Now here's a highlight from Coast to coast am on iHeartRadio.

Now here's a highlight from Coast to coast am on iHeartRadio.

I promise we will get to the UFO story in a moment. Eric, I'm curious about how things kind of roll for a kung fu CEAFU like you, with the skills that you have, you find circumstances out in regular life where you need to use it to either help someone or diffuse a situation, or even are there times when someone makes the terrible decision to give you serious trouble or try to get into a fight.

I promise we will get to the UFO story in a moment. Eric, I'm curious about how things kind of roll for a kung fu CEAFU like you, with the skills that you have, you find circumstances out in regular life where you need to use it to either help someone or diffuse a situation, or even are there times when someone makes the terrible decision to give you serious trouble or try to get into a fight.

Well, I haven't had to use it in any physical application in quite some time, fortunately, And I promise to stop fielding challenge matches a long time ago. But it's more applying the principles in a conversational and energetic way to dealing with adversity when things come up, and dealing with difficult people, different difficult energies. And and I kind of look at it in terms of like the Chinese five elements, And when somebody throws a fire energy at you, it's very easy to get caught up in the ego of it and throw fire back at them, and then the result is you have a bigger fire. Yeah, it's discipline right, discipline, yes, and the discipline of being able to say, okay, what's the bigger pictures to put out the fire? So I'm going to step to the side and pour some water over this thing and get on with my life. Life's too short.

Well, I haven't had to use it in any physical application in quite some time, fortunately, And I promise to stop fielding challenge matches a long time ago. But it's more applying the principles in a conversational and energetic way to dealing with adversity when things come up, and dealing with difficult people, different difficult energies. And and I kind of look at it in terms of like the Chinese five elements, And when somebody throws a fire energy at you, it's very easy to get caught up in the ego of it and throw fire back at them, and then the result is you have a bigger fire. Yeah, it's discipline right, discipline, yes, and the discipline of being able to say, okay, what's the bigger pictures to put out the fire? So I'm going to step to the side and pour some water over this thing and get on with my life. Life's too short.

You mentioned that you don't do challenge matches anymore. Is that sort of how it rolls in the martial arts circles? Do are their discussions and matches where different types of disciplines and competitions between the different kinds, you know, where somebody says I can take I know, judo, I'll take care of wing chun.

You mentioned that you don't do challenge matches anymore. Is that sort of how it rolls in the martial arts circles? Do are their discussions and matches where different types of disciplines and competitions between the different kinds, you know, where somebody says I can take I know, judo, I'll take care of wing chun.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I kind of grew up and within the martial arts and maybe what was sort of the last remnant of that era where that was still normal. Would go around to different martial arts academies and you know, you just asked to spar their black belts and it was just normal. And in between classes or on the break or whatever, we go in and you'd pit your skill against them and you want to have an opponent to test yourself with. Tournaments kind of tick the box a little bit, but there's rules and it's kind of constraining. But then when we got more advanced within the system that the tide kind of flipped, and then we had people coming to us and specifically Seafood, and then the protocol was that if somebody challenged Seafood, then he deserved the right to like deflect it to the senior student that was there, and then they would have to fight me or whoever it was, the senior student, and then if they beat me or the senior then they could earn the right to touch hands with the grandmaster kind of thing. So sometimes I was put in that position. Other times, see if you would just say, I'll deal with it and make short order of his adversary and then get back to whatever he was doing.

I kind of grew up and within the martial arts and maybe what was sort of the last remnant of that era where that was still normal. Would go around to different martial arts academies and you know, you just asked to spar their black belts and it was just normal. And in between classes or on the break or whatever, we go in and you'd pit your skill against them and you want to have an opponent to test yourself with. Tournaments kind of tick the box a little bit, but there's rules and it's kind of constraining. But then when we got more advanced within the system that the tide kind of flipped, and then we had people coming to us and specifically Seafood, and then the protocol was that if somebody challenged Seafood, then he deserved the right to like deflect it to the senior student that was there, and then they would have to fight me or whoever it was, the senior student, and then if they beat me or the senior then they could earn the right to touch hands with the grandmaster kind of thing. So sometimes I was put in that position. Other times, see if you would just say, I'll deal with it and make short order of his adversary and then get back to whatever he was doing.

