…Actors often brag about how much Krav Maga or karate or capoeira they had to learn for their roles, but to judge from the onscreen world of modern action movies, that kind of skill set is hardly rare: A built-in understanding of martial arts is instilled in everyone, be they hero, villain, or mere henchman. (Fortunately, heroes always get to fight off bad guys who somehow know the exact same form of martial arts they do.) Too often, it seems like movies grind to a halt for obligatory hand-to-hand combat with low stakes and little invention, as though the screenwriter typed, “A fight breaks out,” and the director left it up to the second unit and fight coordinator to fill three minutes.

With little in the way of stakes, a sameness in presentation, and no blood or bruises, martial arts have turned action scenes into dance scenes…Gone are the days when a fight might involve a gun, a makeshift weapon, or a hit that actually hurts.

Mr. Buchanan misremembers the history of violence in cinema.

Before The Matrix ignited our current wuxia craze, with its improbable spinning kicks and high-precision fisticuffs, how did our heroes show their combat prowess? Primarily, as I recall, with a bullet-deflecting aura, flawless aim, and a bottomless clip.

In other words, these earlier fights were conducted with magical talismans, and not any representative of actual firearms. Imagine Harry Potter with a five o’clock shadow, versus an army of cross-eyed dragons that can’t shoot straight. In whose eyes were these gun battles any more realistic, or exciting, than (even formulaic and poorly choreographed) hand-to-hand combat? Within which paradigm it easiest for us to suspend disbelief, or to empathize?

America has always been uncomfortable with self-cultivation myths. The power of the cowboy, our original American superhero, flowed through his sidearm–and we are apparently meant to imagine he cast it himself, along with all the ammunition; but in contrast to legendary Eastern kung fu masters, our storied independence was always a product of the general store.

Superstar Jackie Chan, for example, is a real-life product of long and bitter kung fu training, and in the films that built his career, many of his characters share a similar background. Whereas, when courting an American audience, his movie plots too often concern a cybernetic tuxedo, or a magical medallion. (If you’ve seen either of these, then you know that twice is already too often.)

Fortunately for martial arts fans, not all on-screen violence is mediated by technology. While today’s hand-to-hand combat can be frantic, yet implausibly sterile, some scenes from decades past are unintentionally hilarious. Star Trek is a prime example, illustrating that there never was a greatest generation, or a golden age for violent action.

So what are the crucial truths about fighting and martial arts that popular movies obscure? An easy answer is, all of them. In greater detail: first, that there is even a difference between fighting and martial arts. Second, that there is a difference between fighting for dominance, and fighting for survival; even when lives are at stake, action movie heroes are more concerned with displays of personal heroism (no surprise here), and less with pragmatism or efficiency. Third, that a “successful” overt action is, at best, a rectification of previous failures at covert influence…

How are martial arts and the entertainment industry influencing each other? Is either improving, or corrupting the other? What do you think?

Hey, Zangief Kid. Millions of people are talking about you these days. They are talking about that final bullying event, captured on video two weeks ago, that made you Internet famous. Reporters, school officials, and other so-called experts are discussing how such events should be “handled” or “managed,” as if they indicated a simple policy failure.

I think you know better, Little Zangief, and so do I. Now, rather than adding to the punditry, I’d like to say a few words to you directly. But first, a quick recap, and please correct me if I am wrong…

School bullies hounded you for years. They tormented you daily, to such an extent that others were reluctant to be seen as your friend, lest they be forced to share in your suffering.

When a group of bullies ambushed you, their scrawny leader throwing punches while the rest stood by in approval, you finally snapped. They had your back against the wall, both figuratively and literally, Zangief. So, on the fifth punch, you grabbed the bully and gave him a piledriver! Wow!

The Internet approves.

Violence was the solution

I guess you’ve figured this one out already, but when adults tell children that “violence never solved anything,” they are lying. At times, it can seem a harmless little white lie, offered by those who care about our children, and want to protect them from harm.

The truth is that violence is a solution. Maybe it is not an ideal solution; and yes, while it is solving one problem, it often creates another. But there is no denying, Zangief, that absorbing punches with your face constitutes a problem–and that your direct aggressive action stopped those punches immediately–and perhaps forever.

