How To Debunk A Scam Artist

December 14, 2013, 8:42 pm

Meet Jukka Lampila, the Finnish founder of the EFO system - Empty Force martial arts. EFO's techniques are purported to incapacitate attackers with little or no contact. Lampila wears a hakama - traditional garb worn in the aiki arts as well as some other Japanese budo, for what it's worth.

Earlier this month an EFO workshop was attended by some well behaved skeptics in Spain. Watch below and notice how the attendant skeptics respond to ukemi (attack/defend scenarios) from the "master" versus the brainwashed sheep. The clip has gone viral, which was uploaded just a few days ago.

From the EFO website:

In our training philosophy, an important aspect is not to try to use any physical force or pain to gain control of the attacker. With Efo, there are no specific forms or technics and each trainee applies it the way it best fits oneself.

In Efo there are no "courses" that would start and end somewhere. Instead, the fundamental principles (relaxation, mind and breathing) are exercised during every session. Thus, anyone can join and train any time. And if you can't join each and every session, you won't miss anything irreplaceable.

Spoiler alert: it doesn't work. You're not missing anything.

What would Master Ken say?

(h/t: Skepticool)

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Muay Thai Freedom Fighters

March 13, 2014, 7:41 pm

≫ Next: Teenage Samaritan Defends Kid Against Bully

≪ Previous: How To Debunk A Scam Artist

At the Khlong Phai prison, Thai prisoners vie for an early release for successful participation in sanctioned Muay Thai kickboxing matches against foreign combatants. This practice for an inmate's freedom is time honored as legend has its beginning in the eighteenth century.

In a story that dates to 1774, Thai fighter Nai Khanomtom found himself in a Burmese prison where he was forced to fight nine Burmese champions in a row for King Mangra. Khanomotom defeated every opponent and the Burmese king was so impressed that he granted his freedom along with two wives - giving birth to a tradition of pardoning outstanding fighters.

Muay Thai - the Art of Eight Limbs (use of fists, elbows, knees, and feet) - is a brutal fighting style that pre-dates Okinawan karate by centuries. Most MMA fighters have incorporated the training regimen and techniques of Muay Thai into their fighting arsenal.

Thailand's Department of Corrections sanctions these bouts, simply called "Prison Fight." Fighters are paired up on the spot, loosely based on height and weight. In addition to a reduced sentence, inmates who win are entitled to cash prizes. The more fights a prisoner wins in the tournament, the more his sentence is reduced. (A prisoner's behavior is carefully assessed prior to release.) Not surprisingly, the Thai prisoners win nine out of ten fights against their foreign opponents.

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Teenage Samaritan Defends Kid Against Bully

March 15, 2014, 11:33 am

≫ Next: Lower Back Issues

≪ Previous: Muay Thai Freedom Fighters

When 16-year-old Roman Rodriguez walked out of his father's Kenpo karate school in Holyoke, MA little did he realize that his training mettle would be sorely tested. Thereupon he witnessed an 11-year-old boy with mental disabilities being harassed by a group of rowdies. The apparent ringleader was a strapping 14-year-old at six foot and 220 pounds. When Roman intervened, the instigator - identified only (and ironically) as "Angel" - attempted to hit him, but was summarily taken down by Roman. "He's a lot bigger than me, so I only knocked him down and restrained him," the 16-year-old, who has earned a purple belt, said. "I wanted to avoid things getting worse."

Unfortunately things did get worse.

The bullying Angel runs home and returns to the scene with his mother to settle the score. Apparently picking on young kids who are mentally challenged is a rite of passage for aspiring punks. Only now our Angel is brandishing a large kitchen knife ! It would seem Angel and his mom have some disabilities of their own, proof that bullying and sociopathic tendencies are not merely learned but highly heritable traits.

Thinking quickly and smartly, Roman ran back into the karate school where his father Ricardo was getting ready to close for the day.

"I witnessed this kid's mother encourage her son to stab mine. She was instigating a fight," Ricardo said. "My first reaction was to protect my son, but also to avoid any kind of tragedy."

Within minutes, officers of the Holyoke Police Department were on the scene. The 14-year-old was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. His mother, Jomery Rivera, was charged with disorderly conduct.

Reflecting on the high-intensity situation, Ricardo said he is proud of his son. "Just as I taught him, he defended someone who couldn't defend himself."

The "best part" came a day later, Ricardo said, when another of his students who witnessed the incident, 11-year-old Timothy Colón, gave Roman a certificate of recognition to thank him.

"It emphasizes what I already knew; he's a really good kid," he added.

I see a black belt in this fine young man's future. His father is rightly proud.

