ps1

I agree. In aiki jujitsu, we used alot of wristlocks. Both methods were used. In addition there were linear methods and circular methods of performing most every lock. For example: Sometimes an opponent was reaching for your wrist or lapel. You could simply step back a little to get them to extend their reach a little too far. You could also pull them as they begin to reach. Both methods were quite effective.

It's as safe as can be expected with two people kicking and punching as hard and fast as possible with the intent of knocking each other out.

You're a sniper's dream!

Sniper bullets, even the old ones, are super sonic (they move faster than the sound they make). Meaning you're hit BEFORE you hear the BANG. Most "sniper" weapons have flash supressors and you won't see much in the way of a muzzle flash either. If you know, somehow, that the person pulled the trigger, you have time to move. Really a hop to the left or right will do. But, again, you're not going to know the trigger was pulled. So I guess you just hope he forgot to zero the weapon. I was never a fan of zen riddles though. Since they have no real answer, they always seemed like a way for someone to seem wise without ever needing to know anything. I asked a guy a question once and he gave me a zen riddle in return. I would rather he have just said, "i don't know" and told me to look it up myself.

As far as your hearing and sight go, they tend to get worse as we get older. See your physician on how to deal with these problems. As long as there are no physical problems with your ears (see a doctor for that one) your balance can be resolved with training. As we age, we tend to lose proprioception in our muscles. That basically means that the nerves aren't sending the the message for a muscle to twitch in order to keep balance. The good news is it can be regained. A few tools that can help you are wellness balls and bosu balls. You can likely find them at any fitness center. Just google some exercises on them and you'll see what I mean. You may even consider having one or two sessions with a personal trainer to demonstrate how to use the equipment properly and safely. Good luck.

In his book, Mastering Jujitsu, Renzo Gracie discusses MMA combat in depth. He sites three specific phases: 1. Free Movement- This includes all strikes executed while standing 2. Clinch Phase- Anytime an opponent grasps another they are in a clinch of some type. 3. Ground Phase- Techniques executed while on the ground. He then categorizes three basic types of MMA strategies based on those phases: 1. Sprawl and Brawl- Those who avoid being taken to the ground and keep the fight on the feet. Chuck Lidell is an excellent example. 2. Ground and Pound- Those who clinch up and perform takedowns followed by using strikes to end the fight. 3. Submission fighters- Those who fight by taking the fight to the ground and attempting to submit the opponent. Rainbow Warrior: It sounds very much like your school is clearly of type 3. They focus on submissions and study stand up fighting in order to effectively counter it. Many "TMA" schools are learning about the "Sprawl and Brawl" way. They are studying more grappling in order to learn how to effectively counter it. Former wrestlers tend to lend themselves well to the Ground and Pound way of fighting due to their strong takedown capabilities. My current school, being a Gracie BJJ school, falls into the Submission category, despite having a good karate program as well.

My Chuan Fa training has some poison hand techniques. However, they had nothing to do with speed. They had more to do with deception and slight of hand. The idea was to use a concealed weapon (usually an eye irritant) in order to blind or temporarily disable an opponent. It was similar to the idea of throwing sand in the eyes of your opponent. The story goes that the monks would conceal the irritants in their robes as a method of quick self defense. As far as excess speed. The main things you would have to worry about are similar to any other athlete. Tendonitis, torn muscles and strained ligaments. Proper martial arts training in combination with a good workout regimine can limit these problems.

The best anti grappling out there is grappling. Matt Thornton says it well in his SBGi JKD2 dvd series: If you want to keep the fighting standing as a striker - become a good grappler. If you want to end up stuck on the ground all the time, unable to get up - work only on your striking. That's not a quote, but thats the jist of it... I agree!

I feel it is ok and even optimal to learn a few systems. However, you should learn them well (as you mentioned). Despite mixing them to the way that you like, you should not teach them that way. In doing so, you deprive your students of the maturing process you went through. You would just be teaching them what worked for you and perhaps be holding back (or have thrown away) something that could have served their way of movement well. Combine them for yourself, but still teach them separately. Of course you can guide them and point out which movements worked best for you and which ways you have combined them.

You can still practice your throws can't you? You just can't be an uki until then. Though I know you're in Japan and am not sure how understanding they would be of that mentality. You know the culture better than I do. Simply drill techniques. No randori, and no being thrown.

Not to the same extent as BJJ. In JJJ you could easily earn BB in about 5 yrs with regular practice (2 to 3 days/wk). I've been practicing BJJ for 3 1/2 years now and will be earning my purple in a couple of months. It takes about 8 to 10 years for the average practitioner to earn a black belt. Not always true in either case. I've known a few guys who got their BB in 5 to 6 years in BJJ. I've been doing JJJ for 6 years and I'm nowhere near a BB. It depends on the schools. Yes, but they're a giant exception. Most of whom went on to win world titles. Notice I said the average person.

Yes. BJJ uses them. They just aren't allowed in competition. Schools that focus on BJJ for self defense use them regularly though.