You can safely trash most of the advice you’ve been given thus far. No, every bully is not secretly a coward on the inside. No, they are not actually trying to be your friend. If common sense had any useful advice for handling bullies, this world would be a different shape indeed.

Bullies never die

Look at what is happening in Libya today, or the broader Middle East region (or any other region). Bullies do not simply evaporate after high school; they rise to the highest levels of business and government. Bad news, Little Zangief: bullies run the world, with help from their enablers.

You’ve already met a few of these enabling characters. They are the people who stand by and watch, while their leader smashes your head. They are the people who respond to such injustice, by enacting and enforcing “zero tolerance” policies on self-defense. Lacking the strength, courage and wisdom to conquer their own bullies, they choose to collaborate instead. Let’s hope your recent example will inspire them to make different choices.

The logic of the melee

Little Zangief, I realize that your Spinning Piledriver was not the product of a careful and deliberative thought process. They finally pushed you too far, and you reacted without thinking. For your own safety, this is a situation you must avoid in the future. It is best to simply never let them push you too far.

Did you overreact in this specific case? In light of what actually happened, I would say no. A few punches resulting in no serious injury, were traded for an awe-inspiring body-slam resulting in no serious injury. Fair and square. Evaluating your actions by considering what never happened, due to those actions, is a little trickier–and this is where the experts and authorities usually go wrong.

The truth is that, by the sheer magnitude of your response, you may have saved someone from getting stomped by a gang of thugs. That person was yourself, of course; and because it was yourself, some naive observers will feel justified in labeling you as a willing combatant, rather than as a hero.

They will insist that you should have done something else instead. Perhaps you should have predicted your ambush, and tattled preemptively. Or waited peacefully until your bullies’ little limbs were tired of pummeling you, then crawled home to await tomorrow’s beating.

Or maybe you should have responded to each single punch with exactly one of your own, in a display of perfectly “proportional” and “appropriate” self-defense. I counted at least three co-conspirators on the scene–so if you have eight arms, eight legs, and supernatural stamina, then it could work. Probably not, but just maybe.

I’d like to say that you can just ignore these silly folks; but you cannot, because they staff the organizations that will decide your fate. They are policemen, parents and concerned citizens, reporters and editors, prosecutors and judges, principals and members of the school board.

Welcome to the complex world of self-defense.
Welcome to adulthood, Zangief Kid!

First reported by KOMO News:

Phoenix Jones is a superhero.

He has a day job but wears a costume underneath his street clothes in case he encounters crime. He carries a “net gun” and has a sidekick named Buster Doe.

But this isn’t the plot from a Hollywood movie. There are no special effects. This is real-life and Phoenix patrols Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood every week- stopping fights, feeding the homeless and helping folks who have run out of gas.

“Everyone on my team either has a military background or a mixed martial arts background, and we’re well aware of what it costs to do what we do.”

Phoenix Jones says he wanted to become a superhero after a few incidents changed his mind about Seattle.

The first involved a friend getting assaulted outside a bar. The friend was left with permanent facial damage.

“And I thought, why didn’t someone help him? There were seventy people outside that bar and no one did anything,” he said.

The second incident was when someone broke into his car and his son was injured by the broken glass. His son had to spend the night in the ER and get stitches. He was later told that several people saw the break-in happen, but didn’t do anything.

Phoenix said, “Teenagers are running down the street, breaking into cars, and no one does anything? Where’s the personal accountability?”

Phoenix Jones Facebook update: “HAD A CRAZY DAY…I WENT TO A POLICE STATION IN MY SUPERSUIT AND ATE LUNCH WITH THE COMMISH OF POLICE. WE TALKED ABOUT CRIME AND HOW PEOPLE LIKE ME COULD HELP AND ENDED WITH HIM ASKING IF HE COULD TRY MY CAPE ON HSAHAHA.”

Phoenix decided he would be different than all of those people who just stood by, not helping.

He began stepping into fights and helping people in need. But soon, he was getting recognized across town as ‘the guy who stops fights.’ He realized he was putting himself in danger.

“They’d recognize me and pick me out. I couldn’t do regular, every-day things anymore. So I started wearing the mask,” he said…

Selected comments from other forums…

chicago expat says:

frakkin’ unbelievable

I especially liked this outcome of their good deeds:
“The ‘costume-wearing complainants’ refused to press charges because they didn’t want to identify themselves to officers, Kappel said.”

