"Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power."
-Lao Tzu
"Karate begins and ends with respect."
-Anko Itosu
When we spar, or fight this is something to always keep in mind.
Are you training with someone with less ability than you? With more skill?
Is this a serious fight, is your life on the line?
When I spar with anyone I take a number of factors into account; age, experience, skill level, size, and setting.
When sparring someone say new to practicing the arts I attempt to go at their rate, or a level I believe they will feel comfortable.
Often when practicing combat the sparring will start slow and build. Perhaps they, or you threw a technique with more power and speed than was being practiced before, and this is what is at the core of what causes escalation.
When you or the other begins to increase the intensity, necessitating a return on your or their end to ensure you keep up and avoid getting injured, I call the move that ups the fighting 'anteing up' kind of like in poker.
One needs to pick with care when to do this. One experience I had underlines the importance of this; I was practicing and decided to suddenly throw a technique. As I launched the technique I realized that if I made contact, not only would my partner who was not only much larger, more in shape, and potentially better skilled than hit me back just as hard, he would probably dominate me. I aborted the technique as I threw it, dislocating (by accident) my own arm in the process.
It took almost two years to completely recover full movement with my shoulder, and it took nearly three years before I could raise it above the shoulder without pain.
Control for a black belt was put to me as being able to throw a technique full force at a target and abort it at any time. When I dislocated my arm clearly I did not do that, even though I was able to countless times before. But that doesn't really matter in the end; it only takes one failure on our part in ability to result in injury to ourselves and others.
Check your emotions at the door, especially when stepping into the ring. They almost always inhibit our ability to control what we do.
And take care in always using control. If you injure those you practice and train with you will soon find yourself without training partners.
If you are better than who you are fighting; decidedly so do not take advantage of that. If you have decades of experience and are fighting someone who doesn't, unless they are particularly skilled and able, restrict the techniques you use to what they know. Only introduce new ones when they are ready and being taught them. Otherwise you are taking advantage of your own knowledge.
It is one thing when a master or teacher is fighting a student and seeks to instill a lesson by utilizing things the student isn't familiar with or may have never seen before; it is quite another where as a sibling student or training partner you do so and it has no benefit to the other.
Control goes beyond just fighting- it is represented in every technique we do; but it is most important when it comes to practicing how to fight with others.
And unless you are content resigning yourself with just having a tree as a training partner, practice control always.
"I keep the white-belt mentality that I can learn from anyone, anywhere, anytime."
-Georges St-Pierre
"In the process of trial and error our failed attempts are meant to destroy arrogance and provoke humility."
-Jin Kwoon
-The art of teaching is tolerance. Humbleness is the art of learning."
-J.K.S Iyengar
Ego, a person's self-esteem or importance, is something all martial artists possess. In its own right it can be debated as being good or bad, but to me ego is synonymous with one word; self.
I see nothing innately wrong with the self, but I do see something wrong with it when our ego's do fall into one's self-esteem and importance.
You see, you can be the founder of a martial art. You can be a master, or grandmaster. A teacher, but ultimately you mean nothing.
I know, I know- that's harsh, especially coming from someone like me who is accused more often than not of being arrogant.
But that's the funny thing about what happens when you, innately, have no meaning or affixation to your self. It is then you can determine and make the meaning tied to your being.
In the end we are no better, or no worse objectively than anyone else. You may be taller, you may be faster, you may have more physical strength. Perhaps you can think faster, perhaps you are a genius. What does any of that matter?
I have won and lost tournaments. I have placed third, second and first across multiple arts. I have won a tournament because I was literally the only person who showed up to compete in fighting. I refused the winnings because of that. I once placed third because there were only three of us who showed up to fight.
I have practiced 21 years, and am going on my 22nd. I have trained at more schools than I care to count, been a head instructor at five, an instructor at nine, and an assistant instructor at all of them. I have helped found a martial arts club that brought me joy and pride in the time it existed because it represented the ideals I emphasize in martial arts; charity and open-mindedness.
When I was 13 and a 3rd dan I decided to start over. And there is a subtle humility in that; to have a black belt and status of rank and be willing to go elsewhere and don the white belt again so you can re-earn or earn another dan.
No matter how great you are, or where you are in life, there may always come a point you have to restart. You can be the greatest fighter or warrior in the world- but if you cannot step off that pedestal and stand among the ranks of beginners, and feel their equal, then all that ability and power means nothing.
Martial artists, if they are true martial artists, do not care how good you are. We don't really compete against each other, we compete against ourselves to become better. And if your belt is destroyed and you feel a sense of loss of identity because of that, you are not practicing the right way. We are not defined by our belt, a black belt does not make us a black belt. I have met people who were black belts in character who have never stepped foot in a dojo.
Humility is not in bowing, it is in the reason why you bow with sincerity.
No matter where you are in your martial sojourn you should be confident in yourself for the steps you have walked, but not proud. Many have walked as you have, and many more will walk and go farther than you ever will, even if one day you are the very best.
That is the nature of the world; someone, eventually, will always go farther than you. And perhaps you may be the inspiration that causes that. That is why true teachers teach; not only do they get to improve themselves, they get to create what comes next, what will surpass them. And the ability, and willingness, to make another better than ourself even that is what we want for ourselves is true humility.
That is why if you have a teacher worth respecting when you bow they will back.
Believe me when I say this as someone called more often than not arrogant. Arrogance is undeserved confidence. But confidence which is truly deserved is not arrogance in the least. It is simple truth and recognition of one's own character and ability.