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Lower Back Issues

March 23, 2014, 7:40 pm

≫ Next: Leaving My Style

≪ Previous: Teenage Samaritan Defends Kid Against Bully

A typical karate class commences with jumbi undo (warm up exercises) to prevent injuries sustained during heavy sparring, drills or other complex movements. Still, being able to crank out a hundred knuckle pushups or run around the deck for ten laps may seem tedious if not downright unnecessary. A warm up routine is designed to prevent injuries, not to gauge stamina or waste class time.

Karateka are used to performing dozens of crunches, leg-outs and leg raises at the beginning of class. There's a good reason for this as having a strong abdominal wall is a prerequisite for core strength and stability. The antagonistic muscle region to the abdomen is the lower back. And a fairly common injury that visits martial-art practitioners - really, just about everybody at some time - seems to be lower back pain.

Weak back muscles will lead to injury, but even the exercises that promote this area can be problematic, especially when care isn't taken. Years ago while performing heavy barbell squats I felt excruciating pain in my lower back that resulted in sciatica. I was able to go to work, but for several weeks I had mild paralysis in my left glute, hamstring and calf. In 1970 Bruce Lee famously blew out his back performing 'good-mornings' -- a lower back exercise that involves holding a barbell on the shoulders behind the neck and lowering the torso parallel to the floor. Lee was reportedly using 125 lbs. for his good-morning routine -- 90 percent of his bodyweight! He was bedridden for six months, took time off to write, but eventually rehabilitated himself and resumed his training and movie career.

I've never even attempted good-mornings. Back in the day I'd perform heavy deadlifts, but after my squatting episode I became leery of hurting myself again. So for the past several years I've been using a hyperextension apparatus for my lower back. What I use is very similar to the one in the image below.

Some pointers:

Lie face down on a hyperextension bench, tucking your ankles securely under the footpads.
Adjust the upper pad if possible so your upper thighs lie flat across the wide pad, leaving enough room for you to bend at the waist without any restriction.
With your body straight, cross your arms in front of you (my preference) or behind your head. This will be your starting position. Tip: You can also hold a weight plate for extra resistance in front of you under your crossed arms.
Start bending forward slowly at the waist as far as you can while keeping your back flat. Inhale as you perform this movement. Keep moving forward until you feel a nice stretch on the hamstrings and you can no longer keep going without a rounding of the back. Tip: Never round the back as you perform this exercise. Also, some people can go farther than others. The key thing is that you go as far as your body allows you to without rounding the back.
Slowly raise your torso back to the initial position as you inhale. Tip: Avoid the temptation to arch your back past a straight line. Also, do not swing the torso at any time in order to protect the back from injury.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

I do hyperextensions with some added resistance. I'll hold a weight plate to my chest with my arms crossed. I'll do thirty reps, place the weight down, clasp my hands behind my head and immediately pump out twenty more reps. And that's it. That's my lower back routine. Hyperextensions primarily work the quadratus lumborum muscles in the lower back and the spinal erector muscles that extend the length of the vertebral column. To a lesser extent the trapezius muscles that extend from the base of the neck to the upper back are activated and also the hamstrings. (Hamstrings in particular need to be stretched out after this routine as they will be very tight.) I perform this routine in conjunction with abs; sometimes before ab exercises, sometimes after. My rep range is high to promote endurance, modest strength and plenty of blood flow to an area of the body that is more bone, cartilage and sacral nerves than muscle.

For lower back exercise some martial-art routines employ use of the 'butterfly' or 'superman' where you lie on your stomach then lift your head and limbs a few inches off the mat. They're challenging but they're static. For this reason I prefer and recommend the full-range hyperextension for lower back. In my opinion they're safe and very effective. Core stability that includes developing a strong lower back is imperative to performing any physical activity, whether you play golf, work for a living, or practice martial arts.

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Leaving My Style

April 1, 2014, 7:11 am

≫ Next: Translations of Chinese Martial Arts Manuals

≪ Previous: Lower Back Issues

I have decided to embark on a new path. It is with a heavy heart that I will no longer be associated in any way with Isshinryu karate. You read that right. This is no joke, I assure you. In the coming weeks I'll be traveling to Italy to begin my tutelage under the world renowned grandmaster Gilberto Pauciullo. I'm sure you've all heard of him -- who hasn't? Professor Pauciullo holds the distinction of earning more black belts and honorary certificates than anyone in martial arts history. He has attained 10th dan black-belt rankings in twenty-two styles; five in jiu-jitsu, one in mexed [sic] martial arts (MMA from Mexico?), one in plain ol' self-defense, and others that I have to admit I've never even heard of.

Why waste my time with one style when I can have pretty much all of them?

