bushido_man96

How come nobody does squats to exhaustion? Just curious.... 7/25/2014 Defensive Tactics for Department Personnel: two session, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, and 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm. I went with the Krav Maga material for these sessions, starting with combatives (punches, palm strikes, hammerfists, A-frame kicks and defensive front kicks). I also worked on fighting position from the knees and on the back. I did some drills with hammerfists, going from standing, to kneeling, to on the back, to getting up tactically and back into standing hammerfists. I also introduced the clinch position we used, crashing in from punches to clinch, to knees and clearing out. Also worked the kicks from the ground, to get up tactically, fighting into the clinch, etc. I tried to get lots of reps going into the combatives stuff. We also did choke from the front defense and choke from behind defense. I'm really excited about teaching this curriculum, and I think what I have learned in GRACIE will shore up anything that I would need from the ground. Krav has some ground defenses that I like, but I like having the other options from GRACIE as well. The main problem I'm having is getting good attendence at training. I had two for my first class, and three for my second session. If I'm going to keep building, then I really need more of our guys showing up. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that yet.

I think this especially holds true. I'm a firm believer in that if a student wishes to, they should be encouraged to try things. No style (including the style I study) is perfect and students should be able to go away and find other things to fill the gaps. It's also good for them to be able to compare the style and the instructor to others. They'll always be an integral part of martial arts... but politics and money do seem to spoil things too often. I agree with this sentiment. But not all instructors are so open-minded. Heidi, thanks for sharing this article with us. I think looking for those open doors is part of the journey, and providing others with that opportunity is part of the instructor's job. I commend you for being able to step away and blaze your own trail, and wish you luck throughout your endeavors. I'm not sure what the requirements are for testing for 6th dan in the ATA is anymore. Perhaps having certain numbers of students under you, but I'm not sure. But it shouldn't be the only thing that matters, and its too bad if that is what is holding him back.

Bob, that is a very personal question. In DT training, we say, hit as hard as you can. If a defense attorney asks me how hard I hit someone, I will answer them, "Just as hard as I could." When he asks why, I say "So I didn't have to hit them again." Now, the question before that would be, "Why did you hit my client." That is where the justification really needs to come in, along with the articulation. If you are defending yourself, then you shouldn't have too many problems coming your way. That changes when you are no longer defending yourself, and you become the aggressor. That's what you have to be cognizant of. Wastelander and DWx, thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you found the article helpful.

Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder have wrote a nice book titled The Little Black Book of Violence. I highly recommend it. They cover a lot on not only the psychology of combat, and how attackers choose victims and what not, as well as dealing with the aftermath of having to defend yourself. Its a very good read.

Character is important, and hopefully one can see it here and there during classes, in how students interact with each other, before, during, and after classes. I think paper writing of the things important to each person, what they've learned in their time in the Martial Arts, etc, can help to bring out the character of the students. Background checks don't hurt, either.

If rank motivates you, then there is nothing wrong with that. Let it drive you! Best of luck and please keep us posted. You'll do great!

Welcome to KF!

But if it takes commitment to develop correct technique, to learn kata and ingrain movement then commitment or a lack of should show in the test. Either that or the idea of needing x months/years of training to reach the skill levels asked for is a fallacy? Also I'm not sure if you're comment about degree program's is true. Certainly I know you can apply to test for professional qualification's without taking the course. I'm pretty sure the same is true of university, the only difference being that you need to complete course requirements other than an exam. Perhaps requiring someone like this to complete all the rank exams and requirements is a more fair way to test them You state that there are some things only time can test, but what are they that won't also show in a properly designed and executed rank exam? Here's the main point, the way I see it. If one has done all this training on one's own, and now seeks some sort of legitimization at a school, and one can't get it on one's own, then that person is going to beholden to the process of said instructor's school at which he wishes to seek to appear legitimate. If that is the way he needs to go about being accredited or whatever, then he really can't complain about the process too much. He can, I guess, but it won't really change anything.

Thanks for another nice demonstration!

Thanks for the review, Gareth. Very helpful. I had not heard of or seen this title yet, so thanks for bringing it to light here.

