Can you really teach someone how not to be chosen as a victim?

We do it in bodyguarding all the time.  If I’m taking a client into some hot spot, then we might lower their profile by leaving the expensive jewelry at home, staying out of the five star hotels, dressing like a local etc.  Conversely, maybe I’ll beef up their profile and make them look like a hard target.

We can also do it with our houses and cars right?  If a house has motion lights, alarms, solid doors and good locks etc criminals are going to pick an easier target.  If our car is parked where it’s well lit, valuables are hidden and it’s locked and alarmed crooks will go for the easier pickings the next space over.

SIVA, or how most crime happens

S stands for “selection” which is all about the criminal choosing his target.  Doesn’t matter if it’s the right house to rob, the model of car to steal or the person to mug. He must choose a victim first.

I comes next  which stands for “isolation.”  Criminals don’t like witnesses so they follow you out of the mall, out of the club, and get you away from the safety of the herd.

V is next which stands for “verbal” which is the classic criminal “interview” where they use dialogue to get close enough to launch their attack or, in the case of sexual assault, to shock the victim.

A is last which is the “attack” itself.

Given the recent surge in rape and other sexual assaults this year, what do you think about women’s self-defense training?

There’s better stuff out there now.  We’ve come a long way in figuring out how to get people’s heads wrapped around violence and how to deal with it and physical techniques on their own are no longer enough.  Marcus Wynne is absolutely mind-blowing for example in the stuff he’s doing…100 years ago they’d have burned him at the stake if they’d seen his material in action.

Any thoughts about your experience on Deadliest Warrior?

I have a couple of grumbles but overall that was an absolutely great experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything.  Anytime someone pays you to shoot their ammunition it’s a good day.  My only real complaint is that I thought it would be a little more like the Olympics: i.e., here’s the event, compete and may the best man win.  Unfortunately it’s a tad more subjective than that but still great fun.

To give you an example they favored the Gurkha’s knife over mine because it was bigger.  The doctor claimed with mine you’d have to be more accurate.  They seemed to neglect the I was, in the doctor’s words, more accurate and that my blade was moving nearly twice the speed of the Gurkha’s Kukri.  I think they got a tad overawed by the Kukri’s reputation rather than its performance.

Still, I don’t think anyone actually watching the show thinks because the panel decided to give it to one team or another that that’s how it would shake out in the real world.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the guys did martial arts.  I got to hang out with “Mack” [Machowicz] who Black Belt did a recent article on and pick his brains a little.  He’s an awesome guy, very humble and obviously a good martial artist.  Geoff Demoulin, the science guy used to train in Ishin-ryu.   My counterpart Rastra the Gurkha was a Tae Kwan Do fifth degree. I also met Luke La Fontaine who’s a choreographer and stuntman in Hollywood He’s also a brilliant martial artist  who starred in the original Karate Kid among other things.

What are your thoughts about the mania for UFC?

I’m going to answer this in two parts again if that’s ok because I think it’s a bit of a double edged sword.  First, I’ll address the art and organization itself and then I’ll give you my thoughts on the attitude that brings them down in my eyes.

On the subject of the actual fights and the organization, etc., I think that is, by and large, a good thing.  Along with its forerunner, the early UFC sans weight classes, it has opened people’s eyes to the fact that your deadly kicking art isn’t that deadly and that you’re going to have to learn how to fight at all ranges.   I think it’s also been good for school owners’ by raising [the public] awareness of martial arts in general.

On the flip side, I’m less enamored with the overall attitude that I bump up against on many martial arts forums that seems to be fairly pervasive amongst a lot of the MMA practitioners and fans.  Before I tackle that let me preface this by saying I admire anyone who trains like a fiend in any discipline and puts it on the line whether that be running, boxing, athletics or formula one driving.  If you’re willing to get off the couch and go compete against others I think you’re a badass.  I also have my Krav Maga school in my mate’s MMA school and I helped train some of the guys for the early UFC contests so I like and admire guys who practice MMA.

My gripe is that my sentiments aren’t usually reciprocated by the other side.  This might be a generalization but the overall consensus seems to be that anyone doing combatives is an overweight camo wearing clown who thinks every fight can be won with an eye gouge; that traditional martial arts don’t work; that they invented the concept of mixed martial arts and that anyone who lists bouncing as part of his resume doesn’t know anything about real fighting because knocking out drunks is easy.  Let me address those issues one by one, and again, my apologies to the MMA practitioners who don’t fall into the critical mass.

