Ron Goin's Blog

MIND OVER MATTER"If Uri Geller bends spoons with divine powers, then he's doing it the hard way."James Randi
"No cutlery is safe, when Uri’s in town!" Claus Larsen

I am amazed by how many of my martial arts acquaintances believe in mind over matter.  You would think that they, of all people, would know better.  They work so very hard to develop their skills, practicing techniques over and over again to improve efficiency, to increase speed, and to obtain power.  They know Newton's F=ma equation quite well, understanding instinctively that force is required to move matter around.  They use a kick, a punch, a take down, or a joint lock, and they see an immediate reaction from an opponent.  With years of sweat equity they perfect their techniques, and they are able to move with grace, agility and precision.

And yet so many of them believe there is something more to it than that.  They seem to think that there is an unlimited power source available to us all.  Something that is intangible and immeasurable, and yet, as Michael Winn of the Healing Tao University declares it, "the most abundant 'substance' in the universe,' something that is real "beyond any doubt." 

What is this power of which they speak?  Chi, qi, ki or prana.

With specialized exercises, they tell you, such as deep breathing, focused concentration and meditation along with unique movements, one can tap into this vast, mysterious power source.  Once plugged in you can apparently move people from a distance, stop their attacks without physical effort, or knock them out with minimal effort using light-touch, sequential-touch, or even no-touch techniques.  With this power source you can even heal yourself or others from emotional and even physical maladies.  


And it's not just for fighting.  Chi often forms the basis of what is now called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).  Homeopathy, acupuncture, EFT/Tapping, reiki, or other modes of 'energy healing.'

I have two long-time martial arts friends who no longer teach anything having to do with fighting or self defense.  Both now use their 'chi' to perform healing and 'energy work' for their clients.


So there's fighting, there's healing, and apparently with enough training, and with years of hard effort, you just might even be able to bend a spoon.

Famous celebrity 'psychic,' Uri Geller, or as he describes himself, "one of the world's most investigated and celebrated mystifiers," has made numerous television appearances in his career.  To demonstrate his mental powers he routinely bends spoons, a power he claims which came to him when he was only five years old.

But as one skeptic put it, "nearly every one of our household spoons is bent and what I would like to see is someone who can straighten them, with his mind or with anything for that matter."

So is this chi fighting force, or healing power, or spoon bending ability testable according to scientific protocol?  

Well, claimants don't often give a hoot whether it's science.  As 'Erica Awakening' tells us, "...you may have noticed that science changes its mind about the 'truth' of the world on a regular basis...as far as I can tell, 'science' can't make up its mind about anything."  Her advice to those who would want to go to the trouble of invoking science, or testing, or standards, or clinical trials:  "Around here, we talk about miracles a lot, and I want to make something abundantly clear:  If you want to make miracles a way of life, you must let go of science.  Yes, you heard me right."

Science for her is "unreliable hogwash," "ego-based limiting beliefs that block miracles from happening."  The answers are not 'out there.'  No sir, the answers lie within.

Even double blind experiments aren't convincing because, as she states it, "'double-blind' is merely an "illusion of separation, and illusions of separation are not compatible with miracles."

"While there are certainly many things that modern science does not understand," says Sean Carroll, "there are also many things that it does understand, and those things simply do not allow for telekinesis, telepathy, etc."  One might add chi there as well.

About spoon bending, Carroll says, "Spoons are made of atoms, and we know what atoms are made of — electrons bound by photons to an atomic nucleus, which in turn consists of protons and neutrons, which in turn are made of quarks held together by gluons. Five species of particles total: up and down quarks, gluons, photons, electrons. That’s it.  We are done. The deep lesson is that, although science doesn’t know everything, it’s not “anything goes,” either. There are well-defined regimes of physical phenomena where we do know how things work, full stop. The place to look for new and surprising phenomena is outside those regimes. You don’t need to set up elaborate double-blind protocols to pass judgment on the abilities of purported psychics. Our knowledge of the laws of physics rules them out. Speculations to the contrary are not the provenance of bold visionaries, they are the dreams of crackpots."

Chi is a faith-based, imaginary 'force.'  It does not exist.  There are those who now wish to imply that chi is nothing more than breath, 'energy,' life force, or the natural electromagnetic field of the human biological system.  I can accept this benign definition.  But trying to say that it can somehow be 'cultivated,' or 'harnessed,' or used in some way that is outside of the realm of science is absurd. 


Many fields, including social work, public health, psychology, and counseling have begun to follow the lead of medicine and are now turning to science-based or evidence-based practice (EBP).

Here, is a definition of EBP that I'd like to recommend:

Accepting the conditional or provisional (i.e., changing, updating, subject to challenge) nature of science, and committed to a method of critical thinking and reasoning, use the results of compelling data from peer-reviewed tests, trials, research, and experimentation, commit to the selection of techniques and methodologies which have evidence of effectiveness; strive to avoid what Sean Carroll calls "sloppy research, unreliable testimony, confirmation bias, and wishful thinking;" continue to accumulate objective, empirical evidence; and continuously, vigorously and systematically monitor and evaluate techniques and methodology. 




http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/02/18/telekinesis-and-quantum-field-theory/#.URfDkB3C25w
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-fallible-mind/201201/the-placebo-response-not-in-your-head-in-your-brain

THE TAO OF QUANTUM B.S.
TALK NERDY TO ME--PART 6


Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt.Richard Feynman

I think it is safe to say that no one understands Quantum Mechanics. 
Richard Feynman

As the story goes the Nobel Prize winning physicist Niels Bohr once explained to a friend why he had a horseshoe hung up over the door of his summer home:  "Of course I am not superstitious.  I don't believe that a horseshoe brings good luck.  But I'm told it works even if you don't believe it."