When I speak about being able to fight multiple people at 5'4" most people believe I am being arrogant. It is not arrogance about the fact of whether I can, it is arrogant I would speak of it at all.
Arrogance is recognition in any form we seek for ourselves. This is why true masters do not call themselves such, others do first.
Do not sell yourself short, however. Speak only of yourself and what you can do when it is meant to help others achieve the same. A worthy character is not one who speaks of climbing the highest mountain, but rather show how you can climb it.
For me, shedding my ego is perhaps one of the hardest things for me to do. I want what the Buddhists have, freedom from the self, while still being able to hold onto it. This probably isn't possible, and I recognize that. It is my heartfelt desire to spread martial arts. If I could find some way to change martial arts, that all would give it freely, we could do away with belts, that we could find a way for it to help those who are injured or sick, that is my goal.
Once upon a time I wanted to become a martial artist because I wanted to be a power ranger. I was three when I made that decision. What I had to learn in the two decades and more since is what I truly wanted was to help others through martial arts.
Now to figure out how to do that without the 'I' as put in the paragraph preceding this.
Perhaps I should have titled this post 'humility' but there is no way to speak on that topic without speaking about the ego also.
Both Are Masters.
"The humble man makes room for progress, the proud man believes he is already there."
-Ed Parker
"Humility forms the basis of honor, just as the low ground forms the foundation for a high elevation."
-Bruce Lee
"Happy is the man who breaks the chains that hurt his mind, and has given up worrying once and for all."
-Ovid
"Some people like to call me cocky or arrogant, but I just think 'How dare you assume I should think less of myself.'"
"When asked; ‘What would you like every martial artist to know, that they might not know at the moment?’ “The secret to your success lies not in your style or method, it’s intrinsically connected to your internal beliefs and wiring. This may seem like a cliche, something obvious, but what you think, what’s in your head, is a lot more important to self-defense, to your ability to defend yourself, than what physical techniques or strategies you know.”
-Tony Blauer
"Sooner beats faster every single time."
-Brian Copeland
I've decided that this week I will focus on fighting. This is another post regarding tips and strategies I have found beneficial.
Perhaps the most important principle I can underline in this article is the fact that no opponent is ever the same as another, and even an engagement with the same opponent can differ radically than your last encounter with them. This is where the philosophy of 'presentism' exists foremost for the fighter; only the now is, the future and past irrelevant because they no longer exist, at least not in the sense as this very instant of time does.
I received a comment that I did not cover mushin, or no-mindedness regarding fighting. I covered it in a post I made last month, but I think it a fair point and something that does need to be included.
1- One must train until correct response is instinctual for everything the opponent does or could do. If they throw a punch, depending on the kind one should be able to instinctually and correctly respond without conscious thought. If a straight jab one should instinctually respond by weaving back or to the side. If a haymaker one should instinctually block their inner arm, and so forth. But in each of these responses one cannot, does not have the time to think, I will do this, I will do that... their body should be trained to automatically respond immediately and reflexively with the exact proper response, to all possible situations. This seems impossible; it isn't. It merely takes much time concerning practice and honing one's instincts and reflexes harmonized with their techniques. It may take thousands of encounters and practiced situations before the engraining takes. In a sense what we practice each time we program not only in our brain, but our body as well. And the more training the more efficient and ultimately more effective the programming for how to respond.
2- Develop quick footwork; the ability to pivot and move quickly and easily, as well as be able to tread with heavy steps can make all the difference. The sprightliness of being able to jump around creates mobility, whereas stepping heavily can keep one from being swept or tripped, pushed or moved by your opponent. Different situations will require different responses. Do not be jumpy like a rabbit, this wastes energy. And treading does not mean slow or heavy steps- it means stepping and with each step remaining rooted. Rooting will make you un-liftable, un-sweepable, and potentially immovable by them.
3- Intercept their strikes. When they punch for example, one can easily control their hand with your elbow or other points of contact with your own body. I personally have a preference for utilizing the point of the elbow and aiming it between the fingers of the oncoming fist. However, doing this can easily break their hand, so be careful. It also takes much practice.
4- Use vital points; pressure points especially. If accurately struck the area surrounding the nerve will be temporarily shocked and deactivated, causing numbness and inability to be used. These points cover the body, and with skill any area made contact with can trigger the same effect. This is because there is no point on our body on its surface that lacks nerves, and these nerves act as channels to convey force. Take advantage of their physiology; a strike to the armpit will shock the area where the lymphnode network bundles together in a nexus. A blow there is not only extremely painful, but with enough force can make that entire side of their body numb. A strike to the joints, as well as anywhere bones come together can cause the bones to separate or break. I can go on and on with examples, but the best way to equip yourself is to start studying biology and coming up with your own ideas on how to utilize it.
5- If they have no vulnerabilities, make them. I do this when I cannot get through their defense to strike their interior, be that their core body or the head. I will hit and hit and hit their limbs until it either hurts too much for them to move it, or it is numbed and cannot be utilized.
6- Do not leave a strike out, dangling like a fishing line. When you throw a move return the limb as quickly as possible with control so it, and thereby you cannot be grabbed. This notoriously happens with kicks because many leave it out for even a fraction of a second longer than they should.
