Minnesota Western Martial Arts

Survival Academy

2011-07-20T15:59:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone!

As many of you know, this is a season of change for our club. With locations changing swiftly, I decided to take this time and relocate the blog to a place that better fits our goals.

The new location is:

survivalacademy.blogspot.com

I encourage you all to visit regularly. It will hold much of the same content that the other site did.

I am also looking for other people to contribute! I want our class to all have a voice and to share ideas, not just have me come up with my own junk...

See you at the new blog!

Fight Quest!

2011-07-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone!

I know many of you have heard of "Fight Quest", a canceled cable program.

The basic idea of the show is that two Americans go around the world and learn a martial art for 5 days and then partake in a contest with one of the champions.

These shows (there are many like this) are hokey and pretty damn silly. But they do have SOME legit value, and I find them entertaining...

This one I'm linking today is on Kali. It's a stick fighting art that you can find mostly in the pacific rim.

If you choose to watch it, look for these things:
1. Footwork: Who is moving forward and who is moving backward
2. Exercises: Why all the goofy movements and strange objects? Why not use a perfectly round, perfectly balanced bar to lift?
3. Can you spot any drills from class?

Enjoy the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeSRC2TS0OA

New Videos!

2011-07-17T11:43:00.000-05:00

First couple of videos for today are of bouncers. The videos speak for themselves.

Remember: Some dirtbags use fists, some weapons, but the most uncourageous and reprehensible fighters use... Lawsuits....

First video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17hFmmafNXY&feature=email
15 years of hockey and the dude can't figure out how to keep his teeth in his mouth...

Second video: Lawsuit vs Bouncer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYVUb3i3GSo&feature=email

Third video: Knife techniques from a knife culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7eG2-mD3WE&feature=email
Count the xguards, and pocket steps!

Fourth Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTmFEx106hk&feature=email
The important thing I get from this video is 2 things:
1. Resourcefulness. In the event your about to fight, know your weapons!
2. When some guy in a ski mask starts wrapping up newspaper, get ready...

Fifth Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OencugW1glU&feature=email
I have first hand experiance of suffering the wrath of padlock strikes. They hurt, but they restrict the motions you can make.

Sixth Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rEstbhLYn0&feature=email
Even goofballs in ski masks know the ins and outs of a stabbing. He might be a legit guy, but putting stuff like this in public domain is dangerous. I can't foresee anyone but martial arts practitioners and shit bags finding this video.

See you all in a couple hours!

Big Changes

2011-07-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

We all have heard now that big changes are coming to the Survival Academy. Location will be changing in a few weeks and we will land on our feet.

Of course, this will be in the long term nothing to worry about as it seems that MANY locations would be glad to have us. We have already secured at least one location, and many more are interested.

That being said, Sunday's class will be at Enso Aikido and I hope to see you all there.

Although this doesn't pertain to most folks, I want you all to see a video of a real attack.

3 pieces of garbage attack a guy while 3 cops are with him.

Dirt bags have little fear and ALWAYS HAVE FRIENDS!
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/125457263.html?skipthumb=Y#13106548785891&if_height=279

Once Upon A Time...

2011-07-12T08:36:00.000-05:00

Once Upon A Time there was a crazy old gun nut who lived on a street. This crazy old gun nut had security cameras installed around his house. The people who lived on the block would refer to this man as paranoid and dangerous.

Then....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuhKCiY-lu0&feature=player_embedded#at=16

Although I don't advocate cameras, guns, or having gun fights with 4 guys, I do advocate for doing everything in your power to keep yourself safe.

Make sure that you know real violence exists. Make sure you have a fair understanding of security and protection. Remember that even your home can quickly turn into a battle ground.

How safe are you?

Flash Mobs and Gorillas!

2011-07-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

I had a great time at class this week!

I think we tied in all the previous stuff nicely and everyone seems to be picking up on it quickly. We had a large turnout and that really helps people get a feel for how they are doing in a class. Different heights, weights, skill levels really cause everyone to develop quickly. Great job everyone!

I recently wrote some blogs about Flash Mobs. It doesn't sound like this particular incident was a flash mob, but it's very similar. Take a look at how you can be dragged into a fight!

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/07/09/mother-teenage-girl-mob-attacked-my-family/

Additionally, here are some Gorilla videos that we have mentioned in class!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C-e96m4730&feature=feedf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDYyv-iLmRY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfjrXEArj88&feature=email

Last but not least: A video of Chris and his twin brother doing wrestling drills...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ8jITXNzgc&feature=email

See you next week!

Fight Back

2011-06-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

The idea of "Fighting Back" is a really sensitive subject in the violence community.

Although I struggle to find the documentation, I have often heard that many police groups advice people to give into attackers and give them what they want. This of course, is to prevent people from getting killed by some crazy person over their wallet...

Other groups advocate fighting back. Not just for themselves, but so that criminals learn that people in the community are armed or willing to fight back.

Either way, it's really up to the individual. Do you have the heart to fight back? What are you willing to fight for? How far are you willing to go to protect yourself, your property, your loved ones?

I personally think that criminals are more of opportunists than anything. Most stolen cars are the ones left running. Most burglaries happen on houses that are left unlocked.

Studies have shown that criminals are for the most part weak, scared, but vicious people who don't want a fair fight, but rather look for the "Wounded Gazelle" walking the plains alone at night.

Due to this, I think that fighting back has a very important place.

Some things to remember:

1. The "winner" of a fight is the one who escalates the force faster and more viciously.

2. The best defense is warding off attackers. When someone attacks you it's because they believe that you are weaker than them and easily taken advantage of. Look like you are a dangerous animal and predators will go away.

3. Every fight involves a weapon.

This blog was inspired by a local news report I came across:

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2179185.shtml?cat=1

Look at the list above.

1. The female victim escalated to a higher level of force quicker. Rocks, punching, etc.

2. She was picked because she was a female (Most likely) and thought to be weaker.

3. Rock. Rock to the face is a weapon. Do you think she was carrying a "lucky stone" or do you think she found it in the fray? Just because the person appears to be unarmed now, doesn't mean they will be forever.

See you all at class on Sunday!

Just so you know we are not crazy...

2011-06-27T10:33:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

I was just surfing Youtube and I came across some older videos I have watched.

Doing some of the Stability Ball stuff seems to raise some eyebrows. I found a video of another guy doing the same types of stuff, just so you know we arn't crazy... in a bad way...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koxB5O5SaiA&feature=feedrec_grec_index

1:45 is a work out from class.

The whole video is pretty good, but there are some really good ideas for circuit training.

See you in class!

New videos of violence

2011-06-27T07:55:00.000-05:00

The first video I'm going to show is becoming a all to common occurrence in America. Flash Mobs as they are called are springing up and doing serious damage to communities, property, and people. They are basically orginized groups of people (usually young) that set up a location and time to quickly loot, riot, or destroy something. They are showing up in stores, public places, and even some housing areas.

Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_R1_afLRNo

Keep an eye out for a sudden influx of people at a location. Don't be paranoid, but know that Flash Mobs show up and are dangerous.

Although this video isn't a Flash Mob by definition, it has many of the same elements. The only thing I could gather from the news is that it is some kind of "Caribbean" festival in DC.

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhafNEnJmHv3Sr08EL

The final video is one that Tristan sent me.

I have to honestly say, I don't know if I have ever seen a better fist fight video. The commentary is good, the camera work is pretty good, the angle is great, and the fighters...

Well...

Take a look! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M7qNuH59Uk&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I watched the video about 30 times. I watched every person in it an their reactions. I highly recommend watching the "Big Bullys" friend after the hit. He stands by while they fight, then when his boy goes down, he panics. Then, he decides to be the next tough guy and go after him. Very interesting....

See you all at class!

Robbery!

2011-06-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

So about an hour ago my phone began to ring...

It was our newest student... He wanted my email address to send me a video. I gave it to him.

While I was on the phone with him, my cell phone notified me that I have a new message...

It was Mark. Sending me the same Video!

So thank you both for sending me this great link.

I suggest you all read the story here. In the clip, you will see a perfect example of real combat. A real fight. The store clerk shoves the guy out the door, which is basically an escape, locks the door and calls the cops. All very good things to practice!

www.startribune.com/local/east/124295033.html

Is it worth it to be the good guy?

2011-06-16T15:20:00.000-05:00

No mater what the situation is in life, one must always decide what side they are on.

What in life is worth fighting for?

What should be conceded?

Is retreat okay?

The video here is an angry mob. Not some revolution in some jerk water country, but a violent mob that's pissed about Hockey.

Many of you have heard of the violence in Vancouver, and this video is probably the most clear I have seen.

A man stands up for his city, his town, and his people. His thanks?

Just watch the video...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=62b_1308231237

Bare Knuckle

2011-06-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

Hello Martial Savages~

This was sent to me by a "Friend".

Great documentary about Bare Knuckle boxing superstar... Bill...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYR0L2lZSyg&feature=related

A bit of violence

2011-06-03T09:13:00.000-05:00

It's about that time...

For knock outs!

This is a fairly typical type of fist fight. It goes very badly for the original trouble maker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txpGAoZTBpM

Reminder and Question

2011-05-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

Good showing at class Sunday. It's always more enjoyable when we get a high number. Many different people bring many new ideas and styles to the table. Different levels and styles of athleticism also help too!

