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.

On the OODA

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

You already know that the OODA is, "Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action" loop developed as a teaching tool by Colonel Boyd, a fighter pilot. By itself it isn't that much but when explained fully and completely through his works one can understand how it can help folks understand the process we humans go though to see things, to orient on them, then with that information we need to make decisions that drive the next action loop. 

Now, even that is not enough and because this is about self-protection of self and others as a civilian according to social realities along with legal and legal system mandates we have to drive a bit deeper to make the loop work for us as a training tool toward understanding and applicable methodologies. 

OBSERVATION

The standard retort to that is to look and see through awareness and then the individual is pretty much left to figure out on their own what that awareness is and how it must be used. To see you have to have concepts to translate stimuli into something usable in this sense, self-protection of aggression and violence. Concepts are those encoded, trained, things in our mind gathered by a variety of means such as, "words both spoken and written and recorded; thoughts, idea's, theories, etc., from academics coupled with training and experiences that come from the intent and concepts that are aggressions and violence. In short, a whole lot of things that are often left to 'assumptions and assumed understanding' because most teachers don't really know how to articulate and teach such things so the sound bites are left to suggest and influence. 

If you DO NOT HAVE a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding that are the very concepts of your efforts to handle self-protection then you are NOT seeing and therefore not OBSERVING and then UNABLE to trigger that concept so that you actually can ORIENT on the situation(s). 

This is just example and very, very basic with the hopes one understands a lot of research, study and applicable practice in training are required to achieve successes in self-protection... in short, learn the 'rest of the story!'

Observation done properly, completely and comprehensively means you now have the awareness to trigger orientation on stimuli at a distance and with enough time to take actions toward avoidance, etc.

ORIENTATION

If you have all the data and concepts then orientation can be achieved as long as you are aware and you listen to that little voice in your head, or the rumbling in the stomach or gut, that says, "ops, something ain't right." If you are not buried in some electronic do-dad taking your awareness away so you can't see, can't here and can't feel your environment then the information and concepts in the observation loop are frozen, distracted and suppressed. 

To orient you have to know, be aware, recognize and then trigger trained processes that allow you to orient on what may be triggering your little voice. If you bypass the observation learning process then the rest of the loop just... FREEZES!

You need all, I mean all the information available so when the brain, the lizard, starts processing it in real-time you can come to conclusions that when you trigger the next step in the loop you can find answers in the blink of an eye. 

It should be noted here that if you have the full monty of conceptual data necessary to make decisions and actions that follow you are not just trigger actions of a physical type, i.e., the fight, but you are including those decisions and actions necessary to avoid and/or deescalate entirely. 

DECISION

Decisions are about what concepts are necessary to take the next step of actions and if you have trained in the proper reality-based adrenal stress-conditions that are as close as you can get to real violence and aggressions then the decision you do make, if any, will not suffice to end an attack. 

The decisions you need to make to act must be such that they encompass all possibilities and not just those cool movie-like combative fight efforts that are cool up on the movie screen but, as you already know, not so cool in the real self-protection for self-defense defenses. 

You also have to have the emotional stability, intelligence and maturity to allow the monkey to stay away and let in all answers that have nothing to do with status and ego and the cool-factor but honest legal and socially accepted endeavors that allow for all levels of self-protection from complete avoidance to handling ramifications of the after if violence happens. 

ACTIONS
  • Are those self-defense moves realistic?
  • Are they adequate to get the job done?
  • Are they appropriate to the circumstances and situations according to social realities and both legal and legal system mandates?
  • Is the level of force appropriate according to social realities and legal requirements?
  • Is the level of force and the methods applied appropriate to all the above?
These and many other questions are required to be answered and articulated in order to make the entire loop process work. If you train and practice above and beyond the human instincts of "fight, flight or freeze" say in the fight process to the level that exceeds the moving chaotic line the legal and social mandates set in each moment and each situation then you are going to fail whether your self-protection model either succeeds or it fails. Either way, other bad things happen in this part.

OODA is a simple concept with some complex issues and needs and concepts that must be created, built and maintained to make it and the self-protection skills work to your benefit. The OODA overlap and intermix as it is processed with the ultimate goal to speed past the OD processes in such a manner as to trigger appropriate actions with little or no apparent though simply because you trained, practiced and applied ALL the knowledge and SKILLS necessary to handle any present moment situation. 


Even this article barely touches on what you need to understand and therefore apply appropriately to handle aggressions and violences. Don't miss a step and don't leave anything out as that will have catastrophic repercussions on your actions regardless of whether they work or whether they fail to work. 

For reference and sources and professionals go here: Bibliography (Click the link)

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