So the violent suspect walked, because they want to remain unknown, masked vigilantes. Just like the Ku Klux Klan

seattledowntown says:

When you get saved by some nerd in blue tights driving his godmother’s Kia, you can pretty much hang up your hat and go home. Its pretty much all downhill from there.

messager says:

This would usually disturb me, but these people could be no worse than our present police force. They probably have higher ethical standards.

Mr. Ravenblade says:

Additionally, a lot of the Top Respected Members of the RLSH community that has existed for years without you – both in Seattle and internationally around the world – are not happy at some of your actions, and the claims of affiliation that you have made that have in turn damaged our collective reputations. We have worked hard to earn our reputations, so it is understandable that we are protective of them as they allow us to do greater good in the community and allow greater opportunities for us to make a difference and do good works that actively help the world become a better place.

The fact is you have publicly claimed to be one of us – A member of the Real Life Super Hero Community – means you have taken it on yourself to be bound to the many duties of being a RLSH that you have not been fulfilling. And RLSH is not a title you give yourself, it is a title you Earn and am given by the community you have claimed to be a part of. Technically the real title you have is “HIT” (Hero in training) or even “Super Hero In Training” (No offense intended by the acronym that creates)…

evil twin says:

i guess they werent satisfied with regulating the world of martial arts online. now bullshido is running street patrols too?

Lykos says:

I think it’s nice to at least see some citizens stepping up and trying to do something against the thugs, and from the article it sounds like some of the ways they help are actually pretty practical when you really look at it. Good for them for doing what they can with a little style. Better than the thousands of other people that just walk by and try to ignore crime and injustice.

Regarding Phoenix Jones’ recent citizen’s arrest of skinhead gang members, Blue Rlsh says:

Thats not cool! Is it possible to use diplomacy [instead]?

What do you think?

What styles of martial arts are performed on The LXD?

In Episode 2, AntiGravity Heroes, Jimmy and Justin perform a dazzling set with elements of parkour, XMA, and modern wushu. Although the term wushu technically refers to Chinese martial arts in general, the term is most commonly applied these days to theatrical renditions of the arts, tuned for artistic performance rather than for direct combat application.

Performing these elaborate aerial and gymnastic maneuvers is also known as tricking. At the end of AntiGravity Heroes, Jimmy Angel practices with a chain whip.

While the popping and isolations demonstrated by Madd Chadd in Robot Lovestory (Episode 3) are not directly inspired by martial arts, these skills are somewhat analogous to advanced levels of the arts, wherein students must learn to move each individual joint correctly for the creation of a unified and coherent force.

In Episode 5, Lettermakers Z and Dante represent krumping as a fighting style. Some elements of their sparring match bear resemblance to the Brazilian art of Capoeira.

In season 2 of The LXD, dancers start learning to focus and channel their inner energy, in order to project it outside of their bodies. This is actually a long-established and controversial topic within the martial arts community.

Is it possible to project energy outside the human body?

Although nearly everyone has an opinion on this question, very few people have any relevant knowledge or experience. In Chinese, the skill of projecting energy for martial purposes is called ling kong jing, or empty force.

There are specific and rigorous exercises involved in the cultivation of empty force. It is not, and never was the automatic result of earning a black belt in any style of kung fu, as both skeptics and charlatans often imagine. For more information on the subject, please consult the book Empty Force by Paul Dong and Thomas Raffill.

Are chi, auras, chakras and “Ra” really all the same thing?

No.

What is a bo staff?

Bo is simply a Japanese word for staff. A traditional wooden bo is six feet long (in contrast to the four-foot Jo), and is used in a variety of Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, including Karate and Aikido. The staff is a popular weapon in martial arts of other countries as well, where it may be referred to by another name.

Do martial arts boarding schools still exist today?

Yes. Some schools and teachers will accept a handful hard-core students for an intensive program, wherein they literally live at the dojo, attending every class, and practicing before and afterward as well. In Japanese, these students are known as uchideshi, or “indoor disciples”.

There are many kungfu schools near Shaolin Temple in China that accept foreign students, for a stay of months or years. However, these schools are mostly tailored for children and young adults, and the quality of instruction is not necessarily any better than you would find in a major American city. (For more information on Shaolin training today, watch the documentary The Real Shaolin.)

Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, a well-known author and master of Chinese martial arts, runs a retreat center in California. Visitors and students have committed to instructional programs lasting as long as ten years.

Why do martial artists wear colored belts?

Although the history of martial arts spans several centuries, the practice of wearing colored belts was not introduced until the early 1900s. First adopted in Japanese Judo, the practice has since spread to other arts, as the number of belt colors (and belt stripes) has proliferated.

Today, proponents and opponents of the belt system each have their reasons, their myths, and their rationalizations. To some, each belt is an important milestone–a concrete accomplishment in an otherwise subjective and neverending journey towards mastery. To others, they represent nothing more than an opportunity to wheedle frequent belt promotion fees from gullible student customers (or their parents).

According to a popular martial arts myth, a black belt is simply a white belt that its hardworking wearer never washed after years of arduous training. This is a disgusting fabrication–unwashed belts do not only get dirty, they also get sweaty and stinky, and without proper care, possibly even moldy. Following another story, the first white belt represents innocence, the second yellow belt represents the dawning of knowledge, the third orange belt signifies the ascendance of progress, and so on; this is a viewpoint without historical precedent, and a matter of personal opinion.

Even today, many schools and styles of martial arts have never adopted any belt system.

In Mark of the Ox, Jimmy Angel is assaulted by a tweaked-out gang, as an initiation ritual into Organization X. What initiation rituals, if any, exist in martial arts?

It is not unusual for a new shodan (first degree black belt) to be attacked by all the other members of the school–individually, or even all at once. The sparring, or fighting, is done at less than full intensity.

There are other lineage practices that are not discussed in public.

This guide will be updated as the series progresses. Add your questions and comments below.

In 1999, sometime after quitting my second unfulfilling job and eating peanut-butter sandwiches for comfort, I won the gold medal at the Chinese Kickboxing National Championships.

It wasn’t because I was good at punching and kicking. God forbid. That seemed a bit dangerous, considering I did it on a dare and had four weeks of preparation. Besides, I have a watermelon head–it’s a big target.

I won by reading the rules and looking for loopholes, of which there were two:

1. Weigh-ins were the day prior to competition: Using dehydration techniques I now teach to elite powerlifters, I lost 28 pounds in 18 hours, weighed in at 165 pounds, and then hyperhydrated back to 193 pounds*. It’s hard to fight someone from three weight classes above you. Poor little guys.

2. There was a technicality in the fine print: If one combatant fell off the elevated platform three times in a single round, his opponent won by default. I decided to use this technicality as my single technique and just push people off. As you might imagine, this did not make the judges the happiest Chinese I’ve ever seen.

The result? I won all my matches by technical knock-out (TKO) and went home national champion, something 99% of those with 5-10 years of experience had been unable to do.

How to survive a physical attack
with Tim Ferriss and Dave Camarillo

It is not truly a paradox, only a misconception. And not all white belts are dangerous, obviously. But those that are, if only on the mat, are so for the following reasons.

Their goal is always to win. They don’t yet understand the difference between trying to win, and trying to cultivate the skills that one uses to win. Real fights are chaotic affairs, and chaos is not a proper breeding ground for skill development; thus, training in respectable martial arts consists of a series of games, first introducing support structures (e.g. rules and conventions), then dismantling them one step at a time.

The need for, or value in this approach is not obvious–and it is not always explained at the outset. So some white belts never appreciate the context of their practice. Others consider themselves above the “organized despair” of the “traditional mess,” and when a rule stands between them and a sparring victory, they break it without hesitation. The conventions and rules of training, they reason, are “unrealistic in a real fight.”

Sadly, annoyingly, some of these individuals mistake their impatience for martial prowess–and having checked off another box on their MMA resume, they quickly depart in pursuit of the next imaginary accomplishment. In the words of the seasoned sensei, “They’re someone else’s problem now.”

They have no self-awareness. The white belt fighter will take insane risks that any experienced player would avoid. The white belt fighter will compromise their own balance in an attempt to take yours. They will open up their guard in the hope of passing yours. They consistently expose themselves in the present, thereby expecting to prevail in the near future.

To the rest of us, watching a white belt fight is like observing a murder-suicide attempt.

Why are white belts so crazy? They don’t realize when they have made themselves vulnerable, so they are free to do so with carefree abandon. Over time, competing against higher ranked classmates provides a civilizing education.