Check out this (abridged) list of the master's achievements:

10th Dan – Katory Yama RyuJu-Jutsu
10th Dan – Okonawa [sic] Go JuRyu
10th Dan – Street Rapid Defense System
10th Dan – WOSD/Kapap System
10th Dan – Self-Defense
10th Dan – Agni Kempo
10th Dan – I.F.Knife Fighting System
10th Dan – Ju-Boxing Full Contact
10th Dan – Shin KakutoJutsu-Hanshi
10th Dan – Gung Chi Pai Gung Fu System
10th Dan – Ju-Hitsu AJJIF
10th Dan – Ju-Jitsu IJJF
10th Dan – Ju-Jitsu ACJJ
10th Dan – Ju-Jitsu UAJJ
10th Dan – Martial Arts Police Method
10th Dan – Makoto Ryu Ju-Jitsu
10th Dan – Bu-JutsuSigung
10th Dan – Mexed Martial Arts
10th Dan – SERCSU [?]
10th Dan – Dim Mak
10th Dan – Nefusen Submission Ju-Jitsu
10th Dan – Vietnamese Combat Martial Arts
9th Dan – Ken Jitsu
9th Dan – Tatsu Seiki Kikou-Do
9th Dan – Kamishin Kai Ju-Jitsu
9th Dan – Chinese Kempo
9th Dan – Kokusai Sin JutsuKempo Kai
8th Dan – Judo
8th Dan – Kimuchino Aikido
7th Dan – A.O.S. Tai Chi System
7th Dan – Ashihara Bu-Do kai
7th Dan – Ting Ho Dao
6th Dan – SeishinryokuGoju Kick Boxing
6th Dan – Kendo
4th Dan – FULUNGJJ [??]
2nd Dan – Sakibo

I never knew the Police Department had their own martial art, complete with a kyu/dan ranking system. (To say nothing of the Japanese rank of dan being used in Chinese and Vietnamese arts.) Pauciullo also claims 11th duan (?) in something called Man Seer Kung Pai Kung Fu, a style he created in his spare time before he became too busy collecting black belts. I heard he was invited to enter the UFC but declined because, obviously, the techniques he uses are just too lethal. I have my work cut out for me. When I come back from overseas I'll be describing my training experiences in future posts. Wish me luck!

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Translations of Chinese Martial Arts Manuals

April 7, 2014, 10:20 pm

≫ Next: Too Extreme For The UFC

≪ Previous: Leaving My Style

For those into Chinese boxing and weapons systems here's a site written by Paul Brennan that translates into English an impressive collection of original Chinese works by various authors dated from 1875 to 1963 on Taiji, Shaolin, Xingyiquan, among other arts.

Texts include sections on self-defense, saber training, pushing-hands techniques, fitness, diet and philosophy.

Esoteric topics such as breathwork ("energy" or chi) and intent (xing) are discussed in Li Jianqiu's treatise on The Art of Xingyi Boxing (1920):

If you gather energy into your chest, you will gasp and it will not stay for long. If you gather energy into your lower abdomen, it will stay long and not hinder your breathing. It will accumulate gradually until it is abundant. This kind of energy is vast, and is more readily led by the intent.

Explanations and illustrations appear throughout on form and function as well as the differences between internal and external theory. Many of these works emphasize the unity of mind, body and spirit along with encouraging the would-be aspirant to cultivate a proper attitude and moral integrity in relation to the martial arts.

[Note to readers: Chinese martial arts are not my forte; for those schooled in this area I'll leave it to you to decide the value of these texts in today's world.]

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Too Extreme For The UFC

April 11, 2014, 9:50 pm

≫ Next: Self-Defense We'd Like To See

≪ Previous: Translations of Chinese Martial Arts Manuals

Years ago I went to an Eskrima workshop that was offered at the karate school that I was attending at the time. Eskrima is a Filipino martial art that employs the use of rattan sticks (among other weapons) of various length, similar to the Japanese jo. Eskrima calls for a pair of sticks to be used in unison (at least as what I had been shown on this day). The strikes, parries, blocks and counters of the style knows no bounds. For sure, any type of weapons training will end things quickly in the real world. For the uninitiated, one hard whack on the knuckles from these things and it's game over.

In the late 80s, students of Dan Inosanto (a master Eskrimador and former disciple of Bruce Lee) developed the Dog Brothers style of full-contact weapons fighting. Practitioners use little or next-to-no protective gear for single and double-stick sparring, but also mock knifework and even chain whipping that combines standup hand-to-hand fighting and ground game similar to MMA complete with tapouts. Matches are often brutal and bloody preceded by the caveat that "there isn’t any suing each other...no one spends the night in the hospital" and at the end of the day "we’re friends."

The credo of the Dog Brothers system, "The greater the dichotomy, the profounder the transformation. Higher Consciousness through Harder Contact," refers to the centering of awareness despite the intense adrenaline rush and pain experienced during a real fight. It is with the hope that the practitioner's lessons "carries over to the rest of one’s life; and should one ever need to use one’s skills that it will be done with a calmness that allows for good judgement as well as good skill."

