Grappling Tip of the Week - Reverse Omo Plata

The always excellent GrappleArts.com Grappling Tip of the Week - Reverse Omo Plata. Check it out...

Bouncing at the biker bars

Article from AmericanSambo.com on "Workin' the Door" at dive and upscale bars. Interesting...

Excellent BJJ grappling moves site

Alliance Martial Arts Center in GA has some excellent instructional material on their site. Check it out.

See how messy it can get in MMA fights

From The Huntsville Times, "See how messy it can get in mixed martial arts fight"

"It's way more exciting than boxing. It looks more brutal, but it's actually more safe," said Ayers, who is promoting what promises to be an exciting Colosseum Combat on Saturday night at the Von Braun Center Arena. "It's a pure form of combat where you get in the pit and try (to) impose your will on your opponent.

"People who prefer a sport like baseball probably won't like this. It's like football and hockey combined, but with no sticks. Actually, I've seen more brutal fights on the ice."

Why My Knee STILL Hurts!

Sam explained it this way - "I was pushing you away to get room to kick, then got pulled into the knee!" I didn't remember how this happened at the time, just that all of a sudden my knee hurt! I checked the tape and found this. It still hurts a little from almost a week ago. I made contact on the quadriceps, just above my knee pad and hit his forehead.

Some Believe MMA Will Overtake Boxing in Popularity

Brutal sport fighting for respect The San Diego Union-Tribune: "After years of bad marketing and gruesome violence led to the sport being outlawed in many states in the 1990s, mixed martial arts fighting instituted rules that not only have made it acceptable but have prompted tremendous growth. In addition to selling out shows in California, where it was legalized only late last year, it is drawing huge cable TV ratings and some believe it will overtake boxing in popularity. "

Overhand Right Counter to Kick

This is an example of a bad opening move leading to a pretty good counter.
[Click photos to enlarge]

1. Squared off








2. Sam's slides up with the rear foot, telegraphing the kick from the front leg








3. At the chamber of the technique, my counter right hand is on the way - I attempt to stop-hit the circular technique with a straight one. Notice the kick's chamber doesn't obstruct my path to counter because the weapon isn't aimed at me





4. Before the leg reaches full chamber, I am in the way, jamming it








5. This illustrates the vulnerability of kicking - if you're caught on one foot, you have little in the way of defense






Analysis: The problem is the opening move was telegraphed. Sam had been very successful kicking that day, but this shows why a kick should be preceded, or disguised with some sort of covering fire, like a lead-off jab or backfist to bring the guard up, distract from the feet moving, and close the gap safely.

Solutions:

• Don't slide up to open. Lead off with either a straight kicking technique such as a side kick, or choke up or draw the opponent into range before firing the kick. Better yet, lead with the hands to open up kicks, and visa versa.
• Keep the rear-hand guard up when kicking because you're on one leg, and temporarily vulnerable if someone gets inside your kick.
• Do the above while using a fake or feint to draw the counter, or to close up the guard. Either way, you create an opening safely.

Official MMA Rules

Take a read. Interesting. As I've said before, whatever is against the rules is what really works. Drill them...

Tip O the Week - Learning from the Internet

The GrappleArts.com Tip of the Week is on "Learning from the Internet"

Front Takedown to Mount (from Clinch)

[Click photos to enlarge]

1 Achieve the clinch










2 Wrap the arms, trapping the right, and gripping palms down










3 Step around to the front with the left leg, then break the balance by pulling in at the waist, and pushing forward with the head (this photo shows Sam with his head back - don't do that!)








4 Step over with the left leg, almost like you were going to climb over your partner - this will force him down









5 Release your grip and prepare to land on your hand and feet, then put your weight on the chest of your partner









6 Land, achieving the mount










7 Proceed to pummel!










VARIATION: If your partner attempts to step back and escape the takedown, hook his lead leg with yours, then proceed from step 4 again








Note - these techniques are BJJ from the US Army Combatives Field Manual (FM 3-25.150)

Train for perfection - even though you'll never be perfect

I love Hock Hockheim's thinking on conceptual matters relating to training philosophy. For example, in his blog post for April '06 titled "Pushing the Envelope," he iterates a position on training that I have always espoused, that you should train for perfection so that you'll get as close as possible.

