tallgeese

today- BJJ nite: Free roll night. 75 min. Worked X-guard alot out of butterfly guard.

There's no special charge anywhere in the US for being a trained fighter of any sort. That's been floating around MA circles for years and it's simply not true. Can your training and experience come into play when using legal statute to determine a "reasonable" response? You bet. Bear in mind; however, that this does NOT rule out any sort of use of lethal force by a trained ma-ist. If you are faced with a deadly force threat then you can and SHOULD respond in kind. Taking mental prep for applying such tactics off the table ahead of time can put one at a disadvantage when you actually have to use them. It will also be more likely to set one up for PTSD after the fact. Best to accept and prep for the fact that one might have to apply movements that could cause great bodily harm or death. Again, I'm not sold on this particular tactic, but I think some of the underlying thought process that's developed on the thread is more important.

today- 4.5 mile run back/bis

Keep training. I've seen things move forward with limited oversight from a hard established hierarchy before and it works fine. In fact, without heavy organizational involvement you can see some real leaps forward in the progress of an art form.

Ok, less then impressive in my opinion as well. The joints not immobilized and the attacker is free to move and adjust. Don't see it happening from here. On a different point, I don't think that just because you use something along the line of this that might actually work it means that you're out of control or going to jail. It just means that deadly force was called for and that you applied it. If those two hold true, it's going to be hard for you to do jail time.

When you step and compete in any arena it's never really a loss, it's all experience and that's where you can build from. Congrats on competing and doing as well as you did.

today- 9, 2 min rounds. Start with jab, double cross to work on hip movement. Add limb destruction to mitt holders hook and end of combo. Move on to arm wrap via over hook after destruction. Add brachial plexus strike with the other hand, same motion as the limb destruction. Finish with lock in to clavicle and takedown. Moved into 30 min of knife v. club work building off the limb destruction movements. Started with destruction with the knife and follow up cuts. Then added same locking movements off the other side for drilling sake while adding the knife mechanics. Covered some what if's from that position. Finished with a brief overview of the x-guard. I know, it doesn't fit but I can't stay off the ground these days.

Ditto. Time to get it looked at.

I'm with Justice on this one. The neck break, while theoretically possible from some angles and twists, is more than likely less than effective. It'd be pretty hard to pull of in the mess of an altercation. Impossible, probably not, but there are better ways to kill people. To the legal ramifications, yes, you'd better be discussing use of force. It important to keeping you and your people out of trouble. That being said, you should also be training highly damaging tactics and possibly life threatening ones in the same manner as the rest. It's a response to a threat, that's all. Anything else will set one up for mental failure when it comes time to apply the movement.

Quite a bit. I've been uke-ed all over the place by multiple instructors so often I forget what it's like to train and not get cranked on. I've been thrown, swept, knifed, clubbed, and had joints cranked till I'm sure I never want to train again. But I still do. It's actually a good thing, the more you feel the movements, the better it makes your representation of them if you're that kind of learner. Be happy about it and take some more ibuprofen is my thought on it. On an off note, it's part of the reason I enjoy BJJ so much. It's all the fun of working stuff but not as much impact with the mat or small joint pain.

today- chest/tris BJJ nite: Worked from open guard again, drilling triangle to sweep set up again. Added a transition to an X guard off of a post out situation on the sweep. Finished with a clearing motion out of the X guard. Drilled live from the open guard in round robin fashion for 3 rounds. 15 min free roll. Having to run to work early stinks.

I think testing is a way to jack up the bodys response to stress. Granted, it's a bit artificial and less than the levels you'll be at during conflict but it's still a way to judge performance under stress conditions. So, taking a day for a test is a good idea. That being said, I think evaluation should occur throughout the training porcess to address issues a student is having and prep them for that sort of thing. I'm personally of the feeling that there should be little doubt, if any at all, that a student has the technical compentencey and heart to pass a test before setting for one. But that's just the way I came up. So, test in a day- yes. Evaluate each day- yes as well.

Keep testing things. I agree, putting things to the test against a committed partner with armor is still one of the best ways to drill. It's still not real, but it's a good indicator. Don't spar with him all the time (although that's also a good training tool) but actually have him ATTACK you. And test everything. If you can't make it work in heavy drilling, then it's a sure bet it will fall apart in reality. Find the places and situations where your weapons work, and train them there. No use making a square peg try and fit into a round hole. Rely on those who've been there. Pick apart their situations with an eye to a debriefing mentality. Not only what worked, but what could have worked better. Look at it thru what you do and could bring to the table. Then, test what you evaluate in the debrief. I get to lay hands on people for a living, and I haven't used the whole set of my skills either. That's not unusual in this day and age. Find your go-to movements and work your secondary skills with the same intensity. They'll be ready. Really find where things work. For instance, I've drilled alot of small joint manipulation over the years, but I've found that against drunk, high, or merely highly aggressive individuals on the street it's hard to use and typically not worth the risk unless: a) controlling a weapon or a single arm for any reason (for me this is often handcuffing); and b) manipulating people out of stationary positions. My case in point to this is usually removal from a vehicle. The appendage is starting from a fixed point and it's much easier and safer to set in this type of movement. So do they have a place, yes, but you have to find it. This will vary for everyone who trains. Teasing out how best for each individual to make use of what you have to teach is part of the biggest key to not deceiving people and building them into the best fighter they can be. And when in doubt about what you've discovered for yourself or others- you guessed it- test it. Evaluate, test, re-evaluate, and put those observations into practice. It will keep building not only your art, but your confidence in what your teaching.

