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Samurai Education Commentary: The Risks and the Rewards of “Old School” Samurai Training

February 21, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

By Carl E. Long

Samurai Education Commentary: The Risks and the Rewards of “Old School” Samurai Training

I was recently surprised to learn that some members of the martial arts community believe that kumitachi (paired partner drills) with a live blade are no longer practiced during samurai education. They think that such samurai training died out because no one in modern society needs to expose himself to such dangers.

For people who want only a rudimentary taste of Japanese sword fighting, that belief may be accurate. But for those who value the work of all the martial artists in samurai history who devoted their lives to handing down the techniques and strategies used by their ancestors, it’s dead wrong. That’s because the men who’ve been entrusted with the stewardship of the sword arts and samurai education need to experience the control, focus, speed, timing and danger involved in samurai training.

Great swords are forged under extreme heat and pressure. So are great swordsmen. During the history of the samurai, such swordsmen have been considered the living embodiment of their art. It’s only in the live performance of the original techniques that they can display the abilities that have elevated them to master level. They didn’t begin their samurai training as masters. A unique regimen was developed to guide them through the samurai education process. Risk and danger were present from the beginning of their samurai training. As they became more adept, the risk and danger were elevated.

As part of their samurai education, new students of the blade are schooled in the fundamentals of the ancient fighting techniques. The movements they learn and the tools they use — wooden swords or dull metal swords — are designed to pose minimal risk. The omote or shoden techniques, which deal with the basics, are practiced first. The samurai education curriculum at this stage focuses on distance and timing, with speed being limited so that students will unconsciously absorb sensory input regarding the length of the weapons and the distances involved. Students undergoing samurai training learn their strengths and weaknesses before they think about those of their opponent. They’re guided by seniors, who strive to push them beyond their current understanding. Mistakes are pointed out and corrections made.

The second level of samurai education is referred to as chuden, or middle-level, transmissions. The curriculum revolves around timing and distance. The speed of the techniques doesn’t necessarily increase, but the response time shortens. Timing is still predetermined, and the distance between combatants is smaller, meaning that strikes arrive at their destination sooner. The risk of injury remains the same when a practitioner is paired with a person of equal or higher skill, but the potential severity of a mistake is greater.

Second-level students of samurai education go through a forging process during which their nerves are tested by intense training. They begin to comprehend the dynamics of combat in which timing and distance vary. Kihaku, or aggressive intent, changes according to the partner. Yoyu, or the ability to leave a margin for change according to the circumstances, is stressed. During paired drills, the attacks become more realistic. If a counter or block isn’t properly performed, the results quickly and painfully become apparent — which is why training weapons are still used at this stage of samurai training. Instruction and correction are given kindly and with the students’ best interests in mind.

Advanced students find themselves being initiated into the okuden, or innermost level of samurai training. Here, a push for deeper understanding and ability takes place. Sei to do (nonaction and action) is emphasized, as are rhythm and an intuitive connection between opponents. The student-teacher or junior-senior relationship manifests itself as a deep trust and respect for each other’s abilities and weaknesses. But trust is foremost.

Either person is capable of changing the technique when necessary but chooses not to out of respect for his partner. So within the parameters of these samurai training drills, the action and intent become very real, nearly identical to the original intent of the combat techniques. Mental discipline and an immovable spirit are byproducts of this type of samurai training. The mind and the moves must be razor sharp, which is why live blades are sometimes introduced during kumitachi.

Few people ever make it to this level of samurai education. Even fewer will experience it with a master swordsman. It’s marked by a relationship and understanding that develop over decades between members of a martial tradition. It’s not meant to be experienced by everyone, nor is it necessary for those who are capable to always address this level. Advanced samurai education is reserved for those who are willing to occasionally take risks to preserve a national treasure.

About the Author: Carl E. Long has earned advanced rank in shorin-ryukarate, shito-ryu karate, Okinawan kobudo, aikido, shindo muso-ryu jojutsu and muso jikiden eishin-ryu iaijutsu. He’s the senior student of Masayuki Shimabukuro and the highest-ranked member of Jikishin Kai International under Shimabukuro. Long currently serves as vice chairman and director for the organization.

Switch Up a Boring Workout for Better Results

February 1, 2012 in Exercise, Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

By Myatt Murphy

We should have a “refresh” button for everything: a bitter coworker, a lame bar scene, the National Hockey League. Just a click or two could give us instant improvement.
Same with tired workout plans. Maybe yours has frozen up like a gym version of Windows 95. You may think you have to reboot, or even upgrade. Instead, all you need are a few tweaks for a faster, more enjoyable, more effective workout.
Take a typical guy’s stale routine: treadmill for 5 minutes, then bench presses until someone asks if he’s almost done—in which case he’s suddenly on his last set. Next, a few rows, curls, and crunches, then a quick toe touch and he’s out.
You can do better, beginning with your warmup. “Most men warm up with a few minutes of light cycling or jogging,” says Brad Jordan, NSCA-C.P.T., a personal trainer in Dayton, Ohio. And that’s fine if all you plan to do in your workout is lower-body exercise. But an upper-body workout demands something that’s more in sync with your plans. “Switch your warmup to jumping rope, rowing lightly, or using any cardio machine, like an elliptical trainer, that makes you pump your arms,” Jordan says.
As for the rest of your routine . . . stop calling it routine. Refresh it, and yourself, with these moves.

Start with Your Hamstrings

“Most men do the exercises they like first and save the ones they know they hate for last,” says Steve Lischin, NASM-C.P.T. “Toward the end of a workout, they either put little effort into these exercises or just skip them entirely.” Performing your workout in the opposite order can give muscles you tend to overlook (such as your hamstrings) the attention they deserve. And saving your favorites for last can help you recharge when your energy level is in decline.