7- Inversely, a strategy I have found to ironically work (usually with lesser trained individuals, so keep that in mind) is to let them grab an extended limb. I prefer my legs. If grounded properly they will not be able to trip you. If they attempt to make you fall or lose your balance, say by pushing against your body with your leg, or raising it to make you stumble, keep control by moving the supporting leg back, braced against the ground, in a sliding or hop-hop motion. What makes this tactic useful is by taking your limb they occupy one or two limbs they will need to defend themselves, and to control you often cannot kick without being forced to let go. They commit themselves to keeping, maintaining control, and with their hands occupied and down they open themselves. With your hands you have an opportunity to exploit their opened vulnerability, using two arms or legs against their single arm guarding, or entirely lowered guard. Take advantage, that is the point of this strategy.
And if they drop the leg, use the momentum to plant yourself forward, advancing. I have yet to see this fail, but it takes practice.
8- Evade when you can, avoid blocking a strike when possible. My reason for this is certain martial arts are internal, and some opponents such as taijiquan practitioners can just by touch manipulate nerves, muscles and tendons; your very organs as well if skilled enough. They can cause severe pain just through touch, and even damage. I avoid letting others touch me in a fight wherever possible because of this, and my experience on the receiving end firsthand.
9- If going to block, make sure it is also a strike. If going to make a move, make sure it gives you an upper hand. This will make what you use more efficient, limiting energy expenditure, while allowing you to stay aggressive at all times, even while defensive, and it is only by being aggressive you can triumph.
10- Stay relaxed and only tense as the strike is delivered at the last instance before contact is made. Staying tense throughout slows you down and essentially fight yourself. You should be like a whip, only tensing as it does at the end of the motion. This is how the most effective punches are often made.
Bonus;
11- It is always allowable to give ground if strategic. I once won against a particularly difficult opponent by backing up the entire time, and as they chased me, punching all the while I pummeled them with kicks as I retreated. They exhausted themselves (Try running and punching at the same time, and you'll see why) without ever touching me, while getting hit dozens of times in the process. They had longer arms, but my legs were even longer, thus I was able to hit the space I had retreated from while they entered it. My greater reach and backward momentum meant that by the time he tried to grab I had already made contact and was out of reach. Giving ground is not life or death; one may lose their home by doing so, but stay alive to build another. A retreating army which never loses a man but picks off many of the enemy as they go will their foe, as well as demoralize them. If you live and they don't what it matter save you survived? What does it matter that I retreated the entire multi-minute bout, I won when the other gave up, out of breath, while I was still raring to continue.
There is a difference between cowardice and strategy. Always remember that.
“Learn avidly. Question repeatedly what you have learned. Analyze it carefully. Then put what you have learned into practice intelligently.” – Confucius
"The terrain is to be assessed in terms of distance, difficulty or ease of travel, dimension, and safety."
-Sun Tzu, Art Of War
"It does not bother the wolf how many sheep there may be."
-Virgil
I've been mulling this topic over for the last couple of days. This may become a multiple part series.
At some point as a martial artist you will eventually have to fight more than one person at a time. I hope this will be in the training hall, but it is always possible it can occur on the street.
I was first introduced to learning how to fight multiple people, and it really does take a different kind of strategy to do so, when I was about fourteen or fifteen. Until then it had never crossed my mind. And that's a scary thing; a lot of people who train never think about fighting multiple people until thrown into the situation.
There are benefits however; learning how to fight more than one, can vastly increase your ability to fight a single person at a time. That being said; if you are able to fight multiple people adequately and fight someone else who can, chances are good it will be as though you are fighting multiple people at the same time, at least in terms of its difficulty.
My philosophy for fighting multiple people boils down to avoidance; evasion where possible. But we all practice martial arts, at least concerning self-defense, because this is not always possible. There may come a time we cannot run, we can only fight. And then we have only two choices left out of the three of fight, flight, and freeze. And if we want to live, only the foremost of the three is tenable.
There are basic principles that are common no matter how many you may fight, whether it be two or five, which is the most I have had to face, and that occurred last year outside of a training studio.
But the most difficult situation I honestly had to face was when fifteen and fought four black belts who were quite superior fighters. I got my ass handed to me.
In fact, here's the video of the first time I truly got to experience 'the grind' as I think of it ten years ago when fifteen (I know, I know, I've shared this video a lot- But unfortunately I do not have any other videos demonstrating any kind of experience with the subject matter);
I think of it as the grind for a reason, because learning how to fight multiple people will quickly impart the wisdom that flash, and unnecessary moves in all actuality are more dangerous to yourself, especially in terms of energy expenditure, than if you had opted not to them. Jump kicks are useless. It will polish anything that isn't essential right out of you, leaving behind something perfect for how to smoothly handle the choppy water which may be around it. A river-washed stone is smooth whether wet or dry.
To put it another way, almost everything you have seen in movies about fighting multiple peoples is incredibly wrong.
For example, I am sure most of you have noted in movies that usually the hero fights only one enemy at a time, even when fifty are surrounding them. In all honesty this is more dangerous for the person defending themselves from the multiple assaults because it turns the fight into an endurance match and one on one after one on one and more similar to the kyokushin kumite than anything else.
I may be able to take three or four people on and feel able to handle myself, but even I do not think I would stand a chance reaching the fifty person mark in a kumite.
It is more to your benefit if multiple people rush you at the same time because if trained how to handle the situation you will know you have to move. In fact, if multiple people are gunning to knock you down, if you don't move you may as well be dead.
