Ron Goin's Blog

TO TOUCH IS TO HEAL, 
TO HURT IS TO STEALA CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE CHI KIND

"It works when done across a room or across the planet. 
I stopped trying to analyze how a long time ago. 
It just works." 

Quote from a Reiki 'expert' as to how Reiki works

"Now you know it's a meaningless question
To ask if those stories are right,
'Cause what matters most is the feeling
You get when you're hypnotized"
Fleetwood Mac, Hypnotized


Bob Balaban, who played cartographer/interpreter David Laughlin in the Spielberg classic, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," had a strange experience one night during that movie's production:

      "In his production diary...Balaban wrote that on the night of July 22, 1976, on the Alabama location shoot, some people thought they saw a UFO over the hangar. By the time everyone ran outside to look, the lights were gone. Spielberg later recalled that, at the time, he believed he had seen his first UFO and became depressed when he found out it was only an Echo satellite." (1)

If I was a betting man I'd place a wager that we've probably all witnessed something that we couldn't immediately explain, that we thought at first just might be a supernatural experience.   

It definitely happened to me:  It was a pleasant, partly cloudy springtime afternoon in 1988. I had been reading in the living room when I heard, or more accurately sensed, a sudden, sharp change in the atmosphere outside my back door. There was a crispness in the air, a vague metallic smell, and a faint taste of copper.  All of the dogs in the neighborhood began to bark and howl at the same time.  When I dashed outside to see what was going on there was a roiling dark cloud hanging so low that I could almost touch it, and my ears popped as if I had suddenly gained altitude.  The laundry hanging on the line was stretched taut and popping loudly in a powerful gust of wind.  A loud whooshing sound rushed past, and as quickly as it had appeared, the thick, black cloud began to dissipate.

I cannot explain what I experienced that day.  An unusual weather event perhaps?  A vortex?  To be honest, and I know that it sounds silly and naive, but my first gut reaction was that this was a close encounter.  

After all, I had seen Spielberg's movie years before, so naturally my mind grasped on to this memory before reason and a rational explanation finally settled in.  

I loved Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  I really thought Spielberg did a great job helping us feel Roy Neary's frustration in trying to come to grips with a startling experience.   

Dreyfus' character Neary is an Indiana power line technician, a man accustomed, we suppose, to routinely tracking down and systematically trouble-shooting problems.  One night he has a life-changing event, one that falls outside the normalcy of his day to day Midwestern existence. He sees flashing lights and floating orbs, and he feels sudden gusts of wind along with bright, burning heat.  He has difficulty convincing others, and his efforts to gather evidence or get others to believe him fail time and again.  His neighbors, and ultimately his own family, distance themselves from this man they know and love as he tragically succumbs to what they believe to be a mental breakdown.  

I liked the way the director has us see the shared vision of those touched by the experience, the way we discover the truth of what they saw, and the validation and ultimate manifestation of that truth.  We and the scientists who are present for that event at the movie's climax finally have the evidence we've known all along.  

Evidence was required.  Hard evidence.  Third tier evidence.

Evidence of Encounters

The very title of Spielberg's movie comes from UFOlogy and speaks to the kind of evidence one would expect from a bona fide UFO encounter.  Here's how the film's trailer describes it:

• Close encounters of the first kind:  Sighting of an unidentified flying object

• Close encounters of the second kind:  Physical evidence of a UFO

• Close encounters of the third kind:  Actual contact.

As Carl Sagan told us, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."  Thus the burden of proof is on the claimant.
How would we treat someone who made such a claim?  Imagine a hypothetical neighbor, let's call him Frank, who makes the following statement:  "A UFO touched down in my backyard last night, and I made contact with the beings inside it."  

When all of us say, "Really?  Seriously?  Okay, show me." Frank can't just say, "It was here, but it's gone now.  You'll just have to believe me."  Frank can't very well respond to our doubts by saying, "I saw what I saw, and I know what I know! Why don't you just prove that a UFO didn't land!"  

Unless and until Frank provides overwhelming evidence, all of us neighbors will remain skeptical.  

Now if Frank is a man of good standing in the community, is known for his honesty and integrity, perhaps has a career in which his powers of observation are key--let's say for the sake of our hypothetical argument that he's a law enforcement officer--then the neighbors might want to work with Frank a little bit, give him the benefit of the doubt. They'll come over, snap some pictures of the area, maybe scoop up some dirt and send it off to the local university for analysis. 

Maybe one of them will suggest a metal detector, or perhaps a Geiger counter...surely the ground will be different where the craft landed.  The grass and plants nearby will be burned to a crisp, or the earth itself or the vegetation may be bare or indented.  Somebody might suggest that we contact the authorities or the nearby Air Force base to see if anything was sighted and reported, maybe see if the FAA has any news.

But if they do all of this and still there's no evidence, then what's Frank to do?  He KNOWS what he saw.  He was THERE.  He EXPERIENCED it first hand.  Everybody else was at home sleeping.  

Frank will need to determine if what he saw was real. Perhaps it was all just a dream.  

In the well-known Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge thinks that indigestion is what's causing him to see the ghosts.  So maybe it was the greasy dinner Frank had before he went to bed.  Or maybe he took one of his wife's sleeping pills, and he just imagined the whole thing.

At any rate, the neighbors will have difficulty siding with poor old Frank until he can come up with something a little more solid than his personal experience.

Another Type of Encounter

This brings us to another hypothetical neighbor, whom we'll call Larry. Larry has been diagnosed with hypertension. Larry went to see his doctor, took the prescribed medication, tried diet and exercise, but he was still having problems.  In desperation Larry tried a healer.  He found a certified 'energy worker,' a practitioner who, after accepting a donation or fee, helps Larry to rebalance his chi/qi.  Within a few sessions Larry not only feels better, he is amazed to discover that his problem has gone away.  

So excited is he that he decides to become a 'certified healer' himself.  He attends courses, meets the requirements and receives his certification.  He now provides this service to a select group of patients.  He even trains others who are interested in becoming 'healers' themselves.

This is not that uncommon.  There are numerous such 'treatments' offered, and many allow participants to obtain certification so they themselves can become 'healers.'

Reiki

Be it cancer, diabetes, arthritis, muscle injuries, or a whole host of diseases, Reiki offers a similar solution.  A Reiki master, it is claimed, can help the individual heal him/herself.

"Really?  Seriously?  Okay, show me!" would be my response.

Reiki, according to scientific analysis, falls in the realm of faith healing and is no more effective than a placebo. People feel relaxed after a session and may even claim a sense of relief of minor symptoms, as would be expected. After all, if I feel bad, and if I have a friendly care giver who takes the time to try to help me feel better, I am sure that I would find comfort in their efforts.  A cool rag on the forehead, gentle reassuring words from someone confident in his or her skills, human kindness, a nice cup of warm tea...these things would definitely help me feel better, less stressed.  If that is all Reiki claimed, I would have no issue.

But that is not what claimants state.  Reiki, it is often claimed, is a form of healing that can manipulate an unseen life force that is within and which surrounds us all.   Health occurs, they believe, when this life force is balanced, in harmony, and flows correctly; and, conversely, discomfort and disease occur when that flow is blocked, becomes imbalanced, or improperly channeled or restricted.  

Let's remember our lessons from Logic 101:  Inductive and deductive reasoning, or what some people refer to as 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' reasoning.  

      "...the difference between inductive and deductive arguments involves the strength of evidence which the author believes the premises to provide for the conclusion, inductive and deductive arguments differ with regard to the standards of evaluation that are applicable to them...at its core, the distinction between deductive and inductive  has to do with the strength of the justification that the author or expositor of the argument intends that the premises provide for the conclusion. If the argument is logically fallacious, it may be that the premises actually do not provide justification of that strength, or even any justification at all. Consider, the following argument:

    All odd numbers are integers.
    All even numbers are integers.
    Therefore, all odd numbers are even numbers.

This argument is logically fallacious because it is invalid. In actuality, the premises provide no support whatever for the conclusion." (2)

So, Reiki starts with the premise or proposition that chi/qi exists.  If one disagrees with this proposition, then it is difficult to proceed with the argument and almost impossible to agree with the conclusion.  

The claimant at this point may then use psuedo-scientific language, claiming that chi/qi is 'bioelectrical energy' within us all, detectable with some standard scientific instruments. Chi/qi is the spark of life, they'll say, or chi/qi is energy vibration at the molecular level, in keeping with quantum theory.  It is the air we breath, the wind that blows around us, the life energy in the plants we eat.  It is real they tell us, but it is also unseen, difficult to measure, and tough to pin down.

Here's how it is described in /reikihealinginstitute.org:  "What is reiki? It is intangible, invisible, formless, not of the senses, a subtle field of energy, the essence of life, universal life energy.  In Reiki healing, you do nothing and achieve everything." (3)


Intangible.  Invisible.  Formless.  But it exists?
As Carl Sagan reminded us, "...what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true. Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I'm asking you to do comes down to believing, in the absence of evidence, on my say-so.” (The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark).

Sagan adds, “One of the reasons for its success is that science has a built-in, error-correcting machinery at its very heart. Some may consider this an overbroad characterization, but to me every time we exercise self-criticism, every time we test our ideas against the outside world, we are doing science. When we are self-indulgent and uncritical, when we confuse hopes and facts, we slide into pseudoscience and superstition."
The Origin of Reiki

So where did the concept of Reiki come from?  Well, in it is claimed that in 1922 Mikao Usui went on a 21-day retreat where he meditated, fasted, and prayed on a mountaintop in Japan for several weeks and “received” the revelation of reiki, the "keys to healing."  He referred to it as a spiritual awakening in which a mysterious, powerful light entered the top of his head.  He felt that his universal awareness was clicked on, and he believed that a great power now emanated from him.  Somehow he knew that this great power could be used to help and heal others.



How Does Reiki Work?


Let's let a practitioner explain it:

     "We are alive because life force is flowing through us. Life force flows within the physical body though pathways called chakras, meridians and nadis. It also flows around us in a field of energy called the aura. Life force nourishes the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body.
 
     "The life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted when we accept, either consciously or unconsciously, negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body.
 
     "Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way. 

     "A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

     "Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery. (4)

One Reiki practitioner described his experience like this:

     "...negative energy (was) transmuted into white light and travelled down to the centre of the earth then returned up my spinal column and carried on into outer space to the centre of the universe and then returned back to me through the crown chakra and down the front of my body through the throat centre then the heart centre and the solar plexus, on to the genitals and in to the perineum, through to the centre of the earth and returned back up my spine and so began this new orbit of energy."(5)

Problems with Reiki

1.  Reiki cannot be explained as a natural phenomenon.  Unlike practitioners of legitimate, scientific medicine, a Reiki 'healer' cannot explain in scientific language what occurs at the molecular level during supposed treatment.  

When challenged, Reiki experts will tell you that science doesn't know everything, and that the nature of Reiki and 'energy work' is outside standard science models and not conducive to empirical research.  

Because a client/patient lies down in a dimly lit room with gentle, relaxing music as a calm, peaceful practitioner uses soothing words and a reassuring bedside manner, a Reiki practitioner will tell you that studies have shown that Reiki is 'effective.'  At healing?  No.  At feeling more relaxed?  Sure.  

Reiki is simply a new name for the concept of 'vitalism.'  As Steven Novella describes it:  "The concept of a human energy field is really just a new name to a several thousand year old concept. Most ancient cultures believed that there was some vital force, an animus which made living things alive, and distinguished them from non-living things. In ancient China this mysterious force was called Chi, in India it was chakra, in Greece animus, and in Rome spiritus. Today the concept still survives in traditional Chinese medicine and Indian ayurveda. Many modern alternative medicine disciplines have also adopted a vitalistic philosophy."

2.  Reiki cannot be shown to be any more valid than placebo.

3.  No evidence has been found for the existence of 'energy flows,' and thus there is no evidence that one can manipulate this invisible, unmeasurable, non-existent energy.  Novellas says that "Today the depth of knowledge of physiology and biochemistry is vast. At no point in any biology laboratory has anyone detected a mysterious force which is responsible for any aspect of life. Nor is there any deep and pervasive mystery about how living organisms function that requires the hypothesis of a life force to keep things going. The concept of a life force is completely without empirical evidence or theoretical need for its existence, and is therefore best viewed as an ancient pre-scientific superstition."

When put to the test, practitioners of Therapeutic Touch, a treatment similar to Reiki, performed no better than would be expected by chance.  In 1998 Emily Rosa, at that time 9 years old, was able to show that even those practitioners with many years of experience could not detect the presence of the HEF or "human energy field."

4.  Reiki is one of many so-called CAM (Complimentary and Alternative Medicine) treatments such as homeopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, Ayurveda.  Most of these do not require medical degrees or thorough knowledge of human anatomy, biology, or chemistry.  When questioned, Reiki practitioners switch gears whenever it's convenient.  Tell Reiki practitioners that they have to be licensed by the State in order to provide massage, and they'll tell you that they do not actually come in contact with the patient during treatment.  Tell them that they need to be licensed if they claim to be healers, and they'll tell you that Reiki is merely a spiritual practice and should be exempt.  Or they'll tell you that they themselves do not heal, but instead the patient him/herself does the healing.

5.  Although no evidence has been provided, and no tests have validated the claims, Reiki practitioners claim that it can be used as part of a 'holistic treatment' for cancer.  Some believe that this is both unethical and exploitative.  Here's a great point from Brian Hughes:  "when obtaining informed consent (an ethical requirement for any therapeutic intervention), do Reiki practitioners really inform their patients about Reiki? For example, do they inform patients that the cumulative research literature shows no treatment efficacy for Reiki with regard to any medical condition? Do they inform patients that the claim that vital energy can be redirected through a person’s body in a way that promotes well-being (or that such energy even exists) is made without any foundation whatsoever? If Reiki practitioners fail to mention such points then it is very questionable whether ‘informed’ consent can be said to have been obtained at all. Failing to obtain informed consent prior to treatment is simply unethical."

6.  Reiki is essentially a cult-like pyramid scheme.  Like the treatment?  Then learn to be a Reiki expert.  Want to share it with others?  Once trainess have payed to receive credentials, they may then go on to teach other trainees.

7.  Reiki is not, as philosopher Karl Popper demanded, falsifiable.  Instead it is a faith-based practice.  "One of the tenets behind science," says Martyn Shuttleworth, "is that any scientific hypothesis and resultant experimental design must be inherently falsifiable. Although falsifiability is not universally accepted, it is still the foundation of the majority of scientific experiments."  Popper stated that a scientific claim must be able to withstand the rigors of testing; it must be disprovable. (6)
I do not in any way suggest that therapeutic massage is not valid.  Nor am I suggesting that relaxation is not beneficial during the healing process.  But I do suggest that unethical, exploitative, costly, unproven, unscientific/psuedo-scientific treatments should not be considered as an option for anyone who needs valid medical treatment, either as a replacement for bona fide medical care nor as an augmentation of such care.  Scientific medicine knows so much more than primitive tribal healers and shamans.  It has unlocked the human genetic code, developed medicines and treatments to save lives, treat diseases, and promote longer and healthier lives.

Some people fear medicine or have a distrust of modern medicine.  They read the statistics about malpractice and severe health risks and even deaths which occur in hospitals as a result of negligence or as a result of a patient receiving the wrong medicine or incorrect dosages.  As a result of this fear and/or mistrust, or because many simply cannot afford the rising cost of medical services, CAM is often considered as a valid alternative.  I disagree.  I certainly contend that the current state of medicine is flawed and needs major reform.  But the science behind modern medicine is not the issue.  Most of the problems are a result of procedure, technology, inadequate training, and human error.

CAM treatments, such as Reiki, have no place in modern medicine.  









http://www.theskepticsguide.org/resources/logicalfallacies.aspx
http://www.reiki.org/reikinews/sciencemeasures.htm
http://rehab.ucla.edu/workfiles/Urban%20Zen/Research%20Articles/Reiki_Really_Works-A_Groundbreaking_Scientific_Study.pdf
http://thesciencebit.net/2011/03/18/reiki-cancer-and-the-problem-of-informed-consent/ 
http://www.theness.com/index.php/therapeutic-touch/ 
http://explorable.com/falsifiability

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MAN Interview with Personal Protection Coach Jamie Clubb
"I was born into a travelling circus family around street fighters and wild animal trainers."   A great opening line to a bestselling mystery suspense novel?  Nope.  A description of an action movie character?  Uh uh.  No, in this case, it's not a novel, and it's not a movie.  It's all true, and it refers to a unique individual.  Like the Chimera, the mythical composite creature that forms the logo of his martial arts program, he is a man of many dimensions--prolific writer, talented martial artist, and exceptional teacher--Jamie Clubb.

Don't just take my word for it.  Listen to what some of the world's top instructors have to say about Jamie:

"The intellectual dimension in reality training, putting brains behind the brawn."  Mo Teague

"...one of the most insightful martial artists it's ever been my pleasure to meet.  His direct methods and practical approach cut right to the heart of functional self protection."  Iain Abernathy

"...a great teacher and an amazing man of martial knowledge, I recommend him highly."  Geoff Thompson

I have been reading Jamie's articles for several years...detailed notes about his most recent classes, movie and novel reviews, insightful glimpses into history, and well-researched articles about modern, cutting-edge personal protection, training methods and nutrition.  

I was excited when Jamie agreed to an interview, and I think my readers will be taken with Jamie's passion, vision, and critical thinking approach.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Ron Goin:  YOU COME TO THE MARTIAL ARTS WITH AN INTERESTING PEDIGREE; I.E., YOUR CIRCUS/ENTERTAINMENT BACKGROUND.  WHAT UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES DOES THAT PROVIDE YOU?

Jamie Clubb:  Where do you start! Circus provides you with a fantastic microcosm of life. 
Firstly, British/European traditional circus, which is what I was born into, is multicultural. That provides you with a well-rounded insight into society. My family, on my mother’s side, has an alleged three century unbroken lineage of performers (when I did my martial arts act I became part of the eighth generation of performers). Our earliest ancestor was supposedly descended from the Huguenots who travelled over the Pyrenees and then made it into England to escape persecution. In 1984 a set of postal stamps were commissioned to commemorate the first recorded person bearing our family name who performed at the frost fair in 1684 when the river Thames in London froze over. 

So, when traditional, classical and quasi-traditional martial artists try to talk to me about my lack of insight into culture and tradition it brings a smile to my face. These martial artists often do this because of my rather modern approach to training and my often irreverence to what I see to be dogmatic, archaic and fundamentally flawed in martial arts practice. I understand and respect tradition, but I am not bound by its artificial trappings and perceived rules. 

Circus brings together people from all walks of life. Like many things in life and particularly the world of martial arts, it is a mass of paradoxes and contradictions. It has a long history of being patronized by royalty and the circus has more than its fair share of hierarchies and nepotism. However, many people gained middle-class status through pioneering circuses. Still more people came from working class and even poverty-stricken backgrounds to gain success. Circus was one of the first businesses to employ ex-slaves and people with perceived disabilities. Likewise there was little in the way of gender lines when it came to work. Women worked wild animal acts long before they got the vote, and one British woman was even the director of a circus before women received equal age voting in the UK. The circus way was if you can work, if you can take the hardship and prove yourself, you can be whatever you like in the business. My grandfather often showed off the fact that millionaire circus directors would make sure their children drove stakes into the ground and that they worked harder than the people they employed. My dad came from a wealthy family and was employed by a circus in a bid, by his father, to put him off his chosen career path (to become a wild animal trainer). 