First the Reminder:

No class on Sunday. I am going to be playing Airsoft (ask me if you are interested) and Chris will be doing family stuff.

Secondly a Question:

As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been working on moving the site to a "Survival Academy" URL for the blog. I stopped before I started because I have been wondering how much this site is actually helping folks.

I feel that there MIGHT be better ways to get the info out there than a Blog. I have considered opening a Twitter Account or a Survival Academy Facebook Page so that you can all "follow" it and get feeds as I send them, rather than checking the site. I suspect that other students would contribute more if I did it this way too.

I want to know what everyone thinks!

Advice from a prepper...

2011-05-18T13:25:00.000-05:00

Cruising YouTube can get you all sorts of places. Dark, strange places.

I came across this guy. From what I understand about it, this guy is a "Prepper". Simply defined, he think's that when disaster strikes, you should be prepared as possible. This particular one thinks that events like Katrina or global economic collapse are going to become more common.

No mater what your belief is, this video he made offers some good advice. It's meant to be a "Woman's" self defense video, but I think there is stuff we can all gain. There are also many ideas that are good to think about.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ETe80_7Qj8&feature=feedu

Bit of a follow up.

2011-05-17T14:43:00.001-05:00

As stories develop, I try to keep up wit them.

Not for journalistic purposes, but for reasons of research.

I posted the McDonald's assault a while ago and the 3 min video showed a horrendous beat down.

Just today, I found the follow up story to that. What provoked the attack?

Take a look:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/maryland/hate-crime-charges-in-maryland-mcdonalds-beating-caught-on-video-051611

See you all Sunday!

Not violence... Exactly...

2011-05-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

One of the most difficult things that anyone can deal with is an Asshole. Particularly one that has not yet become violent. Without the legal authority to prevent him from doing something, assholes can run-a-muk.

I have had many problems with this in my past. Professionally and otherwise. There is no training for this kind of thing, just logic and focus.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about THIS asshole.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/youtube/naked-guy-terrorizes-subway-passengers-284639

Now... The guy does become violent eventually, but until then... What do you do? At what point do you have legal authority to stop this guy? Should you?

There's no wrong answer to this question, just some interesting discussion.

Play the video a few times, find out what you think!

Troubling Violence at your favorite lard factory

2011-04-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

I try to make these blog posts lite. I swear I do. I just think that when you are dealing with horrific "fight or die" situations, a lite attitude is better than one of panic or fear.

Todays post is a challenge.

I'm not exactly sure why this particular video is so disturbing to me. I have seen videos of death, violence, weapons, and everything else. This one hit me right in the gut.

When you are attacked, how long do you think you need to survive before help comes? Do you think that because you are in a public place that help will come quickly? Do you think you are exempt from fitness because the cops will be "on their way?"

In class, we don't hit the exercise very hard. We do a little some days, but typically, we just keep it lite. This video makes me wanna change all that. We have 3 whole minutes of violence. No weapons, no guns, and only two attackers. And this victim almost dies. Could that be you?

The Video:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ec0_1303444048

Highlights (or lowlights, depending on how you look at it)

0:05 into it, You have 2 attackers conducting all manner of violence. We are not sure how it all starts, but our victim is in a corner while 2 attackers are inflicting violence. They pull her out from a corner, and put her on her back by her hair/head. Why? Like we talked about in class, nobody can get straight up from their back. Even the most savage creatures know that putting your prey on their back is essential to domination.

0:10 you see the first stomp. That kind of force will take you out. The victim covers her head, but was not watching for the stomp. Don't let it hit you. Things get broken (even through covers) when that much force is applied.

0:15 you see a direct kick. Now, I have seen a ton of kung fu movies... But even Bruce Lee couldn't throw a kick any more effective than that. Base of the neck, unprotected spinal soccer kick. This is why we teach everyone to have their head cover TIGHT to their neck. Predators can spot targets instinctively.

0:24 now you have seen a bystander. A paid MANAGER of McDonald's causally walk away from a seriously wounded victim. If he was a reasonable human being, this fight would have been over by this point.

0:37 the foolish manager clearly doesn't care. He turns his back for a split second and a blind front kick boots our victim from a sitting position, right back to the ground. Remember, predators are trying to get you on the ground, on your back. This front kick is a perfect way to move her victim to that position. The victim does rebound.

0:44 isn't clear on the exchange of dialog. Far to much screaming, shrieking and shouting going on. One thing is clear... Our dazed victim is on her feet and not running or hiding. This will be a mistake that she regrets in a few minutes.

1:00 the fight hits a minute and already the victim has taken some of the most violent blows that I have ever seen. Proving once again, that all the black belts in the won't give you the brutality, violence, and attack opportunity of having a harsh disposition.

1:05 Something of a magic trick occurs here. I have watched the video over 20 times now, and I cannot see exactly where this "3rd" attacker comes from. It looks like the first two attackers returns, but she moves to fucking quick almost. I'm not sure if there is a 3rd attacker, or one of the first two teleport, but someone pops into the scene.

1:10 The third attacker shoves a palm into the face/neck/chest region of the victim. This looks fimiliar? The strike drives the victim backwards. As I have noticed, "he who back petals, loses". The victim gets some control of the head. Looks like some kind of headlock. Can't really tell.

1:14 Of course... The good fortune quickly becomes erased by the return of the other attacker. A barrage of back of the head strikes pulverize the victim down. The head control is removed when the second attacker drags her by the hair to the ground: getting her closer to the "Prey Position".

1:27 a very powerful and controlling hair drag is stopped by a heroic older woman. I'm not sure what she says, but her words seem to slow down the horrific beating.

1:37 the temporary nature of the intervention starts a tug-o-war... a human being as the rope.

1:43 a quick pan around the restaurant shows a group of employee's and bystanders who just love to watch. To cowardly to end violence.

2:04 Some intervention seems to slow the beating, but hands flail and it's unclear what kind of damage the victim is taking.

2:09 Our "hero" gets shoved now by one of the attackers. For trying to protect someone, violence is redirected on her. No different than when a pack of jackals feed on Animal Planet.

2:16 The beatings continue, and our victim finally collapses. The attackers flee as the first mention of "Police". Seizure begins as nobody attempts to adjust the victim as her head and body bounce off of a garbage can and a wall.

2:20 The group of bystanders don't call the cops. The police haven't shown up. Our victim bounces helplessly from hard surface to hard surface.

2:50 This is the most interesting portion. The attacker knows the cops are coming. She doesn't care. She returns to the victim. Why? Because she wanted to see her victory. Human suffering validates her actions. Remember, in her mind, the victim is evil and needs to be stomped out. FURTHERMORE: The manager LETS her return! The door is still open, the attacker gets within just a foot of her. WHO WOULD LET THIS HAPPEN!?

End of the video: The attackers flee, the manager walks over the flailing body, nobody helps, cops haven't arrived.

How much conditioning do you need?

Wrestlers train in 2 min intervals. Each Wrestling round is 2 Minutes. They sometimes do more than that, but typically, they do VERY hard 2 minute matches to really test their abilities. Boxers do the same. MMA fighters do the same.

How long do you need to go? What's a interval for your martial art?

If you want to survive, you need to outlast your opponent(s). You need to have enough endurance to fight till you are safe. How long with that take?

That's how much conditioning you need.

News and video

2011-03-23T08:36:00.000-05:00

I am back from my vacation and I have to say I missed all our knuckleheads!

I had a great time, got to do a lot of hitting, and learned a lot.

As I wrote about in the last blog, Chris and I are going to be changing the name of the class. Western Martial Arts will always be at the core of what we do, but the name doesn't explain the totality of what we do. The New Name?

The Survival Academy.

I have a new email address set up:

thesurvivalacademy@gmail.com

I would be happy to field any questions about our class there. Chris and I will be monitoring it and fielding any questions. I would strongly encourage all of you to use this email (and eventually the new blog) to fire off all your "What if" or "I saw one time..." type of questions. We love to have them in class, but if we can have them on our minds before hand, I think we could answer them better.

I will keep you up to date on the new blog.

In closing, here is a great video of one of the most exciting fighters!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM6yMAvwjkE&feature=player_embedded#at=404

Kick ass, Take Names!

Street fight, Announcements, and Recap

2011-03-09T10:08:00.000-06:00

I don't know about the other class goers that were there on Sunday, but I was SORE this week. Doing 200 squats while delivering devastating blows and take downs will suck the life out of you! It was a great work out and I had a bunch of fun with the crew. It was also nice to see a fresh face at class.

Announcement:

Chris and I have been talking about changing the name of our class. The primary reason is that "Western Martial Arts" doesn't say much to the average reader or listener. It just brings on a greater amount of questions. Furthermore, although we have a strong base in the ancient and western martial arts, it doesn't really capture the totality of our class. Western Martial Arts is a large piece (larger than some realize, I think) but there is really a lot more going on. We will probably move the blog to a new URL, and probably change the email address. The original name that we were going to use was already taken (by a "Green" movement group if you can imagine), so we are currently brainstorming new ideas. If you have any suggestions, email them to me!