Stretch Between Sets

“Don’t stretch only when your muscles feel tight,” says Jordan. Stretching the muscles you’re working not only helps them stay loose, but can also increase your range of motion, allowing you to work more muscle fibers with each additional set.

Take a Coffee Break

Anytime you draw your legs toward your midsection—reverse crunches, V-ups—you emphasize the lower portion of your abs. These moves also stress your hip flexors, the muscles on the front of your thighs. When these muscles are involved, your abs exert less than full effort, and you end up with tight hip flexors.
Overcome this tendency by pretending there’s a cup of coffee resting just below your belly button. Before bringing your legs up each time, imagine tilting that cup toward your legs first. “This redirects your body positioning, so the effort stays concentrated on the lower abs,” says Len Kravitz, Ph.D., coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.

Close Your Eyes

This helps you visualize the muscles you’re working, which is especially helpful for posterior muscle groups like your back, hamstrings, and butt. (Exceptions allowed when that brunette happens by.)
Also try closing your eyes during any exercise that involves balance, such as a one-legged squat. “It challenges the neuromuscular system and helps you establish better balance,” says Carter Hays, C.S.C.S., a Houston-based personal trainer. “It’s actually harder closing just one eye than both eyes; it’s weird.”

Change Your Inclination

Rather than do three sets of dumbbell presses followed by three sets of incline presses, combine the two exercises. Start with one set of chest presses on a flat bench. Then raise the bench one notch from the flat position—to about 15 to 20 degrees—for your second set. Continue raising the angle one notch per set, stopping at the notch before vertical.
“This lets you exhaust more muscle fibers by working your chest through five or six different angles instead of just the basic two,” says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., a Massachusetts-based exercise researcher. You’ll actually end up doing fewer sets, so you’ll save time, too.

Get Twisted

During the standard single-arm dumbbell row, your palm faces in as you raise and lower the weight along the side of your chest. To get more out of the move, rotate your wrist inward 180 degrees as you lower the dumbbell so that your thumb ends up pointing behind you when your arm is completely straight. This rotation helps adduct the scapula, working the back through a fuller range of motion for added strength and size.

Stop and Go

Instead of raising and lowering the weight in one continuous motion, pause for a second about halfway up, continue the movement, and then pause again about halfway down. “In a set of eight to 12 repetitions, you’ll add only an extra 16 to 24 seconds to each set, but you’ll be able to exhaust your muscles faster using less weight,” says Lischin. This tactic works great with shoulder presses, lateral raises, and bent-over lateral raises.

Lower the Weight with One Leg

Your muscles are much stronger during the eccentric phase of an exercise—when the weight is being lowered. With leg presses, leg curls, and leg extensions, consider the “two up, one down” option. Try pressing or curling the weight up with both legs, then slowly lowering the weight back down using only one leg. This lets you work your muscles even harder in the same amount of time without constantly needing to change the weight, says Westcott.

Spread ‘Em

Change your hand spacing with each set of barbell curls, instead of keeping them placed at shoulder width for all you repetitions. “Spreading your hands a few inches farther out stresses more of the inner portion of your biceps, while bringing your hands in a few inches builds more of the outer part,” says Lischin. Or, try switching from the standard shoulder-width grip on a barbell to an angled position with an EZ-curl bar.

Run the Rack

Save time on the last dumbbell exercise in your workout. Instead of doing three sets of shoulder presses, biceps curls, or any dumbbell move, start with a weight that’s about 50 percent of what you usually use to do 10 to 12 repetitions. Perform the exercise six times, then quickly grab the weight that’s one increment heavier. Continue working your way up in weight until you finally find one that you can’t lift six times using proper technique.
Then reverse this process by grabbing a slightly lighter weight and completing as many repetitions as possible, even if you can only manage a few. Keep moving down the rack until you’re left using the lightest set of dumbbells possible.

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/change_your_workout

The Russian Fat Loss Secret

January 31, 2012 in Exercise, Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

Learn the proven way to sculpt a lean, muscular body

By Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S.,

Ever hear the adage, “Train like an athlete to look like an athlete?” It’s a popular mantra among strength coaches today, since it encourages folks to focus on total-body strength and all-around fitness—instead of just lying on the floor doing crunches.

But there’s been one downside: Plenty of guys have asked me what how to do “two-a-days”—as in two workouts per day. This is usually because they read that this is what some sculpted world-class athlete does.

My answer: If your goal is to lose fat and build muscle, you don’t need two-a-days. In fact, two-a-days would actually be too much training for the average person. (Even in the unlikely scenario that you had the time.) The truth is, even the best athletes don’t thrive on two-a-day workouts.

To understand why, I’ll need to give you a bit of history lesson. But by the time I finish, I will have revealed the training secrets that have built some of the best athletes in the world. And these same secrets will turn your body into a fat-burning machine.
***
Here in the United States, we’re a melting pot of different cultures. This gives us a diverse gene pool that produces amazing genetic freaks—who can run faster, jump higher, and throw harder than almost anyone in the world.

Now those of us in the fitness industry would like to attribute these athletes’ performances to our superior training methods. But that’s rarely the case. In America, strength coaches frequently overtrain many of our best young athletes, pushing them to exhaustion with hours and hours of intense training. So in the end, the athletes who break records are most often the ones who are so physically gifted that they can thrive at their sports in spite of these extreme training methods. Not because of them.
Of course, if longer and more frequent workouts aren’t the answer, what is? Well, you’ve heard the phrase work smarter, not harder, right? That’s the solution. And turns out, some fitness experts have known exactly what to do for a very long time.

