For the general readership that may not know – Dick Willett was the reason many of us (his students) excelled in life. After taking karate lessons from Master Willett – his students were taught to excel not only in karate but at any endeavour we pursued.

Dick started with Tracy’s Karate in Northern California and after getting his black belt – he moved to San Diego to open Tracy’s Karate Schools here. Mr. Willett was promoted to Judan (10th degree black belt) in 2008 by Al Tracy and was one of the few so highly ranked masters in the world.

For more information the school website is MMAKenpoKarate.com.

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Here is my delayed reaction to Diaz vs Condit in UFC 143. Wow! I have been a fan of both men over the years. I like Diaz because of his aggressive, continuous straight punches that keep up the pressure. I like Condit because of his fighting savey. Both men could have won this bout on a good day but Diaz was the favorite with most folks.

Watch some of this interview and I’ll talk about this in a bit more detail.

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As a former point and full contact fighter I know there are several ways to win a fight. First you can go out there and knock out your opponent. That is generally the way you can win for sure but in prize fighting there are many times that the other guy is just too good to knock him out or even get a submission on. In those cases a fighter has to not only have a game plan but fight his fight to get the win.

I’ve seen many a fight where the guys just wrestled around or traded seemingly endless light strikes but there just was no decisive damage! Can I say boring? Sure. Can I say the fans were not too happy? Sure. Can I say a win is a win? Yes! I for one think that a fighter has to work within the rules of the game. If the object of the game is to win – it does not matter how that is accomplished.

Now about Diaz – he is very aggressive and mostly overwhelms whoever he fights. Condit probably made the decision that was not going to be him. Condit was very effective in getting the most strikes and swayed the judges. Diaz was not able to change his fighting strategy to get the win so he lost.

Condit came in the best shape I’ve seen him. Diaz looked good too. Neither fighter tired really but Diaz’s main weapon – the endless peppering of punches just did not happen. Condit did not stay in the same place long enough to become the target. Had Diaz changed his strategy too and become more mobile and less aggressive – the outcome might have changed.

Sometimes a fight is about not getting hit as much more than being aggressive. Do I think Diaz would have won if Condit was not as mobile? Yes! Diaz did well the few times he could throw multiple punches.

So here is the crux of the biscuit – fighting is not about being invincible or aggressive. While that can have a major part – it only makes sense as part of an overarching strategy if it make sense. Fighting is also about out strategizing your opponent in your mind first and if the fight is not going your way – transitioning to another strategy.

I hope to see these two fighters again soon but I also hope they both use their heads and have some alternate game plans or I suspect the result will be the same.

As a parting thought – boy that Roy Nelson has a tough chin!

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When I was a kid I used to watch movies and see the kids in the school play yard fighting. I remember reading a Doc Savage novel where Doc got into a tussle with another strong man. The author was narrating this really long fight – justifying the action because each of them knew about every trick in the book. Well I want to read THAT book!

I was fooled into believing that a good fight might last 10 minutes if each guy knew what they were doing. I was further misled by watching boxing matches (these were about the only fights on the TV when I was a kid).  A championship match might last 12 – three-minute rounds. Watching Batman and Robin or Gene Audrey was no different. Fighting prowess seemed to be linked to how long you could fight.

Nowadays some kids might watch MMA or kick boxing and think that fights could take a long time on the street. In this post I will talk about what you should expect in case you ever have to defend your life or limb and how long it should take.

Before I started this post I searched youtube for some long movie fight scenes but I found the clips even cheesier than I remember. There were not fighting skills to speak of and of course in the movies – the combatants wait for each other.

Here is the deal – assuming you are fighting in self defense where someone attacked you and you have tried to take all reasonable steps to get away – you are in a real fight! I imagine that the attacker is after your wallet, honer or worse – your life. In any of these cases there is no upside to giving your attackers any chances.

You will have to strike back (or first if the attack is imminent) fast and hard to try to gain a momentary advantage! Assuming you can surprise your attacker with your counter – you may have to option to get away if that is practical. If not – then you will have to turn the tables and defend yourself with overwhelming and maybe even deadly force (if you are in fear of your life).

