Secrets of the Martial Arts

Ego and the martial arts

2009-11-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

If you bump into me and I know I can kill you instantly at any time, the ego feels no need to prove itself. If you and your friends make fun of me and I have my hand on a button that could make the car you are in explode, am I angered by your words or amused?

The people who do not fight for survival and whose full application do not end in death are the guys who get into fights because of their ego. They want to go hand to hand and show you who is boss. Teach you a lesson.

The guy whose martial art is efficient and deadly has no need for all that. You go to jail or you die. Is that worth it? Am I intimidated by you if I know that my martial art is effective and deadly? I will leave or let your ego run wild without challenge since you really are not a threat to my ego with words. I most likely will leave since I don't want to go to jail. There can be nothing good that can come out of a situation where someone wants to prove or elevate their ego or someone is calling you names.

Ask yourself, "what is in it for me?" If I kill you, what is my reward? If I win a fair fight, what is my reward? If he wins, what will I lose?

The empty handed martial artists think they are playing a game, a test of skill, a game of who is the better, stronger man. A man who has a martial art based on survival wants no tests of skill, and knows that even when he wins he could lose.

The fear of being made fun of disappears when have become effective and deadly. If you and 3 friends are making fun of me... I know I can most likely kill you. But you are not worth the consequences, neither your insults nor defeating you nor destroying you are worth any possible consequences.

Now it may be that these three fools are actually effective and deadly and for whatever reason want to fight you. When that happens there is still no attack on your ego.. there is only immediate tactical actions based on their threat.

So alot of the empty hands guys get into fights and even look for them. they want to punish people for perceived wrongs, they want to show who is right, they want to show who is the better man, put others in their place. A man who can kill and destroy wants no part of any fight. His ego isn't attacked, and if a real threat does present itself, there is only stimulus and response, not any fear or need to prove ego.

The weapons arts are martial arts of survival, the empty handed arts are arts of ego and of misjudging the enemy. Either way they make you make stupid decisions.

A fans in depth review of Combatant: Extreme Self Defense DVD

2009-10-22T07:16:00.001-07:00

Combatant extreme self-defence

Assessment.
Production values

· Jewel case - literature - slick cover, good content, and attractive main characters. Moni is most photogenic, Gaje most authoritative with uniform, Kipp is bland, Casey looks full of fear. Booklet has problem with dark grey background and black text.

· DVD interaction - set up - excellent set up with styles, scenario breakdown. Added features are good. Screen set up is ok in added feature but somewhat confusing in design. Separation of “funny stuff” and main menu from other features unnecessary.

· Props - environment, background, floor - good contrast. Main characters are dark on white background. The worst looking character is Kipp with his white hair. He washes out. Mats looked cheap and were noisy. Scenarios were real and well filmed. Decent acting although not of Oscar or Hollywood calibre, which is ok since they are not the stars, instructors are. Occasional boom mike intrudes on scenes.

· Lighting - colours - good basic colours on screen which adds contrast to moves. Everything was visible. Scenarios were at times too dark to tell really what was going on. Different effects could have been used to give atmosphere of darkness and danger.

· Sound - quality, music - sound quality was good. Slow motion action gave very good sound effects. Music was bad and choppy. Very poor editing on that front.

· Editing - very little editing performed. No cut and slice. All takes are real time. Sometimes it shows with instructors wishing a time out to explain a different aspect of the move but were kept in. makes for raw and refreshing presentation due to the charisma of instructors, but unpolished as production value.

· Concept - goals, purposes, achieved - excellent concept. Goal is a comparison, not to determine superior style. Very good. Objective breakdown of the styles and critique missing. Further reading and sources for more information also missing. No group pictures or interaction between the masters which is a shame - even if it's a staged love in. Would be wonderful to see.

o Ways to improve the Concept - some value added editing and commentary by the producer/moderator could include:

+ amount of force displayed in techniques and it's repercussions in different jurisdictions
+ pre-violence tactics
+ post conflict strategies
+ dealing with the authorities [some instructors are quite vehement about running away from the scene of conflict and never talking to police. Others are just as vehement about staying put and cooperating fully].
+ showing the Masters either together in a group discussing the scenarios shown or as individuals going over the scenario in detail as presented, asking questions about assumptions, environmental factors, etc.
+ give more details on the staged opponents to the Masters. Heck, interview them and get their perspectives as to what it felt like to be manhandled by these masters. Some took quite a bit of abuse. Most looked as deadly as the Masters themselves.
+ explain range of damage caused by the defence shown. Nothing so crude as a point system, but a rating of damage ranging from control to deadly after-effects.
+ show actual training of students in actual location. Outside or inside? Seedy or brand new and shiny? Who is doing the training? Children or bling-ladened urban types?

Content

Introduction

* Excellent intro. Covers the overarching narrative of present day martial arts in the West. Good explanation of the purpose of the video: comparing 4 different fighting systems for surviving in the streets. Good analogy of tools or music to martial arts. Good presentation by well spoken and well dressed [librarian-like I dare say?] announcer.