Let me explain: Before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians lacked genetic diversity because they were a closed society. So what did Russian sports scientists do? They carefully studied and analyzed fitness performance until they discovered the best way to train athletes. The result: Some of the greatest athletic performances on the planet.

Don’t believe me? I have proof.

Back in 1984, the Russians and other Eastern-bloc countries decided to boycott the summer Olympics. So their athletes participated in an “alternative Olympics,” called the Friendship Games. And when the two competitions were over, it was clear that the Russian sports scientists really knew how to develop great athletes.

To give you perspective, 140 countries participated in the Olympics, while approximately 50 nations competed at the Friendship Games. Nevertheless, the Friendship Games athletes outperformed the Olympic Games sportsmen in 20 of 41 track and field events. In fact, a bunch of Olympic gold medalists wouldn’t have even placed in many of the events since more than 60 Friendship Game results were good enough to secure medals at the Olympics. The Russians broke numerous world records and would have been some of the top Olympians in weightlifting and wrestling. In other words, the Russian athletes were better prepared and better trained. Period.

Now, the secrets that I’m about to give you are based on a small piece of this Russian sports science. They’re not really secrets anymore, but principles. And I use them with many athletes at my private training facility, IFAST, in Indianapolis. The results have been beyond impressive. Not only have our athletes’ performances improved tremendously, but these clients have become even leaner—without trying. What could be better than that?

A quick biology lesson: Your muscles are composed of fast-twitch fibers and slow-twitch fibers. Heavy strength training targets the fast-twitch fibers and, of course, helps to build muscle. But it doesn’t do a lot for your slow-twitch fibers.

Endurance-based training, on the other hand, targets your slow-twitch fibers and ignites fat loss. But as just about any longtime runner can tell you, it doesn’t help you pack on muscle.

Which prompts a seemingly obvious solution: Why not combine training methods and achieve the best of the both modes?

Enter what I call The Russian Fat Loss Secret: a strength-aerobic workout that targets both your fast-twitch and your slow-twitch muscle fibers. This is the same strategy used by Russian sports scientists decades ago. So you build muscle and strength, burn fat, and improve your total-body fitness fast.

The best part: It couldn’t be simpler. For example, each workout contains heavy-lifting and explosive exercises. These movements are designed to hit your fast-twitch muscles, which have the greatest potential for size and strength gains. They’ve also been shown to require more energy to contract than slow-twitch fibers, providing an additional benefit.

To train your slow-twitch fibers, I prescribe “tempo” exercises within each workout. The idea is to perform an exercise at a slow but steady tempo from start to finish. I’ll use the “barbell tempo squat” as an example. This is simply a barbell squat in which you take two seconds to lower the weight, and 2 seconds to lift the weight—all without pausing at the top or the bottom of the exercise. One important point: You’ll have to lower the load—a lot—for these tempo moves. Too much weight and you’ll still be focused on your fast-twitch fibers, which won’t give you all the benefits of this combo approach.

But here’s why tempo exercises work. When doing the barbell tempo squat, for example, your legs are under constant, low-level tension. This reduces the blood flow to your working muscles, depriving them of oxygen for an extended period of time. With less oxygen, your muscles react by creating more mitochondria. Mitochondria are tiny powerhouses in your muscle cells that produce energy.

So the more mitochondria you have, the more energy you can produce. And the more energy you can produce, the harder and the longer you can exercise before you run out of gas.

Now, can you guess what mitochondria like to use to produce this energy? Body fat. That’s right: The more mitochondria you have; the more fat you can burn.

There’s one last key piece to this puzzle. To end each workout, I include an intense “metabolic accelerator,” such as the kettlebell jump or kettlebell swing. These are power exercises that you do quickly for about 10 seconds, interspersed with about 50 seconds of rest. So it’s sort of like doing eight to ten 100-yard sprint intervals, but without the need for a track. That means they’re great for burning calories and boosting your post-workout metabolism, which results in even greater fat loss.

The upshot: By following the strength-aerobic principles of The Russian Fat Loss Secret, you’ll get the muscle-sculpting benefits of heavy lifting and the fat-loss benefits of endurance-based training. What’s more, you can achieve fantastic results in just three workouts a week. Now doesn’t that sound a lot better than two-a-days?

How to Win a Street Fight Using Wing Chun Techniques, Part 1

January 30, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

By Lucy Haro Photos by Rick Hustead

In the martial arts, one school of thought holds that you should change your game to match your opponent’s. Example: If you’re a stand-up fighter and you’re facing a grappler, you should immediately switch into grapplingmode. Problem is, that requires you to train to such an extent that each subset of your skills is superior to the skills of a person who focuses on only that range of combat. Your grappling must be better than a grappler’s, your kicking must be better than a kicker’s and your punching must be better than a puncher’s. It’s a tough task, to be sure.

Another school of thought holds that you should never fight force with the same kind of force. In other words, don’t try to beat your opponent at what he does best. Instead, use a set of concepts and techniques that will enable you to nullify his attacks and nail him when he’s not expecting it. The best set of concepts I’ve found is called the science of wing chun, as taught by Black Belt Hall of Fame member William Cheung. It offers a strategic approach to combat that’s guaranteed to help any stand-up fighter prevail on the street.

Maintain a Balanced Stance When you’re in a balanced wing chun stance, your opponent won’t be able to read your intentions because you’re not telegraphing the way you’ll fight. He can’t discern your commitment to any move or to any direction.

The stance requires a 50-50 weight distribution at all times. That enables you to move either foot in any direction at anytime. Having maximum mobility, at a moment’s notice, is essential for dealing with armed or multiple attackers. Being balanced also conserves energy, which allows you to channel it to other uses while under attack.