As you move, to get at you the other fighters will have to be maneuvered in ways that will interfere with each other's chances to get to you. You put one in front of the other. When you block a technique you do so in such a way the limb becomes an obstacle for the others. You maneuver them in such a way that sometimes they hit each other by accident.
Chances are if its on the street here are a few things I have noticed in my one encounter. If you take out the leader chances are the others will either run or become ineffective. The movie Jack Reacher illustrated that greatly. I recall punching the air when I saw the bar fight scene because it was the first truly realistic fight scene I had seen in all my years of watching t.v. and movies at least in terms of multiple fighting and the psychology involved in it.
When finding yourself in a fight or flight situation as I did against those who are untrained it is exceedingly easy to get them to clash with each other more than they will with you. Additionally the psychology behind the alpha-betta-gamma chain of command falls apart entirely when they rush you en-masse, as occurred with me. Granted neither myself nor any of them were hurt in the encounter, but it was first-hand experience in what happens when five people try to grab or restrain you for any reason.
The trick to escaping that encounter was to move around constantly, and keep track of as many of them as possible. I had to predict what they would do the instant before they did. Adrenaline helps a lot in terms of that because it tricks one into experiencing time as slower than it is.
But I digress from pointers on what to do when faced in such a situation. What I went through is surely not what you will.
When they have weapons, as was not the case in my encounter, trying to grab one of them is probably going to get you killed. This is where the fight or flight reflex should go to the latter, and your goal should be to endure long enough to escape. No need to think life is like the movies, frankly because that kind of thinking is liable to land you either in jail or dead when these kinds of encounters happen.
And that old phrase, better to be judged by twelve than carried by six sucks no matter which situation you land up in.
Utilize what you have with you to defend yourself. This is a tenet of Arnis, utilizing everyday artifacts and objects around you to make do. It reminds me a lot of one lesson I had where we brought in coins and were told to figure out how to defend ourselves, and then how to hurt others with just those. How to turn a magazine into a makeshift baton, and so on. Are you wearing a jacket and removable upper wear such as a sweater? Take it off and roll them around your arms.
Chances are good when it comes to multiple fighting you will have some kind of fore sense it is coming. This can be based on many different inputs from senses. For me it is usually either visual (watching them approach) spatial awareness, and intuition. It may be different for you. In that small time between when you sense you will be attacked and are, make the best of it however you can. That is the time to run most, and if untenable to protect yourself with your clothing. It is better than nothing when it comes to stabbing implements.
Leaving the street and returning to the dojo or training hall;
A good trick to learn is the ability to widen your pupils so that you are no longer focusing on one single point. When you focus on one limb when literally fifteen other or more are coming at you and imperatively must be kept track of, you will be unable to. By widening the pupil and your center of focus utilizes the entire eye equally, you will find yourself much better able to keep track of multiple limbs than otherwise. This is known as 'Eagle Vision' in Baguazhang as it was taught to me, and is something I have been told Air Force pilots do as well, though I am not sure if it is true.
If you can throw or 'unseat' a person without having to grapple, such as tripping, you have something very beneficial for fighting multiple people if your martial art allows this. Being able to get back up onto your feet quickly is a skill set often ignored in training, and can be essential to doing well. Krav Maga has a nice saying that all fights may end up on the ground, but there's no reason they need stay there.
Clinching is also excellent in fighting multiple people, because it gives control over a person attacking you. Allowing you to tear them apart with knees, and to utilize them as a shield from those other attackers, and even attack those others with their body.
Slipping is also your best friend in a multiple fight. Being able to weave and get away even when boxed in is essential. If you slip fast enough you will be able to reposition yourself between the person you are attacking among those others attacking you.
Combining this with kicks that ward opponents off, such as a front kick with the ball or heel of the foot is excellent. This will greatly keep people from being able to reach you, which is perhaps the surest way to keep yourself safe - by never letting them touch you.
Remember that chances are they will exert more energy trying to get to you, than you will trying to get away from them. This isn't always the case; but it is a rule of thumb that if you hit someone in the stomach enough times they will not be able to breath, and will exhaust themselves.
So those warding kicks, the clinch and knee, can be phenomenal with enabling that exhaustion.
And perhaps my last tip, at least for this blog entry; switch targets the instant you can. If you have done a move or technique that has forced the person back, it is not the time to chase them down and 'finish the job' this will waste energy. Punch, move to next. Kick, move to next. Eventually having knocked or forced them back enough you will potentially have bought yourself the space to leave the situation. Doing this strategy will interrupt their attacks, and repeatedly doing so once again clears a space of potential breathing room for you.
Of course, your very, very best friend in all of this is having endurance. So keep in mind that without the ability to breathe and replenish the energy exerted, you will have a much more difficult time.
I almost want to quote this man's entire article, but for an even more in-depth read on multiple's fighting read this;
"The animal kingdom lives totally in the present moment. It teaches us how to be more human."
-Unknown Author
"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."
-Chinese Proverb
"Lot's of people talk to animals. Not many listen, though. That's the problem."
-Benjamin Hoff
One of the best pieces of advice I was given when practicing was to study how animals fought. This goes a bit beyond tiger or crane style and the like- it is taking those elements which work in nature and utilizing them with your own ability.
One can create a style based around how an animal fights, but then again one can create such styles around mythical animals as well, following guiding principles. This is how the style of Baguazhang originated; shishi, a lion dog. It is one of the few forms of Bagua which utilize kicking.