First,  while there are undoubtedly some obese camo wearing fools out there who are living in a dream world who figure fights are easy they are, in my opinion, the exception and not the rule.  Dennis Martin in the UK is in his sixties and could leave a lot of twenty year olds in the dust.  Kelly McCann has never looked like he’s got an ounce of extra body weight any time I’ve ever seen him.  I’m not overweight, none of my students, after they’ve been with me for more than 3 months, are overweight.  Lee Morrison in the UK is a machine and none of the above guys has ever said fighting is easy.  A ton of my guys train in cross fit when they’re not in class with me and a bunch more are into long distance running etc as add-ons to their training.

Second, as for the fact traditional martial arts don’t work…please.  Look, if you think traditional martial arts are what you see in the local McDojo then yes, I agree with you.  They probably won’t pass the acid test in a real do but please don’t make the mistake that they’re accurate representations of traditional martial arts.   What exactly do you think we were knocking out all comers with when working security for all those years?  If you believe the hype of some of the MMA crowd today nobody must have known how to fight before they came along.  (Sadly there’s some other instructors with this same naïve attitude outside of MMA circles).  Bob Jones, his army of black belts, Gary Spiers, Terry O’Neill, Gavin Mulholland…people like Richard Mrofka etc…all worked doors and dropped all comers with traditional martial arts techniques.  As my mate Gavin says “what doesn’t work in [Traditional Martial Arts]?  The groin kicks, the roundhouse kicks, the punches, the head-butts, the elbows?  What exactly?”   There’s probably close on 500 people I’ve knocked out over thirty-plus years of security who you’d have a hard time convincing that traditional martial arts didn’t work.

One of the biggest fights I was ever in was against 18 or so guys in London.  I’m happy to mention this one because it can be validated by anyone who wants to track down the Metropolitan Police Constable called Ridley who’s Met Police badge number was #666 (yes, his nickname amongst fellow officers was the beast) who was working out of the Kentish Town police department.  He witnessed the entire brawl from start to finish.  I sent 3 of them to hospital, injured the rest and didn’t get a mark on me despite the bulk of them being armed (much to the chagrin of the detectives who were having trouble charging the ones they caught with anything due to the fact I had no injuries).  I used TMA to do that and people try and tell me it’s ineffective!

Third, as for the fact they invented this concept of striking arts mixed with grappling arts…not so.  Look back to the ancient Greeks and Pankration.  Look back to Bruce Lee’s book “The Tao of Jeet Kune Do.”   Look back to early Zen Do Kai when we were sparring full contact, semi-contact on the ground and standing up.  If you don’t believe me there’s a picture of me on facebook and one of the forums where I’m grounding and pounding one of my brown belts and I’m wearing a gi and it’s in the late seventies.   All they’ve done differently is televised it and got some sponsors

Fourth, as for the idea that bouncing isn’t that hard as all you’re doing is bashing drunks let me submit the following:  One, not everyone we fight is drunk.  What about the five guys who roll up to the door who are looking to come inside and begin drinking.  They’re not drunk and I’ve just turned them down and the fight is on.   What about the guy who’s had one or two drinks and starts causing trouble?  He’s not drunk.  What about the drunk guy I throw out who comes back the next night with five of his buddies all stone cold sober and armed to the teeth?  He’s not drunk.   The idea that all we do is whack someone so inebriated they can hardly stand is a complete fallacy.

How about this?  Google how many bouncers die every year and then compare that to deaths in the UFC  and tell me which one is more dangerous.  I counted 700 bouncers who’d died when I looked once.

I’ve boxed professionally, I’ve competed in Judo competitions, Kick boxing matches and shooting matches.  I have never been scared entering anyone of those events…ever.  I actually think they’re fun.  I have, on the other hand, been absolutely terrified working security.

I had a kid telling me one night that I should make my training “realistic” by training the way he did in the MMA.  Really?  Let me ask you to ponder this.  Imagine Dana White changed the UFC and introduced a bunch of UK soccer hooligans to stand around inside the octagon wearing steel toed boots and drinking beer.   Their job is to run over and kick anyone in the head as hard as they can who ends up on the floor.  How would that change the way UFC fights would look?  Would you see anyone voluntarily take anyone to the ground ever again?  That’s the environment I used to work in.