Scenarios

Road rage

Finger/Verbal -

· scenario well staged. Nice touch about the "victim" victimizing whoever was on the phone. Tables can be turned so easily. Nice contrast between the Porsche driver and the good 'ol boy in a Wyoming Cadillac. Interestingly, no one mentioned the idea of getting back into the car and locking the doors then calling 911 on the cell phone in any of the road rage scenarios. Even as a poor option, it was not touched upon.

# CKM - cross-handed finger control. Use of body leverage to gain power [even though that was not explained - that is what he was getting at]. Very technical for CKM - requires timing and training.

· Wing Tzun - excellent point on offering no option for confrontation. Too many times assumptions are made in scenarios that there no way out other than violence. Scenario 2 is good in determining range and giving chance to walk away. Lacked verbal component of distancing and de-escalation [of which FAST excels in]. Interesting and divergent idea in using cell phone as weapon. I guess he owned a Razor :-). Pummelling opponent with the cell phone is rather unsophisticated and somewhat unconvincing. It could be the trademark light quick strikes of Wing Tzun or maybe just the way the opponent fell to the ground. It "didn't look right".

· Kali - never EVER point a finger at a Kali guy. You will become an instant pretzel. Moves are highly technical. Requires a lot of training. Lovely double finger hold and control. Opponent seemed too compliant. Danger of rolling on the ground with opponent in parking lot scenario self -evident yet not touched upon - one becomes an easier target for others coming to the aid of the attacker. Rather humorous when he demands that the attacker kneel, when he's obviously kneeling and willing to go down even further.

· FAST - believes in the power of verbal de-escalation. Talked him down. Swallowed pride. Kept distance. Fight your own machismo rather than your opponent. All excellent points. Interesting point of view on cell phone and briefcase - do not use them, set them aside.

Baseball bat

# scenario well staged - attacker had proper "attitude". Given the attack displayed, a simple duck could have given the victim survivability to the initial attack.

· CKM - timing and range is paramount. Requires lots of training. Very good explanation of range and power zones of club. Good move which depends entirely on timing deep penetration of attacker's space then powering him around setting him up for a "coup de grace" [I think he really hit him - this was not a fake moan after the blow]. Good joke about Canada. Only time Moni mentioned after conflict repercussions but it is of paramount importance. An assessment of the tactics used by the Masters in different jurisdictions would be an eye opener and definite value added.

· Wing Tzun - use of briefcase as shield and weapon interesting "old school" street defence.. Good strategy. Still unconvincing finish with quick succession of light strikes. There is something odd about continuing to strike the opponent while he is on the way down. Power and accuracy must be compromised in doing this.

· Kali - odd defence. Didn't look like it should work, probably feels like it will. Defender looked very vulnerable when deflecting the blow. Take down and locks using the bat is complex and cumbersome - more artistic than effective.

· FAST - good points on cringing and the psychological impact of someone coming at you with a bat. Good points on upper body struggle and on running away. Excellent point of legal liabilities of assault once disarmed. Good basic moves, body mechanics after a groin shot, and using the bat while attacker still has hands on it.

Multiple attackers

# scenario well staged. attackers looked suitably angry and hick-ish. Wonder what scenario would look like if it was some rich kid in a Porsche doing the attacking on some poor farmer going to the co-op? This might play better in the Heartland of America.

· CKM - excellent point on survivability - slim chance of survival. Positioning in corner of bar good but should mention something about positioning the stand for a fight in order to escape. One cannot escape from a corner. Stacking opponents in front is good. Taking down leader is a good point. Technique demands perfect execution on first try because other guy is coming. Does not go into "Plan B" in case initial defence fails. Bat swings are basic power swings. Nothing fancy or Kali about them.

· Wing Tzun - good explanation of isolation and stacking up opponents. Unconvincing attackers and strikes. Did not disarm initial attacker. Poor example of disarming the bat when he got around to doing it in second try. I wonder what all this would look like if Boztepe had accepted the invitation?.

· Kali - "Break the leg. Break all the legs that you can see". Not exactly gentle or restrained. Major post-conflict issues with this one. Displays lots of fancy swings of the bat - more show than effect. Opponents are definitely fearful of this man and not willing to even try to "play it up". Disarming was interesting [check block on outer elbow and cross-handed control of bat hand to disarm] but requires high degree of training.

· FAST - good psychology using diversion. Stacking up opponents good point. Built on previous moves like CKM. Idea of children is interesting added factor. Very difficult to stack opponents while protecting children behind you. He should have told then not only get behind him but to run away as far as they can - get inside the store, go back inside the car, whatever.

Assault

Round house Punch

+ scenario well staged. However, the darkness/lighting is a problem. Lighting coming from the back of players obscuring the details facing the camera. Blue filters or other methods could be used to convey "seedy darkness".