I prefer to observe the commonality between what can be experienced in a conflict whether one is human or not. In the end the struggle is the same; to survive.
The reason I do not put great faith in styles specifically designed concerning animals, is that sometimes they only loosely actually do that, such as Dog style, also known as Dìshùquán.
While reminiscent of the animal, a dog does not fight like that at all. Having been attacked by a dog and actually had to defend myself from it, I can say that firsthand.
That being said, some styles do actually capture the essence of how an animal will fight or move. Compare;
To;
Do not get me wrong, it might be moving like a snake which allows you to avoid a knife, clubbing like a lion that brings your attacker to the ground. It may be nimble kicks and great balance like that of the crane which can oppose your aggressor. Each animal in the world has a means natural to it to defend itself. This is why we should study how other creatures struggle and survive; it can offer insight for us in how we do. To study the world itself is a way to define a way to better our own lives and existence within it. But always be wise and remember you are you, and other beings are such. Pick and choose what you study and learn as though through a diamond instead of a cracked crystal.
Every animal embodies literally hundreds of millions of years of evolution to perfect survival almost into an art. That IS something worth studying to augment our own ability, and worth emulating where possible. Truthfully, many things can be learned as well outside of anything physically. Watch this cat stand up to crocodiles;
Or save a child from a dog attack;
Or even honor, when these monkeys intercede to help one cat from another;
Don't get me wrong; people can be absolutely awesome on their own.
But people are in a position where we can not only learn our environment, but learn how to better ourselves through it. Martial styles such as those of animal, or drunken are based on underlying philosophies and are what enable them to exist uniformly and be effective.
Watch nature and learn how it can teach you. Move as the wind, and flow as the water. Strike like lightning and fire, and shout like thunder. Just don't emulate the snail and sloth, or make any Bo staff forms like this bear;
But remember, there are many, many more styles. One could pretty much emulate any animal, as they all have methods of survival that could help one in theory.
"Think lightly of yourself, and deeply of the world."
I find I agree with everything written above in the article, and it led me to ask myself what are my rules of fighting?
So here are my top 10;
1- Focus on the core, not the limbs- A lot of people when fighting will focus on the hands as they approach, as the feet and legs come at them. Doing this distracts one from the other limbs which pose a danger. By focusing on the throat to nose one can see the opponents entire body and anything they are attacking with. I open my pupils, called eagle vision, and this allows one to not focus on anything in particular at all. This means your peripheral vision sees as much as your central, and this is excellent especially when fighting multiple people. It is the only way I have found I can keep track of multiple sets of limbs, and is also very useful even when fighting one person.
2- Burst- A common tactic in Krav Maga, it is where one attacks the opponent with their full body weight at an extreme speed. One blocks and attacks at the same time as the opponent approaches or moves within range. A kind of this technique is the flurry used in boxing; one of my favorite techniques in a fight. Both of these often overwhelm your opponent due to the combination of force and speed. It is not jumping, but moving forward.
3- Avoid Repeating- I have found that the more often one repeats a move the more often an opponent is able to deal with it. We all have favorite techniques, or prize-winners you could say, but in all honesty they are only effective against the same person only twice at a max. After that your opponent will in all likelihood have become prepared against it. Because of this I do not attempt to repeat a move more than three times in a fight, and the third time I use it, it is used usually as a distraction.
That is key- repeating a technique in the same way for the same purpose is what informs your opponent. But if you re-utilize it; say your front punch lands a mark twice consecutively, chances are they will have become prepped for it. By using the punch to distract for a kick or different following technique this is essentially like resetting the fight and having used an entirely different technique. At least in my experience, that reaction is often how it goes.
4- Strike High, Strike Low- I have a bad habit of being a head-hunter. When I do this it means my opponent will switch their focus to guarding their head. If that happens, the least intelligent thing I can do is then to keep going after their head. So instead I advise that if you throw a strike to the head, or even two, the next attack should be aimed lower. The lower the better. Often in a rotating non-specific pattern I will go head- legs- head- body- legs- head- etc... and keep the pattern changing so they cannot begin to predict what will happen.
5- Step Across- In the picture below when facing another, the blue arrow is usually how fighters approach each other when making contact and afterward. After the blow often many will step back. Instead, one should take the red arrows represent and step across their centerline, which is what the blue line primarily illustrates.
When fighting, if you attack unless you have to do not repeat. Keep going forward, not into your opponent unless switching the fight to a different mode such as ground game or grappling, but to step across them. This can allow you to get behind, but also keeps the fight's center line moving, and if you are causing that movement and change to happen then you are essentially controlling the space of the fight. Control is often what can make a difference in any combat.
6- Circle Like A Wolf- I have found that circle walking around an opponent has two benefits; it relocates you to a position that may expose a vulnerability in your opponent, such as having moved to their offside. It will also unnerve the hell out of them. They will feel stalked like prey, because that is essentially what you are doing. By constantly having to move to keep you from reaching their vulnerable positions they will feel unstable. Often letting an opponent stay where they are in the position they are in gives them not only confidence in an able defense, but also allows them to better root. By keeping them moving from one spot to essentially sit in and fortify you keep them from rooting effectively.
7- Strike Like A Lion- A long time ago I used to kick a target hard, and one student we called Suki began yelling at me, "Kick the target like you're going to kill the person!" and this opened my eyes to a simple truth; as hard as we may kick in training, if we hold back, then we will also in fighting. If you are in a conflict that involves your safety you had better hit them so hard that one punch should be enough.