So to address the title of this post – how long should the fight last? Well seconds is good – a minute is a real long time to fight just one opponent (unless you are wrestling around on the ground). About the only time I think a fight could (or should) go over a minute is if you are defending against multiple attackers.

Most people who have not ever really taken fighting training or tried it out – probably don’t understand how this is possible. I mean in most of the fights we see – the matches take 5 to 15 minutes easy. How come these fights last so long?

It is not because they are evenly matched. A few things could cause a fight to last over a minutes – mostly it is because most people (yes even bad guys/gals) don’t know how to fight – they know how to brawl.

Brawlers try to hit hard and fast and keep going until they run out of steam. Most guys that have what I call beer muscle can get aggressive when they have had a few drinks. Luckily these type of self defense fights are not going to be to the death but still qualify as self defense if one of these drunkards attack you.

Crooks and thieves are not much better than the drunkards at fighting. The advantage they might have is premeditation. They might have weapons if the robbery goes wrong (in their view). The good thing is the crook thinks he has an advantage but if you are a skilled fighter – you can turn the tables in a few seconds!

What about these MMA fighters that fight for 25 minutes? Ok – yes these are highly trained athletes that are for real. They can take a beating and keep on fighting but think about it – how often is a fighter of that calibre going to take up stick-ups for a side job?

So what you need to know:

• Learn how to fight from some striking martial arts discipline first (karate, boxing, muay thai, or MMA)
• Self defense is easy compared to sparring good opponents
• My opinion is the tactician will always beat the brawler – learn fighting tactics
• Learn to strike through your target – it does you no good to hit something if you cannot damage it
• Optimally learn some grappling too – judo, jiu-jitsu, or wrestling (if the fight does go to the ground – these skills are invaluable)

By the way you will notice I did not include judo, jiu-jitsu, or wrestling first - I think those martial arts are great to have in your toolbox too but you should have some striking discipline at a minimum because one cannot easily fight multiple attackers on the ground. I have some wrestling experience that has helped me defend against wrestlers in self defense situations.

Now you may be wondering if you don’t know me – how long have my fights lasted. I will have to say under a minute except for one that lasted 10 minutes. The 10 minute fight was me fighting 6 guys that attacked me at the bar I used where I used to work.

Unfortunately for my opponents – I seldom had to defend myself against a guy that had any fighting training. That included bikers, street toughs, and all sorts of unsavory looking types. Looks and talk does not mean much in fighting – only what you can do.

Now for the $64,000 question and answer – why and how does winning a fight in less than a minute work in most cases? Because in real fights (assuming you know how to fight) you will be the best fighter if you are attacked. Just pick your shots and don’t take too much damage and you will win rapidly (the other guy/gal does not know what they are doing)!

Now go take some training and be ready to take on the one or two altercations most adults will have to deal with in their lifetime.

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I have fond memories of kids trying to look mean when starting a fights. They would first call someone out and then they would get into some form of a stance with the mean look to intimidate the other kid. Well I have even seen kids run home to put on a gi or boxing shorts. Then there was the kids that would scratch a line in the dirt and dare the other kid to step across the line.

When the kids grew up they realized that all of the beginning antics were of no use. It did not make any difference what stance you picked, how mean you looked or what you wore before a fight. All that mattered is how got in the first good strike.

Well in this post I am going to talk about self defense stances that will not only surprise your attacker but may surprise you?

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The guy in the video has the right idea but I would like to throw some more ideas at you. Suppose you don’t know how to fight – what would your ready stance look like? I’m am guessing backing away if possible, ready to run. So the guy in the video seems to be ready from a MMA, Muay Thai or Kick Boxing perspective (sport stance that ignores groin shots) but in reality he is totally open. But having said that – you cannot be ready for everything.

Backing up stances are supposed to give one a good foundation or mobility to launch your attack/counter-attack in a fight. Poor stances many times can lead to losing a fight. Much the same can be said of footwork or any other fighting skill set.