The reason for it is simple and logical - under duress, technique gets sloppy. For example, let's say perfection is 100%, and during drills and training, you achieve 85%. If you had to apply the same technique while under attack, or if surprised, you may perform the technique at 50-65%. In other words, when stressed, we'll rush our aim (if we aim at all), and probably fire sooner, and more off-balance than during training, so we'll be less accurate and powerful. This is the reason you train realistically, and while drilling, try to hit 100%.

Another example is when I was going over closing the gap to the clinch before a takedown with one of my students. He was going fast before the technique was memorized, or before it was clean. I kept say, "smooth, not fast!" "Get it right first!" He did.

Michael Yon now in Afghanistan

Michael Yon has now traveled back to the area and is working his way into and through Afghanistan. Please check it out!

Close to Clinch

[Click photos to enlarge]
Close the gap using the wedge block










Drive your forehead into the middle of the chest, grasping the biceps on each side









Look toward the left arm, then wrap it, pulling it up tightly under your armpit









Simultaneously step around toward your right and raise your right elbow up, driving up your partner's arm









Wrap your right arm around your partner's waist. Remember to keep your head tucked.

Eye will be out of action for a couple

My friends and training partners: I have sustained a self-inflicted eye irritation, and will not be training for a couple of days. I'll be working my cardio, calesthenics, and stretching. See ya. I will try to post more in a couple of days.

Passing the Guard in Mixed Martial Arts NHB with Denis Kang

Read this great article on passing the guard. I highly recommend GrappleArts.com for MMA and all grappling information.

Disclosure: I am not a ground fighter by training, so this is new to me. It seems to me though, that this is one of the more useful sites out there for grappling information. Their enthusiasm for the sport and art of grappling shines through.

American Wrestling vs. Jujitsu

"American Wrestling vs. Jujitsu" is an old article from the Journal of Combative Sport. I mean really old - "This article originally appeared in the May 1905 issue of The Cosmopolitan." This is an interviewer's attempt to compare and contrast the Japanese art of Jujitsu with the American form of wrestling being taught at the time. I am sure that there was a great deal of mystery about any of the "Oriental" arts at that time. You may remember that this was during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, and during this time, the Empire of Japan was just coming out of fuedalism and was being forced to open itself up to the West. The mysterious arts were only becoming known by rumor and via famous exponents like President Roosevelt himself (Judo).

This reprinted interview is of "H. F. Leonard, Instructor in Wrestling at the New York Athletic Club, and K. Higashi, Instructor of Jujitsu." and their conclusions are:

"I say with emphasis and without qualification that I have been unable to find anything in jujitsu which is not known to Western wrestling. So far as I can see, jujitsu is nothing more than an Oriental form of wrestling. It is a boast of the exploiters of jujitsu that through it any weakling could render helpless even a well-trained athlete, and that, too, without inflicting any injury whatever upon the victim. It would be an entertaining day in my life indeed were I to see such a feat accomplished." – Statement by Mr. Leonard after exhibition by Mr. Higashi.

"American wrestlers are strong – much stronger than any of us pretend to be in muscular strength. After all, however, wrestling is wrestling. Against jujitsu it is mere child’s-play. I have met a number of Western wrestlers, and they are as helpless as babes against the art of jujitsu. And no one versed in the art of jujitsu is mad enough to expect anything else." – Statement by Mr. Higashi after exhibition by Mr. Leonard.

No doubt, they've both got points, but it's both interesting and sad that these statements could've still been made today and are typical of the myths that surround the old style versus stlyist arguments that still go on today (in other words, which is the superior style, or is it the fighter). Read it all. Hilarious, entertaining, and informative.

Keeping your Boxing Gloves Smelling Fresh

The MMA Blogger has a post on Keeping your Boxing Gloves Smelling Fresh. Of course, I don't need this, mine never smell "less than fresh," right guys? Guys?

