Japanese Defense Forces MMA Tournament

Via fightclub.gaijindo.com.



A couple of observations:

• The participants are mostly stand-up fighting, not grappling (though I admit this is a highlights video, and could give a poor perspective). This is good battlefield tactics (see this critique of the US Army program).
• There is liberal use of the old reverse punch to the body, which is a good technique. I smiled when I saw the Karate influence and that tried and true basic technique working so well.
• Most of the kicks aren't very high, and are basic (front and round kicks).
• The fighters are extremely aggressive, not waiting for the fight to come to them. Remember, the fighter who lands first with the most firepower wins 99% of the time. Be decisive and commit.
• Against a blitzing attack, never move straight back. The reason most people get hit (see this) is that they're moving backwards and lose the intiative and balance to be able to counter.

What do you think? Comments are open.

New Link- Aesopian's Totally Awesome Journal

I am adding Aesopian's Totally Awesome Journal to Links because it's well-written, informative, and is giving me lots of information on things I don't know. You may also enjoy this BJJ/grappling oriented blog. Check it out!

10-finger guillotine mechanics

Take a look at this great GrappleArts article on Chris Brennan's 10 Finger Guillotine. I can't wait to try it out on my friends!

We've done a couple of posts on the guillotine as well, but GrappleArts.com seems to be one of the best sources for all grappling and MMA information.

See:

Finally, a guillotine counter that works!

Severn Guillotine Variant Easy To Use

Once a Marine...

Scroll to the bottom for updates:
___________________________

Read this post from Defend University about a 70 year-old "former" U.S. Marine who took out an armed bandit using a choke.

I found the following story on Reuters:

Angry tourists break mugger's neck

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A group of U.S. tourists, including a former Marine, killed a Costa Rican mugger by breaking his neck after he pulled a gun on them in a Caribbean port, a local police official said on Thursday.

The cruise ship passengers told police they jumped on Wagner Segura, 20, to defend themselves when he pointed a .38 caliber revolver at them near the Caribbean port of Limon on Wednesday, and somehow snapped his neck, regional police director Luis Hernandez said.

Segura died instantly and two other unidentified thieves, one of whom was armed with a knife, fled the scene, Hernandez said.

"One of the tourists was a former Marine and he was probably the one who broke (Segura's) neck," Hernandez said. "His neck was completely snapped."

No charges will be filed against the tourists because police viewed the incident as an act of self-defense. Police questioned and released the group, which rejoined the cruise and left Cost Rica.

The Americans were passengers aboard the Carnival cruise ship Legend. They got off their tour bus to take photos in a notoriously rough neighborhood a short drive from Limon.

After the attack, they put Segura's body on their bus and found a police officer in Limon to report the incident.

Defend U then posits the following lessons learned:

1. Fight deadly force with deadly force. They've got a gun and a knife -- they are prepared to use deadly force against you. This is not a fight. This is combat. You must use deadly force to prevail.
2. Have courage! This is a 70-year-old vs. a 20-year-old. You are never too old, too weak, too scared, too out-of-shape, too young, etc. to be able to defend yourself. Strengthen your will to survive and prevail against all adversaries.
3. Learn the fundamental techniques well. I doubt if this guy has practiced any of his hand-to-hand techniques since Eisenhower was president, but the basic, fundamental rear naked choke (I'm assuming here) is something that works and is simple enough to retain for long periods of time.
4. Be committed. Once you make the decision to counterattack, be decisive, swift and violent in your actions.
5. Rest easy that you did the right thing by defending yourself and made the world safer for those who follow you.

Right on.

UPDATED: This newer AP story gives more details:

Adams was with 12 American tourists who hired a driver to explore Costa Rica for a few hours. They were climbing out of the van to visit a Caribbean beach when three men wearing ski masks ran toward them, she said. One held a gun to her head, while the other two pulled out knives.

Suddenly, one of the tourists, a U.S. military veteran trained in self defense, jumped out of the van and put the gunman in a headlock, according to Limon police chief Luis Hernandez.

Hernandez said the American, whom he refused to identify, struggled with the robber, breaking his collarbone and eventually killing him. Police identified the dead man as Warner Segura, 20. The other two assailants fled.