So, I met all sorts of people and had a very wide range of experiences as I grew up. Many of the soft skills I now teach people in self-protection come from my upbringing on circus and being around circus people. My mother, like any circus mother was vigilant about making sure I was switched on and understood certain dangers. My grandfather used to throw things at my dad when he least expected it to sharpen his reactions. 

As for actual combat, most circus people have experience in fighting. Far more recently than many would like to admit, circus and fairgrounds (you call them carnivals) were indistinguishable. My family has both circus and fairground branches. Up until the 1950s many circuses travelled with fairs. Boxing and wrestling have a lot of history in circuses and fairs. During the turn of the 20th century boxing was often a part of a circus. The light heavyweight champion, Freddie Mills, fought on my grandparents’ circus in the boxing booths. Most of the males in my family learnt how to box. Due to often being the stranger in a new town and vulnerable to all sorts of enemy, circus people learnt how to “cor” through experience. 

Circus people have also been forced to be creative and resourceful with their physical training. Not having access to gyms they improvise all the time and the wide variety of different artists living on a show provides something of a melting pool of information once trust is won. Their basic work is hard honest labour – building up tents and big tops, swinging sledgehammers, carrying bales of hay and straw, putting up seating (what you would call bleachers) and sweeping up. That is before you get the actual performing, which requires human beings to be able to go far beyond what the average amateur athlete does in their chosen sport or physical activity. Circus people are also very used to training in all sorts of conditions. 

It is interesting to see the renewed enthusiasm for “functional fitness”. Much of the work, from the routines involving carrying unbalanced weights to the more sophisticated bar and street gym stuff, can be found on a circus. I am looking to bring in professional circus artists to provide more information; knowledge and experience to this area of training in order for martial arts athletes to greater explore these attributes. 

Finally circus has given me skepticism. Because our ancestors were largely involved in tricking audiences in one form or another, whether it was fortune telling or magic, I have learnt not to drink the proverbial Kool Aid. Critical thinking is a vital area missing from martial arts coaching. 

RG:  PRO WRESTLING…THE BANE OF MANY SPORTS FANS OR THE RAGE AMONG OTHERS…WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THAT FIELD AND MA?

JC:  There is something very hypocritical about the way many martial artists look down on professional wrestling. If wu shu, stage fighting, musical forms/patterns and demonstrations are to be considered part of martial arts, then so is professional wrestling. Professional wrestlers are martial artists. They perform a combat art. I am not, nor have I ever been a professional wrestler. I ran a promotion and played a manager character that came from a martial arts act I performed in our show. However, I have nothing but the deepest respect for those who work in the pro wrestling business. 

If they are trained correctly, the professional wrestler or “worker” learns the catch-as-catch-can style first as part of their basics. They learn how to grapple with resisting opponents, understanding holds, positioning, throws, takedowns and submissions. Old school catch wrestling is much like submission grappling, but includes neck cranks. Stuntman and ex-professional wrestler “Judo” Gene LeBelle had his basic instruction in wrestling. He called one aspect of his training “grappling”, which he described as what I guess some martial arts marketing guru might call “dirty wrestling”. It included all the face-bars, finger-locks and illegal grappling moves. Few people realize that Ken Shamrock was a pro-wrestler first and a mixed martial arts fighter second in his career. The careers of Brock Lesner and Kurt Angle should also be taken into consideration. 

The “worked” nature of professional wrestling probably goes back further than many people would like to admit. It seems very likely that many of the old school catch wrestlers fought in matches with pre-determined endings and against “stooges”. They would have to in order to have a career where they might be fighting every night against anyone who decided they wanted to have a go. I would say that this included some of late 19th century music hall ju jutsu fighters and many of the circus/fairground boxers. The alternative makes a heroic story, but would be career suicide given the nature of non-worked fights of the time. This does not mean that these grapplers were not genuinely tough people who fought in legitimate bouts, but the same can be said about a lot of professional wrestlers today. 

RG:  I KNOW THAT THERE ARE ‘WORKED’, PRE-DETERMINED EVENTS, BUT CAN PRO WRESTLING TECHNIQUES BE MODIFIED TO WORK IN MA/ON THE STREET?

JC:  All the basic professional wrestling moves are legitimate combat techniques. Much of their positioning contains essential grappling tactics. The orthodox clothesline is a legitimate combat technique in many forms of fighting. Waist-locks, supplexes, ankle picks, headlocks, the top wrist-lock (comparable to the Americana or figure-of-four armlock) and fireman’s carry are all functional fighting moves. There are also grovettes (similar to the guillotine), various limb-locks, eye-rakes and “dirty” tactics. 

They might have “spots” with their over-the-top power moves, drop-kicks and high flying, but I ask you to then consider any high level aikido, traditional ju jutsu, hapkido, taekwondo or wu shu demonstration. On the more flashy side of things their short-clothesline is comparable to an aikido irimi/tenkan movement and the scissors takedown can be found in any number of viet vo dao displays. 




RG:  YOU SEEM TO APPROACH MOST OF YOU WORK WITH A REAL SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS.  WHERE DID THIS APPROACH COME FROM?  WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU?

JC:  I think initially my “scientific” analysis comes from a type of informally learned skepticism. See my circus education for the beginnings of that. Also I received a children’s book called “The Hamlyn Book of Facts and Fallacies” on my tenth birthday. I had always loved mythology and folklore, so this book opened me up to looking at the real facts behind them. It taught me formal critical thinking in a fun way. Being an avid historian I became meticulous about fact-finding and distilling them from legends. 

I don’t think I have what would normally be classed a scientific brain. I was terrible at maths and science at school; my mind was more drawn towards English, history and cultural studies. However, as I got more heavily involved in debunking misinformation and disinformation through my martial arts coaching and other pursuits, I kept finding that the scientific method was the best tool available to get plausible answers. I couldn’t deny it, so I became what Penn Jillette described as “A cheerleader for science”. 

Science, unlike any other method, is constantly progressing. Rather than pursuing the removal of error and comfort of certainty, science constantly seeks to disprove facts and embraces uncertainty. Such an approach, which has proven to give us all our advances in technology and discoveries about the world around us, seems perfect to better improve skills we might need to save our life.  

RG:  DO YOU FEEL THAT SCIENTIFIC/SKEPTICAL INQUIRY/DEBUNKING HAS MADE AN IMPACT ON MA?  DOES FRAUD CONTINUE TO EXIST/GROW, OR IS IT ON THE DOWNSWING?

JC:  Martial arts are comparable to any other subculture and we can see an ever-present struggle of science and reason against superstition, pseudoscience and dogmatism. Science has been embraced by martial artists at a relatively early stage. 18th century western boxing was referred to as a science. Martial arts used in a military context were often trained using scientific principles that go back centuries. We know warfare often progressed with science and therefore it follows so did the martial methods. In 20th century, traditional systems like karate have undergone scientific changes in their training methodology, such as those brought in my Shigeru Kimura in the shukokai school. General Choi Hong Hi of taekwondo fame was often researching sports science and included it in his literature. Similarly I recently looked over an old book - “The Complete Master’s Kick” - I got way back at the beginning of my martial arts studies, written by Hee Il Cho, that has an amazing amount of scientific information on the development of kicking techniques. It not only correctly identifies the muscle groups involved and the role they play, but also provides various exercises to help condition these specific muscles. Many instructors in American Kempo can provide you with intricate descriptions of the physics involved in their techniques, and the taekwondo offshoot, choi kwan do, is seemingly obsessed with body mechanics. 

It is not the presence of science that is the problem in martial arts. Rather it is the lack of a scientific method. Science has never been my strong point, and most martial arts instructors have better mathematical brains than me. Many others are qualified in sports science. However, I often have little difficulty finding faults in what is often being taught. This is because martial arts are institutionalized under the wrong objectives. They become comparable to cults in that they are either trying to progress an ideology or a business or both. 

Charlatanism became a part of many martial practices around the turn of the 20th century when they became more accessible to the general public. The suppression of martial arts also led to a lot of disruption in the effective training of combat systems. In order to survive against governments hostile to the idea of civilians forming militias it is understandable why in China and Japan many martial arts schools needed to change their objectives in order to survive. It is also understandable why the use of dance and ritual might be incorporated to hide certain strategies and tactics. 

Furthermore, I understand from my circus background just how jealously certain arts and skills can be protected. I have known wild animal trainers, for example, who trained animals using unusual cues so that anyone else trying to work these particular animals would not be able to get them to perform. Although I am dubious about many claims made about “secret” techniques and styles, it does follow that many families wouldn’t teach “outsiders” (in circus we used to call them “jossers”) everything. This would form part of the bad teaching practices. However, given what we know about human anatomy and physics now it begs the question just how much can really be hidden in the modern world. 

Then we have the commercialization of martial arts that occurred around this era. There is a lot of primary source material indicating the use of street entertainment stunts, including fakir tricks and acrobatics, in China that were used to promote schools to the general public. This was heavily criticized by Tang Hao. This man is an unsung martial arts hero who deserves more attention. This revolutionary –and I mean that quite literally – was preaching critical thinking in martial arts almost 100 years ago. He was openly critical of the flowery and unnecessary movements that were being taught in the more popular Chinese martial arts schools and advocated cross-training, working a lot in Japan. He was also a fan of pressure testing and his writings are comparable with any of those involved in what I called the “Reality Revolution” of 1990s martial arts.  

He wasn’t alone either. Throughout the 20th century we regularly come across martial arts rebels that challenged the current order. The same messages reoccur again and again with science often being used as the best method to get the right answers. These people do stand out, but they do so because they are a very loud minority and they are a stark contrast to the norm. Their presence is both encouraging and a reminder of the dangerous lure of ritual and certainty that appeals to most people. It also serves as a sobering response both to the quasi-traditionalists who argue that no one had any issue with certain methods until modern times. 

RG:  IS THERE A PLACE FOR TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS IN THIS NEW 21ST CENTURY, REALITY-BASED WORLD?

JC:  Traditional martial arts, at their core, are no different to “reality-based” self-defence. Their original objective was to be an effective fighting system. True, some were developed in different environmental and cultural contexts, and for another era, but there are basic principles found in their roots that apply to any era.  Unfortunately their institutionalization and commercialization led to their descent into impractical training methods that no more prepare the average person for real-life violence than a dance or aerobics class. However, the same can be said for many so-called modern self-defence systems. It is not the system that is largely at fault, but rather how it is being taught. 

Your average traditional martial arts class does not teach effective self-protection. The school is teaching their personal interpretation of an art often enforced by the “party line” of the association. Whether they are being true to the intentions of that art’s founder is a matter for debate, but the objective of the class is to perfect techniques to represent the style rather than develop individuals to best find their unique way. They are trying to preserve an intangible commodity and will fall over themselves to justify their actions rather to question anything.  In this respect, I often find myself having more respect for your average battle reenactment person than the average martial artist. Both dress in uniforms from another era and both try to be as accurate as possible in their physical representation of said era. Both try to be as safe as possible in their recreation of something that was designed to kill people when it was used in this era. The difference is the reenactor is not really under any delusion. He does not pretend that his skills and practice has a direct relevance to the world that exists outside of his reenactment society. Even those reenactors who spar under pressure and fight to win know they are not equipping themselves for modern-day warfare or self-defence. 

However, I cannot be wholly dismissive of the traditional martial arts world when there are people like Iain Abernethy and Gavin Mulholland in karate, Alan Gibson, Andras Milward, Alan Orr, Dave Fenton and Mauricio Machuca  in wing chun, Stuart Anslow and Matt Sylvester in taekwondo, and several others out there teaching traditional martial arts as practical systems. The burden of proof is no longer on the shoulders of these people. Not only are they teaching very sensible methods for self-protection that are at least as good as the best modern combative programmes out there, but they have the verifiable evidence that what they are teaching is completely in line with the traditional roots of their arts. 




RG:  YOU SEEM TO BE COMMITTED TO TEACHING MA NOT JUST ‘HOW-TO’ BUT ‘WHY’…HOW IMPORTANT IS CRITICAL THINKING TO THE AVERAGE MARTIAL ARTIST?  CAN IT BE TAUGHT AS PART OF A MA CURRICULUM?

JC:  As wary as I am of the self-help movement, I put my hand up and admit that I was very impressed with Stephen R. Covey’s three components to creating effective habits: why, what and how. I start with “why” otherwise your training has no clearly defined objective. This is something I bear in mind when it comes to teaching martial artists my “Vagabond Warriors” cross-training approach. Cross-training is certainly nothing new. Just about every established combat form is the result of cross-training in some way. Coaches draw upon their personal experiences, which often includes information taken from outside the discipline they are teaching, and use it to mold their lessons. However, we live in an exciting time when information is more readily available and open than before, so students are accessing it without guidance. 

If they are going to do this, then they need to have a good mental compass installed set by the reason why they are training in another discipline. If we see their primary discipline as being a path then the cross-training experiences become diversions or slip-roads. The student goes into these diversions and with a clear and defined purpose. 

If done correctly, this tangent is an enriching journey that will greatly enhance the cross-trainer’s main skills. He will be able to take these experiences back to the main path. The judoka’s newaza will be greatly improved by his time training in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Likewise the Thai boxer’s punching will have become faster and stronger thanks to his time focusing on this range in western boxing. 

However, this process of taking tangents doesn’t come without its pitfalls. It is a perilous journey and in order to acquire attributes from another system one needs to immerse oneself in it and go through a period of detachment from the original path. The danger here is something I call “The Calypso Effect”. The cross-trainer can become so drawn into another style that he forgets his original path. Worse still, he invests so much into the new style that he starts to justify its practice as if it were the original path. 

Another problem is something I call “welding techniques”. In this instance, the martial artist thinks he can take techniques from one system and apply them verbatim to the confines of a set system. Not to mix metaphors, but you get this weird patchwork of techniques that just appears awkward and is rarely effective. This is caused by a belief in “stylism” and a complete ignorance of attribute training. It is the attributes one gains from other styles that help him improve his primary skills. For the self-defence student, western boxing will give him better familiarity, fluidity and a stronger focus on the mechanics behind striking with the hands; wrestling will help his stability, provide him with tactile awareness and positioning when being clinched and so on. However, this is still superficial in my mind. The greatest education I have acquired came from teachers irrespective of their style or system. When martial artists start thinking more in terms of people rather than arts as if they were tangible entities I think we are going to see a better development of holistic skill. 

Critical thinking is one of three missing ingredients from most martial arts lessons, the other two being clarification and individuality. So many philosophies and religions have become installed in martial ways, so why not skepticism? Learning critical thinking puts a student in charge of his education. Most martial arts are about training individuals to take control. Skepticism is the best way to get someone to take charge. It puts them in that mindset. You should always question what you are teaching and what you are learning. It is the only way to keep you moving in a productive fashion. It stops stagnation. You hear a lot about people stepping out of their comfort zones, but nothing quite does that like critical thinking. I am not talking about being blatantly argumentative. That is not really skepticism, but often pseudoscepticism masquerading as critical thinking. Questioning anything is important, but your argument must have just cause, and if you are going to pose an alternative view you should appreciate that the burden of proof falls on your shoulders. 

I think a teacher of any discipline should do their best to take their student back to the base of what they are studying. All good English literature teachers have their students act the plays of Shakespeare and have them see how they are performed. All good science teachers will take a student through the experimental procedures of an established theory. As teachers we need to best replicate the lived experience of what we are practicing. A martial arts student needs to know where their training comes from and to feel what drives that process. In the beginning there was one individual who decided his methods were best and, in many cases, this was a direct criticism of an established system. Martial arts founders were skeptics. They critically questioned and came up with the solution they felt best addressed the flaws of the art that came before them. 

When it comes to teaching someone something that might save their lives I think it is a disservice not to promote critical thinking. Critical thinking is at the heart of what keeps people safe and the only way we can seek to improve. 

RG:  IF A STUDENT NEVER FACED OR NEVER WILL FACE A REAL WORLD, VIOLENT ENCOUNTER, WOULD MA TRAINING STILL BE AN IMPORTANT INVESTMENT OF TIME?

JC:  Define “important”. I see this question as having two parts. Firstly, what is the point of martial arts practice? Secondly, what is the point of self-protection training? 

To answer the first part, it would be so easy for me to become one of those instructors who tell you what fantastic value martial arts can give to a person’s life, but the truth is that there isn’t a single quality a martial art can provide for a human being that another activity cannot deliver besides dealing with violence. The unique quality a martial art provides is its study and practice of physical violence. 

Martial arts were either developed as combat sports used for dueling and any other form of alpha male or female contest, as military skills or for civilian protection. The success of martial arts as a means to better one’s self and build character is not something that is integral to the systems, but rather down to the fact that academics helped popularize it, and the self-improvement model aided the art’s survival under oppressive regimes. 

I appreciate that is a contentious view and it hasn’t been a politically correct one in the world of martial arts since the 19th century, but I haven’t seen a plausible argument against this simple fact. I agree, wholeheartedly, that martial arts has given me so much more in life than as a means for self-defence, and I fully endorse the promotion of its many other attributes. 

There is a lot a person can get out of a good martial arts class other than learning skills for combat, but I just do not see them as unique qualities. You want physical discipline then I challenge you to join a dance company. You want philosophy or to become “spiritual” then study philosophy or join a religion; both contain far more original ideas about introspection and the way we look at life than any amount of re-readings of “The Book of Five Rings”. You want healing then study medicine or therapy. You want to lose fat then monitor your food intake and take regular exercise; there are more than enough physical exercise routines out there that do not involve punching anything. You want to learn about virtue or integrity then go work for a worthy charity. None of these areas are either unique to the martial arts. Furthermore, they are by-products. 

As for the second part of the answer, my view is that self-defence, as defined as the physical or “hard” skills of self-protection, should be limited and be specific by design. The baseline of this is civilian self-defence, which everyone should know whatever their profession. However, this should be no more than the way a good and efficient First Aid course is handled. My experience has shown me that there is no set way of handling interpersonal violence although there are certain generic constants that seem to stand fast. A good self-protection course should be taught in 10 hours with additional research material. Your average civilian who has no desire to become employed in any form of security work need only to apply the soft skills they are taught, remain in good physical health, practice the low-maintenance/high percentage success rate physical tactics and attend refresher courses to be reasonably prepared for the unlikely event of having to face a violent human aggressor within a civilian context.   

As Dennis “Samurai on the Door” Jones - perhaps one of the most honest martial artists and self-defence experts I have met - once told me, everyone still alive is an expert on self-protection. What he meant was that whatever methods a person had used in life to get where they were the very fact that they remained alive verified the self-defence decisions they had taken. Many people have actively avoided physical conflict and never really been put much in the way of interpersonal violence. Who is to say they haven’t lived? I know plenty that have travelled the world alone and through a combination of common sense, intelligence and the correct attitude they have not put themselves in unnecessarily risky situations. Likewise I know any number of people who have been involved in physical fights all their lives mainly through general recklessness, bullying, a lack of self-control, substance abuse and a desire to commit criminal acts. They would be the last people I would want teaching someone how to protect themselves. Unfortunately the latter often get far more credit than they deserve. 