You had told me that wing Chun is designed in a sense to kind of end things quickly, get it over with, and I would think that doesn't always work for movies. They want to stretch out the fights in a couple of minutes.

You had told me that wing Chun is designed in a sense to kind of end things quickly, get it over with, and I would think that doesn't always work for movies. They want to stretch out the fights in a couple of minutes.

Correct and trying to find the balance between that and ultimately when it goes into the movie realm, you're in service of the story and the character, and we look at it as physical dialogue. There's an objective, there's obstacle, and then in the process of trying to bypass that obstacle. What does this reveal of the character? And especially working with Robert over the years in my collaborations with him, he's so much coming from that perspective. So you just look at it from a character journey and you give over to it as storytelling. And it's become like a switch in my brain where I just I flipped the practical realistic scenario off and say, Okay, how can we use this toolbox to service the story.

Correct and trying to find the balance between that and ultimately when it goes into the movie realm, you're in service of the story and the character, and we look at it as physical dialogue. There's an objective, there's obstacle, and then in the process of trying to bypass that obstacle. What does this reveal of the character? And especially working with Robert over the years in my collaborations with him, he's so much coming from that perspective. So you just look at it from a character journey and you give over to it as storytelling. And it's become like a switch in my brain where I just I flipped the practical realistic scenario off and say, Okay, how can we use this toolbox to service the story.

I know you don't want to boast about encounters or incidents, but there have had to been somewhere you're out in real life and somebody who's hassling some lady and you have to step in and they're foolish enough to mess with you. I know now people would know that would be a bad idea, But have there been situations like that where you have to end something pretty quickly?

I know you don't want to boast about encounters or incidents, but there have had to been somewhere you're out in real life and somebody who's hassling some lady and you have to step in and they're foolish enough to mess with you. I know now people would know that would be a bad idea, But have there been situations like that where you have to end something pretty quickly?

Who told you that? How did you know? Yeah? One in particular, exactly the scenario just described. It was a gal and she was kind of being harrassed, and I stepped in on her behalf when nobody else would. Turns out, maybe I shouldn't have because they were boyfriend girlfriend and they were in a tiff and she ended up and trying to press starges against me. So those those kinds of situations are very sticky because you never know what you're walking into. You know, trying to do the right thing, but you don't know the dynamic. And that was also a good lesson.

Who told you that? How did you know? Yeah? One in particular, exactly the scenario just described. It was a gal and she was kind of being harrassed, and I stepped in on her behalf when nobody else would. Turns out, maybe I shouldn't have because they were boyfriend girlfriend and they were in a tiff and she ended up and trying to press starges against me. So those those kinds of situations are very sticky because you never know what you're walking into. You know, trying to do the right thing, but you don't know the dynamic. And that was also a good lesson.

I have been in that exact situation. It's been a long time, but yeah, I know what you mean. What do you make of UFC mixed martial arts competitions with just bare knuckle brutal fights and the octagon. Are you a fan of that?

I have been in that exact situation. It's been a long time, but yeah, I know what you mean. What do you make of UFC mixed martial arts competitions with just bare knuckle brutal fights and the octagon. Are you a fan of that?