Street Fight:

While reading my favorite news website (the Smoking Gun), I came across a very interesting fight video. Although not one person in the video seems to share any personal traits of our class goers, the video is really good. It shows a good time frame and some of the Shit-Head attack styles that we talk about frequently.

1. Watch how many times the "Shit-Head #1 talks to victim, Shit head #2 throws a sneak punch".

2. Watch for any "Over the shoulder punch from the rear of a victim" you see.

3. Watch for Swarm tactics. People come out of nowhere to get their licks in.

4. Watch for violations of personal space to incite violence.

5. Watch for the victims avenues of retreat that they use or neglect.

6. Watch for overhand rights, head striking, and ragging.

7. Is there any level changing going on here?

8. Are the victims lucky that they are not completely incapacitated or dead?

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/internet/female-trio-busted-street-brawl-gone-viral-795843

See you all at class!

Thank's To Trist, another good fight video...

2011-02-23T14:34:00.000-06:00

No no no! Trist was NOT involved in this fight, but his savvy skills with the the computer has rendered this blog this video.

This video contains 2 fights. Watch the counter to see how long each fight lasts. It's unclear how the fight started and what the reason was. But what is known, is that real life violence occurred in a typically peaceful location: A Denny's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxeZvUKpFbM&feature=player_embedded

What baffles me, is how long this is aloud to go on. Not only do 20+ people sit idle while a fight happens, they let a second one happen. The second fight is much more interesting because you can see it right from the start. Watch how one female battles the other 2. Although she is anything but a skilled fighter, you can see she has done this before and knows when to invoke violence and who to target. No fancy moves, just pure violence.

More information here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/internet/cops-maple-syrup-not-cause-dennys-brawl

See you all in class!

More violence and some health advice?

2011-02-16T10:13:00.000-06:00

The violent world we live in continues to change. Plenty of scholars and researchers debate how violent our culture really is. According to Lt. Colonel David Grossman, this is the most violent time in history. I disagree with him because I personally believe that most acts of violence were unrecorded in older time periods because they were common and typically occurred between people who were illiterate. Thus making them undocumented.

Whatever your view point is, you must acknowledge that violence still exists in our culture in a nasty kind of way. There are plenty of weapons available to bad guys now and with how loose our legal system is, criminals are released at record numbers.

Tristan sent me this article. I have to say thank you to him here. This article blew me away. Here you have someone who is violent, insane, and mean on a killing spree. Just for kicks, count the number of shots he fires. See how much Gun Control Laws would have saved.

Walk through this article and put yourself in each persons shoes. What went wrong? What could have been done better? Worse?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/02/12/2011-02-12_cops_continue_hunt_for_brooklyn_sicko_who_left_4_dead_2_injured_in_stabbing_carj.html

Nutrition and Fitness have been a hobby of mine for a while. Although I am nothing close to an expert, I like to believe that I have a good ability to listen to my body.

No mater what kind of fitness or health plan you are practicing, ALWAYS take a look at others. Nobody is perfect, and I don't think anyone has all the answers.

About 6 months ago, I found a website that has some unique and good information on health and wellness. I don't buy into half of what they say, but there is a ton of good information on there. If you are interested in checking it out, go here.

http://undergroundwellness.com/

Finally, a friend of mine posted this video on his Facebook. It's pretty damn hillarious and very martial arts related. Take a look!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo3xXrssvLQ&feature=player_embedded

Another brawl. More applicable to class...

2011-01-26T08:17:00.000-06:00

Hey folks!

Watch the video, read the article. I saw this video and thought that it looks like something right out of one of our scenarios. Look for all the weapons used. Watch each combatant and see what they do. I watched the video close to 20 times and there is a ton to see.

Check it out

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/internet/cops-probe-ihop-melee-caught-tape

Vicious Violence - January 23rd Class Supplement

2011-01-25T09:37:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I thought I would write a quick article on class and a news story that I pulled from Drudge.

We worked the Chin Jab heavy in class this week. We really practiced powering through your target with a drop step and using your body weight to produce power. Remember to sink weight and use your body weight more than pure muscle. Here is a clip from the master of the chin jab himself, Carl Cestari

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9tA9kWHk7w

I know I have posted that link before, but it's a good one to review.

Also review and practice your drop steps and shifts. Controlling your body weight is essential to proper martial arts of any nature. Any sort of Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Yoga, or bodyweight workouts will help you with this immensely.

I also noticed a really nasty fight that was found on youtube and picked up by foxnews. It's a violent altercation that occurred at your favorite fast food joint... Take a look.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/queens/worker-hurt-in-fight-with-teens-at-wendys-in-queens-20110124

See you all at class!

Martial Arts: Violence Theory and Hoplology

2011-01-04T10:51:00.000-06:00

There are PLENTY of martial arts out there. With each martial art, comes a series of theories and psychology. What do they all mean? Do each of them have value?

Throughout time, each culture has come up with it's own fighting theory and strategy. When two of these cultures would meet, the one with the best theory would win (of course that's a very basic way of explaining it. Technology, resources, size are all part too). The loser would be wiped out of the genetic pools and the winner would multiply. So which martial philosophy is best? Is there a best?

Of course, most of this is a matter of opinion. What are you looking for? What are you trying to accomplish?

Regardless of what you do, you have to know the law that pertains to you. Because we are a Minnesota group, you have to know Minnesota Law:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=609.06

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=609.065

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=609.66

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=609.662

Read it... Know it... I don't care if your martial art of choice is yoga... You should know when you can defend yourself. It's my personal opinion that every person who lives in a location, should know it's law.

So, now that you know WHEN you can use martial arts/force, you have to think WHAT martial art has value?

This is a very personal decision that only you can chose. But like all things, decide if you like the fruits of its tree.

I recommend that all of you watch this video. It's an episode of Penn & Tellers: Bullshit! on Showtime. It's a highly vulgar show with highly vulgar language and images. If you can handle that, watch the episode.

See you at class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcbe3Ao0ThU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCPZMnQ9API&feature=related

Real life violence

2010-12-08T11:02:00.000-06:00

I wanted to first wish all you wounded fellas a swift recovery. You have no idea how much I miss smacking your head.

I was on the Drudgereport and came across a video of a robber. The violence isn't all that nasty, but the video is of a 91 year old women getting purse snatched. I have no idea who the operator of the camera was, but he is 1 of two things:

1. A master profiler
2. A officer of some kind who knows the guy

Either way, the camera operator was on this guy. The mugging is pretty typical. Natch and grab type of weakling behavior. Watch the before robbery behavior. Watch him stalk the neighborhood. Watch him case the streets in BROAD daylight looking for a mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVhLjrrSvXc&feature=player_embedded

Full story here: http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=City+man+charged+with+mugging+91-year-old+woman&articleId=5c52c7c8-5dbe-4604-9255-d27aa4447c7c

Watch what a predator does. Watch how he acts. It will save your life!

With regard to range stuff we talk about all the time (like last class), here is a video of an actual armed robbery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKBSiLHC4m0

Did the victims have a chance to defend themselves?

Here's another knife robbery for you all to look at. Imagine yourself holding your own child. What are you going to do to survive?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKHukjZ_fKk&NR=1&feature=fvwp

See you all Sunday!

The Opposite of what we teach...

2010-12-02T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well, maybe not the COMPLETE opposite, but damn close.

This video is of a retired boxer named "Prince" Naseem Hamed. In the sense of sport fighting, this guy was really amazing. How would he do in a street fight? I don't know. He had AMAZING footwork and speed. Although it isn't what we teach, this highlight video is very entertaining. One thing to watch is his forward movement. Although he has different footwork that has been designed to be in a ring, Naseem uses excellent bursting forward movement. His evasions are top notch too, but once again, not really for the street.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLXcgZ84ndk&feature=player_embedded#!

The problem with his fighting on the street is with the theory. Showmanship, dancing, and all that garbage are the types of things that get you killed in a street fight. Cut it with the fancy garbage and survive. Win at all costs, don't become the bad guy while you are doing it.

See you all soon!

Motivation, Training, and a welcome!

2010-11-18T19:28:00.000-06:00

First off, I want to welcome the people who have started to come, or have started to come more. It's very nice to see that Phil, Trist, and Mark all think that we do good stuff and are encouraging others to come. Welcome to the class!

People have told me recently, "I guess I don't know what kind of motivation I need" or "I need to bring my energy level up when I train". Well fellas, I think we all suffer from that from time to time. Not to worry! I have a video that I found not long ago that got me to spring off my ass, and push it a little harder....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl_1wh1obyM

Now go do 100 push ups!

This next video is very long. But Chris and I always talk about "In wrestling and Jujitsu class, they do all these silly calisthenics blah blah blah". Well I found some proof! This is a jujitsu class that filmed a warm up they do. It's long and boring for the most part, but I suggest you take a look. It has a ton of good ideas for exercises and warm ups to do. And that includes warm ups for ANYTHING. Going for a jog? Do a duck walk! Going to Aikido? Do some somersaults! Going to WMA class and you get there 10 minutes early? Well well well... you are in luck!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llZzpXWajKQ

Before I finish typing out this blog, I have to send out another invite...