When the UFC began building steam in the mid 90s, they considered using Dog Brothers stickfighting for airtime. But after viewing a demo tape of DB in action, the UFC decided against it as it was deemed too violent, even for the type of viewership they were catering to. A letter dated 1995 to DB's headquaters reads:

[T]he UFC tournament has pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable in TV sports entertainment. The political foes that this event has attracted, because of the tournament, has made us acutely sensitive to what the limits are on North American television. So it is with great reluctance that I must tell you that stickfighting, such as your group has pioneered in the USA, is just too extreme for the UFC format at this time. We have the utmost respect for your group's skills and fighting spirit. Perhaps like the UFC, your type of fighting is just ahead of its time.

In addition to the stick (30") a DB stylist should be able to handle himself proficiently with clubs, knives, staff (54"), improvised weapons and empty-handed techniques in all ranges and against multiple assailants. Like Filipino arts, empty-handed skills are learned after weapons training.

The Dog Brothers martial arts are not for everyone says the group's guiding force, Marc 'Crafty Dog' Denny. Players could fortify themselves with heavy protective gear, a la kendo, but that would be counterproductive. "The danger and risk are necessary to the transformitive nature of the experience."

(h/t: reddit/martialarts -- link includes mildly graphic video)

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Self-Defense We'd Like To See

April 19, 2014, 2:41 pm

≫ Next: Blast From The Past

≪ Previous: Too Extreme For The UFC

Master Ken's quick tutorial on how to counter a two-handed wrist grab.

Wait for it...

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Blast From The Past

July 13, 2014, 6:38 pm

≫ Next: Looks That Kill: The Alpha-Male Face

≪ Previous: Self-Defense We'd Like To See

Those guys could use a little more room. (I gotta get me some barbells like that!)

Now go check out this fine article on Okinawa's history of karate and kobudo.

(photo h/t: Isshin - Concentration the Art)

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Looks That Kill: The Alpha-Male Face

July 24, 2014, 10:37 pm

≫ Next: The Family Tree of Fighting

≪ Previous: Blast From The Past

A friend sent over the image above that made me think of somebody I used to train with. (The meme is titled Becoming A Black Belt: Expectation vs. Reality.) "Alan" was an intellectual type with an advanced degree and a facial symmetry that made him appear like a milquetoast. He was a decent karateka, a good fighter, but he looked like a pushover. Depending on one's perspective this could be either good or bad. At any rate, Alan was a self-described geek that could kick ass.

Judging a book by its cover is something we all do, but research has revealed that face symmetry in males can reveal how effective they are as fighters. In one study,

The researchers first analysed the facial structure of 241 competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Why choose this competition? "[T]he 'no‐holds‐ barred' nature of the fights and the process of 'cutting' serially defeated combatants from the championship makes for a somewhat Darwinian environment, well‐suited to the investigation of fighting ability," they explained.

The paper reveals that "the width of a man's face [determines] with accuracy his likely fighting ability." Survival of the fittest apparently correlates with having a relatively wide mug, or in scientific lingo 'facial Width-to-Height Ratio' (fWHR). The paper also suggests that a wider face may have evolved as a structural mechanism to be more resistant to punches.

So I did a little more digging on this facial-width indicator, and another study claims that traits such as racism are prevalent among males with broad faces, adding that "fWHR may be a physical manifestation of dominance motives in males and may be best described as an inclination toward interpersonal social dominance and related behaviors."

Both studies cite the presence of high levels of testosterone in males as the culprit. I've posted about the male hormone previously.

As far as facial configurations go as a predictor for fighting prowess or social (or anti-social) dominance, I'm a tad skeptical. I'm reminded of the old wives tale of "criminals have shifty eyes" from my parent's generation. Perhaps more research needs to be done before fighting ability is potentially conflated with negative stereotypes due to face broadness.

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The Family Tree of Fighting

July 28, 2014, 12:54 pm

≫ Next: The Isshinryu Front-Kick: Varieties, Chambering and Distance

≪ Previous: Looks That Kill: The Alpha-Male Face

(Click on image to expand)

This is interesting.

I've never heard of Muslim Kung-Fu, Glima, Indian Kickboxing, Gatka or Wheelchair Fencing until I stumbled upon this chart.

Glima is a style of Nordic combat devised by the Vikings about 1200 years ago. It is sometimes referred to as Icelandic Jiu-Jitsu. Here are a pair of Glima grapplers:

Gatka is a weapons system practiced by Sikhs that was created in the 15th century in northern India. Modern exponents use sticks in lieu of a live blade to simulate swordfighting. Here are a duo of Gatka fighters:

I had no idea there was such a thing as Wheelchair fencing. Here is a bout featuring duelists in wheelchairs:

I'm still discovering.