Well, it's interesting, you know. I yes and no, but mostly yes because you know, bare knuckle competition against yourself and another human being is the origins of wing chun so, especially in the early days of the USC when they weren't wearing gloves and there were fewer rules. That was closer to the way we train. But and SIFA tried to get us try to bridge that gap early on, and it's not where getting into but it didn't pan out about competing in the early days of the UFC with a few of US seniors at the time. So there's fundamentally anybody that is willing to live the type of life and lifestyle that it takes to do what they do, to compete on the level that they compete, and do that to yourself with absolute respect because I understand full well what that requires, and no matter what fundamental. Then where it starts to get a little murky it for me when as especially as I get older, I take great responsibility with the skill and it's kind of in case of emergency break glass and I hope I never have to use it ever, And it's about respect. The system itself comes from a Zen Buddhist monastery in China, and the whole concept was to do no harm to others. And yet it's a lethal martial arts So this dichotomy I've struggled with my entire martial arts life. So on one hand, you use it when you need to use it, but then there's ultimately it comes from the perspective of focused discipline and respect. So sometimes in the UFC environment, I don't think of it as the UFC, but it comes down to specific individuals when they are coming from the more bravado show boding, darker energy side of the combative world. As I get older, that's a little bit more of a turnoff. And when you see people come in and they're respectful and they bring that discipline to the table and they're about the craft of what they do, that's still very interesting for me to see and these you know, what these young athletes can do.

Well, it's interesting, you know. I yes and no, but mostly yes because you know, bare knuckle competition against yourself and another human being is the origins of wing chun so, especially in the early days of the USC when they weren't wearing gloves and there were fewer rules. That was closer to the way we train. But and SIFA tried to get us try to bridge that gap early on, and it's not where getting into but it didn't pan out about competing in the early days of the UFC with a few of US seniors at the time. So there's fundamentally anybody that is willing to live the type of life and lifestyle that it takes to do what they do, to compete on the level that they compete, and do that to yourself with absolute respect because I understand full well what that requires, and no matter what fundamental. Then where it starts to get a little murky it for me when as especially as I get older, I take great responsibility with the skill and it's kind of in case of emergency break glass and I hope I never have to use it ever, And it's about respect. The system itself comes from a Zen Buddhist monastery in China, and the whole concept was to do no harm to others. And yet it's a lethal martial arts So this dichotomy I've struggled with my entire martial arts life. So on one hand, you use it when you need to use it, but then there's ultimately it comes from the perspective of focused discipline and respect. So sometimes in the UFC environment, I don't think of it as the UFC, but it comes down to specific individuals when they are coming from the more bravado show boding, darker energy side of the combative world. As I get older, that's a little bit more of a turnoff. And when you see people come in and they're respectful and they bring that discipline to the table and they're about the craft of what they do, that's still very interesting for me to see and these you know, what these young athletes can do.

It just seems like in life as you learn as you go, and people who are truly tough, really dangerous if they want to be, don't boast about it. They don't go around telling people how tough they are. The people that claim how tough they are aren't always that tough. Right.

It just seems like in life as you learn as you go, and people who are truly tough, really dangerous if they want to be, don't boast about it. They don't go around telling people how tough they are. The people that claim how tough they are aren't always that tough. Right.

You don't want to judge a book by its cover. I've certainly learned that lesson the hard way, and I've also been on the opposite end of that. And you know, you walk softly and carry a big stick.

You don't want to judge a book by its cover. I've certainly learned that lesson the hard way, and I've also been on the opposite end of that. And you know, you walk softly and carry a big stick.

I'm going to tell the UFO story now. So back when I had first started down this road, I'm doing these stories and I basically put out an appeal to the public. Hey, I'm looking for your encounters. Come in to share it with us. But I was hoping to get some prominent people and the first person to step up to the plate was your dad, Kent Orham, who was, as I said, the most prominent political consultant in the state on a first name with governors and sheriffs and senators and things of that sort, and he agreed to go on camera and tell me about his UFO encounter what he and your mom had seen but melt Charleston something I think he described as big as the Enterprise, And it took courage in those days for a guy of his stature to go ahead and say it. And it opened up the floodgates for me. Helped me out a lot. And I did not realize until you and I got together some months ago that you had had your own UFO encounter and that your kids were in on it too. So it's three generations of your family. A. Did your dad and mom tell you about their sighting? B? Can you share with us the story about what you and your kids saw?