I am looking for other people to contribute to the blog. I think it is very important that we get more writers so that we can get other perspectives on class and training. Write about what you like! Write about what you don't like! Write about your experiances! Tell stories! WHATEVER!!!

I am always blown away when I hear stories from people about what they like and don't like in class. It helps me become a better teacher, and YOU become a better student. Help out the class by sending me a email and saying "Hey Reed! I wanna write for the blog!"

Hope to hear from you all!

Review, Mix, and Finishing Moves

2010-11-05T15:30:00.000-05:00

So the last few classes we have been doing a bunch of review. There are 2 main reasons for this.

1. New folks. We love having new folks and our more experienced students have been doing well with helping them get caught up.

2. Review is good for everyone. The basics of what we teach have been showing up in the last classes and even Chris and I need reviews of this stuff. Drilling is always a good idea.

We have also added finishing moves. Now, I have searched Youtube and other websites high and low and I have found it very hard to find videos on finishing a street fight. Thats probably because it would just involve sprinting and stomping for the most part.

The video for the week is kind of a different type of video. I have to expalin first that I am not a Lesnar fan in the classic flavor of the month way. I have wrestled him in practices, I have met him, and for the most part, hes a good dude. A friend of mine posted this video of him training on Youtube. The guy is a good athlete and has some interesting commentary on the video. But what I really wanna focus your attention to is 1:05 mark. Watch his exercise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK3ALkZWwX4&feature=share

By the way, don't take an Ice bath!

See you at class!

Fitness / Martial skill

2010-10-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

I have posted a bunch of stuff lately about fitness. There are many many good athletes out there who teach many good things. I recently found this video on a blog and I couldn't blink for the duration of the video. It's totally awesome and amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxR242I-KEg&feature=player_embedded

Now that you are done with seeing what a super human looks like, I wanted to make sure everyone knows that they are WELCOME TO POST! I have to make you a blog administrator, so send me the email you want me to grant access to, and I will set you to admin!

I encourage all of you to post. As I was telling Mark, we need your opinion! Everyone gets a different perspective from our classes and I want people to be sharing them. If you find a video with a drill or some advice that helps you, post it. This is an open forum for our class.

For a lil history that Chris was talking about, here ya go...

THIS is Eddie Bravo:
http://prommanow.com/index.php/2010/07/01/eddie-bravo-leaves-the-ufc/

Yep, he's a hippy stoner who was crafty enough to figure out some good movies.

Here is is beating a gracie...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4ASonA9t6c

Of course, you can look up 10th Planet on the web to learn more about his schools. But he kind of blazed the trail for no-gi jujitsu.

Everyone did very well last class!

Kick ass and take names!

Knife Attacks!

2010-10-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

This isn't the best video I have seen, but it is good. Most importantly, it shows real violence. Feel free to ignore the "fact/myth" portion of it if you want, but check out the live video. It's really good to show what violence looks like!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNOP3X9OyzM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLRmtTbNWe0

Both are pretty good I think!

I also stumbled across this website and it's pretty good for historical stuff. I am linking a page that has the historical German grappling that our last class was based off. Now most of this is sword work, but you will see some of the crams and throws that we talked about.

http://www.thearma.org/essays/G&WinRF.htm

Looking forward to next class!

More fitness stuff!

2010-10-14T13:19:00.000-05:00

Phil, Trist, Mark, and Joe have shown much interest in the kinds of things that make you more functional as a ground fighter. Fitness is a key. As Trist noticed, just doing these drills give you one hell of a work out! Although I will need to make my own video one day on how to tie all these together, here are some videos showing stuff you can practice at home!

Bear Walk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OKN0zDXC7k&feature=related

Shrimp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGFBmVw8KGM&feature=related

Crab Walk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7n_qKGtPZ4

Duck Walk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XxvEaUWNsg

Wrestling Stand Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg17czMMpb0&feature=related

And everyones favorite: Hip Heist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viW-c3bDWdw

Hope to see you all Sunday!

A fitness tip from Reed

2010-10-07T12:28:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I'm still not sure if anyone at class is looking at this thing anymore, but I thought I would give everyone a topic to play with: Fitness

Now, I don't expect NCAA athletes out of everyone, but to be a powerful fighter, you have to have some basic fitness skills under your belt. Going to the health club and watching the ladies in bras run around on treadmills is fine, but do you really think that will make you a better fighter?

The 3 biggest elements of fitness are Cardio, Strength, and Flexibility. I want you all to seek out a form of exercise that addresses all three of these categories. Running is great! But in my opinion, you need to do much more to make yourself a fighter. Running will make you a better runner, NOT a better fighter. It only addresses the Cardio element. In fact, I have read some studies that say long cardio workouts actually weaken your flexibility. Of course, this is up to you to see if there is merit in this claim, but it's something to think about.

Here are some good links to get you started:

This video shows Matt Furey's Royal Court. There are 4 basic work outs that cover all 3 areas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC9P2DsNxO8

The second video is the "8 min work out". I love this one, and of course it can be expanded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM5fLpdJKRE&feature=related

So there you have it. Do some workouts, and get ready to rock! You will only be as strong as your weakest link!

I saw this...

2010-09-22T16:12:00.002-05:00

I know we haven't been doing much striking lately, but I came across this video and couldn't help but post. I thought this stuff was amazing. I'm not sure, but I think this is actually Muay Boran.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXGGPHU22_Q

September 19, 2010 - Class Supplement

2010-09-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

Chris sent me this on Youtube. Watch this video carefully. You will see that these two Gorillas seem to be using technique similar to what we have been covering in class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDYyv-iLmRY&feature=email

See the Elbow blocks? The Arm Cuts? The pummeling?

Fighting is fighting. And all though these primates are not trying to kill each other they are still using very good technique and form.

Remember to work your duck walk, bear crawl, tumbling, crab walks, sit outs. These are very important and will keep you alive in a ground fight.

Here is a good example of a high level striker who doesn't know how to handle a ground fighter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGcJSzp-Utk

Not enough for you. Ok. How about a boxer and wrestler?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMjs37kc9EI

Keep practicing!

September 12, 2010 - Class Supplement

2010-09-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

Here's the deal with the blog: I wasn't getting any traffic, so I stopped posting. I talked with Chris and we came to a "Chicken Vs. Egg" argument about which happened first. No posting, or no traffic.

So I'm going to give this thing a bit more attention. I'm going to focus more on one specific lesson per week (or whenever it comes to mind) so that I repeat information less. Also, I would LOVE IT if Chris or our other students posted on here with regards to comments, tips, or suggestions. Anything would help.

Last week we continued our "in close" rotation focusing mostly on stand up grappling.

Chris and I talked about a drill that we used to do a lot with each other. I can't stress the value of this drill even though it looks rather silly. This drill is good to practice to get used to ugly body contact and hitting with your body. Being able to resist such impact is also crucial to anyone who wants to grapple.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ23GRes_S0

Chris and I would add more body impact into the drill, but it's a good thing to practice.

After class Mark, Chris, and I worked a bit with getting up from a take down while your attacker is hitting you. If you missed this, it turned out to be one of the best drills we ever did. Mark learned the value of not trying to submissions on your opponent, but getting the hell out. I highly suggest you ask Chris or I to work this drill again after class sometime.

Thats all for now. I look forward to your comments, tips, or suggestions.

April 25, 2010 - Class Supplement

2010-04-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

Cheat on your homework!

Chris suggested that for homework, you should find Chuck Liddell highlights. Well, I am here to help you cheat on your homework! On top of that I have a few things to add.

1. Watch where his shots come from. Chuck Liddell may have been the first fighter in the UFC/MMA world to really mix up kicks and punches the right way.

2. Watch how disoriented his opponents are when they are hit. The most powerful hit is the one you don't see. This is why Chuck is so leathal. He is able to mix up strikes into his fights that completely come out of nowhere. This is partially due to the fact that his stance is so unorthodox.

3. In many Liddell videos, you see him getting driven back. Then POP! Out of nowhere one of his goofy punches lands and shakes the guy. Liddell is an expert at reading his opponent and he pounces. Just like a shark! Slight bit of blood and he is hungry. Fights turn around and he explodes till the finish. The exploding power teeming with the ability to read the enemy is one of the reasons he is one of the greats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfuZapzZsVY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkqRwdbDeAM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BCU64CwmYc

That's enough of Mr. Liddell. I also promised Phil that I would put a reminder about our knife patterns:

X - The X pattern can angle itself all sorts of different ways, but the pattern is a basic figure 8 type.
Z - Think Zoro! Add twists and rips for added bonuses!
O - This is a more defensive/close up strike. Sides and low.
Q - This is the other one we sometimes call O. Blade hidden, quick circle envolving only elbow spin.

I think that covers all of our knife patterns! Hope to see you all next class!

Dog Brothers

2010-04-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

I know that Chris and I have talked a lot in class about the "Dog Brothers". I know most of you have heard of them, or even seen their videos, but I realized that there is no videos of them on our blog. I thought I would post some of it just so you know.

Although what they do is a game more than a true fight, I think their combatives make a lot of sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Zuj5jdY-k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p25o2OAk924&feature=related

There are many many more videos out there. I thought I would get you started and fire up your interests!