· CKM - good instruction, good context, good demo of principles. Good ideas on nose, palm strikes and "faking out" with hand position. Good point on avoiding ground fighting - do not punch while on the ground. Effective for purposes of the DVD - not very good for significantly weaker victim such as a petite woman facing a roundhouse. Actually powers attacker to the ground with leveraged arm/elbow wrap.

· Wing Tzun - good discussion of range and explanation of one motion attack/defence. This is where Wing Tzun excels. Is somewhat effective but requires a lot of training.

· Kali - excellent moves but complex with little explanation. Requires much training. Poor explanation of moves [bad angles displayed], better explanation of knife orientation of art and context. Using knife to damage the way displayed could pose post-conflict problems.

· FAST - very verbal, psychological, very basic power moves based on adrenaline rush. However, the verbal component doesn't really de-escalate anything - too aggressive as played out. Roundhouse unconvincing from bulletman as displayed. Very good explanation of psychology and pre-assault set-up. Good explanation on breaking out of the freeze response. The only one that discusses witnesses and legal implication.

Side kick

# scenario well staged. same problem with lighting. [nice kick by the way].

· CKM - nifty basic move, new leg hold not covered in his class. Good idea on sidestepping attack and trapping leg. Not very good on explaining counter kick [Kali was better at that]. Finish is good but not appropriate for weaker opponent.

· Wing Tzun - basic move, based on WT principle of attack/defence at same time and reliance on speed and timing. Finish with “death of a thousand cuts” with weak punches and slaps. Looks ineffectual throughout the DVD but it is never explained that it is meant to disorient opponent, not take his head off [even with or without the 1” punch.]

· Kali - a figure 4 leg lock? Wow. Haven't seen that since Verne Gagne did his thing in the ring. WWF like defence. Poor explanation, beautiful locks as a finish. Interesting take on "muscle/tendon destruction" as basis of moves. Attacker very cooperative once on the ground. Maybe he knows what will happen if he doesn't cooperate [!]. Tendency of art to go to the ground and apply controls. This ties defender up on ground and is open to other attackers.

· FAST - prefers verbal assault/defence to a physical finish/finish. Makes the encounter longer but may result in less violence. Stays out of range of the side kick. Goes with common response to back away rather than side stepping - ok strategy but allows the attacker to come again and again. Defeats the attacker not on a sidekick but on a roundhouse punch.

Takedown

# scenario well staged - lighting somewhat improved.

· CKM - good points on ground fighting. Do not go to ground. Suckering attacker deeper by taking leg back ok but doesn't answer the obvious problem of attacking the other forward leg or aiming for the waist. Defence is simple and devastating and is a "kissing cousin" to the Kali defense that was so strange. The side-step and blow makes more sense rather than the Iron Man stance of the Kali Master.. Should explain that this move could kill the guy [along with hitting the nose on other sections of DVD]. Good points on striking to the ground - spine and Achilles tendon. Disable in order to prevent pursuit - not to punish.

· Wing Tzun - unrealistic demo, despite showing 3 different variations of the take down. He never goes down. If he ever did, I suspect he wouldn't know what to do. 1st variation of close up shoot and then attempt to lift is good. Defense was puzzling but decent - interesting strike and sweep..2nd variation using energy of attacker to turn body and avoid take down. Good concept, but puzzling in stance and balance. An Aikidoist would do this much better with better balance and stronger grounding. 3rd variation with attackers head going to the inside - proper response with knee to face. Finishing punches merely window dressing.

· Kali - strange defence, elbow to the neck? Attack was too high and uncommitted. Very unconvincing. Locks and controls were beautiful and painful to watch. Using knife on controlled and proned opponent must have major legal issues associated with it. Strange paradox - this art is most appropriate for police yet the way it is displayed is the most vengeful and needlessly bloodthirsty of the lot. "If he is under proper threat of the knife, you are in better position to control". And if the opponent is too drunk to realize the threat, what then - slice him open?

· FAST - slapping opponent down is not that effective but may infuriate attacker even more. Getting off attack line is good. Breaking freeze response good point and not really discussed by anyone else . The idea that if someone has buddies around or has a knife that would prevent you from running away is odd. If anything, that should be more motivation to run away. I do not know what he means by "finishing the situation". Sounds exactly like the machismo flaw in the untrained he described so well earlier.

Robbery

* scenario well staged but again, same problem with lighting. Cut away to attacker is jarring. Needs better editing.

Knife robbery

· CKM - good points on psychology of attack. Cuts to the chase, attack attacker. Don't give him money? Why not? What he meant to say in his preamble was that is someone holding a gun or knife wanted to harm you, you'd be dead or bleeding or both. This is a hold up situation allowing for deception, positioning and surprise. Classic aikido move with kotegaishe. Am worried about attempt by attacker to withdraw knife at first hint of defence. This move won't work well with that. Good finish with control, kick head, then move away - escape.