Imagine boxing rules changed and title fights were determined by a thirty second bare knuckle match.  Would it change the way boxers train?  You bet.  It would look a lot like the way we train.

As for claims UFC action is the closest thing to a real fight I think it’s about as far removed as you can get.  There’s no element of surprise, you actually know weeks or months in advance who you’re up against.  Your opponent will weigh the same as you.  He won’t be carrying any weapons or bringing his mates with him. You know what rules he’s going to fight by and there will be doctors in attendance to help in the event of an injury and a ref to make sure everyone abides by the rules.  How is any of that remotely connected to what happens outside?   I’ve been stabbed and slashed 13 times during my career and shot at…I’m not aware of any MMA guys that have to contend with that in the ring.

Again, I’m not dogging what they do.  I can’t say enough how much respect I have for the level of training they do and their willingness to compete. I just wish it was a two- way street.

GKZ: Thanks, it’s been a pleasure interviewing you.

Can you share your thoughts on the importance of technique, tactics and mindset? Of those three, which do you think is the most important?

I could never figure why so many students seemed to jump from style to style without sticking with something. Then I began to realize it was the schools they were attending.  They weren’t addressing the fear these students faced.  All they were doing was giving them a set of techniques to master and yet underneath these kids were still afraid of getting in a fight.

I began to break things down and realized you need 3 things to win a fight:  You have to have techniques, you have to have tactics and you have to have mind-set.  (I was happy to have this validated in the French Foreign Legion during commando training when they talked about the same thing – only they had the addition of equipment as well.)

The analogy I use to explain the difference is imagine cops being called to an armed robbery in progress.  The first cop, an excellent technician, i.e. he can shoot flies off the proverbial pig’s back at 10o yards, stands in the middle of the parking lot and gets blown away.

The second cop, also a good shot has taken a tactics course and knows he needs to be behind cover.  When he pops up to shoot a bad guy he has, for the first time in his life, a real live human being in his sights and can’t bring himself to pull the trigger.  (This happened to a SWAT sniper I’m aware of by the way in case you think it couldn’t happen.  He claimed later in the debrief when they asked him why he didn’t fire “you expect me to go to church this Sunday and tell my fellow parishioners I played God and killed someone?)

The third cop has a grasp of tactics and a great mind-set but he can’t shoot worth a damn.  He pulls his gun, shoots himself in the foot, shoots his partner, the lights off the police car, pigeons on the roof and a little old lady at the bus stop.

Only the fourth officer, one who knows he must take cover during a gun battle, can hit what he’s aiming at, and can drop the hammer on a real live target, can possibly prevail.  As the example shows, everyone else will fail somehow unless they get lucky.

So, you need to be in a school that’s teaching those three things if you’re going to have a chance in a real altercation.  Of the three, mindset is hands down the most important.  Mindset will give you the discipline and motivation to learn the other two.   The other two, without mindset, are about as much use as a snooze button on a smoke alarm.

That explains why the average street fighter beats the average black belt.  The latter has a collection of techniques while the former has an abundance of mindset, a good grasp of tactics and techniques that he’s pressure tested in real fights.

If a hapless black belt has had the good fortune to be in a school that teaches all three but they’re sports-oriented, then he’s in trouble.  The techniques in sports are safe: no eye gouging, no biting, no small joints manipulations, no stomping on a man who’s down, etc.  The tactics that work in tournaments such as feigning injury and getting the other guy disqualified don’t work in a bar fight. The mind set in a tournament is “if I don’t win I don’t go home with the trophy.”  In the real world, it’s “if we don’t win, we don’t go home.”

Do you see a difference between self-defense training and combatives?

A subtle one.  Self-defense training can be a couple of women attending a lecture at the local community center on keeping their doors locked followed with a couple of hands- on techniques like palm heels and kneeing someone in the groin or escaping the ubiquitous wrist grab.

Combatives, on the other hand, tends to encompass a much more aggressive hands on program designed to take the fight to the enemy that’s based on, or relates to the military.  I love Kelly McCann’s description:  “Traditional martial arts is what we do WITH someone, unarmed combat (combatives) is what we do TO someone.”

“My own personal definition of what we do is “We’re not learning how to fight, we’re learning how to end the fight.”
—Nick Hughes

You have an extensive martial arts background whose depth and breadth is second to none. Why do you choose to study and teach Krav Maga?