Once your opponent moves, wing chun teaches that you should immediately shift into a side-neutral stance based on the side of your body he attacks. If he comes from your right, you deal with him by using your right arm and right foot, and vice versa. Your stance is now similar to that of a boxer, except that you’re oriented at a 45-degree angle so you’re less open to his blows.

Attack Your Opponent’s Balance In any kind of fighting, balance is everything. Strive to maintain yours while attacking your opponent’s. Often, that entails getting him to lean too far into his technique, overcommit to his movement or overextend his body. Without proper balance, he won’t be able to move, block or strike effectively.

In general, grapplers employ a strategy that involves an overzealous commitment to a move. They’ll lean, lunge or throw themselves forward in an effort to take you to the ground, which is their preferred environment. At that point, they’ll attempt to mount you and punch, or they’ll choke you unconscious. That’s all well and good as long as you don’t take advantage of their momentary lack of balance.

In wing chun, you control your opponent’s balance and then deflect his force primarily by controlling his elbow. As Cheung likes to say, if you control his elbow, you can control his balance.

With practice, you can incorporate the principles of wing chun into your self-defense system no matter what it is.

Stay tuned for the continuation of this Web post in “How to Win a Street Fight Using Wing Chun Techniques, Part 2.”

About the Author: Lucy Haro has been a disciple of William Cheung for more than 10 years and holds a black sash in traditional wing chun kung fu. A 17-year veteran of the martial arts, she’s also an attorney and entrepreneur.

Has Shoulder Pain Stopped Your Martial Arts Training?

January 27, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

By Robert Wang, M.D.

I recently saw a fit 74-year-old patient who’d practiced wing chun and tai chi for many years. He came to me because of shoulder pain that was bothering him during the performance of his everyday activities. Even doing slow tai chi forms was problematic because he couldn’t raise his arms above his shoulders anymore. He feared he’d no longer be able to practice or teach his arts.

His X-rays revealed significant shoulder arthritis — so much so that the bone was eroding. My concern was that if he continued putting stress on his shoulders, he’d soon have a permanent disability that affected every aspect of his life. It was difficult to advise him to stop training, but his condition was so severe, I couldn’t let him act in a way that would further the deterioration.

The patient informed me that he’d trained old school all his life. He’d punch a concrete wall every day, and he had knuckles to show for it. To strengthen his bong sao, he’d tie weights to his arms before working out. He said he did these and similar exercises up to three times a day.

That raised many questions in my mind: Did his workouts cause his current problem? How much abuse can the human body tolerate before structures start to break down? How should martial artists regulate their training intensity? Unfortunately, there are no simple answers.

Shoulder arthritis occurs when the cartilage on the humeral head (ball of the joint) and glenoid (socket) wears out. In severe cases, the joint space is lost, and the bones grind against each other. There are several causes of shoulder arthritis, including trauma, inflammation (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), a large/massive rotator-cuff tear and primary degeneration. No matter the cause, the end result is loss of joint functionality.

People with the problem usually feel pain and stiffness. The pain can be mild and associated only with activity, or it can be noticeable even while resting and may wake a person at night. Stiffness also becomes a problem with everyday activities; sometimes it’s so severe the person can’t reach the top of his head or back.

Shoulder arthritis is diagnosed after a physician obtains a history, performs a physical exam and reviews the X-rays. Initial treatment involves pain management with analgesic and anti-inflammatory medication, lifestyle modification to avoid activities that aggravate the condition and gentle stretching exercises to avoid progression of the stiffness. Painkillers may control the pain enough for the person to continue training. Martial artists will often try to tough it out, ignoring shoulder pain and opting not to use medication. That’s ill-advised. The condition can worsen, and the pain can become so severe that training is impossible.

If the pain cannot be controlled with medication, cortisone may be prescribed. It’s a strong anti-inflammatory that’s injected into the joint. The main risk, albeit a low one, associated with the treatment is infection. The injection should be performed via sterile technique, preferably in a clinic at a hospital. The duration of relief varies. Some patients report lessened pain for a year or more, while others say they notice an improvement only for a few weeks. On occasion, people find no pain relief at all.

Another type of injection, called viscosupplementation, is designed to lubricate the joint. Why does that help? Because arthritis also entails the “drying up” of the joint, meaning that the normal fluid that circulates in it is lost. Therefore, supplemental lubrication can provide relief — according to studies, it’s usually short- to medium-term duration. It may be delivered as a single-dose injection or in multiple doses, often three given at one-week intervals.

If one of the aforementioned treatments helps manage the pain, the afflicted person will want to resume training. I usually advise my patients not to engage in intense workouts because excessive force placed on the shoulder can worsen the condition. I then explain the importance of daily stretching and range-of-motion exercises to counteract the stiffness. The goal, of course, is to prolong the life span of the joint by slowing the deterioration.

If nonoperative treatment fails, surgery may be required. The definitive treatment is shoulder replacement. That involves removing the arthritic surfaces of the joint and replacing them with metal and plastic components. After such a procedure, I always advise against any martial arts practice. Some surgeons, in fact, will perform a shoulder replacement only on sedentary elderly people.

If the patient elects not to have a shoulder replacement, an arthroscopic procedure may be an option. This minimally invasive surgery can address all the non-arthritic causes of shoulder pain (e.g., bone spurs) and improve range of motion. However, it won’t alleviate all shoulder pain and is usually beneficial only for those with mild to moderate arthritis.

Returning to my patient: His arthritis is so bad in both shoulders that the only viable solution is shoulder replacement. However, he insists the pain isn’t severe enough to warrant that. I told him he should stop all training.

I still think about the effects of hard training over extended periods and how it can lead to a breakdown in the anatomy. Yes, such training can facilitate impressive displays of strength and power, but you need to think about the potential long-term consequences. If you don’t moderate your training now to preserve the integrity of your shoulders and other joints, you may not be training at all in the future.