As his and my favorite teacher used to say, 'if you punch them and they can still get up you aren't doing enough push-ups.' Which was essentially saying we didn't hit nearly as hard as we should be.
Keep in mind if you do this in sparring or practice it will not only escalate the bout, but it will also probably keep you from keeping training partners.
8- Be The Wind- This is quite similar to the principle of bursting in a fight. One must move as quickly as the fastest wind, but wind can also be like water in a sense; flowing around any obstacle. You must do the same so you can get behind them, or to get around any kind of onslaught they are bringing towards you.
9- Don't Be There- This is a fairly simple premise; you cannot be hit if you aren't where they are aiming. Now that sounds simple, but it's actually quite complicated. It's more than evading; for one it is reading your opponent's intention and actions, and then responding as they throw what they will, moving from that location. In a way it's like setting up, but timing is essential. Your opponent will throw a strike for where they see you at; as they throw the strike you must move from that location, and be absent from that space as it reaches that mark.
10- Body Language Is Key- Reading body language is probably the most important part of a fight outside of actually hitting the other. One can read literally everything the opponent will do once versed in this. You don't have to take classes, and it is both simpler and more complicated than it appears. Yes, oft with beginners you can tell where they are trying to hit you based on where they are looking, but what about against someone like me whose eyes may not move at all while fighting?
Then you must focus on when the other will breathe, such as if when they draw breath in they will strike, or if they will exhale and strike. It differs from each individual though there are some commonalities. Some people learn how to take maximum oxygen intake from very, very small breaths. What then?
Learn how to read facial expressions; these can be quite telling. Learn how to observe if your opponent's body muscles are tensing, that can often be a key to telling how they will move.
Is their body pulled back as they strike? That may mean they are using the attack as a distraction for a more deadly. An attack that will hit is usually committed to, meaning full body weight is behind the blow, especially if they are trained. This is not always the case; body language is always situational and ultimately will differ from person to person.
A good drill I use is you stand across from another (preferably a training partner you do not work often with) and when they are about to make a move to shadow strike you (use a strike but not make contact) you raise a finger to let them know they are about to. This takes time, but when able to do it reliably, and then be able to tell them exactly what attack you believe they were going to do, and be correct, you will be better prepared to read opponents you have never met than you were before.
Plus, this drill keeps you meeting new people as training partners to keep you fresh and not relying on memory. It will also teach you how to limit the tells your own body will give when you are the one doing the striking.
And a bonus; 11- Body positioning- Certain stances carry a certain amount of danger. Traditional fighting stances, no matter how accessible the arms are, are raised to about chest level, and often lead the midsection vulnerable. A place where the majority of our organs are located. By turning the body one reduces this vulnerability considerably, effectively only leaving a kidney exposed. I prefer a Liondog Baguazhang stance where one crosses an arm across the body while the other is located near the face. This maximizes covering the body.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't."
-Oprah Winfrey
"Train hard, make it a part of you. When you are stuck, return to basics. Question what you believe, find better approaches and... Don't take yourself too seriously."
-Lea Zavodnik
This is something I'm pretty sure every martial artist has at some point or other felt.
It's that day where our belt goes on the rail, where it seems that nothing we do is right; every technique is done sloppy despite our hardest effort- that day when we lose every fight.
It can certainly be frustrating. But it does happen.
What does one do then?
What is the point in getting mad at ourselves when we know we are human, and the point of training is so we don't have to stumble when it counts. The road on our martial paths is long, and every now and then a stone may get in the way of what we do. Sometimes the road itself may be broken- and then it's up to figure out how to cross the gap.
For some it's easier, for others it may seem daunting and impossible.
I know the feeling very well.
When a martial arts school I enjoyed closed- when a teacher died. When I went from being able to do fifty kicks and then after an injury could no longer do so; when I dislocated my left shoulder and couldn't fight anymore.
We will certainly get injured someday- it is a contact sport in certain senses. We are human and get sick. Setbacks and restarts will always happen. Hopefully not so often they test us extremely, but in some small way things will get frustrating.
I love the old metaphor that the good man may fall seven times and gets up eight, and I prefer to believe that all martial artists are good people, or at least are working toward that.
Someday someone will throw us, and we will have gotten dirty or injured. If we are assiduous in our path when we tumble we will get up, dust ourselves off, and try again to go on.
Remember if doing this right chances are you won't be walking the path alone. Hopefully you have family who can help you along, friends and training partners who will offer their hands, and maybe a passing teacher may be kind enough to caution you where to step to avoid such situations.
But anyone who has stopped for a time in their training knows firsthand how hard it can be to get back to where you were. But the endeavor is always worth the struggle. It is in tribulation we most get to experience a very real growth in overcoming those walls.
You will never be prepared for those blows that hurt you the most; those inconveniences which get in the way. But they should really only be viewed as just that; one should not worry too much about how hard things can be.
And when we get so frustrated we ask why bother? It is no different than feeling lazy and not wanting to do the push-ups we know we need to. And it is then that we should push ourselves hardest, instead of doing fifty going for one-hundred.
Martial artists see such hurdles as those points which will help us most. We should always try to make the best out of any situation, and if nothing worth fruition comes of it- there is always next time.
Remember, as a martial artist you always get up, no matter how long you had to stay down.
"Fighting is like life. You can do everything to a tee. You can show up and fail. That's no reason to quit."
