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.

Sparring and Self-defense

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. (Everything I think and write is true, within the limits of my knowledge and understanding.)

“Martial Arts for self-defense has to cover a much broader and deeper set of skills than simply punching, kicking and grappling, etc.” - unknown

In sparring the majority of martial artists adhere to certain traits that are not well suited toward self-defense. First, sparring relies on a face-to-face position usually with distance between competitors. Second, sparring often involves movement in the forward-to-backward-to-forward system and even when they move off center it is about the dance, i.e., moving and testing the will and ability of your adversary meaning both are still centered on one another but move around with one another to seek out openings, etc. Third, sparring is geared more toward sport oriented methods that are not, mostly, usable in violent situations requiring self-defense (except may when participating in the monkey dance, see bibliography for more on the monkey dance). 

As one author tells us when you are attacked under certain circumstances you are going to get blitzed from either your flank or your rear. This seems logical to me since I understand most attackers will stack everything possible in their favor for success if it is a process attack and in favor of getting something they want from you and so on (also see bibliography for more on process and resource stuff).

Then there are those who feel strongly that sparring is a model that provides self-defense yet seldom in my time learning martial arts sparring didn’t cover aggressive, surprise, fast, hard and close attacks from either the flank or from the rear - mostly face-to-face as described above. Why is this so? 

It is so simply because the majority of instructors, teachers or sensei of martial disciplines don’t know that they don’t know about conflict and violence (more on this see bibliography). You cannot teach what you don’t know. Even with this said, there are so many things that must be present when teaching self-defense.

Another aspect mentioned in passing is getting off center. …….. ?

Note: Sparring is a game of distance, a good deal of circling, not getting off center, and doing the backpedal thing, i.e., backing up. Its goal is to maintain safe separation and that is the comfort zone for those who spar. The trouble is, according to experts in violence, it is not good for street fights, attacks and blitzes. If you wish to defend yourself you need to change how you practice for violence, the attack, etc.

Note II: Sparring is NOT fighting, fighting is NOT self-defense and predatory violence is NOT sparring or fighting (mostly/somewhat) and you need to train for breaking the mind-numbing, fear inducing, damage intensive predatory attack so you can live, move and reach safety all the while understanding that regardless of the actual circumstances you will have to articulate the entire thing well enough to not get legal trouble. 

Note III: Sparring in Japanese is termed, “Kumite.” Kumite characters/ideograms are “組み手.” The characters/ideograms literally mean, “Paired karate kata.” This means that karate kumite are those prearranged techniques practiced between two karate-ka, i.e., the tori-uki dichotomy or two persons opposed to the goals of each other meaning as well protagonist vs. antagonist (victim vs. attacker). Except in the dojo the tori-uki paired kata practice are meant, in the very early stages, to complement one another for a learning process that then later become less compliment and more unpredictable and so on. In this form of teaching, training and practice the forgotten criteria to make if viable for self-defense is the adrenal stress flood reality based levels of teaching, training and practice. Sparring is thought of as inappropriate to self-defense training but in reality that thought comes from a lack of knowledge in karate kumite, i.e., most practitioners never go beyond the more complimentary tori-uki training relationship and almost all fail to achieve a reality based adrenal stress flood type of kumite training. In the end, there is another level that must be taught, trained and practiced that is a more predatory asocial type of predatory attack. It can be done but rarely is because it is not easy nor easily incorporated into the curriculum of sport oriented monetary induced type of criteria, etc.

Note IV: Remember one important thing, if the kata and its form provide you the foundation you need especially as to its principles such as structure, posture, and so on, then whether that paired kata remains perceived as to karate or martial arts technique as taught in the form but is still allowing you to achieve your goals in conflict and violence then it works. The process is about adhering to such things in the beginning but letting go of such adherences to achieve fluidity that applies principles to reach your conflict and violence goals. There are many true martial artists who have achieved high levels of proficiency in conflicts and violences domains simply because they extended themselves beyond those basics to reach those goals. 