The opposite, I guess, can also be said...just because you believe in something, doesn't mean that it exists.  

But you could also say that just because you don't understand something, doesn't mean that it doesn't work.

Confused already?  Why heck, I'm just getting started.

It's a Small Small World

Quantum mechanics is cutting edge science.  It is challenging, fascinating, bewildering, and mind blowing.  Let's face it, it's just plain weird.  

Quantum physics, or Quantum Mechanics (QM), or Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), is an extremely tough scientific concept to grasp.  Bohr was one of the scientists who contributed to our understanding of the structure of the atom and to the scientific field of quantum physics.  But it was Bohr himself who said, "Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it."  

Famed physics professor Richard Feynman used to lecture his undergraduates saying, "It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don't understand it.  You see my (graduate) physics students don't understand it...That is because I don't understand it.  Nobody does." 

"No matter how well the concepts are explained," says Raphael Rosen, "there is still something profoundly bizarre and inexplicable about the laws that govern the quantum world."

But as Eliezer Yudkowsky reminds us, "Confusion exists in our models of the world, not in the world itself." 

Turns out we are big beings living in a large-scale world, moving around in a huge solar system, in an even more immense galaxy, in a giant cluster of galaxies, in a colossal super cluster of clusters, in an unimaginably big (and rapidly expanding) universe.  

And yet every single thing in this universe--including you and me--is made up of unbelievably small parts:  Atoms.  

The concept of the atom is not new...even the ancient Greeks understood that matter was made of units or portions.  But it is the modern field of QM and the theory of relativity, and especially the discoveries of the late 20th century, which have begun to unravel the mysteries of what's going on at the level of the very very small.  

How small, you ask?  Well, an atom is approximately 0.0000001 of a millimeter in diameter.  Marcus Chown has estimated that "it would take about 10 million of them laid end to end to span the full stop at the end of this sentence." 
But it gets smaller.  The atom is made up of three particles:  protons, electrons and neutrons, and Kenneth Ford says, "A hundred thousand protons, if they could be lined up in a row, would stretch only across one atom."  But that's not the end of the line.  Ford says that "Protons and neutrons are composite particles containing quarks and gluons."

And their tiny size is not the weirdest part.  What's really strange is the behavior of these particles.  In the big, day to day world in which we live our lives--the classical physics world--most things are fairly predictable.  We know how things work.  We can observe them, weigh them, measure them, pin-pointing their location, even in movement, with tremendous accuracy.  We can predict that if something is traveling at such and such a speed in such and such a direction that it'll be at point X at a specific time.

But at the atomic and subatomic level, it's a world of uncertainties, where scientists can only talk vaguely about probabilities.  It is what Ford calls a "disconnect between common sense and quantum sense."

Tom Stoppard described an electron orbiting the nucleus at the center of an atom like this: "Make a fist, and if your fist is as big as the nucleus of an atom, then the atom is as big as St Paul's, and if it happens to be a hydrogen atom, then it has a single electron flitting about like a moth in an empty cathedral, now by the dome, now by the altar."

No wonder the hippie movement embraced quantum physics.

Quantum Mysticism

I read Fritjof Capra's book The Tao of Physics in one weekend in the late 70s.  At the time I was completely awed by Capra's ability to parallel Eastern mysticism and modern physics.  Capra was, as David Kaiser describes him, "a hardworking quantum physicist by day, tuned-in hippie by night."  He attended radical political meetings, anti-war demonstrations, rock festivals, and was part of the psychedelic California counterculture world of the 60s.  He discovered Eastern religions, the lectures of Alan Watts, and the mystical aspects of Buddhism and Taoism.  

As Capra described it, he was on a beach in the summer of 69, when he had an amazing, trance-like experience.  Kaiser says that the "physical process all around (Capra) took on a new immediacy:  the vibrations of atoms and molecules in the sand, rocks, and water; the showers of high-energy rays striking the atmosphere from outer space; all these were more than the formulas and graphs he had studied in the classroom.  He felt them in a new, visceral way."

Capra began to think of the interconnectedness of all things...what he called "the inseparable, interacting, and ever-moving components," of existence.

The timing couldn't have been better.  The 60s Zeitgeist, (the spirit, attitude, or general outlook of a specific time or period), included the shirking off of all things conventional and restrictive, the willingness to experiment with mind-altering drugs, the sense of freedom from entrenched, Orthodox Western religion, values and philosophy, and the growing New Age movement.  It would have been easy to adopt an anti-science viewpoint...after all it had not been that long since the Cuban Missile Crisis and the fear of global nuclear war and the threat of total annihilation, and science was being used to develop weapons in the very unpopular Vietnam War.  

So here was someone trained in this exotic quantum mechanics feild who was able to integrate "the abstract, rational worldview of science with the immediate, feeling-oriented vision of the mystic."  Capra's book resonated with those in the counterculture, many of whom sought mystic experiences, and the ultimate reality.

Capra said, "The most important characteristic of the Eastern world view--one could almost say the essence of it--is the awareness of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestations of the same reality."