Keep in mind as we talk about stances for self defense:

• distance – the space you or your attacker can strike
• initial movement – isolating the beginning of any strike to just the striking point and letting the body follow after (to actually hit something)
• reaction time – the amount of time it takes to react after you first see movement
• telegraphing – giving away the strike before you have to (allowing the other person to see what is happening before it is too late)
• surprise – doing something that your opponent does not expect

So if someone agressively walks toward you – you have a few choices:

• diffuse the situation before he enters your critical distance
• move away before he enters your critical distance
• attack as he enters your critical distance
• do nothing and hope for the best

What I suggest is to use surprise to not telegraph if you have to defend yourself. Firstly you should try to diffuse the situation by talking to him. Maybe say hey what’s up man? Stay back and lets talk about this? Taking a strategy like this might allow you to get out of a fight. Be careful to back away as you have to all the while not getting into any kind of stance.

You may not be able to diffuse the conflict and then you are left with doing nothing (may people chose this – they don’t think they can defend themselves). If you freeze and allow yourself to be hit – you are in reality putting yourself on the attackers mercy by default.

You can run and if you are in fair shape – this is a good option. Let the police deal with it. They have tasers, guns, batons, dogs, and help.

You can fight back when the guy gets too close but before we do that – lets talk about stances.

When I was a kid a guy asked me what I would do to him if he tried to attack. I was standing with my feet together and my hands were at my side. He got into a rear-horse stance with a couple of knife hands at the ready as well a yelled a good Kai!!!

I calmly lifted my knee and struck him in the shin of his forward leg. He went down fast.

why had I not gotten into a stance? I had no formal karate education at that point but read Bruce Tegner’s books about how important surprise was as a defensive strategy.

So here is what I suggest if someone advances on your threateningly – calmly step back while trying to diffuse the situation. Tell him to back off if that does not work. Be prepared to run or attack without getting into ANY stance. If he gets into your critical distance you have only two good choices – run or fight.

If you fight – surprise him without telegraphing by employing initial movement. The first guy/gal to land the blow will win the fight if follow through or at least get away if you don’t think you can win.

Strike the groin, throat, or any other open target. Remember this is not you starting the altercation but you want to be on the wining side of the finish. This is not grade school where there are any rules other than ethically, legally, and morally you should not do any more than you need to do to get away.

You see if you had gotten into a good stance – the attacker who might have some training – might jump into his own stance and make it harder for you to defend yourself. I once had a guy get real mad at me – telling me he was going to kick my butt. I was in a situation where I could not let he do what he was trying to do at any cost. So I put my hands in my pockets and talked soothingly until he put his hands down. Then I knocked him out! Why should I have fought him toe to toe when a bit of stealth worked just as good?

So I guess what I am saying is you have a right to defend yourself but please do not be stupid too! Do not look the part but rather do everything you can to get out of the fight but if you have to fight – don’t fight fair – there is no such thing. Just don’t go overboard once you get the advantage.

So my final thoughts are do not get into a stance initially or you will lose the element of surprise. Sometimes surprise is the only edge you will have in a fight. Don’t give it away Grasshopper but expect the unexpected.

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I don’t know about you but if I could count how many bad karate movies I’ve seen where the good guy is surrounded by a bunch of bad guys and wins… It kind of almost shakes your faith in the martial arts. I mean because as presented – the only way the good guys could win is if the bad guys were inept! I don’t know about you but I do not want to depend on my opponent not knowing what he is doing as my defense!

Imagine you take a short-cut home through an alley and all of a sudden you see a couple of thugs in front of you but as you turn – you notice a couple more thugs materializing from behind some trash cans. You notice they have clubs and knifes and after you throw them your wallet they are still approaching? What do you do? What can you do when multiple attackers are closing in on you? More on this later.

I would submit what most karate schools (evidenced from all of the karate mass attack videos on youtube) teach is dangerous! When I was a kid I used to like watching Peter Pan and Batman and Robin but even back then I had an inkling that never never land was not real. Do we truly have to suspend common sense to take karate lessons?

In this post I intend to critique the seemingly common practice of teaching inept methods of mass attack to karate students and praise the schools that give students a realistic chance. Watch this video for context and note I am not inpuning the fighting ability of the style or participants but rather the concept/strategy employed to ward off a group of attackers. The first minute of this video has the mass attack.

I enjoyed watching the in essence kata or form but I have a lot of critiques of how this might have been made more realistic. I don’t mean to pick on this video any more than any of the others as I would have the same critiques of any of them.