Primary Bibliography of Self-Defense:
MacYoung, Marc. "In the Name of Self-Defense: What It Costs. When It’s Worth It." Marc MacYoung. 2014.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Meditations of Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence" YMAA Publishing. 2008.

Secondary Bibliography of Self-Defense:
Ayoob, Massad. “Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense”Gun Digest Books. Krouse Publications. Wisconsin. 2014.
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.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #1: Getting Shot.” NNSD. Amazon Digital. 2014.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #2: Getting Stabbed.”  NNSD. Amazon Digital. 2015.
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
Strong, Sanford. “Strong on Defense_ Survival Rules to Protect you and your Family from Crime.” Pocket Books. New York. 1996.
and more … see blog bibliography.
Jahn, C. R. “FTW Self Defense.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2012
Jahn, C. R. “Hardcore Self Defense.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2002.

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

General Bibliography:

Advincula, A. J. The Naming of Isshin-ryu: In the beginning there was the one. Isshnikai:The Official Website of Sensei Arcenio J. Advincula. http://www.isshinkai.net/history03-birthofisshinryu.html. 2009
Advincula, A.J. Isshinkai Yahoo Group. http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/isshinkaiKarate/. 2010
Advincula, A. J. MSgt USMC (Ret.), Isshinryu Sensei. "His writings and postings of Isshinryu and Kenpo Gokui on Isshinkai. California 2009.
Advincula, A.J. "Chinkuchi". Isshinkai Group Thread: February, 2007
Advincula, Arcenio J. Isshinkai Yahoo Group; isshinkaiKarate@yahoogroups.com: April, 2007
Advincula, Arcenio J. Isshinkai Yahoo Group; isshinkaiKarate@yahoogroups.com: May, 2007
Advincula, A.J. "Chinkuchi". Isshinkai Group Thread: February, 2007
Advincuala, A. J. http://www.isshinkai.net/ 
Advincula, A.J. "Isshinryu no Gokui." Online Posts. 13 April 2001 to present date. IsshinKai Yahoo Group. 
Ayoob, Massad. “Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense”Gun Digest Books. Krouse Publications. Wisconsin. 2014.

Bolton, Robert, Ph.D. "People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts." Simon & Schuster. New York. 1979. 1986.
Boyd, Charles. Kenpo Gokui. Isshinkai Yahoo Group Post 2009.
Breed, George. "Embodying Heaven and Earth: A Radiant Model of Transformation." Publication: International Journal of Humanities and Peace Publication 2003

Chu, W. K. and Sherrill, W. A. The Astrology of I Ching. New York. Penguin Books. 1976
Chu, W. K. and Sherrill, W. A. An Anthology of I Ching. London. Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1977.
Clarke, Michael. "Shin Gi Tai: Karate Training for Body, Mind, and Spirit." YMAA Publishing. New Hampshire. 2011.

Davies, Roger J. and Ikeno, Osamu. "The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture." Tuttle Publishing. Tokyo, Japan. 2002.
DeMente, Boye Lafayette. "Japan's Cultural Code Words: 233 Key Terms That Explain the Attitudes and Behavior of the Japanese." Tuttle. Vermont, Tokyo and Singapore. 2004. 
DeMente, Boye Lafayette. "Kata: The Key to Understanding & Dealing with the Japanese." Tuttle Publishing. Tokyo, Vermont and Singapore. 2003
Bibliography:
DeMente, Boye LaFayette. "Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets from Musashi's Book of Five Rings." Tuttle Publishing. Vermont. 2008.
DeMente, Boye LaFayette. "The Origins of Human Violence: Male Dominance, Ignorance, Religions and Willful Stupidity!" Phoenix Books. Kentucky. 2010.
DeMente, Boye LaFayette. "The Japanese Samurai Code: Classic strategies for Success." Tuttle Publishing. Vermont. 2004.
DeMente, Boye LaFayette. "The Chinese Mind: Understanding Traditional Chinese Beliefs and Their Influence on Contemporary Culture." Tuttle Publishing. Rutland, Vermont. 2009.
DeMente, Boye LaFayette. "The Chinese Have a Word for It: The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture." McGraw Hill Publishing. New York. 1996.