There is nothing wrong in training in an art for the sake of enjoyment, so long as you are not deluding yourself. I love the preservation of history and, art. Oscar Wilde once said “All art is useless”. If that is a fair definition then where does that leave martial arts? As practitioners we acknowledge those moments that don’t have a direct relevance to a sporting or self-defence purpose, and train them accordingly. There are many people who indulge in the perfection of completely archaic crafts that have no justification other than their place as art. And there is something very poetic and beautiful in that. I appreciate that training for performance does have a purpose, and I did it myself, but it was within that context that I really appreciated the enjoyment of exploring what could be best described as abstract martial arts.  

So, I am very supportive of the positive by-products of training in a martial art and I have nothing but admiration for anyone who seeks to perfect any art that grips their passion. However, do not patronize me with some wishy washy story about the central purpose of your art having nothing to do with violence. Even systems that have completely shifted their objective away from combat, such as boxercise, taebo or the “health-only” variety of tai chi chuan, have their roots in systems designed for handling and dealing out violence. I do not disagree in using a martial art or an activity derived from a martial art as a vehicle to achieve ends other than to deal with violence, but let us never lie about the original intended purpose. 


RG:  WOULD YOU CONSIDER WHAT YOU DO PART OF THE MIXED MA WORLD?  AFTER ALL, YOU SEEM TO MIX AND MATCH AND BLEND METHODOLOGY AND TECHNIQUES FROM A WIDE SOURCE.

JC:  Let’s be clear about what we are discussing. I am an eclectic martial arts coach. I am a cross-trainer. I teach and practice the sport that is most commonly referred to as mixed martial arts. I think it is time that the title “mixed martial arts” and its acronym should be recognized as the excellent combat sport it has become. It transcended being merely a rule-set. It has become an athletic art-form. I think it has earned that title, which is a damn sight more respectable than “cage fighting” or “no holds barred” fighting. We cannot really use the term “vale tudo”, as that title never really took on and belongs to a specifically Brazilian rule-set. 

I say this because there are many who claim to be teaching and training in MMA and they are not. They might be training in a mixture of martial arts disciplines, but they are not training MMA. This is misleading marketing for prospective students and distorts the public view of the sport and art. MMA is a combat sport that teaches stand-up, clinch and ground based on a framework that largely draws upon systems that either are or closely resemble western boxing, muay Thai, freestyle wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu. My opinions on this are better laid in detail in my article “Mixed Martial Arts and the Quest for Integrity”.   

I am very wary about attaching myself to any world. A few of my students over the years have gone on to compete successfully in a small degree, but I don’t run a gym or have plans to build up a stable of fighters. I only have a small regular class for children. All my other training comes in the form of seminars, workshops and private training. I use MMA and other martial arts methods as a means for cross-training to enhance self-defence development or as part of combat conditioning. In effort to categorize me, you could say that I train in MMA as an art rather than as a competitive sport, but I would hate you for eternity if you did. So, I guess the short answer is I don’t know; probably not. 

RG:  CAN YOU SHARE WITH US SOME OF YOUR MORE MEMORABLE MA EXPERIENCES?  ONES THAT SHAPED YOUR THINKING/BECAME THE CATALYST FOR YOUR CURRENT APPROACH?

JC:  Fantasy and escapism got me into martial arts. Having grown up in show business and experienced many of its different forms, celebrities did not hold the awe they do for most people. My heroes were martial artists. First they came in the form of the comic book ninjas from “G.I. Joe” (we knew it as “Action Force”), Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, and then whoever appeared in “Combat” magazine. My intention was to create a martial arts act and return to the circus, but the combative nature of martial arts ensnared me. I bought into what I would later term “the by-product myth” and assumed the artistic skills I would learn automatically improved my ability to fight in real life. 

I lapped up the mythology and selectively believed the martial arts propaganda. Then I started reading articles written by a rising new star called Geoff Thompson. Thompson rocked the UK martial arts scene and, along with Peter Consterdine, really forged the way for the “reality-based” sector to stand alongside the sporting and traditional martial arts. At first I really hated what he had to say. I read everything he had to say about my beloved arts like a New Earth Creationist might read “Origin of the Species”. Then reality hit me, figuratively and literally. 

I agreed to a couple of sparring sessions with some untrained individuals. They worked for my parents’ company that, at its heart, is still very much like a circus business. I was 18 years old at the time, a black belt in sakiado and making my way to black in taekwondo. We used what protective equipment I had available – semi-contact pads – and within seconds I realized they had an entirely different approach to sparring than me. All had clocked up a lot of experience fighting outside of any area that could be considered a gym. They hit hard and fast, and had little observation of rules. Due to the sport taekwondo format I had got used to, my leg was grabbed and I was unceremoniously thrown to the ground whenever I kicked. In the end it just became milling and defaulted back to how I fought years before. I gripped one fighter’s tee-shirt and fired rapid uppercuts into him. My conditioning gave me the edge over these guys, but if the situation had been even less controlled I could have paid dearly for bad habits I had picked up. 

It is at this point I would like to point out that just as intelligence is no barrier against weird thinking, experience with real violence is no defence against martial mysticism. I had grown up knowing full well what a real fight looked like, but my fantasy world of martial arts presented me with a reality I wanted to believe. As I did well against other martial arts in a competitive context and rose to the top of classes, and impressed middle-classed kids who didn’t know any better with my flashy kicks, I had ended up believing a dangerous lie. Now the writings of Geoff Thompson resonated with me. I read them all again and immediately wrote to him, purchasing some of his books. He posted back handwritten letters, addressing all my concerns and offered me advice. I asked if I could attend one of his regular classes. He agreed, but it was not to happen until 11 years later. 

RG:  YOU HAVE WRITTEN A GREAT DEAL ABOUT FITNESS AND NUTRITION…WHY ARE THOSE FIELDS IMPORTANT?  WHAT HAVE YOU DISCOVERED ABOUT THESE FIELDS THAT HAS RELEVANCE FOR MA?

JC:  Martial arts are about physical performance. If you wish to improve physical performance it makes sense that you get your base material right. I contend that physical conditioning is very important whatever your martial motivations. The stronger, faster and healthier your body, the more conditioned your mind is to cope with extreme exertions stimulated by stress hormones the better prepared you are for dealing with combat. However, fitness needs to be specific. You wouldn’t train a tennis player as you would a swimmer. So, martial arts need to be focused on their objectives and their training should be reverse engineered from these objectives.

Training programmes must all follow specific goals. The grappler has to train certain muscle groups in certain ways and likewise with the striker. The student of self-defence not only has to condition his counter-offensive physical skills so they are instinctive to him when placed under pressure, but a strong cardiovascular system will give himself an advantage when it comes to fleeing a scene.  

There is an awful lot of nonsense spouted about nutrition, and it has inevitably spilled over into the martial arts world. The connection is obvious given the way most martial arts resemble religions, and so many religions have some sort of dietary rule. Controlling food, one of most basic needs for survival, is at the core of controlling people. Martial artists clearly get wound up both in the self-control aspect and sadly the control of others. 

With a lack of critical thinking, fad diets are taken on board with fervor by the dedicated martial artist who wishes to improve his training. And just as many have irrational belief in the supremacy of their chosen style, so they will invest themselves in whatever piece of pseudoscientific diet that appeals to their ideals. 

Nutrition is an important part of athletic performance. You need to feed the muscles you have broken down in training and then grow them with sufficient sleep. It is that simple. However, very few people can sustain a diet for the rest of their lives. This is pretty much an established fact, and yet new fad diets are still big business, and gaining support from all sorts of lifestyle and sports publications. When it comes to losing weight most diets work during the initial stages. This is because we are thinking about what we put in our bodies. We become mindful of our food intake. 

This is the crux of the matter. We need to be mindful of how we train and how we eat. When thought is applied, you have a better chance of success. Mindful training makes you question the validity of an exercise and better research your routines. You can measure your results in the efficiency of your physical martial arts skills rather than just jumping on the back of a semi-body builder type regime as most people do. Being mindful eating helps prevent “mindless munching”, helps you monitor your calorie intake and will make you think twice about excessive eating of sugar, fat or salt.  

RG:  TELL US ABOUT THE PROGRAM YOU NOW TEACH…IS IT A NEW ‘STYLE’?  WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE/DIFFERENT?

JC:  If anything it is an anti-style. My syllabus doesn’t even contain any techniques. I am a bespoke coach that puts the individual at the centre of their training. Our only guides are those presented by pressure testing and science. I create activities and experiences for an individual to express their natural combative behaviours. This is not unlike the way animal trainers teach wild animals how to perform in a set way. Everything they learn is an extension of their natural behavior. I then cultivate these responses into natural techniques. This is the complete opposite to the usual way of teaching students set techniques, putting them into drills and/or forms and then putting them into live practice. I go in the opposite direction, eventually ended up with simple suggestions for solo practice so they can retain the skills they have begun to refine. 

My training is time managed. Everything is geared towards a purpose. Because I am less technique-led I am more interested in creating exercises that will help reinforce behaviours. This includes developing neural pathways and replicating the correct force vectors. Again, I notice this is more in line with circus training. Trapeze artists, for example, learn how to perform their skills through practicing a series of exercises designed to train the muscles in a certain way.   

I have various different programmes and services that can be roughly categorized under self-protection and martial arts cross-training. It includes children’s self-protection, work-specific self-protection, combat conditioning and my Vagabond Warriors programme. I have been booked out by a variety of clients both local and international. These include corporate companies, such as the Law Society, universities, close-protection (body-guarding) centres, various martial arts clubs, young people’s clubs, schools and many individual private students. 

RG:  WHAT FEEDBACK ARE YOU RECEIVING FROM YOUR CLIENTS AFTER TRAINING WITH YOU?

JC:  What many like is the overall service I provide. Those who have worked with other instructors like the way I individualize and tailor my coaching. My clients get online support in addition to the hands-on training. This happens prior and after their actual lesson with me. They like the fact that I bring them into an online community, and they are given access to a wide range of useful resources specifically chosen for their needs. Every lesson I run is written up as a report with additional notes included for maximum retention of information. Clubs also benefit from the extra exposure my reports provide. 

RG:  WHAT TRENDS IN MA ENTERTAINMENT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT/ENCOURAGED BY/DISCOURAGED BY? (I.E. FIGHT SCENES IN MOVIES AND TV, SPORT COMBAT)

JC:  My taste in fight choreography is very broad. I have been involved in show business all my life and also an ardent movie buff. My interest extends from the most fantastically aesthetic “wire fu” to the grittiest of brawls. I also have a particular affection for animated fight scenes be they stop-motion, CGI or standard two dimensional cartoons.  I have no personal preference so long as it is staged, directed and shot well with a strong storyline running through the sequence. Like any aspect of drama, the fight scene carries its own synopsis and you need to invest in the characters. We also need to be able to comfortably suspend disbelief. This should not be expressed through acting alone, but also the way the physicality of the scene plays out. 

My favourite fight scenes are those that are integrated well into the drama and are handled like any other scene. In this respect, the “Star Wars” franchise often produces wonderful examples of how to pace a good final duel. Irvin Krisner’s handling of “The Empire Strikes Back” is the pinnacle of this style of not only chopping between scenes, but also lengthy pauses and even separating the two duelists for lengthy periods of time to mount suspense again. However, this can go disastrously wrong as in the case of “Cradle to the Grave”. The end fight was a hugely anticipated square-off between the criminally under-rated and often badly cast Marc Dacascos and Jet Li. If you are going to cut between the action of such an artistically brilliant pairing of stage-fighters then do so with either a) a completely different type of action, b) with some decent comedy relief, or c) with comparable stage-fighters. The only juxtaposition the other two fights in that climatic scene provided was examples of bad action cinema. 

From a spectator’s point of view, I love most types of sparring-based combat sport. Even Combat 32 got me excited about point-stop fighting for a brief period and that is saying something. Like opera, watching more varied combat sports is on my constant “to do” list. I have admiration for anyone who is willing to strip back the apparent sophistication of our societal norms in order to face another person under the pressure of an audience of spectators. I am in strong agreement with my coach, Mo Teague, that competing helps a self-defence student better acclimatize themselves to the psychological pressures of combat. 

The elevated fight scene in the British film, “Sky Fall” excited me a lot. It is the best example in a long time of the harmonization of the aesthetically pleasing with the illusion of realism, and the fighting was consistent with the characters. The fight sequence was comparable to some of Connery’s greatest moments in the early James Bond films and I see it as the fruition of ideas that were put across by Brandon Lee in “The Crow”.

I loved “The Crow” for so many reasons, but only the other day I really appreciated the wonderful film’s juxtaposition between the fantasy element and grittiness. Arguably some of this minimization of fantastical fight stunts and action might have come about by Lee’s sudden death during filming, but the physical theme throughout the film remains consistent. Unlike, say Catwoman in “Batman Returns”, which came out only a few years beforehand, the newly magically empowered Eric Draven character didn’t suddenly pick up trained skills. Lee is often under-rated for the creativity he brought to fight scenes. He cited John Woo a lot as his obvious inspiration in his films, but few acknowledge the ideas Lee brought to fight scenes. 

I was really looking forward to seeing some matured stylistic choreography coming out after the success of “Ong Bak” and the even more impressive “Warrior King”. Not being the biggest fan of “The Matrix”, I never warmed much to the whole bullet-time trend that infested action movies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This is not to say there weren’t some good examples of this, but it was overplayed and often left cold. Therefore, it was nice to see an emergence of a backlash with fight scenes that had no or minimum wires, digital effects, ‘70s style under-cranking and John Woo-style over-cranking. I was hoping for a type of Dogme 95 for action films, at least as an experiment. 

In this vein the Japanese film, “Black Belt” showed real potential, but failed to cause a stir.  “Black Belt” more than hinted to the golden days of the great Kurosawa, and it was even made in black and white to emphasize this feel. The storyline was simplistic, but the characters contained enough depth and complexities to hold my interest beyond the action. However, the fight choreography just missed the mark. Rather delve deeper into bunkai we received rather stilted exchanges of techniques. Having said this, there was some good pausing and a good use of scenery in the final duel. 

The animated fight scene between the two bears in Disney’s “Brave” was quite good too and almost trumped the drama that was put across in “The Fox and the Hound”. On the subject of animated bear dust-ups, I have to give a nod to “The Golden Compass” and the polar bear capture motion that was taken from my parents’ trained polar bear. I thought the drama in that sequence was beautifully executed. 

The transference of sporting styles to fight scenes is not always a success, and I say this with the hit and miss appeal of MMA in fight scenes. Boxing seems to have done so well because of the great directors and cinematographers that has paved the way. This comes from the fact that the boxing is part of a strong drama and storyline. Unfortunately most other martial arts films are exploitation flicks and I think the fight scenes often suffer. We get past the point of “wow he is doing martial arts” and people want to see a continuation of the drama. Screen and stage fighting is an art unto itself. In the latter’s case, we know the great Shakespeare understood this fact in his drama, this evident in his later plays; see the stage direction for Hamlet’s fencing match against Laertes as an example. It’s not simply a case of combatants engage and one side prevails. Professional wrestlers understand this fact more than most and use what they term “psychology” to get the audience going for or against individual fighters. American kickboxing was a very poor transfer despite the huge craze that took place after Van Damme’s “Kickboxer”. You often either ended up with good screen fighters who weren’t kickboxers at one end trying to portray kickboxing, or actual kickboxing fighters executing poor fight scenes.

Grappling sports actually do transfer well, particularly if you are trying to portray grittiness. “Red Sun” was a great early example of how well this could be done. The end fight scene from “Lethal Weapon” has its own type of stylistic yet gritty Brazilian jiu jitsu aesthetic, which I saw again in Van Damme’s surprisingly good “Maximum Risk”. 

In the world of actual spectator sports, I am very disappointed at seeing both versions of wrestling dropped. Wrestling is an excellent sport that never fails to impress me. The foundation for good MMA fighting is largely based on a strong clinch game. This has allowed fighters to progress the sport, giving them strong positioning for striking and also skills to defend the takedown. From a self-defence perspective it provides excellent attribute training with its emphasis on staying on one’s feet and forward pressure. As a sport, I have yet to find one, including MMA, that was as scary to practice. Wrestling seems inherent in all cultures, and there needs to be more work done to give it a wider appeal. 

Having said this, judo seems to be transforming itself into a jacketed version of freestyle or even Greco Roman wrestling. New rules are reducing the amount of newaza and limiting the throws. Whether this is to do with safety issues, supposed improvement of aesthetics, or a desire to distinguish itself more from Brazilian jiu jitsu is a matter for debate. It is a great shame as this sport was such a comprehensive grappling style. 
  
I have had similar reservations about muay Thai, a sport I really love to watch and train. When I did my judging course back in 2004 I was very disappointed with how much had been cut out. Years on and matters appear to be getting worse. Clinch work seems to be suffering as more coaches look towards K1 as a more profitable route. Again, this is a great shame, as I enjoy watching the distinction between the two sports. There is a lot of quasi-traditional nonsense about muay boran being peddled too, but that is another issue. I think we have a lot to thank the Dutch in particular with regards to the development of better punching in the sport. Then there is the whole odd thing regarding the rules. A lot of the way fights are run in Thailand is based on the betting, and I often ponder its significance in the west. 

I have little to criticize in the MMA world. In order for it to become a mainstream sport it needed to change and, on the whole, I think the right decisions have been made. I would like to see more groundwork, but I like the pace of the bouts. Training in this sport is still really exciting, and I love the way coaches and fighters will hungrily research anything to get that edge. For those who want more vale tudo, there is always Rio Heroes and, for somewhere in-between, we have Fin Fight and other more niche promotions. 

I would love to see more events showcasing the different combat sports. It never fails to amaze or excite me when I discover yet another fighting sport. From a cross-training perspective I feel the restrictions set by different rules provide the opportunity for the development of many different attributes. 


RG:  WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE CORE NECESSITIES FOR SOMEONE WANTING QUICK TRAINING IN SELF DEFENSE?  (WHICH STYLES, TECHNIQUES)

JC:  Styles and techniques are not favourite words of mine. Both imply the opposite way I teach my core approach to self-defence and martial arts. Styles provide us with a base often taken from one person’s expression of combat based on their unique experiences, research, ideas, cultural bias and genetics. Techniques are the crystallization of certain moves found in a style. I neither want to be stylistic in my teaching or technique-led. Both ultimately lead to a teacher-pleasing mentality – a top down approach.  I put the individual at the centre of their training and work out what benefits them best under pressure. This is not to say I don’t teach styles or techniques, but I look at them later in a person’s training. I much prefer activities and concepts. 

We define self-defence as the physical or hard skills a person requires for a counter-assault. Personal security makes up the larger picture of self-protection and addresses the soft skills, such as attitude and awareness. This must be in place and underline the self-defence skills. 