Capra equated the scientist's use of experiments with the mystic's use of experiences to obtain a direct insight into the nature of reality.  He saw these as, Robert Clifton describes it, as "complementary ways of knowing."  In "Capra on Eastern Mysticism and Modern Physics:  A Critique", Clifton says that Capra saw science and mysticism as "two complementary manifestations of the human mind:  the rational and intuitive faculties."  Capra thought in terms of two distinct but equal disciplines both after knowledge of a holistic world.  

Far Out

Capra had no problem comparing a mystic's success in reaching a higher plane of consciousness with Einstein's view of a "relativistic space-time reality."

This idea took root.  Now it's not uncommon for people in the New Age movement to discuss "wave theory" this and "packet theory" that.  Because of the difficulties most people have in grasping the advanced mathematics behind QM, they simply cull words and phrases, such as the 'uncertainty principle' from QM to defend "quantum healing," describe "quantum potential," or somehow try to make us believe that what goes on at the small-scale, sub-atomic level applies to the large-scale, macroscopic world.  

They use words like 'consciousness' or 'energy' in vague, unscientific ways and then try to make a link to quantum mechanics.  They believe that physically tapping on certain parts of one's body can heal emotional and physical maladies.  (It even works in proxy!).  They believe that merely taping the word 'love' to a bottle of water can make the chilled water form beautiful crystals (as compared to the not so lovely crystals formed when words like 'hate' are used).  They believe that 'chi,' the body's 'energy' or 'life-force' can be strengthened and manipulated to affect others from a distance--to heal someone or to stop him dead in his tracks.

Out-of-body experiences, telekinesis, ESP, chi healing, or what Skeptico says are "distortions of quantum physics to support a mystical viewpoint," are examples of what Murray Gell-Mann called "quantum flapdoodle." 

Next time, we'll look at the the B.S. 'science' behind some of the claims of the proponents of this quantum flapdoodle.

COMBAT--SPARTAN STYLE

My Interview with the Legendary Father of Modern Pankration:  Jim Arvanitis
One of my favorite movies when I was a kid was the 1962 film, "The 300 Spartans."  The idea of an elite group of soldiers going up against overwhelming odds fired my imagination.  

I started doing as much reading as possible on the subject, and I even discovered that the Spartans competed in an ancient hand-to-hand combat art called "Pankration."

Pankration is even mentioned in the Bible.  Are you familiar with the New Testament verse, 1 Corinthians 9:26?  Paul says:  "That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I fight, not like someone shadow boxing."  (International Standard Version)


According to fatherdave.org, "The 'boxing' St. Paul would have been familiar with was that practiced in the ancient Pankration - the greatest of the sporting contests of the ancient Greeks.  The traditional Pankration was not a sport for women and children. It was designed for hard men who were just a little bit crazy.  The Pankration, in St. Paul's time, was the final climactic event in the early Olympic games. The Games used to conclude with this event - featuring two men tearing each other to pieces in center ring. 

"Legend has it that when Ulysses returned from the Trojan wars his own mother couldn't recognize him...but when a Pankration champion returned from the Olympic games, his own dog couldn't recognize him."




In the 70s I started hearing about a martial artist who was researching and revitalizing this ancient art of Pankration.  His name is Jim Arvanitis, and I read about him in Black Belt Magazine.  I bought his book, Mu Tau:  The Modern Greek Karate, which has since become a prized collector's item.  

Here's what Amazon.com has to say about the author:

Demitrios "Jim" Arvanitis is world recognized as Greek pankration's "Renaissance man." The Greek-American has made it his life's work to rebuild the remnants of the ancient combat sport from its ashes. 


Among the elite pioneers of mixed martial arts, Arvanitis cross-trained in a number of different styles before it was an accepted practice. Opposing the theory that martial arts originated in Asia, Arvanitis began an odyssey to discover the combat roots of his ancestors before he was twenty years old. From the ancient pankration, he carefully analyzed the descriptions of Greece's early writers, and the paintings and sculptures of its most influential artists. These sources became his "blueprint" in resurrecting pankration into a modern form. It was Arvanitis alone who would introduce it to mainstream martial arts as early as 1970 and popularize it throughout the world in the years that followed.


Arvanitis has received myriad awards and has been honored by numerous organizations. In 2001 he was nominated by his former home state of New Hampshire as its "Athlete of the Century", and in 2006 was given "Living Legend" status by his fellow grandmasters in the World Head of Family Sokeship Council. Black Belt magazine inducted him into their elite Hall of Fame as "Instructor of the Year" in 2009. He was also nominated into Martial Arts History Museum in 2010.  In addition to his contributions to the martial arts world, Jim is also a former boxing and wrestling champion, and a multiple world record holder for thumb pushups.





Highly respected for his teaching prowess, Arvanitis opened the first pankration palaistra (school) in 1972 and has also conducted seminars in many parts of the world. His students include boxers, wrestlers, martial artists from various styles, professional bodyguards and stuntmen, law enforcement personnel, and military special forces. Jim continues to teach small classes and privately, and has new book and video projects in the works. Specializing in both combat sport and reality street-defense applications, many seek him out for his effective weapons defenses and handgun disarming techniques.Today, Jim Arvanitis is legendary for his inspiring list of achievements and by beating the odds in restoring a legacy from antiquity. Through his athletic feats, books, videos, hundreds of television appearances, magazine articles and radio interviews, Arvanitis has truly earned the title of "Father of Modern Pankration."