About the Author: Robert Wang, M.D., is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He’s an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine.

A black belt at age 78

January 24, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

After practicing jiu-jitsu for 15 years, Gene Pace is awarded with highest common belt in Brazilian martial arts.

By Sarah Peters

COSTA MESA — It’s pretty impressive whenever a student of the Gracie Barra school of Brazilian jiu-jitsu gets a black belt.

Even more impressive is when one of those students is 78.

Gene Pace was awarded his black belt Thursday night during a ceremony after his regular twice-weekly class and sparring session at the Costa Mesa studio.

More than 100 of Pace’s friends and supporters showed up to see his milestone.

“It was overwhelming. And last night…” Pace started with a pause, then laughed. “Well, it was a little emotional.”

The Whittier resident has been training under the Costa Mesa school’s founder and instructor, Mike Buckels, for more than 15 years.

“He’s Mr. Consistency. He never misses a class, not ever,” said Buckels, who holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu, as well as kru in Muay Thai kickboxing.

In those 15 years, before Pace, Buckels had only awarded one other jiu-jitsu black belt, and it was to another instructor.

“The best way to describe Gene is that he just executes what you teach him to do,” Buckels said. “If you show him a move, he will go after that move.”

Although Buckels admits that he is careful whom he pairs with Pace, as an older student Pace is not one to underestimate.

“Gene can still pick me up — and I’m a 180-pound man — and toss me to the ground,” Buckels said. “He practices with people as much as 55 years younger than him.”

Pace fell into the Brazilian practice after signing up for a martial arts course for fitness — and to humor his grandchildren.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well, OK, they can’t kill me, and besides, maybe I’ll learn something,’” Pace said, laughing.

“Once I got started, I had to think, ‘Do you just walk away [and] embarrass your grandkids?’” Pace continued. “Nah, you can’t be disrespectful like that. And everyone just stuck with it.”

Pace’s interest in martial arts transferred to jiu-jitsu after meeting Buckles and liking his style of teaching.

A lot of that style resonated with Pace’s finish-what-you-start attitude.

“The things learn you here are discipline and techniques, which you apply to situations, but you never walk around like a peacock,” Pace said. “But, as Mike says, if someone won’t back down, you finish it.”

Bleeding Edge: The Art in Knife Fighting, Part 1

January 13, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

by Michael Janich

Knife fighting has always been one of the most misunderstood topics in self-defense. Although everyone agrees that the knife is a potent weapon, there’s no consensus when it comes to effective edged-weapon tactics. Some practitioners swear by the traditional European and Asian systems. Others look to military combativesas the ultimate source of blade techniques. Still others regard prison-style knife tactics as the best.

So which methods should you bet your life on?

That depends on what type of knife you carry and what situations you’re likely to face. If you’re a soldier carrying a full-size combat knife in a war zone, your needs and rules of engagement are different from those of a convict armed with a sharpened toothbrush or a civilian carrying a tactical folding knife.

My exploration of knife tactics began with the classic military systems. In addition to reading about and experimenting with the work of Anthony Drexel Biddle, William E. Fairbairn and John Styers, I had the rare privilege of consulting closely with the late Col. Rex Applegate and personally picking his brain on World War II-era knife combatives. I also thoroughly researched the works of early modern authorities like Michael D. Echanis, David E. Steele and James Keating, as well as masters of the Philippine and Indonesian systems. Every step of the way, I learned something — even if it was what not to do with a knife.

The result of my 30-plus years of training, research and analysis is Martial Blade Concepts. It draws heavily from battle-proven tactics taught in the Philippines and Indonesia and adapts those methods to the needs of modern personal defense. Although it can — and has — been adapted to military environments, it’s primarily a self-defense system. As such, its greatest value lies in its relevance to the problem at hand: the effective defense of your life and the lives of loved ones against the types of attacks that occur in our society.

MBC is based on a number of fundamental concepts that define its reality-based self-defense focus and clearly separate it from knife systems that are unrealistic, poorly conceived or inappropriate for modern applications. Realistic defensive knife tactics are not about knife dueling. Knife fighting — at least the way I see it — is best defined as “learning how to fight effectively with a knife.” As long as you’re legally justified in bringing a knife into a defensive situation, it doesn’t matter what type of weapon your attacker is armed with. Whether he’s swinging a stick, a brick, a tire iron or a blade, your tactics must be sound and versatile enough to adapt to the situation. Don’t limit yourself to training that focuses only on knife-vs.-knife dueling. Be able to apply your skills to the broadest possible set of defensive situations.

Accept that you’ll fight with the knife you have when you’re attacked. The design of the “ultimate fighting knife” will always be a hotly debated topic, but the truth is that the best fighting knife in the world is the one you have with you when the altercation starts, not the one back home in your sock drawer. Many of the designs recommended by self-proclaimed experts cannot be legally or practically carried by civilians on a daily basis. Understand that, accept it and choose your weapon accordingly.

Research the laws in your area and the areas you typically travel to and choose a knife that’s legal in those jurisdictions. If possible, select one that has a training version that’s mechanically identical to the live blade but allows you to safely make contact with your partner. Then tune your training to focus on the deployment and practical application of that weapon and make its carry part of your daily life.

It’s essential to understand the cutting and puncturing performance of your carry knife so you know what it — and you — can do to a target. You need to have a clear understanding of its destructive potential, and the only way to do that is to actually cut and puncture targets with it.

