Attitude vs. Cockiness

When I think of attitude I think of a mindset and that mindset affects our bodies, i.e. the type of body language we project every moment in our lives. It will translate to the type of body language that projects your internal attitude in your face and in the bodies pose.

Just think of the military. They train military to assume a positive and strong body position/pose that projects strength and depending on the service training it can project the type of attitude and body language that instills fear into the enemy. Military start with the position of attention. Stand up straight so the body looks bigger and stronger, i.e. posturing in a monkey dance conflict where one puffs up the chest, etc. Put the hands and thumb along the pants seam, head erect, spine rigid, etc. etc. you get it right.

Then think of marching and the unit marches in unison, i.e. team development. Ever hear a Marine Silent Drill team, the sound of the weapons hitting the deck and the hands slapping in unison as if one hand, one weapon, etc. The sound in combat of a team of military can be daunting. Just picture in your mind ancient greek/roman soldiers with fierce facial features, shields up, spears facing toward you, the singular and very thunderous thud of the phalanx stepping toward you step-by-step; fearsome and daunting.

In a much less aggressive pose a person can project a type of attitude that says to others, "I am not a victim, pick someone else," where nefarious folks will seek out someone easier to rob or fight. How you look at someone in the street, how your body assumes a posture/pose, all of it can promote the type of defense that says, find another victim dude!

How many times have you watched someone enter a room and immediately feel like they are strong and capable and you know almost instinctively you don't mess with this person? You will see, if you attain the knowledge, etc., that they have a certain attitude expressed in mannerisms, body pose, posture, and the way they move. Much like a dancer, most people can see in their movement they are dancers, watch one and see what I mean.

Karate or any martial system if fundamentals are taught adequately and completely will provide you those traits. Much like military training and practice but less intense will achieve those results. The big point here is that although the martial systems will teach this you have to have the stuff to back it up if you are challenged, i.e. a person either cannot see your attitude of leave me alone and find another victim and approaches you where avoidance, deescalation, manners, etc. don't turn the tide away from physical altercation so your mental intent must be correct in what you practice and how you apply that practice and training.

It comes down to attitude with backup and just plain ole misguided cocky ego driven pride. Both will project attitude but only one will truly give you the tools to avoid, etc. physical altercations be it self defense or just plain ole fighting.

It should be noted that attitude be it one of strength and confidence or that cocky prideful ego driven monkey a person can either avoid trouble or draw that trouble to them like a magnet. Even in a verbal altercation what you say, now you say it and how that might "diss" the other persons personal or tribal system can get you clobbered or leave it in a amicable and mutually beneficial way.

Look at it one more way, cocky is when someone is entering a dangerous environment/situation and simply says, "I am a professional MMA fighter and this is nothing to me," and then continues as if the world should fear them or we can look at it another way, proper attitude of strength and confidence where you may be entering a dangerous environment/situation and simply say, "Uh oh, better turn around and get the flock out of here."

Remember that one of true strength and confidence does not allow themselves to "have to prove it" and moves on while the ego-pride-cocky one does what they do cause they lack self awareness and strength and confidence in themselves. Remember ...

Keep Active Awareness "Frosty!"

Ever notice the first time you see a really cool car and suddenly you see them all over the place when before you never gave them a second look? Yea, like the "Smart" car, now every time one reaches my perception I exclaim, "There goes a smarty car, cool!' Can you tell I like those new cars but to the point Charles.

In karate, because most karate-ka do not live or experience danger zones all that much, one must continually re-start their awareness of their space or environment. It makes it frosty so you don't let important knowledge and the resulting instinctual warning system, EWS or Early Warning System, that tells you to turn around and go the other way to "avoid" danger or dangerous situations.

It is called training and even those who work and live the life of a sheep dog, metaphor from a book, you have to remind your mind/brain of those indicators that tell you to run, don't walk.

I call this "keeping it frosty" but direct it to awareness. You can also say that is what you need to do for training and practice to be effective as well but the first line of defense is EWS.

Physical Injury vs. Ego-prideful Injury

I was once told or I read somewhere if you cannot take a picture of it, it ain't a defendable position if you hurt the other guy. What I am saying is that I understand and believe that if your ego or pride are hurt and you clock the guy, your attacking him and fighting so you are going to jail.

Even the monkey dance, fighting in school yards, etc., usually the fight escalates due to some prideful damaging remark or someone's ego overrunning their logic but guess what? It cannot be photographed so it ain't truly a damage or an attack that would stand up in court.

Me, I identify my emotion if possible. By identifying it and then saying, can I take a picture of it? Can it or does it result is hospital time and doctors bills? If I can say no to these and readily identify it as emotion, pride or ego then I live with it and move on cause if I clean someones clock for some non-photographic injury I are in trouble.

It is a good way to deescalate yourself first so you can deescalate the other guy. Identify when your emotions, pride and ego are involved. Get some space between it and your actions and then let it go, the emotions-pride-ego, and work on that deescalation to avoid physical altercation which can be photographed if you let it happen. The photo will be the mug shot for the prosecutor when he/she charges you BOTH.

Remember being "dissed" does not remain disfiguring and I will bet that if you are mature it won't really cause you the type of damage that will affect your life drastically. Ok, maybe your feelings might be hurt but who gives a shit.

California Reasonable Person: Ca Objective Standard in Self Defense

CAVEAT: "I am not a lawyer or attorney or a judge or a prosecutor or  a police person so this is just my thoughts and mine alone."

Often I am reading or hearing about how one can use karate for self defense so I did a bit of research where I came across "Objective Standard" which calls for the Jury to be instructed to view the occurrence in question through the eyes of the "ordinary man." In other words, jurors must compare the defendant's acts with the acts of a hypothetical "reasonable person" under the same or similar circumstances.

A reasonable person objective is to denote a hypothetical person in society who exercises average care, skill, and judgment in conduct, etc. It represents a standard which a jury will use, as instructed by the court, to measure the conduct of an individual to determine if self defense is applicable.

I am not a lawyer or attorney or a judge or a prosecutor or  a police person so this is just my thoughts and mine alone. I believe that if you are a karate-ka of any experience that a reasonable person will not view you or your actions in the same light as a normal person with no apparent skills of fighting or combat or defensive nature.

This is what California would use if they feel you warrant prosecution and I suspect that in most cases if they didn't feel it you would not be facing it and they believe their chances of conviction are pretty darn good.

I can envision how they will use MMA clips and other common ads on karate and martial systems to promote the brutality resulting from its practice and use. I feel that the normal and reasonable person would see it much like the movies depictions as violent and brutal and intended for combative stuff and not self defense.

I guess it is just lucky that 90% of us will never have to encounter violence, use karate to defend ourselves and then find we stepped across the line between defense and confrontational/aggressive/fighting.

I recently commented on karate being a self defense art where I tried to convey that it is not taught today as a self defense form but rather a "fighting" form or system. The title self defense in most cases is more a feel good about what your doing that is violent and brutal and call it self defense cause you ain't never going to have to use it in real life so why bother with semantics, etc.

I failed to express that is most dojo I have witnessed, participated in, etc. the Sensei promotes a very aggressive response vs. teaching the appropriate response  that reaches a "must stop now" point to remain within the definition of self defense in the local in which you live.

I taught karate. I taught what I believed at the time was self defense or self defense techniques. I had no clue what real violence was or how one would defend against it and violent persons. I understand although not consciously that what I taught was combative and fighting but self defense, NOT. I thank God that no one I taught had to actually use it for defense cause I suspect they would have ended up in jail along side the other person.

A reasonable person definition will also be different for each jury, each juror and each case in court. I suspect because of the ambiquety of the law that there is no one definitive definition that will suffice. In the end, each time, it comes down to the unique aspect and experience of the juror and hopefully they are not of a nature where any violence to them is "wrong" for that might put someone in a position where they were defending but suffered a rendering of guilty because the reasonable person on the jury says, "no excuses, you hurt that person unreasonably."