Elgin, Suzette Haden, Ph.D. "More on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense." Prentice Hall. New Jersey. 1983.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Self-Defense at Work." New York. Prentice Hall Press. 2000.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1993.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense" MJF Books. 1997
Elgin, Suzette. "The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1995
Elgin, Suzette. "Staying Well with the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense." MJF Books. 1990.

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking." Bay Back Books. France. 2007.
Goleman, Daniel. “Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition [Kindle Edition].” Bantam. January 11, 2012.
Gunaratana, Bhante. Mindfulness in Plain English. Wisdom Publications; 2nd edition. September 2002. 

Hall, Edward T. "The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time." Anchor Books. New York. 1983, 1984, 1989.
Hall, Edward T. "The Hidden Dimension." Anchor Books. New York. 1969, 1990.
Hall, Edward T. and Hall, Mildred Reed. "Hidden Differences: Doing Business with the Japanese." Anchor Books. New York. 1987, 1990.
Hanson, Rick and Mendius, Richard. The Practical Neuroscience of Buddha's Brain: Happiness, Love & Wisdom. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications, Inc. 2009.
Heath, Robin. Sun, Moon, & Earth. Wooden Books, Ltd. Ontario Canada. 1999 
Hayes, William R. Major USMC (ret.) Shorin-ryu Karate-do. "My Journey with the Grandmaster: Reflections of an American Martial Artist on Okinawa." Morris Publishing, Kearney, NE, 1997/2009 ISBN: 978-1-575-02-554-4
Huang, Alfred. "The Complete I Ching." Inner Traditions Rochester, Vermont. 1998 
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Isshinkai Yahoo Group, "Re: [Isshin Kai Karate] finding Personal hexagram Okinawa History & traditions" dtd Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 1:13 AM isshinkaiKarate@yahoogroups.com
Iyengar, B.K.S. Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing. Crossroad Publishing New York. 2010. 

Jahn, C. R. “FTW Self Defense.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2012
Jahn, C. R. “Hardcore Self Defense.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2002.
Jahn, C. R. “Warrior Wisdom.” iUniverse. Amazon Digital Services. 2012.

Kaiguo, Chen, Shundhao, Zheng, Cleary, Thomas. "Opening the Dragon's Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard. Tuttle Publishing. Vermont. 1996.

Lowry, Dave. "The Essence of Budo: A Practitioner's Guide to Understanding the Japanese Martial Ways." Boston & London, Shambhala Publications. 2010.
Lundy, Miranda. Sacred Geometry. New York. Walker Publishing Company. 2007

MacYoung, Marc. "Violence, Blunders, and Fractured Jaws: Advanced Awareness Techniques and Street Etiquette." Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1992. 
MacYoung, Marc. “In the Name of Self-Defense: What It Costs. When It’s Worth It.” Marc MacYoung. 2014.
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 (Animal). “Taking It to the Street: Making Your Martial Art Street Effective.” Paladin Press. Boulder, Colorado. 1999.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #1: Getting Shot.” NNSD. Amazon Digital. 2014.
MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #2: Getting Stabbed.”  NNSD. Amazon Digital. 2015.
Maffetone, Philip Dr. “The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness.” McGraw Hill, New York. 2000.
Matsumoto, Michihiro. "The Unspoken Way, Haragei: Silence in Japanese Business and Society." Kodansha. New York. 1988.
Meadows, Donella H. “Thinking in Systems.” Chelsea Green Publishing. Vermont. 2008.
Miller, Kamila. "Campfire Tales from Hell: Musing on Martial Arts, Survival, Bounding, and General Thug Stuff." CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2012.
Miller, Rory. "ConCom: Conflict Communications A New Paradigm in Conscious Communication." Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 2014.
Miller, Rory. "Violence: A Writer's Guide." Pacific Northwest. Wyrd Goat Press. 2012.
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. "Meditations of Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence" YMAA Publishing. 2008.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected." YMAA Publishing. 2011.
Morris, Desmond. “Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.” Harry N. Abrams. April 1979. 

