IS aliveness the most important thing?

I thought this Twitter thread was interesting. Low Tech Combat asked, “Who thinks "Aliveness" is not important?” To which Jason Crouch of The Martial Explorer answered, “what is aliveness.” My reply was:

tdatraining RT @jessecrouch: @lowtechcombat what is aliveness- Great question! Is it rhetorical? I will answer anyway: There is no hard and fast definition, like most things in martial arts, unless you isolate it to a particular system, e.g. JKD. It may be easier to define by asking what is dead in MA? Most think that a "dead" drill is one where the feeder, for ex, is not responding, but simply feeding an attack or responding with a defense without thought or emotion. He may as well be a machine.

An "alive" drill may be closer to sparring, in that a partner gives feedback or resistance. Is it important? Yes, of course it's important, but the "dead" is important too, because it develops basics, skills, and tactics and "aliveness" when learning something new can actually be detrimental to developing a technique or skill before the correct time. Does that make sense? I know their are lots of other perspectives and would love to hear them.

Being the expert researcher I am, I used the search term “aliveness,” and found this video on YouTube. Watch.

What do you think?

Time to lead?

 

Read on BLACKFIVE: Voting Present. Quoting VD Hanson. Send them now.

New Chevy Caprice PPV for 2011

Nice video of the debut of the return of the Chevy Caprice police model. It was right next to my company’s booth at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Denver. Check it out.

And a little promo video as well.

For more information:
Jalopnik

Technorati Tags: Chevy,Chevrolet,Caprice,PPV,Holden

Top Technique: Brachial Stun

Discussions of target areas, like “pressure points,” can sometimes be a subject of controversy regarding effectiveness, as in the case of secret or hidden techniques. Some, on the other hand, are indisputably effective. Such is the “Brachial Stun” or a strike to the side of the neck.

Let’s look at a couple of good examples.

Example #1: Highlights of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, a former kickboxer, and currently an MMA fighter, known for his knockout prowess. Notice that the Thai kick applied to the temple or the side of the neck, when landed flush, almost always results in a knockdown. Ironically, Cro Cop himself was defeated in the UFC via the same technique.

Example #2: The Famous “Pimp Smackdown” video. In this case, the attacker is hit cleanly to the side of the neck by the “Karate expert” with a forearm or knifehand strike to obvious effect. Also notice that the Karate man was not planted to deliver maximum power, but snapped the technique while also penetrating through the target. If he were "planted” or had a stronger base, I doubt the pimp would have been able to stumble away at all.

So what is the Brachial Stun? An older version of the Army Field Manual on combatives (FM 21-150) describes it this way,

A sharp blow to the side of the neck causes unconsciousness by shock to the carotid artery, jugular vein, and vagus nerve. For maximum effect, the blow should be focused below and slightly in front of the ear. A less powerful blow causes involuntary muscle spasms and intense pain. The side of the neck is one of the best targets to use to drop an opponent immediately or to disable him temporarily to finish him later.

Clearly, the goal in FM 21-150 was to put an opponent down quickly, and this technique does. That’s why it’s become a staple of police defensive tactics and almost all combatives (military hand-to-hand use or based) systems.

CAUTION: This is for informational purposes only. Any strike that can drop or disable an opponent may result in unconsciousness or death, even by a secondary impact (the floor or another object).

Technorati Tags: Cro Cop,UFC,K1,Pride,pressure point,Karate,Brachial Stun,FM 21-150

Grief for a friend

Our fellow blogger, Savate stylist, and friend, George Ruiz of Boot to the Head, has recently lost his dear sister. I did not know her, but know George well enough to be able to tell that she was probably a very special person. Our condolences and prayers to her family.

Urban Samurai on Traditional Training Getting You Killed

The Urban Samurai is a blogger I actually learned about because he subscribed to my Twitter feed (as you all should!), and I’ve since learned, is an excellent martial arts blogger as well. Check out his site here.

Anyway, his comment on this weekend’s repost is worthy of posting on it’s own. Background should be reading Is your traditional training going to get you killed? A repost. His words, with my commentary in brackets. Final note before you read: please don’t take this and the linked post as a gratuitous attack on so-called traditional training. All styles, instruction, and training have benefits and purpose. You need to figure out for yourself what the what they are, and adapt what you need from that base, much like I did after starting in a semi-traditional style (traditional TKD), then moving over to more "reality-based” training after over 20 years in the arts. We can all learn from each other. On to the quote:

Hey Nathan. All the points you made were very valid. As someone who comes from a traditional background I can back up what you are saying. Most traditional schools do not teach proper self defense for the street. I believe in order to train for the street you have to train completely differently, make the training more intense and more true to life. Street fighting isn't pretty and neither is the training you have to do for it. Usually you end up getting hurt, but that is part of it, learning to take a hit. [This is quite true (getting hurt, and needing to learn to take a hit), and can only be minimized by competent instruction and a good gradient of contact, which is where traditional “control” can help]

In my own training (which is Kempo Jujitsu) I make a distinction between art and reality. I practice traditional technique for the sake of the art and the enjoyment of actually doing so and working at perfecting it. Even with Jujitsu though, I am under no illusions. Most of the techniques are not suitable for street self defense. For that I just keep things simple- simple strikes,simple locks and chokes etc. [Simplicity is probably key to success in almost everything, but in self-defense, it’s crucial to focus on those high-percentage basics – great point!]

Really it depends what you want to get out of martial arts at the end of the day. If someone wants to learn how to defend themselves then they should do Krav Maga or some other reality based art. If you just want to learn an art, then go traditional. I believe as long as people make the distinction between art and reality they won't get themselves into trouble. A good grounding in the basics is pretty much all you need for street self defense, technique wise. After that it all comes down to personality. How confident are you? How well do you respond under pressure? Can you actually hit someone and put them down? These are things that specialist training can improve to an extent. The rest you have to get from real live situations. Get a bouncing job, put everything to the test.[This is the “missing link” of much training that’s not self-defense oriented – learning to psychologically deal with aggression, another’s, and your own]

One final point. Most people go through life without ever getting into a fight on the street. You can over emphasize the self defense aspects if you're not careful. Yes, you should be as prepared as possible, but also strike a balance and don't let the perceived need to know how to defend yourself overtake your life [emphasis mine – fantastic point]. Some people get very obsessed by it all. That's why I think people should garner an appreciation for the art side of things as well, to provide a balance in their training and also to help them along mentally and spiritually.

When it comes to self defense, paranoia is not productive. Keep things in perspective.

Excellent post. Well done.