USCMAAI

I follow the same rule at the Dojo as I do at work. "don't dip your pen in the company ink". It keeps things simple and above board.

I agree 100%. I also feel that low front kicks are effective as well as stomp kicks.

Bushidoman! Here is that post in which I discuss the five phases of teaching a combat skill.

I posted something on this a couple of years ago, I will look in my notes and re-post it immediately. By the way thank you for your comments, I love to discuss the martial arts, and it is refreshing to see so many people who love it as well.

Conflicts between human beings are inevitable, but the more we know about human nature, the better we will be at resolving/de-escalating those conflicts, and the better the outcome might be for both parties. We know that different people have different priorities and different styles in dealing with situations that may occur, but in general, human beings have certain characteristics that are very similar - even across gender, racial, and socio-economic lines. People love to be right and agreed with. People hate to be wrong and disagreed with. People like other people who agree with them. People dislike other people who disagree with them. When faced with a perceived threat to their authority, masculinity, superiority, etc some people become hostile and even violent. So if we know that when we disagree with people, we are likely to raise resentment, it might be a good idea to strengthen - our people skills - when dealing with conflicts or potential conflicts. If we find ourselves in a tense situation, and we raise our voice, the other party is likely to respond in kind. This will usually escalate the situation quickly. Understanding this human nature is one of the first and most important steps in anger management and self-defense. You may be asking, “why waste my time learning conflict resolution skills?” My answer to this is simple. Do you really want to fight when it isn’t necessary do you? If that isn’t good enough, think of this scenario: The police arrive at the scene of a bar fight. You claim that the guy that EMT’s are putting in the ambulance attacked you, but several of the witnesses state that you and the guy were arguing and pushing each other, just before the fight started. Now, is this a self-defense situation or a fight by mutual consent? However, this scenario looks much different if the witnesses all say that while the guy was being “aggressive and hostile”, you were trying to calm things down and didn’t appear threatening until you had to defend yourself. This gives you a more solid footing in your claim doesn’t it? Below are SEVEN tips for avoiding, managing and resolving conflicts without violence. 1. Being assertive is different than being aggressive. Assertiveness is demonstrating your opinion or desire without being overbearing or hostile. It is moving and acting with a sense of confidence and purpose (i.e. without fear). Aggressiveness is acting on pure emotion, in a hostile, malevolent or violent manner (violence can be physical, emotional and verbal or all three). Remember most people return the type of attitude that is given them. You can be assertive without raising your voice, or acting angry. Staying to your point and doing so in a respectful way increases your control of a situation. 2. Be slow to anger-especially over petty issues. Anger is always more harmful than the insult that caused it. This lesson was especially difficult for me to learn, but was probably one of the most important. I have found over the years that there are not very many things worth fighting over. Remember, “don’t sweat the small stuff, and most of it is small stuff”. If something or someone is getting you upset, it is better to calm yourself. The main reasons behind this are: 1. When you are upset you don’t think clearly and tend to focus on the object of your emotional distress (not paying attention to your surroundings). 2. When you are upset, generally you look it, and your body tenses up. This causes you to react slower, and again the witnesses on the sidelines can say that they saw you “swell up” as my son would say. The ability to control your temper is a great skill to marital artists. It helps you keep your focus and environmental awareness. It also makes you appear less enthusiastic about a physical confrontation, which in turn helps bolster your claims of “self-defense”. 3. Pride or stubbornness has caused the downfall of many people. Most people do not want to fight, but often get so involved with proving that they are “right”, or trying to appear “strong” or “tough”, that they don’t feel that another option is available. I find that if you give people a way out of fighting that lets them save “face” most will take it. When “squared off” with someone, ask yourself if backing down is less expensive in the long run than the possible cost of fighting (physical, legal, civil and even emotional). I have a friend who actually killed a man in a fight (unintentionally of course), and ended up in prison. He has told me that the worst part of the whole experience isn’t being in prison, but the fact that he killed some one’s father, husband, son over a stupid argument. I find that there are very few things worth fighting over, and have on several occasions have taken insults and appeared “weak” just so I wouldn’t have to maim or even kill someone. 4. Look for some way to compromise as soon as possible. A compromise is the ability to make everyone involved feel that they gained something. This can’t always be done, but there are times when saying, “ can we just agree to disagree” can be all that is needed. I understand that finding “common ground” from which to compromise is impossible in some situations, but not all. Finding a way in which each party in a conflict can “win or at least not lose” is important. 5. If you find that you are in the wrong, admit it. Being honest with others and yourself is the key to conflict resolution. Sometimes we make mistakes, and often when others point them out to us we resist that information (especially when pointed out in a rude and hostile manner). How many times have you gotten into an argument or even fight with someone over something, and then later realized that you were wrong, or at least had misunderstood what was happening? You should never be ashamed of admitting that you are wrong, and are willing to try to make things right. This shows wisdom. 6. Mend fences whenever possible. Always be quick to forgive an insult or slight. Seeking to get one up on someone only creates enemies, and from my experience this can cause problems. Remember this “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. If you don’t understand let me know and I will explain it to you. One thing that amazes me about our culture is that we claim to be a society based upon the Christian concepts of forgiveness and compassion, but we rarely forgive those who wrong us. Many of us don’t just want justice or to “get even” on those who wrong us, we would like to have vengeance or “get one up” on them. 7. Forgive but don’t forget. Just because a conflict is resolved without violence at the moment, does not mean it will stay resolved or non-violent. My suggestion is that if you can resolve the problem and then leave. This is especially true if you are in a social setting in which alcohol is involved. Leaving eliminates the opportunity for either side to reignite the fires. Of course I understand not all conflict cannot be resolved by peaceful means, and I say that training for those events is necessary. On the other hand many conflicts can be resolved in a peaceful manner. The rule of thumb I use is “ If an antagonist is willing to talk (even if it is calling you out of your name), then you could most likely talk yourself out of the fight. Now this does not mean that you should not be paying attention to your antagonist’s actions, or the actions of the people around you. Be ready to defend yourself and stay alert. It has been my experience that having good “soft skills” (conflict resolution) along with good self-defense skills is very helpful. Especially when it comes to dealing with the local law enforcement. Because many of the police in my community know that I teach karate, and that I am generally a passive person. They have tended to believe me on the few occasions in which I have used my self-defense skills. I have even had a civil suit thrown out because all the witnesses stated that I was calm, non-threatening and attempting to leave when I was attacked. Finally I would suggest purchasing some books on conflict resolution, dealing with bullies, and alternatives to violence (the last two are good topics for really young students).