I'm going to tell the UFO story now. So back when I had first started down this road, I'm doing these stories and I basically put out an appeal to the public. Hey, I'm looking for your encounters. Come in to share it with us. But I was hoping to get some prominent people and the first person to step up to the plate was your dad, Kent Orham, who was, as I said, the most prominent political consultant in the state on a first name with governors and sheriffs and senators and things of that sort, and he agreed to go on camera and tell me about his UFO encounter what he and your mom had seen but melt Charleston something I think he described as big as the Enterprise, And it took courage in those days for a guy of his stature to go ahead and say it. And it opened up the floodgates for me. Helped me out a lot. And I did not realize until you and I got together some months ago that you had had your own UFO encounter and that your kids were in on it too. So it's three generations of your family. A. Did your dad and mom tell you about their sighting? B? Can you share with us the story about what you and your kids saw?

Yes, and yes, I learned. I didn't absorb my dad, my mom and dad's experience until I was a little bit older. I didn't have the framework because it was I think it was back in like the late seventies and I was still really young. But they told me, and I've been fascinated by. We used to sleep outside next to the house in the summers. In Vegas, you know, grown up in the edge of the desert, and you know their neighborhood kids. We'd throw the sleep bags now just stare up at the stars, and we saw all kinds of crazy stuff because there was no light pollution in those days. And I saw what I thought were shooting stars, but then all of a sudden they make a ninety degree angle and streak off and disappear. Okay, what was that? And we'd all react and wow. And so these things have intrigued me since I was as far back as I can remember, but then my own experience and again as old when I was older, I'd also seen some you know, like stuff like they look like stars and it's streaking across the sky, and all of a sudden they make these ninety degree angles and streak off. But it wasn't until the encounter that you're referring to that that was just wild. We were going up Summerland Parkway in Vegas, and because I had long since moved to California, there's all this development that happened in Vegas that I wasn't as familiar with. So I think I'd been on Summerland like once before at that time. So I'm driving up we're all going to a movie. It's about eight o'clock in the evening on a middle list the summer. The sun had just gone down, and we're going up towards the mountains toward Red Rock off Summerland, and my daughter, who was sitting in the seat in front beside me, she says, well, I'm looking for the exit. She says, Dad, is that a star or the moon? Uh?

Yes, and yes, I learned. I didn't absorb my dad, my mom and dad's experience until I was a little bit older. I didn't have the framework because it was I think it was back in like the late seventies and I was still really young. But they told me, and I've been fascinated by. We used to sleep outside next to the house in the summers. In Vegas, you know, grown up in the edge of the desert, and you know their neighborhood kids. We'd throw the sleep bags now just stare up at the stars, and we saw all kinds of crazy stuff because there was no light pollution in those days. And I saw what I thought were shooting stars, but then all of a sudden they make a ninety degree angle and streak off and disappear. Okay, what was that? And we'd all react and wow. And so these things have intrigued me since I was as far back as I can remember, but then my own experience and again as old when I was older, I'd also seen some you know, like stuff like they look like stars and it's streaking across the sky, and all of a sudden they make these ninety degree angles and streak off. But it wasn't until the encounter that you're referring to that that was just wild. We were going up Summerland Parkway in Vegas, and because I had long since moved to California, there's all this development that happened in Vegas that I wasn't as familiar with. So I think I'd been on Summerland like once before at that time. So I'm driving up we're all going to a movie. It's about eight o'clock in the evening on a middle list the summer. The sun had just gone down, and we're going up towards the mountains toward Red Rock off Summerland, and my daughter, who was sitting in the seat in front beside me, she says, well, I'm looking for the exit. She says, Dad, is that a star or the moon? Uh?

What?

What?