The first concept a civilian needs to learn is active escape. Identifying and being able to access an exit is not only in line with the law of most countries when producing a case for self-defence, but it also makes the most sense. You should look at a violent encounter through the pessimistic eyes of a risk assessor. Engagement in violence should always be a last resort and only as a means to best attain escape. Fleeing from a scene is a skill unto itself, as the French system of Parkour demonstrates. We don’t need to go to those lengths for a basic course, but a student needs to understand tactical running and to maintain awareness when they are trying to get to safety. The only exceptions in a non-professional context is when you make a judgment call to prevent or stop a crime that isn’t directly affecting you. 
   
Next we need to address pre-emptive attacking. Here a student needs to understand when to attack first. Selecting what to use for pre-emption will be determined by the individual and the circumstances. The next concept is constant forward pressure and incidental combinations. In other words, once you begin the attack to constantly deliver an uninterrupted flow of attacks, allowing the targets to dictate your weapon choice. A student needs to be able to apply these choices from as many ranges as possible and understand how to transition. Next we need to consider recovery options, which include covering, anti-grappling and combat grappling. Other factors, such as multiple attackers and weapons can be layered in, based on these principles. 

I make no apologies for my apparent vagueness. This is how I teach. A right cross might be a wonderful selection for an adult male fighter like me who has thrown countless numbers of them in various contexts, but what relevance has it to a child facing an adult? I do have certain guidelines backed up by a general consensus of opinion and experience, but it is always open for argument. I advocate striking over grappling as a rule, I teach untrained people open hand strikes over punching, I am not in favour of any tactic that works on the assumption a target will respond to a level of pain or psychological trauma, and I teach people to get to a standing position as quickly as possible if they are not already.  

RG:  CAN YOU DESCRIBE A TYPICAL JAMIE CLUBB FITNESS WORKOUT?

JC:  No such thing! I very rarely repeat the same routine unless I am working on developing a specific skill. When it comes to general conditioning – developing strength, coordination, speed, aerobic fitness and flexibility – I find it more beneficial to keep varying my routines. 

My training regimes can be measured on a rough scale with extreme high intensity at one end, such as the tabata method, and heavy weight lifting at the other end. In-between there are various routines that are a mixture of raw strength and cardiovascular training, often leaning more one way than the other. A clear objective is always at the heart of the workout and I prioritize exercises that are more relevant to that objective. I time-manage my training and am not in favour of lengthy gym sessions unless I am learning something new or working to perfect a certain skill.

Typical workouts will include bag-work of some sort, which are often at the very beginning to make the most out of skill development. I isolate boxing, kickboxing, takedown drills, top game transitioning and bag climbing, and also put them altogether. I am a big fan of resistance bands, which can make up the bulk of the workout or at least be used as a type of active recovery or warm-down. I also like using tyres, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, skipping ropes, plyometric soles and a lot of asymmetrical training equipment. Bodyweight exercises are also very important to me, as I feel they provide a good body-to-mind connection and help develop what I call honest strength and fitness. 

I don’t do much lengthy roadwork anymore despite always being quite a natural long distance runner. I go for short jogs that incorporate footwork and hill-sprints. However, long runs just take up time that could be better spent developing more relevant exercises. 

RG:  HOW IMPORTANT IS RANK, CERTIFICATION, HIERARCHY TO MA?

JC:  The martial arts world has little in the way of standardization. A martial arts certificate really has no credibility outside its awarding body, and sometimes not even by its respective system or style. It shouldn’t be this way, and there are many who are doing their best to at least get their own houses in order by having their instructors qualified in various accredited disciplines outside the world of martial arts.

If martial arts are to be taken seriously then they need to have a far more transparent method for certification that can be traced back to the same bodies that govern other qualifications. Over here it is often a shambles. We have had many attempts, but few instructor qualifications get properly taken up or accredited. I am a vocational qualification assessor, but there seems to be ongoing problems with these qualifications. Interestingly NVQ seems to have had a history of attracting “cowboy” providers that is every bit as jaded as that of the in-house black belt factories. I jumped on the BTEC advanced certificate in self-defence instruction as soon as I was made aware of it being available. Otherwise I only get instructorships and qualifications in martial arts if they are at least recognized in the corporate sector or by instructors I have I hold in the highest regard. Sadly the last decade has seen the market saturated with meaningless instructor programmes that have only served to further undermine the integrity of the martial arts world. 

The system of martial arts hierarchies is part of the problem why many of them cannot really move on convincingly and often struggle with a type of cognitive dissonance. They largely resemble religions with appeals to authority, tradition and antiquity being used to prevent any type of meaningful progression coming from anywhere but the top. This is the top-down approach, and it stifles progress. Times are better in many respects now that clubs have been forced to be more open and cross-training is getting readily embraced, but there is still a very long way to go. The trouble is that a club may seem open to an idea on the surface, but I don’t see a lot of evidence of them really taking on new ideas. To be fair, it isn’t always the guys at the top that are to blame. Many traditional instructors want to change, but their students are stuck in the system and are scared to change so fast. 






RG:  WILL MMA SUPPLANT BOXING/PRO WRESTLING IN POPULARITY?

JC:  I have heard rumours that MMA is waning, but I have seen scant evidence. We have been told that it is a passing trend, but it’s been two decades now since the first Ultimate Fighting Championship. Before that it was already an institution in Brazil and was gaining momentum in Japan. There have always been pockets of No Holds Barred Fighting going on in official capacity or otherwise, so I think it addresses a basic human desire.  I think it is being managed well and is growing in mainstream consciousness all the time. The magazines are published to a high standard and written by professional journalists. MMA fighters are colourful, and the sportwear companies are influencing fashion more and more. MMA’s strength has been in it eclecticism, and this means it has easily partnered with other sports, which has helped grow its respect amongst those seriously interested in improving sports performance. Looking back over the past two decades since the UFC debuted, I see a sport that has constantly adapted and learnt from its mistakes. The marketing has improved, and it has a fantastic fan-base. 

Sadly the ascent of this sport, which is improving all the time, has coincided with the mainstream decline of boxing and professional wrestling. Both haven’t attracted my attention much in the past 10 years. The last exciting fights in boxing’s heavyweight division occurred in the early years of the 21st century and even then it felt like an epilogue to its last era of sports “superheroes”. Some of the lighter divisions started showing promise, but there just wasn’t any interesting rivalry; only the odd single individual. 

I love boxing and have studied its history for years. As a form of attribute training it should be at the top of most cross-trainer’s lists. It has so much to offer the individual, but I am not that keen on its current evolution. Boxercise was one thing, but now we are beginning to see commercialized gyms going completely against the art’s individualistic nature by training large numbers of students in rows with everyone working to a precise form. I was fortunate to have received training off some great coaches that actively encouraged flexible and adaptive boxing, taking into account the wide range of different opponents.  I really hope the sport does not continue down the road it is going, as there is so much potential out there. There isn’t a scarcity of good coaches either. In the UK I have had the privilege of knowing the likes of Red Corner’s Glenn Smith and seen the quality of fighter he produces. I also briefly trained under Tommy Thompson, a senior coach of the famous Brendon Ingles gym, and was very impressed by his forward thinking coaching methods.  

As for professional wrestling, you really have to look to the independent scene to see any hope, and even then there are some depressing trends. In the UK you often either have poor impersonators of the WWE or these bizarre gimmick-less promotions featuring rather sickly looking youths that are reminiscent of watching someone’s little brother putting on a show in their garden, but without the imagination.   

However, I don’t believe all is lost. My old co-promoter, Stu Allen, continues to run the promotion we started, EWW (Extreme World Wrestling, formerly Extreme World Warfare) with undeterred enthusiasm. His promotion, a very select few others in the UK and across Europe, a few independent promotions in America and, of course, the major promotions in Japan represent genuine innovation and creativity. They embrace all sides of the show business and provide depth along with spectacle.  However, WWE and its imitators are what mainstream society sees as professional wrestling. As an art-form, I think they started losing their grip on the proverbial ball a couple of years after the “Attitude” era and when they bought out their only real competition.   
  
RG:  CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR RESEARCH INTO CARNY CATCH WRESTLING/EARLY BARE KNUCKLE FIGHTING?  IS THE ADAGE ‘NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN’ STILL RELEVANT/TRUE

JC:  The days of boxing and wrestling booths were over when I grew up in the circus. However, it was an obvious fascination for me, especially when I kept encountering it during my martial arts studies. Carny or fairground catch-as-catch-can wrestling seems to have been an amalgamation of British folk wrestling styles, Greco Roman wrestling, maybe some Indian wrestling and probably a fair amount of Japanese ju jutsu/judo. Its founder is credited as J. G. Chambers in 1870, and its popularity grew out of the strongmen acts found on fairs (carnivals) and circuses. Of course, the strongman acts later evolved into the sports of bodybuilding and strongman competitions. 

Bareknuckle boxing or pugilism, the immediate predecessor to the modern sport of boxing, emerges as the unarmed component of a sport that also compromised of backsword fencing and fighting with a short-stick or cudgel. Catch wrestling and both bareknuckle and gloved boxing made their way into fairs and travelling shows in the 19th century. Up until the 1920s it was not uncommon for a circus artiste to not only perform several acts on the show’s programme, but also fight a volunteer or a member of his own family at the end of the show. Children as young as eight would be involved in such bouts. 

Politics, pride and cultural issues have made it quite difficult for us to see exactly what really happened in the careers of the wrestling greats of the late 19th and early 20th century. However, I grew up in an old circus family, so I know the nature of secrecy when it comes to show business and preserving the entertainment factor. Therefore, it was of little surprise to me when a noted British historian confessed his belief that the “worked” wrestling matches had a far older tradition than is commonly thought. 

Anyone who has attended a seminar of a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt – where it is sometimes customary for the teacher to submit every attendee in a succession of bouts - can easily buy the story that experienced catch wrestlers would be able to dispose of any number of lesser trained opponents on one day. However, there were several other pressures that we must consider. Firstly, these undeniably strong and hardened fighters would have not only been fighting several unknown opponents in a day, but virtually every day. The risk of injury back then would have been high and the consequences of which could spell financial disaster. Balance that with the increased need to make the matches more entertaining and the evolution of the pro wrestling of today is pretty easy to see. 

Sir Atholl Oakley, the first British heavyweight champion of the sport often talked disparagingly of the emergence of the “worked” scene. I am not taking anything away from Oakley’s undeniable fighting ability, but I find it hard to believe he wasn’t already a part of this scene. As time went on the matches became more flamboyant, and successive generations of professional wrestlers have often been berated by their predecessors for not being as tough as they were. Oakley was criticizing worked wrestling in the 1950s. There is an episode of the comedy radio series “Hancock’s Half Hour” called “The Grappling Game”, recorded in 1958, where it is an established fact that the sport was completely worked. 

To bring matters forward, we have “Judo” Gene Le Bell, a very successful 9th dan judoka who also worked as a professional wrestler, discussing his professional wrestling bouts as if they were legitimate contests. Le Belle was working in the 1960s. 

It is always titillating to find exact techniques in old and even ancient forms of a combat sport that also appear in their modern-day equivalent, especially if said modern sport is not a direct descendant. From my own approach to coaching I have observed that certain techniques are primal, and humans will express a version of them under pressure if the conditions are correct. Martial arts history is often heavily tainted by a confirmation bias towards nationalism or stylism. This is not surprising given the religious-like way many arts are “preserved”. Some follow a view that all arts have a single origin with a traceable line, often beginning in China or in India or in Greece. This view often uses the appeal to antiquity to argue their art as being the superior one due to its age. Others take the opposite view and argue that their particular art is pure and either came directly from the experience of its founder or is completely indigenous to its native country. 

To this day, there is a confusing argument over the origin and lineage of Brazilian jiu jitsu. The Gracies and their supporters have long maintained the argument that their art comes from Japanese jiu jitsu and not judo. Judo’s reputation as a sport does not appeal to those who wished to promote their art as an effective form of self-defence. However, the truth is more a case of semantics. Judo was interchangeably referred to as jiu jitsu when it was being imported to the west. Many Filipino martial artists like to put forward the theory that their native panantukan influenced the way western boxers carried their hands at the turn of the century. The argument goes that the high guard adopted by fighters of that era came from the weapon-influenced guard of panantukan. Borrowing the guard from panantukan and putting it into western boxing supposedly occurred during the occupation of the Philippines. It is a romantic notion, but the turn of the century was also the time gloves (Broughton’s famous “mufflers”) became compulsory in western boxing, which greatly encouraged more striking to the head and prompted fighters to raise their guards.       

I could go on forever providing instances of hyperdiffusionism in martial arts history, but I guess the best examples are the creation myths. The most elaborate one is that all martial arts come from ancient Greece. This story puts forward the unsubstantiated hypothesis that Alexander the Great’s invasion of India influenced the natives to train in Pankration and other Greek martial arts. The systems they developed then travelled with the Buddhist monk Bodhi dharma to China and became the basis for Chinese martial arts. This follows the assumption that Bodhi dharma was a martial artist and that the Shaolin temple was the hub of martial arts activity in China. There is little evidence to support either claim. Chinese martial arts certainly had an influence over Japanese and Okinawan systems. The katana’s origins can be traced back to the Chinese broadsword, and Okinawan karate is a merger of indigenous systems and Chinese styles. However, it is a big stretch to claim that the shoulder throw found in judo can be traced back through China, India and eventually to Greek grappling methods. 

Then you get systems laying claims on lineage to dead arts. “Gypsy” bareknuckle fighting, for example, which my grandfather and various other circus people took part in when they fought Gypsies or Pavees over temporary residence on a land, is not the continuation of pre-gloves boxing. It is better described as an off-shoot of gloved boxing. The fights do not follow the rules of the 19th century, which permitted grappling above the waist, and rounds were ended when one fighter hit the ground. Essentially Gypsy boxing rarely has rounds and has no grappling.  

This is closely related to the other type of hyperdiffusionism argument, which denies influence from foreign systems. After World War II taekwondo did its best to distance itself from its undeniable roots in Shotokan karate. A lot of the history was reworked, and the art’s tenuous connection with the Korean combat sport of taekyon was overemphasized.  

So, it is all a very complex issue. I would argue that similar environments and the limitations provided by the human body can mean that similar combat methods can occur independently of one another. In many ways it justifies the efficiency of certain primal techniques. However, when you start seeing certain structural stylistic qualities there is reason to investigate the influence of an older art. I don’t hold with the one source argument, but I also don’t like to deny connections if there is apparent evidence.   

RG:  WHERE DO YOU GO NEXT…WHAT OBJECTIVES/GOALS/ASPIRATIONS DO YOU HAVE.

JC:  I look forward to promoting my upcoming book, which is going through the same publisher who prints the works of the great US combatives teacher, W. Hock Hocheim. In fact, I was very honoured that Hock asked me to put together a collection of my articles. All my works have been re-edited and updated, and Geoff Thompson, another legendary combatives teacher, has written a foreword to the book. The book revolves around martial arts skepticism and covers a wide variety of topics such as my children’s self-protection methods, martial arts history, personal reflections and my approach to martial arts cross-training. It will contain completely new photographs that will reflect a more abstract feel to the work rather your usual standard martial arts manual action shots. 

In addition to the book, I have a few video projects in the pipeline that I am organizing. These will hopefully coincide with more international bookings. I have taught in several European locations and I look forward to running a series of seminars on your side of the pond in the near future. My clientele continues to grow and continues to be varied, which is what I want. I have taught large national institutions for professionals like the Law Society and small activity clubs for youngsters. Other clients have included close protection and security schools as well as martial arts clubs. My services include self-protection for children and adults and is also work or ability specific. I am also getting a lot of interest in teaching combative conditioning and mixed martial arts. However, my pet project is “Vagabond Warriors”, which provides martial arts students with a guide to cross-training. I feel my strength lies in being what martial arts actor and teacher, Rob Ho called me: “a bespoke teacher”. 
   
Every new client presents me with a new challenge and allows my approach to teaching to be tested and to progress. The last thing I want is to be teaching a crystalized system.  I don’t want perfection. Perfection is an illusion - a type of aesthetically beautiful stagnation - and it is also a potentially dangerous absolute. Progress allows for continued improvement. Show me the broken, the experienced, the sceptical, the aspirers, the dreamers and the ambitious. Don't tell me what your idea of perfection. Show me that you will endeavour to improve.  

LISTEN UP PEOPLE! 
I remember an iconic TV commercial from the 70s and 80s where there'd be this young, well-dressed professional at a dinner party or a tennis match or some event, who would casually remark that his stock broker was E.F. Hutton.  At this point all conversation and activity would come to a complete stop, and all eyes would turn to this guy.  Then the catch-phrase, "When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen."

This reminds me of Dave Aiton!

Dave Aiton has had a prestigious 22 year career with HMF Army, he retires as a Warrant Officer after a varied and distinguished career.

He is the Director of Training for Defend International Ltd and is responsible for the direction and delivery for BTEC accredited Conflict Management/ Resolution, Physical Intervention and Handcuff training courses for NHS staff, Education services and Security Industry personnel.

Dave is also a search awareness trainer and personal safety adviser who is regularly requested to provide consultation, risk assesement and training needs analysis on matters of security and staff safety for local council authorities and private businesses.

His presentation and coaching abilities are regularly in demand due to his previous experience as a coach and instructor with the military. These attributes make him a much valued asset as a trainer and adviser for organizations seeking assistance and consultation in matters of security and safety.

I recently read some of Dave's comments about one of my favorite subjects, personal protection training, and I was blown away.  I asked Dave if I could feature these comments on my blog, and he graciously accepted.


So listen up, people...Dave Aiton is speaking!  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teaching Martial Arts for Self Defence

Is it just me or is anybody else tired of hearing about the multitude of martial arts systems and organisation’s that claim to provide the “ultimate solution” to all of our self defence needs. For those of us who are a little bit more worldly wise than your run of the mill “enthusiastic novice” there is normally an air of caution when it comes to engaging with groups such as these, this might have something to do with the direct debit instruction you might be asked to complete on attending your first class, or the “10 week course” that you are obligated to sign up for in order to learn the basics before you can attend normal classes. It’s a sad but true fact that a lot of martial arts organisations see students as a source of income rather than someone with whom they can invest time and effort.

The truth is some martial arts are simply not as effective as we might think when it comes to training students to defend themselves in real combat situations and in most cases seem to create a “false economy” that’s guaranteed to be nothing more than a fast means of relieving us of our hard earned cash and more importantly has the potential to be a real eye opener for anyone who may be unfortunate enough to find themselves in a real violent confrontation, and suddenly finds out that everything they have worked hard to achieve in practise fails miserably when confronted with reality (or suddenly finding out that “it doesn’t do what it says on the tin”) .

There are some misconceptions that a lot of these so called “martial arts/self defence experts” would like us to believe are the right reasons for adopting their systems as our own. Although some of the qualities mentioned (listed below) by those organisations may sound genuine and fit for purpose, they are a byproduct of training and not the primary objective for learning a martial art for self defence.

Misconception 1
The purpose of martial arts should be to build discipline and improve physical fitness enhancing individual strength, flexibility, balance, and cardio-respiratory fitness. Building personal courage, self confidence.

Wrong. The primary objective of a martial art should be to improve the combat-effectiveness of the individual, specifically, to teach the individual to become comfortable with the level of conflict required in a real-life self-preservation situation.

