Touch

Ask any Martial Artist about how they would defend against any said attack and they will give you a brief scenario of if this, then that.

They will break down the attack and the defense and point out what they believe is a simple solution.

One thing most people don't understand about an attack is that it comes suddenly without warning and it's extremely CLOSE.

The proximity of an attacker is misunderstood, due mostly to movies and to the MMA circuit, and is generally a surprise even for those who have trained for a while but never faced an attack. Today's society is filled with random violence and you can be attacked for no other reason than just because you were the one there. Most schools have failed to instruct pupils on CQB (close quaters battle) and how to use things such as your surroundings to engage an attacker.

In the old days, it was always the rule of thumb that if someone held you up for your wallet, etc. don't fight back, let them have it because it isn't worth dying for. But the rules have changed and your attacker will probably kill you anyway. So today's Martial Artists have to train to literally be warriors rather than "artists". All of the competitions and dance routines are making a mockery of warrior arts and producing impotent stylists with no chance at making it out of an attack alive.

Try to remember that an attack will begin where your body ends. Try to practice defenses that are closer than you are comfortable. Be prepared to be touched, groped, manhandled, and grappled with.

Whatever happened to Bushido?

"It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of thier material possessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect." - Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure


People today study the Martial Arts for various reasons. Some for physical fitness, some for a hobby, some for competition. The orginal purpose of the martial arts was war. It was combat. Those who practiced it were considered to be warriors. The samurai, Hwarang, even the Shaolin monks.

These men governed their lives in a certain way, always considering themselves to be warriors and with that came certain responsibilities. Today, what happens in your everyday life is never considered. People don't take it seriously anymore. Soccer moms and their kids take classes in the shopping mall because it's considered a "family activity". MMA fighters strut around and try to tell people how a fight "really is" because they fight in a controlled environment with a given set of rules.

All of this has nothing to do with martial arts, nothing to do with Budo. Bushido defined is The Way of the Gentleman Warrior. The samurai lived thier lives being prepared to die in battle.

So how does this translate into the modern landscape? Well, those of us trained in the martial arts have a responsiblity to ourselves and to our instructors to take it very seriously and to train as if we are preparing for war. It doesn't take many newscasts to realize that the world is rapidly becoming a more violent place everyday.

We also have a responsibility to others. We may not like it, but we have the responsibility to defend other people. We are the knights of old who defended a small village against tyrranical raiders.

The martial arts were designed to injure, maim, even kill an enemy. It should never be something we do in between soccer matches or for sport.


"Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent." - Hagakure

What's the value of grappling?

In the movie, Redbelt, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a Brazilian Jujitsu instructor who teaches his students how to defend themselves on the street. His mindset in not in the ring, but in the world around him.

So what does grappling have to do with self-defense? Plenty! Most proponents of the ground fighting game will tell you that most fights end up on the ground. Well, that is true, to the point that at the end one is on the ground and one is still standing. But the truth is that an attacker may knock you to the ground and you need to be able to defend yourself there as well.

But grappling is more than ground fighting. Joint locks, pressure points, throws-these all are grappling techniques that are used for self-defense. 9 times out of 10, a self-defense situation will involve grappling at some point. We have discussed earlier that most attacks do not resemble an MMA bout because you don't have two guys squared off like a boxing match. So, the attack will be close and a surprise. Controlling ones opponent is the chief goal in self-defense, once you gain control, you will defeat an enemy and can escape.

No style or system is the absolute "one". You should always learn whatever you can and add to your arsenal so that you can be prepared for any situation.

Out of the Shadows

When most people think of Ninjutsu, they think of black-clad warriors with super powers who perform unbelievable feats. The reality of the Ninja is the story of the special forces of feudal Japan, the Navy SEALs of the day.