I suspect prosecutors count on that aspect to get convictions which are politically a good thing for them, at a cost they can live with yet ... you ... not sure about that one.

Zones, Directions, Ranges, and Paths of Application in Karate

The graphic above was my attempt and showing the various zones of defense/offense; directions of same; ranges that are possible; and paths one or the other might take to achieve maximum effect. The insert in blue square further denotes those quadrants I mentioned on an earlier post where the four are defended by a combination of the two arms and hands and body positioning.

I also placed information as I understand it from Marc MacYoung's books on the subject.

The sphere used in this rendering came from, "http://people.reed.edu/~emcmanis/radiation.html," as posted on the web by Trevor Young.

Intensity of Training

Visualization works. Training and practice for real encounters has degree's by which it is effective in conditioning the mind to access and apply tactics and strategies to not get hit (my current favorite quote :-). The thought of something triggers the same region of the brain as the real experience. It does so with less intensity but still the same.

In order to make anything work and work well it sometimes, often actually, takes a combination of things to make it to the mind and remain a viable part the mind can use. The experience ingrained in the mind from visualization is much less than if you actually experience the event. Yet, it can still provide the brain with something to draw upon for training/practice purpose but is not optimal.

As we jack up the intensity of training and practice that region of the mind/brain will tend to stick it in memory better than just visualization. Add in a physical enactment of a defense/offense, as in karate for fighting, response along with visualization it provides a bit more and the brain will add more credence to it.

Take the same and add in a partner while doing drills and more brain training and programming will go on with more likelihood it will draw on it in real time increases. You have to ensure that your mind is focused on the intent of practice to make it all work.

Our thoughts seem real    because they trigger brain activity similar to what happens in our brains with the real thing so visualization works. I don't recommend going with it exclusively so adding on layers to actual realistic enactments/training/practice will ensure that it works. I don't intend to promote only visualization but to use it properly with a variety of other more intense trainings will marry the two into the one better.

Nothing will take the place of real life experiences but you can rest assured and know that military over our entire history have proven that other means of attaining the will and the ability is there until hands-on experience is achieved. It's a fact Jack!

The closer to reality the training the closer to fool proof you can get. As fool proof as anything can achieve in this chaotic life we live.

Inflicting Pain

I use to teach that if you inflict pain it will stop a fight in its tracks. Some systems provide for techniques that are used to induce pain. In a dojo setting and with someone who is not in a category of a violent criminal type, i.s. in a school yard scuffle, it might work but in life rarely.

It is also pretty cool when you teach someone who is not well indoctrinated in fighting on the streets. Take this as an example, how many times have you discovered painful injuries "after" sparring and after a session say the next morning when you get out of bed?

The body tends to send out or dump chemicals into our bodies when we hit that point of danger as a part of its protection. Pain is removed or lessened or dulled so you can continue to survive. Don't take my word for it, go seek it out from those who live or work in violence environments. Personally, I have had knee injuries, fingers broken, and ribs cracked in sparring sessions. I also applied said pain techniques while walking ville patrol late at night on Okinawa where drunk Marines needed to be herded back to base before the JP's intervened. They didn't work and when I interviewed said jarhead the next day they had a sore spot but remember nothing as to pain.

If you are forced into a physical altercation you had best use something that will end it while you don't get hit. It may be a pain inducer, it may be a joint lock, or it may be a strike but don't assume because you can feel the pain in a training session that you or your opponent will feel it in a real fight.

Singularity

It has become apparent to "me" that we as a species seem to drive toward singularity. Singularity in this particular case being that "one" singular form or system that will provide all the self defense one needs in life where conflict is perceived as something we will encounter and want to have that one thing that assures us  survival, NOT.

I find that in a lot of life's endeavors we tend to lean toward to singular answer. An example is recently I viewed a show on string theory and through out the show they kept referring back to "one thing" that all scientists can use to extrapolate the entire Universe from the large, i.e. planets and stars, etc., to the small, i.e. atoms and smaller.

It made me think that we as a species may be created to look for some "one" thing in all the answers to life's mysteries. In karate we all want to have developed the "one punch" stopping power to not get hit or end a physical conflict. The Scientists want to find that "one" explanation that would lead to all things created or present in our moment from the human to the stars above.

Maybe it is time for us to admit that there may not be any "one" singular answer to anything in life and just because it would make us comfortable does not mean it is reality. I am finding through my studies and practices that nothing about martial systems, fighting, violence, etc. is simple or singularly fixable but a very complex and chaotic experience.

Maybe Forrest had it part right, life is like a box of chocolates but you don't always know what your gonna get.

This also reflects on the ancient classics where it is believed all of life started from some "one" singular great "Tai Chi" and then split into duality of Yin and Yang but what if ... ?

What about our need for a singular point of validation?

Open Monitoring or Active Awareness

A new concept of an ancient practice. Being present is a particular way is crucial in conflict. An awareness and focus that is both direct and all encompassing with no intrusions of either past or present other than what the mind requires to make sense of the present moment.

Mindfulness is the key, learning to concentrate the mind internally to achieve a level of focus/concentration that leads to an ability to mindfully take in many things in the present moment. Meditation, both moving and sitting quietly, are the practices that will train the mind. Once a level of competence is achieved then it can be incorporated into your practice.

I like to meditate on the breathe. My focus is on it and its processes, feeling it not just mentally noting it. I try to achieve a concentration/focus on the breathe and the processes as well as feeling my body, parts or in general, for tensions, etc. I have learned that if you can achieve a proficiency of brining your mind, and body, back to the moment this way it can lead to the practice of open monitoring.

This is merely the focus/concentration of the singular anchor and graduating to a meditation and practice of wide-n-spacious attentive focus/concentration of many things. It takes the singular to the multiple awareness of thoughts, emotions, sensations, and sounds that surround you where ever you go and at any moment of the consciousness of daily activities. Think of this like active listening but as active awareness. You are present as each moment unfolds in the present. You open your attention/focus/awareness to an array of experiences without getting caught up in either the content of the moment or those past/future stories it may trigger once experienced. Your instincts are allowed to see and hear the moment and in practice you train the mind to act if needed or just experience.

This is the training method you need to achieve a level of proficiency that can transcend the stationary meditative present moment practice into one that incorporates movement then on to such practice as karate or any system, martial or not.

"Be Aware ... of each experience ... as it enters your moment, your consciousness ... bring it the attentive focus necessary to "experience" the feeling and effect ... whether a sight, sound, image, thought, emotion, or sensation."

Regulate your attention from singular to wide-open, note the activity and its relevance, and then start to regulate it actively. Being actively aware means bringing the appropriate concentration/focus into play correctly and at times needed. Controlling the monkey.

You need a focused-attention for some things like listening to Sensei as Instruction is conducted the a more open-attention to allow all awareness to flow in the present moment to achieve a more creative awareness.

Meditative practice is the fundamental and moving meditative active awareness practice, such as waza and kata, are the extensions to the fundamentals that one can tweak as they progress along or parallel to Sensei's instruction.

This will lead us to a type of awareness that is important to a karate-ka. It is a type of awareness that flows between these two and achieves an awareness that promotes the ability to "see" and "hear" a situation "clearly." It allows the mind to have an appropriate response when trained and connected properly in practice. It becomes a discriminating awareness where the mind can naturally and instinctively achieve action without thought. It is a relaxed state with a trained active awareness that flows with each moment. Sound familiar? Isn't this a trait often discussed with traditional training of un-encumbering the mind  so it can do things quickly and naturally and instinctively?

Focused singular awareness (micro awareness) + all encompassing wide-open awareness (macro-awareness) = a discriminative awareness (balanced-awareness?). Yes? No? Any suggestions?

Bibliography:
Smalley, Susan L. PhD. Winston, Diana. "Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness." Da Capo Press. Philadelphia. 2010.