So I look up and we see this bell shaped, maybe pear shaped, shimmering object way out in the distance over the mountains. And it was very clear right out of the gate this was not whatever it was. It was not conventional, and I had never seen anything it was shimmering, just sitting there, hovering, and then it, in the blink of an eye, it all of a sudden turned into a pinpoint of light the size of a star. And we all reacted to that. I was like, whoa what was that? And they sat there for a second and then it expanded back into its full size. Is to the distance it must have been. It must have been absolutely massive, whatever size it was, and then it went back down to the point of light, like the size of a point of light, and then it started going up directly upward and had these contrails that were coming out from underneath it. And then I'm driving.

So I look up and we see this bell shaped, maybe pear shaped, shimmering object way out in the distance over the mountains. And it was very clear right out of the gate this was not whatever it was. It was not conventional, and I had never seen anything it was shimmering, just sitting there, hovering, and then it, in the blink of an eye, it all of a sudden turned into a pinpoint of light the size of a star. And we all reacted to that. I was like, whoa what was that? And they sat there for a second and then it expanded back into its full size. Is to the distance it must have been. It must have been absolutely massive, whatever size it was, and then it went back down to the point of light, like the size of a point of light, and then it started going up directly upward and had these contrails that were coming out from underneath it. And then I'm driving.

Like you know whatever.

Like you know whatever.

The speedmen were going up Summerland, and so it went up beyond the my level of my windshield. So I opened up the moon roof and I told everybody. My nephew was also in the back, who was twenty two at the time, and my daughter and my son, and I'm telling you look up through the roof, you know, you tell me if you can see it, and for they lost it for it for a second, and then they said, yeah, yeah, we see it. We see it. And I said, where is it? And I said, it's directly over the car. What. I look straight up through the moonroof and I see this shape and again the sun has gone down, it's dusk. It's a little bit of light, but it's still kind of dark and couldn't quite make it out. And I'm driving, so I can't just look up and stare at it. So I keep talking to them, tell me what you see, Tell me what you see. And my son and my daughter both blurted out at the same time, it looks like Iron Man. What so I tried to take a glimpse again, and it was kind of like this humanoid shape, but it had all this like energy stuff from underneath what I guess you'd say, what it be its feet, and that energy obscured what you were looking at a little bit. And then this fog bank appeared over to this development off to the right side of the road. And this is Las Vegas in the middle of the summer. As you know, sir, we don't do fog. We don't get fog, and so where did that fog come from? And the thing kind of peels off from tracking us directly over the car. It peels off, drifts over, lowers into the fog bank, disappears, and then the fog disappears. And that was the end of the Indian encounter and we hit our exit.

The speedmen were going up Summerland, and so it went up beyond the my level of my windshield. So I opened up the moon roof and I told everybody. My nephew was also in the back, who was twenty two at the time, and my daughter and my son, and I'm telling you look up through the roof, you know, you tell me if you can see it, and for they lost it for it for a second, and then they said, yeah, yeah, we see it. We see it. And I said, where is it? And I said, it's directly over the car. What. I look straight up through the moonroof and I see this shape and again the sun has gone down, it's dusk. It's a little bit of light, but it's still kind of dark and couldn't quite make it out. And I'm driving, so I can't just look up and stare at it. So I keep talking to them, tell me what you see, Tell me what you see. And my son and my daughter both blurted out at the same time, it looks like Iron Man. What so I tried to take a glimpse again, and it was kind of like this humanoid shape, but it had all this like energy stuff from underneath what I guess you'd say, what it be its feet, and that energy obscured what you were looking at a little bit. And then this fog bank appeared over to this development off to the right side of the road. And this is Las Vegas in the middle of the summer. As you know, sir, we don't do fog. We don't get fog, and so where did that fog come from? And the thing kind of peels off from tracking us directly over the car. It peels off, drifts over, lowers into the fog bank, disappears, and then the fog disappears. And that was the end of the Indian encounter and we hit our exit.

So are your kids excited? Are you guys talking about it for days?

So are your kids excited? Are you guys talking about it for days?

What do you make of it?

What do you make of it?

For years, we still talk about it, And I don't know what to make of it. I really don't.

