Alan Armstrong

Hearing this phrase alot lately. Using the right tool for the job? Does this mean (for instance) using the right part of the foot to hit a target with? Using the right tool for what purpose in martial arts, using the hammer fist like hitting a nail? Ratchet wrenching? Bolt cutters? Tire iron leverage? Referring to (using the right tool for the job) makes no sense at all in regards to martial arts, so why say it?

Sushi is known to have alot of sodium (salt) the fish is OK, the rice is also OK. SUSHI does lack in the vegetable Dept. which is not OK! Raw fish is not OK! How about stir fry in a Wok? Lots of vegetables in this dish.

From looking at the photo of the woman (with a ponytail) as long as rubber knives are used everything will be OK. I agree with one military official, that pointed out that it should be the police teaching self-defence and not the military.

One other danger of practicing knockouts on students is that they might want to practice this on younger students, as things can easily be passed on in a downward or even younger direction of 18 years or less. Children are protected under the law from "phisical punishment" in the from parental discipline; in certain countries. Children or young teens exposed to "Martial Art CIs" doing knockouts on students is setting a bad example for future generations.

Self defence is not enough. Things are not always as they seem. A person defending themselves (on the street) could look like the attacker from the onlookers perspective. To defend oneself, also need to have some body language, that supports your actions. Verbally shouting "No! No!" would help your case. Also moving in a none threatening way. Victims can often look like the attacker if they have martial arts training. Therefore consider your fellow citizens if confronted, while battling it out, call out "Someone call the police" while you have the attacker in a headlock. Witnesses need to be on your side, your verbal clues and body language needs to match your intent. Onlookers or witnesses, perhaps were preoccupied and not see who started the altercation, the consequences could result in that the public opinion at that moment turns against you. A policeman, was once trying to break up a fight between two men and in the heat of the moment and in the confusion shot the both of them.

Any Vegan martial artists out there? Fish has it's benefits, as Jspanese consume alot of fish and live longer than the rest of us. Martial art food could be; Sushi anyone?

My first experience using the rings was with "Void" sparring in a TKD class in about 1997. Becoming connected and aware of the void while maneuvering around fellow students felt very surreal, as if I was sparring in an alternate reality while everyone else was in normal time, almost comic bookish in being able to move within space and time and around objects with total ease.

That thought alone makes me further question the validity of the "no touch" knockout.Would make for an interesting 'Ultimate of the Ultimate's" MMA none touch 3 rounds, 3 minutes per bout. None touch arm locks and none touch throws are also accepted. Anything goes except contact. Accidental contact would result in instant disqualification! No weight classes or weightins necessary.

They are all afflicted on both sides of the coin, (teacher and student) just don't become "drawn" in to it yourself. Alot of water can pour in to the smallest gap; turn your water main to the off position; regarding none touch knockouts. Another way of understanding this is when people go to the cinema. The audience becomes "drawn" in to the plot, or story. People start clapping or cheering, even crying. Aikiido uses this "drawing" in effect in a different way, by letting the opponent hold the Aikidoist's wrist, the opponent can be gently lead (while not feeling threatened) the subconscious doesn't react and therefore the Aikidoist without much effort can throw the opponent, with most of the energy (ironically) coming from the opponent. Wing Chun also uses this "drawing" effect, it is the (Man Sao) asking hand; because it is a searching hand used softly, once again the opponent's subconscious doesn't recognize a threat and doesn't react, giving the Wing Chun fighter sensitivity information. Both of these examples from Aikido and Wing Chun are used in a very subtle light touch, the light or none touch knockouts are connected by the simple fact of not being part of mainstream reasoning. Because something dosn't seem possible, with enough "drawing" in seduction, the participants can subconsciously contribute to it's success with disastrous results or consequence.