They are honest attackers. While the previous two points address the folly of youth and inexperience, these qualities also have their benefits. The strength of the white belt is…strength. And speed. And courageous aggression, no matter how ill-founded. And unpredictability.

People who are more interested in attack than in self-preservation can make great practice partners (so long as minimum safety standards are met). One of the ironies of self-defense is that, unless a trainer can step outside their own mindset–and inhabit the mind and body of the amoral predator–their training does not have any real value.

The white belt can take you by surprise. They will do something so improbable, so highly inane, that you feel compelled to stop for criticism or laughter instead of taking advantage of the error.

And yet, surprising the opponent is never really an error, is it?

Because the white belt fighter is a tremendous resource, there is a tension between helping them mature in skill and temperament, and preserving them in an untamed state (in order to help others grow).

Black belts would do well to study the best practices of the white belt novice, and incorporate them into their own practice. Let the shodan follow all the rules, while the sandan playfully proclaim, “I can do bad all by myself!”

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been trolled! Hoaxed! Buffaloed and bewildered!

It doesn’t happen often these days. I’ve been discussing martial arts on the Internet since before Web 1.0. I’ve seen most of the pranks, and yes, pulled a few myself.

What is the best style of martial arts for fit, beautiful women with large breasts? Please let me know, so I can sign up for it. Serious replies only.

So when someone dangles a truly ridiculous assertion in front of my nose, I usually have the good sense to ignore it these days. Usually. But a few days ago, one fairly experienced martial artist and provocateur knocked me for a loop.

We were chatting about the relevance of Taijiquan and push hands to combat. I said that I considered it inappropriate to keep one’s arms below the chest for the duration of push hands practice, regardless of whether one is interested in the martial applications of the art. It wasn’t intended as a criticism, really–just a quick observation in the midst of a wide-ranging discussion. But he eventually replied,

All this about arm position and circling is irrelevant, because in Push Hands, as long as you can touch your partner anywhere on their body, you can pop ‘em (as long as they have just a bit more unconscious tension than you do). That’s it. Doesn’t much matter where you touch them as deep unconscious tension (unlike superficial and/or conscious tension) is not localized it is a diffuse property–like a dye that is wicked through a material rather than a local stain. So, hands up or down shouldn’t matter much in the deep sense except that by the standards of physicalized Push Hands which the Guest seems to advocate it should simply make it that much easier to pop me up and out.

In retrospect, I should have addressed the issue in terms a software engineer can understand–or should understand at risk of gross incompetence.

Any newly developed algorithm must be presumed broken until tests prove otherwise. A truly comprehensive verification is often infeasible, as it would require billions or trillions of individual test executions; in those cases, it is essential to test all the boundary conditions at least.

For example, if a particular algorithm was meant to compare two numbers, it should be tested with the largest possible numbers, and the smallest possible numbers, and a few random numbers, and with one or both numbers missing.

It would however be totally unacceptable to explore a small and contiguous fraction of the problem space during the testing phase, and to declare on the basis of these test results alone that the algorithm is fundamentally sound.

Learning Taijiquan is a process, and the desired “end result” is itself a process–a highly refined algorithm. However we choose to define the problem space of pushing hands, it certainly cannot ignore the normal range of human motion. And for the arms, that range is a large sphere centered at the shoulder. The edges of that sphere are higher than the top of the head, and lower than the hips.

So, even if we study push hands strictly for the sake of achieving relaxation, this full sphere is the arena in which we have to show and prove, or concede our defeat. We cannot retreat to a shadowy corner, and wait for some tension to come to us, surmising our skill and benevolence in the meantime. No, we must step forth and establish our dominion over the entire venue, left and right, high and low, forward and back, hither and yon!

Fig. A – Recommended fighting stance for a tabby cat

Hoodwinked!

Maybe that should have been my reply. But instead, I simply noted that habitually dropping the hands cannot be justified by either current standards (as exemplified by the heads of the five major Taijiquan lineages), or by reference to the classic written works in which the art was originally defined.

The classics state that when practicing, one should sink the qi. Collapsing the frame is a cheap substitute, and hardly any better than compulsively flexing the quads in my humble opinion. But, you know, whatever. It’s no great harm to me if someone holds a unique set of ideals for their personal practice. Unique, misguided, bizarre and unprecedented… it’s all good, or at least good enough for someone else, am I right?