Shifting Attention

Being aware of yourself, your mind, and your body provide you and me, karate-ka, the practice that develops our awareness so we can recognize and change how our minds work.

Attention and shifting that attention are really a huge fundament mental practice a karate-ka or any martial system should use to train the mind to "shift" it from one stimuli to another.

Lets say someone attacks you. Your attention goes to the attack and may cause you to say, "What the ... that  hurt ... ," and then your mind is stuck paying attention to the first strike while the attacker is adding strike upon strike and punch upon punch overwhelming your mind so it never catches up.

Shifting attention to me is an ability that must be developed with practice over time. Then if you are attacked and training was adequate then your mind unconsciously, you hope, pulls "acts" out and off you go with some adequate response. Others call this the "loop." A loop like I describe earlier that keeps "looping" on that same stimuli locking your mind up.

This is just another way of explaining the OODA loop from Marc MacYoung's self defense site. Now, here is the question, how do you train to not get stuck in the loop. Training has to be realistic enough that when your mind reaches that loop it bypasses it instinctively so your body acts and puts the loop back on your attacker.

Mindfulness and Mindful Awareness through meditation has the ability coupled with proper and realistic training to reprogram your brain to do what you need in such a volatile scenario. The book "Fully Present" by Dr. Smalley and Ms. Winston explains how this all works. It is a matter of your practicing the meditative mindfulness and awareness process then taking that into your karate, martial system, training so it is applied to that model.

There is no proof it will work in the martial arts but it does have proof it works generally for our emotions, etc. If it works, changes the brain, allows for change in your everyday life then it can, I firmly believe, apply in training and practice. You can learn to shift your attention, conscious and unconscious, so the brain/mind go to appropriate responses, i.e. shift the minds attention away from the attack and into a counter the shift the loop to them.

This is my theory anyway ... oh, on another note the mind tends to fill in the gaps, fill in details that are missing, but what it fills those gaps with may not be totally relevant to the situation so practice must be such that those relevant issues are connected for proper responses. The only way to achieve this is through knowledge and application of knowledge in training and practice.

Mind:Ephemeral:Yin - Body:Physical:Yang\

The mind or mental processes are ephemeral. The gray matter that makes up our brains are physical while the thoughts and emotions we experience that are from the brain/mind are short-lived. Ephemeral is Yin; Physical is Yang; one is fleeting from moment to moment while the other resides permanently in the present moment.

What is it that gets us humans, more males then females, into a lot of trouble, emotions, the monkey brain driving the train. If we are not aware of our emotions, how they affect us and our bodies, then they tend to control us once triggered. To become aware of emotions; to label the emotions; to stop stories from being attached to while remaining aware of how they feel is the beginnings of controlling our emotions - to an extent.

All our emotions have the potential to drive the bus causing us any number of issues, both positive and negative emotions. In karate we train to shackle the monkey so we can balance intuition with reason. Reason means access to the things we train and practice while intuition, unencumbered by emotional effects, etc., can allow a mindful use of proper tactics to avoid, deescalate, etc. in a conflict/altercation. When the mind is clouded by our emotional monkey driving the bus it cuts the circuit that connects reason and intuition, it freezes or slows to a crawl leaving you unresponsive in the altercation, verbal or otherwise.

Stories and emotions are attached to things, this gives fuel to the bus and tells the monkey to do its dance leaving us subject to its whims. When we train the body and leave the mind to its own resources we get chaos but if we are aware/mindful of our bodies and minds with all there luggage we can control how we respond, i.e. with the monkey in charge or with reason and intuition - your choice, always is; always has been. Ease of implementation - practice, practice, practice ...

I find that the ken-po goku-i touches in all eight tomes both the physical and mental. A person's heart is physical yet making a reference the Heaven and Earth as the ancient Chinese did it becomes mental or of a more spiritual nature which is not physical.

Blood is a physical yet circulating and it similarity once again is not physical but an analogy that means both physical and mental/spiritual.

The body is physical but the performance of changing its direction comes from the mind and the minds perception of stimuli in the physical world which causes us to choose, a mental activity, to change a direction which is a physical manifestation of the choice the mind made, mental.

Time is both physical and mental, it exists when referenced say on a watch yet is truly a mental perception in the mind like our ability to project into the past or contemplate the future but more importantly remaining in the present moment which really stops dealing with time for time has not relevance in present moment mindfulness.

The eyes see all sides where one type of "eyes" is the physical eye that sees stimuli and transmits those signals to the mind which then translates through the minds knowledge and experiences, both not of physical nature, into some thought where actions of the mind are mined and again non-physically transmitted to the part of the brain that will trigger the physical manifestations, i.e. what is instinctual and/or trained/practiced.

The ears may be physical yet all they do are non-physical. The more you allow the mind, Yin, to function and work the more you can transmit/translate that into actions which your body, Yang, take in life. It can be living every day or it can be the actions taken in a physical confrontation, physical:Yang, and finally the act of avoidance, Yin:a choice, into moving away from the danger zone, physical:Yang, to safety.

Duality, Yang-n-Yin, and the ken-po goku-i do teach us something if we are willing to "see" and "hear" more than what we may be comfortable with ... ?

Stances: Rooting vs. Connecting

In past instruction and posts I have professed the need to root your stance to apply technique, this is wrong. I have come to a conclusion, for me, that rooting relays incorrect application of a stance, any stance.

To root connotes one must stop, root solid which is actually a pause, then apply a technique. This is not the path to power in technique. The correct way to practice is to connect to the Earth for the moment when body movement, weight transfer, range, timing, placement, etc [not necessarily in this order]. all are applied in a single moment only.

Stances as has been posted is a transitional or fluid pose. You enter a stance, connecting to the Earth while applying force to a technique then moving out of that stance into the next, same or different as needed, stance and technique.

Rooting to the Earth, not effective; Connecting to the Earth, primo effective in properly applying all the concepts to one end result, not getting hit and ending the conflict.

Filling in Details

We all tend to fill in details to any one thing from our own experiences and concepts. These are built from DNA and our Environments. The differences come from the totality of living environments as to the length of time in each and how long you live in them, etc. i.e. your overall age at the moment.

Instructing karate-do, or any martial system, has to deal with this in order to convey the core fundamentals of a system to any one individual. A corner stone of a good instructor is determining how a practitioner can and will fill in the details.

I mention this because I have witnessed such huge variations on any one concept of practice that it ain't funny, from my system where you would think that fundamentals and basics are identical.

Awareness of an instructor as well as any one who practices or applies the martial system to life will need to develop a sense and ability to see and/or hear how one fills in the details. Marc MacYoung gives some pretty good examples of this when he relates the various OS's of groups/tribes/groups, etc.

If you are facing a irate person if you do not know how that person fills in details you could escalate it to violence unintentionally. Just saying that sometimes filling in details is very complicated.

Oh, yea, if Sensei tells you something and you ask for details but are told it has to wait till you pass a stage don't try to fill in the details yourself. Let the gaps remain gaps as a good instructor will provide the details and the details of the details as you progress. This is why teaching a new kata starts with the gross movements, details come after you know them, etc.

Awareness - Beyond the Obvious

Another aspect to consider for our awareness training is that awareness we train to "feel" things. We feel how a stance when in its proper pose feels as to our feet connecting to the Earth. We feel the positioning of the lower leg over the feet, the knees aligning and connect to the thigh. If anything is amiss we should feel it when we are doing it. This is not just assuming a stance, rooting, and then remaining in it to feel it but to learn to feel it as we move into it and then out of it.

We feel our feet as they move and reach into the next stance  with proper positioning, alignment, posture, etc. Our awareness means our minds are trained to focus on this in training so our minds will instinctively "feel it" if something is not right. Lets say your fighting. You move into a specific stance so a particular technique can be executed to not get hit and stop the fight. Your body moves, you feel it move, you sense it going further than you wanted due to external circumstances so it will tell your mind to do one of two things, either not execute that technique and start moving into a new one with all its parts or try to adjust so you can get that technique executed, NOT the second part for sure. If you don't have all the ducks lined up for a particular technique you don't use it, it loses its effectiveness.