Know How to Deal With the Police

Sammy Franco tells us what to do after you beat the other guy to a pulp, or just survive. This assumes that you're the good guy!

New Link - Sammy Franco's Blog

Sammy Franco, of Contemporary Fighting Arts now has a blog. I don't know a lot about him, but like what I've read so far. Check out his blog here, or look for it as a new Link (see sidebar).

Transition Into All Striking Ranges

One of the most important skills you can have is to be able to fight and transition between the different ranges in fighting. This is a good illustration:

A front or push kick is on the way.











Scooting back to avoid the kick, while keeping the weight forward to counter.










Right Thai kick counter to the upper leg brings the hands down...











Which opens the head up for a couple of punches.











... then Thai clinch











To a series of knee strikes

What this illustrates is that you need to be confident in fighting in each of these ranges:

Kicking, punching/striking, Clinching/infighting. Then of course, grappling.

The Martialist on FM 3-25.150

As you may know the newest US Army Field Manual on combatives (as defined by the manual, "... an engagement between two or more persons in an empty-handed struggle or with hand-held weapons such as knives, sticks, or projectile weapons that cannot be fired.") contains a large proportion of techniques derived from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It's here that the Martialist article by Phil Elmore has the body of his criticism. His opinion, "I am sad to say that FM 3-25.150 is a dreadful manual, the curriculum in which is an unrealistic and impractical marriage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) to battlefield combatives."

Specifically, he criticizes the process (of choosing a system), "... anyone familiar with the process of selecting firearms for the military can tell you, however, the military is a bureaucracy first and foremost. Any weapon and any program related to a weapon owes as much to politics, budgets, influence peddling, and the conflict of individual agendas as it does to merit and efficacy."

The practicality is also criticized:

• "The basic training program is allotted a mere 10 hours of available training time. The curriculum is built entirely around groundfighting -- escaping and achieving the mount, passing the guard, grappling for position, chokes, arm bars and sweeps, etc."
• "... there is no discussion of the dangers of groundfighting (particularly in the hazardous physical environment of a battlefield, where armed multiple opponents are virtually guaranteed and smooth gymnasium floors are few and far between). There are no strategies or techniques offered for avoiding going to the ground and no discussion of the increased danger of being knifed (or bayoneted, if you will) while grappling." With this, I agree. I have gone through the manually pretty thoroughly, and avoiding the ground on the battlefield would seem to be primary to survival, especially in an urban environment, or where others may come to help. Mobility, it would seem, is key to avoicing getting shot.
• On Standing Defense chapter, "It includes practical counters for various offensive moves, though these moves will be much more common in off-base bars than on war-torn fields."
• The crux of his criticism, "no attempt to reconcile battlefield reality with BJJ sportfighting is made." And, "disturbing contamination. Gone are the brutal, practical methods of Applegate and his WWII contemporaries, replaced by popular grappling sport methodology that turns the requirements of the battlefield on their collective ear. In an environment characterized -- by definition -- by armed, plural enemies often clad in body armor, committed grappling techniques are the least suited to the pragmatic needs of soldiers. Yet it is these methods that dominate the field manual, displacing appropriate techniques while flagrantly at odds with the context in which they are to be applied."

On the other hand, for learning, BJJ without a qualified instructor, as I am, you'd probably be hard-pressed to find a better source than what is contained in the manual. I agree with Elmore as far as the needs of an infantryman on the battlefield, but for civilians like me, it's a great text for filling in the groundfighting gaps in our training.