· Wing Tzun - give up the money now go in peace. Realistic and sensible. Interesting there was no follow up with attack from attacker. To be covered later, I guess.

· Kali - attacking a Kali person with a knife is like a fish at a market giving a sharp knife to a Sushi chef. This is where Kali shines and is most at home. Defence is over the top and sadistic in nature. Defender not only defends himself but also carves up the opponent. This has gotta be highly illegal, even on the street where there are “no rules”. Very good explanation of moves and logic. Beautiful use of slow motion. Once again, goes to the ground in order to control, slice and dice - no escape and no protection from this guy's buddies.

· FAST - same as WT with deeper psychological explanation. All valid and good points.

Slashing attack

· CKM - good explanation of timing. Slashing defence like stick defence. Good idea about going with attacker's energy and capitalizing on it, bringing him down as he tries to [inevitably] pull away. Good disarm. Standard quality move. Sad to say, attacker lacked conviction.

· Wing Tzun - go with energy and follow through. Good concept. First rare lock/control from WT. Strike until he goes down. Need more info on disarming technique. "Pluck knife away after attacker bludgeoned into unconsciousness"? What?

· FAST - basic gross motor moves. Late in disarming attacker. Does mention damage done in attack. Where to get cut if necessary covered - very good. WR like in approach. Grabbing blade of weapon is highly dubious. What if the blade is serrated? The hand touching blade is immobilized - no movement allowed because the blade will cut. Keep it safe, keep it simple. Very good advice. Good detail on disarm.

Gun attack

· CKM - this is where CKM shines. Excellent move. Some confusion about bringing arm back then going for top of gun. Did not go into 80-20 rule. Magician-like quickness necessary for this to work - not covered in Moni's explanation. Good idea about keeping distance and verbally taking control. There are issues with post conflict problems if the attacker tries to take the gun away or walks toward the defender. Does the defender squeeze the trigger? Why? Defender is armed and attacker is not. Of course when in Texas or Manila, virtually anything goes. But try this in Boston or Toronto and you'll get a very different post-conflict effect.

· Wing Tzun - sensible response. Give money. With an honest attack the gun is used almost as a knife. Very unrealistic. Good idea of controlling the weapon and disabling firing mechanism. Sloppy disarm. Good distancing. Accidently shoots attacker? Nice humour.

· Kali - odd defence. Looks good but highly dubious on second thought. Barrel of gun is actually placed in line of attack by defender in trying to disarm attacker. Don't like idea of crossing arms. Opens up too many counters to that. After disarm takes place, it's pretzel time. Is careful about muzzle placement during control and locking phase. Should have been just as careful in initial defence. . Remains close to opponent after disarm and possessing gun which may be tactical mistake.

· FAST - give the money. Good talk on awareness. 10 second rule well explained. Don't toss and run with a gun. More appropriate with a knife. However, no one mentions the range of effectiveness with gun vs. knife. Also the idea that most people are terrible shots and not very well trained not covered. With honest attack, attacker uses gun almost like a knife. Defender bludgeons attacker first then disarms. Delays controlling the weapon. Very risky with a gun. Good point that a grab is fine motor skill. His strike is gross motor skill. But then he follows up the strike with a grab, so, what gives? Still, good points on grabbing and focussing on the weapon - do not grab and try to punish like classical Krav Maga [not CKM] teaches. Good points on to shoot or not to shoot after disarm. Also, if gun play is involved and one needs to practice disarms and controls, learning about guns is essential. Learning about safeties, cocking, loading and unloading guns, bullets in chambers, etc. All must be learned. Same with knife. One must learn to use knife if one is to defend against one.

Abduction

* scenario well staged with proper lighting except for the last two crucial seconds during the grab.

Grab from behind

· CKM - No mention of keys. Would it work as displayed in the scenario with a fearful woman and big attacker? Good point on control of upper vs. lower body. Remember the strikes once on the ground is to the groin. Get up then escape.

· Wing Tzun - focus on awareness and scene acting very good. Using keys very good. Unconvincing strikes afterwards and kicks were snap kicks, not powerful ones. Problem with both controlling arm so he can breath and then jabbing with same arm with keys. It would have been so easy to control the arm to breath, use other arm with elbow to sternum, then using keys to throat.

· Kali - I love this take down move but would not work in scenario because car would get in the way. Screw the keys, this guy has a knife on the ready. Then proceeds to make sushi of the attacker. Very convincing and very illegal. Cutting off opponents fingers and ears ok in Manila but not in Toronto, not even in Texas. Slightly sadistic.

· FAST - only one who has both keys and bags to re-enact attack very good. Focus on psychology very good. Good points on mule kicks [bad] and foot stomps [good]. Good points on not worrying on possessions, worry about you. Used keys for defence [which is good] but does not want to use cell phone or briefcase when available and does nothing with handbag - why?.