Besides being a martial arts instructor, I also work as a counselor with sex offenders and the other mentally ill inmates in a maximum-security prison. Every so often something happens that I can directly relate the martial arts. I was talking with an inmate who was convicted of rape. This inmate was telling me about his crime, and how he found himself obsessed with his victim and began stalking her. He continued his story stating that he even joined the martial arts school, where his victim was a black belt and had won several local and regional tournaments. I asked the inmate if her martial arts ability caused him any problems, and he stated “I knew she wasn’t tough, and that I could beat her.” I asked him why he thought he would be able to beat her, and was told “When sparring in class, no one was allowed to punch to the head or face; and we were always being warned about using too much force. I was also a pretty good wrestler in high school and they always stopped sparring if the students went to the ground.” I asked the inmate if the system that he was training in was advertised as a “system of self-defense” or”sport karate” and he stated that he wasn’t sure, but remembered his victim teaching “self-defense” classes and in class doing “one, two and three step sparring”. Without going into too many specifics the assault occurred when the inmate went over to the victims home one evening while she was gone, broke into the house and assaulted her as she was coming into the house from her garage. The assault was relatively easy, according to the inmate. He grabbed her, threw her down and then punched her a couple of times in the face and body. The inmate stated that his victim tried to resist at first, but after he hit her a couple of times, she became compliant. The inmate stated that he stayed at his victims home for several hours, even fell asleep and his victim never once tried to get away. Now obviously anyone can be caught off guard and defeated no matter what your training or skill level, and after being assaulted physically and emotionally, I am sure this poor young woman was not in any condition to take on her attacker. I would never dream of blaming the young woman for what happened, it was in no way her fault that a sick twisted man assaulted her. However, I do blame the philosophies that some martial arts instructors have 1) tournament success transfers into real fighting ability. 2) Because we train specifically for tournament or competition, we should not train in realistic self-defense as well. If what the inmate told me is correct, he was not using a weapon (other than his natural ones) and he is not a big or strong man (he is about 5’9’’ and weighs probably 170lbs). Now I would think that someone who was instructing self-defense classes would be able to deal with an unarmed attacker in most cases. As I have said many times there are many elements involved in making someone a warrior, none of which are his or her ability to score points at a tournament! We as instructors (especially those who teach sport karate) must remember that the things we teach must be usable when our safety or life may depend on our skills! My students don’t usually do point tournaments and when they do experience limited success, but I do have several students who have successfully defended themselves in dangerous situations! I have a friend who teaches a more sport-oriented system of the martial arts, but he also spends many hours with his advanced belts doing full contact street training. He requires that his advanced students (Black and Brown belts) to cross train in Jujitsu and Boxing as well. Now don’t get me wrong, I think that point sparring and even no contact sparring are fine, and have their place in the martial arts (generally for lower ranked students); but I also think that it is wrong to let yourself or your students be deluded into thinking that just because you (they) are successful at the “sport” (tournament) aspect of the martial arts, that you (they) are prepared for “real-life” encounters, because chances are you (they) are not ready for the street. My sensei called these people “Plastic Tigers”. Those were the guys (and gals) who won medals and trophies at tournaments, but couldn’t fight worth a darn on the street. Unfortunately I feel that this phenomenon is more prevalent today and I contribute several factors to this happening then and even now. First, no contact or light contact rules. Most instructors need students to keep the doors of the Dojo open. This generally means teaching children and people who are mainly interested in the martial arts for reasons like getting in shape, or competition. Light contact allows for students to “mix it up” without anyone getting seriously injured. Again I don’t disagree with these rules for the most part, but what I take exception to is when I see middle and advanced belts sparring without any head or face contact allowed. How in the world do you deal with a punch, kick, or even weapon swung at your head if you never have had to deal with it in practice? I am willing to bet that most of you who have been in any street fights at all would agree that people try to hit you in the head/face when fighting you. I think that learning how to deal with getting hit is just as important as learning how to block and counter an attack. Now, I am not saying that you should line your students up and punch them in the nose, but you should not be so worried about being sued, or loosing students that you don’t allow your students to experience contact in a real way, this especially true at advanced belt levels. I have seen kids of 9 or 10 years old, holding blackbelts, get hit “too” hard and not be able to continue fighting! Obviously you should not expect children to shrug off a bloody nose or a hard blow, but I would expect a black belt to be able to take some physical punishment (Obviously, there are no 9 or 10 year old black belts in my system)! Never allowing a student to experience medium or even heavy contact is doing them a great disservice. It does not prepare the student for the actuality of real combat. No back in the 70’s and 80’s there seemed to be more contact in sparring (not just in class, but at tournaments). It was not uncommon to see bloody noses and such. Many people thought it unsafe, and barbaric, but I don’t recall many serious injuries! Many of the participants were kids and learned how to deal with a little pain (I also think it made your blocking, parrying and evasion skills sharper). Today because of things like the Pride fighting and the UFC, some of the more “hard core” martial artists don’t compete in tournaments, thus diluting the field even more (I am not saying that there are not very talented athletes doing point fighting, but most of the old “bruiser” types no longer compete). This means that rules against contact have become even more common. Second, is the failure to train in all ranges of fighting. I think the one of the changes that has happened in the combat martial arts, is that more and more instructors are teaching students how to fight in all ranges of combat. Unfortunately, sport karate instructors rarely do this. I think that the reason that “mixed ranged training” is not popular in sport karate is that very few point tournaments allow for things like throws, chokes, and strikes to the face. Why train your students to deal with attacks they are never going to see at tournament? I guess I would do it because that training might just save my students life, but from a sport aspect your students would be able to deal with having an opponent inside their “comfort zone” and not panic! This in itself would be a real advantage in a tournament. An example of this is what we call “touch reference”(using parries, blocks, and footwork to manipulate your opponents body). Several of my student have win at tournament using this simple combat skill. Third, step sparring is not self-defense. Some instructors think that teaching; “step sparring” is teaching self-defense. This is not entirely true! While free sparring teaches a student how to deal with the ebb and flow of combat, step sparring, especially one-step is limited in how it can be used in teaching self defense technique, because it is not done dynamically and generally is taught sterilely (meaning that everything happens the way the defender expects it to). I also imagine that in those schools where “contact” is not allowed during “free sparring”, “contact” would be frowned upon during one-steps as well. Teaching a student to deal with a punch, kick, or weapon attack that is only half-hearted is doing them a disservice. I don’t think that you have to knock your students out (well, not all your students), but I do believe that they must not be caught unaware on the street. Every student I have ever taught knows what it is like to be hit, kicked, thrown, and choked by someone who was serious about doing it! They also know what to do when this happens. I had a student who got jumped at school; one bully hit him in the face, while another put him in a bear hug. He defended himself (foot stomp to the instep of the rear attacker, and a front snap kick to the groin to the front attacker), just as principle came over to stop the fight. The principle told me (that’s right if a student in my school gets into a fight at school, I go to the school to see what happened), that when he asked Tj if he was ok, Tj replied “I have been hit harder than that in class. Can I go clean up my bloody nose?” Was this kid superhuman? No, as a matter of fact, I was surprised, because in class he was not overly aggressive or overly tough. What he is is a product of his training. Now, step sparring has it uses if taught properly. Teaching all self-defense in a 5-phase approach (ideal, static, fluid, dynamic, and variable phases), allows for the use of step sparring type aspects. One of the most annoying things that I see in sport karate schools is that “step sparring” is severely limited (single unarmed opponent attacks coming from the front, and are usually with the right hand or foot). Fourth is the failure to train in the application of Kata (forms). Many practitioners of the traditional arts state that doing kata is the same as doing self-defense. Or that self-defense technique is “hidden” within kata. While I agree that most kata were originally designed to teach students some basic self-defense, I would say that training in kata specifically for self-defense is not viable. I would also say that many instructors fail to teach application of the standard techniques in their kata. If you are not breaking down the kata into each self-defense technique and practicing that section using the 5-phase method, then you are not using kata for self-defense! Even more disturbing to me is the recent trend for sport karate instructors to create their own kata. Normally this would not bother me, but the kata I see is no longer even remotely related to practical self-defense (although, I guess you could do 3 back summersaults and a drop into the splits while throwing a straight punch against someone trying to stab you with a knife…I am not sure why, but you could). These kata are more like doing gymnastics than martial arts, but they are crowd pleasers! I often wonder how one of these guys would do if he found himself circled by 3 or 4 bad guys (as in most kata)? Again, I must say that I find nothing wrong with doing kata, and some of my fondest training memories are of doing kata with my sensei, but kata that is 80-100 years old isn’t likely to be all that practical for self-defense today, especially if you are not doing bunkai (application). Finally, most schools fail to teach practical weapons use/defense. Many of the sport karate schools teach the traditional weapons (Bo-staff, katana, Naginata, etc) and these are fine weapons for tournament competition. Some of the traditional weapons are also fine for self-defense (learning how to use a jo-staff (short staff), ta’chillion (short sticks), or even daggers can come into great use on the streets). Unfortunately instructors fail to teach students how to use these weapons in a practical manner. Moreover, many instructors fail to teach a student how to defend against the very weapons they are required to learn. Grandmaster Kemp (my instructor) use to say that in order to truly understand how to defend your self from a weapon, you must also know how to use a weapon! I feel that is only half true, I think in order to fully understand how to use a weapon you must know its limitations and how to defend against that weapon. In conclusion, I don’t feel that sport karate is useless, but maintain that even this aspect of martial training should have some elements of realistic, and practical training. We as instructors owe it to our students to give them the tools that will help them on the street, as well as in the ring. I would think that spending some time on a regular basis doing more practical training could make a “plastic tiger” into a “ real tiger” in a self-defense situation, much to the surprise of some of the sick people we have walking our streets today! Using practical training will probably help your students in their sports karate ability as well.