-Frank Mir
"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make the soul grow."
"Relaxation is the key that unlocks speed and power."
-Bob Orlando
"Natural movement is the shortest way to an effective result. Like the way the water runs, it always finds the right way."
-Vladimir Vasiliev
I'm a little hesitant to write on this subject specifically; after all it is one of the trade secrets of my martial arts. We all have them, but a lot of the time practitioners can be hesitant to give them away. I am happy to however. That's the point of this blog after all.
Here is an example of my speed:
It is also a somewhat complicated subject.
How does one become faster? There are methods, and I will duly list them below, but it goes beyond any sort of physicality.
At my height I could do about eight punches in a second. Each to be defined as a 'real' punch had to be able to break at least one one-inch thick cinderblock. Nowadays I can only do about six on average, with a max of about seven. I expect in the next few months to go back up to eight. That's where I cap myself, because at least for me the muscles in my arm begin to tear, giving a red inflamed look to them. All this says is that if you stop practicing it vigilantly you will begin to slow down. That is the nature of atrophy with our abilities.
This is a drill I developed, quite by accident, but I have seen it work very well. Point in fact, it has never let me down.
You see speed is something of the mind. The faster you can think, the faster your body can respond and act on those thoughts. Every thought causes a physiological change to the brain's neural configuration. The faster you begin to think concretely, the faster you will find the mind can develop to keep doing so, and then more and more so.
What the above drill does is two primary things; it forces you to practice doing a full punch- from the body to full extension and then back to the body.
It also teaches your mind how to collapse thinking. Instead of thinking 1-2-3-4 as you do each punch in the chain, you instead collapse 1-2 and 3-4 to 1 and 2. Doing this will help you punch faster. If you have to think about each punch as you do it this slows you down, so instead you reassociate your mind's thought process to align two punches with a count of one. Eventually you are not thinking of doing two strikes, instead you are doing one iteration which is composed of two strikes. The two come naturally at that pace. I do this even when I practice six punches or eight strikes. It goes to 1-2-3, and 1-2-3-4, until I can think 1 and it means four punches will happen. 2 four more will.
I compress the time it takes to count, linking each strike with the thought of counting. So the thought of 1 may on its own take as long as a second to fully form, but when I do the strike at a speed of eight punches per second, it takes 1/8th of a second to fully form.
When you do such a fast sequence of strikes it is called a flurry.
This is a video where I go deeper into detail concerning how to flurry. For the demonstration in the video skip to 1:42.
Here is an example of someone who has realized the potential speed has in the martial arts.
And another.
But keep this in mind; the key to developing speed to be 'faster' than others actually has nothing to do with them. It has everything to do with you developing how to be faster than you were. Only then after that is done can one factor others into the equation. Because the ultimate goal is how to apply that speed in our techniques, and concerning self-defense to be faster than the other.
The picture honestly has nothing to do with developing speed save this; it took one second to take this photo. In that time Blanco was humorously picturesquely hit 8 times. Now imagine there was only person doing all those different attacks. That is completely possible.
"What it does determines what it is."
Bob Orlando
"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete,
[Miyagi stares wistfully at a picture of him and Daniel together]
"Hope confusion end soon, Daniel-san. Miyagi heart empty without you."
-Mr. Miyagi
"Follow not in the footsteps of a master, but rather seek what they sought."
-Unknown
"Teacher opens the door, but you must step through."
-Chinese proverb
Along our path in the martial way, if we walk it long enough, we all encounter the teacher in our lives. Our own Mr. Miyagi you could say; one who not only guides and inspires us, but becomes in many ways pivotal in our development of martial artists.
They will remind us not to give up, on ourselves or what we do;
Perhaps they will be harsh, perhaps some are kind. They may not always say what we want to hear, but they will show us where to look. That is one of my favorite comments about true teachers.
Some may even find their own parents are such teachers. That too is so easy to forget.
I doubt any of us have quite those experiences above, but in our own way, we do experience with our guides such as those above, as we each subjectively can. And this only helps us become better than who we were. They remind us of who we are, and while the clips I show are largely symbolic and metaphorical of what I am writing about, I do know that I am not alone in my heart in remembering those certain moments that define the importance of such relationships have to each of us.
But at some point as we walk that path with them, following, alongside them eventually... we will lose them.
I have had two such teachers, and I am certain someday I will meet another if not more than. But in my two decades of sojourning, I have lost both. One to retirement, the other to death.
And the hole that leaves is one which does not fill- we simply have to carry the lessons they taught us forward.
And someday we may be that teacher to another.
It is hard to imagine how that feels to lose someone that important to you until you have. And of course, I do not wish that on anyone.
But it does mean that while we have teachers, when we do build a relationship such as I speak about, it is easy to forget that it is ultimately temporary. It could be a few months or years to decades of course, but no matter how long it exists we should take the time to honor it.
Appreciate your teacher- they won't always be there. And in many ways, that's ok.
The first teacher I could honestly say I loved decided to retire after more than twenty years of teaching, as his teacher did. Closing the doors to his academy, and setting us loose to find our way along that path. And he was such a good teacher that many, many of his students have continued along it.
In ancient Japan when a teacher died it was fairly common for a student to commit seppuku. But their loss does not have to mean the end of walk along the path.
I was fortunate to have those three years I did under Master Khan. And I am even more fortunate we have stayed in contact, and now and again he can offer a guiding hand in my development as a martial artist.