Misconception 2
Safety must be emphasised at all costs to the point of stressing no striking or only simulated strikes to vital points such as the head, neck and groin area. If you strike at all, you should stop short (pull your punches) to these vital areas so that you maintain safety above all else. Only "light blows" should be made to other areas.

Wrong. The primary focus of a true self defence program should not be to prevent the maximum number of injuries during training but to prevent the maximum number of individual injuries during a real violent confrontation. Bumps and bruises do come with the territory when applying reality-based training, unless of course you want students to experience a false sense of security and misplaced confidence. The only confidence worth obtaining in a true martial arts/self defence program is achieved through successfully employing combat-effective movement and technique.

Misconception 3
Most fights end up on the ground so ground-fighting should be where you place most of your emphasis.

No. This way of thinking is extremely flawed. The ground is the last place you want to be in a real-life situation. We aren't training for the UFC or a grappling tournament; we train for a successful life preserving outcome. Too many variables can happen to you on the ground on the street. For self-defence, preventing the maximum number of individual injuries is the goal. Therefore, knowing how to stay on your feet should be a much greater concern.

Misconception 4
Locks and holds are the best way of incapacitating an attacker.

False. Striking is entirely more effective in a realistic environment than holding or putting someone in a lock or a hold. Your goal in a realistic situation must be to incapacitate the attacker in the quickest way possible. Striking is much quicker, a lot simpler and has the potential to be much more devastating to an attacker.

Misconception 5
Training in kickboxing and/or wrestling will make me ready for the street.

Wrong again. Approaching a self-preservation situation with a sport mentality gives the individual a false sense of confidence. Training for realistic self-defence is entirely different from training for a rules-based combat sport.

But this only my opinion folks, its up to you to decide what type of training is right for you, but try to bear in mind whatever you choose needs to be fit for purpose, if its not then look somewhere else.

All the best - Dave Aiton

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR
"Always remember, your focus determines your reality."
Qui-Gon (Star Wars:  Episode 1-The Phantom Menace)


In Space No One Can Hear You Scream
ALIEN (1979)

The universe is ancient, (estimated to be 13.7 billion years old, having formed from an ultra-hot, ultra-dense singularity), and it is freezing, (temperatures in space can dip down to 2.73 Kelvin or -270 celsius).  There is still so much that scientists do not yet understand about space.  Are there multiple universes?  Does the death of one universe lead to the birth of another?  Much of the matter in the universe is "dark matter," invisible to our eyes and to our high tech instruments, and the greatest amount of energy in the universe, an energy which pervades all of space and forces the galaxies away from each other at increasingly greater and greater speeds, is mysterious "dark energy."

So the universe is big and getting bigger, it's cold and getting colder, and it's old and getting older.  I see the universe as a lifeless, uncaring, unsympathetic, unimaginably vast and almost empty space.  

But here's what's got me confused:  Some people actually believe that if you will "throw out vibrations" into the universe, the universe will respond.  People travel the country, appear on talk shows, and write best-selling books teaching others how to get their wishes fulfilled with help from this cold, mindless universe. 
  
It's called "The Law of Attraction," and, dig this, the Universe can even help you decide what's for dinner. 

How does it work?  Well, says askingtheuniverse.net, "The Universe delivers manifestations in the form of insights, hunches and coincidences. It brings you together with just the right people at just the right time.  Your Universe is here to help! There are big things, little things and all manner of other things that affect your life. But you have the power of your Universe to help guide you through the maze. If you want clarity with a foggy issue, ask the Universe. If you need strength to carry on, ask the Universe. Even if you can't decide what to have for dinner, ask the Universe." 


Here's how Bob Proctor explains the Law of Attraction:  "This is an orderly universe. Nothing happens by accident. The images you plant in your marvelous mind instantly set up an attractive force, which governs the results in your life." 

Melody Fletcher says that "The Law of Attraction states that you manifest anything you give enough focus to. By giving your attention to a thought, you activate that thought's vibration, and the Law of Attraction will cause more vibrations like it to be drawn to it. Once enough energy is gathered, the vibration becomes physical."
 

Chris Ankele says you don't just ask...you can command the universe to give you what you want.  All you have to do, says Ankele, is "Close your eyes, live your experience, breathe it, see it, pretend it is real. Remember to be as specific as possible; do not hold any details back even ones you would be afraid to admit that you included. That will start the vibrations and you are on your way to bending the universe to your demands."

If this all seems just a little silly, consider that it may just be a matter of coping with the ugly truth of reality.  Eugene Subbotsky says that it's "much more comfortable to think that your fate is written down in a constellation of stars than that you're one of a certain group of intelligent animals who are lost in frozen space forever." 


Psychologist Carol Nemeroff thinks it's nothing but magical thinking.  She says that we all subscribe to it at different levels, "Most of me doesn't believe but some of me does."

Maybe magical thinking--mystical hunches and intuitive decisions, superstitions and fear of the unknown, the search for talismans, signs, and omens, trying to read the thoughts and intentions of man and beast, the use of ritual words and actions and the use of incantations or sacrifice to placate or seek the favor of the gods, attempts at discerning the future, and the belief that we are all powerless against fate--were all aspects of our early survival.  Care givers before the advent of modern medicine may have intuitively understood the importance of suggestion, and faith healing like other placebo treatments, may help a patient feel better and recover sooner.

"Survival requires recognizing patterns," says Matthew Hutson in Psychology Today, "night follows day, berries that color will make you ill. And because missing the obvious often hurts more than seeing the imaginary, our skills at inferring connections are overtuned. No one told Wade Boggs that eating chicken before every single game would help his batting average; he decided that on his own, and no one can argue with his success. We look for patterns because we hate surprises and because we love being in control."

Wishing and hoping seems to be the most basic form of magical thinking.  We cross our fingers as the contest winners are announced, we shout out the horses in the Kentucky Derby urging them to run faster, and we wave our hands in the air when we release a bowling ball as if our thoughts had energy and force.  We want to give ourselves what David Ropeik says is the "illusion that we have some control over what is going to happen, a reassuring sense that we can in fact steer our flimsy boat against the stormy winds and currents of fate."

Sonja Lyubomirsky has even considered an experiment to show that the supposed effects of the Law of Attraction are not that miraculous at all.  Here’s how she describes the potential study:  "Half the participants will be asked to practice faithfully the law of attraction. The other half will be asked to practice an alternate 'law of attraction' that we have randomly scrambled and reversed beyond recognition. All will be given a reasonable-sounding rationale for why their assigned exercises should work."

Her prediction?  "Both groups of participants will become happier over time and more successful in obtaining what they want – simply because they believe in what they’re doing, because they expect to succeed, because they are putting effort into the strategy, and because they are pursuing it in an engaged and committed fashion."  

In Part 2 we'll take a look at how magical thinking and aspects of the law of attraction have entered into the dojo and our martial arts training. 
 

GREEN ACRESROUND TRIP PART 31

Green Acres is the place for me.
Outdoor training is the life for me.
Land spreading out so far and wide.
Keep your fancy gym, just give me that countryside.

So last night my son Shane and I did an outdoors workout at the park.  Sure, it was hot and muggy.  Of course there were copious squadrons of bugs.  Good source of protein, we joked, each time they flew into our mouths.  And the ground was uneven.  And we got mud all over our shoes.

Out here you get to see trees and grass, and you get to try to avoid a land-mine-like field of dog pooh.  (Come to think of it maybe that wasn't mud on our shoes after all).  


There's just something majestic about an outdoor workout.  My hay fever was acting up because EVERYTHING is in bloom, so I sneezed like 8  times in a row, my nose ran like a faucet, and my eyes were redder than the people at a Phish concert.  But, yeah, majestic.

We amp'd up our workout, adding more reps with the kettlebells and the dumbbells.  We have a long, heavy piece of iron pipe that we use to perform samurai-type sword swings.

After about 20 minutes of that we did a lot of FMA...mostly siniwali double stick work with some applications.  Stationary, then forwards, then backwards, then circling left and right.

Then some cool, fast knife work.  Some super quick reaction 'sewing machine' type stab drills, followed by some combat scenarios of knife/counter knife, then unarmed against the knife.

As tough as these were the drills at least gave us a chance to catch our breath, which was needed because then it was on to the dreaded hill sprints.

We lengthened the distance of the runs considerably, and added a dog-leg path, jogging for about 30 yards on a relatively flat trail, then cutting quickly to the left for a steep 30 yard all out sprint.

On the last rep we added a pair of dumbbells.  Soon we'll add even more weight, and maybe even bring Tito (my grappling/ground 'n pound dummy) to the park for an outing...maybe see if we can take turns carrying him up the hill!!

It was a tough workout, but just beautiful outside.  Springtime in Kentucky is amazing!

But the heat was intense, and I'm afraid the summer's gonna be brutal.  If Mr Haney shows up with some lemonade, you bet your ass I'll pay him top dollar for a cold glass.  






 

GETTING MY CAR AN ATTUNEMENTA PARABLE
We all need the human touch.Rick Springfield

I think my car needs a tune up.

It's idling kinda funny, hesitates a bit when I accelerate, can be a little sluggish out on the road sometimes, and my gas mileage is not that good.

My old mechanic, Dave, retired last year and closed up his shop so I gotta find someone else.

Looking on line I found somebody that apparently does amazing work.  He gets rave reviews, and people say that they drive away from his garage with their cars performing better than ever.

I decide to try him out, so I set up an appointment.

Dave's garage always reeked of gas, oil, cigarette smoke, and hydraulic fluid.  The floor was grimy with bits of what looked like kitty litter spread around everywhere.  The calendars always featured scantily clad women holding big shiny wrenches.  The pneumatic tools gave off high-pitched noises, and there was always somebody making off-color jokes, banging on metal, and coughing, lots of coughing.

This garage is nice though.  Subdued lighting, some candles giving off a nice aroma in the corner, gentle New Age music playing in the background.  Lots of certificates on the wall, none of them seem to be about car repair.

He's not like other mechanics I've known.  First off his hands look delicate, not used to hard work.  No dirt under the fingernails.  He wears a clean, white, billowy shirt and doesn't have one of those grease rags hanging out of any of his pockets.  He does not wear a name tag or have his name embroidered on his shirt.  He tells me his name is Timothy (not Tim for short, he corrected me).

He invites me to sit down on some pillows on the floor.  He sits cross-legged, perfect posture.  Me?  My knees won't take that kind of strain so I just sort of awkwardly recline.

We're going to start off with a brief conversation, which seems kind of odd.  My old mechanic, Dave, used to just have me start the engine and throttle it a few times.  He'd check out some fluids, use some instruments, and run some diagnostics.  He did the work while I sat in the waiting room watching Judge Judy and drinking what was either the strongest coffee I've ever tasted or some new type of experimental transmission fluid.

But Timothy?  He offers me some chamomile tea and wants to know what I hope to get out of the session.  

Timothy says he wants us to build rapport.

Session?  Rapport?

So he asks about my driving habits.  Where I like to drive.  How I handle curves, how quickly I go when the light turns green, what top speed do I travel.  Do I often go on lovely country roads, or do I pretty much stick to busy, ugly interstates.

He doesn't take notes.  He just nods now and then, speaks in a quiet, somber voice.  He explains that he's going to perform an energy scan to pick up energy disturbances in my car's energy field.  That's where most of the problems begin, he says, and this is necessary so he'll know where to direct his own energy.

I ask him if I can ask some questions.  He agrees, but lets me know his time is limited, and their are other patients to see.  Okay, I ask, have you actually studied automobile mechanics?  Ever torn an engine down, rebuilt it?  Ever changed a timing belt or installed a new trannie?

He smiled.  You know, he says, lots of people come home at night and put their dinner in the microwave and turn on their TV's with no knowledge at all of how those things work.  The universe, he says, is full of wonder and mystery, but, he says, everything is connected.  And the glue that connects us all?  Energy...the vibration of atoms.  Einstein, he says, pretty much proved all of that a long time ago.

So, now that that's settled, shall we get started, he asks.
Sure, I say.  Want me to start 'er up?  Rev the engine?
He looks at me funny.
No, he says, no need for all that.

He doesn't even need me to raise the hood.  He just needs the payment, so I give him my credit card.

He prints me out a receipt, and he starts at the front bumper.  His eyes are closed.  His hands hover about 3 or 4 inches above the surface of the car.  I start to ask what he's doing, but he opens his eyes and does one of those shushing hand gestures, vertical finger in front of his lips.

He moves around the entire car, doing both sides, and ending up at the muffler.  Everything was done on a purely energetic level, with no actual physical contact between his hands and the car.  

He's done in about 20 minutes.

What happened?  I ask.

He's not exactly sure, he says.  His goal was to help the car feel that it was wrapped in a warm, nurturing light and that this loving light was flowing throughout the car's various mechanical systems.  He is hoping that the car feels more balanced, calm and centered.

But you fixed it, right?  Gave it a tune-up, right?  I ask.

Please keep in mind, he says, that there are no guarantees. However, he senses that the car was open to his energy therapy, and he sincerely believes that the car's problems have been healed.

I'm a little confused...What if I still have problems? 

He assures me that I can come back again for another session.  The energy pathways may require persistent treatment. 

I start the car and back out of the garage.  Timothy waves goodbye and closes the garage door.

I drive away, listening to the engine, hyper alert to how it sounds, how it rides.

You know how sometimes a car just seems to ride better after you wash it?  Well, it's kinda doing that now.  Oh sure, there was a slight hesitation at that 4-way stop sign, but I'm convinced that's just a minor hiccup.

Now I'm heading out to the interstate so I can open 'er up and see what this baby can do!

RUN LIKE HELLEVER-VIGILANT

 "Well, they call me the Hunter, that's my name, Call me the Hunter, that's how I got my fame."
Led Zeppelin

"Humans today may retain behaviors tied to our ancestors' likely past status as prey rather than predator."
Jennifer Viegas 

"You'd better run!"
Pink Floyd, "Run Like Hell"


In a recent HBO comedy special, Louis CK discussed the stress of modern life.  Daily living is tough for a lot of us, he says, just dealing with work, family life, and trying to make ends meet.  But he imagined that it would be a lot more stressful if we faced the same threat our ancestors faced, the threat of being attacked and eaten by wild animals.  Not only would you have to deal with over bearing bosses and  backstabbing co-workers all day, but getting off the subway and heading home, you might have to run for your life as hungry cheetahs try to run you down.

Can you imagine having to live with the fear of predation all of the time?  You'd have to remain hyper-vigilant, never relaxing completely. 

After an enormous amount of reading on the subject I am convinced that it was the fear of being attacked and eaten by wild beasts such as wild dogs, big cats, hyenas, eagles, wolves, cave bears, snakes, crocodiles, (and--get this--maybe even carnivorous kangaroos), that helped to apply specific selective pressures in shaping our species.  Although it's not entirely clear which pressures these predators placed on our early ancestors, researcher Kirsten Jenkins says that they affected "behavior, group structure, body size and ontogeny (the life cycle of a single organism)."

We are who we are, says Rob Dunn, "thanks to ancestors who only just barely got away."

Looking at one site containing "de-fleshed, chomped and gnawed bones" from an early primate ancestor of humans, Jenkins said, "I have observed multiple tooth pits and probable beak marks on these fossil primates, which are direct evidence for creodonts and raptors consuming these primates."

According to National Geographic, Agustin Fuentes and other researchers "believe that early humans were a prey species hunted by bear-size hyenas, saber-toothed cats, and many other large carnivores.  Early humans survived while other primate species died out because our ancestors cooperated to alter their surroundings, and this cooperation deflected the risk of predation onto other nearby prey species, which became more vulnerable because early humans weren't as easy to catch."

Anthropologist Robert Sussman found that "our ancestors from three or four million years ago, Australopithecus afarensis, had small teeth, lacked tools, and were about three feet (one meter) tall.  Lacking size or weapons, this early human species most likely used brains, agility, and social skills to escape from predators, the anthropologist says."

The predation rate, according to Sussman, was about 6 percent.

"Predators remain a powerful force in the lives of many of our fellow creatures," reports Olivia Judson.  "It’s not just that they kill. They also change what their potential victims get up to. In short, they create a landscape of fear."  

Much of our mental activity seems to have been impacted by these old fears:  preoccupation with remembering salient, life-threatening events from close calls with danger in the past, keeping track of the myriad rules for survival that we have been taught, and being attuned to potential threats, and imagining threats in the future.

When taking a look at one aspect of survival, foraging for food for example, predation must be factored in.  Where are the predators?  When do they like to hunt?  How many of them are there?  A high-quality foraging area with energy-rich food may also be right out in the open, far from quick escape routes.  This means that foraging may have to take place in areas where food is less plentiful or where the quality of the available food is less than ideal.

Behaviors are shaped by such considerations.  You can't easily scan the horizon looking for predators while at the same time focusing on the ground for nuts, fallen fruit, bugs and roots.  Cooperative foraging in groups, with someone always on the lookout and ready to sound the alarm, may have been an early strategy.

"Foragers," says Regan Berkley, "must make trade-offs between foraging efficiency and security from predation. The modifications they make to their behaviors have consequences that may affect their nutrition or their survival."

Will Cresswell notes that "Predators can affect individual fitness and population and community processes through lethal effects (direct consumption or ‘density’ effects), where prey is consumed, or through non-lethal effects (trait-mediated effects or interactions), where behavioural compensation to predation risk occurs, such as animals avoiding areas of high predation risk."  

The lethal effects are obvious...we get eaten.  But the non-lethal effects are a key factor as well, with some researchers concluding that, while similar, non-lethal effects were as much as 85% of all effects.  Reduction in foraging, slower growth rates, lower reproductive rates, can impact behavior and morphology, determine the overall population and impact group dynamics.   

“During any given day, an animal may fail to obtain a meal and go hungry, or it may fail to obtain matings and thus realize no reproductive success, but in the long term, the day’s shortcomings may have minimal influence on lifetime fitness. Few failures, however, are as unforgiving as the failure to avoid a predator: being killed greatly decreases future fitness."  Lima and Dill (1990)
 

I have come to the conclusion in my own reading on this subject that individual behaviors and thought processes in humans were deeply impacted, and modern man still carries within himself these behaviors, abilities and innate responses.


One such ability is imagining.  Here's how neuro-scientist V.S. Ramachandran describes it:  "The capacity to plan open-ended scenarios and try out even improbable scenarios entirely in the mind by juggling images and symbols (especially when) linked with episodic memories, enables you to see yourself as an active agent doing things in the future..." 

"In the developed world, we live in the most peaceful, healthful time in history," says Rob Dunn. "The murder and violent crime rate is dropping; we are vaccinated against the most deadly diseases of previous generations; our houses protect us from most storms; relatively few people go hungry. The average lifespan is longer than it has ever been. Then why do we walk around so anxious, so full of fear? The answer is not terrorists, TV, Republicans, or Democrats. The answer is our legacy of ancient fears, the result of having spent millions of years running from predators. Our fear response is more influenced by the ancient species we struggled to escape than any modern challenges. We live in a demon-haunted world."

"When biologists consider the effects that predators have on their prey, they shouldn’t just count the number of individuals consumed. According to University of Rhode Island ecologist Evan Preisser, they must also examine the effects of fear."  So another impact would be what Brown et al. (1999) referred to as the ‘ecology of fear’ "to describe how in mammalian systems, where behaviourally complex predators hunt behaviourally complex prey, populations may be limited by the ‘fear’ of predation..."