(h/t: Shapeless Randomness)

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The Isshinryu Front-Kick: Varieties, Chambering and Distance

August 9, 2014, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Realistic Kung-Fu Fight Scene

≪ Previous: The Family Tree of Fighting

The front-kick is the most basic kick taught in karate, tae kwon do, or just about any striking style in martial arts. To execute, the knee is pulled up to waist-level (chambered) while the shin hangs down. The leg is then straightened to strike the intended target. Novices are taught to kick the midsection, but other targets include the shin, thigh, groin, or even head. In tournaments, Chuck Norris would fake a front kick to the gut, retract, then snap it to up the head for an easy point. Most practitioners either aren't that quick (or flexible), or prefer other kicks that are less detectable such as roundhouse, hook, crescent, and spin-around-back.

Sensei Victor Smith has a nice article on the front-kicking techniques of Tatsuo Shimabuku (the founder of Isshinryu karate). Some old video clips of the master (c. 1960) are posted featuring the mae geri (front kick) from the Isshinryu kata canon. As Smith-san notes:

If we have been observing his [Shimabuku's] technique,

1. First he raises his thigh parallel to the floor.
2. Once the leg is chambered parallel to the floor, the leg kicks out and returns in a hinging motion, front front kick or rear front kick.

This kicking method means the foot strikes out from the chamber and not slingshoting out as the leg/knee rises.

It gives less time for the opponent to recognize the kick is coming. That also means there is less time to try and catch the leg.

His remark "less time to recognize the kick is coming" raised my eyebrow at first. If I see my opponent has his leg chambered of course he is going to kick me, was my initial thinking. But from a chambered leg (with the shin held at 90-degrees) I have no idea which kick is coming. A chambered leg could be the prelude to one of the following:

Front kick
Roundhouse kick
Hook kick
Side kick

A "slingshot" style kick could be a telegraph if you're really sharp. Don Nagle, who trained under Shimabuku in the late 50s, supposedly could block a kick as it was rising from the floor with his forward foot! Now that's a neat trick. Personally, I'm too reflex challenged to pull this kind of move off. I've never seen anyone even attempt this. Attempts at catching kicks I've seen plenty, usually among beginners. In some dojo I've trained in catching an incoming kick is seen as taboo, even though (or maybe because) MMA players do it all the time. The time-honored way is to slip the kick (ideal) or block it with your arm. (The latter is widely taught in karate. Disclaimer: bad idea.) At any rate, I believe that chambering most kicks is good practice. As a last resort the raising knee could be delivered as a hiza-tsui (knee-strike) if your attacker manages to close the distance.

The last video in the blog shows a very brief clip of the master performing what appears to be an application from the kata Sunsu, his creation and a form particular to Isshinryu karate. It is a front thrust kick (as opposed to the snapping variety) in defense of a double-arm grab. (The image above illustrates present-day exponents demonstrating this.)* In this scenario ma'ai or striking distance is minimal between you and the attacker. In this manner, the thrust "kick" is performed more like a push-off.

Generally, the front thrust kick is a very different animal from the more widely taught front snap kick in traditional karate. A front snap kick utilizes mostly the vastus medialis portion of the quadriceps muscle and requires a quick recoil, striking with the ball of the foot (If you're wearing footwear as most folks do when out and about, the ball-of-the-foot application becomes moot, but I digress.). A front thrust kick is akin to kicking down a door; you're really driving more with your hips and striking with your heel. Thrust kicks have more knockdown power than snap kicks. A staple in Muay Thai kickboxing, the front thrust kick has been favored among the Japanese military for use in combative self-defense.^†

The front kick, a basic technique that is relatively easy to execute, has viable self-defense applications and variations that shouldn't be given short shrift in lieu of so-called flashier kicks.

* This particular bunkai of Sunsu is how it was originally taught to me by a high ranking instructor who trained in Okinawa. I believe it's the correct way. Since then I've visited a number of schools through the years seeing other things applied. It seems everyone has their own version of Isshinryu.

^†Donn Draeger 1974. Modern Bujutsu and Budo. [p. 75-76] Wheatherhill, Inc.

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Realistic Kung-Fu Fight Scene

October 4, 2014, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Iron Fist Training

≪ Previous: The Isshinryu Front-Kick: Varieties, Chambering and Distance

Here's a short clip featuring a Xing Yi Quan man dishing out some abuse on multiple attackers. The dramatization utilizes moves from one of the style's forms or toalu. Xing Yi Quan, or Intention Boxing is one of the three major systems of Internal styles of Chinese martial arts, the other two being Baguazhang and Taijiquan. Of the three, Xing Yi is the most "external", i.e., having linear and explosive movements. Various hand techniques are featured including "crushing" and "exploding" fist and eagle claw, along with a judo-type throw and arm-bar/break.

The fight sequence, performed by stuntman and Xing Yi master Keith Min, conforms to the ancient Five Elements philosophy (wu xing) that governs cosmic cycles and human physiology. The Five Elements are wood, earth, water, fire, and metal.