And...

Costa Rican officials interviewed the Americans, and said they wouldn't charge the U.S. tourist with any crime because he acted in self defense.

"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," Hernandez said. He said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.

But Ligia Herrera Mendez, the mother of the dead assailant, claimed the tourists of took the law into their own hands.

"We want justice, this can't go unpunished, because they could have saved him," she said in an interview in Limon. "If this had happened in the United States, the suspect would have been detained and wouldn't have left the country."

She also acknowledged past problems. "I know my boy wasn't staying out of trouble, I knew that any moment I would get bad news."

Finally, a guillotine counter that works!

This is the best counter to a guillotine choke (before it goes to the ground) that we've found so far (that works). Sam and I agree that we've both seen it before in BJJ books, but we can't remember which one. Enjoy!

1. Sam (tan camos) locks in the guillotine. Mike must defend before Sam sits back and pulls him into his guard.












2. Mike drops down, posting his hands on Sam's far knee, sliding his foot between the Sam's.












3. Mike continues to sit back, then lifts above the knee, and Sam has no choice but to release the guillotine and post to avoid...











4. ... smashing his face into the deck. Mike is now out of the guillotine!














Update: Fixed the bad photo link. I just found out that Blogger has a picture size limit.

Reliable boxing combinations

This is a brief summary of what I consider reliable combinations of boxing techniques. As stated in previous posts, make sure you punch targets that won't put your fists out of commission.

These can ALL be modified to use open-hand variations (see Practical Hand Techniques for more), but are effective with or without boxing gloves.

My shorthand:
1. Jab (lead hand)
2. Straight (rear hand)
3. Lead hook
4. Rear uppercut
5. Lead uppercut
6. Rear overhand
A comma (,) represents no pause between techniques.
A dash (-) represents a pause.

The combinations:

... to close the gap:
1,1 (one of the best combinations to close the gap) (this can also be low-high)
1,1,1 (same)
2-3
1,6,5

Lock Bumping Threat - watch this video!

If you can, email this link to your friends and family members. Thanks to WMC-TV in Memphis for producing this informative video. Good stuff!

Police survey reveals more military-style weapons in cops hands

USA Today notes the continuation of the trend toward more military-type equipment in law enforcement (Police needing heavier weapons):

WASHINGTON — Law enforcement agencies across the country have been upgrading
their firepower to deal with what they say is the increasing presence of
high-powered weapons on the streets.

Scott Knight, chairman of the
Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, says an
informal survey of about 20 departments revealed that since 2004 all of the
agencies have either added weapons to officers' patrol units or have replaced
existing weaponry with military-style arms.

Knight, police chief in
Chaska, Minn., says the upgrades have occurred since a national ban on certain
assault weapons expired in September 2004. The ban, passed in 1994, in part
prohibited domestic gunmakers from producing semi-automatic weapons and
ammunition dispensers holding more than 10 rounds.

"This (weapons
upgrade) is being done with an eye to the absolute knowledge that more
higher-caliber weapons are on the street since the expiration of the ban,"
Knight said. He said his own department of about 20 officers is in the midst of
determining whether to upgrade its weapons.

One thing I find interesting about this story is the lack of facts or sources cited, other than the anecdotal quotes from the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) spokesmen. There are no numbers given anywhere in the story to support the justification. Further:

Stucker says deputies are now "frequently" encountering assault weapons in local
robberies and during simple traffic stops. Weapons seizures in Orlando have
increased overall by 26% since 2004.

What kinds of "weapons seizures?" Are we talking about "assault weapons," knives, .22s, or 50-caliber M-2s?

Paul Erhardt, a spokesman for major gun manufacturer Sigarms, says the 2001
terrorist attacks, the violence following Hurricane Katrina and other
high-profile incidents involving weapons contributed more to law enforcement's
interest in rearming officers than any concerns raised by the expiring assault
weapons ban. Erhardt's company outfits about 40% of the statewide law
enforcement agencies in the USA.