The ecology of fear doesn't necessarily mean the species or individual experiences fear all the time.  Instead it means that the species has an "evolved tendency to manifest adaptive trait changes when exposed to cues associated
with heightened likelihood of mortality." 


 biologists consider the effects that predators have on their prey, they shouldn’t just count the number of individuals consumed. According to a University of Rhode Island ecologist, they must also examine the effects of fear.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news138381419.html#jCp      "Predation risk is usually a composite of several interacting factors, and so it is often difficult to quantify simply. Predation risk (death rate) for an animal is a function of attack frequency and its probability of being caught when attacked. Attack frequency (attack rate) incorporates the reaction of predators to the behavior of prey, for example, a functional and numerical response. All of the behaviors that a prey can adopt to modify its risk of being targeted and caught when attacked comprise prey vulnerability. The key variable in determining predation risk is probably prey vulnerability because predators that are foraging optimally will select the prey that give the maximum energy return for energy invested in capture, that is those individuals of a prey species that are the easiest to catch." (Stephens and Krebs, 1986).  

I contend that this fear of and worry about predation has manifested itself in modern times by certain traits:

• Wariness, and enhanced and increased vigilance 
• Pattern and movement detection 
• Alertness to the signals of predation
• Cognitive complexity 
• Jumpiness and misplaced anxiety
• Fear of fear itself 
• Creation of fear-based scenarios and a systematized methodology to evoke fear
• Creation of a virtual, malleable self-concept of 'manhood' 

In part 2 we will look at how martial artists, combat coaches and defensive skills instructors use the concept of fear as intrinsic motivation and justification for the way martial arts are taught.
 

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE
(With the Sounds of Screaming)ROUND TRIP PART 30



You know what they say:  It's all fun and games until somebody coughs up a lung.

Hill sprints.  

     At my age.  

          I must be crazy.

My son Shane and I set out a little path on a nice hillside in a lovely green meadow at Louisville's Cherokee Park, a park designed in 1891 by Frederick Law Olmstead who also designed New York City's Central Park.  

The course for our sprints was only about 50 yards long, but it got pretty steep as we neared the top.

We ran up to the top, and then we jogged back to the bottom.  Over and over (and over) again.  

It went on for hours!  

Well, technically it was only about 10 or 12 minutes or so, but it FELT like hours.

We did this at the end of an already tough workout, which started out with a thorough kettlebell workout, variations on squats and lunges, a dumbbell workout, and a long series of boxing training drills.  So we were already a little tired.

I think hill sprints are fantastic for building leg strength, core strength, explosive power and endurance.  

I hate them.

But I guess that's why we need to do them.

Starting next week week we add on extra time and/or extra laps.  Soon we'll move to the notorious dog hill, a long, steep hill just perfect for wintertime sledding, but hellish for sprinting.

Once that is accomplished, we'll probably add some weighted back packs.

But, a journey of a thousand miles begins with some preliminary cussing.

So, you da@#ed hill, here we come!  If you hear blood-curdling screams, don't worry, it's just me, coughing up that lung.
   

LET THEM EAT CAKE  ROUND TRIP PART 29



I am drooling.  

I am standing there in the bakery section of Whole Foods lusting after pies, tarts, donuts, pastries, bear claws, and strudels.  I've bitten thru my bottom lip.  Other shoppers have very obviously given me wide berth.  Kids are pointing.

See, I've pretty much eliminated most carbs from my diet.  Especially the bread carbs.  No buns, no cornbread, no croissant, no scones, and no sweet rolls.

No soft tabs of butter melting on a golden stack of pancakes.  No fresh from the oven Southern biscuits.  No straight from the can cookie dough.

Also, and this is probably obvious to most of you, but I'm also not supposed to eat candy, ice cream and other ever-so-delicious treats.  That stuff is definitely not on the approved list.

I oughta know...I checked....several times. 


What would I do for a Klondike Bar?  You don't wanna know. 

Those scenes in the movies where the guy's crawling thru the desert?  And all he wants is a drink of water?  That's pretty much me, but I'd like just an ever so teeny tiny spoonful of the icing they put on a Cinnabon.

Fortunately I have been blessed with an iron discipline.  Okay, it's a little rusty I admit, but down deep it's still there.  I have come this far.  I have used mind over mattress to get me up and moving in the morning, forced myself into the gym to sling some weights around, and challenged myself to beat up Tito, my grappling dummy.

Aside from a few minor setbacks I have stayed at it consistently.  But now it's time to ratchet it up.  Stoke the fire.

Starting this week I am severely restricting calories.  Say 'NO' to carbs.  I will increase the amount of water I drink each day.  I must add more cardio, and now that warmer weather is here I have no excuses.  Some power walking perhaps, or maybe some hikes on the trails near my house.

Maybe add some weight to a backpack? 

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  So now I must step away from this sinful, seductive bakery section.  Get thee behind me.  Honestly I don't even remember walking over here.

But now I gotta go.   Besides, somebody's complained to the manager.  
 



  

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
 ROUND TRIP PART 28

For many weeks now my son Shane and I have been working out in the basement.   Boxing drills with the focus mitts, Muay Thai kicking on an old tire tied to a support beam, ground and pound work and stand up striking on our life-sized grappling dummy (Tito), and lots and lots of footwork and conditioning exercises.   We work out...hard.  

Arms bruised, perspiration dripping down, heart rate racing like the Wipeout drum solo. And that's just me trying to put on my sneakers!

This past week I decided to do both...hit the gym AND continue with the basement training.  Thank goodness I still have a cane.  And some pain killers left over from that knee injury.  And a muscle relaxer.

Actually the two types of workout blend together nicely. I'm hitting the gym on Mon, Wed and Fri, and we work out together in the basement on Tue and Thur.  The workouts compliment one another, and I feel like I am getting stronger and faster than I've been in a long time.  We use the GymBoss round timer, and some nights we do 2 minute rounds with 15 second rests.  Other nights we do Tabata--20 seconds on and 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes per exercise or a complex of exercises.   Other nights it's continuous work for 12-15 minutes or so before we take our first short break before doing it again.

Working out with Shane has been a blast.  Shane and his brother Cody have been around martial arts all their lives. They took some classes at a traditional school when they were kids.  Watched a gazillion martial arts movies with me. They both have a critical eye for what's b.s. and what's real. Can name the styles, can critique technique.  Play a lot* of games (*an understatement by a factor of 50), many of which involve fighting and hand to hand combat.

But we really haven't seriously trained together all these years.  Working with Shane, seeing his interest grow, watching his speed, power, and skill improve is exciting as hell.  It reminds me of my own quest for combat knowledge, a quest that keeps me enthusiastic to this day, and not once has ever been boring.

The adventure continues, reminding me of so many training sessions from my past--memory flashbacks to hundreds of hours of solo training, countless training sessions with a good buddy.

Iron sharpening iron.

Next week we start with stick fighting.  My old sticks were in bad shape, so Shane ordered us some fresh, new rattan sticks. Where once I used to hear the pitter patter of his little feet, now I'll be hearing the click clack of sticks.

He's funny, but so focused.  Doesn't want to screw up. Knows that mistakes are a natural part of learning, but hates it when he gets it wrong.  I told him the other night that it's just so natural for us to berate ourselves each time we cock it up. "You idiot," we say so easily to ourselves, "you dummy.  What's wrong with you?"  I then asked him what would happen if we didn't reinforce the negative...what if every time we got it right or close to right we told ourselves, "Good job. Way to Go. Keep it up." 

It's like deja vu all over again...it's pretty much the same advice that my first gung fu instructor gave me.





I know I'm biased, but he's actually coming along nicely.  He's got a good flow, lots of intensity.  Fists feel like hammers.

He got me in several good chokes the other night.  Felt like a python or anaconda wrapped around my neck!  I think my eyes bulged out of their sockets like one of those little squeeze toys.
I'm looking forward to our next workout.  Looking forward to getting a whiff of burning rattan.  Looking forward to getting bruised and battered, stretched and sweaty.  

I'll teach him everything I know, or at least everything I can remember.  

Well, maybe not EVERYTHING.  After all, I'll need some tricks up my sleeve in case he gets better than me.

HORDES OF NINJA“Ninjas don't wish upon a star, they throw them.” Jarius Raphel

I see him almost everyday.  He's waiting to catch the school bus, standing near the corner not far from the Waffle House.  He's probably, what, 7 or 8 years old?  Reminds me of me at that age.  Just a little chunky.  As mine did for me, his Mom probably buys his blue jeans in 'husky' size.  

He is totally oblivious to the world around him.  Cars and trucks whiz past him, only feet from the curb where he stands.  The bus won't be here for another couple of minutes.  No worries.  He has all the time he needs.

This is war, all-out chaos.  The hordes of ninjas offer no respite.  No quarter is asked, none is given.

They always come at him the same way.  First with stealth, hiding behind trees, standing behind a telephone pole, or squatting in the shadows of a mail box.  They creep up, real quiet like.  They're good at their job.  They get maybe 3 or 4 feet away before he becomes aware of their presence.  Usually it's the slight whirring sound of a shuriken.  Okay, maybe it's luck, perhaps it's just battle-hardened instinct honed from the daily stress of war, but his lunch box saves him and catches the spinning blade of death.

The realization that he has had a close brush with death awakens his fighting instinct, and he springs into frenzied action.  

He is a blur.  His lethal hands and deadly feet move at blinding speed.  The first 3 attackers fall quickly, but there are more...there are always more.  Move! his brain commands, and move he does!  He leaps, he turns, he twists, slips, ducks and spins.

By now the ground is littered with their bodies, the sidewalk is slick with their blood.  He must move carefully now.  They never send in the best fighters first.  These are mere cannon fodder, sent in to weaken him for the true terror that is to come. 

But from which direction will the real danger arrive?  He looks around, but the shadows are deceptive.  He is tired from the combat, and he could easily succumb to panic at this point.  The body count is impressive for one so young, but the fear he has held at bay desperately wants to be set free.

Like a zen master he calms himself.  Becomes still.  Takes a deep breath and...get this...actually closes his eyes and gathers his energy in what can only be described as quiet meditation.  He is unexpectedly tranquil, like the calm eye in the middle of a chaotic hurricane.

Suddenly, and without telegraphing his movements, he engages the final elite squad.  These are seasoned pros he realizes quickly, and his actions up to now must shift to overdrive if he expects to live to see another sunset.

He leaps the bench and darts around the fire hydrant with a grace that dancers only dream of.  The power of his blows is tangible, and many of the attackers go down with only one strike...a shuto to the temple, a spinning heel kick to the wind pipe.  

This is no game.  They all fall before him.

Finally the head ninja, maybe the sensei of the others, and obviously a skilled and respected veteran, does not bother to hide.  He is immense.  The boy steps back and has to look up to see into the dull, lifeless, shark-like eyes.  The boy is scared.  But he does not run.  

He takes another step back and another, and turns to get on the bus.

As he takes his seat he looks out the window.  In his hand he holds the shuriken he has removed from his lunch box.  He brings it up, defiantly waves it in the beast's face, and grins.  He continues to watch as the bus pulls away, the giant warrior diminishing, fading from sight.

His day will be long and full of other challenges.  He must regain his strength and rest tonight.

For tomorrow they will gather, and they will not be satisfied until he is vanquished.  

   

IN THE AIR TONIGHT

 One day, way back in 1987, I was walking through a local restaurant in Madison, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, when I recognized martial arts legend Leo Gaje sitting at a table eating breakfast.  I stopped at his table, paid my respect, and he graciously asked me to join him.  He told me that he and his family had recently moved to town, and after a brief conversation he asked if I would like to drop by his house sometime for a little one-on-one training.  

A few days later I took him up on his offer.  He was so generous, showing me all kinds of incredible techniques, both with a stick and a knife.  He also had an empty-hand component to his system which was very effective.

In one of the training sessions he took me out to his backyard and handed me a thick stick made out of durable hard wood.  He instructed me to hit a tree with forehands and backhands, essentially just big figure 8's.  

"How many times?" I asked.  
"100 repetitions," he answered, adding "and be sure to hit it hard each time."  

"What do I do when I've finished 100 reps?" I asked.  
"Switch to your left hand," he replied.  
"And after that?"  
"Switch back to your right hand.  I'll be back to check on you in awhile."

About an hour later he did check back.  I think he was surprised that I was still going at it.  My arms and shoulders were exhausted, and my hands already had blisters.  If I thought it was over, I was mistaken, because now he wanted me to continue hitting the tree but with different combinations.  It was tough, but it was great training.  It also explained why he was able to hit so durn hard!

In too many of the classes and seminars I've attended over the years, we've mostly just hit the air.  Punching and kicking the air over and over, just snapping our techniques out towards imaginary opponents.  

I usually didn't like that approach.

My best teachers always made sure we hit something--a tree, a tire, a heavy bag, speed bags, double-end bags, focus mitts, and especially another person wearing protective gear.

I don't think you can get a feel for a technique unless you hit something...hit something hard...really REALLY HARD.  In the best training you actually should hit something that's trying to hit you back.

Learning to hit, learning to move, trying to avoid getting hurt by someone else, all of this is such an important aspect 
of combat, and yet it's not always done.  I know of some schools that don't allow contact at all.  Or if it's allowed, it must be light contact only.

In one of my first seminars with legendary instructor Hock Hochheim he told the class that they needed to pick up their sticks every now and then and go and hit something and hit it hard.  Hock understands this concept all too well, and at his seminars he encourages people to suit up so they can train hard.  I once was on the receiving end of one of Hock's leg kicks, not even one of his hard kicks mind you.  The pain was intense, and completely took over my thinking.  Imagine, I thought to myself, just imagine what that would feel like in a real fight if he were to do a full-contact, adrenalized version!

I had the incredible opportunity to be on the receiving end of some of Remy Presas' stick strikes, an unforgettable experience.  Remy wanted me to block his strike, and he made sure to warn me to hold onto the stick firmly.  When he hit it, the shock wave traveled up through my hand, wrist, forearm and shoulder.  I'm pretty sure he loosened up some of my fillings.  But feeling this impact made me aware that in a real fight it's full-on, hard contact, and if you don't have a good grip you're gonna lose the stick.  Then you'd really be screwed.

When my buddies Richard and JT and I trained we almost always added in some full-contact training.  Whenever we fought with sticks we'd wear fencing headgear, lacrosse gloves, and any extra padding we could scrounge, beg, borrow or confiscate.  We had some shin guards we got from a baseball catcher, some football padding, and some knee and elbow pads.  It was very tough training, and it was nothing to get bruised and banged up, but we understood stick fighting to be much much more than just going through fancy flourishes and twirling.  The guys we knew who didn't practice full-contact?  We derisively referred to them as 'baton twirlers.'

We used the heavy bag, and we really loved kicking the Muay Thai pads.  Sometimes a workout holding the pads for a skilled kicker was in itself a helluva workout.  You'd be forced to breath correctly to absorb the impact, which translated well into full-contact sparring.

I'm not suggesting that ALL training should be full-on full-contact all the time.  That would be unproductive and unsafe.  

But if one's training is mostly no contact or very light contact, the real impact of a real punch or kick is going to be a shock. 
How can you expect to hit hard in a fight if you've never hit something or someone hard in training?
 
Now, if you'll excuse me, in the words of the immortal THING from the Fantastic Four, "It's clobberin' time!" 

 

  

 
 

THE CPR MAASSTER--
A Breath of Fresh AirA PARABLE

Frank Johnson was a celebrity.  Maybe not as big a celebrity as a Hollywood actor or a sports legend, but in the world of CPR he was a star, and he had few equals.  Frank was a renowned CPR master, (or as he preferred to be called, MAASSTER), who owned several CPR academies and toured the world teaching his unique style.

Frank had learned his skills as a young man in the late 60s, when he had signed on as a life guard one summer at the local community pool.  His Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) instructor was a harsh task master, and it was not uncommon for the students to be ordered into the pool to swim extra laps for messing up the sequence or for not performing up to the instructor's exacting standards.

He was lucky...he never had to actually use his CPR skills that summer.  Mostly Frank just stood at poolside, blowing his whistle when the horseplay became too intense or when kids wouldn't stop running at the edge of the pool.  But he was vigilant, always looking for signs of distress, carefully watching for the telltale symptoms of cardiac arrest.

Frank knew that if someone stopped breathing he only had seconds to respond, so he decided to excel at his CPR skills.  On many evenings when the other lifeguards took off for the local pizza parlor, Frank stayed behind practicing over and over again the vital steps of CPR on the training dummies, whom he had affectionately named Sonny and Cher after the stars of his favorite prime time TV show.

He visited the library to do additional research, and he even applied for a job at the local hospital so he could be around doctors and nurses, hopefully to gain just a little more knowledge.  Mostly he just emptied bed pans or pushed the patients around in their wheelchairs, but he picked up a tip here, a trick there.

Frank thought of himself as a Maass-man, named after Dr. Friedrich Maass, purportedly the first person to have performed documented chest compression on a human, way back in 1891.  Although there had been a number of advancements in the procedure since that time, Frank thought that the original way was the superior way.  

One day, in the mid 70s, Frank was given an incredible opportunity, one which would ultimately change his life.  Because of Frank's knowledge, dedication and persistence, he was chosen to be the new community CPR instructor.  The position involved teaching CPR not only to up and coming lifeguards, but also to soldiers at the local Army Reserve battalion, Boy Scouts, and civilians.

Frank approached his new responsibilities with the utmost gravitas.  He decided that each person who trained in these life-saving skills should wear the same hospital orderly uniform he had worn so many summers before.  He expected his student's uniforms to be clean and pressed when they showed up for class, and he began offering patches to reflect individual accomplishments.  If a particular student, for instance, received a perfect score in performing CPR, he or she would be awarded the coveted bellows patch.


Frank's classes became quite popular, and people all over town knew Frank by name.  When he went to the grocery or the barber shop, people would call him by his new nickname, "The Exhaler".

It wasn't long before Frank moved up in the CPR field, first teaching at the State level, and eventually taking on District and Regional responsibilities.  Ultimately thousands and thousands of people learned their skills as a result of Frank's tireless work.

Whenever new technology came along, such as Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) programs, Frank balked.  The old ways, the Maass technique, were, in his mind, quite sufficient.  They had worked for almost 100 years.  No need to introduce new technology, he thought, so he resigned from his position and began the first commercial CPR academy in the United States.

The first academy was small, just a storefront location near the downtown square.  He started off with a few of the former lifeguards, some retired Reservists, and one or two orderlies from the county hospital, but soon the classes grew.  Frank adhered to the old ways, and he became a stickler for perfection.  He expected each trainee to call him "MAASSTER."  The class did not use training dummies, there just wasn't enough money, and instead they were taught to visualize the victim.  They learned to shout, "YOU, CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE" in their loudest voice.  In unison they knelt down, began their chest compression exercises on imaginary victims, and counted out each one in a rhythmic cadence.

When one student suggested adding music to the class, Frank expelled him from the academy.  Larry Thompson began his own local CPR academy, the MBA (Modern Breathing Academy), and his modern approach became Frank's primary competition for several years.  More on him later.