To Safroot: If self defense is your weakest martial art link then make it stronger by specializing in it. Keep with the karate and investigate how other MA styles deal with self-defence. YouTube is full helpfull tips and advice for martial artists. Emin Boztepe is known in the Wing Chun community as being very self-defence orientated. There are plenty of helpful videos of him on YouTube. Good luck and keep the faith!

Martial art CI's can train individual students to be susceptible to none touch knockouts.Once a person is programmed a certain way to react, they will react exactly how they have been conditioned; more so under stress. Certain students are susceptible than others but with enough repetition and stress we can all fall in to the mentalists trap of reacting without common sense. A story to illustrate the point. Police were once taught to discharge all of their bullets on the targets during practice. Once the gun was empty of bullets the rookie policeman would pick up all of the empty shells, as this was the standard procedure. Then when a real shootout occurred between the policeman and the criminals, they did exactly what they were taught to do (difference being that the policemen were under stressful conditions) when their gun was empty of bullets, they would scramble around on the floor to pick up the empty shells. I figured out long ago that MA students can be taught or conditioned to loose to their (Mentalists) teachers. I had to actually ask myself why is it that senior belts could beat me so easily. The reason was partially because I respected them far too much and was taught how to loose to them on a twice a week bases or I could continue to believe everyone was far more superior than my self. When I changed my mental chip amazing things happened. I started confronting the higher ranks without any fear or remorse during sparring, there was no turning back from this new found freedom of being unchained from how I was conditioned to behave, to the way I wanted to be. BEWARE !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Martial arts is equally physical and psychological) I have had students that will not hit me with any power. It is not something that they can control consciously. Their subconscious will not allow them the freedom to do what ever they want. This is perfectly normal, otherwise people would be doing alot of damage to themselves and others, this is why drugs and alcohol can change a person's personality to be of a destructive nature.

I don't know Alan, I think sometimes we need to put it in Historical perspective. Why is MMA the sport any different than sparring? I watched UFC last night and there was plenty of good sportsmanship, before and after the fights no one left angry. Their was brutality but their was also a chess match that took place in many of the competitions. It seems Motobu Chōki and Mas Oyama just to name two were not always so spiritual or mystical about martial arts as to not see if their skills were practical in the real world. If heard many anecdotal stories of todays Okinawan masters that some people here might actually know accepting set up fights just to see who was the best. I say to each their own. MMA brutality for entertainment with sportsmanship and endorsement, not sounding much like any type of art, just a refined way of selling and making money from savagery to satisfy the blood lust of the masses.MMAist will be this generation's punch drunks, taking over from the boxers of the past. Bobby Fisher has plenty of sportsmanship and strategy, never known anyone becoming punch drunk from thinking too hard. Many martial artist sacrifice their health for fame, money and glory with MMA. While most others that practice martial arts (raising a family) are trying to protect their health and longevity. Not surprising that masters would want to battle it out with each other, it has always been this way with nations and individuals alike. The best of the best is inevitable no matter what type of battle field it is played out on; MMA is no different, MA warriors usually die from their wounds days after the battle, giving them plenty of time to reflect.

You have been very helpful Tempest. I'm not exactly in the "exploding to my feet" age that you describe. More like "Phew! I can still get back on my feet" I like the survival strategy training idea; going to look in to that. If you have any Youtube videos worth recommending, I will appreciate any links you know of. Very grateful (Tempest) for your time and efforts.

Unusual way of asking, what is the difference between "karate" and "Chinese martial arts" One is usually practiced by Japanese people and the other is usually practiced by Chinese people. They both use different names to describe the same technique. The cloth that is used in their garments are traditionally different, as one has a larger preference for white cotton used for it's duability attributes and the other for comfort and soft flowing movements preferring fine woven silk, but can also use cotton depending if the Chinese martial art style needs a more sturdier material to cope with severitys in combat and training use. Karate uses a symbolic cotton color belt ranking system also adding stripes to the belt, that signifies how advanced a person is in any given Japanese style. While in Chinese martial arts, a silk sash is usually worn around the waist, symbolic of advancements in the style; or a sash is worn without any symbolism whatsoever. Karate is primarily used for physical self defence porpoises where as Chinese martial arts are usually practiced holistically.