Of all the aspects of speed, I think that perceptual speed is always given the least amount of thought. When you think about it though, it is probably the one which as a martial artist you can develop rather quickly. Observing others fighting and watching how people start and finish various techniques can help you develop your perceptual speed greatly.

Doing a sacrifice throw can be an effective tool in self-defense if done correctly. Part of doing it correctly is recovery. When practicing any technique, recovery should be as important as getting the technique off. Staying in a prone position after a throw, is the same as leaving your leg sticking out after delivering a side kick. In my system, we have several throws (some of which are sacrifice). We stress returning to a standing base as soon as you can. We also train in ground fighting as well, but in a self-defense situation, the last place you want to be is on the ground for very long.

Self defense laws generally don't go into specifics about punching and kicking. The detemination on if you are committing assault is usually made based upon several factors including but not limited to: 1) could you have removed yourself from the situation without fighting. 2) was there a clear and present danger to you or others 3) what level of force did you use to respond to the assault. And once a subject is neutralized (as to their threat potential), do you continue to fight. I have researched the self defense laws in every place I have lived, and or teach. I add this information in my training on self-defense.

Thank you!

The most improtant aspect of a good instructor is his or her ability to impart their understanding of their system to their students. Skills fade, and my instructor (in his late 70's and suffering from parkinsons disease) can no longer do the physical techniques well, but has a wealth of knowledge that he shares with me. I don't think he could teach a beginner anymore, but for students with the basics, he is of tremendous value. Age could be a factor. A 16 yr old black belt is going to have a hard time teaching most adults, no matter how skilled he or she is. Maturity and wisdom come from experience!

That was a perfect response. I agree. I know how hard it is to start over again after getting a black belt, I have done it several times. I think that going back down in rank is one of the best parts of learning a new system. I am going to start in Akido next year and look forward to being a beginner, and learning this wonderful martial art.

Try looking at the angles of approaching your opponent. Using parries and closing from an angle could help you. Don't fight harder, fight smarter! Anoter suggestion could be break the rythm of the fight. Move in and just out of range until you establish a rythm, then at your choosing, break that rythm. It should help you close with the opponent. I don't think just walking in is best, unless you have no other option. It is a very bad habit to get into. In class it is fine ( the worst that can happen is you get knocked out) on the street it could be lethal.

The developement of realistic/combat effective self-defense techniques is one of the most important aspects of creating a new system or keeping an exsisting system modern. This process is not overly difficult, but does take some thought and planning. There is a definite procedure to developing these techniques. Because I am a student of Grandmaster Kemp, and believe in his philosophy, which was teaching students the procedure to develope self-defense, as well as techniques. This means that "Doc"(GM Kemp) taught his students the 5 essential elements of defense along with the sound techniques and tactics, based on the physical and psychological aspects of combat. I will discuss those 5 elements that I feel should be considered when developing self-defense techniques. Environmental Factors: One of the first things that should be taught to a student is to pay attention to their environment. Most assaults can be avoided before they even begin, if you just know what to look for. Besides from that, knowing your environment can have a great influence on what techniques are safe to try. I am a grappler by nature, and I remember the first time my sensei took me out to the alley behind our dojo for a grappling session (I was wearing a T-shirt). It was an eye opening experience, that I now share with my students. Trying to kick on ice, sand, or mud can be difficult; and many students are unprepared for this. What I am trying to say is that incorperating terrain training into your self-defense is very important. Distance: When we in my system talk about distance in combat, we refer to two main themes: Reactionary Distanceand Relative Distance. Reactionary distance refers to the distance needed to appropriately respond to a threat. This is largely dependent on your reaction speed, which is made up of three elements: 1) perceptual speed- how fast your recognize the threat. 2) mental speed-how fast you analyze the threat, develope your options and select a response. 3) Physical speed- how fast your body puts your selection into action. So obviously the more distance you have when an attack starts (in most cases), the more time you have to defend. Now obviously most assaults occur in close quarters, so the wise instructor helps his students develope their reactionary skills (ie speed). Relative distance is the space create after you block,parry,evade the inital attack of your target. Depending on what response you intend, you may want a great relative distance or a small one. If you are planning to disengage, then the more distance the better. If you are going to engage the target, then creating smaller distance is usually better, as if increases the opportunity for you to counter attack, and makes it harrder for your target to recover from his intital attack. Distrationary Opportunities: This element is often overlooked as part of environmental factors, but I contend that it is seperate. Distractions can be both a benifit and a obsticle to you or your target. Your target can use distractions to set up an attack (an armed robber asking for the time as they approach can take you off gaurd). Defenders can use distractions to help them engage or disengage a target (looking over the robbers shoulder as if seeing someone, just before executing a palm-heel to his chin takes him off gaurd). Distractionary windows and techniques can be added to your self-defense training. For some ideas pm me. I also try to add distractions into sparring for my advanced belts. Again if you need ideas, let me know. Total Commitment in Application of Technique: My sensei use to say "He who hesitates will meditate in the horizontal position". I think he borrowed this from GM Parker, but it is true. You must show absolute resolve in your action. If uncommitted, your action will be slow and unsure. As you read this you are probably saying "how can I teach this to my students?" The answer is simple. First, train in a dynamic fashion. This means as your student gets better at doing a skill or set of skills (say a outward knifehand block to a rounghouse punch, and a side kick to the ribs or knee), then increase the speed and accuracy of the attack. At black belt a student should not be doing static drills unless teaching a lower belt student a skill. Dynamic training makes a student less doubtful of their skill, increased confidence makes commitment possible. Second, the application of "Hicks Law" must be taken into affect. Hick's Law states that the more techniques a student must choose from, the slower their response will be. In other words self-defense techniques should be interchangeable, and basic. Those of you with 10 ways to deal with a knife lunge, probably only need 2 or 3 (the other 7 or 8 will probably get your student stabbed). Finally, teaching students the "old way" with repatation is also the key. Doing a skill over and over until it is second nature, makes it difficult for hesitation. I had a student who trained with me for several years. She was assaulted in her home, and not only survived, but devistated the attacker to the point that he had to spend weveral days in the hospital. She told me that didn't get scared until after she had already struck his testicles and palm-heeled his chin, making him bite the tip of his tounge off! By then he was in no shape to fight, and she ran to the neighbors called the police and he was arrested crawling down her sidewalk! Defense Procedure: This is the final stage of developement, and covers actual techniques used. "Doc" called this the "Three Blow Rule" and is as follows: STUN: Block, parry and or evade the inital attack. Now many of you are thinking "there is no stun". If you think this then I would suggest you reconsider how you are training. In my systems blocks and parries are done with two intentions. 1) destroy or disable the attacking appendage or 2) cause balance disruption. And evasion is taught as a tactic to slow or stopp momentum. All of these are considered stunning (stopping a targets action). Practice your blocks to cause "trembling shock" to the attacking limb, and you will see the stun effect on your targets face! Stagger: After stopping the inital attack, your next technique(s) should do one of the following: Freeze the target with pain, or disrupt and control his balance. Kill:Don't get excited! What I mean by this is kill the fight. Not every assault requires a deadly force response, but every assault must be ended in such a way that the target is either incapacitated, flees or is otherwise unable/unwilling to continue. I am being long winded here, but later I will go into greater detail about the Three blow rule. As I stated earlier, creating self-defense techniques is the "bread and butter" of the combat martial arts. Instructors and students benifit from the use of these principles I have described. Check them out, practice your systems techniques using these guidelines, and you may begin to understand why you do some of the things you do. [/b]