Even with his emphasis on the past, Frank thought of himself as an open-minded instructor.  The ultra-white uniforms slowly began to be replaced with pastel-colored hospital scrubs and EMT-type utility uniforms.  He opened up a very successful kids' class, the "Elite Exhalers", and, surprisingly, he even began to allow Safar/Elam mouth-to-mouth techniques to be added to the curriculum.

Frank appeared on several community access TV programs, featuring demonstrations by his most skillful and accomplished students.  In unison they would go through the motions of CPR, with and without a human 'victim'.  Usually Frank would appear towards the end, sometimes doing a unique, dramatic and exhilarating multi-person CPR routine he had developed.

As Frank's fame spread, Larry Thompson struggled.  He felt that his new, modern, reality-based approach would catch on, but it seemed that people preferred the old ways.  Larry introduced Automated External Defibrillator (AED) certification at his academy, and stayed current on the newest methods, but Frank's school always had the largest attendance.

Larry developed the newest, cutting edge breakthrough in CPR when he developed Extreme Exhalation Gatherings (EEG).  These competitions brought in CPR experts from around the country, and eventually from around the globe.  There were several events:  Group unison CPR, Military CPR where participants competed in battle gear, and, of course, individual CPR demonstrations, often set to electronic music.

Larry's programs took off, and slowly and surely Frank's school was seen as outdated and impractical.  Frank fought back.  He decided to once again introduce dummies into the program, and he even reluctantly allowed some technology, but he tightly held on to tradition with few compromises with modernity.  

This approach ultimately prevailed, and Larry had to rely on teaching his method out of his garage.  

Frank took over the EEG competitions, and his students regularly come home with the bulk of the trophies.

Students liked Frank's traditional approach and applauded his stance against newfangled, unproven methods.  Many called Frank a "breath of fresh air" after an article came out about his work with local historical reenactors. 

Frank, Pictured Here in a Confederate Surgeon's Uniform, Attends to a Gunshot Victim
Frank eventually went on to win CPR Instructor of the Year and was named as a pioneer for his promotional efforts in the Who's Who in CPR Publication.  Here's how they described him, "IN YOUR HEART, YOU KNOW HE'S SMART."

Frank, a seasoned instructor, no longer gives demonstrations or teaches group classes at his academy.  He still teaches advanced CPR classes to an elite group of MAASTERS, and he continues to travel, occasionally teaching his method to very lucky attendees.

PRETTY IS AS PRETTY DOESWHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE

There's a quote from the movie The Dirty Dozen, where Donald Sutherland's character Pinkley is inspecting the troops, pretending to be a general.  He says, "Very pretty, General.  Very pretty.  But, can they fight?"

I see it all the time...martial artists doing elaborate, 
acrobatic moves, and I always find myself thinking like Pinkley...man, that's pretty, very pretty, but can they fight.

Do fancy, complicated moves translate to combat?  Why do we feel compelled to add fancy flourishes to simple, direct movements?

I can think of nothing uglier than hand to hand combat.  

It's a nasty, messy activity.  I talked to a Korean War veteran once about his combat experiences where entrenching tools, knives, rifle butts, fists and feet were used in a desperate, all-out battle.  The description of this furious fight was the stuff of nightmares.

I have seen the aftermath of a real knife fight, I have witnessed people being brought into the ER with street fight wounds, and I have watched as one man was stomped to unconsciousness in a violent street brawl.

Fortunately I have only been in a few real fights in my life.  They happened quickly and were over in seconds.  Only later did I feel the bruises, taste the blood, experience the stiffness from sore muscles.  

But I have known people and learned a few tricks from guys who have been in dozens of street fights; bouncers, long haul truck drivers, pipe line construction workers, tough guys, some soldiers from the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell who had been on long range reconnaissance missions, and a few rednecks who really liked nothing better than a beer-joint bust up.  

One of my instructors had been a street cop whose beat was in some very rough parts of town.  Another one of my instructors had been a H2H combat instructor for the famed ROK Tigers.  He had combat experiences from the Vietnam War, some of which included up close and personal combat.

There was a common denominator with all of these guys:  all of them, believed in straight, to-the-point, no-nonsense tactics.  They all seemed to share a direct, nothing-fancy approach.  Not a thousand moves, not even a hundred.  Maybe a dozen or so solid, dependable, go-to techniques.  

Some moves from boxing for sure, that's a given.  Maybe a couple of take-downs from high school football and a trip or two from judo.  Knees and elbows most certainly.  Clinch fighting and grabbing the jacket collar, lapel or sleeves.  The concept of grabbing and using whatever's nearby as a shield or a club or something to throw as a distraction.  If they kicked at all, they kicked low--to the groin, the knee, the shin, or a stomp to the foot or to the face of a downed opponent.  

They could all wrestle, and knew how to get up or how to get someone off of them.  They knew how to get into and maintain a superior ground position where they could rain down destruction.  None of them thought in terms of rules or fair play.  Hit first, hit hard, hit often.  No concept of tapping out or yielding.  If the fight went to the ground, you kept fighting.  

With the exception of the martial arts instructor, most of these guys weren't what you would call fit, at least not by today's standards.  They drank a lot and a few of them smoked a pack or two of cigarettes a day.  But they were strong, probably from doing tough physical labor all their lives.  Farm work.  Construction work.  Not much flab.

I liked being around these guys.  I liked the way they talked. Loved hearing their stories, a lot of which was probably exaggerated bullshit, but you could tell when they were really telling the truth.  When they would show me a trick they would throw in a couple of tips:  Chin down, they'd say.  Hands up.  Move!  Don't be a sitting duck.  Be a moving target.  Don't square off, turn your body.  Keep your damn'd hands up!  

When they showed me a technique, they'd show me once, and then come at me.  Usually half speed, limited power.  Soon though and they'd be coming in quick as a snake, punching for real.  If you snooze you lose.  Get hit, next time you'll get your hands up..throw 'em in the deep end.

Hard hands.  If they hit you, it'd feel like they had a roll of quarters in their fist.  Vice like grips.  And if you managed to get in a punch, their bodies felt like concrete.  

They knew about knives.  How to hold them in tight.  Knew enough to know that you should grab a pool cue if you could 'cause it was about to turn ugly.  Knew that running was okay and it wasn't about some stupid sense of pride or being a warrior or something noble.  Sometimes you had to stand up to a bully.  Sometimes you had to fight when you couldn't run.  Sometimes you were gonna catch a beating.  Does it hurt, I'd ask.  Hell yeah, it hurts.  Hurts like a som'a'bitch.  They'd show me a scar, or a chipped tooth, or an empty socket where a tooth used to be.  Some had gnarled, scarred hands.

I admired their animal courage.  I saw one of these guys knock out a guy who owed him money.  It was a short, snappy punch to the jaw, and the guy fell, as they say, like a bag of flour.  I was mesmerized by their ability to stay strong in voice, no trembling, no weak knees, when facing down a bigger guy or, in some cases, more than one opponent.

Most of them didn't brag.  A few tried to downplay their toughness.  Joked a lot, laughed like crazy at their own stories.  Always knew a bunch of guys tougher than them.  "There was this ONE guy..." they'd all say, some real tough-as-nails serious, straight up bad ass.  Guy who was long since dead or in jail.  

When they found out my interest in fighting, they'd say forget it.  You don't want that.  Stay away from bars.  Ain't nothing good gonna come from that.  When they learned I was into the martial arts they'd say, keep it simple.  Don't try anything fancy.  One guy gave me this advice, "When push comes to shove, kick his teeth in."

I always wondered what these guys would say if you were to show 'em some of the stuff people do.  Fancy, silly, outlandish uniforms, very precise, exact, overly rehearsed movements.  A stand there while I work you over approach.

I think they would laugh.  I think they would say, try that on the street, and you'll get your ass kicked.  

I'm pretty sure they would admire what the MMA fighters can do now.  They'd be intrigued with some of the stuff BJJ fighters know how to do...probably say, wish I'd known THAT move.  I know for a fact they'd have admiration for some of the basic moves from FMA knife work.

But when it turns pretty, if somebody threw in something flashy, I'm convinced they'd just stare and shake their heads.

KNOCK ON WOOD
Daniel: You think you could break a log like that? 
Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by a tree.  Karate Kid II


Breaking stuff, boards, bricks and ice, is universally associated with martial arts training.  They go together like bacon and eggs, like spaghetti and meatballs, like Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.  

When someone finds out that I'm into martial arts they invariably say, "Oh, so you do this!" and then they make that universal symbol of a karate-chop motion in the air, thumb extended, while saying "Hiii-ee-yah!"  

"No," I say, "that's not what I do."

"You mean you don't break bricks and boards?" 

"Uh-uh...nope."

"So, what DO you do then?" they ask.

"Fight training...hand-to-hand combat...personal protection skills."

"Oh," they say, usually sounding a little disappointed.

I've never really understood the importance of board breaking.  But lots of my friends do it...make a big production of it.  Some even hold clinics in which they teach their students the intricacies of board breaking.


"Board breaking," according to the Academy of Traditional Karate, in Washington, MA, "is a great confidence-boosting activity.  It helps you set goals and see the power and effectiveness of your karate strikes." 
Really?
In most demonstrations involving board breaks one or more people will hold one or more boards in a static position.  The person breaking the board(s) will take time setting up the break, making fine, last-minute adjustments to the angle, making sure the grain is aligned properly, and ensuring that the person(s) holding the board(s) use(s) a good tight grip.  They may take several preliminary practice punches or kicks, like a baseball batter taking practice swings.  They may get themselves mentally prepared with deep breathing, wild war-face expressions, and loud shouts.  They often bow before and after each break as if it's a ceremony or ritual. 

At one demo, I saw a guy who had unsuccessfully attempted to break some boards with a kick, berating the guy who didn't hold the board right, which resulted in a nice, loud 'thud' but no broken board.

What has any of this to do with fighting or self defense?

What did Bruce Lee mean when he said, "Boards don't hit back"?  Why do people still do it, and shouldn't they know better?

I mean, we all know this:  An attacker does not stand still, rigid, at just the right angle.  An attacker will not brace himself so that your punches and kicks hit a firm, stationary target.  Chances are an opponent will be moving around or hard-charging directly in towards his intended victim.

The reason that martial arts include board breaks is because they teach students to focus strikes on specific points and use full power. No matter how powerful a student is, if he or she can't hit a target (and boards are usually still, but that doesn't always help) then they can't effectively use their strikes. If they can always hit something but don't know how to apply power, they're no better off. (1)

But here's an entry from Wikipedia, which points out some of the issues with board breaking:  "Breaking is based on physics and selection of materials, and the most commonly seen breaking involves spaced, softwood boards. While very difficult to break even a piece of soft pine wood hitting against (perpendicular to) the grain, breaking is almost always done with (parallel to) the grain - which requires little skill or strength. The use of spacers means instead of breaking the entire stack at once, they break one at a time; each one helps break the next as little momentum is lost and gravity is helping.  Because of this, breaking is primarily used as an advertising gimmick to woo potential customers."

If it's true that "how you practice, is how you'll perform," or "how you rehearse, is how you'll react," then shouldn't board breaking be done differently?  Trying to break a board that's in motion?

I don't dispute that board breaking takes strength, accuracy, precision and explosive force.  Especially when someone breaks 3 or 4 or more boards without using a spacer between them.  Especially speed breaks with little set up, or that trick that some martial artists do where they toss a board in the air and break it with a spin kick.  That takes incredible skill.

But it's an outdated, potentially fraudulent stunt that really does not translate into real-world fighting skill.  To my friends who have a don't-knock-it-til-you've-tried-it philosophy, I can say that I have indeed broken boards.  In fact, I used to take beginners and have them break a board in their first session just so they could say they've done it and hopefully get it out of their system.

I just don't understand its allure.  It's just another example of much ado about nothing.



http://www.dontow.com/2008/06/the-physics-of-martial-arts-breaking-boards/ 
http://www.martialdevelopment.com/blog/board-breaking-tips/

DON'T TOUCH THAT DIALSLOW TRAINING vs FAST TRAINING


“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.” Mario Andretti
I doubt if anyone would dispute that slow, methodical, deliberate training is needed in order to eventually become fast.  Walking through a series of movements--getting familiar with the sequence, letting the action steps settle into your muscle memory--will ultimately pay off when you pick up speed.  Learning at a calm, slow pace until the moves begin to feel familiar just makes sense.

But there's nothing like good, dynamic, explosive training from time to time.

If training is always at a certain speed, then explosiveness may not be there for you when you really need it.  You just don't see NASCAR drivers using cruise control.  Sometimes you gotta kick out the jams, go all-out, full-power, pedal-to-the-metal, full-speed ahead.

Dial the intensity all the way up to 11 every now and then!

Some researchers contend that explosiveness training is just inviting injury, but others have reached different conclusions.  
University of Alabama researchers, for example, found that doing weight resistance exercises slowly, what some have called super-slow lifting, usually just end up making workout super-long.  The up phase of a lift, they concluded, should be done at a moderate to fast tempo, while the down, or lowering phase, should be done at a slow, controlled pace.

But I guess it really depends on what you want to accomplish.  Sprinters probably do some slow-paced runs every now and then to maintain or improve aerobic capacity, but mostly they just run really fast.  Or they do things which contribute to speed, such as plyometrics, strength and power training, and sport-specific drills using drag sleds and parachutes, to develop shot-out-of-a-gun acceleration.

That's why it's surprising for me when I see some martial artists always training at a certain, comfortable speed.  Instead of ratcheting up the training, they have a don't-touch-that-dial philosophy, and they always train at a deliberate cruise control pace.

Reality tells us this is not a smart plan.  The action of a violent assault is fast, blink-and-you'll-miss-it fast.  If you've ever been in a real fight, or if you've watched real fights on security footage, it becomes all too clear that a methodical approach and a leisurely pace just won't cut it.

How to Add Explosiveness

• Work towards obtaining maximal strength:  Strength is the root of power, and power is strength in motion.  Fast people are also strong people, and strong where it matters.  Just look at the incredible, statuesque physiques of fast runners.  The common denominator resistance exercises, seen in most any sports training program, are military presses, deadlifts, bench presses, curls, lunges and squats.  Many sports trainers adhere to the 'big-butts-big-power' philosophy and use glute exercises to overcome the quad dominance found in slower, untrained athletes.

• Transition to explosive training:  Once adequate strength gains are made, it's time to start working on power and acceleration.  A solid base level of strength is required to ensure injury-free training.  Adding speed to your resistance lifts to increase the intensity is appropriate once you have developed a strong base. Squats and burpees are fantastic, and so is heavy bag training.  I remember doing what seemed like thousands of 'touch your boots' squats, pull-ups and push-ups in Airborne training at Fort Benning Georgia to prepare us for the rigorous demands of landing after jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.  These standard exercises build explosiveness, endurance and strength and should be a part of any fighter's training program.

•  Utilize plyometric exercises:  'Eccentric' is not just your crazy uncle.  In the world of elite athletes, plyometrics, in which you merge both eccentric and concentric contractions in specialized exercises, helps develop explosiveness.  Performing unique jumping and bounding movements, such as squat and jumps, doing push ups/press ups in which you launch yourself from the ground and attempt to clap one or more times before you hit the ground, or lying on the ground and catching a dropped heavy medicine ball and explosively sending it back to your partner standing above you on a chair, will make your techniques more powerful.

• Overload training helps:  Wearing weight vests, wrist weights, and/or ankle weights in a smart way can pay off down the road.  Of course it's recommended that you avoid snapping, fully extended movements while wearing wrist and ankle weights.  Off-road trail hiking on uneven terrain while wearing a backpack loaded up with sand bags is dynamite training for back, core, quads, glutes, and ankles.

• Reduce work-to-rest ratios:  As Vince Lombardi said, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all."  Speed training can very quickly deplete energy reserves.  Learning how to work through this fatigue by gradually changing the work-to-rest ratio will provide you with confidence.  Go and watch a high school or college wrestling team train some time, and you'll see athletes who push themselves way past what would turn the average athlete to mush.  This type of training can feel like punishment, but world class athletes swear by it.

• Use periodization:  You can't train fast ALL the time.  Cycle your training so that speed training and plyometrics are specifically scheduled, and progressively work towards those specific weeks and then gradually taper down before attempting it again a few weeks later.

• Hit the road, Jack:  Boxers will often do long, slow distance or LSD running, and so should we all.  But sprint training on the high school track and hill training (both uphill and downhill) are also needed.  When I coached a full contact kickboxing team back in the 80s we used 100 yard dashes to condition the fighters.  When I prepared U.S. soldiers for NATO courses such as German Ranger school or French Commando training, the soldiers would jog uphill with a buddy on their back.

• Use equipment:  Drag sleds, parachutes, and bungee cords are fantastic pieces of equipment.  Or for a cheap alternative simply use your martial arts belt with a partner holding on to the ends of the belt attempting to hold you back as you try to move forward.  This type of training can help in working to overcome resistance.  Judoka will often use bicycle inner tubes or elastic bands to practice moving in for a throw, and wrestlers will use harnesses and bungee cords to add resistance as they attempt to shoot in for a takedown.  Using a grappling dummy who feels no pain or fatigue regardless of your best efforts to slam it into oblivion can help get your lungs quickly begging for precious O2.

• Stand in the corner:  I love having students get in a corner and try to punch and kick their way out while surrounded by training partners holding kicking shields.  This is exhausting, but realistic training.  To make it even more intense set an egg timer and tell the student to make it out before the bell rings or they'll have to do it again!  

• Change directions:  Being able to move fast in one direction is not enough.  Being able to change directions quickly is key.  Zig zag, quick-feet footwork drills or having the student engage targets in multiple directions helps develop this much needed skill.  You can surround the student with 4 partners holding kicking shields.  Give each attacker a number and randomly shout out a number to signal one of them to charge in.  This forces the defender to change directions quickly and be ready for an attack from any angle. 

• Get wet:  Training in a swimming pool is phenomenal at providing resistance and enhancing speed.  I have done judo, wrestling, and stand-up sparring in a pool, and I have even practiced trying to run full speed in a lane intended for swimming.  After a little of this you'll feel like the Flash when you try to run on solid ground.  Don't believe me that it's great training?  Just look at this picture of the greatest himself! 

OBSESSION WITH PRECISION
"Welcome to the real world." 
The Matrix

When I first started training in martial arts, it was not uncommon to find a poster in every dojo showing the body's vulnerable areas.  Little red arrows pointed to the eyes, nose and chin, the ribs, the solar plexus, the groin, the kidneys, the knees, etc.  The poster implied that the body was just chock full of vital areas which, if struck, would produce agonizing pain, mind-searing trauma, and absolute unconsciousness or worse.

I still see these old posters from time to time, and sometimes I'll see newer, revamped versions.  What's odd is that the number of vulnerable areas seems to have grown.  With the popularity and growth of so-called 'pressure point fighting' techniques, a typical poster now looks like a picture in a medical journal of a victim of measles.  

Here's what they don't tell you:  Hitting those targets, especially on a living, breathing, highly agitated, resisting, bull-charging, coked-out, brain-numbed, adrenalized attacker ain't that easy.   And here's something else they may forget to say:  Even if you are lucky enough to actually hit one of those targets, the result may not be as dramatic as you have been led to expect.