Styles - selecting any category after selecting style does not revert back to the main menu of the style but proceeds to play everything nonetheless. This is inconsistent with other parts of the DVD in logic and behaviour of commands.

Pekiti-Tirsia Kali

Most technical for the styles shown. Requires lots of training. Very good on blades, very dubious on ground attacks, inconclusive on guns. As shown most blood thirsty and "illegal" of the styles. When shown in "civilian" or "law enforcement" mode, looks to be the safest of all the arts because it focuses on locks and controls, not smashing or maiming the opponent.

Bio is good, well presented. He is the most lucid and understandable in all the sections he is in. Personal style is a little over the top i.e. the uniform, badges, beret and constant accompaniment of clinking keys and equipment. Visual display of authority may lend credibility to some, but to others seem to be a display of insecurity or shortcomings. Had a well know practitioner of Kali stick fighting in Ontario view the DVD in Ontario. He knew Leo T. Gaje well and has many recordings of him, but was surprisingly disappointed in his performance on this DVD. In his opinion the performance was centered too much on the complexities of the moves and was "showing off" more than was necessary. That said, however, I secretly yearn to take up this art and learn as much as I can.

CKM

Deadliest, easiest, second most confrontational of the styles on this DVD [Kali takes top “honours” on that score]. Successfully walks a balance between survival and escape and damaging, disabling opponent. Excellent with guns and escapes. Tips toward damage are emphasized in DVD. Escape is not emphasized enough. That may be an editing decision or an oversight on Moni's part. In his CKM classes [which I have taken], much more emphasis on escape exists. His bio is quite good but please note the controversies involved. Other organizations that claim "copyright" on Krav Maga are quite vocal and even vicious in their attacks on CKM. It is an unfortunate fact that there are very few martial arts that are as litigious as Israeli martial arts. That does not means this mud-slinging should make it to the DVD or even less in the section where they are victim of this mud-slinging. It only means that maybe a section in the intro by the narrator should cover issues of marketing, legalities, and ultimately the usefulness and earnestness of the Master involved is what counts. As for the optics on broader political issues involved with the art [Arab/Israeli conflict] that is fodder for another DVD. The historical, cultural, and political aspects or martial arts and modern conflicts. I know many people who wouldn't ever touch a Japanese art because of WWII. Same goes for Systema because of Spetznats behaviour in Chechnya and Afghanistan. Moni's art is as useful and earnest as any I have experienced.

Wing Tzun

Approach of Master makes this least confrontational of the arts on DVD. Least effective of the arts. Slapping someone silly that has a gun or knife pointed at you is not very convincing. If Bruce was doing this DVD in his prime, effectiveness would be unquestioned … for someone as talented as Bruce Lee. Then again, Bruce evolved well beyond just doing Wing Tzun. Boztepe should have been present for this. Bio is very good. Concept explained in a clear and concise way. Depth of the art well explained. The earnestness of this Master is unquestioned. He is someone I would love to learn from. The usefulness of this art in a street situation as demonstrated is suspect.

FAST

Americanized common sense. Survival and gross motor skills moves at its very basic and at its very best. Good psychology, very street wise in before and after of conflict. The most sensible of the styles here. Excellent use of the bullet man equipment. I'd love to see Wing Tzun take on a bullet man and see how far slapping an opponent will take him. Bio is very good, history of FAST, children and women training very good. Rather deep training of Bill Kipp in a variety of arts which is not evident in the techniques used in FAST. What was used and why? What was left behind? Why? Verbal de-escalation is very good but occasionally in the demos the verbal seems more like an instigator than a calmer. " I don't wanna fight you, man. I DON'T wannna fight you. ... I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU!!!" Blam, wham OOOF. etc.

Special features

Master Talk [note: Master talk = Bio in arts specific section. recycling content in this case is unnecessary]

· CKM - very good summary. Very earnest and honest presentation. Good photo display. Good points on evolving.

· Wing Tzun - meek soft presentation. Good explanation of origins and present situation. Some eye candy with exposing his good physique. Training sample blindfolded very good. Idea of arm position and objectives explains a lot about why he does what he does. Range and tactics good explanation. Needs personal photos for personal touch.

· Kali - very good history. Personable - his best presentation on the DVD. Good differentiation between fighting system and martial art. See above.

· FAST - surprising personal history. His experience in variety of locations and art does not translate into his basic art. Very good with adrenaline and physiology of attack and being attacked. Bulletman background very worthwhile. Most talkative presentation, sales oriented. Good statistics used. Very street wise for North America. Most sensible of the arts compared. Most primitive of the arts compared. Excellent display with child and woman training.

