Pierce County Deputy taken off life support

Pierce Co Deputy taken off life support http://skyfire.me/?i=akxn

Survived by wife and two children. Please pray and help them if you can.

Laser Tag!

Playing Laser Tag with my 13YO son and his Scout buddies. I have a feeling I will pay for it tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of our friends in the martial arts, military, and public safety the best Christmas, and a safe, happy, and blessed New Year!

- Nathan

RossTraining.com: Top 5 Fights (Boxing) of 2009

As many fight fans have never been boxing fans nowadays, it would pay to learn the many benefits and thrills of the sweet science. Nice link on the Top 5 Fights of 2009 at RossTraining.com.

World’s Strongest MMA Fighter?

Watch Mariush Pudzianowski, 5x World’s Strongest Man in a MMA matchup versus Marcin Najman.

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Mariush Pudzianowski,Strongest Man,Marcin Najman

Donate if you can – Lakewood Police families

A fund has been established to support the families left behind by the murder of the four Lakewood police officers. They leave behind four spouses and eleven children.

Please go to the Lakewood Police Independent Guild’s site here and donate what you can.

Photo Credit: The Graveyard Shift

Technorati Tags: Lakewood police

Airsoft support (ok, a bad play on words)

Some of you regular readers whom I’ve known or corresponded with for a while know that I play at Airsoft with my son, and he enjoys shooting his dad every chance he gets. I also enjoy airsoft for actual tactical training, and for practicing disarms.

If you’ve got an interest, you may want to check out TacticalMilSim.com, a blog from the folks who produce TacSim magazine.

Got any other suggestions? Other than me staying away from my son?

Today’s Quote: Chiron, Caveat Lector

Rory at Chiron with a great quote.

“Literati seem to want to believe that beautiful writing can only come from a beautiful soul. It's not true.”

I always enjoyed the shock on the faces at the police department where I worked in IT after I told them that my dad was “in prison.” I usually waited for the uncomfortable silence that followed before revealing that it was because he was prison chaplain at a state penitentiary. Whew!

What we usually discussed afterward was how he had shared how most of the prison conversions were for:

• improving chances of parole
• getting special dietary allowances (better food!)
• days of prayer (time to relax without labor)
• something to complain about, relating to being able to file more grievances

These are the people that many of us train and/or arm ourselves to protect against. There is a common thread that seems to run through criminal conduct. It is that those who end up on the wrong side of the law can’t deal with reality. As Chiron relates in his post, they justify or rationalize every bad thing they do. Blaming others, bad luck, bad parents, racism, growing up too poor, growing up too rich, not enough breastfeeding, and so on. The moment when someone takes responsibility for his life, he has to take the blame for what’s gone wrong in it, too. And that’s scary, right?

Thoughts?

Photo credit: Chris Hazlett

The “12-6” elbow defeats the cover-up in the mount

In my recent post, Self-Defense lessons learned from The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, I mentioned several techniques that were not allowed in MMA because, well, they work too well! Well I was so excited (and sleepy) when I neglected to mention the one that works “too well” versus someone who covers up versus strikes when under a top mounted opponent. As in this example to your left… [Photo via Bulldog Martial Arts Academy]

So what you’re seeing on the left is a sport-type cover-up to protect against blows raining down from a mounted striker, where the goal is to use your elbows, forearms, and head movement to deflect, block, and evade the strikes raining down. The technique is effective, as such, until you introduce looping punches from the outside (like wide hooks), or, drive through with a blunt weapon, the deadly 12 to 6 (in the old days, a couple of days ago, I called it a downward elbow, but never let it be said that I can’t learn a new trick despite my old dog status!).

The combat oriented attacker may try the “illegal” method illustrated to the right. The problem for the bottom man is that all of the weight of the top man is driving down at the point of his elbow. There’s no way that he can prevent the elbow from driving through or between his guarding forearms.

The real lesson? Don’t get like this outside an Octagon!

For more information:

If it's against the rules, then it must work!
Practicality in Training
Practical Hand Techniques

Always the last place you look!

A man who eluded police was found hiding under his bed [Emphasis mine-Nathan] Friday morning after he and another man stole a car, tried to ram a police cruiser with it, and then crashed it into a fence, authorities said. - Source

Self-Defense lessons learned from The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale

 

I’ve got to get to sleep, so I’ll make this pretty quick. I’d love to hear some feedback in the comments.

1. Physique means little to nothing in a fight. I’ve learned not to be surprised when someone who doesn’t look like he ever refuses dessert can fight, and fight well. Roy “Big Country” Nelson’s first round KO win over Brendan Schaub proved it again. I believe Schaub, at 6’4” and 240 pounds had a superior physique, was a professional athlete (NFL), and had the better reach and quickness. The problem is that Nelson didn’t know that. Roy Nelson had enough endurance and quickness to connect, plus the savvy that you only get from experience. He covered up, and he counter-striked when he should. The “fat guy” knocked out the athlete cold. The real lesson? Don’t judge that book by it’s cover!
2. The 1-2 is still the best martial arts tactic there is. The jab (the 1) opens up the cross or straight (the 2). If I could teach a fighter only one combination, the 1-2 would be it! Every good shot that Schaub connected with was part of a jab or straight. Same with Nelson. In fact, Nelson had a beauty of a 1-1-2 that stunned Schaub before the KO exchange. Good stuff!
3. The lazy jab is always trouble against a counter-fighter. Nelson crossed over a jab that Schaub left hanging out there like a fruit ripe for the picking. Who could blame him for picking it? Lesson? Never leave an opening by laziness. Always return to your defensive position after an exchange.
4. MMA is a sport! Several techniques that will end almost any fight are instinctive, and thus show up here and there even though they are illegal under MMA rules:
   a) kneeing a downed opponent in the head. How often do you see an opening like this?
   b) eye gouges. Unfortunately, they are still relatively commonplace, and usually unintentional. They are fight-enders in self-defense, and career enders in MMA. That’s why they’re illegal.
   c) striking to the back of the head. I have a problem with this, as a defensive technique in many grappling arts and MMA is “turtling." The problem I have is that it creates an opening that’s usually intentional. In MMA, as in boxing, your should protect yourself at all times. When you turn your back, you are relying on the other fighter to obey the rules, or the referee to protect you. Punk move, in my opinion. I hate it.

So, in summary, never underestimate anyone, practice the basics, and do the dirty stuff to survive!

Is there more? Sure. I will try to update this when I get a chance to watch it again on my DVR. Meanwhile, please chime in with your comments!

For more information:

The King of Combinations for MMA, Boxing, and Self-Defense
Timing Counter
Why Do We Get Hit?

Technorati Tags: The Ultimate Fighter,UFC,Dana White,Roy Nelson,Brendan Schaub