Prior to 9/11, I was still teaching traditional martial arts and didn’t figure there was much of a market for combatives-style training.  After 9/11, I was inundated with calls from people wanting to learn what to do should they be caught in something like Flight 93 and not having the time to study the PhD program.  I went back to my antecedents of hand-to-hand from the Legion and began teaching the short course applying the filter of “can I teach it in 30 min or less and is it practical?”

I was doing okay with what we labeled FIST or Fight Survival Training but the problem was nobody had heard of it or knew much about the Legion.  A great friend of mine and long-time training buddy Ernie Kirk was doing Krav Maga at the time but I didn’t want to join any organizations.  After Krav broke apart I was able to get involved with Ernie and switch over to something that more people had heard of.

If you want an analogy it would be as if I was a teacher of some obscure French weapon like the FAMAS that nobody here knows about and I was able to get a job teaching the AR-15.  They’re both effective only one is more popular.

I haven’t forgotten my traditional stuff by the way.  I still think if you’ve got the time to study it’s better for fighting than just about anything else out.  It’s just that people don’t seem to have the time any more.  If I can use another analogy I liken Combatives and Krav Maga to being a Para-medic or EMT and traditional martial arts to being a doctor or neurosurgeon.

Who are your favorite Krav Maga practitioners?

Ernie Kirk and Ryan Hoover spring to mind here in the States.  David Stevens in the UK

You say on your Facebook page that you have incorporated “soft skills” in your self-defense training. What does that mean? Why does it matter?

Yes, one of the tweaks I’ve made to my Krav and indeed all my martial arts is the addition of “soft skills.”  In a nutshell, if hard skills are fighting techniques then soft skills are everything else such as the techniques of avoidance and awareness, the legal ramifications of taking action, psychological preparation, stress inoculation and so on.

When I went through my bodyguard training every course I did stressed the importance of never getting in a situation that you need to fight your way out of.  I heard it a hundred times “If you get to the point where you need to pull your weapon you screwed up.”

Afterwards, it struck me as strange that we didn’t teach that same attitude in self-defense training.  It always seemed to begin with the attacker has his hands around your throat, or he’s coming at you with a knife.  Why not take a page from the body guard’s playbook and teach the same principles of avoiding trouble before it begins?

In most martial arts classes, we deal with the attack portion only but if we break it down like this, fully seventy-five percent of violent crime isn’t about fighting at all.  If I can teach someone how not to be chosen, how to be hyper vigilant and what to look for when alone, what to say and not to say during the “interview” then they shouldn’t have to fight their way out of trouble in the first place.

Next week, in the final installment Nick Hughes continues to share his thoughts about why no one has to be a victim; self-defense training and combatives; his appearance on the Deadliest Warrior; and the mixed martial arts.

Until then…Train hard, stay safe, live well.

P.S. Yes, those are my affiliate links just in case you care to know.

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]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/27/self-defense-training-and-combatives-4/feed/ 0 http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/21/self-defenst-training-at-the-action-martial-arts-magazine-trade-show/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=self-defenst-training-at-the-action-martial-arts-magazine-trade-show http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/21/self-defenst-training-at-the-action-martial-arts-magazine-trade-show/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:17:23 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1587

Adult martial artists who take self-defense training and combatives seriously had ample opportunity to meet some of the country’s best self-defense and combatives experts and watch them demonstrate their self-defense techniques at the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors Trade Show Saturday at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The gloomy, gray skies and drizzle did not deter hundreds from attending.

Here are just a few highlights from the day’s events….

Grandmaster John Pelligrini, founder and president of the International Combat Hapkido Federation, demonstrated once again why Combat Hapkido is such an effective reality-based martial art.

He pointed out that martial arts must always be based on common sense. Common sense tells you that even the best self-defense techniques will not work on occasion. The problem of failure will always be with us. Sometimes it is the fault of the martial artist. Sometimes it is the skill of your opponent. Sometimes it is circumstances beyond your control that thwart the execution of a technique.

Regardless, each technique must be designed so that there is a Plan B, that is, an alternate technique that will flow more or less naturally from the failed technique. GM Pelligrini, for example, addressed this issue with respect to the basic straight-arm bar technique.

**

Soke Michael DiPasquale also gave an excellent demonstration illustrating the importance of joint-manipulation techniques as a means of controlling and ultimately defeating your attacker. Soke DiPasquale continues to be an advocate for Dr. Philip A. DeFina’s International Brain Research Foundation, Inc. Indeed, his booth served to bring attention not to himself but to the fine work done by Dr. DeFina.