The best target for this phase of training is one that accurately simulates flesh-and-bone body parts and is covered with a layer of clothing. I use something I call a “pork man.” I start with a 5-pound pork roast, then cut it lengthwise about halfway through its thickness and tie it around a 1-inch dowel with a generous amount of butcher twine (which replicates tendons and connective tissue). I wrap the entire thing in 20 to 30 layers of plastic wrap, tape down the ends and cover it with cloth — the leg of a pair of jeans, a sleeve from a jacket or something similar. The result is a good facsimile of the average man’s forearm, upper arm or lower thigh — the preferred targets of MBC.

Obviously, before you attempt any live-blade cutting, you must have the requisite knife skills and take the proper safety precautions to avoid injury. It’s best to train with an unsharpened knife for at least several months before attempting any cut.

Live-blade cutting allows you to validate the destructive capability of your carry knife against a realistic target and, in the process, gives you an accurate understanding of the resistance involved when cutting through clothing into flesh. During this part of testing, you should assess the effects of each cut and thrust. Be consistent with the techniques you use and make sure they’re not contrived power swings.

Until you’ve invested the time to prove it to yourself, take my word for it: With proper skills, a sharp, high-quality folding knife with a 3-inch blade will cut “to the bone” on a pork man covered with medium-weight clothing.

Real self-defense is all about “stopping power.” In any fight, your goal is to get away safely — period. As such, the focus of your training should be to stop the attacker efficiently and decisively, to minimize injury to you and to create an opportunity for escape. Unfortunately, most knife systems confuse stopping power with killing power. If you defend yourself by delivering a lethal cut but that wound doesn’t produce an immediate stopping effect, you’re still in danger. Although your attacker may die, he has the opportunity to kill you before he does. That’s not good enough.

Study human anatomy to learn what targets you can cut to reliably stop an attacker. Although most systems focus on closing the distance and delivering potentially lethal cuts and stabs to the torso or neck, the effects of those wounds aren’t immediate, reliable or predictable.

Rather than going to martial arts sources, Internet forums or even military close-combat materials — such as the widely touted but wildly inaccurate Fairbairn Timetable of Death — I researched stopping power based on an analysis of knife attacks and interviews with trauma doctors, paramedics, physical therapists and medical professionals who regularly see the results of knife wounds. After hearing about many examples of people who were stabbed repeatedly in the torso but didn’t stop fighting, it became clear that there had to be a better way.

A foundational element of the Philippine martial arts is “defanging the snake,” or biomechanical cutting. Basic anatomy teaches that muscles pull on tendons to move bones. If a tendon is severed or the muscle powering the action is cut deeply enough, the structure that enables movement is immediately compromised. Traditional defanging with a knife involves cutting the flexor tendons or the muscles on the inside of the forearm to take away an attacker’s ability to grip a weapon. MBC expands on this by focusing on three target priorities:

The forearm and flexor tendons to destroy the grip
The biceps and triceps to destroy coordinated motion of the weapon arm
The quadriceps above the knee to destroy mobility

Such cuts not only target the tendons and muscles, thus producing an immediate disabling result, but also can be used to attack adjacent nerves and major arteries, providing an immediate secondary method of disabling the limb and achieving delayed stopping power through blood loss.

This approach has been reviewed by trauma surgeons, neurologists and physical therapists, including the staff of the International School of Tactical Medicine. All have found it to be medically sound and agree that, applied properly, it will produce predictable disabling effects.

That’s why I recommend basing your tactics on natural, easily learned movements that take into account human instinct and the physiological effects of life-threatening stress. The natural reactions you must allow for include the “startle response” and a degradation of fine- and complex-motor skills. Although it’s possible to train to mitigate instinctive reactions to stress so you can apply complicated tactics, it takes lots of time and intense training. A smarter approach is to accept that you’ll respond instinctively and build your tactics on the foundation of that instinct.

In training, focus on patterns of motion that emphasize simplicity and commonality of technique. Rather than learning specific responses for each attack, learn a small number of versatile moves that can be reflexively applied to a range of situations. MBC uses a system of angles like the Philippine arts do, but the angles are based on your point of view and used primarily to identify and categorize incoming attacks. Together, those strategies yield a system that promotes rapid, reflexive decision-making followed by the application of instinctive and effective techniques.

It’s essential to develop your abilities using methods that involve the repetition of critical skills in challenging conditions. Repetition is the mother of all skill. Repetition under realistic stress is the mother of truly reliable skill. The “flow” drills taught in the Philippine arts can provide challenging and time-efficient training methods. In their rote form, they isolate and refine specific skills. At higher levels of training, you’ll find yourself performing individual drills more quickly and with greater intensity, and you’ll spontaneously transition from one drill to another without cueing your partner. This training format promotes quick actions and closely replicates the level of adrenal stress you’ll experience in a real attack.

Integrating drill practice into a dynamic “chess game” also allows you to experience what it’s like to react to various attack angles from many initial hand positions. In doing so, you program yourself to choose the most structurally efficient responses to attacks and overcome your opponent’s checks, grabs and counters.

About the Author: Michael Janich is a freelance writer based in Longmont, Colorado. He has more than 35 years of martial arts experience and is one of America’s best-known knife-fighting experts.

What You Need to Know About the Philippine Fighting Arts: Part 1

January 9, 2012 in Blog Post, Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

by Julius Melegrito with Edward Pollard Photo Credit Rick Hustead

In recent years, the popularity of kali/escrima/arnis has skyrocketed among law-enforcement officers, as well as the general public. Experts believe the reason is threefold: The traditional Philippine systems offer all the benefits of the other Asian martial arts, wielding weapons provides a fine aerobic workout and, taught right, they serve as a functional form of reality-based self-defense. For all the essential facts on the stick styles, we asked Julius Melegrito, a master who runs a chain of schools in Nebraska, to weigh in. Here are some of his observations.