Survival Kit

Weird and groundless/baseless. What is the purpose of this section? It's anything but a kit. Most pointless part of DVD [including funny stuff!]. I was expecting something more from a section named like this. This is merely "more of the same - redux". However, having said that, CKM display was very good [wicked guillotine move on a punch]. One inch punch well displayed but staged with the chair placed to give extra effect. Good explanation of it. As demonstrated, though, is more of a push than punch. Chi Sao is most interesting part of Wing Tzun demo. Kali was most useless. Blade happy demonstration of machismo. Fascinating one on one sparring demo and long gun defence [will someone PLEASE explain the defense against a gun at a medium range i.e. beyond knife wielding range?]. Focus on his facial expressions says it all. With FAST knife attacker from the rear is interesting. Delay in action and feigning compliance could be deadly - surprising justification from Bill Kipp. Good talk about kidnapping and secondary location. Funny retake - almost like an out take. For some reason he loves to grab blade edge. Excellent ideas on awareness. Rear attack with gun is almost CKM like, but chooses to inflict damage while trying to maintain gun control. Good idea on muzzle control.

Funny Stuff

Should have imitated the instructors more [he did try the Gaje moves - good stuff]. Some good moments with southern good ole boys giving a tongue lashing [FAST taken to the next level]. Maybe include the instructors in there as well as “victims” of this comedian's wit. Martial artists take themselves too seriously. Interaction with court jesters and clown would lighten things up a bit.

A gun guys view on why gun training sucks

2009-10-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

http://goodguyswithguns.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-gun-training-sucks.html

this also probably tells us alot pertaining why martial arts suck as well. At least part of the answer I could say.

Self Defense on another level.

2009-10-13T22:57:00.001-07:00

If you are into the martial arts, you are into depending on yourself and survival.. this web site takes it to a whOLE nother LEVEL... you know what I mean?

This is THE site for survival info, daily.

The end of the world as we know it seems so much more likely every day.

in reference to: SurvivalBlog.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

A fight over a gun

2009-10-13T22:50:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you have to make the theories real.

Then instead of something you read somewhere.. you know.

in reference to: YouTube - grabbing slide of automatic pistols to inactivate them (view on Google Sidewiki)

The Bullet Man Bill Kipp on Facebook

2009-10-13T22:43:00.001-07:00

If you ask me, this is the guy who invented reality training. He made an important contribution to martial arts regardless of style.

You finally get to hit a real human being hard under stress and see how your training works or doesn't.

He is great in the Combatant DVD, where he explains what his ideas are and how they work when he is making contact. see http://www.comparestyles.com for more info.

in reference to: Facebook | Bill Kipp (view on Google Sidewiki)

Combatant DVD on Facebook

2009-10-13T22:25:00.001-07:00

Combatant DVD on Facebook.. What can I say 2 out of the 4 masters are fans! If you post here Moni or Bill Kipp may respond to your posts.

There are also videos on the site of the Masters of their art explaining there art and it's origins. Make sure and look for the videos on this facebook page.

The host of Combatant, Jason Baird.

in reference to: Facebook | Combatant: Extreme Self Defense DVD (view on Google Sidewiki)

inactivating a gun at close quarters

2009-10-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Demonstrating how to take an auto pistol out of battery in close quarters fighting over a gun.

What is your martial art best suited for?

2009-09-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

boxing is oriented toward fighting in a ring is it not?

Isn't ai-jitsu best for a medieval japan?

Ponder what your art is really best for? Not what you want it to be for, but what is is best suited for. You might be surprised.

Close quarter gun work

2009-09-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

I am very happy that the comments regarding my close quarter gun work videos are things like:

1. this is ridiculous
2. you are an idiot
3. you are going to shoot yourself
4. I am certified, neutered, politically correct, non-creative person and no one at any dumbed down gun school has every showed me anything like that.

This tells me that I am doing something that hasn't been done before and that people just don't get it. Revolutionary ideas are always immediately rejected.

http://www.pistolaydaga.com

Tuhon Gaje on Pekiti-Tirsia Kali FMA

2009-09-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

top 10 things wrong with IDPA

2009-09-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

Top Ten things wrong with IDPA for bettering your self defensive capabilities
(International defensive pistol association)

1. No feedback. You shoot the paper and you get no feedback. If you shoot people they fall down.

2. Gamers. you can get caught up in the gamer side of it and start doing things that will help your score but get you killed in a gun fight.

3. Cardboard doesn't shoot back

4. No lasers allowed. Hey lasers help, let us use lasers.

5. Center mass is ok sometimes, but maybe moving the target up a bit to be the cardio triangle would be better. I see an awful lot of gutshots happening in IDPA.

6. Baby steps. This is really silly... if you are in a gunfight you shouldn't take slow tiny little baby steps so you can shoot more accurately, you need to move to cover asap and then engage the target. If you do engage the target you should be running as if your life depends on it not taking turtle baby steps.

7. People who shoot a huge pistol, think concealment is a pain, wear a shoot me first vest, wear the gun in some holster outside the pants and then conceal carry a very small gun inside the waistband. Shoot with what you carry.

8. The inability to wear a holster any other place except on the hip. Let people draw their guns from where they really carry them.