Wouldn't ukemi be more like landing, instead of flying...??

Solid post!! Agreed. When I partcipate in the 300 workout with the Aikido club, we do lots of rolling and breakfalling, after a bunch of other stuff. Its tough work, for sure. Good for the core...

Ditto. It would be fun to read.I think the respect the students have for you is what causes this change in actions and attitude when you are present. Its good, and its bad. Its professional, and in that, it fails to become personal. I'm curious, do the classes warm up to you after a time? Do things loosen up a bit after a warmup? Do you joke with them a bit, invite them to interact with you? Does this help to loosen the atmosphere a bit? I'm just posing questions here. I remember we had a pretty good time together training, and I can't imagine it not going that way with your other dojos.

That increases the price for the event significantly. Are you sure hiring a lawyer is neccessary? I don't see people hiring lawyers for other sports. In the Netherlands everyone is legally required to have medical insurance. I'm not sure if this insurance is also required to extend to sports injuries. also, The sports centre certainly has insurance, if I organise this with one of the coaches that insurance should extend to the event. speaking of the coaches, maybe I should have spoken to some of them before posting here. That way I would know more specific information about organising the event in the netherlands and at the sports centre. Thanks for bringing up the issue of insurance however, I hadn't thought about it as much as I should have. ps1 is right on here. Better safe than pending a lawsuit.Check with the venue at which you wish to hold this event. Make sure they will allow it, in if their insurance will cover an event like this. It may not. Is your club a member of any kind of affiliation that holds sanctioned tournaments? If it is, use this to your advantage, and see if you can help through them. If not, at least use their ruleset, so you have something to work with that you are familiar with. As for the breakfalling question, you won't be able to really teach any kind of breakfalling in the small timeframe you'd have before beginning the competition, so I'd nix that idea. You will want the attorney you hire to come up with a waiver form for the competitors to sign, in regards to relief from liability and all that stuff. That should cover you on the issue of others not knowing how to breakfall yet still entering your competition. It should cover some other areas, as well. Best of luck with this, and I hope it goes well for you. Keep us posted on your progress, please!

Thanks, Patrick. I hope it was helpful.