He taught me Chung Do Kwan, and how to be an actual martial artist in more than proper technique, but in development of my character. He is the teacher who gave me a priceless gift- that I could believe I was actually a black belt, and that to my core I deserved it. Doubt is so dangerous to those of us who strive, and he allowed me to be free of it. For that I am infinitely grateful.
I was also fortunate for the six months, spread out over two years of three months each to have met and been tutelage under Master Rhee. He taught me that one can practice other martial arts, and rather than have them conflict, they can augment each other. He taught me how to escape that narrow-mindedness that there is a single 'best' martial art. He taught me that ultimately whatever art we learn we will someday turn into our own. In a way putting our own brand on it. And if we can give back in some way to those who seek to also learn, we have realized what we have been taught at a level beyond utilizing the arts.
Such teachers often want the best for us; for us to become more than we were, and in many ways to surpass them. Otherwise, why would they teach?
And ultimately they are preparing you for the day you will walk alone. That is an inevitable part of life I have found. It doesn't have to be negative, but then again nor does it have to be positive. That is up to each of us to make the best or worst of those experiences.
We each have life-defining lessons we learn from such individuals. It is in our best interest to pay attention and not take them for granted.
And if you do not have such a relationship yet; be patient and keep walking. Sooner or later when the time is right as life decides it in its own casual way, they will meet you.
The biggest words you can say to them then are also the simplest; thank you.
"Don't fight for the choke, fight to get your hand in the right place."
-Andre Monteiro
"A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind."
-Morihei Ueshiba
One of the most common errors I have seen in martial arts is in others and how they form a fist.
And while I personally do not prefer to use the fist; it has a huge liability as it is essentially a ball of joints no matter how much you condition them with the fingers and knuckles, and is very liable to break; I still believe it essential that every martial artist regardless of style be able not only to make a fist, but know how to use it.
So this article will be short and sweet; on how to make a fist adequately.
I have found a simple way to teach the method to make a proper fist.
First open and splay your hands. Join the first four fingers; the index, middle, ring finger and pinky fingers together, as if one were making a spear hand. Then curl the segments of the finger, from the finger tip segment to the middle of the finger segment until one has basically formed their hand into the posture of a thumbs up. The finger tips should press into the middle of the palm as if attempting to squeeze all the air out of it.
After that fold the thumb across the middle segments of the index and middle finger. Depending on the length of the thumb it's tip should either come to rest on the middle segment of the index finger, or the ring finger.
Some of the most common mistakes I have seen are the following;
Sometimes people will curl and fold their fingers around their thumb. Make sure it is on the outside of the fingers, not the inside. Doing a punch with your thumb inside will cause it to break.
Occasionally I will see someone try to fold their thumb on top of their fingers, instead of across. I can't even do that without making my own hand hurt. If you do that when you punch your thumb will make contact first and will also become broken.
Another issue I have seen arise is when people jut their thumb out too far. The thumb keeps the inner fingers in place, tightening the fist into an iron-like vice. If it's too far apart from the center of the hand this destabilizes the fist, and can lead to one easily turning, twisting, or jamming their wrist when they make contact. The thumb is one of the most important parts of the fist. One isn't merely tucking it out of the way- it is essential to creating a well-balanced and controlled fist.
Without that punching is not only impossible, but potentially harmful.
Another is not making a right angle with the thumb as it is folded across the fingers. When this happens the tip will extend just outside of the fist- again causing initial contact through a finger rather than the knuckle and risking a break of the thumb.
"Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick."
"I am not the best but I am capable of achieving the impossible."
-Anderson Silva
"Well done is better than well said."
-Benjamin Franklin
In martial arts a lot of strange things happen. And we become able to do things we thought we once never could... things we had not even imagined.
When I began when I was four years old I only wanted to learn how to do two things; defend myself from bullies, and help others.
We see many things which create myths. Who would think the one inch punch possible until they have felt it, and then learned it? I certainly didn't.
Who would think extinguishing a candle was possible through just our internal energy expressed externally? I didn't until I could.
Until I was thirteen I did nothing but break boards, the most I ever did was eight bound together. When I was fifteen I learned it was possible to break cinderblocks, and to my own amazement that without spacers I would observe three being broken, and to my own incredulity one day I did it myself.
One day I heard at a school there were students there who could punch as many as six times a second. And I worked my butt off until I could... and then go beyond. My pinnacle was eight in a second; full fledged, each capable of breaking a single cinder-block. I am unable to do that now, but some things in martial arts come and go. It allowed me to see I could do things I had not believed in earnestness were even possible.
But they are.
There are many other things which are achievable, but that many consider out of their reach.
Cutting a projectile out of the air;
Catching arrows.
Or even punching down trees.
I thought it the realm of movies and anime until I tried it myself, day in and out and felled my own.
Here I am working on the third tree;
It and so much more are possible.
What then are we capable of doing we do not because we self-impose limitations?
Martial arts and its growth in it is a very real expression of faith; in others, our teachers and peers, and ultimately ourselves.
And honestly, the only area we cannot go is that which we choose not to imagine, and then develop.
Perhaps it is doubt which stays our hands, feet and minds. Perhaps it is apathy. I do not know, I only know that the martial arts is a way to explore our human potential, and fear of any kind is something we should not have; not that we are without fear, but are those who walk without it holding us back.
"If I said I could do it you wouldn't believe me, If I said I couldn't do it you wouldn't believe it"