Knife work!

2010-04-01T08:51:00.000-05:00

First we can start off with some great ways to get killed.... Er... I mean awesome knife defense!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JubcEXTqwFM

WHOA! how badass!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiiMcPyiynk

Heres some Great Kali! This guy is flawless!

I wonder how these great techniques would do against our 2 friends in this next video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8NxM11OXX4

Or these lil fellas... If only they knew kali or krav maga, this wouldn't happen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92smVb1jWzw

Massive group fights like this, and you are going to try to strip a weapon? No way.

I can't find any videos I like about good techniques... I guess you will have to go to class to see them!

Best advice is to just run like hell!

February 21, 2010 - Class Supplement

2010-02-27T10:29:00.000-06:00

This week we covered a whole bunch of material. We worked with take downs, get ups, escapes, and touched on some weapon stuff.

First thing is a double leg takedown. I have posted many videos of doubles on this blog, but I wanted to post a video for our more advanced students. Here is a double fake level change take down. This is very applicable for MMA and street fighting. Now, most of you know not to drag your knee on the ground like in the video if you are on a rough surface. His head movement and technique is great though! Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFWmjoSmOoE

Next thing is a sprawl. This is a great defense for take downs to the legs. Mainly the Double Leg. The "expert" doing all the talking misses a few really good points and his terminology is different than what we teach, but it's a very solid video nevertheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57w6t4Wp0O4

Here is another video that covers my favorite move... The Crossface. This guy teaches it a bit more from a wrestling point of view. He says the term "gentle" which is obviously not what we are going for when it comes to self defense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtxTBZWJkDk

This is a really good video on the sit out. We work this one a lot because we hate to be on the bottom. Some martial arts don't mind it so much.... but then again some martial arts don't fight on asphalt. Watch the head positioning of the guy doing the sit out. Really well done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1J7VFMnlAY

The next thing I wanted to touch on is the Stand Up. This is a move we haven't covered very much but I find it very very important. This is one very good way of doing it, but there are other ways too. Watch the video, try it, see what you like!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te3OKXg_MZE

We also covered the Whizzer and an Elevator. Now, both were hard to find decent videos of, but I managed to find a good video of both at the same time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doGB10XxMCk

Hope to see you all in class again soon!

Nothing needs to be said about this video...

2010-02-16T21:58:00.002-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Qv_nq3uw4

January 24, 2010 - Class Supplement

2010-01-27T08:48:00.000-06:00

I wanted to briefly welcome Ted to our class. I have no idea if he is going to be coming back, but it was nice having new blood. It was also nice to see Joe teaching someone. I am a big believer in the theory that “the best way to learn is through teaching”.
We continued our work on the Pankration boxing. The Greek system is probably the oldest documentable fighting system. It involves hard blocks, bludgeoning strikes, and bad attitude!
The sad part about Pankration is that it is a dead martial art. As such silly things like rules came to be, Pankration has evolved into the mutant we now know as “Boxing”. The bastard brother of Pankration known as boxing does little to show its family ties.
However, it’s not all bad news. The Japanese as well as American and Europeans have started to bring it back. It’s not exactly perfect, and as far as I know, there are no major martial arts schools that teach it exclusively. Pankration has been left to historians and martial arts nerds to try to piece together how the art worked.
A great place to start for information is The Pankration project.

http://historical-pankration.com/
There are several groups out there (including ours) trying to bring this art back from the dead. Until one of them comes out with naked fighters covered in grease, it won’t be the same thing. HOWEVER: there are ones that are doing a good job...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47jmOxzux-8
And some not so good ones….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dDulMSsjRg

I just want to take a second and say, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?”
Ok, I get that your playing a silly little game with silly little rules in silly little outfits… but why further mar the name of the most manly martial arts system known to man by calling it PANKRATION?!?! That really brings my piss to a boil…
Here’s a video of some fellas out of Italy that are doing some Pankration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifn3sHvPlx0
Now, these guys seem to have a good idea about what they are doing, but they look a bit more like history students than they do martial artists. But who knows, I could be wrong.

Thanks for coming to class! Even if you are Mark and are late and just want to screw around doing ground stuff!

December 6, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-12-09T11:33:00.000-06:00

Great class everyone! I think everyone involved is making major steps and improving drastically. Jay's overall martial ability continues to improve, while Mark polishes his ground game and foot work. Joe seems to be a bit more of a natural puncher, but that doesn't stop him from striving for better abilities. Good job so far!

We are starting to round a couple of corners. Mark is in the sparing phase of his Western Martial Arts journey, Joe is getting ready to start sparing, and Jay finally represents a fighter when it comes to his skills. Won't be long now before we get gloves on everyone and let more intense drilling start!

One key thing that I think we all need to do is Jump Rope (notice I included myself in that). Jump rope makes you lighter on your feet and it's a great work out. I think jumping rope will help everyone with their footwork and movement abilities. Here are some videos to get you started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U57Q4XIfoM

More advanced...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qOIqhVWWxI

Extreem skill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MfhJjbNNJE

Outside of that, I think everyone needs to be drilling on the heavy bag and working being light on their feet.

I recently recieved an article from Jay. As Jay noticed, it is more geared to law enforcement, but I think everyone can better understand a killer by this article. Enjoy!

http://www.stoppingpower.net/commentary/comm_cop_killers.asp

Hope to see everyone at class!

November 29, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-12-03T22:56:00.000-06:00

In class we covered several topics. I wanted to touch base on two main ones.

The first is the Elbow Block. The Elbow Block isn't used very often in modern martial arts. The reason is because the best part of the Elbow Block is that if you happen to catch their hand, you have a high likelyhood that you will break their hand. It is also a satisfactory way to deal with a weapon in a hand. The Greek's were big on elbow blocks and you can also find old boxing manuals that still cover them. This is shown in the first link on the posting http://historical-pankration.com/archive_item.html?archiveid=1023 . The second link I have is a trainer out of Canada who is demonstrating the elbow block. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVVVzz4tGzQ

I love the elbow block because you can really deflect attacks with it. No mater what kind of strike is comming at you, the elbow block will answer the call. With the amount that we use elbows in fighting, this should not be a shock to you that we can also use them to block.

Another issue we talked about in class is real life violence.

Real life violence is really nasty shit. I have a few videos showing what real life violence is all about. The first video I am going to show is a Asian gang murder. Yes, someone dies in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C2Vr3AjI4c

The second video is from a group called "Felony Fights". Felony Fights is a group of people who go around to real life felons. They offer them a small sum of money to fight other felons. All of the fighters are real life bad guys, and are turned into brutal showmen. These are all very very violent, but it is important to see what kind of behavior is exhibited by all the people involved. Notice how violent and crazy the fighters are. Behind them are their "homies" who push them on to be more dangerous and violent. The fight promoters are perhaps the worst. They really stir the pot and cause chaos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULOEYdKzZxI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7WM7eES078

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAeV487jBW8

Remember, these are the safest street fights you could be in. These are KINDA sanctioned. Clearly you can see that there is nothing safe about a fight. To what extent will you go to not get caught in a dangerous situation?

November 22, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-11-28T13:08:00.008-06:00

Footwork... That was the topic of the day. Chris made several references to different martial artists who did the foot work talked about on Sunday.

The first link is Bruce Lee's footwork. It has a good training idea with the "Double" movement. I would caution you on the slide step. Although it has a place, bringing your feet that close together in a street fight could yield dire results. The video has a pretty good zombie drill in it!

The next link is a Anderson Silva video. If you know anything about MMA, you know Anderson Silva. He is arguably the best fighter in the world. Does the footwork look familiar?

The third link is a nonprofessional boxer giving his take on things. He isn't perfect, but I wanted to have a video that wasn't. Good video nevertheless!

All of this footwork should look like something you have seen before. Keep practicing the footwork for class!

Hope to see everyone this Sunday!!!

Good video!

2009-11-12T16:26:00.001-06:00

One of my hobbies is searching for hours on the internet to find videos that are quality. Without question, the best way to do this is Youtube. So, in my most recent search, I found a diamond in the rough.

You can find approximately 239828938998238923542398 videos of Mike Tyson knocking someone out. Although I could never get sick of them, they don't share the whole story.

I found this video by looking for "Dodging, Ducking, Evasion" in boxing. This is a truely great video of Tyson showing how good his head movement really was. Watch this guy move!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyfMgr3fYOM

November 8, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-11-10T16:42:00.002-06:00

On Sunday we covered combat kicking. For some of you, there was some review. For others, there was some new concepts to think about. Kicking depends on terrain, targets, and footwear.

If you cannot throw a kick technique with the footwear you have on right now, then it is worthless. Spinning jump kicks and other such things are cute and nice, but if you can't do them with a pair of combat boots on, why bother?

This is where Savate and Muay Boran come in. The sharp, powerful low kicks of these two fighting styles are powerful and effective enough to be used in a real street fight.