This is why awareness goes beyond the obvious and into the realm of feeling and sensing what your body is doing and where it is going at all times. It is one component that is critical to making all the components of power and force work as you would intend. Range and how you get to it; weight transfer into momentum for power, etc.; no wasted movement to include an patching or adjusting to make it work; timing and placement so it all comes together as one in the right direction and the right time; and finally adding in those acceleration techniques to boost power and force.

This is all geared to your awareness of all those concepts and components through awareness of   body movement and all it entails so you can "sense" or "see" with the minds eye and "feel" where your body is, was, is going, etc.

Let me extend this post to the ken-po goku-i, parts that reference the ability to '''see" and "hear" in all directions is more than just north, south, east, west, etc. but in all metaphysical/metaphorical/spiritual/conceptual directions and more. Its references to hard and soft, feel it and apply it appropriately, body changing directions is not only turning and such but changing the way your body moves and assumes poses/postures where awareness tells you to see and feel and sense these actions of the body.

The time to strike is not just applying a punch or kick but timing awareness so that all components of your system come into that "one" instant that applies what your goals, tactics, and strategies use to not get hit and stop the attack.

Another lesson to me on NOT assuming that what I see is all I can see for seeing goes beyond the obvious as well as hearing is more active than just having sound reach and ring the ear drum, it is an awareness of what is being heard beyond initial impressions and allowing our ability to see, hear, sense, go beyond the first layer.

Academic-n-Physical [Yin-n-Yang]

I wish I had become academically proficient in my system before I achieved a level of physical proficiency. It is my thought that one may want to reach a high level of academic knowledge so that when the physical application is taught, practice, and taught the connection would be a lot clearer.

I know from experience that sometimes that which is taught in the academia venue does not always translate to the real world. I think this is as it should be because once you take the academic and apply it to reality, i.e. make it work, the uniqueness of each individual dictates that the academic be translated to fit the person. Personalization.

I commented today that initially a person must be taught the basic/fundamental form. The gross movements. This fundamental form is to remain unchanged as it is transmitted to each person through out time. It should be devoid of any personal touches/personal interpretations, etc. Once you get good then personalizations are introduced.

This means that the academic is molded to the individual. Having the knowledge that is in depth provides the means to connect it to the practice in a way that achieves that "click." That click that occurs and turns on the "oh yea, now I get it" light. Too many times folks are taught something that makes no sense and usually they are told when they ask, just practice it will come. I don't believe this is true. If one has the academic knowledge then it will click when they put it into training and practice.

I just wish I had taken the time and effort to be proficient in the academia of martial arts so I could have tuned on the light as I went from room to room; down the various halls and entryways to reach the higher levels of understanding and proficiency.

Isn't it great the amount and sources of knowledge today, anyone with effort can attain the academic in tandem with the physical, i.e. karate-do!

The Stomach

Is it possible that an awareness of our stomach can act as an emotional (monkey dance) reactions so we may "pause" between the emotion and the action? This may be one of many ways we can remain mindful of our bodies and mind so that our actions can be controlled pulling the monkey dance down to a manageable two step or less.

"Serotonin, a neurotransmitter found widely in the "GUT" and the "BRAIN," is involved in a variety of behaviors, including social relating, aggression, sleep, and appetite." - Dr. Susan L. Smalley and Diana Winston, "Full Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness."

I may be stretching this a mite but if we suddenly feel a change in our gut this may be the type of awareness that could result in a "pause" between the dump of emotional junk to the inappropriate/unrealistic response or actions we take in life.

Our emotions are a result of evolution to aid biological survival, i.e. survival instincts; survival of the strongest, etc. These emotions are meant to provide physiological responses to events or stimuli encountered in our environment. We need them to act when encountering danger; we need them to act in obtaining resources for the group or tribes survival. These emotions usually occur unconsciously all the time.

The brains systems, circuitry, are a lot older than our ability to think. These connections are from the emotional systems to the thinking systems so our thinking is affected by them quicker than the speed of light because sometimes thinking is to slow and could result in death, i.e. survival instincts.

This is why it becomes important in today's world to learn how this all works for the first step in controlling any system is to know the system is there and how it can be recognized.

Why I have the theory about the stomach and possible other physical manifestations of emotional stimuli providing us an early warning system so we may stop the process consciously so the rational thinking system can provide a lessening of effects.

This is also to supplement the fundamental mental training process so we can add a new reaction/action to a response or stimuli that is triggering the emotional system, i.e. adrenaline dump due to fear and danger.

One such way to learn about this aspect is the book I mention above and below. It has a great way of explaining how the systems work in relation to mindful awareness of our bodies and minds.

Bibliography:
Smalley, Susan L. PhD. Winston, Diana. "Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness." Da Capo Press. Philadelphia. 2010.

EWS

What is EWS? It is our "Early Warning System/Signals/Signs!" Lets go with a system which is tied into mother natures survival system, intuition. What makes EWS is that it requires a conscious effort to train and use consistently. It is that system that runs when you are out in the world so when it is triggered by our either conscious or unconscious awareness our combat readiness jumps up a notch so we can evaluate and act.

It is hoped that EWS will warn us enough in advance that we simply avoid the danger. If our mindful awareness coupled with appropriate knowledge is running well we can do this yet if we are plugged in to our phones and iPod's it may not allow us to avoid so we hopefully are warned so we can deescalate, etc.

The EWS allows us to scan and be warned so we don't get burned out like many who remain on high alert constantly tend to do. Ask anyone who is a professional of violent work, remaining on high alert always is as dangerous as being clueless, somewhat (my theory so ask a pro).

Knowledge and Experience, these are crucial to EWS functionality and failsafe. Just knowledge alone of violence, etc. the streets, etc. can provide a good EWS because your mind, intuition, can at least have some reference to say, ops - danger, danger, danger Will Robinson.

Then again, I am still figuring stuff out.

Note: I have a neat graphic but am waiting for the base drawing author to ok my using that part in my graphic, etc.

Analyse the Need for Self Defense, etc. and So On ...

I have bantered about on the subject of violence and the need to discover if one needs self defense training, etc. but could not come to any short answer other than to perform a self analysis or analysis of life style type thing.

I asked the question of a few who I feel have the most experience and/or knowledge but the answers, as I expected, were very complex because the subject is very complex.

Today, whalla, Mr. Rory Miller managed to bring the hard and convoluted subject down into a very manageable form that anyone can use to ask themselves if they actually need to do this or that or whatever as to violence, fighting, being attacked or what the professionals say is self defense reality.

I would recommend you go to his blog and read his post on, "Self Analysis." Mr. Miller has this apparent innate ability to express the complex in a form understandable to anyone who can read. Well worth the time to read this one, for sure.

Physical Fitness Classes

I, and I believe others, have referred to some of the karate classes personally witnessed and experienced as nothing more than exercise classes or karate-size classes.

The focus is heavy on the warm-up portion which is not really a warm up session, it is actually and exercise/physical fitness session/class.

So much time is devoted to running in circles (one leader of one system, nor recognized by all of the factions tho, uses this run-a-round for almost all his/her sessions  along with lots-n-lots of bag work), doing basic techniques with out intent and so on.

Physical fitness is important if you plan on competing and even if you practice for fighting, etc. I would say that actually physical fitness is a by product of the real need in fighting, endurance. From my personal view "endurance" is the chief component as a person engaging in a violent fight will have to endure about 3 to 5 minutes of the most intense action they may have ever experienced.

That burst of energy to not get hit and to not lose uses up bodily resources quicker than the speed of light. Regardless, karate training and practice, from my view, should not be where one achieves that endurance/fitness. My personal view is one who wishes to follow the way of the empty hand for combative reasons or even competitive must achieve that endurance/fitness outside the dojo. Dojo time is for training and practice.