Welcome back and welcome aboard KF!

Very cool. Sounds like you had a good time.

I agree, they are the same. MA's might be more technically precise and have systematized training behind them but it's still is, or should be, fighting. Your average gang tough probably doesn't have lots of drills and reps behind him, but he's been raised, combatively speaking, in a world that is very harsh in it's lessons and very well suited to developing a mental state that is ideal for harming another living being. This shouldn't be discounted, particularly the way some ma-ist train these days. They are pretty much different words for the same thing.

It's going to vary system to system based on the methodology used in each to achieve goals and the principles of the art. Personally, I think it boils down to moving their attack AND moving your target. So, an incoming punch might be parried at the same time an off-line movement is made with the body or head. This increases the likelihood that any "deflection" will work.

Welcome back! Glad to have you back regularly.

Ok, bushido man, that thing looks like a bear. Nicely done. Sat- Spent about 45 tree climbing with my brother in law who trims for a side job. So, it's not really training, but I pulled on, and tossed enough rope that it felt like it. today- 2.5 mile run legs/forarms/abs 15 min on Boomer. Repped series from open guard: triangle, sweep, take back. Drilled gi choke from side at the end of the sweep.

Some thoughts from having done this a few times: -Deal with awareness and mental preparedness more than anything. They should really be focused on avoidance strategies. -Work off the platform of fighting to escape. This is much easier for most average people to make the jump to. -Deal up front with the fact that there is no "minimal" response for most of these situations. Teach them to accept and expect the physical outcomes of the responses you're giving them. -Keep it to things that can be quickly learned and deployed and even more easily retained. Eye gouges, groin strikes are the core. Fast furious and repetitious with lots of different drills for each. -Stay away from punches and deal with forearms and elbows more. Stay away from any tactic that involves kicking. This lets you keep them moving and focused on stances. It's a sd class, they need feet down and movement to run and circle away. -Utilize some simple escapes from realistic grabs. Work integration of strikes and talk about the absolute necessity of using both together. -Build the learning progression so you go from drills, to limited engagement work, to a full armored opponent. Nothing instills confidence like maiming a guy in High Gear armor. -Touch on ground avoidance. It's really a subject that needs it's own course but you should talk about some basics. They should be able to do these against armored guy as well. -All contact drills should contain verbal components, from mitts to armor. This must become automatic. Not kiai's and such, but forms of no, back, off, help, ect. -Train in escape with each encounter they have with armored guy. Each group should always have an exit they are looking for and trying to get there. This is the only form of "sparring" you'll do. It's limited engagement on the part of the attacker, but full on and realistic in outcome for the trainee. -If you're going to do weapons, stay away from the gimic stuff of keys and key chains and such. Pepper spray is your friend. Work on access and deployment. Get a trainer unit if you can. Hitting with a flashlight and such would be ok. Anything else is outside the scope of the class. -Try to train outside for a day. In a car, near a car, ATM. Get it as real as you can. This is just some stuff I've used or built classes around over the years. Hope it helps.

My experience is mainly in cross training with guys working out of JKD rather than formally taking it per se. That being said, all the exposure I've had has used sparring as a training tool extensively. It's treated as a tool to training, not and end of itself. Still, sparring was a major part. Yes, the lead leg round was used. The particular group I was with used them as an interrupting movement. It seemed to be a secondary skill, but yes it was in there. The grappling is tougher. Some groups will, some won't. Almost all will have some semblance of defense from there since it's acknowledged as a "range" of combat. JKD will often, from my experience with different groups, take on the flavor of the major intreset and expertise of the individual practitioner. This is one of it's strengths in my view. If a group has an active intrest in grappling, then expect more of that sort of training.

So it's been a bit. How is the JKD thing treating you?

I don't wear gi's all that much outside of BJJ training these days. However, I won't roll with dudes who don't wash their gi after every training session. So hence, I wash mine after everyone. Cold water only, hang dry. That's been the same since way back when I was using a karate style gi.

I don't know about offensive, but they do tear up mats. It is a good idea to train in them now and again to get the feel of using movements with them on. Ideally, it shouldn't change things that much, if one can't perform movements designed for defense with an everyday item like that on, then one has to question the efficiency of the movement. Still, it's a different feel, hence the use of training in them from time to time. They also present a safety hazard if used all the time. For instance, any sort of grappling automatically raises in the likelihood of hurting someone if done in shoes. So, not everyday, but worth training in from time to time. I like to double up this with training out of doors. Killing two training birds with one stone.

today- 2.5 mile run chest/back 10 min on Boomer working last nights movements.