There are many modern day practitioners of ninjutsu, some come from a solid lineage, while other are ninja in name only. The most recognizable face of modern ninjutsu is that of Stephen K. Hayes, the first American to teach ninjutsu in the west. He is a direct student of Maasaki Hatsumi, 34th soke of the Togakure style of ninjutsu. Mr. Hayes himself has refined this system for the modern landscape to form a system he calls To Shin Do, To-meaning sword, Shin- The spirit of a focused intention, and Do - meaning way of mastery.

Mr. Hayes began referring to his art as To Shin Do because of the negative light that the words ninja, ninpo, and ninjutsu inferred.


Far from the "super art" that is portrayed in the movies, To Shin Do or Bujinkan training is an honest form of the Japanese martial arts , that even for the day of the samurai, was reality based training with the mindset of using what worked and not relying on "rules" to necessarily govern how one defends themselves.

For more info on To Shin Do, visit their website at skhquest.com.

Check it out

In Kenpo, there is a principle known as the check. This basically is keeping your opponent in check at all times whether it is a possible attack from another limb or an incidental one after you strike or block.

The concept is a little more complex than just simply keeping the non-blocking or striking hand in the opposite zone. A wrist-lock or arm-bar, for example, could check an opponent from striking you with the free hand such as a case with a lapel grab with the intent to throw a punch. You could also check an opponents leg with your own by stepping in and bracing his leg with yours while executing a strike.

In time, a check becomes part of a Kenpoists arsenal, an unconscious thought. A check can also be a strike. For instance, if one were to step inside and attacker and execute a hammer strike to the groin, the opposite hand would be placed in a position to prevent an incidental head butt as the opponent's natural reaction would be to lurch forward after being struck in the groin. This check could be used to poke in the eyes or execute a palm to the nose. Done properly, this becomes part of the counter-attack itself.

There is an old saying in Kenpo, "When is a strike a block and a block a strike? Always!".

A check can be a valuable tactic for self-defense.

“To hear is to doubt, to see is to be deceived, but to feel is to believe.”

—Senior Grandmaster Edmund K. Parker, founder of American Kenpo Karate

An Agressive Posture

This is my first post, and I wanted to make it about something that every Martial Artist should think about when talking about Self-Defense.

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is all the rage today as fighters enter the ring to show us what "real" fighting is all about. Two guys square off and beat each other into submission or wrestle on the ground in order to choke out or cause the other guy to tap out. People train in gyms studying Brazilian Jujitsu, Muay Thai and a slew of other "effective" styles.

But one thing always escapes me...how many people walk around on the street in a "ready to fight" position? Most of us are just minding our own business and an attack usually comes as a surprise. If someone wants to rob you of your wallet, you might get a gun or knife in your face with a screaming assailant barking out commands. Assailants have no idea who an intended victim is or what they are capable of. They are banking on intimidation and shock to keep them safe as they rob, rape, kidnap, or whatever.

This puts an attacker at a decided disadvantage - one that can be exploited. If we remain calm and give a submissive posture, this puts an attacker at ease and greatly decreases his guard. Remember, and attacker has already shown his cards and is in use of at least one or more of his weapons (by weapons, I mean, hands, arms, legs, feet, elbows, etc.).

Professor David James, a practitioner of Vee Arnis Jitsu, includes this in the training of his students and is a part of what he calls the 10 commandements of self defense .

Ultimately, we should remember a few things about defense on the street.

1. Remain calm

2. Appear submissive

3. Exploit weaknesses as assailant lets down his guard.

4. Practice scenerios using verbal and physical intimidation

Remember, on the street, people do not square off. If you square off with an attacker, he knows that you know something and he will change his method of attack accordingly. In order to have the element of surprise and exploit weaknesses in an attacker, you must make him see what you want him to see, a scared, submissive victim who offers no resistance and appears to be an easy score.

On the street, John McCarthy won't ask you if you are ready and he won't be there to pull the guy off of you. And you don't have 30 minutes to roll around on the ground trying to apply a submission hold. You have 60 seconds, use them well.