Newberg, Andrew MD and Waldman, Mark Robert. "Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth." Free Press. New York. 2006
Nylan, Michael. "The Elemental Changes: The Ancient Chinese Companion to the I Ching." Albany NY, State of NY Press. 1994

Okakura, Kakuzo. Dover Publications. New York. 1964.

Pease, Marshall. The Aquarian I Ching. Brotherhood of Life, inc. Albuquerque, NM. 1993.
Perlman, Steven J. "The Book of Martial Power: The Universal Guide to the Combative Arts." New York. The Overlook Press. 2006. 
Powers, William. "Hamlet's Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age." New York. HarperCollins Publishing. 2010

Sato, Hiroaki. "Legends of the Samurai." Overlook Press. New York. 1995. 
Schmeisser, Elmar T., Ph.D. "Advanced Karate-Do: Concepts, Techniques, and Training Methods." St. Louis: Tamashii Press, 2007.
Schneider, Michael. Constructing the Universe. http://www.constructingtheuniverse.com/. 2010.
Smalley, Susan L. PhD. Winston, Diana. "Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness." Da Capo Press. Philadelphia. 2010.
Stiskin, Nahum. "The Looking Glass God: Shinto, Yin Yang, and a Cosmology for Today." Weatherhill. New York. 1972. 
Sutrisno, Tristan, MacYoung, Marc and Gordon, Dianna. "Becoming a Complete Martial Artist: Error Detection in Self Defense and the Martial Arts." Lyons Press. Connecticut. 2005.

Tankosich, Mark J. "Karate Ni Sente Nashi: What the Masters had to Say. [revised version of a paper that originally appeared in Vol. 27, No. 1 of the Hiroshima University of Economics Journal of Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences.] 2004 pdf format article from Charles Goodin Library Web Site. 
Trosper, Barry R. I Ching: The Illustrated Primer. KGI Publications, San Jose. 1986.

Volk, Steve. "Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain the Unexplainable - And Couldn't." HarperOne Publishing. New York. 2011.
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Watson, Burton. "Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsun Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu." New York, Columbia University Press. 1967.
Wei, Wu. The I Ching Workbook. Malibu California: power-press. 2005
Wilhelm, Hellmut and Wilhelm, Richard. Understanding the I Ching: The Wilhelm Lectures on the Book of Changes. New Jersey. Princeton Bollingen Press. 1995.
Wilhelm, Hellmut and Wilhelm, Richard. Understanding the I Ching: The Wilhelm Lectures on the Book of Changes. bollinger series. New Jersey. Princeton Publishing. 1995.
Wilhelm, Hellmut. "Change: Eight Lectures on the I Ching." Routledge & Kegan Paul publishers, London. 1961 and 1970.
Wilhelm, Richard. The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Chinese Book of Life. New York. Harcourt Brace and Company. 1962.
Wilhelm/Baynes. The I Ching or Book of Changes. New York. Princeton Press. 1997.
Wilhelm, Richard and Baynes, Cary F. "The I Ching or Book of Changes." New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 3rd edition. October 1, 1967. ISBN-10: 069109750X
Wilhelm/Byrnes, "The I Ching". Princeton University Press. 1967
Wilhelm, Hellmut. "Heaven, Earth, and Man in the Book of Changes." University of Washington Press, Seattle and London. 1997 
Wittwer, Henning. “Scouting Out the Historical Course of Karate: Collected Essays.” Impressum. Germany. 2014 (www.lulu.com)

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Ego (spirituality). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_(spirituality). 18 January 2009.

Young, Mark. An Interpretation of the Philosophy of the Matrix Trilogy. 2003 - 2011. The Matrix 101. Date of Access: 2 Aug 2011 http://www.thematrix101.com/contrib/myoung_aitptm.php

http://www.168fengshui.com/Articles/8_trigrams.htm
http://www.goldenelixir.com/taoism/table_bagua.html
http://kenpo-gokui.blogspot.com/


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