My Interview with the Legendary Father of Modern Pankration:  Jim Arvanitis

Ron Goin:  You had one of the first NHB/MMA approaches I'd ever seen...was that your intent from the beginning?

Jim Arvanitis:  There were two reasons for my efforts. First it was to rebuild the lost legacy of my ancestors whose contributions to martial arts were pretty much non-existent back in the day. In so doing, I used the remnants of antiquity as my “blueprint” in its restoration. The original pankration dates back to 648 B.C. and was as close to a no-holds-barred combat competition as you can get. So it was not that I claimed to have created anything new; I was simply reconstructing something extremely old but with new ideas and technology. So with that said MMA is hardly a novel concept.

Secondly, I was compelled to forge a new path in the self-defense community. I felt there were better ways to prepare for actual combat than what I had observed in the karate and kung-fu styles that were so popular at that time.

RG:  Why do people still hang on to their own less-effective systems? Is there anything similar to 'kata' in your program?

JA:  Let me say that I find value in ALL styles, systems, or methods. Each has something unique to offer to the vast pool of martial arts knowledge. At the same time, some feel a sense of security in their chosen styles. It is their personal choice to stick to what they have learned and whatever fits their own beliefs, similar to religion. That’s the nature of conformity, and I would venture to say that many are more comfortable clinging to tradition than facing change. But in my humble opinion, use whatever works for you.

There are no traditional Asian types of training such as “kata” in my curriculum. Nor is anything of that sort mentioned in ancient literature on pankration. Everything is based on adaptability and interaction with a live opponent. For me, an art should encourage creativity and freedom of expression, not robotic memorized drills that needlessly tend to squelch them.

RG:  Is it true that you 'tested' your skills in street-fights?  If so, can you give us examples of techniques/skills that failed during these tests?  How did you determine what to retain and what to get rid of?

JA:  Once I discontinued competing in boxing and wrestling, the street became my “arena” for testing my evolving theories. I had my fair share of scrapes, some including multiple assailants, weapons, and on hard concrete rather than cushy padded mats. I lived near some rough areas in the old days so fights seemed to erupt out of nowhere. This is how noted journalist and firearms authority Massad Ayoob first “discovered” me. He was searching for a martial artist with real combat experience for magazine articles he was working on. I guess my reputation preceded me, and once we met it opened his eyes to the fact that what I was doing was like nothing else out there at the time.

Insofar as what worked and what failed I must say that the basic skills were always the most reliable. But technique was not enough; it required street-savvy, going on the offensive, being ready for any situation, and being fit. And yes … the stories of my biting and gouging in one brawl are also valid. In some battles I was outweighed by 70 pounds and pinned on my back, so these tactics were often necessary to obtain a better position. I never had any remorse for those I fought nor was the term “dirty fighting” in my vocabulary. I also learned that fancy stuff, like high kicks and spinning moves, was useless in a fast exchange.

I should also add that I may have never lost a fight in the physical sense, but I did lose thousands of dollars due to legal cases brought against me. Some of my challenge matches against other “tough guys” and so-called unbeatable martial artists ended up in court. So, ultimately, it was an inevitable part of the learning process but it was, at times, a necessary evil.

RG:  Do you/did you research other martial arts styles during your research?  Can you tell us about that process?

JA:  My base arts are derived from my actual studies: Western boxing and muay-Thai for standup, and wrestling and hardcore judo for my ground game. I also extracted some useful material from boxe Francaise savate. These systems I found provided the best mix that could be synchronized to flow together. Of course, I researched many other variables not only of fighting but applicable to strength and conditioning as well, such as kinesiology and scientific body mechanics. I wanted to make sure I understood how to get optimal results from my body to impart the most damage to an opponent regardless of his size.

From my experiences I also dissected the anatomy of a street-fight. It brought into play an entirely new set of tactics and principles, as well as techniques that these combat sports did not permit. Add to this my research of the Spartans and their anything-goes attitude toward pankration. They ceased competing in Olympic pankration as it banned biting and gouging, which the Spartan hoplites (foot soldiers) freely employed on the battlefield once their weapons were lost. They also allowed them in their own local matches.

RG:  What is the proportion of striking arts compared to grappling arts in your system?

JA:  It all depends on the environment: if it’s a street-fight I advise more standup. Being on the ground and attempting submission holds is risky due to the probability of concealed weapons and multiple attackers. Your visual awareness is also compromised on the ground.

If it’s one-on-one, however, then I put more emphasis on an equal balance of striking and grappling. This is challenging for many students as there is also that tendency of “specializing” as either a striker or grappler. Another important consideration here is your opponent. You should seek a skills advantage and exploit his weaknesses.



RG:  How does your grappling differ from catch wrestling, BJJ, judo?

JA: There are many similarities since I trained with catch wrestlers who performed in the old WWF (World Wrestling Federation). I also studied hardcore judo modeled after the kosen style which specialized in newaza techniques (ground submissions). Some of the moves were modified for combat use, while others were left as they were. The grappling aspect differs in the sense that, like the classic pankration, much of it incorporates strikes from both the top control position as well as from one’s back. These are designed to either knock the opponent senseless from a dominant position or set up a finishing joint lock, choke, or crank.