With today's societal culture of busy, busy, busy one must use the time efficiently and effectively. Time for practice is limited in today's karate world so that time must focus on things of importance such as fundamentals of stance, body movement, finding your ranges, etc. with out losing site of those leading to power and force.

Doing a ton of exercises is a good thing yet it will not carry the day if you get into a tournament/street sparring/fight. It is  like our pension to muscle it, muscling it is not the focus but the efficient use of that body, i.e. muscular system, skeletal system, tendons, cartilage, etc. are what really count. A whole, not just a part.

Sometimes my post may lead one to believe that I am down of using all those avenues to endurance but actually I am just promoting that one who truly follows a combative martial system get in shape outside the dojo; spend the maximum time in dojo to train; spend the maximum time in dojo to practice!

Football players work out BEFORE practice. This goes for a almost every sport. In the Marines we did physical fitness programs early every day BEFORE we trained. Training was for training; practice was for practice. Marines would spend five or six minutes to warm up for physical safety yet when we started to train or practice we trained and practiced.

Stories

"That is your story ... and you are sticking to it?" It is slowing dawning on me through my studies that the true culprit to our fear, anger, depressions, disappointments, regrets, resentments, etc. comes from the "stories" we tend to attach to events of life.

Pain, we have it as a defense mechanism as well as a warning system for our bodies. It is meant to let us know when things go wrong to we may take appropriate actions, etc. You get a headache, you mind/brain says, "aspirin." You stub your toe, you learn to not do that, i.e. watch for projections that are on the ground that may not be to forgiving when hit with your foot.

You get "hit." A real good indication when you feel it and its resulting pain to work hard at, "not getting hit."

If all we had to do was to feel the pain and then take the learned action it might not be so bad but current research seems to indicate that pain, its level and intensity for example, are either greater or less due to the "stories" we might attach to that pain. Our minds are once again creating a system that can and does exacerbate the bodies systems that tend to warn and help us survive and remain somewhat healthy.

I am once again alluding to the need as a fundamental of any system, especially a martial system, training the mind. Start with seeing knowledge that relates to it and its abilities, relate them to what you do, and finally find those training methods that will enhance your mental/minds ability and capabilities.

In this instance as an example is mindful awareness of the mind-body and by osmosis the spirit. It has been shown that mindful meditation on such things as pain, by focus on feelings or feeling pain, its intensity, etc., once can lessen its overall effects. The most important aspect of this practice by the experts is one must not attach any stories to the pain, i.e. "Oh my foot hurts so bad!" Attaching stories tends to trigger systems that intensify pain.

As the source material has explained to me, when you turn your mind in to the pain, feel it and make sure the stories that your mind WILL want to attach you can, in time, lessen the pain's intensity thus reducing the discomfort. In the explanations they use a headache as a example. You come to work with a slight headache. Since you are not focused on anything other than your discomfort and most likely have attached a story to it, "Oh my aching head, it is so terrible I might not be able to work, etc." you are focus in it and causing it to intensify.

You go to work and suddenly find some crises which you dive right into and lo-n-behold you suddenly realize after a short time your headache with either gone of you forgot about it yet when you focused on that fact it came back once again in all its glory, etc.

Ever experience that phenomenon? I can be we all have so the goal in mindful meditative awareness of the body tends to help in this but removing the stories is a big part of controlling and overcoming pain's effects.

The stories we tend to add to things come from our monkey brain. That chatter we don't seem to be able to stop. It is controllable. In karate overcoming or tuning ourselves to dealing with pain is a part of that practice. We condition the body to not only toughen up our tools but to create a type of armor that protects us from things like punches, strikes, and kicks.

Now also consider this when in training, you are sparring and get punched in the stomach. You tend to put a story on it, "Oh shit that hurt." You then naturally grab your stomach and guess what? Your partner will continue to tag you until you concede or tap out, etc.

When in training and you encounter that tendency to add a story to something, stop, breathe deeply and slowly and rid yourself of that story. You lost a match, you start a story like "oh, I am just no good at this stuff, I should have been able to win, etc." Drop it, stop, breathe and remove it for it will just cripple you and your practice. Take the monkey brain emotional tirade/story and tell the monkey to get lost. Everyone wins and loses, learn from it, find the part that caused you to get hit and hurt and then train diligently to "not get hit again."

Ok, one more ... lets do a dojo sparring session example: You're going to spar tonight. Sensei wants you to spar with the dojo's Dai-sempai. You look over and he is a big dude with a reputation of being very tough, although fair. You feel a touch of apprehension then the monkey starts to dance. You say to yourself, "This guy is going to clean my clock." Monkey adds a bit of gas to the flame of fear so it goes up a notch. You say to yourself, "There is no way I can do anyting against this guy, I bet I get hurt, this is going to be painful ..." Monkey adds a bit more gas, the flame of fear goes up.

By the time your turn comes around you get on the dojo floor, your stomach is turning flips, your hands are shaking, your breathing is shallow and ragid, the adrenaline hit you moments ago and now your hardly able to see anything but the really big tough Dai-sempai. Your knees are shaking and sweat breaks out on your fact and you have not done anything strenuous the last fifteen minutes.

Ok, fear is natural. You will have some when you are sparring with someone like this BUT what is really causing you all the grief and physical issues is the "story" you keep, actually your monkey brain dancing on your confidence, adding on fanning the flames of fear ever higher and hotter.

Here is a better way. You feel the fear, you stop, you start feeling your facial muscles then relax them while you breathe deeply, slowly, and rhythmically with total mental focus on the breath. You become mindful of your shoulders hunching up so you feel it, acknowledge it and then through mindful focus relax and let your shoulders return to a good position, relaxed.

You hear the monkey start to add a story to the feeling of fear so you say, "STOP!" You do the breathing and mindful focus/awareness of the body thing. You step out on the dojo floor to face Sensei, you continue to breath and relax the body. You face Dai-sempai, breathe, relax and bow. Now, you keep dismissing the monkey chatter, the stories it is trying very hard to insert, you breathe and hear Sensei say, "Hajime!"

Breathe and focus on Dai-sempai and ignore his/her words, if any, and wait for the Dai-sempai to enter your clear zone and you move off center and life goes on...

Rid yourself of the Monkey Stories! Remain mindful of your body and counter its normal actions with breathing, present moment mindfulness and let training and practice do its work. After all you trained hard and you practice hard, let it do the work for you and shackle the monkey chatter, the stories!

This type of thing goes for sparring, tournaments, testing, anything where you mind and body experience such things as fear and doubt. Stop the stories, remain present, breathe, etc. It works, no kidding.

Self Defense Defcon Fun

I was involved with the Nuclear industry, indirectly, and got this bug to create a "Defcon Definition" for fighting or self defense. Just playing around and connecting some dots for myself and wanted to display the graphic to see reactions. If you like it, find it of some use, click it, and save it for what ever use you wish ;-)

Isshinryu Stunted Growth

Why Isshinryu became "stunted" in its growth. It has become apparent to me, my theory, that Isshinryu as it is practiced today was stunted or hemmed in to its current practice because the Americans who carried it home did not truly remain under Tatsuo Sensei guidance to achieve that level of knowledge.

It also occurs to me that the dogma that one "MUST learn, practice and teach" Isshinryu "exactly" as it was taught by Tatsuo caused the factions to assume the rule as a unbreakable/unbendable rule or the operating system for each separate faction.

This came about by ignorance and the need to control. Another unwritten rule of a tribal system. Because this was instituted with no allowance for questioning or changing, control, the system in its many variations has remained stuck in "one" inflexible system. A system that does not allow, control, of anyone to achieve a true mastering of it by innovation and growth to a depth and breadth required of any martial system.

I have to express that this, for me and my view, is not what Tatsuo Sensei intended. I do believe he would be thrilled that so many are practicing it yet would be disappointed they are not going beyond the basics. Reminder, Tatsuo Sensei did not do Isshinryu the exact unchanging way but tended to practice a bit differently each time.