Training Diary 20060422

Day, Date, Time:	Participants:
Saturday, 04/22/2006	Nathan, Sam, Mike
All gear required – including knee pads on 4/22
Group Training Objectives	Training Agenda
Review:	1. Warm-up 2. Review Falling to rear [5-1] 3. Fall to Prone Defensive Position drill vs. shield 4. Teach Clinch [5-2] 5. Sucker punch to clinch [5-2] 6. Shove & punch to clinch [5-2] 7. Basic takedown to Mount [5-3], then with leg hook 8. Demonstrate Clinch, takedown, mount vs. Sucker punch 10. Sparring, hands versus feet 11. Wrestling in Thai Clinch
· Falling to rear [5-1] · Prone defensive position · Sucker punch · shove & punch
Teach:
· Clinch [FM 3-25.150 5-2] Done · Basic Takedown to mount [5-3] Done
Demonstrate:
· Clinch, takedown, mount vs. Sucker punch
Action Items – Nathan
· Vigilant when in range · Simultaneous slip & counter, or stop-hit · Stance on the balls of the feet · Keep the lead aimed! - Circle! Practice what you preach there. · CLEAR more consistently. Plan it before you close the gap · Check in close · Palms to the chin (infighting upward) · Incorporate grabbing and striking
Action Items – Sam
· Always keep your guard in the way of what can hit you – it'll change depending on range and angle · Stay in, or always return to, your base fighting stance, you're getting hit when you're out of it · Clear to the side or in at a 45-degree angle; Clear behind the opponent · Work on smooth integration of kicks, strikes, infighting (knees & elbows), trapping, then grappling · Drill defensive kicking as a counter/stop-hit · Work on footwork while moving to your right you step and slide well to the left, but not the right! · Fire through the target with the rear-hand – this is improving a lot, per the tapes. Keep it up!
Action Items – Mike
· Fake and feint A LOT. Double and triple every lead hand. · Work your combinations (inside/outside, high/low) · Kick constantly. Stretch as much as you can. · Exhale and tense the abs when getting hit to the body · Your guard is down when you're leading · Turn in the hip for the Thai Kick, and work on the front kick a lot
Action Items – Bobby
· Learn more basic offensive striking techniques · Learn basic defenses- Parry, blocking, catch, roll, cut · Aim the lead hand so that you telegraph less. · Work some rounds on defense only · Move in circles (instead of straight back) on defense

New Link - Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences

Superb information for the martial arts scholar in all of us. Please check it out!

"...he was just standing there with a gun pointed at my face"

It's rarely mentioned in media reports, but guns are used over a million times a year to prevent crimes and save lives. Women, usually considered among the most vulnerable to violence, are many times the beneficiary of a weapon used in self-defense. Read about a woman who was about to be murdered, and used a gun to save her own life.

A 28-year-old Clermont County woman woke up Monday morning to find a man pointing a gun at her face.

That man was her ex-boyfriend, and what she was able to do in the minutes that followed may have saved her life.

But this would be victim was able to turn the tables on her attacker.

It's the attacker now who is at University Hospital after suffering a shotgun blast
to his legs.

Cassandra Gray knows she's lucky to be alive. "He told me to get dressed, I was going with him and he was gonna kill both of us," Gray told 9News.

With that man, 32-year-old Gary Glass, her ex-boyfriend, pointing a gun at her face she knew she had to stall for time.

"That's the only thing I kept thinking, I'm not going with him, not going because I won't come back," said Gray.

Her dogs were barking so she convinced Glass to let her let them outside.

She says she then talked to Glass for several minutes, and then, let the back in.

That's when she grabbed the phone to call 911 and they started wrestling.

"My dogs attacked him and he laid the gun down," said Gray.

"I grabbed the gun and ran and fell," said Gray, "and as I fell I rolled and he was coming toward me and I picked up the gun and shot."

This brave woman did several things right:

1. She didn't panic. She obviously kept her cool long enough to realize what was going to happen, and that she had to act on her own. She used her wits and was able to talk her assailant into letting the dogs in.
2. She own a couple of good dogs. It's said that the best deterrent to a break-in is owning a dog.
3. She was determined not to be taken away from her home to a location where she'd have no control. Chances are, if you are taken out of a public area, you will never come back, as she knew.
4. She wasn't afraid to shoot. If she didn't, she would've been taken to a location out of the way enough so that she'd likely be a rape and murder victim. Who knows if the ex had the guts to kill himself as well, especially if he took her away and may have gotten away with it.
5. By putting her attacker in the hospital, and probably in jail for a long time, she may have prevented another death of a bystander or police officer if there was a hostage situation or standoff. Also, a high-speed chase could've resulted in the deaths of innocents.