It's not just that you're trying to hit a moving target.  You're trying to hit a MOVING-AT-YOU target.

Many martial artists, it seems, are absolutely obsessed with precision.  They obsess about achieving the proper stance and perfect posture and other trivial matters.  I once watched a class in which 3 different types of praying mantis hands were described along with the merits of each.  Too many martial artists worry about the art and forget all about the martial.  They obsess over fine nuances of techniques, concerned for how good they look.  

A clue:  If your favorite piece of training equipment is the mirror, you may be approaching your fighting skills all wrong. 

Precision, or exactness and accuracy, are goals in many sports and recreational activities--golf, darts, archery, bowling, etc.  In dance, in gymnastics and in other performance-driven arts, precision is indeed important.  An artist will be judged on the merits of his or her precise movements.  Perhaps, in the arena of combat sports, such as boxing, MMA, K-1, Muay Thai, precision is a major factor. 

"I believe in precision," said professional boxer Alexis Arguello.  "I'd take precision any day over power."  

But in the world of hand-to-hand combat, and life-or-death personal protection, precision is just one of many factors.  I would contend that there are a number of other factors and attributes that are key:

• Positioning.  Finding a stance (fighting platform) that is both stable and mobile.  Chin down, hands up.  Knees bent.  Ready to pivot.  Room to move.  Move like an athlete.  Agile.

• Power.  Achieving stopping power.  Mass times acceleration.

• Redundancy.  Back-up plans and follow-up tactics.

• Tenacity.  Stubborn, never-say-die, honey-badger-don't-care mindset.  

• Flow.  Not some flippy-dippy small stream flow.  I'm talking a raging torrent of techniques.  Machine-gun mentality.

• Emotional control.  Just the right amount of fierce anger. Not yielding to fear, not succumbing to panic.  Not giving in to energy-sapping emotion.

• Breathing.  Keep breathing.  Force the breath out.  Bring air in.

• Pain management.  It'll hurt tomorrow, but not today, not now.  Put it out of your mind.

• As Morpheus told Neo in the movie "The Matrix":  "You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind."  Don't get fixated.  Don't evaluate, don't measure, don't judge your performance.  Don't think too much.  Allow the machine to do what it has been trained to do.  As George Clinton said, “Free your mind and your ass will follow.” 

ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE THIS IS GONNA WORK?KEEPING IT REAL
"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creative.”
Charles Mingus


The martial arts world is chock full of techniques which are often very complicated and highly imaginative...a lot like a Rube Goldberg machine.  

In case you're not familiar with the cartoons of Rube Goldberg, there's a spot on description from a character in Adam Felber's Schrödinger's Ball:  "You know: a lever is pulled, causing a boot to kick a dog, whose bark motivates a hamster to run on a wheel which winds a pulley that raises a gate that releases a bowling ball and so on? Until, at the end, finally, the machine does something incredibly mundane, like making a piece of toast.”
Here's a simple question to ask when evaluating a martial arts technique or tactic:  Are you sure, ABSOLUTELY SURE, this is gonna work?
Just because it looks good in a demonstration or a choreographed fight sequence, or just because it appears to work in a training environment with a cooperative opponent, does not mean it will work when push comes to shove in a real-world situation.

What do we even mean when we ask "will it work?"  And is it even all that important that we train with this purpose in mind?  

Some techniques may be said to 'work' but have no immediate or direct combat applications.  Look at Karate's sanchin kata for example.  It consists of strenuous deep breathing, isometric type contractions of the major muscle groups and a specific stance with limited mobility.  Proponents will tell you that it 'works' because it helps in developing one's inner power, focus, and breathing.  Judo has kata which train specific throws, pins, and self defense moves, but there are also kata which demonstrate more subtle movements--for example, Koshiki No Kata, with its almost waltzing type footwork.  I am sure that judoka will tell you that there are important attributes in this particular kata, and that ultimately one becomes better in action after having mastered these moves.

But I'm not really talking about attribute training or exercise routines that may or may not have direct relevance to fight training.  I'm talking about combative moves.

I like the motto of the TV show Mythbusters:  "They don't just tell the myths, they put them to the test."  Using scientific protocol the cast of the show looks at myths and urban legends, and after rigorous testing they determine whether the myth is confirmed, plausible or busted.

In the field of physics there are theoretical physicists and experimental physicists.  "Theoretical physics is the kind of physics that Einstein did," says Jonathan Gardner. "He would think of things, and then do the math, and find out interesting formula and patterns, and new ways to describe old things."  Experimental physicists, on the other hand, "spend the majority of their brainpower figuring out how to coax new results out of nature, which is very difficult given the constraints of technology and limited resources."

A martial artist involved in a combat sport has an approach more similar to experimental physics.  In most combat sports the question of whether a technique works rarely comes up.  Like the Mythbusters, there is ample opportunity to put a technique to the test in MMA, Boxing, Wrestling, Sambo, Muay Thai Kick Boxing, Savate, Judo, and BJJ.  In these sports there is a resisting opponent and conditions which allow an outcome where one competitor may be able to dominate the other using superior tactics.  But in non-competitive martial arts, there is often only a subjective analysis of the efficacy of a technique.  For the non-competitive martial artist, determining whether a technique works is usually a matter of conjecture--a 'what if' mind experiment similar to what a theoretical physicist would do.  


Janet Stemwedel, in Scientific American, says that credible scientists can lay out the following:

• Here’s my hypothesis.
• Here’s what you’d expect to observe if the hypothesis is true. 
• Here, on the other hand, is what you’d expect to observe if the hypothesis is false.
• Here’s what we actually observed (and here are the steps we took to control the other variables).
• Here’s what we can say (and with what degree of certainty) about the hypothesis in the light of these results.
• Here’s the next study we’d like to do to be even more sure. (1)

I recommend a similar approach in evaluating the techniques and tactics in one's curriculum.  Here's the technique.  Here's what is expected to happen when you use this technique.  Now, let's put the technique to the test.

A technique can be said to be effective if the result or outcome of using the technique meets specific goals and objectives:  

• It must work in a highly mobile, chaotic environment
• It must work against a resisting, non-compliant attacker
• It must neutralize the attacker's force
• It must work with little or no preparation
• It works in a wide spectrum of situations

Techniques which are downright worthless, or at least suspicious, would be those which are:

• Dependent on some force beyond physics
• Dependent on very specific conditions
• Dependent on very specific responses from the attacker
• Highly technical and/or difficult to explain
• Complicated, containing too much precision and flourish, with too much emphasis on aesthetics
• Too dependent on rote memory
• Too risky; i.e., a poor cost/benefit ratio
• Too constrained by rules and standards

"At this time the fashion is to bring something to jazz that I reject. They speak of freedom. But one has no right, under pretext of freeing yourself, to be illogical and incoherent by getting rid of structure and simply piling a lot of notes one on top of the other. There's no beat anymore. You can't keep time with your foot...  There's a new idea that consists in destroying everything and find what's shocking and unexpected; whereas jazz must first of all tell a story that anyone can understand."Thelonious Monk

GROUNDHOG DAY AT THE DOJOS.S.D.D.

"You're so lucky," said my friend who ran a very large and successful martial arts studio.

"Why's that?"

"Because, you get to teach the cool stuff.


"Define 'cool stuff.'"

"You know, self-defense, knife and stick fighting, disarms, joint locks, ground fighting, cool drills, stuff like that.  I have to teach punch-block-kick.  I have to teach boring patterns and foreign terminology.  I have to deal with pesky parents.  I have to prepare students for their next belt test.  I'll get a new batch of students.  I'll teach them to punch and kick and break boards.  I'll teach them how to move up and down the floor in unison.  And they'll make it to yellow belt, maybe a little further, but most quit along the way.  They try it for a while, but they get bored, lose interest, play other sports, move on to other hobbies.  Few make it to the upper ranks where we introduce our own cool stuff."

"Sounds like the movie 'Groundhog Day,' where Bill Murray's character wakes up to the same day every day.  

"Yep...same sh*t, different day."

So why not teach the 'cool stuff' early?"

"Well, they have to learn the basics before they can get to the cool stuff."


"Why?"

"Because they won't have the skills they need to do the cool stuff if they don't first learn the basics."


"But I thought you said that a lot of them quit before they get there."

"Most do."


"I thought you said they get bored and lose interest."

"That's right...they just don't have the same discipline we did when we were younger."

"So what would happen if you taught the cool stuff first and then worked on the precision later?  Or what if you taught the basics in a cool way."

"They won't be ABLE to do that stuff.  You have to walk before you can run."


"But can't they at least jog a little?  Why so rigid?"

"Look, I'm proud of what I teach...the tradition, the intricacies of the style...I like focusing on the 'art' aspect of the martial arts.  It's a structured approach."


"So, let me see if I understand this:  You have a revolving door of undisciplined people coming into your school who apparently have short attention spans. Correct?"

"Sounds about right."

"But these students need a highly regimented, structured approach to help them become excellent martial artists, right?"


"Yep."

"So they may start out highly motivated, with dreams of becoming black belts or martial arts champions, but they start to become disillusioned.  They end up not making martial arts a life-long passion.  Sooner than later, and for lots of petty reasons, they quit before they get to the higher echelons of your program.  It's a high attrition activity."


"Correct again!"

"And this 'Program,' it's immutable?  It was carved on stone tablets and handed down from the heavens like the Ten Commandments?"

"I didn't say that."

"No, but according to you, there's not much flexibility or variation.  The way you learned is the way you teach.  Let me ask you a question."

"Okay."
"How long do you think people have been fighting each other?"

"Since the beginning, I guess...from time immemorial as they say."

"So Neanderthals and cave-dwelling Troglodytes were probably fighting each other?"

"Probably....yeah, most certainly."
"You could almost say that aggression and violence are part of our genetic makeup.  We have emotions which give us the impetus to fight, and while we may not have the claws and fangs of other members of the animal kingdom, we have muscle, bone and sinew.  We have big brains, the ability to process information quickly, and the ability to remember what we have seen and heard and learned.  You with me so far?"

"I'd probably agree with all of that."

"But we also have a tendency to over-think things.  We are a superstitious lot, and we also have a tendency to overemphasize the trivial.  We label certain things and certain events as 'IMPORTANT,' and we latch on to them, pass them on from generation to generation.

"Remember that kid's game where we whisper a secret to the person next to us, and by the time it gets back around the message has changed?  Well, we forget some of the details.  The message changes.  What we end up with is not what we started out with.  You with me so far?"


"I think so."
"Things, places, words and phrases, and specific actions may take on symbolic value...representing something that was once considered important enough to pass on.  But key details may fade, and the original meaning or the specifics may have been lost over the years.  This was especially true before we had books and computers to record key details.  Traditions can thus quite easily turn into stylized ritual, only vaguely resembling the original.  Would you agree with that?"

"I guess."

"Okay, stay the me.  A violent battle from the pre-historic past, for example, in which the danger was very real, the casualty rate was quite high, and the losses were hard on everyone, well, this battle would be remembered and discussed around the campfire wouldn't it?  

"It's an event that a neuroscientist would refer to as salient.  It stands out in our minds in a very vivid way.  We would feel compelled to remember the event...remember the individual acts of courage and heroism, remember the tragic losses, remember the hardship and sacrifice.  But each telling of the story, each remembrance, might take on a slightly different detail or minor change.  

"Remember the movie 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome?'  Well, one of the characters, one of only a handful of survivors of a plane crash around the time of the apocalypse who have grown up with only scattered memories, says, 'Time counts and keeps countin', and we knows now finding the trick of what's been and lost ain't no easy ride. But that's our trek, we gotta' travel it. And there ain't nobody knows where it's gonna' lead. Still in all, every night we does the tell, so that we 'member who we was and where we came from.'  

"They all know that it's important to keep the story alive, but key facts have long since been forgotten. They may remember the gist of the story, but the details have faded.  What they end up with is ritual, and symbolism, and slogans.

"Turns out we're not that much different.  We replay vivid, salient events in our minds, both consciously and unconsciously.  I had a friend who had seen me in a minor street altercation where I had to defend myself.  In his mind the story grew, and years later, in his telling of the story, I had successfully fought off 3 guys.

"So we end up with a story that is much different from the original circumstances.  Before long we have something that barely resembles the past, and we end up with something that is merely a symbolic representation of the distant event.  

"A veteran of the battle may describe what he did as he engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.  If it worked, we reckon, it's worth knowing.  If it happens again, we convince ourselves, we'll be ready.  We should all learn those moves just in case, and when the enemy does this, we will do that.  Before long we build a system of movements around those events, those unique circumstances.  Before long the system becomes important as the original details are forgotten.  Before long the system becomes more important than the original event that inspired it.  Before long 'getting it right' becomes more important than 'making it work.'"

"What's all of this got to do with me?"

"It's just that you seem frustrated with what you're doing.  Let me ask you a question...I noticed a Bruce Lee poster in your school.  Are your students fans of Bruce Lee?"

"Sure, I guess most of them are."

"So here's where I get confused.  Bruce Lee was all about individual freedom and personal expression.  He eschewed what he called the 'classical mess,' and promoted a take-what-is-useful, experimental approach in which training methodologies and techniques which had merit should be used, while those which weren't practical or useful should be discarded.

"He railed against those who were rigidly bound to established, traditional systems.  He famously said, 'Truth cannot be structured or confined.  I hope to free my comrades from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines.'  

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, why not break free yourself?  Why not step back and take a fresh look, get a new perspective, on your program.  Are there things you could do to keep your students interested?  Could you introduce some training methods that are action-oriented, reality-based?  Couldn't you take your curriculum and apply it to a modern sensibility?  Let go of the some of the stuff that doesn't work, doesn't last, doesn't keep your students' attention?  Couldn't you revamp the program, loosen it up a little bit?  Maybe play around with the class structure, experiment with some drills and exciting skills?"

"I really wish I could.  That would be cool.   But I can't.  This is my program.  This is what I do.  Man, I really envy you....you're so lucky."


"It's like deja vu all over again."Yogi Berra

FLOW WITH THE GOTHE MISSING INGREDIENT PART 2
 "I don't make things difficult. That's the way they get, all by themselves."  (Riggs, "Lethal Weapon", 1987)
"Flow with the go."  (Richard Bustillo, Chattanooga seminar)


During a break at a seminar in 1988, I asked famed Modern Arnis instructor Remy Presas what one attribute he considered the most important for fighting.  "Flow," he answered without hesitation.

He used the imagery of trying to cross a creek that has become swollen by a springtime rain.  The sheer power and energy of that raging water would make it hard to maneuver.

So a key ingredient in combat is physical flow--a sustained, non-hesitant barrage of energetic attacks to keep the opponent at bay.  Fluid, dynamic movement that does not pause, does not stop to think.

But there is also the mental aspect of this non-hesitant energy.  Call it what you will, being "In the Zone", "In the Pocket," or "In the Groove", but there is a state of mind in which nothing else seems to exist except for the task at hand.  Many people also refer to this phenomenon as "Flow". 

According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, (mee-hi chick-sent-mee-hi), the person most associated with the psychology of optimal experience, 'flow' is defined as a person's total absorption into an activity, or "being so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.  The ego falls away.  Time flies.  Every action, movement and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.  Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

Flow is a difficult concept to pin down, but we've probably all experienced it at one time or another.  It is generally characterized by the following:

• Deep concentration
• Complete focus
• Unforced...it just happens 
• Full involvement
• Single-minded immersion
• Absorption, preoccupation, being 'lost' in the activity
• Effortless action 

"Time and space vanish," says the Flow Genome Team, "self vanishes, and the now swallows us whole."(1)
I don't know about you, but I have had training sessions where I've lost track of time, and the outside world ceased to exist.  

Some historians say that Michelangelo may have painted the Sistine Chapel while in a "flow state."  It is said that he painted for days at a time, not even taking a break for food or sleep.  He would supposedly become so absorbed in his work that he wouldn't stop until he reached the point of passing out. 

Bruce Lee, in The Tao of Gung Fu, talked about flow, and, like so many others, used water as a metaphor.  "Running water never grows stale," he said, "so you just have to 'keep on flowing.'"  In "Enter the Dragon", Lee's character says, "A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming.  Ready for whatever may come.  When the opponent expands, I contract; and when he contracts, I expand.  And when there is an opportunity, 'I' do not hit, 'it' hits all by itself."
Echoing Lee, Formula One driver Ayrton Senna described his own unique experience with flow while driving in the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix, "...Suddenly I realized that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel."

Bruce Lee talked about the Three Stages of Cultivation:  

Stage One he referred to as the 'primitive stage.'  This is the beginner who has never taken a martial arts lesson.  If he were to be attacked, he would react naturally, fluidly, freely, without thinking.  He does not know what he is supposed to do, and thus does not stop to consider his actions before taking action.  His movements are pure and unadulterated.

He called Stage Two the 'mechanical stage.'  The person knows a thing or two about fighting--how to move, how to punch and kick, what techniques to use.  If confronted with an attack the person in this stage may experience paralysis by analysis, and the fluid nature of his reaction would be stopped as internal calculations are made and the right technique, performed just the right way, is dredged up from memory banks.

Stage Three is the 'spontaneous stage.'  With enough training, the responses become automatic, and fluidity is once again achieved.  "Instead of trying to impose on his mind," Lee said, "he adjusts himself to his opponent like water pressing on an earthen wall. It flows through the slightest crack. There is nothing to try to do but try to be purposeless and formless, like water. All of his classical techniques and standard styles are minimized, if not wiped out, and nothingness prevails. He is no longer confined."

He summarized the 3 stages succinctly when he said, "Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I've understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick." 

Dig this, we use flow all the time without thinking about it.  "When we speak," says Gerald Edelman, in A Universe of Consciousness, "we know roughly what we want to say, however, words seem to pop up when we need them, in the right place at the right time, with the right sound and the right meaning...we do not have to search consciously for each of them or check our syntax at every step...if we had to do so, speaking would be an almost impossible task that would place an enormous burden on our conscious lives."


The_Might_Zep responded to a question about how to make guitar solos more fluid, and here was his advice:  "I know it sounds simple and corny, but if you play what you want to hear and not just copying someone's style, it'll be both enjoyable to the listener and the player. Play what you're thinking of. Think: emotions. Do you want the solo to be more depressing and melodic? Or just plain crazy, fast, and awesome? The second you hold onto the guitar, you're not you anymore. You're the guitar. So play what you want."

In my own training and private classes with my clients we use Tactical Training Sequences which chain a series of movements together.  Filipino Martial Arts call these flow drills, and many of these FMA drills have been adopted by other styles.  Although you can become overdependent on these sequences, they are essential in teaching you to move without hesitation, from defense to offense, and from one offensive movement to another.

Don't force the techniques, let them flow spontaneously.  With enough of the right type of improvisational-based training, the mind/body will know instinctively what to do.








http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies/
http://www.flowgenomeproject.co/blog/2012/3/14/flow-the-science-behind-the-sensations.html
http://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/ir/bitstream/1840.16/7702/1/etd.pdf 
http://www.wanttoknow.info/fluidintelligence
http://www.markfoster.net/struc/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi-wiki.pdf