There are four elements that make up what I call Environmental Factors (EF). These are as follows: Environmental Awareness (EA), Environmental Knowledge (EK), Environmental Objects (EO) and Environmental Control (EC). Each is important in the development of spontaneous defense and in the survival of an actual combat situation. Each elemnt should be identified and analyzed. Students should be taught not only how to recognize, but be trained how to manipulate each element for their benifit. Environmental Awareness: This is exactly as the title states. It means being aware of what is going on around you. Observing the objects, people and conditons that may effect your safety in an area is very important. If you are environmentally alert, you are less likely to be the victim of an assault. You will recognize things that look unusual or threatening earlier, thus giving you more time to act. Being aware of such things as weather, lighting , terrain, objects and people can be an advantage, and may be the only warning you get that something is going to happen. Awareness does not imply that you have to do anything about those conditions, it only means that you have condsidered them. Some ways I teach my students about awareness are: 1) Place something unusual (ususally a box) just inside or outside of the main exit (in the box I usually have a note that says bomb or anthrax in it). Count how many students just walk past it or even open it up to look in. Then in class discuss how to approprately act. 2)Have someone who does not usually train in your school come to one of your school in the middle of one of your classes (have them dress in a trench coat, and wear sunglasses), let them walk around for 5/10 mins looking suspicous. Then have them pull out a mock gun and yell "everyone on the floor". Now before the drill, you should make sure that your assistants know what is going on, and your gunman should be careful not to be close enought to someone that he could be injured. This drill is very good at teaching people to pay attention to who is comming in an area they are in. Environmental Knowledge: This take EA to a more exact level. EK consist of having detail about the area you are in. such as: Number and locations of exits, lighting and weather conditions, objects that can be used as weapons/cover and the number and demeanor of the people around you. Sometime this information comes from being familar with a place or experience. An example of this is your home; you probalby have detailed information about your home, and if you came home and something was not where it was supposed to be you would notice immediately. I would also guess that you could list the objects in any given room that could be used for your defense. Another way this information is collected is through observation. Teach students to actually take the time to scan an area before entering it looking for things like: alternative exits, zones of sanctuary (cover/concealment), and watching people. These give you knowledge of your surroundings. I teach students to play the "What If " game. What if a nut with a gun comes in to my class room at school? what can I do? Pre-planning is the key to surviaval. Environmental Objects: are any itemes, which can have an effect on your safety. Many people (including martial artists) fail to recognize that objects can have a dramatic effect on your ability to defend yourself. This is illustrated by a story one of my black belts tells. He was at a bar, and observed two guys getting into an arguement. One fellow states " I am a black belt and will kick your behind". He then slips out of his shoes (I guess he had just got finnished watching Billy Jack), and took a fighting stance. The other fellow, threw his beer bottle down on the floor at our "black belt's" feet, grabbed him (pulling him onto the broken glass) and then began to beat the tar out of him. As you can see environmental objects can have a great effect on you. EO training is another thing you can do for your students. Place unusual or even every day items in front of your students and ask them how they could be used in defense. You might be surprised about what you learn! The goal is to get your students to see everything as a potential weapon. Environmental Control: The final aspect of Environmental Factors is EC. This means processing your observations and knowledge about your surroundings, and then manipulating your environment to help your defense. The main goal is to teach you to have control over your area before an assault occurs. This gives you "tactical advantage". Knowing where exits are in a restaurant is one thing, positioning your self near the exit is control. Using the conditons of an area to your advantage or at the least taking steps to minimize their effects on you, can be the difference between life and death. A great way of training for this is creating scenerios for your students allowing them the cance to analyze and manipulate the conditions around them before an attack begins (having a chair placed between them and a attacker , or have an attack occur while they are carrying a box or bag of groceries). I also like to have students practice techniques that can be effective in situations where movement is limited (what do you do if assaulted while in your car, or seated at a table? How many of us teach our students when a technique is dangerous to even try! (kicking on an ice covered sidewalk, grappling in gravel or a glass covered parking lot,etc) those are a few things that instructors should cover to help students be prepared.

very good article. I teach environmental considerations as a very important aspect of self-defense.

In general it is a good idea to avoid conflict of any kind if it is possible. We as civilized people should treat one another with courtesy and respect. The problem is that there have always been people who for whatever reasons (economic, mental derangement, political, or religious) have a desire to hurt you or your family. Over the last couple of years many of us have been concerned about some terrorist coming to our shores (no matter if we live in the USA, Britain, Japan or any other western country) and wrecking havoc. Well recent events (school shootings in Virgina, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Pennsylvania) have reminded us (especially people in the USA), that sometimes a terrorist are home grown! In this time where people are scrambling to find ways to protect our youth, a lot of time, money and resources will be spent on things like: cameras, arming guards, securing entryways to buildings, etc. What we as martial arts instructors can do to help is teach our student’s safety as well as self-defense. What I mean by this is along with self-defense techniques, we should be teaching our students about things like environmental factors, and escape /evasion techniques. Environmental factors such as environmental awareness teach students how to pay attention to what is going on around them. Not only who is in their immediate are, but also what is those people are doing and their demeanors. Along with learning to identify what items and conditions can be used to give them tactical advantages or disadvantages in a given area. Escape and evasion is teaching a student how to use that environmental knowledge they have gained to help them escape a dangerous situation (i.e. some nut shooting up his/her school/ classroom). Teaching things like the difference between cover and concealment, and the appropriate use for both is something that a combat martial arts instructor could do for his/her student. Teaching things like the proper way to keep your silhouette low while exiting a room, and low crawling could be useful skills. When teaching self-defense classes you should cover safety as it relates to the common areas which people are most likely to encounter a threat. Those areas are: in your home, in your car, on the street, in public buildings, and in parking lots. Each of these areas presents peculiar problems, which should be covered. I will attempt to give you some of the things that I would cover on each of these areas. HOME: When you move into a new home, have the locks changed (I would ask for a chain lock and peephole) I recommend this even if you are moving into an apartment. You can ask the landlord or building supervisor to do this and most will. Always keep your doors and windows locked. Install window blocks on all (especially ground floor) windows. These limit the degree to which a window can be opened, usually about 6-8”. Install and use door / window alarms and light timers (these can be purchased relatively inexpensively and provide an extra layer of protection). Keep window shades pulled down after dark Keep the area around your home well lighted and free from hiding places. Always ask for a strangers credentials before answering a door (most cable, phone and utility companies provide photo id’s to employees), then call and verify. Always have your door keys in your hand as you approach your home. Try to learn the lay of your home in the dark. This will give you a great tactical advantage! Remember you if you call 911 and don’t respond to the operator, the police will automatically be sent to your home. That means you can call 911 and leave the phone on the floor if that is all the time you have. When in doubt about your safety, get out of the house and call the police. On the street Avoid walking on dark streets or alleys. Never hitchhike or take a ride from a stranger. When walking, stay near the curb and away from alley and doorways. Keep an eye on cars parked along the side of the road (especially vehicles like mini and conversion vans). If walking, try to walk with another person (the chance that you will be assaulted drops by 40-50% when you are with another person, the more people the less likely you will be assaulted). If you carry a purse, put the strap over your shoulder, with the flap toward your body. When walking, carry pepper spray (10% Oliumcapsum is professional grade) in your hand, and be ready to use it. Carry a cellular phone, and have 911 dialed up and ready to send. If you are walking and feel threatened, make use of your environment (don’t be afraid to walk up to the home of someone you don’t know and ask them to call the police, or into a business and ask for assistance). Remember if all else fails scream and then run like hell (a good run is better than a bad stand)! In your car Always keep your car locked. Always lock yourself in your car. Always look under and around your car as you approach it. Always look in your car before getting in it, once in immediately lock your door. Have your keys in your hand as you approach your car. Carry your keys as if they are weapons. If alone don’t stop to assist disabled motorist, call police so that they may provide assistance. If traveling to an unknown area, have detailed directions and follow them. Do not leave your purse or valuable items where they are visible in your car. Carry a cellular phone, and have 911 dialed up and ready to send. Avoid driving on dark streets. Keep your car in gear when stopped for a light. If bothered while in your car, honk your horn and don’t stop until you can get away. If someone tries to carjack you or block your way, remember your car is a weapon. If you think another car is following you, do not drive home. Go to a public place (convenience store, fire department, etc) and call the police. Never pick up hitchhikers Keep at least ½ tank of gas in your car, and check your tires often. Avoid parking in dark secluded places. It is a good idea to keep some type of item in your car that can be used as a weapon. My sisters both have pepper spray velcroed to their steering columns. Public Buildings Before entering a public building visually survey the area, looking at people who may be acting unusually, identifying exits, and locating possible cover. Many people who are shot during convenience store robberies are people who walk in on the perp while he is robbing the place. After entering a building survey the area again, checking out the people again, verifying exits and possible cover. Try to stay close to an exit if possible. In places like theaters, try to sit in an aisle seat, and never sit in the front of the theater. In restaurants try to sit near either an exit or the kitchen (there is an exit in the kitchen). Be aware of packages that are left unattended in public areas (get away and then call them to the attention of someone in charge). When in public do not get so engrossed in your business or pleasure that you forget to pay attention to what is going on around you. Identify what environmental objects that can be used to help you in your defense/escape (a eating utensil or hot coffee/soup can be used as a weapon or at least a distraction). If you can get out of a hostage situation, get out! You can provide valuable information to the police on the scene. But if you do try to leave, you must be committed to getting out and move without hesitation. A half-hearted attempt will increase your danger! If you try to stop an attacker who is armed, you must be committed as well. You are probably going to be injured in some way, and must continue to fight until your attacker is neutralized. If you don’t you are probably going to be severely injured or killed. Parking Lots Avoid parking in lots that are not attended or well lighted at night. It is always a good idea to drive around a parking lot once at night, before parking. After parking, survey the immediate area around your car before unlocking your car and getting out. Always look under and around your car as you approach it. Always look in your car before getting in it, once in immediately lock your door. Have your keys in your hand as you approach your car. (It is really a bad idea to be digging in your purse or coat for your keys while walking to your car, or at your car!) Carry your keys as if they are weapons (even if you are leaving your car to go into your home, office or the store). These are only some of the points I cover in self-defense classes. There are more things that I would do, such as teaching kids and women how to defend in groups. We as instructors often teach how to deal with multiple attackers, but should also teach how to defend as a team. As you can guess, I feel that self-defense and safety training should go hand in hand. Like I tell my students “If you are alert and aware of your surroundings, you probably won’t need to use your self-defense techniques.” Instructors should give some thought to what they are or are not teaching in self-defense classes. Your students will thank you for the training!