RG:  Did the ancient gladiators use Pankration-type techniques?  Was there an empty-hand component to gladiatorial combat, or was it always weapons based?

JA:  I gather by this you mean during the Imperial Period. There was no such thing as “gladiators” in ancient Greece. However, prior to the Fifth Century B.C. there were mock duels in local festivals known as hoplomachia. The participants wore full armor and held back to a degree on their killing blows with their spear and sword.

In the beginning, the Roman Games emulated those of Greece although soon thereafter, gladiatorial matches became all the rage among the crowds. Unarmed skills were replaced with weaponry such as the brutal caestus (spiked glove) and a variety of blades. The aesthetics of Greek combat were replaced by an increase in blood and gore.

RG:  In ancient Olympic competition, did boxers, wrestlers and pankratiasts have any overlap...were there individuals who did 2 or more events?

JA:  Pankratiasts often competed in more than one sport at the Olympics. There are nine recorded occurrences of athletes that attained victory in two combat contests, seven of which were victorious in wrestling and pankration, and two others having won the boxing and pankration events. No one, however, was able to ever win both the boxing crown and that of pankration in the same Olympiad.

Since all of the Olympian athletes trained within the same facilities and shared similar workout regimens it was not uncommon for pankratiasts to try their hand at a non-combat sport competition. Theagenes, for example, entered in the dolichos, the long distance run of over 3 miles. Another champion pankratiast, Antiochus, won the pentathlon event (which combined sprinting, the long jump, the javelin and discus throw, and wrestling) in the Nemean and Isthmian Games.

RG:  I was a huge fan of your work going back to the 70s, and your book is a prized possession of mine.  Have you made many changes to your program since its inception?

JA:  This was my first book, and I am quite fond of it. It took me close to seven years to complete it. I see that it’s now a collector’s item selling on amazon for nearly $1,400. Yikes!! Naturally some changes have been made to my curriculum especially in the area of weapons defenses and certain techniques and methods of applying them. I feel I am a progressive thinker, a lifelong learner, so I am always exploring new ways and means as they relate to personal combat. But the pillars of my art remain much the same as from the outset… total fighting freedom, functional efficiency, adaptability, and combat realism.

RG:  Fitness has always been a huge aspect of your art...how did that come about?  Is top conditioning a prerequisite to train, or is it something that comes with the training?

JA:  I have always been an athlete since my youth and my dad influenced me in that direction. I set high school records for track, push ups and pull ups in exercise classes, and city records for basketball. In one game I scored 68 points. My dad instilled in my brother (who is a regional golf champion) and myself ethnic pride, being of Spartan descent. Training is my lifestyle and I have done it religiously since then to the present day. You can have all the natural physical gifts possible but unless you’re in top condition, you will never reach your full potential. This is the rationale behind my various thumb push up feats and world records.

RG:  You never did much advertising or seminars...why is that?

JA:  Teaching always was secondary to my own personal training. When I do teach I concentrate more on quality rather than quantity in my classes. I have always been extremely selective and only find it rewarding to work with those who either have previous experience in a contact sport or martial art, or those possessing the right attitude to learn.
Marketing my program was never really my first interest. I stopped teaching publicly in 1992 as I was contracted to train Special Forces for Operation Desert Storm. After that I preferred private lessons and short-term military courses, making instructional videos, and writing books more than traveling to conduct seminars or run a school.



RG:  Are weapons skills a part of your program?  

JA:  Yes in my pammachon (high-risk conflict resolution) component I teach defenses against impact and edged weapons, and firearms. This is an absolute must for preparing the student to face the realities of today’s hostile environment. You’re far more likely to face these types of weapons than a katana sword out of feudal Japan. My most recent book with Paladin Press, “Battlefield Pankration: Lethal Personal Combat for the Street”, contains much material on this aspect.



RG:  What's keeping Pankration out of the modern Olympics?  It seems that it should be right up there with all of the ancient sports!

JA:  In the late 1990s when Athens was named the host site for the 2004 Olympics, a movement by the karate leaders there was undertaken to return pankration as a medal event. Before this there was no pankration in Greece. However, it failed to gain entry by a decision of the IOC. The Olympics are primarily concerned with sportsmanship and safety, and combat sports are under scrutiny as a result. For any form of mixed fighting to be allowed as an Olympic event it would have to carry an inordinate set of rules that would hardly resemble the true pankration. 

RG:  How does Pankration competition differ from UFC/Pride etc?  Would the rules need to change if the sport became an Olympic sport?

JA:  In my own brand of pankration I emphasize sparring with contact and protective gear. There are three variants: ano machia (standup with striking, take downs, throws but no ground fighting); kato machia (ground fighting that starts from the clinch but also allows strikes on the ground); and the complete contest itself (called pliris agon). I do not sponsor my own competitions but I do support tournaments held in Greece. Their brand of pankration (pangration athlima) is a much safer contest than the UFC or Pride. This is because the primary objective of the Greek sports governing body is to promote an Olympic-based version of mixed fighting. It is scored on points and no head contact is allowed. Nor are leg kicks, elbows, and ground and pound. In its current state it looks like amateur MMA, a combination of karate and jiu-jitsu. Even with these safeguards, pankration has yet to find acceptance as an official Olympic event.

RG:  How much do you think Western arts such as Pankration influenced Eastern martial arts?