Here is a video of Muay Boran kicking defenses. I like this video because it shows one of the kicks we teach applied in a defensive way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-umCbT-Iik

Here is a good Savate video. The techniques are not explained fully, but you can see how this guy does the low kicks we showed in class. It's also pretty good intro to savate video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFLrgdncDcY

This final video has more to do with what we did at the very end of class. Although Mark and I did more typical boxing, it is important to keep in mind that street fighting is what we really want to practice. This is one video of a series of really good street boxing/fighting videos on YouTube. Check them out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFpEoMsW8kg

Hope to see you all Sunday!!!!

October 25, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-10-27T11:25:00.002-05:00

Kill or be killed!

This World War 2 slogan for soldiers has been a topic of many of our recent classes. The World War 2 fighting system worked! The Applegate/Fairbarin fighting system involves a ton of deadly strikes, grapples and weapon fighting.

In my weekly martial arts research, I came across a video that I must show everyone. Without question, the video is full of propaganda and intense ideas. However, that does not mean that it is wrong. I find it very good and informative. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc4h0qcAIpE

Class Supplement - Sunday October 11, 2009

2009-10-13T18:13:00.002-05:00

"It is better to live 1 day as a Lion, than live 100 days as a Sheep"

This old Italian Proverb has truth to it. With any nugget of wisdom, it can be taken many ways. The way I read it is that it is better to be strong, powerful, fearless, and "king" of your life for one day, than to live in servitude, subjectivism, and fear for 100 days.

How do we do that?

Our theory is that if you train like a Lion before the time comes, you will act like a Lion when the time comes. Many people just go about their lives without a care in the world! They go to work, come home, spend time with their families, and go to bed. Only to repeat that 5 out of 7 days a week. Although this method is very respectable, these people are sheep when something disrupts this cycle.

This video made me sick to my stomach. According to the news reports, the victim in this mess was the one kid in this dirt bag neighborhood who was doing his honest to God best. He was a honor student. He was involved in many after school activities. Very well mannered. As the story goes, he was trying to stop violence outside of his school that involved 2 Chicago gangs. Like normal scum, the attackers turned on him! I am sorry to say that this young man lost his life.

What would you do in this situation if you were the victim?

What would you do if you were the guy with the camera?

What would you do if you saw this going on outside your house?

What if you came across this and it was your child or loved one who was being attacked?

Are there anything you have learned in class that could help?

http://vodpod.com/watch/2255487-derrion-albert-chicago-fenger-high-school-student-beaten-to-death-video-right-juris

Be careful out there...

Sunday October, 4, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-10-05T20:36:00.002-05:00

I am going to try to give "Blogger" another shot before I scrap this blog and move on. Despite the new changes to "Blogger", there are a lot of things I like about it. So without further ado...

Self defense.
Pure and simple. The last 2 classes have been about Self Defense. No boxing, no BJJ, no wresting, it was purely about defending yourself and disabling an enemy.

The basic principals came from a military manual called "kill or get killed" written by Lt. Col. Rex Applegate. Not only is this a bad ass name, it is a bad ass man. Applegate took many old strategies that started in WW1/WW2 time period. This particular book was put together in 1976, but the theories and principals are much older. http://www.gutterfighting.org/files/Kill_or_Get_Killed.pdf

However, the information in this book is much older. Most of this information can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, but much of it is from the Medieval period. Germany and Italy were 2 places that great text survived to the common era. The fantastic part about these systems, is they can be used with almost any type of attack. No matter if it is firearm, blade, blunt, or open hand, these defense techniques can be used to save yourself! You need to be careful because death is very likely outcome for your attacker, make sure you are justified to use that kind of force!!!

Remember to have situational awareness. This next video is one that closely pertains to the one we did to classes ago. Think of this video in 2 ways. First, imagine you are are the security guard. What did you do wrong? How did you let yourself get attacked? What if the store clerk and his wife were not there to help you? Secondly, think of yourself as the robber. How many blows will you take before you go down? At what point should he have ran? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY2T5DIxLYg

Lot's of stuff to think about for next class!

June 28, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-07-04T22:21:00.004-05:00

OK, so here's the deal...

The have changed the options I have for the blog so now it is going to take some getting used to. Unfortunately, I don't have time right this minute to figure it out, but the main problem is that it is no longer letting me in close links.

I found about 10 really good videos about the stuff we worked on in class, but I did put one of the links (probably the best one on front kicks I found) at the top of the posting. But oh well! the show must go on!

Just so everyone is clear, we DO have class tomorrow! It will be at the normal time of 4. Hope everyone can make it. Unless we tell you guys otherwise, you should all be wearing some sort of athletic clothing to class. Basically any type of comfortable shorts or pants without any buttons, zippers, rivets, thumb-tacs, or stuff like that will work. For a shirt, same types of rules apply.

Another really good suggestion I can give everyone is to start on a combat style of work out. Nothing huge, maybe just a few Hindu Push Ups, Hindu Squats, Bridging, Turkish Get Ups, a day. Feel free to do more, but those types of work outs will help you not get injured and of course make you a little more healthy. Feel free to ask Chris or I about it in class.

Sorry for the late posting, I will figure out the new rules to this blog and post plenty more!

One of my Favorite Videos!

2009-06-19T08:24:00.001-05:00

Now, if you are not familiar with Bas Rutten, he's a guy that must be studied by anyone who likes self defense. Bas Rutten in this video is fighting in a league that does not allow close fist strikes to the head. The founders of the league figured that open fist strikes don't hurt as much as closed fist strikes. Check out this video if you want to see why they are so damn wrong!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBUJa7ndYL0

No class this week. Call with any questions!

2009-06-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

May 31, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-06-02T21:38:00.002-05:00

If you are anything like me, you got a work out on Sunday. Although this was not my intention, I did enjoy it! Have no fear. Some rest and proper nutrition and you will be up and running in no time! I recommend stretching, push-ups, body weight squats and even more stretching. Another thing that tends to help, is a easy activity. Basketball or Tennis seem to be the best for me.

This week we covered a lot of older concepts we have worked on. For some, this was more review. For others, it was a needed lesson. Mixing your different strikes and attacks into a fluid chain is what it is all about. Punching and kicking alone isn't enough. Grappling must exist because history has shown us that grappling happens if there are no rules. http://historical-pankration.com/ This is without question my favorite martial arts page. I think the Greeks had a great system of fighting. I also think that the Greeks trained for pure combat. Notice how close all the strikes are. If you look at some of the picture combinations, you will see that grappling happens. This was also apparent in the German and Italian martial systems of the middle ages. You can find countless UFC or street fighting videos on the Internet that further support this theory. For this reason, Chris and I had everyone drill the combos into grappling.

2 important techniques that we covered are the Sit out and the Hip Heist. Both are basically the same move, just done in opposite directions. They look like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdfov1FQ0to

They have multiple applications like we covered in class, but this is a good example of from a front position.

We ended class with a jump in the right direction. Chris and I would like to start cranking up the energy of some of our drills. As you can all see, this idea is ripe for people getting hurt. This is why we have started at a fairly light level of impact and grappling. I want everyone to make sure you are taking it easy. Our goal is to increase our skill level. This will not be accomplished by hurting one another. Take it easy, make sure you don't take it personal and learn as much as you can. Eventually Chris and I will have 4 basic forms of sparing. Standing Rondori, Ground Rondori, Free-Fighting, Scenarios.

Ground Rondori - Wrestling from the ground. No striking. Submission, choke, tap out, cause the victory.

Standing Rondori - Wrestling from standing position. Take downs are OK. Same rules as Ground Rondori

Free Fighting - Basically "Vale Tudo". UFC, Pride, WEC type of rules. However, we will never be doing this at 100% in class. Many safety precautions will be taken.

Scenarios - Real life role playing situations. We have done a few of these in class. As skill levels and safety increase, scenarios will get more intense. Sometimes will have multiple attackers or defenders.

Hope to see you all next Sunday!

May 17, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-05-18T18:49:00.003-05:00

Ready to wrassel partner?!

Although wrestling began with the Greeks, it has worked it's way through the different cultures and evolved significantly. In fact, I don't believe that there is one culture that has ever existed on earth that has not had some form of grappling.

The reason for this? Fights almost always end up body to body. Even in great weapon systems like the Romans, Greeks, Japanese, and European fighting systems, they all understood that fights rarely stay at a distance. Ever wonder why the Greeks carried a xiphos? A sword that was less than 2 feet long? How about the knights of old carrying daggers? Of course the reason is that they knew that their enemy would be close enough for them to use it.

Although punching and weapons are a quality system, no society on earth have found them exclusively sufficient.

This brings us to wrestling. When Chris and I speak about "wrestling" we are talking about grappling in general.

Chris and I talked a lot about "catch wrestling". This is because it happens to be in our eyes, the most combative applicable. Catch wrestling does not involve a lot of rolling on the ground, compared to other grappling systems. This is because sharp shit is on the ground in real life.

Catch wrestling also happens to be as close to pancration (ancient Greek) wrestling as anything.
The other great thing about catch wrestling is that it is set up to keep your opponent on the ground while you remain standing or kneeling. For purposes of escaping, this is very important.

Here are a few videos that we have had sitting in our western martial arts archives.