In retrospect, I should have realized, at the point when I started explaining the obvious as if it were obscure, that I was being played for sport. But that fact didn’t penetrate my thick skull, until after he countered again:

Push hands practice is about developing the ability to gently and easily yet powerfully, energetically, exploit perceived tension in a partner. (And of course it has nothing to do with structure, mechanics, anatomy or anything physical like that.)

I touch them enough to detect their tension. That’s all that’s required…but generally I do try to have fun and play nice, and except for one case…apart from that I believe that in Push Hands practice (unlike sparring) I have never injured anybody whatsoever. I stand by that record.

I’ve seen the bruises, cuts and scratches on this fellow’s gentler playmates, with my own eyes. The first time it happened in my presence, I dismissed it as one of the unfortunate accidents that will naturally occur during martial arts practice. After I saw it happen a few more times, I came to understand that this guy likes to play rough, and then to blame his toys for damaging themselves. Highly amusing!

But now, to hear him assert that push hands is totally and completely unrelated to combat? That it is really all about detecting tension? When I read that, I could not contain my laughter!!

Look, I’ve attended a dozen different seminars with bona-fide Taiji masters, all of whom kept their hands up, and all of whom were able to diagnose their partners’ tensions without provoking enmity. (Quite the contrary: a demonstration of flawless technique usually seems to inspire joy and gratitude!)

I have been on a dozen meditation retreats in the USA and overseas, and never once seen anyone get poked in the eye!

And now, apparently, I’ve been trolled by one of the best!

Bamboozled!

When this fellow said that he is not obliged to reconcile his practices and views with the contents of the Taiji classics–because their authors might have been wrong, and their language is open to interpretation anyway–I realized that he couldn’t possibly be serious. Anyone who hangs a shingle to advertise themselves as a Taijiquan instructor, is trading on the reputation of previous generations.

It doesn’t even matter whether the classics are right or wrong. You cannot simply ignore them, for the same reason that a Christian pastor cannot ignore the contents of the Bible. For the same reason you cannot sell gallons of bathtub “Coca-Cola” on the street, and then respond to the inevitable complaints by declaring that your version tastes even better.

One can always dispute the correct definition of the art, sure, but one cannot dismiss the significance of the standard definition outright, while at the same time relying upon it to identify or promote one’s own method. That is three different kinds of wrong.

When this fellow compared the practitioners of traditional moving-step tuishou to a caveman struggling with a sniper rifle–too stupid to employ their precision tool correctly, and opting to use it as a club instead–I knew he was having a laugh. There is just no other possibility, considering that his own preferred method suspiciously resembles the standard American competitive fixed form, which is roundly mocked for its decadence.

Eliminating tension is necessary but insufficient. Yes, it is immensely difficult to forgo any and all physical, intellectual and emotional tension while at the same time stepping around the floor in an agile and unscripted fashion, maintaining contact with an unpredictable partner, continuously circling with both arms, and neutralizing that partner’s attempts to apply the eight energies while searching for opportunities to apply their own. But if we intend to play the game of Taijiquan pushing hands (as opposed to making up a new game with the same name), this is the standard.

The exercise I have just described is fully congruent with the classics; it demands relaxation; it is good exercise; it is fun; and yes, it is relevant to combat.

Mystified!

Then he said that people who want to learn how to protect their head should give up on Taijiquan, and take up boxing instead.

OMFG LULZ. The good news is, I’m finally in on the joke.

Most adults feel incredibly capable of functioning in their day to day activities. They have bought insurance, put locks on their doors and generally adhere to the standard commonsense notions of maintaining their personal security. Occasionally they will be caught unawares and become the victim to some form of crime. After bemoaning the loss of their wallet or iPod, they will either assume that they could not have avoided the burglary or will step up their precautionary measures and go back to feeling safe and prepared.

However, simply buying pepper spray or watching fights on Jerry Springer will not ensure your ability to protect yourself. There is far more effort and introspection involved in appropriately preparing to protect your personal security. For the purposes of this article, I would like to approach the subject matter from a self defense standpoint, wherein the first objective is to avoid harm, and not from a fighting mindset. There is a huge difference between doing everything possible to avoid a physical interaction with a would-be assailant and standing your ground and meeting the challenge with equal if not greater force.