JA:  This has been a source of contention among both martial artists and historians alike for many years. It’s theorized that the conquests of Alexander the Great into the subcontinent may have influenced the development of Asian martial arts. While some tend to agree, others do not. The record shows that Alexander was a critic of pankration’s usefulness in war. At the same time, he was an ardent fan of the Games.

RG:  How important are concessions/submissions to Pankration?

JA:  They’re important for one-on-one combat, as in a sporting competition or sparring. However, they’re less significant in a street brawl. Subs are more complex to apply than strikes and there is no room for anything complicated when your life is on the line. Chokes, for instance, require the use of two arms and both will be needed to stave off more than one opponent.



RG:  What about small joint locks?

JA:  Absolutely … I teach and advocate small joint locks, such as finger-bending, in my art. Like gouging, shredding, biting, head-butting, hair-pulling, etc. they’re part of the totality concept. My curriculum tends to encompass anything needed to prevail, and function always takes precedence over form or formality.

RG:  You still train like an Olympic athlete yourself...can you share with us what some average training/conditioning sessions are like for you?

JA:  My daily training is at least 3 hours a day 6 days/week. It includes the following:

• Cardio : Running 6-8 miles, rope-jumping, biking up to 40 miles.
• Flexibility: Leg stretching on various apparatus
• Strength: Weight and resistance training for core muscles, biceps, triceps, forearms, lats, traps, et al
• Bagwork: Heavy bags, speed bags, double-end bags, BOB dummy, small ball target, focus mitts, Thai kick shields, and many more devices to improve distance, speed, power, accuracy, and timing.

Most of my training is done solo, but I often have training partners for pad work. I lift weights 5 days per week focusing on different muscle groups. I compete in marathons, duathlons (running/biking), triathlons, and obstacle course races throughout the year.

RG:  Can you share with us some gleanings from your own historical research into Pankration and ancient combat?

JA:  What I have discovered through my own research of the ancient ways can be summed up in one of my favorite sayings; “there is nothing new under the sun.” Whatever we see today in the myriad of martial arts styles and systems is all there in the archaeological record. Hammer fists, front kicks, take downs, throws, submissions, trapping, et al, were practiced some 3000 years ago. It has been my personal odyssey to add the missing ingredients of what was left to us in artwork and poetic verses. This is where the punches, mobility and footwork of boxing, the kicks, elbows, and knees of Muay-Thai, the ground control positions of wrestling, and the judo submissions play a major role.

RG:  Is Pankration more than a gathering, smorgasbord of random techniques from boxing, wrestling, savate, or is it more?  In what way?

JA:  The restoration of pankration into a cohesive form necessitated assimilating elements from modern sources that replicated the techniques of antiquity. What makes it unique is in its tactical applications and transitions (going from one position or level to the next). Nothing was random in its selection process. Each movement was carefully analyzed for its effectiveness in doing maximum damage while expending minimal effort. The guiding principle was always to keep it as simple as possible.

RG:  How do you train hard but safe?  What are your tips for avoiding injury? 

JA:  You have to listen to your body to avoid injury. When it’s crying out for a break then heed its call. One need not accept limitations but must exercise caution on far he is able to push himself. We all have different levels of athleticism and will-power so that should light the way.

RG:  How does one go about learning more about your system and training in your art?

JA:  To learn more of my art and training visit my website:   jimarvanitis.com. Also my six books and over 25 instructional videos are available through blackbeltmag.com, Paladin Press, and amazon.com.

RG:  What are your plans for the future...what's next on the agenda?

JA:  I enjoy the creative process which for me is seemingly never-ending. I have three more books in the works, and more instructional videos. I also am working with Greece’s federation to evolve their pankration athlima (sports) competitions for the future. I feel that what I set out to do over four decades ago has come to fruition but I am not done by any means and sitting back on what I have accomplished. I continue to carry the torch of this legacy.

THE DAY I ASKED A DUMB QUESTION

It was near the end of gung fu class...circa 1973.  We had a few minutes, so the sifu opened it up for questions.  "Anyone?  Any question at all.  Hey, there are no dumb questions," said my gung fu instructor.

I was new to this group, but I sheepishly raised my hand.  The sifu told me to go ahead.  "I've noticed that when people hold the kicking shield for you, they go flying back when you kick. It looks like they're playing along, trying to make you look good.  Couldn't the person holding the shield just brace himself?"

"Excellent question, Ron.  C'mon up here and grab the shield."  As I got up I noticed some of the other guys smirking, shaking their heads, sending me telepathic sympathy messages.  

The instructor began to explain basic physics to us...how force is a result of mass times acceleration.  He explained that he would do his best to accelerate like a car at a drag strip.  He would also try to put as much of his mass into the kick as possible.  This combination, he said, would result in an impulse, or shock wave of force.

I grabbed the shield and brought it in tight.  I planted one foot forward, and put the other one back, like I was planning on holding back that big menacing bull from the Schlitz Malt Liquor commercial.  

He said he would count to 3 and then kick.  He wanted everybody to join in on the countdown.  

"Countdown?!"  I wondered...wait, was he getting ready to  launch me into space.

He asked if I was ready, made a few last minute adjustments and lightly punched the shield to make sure I was all set.

"One--Two--THREE!"