The first video shows several old techniques. Keep in mind that this is fake, but the moves were still real. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IK21Lr1VXY

The second video is a video of us at class... Just kidding. It's actually old footage of some guys at a YMCA practicing wrestling. You will see a ton of moves that we did in class. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m29kosKl6VE

The third video is 2 young men wrestling "catch" style. Notice the amount of hip and shoulder locks that Chris and I talked about. During the time this video was shot, you can tell that it was going from a martial art/carney show to a sport. At 112 you will see a move getting set up that you won't really see anywhere else!

It's Wikipedia I know, but as far as I know, all this info is legit. Most of the info in this article is good. Quick google searches will yield plenty of more articles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_wrestling

Be a victor, not a victim!

New time: quick reminder that wma class will be at 4 insted of 3 for now on!

2009-05-03T14:54:00.002-05:00

April 26, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-04-27T19:59:00.003-05:00

Ready to get hit?

Ready to get sucker punched?

If your answer is no, you're not alone. I would say 95% or more don't have a clue what on earth to do.

Hopefully the last class will get you on the road to preparedness. Sucker punches and assaults are not always noticed until you feel that weird tingle on your head. Now what? What are you going to do next? Are you going to "Put your Pumpkin on a Post"? God I hope not.

Here's what Chris and I recommend.
-Cover: You have been hit, you may or may not know where your assault came from. It's your job to protect your computer, and get ready to counter. Protect it with a cover. Make sure your head is covered on all sides. Body shots hurt, but without your brain, you're as dead as fried chicken.
-Look: Look through your brow and see what is around you. Locate exits, or means of escape. Unless you have a clue what is in front of you, you're bound to do more damage to yourself than your opponent could dream of doing to you.
-Get Mobile: Bob and weave. Shuck and jive. Stick and move. Dance and prance. I don't care what you call it, you have to make yourself violent to your attacker and also protect yourself. This involves level changes, elbow thrashing, knees, or whatever you can do to make it hard to hit you.
-CHARGE!: This might be the most important part of the whole equation. If you stick around and try your best Jet Li impression, you're going to get your ass kicked. Move! Find your exit and charge! What if you're surrounded? What if your exit is blocked? Remember that Cover thing you got? USE IT! Plow through your blockers and keep on going! If you fall down, get your ass up, and go again!

Well, let's say for the sake of discussion, that you didn't do these things and you got knocked down. Well, now you got a problem. You're already behind in the game and you have to get the hell out.

Remember, you must assume that your attacker has friends, and that those friends have weapons. You cannot stay and fight. I am a pretty damn good wrestler, but I know better than to stay and tussle with some jerk on a asphalt parking lot. My goal is not to tap the guy out, or win points, or even look cool. I'm purely trying to live to see tomorrow with as much of my body in tact as possible. You have to get up!

Here are some techniques on how to get up. Now keep in mind. Some of these we have not officially covered in class. Study these anyway, and learn how to escape. If you have any questions, you can contact Chris or I at minnesotawesternmartialarts@gmail.com

-Shoulder Sprints: This is a loose term to describe the sliding motion that we practiced that is designed to flee from your opponent. Wiggle your way to safety!

-Arm Pin and Arch: There is about 3839493489349 known ways to do this technique. We practiced it as a high grab, block the ankle, and turn. Here is a pretty good video on how to do the same thing in a different way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sH7fF_Rcss

-Shrimp: This is the technique where you use your feet or hands to push off their body to create space between you and your attacker. The basic idea is that you go to your side, and touch your toes. Push off with your hands or feet the best you can!

-Stand up: No, not that lame crap on comedy central, but the wrestling move. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bemuWEs8SR0

-Sit out: Kicking out your legs, switching it on your opponent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdfov1FQ0to

I don't think you can properly talk about ground defense without mentioning the greatest (in my opinion) ground fighter to ever live. Fedor Emelianenko. This guy is tougher than any human being I have ever seen when it comes to ground work. If you want to see some of his tactics, this is a great place to start. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBsZkxlgoRk

Also, for those of you who have been to our classes in the past, watch Fedor's foot work. Unreal. You will notice how much relentless assault this guy puts on. Drop steps, and drop shifts with an uncontrollable offense.

Another little extra for those of you who know the drop step/drop shift foot work, check out this video Chris sent me. This is Chuck Liddel giving a quick lesson on how to punch like him. His fist work is good, but what he does really well is his foot work and body mechanics. Watch how when he throws his whole body seems to drop. This video really shows a good drop shift/drop step type of movement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BCU64CwmYc

Keep practicing!

Another real quick thing, class will be at 4pm for now on. See you there!

April 5, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-04-08T19:32:00.000-05:00

As soon as you sense the possibility of an attack, you must react immediately with your own attack to kill the enemy or you will give him the chance to regather himself and come at you again. - Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

I wanted to take this weeks article and explain the theory, not so much the moves. My reason for this? The moves that we did were all covered in previous blogs for the most part. What we worked on in class was the transition from victim, to vicious attacker. This is something that everyone who doesn't want to get beat up needs to know how to do.

One of the things we worked on was transitioning from getting hit, to hitting them. Is hitting them enough? Is grabbing them enough? Is throwing them enough? Of course these are hypothetical questions, but until you are safe, the answer is no. You must keep driving until your attacker no longer can consider attacking you.

In the early 1930's Mao Tse-tung and his communist pals decided that they were going to make China a Communist state. Easier said than done... Mao was constantly dealing with internal strife within the ranks of the Communist party. Mean while the Nationalists lead by Chiang Kai-shek were planning an offensive to stomp out the newly formed communist rebels. Chiang and his Nationalist army had support of the Germans and much better weaponry. Everything was going great for the Nationalist army. Chaing managed to knock the rebel force down to only about 100,000 soldiers, and surrounded. The Nationalists considered this a victory. Mao managed to maneuver his army out of the encirclement, and escape. It was at this time that Mao and his minions started questioning the tactics that his Bolsheviks masters were telling him. His force, whittled down to only 6,000 troops, managed to fight their way back and drive the Nationalists out of China and onto a little nearby island, Taiwan.

Now, by telling this story, am I supporting Communism? Not in the least. In fact, for the record, I hate Communists! However, if you study combat at all, you have to tip your hat to their aggressive tactics and virus like survivability.

What can we take away from this? Simple. Never give up. Once someone has identified themselves as a threat to you, Minnesota nice has to die right there. You must become a viper. Strike at your enemy and make sure that his threat is down to 0. From striking to grappling, victory must be there.

Drill your techniques CONSTANTLY! Kick trees, punch walls, whatever! Figure out a way to drill your skills and sharpen your blades. Find out what your good with, and make your self an expert. Find out what you are not so good at and make yourself proficient. Practice your verbal commands, your situational awareness, and your basic off line foot work in normal everyday encounters.

You must be slow in deliberation, and swift in action.
-Napoleon Bonaparte

March 22, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-03-26T21:07:00.002-05:00

Quick Note: Due to obligations involving my prego wife, I have not be very quick to update the blog. For that I am sorry. The good news is that some of those obligations are going to be vanishing quickly!

Strike'n And Footwork - 101

The title explains it all. We didn't even hit the mats this week! Chris and I ushered everyone into the back ally. This sounds like it could be the first line in bad horror move script, but in fact it was part of the class.

Once in the back ally, we started out with footwork. Good striking (and any technique in my opinion) begins from the ground and goes up from there. You can be the strongest man in the world, but you will hit like a sally if you don't know how to use your feet! This is why you don't see many power lifters winning professional martial arts titles.

This is one of my favorite video series on fist fighting. Go to the link and check out all the videos in this series. Although some of it we don't teach, most of it is good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSOC9s4qaBU

Your gravity should shift forward, transferring your body weight into your enemy. This concept is most accurately documented in Jack Dempsey's book titled: Championship Fighting. Although the language is a little old (1900ish), the content is great. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to punch. Bruce Lee himself loved this book, and I think the majority of his technique was from Dempsey. Don't believe me? See for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS6aMdskKSo

His foot doesn't move, but focus on his back leg and watch the weight transfer! Amazing stuff.

The drop step shows itself in older boxing matches constantly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_AsOroeb8w

This video is actually a great segway into our next technique we covered. The Drop Shift. The Drop Shift works on the same principals as the Drop Step. Massive transfer of weight into your fist, which then smashes into your opponent. Gravity is your weapon, so use it!

Without question, the best Drop Shift in the world was what Rocky Marciano called his "Suzie Q". This was basically a Drop Shift right hand punch that is considered by most boxing experts to be the most powerful punch ever thrown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9msELiZKyU
This punch was insane. If you have time to kill, and want to learn all about this punch, check out this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp_fqTpt9EA

The next part we worked on was Savate! This goofy French fighting style has a very unique history. The bottom line is that this is a street fighting style, not a sport fighting one. It's designed with great shoe strikes. The two we worked on were Coup De Pied Bas. This is a sweeping style of low kick that you strike with your instep. There's many good targets below the knee, so pick one and hit it!

The second one is Chasse Bas. This is a strange side kick that is designed to be quick, and highly mobile. You will recognize them in these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMfks57x_Nw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFLrgdncDcY

Practice all of these moves. Focus most on footwork. From your footwork, all your other martial arts will work themselves out, and you will be a powerful fighter!

Hope to see all of you in class this Sunday!