It also comes from the ken-po goku-i that change is inevitable and actually encouraged. I sense in my studies the Masters of yesteryear and the ancients of China, etc. also encouraged practitioners to stretch themselves and go further. If in our history mankind did NOT stretch in this manner we would still be slinging rocks and stones at wildlife for food and wearing nothing or animal skins.

I quote, "An unthrifty martial system reduced in size and vigor due to unfavorable and unintended conditions." It has remained simply because no one will see or hear that the symptoms are prevalent simply because there is nothing available, healthy, for comparison.

p.s. Oh, there is a saving grace to this, there are a few who got out there past the systems limits and actively and with dedication worked to find the "more" in the Isshinryu system. But, finding them is a bit of a pickle.

Truth:Consequences

In my post on tribes and operating systems I speak of finding facts/truth but that tribes with their particular agenda's can inhibit the truth to their tribes truth. I got to a point that the following quote sparked a brain jump, "So, you are out there trying to find the truth, all you are going to get is one side (tribe) or the other (another opposing tribe). You are never told the full story. One side tells you to never look into the dark, and the other tells you to never look into the light."

Lets look at history, it is always told from only one tribes side or point of view. The loser is the loser. The tribe who won tells you their side of the truth and that will be colored and cleaned out so only the truth they wish is expressed. So, when we study history are we truly hearing the entire story.

In the world of the martial arts we have tribes who promote their version of the system. Even in the same system, name only, there are varying degrees and views of what is considered the "truth."

How do you find truth? You just have to remain open and, from my belief, disassociated from any one tribe and its rules, operating system, etc. and data mine what is perceived by you as truth and/or historical significance (notice I didn't say truth; it is after all very subjective).

Chambering the Fist

Click for Large View!

In my system, as I suspect in other martial systems, we are taught to chamber our fists. When we do basics, upper and lower (te-no-bu and ashi-no-bu) we are all taught to return to a chamber position with one, the other or both fists.

Why do we do this? Simple, we do this as a basic, to learn the fundamentals of punching. We chamber then execute and finally hit the target. We learn about form and function. We learn about following the path of the fist with the elbow, etc. We learn to stay relaxed until contact then tighten the fist, etc. Hopefully we learn about structure, alignment, posture, momentum, speed, timing, distance, etc. when punching. In other words this is the fundamentally basic "start point" to learn.

BUT!

What has happened in many dojo, Isshinryu since that is my most experience, is they never progress. They all assume this is the written in stone way of doing it in basics techniques, kata and kumite. Most never learn there is more, something beyond the basics, if fighting is a part of the agenda when instructing.

Once you learn how to effectively punch and/or strike then leave chambering behind. Cover your open zones. Marc MacYoung refers to those areas as quadrants. We have only two hands, forearms, elbows, etc. to cover our entire front. He divides this into four quadrants where our arms, etc. can cover only two of them at a time. You need to use positioning to cover the two not covered by the arms. Keeping the open quadrants out of range while covering the other two with arms and hands, etc. is a good thing.

You cannot do this fundamental protection if you chamber. Also remember that if you chamber or re-chamber you are broadcasting your intent and the distance you have to travel from chamber to target with a punch means a good fighter has time to move and not get hit. Marc makes a lot of sense with this and many Isshinryu factions do not teach us this strategic truism.

Chambering, good for learning; chambering, not good in fighting strategies and tactics. Move beyond chambering, yes! Remember if your hands and arms are in a protective position covering two of your quadrants; if you position your body to keep the other two out of punch/striking distance then those two arms and hands should be such that when you move quickly into range they strike like really, really powerfully, yes?

Bibliography:
MacYoung, Marc. "A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly: How Bouncers, Bodyguards, and Other Security Professionals Handle Ugly Situations." Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1996.

MacYoung, Marc. "Violence, Blunders, and Fractured Jaws: Advanced Awareness Techniques and Street Etiquette." Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1992.

Lucky Me ...

Reading a good book, "Violence, Blunders, and Fractured Jaws: Advanced Awareness Techniques and Street Etiquette," by Marc MacYoung. In it he analogizes using the team and that team has its own "operating system." I won't try to explain how that works just know that it is about "factions." Groups and group dynamics with team/tribe/faction interactions and the OS of each of these is unique and not necessarily compatible.

You may join a team or the team may recruit you or by osmosis you end up associated with that team and then you are indoctrinated into that team/tribe's operation system, i.e. rules. You know, like the laws of civilized society! Of course, there are those written laws but with teams/tribes in this sense there are unwritten rules.

In this sense those rules rule unless the subvert the societal laws/rules to the point that someone at that level becomes overly concerned. Another aspect I won't try to explain: get the book and read it for that.

Here is my point, we martial artists (me, karate-ka that is) have tribes. It starts at the dojo level with Sensei and other practitioners. We are required, if we wish to participate and/or belong, to follow that tribes rules or operating system. If that dojo is affiliated with other dojo or other organizations, i.e. think associations, then we have those rules. The more the merrier.

Even though they are all associated does not mean they all follow all the rules of the tribes/teams/systems. A good example is this American chapter of a major association for Isshinryu, my system too. The American tribe does what it wants yet when it invites the major tribe they "change" what they do and say and practice so that this other tribe "sees" and "hears" what makes them happy and deludes them into thinking all is well and all the tribes are towing the line.

When this occurs the teams/tribes become so indoctrinated that if the rules are questioned or not followed it causes conflict. Even if that change is truth and fact the tribe tends to not "see" it for the color of the indoctrination rules, the tribe operating system rules and that stifles growth and such system fundamentals resulting in a loss of them, fundamentals, etc.

In the beginning I felt the need to join a tribe. I had one in the dojo on Okinawa run by my Sensei. It was a simple one with few rules and the OS was not too restrictive. He promoted the idea that we experiment and find how it works and then what ever we found if actually worked was implemented into our individual practice and training. I am thankful for this attitude. The tribe, i.e. dojo level OS, was good and didn't conflict with anyone in or outside it.

Then I decided to associate with other tribes, i.e. major associations for my system. What I found in time is the Operating Systems or Rules were drastically different. The system in a very basic form was pretty much the same, as much as humans can achieve. The rules or OS tended to be ego and politically driven with economics at the core of the OS or rules.

As I gleaned more and more data I found that remaining in my own dojo tribe was best. It allowed me to seek out all information and provided me the attitude that what I practiced and trained in was open to change and growth regardless of where that came from. I had released myself from the shackles of many OS systems.

I kept that attitude and set of rules, so few they were, as my Sensei provided on Okinawa so my students took what I offered and then supplemented as they needed for their individual and unique way of the empty hand. I also warned them they would run into walls, obstacles, that would refute and down right profess what I taught was not correct but to practice and learn.

I tried to express that all systems regardless have something to offer and hopefully they learned to "data mine" all that would be good and totally discard that stuff they perceived as bad.

I am very lucky. I feel that because I more or less removed my association with tribes, other than for data mining, that I developed a more open, hopefully yet still learning about his aspect, attitude that deepens my understanding and knowledge which hopefully equates to my proficiency. If not then I might have quit long ago and never found the Way.

I realize that we all are influenced by nature's survival instincts where association with a tribe is the only way to survive. I understand that means, to me, home and family; neighbors; local communities, etc. yet I don't feel it applies to this type of association, i.e. martial systems to associations, etc. I am lucky I don't feel the need to "belong" to those tribes. The one's that truly deal with survival, of a nature, are critical.

I feel that this instinct that causes us to gravitate to such tribes for validation, approval, and other such things is a bit burdensome and a stifling association. I believe that the only validation necessary is the one from the relationship of a person and their Sensei, period. All the rest should be "fun" but never stifling or restrictive or , etc.

Bullying or Fighting

I read a response by a person who has my attention in regards to violence. He made some excellent observations that cause me to stop and think. Maybe I am seeing the concept incorrectly. I look at it as "bullying," when I should be viewing it as, "fighting."