A different take on the guard being too high or low. Makes more sense to me to double up on your footwork if the opponent is taller than yourself. When moving in to the opponent takes two steps forward then when moving back take two steps back. This is more of a distance issue than a hands up or down issue.

Anti grappling implying that I would rather stay upright on my feet than having a confrontation rolling on the ground. Sporty implies imposed rules such as Olympic style wrestling. An anti grappling moves such as sprawling comes to mind, still having the soles or toes of the feet, contacting the ground.

sensei8 has some great points of views!I've had my fair share of back to back training. Karate and Wing Chun are miles apart, you wouldn't want to break boards with Wing Chun chain punches! Problem I see is that while learning Wing Chun you will use it in a Karate class and if it helps you defeat your classmates they will be hitting you back very hard. If you use Karate in a Wing Chun class and you defeat then with it then they will be hitting you back alot faster. If you can avoid the temptation of using one style in another style's class you might be able to pull it off; if not expect some old fashioned martial art rivalry.

I had a stronger, younger, faster, bigger, opponent that put me in to a side headlock, yes I used a technique to get out of it that worked. In all honesty if he did it a second time, lights out for me! So the question is, as anti grappling techniques are not sports regulated then perhaps they are better suited for self defense stand up fighters? As I don't want to grapple, unless the situation requires it, anti grappling seems more like the way to train than becoming a grappler?

MMA is a brutality sport that justifies brutality and Karate is way to combat brutality with self defence, courtesy and discipline.

I have never witnessed a boxing coach or CI giving a class and demonstrating actual knockouts on students, so why is it an acceptable practice in Oriental martial arts and not in Western boxing, that is ironically enough their primary intent?

1#. Is anti grappling techniques a waste of time for stand up styles to learn? 2#. Should a stand up fighter just cross train in a Jujitsu ground fighting style to be an all round fighter? Damaged Vertebraes in my neck are not going to stand up very long to chokes and head lock techniques, so what would an experienced grappler recommend in my situation 1# or 2# ?

Doing a simple Chinese thank you (peace over war) bow from the waist, with the left palm covering the fist. Then an off the record quick piece of advice, such as "What you have learned tonight don't spar or play with it with friends; only use it when you need to"

Thanks for sharing!

Sun Tzu wrote "Appear where they cannot go, head for where they least expect you" I was told a story by a soldier, that reminded me of Sun Tzu. During the Vietnam war. US troops were assigned to set up a base on a very isolated and difficult to reach location. Access to this location was only possible on foot. Therefore to set up any type of heavy weaponry there was out of the question for the Vietnamese. As the US troops had an airlift advantage for this location they took it. When the US troops were confident and comfortable that they have secured the location, the unthinkable happened. The US troops were ambushed and totally annihilated. The Vietnamese caught the US troops unprepared while unpacking their equipment. This unprecedented defeat changed US military thinking strategies forever; now taught at "West Point" Sun Tzu the Chinese warrior philosophy was incorporate in to American military strategies forever from that point on. How did the Vietcong defeated the US troops? The Vietcong dismantled their military equipment and brought it to this inaccessible location piece by piece, bolt by bolt, on foot and reassembled it on site. Sun Tzu's writings applies to conflict on every level from interpersonal to international. Martial Arts is "The Art of War"

Miyamoto Musashi, know by the Japanese to be the greatest Samurai swordsman of all time. He wrote a book over 400 years ago. He knew that he had a talented because he was never defeated in battle. Fortunately for us his written works has been translated in to English. The title of his writings is called "The Book of Five Rings" The five rings are: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Void. If you truly are a martial artist, then 'Miyamoto's advice in his book, will always serve you well. A challenge for you. Which is/are your favorite ring(s) and why?