Recognizing the need for personal protection… won’t do anything at all if you aren’t prepared to use it.

Step 1: Recognition of a Potential Problem. Most advocates of personal security devices and training are happy enough to list off the potential dangers inherent in our everyday activities. They can tell you the local crime statistics, and rattle off a laundry list of situations and scams that you should be aware of and take steps to avoid. They can scare the pants off of you and make a condition like agoraphobia seem like the sanest approach to personal security. They may not tell you this one fundamental truth: you can’t prepare for every possible contingency.

You can attain the highest level available in every form of martial arts and feel prepared. Nevertheless, none of these things will protect you in every situation. The best thing that you can do for yourself, is mentally walk through situations wherein you cannot win or escape and prepare yourself for how you will function in that depressing scenario.

Joe Lewis said it best, “Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit”. Accept that there will be times when you will not be able to win or escape, for there will always be situations that you could not prepare for. There will always be new tricks or crimes that will render all of your prior training useless, whether through new techniques, the use of extortion or sheer dumb luck on the part of the criminal. The key is to accept the situation and allow your intelligence and resourcefulness to break out of your training and creatively assess the new situation. Are you prepared to lose? How will you handle it?

Step 2: Preparation. Whether you are learning martial arts for protection, taking weapons training courses or preparing yourself for potential real emergencies, the most important step was the first one; you recognized the need for the knowledge and pursued a course of action to find it. Now you need to focus on sticking with the program and seeing the training through to completion.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are completely prepared once you finish the course. You may never forget how to ride a bike, but learning how to safely react and remain calm during a terrifying encounter is something that must be practiced. Don’t assume that because you attained your orange belt in a Karate course when you were ten, that you can safely defend yourself against an adult physical threat.

Maintaining your fitness level is an essential part of an intelligent personal security plan. After all, physical encounters should only ever be a last resort. You should be looking to avoid potential issues and not rising to provocation.

Running away, or having the mental stamina to see you through an altercation, requires extensive practice. The added bonus is that most attackers or would-be assailants are looking for easy marks, and not someone who is physically strong and capable of defending themselves. The awareness of your environment that comes from this form of training is priceless and not something that can be learned in an afternoon. Incorporating real life applications of your self defense training into your regular fitness routine will help you to hone your awareness and new-found perspective.

Step 3: Commitment. Simply learning how to protect oneself isn’t enough, you need to be able to see past the training and realize that if you aren’t willing to put it into effect and follow through with your intentions, then you are wasting your time. A true opponent or attacker will be able to call your bluff, sensing if you are insincere or lacking confidence in your abilities.

If you find that you have exhausted all other available escape plans and that a physical response is your only choice, you will need to accept this with complete confidence. Your ability to inflict damage–in order to flee–relies on not pulling your punches, and following through with your trained responses. This one step will be the one that saves your life–after all, recognizing the need for personal protection and actively preparing for a potential danger won’t do anything at all if you aren’t prepared to use it.

With these three essential steps comes a lifetime of practice and dedication on your behalf. Once you have recognized, prepared and committed yourself to taking responsibility for your own personal protection, you will find that your heightened senses and awareness of your surroundings will enhance your daily interactions in so many more ways.

For more excellent self defense facts you can also check out this engaging list of Five Personal Protection Facts They Don’t Want You to Know.

About the Author: Lucas Gregson is a Personal Security Specialist with a keen desire to help people stop behaving as victims and take more of a responsibly active role in their own protection, whether through the use of self defense products or a course in personal security.

• The inaugural Crossing The Pond Martial Expo was held last weekend in West Seattle. This seminar brought together five six well-known and highly skilled instructors of martial arts and self-defense from across the United States and United Kingdom.
• Over the weekend, two one-hour workshops were held by instructors Al Peasland, Nicholas Yang, Kris Wilder, Rory Miller, Marc “Animal” MacYoung, and Iain “Tuna Fish Pizza” Abernethy.
• Approximately thirty-five people were in attendance. Among the students, at least one third appeared to be black belts and/or instructors themselves.
• Participants were open-minded, polite, and patient–especially with this author, who hadn’t done any Karate training since elementary school. Egoism, inappropriate competition, and input from self-declared “assistant instructors” was minimal. This is a credit to the affable seminar host, Kris Wilder, and the other teachers as well, who together set the right tone for the event.