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. KarateForums.com member Liver Punch started a thread titled "Is 'how much force to use' the wrong question?" This led to a discussion regarding to use of force that extended to questions like "how much force is allowed?," and "how much force should one use?" While rehashing that great discussion is not the point of this article, that thread does serve to background as to the ideas I will bring forth here. What I gathered from the thread was the difference in ideas involving the use of force between law enforcement officers (LEOs) and civilian martial artists. I believe this stems from civilian martial arts instructors who teach techniques that can be lethal, and use blanket statements that over-generalize situations, such as, "if he threatens to kill you, you can defend your life with deadly force." While at times this may be valid, I think what is lacking is the fact that no situation is stagnant, and as a scenario changes, so can the force options available to the martial artist. Liver Punch described getting "tunnel vision" in regards to a practitioner wanting to test out certain skills, and if a practitioner doesn't have a flexible force continuum to rely on, then this tunnel vision can set in. That may lead to a martial artist making a decision that he or she may find tough to live with, or even end up putting them on the other end of the scenario in a court of law. I think one of the major factors behind what Liver Punch described in his thread as "tunnel vision" is the lack of a use of force continuum being taught to civilian martial artists. Law enforcement officers are more fortunate in this regard, as they are exposed to it in the beginning of their training. In addition, departments usually maintain some form of policies or guidelines in regards to use of force, and conduct specialized training in use of force scenarios. Many civilian martial arts instructors lack these models, and often times "defending one's life" is spoken of, but remains black and white. The goal of this article is to present some concepts that might be applied in the use of a force continuum for civilian martial artists. The Force Continuum I feel it is important from the outset to identify that a force continuum is a sliding scale upon which the person defending themselves will likely have to escalate or de-escalate in regards to how an incident unfolds. A common example of this is when an attacker is knocked to the ground. Kicking a downed man in the head can quickly turn bad for a defender, especially if the downed man is no longer a threat. The ability to identify and make these decisions is best honed through scenario training. The civilian martial artist is not likely to have the array of tools available to him that a law enforcement officer has, so I don't think it viable to simply adopt a law enforcement continuum. I won't be laying out a continuum model in this article, but I will lay out some guidelines that will hopefully demonstrate how and when to decide to escalate or de-escalate along a force continuum. The two big things to keep in mind when you make a force decision are justification and articulation. There will need to be a justifiable reason as to why you respond the way you do. Articulation is the tool that helps you put this justification into words, elaborating on why you responded the way you did, and what you responded to. More often than not, the civilian martial artist will have his hands and feet to work with, and perhaps nothing else. Many people do carry pocket knives, which could be a viable defense option if necessary. The increasing popularity of conceal and carry permits may also offer another option in defense. Something a person will almost always have available to use in self defense is their voice. Knowing what to say and how to say it can be just as important during self defense as knowing when and how to punch, kick and choke. Like anything in the martial arts, the skill of using verbal commands and phrases is something that must be trained regularly in order for the skill to be usable on the street. Yelling out commands such as, "leave me alone," "stop hitting me," or "put the knife down," can be very helpful in helping yourself identify threat levels, and helping in the justification for your actions later on. For the purpose of this article, I will use the above listed options in reference to the "scale" that the defender can slide up and down on. In regards to the scale, it is important to note that there is no hard and fast starting point or ending point that an incident must progress through. A self defense situation does not have to start with verbal commands and end with deadly force. Depending on the circumstances, the scenario may start out as being a deadly force situation. If this would end up being the case, then it is important to know that if the need to jump to the top of the scale and defend with deadly force is warranted, then to do so is justifiable. Totality of Circumstances This is a popular phrase in law enforcement circles, and is applicable to civilian self defense as well. As I alluded to earlier, not every situation is black and white, and there are variables that can cause escalation or de-escalation along the force continuum. Things like relative size/strength/age of the attacker in comparison to your own, gender difference, being outnumbered, any knowledge of training acquired by the attacker, fatigue or overall general health issues, and the environment can all impact what level of force you use. Being outnumbered with your back to a wall may constitute escalation in force, and likely a justifiable use of a weapon. A drunk, 115 pound female waving a broken beer bottle while stumbling and vomiting on herself may not present a lethal force threat at all. Being aware of the totality of the circumstances in a given situation can help in making proper force decisions. Here again I would advise that scenario training is the martial artist's best friend. There are three things to consider when evaluating what level of force to use: ability, opportunity and jeopardy. Does the attacker(s) have the ability to cause you severe bodily harm, or even death? Does the attacker(s) have the opportunity to do so? Are you in jeopardy of being harmed? In our outnumbered scenario, with our back to the wall, we can easily justify ability and opportunity by the attackers, and you can likely convey a sense of being in jeopardy at that time. However, with our drunken female friend (or ex-friend...), based on her inebriated state, honestly determining her opportunity or ability to cause harm must be taken into consideration, as well as what kind of jeopardy you feel you are in. True, she has a weapon, but if she is really falling down and vomiting, do you feel in jeopardy of being harmed? Perhaps not, but if you so choose to harm this person, can you justify it? Other Considerations When to use force is rarely difficult to identify. However, when to stop using force can be. Turning the switch off can be tough, but it has to be trained, too. A civilian martial artist doesn't want to cross that line and become the attacker. If a threat becomes neutralized, then it's time to re-evaluate force options. Can you safely escape or detain the attacker until help arrives? Do you feel safe doing so? Is there anyone else in the area that puts you in further danger? It is also important to realize that upon the culmination of a life-threatening event, the blood can boil. It is important to never use force as punishment or retribution. This is a sure way to turn the tables on yourself, going from victim to perpetrator, and all just to "teach them a lesson." Along similar lines, when weapons are brought into play, you want to be sure you can safely and effectively use them without putting the safety of other innocent people at risk, especially with a firearm. The final point I would like to touch on in regards to use of force is the ability to articulate why you did what you did in self defense. After the physical fight, there is always the probability that you will have to speak with the authorities about what happened. As I mentioned earlier, it is important to be able to justify your actions through competent articulation. Explain the feeling of fear you had. Describe the attacker's words and actions toward you. Describe how you tried to defuse the situation. If you pulled a weapon, explain why you felt the need to do so in regards to the attacker's actions. These skills can be honed by debriefing your training scenarios, and choosing proper vocabulary to describe actions taken. Conclusion I hope this article has presented some ideas and concepts for civilian martial artists, both students and instructors alike, to use in training scenarios in regards to various levels of force in self defense. In everything that a martial artist does during their studies, it's important for them to learn that just because one can fight, doesn't necessarily mean one should fight. By implementing the concepts of a force continuum, civilian martial artists can learn not only when it becomes necessary to act, but also how to act, and to what level it is necessary to go to.