Although the shield was thick, I felt the powerful shock wave blast right through my arms and my body.  Two blasts...one from the kick, and then the one where I actually hit the wall, which was about 3 feet behind where I had been standing.  I may have lapsed into unconsciousness for a few seconds, and I was quite shaken.  I'm pretty sure I bit my tongue.   

 
"I know, I know," I said when I came to, "THAT was a dumb question...a really dumb question!"

WHAD'YA KNOW?TALK NERDY TO ME PART 5
"Our capacity for self-deception has no known limits."
Michael Novak



On the PBS radio game show, "Whad'ya Know," one of the categories of questions they ask is "Things You Should Have Learned In School (Had You Been Paying Attention)."

It turns out that a lot of us didn't pay very much attention at all, and as a result, we are easily taken in by scams, deceptions, and bad science, junk science or what Robert Park calls 'voodoo science.'

Here's a great example.  I own a knee wrap that has magnets in it.  The guy who gave it to me wanted me to join him in selling these wraps because he believed that the magnets could help eliminate pain.  He even gave me a brochure that explained how they worked.  The 'science' sounded convincing:  Magnets produce a measurable force called a magnetic field.  Heck, the force is even measured in cool terminology called a Tesla (T) or units called gauss (G), and 1 T = 10,000 G.  Throw in some talk about "low-level electromagnetic fields," "positive and negative ion energy levels," and the fall-back tactic of mentioning "quantum physics," and you might even believe they could work.  But as Scott Fishman says, "They join a long line of miracle cures and gadgets that have promised a cure for pain but have mainly produced a lighter wallet.  There is scant scientific evidence for the effectiveness of magnets."  

A few years ago I had a seasonal cold.  No biggie, just an annoying couple of days of coughing, sneezing, body aches, and a runny nose.  A guy in the office told me about a over the counter product called "Airborne" cold remedy.  He said you could take it before being around other people with colds, and that it would actually keep you from getting it.  Or, if you already had a cold, it could help you get rid of it...quick.  

Well, it turns out the claims made by the company, according to the non-profit consumer watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), determined that "the idea proposed by the company, that you could take this formula and be instantly protected when you enter an airplane or other closed quarters, is incorrect.  There is nothing you can swallow -- no vitamin, no mineral, no herb -- that will instantly protect you.  The immune system doesn't work that way."

There is even something called "Tooth Fairy Science" in which, according to Harriet Hall, M.D., people conduct "research on a phenomenon before establishing that the phenomenon exists."  

     "You could measure how much money the Tooth Fairy leaves under the pillow, whether she leaves more cash for the first or last tooth, whether the payoff is greater if you leave the tooth in a plastic baggie versus wrapped in Kleenex.  You can get all kinds of good data that is reproducible and statistically significant.  Yes, you have learned something.  But you haven't learned what you think you're learned, because you haven't bothered to establish whether the Tooth Fairy really exists."


The TV show "Finding Bigfoot" on the Animal Planet network uses Tooth Fairy science.  Matt Moneymaker, James “Bobo” Fay, Cliff Barackman, and Ranae Holland have spent 3 seasons 'investigating' the mythical beast.  They use night vision goggles and infrared cameras, and they even resort to beating the bushes and creating Yeti-style yelling and screeching to see if they can catch a glimpse of the shy and elusive creature.  Guess what?  Nothing, nada, zip, zilch.

In 2010 there were at least 5 TV shows devoted to tracking down ghosts:  Ghost Lab, Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal State, and Ghost Hunters.  The fact that no evidence has ever been produced to actually prove the existence of ghosts doesn't stop the intrepid hunters.

Nessie, UFOs, dowsing, the efficacy of prayer, the existence of protective guardian angels, chi, chakras, reiki healing, remote viewing and mind reading, astrology, alternative medicine, and homeopathy all tend to fall into this category as well.  


Q: Did you hear about the homeopath who forgot to take his medicine?A: He died of an overdose.
Real Science

Real science, according to The Skeptic's Dictionary, requires "clearly defined, controlled, double-blind, randomized, repeatable, publicly presented studies." 

But if what one believes can't be seen, measured, reproduced or detected?  What if a special power just doesn't work under controlled conditions?  Does that mean that those who advocate for these beings or cures or powers will reject their beliefs?  

Nope...doesn't work that way...these people 'know' in their heart of hearts that what they believe is real.  They put their own personal anecdotal evidence on a scale alongside scientific studies, and their beliefs far outweigh science every time. 

Forget that anecdotal or testimonial evidence is prone to contamination by beliefs, selective attention to details, wishful thinking, self-deception, or distortion.  Forget that time can skew fallible and imperfect memories, that facts and dates can get muddled, and that some people are simply deluded, confused, or just bad at math and statistics.  Forget that there is little true scientific value to their claims...these people KNOW, they just know.  Don't try to weigh them down with factual details.

Thomas Gilovich, in How We Know What Isn't So, says that we must be on guard against tendencies to:

• misperceive random data and see patterns where none exist
• misinterpret incomplete or unrepresentative data and give extra attention to confirmatory data while drawing conclusions without attending to or seeking out disconfirmatory data
• make biased evaluations of ambiguous or inconsistent data, tending to be uncritical of supportive data and critical of unsupportive data

Charles Tart said, "Let's take this into the laboratory, where we can know exactly what the conditions were.  We don't have to hear a story told years later and hope that it was accurate."