Al Peasland on Crossing The Pond

• Each instructor taught from their own background, first introducing concepts and principles, and then a set of simple partner exercises to instill and explore their application. To the extent that the seminar had an overall theme, it was on applying traditional martial arts for real-world self-defense.
• Due to the diverse backgrounds of the attendees, and the limited amount of time available to each instructor, only basic techniques were taught. It was not a time for gathering new material, so much as reviewing old material from new perspectives and with new players.
• Whether by design or coincidence, most of the sections related to, and built upon each other. Still, I think the expo would have benefited from tighter coordination between the instructors, on which problems (e.g. developing power, interpreting kata, dealing with multiple attackers) they would individually or jointly address.
• Under my gold standard for martial arts seminars, each instructor spends a few minutes with each student: not only observing and correcting, but also interacting with them. This is how martial skills are most clearly transmitted, and by this measure the expo was a little disappointing. Sure, I was choked by Al, and Kris punched me a few times at my request, but I didn’t get twisted up by Nicholas, and Rory never hit me with a folding chair. Maybe next time.
• Under my platinum standard for martial arts seminars, the lectures and demonstrations are professionally filmed, and students have the option of buying the DVD afterwards, either for review or as a memento. A nice compromise would be to make some video clips available online, either on YouTube or a private website.

Iain Abernathy on Crossing The Pond

From my notes, here are a few of the central lessons taught by each instructor.

Iain Abernethy

1. Karate is not an art for fighting a single opponent (in the manner of a contest or a duel). It is an art for defending yourself against ruffians.
2. For self-defense, forget about inflicting pain and go for the knockout. If you are holding an opponent’s head, don’t grasp it so tightly that you support their skull and brain (thus preventing a knockout).
3. Stances are not meant to be held during an altercation. Move in and out of them as appropriate.

Kris Wilder

1. If a stranger threatens you, it is safe to assume they have fighting experience or some other hidden advantage, and they expect to win. Do not ignore the basis of their assumption.
2. Never enter a fair fight if you have any choice in the matter. If you can’t escape, then cheat early and often.
3. Spiraling force is more effective than linear force, and punching the body is less effective than punching the mind.

Nicholas Yang

1. Physical conditioning is extremely important. Learning techniques is a waste of time if you aren’t conditioned to apply them well.
2. A fight is like a dance: one person leads and another person follows. It is advantageous to lead.
3. In the real world, nobody ever leaves their limb hanging out after an attempt to strike. Make use of the time and the space created when they draw back.

Al Peasland

1. A fight is like a discussion. Someone else may start the conversation, but you should quickly turn it into a monologue.
2. There are two ways to deal with a threat. First, to appear even more dangerous yourself, such that they don’t want to take the risk of bothering you. Second, to immediately take a submissive pose, such that they become relaxed. Their relaxation will create an opportunity for surprise attack.
3. It is important to have a variety of working tools in your toolbox. It is also important to have one or two favorites, such as a rear naked choke, that you can apply successfully without thinking.

Rory Miller and Marc MacYoung

1. If a train is coming at you, there is no benefit in backing up. You have to actually step off the tracks.
2. Every violent assault is conducted according to a set of rules. It is a mistake to pretend there are no rules. The first goal is to identify the rules, and to know which are immutable, and which can be rewritten or broken.
3. The ideal movement does not just avoid damage, or inflict damage, or improve your position for follow-up action. It does all of these things simultaneously.

I am pleased to note that many of the expo teaching topics have already been discussed on this blog. Others will be reviewed in the near future.
In My Dojo, Cheaters And Failures Are Welcome
Defend Yourself the Taoist Way
Why Wing Chun Punches Never Miss
If Street Fights Were More Like Final Fight…
Xingyi And The Myth of The Defensive Martial Art
The Unwritten Rules of Mixed Martial Arts
9 Famous Artists’ Quotations on Martial Arts
I Challenge Kimbo Slice to a Fair Fight
Are You Fit Enough to Fight?
How to Discover The Purpose of Your Kata
Martial Arts of Addition and Subtraction
Movement, Martial Arts, and Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

Crossing The Pond Martial Expo 2010 will be repeated this weekend in Coventry, England. To register, visit their website. Whether you can make this one or not, I would be interested in hearing about the best and worst aspects of seminars that you have attended in the past.