I have had the privilege of speaking with practitioners of various styles of martial arts. One of the things I found interesting was the discussion of power striking. I found it rather amazing that so many people had difficulty understanding that power was different than strength. It also was amazing to see that many did not understand that there are several different striking principles. Before I talk about Striking, I need to clear up the differences between power and strength. Strength is defined as the capacity of exertion and or endurance. Power is defined as a force that exerts control, influence or destroys an object at an effective rate. This is explained with the formula: P= Mass x Speed. Distance As you can see there is a difference between power and strength. You can have physical power without having strength, and you can be physically strong and not have physical power! You may say that I am splitting hairs, but think about the two definitions. Consider this; is a 280lb weightlifter more dangerous to you than a 100lbs woman with a 9mm? Of course assuming both want to do you harm, and both are within range to do so, most of us would probably rather deal with the weightlifter. No matter how strong the man is; he is unlikely to be able to generate the amount of power a bullet could. Now the stronger a person is, the more he/she can exert mass (throwing a punch, kick, executing a throw etc.). This in turn affects the amount of power produced. Conversely, a small object moving at great speed can create an equal amount of power (i.e. the bullet and Bruce Lee). Maximum Power- Any movement of the body is dependent on the expansion and contraction of muscle groups. The amount of power generated in a given technique is related proportionately to the coordinated expansion and contraction of various muscle groups. This affects the amount and speed at which various body masses contact a target. The distance required for its application also affects the striking power of a technique. Therefore maximum power can be achieved at various distances depending on what technique is used (kicks, strikes, throws, etc). Concentration Of Power- to deliver an effective technique (one that causes maximum damage to a target area) you must concentrate the power of your technique into the smallest area possible on your target. Even a great amount of power that is dispersed, will not be effective. An example of this concept was displayed to me in New York. I have a friend, who is a professional wrestler. He is 6'10" tall and weighs 325lbs (big man!), I had the opportunity to be invited to get into the ring with him. He picked me up and "body slammed" me on the mat. Now the throw appeared very fast and hard, and I weighed around 230lbs at the time. Power = Mass times Speed over Distance. We had all those elements there, and I should have suffered some serious damage, but the mat was constructed to absorb and disperse energy, therefore I suffered no damage. Fluid Shock Wave Striking Principle All things being equal, the more time on contact that a concentrated technique has on soft muscle tissue, the more effective it will be. This is due to the fact that the energy transfer to the effected muscle tissue is complete causing motor dysfunction. This is called the Fluid Shock Wave Striking Principle. Generally the time on contact is only 30 milliseconds (just long enough for all forward momentum to transfer into the targeted area). Trembling Shock Striking Principle When striking the hard targets of the body such as skeletal structures, the Trembling Shock Striking Principle will be most effective. This striking principle works by delivering a concentrated strike to the effected target area and quickly removing the striking weapon. This in turn causes the transfer of energy into the skeletal structure at single point, and quickly removing the weapon prevents the rebounding of that energy. The reason that these two principles are effective is that Fluid Shock works by creating an over stimulation of the muscle tissue. Muscle is 80% water, thus the time on contact allows for the transfer of more energy. Because the skeletal structure is more rigid, and energy displacement occurs more slowly in bone than muscle, snapping strikes that concentrate their power to a smaller area are more effective. Now I should explain what is meant by time on contact. Many martial arts instructors talk about "sticking" a punch or kick. This is similar to what I mean. Time on contact entails delivering your strike about 6" past the target and leaving the weapon on the target for approximately 30 milliseconds. These types of strikes are particularly effective when used against large muscle groups or pressure sensitive areas. There are two other methods of striking. Touch Pressure techniques are technically not strikes, but are a method of application that is designed to create pain compliance. This is accomplished by touching various pressure points with sufficient force (pressure) to cause pain. Examples of this method are joint locks, and the George Dilman method (Koshoryu Kempo). Quick Penetration Strikes are used against pressure points as well, but instead of applying pressure to these points, quick stabbing strikes are used to create a mental stun that last 3-7seconds, allowing you to move on to another technique without resistance. This type of strike is also used against soft target areas and organs, such as the eyes, kidneys and throat. There are some effects or principles that can be achieved regardless of the type of striking technique used. They are as follows: The Principle of Increased Impact: This principle states that a strikes impact on a target can be increased if that target is prevented from “riding” the strike, or “recoiling” from the strike. Think of it this way; if you kick a target and that target is allowed to move with the kick, the force of the kick is diminished. But if the target is pinned against a wall or another object, and is not allowed to move with the target, the impact is effectively increased. This principle also states that "sandwiching" or bracing techniques also cause this effect. This also implies that a target moving "into" the end of your technique will also increase the effect of your technique. The Principle of Double Impact: This principle states that striking a target and forcing it into a solid object (wall, post, floor, etc) will double the impact of the strike. An example of this is delivering a palm-heel strike to a target's head. If the strike is done correctly it is powerful, but if the target's head is instantly driven into a wall, or some other solid object, the impact is doubled. The Principle of Angular Momentum: This principle states that torque is necessary to accelerate and rotate an object creating inertia to produce angular momentum (spinning motion). This principle contends that the impact of techniques that produce this effect is greatly increased. 'Doc' took this one step further and stated that "small circles" were even more potent in most cases. He stated that in strikes, kicks and throws " You will work harder to move your hands, legs, and body in large circles, but the power available will actually be less than that produced by keeping the rotations smaller and centered as you hit, kick, or throw your target." Many of you probably have been applying the various striking principles in your training for years, and may or may not have even known it. I write about these different forms of striking as a means to cause you to evaluate your system, training and teaching. Could you identify which principle is appropriate for each of the strike, kick, throw, etc of your system? If not why? There are other principles and theories involved in striking (some of which I disagree), but I feel that the ones discussed above are the major elements of striking. As with all of my writings I do not claim to be the only authority on the subject, or that I am 100% correct. I merely open up topics for thought and hopefully discussion.