This story seems to be an attempt to hit at the expiration of the assault weapons ban (so-called), and firearms in general. Opponents of the assault weapons ban rightly criticized it because it actually penalized the appearance of a rifle, rather than the function. For example I know several people, including a family member, that own AK-47 variants, and most are semi-automatic, but not fully automatic, which would meet the definition of an assault rifle. The last paragraph probably reveals more of the truth than you'll likely get without a more representative survey of hundreds of agencies with regard to the reasons.

From the outside looking in, the IACP has always been a very political organization, whose interests aren't necessarily the same as the rank and file, nor do they claim to. Follow the money here - grants don't grow on trees...

Meanwhile, can anyone tell me of the last time they heard about a mass-murder, robbery, or hold-up where the perpetrator was armed with a real assault weapon? This is the only one I can think of, besides Waco. Comments?

Is the "Gun culture" responsible for these victims?

I just read this story from the Telegraph on several shootings in London. The story is somewhat typical in the reporting on the violent deaths, tragic though they may be, but the headline is what drew me to post on it. It reads, "London's gun culture claims new victim," as if the "gun culture" sought out the victims, aimed, then shot them down.

What I'm getting at is that:

1. The victims were killed by murderers, not by an amorphous "gun culture." I have never seen a "culture" of any type perform any specific act, much less be convicted of, or serve time for such acts.
   


2. The emphasis on the "culture" seems to put the blame on society as a whole, rather than the murderers. It goes back to the old phrase, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." There have been arguments on both sides of this issue, ad nauseum, but in an effort to clear it up, car insurance companies rate drivers, not the cars they drive. In other words, because I (at age 39) have a perfect driving record in the last 10 years, I will get a lower rate than an 18 year-old male driver of the same vehicle in the same area who has 5 tickets and two accidents. The car isn't the difference, is it?
   


3. There is a fad in the UK to also blame the "knife culture" for the massive surge in stabbings there. The UK has gone the way of most Western European countries and make private ownership of handguns (or rifles, for that matter), all but illegal. Since that change, there have been noticeable effects - major increases in home invasions, stabbings, and violent crime as a whole. Why? Well, we know that there won't be law-abiding citizens who can defend themselves with firearms, that knives are still legal, or at least penalized less than the gun would be, and criminals now have free rein over those who obey the law.

These points are just made to emphasize that this, and many, many other news stories slant toward an agenda of demonizing guns and those who wield them, rather than the act itself. This story could have been titled, "Several young victims shot, perpetrators on the loose!" It didn't.

Logic only dictates that if you disarm the law-abiding, those who don't abide will have a free hand in terrorizing the rest of the populace.

The recent shootings in Utah highlighted what one armed man with courage can do to stop a serial killer. The fact that he was a police officer was incidental, it could be anyone who's carrying and wanted to stop the mass-murderer. Whether you carry or not, support the rights of those who choose to legally defend themselves and their families.

Disagree? Something to add? Comments are welcomed!

New Link- Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

They describe their blog as, "Where Clayton Cramer and Pete Drum keep track of civilians using guns in self-defense." Tracking news accounts of regular citizens using guns for self-defense since 2003, the Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog looks pretty good. Check it out!

Busted!

I've just learned that my lovely wife is an avid (ok, an exaggeration) reader of TDA Training! She just busted me for posting after midnight last night, Doh!

Hi Hon!

Back to work...

Today's TDA Tip: How to improve sparring using video

I think the best way to improve technique is video. That said, how do you use video to improve your technique? I'll get specific about how I use it:

I usually watch video four times.

The first time, I just watch everything, defocusing my vision, and just watch as a spectator, uncritically. From this you will pick up the ebb and flow of the match or situation. The main thing I look for here is the strategy (if there is one) that's in use.

The second and third time around, I focus on one fighter for how he react, what his technique is like, and what tactics he's using, and whether they're successful.

Finally, I watch slow motion on specific parts of the match to see why the techniques were successful.

Thanks for reading TDA Training!

What to Do When You Hear Gunshots

Great post from Defend University, What to Do When Gunfire Erupts!: "Chances are you will never need to follow this advice. However, there are bad people in the world, some watching the news coverage and seeing opportunities for copycat type of killings. In days past, when there were more armed citizens around and less media coverage for some outcast’s 15 minutes of fame, there were less of these types of incidents. You are responsible for your own personal security."