First here is a few ways to fight and win in a mass attack:

• Mess the first attacker up with overwhelming force and really hurt him so bad the rest of the group will back off (if you have time)
• Pull a superior weapon like a baseball bat or a gun and take them all out (those that do not retreat)

Notice that neither of the two above strategies involve you standing in the middle and taking on attackers in turn (or should not). This is because in a real fight you do not know who is going to come at you when – so the idea of planning anything and just reacting will only go so far. I will grant that if you are a tough – good fighting son of a gun you just might take on a group of attackers fighting from the middle but this is the exception and you will not come away unscathed.

How then can one win against a mass attack? Well first you need a lot of luck. It is far better to not get into the situation in the first place. As far as strategy you would have to figure out a way to fight one guy at a time in a standing position. If you start wrestling around you will be dead meat for any of the other attackers that will kick you when you are down (unlike MMA).

How do you fight one guy at a time? Well it is a combination of running and fighting. When I had to do it – I mostly ran in half-circles around combatants to try and get one attacker alone for a few seconds and then I’d pounce. It was really frustrating (I was fighting six guys) because I could not stomp anyone (to keep them from getting up) so I had to fight for about 10 minutes on the expanse of a city block before the cops got there. By that time there were only three guys left fighting me and they could not do anything (by that time they were afraid of me as I’d smack them whenever they came inside my distance).

But what about all of the videos or movies that show one guy in the middle taking on all? In a word Fantasy! Why would a bunch of guys rush in one at a time and give you ca chance? You could try to convince them to send their champion and appeal to their ego – but that won’t work for long.

Most karate schools are more focused on the tree rather than the forest. Meaning how to do the basics, kata, techniques, and pass the belt ranking seem to be more important that fighting in many cases. That is the only way a school would sell a fantasy in lieu of the real think.

All of what is taught even in a traditional karate class is applicable in a fight – just not in the way some students and schools think if they are teaching unrealistic strategies such as. My hope is this is all for show just like breaking techniques are (I mean when is the last time you saw a board attack you back?). As a lifetime fighter (that is how I always viewed myself) I have been interested in what worked. If something did not work I dismissed it as a kata or dance if you will or just fluff. This is how I look at anything that in my view is not applicable or would not work often.

In a nut shell most techniques that depend on superior reflexes inside your critical distance (the distance the opponent can reach you with a kick or punch) have little chance of working unless the other guy makes a mistake. I know we are all used to watching boxers and MMA fighters toe to toe. That have the advantage of rules that protect them from most devastating attacks such as groin shots, eye gouges, throat strikes, kicking your opponent on the ground and such that you don’t in a real fight.

The trained professional fighters have another obvious advantage – superior conditioning. This is their day job. They can take a good punch from anyone as well as a ton of abuse. The average joe flies a desk for his day job and takes karate lessons as a hobby. He is not going to be in the amazing condition of a pro-fighter so he cannot make mistakes and muddle through.

Ok – how about those schools that put on the pad, and head protectors and go at it realistically? That is better but not really needed. At least those schools are not selling their students a bill of goods when it comes to mass attacks. The student is going to know they have little chance success unless they are able to move around and fight one on one. Hopefully it does not turn into a slug fest as there is no point to that strategically (meaning no tactics employed other then measuring toughness).

So what is applicable in a group fight? Fighting tactics such as strike and move, position, evasive, fitness levels and so on. One has to strike whenever possible and evade when it is not possible to fight one at a time. Other than that most are not going to be able to out slug two or more people at the same time (unlike the movies).

Work on your fitness levels, point sparring (so you can learn how to strike without getting hit back), bag work, critical distance and initial contact. With a well rounded fighting strategy one can train for any eventuality including a mass attack in a why that makes sense without perpetuating fairy tales.

To finish up my story scenario of the guys coming at you after you threw them your wallet. You need a diversion of some type and then you have to get away if you don’t have a gun on you. In this case I’d suggest a fake and attack after picking up a makeshift weapon or taking off your belt.