In what ways do you set up these scenarios for training in class? We have a variety of drills we do in class. When going through self-defense drills, students are often asked to break down each part of an attakc and response (demonstrating knowledge of displacement, angles of evasion/attack, and intentional and unintentional consequences of the attack/response) We also require students to name each type of displacement when doing sweeps and throws.

Thank you all. I am sorry that I tend to be long winded in my post (my students often have the same complaint about my lectures) lol,

The combat martial arts consider balance displacement an important aspect of training. No matter what "style" or "system" we practice, balance displacement is taught in all of them. Therefore if every system uses balance displacement in one way or another, we should give some serious consideration to this part of our training. Balance displacement can occur in several ways. Displacement can happen as a result of “Hard” displacement techniques, such as a strike, kick, block or throw that knocks your target off balance, or as a result of "soft" displacement techniques, such as parries, trips, and evasions. The final way that displacement can occur is through "combination" displacement techniques. This involves the use of a combination of hard and soft displacement, as well as major and minor displacement techniques to effect the balance of a target. Displacement can be major (being thrown, tripped or knocked down), or minor (a slip, trip or stagger without a fall). The length of time that displacement is in effect also depends on several factors. The major factors are commitment of attack, and relative positioning. No matter how displacement of balance occurs, it is considered a desired effect in combat. If your target is unbalanced, it is more difficult for him to defend against your attack, or attack himself. I divided balance displacement into the five separate categories listed above. I will define each category and give examples of each. Understanding these differences should help you in teaching and training. Hard Displacement Techniques: These techniques tend to attack, drive, and pull a target, thereby creating or causing displacement. One of the distinguishing factors of these techniques is that they tend to cause some sort of damage to a target (usually substantial damage). Examples of this are: An upper (rising) block to an overhead attack that is done with such force that it causes damage to the attacker. The block is used to drive the attacker, forcing him to raise his base and rock him back on his heels (In SOCK we call this forced buoyancy). From this position the attacker's weight is neutralized, thereby weakening his ability to move, attack, and defend until he can re-settle his base. A different example is of a low thrust kick to a target's leg forcing his legs to spread widely (a favorite technique in my Kenpo instructor's arsenal). This creates what is called forced settling, causing your target's weight to go down, and again neutralizing it. This is done by forcing his base down, but because of the increase of the width of his feet, his base is unsettled (see solidify your base in our glossary of terms). Soft Displacement Techniques: These techniques tend to avoid, re-direct, flow with, or jerk a target, thereby causing or creating displacement. These techniques are generally not damage oriented, nor do they tend to meet an attacker's force. They tend to steal the attacker's momentum and then turn that force against them. Generally a soft displacement technique will result in minor displacement, but this is not written in stone. Examples of this are: A pulling hand parry to a punch that borrows the force of the attacker's momentum and creates forced settling. Because you are pulling the attack past its intended area, you are forcing the attacker's body to break the vertical plane, thereby disrupting his balance. Another example is side stepping a sidekick and using a parry forcing the kick to again break the vertical plane, disrupting balance when your target is forced to place his kicking foot down further away from his body than planned. Combination Displacement Techniques: These techniques generally have elements of both "hard" and "soft" displacement. Because these techniques tend to use concepts like counter manipulation, reverse manipulation along with body manipulation they can be very effective and really devastating. Watching arts such as Aikido, Hapkido, and Jujitsu you see these types of techniques frequently. An example of this is the classic Ogoshi (major hip throw); it can be used by taking the borrowed force approach from the "soft" displacement and adding counter manipulation to it. Using the same pulling action as was explained in the first example of "soft" displacement, pulling your target onto your hip, as your other hand pushes the opposite shoulder, and your legs push up. The combination of body manipulation and counter manipulation effectively makes use of the principle of opposing forces, and makes for a very devastating technique. In this technique, the faster and harder you pull-push and lift the faster and harder and more damaging the throw will be. The Outer reap works by combining these principals as well. Major Balance Displacement: No matter whether a displacement technique is Hard, soft, or a combination; major displacement could be its result. Major balance displacement occurs when a target's balance is totally lost, or is under the control of the person who caused the displacement (I feel that if you have lost 75-100% control of your balance, this constitutes major displacement). This loss of balance usually results in the target being forced to the ground, but could also mean the target is placed into an "arrested" position. What I mean by arrested position is a position in which you cannot attack, defend, advance, or escape from without extreme difficulty, or assistance. This type of displacement is very difficult to counter or recover from once applied, and should be avoided if you are the target of such. An example of this happened to me back in my early training days. Master Edward Harris (Shong-ji-ryu Kempo) placed me into a rear shoulder lock, but instead of taking me to the floor, held me at what he called the “interview” stage. This was a position at which I was still standing but was bent so far back that he (Master Harris) was basically holding me up. I could not move, fight, or escape. He held me in this position of “limbo” for a good 7-10 seconds, and then finished the technique, throwing me to the ground. Minor Balance Displacement: This type of displacement is called minor, but is only in name. This displacement was defined by "doc" as a sort of hiccup in your target's balance. This means that a momentary short or pause in his ability to move, attack, or defend. This pause may only last 1-3 seconds, but gives you time to execute follow up control or techniques. Minor displacement does not usually result in your target falling or being thrown (the very nature of a throw or unintentional fall means that your target lost his balance). But enough of his balance must be manipulated for your target to become concerned with regaining control over his body (usually a 30%+ loss of control is enough, if the target is committed in their motion). When major and minor displacements occur, they generally occur separately. But there are times when minor becomes major, and vice versa. In these instances the displacement is usually shifted from one type (Hard, Soft, and Combination) to another. This can be done for several reasons, but generally occur as a result of a target unintentionally breaking his balance point (point at which his balance is under his control) (this usually results in a minor balance displacement becoming a major displacement). Or a target unexpectedly regaining his balance point, thus forcing a change of technique. No matter which type of displacement occurs, it is a good idea if all combat martial artists understand all aspects of this part of our training. When practicing various techniques, try to identify if balance displacement is occurring and if so what kind. In the old days (and today as well) many students were content to do what their instructors told them without thought or question of why or how something works. I am of the belief that in order to master a thing you must know the whys and hows of a thing.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. When you think about speed you have to divide it (speed) into three categories: perceptual speed, mental speed and physical speed. Each of these categories of speed is important to your overall speed and each can be enhanced or improved through training. I will attempt to discuss each category and give some suggestions on how to improve each type. Perceptual speed is the speed at which you observe and recognize a threat in your environment. The threat can be picked up by any of your senses (touch, hearing, sight or intuition). Intuition is a valid sense, anyone who has been in combat or in a life threatening situation can attest to the fact that sometimes you "feel" danger long before you "see" it. Many things can affect your perceptual speed, such as: environmental conditions (weather, lighting, excessive noise, etc,), your emotional state (if you just got into an argument with your wife/husband, you probably won't be as alert to danger as you would be if you just received a threatening call from an enemy), your physical condition (health, fatigue or injury) and the relative distance (how close the threat is to you when it appears). Recognizing a threat is the first step in developing a quick response. Slow perceptual speed affects your overall speed dramatically. Several training methods can be used to help students develop their perceptual speed. Here are a couple that I use. Teaching environmental awareness is probably the most important of these methods. Teaching your students that their surroundings can either help or hinder their defense is essential. I place emphasis on the fact that a threat can "materialize" from just about anywhere and at anytime. During sparring and self defense practice introduce "spontaneous attackers" and "hidden/unconventional weapons." This should only be done with your middle and upper level students and should be random. This teaches what Doc (my Sensei) calls "healthy paranoia." It forces your students to maintain awareness of their surroundings. I also teach my students to use environmental advantages. Those students, who are used to the idea of "spontaneous attacks", "hidden/unconventional weapons" and other environmental factors, will be less surprised if these things occur and be able to deal with them more effectively. The second training method that is valuable is threat recognition. This involves teaching students observation skills such as identifying aggressive body language (non verbal cues the body shows as it prepares for aggressive action), group dynamics (how to recognize likely multiple attacker situations) and profiles on the basic personality types. Have your students watch people role play various scenarios and have them try to identify when aggressive actions are about to occur. The second part of this training is students recognizing "unsafe" conditions such as poorly lit alleys/doorways, suspicious vehicles/people and then asking them how they would deal with each condition. You can also expose students to other stimuli such as the sound of various firearms being chambered the sound of a blade being unsheathed or locked (in the case of folding or switch blades). As you can see this training goes into mentally preparing a student to recognize what type(s) of danger he/she is in. Learning this can be the thing that saves his/her life. Mental speed is the rate at which you analyze the threat and formulate the appropriate response. This stage is crucial because the response falls into three sub-divisions: flee, fight or freeze. Even though each one of us respond to various threats differently. We all have to go through this process. Fight. When you decide to "fight" you have to determine the following: A. What type of force is appropriate? This can range from verbal defense (shouting for assistance) to lethal force (using a knife or gun). Many combat martial artists train techniques that cover most of the force continuum. Many factors dictate the level of force that is required. Some of those factors are size, sex of attacker(s), number of attackers, proximity of attacker when assault begin, and weapons used. Whatever the result of the variables, you must be mentally prepared to go "all out" in your response. This means if you decide to fight, then you must fight! B. What type of conditions will dictate my response? During all the confusion of being assaulted, environmental considerations must be taken into account. If you are not aware of these conditions, your response could be completely inappropriate and even assist in your defeat. Although I already covered this in the perceptual speed section, I say again, constantly scan your environment and play the "what if" game. If this is done you can greatly reduce the chance of conditions adversely affecting your response to a threat. You may even be able to turn those conditions in your favor. C. What specific techniques should I use in response? The selection of technique is very important. I am often amazed at how some systems teach 19 or 20 different responses to the same attack (some have more than 20 defense against 1 attack). Hick's Law states that "in a stressful situation (combat), the more responses you have to choose from, the longer it will take you to respond." Doc says that if you have 3 or 4 good responses to an attack or family of attacks that should be all you need. What he means by this is that you should train for what we call "family of related moves." This is training a family of techniques that can be used on similar attacks. An example of this is that the response to a front two handed lapel grab (someone grabbing your shirt/jacket from the front) can also be used to defend against a front two handed choke with only subtle changes to the techniques. Many instructors insist on overloading students with various techniques, some of which have very limited practical use. Please remember Hick's Law - it is very important! Simplifying your system is key to being successful in teaching self defense. I love the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) because it makes perfect sense. Simplicity is the