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Shihan Gary Alexander, founder of the International Association of Martial Arts/Artists and Black Belt Hall of Famer, explained his version of combat karate. Among other useful points, he warned, as do so many experienced martial artists, about the dangers of going to the ground. He said that you want to put your attacker on the ground before he does the same to you.

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Hanshi George Alexander has moved his headquarters to Philmont, New York. Be on the lookout for his August 2012 Martial Arts Summer Camp.

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Phil Morris, who starred in the original (and best ever) Mission Impossible series was on hand, looking trim, fit and acting like a real gentlemanly class act.

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Hank Garrett, the famous actor and comedian, whose performance as Officer Nicholson on Car 54, Where Are You? was unforgettable, was at the show and celebrating more than 50 years as an active martial artist. Like Soke Michael DiPasquale, he is also active in helping veterans.

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Stay tuned as Adult Martial Artist offers more breaking-news stories from the Action Martial Arts Magazine’s Hall of Honors Trade Show.

]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/21/self-defenst-training-at-the-action-martial-arts-magazine-trade-show/feed/ 1 http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/20/combatives-hard-core-aikido-confucius-and-haywire/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=combatives-hard-core-aikido-confucius-and-haywire http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/20/combatives-hard-core-aikido-confucius-and-haywire/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:21:34 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1578 Combatives expert Michael Janich writes in Black Belt Magazine about the influence and contributions of legendary Vietnam veteran and Hwa Rang Do practitioner Michael Echanis. A contributor to Soldier of Fortune and profiled, if I recollect correctly, in Black Belt Magazine, Echanis is today recognized as a pioneer in hard-core combatives training. Black Belt Magazine recently published The Complete Michael D. Echanis Collection: The Special Forces/Hand-to-Hand Combat/Special Tactics Series, originally published as three separate volumes.

Speaking about combatives, Grandmaster John Pellegrini, founder of the International Combat Hapkido Federation offers readers a short demonstration of Combat Hapkido’s weapons disarms, specifically long firearm self-defense techniques.

 

Who says Aikido has to be a gentle art? Take a look at this young woman giving an impressive demonstration of aikido tailored for self-defense training. She clearly shows the connection between aikido and daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu.

 

Law Enforcement Officer Ross Torquato questions the viability of Mixed Martial Arts training for police officers in a PoliceOne.com article, Is Training in Mixed Martial Arts the Right Thing for Your Officers? MMA, argues Torquato, is just too complex to be practicable for police officers. “The physical skills,” he says “needed to win must be simple, based on gross motor movements, learnable in an eight-hour session once a year, and practiced for about ten repetitions.”

Haywire, a film by Steven Soderberg is scheduled for release tomorrow. The action-adventure romp stars MMA champion Gina Carano as covert-operations professional. She’s backed by an impressive cast, including Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, and Michal Fassbender. The New York Times panned the movie, calling the plot “almost defiantly preposterous and uninteresting.”

Insight from Confucius:

“One who wants something will find a way; one who doesn’t, will find an excuse”   Confucius

(Thanks to Master Al Medina, Chief Instructor and Owner of the Bronx Combat Hapkido Club for this quotation. Want to learn real self-defense techniques that work? Check out his school.)

]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/20/combatives-hard-core-aikido-confucius-and-haywire/feed/ 2 http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/19/functional-movement-the-next-big-thing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=functional-movement-the-next-big-thing http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/19/functional-movement-the-next-big-thing/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:15:34 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1571 Self-defense training doesn’t require you to be Superman, but it does require at least a modicum of physical fitness. So it’s no surprise that adult martial artists take health and fitness seriously.

Functional Movement Systems appears to be the Next Big Thing in physical fitness training and adult martial artists may want to take note.

Developed by Gray Cook, a physical therapist who sports a long list of credentials, Functional Movement Systems is a departure from the traditional more is better, bigger is better mentality of traditional physical training where lifting increasingly obscene amounts of weight is the order of the day. Instead, the goal is to improve, as the name suggests, functional fitness.

 “Once a decade a book comes out that you will keep reading, rereading, and crowding with notes until it falls apart. Then you buy a new copy and enthusiastically start over. In the 1990s it was Verkhoshansky and Siff’s Supertraining. In the 2000s McGill’s Ultimate Back. Enter the 2010s and Gray Cook’s Movement. It is a game changer.”
—Pavel Tsatsouline, author of Enter the Kettlebell!