Way to go, lady!

The Martialist

The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly
Looks interesting. Let me know what you think...

Cardio For the Martial Arts

In Cardio For the Martial Arts, Stephan Kesting covers a topic which is pertinent to anyone who wants to be a better fighter. Do you need good cardiovascular endurance to defend yourself? Not necessarily (most fights are over very quickly), but if you want to have the endurance to get through training, and actually improve, well that's another story.

Different reputable sources inform us that you don't need to do cardio -- just spar really long rounds (for grappling), or that you should spar twice as many rounds as you are going to fight (boxing), or that you should do sprints, or do long runs, or lift weights for muscular endurance, etc. With so many 'experts', it is no wonder that the answer isn't cut and dried.

I have my own beliefs and they seem to work fairly well for me. I noticed a couple of years ago that my techniques worked best and my sparring was sharpest not when I was stronger but rather when my 'cardio' was at its peak. Because I wasn't getting winded in sparring, I was able to think and make coherent plans throughout the match. At the time I was running 3 or 4 times a week, for 20 to 50 minutes at a time in preparation for the fire department entrance test.

The more research I have done on running, the more I have come to realize that there are different levels of intensity for cardio and that it is important to spend quality time in most of them. It is probably true that one could substitute wrestling, uchikomi, kicking the bag/pads, or sparring for 'traditional' exercises, and that they would develop more sport-specific skills. I do a lot of running, biking, stairmastering or stair running, however, because of 4 reasons...

I found this on DolfZine, but I think the article is the same one on Grapplearts. Either way, read it!

Military rules.

I got this from a friend for whom I have great respect, Col. Carruthers, so Listen Up!

US Marine Corps Rules:
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting! , you should be communicating your intention to shoot.

Navy SEALS Rules:
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Adjust speedo.
4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers Rules:
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher" to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving.

US Army Rules:
1. Select a new beret to wear.
2. Sew combat patch on right shoulder.
3. Change the color of beret you decide to wear.

US Air Force Rules:
1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See wh! at's on HBO.
4. Ask "what is a gunfight?"
5. Request more fund ing from Congress with a "killer" PowerPoint presentation.
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally.
9. Hurry to make 1345 tee-time.

US Navy Rules:
1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Watch porn.
4. Deploy the Marines

Remember:  Freedom Isn't Free.
Support our Troops regardless of your views

How to fight back in tight situations by Melissa Soalt

In this USADojo.com article , "Close Encounters of the Wrong Kind," women's self-defense authority Melissa Soalt explains that, "Predators often use engulfing, pinning, choking, slapping or immobilizing tactics..." In other words, infighting. She shares details of an attempted sexual assault:

Before I reached the door, he spun me around and slammed me against the wall, thumping my head. Pressing me into the wall, he grabbed my throat and started swearing at me in French. (Tip: right then and there while he was running his he-man rap and establishing dominance, I could have counterattacked. A sneaky
no-holds-barred ear clap might have done the trick.)

Physically, he was a thick, burly guy. As I am a whopping five feet tall on a good hair day, he looked and felt like The Hulk. At first, I struggled and tried to push him way. (Tip: In tight quarters, pushing on he-man’s chest is ineffectual and pummeling it doesn’t hurt. Why do you think Tarzan pounds his chest and not his gonads or Adam’s apple?)

The more I pushed and pleaded, the more forceful he became. When my screams grew louder, he slapped one hand over my mouth then started groping me, fumbling with my blouse. (Tip: Great news! Once his hands are occupied, it’s an opportune time to counterattack; better yet, trap or hold his offending hands in place then counter with your free limbs.)

In that moment I was paralyzed. In my mind, being pinned by a larger pumped-up creature could only mean one thing: surrender. I stopped struggling. My body went limp—not because it was an effective strategy that might enable me to spring into action, but because I felt utterly helpless. (Tip: Going from “rag doll to ballistic,”
from zero to 100 percent can aid you in taking an aggressor by surprise.)

