Please take a look at Articles on self-defense/conflict/violence for introductions to the references found in the bibliography page.

Please take a look at my bibliography if you do not see a proper reference to a post.

Please take a look at my Notable Quotes

Hey, Attention on Deck!

Hey, NOTHING here is PERSONAL, get over it - Teach Me and I will Learn!


When you begin to feel like you are a tough guy, a warrior, a master of the martial arts or that you have lived a tough life, just take a moment and get some perspective with the following:


I've stopped knives that were coming to disembowel me

I've clawed for my gun while bullets ripped past me

I've dodged as someone tried to put an ax in my skull

I've fought screaming steel and left rubber on the road to avoid death

I've clawed broken glass out of my body after their opening attack failed

I've spit blood and body parts and broke strangle holds before gouging eyes

I've charged into fires, fought through blizzards and run from tornados

I've survived being hunted by gangs, killers and contract killers

The streets were my home, I hunted in the night and was hunted in turn


Please don't brag to me that you're a survivor because someone hit you. And don't tell me how 'tough' you are because of your training. As much as I've been through I know people who have survived much, much worse. - Marc MacYoung

WARNING, CAVEAT AND NOTE

The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books. Please make note that this article/post is my personal analysis of the subject and the information used was chosen or picked by me. It is not an analysis piece because it lacks complete and comprehensive research, it was not adequately and completely investigated and it is not balanced, i.e., it is my personal view without the views of others including subject experts, etc. Look at this as “Infotainment rather then expert research.” This is an opinion/editorial article/post meant to persuade the reader to think, decide and accept or reject my premise. It is an attempt to cause change or reinforce attitudes, beliefs and values as they apply to martial arts and/or self-defense. It is merely a commentary on the subject in the particular article presented.


Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.



“What you are reading right now is a blog. It’s written and posted by me, because I want to. I get no financial remuneration for writing it. I don’t have to meet anyone’s criteria in order to post it. Not only I don’t have an employer or publisher, but I’m not even constrained by having to please an audience. If people won’t like it, they won’t read it, but I won’t lose anything by it. Provided I don’t break any laws (libel, incitement to violence, etc.), I can post whatever I want. This means that I can write openly and honestly, however controversial my opinions may be. It also means that I could write total bullshit; there is no quality control. I could be biased. I could be insane. I could be trolling. … not all sources are equivalent, and all sources have their pros and cons. These needs to be taken into account when evaluating information, and all information should be evaluated. - God’s Bastard, Sourcing Sources (this applies to this and other blogs by me as well; if you follow the idea's, advice or information you are on your own, don't come crying to me, it is all on you do do the work to make sure it works for you!)



“You should prepare yourself to dedicate at least five or six years to your training and practice to understand the philosophy and physiokinetics of martial arts and karate so that you can understand the true spirit of everything and dedicate your mind, body and spirit to the discipline of the art.” - cejames (note: you are on your own, make sure you get expert hands-on guidance in all things martial and self-defense)



“All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed.” - Montaigne


I am not a leading authority on any one discipline that I write about and teach, it is my hope and wish that with all the subjects I have studied it provides me an advantage point that I offer in as clear and cohesive writings as possible in introducing the matters in my materials. I hope to serve as one who inspires direction in the practitioner so they can go on to discover greater teachers and professionals that will build on this fundamental foundation. Find the authorities and synthesize a wholehearted and holistic concept, perception and belief that will not drive your practices but rather inspire them to evolve, grow and prosper. My efforts are born of those who are more experienced and knowledgable than I. I hope you find that path! See the bibliography I provide for an initial list of experts, professionals and masters of the subjects.

Formalized Tactics

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

In reading up on Sun Tzu along with references to Clausewitz there came a quote or meme that is used throughout the arts of war, formalized tactics. Formalized tactics was the conventional form of war and is still used in many places even today. We used it in WWI and partly in WWII but who knows what was in effect during the Viet Nam era, to confusing and much like Sun Tzu states, if the campaign is too long then you have lost the battle. We lost that one bad.

What does this have to do with karate, martial arts and self-defense or self-protective disciplines? Well, the arts of war, especially that of Sun Tzu, are such that they can be applied to any conflict and any from of violence used so it can be used at this low level of fighting, combat and defense (Note: don’t get caught up in the use of the term defense, read Mr. MacYoung’s latest eBook on defense). 

In karate as well as many of the Japanese forms of karate and martial arts the training and practice tend to lean heavily on “formalized tactics.” Yes, this is my view, my perception and the distinction I see in things like basics (use of ten or so upper and lower techniques in warmups and practice), kata (formalized patterned sets of techniques and combinations chained together and often defined under the heading of tactics or particular techniques based actions, reactions, attacks and counter attacks, etc.) and various drills or what some call kumite-drills (set pattern kata applications in response to attack like kata applications set in certain patterns). Needless to say, this could go on and only in contests/competitions do you see a straying from such training and practices but often in a very limited and formalized set or sets of combinations, i.e., combinations consisting of a set of particular techniques found by the applicant to work with some consistency in the contests/competitions, etc. 

Some karate-ka will see this as just plain stupid, not karate, but hey, isn’t there a lot of subjects, topics and training not done that is karate because of expediency and instant need for gratifications, i.e., rank, recognition, status, etc.? I like to think that even some of the more obscure and seemingly insignificant subject matters actually contribute toward a better understanding and hopefully a better application of our disciplines especially when it comes to self-defense or self-protective disciplines. 

Formalized tactics as I describe are a good thing, to a point. I have written about this a lot and it does require a change in the status quo of modern karate and martial arts in all its practiced forms but seems to my mind a necessity much like Boyd’s Patterns of Conflict (OODA stuff, etc.) where modern arts of war need to move to maneuver warfare over the conventional formalized versions of war previously used and found to be lacking even in ancient times.

In all the arts of war it is believed in some circles that the only author to date who is literally timeless is Sun Tzu and I feel, to date in my studies, that Colonel Boyd has achieved that status if for no other reason then his studies analyzed and then synthesized into his modern art of war. 

Bibliography (Click the link)

p.s. some of the professionals I study have indicated that the more formalized tactics many try to train and apply to self-defense tend not to work ergo why I  tend to stress breaking away from a formalized training discipline to one that is more creative in nature and use the formalized training to learn about principles and methodologies, etc., “A training Tool!” 


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