For years, we still talk about it, And I don't know what to make of it. I really don't.

The fact that your mom and dad, the fact that your mom and dad had an encounter, and then you and your kids, three generations of your family, it does give you reason to pause and ponder a little bit.

The fact that your mom and dad, the fact that your mom and dad had an encounter, and then you and your kids, three generations of your family, it does give you reason to pause and ponder a little bit.

Yes, all things my fact, and I think she got the information from you, if I remember correctly, Like back in the late seventies early eighties, when we had all those cattle mutilations and a lot of the ranches said my mom was, she arrides horses, and she used to compete and teach and whatnot. Still have horses out back behind the house. The whole thing with the cattle mutilations that originally turned me on to the concept. It made it more real, like you don't just think of somewhere out there, there's things happening that are happening to people that my mom knows, and these are friends, and these her veterinarian and branchers and so on, And that really made it real. And then later when they had their encounter, and then a few things that I've seen, and then that encounter last encounter in particular, I don't I've always been interested in it, but I have an open mind. What exactly is the nature of it. You're the experts, sir, I am simply the novice.

Yes, all things my fact, and I think she got the information from you, if I remember correctly, Like back in the late seventies early eighties, when we had all those cattle mutilations and a lot of the ranches said my mom was, she arrides horses, and she used to compete and teach and whatnot. Still have horses out back behind the house. The whole thing with the cattle mutilations that originally turned me on to the concept. It made it more real, like you don't just think of somewhere out there, there's things happening that are happening to people that my mom knows, and these are friends, and these her veterinarian and branchers and so on, And that really made it real. And then later when they had their encounter, and then a few things that I've seen, and then that encounter last encounter in particular, I don't I've always been interested in it, but I have an open mind. What exactly is the nature of it. You're the experts, sir, I am simply the novice.

Well, it must have made an impression on you to be listening to coast to coast all these years, even if it's sort of on a subconscious level. As for the mutilations, you're right, I mean, during this seventies, Nevada was hard hit Central Nevada. Just the Lincoln County just north of Clark County, which is where Las Vegas is had a bunch of them, and further north as well. And then there was one here within city limits of Las Vegas and a ranch owned by a couple that your parents knew. The cow had just come from a ranch outside area fifty one, and it was carved up. This is in nineteen ninety three. It was carved up right near the window, the bedroom window of these people's ranch style home. And the veterinarian who came out was from a pretty famous Las Vegas family, the Lambs. They were pretty mystified, so you know, they figured I would know what the heck was the reason for it. I got called to the scene, But I have no idea what does that stuff or why it does make an impression.

Well, it must have made an impression on you to be listening to coast to coast all these years, even if it's sort of on a subconscious level. As for the mutilations, you're right, I mean, during this seventies, Nevada was hard hit Central Nevada. Just the Lincoln County just north of Clark County, which is where Las Vegas is had a bunch of them, and further north as well. And then there was one here within city limits of Las Vegas and a ranch owned by a couple that your parents knew. The cow had just come from a ranch outside area fifty one, and it was carved up. This is in nineteen ninety three. It was carved up right near the window, the bedroom window of these people's ranch style home. And the veterinarian who came out was from a pretty famous Las Vegas family, the Lambs. They were pretty mystified, so you know, they figured I would know what the heck was the reason for it. I got called to the scene, But I have no idea what does that stuff or why it does make an impression.

Yeah, and it's so interesting and the cryptids and critters and things, and the fact that coast to coast you know, delves into all that stuff. I just I love it. I find it absolutely fascinating.

Yeah, and it's so interesting and the cryptids and critters and things, and the fact that coast to coast you know, delves into all that stuff. I just I love it. I find it absolutely fascinating.

Listen to more. Coast to Coast AM every weeknight at one a m. Eastern and go to Coast to coastam dot com for more

Listen to more. Coast to Coast AM every weeknight at one a m. Eastern and go to Coast to coastam dot com for more