Then something clicked. I felt a blaze of heat, as if a seed inside of me popped open releasing a powder keg of fury and I just went primal. I struck and clawed at his face, I kicked, punched, bit, hollered, twisted and torqued myself free. Then I flew out the door.

Make Opening Moves Count!

I have been involved in teaching women's self defense since the mid-80s, and I am often struck by the uniformity of the techniques that are taught out there. I believe that a child or smaller woman's tactics in pure self-defense (survival) should be no different than for a man versus a larger man. For example, I'd have to fight Sam (approx. 5'9" and 200 or so pounds) differently than I'd handle Bob Sapp (6'5", 350 ish, I think), with me being about 5'9" and 220 pounds. What's the difference beside proportional upper-body strength between a trained male and female fighter? Be open to absorbing and using techniques designed for a much smaller person - you'll never know when you'll need them!-NDT

The State of the Filipino Stick and Knife Arts Today

Photo: Filipino military training U.S. Marines

In Jim Wagner's RealFighting.com article: "Filipino Kali is alive and well," attests to the fact that the Filipino stick and knife arts are now integrated into the military and police training curricula, and can no longer be considered "dying."

... Another major event that occurred in the 90’s (which went virtually unnoticed by the civilian martial arts world) was the integration of Filipino based martial arts as part of official US military training and law enforcement training. This includes corrections, probation, pre-trial services, and diplomatic protection services.

Within the military you will find dedicated martial artists (learning it first as civilians or picking it up through their training). These practitioners usually find their way into training positions and insert their skills into the curriculum whenever possible, while still adhering to established procedures. Thus, it stands to reason that the Filipino martial arts have also found their way into the military just as the Japanese and Korean arts had in the 50’s and 60’s.

Today you don’t need to look very far to see the influence of the Filipino martial arts has had on the United States military. If you pick up the United States Marine Corps field manual Close Combat (MCRP 3-02B), dated February 18, 1999, you will find strikes and blocks (Chapter 3 Hand-Held weapons) that are identical to what you’d find in a typical kali class. The manual contains step-by-step moves for knives, and even sticks (a section titled Combative Stick Techniques).

I concur with this. The law enforcement ASP curriculum, as well as the field manuals mentioned definitely derive their stick and some knife technique from Filipino martial arts. Read it all.

I come to you with empty hands?

In Hock's article, "Lessons of David Carradine and Billy Jack - Empty Hands Combat", he shares his feelings on the term and usage of the term "Empty Hands," relating to self-defense philosophy. Excerpt:

“I come to you with empty hands” is a foolish, misleading and dangerous term that should be replaced with “I come to you with full hands, you son of a bitch!” Fighting criminals and soldiers is a prospect we cannot gamble with. Fighting with empty hands should be the very last thing you do, after you have exhausted every weapon on and around you, tried every trick, spit your last drop of saliva into his eye.

Sound too extreme? So you think that the fair play and empty hands doctrine places us above the enemy? Higher moral ground? These days higher ground counts only in a shooting war, with the sun at your back. Might we degrade ourselves to the cursed status of being "like him?” Guess again grasshopper, because we will never be like him. There are good guys and bad guys and we will never be like him.

It's good. Read it all.

The Martial Art vs Sport Debate

In Fighting or Playing? The Martial Art vs Sport Debate, Neil Ohlenkamp of JudoInfo.com discusses the dichotomy in views of which is more effective. I think I made my position clear in an earlier post on the subject. Excerpts from Ohlenkamp Senseii:

"Many people think of Judo and Taekwondo as sports because they are included along with other major sports in Olympic competition. Boxing, wrestling, Judo, taekwondo, and kickboxing are examples of martial sports. I often hear martial artists who use the term "sport" as if referring to a game with no usefulness. The implication is that a sport is only for "play" and cannot be effective for self defense, fighting or combat. Many martial artists think that the distinction between sport and martial art is that martial artists train for real life.