9. Lack of any effort to get offline. Anytime they do shooting from retention they should be getting offline as well.

10. 50% of your upper torso exposed when shooting from cover is ok in IDPA. This is bad and lots of times they don't even follow that rule. You can shoot things from cover only showing part of your head and your hand on the gun. 50% is way to much.

Krav Maga response to a slashing knife

2009-09-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

what happens to fancy techniques in life or death situations

2009-08-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Bill Kipp explains what happens when a real self defense situation happens. He also talks about how to talk to avoid fighting.

Video of Tuhon Leo Gaje explaining why his fighing system is not a martial art

2009-07-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

http://www.bladefighting.com/tuhongajeexplainsPTK.htm

Aikido looking good

2009-05-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Martial arts as sport

2009-05-18T11:56:00.001-07:00

boxing - sport. Those big pillows on their hands are there to protect the hands, not the other guys head. boxers get into fights outside of the ring and break their hands. They stand there and beat on each other. Then they get in the clinch and pretend nothing can happen bad there. They do not train with or against weapons.

Tae Kwon Do - sport. This is a good martial art for chicks. Maybe they teach something different in Korea, but here it is just cheap daycare for kids or jumping up and down, bouncing around and throwing ineffective kicks. Are their arms paralysed? Their protective equipment doesn't protect their face... but no worries you can't hit them there in sparring anyway...

Fencing - sport. You only move in a straight line? You think touching the guy FIRST counts for something just because they poke you second? Are these movements applicable to other weapons? Will that tiny blade stop someone?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu- sport. Can anyone say Judo? You think you can tie yourself up and roll around on the ground with bad guy number one while bad guy number two is killing you?

Witness to a martial art becoming a sport

2009-05-18T11:55:00.003-07:00

People in the know look at a martial art like Judo and say this is totally a sport. They took out the dangerous moves and the nasty things like strikes that can hurt people in training and kept alot of the other things. What did it look like before it became a sport? What did fencing look like before it become so distorted as a sport?

I have recently been a witness to seeing a martial art in the process of BECOMING a sport.

IDPA or the International Defensive Pistol Association was originally founded in order to better the skills of people who carry pistols for self defense.

When you go to an IDPA shoot, there are normally 2 types of shooters there, the Tactical Teds and the Gamers. Tactical Ted is all about real self defense scenarios and wants to improve his abilities and is not interested in his score or winning the contest. The Gamers will take advantage of any and all rules to try and improve their score to win the match.

One time I created a scenario where there was a guy with a knife 21 feet from the shooter, and the idea was that you had to shoot him while running to cover and then engage the other opponents from cover. Then you move to another bit of cover to engage more opponents(represented by cardboard that roughly similates the head and torso of a bad guy)

So I took off running at 90 degrees to left and shot at the guy with the knife quickly. I wanted to hit him but I also needed to get out of the way QUICKLY since he can theoretically run and cut or stab me before I can draw and get off a shot. I then engaged the other targets from behind out simulated "brick wall" exposing as little of myself as possible. Then I went to the next bit of cover and did the same. Yes, I am a Tactical Ted. For me it is a simulation of a life or death scenario that could happen to me.

So how does this become a sport? Well is is what the Gamers did....First they brought a gun to the shooting match that is not the gun they carry when carrying a gun. They brought one that was more accurate and they might have even loaded it with ammo less powerful than what they would carry with the for protection. they face the knife welding bad guy and slowly ever so slowly walk with baby steps to the cover since they are more concerned with accuracy than getting out of the way. Then they put way too much of their body out of cover so it is easier to shoot the other bad guys. Then they reload their gun since they already know the scenario and have counted how many shots they would have shot before reaching the next to the last cover and know that they will save time by reloading now instead of waiting to run dry "unexpectedly" like what happens in real life.

So anyway for them it is all about their score and they are not worried about getting away from people with knives, exposing themselves to opponents with guns when they have a perfectly good brick wall to hide most of their body behind. The score in IDPA is partly accuracy and part how fast you do the scenario. Basicly bad accuracy means add time to your score. So a combo of speed and accuracy wins.

Anway, they are training themselves to win competitions and not training themselves to survive deadly encounters. You can see this martial art turning into a sport right before your eyes. It is facinating.

Aikido

2009-05-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

Aikido is spiritual in nature.

I sort of think it is funny when people think it is a system for surviving life and death encounters.

It isnt, it is some kind of spiritual deal that manifests iteself as some sort of incomplete, watered down and castrated martial art. Blending in your energy with the energy that is there, and controling rather than hurting.

The founder was a swordsman first... so it is also funny to think you can just study aikido and get to the place this guy was. My recomendation is first become a swordsman and then you can become an aikido guy. When aikido guys practice, it obvious these guys have no clue how to use a knife. Their pathetic acting out of pretending to attack with a knife doesnt come close to simulating attack... but then again it is a sport any way.