According to The New York Times, the Atlanta Falcons swear by Gray Cook’s Functional Movement System. The Falcon’s General Manager, Thomas Dimitroff, was quoted as saying he believes “it’s going to be the wave of the future” for professional football.

“Everything we do at the Indianapolis Colts is built on a Functional Movement Screen base—it’s the foundation of our program,” says Jon Torine, the strength and conditioning coach for the Indianapolis Colts.

According to Cook, several other NFL teams are also following his system. He also claims to have introduced his system to the US Navy SEALs.

“Exercise and rehabilitation time is valuable—too valuable not to use a system. Gray Cook’s Movement uses a systematic approach to exercise and rehabilitation built on the fundamentals of authentic human movement.”
—Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

Movement Functional Movement Systems: Screening, Assessments & Corrective Strategies by  Gray Cook, MSPT, OCS, CSCS, RKC with Lee Burton, Kyle Kiesel, Greg Rose and Milo F. Bryant is available as a paperback  from Dragon Door.

Is FMS right for you? Adult Martial Artist.com can’t answer that question for you. Still, it’s probably worth taking a closer look if your present fitness program isn’t giving you the results you want or has gone stale and needs a boost.

]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/19/functional-movement-the-next-big-thing/feed/ 2 http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/14/realistic-self-defense-training-and-tai-chi-meditation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=realistic-self-defense-training-and-tai-chi-meditation http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/14/realistic-self-defense-training-and-tai-chi-meditation/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:20:28 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1566 News Briefs

Self-Defense Training vs. Martial Arts Fantasy

One of the hindrances to the study of genuine martial arts for adult martial artists is that they often have to contend with pseudo-mysticism and other fantasies that pervade the world of martial arts. These fantasies do not advance the cause of self-defense training or combatives. Nor do they contribute anything to our understanding of bushido and budo.  In this video clip, combatives and self-defense training expert Tony Blauer illustrates why self-defense training is not about make-believe esotericism but instead about body mechanics and physiology.

 

“Some martial artists teach you to love your enemy. I hate my enemy. When he attacks, I’m going to crush him — physically, spiritually and mentally — and I won’t feel bad about it.” — Kelly McCann (Black Belt Magazine)

Realism in Self -Defense Training and Combatives

Speaking of realism in the combatives and self-defense training, few could match the legendary prowess of the late Bob Kasper when it came to the realities of knife-fighting. Paladin Press has released Bob Kasper, The Lost Tapes: Combative Knife Skills. Kasper was one of the founders of the Gung Ho Chuan Association. The GHCA was the brainchild of a handful of Marines who understood the systematic study of close-combat training, sometimes known as Gutter-fighting. Not only did they do extensive research but they pressure-tested their researches in high-risk environments such as the Middle East and Central America. Here is a sample of Kasper’s genius:

Tai Chi as Meditation

Tai Chi as Meditation is the subject of Sifu William C. Phillips’ thoughtful article in Into Mountains, Over Streams: International Journal of Qigong and Taiji Culture. Like Tony Blauer, Phillips makes his case for tai chi as a form of meditation without any hyped-up mystical claims about meditation. Indeed, he defines meditation simply as “the conscious, controlled focus of the mind.” Phillips says that there is nothing wrong with studying Tai Chi simply for the health benefits it offers its practitioners. Instead, he argues “how and why Tai chi is meditation, and as such, can be of value in one’s mental and spiritual as well as one’s physical discipline.”

Until next time…train hard, stay safe, live well.

]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/14/realistic-self-defense-training-and-tai-chi-meditation/feed/ 0 http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/02/self-defense-training-aiki-daito-ryu-jujitsu-documentary-collision-course-simpler-situational-awareness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=self-defense-training-aiki-daito-ryu-jujitsu-documentary-collision-course-simpler-situational-awareness http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/02/self-defense-training-aiki-daito-ryu-jujitsu-documentary-collision-course-simpler-situational-awareness/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:01:58 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1558 Self-defense Training and Combatives: The Legacy of Daito-ryu Aiki-Jujutsu

Self-defense training. Combatives. Call it what you will. Each is indebted to the tradition of aiki-daito ryu jujitsu. Guillaume Erard has collaborated with Olivier Gaurin and Meguma Fukuda last year to produce a documentary entitled Introduction to Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu with Kobayashi Kiyohiro Sensei. A theme of the film is how training in daito-ryu can complement and complete contemporary aikido training. See for yourself:

And here’s another brief clip:

Erard’s website also hosts a transcript of Olivier Gaurin’s interview with Kobayashi Kiyohiro Sensei wherein Sensei discusses the origins of Takumakai Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu and his relationship with Ueshiba Sensei, the creator of aikido.