So which is it? Bullying is where one person tries to intimidate a person perceived as weaker or an easy victim. It might be an attempt to make a person do something unwillingly. It is also a domineering action; a tendency to browbeat another. It may or may not include some physical interactions.

Fighting is a struggle between individuals. At its worst is it a violent conflict intended to dominate another person. It involves physical altercation be it pushing another; bouncing chests; or actually punching/striking another. There are other levels and ways that are fighting, i.e. verbal exchanges are also fighting, but for this post I want to point to the worst, physically attacking another person for what ever reasons.

Fighting is a form of physical engagement. It does not take a lot to cross the line from bullying to fighting. It does not change the view previously posted here that bullying is not a good thing and should be avoided, stopped, prevented, or just not done. This is something someone should deal with so young persons don't do it. A huge task, yes?

Bullying can and does provoke fighting. There are so many dynamics it ain't funny so like self defense it is complex and difficult which may explain why it is still prevalent in today's youth (adults bully too ya know).

Once bullying escalates to fighting regardless of the reasons it must be dealt with. It must be dealt with as to both parties. Once it gets to fighting, fighting is illegal which should be a good indication that it is not a thing we should allow, if we can. Again a difficult and complex issue with no clear cut answers.

We can "what if it" to death. We can take sides and continue the conflict, ops I meant discussion, until the end of time. It would be great if we collaborated and achieved detente on bullying and fighting by young folks.

Hmmm, human nature, good luck with this.

Age Adjustments

As we age in the world of martial arts, specifically for me karate-do, we should consider how we will handle that age adjustment. I am taking a different view now that I have reached the ripe old age of fifty-seven. I realized one day long ago that trying to keep up with my younger, stronger, younger martial associates simply resulted in wear and tear that no longer added to my health and fitness but started to actually wear the body that I perceived as detrimental to reaching a very large age number.

I wanted to make sure my body would handle life for a long, long time. I wanted my quality of life to be such that I would not be a hindrance or burden to those I love. The only way to do that is to treat my body according to the rules of mother nature. Once I passed fifty years, which is way beyond what it was for life expectancy back historically speaking, I realized that to go the distance I needed to adjust as I age.

I took my ego and dumped it, hopefully, where I could not be goaded into doing things by younger, stronger, younger persons. It was not beneficial to my spirit-mind-body. I admitted to myself that I am aging and I can adjust and still practice, train and, if so desired, instruct.

So, I was reading a really good book. It was a book or series that I read over twenty-five years ago. It was good then and even better now. It is fantasy and magical. It does take me places in my imagination that are really cool. Even so, it also provided me a quote that I feel applies to me and the aging adjustments, etc. Here it is:

"As you get older, you find that life begins to wear you down. Does not matter who you are or what you do, it happens. Experience, time, events - they all conspire against you to steal away your energy, to erode your confidence, to make you question things you would not have given a second thought to when you were young. It happens gradually, a chipping away that you do not even notice at first, and then one day it is there. You wake up and you just do not have the fire anymore.

Then you have a choice. You can either give in to what you are feeling, just say "Okay, enough is enough" and be done with it, or you can fight it. You can accept that ever day that you are alive you are going to have to face it down, that you are going to have to say to yourself that you do not care what you feel, that it does not matter what  happens to you because sooner or later it is going to happen anyway, that you are going to do what you have to because otherwise you are defeated and life does not have any real purpose left.

When you can accept the wearing down and the eroding, then you can do anything. You just have to get past the fear." - The Owl, "The Elf Queen of Shannara." by Terri Brooks

Our attitudes; our mindset; our "Jiko-no-hanashi-no-geijutsu," will need to change and taking this perspective, per quote above, may help to admit, understand, and accept the inevitable of life.

I just wanted to pass it along. Those of you who are no where near this time of life can put it into your mental storage locker for you may find it beneficial when the time comes. Those of you reaching or already there, I hope it provides something of value!

Going for a Head Shot

How many martial systems teach self defense where they tend to go for a head shot? Have you ever truly considered the repercussions for the head shot? What do you think a jury would view a head shot as in a criminal action? How much time have you devoted to the medical results to any and all martial system techniques when applied to another human being? Do you cover this in the systems fundamentals?

Recently reading a good book on stuff like this from a pretty good and reliable source who wrote that over eighty percent of those who arrive to an ER unconscious from a traumatic head injury, DIE. Even the ones who come in conscious and able to talk with a traumatic head injury, DIE (about fifty percent).

Now, the author states clearly that they read  somewhere that ... and then the stats above. As I try to continue understanding violence it occurs to me that if a martial system teaches self defense with out knowing all that this entails is putting two parties in extreme danger; especially if they promote a head strike. I recently reviewed some competitive video for self defense where a lot of punches/strikes land on the head, makes me wonder.

It never occurred to me that a head shot could be deadly, doah, or that head shots are almost always perceived by the laymen, i.e. jurors, as extreme and unnecessary. Doah! Just how stupid can anyone get...referring to me, K.

Do you teach self defense? Do you teach your students to go for the head? Hmm, are you thinking about it from a different perspective now? Being an instructor takes on more meaning every day I contemplate and train and practice. How about you?

Bullying

First, I was a bully in junior high school. No excuses and no reasons why to explain it away, I was and it was wrong. Today it seems as if this is becoming a national crises and prompted me to post on the subject.

Do we, as Sensei, have a responsibility to instruct young adults in this subject? I cannot say with any experience or certainty that it is something we should do in martial systems instruction but maybe we should be contemplating it as Sensei.

I would be considering it in the strongest terms if I had a dojo that instructed young adults, i.e. young persons in grade and/or junior high school. This is grade five up to 12.

What is it that we could do as Sensei? 

Should we do this? 

Is it something we should provide in our fundamentals of any martial system? 

Is this a step beyond our responsibility and should this be on the shoulders of the parents only? 

If you do or do not address this in instructing young adults would you be either liable or not liable if that person used what you taught to cause grave injury to another young person?

I am sure many school systems today are fighting with themselves over this subject. I would suggest, theory only with no data to back it up, that Sensei of all martial systems who instruct persons under the age of 18 (legal age in the state where you instruct) should be giving this a great deal of thought.

I personally do not know the answers. If a karate-ka actually applied a powerful punch or strike to another child's head and it resulted in unconsciousness and hospitalization I would be devastated. With power comes responsibility! Do young adults really have the experience and knowledge to assume that responsibility?

All questions we Sensei should ask ourselves. Have you asked yourself these and other related questions? Take a moment, do a search on youtube for bullying, view what you see and consider the question(s), please!

Exclusion Zone & Clear Zone (Your defense/offense perimeter)

Exclusion is a term we used in a job where Marines provided us Security where deadly force was authorized. In a nutshell the exclusion zone was the first line of defense or a perimeter established around nuclear weapons, etc. that no one can access unless they go through some very serious investigations, etc. and are authorized, very few are, to gain access directly to them.

An exclusion zone is first handled by clearing folks to be in it. The the Marines establish a perimeter that closes the exclusion zone so no one can enter unless cleared. If someone tries to enter forcibly,  think attack, then the Marines are authorized to put them down. Down on the ground or down in the ground.

So, I use it here to establish a zone around myself where any entry past that exclusion zones perimeter line results in self protection and all it entails. Where is a persons exclusion zone perimeter? Good question as it differs for each unique individual.

Stand in heiko-dachi the extend your arms out to the side. I don't say straight out in front for this because the distance does shorten a might but full extension is better achieved to the side. That is your exclusion zone perimeter. Now, stand on one foot and extend your leg into a front snap kick position fully extended. This is what I would call my clear zone.

A clear zone means to me, in karate, that line or clear zone perimeter that if breached causes me to take some sort of action. I try to see a possible opponent for their size and then judge when their leg starts to breach the clear zone. I move and take a hands up by face don't want to get into a physical thing type move and try to avoid/deescalate.