key to successfully teaching self defense skills. This process is usually very quick, as a matter of fact; the more spontaneous self defense you do the faster this process becomes. My training advice is, of course, that you do spontaneous self defense! But also, analyze your responses. Video tape your students as they deal with various attacks and watch for the following: techniques used - what they do and how they do it. Environmental manipulation - did they use their surroundings to their advantage? Level of force used - is it appropriate? If the response is too much, then you must be able to explain why. If it is too little, you must also justify this statement. In this regard you must be very familiar with the self defense statutes of your area. I suggest doing a little legal research (it helps if you know a good attorney). Environmental awareness - is he/she paying attention to his surroundings, looking for more attackers, weapons, escape routes, barriers to use, etc.? Flee. There are typically three categories in this section also. A. Escape. This is a total and all out retreat. Leaving the scene, without regard for cover or making any attempt to fight back. Although this is a form of defense and is OK, it leaves you open to attack. B. Cover/concealment. This happens when escape is not immediately possible. Situations in which you must protect yourself, before finding a way out. Someone caught in a McDonald's when a gunman opens fire may run for cover (a barrier between the gunman and themselves, which acts as a shield against the weapon). Or they may try to hide (concealment is using a object to impair the vision of the attacker, thus making your location unknown) before running for the door. In certain situations this is the wisest way to retreat. As instructors of self defense, we probably don't spend enough time teaching our students how and when to run. We also must teach the difference between cover and concealment. I love movies that show gunfights, where everyone is hiding behind drywall, oil drums and car doors. Anyone who has fired a .357 magnum or a 9mm knows that drywall, oil drums (barrels) and even car doors don't stop most of the bullets fired from these weapons. And those weapons aren't even the most powerful handguns out there! C. Tactical withdrawal. This can be done in two ways. The first is a fighting retreat. In a situation that the odds of you fighting off an attacker(s) are low, you may just be fighting your way to an escape route! Multiple attackers and armed attacker situations should involve some elements of this philosophy. It is a mistake to teach students that once they engage the enemy that you should forget about retreating. Sometimes the situation gets out of control and retreating is the best option. The second way is when you must create distance from your attacker, in order to give you a chance to defend yourself. This type of withdrawal is momentary and should probably be followed by intense aggressive action. The reason I say this is the psychological effect. If you started retreating (offering no resistance) and then suddenly came forward with intent to serious damage, the attacker will be caught mentally off balance (mental stun). Both these methods of retreat are valuable (as are the others) and each should be trained. Running is often thought of as "chicken" and less than manly, but I live by that old saying "a good run is better than a bad stand." There are times when retreating is the only smart option. Freeze. This is the inability or unwillingness to act in your own or another's defense. This occurs as a result of several psychological and physiological factors: A. Fear. Some people react to being afraid by shutting down! This shutdown can be fainting, freezing or repetitive actions. Mentally the fear of the encounter (either being hurt or in some cases hurting someone) is more than the person can take. They cannot react, because their minds and bodies just lock up. The best things you can do for this type of person is train their responses to come with little thought. If their actions are spontaneous (automatic), then fear will not set in until after they have acted (which usually happens to all of us anyway). B. Shock. This occurs when we are exposed to stimuli that we are not emotionally prepared for. A soldier/cop/firefighter who sees his first dead body (especially if it is badly mangled) may freeze, because the sight of such carnage is something we as civilians rarely see. It is difficult to prepare for this type of shock and it is primarily why many techniques (fingers to the eyes, throat strikes, etc) are difficult for some people to do. For this type of person mental conditioning is very important. You must get them mentally prepared for certain tasks. Drilling with helmets that allow for eye gouges (extra thick batting around the eyes), Throat shields and groin supports are key to this. You can always role-play assaults using fake blood and gore, thus attempting to desensitize this person, but I doubt that it will have much effect. C. Surprise. This is being caught off guard. Not paying attention to what is happening around you. At one time or another all of us have been caught unaware. The difference in being a "victim" and being a "survivor" of a surprise attack is your ability to quickly recover from this momentary lapse. Teaching your students about environmental awareness is the best way to counter this. Another form of surprise can occur when you actually successfully execute a technique in a real life situation. Some of us are so surprised that "it actually works," that we forget to follow up. This can be dangerous because it allows your attacker to recover. Also he/she now knows that you are capable of putting up some resistance. D. Choice. This is an unwillingness to fight or flee. This is choosing to allow violence to be done to you and offering no resistance. I have the utmost respect for pacifist, but do not have the ability to be one. Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. were both very brave men and so were their many followers. Their desire to fight oppression and injustice was only matched by their steadfast belief that violence only begets violence. I tend to agree with them philosophically, but know that I could not personally stand by and let someone do violence to me without trying to protect myself. If you have a student who truly fits this category, I would ask them why they are training in a "combat" martial art system/school. Traditional/Sport martial arts allow for you to trains to learn focus, balance, cardio workouts, etc., perhaps. But, "combat" martial arts are for defense. All of us have probably "frozen" during some stressful moment (not necessarily in combat). Teaching your students about how to manage these situations can go a long way in protecting them. Physical speed is the speed at which you turn your perceptual and mental processes into physical action. This stage of the response process is generally the fastest. Once most of us have decided if and how to act, we generally move into action without much delay. Hesitation is usually a result of not knowing what to do or fear of getting hurt. (See mental speed). Many things can be done to increase the physical speed of your students. Here are a few: A. Physical conditioning. The better shape you are in, the faster your reflexes will be. Now this doesn't mean that we all need to be in Olympic shape, but we should be able to move without passing out from exhaustion. B. Muscle memory. It is a well known fact the human brain has over 1 trillion neural pathways at birth. These pathways determine things like our ability to learn and perform activities. The more you see, think about and do a specific activity; the more ingrained these pathways become (thus making doing the activity easier and faster). Repetition of technique (just like in the "old school" days) creates "instinctive motion" for your students. Action/response Drills: these drills can be used to decrease the time between perception of threat and action. This in turn increases reaction speed. I have used simple games like "hand slapping drills" to increase these qualities. In conclusion, all three stages of speed are something that occurs naturally in very few of us. Many of the fastest people I have ever seen or heard of (Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Ed Parker) trained themselves to be fast. In all three cases (Lee, Ali and Parker), their perceptual and mental speeds were the keys to their success. Ali could recognize what you were doing and make you miss him (great counter puncher). Lee would see your attack and intercept it and Parker would recognize your attack and manipulate your attack leaving you open for his attack. There are many other martial artists who have put all three categories of speed together and I am sure you all can think of several in your own systems. The important thing is that with training anyone can be made faster! I hope that this rather long article answers your questions on speed and gives you something to think about. Any comments (positive or negative) are welcome.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. One of the most complex aspects of the "combative arts" is the study of muscle action. This combat motion is one area where it seems that no matter how much time, effort and thought you put into its study, there is still more to learn. In this article, I am going to attempt to explain the three stages of this elusive topic. When talking about combat motion, muscle action should be one of the first things considered. Muscle action is the exertion of force by the muscle groups of the body. This expenditure can produce force that propels the body (or parts of the body) in a given direction. This force can also be used to cause a change of direction or to stop the body (or parts of the body). One of the common misconceptions about this topic is that the large muscle groups are the primary actors when muscle action occurs. Generally, the more body mass that is being moved, the larger the muscle group(s) needed to move it. However, small items (such as your fingers for a finger whip) use a combination of large and small muscle groups. There are three types of muscle action, which create, continue and finish a technique. Preparatory muscle action, explosive muscle action and conclusive muscle action. I will break down each stage in a little more detail. Preparatory muscle action is the first stage of muscle action. This stage involves preparing or setting the body for the upcoming motion. Generally, in this stage the body is set into proper position depending the desired action. Preparatory muscle action is often overlooked when doing a technique, but should be studied because generally techniques of similar aspect require similar preparatory muscle action. Offensively this means that learning to move from one technique to a similar technique should be a goal. Defensively, noticing preparatory muscle action gives us early warning as to what is coming down the pike (always a good thing)! Because of muscle memory, preparatory muscle action can help you reduce the delivery time of a technique. This can be expanded to the point that a series of movements can be fused together, because each one has sequential flow. Preparatory muscle action helps this because it helps develop the neural pathways in the brain and those starting positions become natural settings for the body. This means that those movements all become more natural. Explosive muscle action is the second stage of muscle action. In this stage your muscles are used to launch your techniques. This generally means that Body alignment has been achieved (usually in the preparatory stage), thus allowing for maximum power and speed. In this stage all action is committed to the end result. This commitment makes any attack vulnerable (a successful block, parry or evasion leaves the attacker open), while any defensive motion must be successfully executed (unsuccessful execution results in being left open to attack). One thing that must be kept in mind during this phase of action, is that your “explosive action” does not mean “reckless abandon”, you must still maintain control of your body in order to execute proper technique. A wild movement may seem to be explosive muscle action, but to an experienced martial artist, it is not considered as such, because it has no control and therefore cannot be directed. Wild movement rarely creates body alignment and therefore has very little back up mass, which affects the speed and power (effectiveness) of the technique. Controlled explosive muscle action is directed, manipulated and funneled to allow for body alignment, thus creating back up mass. That means that the strength, weight and speed of the whole body is placed behind the technique executed. As you can see, proper use of explosive muscle action should be a goal for all combat motion. Conclusive muscle action is the third and final stage of muscle action. I refer to this stage as the follow through stage of muscle action. In order for combat motion to be effective, it must have complete progression. Conclusive muscle action puts the final emphasis on a technique. This can be the snap at the end of a reverse punch or the downward jerk of a throwing technique, etc. The important thing about this motion is that it completes: the technique. I know what some of you may be thinking. "I have seen plenty of martial arts masters, who went from technique to technique without slowing or stopping." To this I would say that there is a difference between continuous action and not concluding a technique. I use to watch my Sensei do some very amazing things and he seemed to be a constant blur or motion, but I could always see that he concluded each technique before moving on to another. Grandmaster Kemp always said "You can be beat to the start of a technique by another martial artist, but you should never get beat to the conclusion of your technique." It took me a long time to understand this, but I finally got it. What Grandmaster Kemp said had a double meaning. First, speed is good as long as proper technique is being used (therefore getting beat to the punch by a sloppy, undeveloped technique isn't in and of itself bad), but it is more important to start with proper technique and end with proper technique, than it is to be fast. Secondly is a mindset that Grandmaster Kemp tried to instill in his students. That mindset was no matter what happens, how much pain you are in, you always finish (don't give up, always fight to the end).