DISCLAIMER: Mildly graphic

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Iron Fist Training

October 7, 2014, 9:28 am

≫ Next: The Shin as a Weapon

≪ Previous: Realistic Kung-Fu Fight Scene

Let me state that this is not a tutorial on how to develop manos de piedra - "hands of stone" - which is the famous moniker of prizefighter Roberto Duran. My use of a provocative title may be misleading. For the record I don't subscribe to the idea that hands can be conditioned into something akin to an anvil . Hands did not evolve to break open body parts and certain traditional training methods to toughen them can wreak havoc. Actually, this post was inspired by an impromptu sparring session I had this past weekend (my first in quite a while) that resulted in the first two knuckles on my left hand to swell to frightening proportions. I wore cotton hand-guards that leave the fingers exposed, and while my striking force was left in reserve for the most part, apparently, that wasn't good enough. This is really the result of chronic damage from years of sparring. (Note to readers: When you feel pain from an activity, stopping said activity is advised.) A colleague told me I should perform pushups on my knuckles to avert future injury. Another suggested training on a more time-honored method: The makiwara. I don't think so to either one.

A grandmaster of Matsubayashi-ryu once told me that any respectable dojo should have a makiwara on the premises. A makiwara is a wooden striking post designed to develop punching prowess and accuracy, not to put callouses on knuckles. Karateka that have knuckles that look like they're jacked on steriods may look impressive and could be held as a perverse badge of honor. Ego trips like this can go either way as one Okinawan karate historian tells:

Arakaki's father often warned him about making large black callouses on his knuckles. One reason was that, as his father was a merchant, customers would, on seeing the swollen and deformed hands, be easily frightened away. Another reason was that local ruffians would often try to pick fights on the pseudo-karate-ka who flouted such grotesque trophies. 'After practice on the makiwara,' Arakaki told me, 'it is a good idea to wash one's hands in salt water (or urine) and then alcohol; if the skin is cut, always carefully sterilise the affected area.'¹

There's a market that offers a wide range of liniments with names like "Iron Hit Wine" and Tiger Balm" that, while pricey at roughly $20 for a 2 oz. dose, provides a more sanitary method of treatment than urine. Once during an Isshinryu karate demonstration held for US marines on Okinawa, Tatsuo Shimabuku cut his hand while driving a spike through a slab of wood. There was no liniment or any first-aid handy, so in a pinch he applied some dirt to the wound to stop the bleeding.

I've never trained on a makiwara, which is supposedly of Chinese origin, not Okinawan as many believe.² Indeed, the Chinese method of "Iron Bone Hand" training, developed as a method for maiming and killing, appears in Article 20 of the Bubishi stating:

The Iron Bone Hand technique can only be developed through relentless training. After thrusting the bare hand into a container filled with hot sand on a daily basis for many weeks, the fingers gradually become conditioned enough to initiate the secondary stage of training. After thrusting the bare hand into a container filled with gravel on a daily basis for many weeks, the fingers will become even more conditioned so that the final stage of conditioning can be initiated. The final stage of conditioning requires one to thrust the bare hand into a container of even larger stones. This special king of conditioning will lead to hand deformity and the loss of one's fingernails. Alternative training methods often include thrusting the bare hand into bundles of wrapped bamboo in an effort to condition the fingers for lethal stabbing and poking.³

There's a tenet of unknown origin that advises to "attack soft tissue with a hard-surface hand-strike, and a hard area with a soft-surface hand-strike." Hammerfist, shuto (blade-hand), and palm-heel use the fleshier part of the hand that tend to be less injurious than a closed-fist if your target area is someone's head. In boxing, heavy hitters occasionally break their hands delivering the KO punch, this in spite of wrapping their hands in plenty of gauze and donning 10 or 12 oz. gloves. You'll also never see a boxer hit any kind of a bag without gloves. And some karate men, such as Isshinryu's Angi Uezu, have been known to doggedly hit that makiwara bare-handed. Somebody's wrong here.

1. Mark Bishop 1999. Okinawan Karate: Teachers, styles and secret techniques. Tuttle Publishing.
2. Ibid.
3. Patrick McCarthy 1995. The Bible of Karate: Bubishi. Tuttle Publishing.

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The Shin as a Weapon

October 12, 2014, 9:43 am

≫ Next: The Art of Fighting Without Fighting

≪ Previous: Iron Fist Training

Yesterday I received an email from a reader regarding my last post on the perils of hand conditioning. Here's part of it:

Been training in ----- for about a year. In my school we don't punch anything hard but my sensei has us round kick the heavy bag with our shins. Man that s#!t hurts! He [the instructor] says the thai boxers have shins like steel, this is the way to do it. What do you think? My legs are all lumped up now I'm thinking of quitting.