—Editor

Most untrained people see a weapon as having one attacking feature. With a little education, however, they learn that all parts of a stick or knife ― the tip, the body and the butt — can be used to attack.
Awareness of the versatility of blunt and edged weapons is more common in the Philippines and among those who practice the Philippine arts, but it can be learned quickly by any martial artist.
In stick fighting, you learn about the effectiveness of the punyo (butt end of the stick), katawan (body of the stick) and dulo (tip of the stick).
At close range, use the punyo. It can be devastating for gouging or striking.
At midrange, use the katawan. In self-defense, it’s best to aim for vulnerable areas such as the neck and face. Police officers are reluctant to inflict serious injury, however, so they might target the body.

When they’re not allowed to strike, police officers like to place one hand on each end and extend their arms to shove away an attacker. If need be, they can quickly switch from that orientation to a one-hand grip and strike.

At long range, use the tip. It’s by far the most devastating part of the weapon. If you smack your opponent with the first three inches of the stick, he’ll suffer the most damage because it’s the fastest moving part. It’s also the part that’s nearest to him, which means it’s very quick to bring into action.
The stick represents an extension of the human hand. So, putting the anatomy of the stick into more familiar terms, you get the following: Using the punyo is like nailing someone with an elbow strike, using the katawan is like chopping someone with a forearm strike and using the dulo is like jabbing your thumb into someone’s eye.
As lethal as one stick can be, two are even better — assuming that you know how to use them. Because wielding two is tough, most practitioners prefer single-stick techniques. Their reasoning is simple: You’ll rarely find yourself in a fight in which you have two sticks or two sticklike objects in your hands.
The counterpoint: What if you have one stick and the guy you’re fighting has one? If you manage to disarm him, you’ll end up with a pair of weapons. What will you do now? Throw one away because you don’t know how to use two?
To be fair to those one-stick enthusiasts, disarming an opponent can end with him dropping his weapon. You may or may not have an opportunity to pick it up and use it.

The bottom line: You don’t need two sticks to fight, but if you have them, you might as well use them. Not doing so is like telling an opponent that you’re going to fight with only your right hand and not your left.

About the author:

Julius Melegrito is the founder of the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance. He operates a chain of schools in Bellevue and Omaha, Nebraska.

“Teach Your Child to Listen!”

December 15, 2011 in LEADERSHIP, Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

Isn’t it frustrating when no matter what we do we can’t get our children to listen?

And when that happens at home you can’t help but to wonder if they are doing the exact same thing in school. You keep asking yourself, what does the teacher think, is it affecting their grades and what can I do to help?

I’ve been teaching children for 29 years and I can assure there is and approach to handling this type of situation. If fact we have a 4 step method that we’ve been using that just about guarantees success for your child. You too can teach your child the skills of listening right in your own home.

You can easily teach this 4 steps process to your child!

#1 The listening Position – It is imperative that when it is time for your child to receive instruction from you or anyone else regardless of the subject that they sit or stand up straight and assume a good posture keeping their shoulders back and their chin up. By making this one adjustment they start to double their listing retention!

#2 Always look the person who is speaking directly in the eyes – This is probably the single most important
thing that you can teach your child when it comes to listening. You must absolutely insist upon it when you are speaking with child. They will then be able to focus more intently on the words you are saying to them. Research has shown
that looking at the speaker can increase comprehension skills up to 62% for children.

#3 Have you child repeat back what you said to Them – Once you have told your child what you want them to do simply ask them to repeat back to you what you just said. In time they will understand that you are always going to expect them to repeat your instructions. For example, your child might say to you, “OK Mom, you want me to put away all my toys and wash my hands for dinner” This way you will know your child has heard and understood what you have said!

#4 Teach your children to interpret how you feel about what you are saying – I remember there was quite a difference tone in my mother voice when she was angry and calling my name. Teach your children that it is OK to ask respectful questions. This shows that they are paying attention, and care about what the other person is saying! This can be particularly true with older children, train them to ask themselves, “How does the person speaking feel about what they are saying?” Are they Angry? Sad? Impatient? Concerned?

Please remember that even small children can be taught these easy to use steps. Just start by reading them to your kids, and then practice each skill!

If you see that your child is losing focus, which can happen from time to time, by simply giving them a friendly reminder, “Remember…use your listening skills!” you can refocus them.

Needless to say you also should be looking for opportunities to give praise to your child when they do show their listening skills. Try to catch them doing it right, and follow up with a sincere complement, It might sound something like this, “ I am so proud of you for listening to what I was saying today!”

If you should ever have any questions about teaching your child listening skills, drop us a line. We would love to hear from you and we would be happy to help!

Learn How to Overcome a Martial Arts Injury

December 13, 2011 in Exercise, Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

by Danny Dring and Johnny D. Taylor

Sidelined. Restricted activity. Surgery. Therapy.

Those words have the power to drag down the spirits of any martial artist. When you’ve been taken out of your game by sickness or injury, you discover a whole new team of opponents standing between you and your rapid return to training and competition. And the longer it takes to get back in the game, the more prone you are to experiencing injury-related depression.

Depression, that energy-sapping, happiness-stealing frame of mind, is almost certain to visit any athlete who’s been sidelined because of injury. And it will kick you while you’re down. So be prepared to fight back should you find it attacking you.

Why So Sad?
Here are a few reasons injured athletes fall prey to depression:
• The injury itself: The knowledge that you’re injured is enough to darken your mood.
• Pain: The chronic pain that accompanies many injuries can wear down your attitude.
• Months of hard work down the tubes: Inactivity brings atrophy, causing hard-fought gains in physical ability and skill to disappear.
• Time: The period needed to recover and return to your former levels can be overwhelming if it stretches to months or even years.
• Missed opportunities: The goals you’ve set for yourself in competition or personal achievement are suddenly out of reach.
• Endorphin withdrawal: Your regular workouts have provided you with natural mood-elevating chemicals. Being injured means no workout, and no workout means no endorphins.