Jiffy you are more4 than welcome to use, expand or counter argue any point I make at anytime. Thank you for your kind words. As far as using videos for learning techniques: Some are excellent and can give you good instruction ( I would say that you should probably have some experience with techniques from training with an accomplished instructor), but with all training you should be careful. There are a lot of videos out there and some are worthless. You should also study and know what the self defense laws are where you live. Some of those graphic techniques that work, also cross the line of self defense and can get you convicted of felony assault or worse.

Pendakarshihan: The practice of techniques that are no longer practicle for modern combat is fine, as long as you understand the reasons why you are practicing these techniques. Kenjitsu and Iaido(your examples) provide excellent opportunities for you to practice hand eye coordination skills, focus, and timing. I am opposed to practicing impractical techniques as self-defense. I once attended a seminar in which the sponser was discussing using his chi to make himself invulnerable to attack. He even demonstrated taking full power strikes to his throat and testicles. It was very impressive! He asked anyone in the crowd to come up and attack him. I volunteered, and when he was ready I delivered a straight punch to his stomach (no effect), as he began to explain to us that his chi protected him, I delivered a four knuckle punch to his bladder, dropping him to the floor! As long as he had time to prepare for the attack, he could absorb the damage, but in the street most attackers don't give you time to mentally prepare. My point behind this tale is that these type of techniques are fine for helping you develope as a person, and even as a martial artists, but as combat martial artists it is our responsibility to teach our students the difference between combat effective techniques and techniques that are used to enhance skills or increase focus (but should not be thought of as combat techniques per se). So to answer part two of your question, do I feel they are a waste of time? Well that depends on how and why you practice them. If you are practicing Iaido to be the next highlander, you are wasting your time (unless you plan on carrying a sword with you everywhere. In that case, I will probably be reading about your conviction for murder someday.). If you are practicing Iaido for its benifits of increased focus, developement of fine and complex motor skills, great. This is especially true if your instructor then teaches you how to apply those skills aquired in todays enviornment. My sensei use to make me spend hours practicing with different traditional weapons (katana, bo, naginata,sai, etc) but always showed how the principles involved in the use of these weapons could be transferred to using things like a broom stick, pool cue, machette,even a fork! I hope my poor attempt at explaining my thoughts have helped you in some way, and I thank you for your intresting question.