Among other things I advised him to let his shins heal before he resumes training. Like makiwara training for punches, shin-striking hard or semi-hard objects are not my forte. I've never really been schooled in this method, but I'm guessing that the shinbone (tibia) should not take the full brunt of impact, but when performing the roundhouse kick the toes should be angled down a bit so that the muscular part of the shin (tibialis anterior) makes predominate contact.

In Muay Thai shin-strikes are a signature move. There's a lot of controversy and misunderstanding about shin-striking delivered as a roundhouse kick. Traditionally, Muay Thai fighters would kick banana trees till they keel over. Banana trees, unlike most North American variety, are relatively soft and flexible. Still, being able to fell one is a formidable task. It's not hard to fathom how novices would end up crippling themselves after hearing about these feats.

It's debatable as to the effectiveness of shin conditioning in the martial arts. Some use a rolling pin device for the shins to deaden the nerves, thereby raising the pain threshold. There is also a psychological component involved concerning pain tolerance. According to Wolff's Law, bones that are subject to incremental overload will respond by becoming stronger and denser. Evidence suggests that activities such as weightlifting and jumping support this thesis. Other research has revealed that microcrack damage actually decreases bone brittleness, making the bone less susceptible to further fracturing.

A low-section roundhouse shin-strike to the opponent's outside thigh can be highly effective in a match, but it can come at a cost. In a UFC title match held in 2013 between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman, the former attempted a low-target shin-strike that was leg-checked by the latter with catastrophic results. Silva had orthopedic surgery to repair his broken tibia with an intramedullary metal rod infused in the bone cavity. He is scheduled to resume fighting in 2015.

I hate to say it, but every fighter Silva is matched with from here on out is going to target that left leg. He may also be gun-shy with kicking (or even checking kicks) with that leg, another impediment. I really think Silva should call it a day, unlike my reader with bruised shins who probably just needs a break (no pun) if he intends to stick it out in a school that he otherwise likes. Hopefully this young man won't continue getting hurt and is getting qualified coaching.

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The Art of Fighting Without Fighting

October 20, 2014, 8:28 am

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Somebody recently asked me which are the best techniques to use in a "real street fight." Are grappling moves superior to striking methods? Should punches be favored over kicks? I advised him to give equal regard to all things -- in training. That the best strategy in any fight is really not to fight. Later, I was reminded of a lore from medieval Japan about a samurai, Tsukahara Bokuden, a story I first encountered in the works of Donn Draeger. A modern version of this tale appears in this great scene from Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon. Lee's character is threatened on a boat en route to a martial arts tournament by another competitor.

What follows is a lesson in the ultimate martial-art "technique":

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On Using Deadly Force

October 21, 2014, 6:12 pm

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Conflict Research Group International (CRGI) represents a coalition of professionals pertaining to self-defense for citizens and their legal ramifications. On this panel are experts in fields ranging from firearms, security, law enforcement, and martial arts, including the renown authors on violence and self-defense, Marc MacYoung and Rory Miller.

According to CRGI the 'Basic Standard' relating to a life-and-death altercation reads thusly:

You may legally use deadly force only when there is an immediate and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm to the innocent.

In order to meet this basic standard, you must be able to convince a jury that you (or the person you defended) were an innocent party, and that you were in immediate and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm. This is contingent on a few things.

Three basic elements must be present before lethal force is used. These elements are called Ability, Opportunity, and Jeopardy. When these three things are present, any reasonable person would believe that a life was in danger, so the defendant’s legal position is very strong. But if one of the elements is missing, the defendant may have a hard time convincing a jury that shooting the attacker was really necessary.

Ability means that the other person has the power to kill or to cripple you.
Opportunity means that the circumstances are such that the other person would be able to use his ability against you.
Jeopardy means that the other person’s actions or words provide you with a reasonably-perceived belief that he intends to kill you or cripple you.

To reiterate, the caveat here is that the presence of only two elements does not justify using deadly force.

Read the rest here...

(h/t: reddit/martialarts)

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Profile of a Martial Arts Cult Leader

December 22, 2014, 9:43 pm

≫ Next: Patience

≪ Previous: On Using Deadly Force

Here's a story about a guy from my neck of the woods that exemplifies what a martial arts cult is all about. For years he's adorned lampposts and telephone poles with his hand-written signs that beckons all to "Fight Back" that includes his phone number and lists aiki-jiu-jitsu, aikido, and kung-fu as part of the package, along with a drawing of a singular sai (tri-pronged truncheon).

I've never met "Sensei Jerry" but I know of two people who briefly trained with him, one of them a former instructor. The stories that have come back include students having to defend against (or threatened with) a myriad of weapons, such as bats, live blades, 2x4s, and spears.