Yeah, Alex, it was rep city for sure. But, I learned a ton. 7/11/2014 Police Krav Maga Instructor Course: Day 5, Test Day. Did a bit of weapon retention in the holster to start, then went right into review for the test. And we went hard. And fast. And intense. After a that, probably an hour or so of review, we took a break, then did the physe test. Lots of striking, combatives, self-defense, hand gun and long gun disarms and retention. Then, a final zig-zag drill, where the attacker would just call out with an attack at random, and you had to go, hard, fast, intense, with verbal commands. I was beat after 15 stations....mentally and physically exhausted...and I loved it! We finished with the written test, received our certificate, and that was it. Lots of fun, and recertification will be a blast, too! I took home so many bruises and bumps and scrapes from this training. I'm sure my department will love it, too!

I think there is something to that. However, being in good shape doesn't mean one's cholesterol isn't affected. That's the only thing I would caution on.

Welcome aboard! I look forward to hearing your take on things. How are finding Muay Thai transitioning with Wado Ryu?

7/10/2014 Police Krav Maga Instructor Course: Day 4, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. Lots of review today. Chokes, handgun and longgun disarms and retentions, and combatives. Lots of reps, lots of moving. Test day is tomorrow.

I have done ukemi in Aikido, Combat Hapkido, and some in TKD. However, I don't think of it as one of the most important aspects of the Martial Arts. I think there are other sports, like tumbling, that teach it better. Aikidokas tend to get rather skilled at it, as a result of the energy they provide each other in order to flow with their techniques. I think having a good base in it is important and helpful, but not the most important aspect of the Martial Arts out there.

7/9/2014 Police Krav Maga Instructor Course: Day 3, 8:00 am - 4:40 pm. We reviewed choke defenses from all sides and angles, and went back into handgun disarms. Covered several angles, and even went to the floor with it. We also did handgun retention out of the holster, along with longgun disarms, and that was a blast. We finished with the zig-zag drill today, a nice way to top it off.

Welcome to KarateForums!

We practice the Chang Hon system of TKD forms. However, we don't have all 24 in our syllabus, and we have an extra form that our GM added as a high orange belt form. White belt: Chon Ji Orange belt: Dan Gun, Bo Chung Green belt: Do San, Won Hyo Blue belt: Yul Kok, Joong Gun Brown belt: Toi Gye, Hwa Rang, Choong Moo 1st Dan: Choong Moo (1st recommended), Kwang Gae 2nd Dan: Poe Eun (2nd recommended), Gae Baek 3rd Dan: Se Jong (3rd recommended), Yoo Sin 4th Dan: Choong Jang 5th Dan: need to check... 6th Dan: need to check... (I'm currently 4th Dan).

Kusotare and ps1 make good points here. He may be talented, but he needs to spend some time in the school, working alongside other students and becoming a part of the school. What is this guys goal? For you to test him to black belt, and then what? He leaves and opens his own club? Or leaves and forever tells others how he earned his rank? Some of this could come back on the reputation of your club, too. With all that said, its not uncommon to see someone graded up a bit if their level of skill and understanding warrants it. Understanding is the key. Good athletes can perform atheltic movements pretty well; its what they do. The understanding is the key. Make sure to evaluate that, for sure.