Read it!

New Category: Gun Defense!

I forgot to post about this early, but there is a new category: Gun Defense. It's focused on anything related to gun disarms, defending yourself against a gun, or stories related to same. Enjoy, and please peruse anything else in Categories. Comments welcomed.

Fighting when you're an instructor

Gary Moro at Yachigusa Ryu blog wrote a very insightful post about the challenges of being challenged when you're a martial arts instructor.

See, I’m in a situation where I’m damned if I do, and damned if I don’t. As a martial arts instructor, if I resort to physical violence I can quickly be seen as the aggressor, the bad guy. If I win the fight and cause an injury I can look like a bully, and possibly be sued even though I was 100% in the right.

If I lose, well I lose, but that fact will get around like a wild fire burning out of control, and would just lead to a lot more physical challenges in the future. I certainly don’t need that.

In other words its basically a lose-lose situation for me.

Now I’m no stranger to being challenged to fight. As a police officer I got that a lot. I mean, how many people want to get arrested and go to jail. However those challenges weren’t personal. All these people only saw was the uniform, the badge.

In addition, as a police officer there was always back-up just a radio call away.

Now the situation in the garage is more like the ones I faced owning a "commercial" martial arts school. These challenges were one-on-one encounters with people who thought they had something to prove—people who wanted to kick my ass, just because I’m martial arts teacher.

Gary goes on to give two good examples of when this has happened.

As a former full-time school owner and instructor (I had three schools, around 20 employees, and around 800 students), I can tell you that these challenges happen, and with some regularity. Several times, when I was in the school alone, I'd have some young tough poke his head in and tell he he could kick my ass. I remember asking some of them to just sign on a dotted line and I'd be glad to accomodate them - they never did.

I did have one situation where someone did come in and we had a physical altercation. I think he was a little unstable mentally, but nothing serious happened.

What's the best way to handle these things? To paraphrase what Gary said, your standing and reputation in the community, good and bad, are riding on how you treat others. All it takes is one lawsuit, or the appearance of wrongdoing on your part to unravel years of hard work. Be careful. Read his whole post.

Watch this body shot!

Physical Strategies posts a great video of Mickey Ward dealing an awesome knockout via kidney hook. Watch the video.

Few things demoralize you more than a good body shot. I lost my first fight at recess via an uppercut while I was inhaling. I went down immediately, and didn't want to get up! It took the wind out of my sails. I'm now a big fan of them. The kidneys are one of the best punching locations, and the floating rib for those side and back kicks.


See also, Why I love body shots!

Head Butts - recipe for disaster?

"The head butt is a weapon of the last resort, not a primary tool. It is too risky. The biggest proponents of head butts have knocked themselves out doing them for real.They cannot tell you this. The true stories of self stunning, self-induced, knock-outs are way too numerous to discount." - Hock Hochheim

So true. My comrades and I were experimenting with some of the techniques from the Army Combative (MACP) program ("Pass the guard with strikes (p4-57)"), and the tactic, after you immobilize the arm of the fighter who has you in his guard, you are supposed to deliver "a couple of head butts." [See photo below]. It struck me (haw!) that this was a stupid idea, unless the soldier inside the guard has a helmet on, and the soldier on the bottom does not.

Three points on this:

1. Head butts can be effective. I have broken two and three concrete slabs at a time (see below) with my head. I have no doubt that if I were to use similar power and technique on an opponent, I'd knock him out or spread his nose all over his face.
   
2. There is a very good chance that I'd be unable to continue the fight. I remember nearly stumbling after standing up from one of these breaks, and my girlfriend - now wife - forbid me from ever doing it again. I wised up after reading numerous articles on the damage that impact of that type can do. Read this post from last year for more good information.
3. I hope the intent of the technique is to have a soldier wearing a helmet use this technique, but otherwise refrain from knocking himself out. I think we've all see NFL players ram their helmets into their opponents helmets after a good play to congratulate each other. But many of you may have also witnessed a Washington Redskins quarterback who had just scored a rushing touchdown ram his head (no helmet) into a retaining wall and knock himself out of the rest of a season! He did that because he was used to having a helmet on, and the way he reacted was the way he trained himself to react.