Run at one attacker and swerve to another that you perceive to be the easiest to surmount. Get by him and swing your weapon as needed to keep them off of you. Here is the deal – if you have to engage them as you are making your getaway – you are going to have to do some damage as you have four guys after you. Getting to a main steet may help and start yelling fire! Fire!

Get people looking out their doors looking for the fire, while you are dealing with one at a time. At the very least the cops are on the way and you have a fighting chance.

Work your strategy of engaging one at a time and try to do some damage to eventually thin them out. There are no hard fast rules other than NOT letting them engage you at the same time. Your best chance is to fight one at a time even if they have weapons. Use your distance, evasion by running half circles (unless you can outrun them – then do that) and singing out one at a time with your improvised weapon.

In closing I do not mean to attack the integrity of any martial arts schools that teach pretend mass attacks. While I do not see any value it that – they might argue it helps their students work up their courage or something like that. What I do like about any martial arts school is the students do learn the basics and hopefully they will become life long learners and figure out winning strategies that will work for them!

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You’ve all seen the ads – you know the ones about the 90 pound weakling getting sand kicked on his face. What did you think? I mostly think scam as the bigger guy/gal would take the skinny girl or guy right? Anyway a lot of comic books pushed this stuff when I was younger.

I thought if I bought the Ketsugo book or xray glasses or whatever – as a kid – it would really work! I mean all I had to do was buy the hypnotism book and I could sway people to my way of thinking… right?

Ok – reality check… something for almost nothing is mostly worth nothing but the ideas might have had merit. Today we have those xray machines to search people at the airport. Psychology has come a long way since Freud – counseling can actually have a positive effect nowadays. Any let me tell you about those skinny kids – some of them can really fight – but they have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the advantage on a bigger, stronger assailant!.

In this post I’ll outline what is possible and some of what I’ve seen – contrary to what most people think. I’ll also give some insight of what it takes to achieve the self mastery to defend yourself (if you really want to… that is always the question).

As a young man and after dealing with some bullies – I was obsessed with learning how to fight. That is probably why I learned to to fight as a teenager. But I had a disadvantage over a lot of people as a grew up – I was 155 pounds out of high-school and at nearly six feet a lot of guys were taller than me.

I remember getting run over when I sparred some of those big guy as I did not know what to do if they did not respect my space. A lot of big guys knew they were stronger and they figured if they could not punch me – they would just run me over.

The cool thing was when I started taking Kenpo – my instructor (Dick Willett) taught me not only how to kick and punch but how to connect and not take too many punches. All of these tactics were important in fighting. A truly good fighter had to take out their opponent without taking too much damage or the next fighter would take them out!

What do I mean the next fighter? Well fights are not fair. By the very nature of self defense – it is a last resort (or should be) when you have tried every other option to settle your dispute. So in real fights you will be sick, tired, injured, drunk, or blindsided! You have to efficiently dispatch the first attacker and move on to the next or die (hopefully figuratively).

But what about the skinny girl that gets attacked by a 250 pound thug? What can she do? Well that is what is great about martial arts. It is the great equalizer if the skinny kid has gumption/cojones/balls. I mean first the skinny kid has to know how to fight and then be willing to defend him/her self!

Say you are a skinny 90 pound girl that has achieved a brown belt in karate from a style that make students spar with sem-contact. That is ideal because the skinny girl in this example will have been hit before and knows how to avoid many strikes.

Lets be real however – a 250 pound guy smacking a 90 girl on the jaw will not turn out good for the girl. So how can she defend herself?

Firstly she has to keep her distance from the attacker by moving around and striking at opportune targets such as the nuts – eyes – throat and such. She cannot stay in range for long and has to explode in and back. As soon as she has the time – she had to get away or if she cannot – get a makeshift weapon and take care of business.

Here are a couple of points to consider – does the skinny kid really want to know how to fight? Does he or she take the lessons seriously and does instructor know what he/she is doing? I mean can they walk the walk (forget about talk the talk – talk is cheap – anyone can do it).

If the kid learns all of the tools of fighting and does not learn from a banger (a slugger – someone that likes to meet head to head and slug it out) – then he or she has a chance to learn how to fight (defend themselves).