I can’t recommend Guillaume Erard’s Life in Japan and Aikido Practice too highly. If you’re going to do your martial arts training in Japan, then this site is invaluable and must and his The Traveling Aikidoka’s Guide to Practice at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo is must reading. But even if you’re not, Life in Japan and Aikido Practice is a thoughtful martial arts site executed with a lot of class and style. Unpretentious and informative, its pages host dozens of interviews, videos, pictures, articles, and events. Makes me want to reach for my passport.

••••

Collision Course Combatives

Target Focus Training’s Master Instructor, Chris Ranck-Buhr says you should Collide with Abandon:  “Don’t hit. Don’t strike. Collide… You need to think in terms of colliding with the man to break him. A full-bodied, all-bets-off, total commitment of your entire self to crashing through something not rated for that traffic…It’s the only way to make injury the most likely outcome.”  Definitely a precept worth taking to heart.

•••

Are You Switched On or Off?

The Paladin Press blog has a short but thoughtful article on situational awareness, Switched On or Switched Off, by retired law enforcement officer and handgun authority Dave Spaulding. Many of us (including me) have advocated using situational awareness models such as Jeff Cooper’s Color Codes or John Boyd’s OODA loop. But Spaulding, while praising the excellence of such models, suggests something simpler: Just ask yourself whether or not you’re switched on or switched off. Worth reading.

Until next time…Train hard, stay safe, live well.

]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2012/01/02/self-defense-training-aiki-daito-ryu-jujitsu-documentary-collision-course-simpler-situational-awareness/feed/ 0 http://adultmartialartist.com/2011/12/24/weapons-training-and-self-defense-training/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=weapons-training-and-self-defense-training http://adultmartialartist.com/2011/12/24/weapons-training-and-self-defense-training/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:44:05 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1496 Weapons training is part and parcel of self-defense training and combatives as well as traditional martial arts. Unfortunately, too much of what passes for weapons training in mainstream martial arts and some self-defense training classes will get you killed or in serious trouble with the law no matter how vicious or criminal your assailant.

Kelly McCann in the February 2012 issue of Black Belt offers some helpful insights in Weapons of Opportunity. Instead of fixating on what weapon to carry and thus potentially inviting a host of legal problems, McCann suggests that you should focus on what he calls weapons of opportunity. In other words, weapons that will stop an attacker and which are also quite legitimate to carry. Two of McCann’s favorites? A multi-tool on a lanyard key chain and an ordinary flashlight. As always, McCann’s writing on self-defense training and combatives is among the best around. His article merits careful attention. Get a copy at your local newsstand today.

And here, courtesy of Black Belt Magazine, is a clip demonstrating how James Williams of the Bugei Trading Company uses a flashlight for self-defense:

Keanu Reeves’ Man of Tai Chi production seems to be picking up steam, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Funding for Reeves’ directorial debut includes Universal Pictures, China Film Group, Wanda Media, and Village Roadshow Asia. (Film buffs will remember that Village Roadshow Asia helped to produce and finance The Matrix.) “Set in contemporary Beijing, Man of Tai Chi headlines Tiger Chen, who was part of the kung fu team in The Matrix. In Man of Tai Chi, Chen stars as a young martial artist whose fighting skills brings him to a realm of vast opportunities, and painful choices,” writes HR reporter Pamela McClintock.

And, remember, Reeves’ 47 Ronin, a Samurai tale of revenge, is due out next November.

And while we’re on the subject of tai chi, here is tai chi master Cheng Man Ching performing a Tai Chi Sword form:

Finally, adult martial artists who like hitting the slopes during the winter may find it in their best interest to read The Art of Manliness’ post on How to Survive an Avalanche. Good luck.