Conclusion, save your brain cells, and leave the head butts to the rams and goats!

Handgun disarm, single hand from the rear - video

As always, MAKE SURE your weapon is unloaded, checked by all participants prior to doing any training of this sort. An airsoft or squirt gun can also be used.

New Link - Planet Dojang

A relatively new blog with a focus on teaching and coaching WTF-style Tae Kwon Do, Planet Dojang is chock full of insight and tips for instructors (and students) of all styles. It's a great start, and I'm betting it'll only get better. Enjoy!

TDA Training Turns 10,000!

I want to thank all of our readers for the great success we've had with TDA Training. It's morphed from a blog on my personal training with my buddies to sharing some insights of my own, and many others on training methods, techniques, tactics, and the mindset it takes to successfully defend yourself, win a match, or take down a bad guy. We recently enjoyed a record increase in the number of daily readers, pages viewed (hits), as well as email and syndication subscribers. We also hit the milestone of 10,000 readers, and over 21,000 page views since April of 2006, since the blog began in it's current form, and we started tracking activity.

Next up are more Instructional posts, similar to this one, as well as video, and a major addition to our abilities to share the wealth of our knowledge with one another, a forum (look for that soon!).

Anyway, thanks again, and train hard!

Bull's Blog favorite fights

Do you agree? Check it out.

Le Blog is now Boot to the Head!

One of my favorite blogs, Le Blog is now Boot to the Head. Please update your RSS feed, update your favorites, bookmarks, call your congressmen. Or just check it out!

Learn the MMA Terms

Check out this new blog, information on martialarts articles and news for post like this one. I will add to Links.

Enjoy.

Interesting post on Footwork

The Self-Defense Sense blog has an interesting post from a couple of days ago on the actual footwork used in fighting.

Quote:

"Stop worrying about your footwork and whether your feet should be pointed 30 degrees or 45 degrees. Your body already knows how to move and your feet will naturally follow in the direction in which you want to travel...

In my real fights I've never given any thought to my footwork, nor have I ever yelled a "kiai". Spend more time training your attributes and practicing your skills than worrying about eight different ways to move your feet."

I think the point made here is more applicable to stances than footwork, but I then haven't had a lot of "real fights" since reaching adulthood. I think that the stances we're taught (or teach) for sparring are rarely used, from a strict boxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Arnis/FMA, or TKD perpective. You just don't get a chance to set up that way, for the most part. Now the footwork is another story, I believe. I think that the step and slide of my predominant boxing/Muay Thai background works well, and is now reflexive.

Another side to this is that an experience fighter won't have to worry about footwork precisely because of that experience. A novice or untrained person's footwork may be what gets him or her in trouble. Take the untrained instinct to move straight back as an example of where "what's natural" can get you into trouble.

So I come away from reading this with the same advice I'd always give: train for what will happen, and that includes the footwork and stances that you'd use.

Comments are encouraged on this post.

Ground Pound Defense

One of the most important skills you can have is to be able to defend yourself on the ground, from the bottom, then gain a more dominant and defensible position. Hence the need for tactics like the one we will cover today. I first saw this on Hock Hochheim's site as part of his on-line CQC magazine, now defunct (it's been rolled into his blog, and email newsletter). Here you will see Sam and me demonstrate a slightly modified version.

Click photos to view larger.

1. You find yourself down with an attacker on top of you.

2. The attacker begins to pound. Cover with your forearms and attempt to block with the point of your elbows.

3. Sit up, clasping the attacker around the waist...

4. Pull him down, neutralizing his punches. The attacker will probably post on his hands to avoid smashing his face on the deck.

5. Quickly reach between his arms, and use a head twist takedown.

5a. Closeup. Pull from the back of the head (or hair) and push on the opposite side of the chin. Pull/push his head in the direction you'd like him to go.

6. Bridge while performing the takedown, then...

7. Use the bicycle-kick to pummel the attacker, then...

8. Stand up as soon as possible.

9. Another method is to wrap one or both arms, and...

10. Hook the ankle on the side you want to throw your attacker, then bridge.

Enjoy!