the doorway, they help each other, the way of the worthy ones.
49:46Generations before us and after us, the great spirit of all, the great spirit of all.
49:51Ah, ha, ha, ha.
49:53The most cosmopolitan city of the world, in which mutual respect, populations of all backgrounds,
50:03including different faiths and cultures, coexist together.
50:07This cultural diversity is reflected in the martial art Okichita that was created and developed by George Lapine.
50:13This man struggles to convey the cultural and philosophical values of the Amerindian peoples through his teaching.
50:19He has combined the fighting techniques of his ancestors to existing combat sports.
50:24The Okichita is an original martial art that has preserved its rituals and carries with it a piece of Canadian history.
50:31The Monarchs are a part of the 53P façoqa, male and the Holy Moves that was created by George Lapine.
50:39The The newlywest Herald-Herald-Herald-Herald-Herald-Herald-Herald-Herald-Herald in the history of the country was created by George Lapine.
50:45The Ahsiend, and the last two years, three years, one of the biggest discrimination in the world, demostrating the world of the world.
50:49The world, the contemporary spirit of the world.
50:51The world and the world are one of the greatest artists that have been adopted by George Lapine.
50:53The class of colleagues at the time is the grand support of all the world.
50:56The nation's true of the world in the world of профессionen.
50:58The land of the world in the world of the world today and the world, the world has been adopted by George Lapine.
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