What do I say don’t learn from a slugger? Why a slugger only is effective if he comes up against someone of equal or lesser weight normally. Try trading blows with a bigger – stronger person – and you will probably lose.

So what is the right way for a skinny kid to learn how to fight?

1. The kid does not have the luxury of standing his or her ground – must move around do some lightning strikes and get out of dodge at an angle.
2. The kid cannot hit the normal targets as it will  have little effect… he/she must hit the really vulnerable targets (another reason to not enter into a fight unless your life and limb is threatened – what will have to do to defend yourself is gonna be brutal).
3. Kicking the nuts, eye gouges, punching the adams apple, slapping the ears, biting the face, whatever it takes with no quarter until you can get away is what your gonna have to do.
4. This all assumes you (or the skinny kid) has a burning desire to learn how to get an advantage on anyone.

How do you know if you have it in you? Well as a boy and into my mid-twenty’s (until I was a third degree black belt), I imagined how I was going to drop everyone I met that looked threatening to me. As I was treated badly by big guys – I especially loved sparring them in karate school so make sure I could get over on them… you know if you can do it in the karate school – the street will be easy.

So for all of you skinney kids out that that want to learn how to defend yourself (fight) – there is hope but you have to want it very badly. It will be harder for you to get over on a bigger – stronger person and it is not fair. But so what. If you want it bad enough – you can do it.

I’ve seen plenty of examples of women taking on guys. One then green belt woman (black belt now I think) was pumping gas and a guy robbed the center cash register. He tried to run through this woman, Cathy, and made the mistake of telling her, “Out of my way – B!!!h.” Cathy wheel kick him in the nuts and ridged handed his face! He dropped the money and ran!

I hope you too will see the advantage of learning how to fight – no matter what adversity you may be up against. It is your life and I think you are worth it!

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Actually very slow as I have done some sparring and some jiu-jitsu training this year – maybe about six to eight times all told and you know what? I’ve injured myself four to six times (in addition to all of the regular injuries at home (that have been decreasing).

So by now you think this is my wa-wa post where I cry about getting older and how unfair it all is. NOPE! Done that already but in this post I will speak to how my training has been adjusting and where it is headed as I head into my “Golden Years.”

Ok here is the deal – I have been training to keep my hat in the ring but this last year while gearing up for some team tournment – I was not able to keep up as I kept getting injured.

Over the years I have not been sparring too much especially in the last ten years but I have been keeping up with the bag workouts. To be sure sparring is about the best exercise one can get over almost anything else but it also is hard on a middle aged body. As I would break my hand or wrist – that would take months to heal and I would have to change exercises.

I had it in my mind that I would jump in with both feet just like I did in my 20′s, 30′s and even early 40′s. But let me tell you while I enjoy the high of sparring (hit or get hit) it is dangerous as I still hold back like I did fighting students. The folks I was sparring with are as old as me but they did not lay off like I did. Meaning they did not get injured as much as me.

The other consideration is I have been training for self defense for a long time and I love to kick to the knees and hips (to throw someone off) as well as elbow. And guys my age – I have to hold back from the power of my kicks (except for Terry Crook – he’s still an animal and can take it). But when I sparred with Terry – I got another injury as you’d figure.

So what is my lucid moment?

I’m done trying to keep up with the Jone’s. I am going to keep on training on the bag as a slower pace – aiming for the knee and hips as well as practice all of my self defense techniques, kata, basics and all kinds of strikes on the bag.

You see I can measure my power and mitigate my injures much better than if I fight with a bag that hits back (an opponent).

But you might be wondering what happens if I get in a fight and I’ve not sparred recently? Well I guess I’ll be like everyone else… but slightly better. My wind will last for about six or seven minutes.

But better than most – I can take one opponent in about 10 seconds… so depending on how many opponents will determine if I will be successful or not.

I recall my instructor Dick Willett, telling once at the internationals – as we were watching Ed Parker jumping over isles of chairs – (paraphrasing), “Can you imagine what would happen if anyone messed with Ed? He had years of experience doing those self defense techniques – no one would stand a chance…”

That’s what I want as I head into the next several (hopefully) decades – to get old gracefully (with limited injuries) and still be a mean SOB (if it is called for) for at least three minutes! Doing it my way.

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