Another account:

Hell, there was even an annual outing called, “The Hunt”, where the students would be let loose to survive and scavenge in an open area while Sensei Jerry, and assigned “hunters”, would hunt the hiding students. And the hunt didn’t start in the woods, no, it started that week and you could be attacked at any time, even while at work, at home, or even in your bed. The website’s last noted hunt was from 2012 where Jerry described a team leader who was kidnapped in his sleep the night before the hunt was to begin…

An anonymous source from the same site corroborates with his experience at the school:

Enter Sensei Jerry. “Class” began with a recap of the most recent “hunt” that took place in Connecticut. Those who had somehow performed in an unsatisfactory manner were punished…with swirlies. I kid you not. Four other members of the group picked them up, carried them to the bathroom, and did the deed. The Sensei then congratulated everyone on a job well done, and began espousing the benefits that come with training – being able to disguise oneself in any situation, stretching out one’s “meridian system” (according to Sensei Jerry, computers and TV were a government plot to lower life expectancy and the only way to combat this was with the “good fear”). Then, it was time for class to begin. What followed can only be described as: absolutely f*#!ing insane.

Martial arts cults are nothing new, of course. A while back a reader recommended a book called Herding The Moo that describes the experience of training at a cultish school, from white to black belt. I never got around to reading it, but I've read other accounts about how cults actually develop from the psychological perspective of an adept in Eastern philosophy who has researched phony spiritual leaders or gurus.* "Characteristics of Pathological Spiritual Groups" could be readily applied to sociopathic martial arts instructors and their credulous students, to wit:

The leader assumes total power to validate or negate the self-worth of the devotees, and uses this power extensively.
The leader keeps his followers in line by manipulating emotions of hope and fear.
There is a strict, rigid boundary drawn between the group and the world outside.

In addition, many of these "sensei" either claim some high rank in a made-up style (or styles), or have a rather tenuous one in a legit system they no longer are really affiliated with. For example, certain exponents of Ryu-te kempo such as George Dillman and Jack Hogan claim to be able to KO anyone without having to touch them! But Ryu-te founder Seiyu Oyata (d. 2012) has never advocated, much less demonstrated, a "no-touch knockout.". Needless to say the no-touch KO has since been debunked. Only duped students have been brainwashed into complying with the herd mentality. More people need to say the emperor has no clothes.

*John Welwood 2000. Toward a Psychology of Awakening. Shambhala Publications, Inc.

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Patience

December 27, 2014, 8:25 pm

≫ Next: The Reluctant Point-Fighter

≪ Previous: Profile of a Martial Arts Cult Leader

A Transformation

A schoolboy was playing truant in the street when he saw an old woman grinding an iron pestle on a stone. Being curious, the boy asked the old woman what she was doing.

"I am going to grind this pestle into a needle to sew cloth with," answered the old woman. The child laughed. "But this is such a big pestle, how can you hope to grind it down to a needle?"

"It doesn't matter," replied the old woman. "Today I grind it, tomorrow I'll grind it again, and the day after tomorrow again. The pestle will get smaller every day, and one day it will be a needle."

The child saw the point and went to school.

— Ch'en Len-shi

SOURCE: Tri Thong Dang 1993. Beyond The Known: The Ultimate Goal of the Martial Arts. Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc.

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The Reluctant Point-Fighter

January 1, 2015, 10:23 pm

≫ Next: Misperceptions

≪ Previous: Patience

The attitude of destroying the enemy with one cut is based on the attitude of "going in" to the attack. If not, your spirit is lacking and your resolve is less than complete. You must always close in on the enemy regardless of the indications of the enemy's strength.

— Miyamoto Musashi

In karate and tae kwon do sparring, scoring is kept by counting hand and foot strikes that make contact as points. The point system came about from the idea that atemi (vital strikes) are indeed lethal. Obviously real atemi are prohibited in sportive matches, and as such point-matches morph into a game of glorified tag. What happens is that players tend to fight from exaggerated fighting ranges (ma-ai) with hands held low (especially in TKD), and at times not fully committing to techniques, especially kicks. Combatants are trying to score, but are especially leery of getting countered or "tagged." For these reasons, a point-match is nothing like a realistic fight.

This is clearly a problem if you fancy your art as a viable means of self-defense. In sportive arts like boxing, wrestling and judo, players are fully committed to hitting, getting hit, throwing and getting taken down, even in practice drills. Realize that how you train on the mat is how it happens in real life.

Somebody once told me that the difference between black belts and those at the lower echelon was really a degree of self-interest. "Black belts don't care," he said. What he meant was the BBs aren't concerned with the outcome of committing to a combination of techniques against the opponent. They're more centered in the here-and-now. That means visualizing the attack and following through without being hindered with the mental baggage of a counter. Still, judges don't want to see matches that look like a train wreck or game of chicken.

The bane of the point-match isn't whether or not a technique is so devastating that it can maim or kill, but the aversion to being hit in return. That doesn't mean to disregard defensive techniques completely during a match. Just don't be so mindful of your opponent's strategy that it impinges your game plan. The Japanese concept of kobo-ichi is just another way of saying the old adage "the best defense is a good offense."

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