In other words...science.  Science, according to Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Science, is where "we take a claim, and we pull it apart to extract a clear scientific hypothesis; then we examine the experimental evidence for that hypothesis; and lastly, if there is no evidence, we devise new experiments."

But for most people with firmly entrenched beliefs?  Nothing doing.  Instead they seem to enjoy what Goldacre refers to as their "self-imposed isolation from the corrective of academic criticism, the persecution complex, the grandiosity, the denouncement of critics as being in the pay of darker forces, and their enjoyment of jargon."

CONNECTING THE DOTS
TALK NERDY TO ME PART 4
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
(Latin:  AFTER This, Therefore BECAUSE of This)

We humans have a very special talent.  Seems we're quite good at inferring causality--finding connections.  We're so good at it in fact that we find connections where none actually exist.  You've heard it all before, I'm sure:  Correlation does not mean causation.  

"The correlation not causation fallacy is committed when one reasons that just because two things are found together (i.e. are correlated) there must be a direct causal connection between them. Often arguments of this kind seem compelling, but it’s important to consider other possible explanations before concluding that one thing must have caused the other."[1]

But the concept just doesn't always sink in, even when we really should know better.

I, for instance, as I near my 60th birthday, still hesitate to step on a crack on the sidewalk, thus once again saving my Mom from yet another potential broken back incident.    

Elizabeth Sherman, in her article "Science and Antiscience in America:  Why it Matters," says that whenever she flies, she always touches the outside of the fuselage just as she's boarding the aircraft.  So far it's worked...she's never been on a plane that crashed!

It was believed, and research seemed to confirm, that when a number of Transcendental Meditation practitioners converged on Washington, DC, in 1993, their collective efforts at concentration and meditation helped to decrease violent crime by as much as 23%.

Many years ago I worked at a mental health facility.  Many members of the staff, including those with advanced medical and/or psychiatric degrees, were convinced that there was a direct correlation between a full moon and patient behavior.

A martial arts master can break stacks of bricks and boards, and thus would be a dangerous contender in a real fight.  Those skills should be included as part of a fighter's training regimen.

A chi expert can touch a person at various points of a volunteer's body, and by the effective use of his well-honed internal force, he can render that person unconscious.  This chi power is thus a skill that we should train in and which we could use in self defense.


Roosters crow just before the sun rises. Therefore, roosters crowing cause the sun to rise.


The Ability


So what is this causation/correlation deal all about?  Why are we so good at (or bad at it depending on your perspective)?  And what possibly could go wrong?


It is said that we have lost touch with nature in our modern lives.  Ancient humans gathered their own roots, fruits, and vegetables and hunted their own protein sources.  They could walk into the woods or the rain forest, and they knew which foods to eat, which ones to avoid, and which ones were needed for medicine.

This encyclopedic knowledge didn't come easy.  It was the product of a long, painstaking process.  Each leaf, each piece of fruit, each handful of seeds, each tuber or root would have to be carefully sampled.  Lynne Olver says that food historians "presume foods were selected or rejected based on observation (they were avoided by the other animals in the area) in conjunction with basic trial and error (if it made the taster sick, it was unlikely others partook)."[2]

If one member of the group ate a mushroom and got sick, others would avoid eating it.  

Every skill which ancient man learned was similarly acquired via this trial-and-error, observation, deduction, memory, oral tradition process.  When writing came along it became much easier to document information and to pass this information along to the next generation.

In modern times we have a wealth of documented history available to us.  But we also have a sophisticated and systematic process for sampling and researching which we use in our on-going efforts to acquire new information.  This new process is that of science and statistics.

The process includes the well planned design of trials or experiments, careful observation, and thorough and precise recording of data.  The results of the experiments are accepted as provisional and need to be repeated and replicated.  "It is this provisional quality of science that is often misunderstood," says Christopher Potter.  "Science's provisional nature is its strength, not a weakness." 


But even with a careful approach there are still threats to validity.  CEM has listed the following as potential threats:  

Chance, bias, and confounding.

• Chance:  Random variations can occur.  Using an adequate sample size can help to avoid these errors.
• Bias:  We often want our results to match our expectations.  It is difficult to remain neutral or objective and to let the results bring us the truth as opposed to the truth we wish to see.
• Confounding:  Confounding variables are the ones that the researcher failed to control or eliminate, thus damaging the validity of an experiment.  A classic example would be to jump to the conclusion that carrying matches or drinking heavily can lead to lung cancer.

"Of course, it is a necessary condition of causation that the cause precede the effect, but it is not a sufficient condition. Thus, post hoc evidence may suggest the hypothesis of a causal relationship, which then requires further testing, but it is never sufficient evidence on its own."  Correlation instead of causation thinking, or Post Hoc, "manifests itself as a bias towards jumping to conclusions based upon coincidences. Superstition and magical thinking include Post Hoc thinking; for instance, when a sick person is treated by a witch doctor, or a faith healer, and becomes better afterward, superstitious people conclude that the spell or prayer was effective. Since most illnesses will go away on their own eventually, any treatment will seem effective by Post Hoc thinking. This is why it is so important to test proposed remedies carefully, rather than jumping to conclusions based upon anecdotal evidence."[3]


In Part 5 we will look at the growing anti-science movement and the potential impact of this type of thinking. 


http://istpp.org/crime_prevention/
http://www.collemergencymed.ac.uk/CEM/Research/technical_guide/biasconfound.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/jan/06/correlation-causation
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=620651