Fight Back
But enough of the bad news. It’s more beneficial to discuss ways to defeat depression and get back into training. Here’s how to start:

Don’t deny — identify: If you ignore it, it won’t go away. And if you’re not impervious to injury, then neither are you immune to depression. You can’t deal with it until you recognize and acknowledge it.

Don’t quit: An injured athlete is still an athlete and should act accordingly. You didn’t quit when the workouts got hard, and you won’t quit when your athletic career faces the unexpected challenges that injury and depression present.

Take responsibility: It’s your body, mind, career and injury. You must take responsibility for your healing, and that includes your attitude. Medical professionals have their roles to play, but ultimately the responsibility for health and healing lies with you.

Be proactive: Regaining a sense of control is mentally therapeutic, so instead of passively waiting for your body to heal, get involved and develop a plan of action.

Form a Plan
A blueprint for healing will help you focus on what you can do, as opposed to what you can’t do. It’ll help you direct your energies toward achieving as quick a recovery as possible. Just having a plan will go a long way toward lifting the weight of injury-related depression. Your blueprint should include the following actions:

Redefine Your Goals
Most martial artists are goal oriented and have used that characteristic to reach their current level of health, rank or competition. You should tap into that same power to speed your healing. Set new goals for yourself such as consistently attending rehab or therapy sessions as directed by your doctor.

Get Smart
If you’re going to become proactive in the healing process, you’ll need to arm yourself with all the information you can get. Study your injury and the schools of thought surrounding it. Learn the treatment options available. Discover which medical professionals in your area specialize in your type of injury. Find out what your body requires to heal and do all you can to provide it.

Work Around the Injury
Not all injuries require bed rest, so ask your doctor what you can and cannot do. If your shoulder is jacked up, can you get in a lower-body workout? If your knee is torqued, can you work your upper body? How can you train around your injury, allowing it the inactivity it needs to heal while still working your uninjured parts? Can you swim or ride a stationary bike? Can you work your abs? What about developing flexibility? There is much to be said for creative cross-training and the benefits it will bring. You may find that a return to working out, regardless of how strenuous or unconventional it is, creates a new sense of mission, a hedge against atrophy, a productive and positive use of time, and those wonderful endorphins that will elevate your mood.

Understand that the regimen of therapy devised by a medical professional is one thing and a workout that allows you to train around your injury is quite another. It’s important to separate them so you can set medically sound goals for both the rehab and the training.

Think Holistic
To optimize healing and your state of mind, you must address as many components of health and wellness as possible. The six primary components are:

Strength: Ask your doctor when and how you can lift weights or do resistance exercises.

Cardiovascular health: Also ask to what degree you can maintain your endurance level.

Flexibility: The inactivity often associated with injury doesn’t always have to result in a loss of flexibility. In fact, you may find that you now have time to focus on it.

Nutrition: Your body has been traumatized by an injury and requires top-notch nutrition to rebuild. The best diet is complete in terms of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, as well as vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Take time to study what you need and then consume it.

Hydration: Every athlete knows the importance of water in a workout, so don’t let inactivity result in dehydration. Keep the water flowing.

Rest: The best healing and the best attitude require the best rest. During your recuperation time, you may discover that a sufficient amount of deep, undisturbed sleep will not only heal your body more quickly but also refresh your mind.

Get a PMA
The ultimate goal is to experience the opposite of depression, and that’s a positive mental attitude. Having such an attitude about your health, knowing that you’re being proactive in the process and exercising some control over it will help you feel better and heal faster. If you’re fired up about your therapy or your training-around-the-injury workout, you’re more likely to do the work that’s required.
So acquire the necessary tools: motivational books, tapes, magazines, videos, buddies or whatever works for you. Then intentionally build your positive mental attitude. Like a muscle, your attitude will respond to exercise by growing stronger.

Voice Your Attitude
Words are powerful mental programs, so take care to be positive in all that you say. When you talk about your injury or recuperation, intentionally speak in positive terms. You need to hear yourself talk about the gains you’ve made and how much worse it could have been. Be attentive to that little voice inside your head and make it a source of optimism. If you convince your mind that you’re healing, your body will believe it and act accordingly.

Don’t Obsess
Is there more to you than your injury? Is there more to life than your athletic endeavors? Of course there is, so embrace those aspects while you recuperate. If you catch yourself always thinking or talking about your injury, your healing, your goals — in short, yourself — stop it! Nobody likes a self-absorbed person, not even you. You may find that your down time gives you an opportunity to focus on others and be productive in different areas.

Tell Your Doc
Be sure you talk to your health care professional about your state of mind in addition to your body. He can’t help with your overall health unless he knows your overall condition. Don’t let continued or chronic injury-related depression go unaddressed.

Laugh Yourself Happy
What makes you laugh? Is it movies, TV shows, books, comics or friends? Well, get what tickles you and enjoy. A good dose of laughter not only lifts your mood but also releases those mood-elevating chemicals you get from a workout. Laughter really is a good medicine.

Celebrate Small Victories
Is it your first step since the injury — literally, your first step? Then throw a party. Completed your first lap in the rehab pool? Rejoice! Finished with your first round of medicine? Reward yourself. Find a way to mark your progress so it builds a positive mental attitude and makes your life more fun. You’re getting better, so be glad.

Remember that while you’re an injured athlete, you’re still an athlete. Moreover, there will always be more to you than just your athletic ability. So stay positive, stay busy, take control and take heart. Fight against depression the same way you’ve fought against other opponents — with the courage of a warrior and the heart of a champion.

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