Aiki-Do .. Aiki- jutsu should be slightly less offended.

Krav Maga, what is it?

2009-05-18T11:54:00.001-07:00

Krav Maga is supposed to be a "get up to speed quickly on self defense in the real world."

Israeli troops need to be trained quickly and close combat is just a tiny bit of all the things you need to know as a soldier.

What is Krav Maga though anyway?

Depends on who is doing it or when they were doing it.

Some of the people had karate backgrounds, wrestling backgrounds, boxing backgrounds. Some have Judo and jiu jistsu backgrounds. So krav maga is really more of a generic term if you ask me.

In the combatant:extreme self defense DVD(http://www.comparestyles.com )

you can see that Moni Aizik has a judo/jiu jistsu background and so you will see his techniques will differ from others who had different backgrounds or teachers.

What you need to do if considering Krav Maga is don't fall for the Israeli army does it every day and it really works hype and actually check out the background of the techniques. Where did they come from? Have they really been tested? Sometimes the people formulating "krav maga" may really just be drawing alot from whatever foundation art they have...and the techniques they come up with end up being as good or as bad as the system they extrapolated the techniques from.

tapping out

2009-05-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

It is very unfortunate that people think that MMA, or mixed martial arts are so great.

They think it is a combination of "what really works". So they say we get two guys into a padded ring with all sorts of rules and let them fight and it is supposed to have us end up with the ultimate martial art that is effective and really, really works. Hogwash.

It will end us up with what works with only two opponents fighting according to certain rules in a padded ring for sporting purposes. It is a sport, it is not a mixed martial art, since it isn't a martial art, it is a sport like boxing, kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do, wrestling, judo, etc. Notice some of sports I mentioned are used by mixed martial artists.

Anyway, the fact that most of the time people "tap out" is part of giving away what it is all about. If you are in a situation where you really need a real martial art that really really works, neither side is going to be "tapping out" that is a gentelmen's agreement and not an aspect of a life and death encounter.

The fact that most violent deaths involve weapons and this sport involves no weapons might give you a clue to the fact you are wasting your time if what you are trying to do is to be able to protect your life in a violent attack. They neither teach defending against nor the use of weapons.

Oh and the rules, you can't do this, you can't do that. Well that skews the fight towards certain techniques winning over other techniques since maybe the counter to that technique is illegal.

In a real life and death encounter neither side will be tapping out.. most like likely they will be bleeding out.

Check out this t-shirt that says it all.

Hwa Rang Do knife looks interesting

2009-05-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

It isn't a martial art

2009-04-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.theselfdefenseco.com/module09.asp

yeah I think they are right, it is a business!

ranking systems and black belts

2009-04-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

so a guy goes to study how to fight with a knife.

first he is taught how to slash and thrust with the knife. After many months of this he is getting quite good.

then he is taught to defend against the knife over many months.

Then him and the master start doing drills with a rubber knife going back and forth between attacking and defending and attacking again. After some time he becomes quite good... "Master, how long until I can become a Guro, as you can see I am getting quite good" The master says nothing.

After several years, the master and the student can flow with the rubber knives attacking and counter attacking. From the outside it looks like the total chaos of a real encounter, but to the student he sees all the familiar patterns in all attacks and counters. Master, "how long until I am guro?" none of your other students can do this and I can flow with you with whatever attack you give me." the master says nothing.

years pass, the master and the student are now attacking and counter attacking in what looks like total chaos but their sharp minds see and respond to all the attacks with perfect counter attacks but with such control that they never have serious cuts. The weapon is under perfect control and their counters take them out of harms way. Master, "how long until I am a guro?"

the master finally speaks "IF YOU CAN DO ALL THAT, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED WITH A TITLE?"

You will be cut

2009-04-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

most martial arts or artists, when teaching about the knife frequently say "You will be cut."

I think they are right about that. In pekiti-tirsia Kali, we teach "no one can take the knife from your hand." We never tell them that they will be cut.

In many martial arts they teach defensive tactics.. what do you do if they do this, what do you do if they punch you, etc. That is ok..in pekiti tirsia we teach that as well, but we also spend alot of time teaching offensive tactics. How do you attack?
After all, a good offensive is best defense.

In many martial arts, you usually start with empty hands and finally one day you get to learn weapons. In pekiti tirsia you start with weapons and do empty hands last. The movements from weapons to empty hands are the same movements.

other arts make a big deal about teaching discipline, self respect, etc. We just teach the fighting techniques and the rest happens by itself. It isn't even part of the goal, but if you really learn how to fight then it will happen. Some people try and teach those things so hard their people only think they are learning how to fight.

some arts make a big deal about the rank or belt you have. In PTK we hardly mention it and you might go years without rank ever coming up.

I like Tuhon Gaje's comment on "reality based systems"

Reality? Where do you get your reality? Where does it come from? If you come to me, I will slash you, I will stab you...