One of the primary differences between martial sports and arts is in the value of the training methods. Because of their alleged danger or lethality, many martial arts engage in artificial and even counter-productive training which involves "pulling" techniques, modifying the point of contact, and adding in a precautionary element of movement that, rather than training the body, can inhibit its natural action and the ultimate conclusion of a technique. Slow, careful, non-contact training is not an effective approach to prepare for actual fighting situations that require the opposite reactions. Typifying this approach is a student who falsely equates the ability to break boards with the ability to punch a person in the face. As another example, I have never seen realistic training in throat strikes or eye gouges in any martial arts class, even though these are often recommended for self defense. The teaching generally done for these techniques helps students to understand what to do, but does not provide effective results for fast, reflexive and accurate application of these
techniques against an unwilling opponent in real life combat."

This is a point which I also made in my post. One problem with "lethal techniques" are that you can't really practice, and if you have, you are probably in jail! Sport Ju-Jitsu, Judo, and MMA players are definitely effective in self-defense (esp. MMA), and even boxers are probably far deadlier than your average "lethal" martial artist because he/she can take and give a punch without pulling it or watered-down muscle memory.

"Sport, by removing some of the potential dangers, achieves the opposite. That is, sport more typically produces natural, fast, reflexive movement with full power application, achieving a result against a struggling opponent who is also utilizing full power while engaging in strategic and tactical resistance using all of his or her resources and training. Techniques that don't work are soon abandoned, and successful skills are honed against different attackers under a variety of conditions. "

Another, more important aspect to martial artists wanting improved self-defense, or "reality" skills, is that competition teaches you to deal with the stress of an unknown situation. I have had to use my skills only a few times, but I can tell you that I was more scared afterward than during the situation - shaking to be exact. Then I had the euphoria that some of you may be familiar with, of having dodged the proverbial bullet and lived to fight another day!

Please read the rest, it'll be worth your time. One caveat to my views on sport training - sport/Olympic TKD may be the exception, or at least, the least effective of the sport styles. Don't get me wrong, I believe a good sport TKD player could spank the average person (and maybe me) in many situations, but to be effective, you'd have to include some training to deal with head punching. I sparred once, with a very good sport TKD player who I couldn't touch, but he'd trained in freestyle and boxing, and was well-rounded.

Anti-Gun Mom Turned Survivor

Anti-Gun Mom Turned Survivor by Lyn Bates from RealFighting.com

"Mike Gonzalez had guns around the house. His wife Susan hated them. When he tried to teach her the basics of shooting, she let him give a couple of lessons, but closed her eyes in fear and disgust when she fired, just to get it over with. Most of Mike's guns were kept locked up, but there was one, a Ruger .22 caliber pistol, that he kept for defense. 'We had a lot of arguments about that gun,' Susan says. 'I'm not particularly religious, but I'm glad God let Mike win those arguments.' "

Kodokan Judo facts and history

Do You Know?
The meaning of the Kodokan emblem?

Which DAN was Jigoro Kano?

Which is the maximum DAN one can get?

How many tenth DAN's have there been?

The colours of the different belts?

Their name in Japanese?

The translation of "judo"?

Kodokan Judo facts and history

Read it for the answers!

Women's Self-Defense Success Story

Self-defense classes have won eager acceptance from women

A biker chick beat up Elizabeth Kennedy about 20 years ago. Nobody's messed with her since.

"I said, 'If a girl can do this to me, I will never let it happen again,' and that's when I started training," recalled Kennedy.

Now she's on the board of directors of the Long Island-based American Women's Self-Defense Association. The group offers instructor certification in rape prevention and aims to get self-defense training included in middle school gym classes for girls.

"Fifteen or 20 years ago, we were still convincing women they had the right to defend themselves," Kennedy said. "Nowadays women come into training accepting that it's just a matter of learning how."

A variety of instructors in North Jersey teach women self-defense using martial-arts techniques adapted for the street. Enrollment often peaks when a tragedy grabs headlines, such as the February rape and slaying of 24-year-old Imette St. Guillen in Manhattan.

That incident hit close to home for Erin Weed, 28. Within two months of a friend's murder in 2001 -- the same year April was declared National Sexual Assault Awareness Month -- Weed was studying with violence-prevention experts and self-defense instructors across the world.