OK, a clear zone is a zone established from the exclusion zone perimeter/line outward for a distance that provides Marines a moment to discover a breach of security so they can respond and hopefully avoid and deescalate, i.e. turn the intruder around to leave the area or consequences will occur to either down on the ground or in the ground. Just wanted to clear that up just in case.

Now, once a person enters the clear zone and I take a posture of non-aggression yet that person fails to see the error of they ways and the distance I judge their leg/foot enters the exclusion zone I am now going to move and depending on what happens take a defensive posture and possible disrupt  their brain to a point they reconsider their stance on the subject and decide correctly this was a bad thing to do.

Establish your clear zone and exclusion zone as your first line of defense. If you remain aware and perceive someone with a hostile attitude to enter your clear zone take appropriate actions and once they enter you exclusion zone which puts them within striking/punching distance take additional necessary actions to protect yourself and get the heck out of dodge, i.e. danger of harm. The overall gaol with this is to avoid-deescalate-manners before legal considerations are enacted through actions, etc.

Note: Remember, the reason I am using a clear zone and an exclusion zone is you do not  want to wait till they are actually within punching/striking/kicking distance. The distance they need to hit your vertical axis. If you can hit theres they can hit yours and the idea is to avoid, not, get hit (thanks Mr. MacYoung for the view.

Note II: Also, the clear/exclusion zone lines, perimeter of defense, at a minimum must meet your arm/leg distance yet since this is a mostly defensive mindset you may want to extend it slightly if the person you encounter, provided time allows, might have a longer reach. Remember also that it is not the distance to contact your body but the distance from your vertical axis, i.e. line from apex of your head straight down to the Earth. The axis line where penetration and power do their best.

Weaponry Handicapped

Not!

I have witnessed first hand in an Isshinryu dojo, as well as others, the practitioners gravitating toward the practice of weaponry. In most cases they skirt by the basics and have no clue or desire to do fundamentals and learn only what is absolutely "required" to get to weapons.

In a dojo where I participated for about a year very seldom did they spend any real time either working hand fighting but remember sparring only two maybe three times. No bag work, no makiwara, no punching/striking against any resistance, and mostly empty kata practice then a lot of weaponry.

This is a shame for that is only a very small and more insignificant part of the system of karate/karate-do (yes, I know karate is not  really a weaponry system, i.e. kobudo, yet most clump them together). I don't mean to lessen the art of weaponry. I have shown that it is a part that teaches us about the entire system as created (traditions, customs, etc.) yet it is not critical or even recommended, for my dojo, if fighting or self defense is a training goal.

I firmly believe that spending too much time on weaponry and so little time on the empty hand aspects of karate/karate-do puts the system for that individual off kilter, out of balance, not in equilibrium. Weaponry is interesting, it is exciting, it is fun to learn, they are cool yet "if you are interested in the entire system then it [training/practice] should be balanced."

If you fight, you spar, you compete, and/or you expect your system to provide you with that ability to apply it in those areas then you have to hit stuff. You have to practice with others hitting each other. You have to put in the time and effort with a minimum of 10 minutes of hitting stuff for every hour of practice. You have to focus on your body because in most situations, other than combat, you won't have or want to use weaponry.

I, personally, stopped the practice of weaponry a long time ago simply so I could focus back on the basics/fundamentals of the empty hand system I practice based on Isshinryu and others that I have some familiarity with and recommend that to anyone who wishes to make their empty hands work.

I am adamant that although many would argue the point weaponry DOES NOT enhance your hand techniques or ability to use your hands. Weaponry can/are a crutch. I realize that it puts distance between you and your opponent. I also realize that this is natural, the way mother nature made us so we could survive. But, if you plan on defending/protecting yourself then weaponry is not what I would recommend.

Weaponry is primary in the military and police services. In reality, as a Marine for ten years, I can say emphatically you DO NOT WANT to engage in hand-to-hand unless there is absolutely no other way. This is in combat. You want your tools, weaponry, to do all the work. This is one time I agree a lot of distance between you and the enemy is a good thing.

Fighting, not violent attacks of a predatory nature, the type I call school yard scuffle, will get up close and very personal if it escalates to physical attacks. Think about this and take it up with your Sensei.

Heiko-Dachi

Click for Larger View: You may copy and Use!

Primary stance for everything I can think of doing, martial and not. From this stance you can move anywhere at any moment and into any direction. The non-fighting posture is heiko-dachi with hands by your side. A fundamental defensive stance can be taken simply by raising both hands simultaneously so the palms face toward your opponent, open and adjacent to your face and neck.

Your arms, elbows and hands are in a a position that will defend against attack while able to take an offensive counterattack. If you determine someone is entering your exclusion zone, your perimeter, you can drop them slightly, form a fist if needed or let them remain open for a strike. Move off to an angle forward, reverse, left or right to parry and attack of step in to the off side and attack.

You can twist the body if attacked and lean slightly to unbalance the attacker while their punch or strike misses. You can continue rotation until your now behind them and maybe off to one side.

You can then assume a heiko-dachi with the attackers back facing directly into your stable side stance which can also be viewed as a naihanchi stance, etc. but remains heiko-dachi from the front so it still exists as the fundamentally most diverse stance you can use.

All other stances can be assumed from the heiko-dachi. Take a look at the matrix of stances below and you will readily see how each can be assumed from a heiko-dachi to apply its appropriate technique in a counter attack, etc.

Stance Effectiveness

Click for Larger View - Use It if you wish.

A fundamental. The basic is demonstrating and instructing basic stances. The fundamental of each stance is to instruct the person on its effective zones. In the book, "A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly," the author calls this the stability of stances. The directions that a stance is stable or has integrity and the directions that it does not or where it becomes less stable and easier to push a person off the stance and on to the ground, etc.

I guess what I am saying is there are two points I would look for if attacked. First, is the person in my exclusion zone? This is what was called a martial artist perimeter where he/she can be hit with the foot or hands. If they are outside your exclusion zone your not in danger of being hit. When you see them start to enter your exclusion zone then prepare to take action.

This zone line cross over may mean before the crossing your standing in a natural stance, arms down, and hands by your sides. Once they cross the zone you raise your hands, my hands anyway as this is my thing, up by your face, palms facing them, and hands open as a sign saying I don't want trouble.

Knowing your range, i.e. effective distance of either your foot or your hands, is now even more critical. Now you move and take note of the attackers direction and stances as he moves. If moving directly toward you and you move off at an angle and forward your going to move into his instability zone or the effective zone to knock him off balance and out of his stance. Then if done correctly his body will succumb to gravity.

Now, as to you and your stances. As a fundamental of stances you have to know all your stances and their effective/ineffective stability zones. You have to know them and associate them with appropriate and most effective techniques, etc. Simplistic and basic and keep in mind it is not all of it but a door to get to all the other fundamentals involved.

Two points, when the attacker enters your exclusion zone you move into a position of his weakest stance integrity. I guess actually that is three points but what the hey, I am just figuring things out. Practice-practice-practice!

Create all your stances (see graphic below) and have some one walk 260 degrees around you and push slightly so you can feel at what point the stance is most stable. Do this until it is ingrained and it applies to an opponent. You may find when you do this type of study of the fundamentals that when you use them in practice and training it and the applicable technique take on a bigger meaning. Then other things start to jump out at you to increase your knowledge of stance effectiveness, i.e. fundamentals.

Notes: The graphic is my rendition of the one provided in the bibliography by Marc MacYoung. The second one at the bottom shows only the various stances, a few, to give you an idea  on finding the stability points of each one. Feel free to download, find the stability points, and then change it/rename it and send it to me. I would be interested in what you find/found, etc. :-)

Bibliography:
MacYoung, Marc. "A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly: How Bouncers, Bodyguards, and Other Security Professionals Handle Ugly Situations." Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1996.

Click for Larger View - Save and use if you wish.