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.

Targeting, Timing and Power Generation in Kata

Caveat: This post is mine and mine alone. I the author of this blog assure you, the reader, that any of the opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my meandering mind interprets a particular situation and or concept. The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of other martial arts and/or conflict/violence professionals or authors of source materials. It should be quite obvious that the sources I used herein have not approved, endorsed, embraced, friended, liked, tweeted or authorized this post.

Kata, when practiced solo, are “Static Drills with Repetitive Actions.” The original Okinawan Ti kata were created by experienced combatants who through experience achieved a level of ability that they felt a need to transmit them via kata. There are, as always, benefits and obstacles in this type of training. Regardless of what some might say about kata practice, kata are tools and are good ones but they also have certain limitations that are the flaws in the kata drills.

First, solo kata don not require any safety changes so they tend to allow for power generation and learning proper body mechanics or rather the implementation of principles, i.e., physiokinetics such as structure, posture and proper breathing, etc. What is often not taught, simply because generations of instructors without actual combat or violence experience either forget or change or lose the original bunkai tend to not teach this part, the part where one identifies the flaws in the kata. 

When performing kata you are missing the ability to target, to target on a moving, breathing and bent on doing you extreme damage adversary who has not rules and does not care for anyone’s safety but his or her own. Even when doing two man kata drills, this one has other flaws in addition to solo kata flaws, often the drills try to adhere to the positioning and movement of that kata, i.e. the movement of the adversary is more stationary leaving out the moving adversary so that you have to deal with a constantly changing situation and moment. 

Solo kata practice is also missing both the feeling of impact both from the adversary and to the adversary while both are moving in a unpredictable pattern, i.e., what Mr. Miller called “the absence of chaos.” Even the two person kata practice/drills are predictable as to the movement of an adversary because it is taught that the adversary must move around to allow the practitioner to remain within the kata movement and enbusen (the line movement of that kata). 

Another flaw often missed in solo or two person kata practice is distancing, i.e., real life attacks are fast, furious and very, very close. The attacker is often going to attack so that you are surprised, hit with fear, hit with the adrenal flood, stuck in the OO bounce and receiving great damage and pain while the kata two person practice assumes incorrectly that one must assume a polite dueling distance. Great for sport competitions but not so good for self-defense in violent conflicts. 

Finally, but not all inclusive, is imaginings. Without adherence to the original, combative, teachings of those early experienced fighters and with the changes that inexperienced instructors tend to incorporate are based solely on what they perceive from no experience in violence and a lot of exposure to movies and television perceptions of violence and conflicts. In other words what they imagine violence and combat and fighting are like vs. realty based experience in actual fighting and self-defense. 

What this amounts to is what Rory Miller provides, “Teach the flaws along side the beneficial applications in drills (in kata’s too).” I would add that use of kata being a product of nature as in having a yin side and a yang side, i.e., a beneficial and non-beneficial. In other words benefits with known flaws. As Rory Mille states somewhat that the flaw in martial arts is knowing and teaching to reality AND the “Flaws. (my words, not Mr. Miller’s)”

Now, add in that there are flaws in cooperative drills as well. I wanted to convey my thoughts here in regard to the use of kata/drils but there is a lot more I feel necessary to all martial artists who want or profess to teach self-defense. Here again, to get the fuller picture on drills and thier use, etc., I can only recommend you read Rory Miller’s book, Meditations on Violence. 

Primary Bibliography of Self-Defense:

Secondary Bibliography of Self-Defense:
Goleman, Daniel. "Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition [Kindle Edition]." Bantam. January 11, 2012.
Miller, Rory. "ConCom: Conflict Communications A New Paradigm in Conscious Communication." Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 2014. 
Miller, Rory and Kane, Lawrence A. "Scaling Force: Dynamic Decision-making under Threat of Violence." YMAA Publisher. New Hampshire. 2012
Miller, Rory. "Force Decisions: A Citizen's Guide." YMAA Publications. NH. 2012.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected." YMAA Publishing. 2011.
Elgin, Suzette Haden, Ph.D. "More on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense." Prentice Hall. New Jersey. 1983.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1995
Morris, Desmond. “Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.” Harry N. Abrams. April 1979.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1993.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense" MJF Books. 1997.
Maffetone, Philip Dr. “The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness.” McGraw Hill, New York. 2000 and more … see blog bibliography.

My Blog Bibliography

Cornered Cat (Scratching Post): http://www.corneredcat.com/scratching-post/
Kodokan Boston: http://kodokanboston.org
Mario McKenna (Kowakan): http://www.kowakan.com
Wim Demeere’s Blog: http://www.wimsblog.com





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