The Missing Ingredients

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

What is the missing ingredients to self-defense especially in karate and martial arts? No matter how good your training, no matter how good your practice and no matter how good you feel, think and believe your training, practice and understanding of karate, martial arts and self-defense strategies and tactics without these missing ingredients every time you encounter a defense situation you are gambling big that it will work. 

Maybe it does work, maybe it doesn’t work and maybe your luck just ran out. It is one of those things that unless you work in an environment and profession where you face conflict with violence on a frequent basis you may never find out if what you are doing works or doesn’t work, you very lucky. What if one day, just one day only, you are attacked for either a resource or process situation, do you want to gamble that your stuff may or may not work?

When you study and practice karate or a martial art, whether for sport or defense, you have to decide if what your goals are for training actually, fully and completely meet those needs to attain that goal. 

So, what are those missing ingredients, the ones that are critical to you goals. In this case the gaol is to achieve a level of proficiency and understanding to achieve a state of ability in defending against violence?

First, is to “understand the entire spectrum of self-defense.” The fifth fundamental principle in critical because if you don’t understand what that means then you are going to fail, you will miss those critical needs to use defense but most of all to justify your use of defense. The best way to start on that road is to study the “tomes of self-defense” as presented my the, for my recommendation, two top proponents of self-defense, Mr. Rory Miller and Mr. Marc MacYoung. 

Second, is to “understand the entire spectrum of the chemical cocktail.” The sixth fundamental principle is critical because if you don’t understand what it means to be flooded by natures human chemical dump you will not train for it and you will freeze when it hits like a tsunami wave hits a lone human standing on a rocky shore. This along with the first missing ingredient makes a pair that leads us to the third missing ingredient.

Third, is to “understand, practice and maintain frequent training” of a “adrenal stress-conditioned realty based” training model. A training model that must be continued frequently to maintain a level of understanding and experience that will actually allow you to achieve action toward combating the adrenal dump while allowing you to act regardless, at least get you past that first critically important step in an attack, to have the ability to move, act and do something to defend yourself. 

The third ingredient is probably the one missing ingredient that even when you knowledge and partial understanding is reached for the first and second missing ingredient still means your missing this one ingredient, the one that builds a bridge across that wide chasm you must leap over to act in a violent situation - especially that first time. 

Many of us will say that our endeavors in participation of sports like MMA and UFC styles of competition will get us there but you have to remember that the differences between sport and the dangers of violent attacks, etc., will still be there and may or may not cause you to flounder, especially that first time out. Remember also, the tactics and strategies in those competitive endeavors may actually take you outside that self-defense legal square. As I indicate, the first missing ingredient is meant to help us understand the square. You want to survive an attack but you also want to survive the legal and moral ramifications that come with self-defense. 

In my limited experience and view there are few and far between karate dojo that cover all needed ingredients to achieve a solid self-defense, defense. If you practice karate or a martial art toward a defensive strategy then the actual tactics have to encompass far more that what techniques you need to use to defend yourself. Actually, it is more about the fundamental principles used to apply multiple methodologies for defense rather than techniques but that is a whole nother article. 

Lastly, you may not find all the principles of self-defense in any one defense training model. Find what training venues teach what you need so that when you bring all of those together into the one wholehearted study, practice, training and application of self-defense you will have a more complete program and ability and proficiency to get the job done within the square. 

What is so great about this time, right now, is that many more karate and martial arts for self-defense programs are coming to realize the value in implementation of those missing ingredients and are making a concerted effort to implement the teachings of people like Mr. Miller and Mr. MacYoung so that folks who actually need self-defense can find it, learn it and implement it into their lives with success.

Note: when I say continuous on-going adrenal stress-conditioned reality training I mean frequent enough to maintain that level of ability because if you don’t maintain it, it will go away. Like many disciplines similar to this, if you don’t maintain it that initial training and experience will fade away because that is just how the human experience is. It is also that one missing ingredient where not only is the basic training inadequate, because it is missing the critical ingredients, but the lack of understanding toward on-going training of this sort is “mandatory” to keep your skills at a level where they are useful. 

Bibliography (Click the link)

Primary Bibliography of Self-Defense (Some titles have RBC drills included):

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 (Some titles have RBC drills included):

Ayoob, Massad. “Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense”Gun Digest Books. Krouse Publications. Wisconsin. 2014.

Branca, Andrew F. “The Law of Self Defense: The Indispensable Guide to the Armed Citizen.” Law of Self Defense LLC. 2013.

Burrese, Alain., “Hard-Won Wisdonm from the School of Hard Knocks.” TGW Books. October 2013. 

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.

Miller, Rory. “The Practical Problem of Teaching Self-Defense.” YMAA. January 19, 2015. http://ymaa.com/articles/2015/1/the-practical-problem-of-teaching-self-defense

Miller, Rory. “Convergence.” Chiron Blog. Thursday, May 21, 2015: http://chirontraining.blogspot.com/2015/05/convergence.html

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.

MacYoung, Marc. “Writing Violence #3: Getting Hit and Hitting.” Amazon Digital Services, inc. NNSD. April 20. 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.