]]> http://adultmartialartist.com/2011/12/24/weapons-training-and-self-defense-training/feed/ 0 http://adultmartialartist.com/2011/12/23/self-defense-training-and-combatives-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=self-defense-training-and-combatives-2 http://adultmartialartist.com/2011/12/23/self-defense-training-and-combatives-2/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:01:03 +0000 Editor http://adultmartialartist.com/?p=1512 This week Deadliest Warrior star, bodyguard and former French Foreign Legionnaire Nick Hughes shares his thoughts about contemporary martial arts and self-defense training. As many of you already know, Nick is the author of How To Be Your Own Bodyguardand has produced a DVD series, Nick Hughes – French Foreign Legion DVD Series.

What do you think about how martial arts is taught and practiced in this country?

Nick Hughes: Pretty much what I think of how it’s taught throughout the world (and I’ve lived in nine countries and visited approximately 30) You’ve got a very broad spectrum.  Some of it’s great and some of it is laughable.  I see the McDojos on street corners dispensing rank like candy machines with seven-year old black belts.  I see the politics: one local character here promoted one of his black belts from 2^nd dan to 5^th dan in one weekend because a legitimate 4^th dan had opened across the street and was taking his students…but I also see the real-deal guys slogging away out of the limelight turning out good students.

I see the misled who are being told some nonsense by some fat guy with grandmaster across his back who’s never pressure-tested his stuff in his life.

 

“Armed or unarmed, Nick Hughes is one of the most dangerous men on the planet.  The combination of extensive real-world experience, advanced hard-core training, impressive physicality and indomitable will make him so.  That being said, he’s an intelligent, articulate and gifted instructor, speaker and motivational coach as well.  He’s a fine example of the warrior-scholar without being uppity about it.  I’m proud to call him my friend.”

Marcus Wynne, bestselling author and screenwriter.

When you look at the way martial arts have evolved since you started training, what do you consider the most striking differences?

Nick Hughes: Hmm…, no pun intended correct?  When I’d joined Zen Do Kai the worldwide mania with regards to the martial arts had begun.  There were literally hundreds of students clamoring to join and train every day.  Bob’s main dojo in Melbourne had 3 floors and a slew of classes every night.

With that many people you could train with an intensity that you can’t now.  First night you were doing hundreds of knuckle pushups and hundreds of sit ups.  If you tried to take a break a higher rank was there bullying you into continuing or quitting.  It was like a try out for Special Forces in which you can afford to be brutal because you know there’s a never ending supply of new recruits.  We sparred bare knuckles with zero safety equipment and full body contact and “touch” contact to the face.  Some people “touched” more than others.”  One of the older black belts and I were joking one day about we got more injuries in class learning to defend ourselves than we would have gotten if we’d never trained and just got beat up a few times in our lives.

Eventually all the fuss died down and now you’ve got fifty students a week quitting and only twenty joining so it had to be modified accordingly if you were going to pay the rent.  That’s when karate and other martial arts began to get watered down.

We went from an era where the black belts were gods and ran the dojo like their own personal fiefdom.  It was very much like being in the army and you took orders or else.  Now I see where it’s become a business and the client is always right.

Like anything else some of those changes are good and some not so good.  Our calisthenics were actually dangerous.  Instructors would kick your legs out if you were a few inches off the floor trying the splits or they’d run across your belly while you lay in a row on the floor. A slew of stuff now that we know is not good for us.  So, fixing those up is a good thing.

Getting rid of the hard and realistic training to cater to a client who wanted a black belt but they didn’t want to sweat or spar. That is not so good.

“Nick Hughes is the real deal. I have never met anyone in my 30 plus years of experience that is like him. His self defense and the techniques he teaches are real world, really work, no BS. He tells it like it is, pulling no punches. I highly recommend Nick.”

—Marc Halleck, owner & head instructor, North Shore Academy Martial Arts

What would you do differently if you were to begin training in the martial arts today?

Nick Hughes: Hmm…this is a two part answer.  One: I might not even do martial arts.  I might have gotten into something that actually makes money like tennis or golf.  What’s the old joke?  If you want to make a small fortune start with a big fortune and open a karate school.

Two:  Failing that, I’d probably do a system like Krav Maga or Combatives so I’d have a chance if I got jumped next week and then later take that training into the more long-term martial art study.

Next week, Nick Hughes shares more thoughts about contemporary martial arts training, Krav Maga, and the pros and cons of MMA training.

Until then…Train hard, stay safe, live well.

P.S. Yes, those are my affiliate links just in case you care to know.

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