She melded aspects of different approaches with her own touches of humor to create Girls Fight Back, a two-hour program she presents at schools, corporations and women's groups. In June, she'll offer a four-session course at her Hoboken studio, which is decorated with movie posters depicting strong women.

"Imette's case caused me great sadness," Weed said. "I don't think a single woman in America shouldn't know how to defend herself. Violence happens all around us, and the more you know how to fight, the less likely you are to use it, because you have learned how to stick up for yourself and recognize [dangers] before they materialize into attack situations."

It's all about body language and awareness, said Seton Hall University student Ivory Riley, who took a four-session rape-aggression defense class on campus.

We learned how to do stances that warn someone to back off, without being aggressive or looking nervous. You can put your hands up in a certain way to give the message that 'Hey, you're in my
personal zone.' "

Her instructor, Kevin Lockwood, also taught her to be watchful of her surroundings.

"I drive to volunteer at St. Barnabas Hospital by myself, in the dark," said the 21-year-old Paterson resident, "so now I look around and under the car before I get in, and I know how to walk to discourage people from bothering me."

Disturbing statistics

Lockwood, then a master's degree student, was Weed's assistant during her first presentation at
East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania five years ago. He's been working with her ever since, allowing himself to be covered in orange stickers showing "vital targets" such as nose, eyes and groin. He also offers a male perspective on how to avoid dangerous dating situations.

According to the Center for College Health and Safety, 17 percent of college students report experiencing some form of violence or harassment every year.

"A week after she took Erin's class, one college student was attacked by her boyfriend," Lockwood said. "She told us that she kept her wits about her and ... fought back as best she could, and he went away."

There's much more. Please read it all.

Must See Video - Boxing Vs. Muay Thai

MMABlogger link to a match between a former IBF Champ and a kickboxer - not what you'd usually see. If you have any ideas about leg kicking (Muay Thai) being ineffective, or what a top-notch boxer can do without adequate defenses to it, you must see this. The MMABlogger's insights are valuable as well. What are you waiting for? Click the link!

New Link - Fight Times Magazine

Fight Times looks pretty interesting. Please check it out.

Meathook Rubberguard

Sounds wrong!

From the GrappleArts.com Photo of the week

Stop hitting me so hard!

Contact sparring, how much is too much? There are a variety of factors in making a proper judgement.

First of all, we have to define our terms - I will use the terms, "Light, Medium, and Heavy." I define them this way:

Light contact should be a touch, and nothing more. It should be heavy enough to let your partner know he was hit, but definitely would do no damage.
Medium contact is hard enough to "freeze" an opponent, and set up another technique. You will feel it, but it will have no lasting damage, nor will it cause you to lose consciousness, or "see stars."
Heavy contact is thrown with the intent to do damage, and will definitely stun or knock out an opponent if thrown with correct timing and distance.

To determine how much is too much, ask yourself:
What is the purpose of the sparring session or drill?
What kind of protection is being worn?

The purpose of the drill or sparring session determines the appropriate level of contact. If I am teaching a beginner how to block a haymaker, I will destroy her confidence by throwning it with knockout force and intent. In that case, I should use no contact, then light, then, at a high level of confidence (for her), medium. When she has experience with sparring and hard drills, then progress to heavy contact for the purpose of a pre-arranged drill only, and with complete foreknowledge. Build up, don't destroy your students. Conversely, with a trained contact fighter, light contact may handicap or destroy his ability to deal with what he will face in the competitive arena or on the street - a full contact, MMA or kickboxing fighter should probably vary between medium and heavy contact, depending on the goal of the session.

Finally, the protective gear worn can make a big difference in what level of contact to use. When someone is wearing a complete RedMan outfit, or similar gear, the purpose of the drill and the gear makes heavy contact the desired level.

Last, two warnings: Head contact is always potentially dangerous. Even with head protection and 16 oz. gloves, the brain still sloshes around, and is bruised by a heavy blow. I never recommend heavier than medium contact for sparring, only in drills or competition. Second, the headgear with a face mask is bogus! I have sparred with people wearing those, and all it does is extend the face out 3-4 inches and make it easier to hit them. I don't recommend it at all.