He should be afforded the respect you would give any martial artist. Rank is of no consequence.

Very nice post!

I don't know where he coached. To be honest, I didn't know there was an Iowa and an Iowa State. I'm sure you're correct. All those college names always confuse me...I can never get them straight Either way, John was coached by Gable and his wrestling is absolutely amazing.

thanks

I agree totally! Part of the problem with many martial artists is they practice one way and then say they would do it differently on the street. In the military we have a saying, "You fight as you train and train as you fight." It's absolutely true. If you try to change the way you do things when you are suddenly faced on the street, you will lose badly. To answer your question directly... You should do what you train to do. I would do what I've trained to do. I don't care who the guy is or how many fights he's been in. I'm gonna hit him hard and choke him unconscious. And if he's untrained, there's not gonna be anything he can do to stop it.

That's strange. The PKC used to have an "open" division for the xma style forms (which is where I always had to compete because of training chuan fa). It is difficult to compare the two because they are two completely different things. It's like comparing apples to bananas. In the future, you may want to be sure that there is an open division before you decide to compete. That way you aren't against that type of competition.

Well as a little background, I had already earned a black belt in Aiki Jujitsu, Karate, and Chuan Fa. I was teaching Aiki Jujitsu when my reserve unit was deployed to Iraq. I was there for 15 months and while I was gone a previous student of my instructor returned to the school and started teaching BJJ in my absence. When I returned home (april of 2004) my instructor told me i could take over classes again if I chose to do so. I decided to see how good the BJJ guys really were. Tony smoked me. Despite that, I still believed they would have a hard time getting me to the ground. In the same practice I faced a guy named John Fleet. I told him I wanted to start standing. He said, "ok, just tap like this (made a tapping motion) when you're done." Well, it turns out that John Fleet had been a collegiate wrestler at Iowa under Gable. I went down fast and hard and was submitted quickly. I decided NOT to take over teaching Aiki Jujitsu again. At that moment I realized how easily a person could take me to the ground. That was the moment I realized I HAVE to know BJJ. It's amazing how my skill on the ground has made me a better karateka as well. I am much more confident moving in on someone and going for the big hits because I'm not worried about what happens if I end up swept or thrown. I'm less hesitant and more exacting. My aiki jujitsu has become better because I have a more broad understanding of the application of the techniques and where they can be used.

I've said it before... there was a time when I wrote a 10 page paper on why BJJ is ineffective. Now I'm a BJJ purple belt who believes it is a great martial art. It's impossible to understand BJJ (and most martial arts for that matter) until you've experienced it. As far as the technique being a lie. I believe that rainbow is pointing out that those defenses aren't likely to work. For one, the opponent isn't applying a good scarf hold. Two, the defender is using all arm strength to move the opponent's whole body...not gonna happen. Three, there is no hip movement on the part of the defender... which goes back to point two. Four, the scarf hold that the attacker is not considered by experienced grapplers to be a good position...a skilled grappler would have the underhook and not keep his head in a position to be pulled away.

I agree! Some of the photos were very good. Looks like a nice place to train.

good advice!

Yup... I think you'll find the two styles very evenly matched after watching and considering all of those. In the Royce Gracie fights, Royce loses both of them (one in a very contraversial decision). However, the Rickson and Royler visit demonstrates Rickson doing very well against olympic caliber guys. I haven't seen the other two. I would completely disagree with you here. First, the human weapon episode- Chambers and Duff are there to do an episode about judo and learn it, not to defeat it. They fight under Judo rules and Chambers clearly holds superiority over his opponent on the ground. Yeah. Your point about Jason on the ground kinda mimics everything we all said about BJJ's submission/ground superiority. That's why I said it was very controversial. Many people think (myself included) that the refs decision to stop the fight was just bogus. You're right. I forgot that this one went the distance and was declared a draw when no one won after the 10 minute time expired. But they had more MMA style rules in this match and Royce fought without a gi. So, in that much, it's not as good a demonstration of BJJ v Judo as the first fight would have been without a premature ref stoppage.

You should be able to find this information on the US Justice Department website. May be under homeland security now though. Compared to Judo and Wrestling the average BJJ person would not have as good of a clinch. However, it should be more than enough to get the normal person to the ground. Personally, if you're fighting "5 or more" attackers as described...your conditioning better be very good. Because you need to run very far and very fast. Find a busy place and go there. It's a situation you aren't likely to survive. Anyone who thinks they can is counting on techniques being much more effective than they really are.

The only time I tried was at a tournament. I saw the event was going to happen and just decided to try. I bought 5 boards and one patio brick. Broke two with a side kick (being held of course) Two with the reverse punch (again, being held by a person) Patio brick with a hammer fist Last board was flat on the ground and broken by a windmill palm. Got third place:) The guy who won first broke alot of stuff with his head. I decided there was no longer any point to doing it because I wasn't willing to do what it took to earn first place.