March 14, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-03-19T16:49:00.000-05:00

Ambushes, stabbings, and guns, oh my!

We started out class outside doing some scenarios. Chris and I made it very obvious how doing something as simple as getting out of your car can end up being potentially deadly. This week I saw an article that was very fitting to this weeks scenarios and tactics. We specifically talked about how doors, and anything else in your car can be used to defend yourself from an attack. Well, I don't know if this guy went to our class, but I will let you be the judge! http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96VVG1G1&show_article=1

That's right. An Ice Scraper. A 73 year old man beat off some punk with a knife armed only with an ice scraper and a warrior mindset!

What would you use in such a situation? Would you just flee? If you flee would you have to leave your loved ones behind?

This is of course just a sample of the types of things that you must think about if you get attacked.

The other thing we covered inside was go behinds. When your in a fight (Boxing, Wrestling, Fist fight, SCA Armored Combat, Military situations, etc.) the back of your opponent is your friend. We used arm drags http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3o6QjvRQ2U to get behind the opponent. This is a good technique particularly for the system we teach because you don't need to get under the enemy like a double leg take down, and it's also a very low commitment attack and if it falters, you arn't in a very dangerous situation.

We also covered the duck unders, which I covered in a earlier blog.

Hope to see you all there on Sunday. We got a fun class planned!

March 9, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-03-10T17:54:00.001-05:00

Back to the basics!

Due to the amount of "New people" who showed up on Sunday, Chris and I showed techniques that are typically in our 101 class. However, if you have been in our 101 class, all it was is refresher and you probably learned a thing or two anyway. Most of what we covered can be found in my earlier posts. If your new to reading my blog about WMA, I suggest you start there.

Due to the techniques being covered in my other postings, I thought I would take today's posting in a different direction: Theory.

No not that awful math stuff, but good old fashion fight'n theory! There's really 2 issues I wanted to cover particularly.

The first issue I wanted to cover is "Situational Awareness". History tells us all. History predicts the future, and those who do not know their history are condemned to repeat it.
Wild Bill Hickok was a cowboy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok Wild Bill was an expert killer. If this guy knew one thing, it was how to kill folks. Not only did he serve as a soldier, he was a scout (sniper). Wild Bill was an exceptional marksman and he proved it time and time again. Wild Bill was also a "Lawman", which is just another word for cop, too. When he got sick of being a good guy, he was a professional gambler, murderer, hired gun, and all around bad ass.

Enter Jack McCall. Unless your a cowboy junkie, you probably don't know who that is. Well, that is because Jack McCall wasn't really anyone of consequence. McCall was your typical scoundrel of the era. Worked a job or two, drank a lot, carried guns, got in fist fights, and of course gambled. Well, McCall gets taken for all he is worth at a game of poker against Wild Bill. Nobody really knows what occurred, but apparently Wild Bill mocked him by offering to give him a few bucks to buy breakfast after taking him for a ton of dough. Being a low life like McCall, your response is to kill Wild Bill. Only one problem, Wild Bill is perhaps the finest gunman ever to live. Wild Bill is notoriously paranoid and never exposes his back to anyone. As McCall, your weapon becomes patience. McCall does what any scum bag does, and waits for his prey. McCall goes on the prowl, and waits for his "Gazelle" to lower his guard. McCall spots Wild Bill with his back to the door, a practice which Wild Bill would never normally do. McCall uses this time to strike, and kills Wild Bill.

What's the point of this story? Simple. Predators don't want to eat the most dangerous prey. They have no interest in the toughest guy in the bar. They want the sucker in a suit carrying a lap top, an iphone and a bulky wallet. If you get confronted, remember, YOU are that prey. The second issue is don't let your guard down. Paranoia is your weapon against scum. Listen to your gut and stay out of trouble. When I go into a restaurant, I will make sure that the majority of the dining area is in my view, and usually the door. Yes, I'm that deranged! When your with your family or friends, you have a greater task: Protecting them. Keep yourself safe, keep your family safe, listen to your instincts! They will SAVE YOUR LIFE! I recommend that everyone read "Gavin De Beckers: The Gift of Fear".

The second issue I wanted to cover is "Forward Progress".

To reference my first point, an attacker/mugger/assaulter/rapist/thug or whatever, sees you as a easy mark. Crooks are opportunists and are not going to fight the bull outright. They have picked you because they think of you as weaker than them. This may or may not be because they have a weapon.

Once the attack commences, they want you to know that they are in control and that you are their prey. Shouting, threats, chicken walk, and pointing might all supplement their attack. What you need to do, and do quickly, is flip the script. You need to become the predator. Fun time for them ends here. You must engage the forward progression. You are not going to be "driven back" physically, or mentally. Holding your ground is not enough. You must drive them back. That's where the Drop Step comes in. The Drop Step is the best way to push forward. I have personally used this in fights, SCA armored combat, football (offensive line), wrestling, and boxing. You put your weight against someone while focusing an attack, and you will knock them out. Read Jack Dempsey's book called "Championship Fighting" for further information and exact details. Before you can become a quality fighter, you must be able to flip a fight around. The drop step is a fantastic way of doing it. This is a good video about the Drop Step. What this guy is teaching is a Lead Punch from Jack Dempsey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khvuYfGh_qQ

Quick Note: I have a large library of fighting manuals and tactic books. If anyone is ever interested in checking some out, let me know. I am also always up for trading for your favorite fighting manuals or other such things.

See you jokers next week!

Sunday, March 1, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-03-03T20:09:00.000-06:00

I'm going to focus this weeks posting on take down defense. The reason for this is the fact that most of the other stuff we covered, we have covered before in one way or another.

The first thing I will recommend that you do, is watch the video that is posted earlier on my blog (and on youtube) of the "Skater beating up the Jocks". This is a perfect example showing what I explained in class about take downs and pushes having the same body mechanic, and not knowing which one is which. The pushes could have been the same as a high tackle.

If you want to watch football highlights for a few hours, just type "tackle" into youtube and absorb it. I have a feeling you all know what it is, so I will cut to the experts in the field: The Wrestler.

With all the Wrestlers/football players in the world, you can be pretty sure that in a fight, a tackle will occur. If you ever watch children fight, this is also very common for them too. I personally think that it is hard wired into our brains. So here it is, the classic Double Leg Take Down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClG2VGOt60c

Notice the age of those kids? Most wrestlers learn this move on their very first day of class. After a few decades of doing it, they master it, and will use it when they flunk out of college and decide to become meth heads.

I want to focus on one main theory for take down defenses:
I want to stay above you. The reason for this is so that I can escape when I chose. Another reason is because a time tested axiom in fighting is "take the high ground". This has existed, and will exist in through the history of time. There are many many great ground tactics that people are great at if they are down with their opponent. The problem I have with this is that you must assume that there is no weapon, and that this person doesn't have friends. If you pull them into guard and set up the best arm bar in the world, it wont mean anything if his friend kicks your teeth out!

So how do we defend against one of the oldest tactics in hand to hand combat?

First, is the stiff arm. Yes I know it's cheesy, but it is timeless as well and pro-football players have made millions just because they are good at resisting tackles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-8m1T3oYqM

You know what I like about this the most? If you do it right like in the video, your direction of travel isn't sacrificed! You can keep moving/running/fleeing/escaping and pop a stiff arm out to resist your attacker! You also have a 360 degree of protection from an attack! Not many defenses can claim that. Just push your hand into their face, and drive them back, down or to a side depending on where your distances are.

Second, is the Sprawl. The Sprawl has been a wrestlers best friend since the sport began. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57w6t4Wp0O4 This video is pretty good, but not the best. The under hooks (the sprawlers arms going under the attackers arms) are nice, but not required at all. The other thing that the sprawler does poorly is that he turns his hips. This causes a slight bend in the knees and at one point in the video he kneels. This should never happen. Keep your feet square and balanced.

FROM THE SPRAWL: Cross face. From the sprawl, you need to get out! If a good wrestler gets sprawled on, he will keep coming until you run into a wall, and your feet come into his reach. You need to get away from him, and get behind. In this video, he does a cross face, with a chest spin. We covered the chest spin separately, but the obviously go together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtxTBZWJkDk a video on a chest spin drill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmu1nDmC5ko

Chris and I did some gun work at the end. First and foremost about guns is that you cant mess with them. If someone stick you up with a gun, I would not recommend fighting back automatically. I think that you really have to look at each situation differently. Personally, if I was attacked with a gun, and my 7 months pregnant wife was around, I would fight. If I was by myself and unarmed, I might just give in. You must figure out what you are comfortable with, and react to each scenario differently. The bottom line is that you have to pick your own choices, and Chris nor I would ever advocate fighting an armed attacker unconditionally.

ANOTHER QUICK NOTE: We will NOT be having WMA class on Sunday April 14. Phil has some super awesome Aikido stuff going on then, and doesn't want us meat heads spoiling their fun!

February 22, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-02-24T20:33:00.000-06:00

School Yard Shove: The anatomy of the most common form of violence.

I apologize for the slow posting about Sundays activities. My wonderful wife and I have been going to birthing classes on Monday nights so this was the quickest I could post. 1000 Pardons to students, teachers and bums of all sorts.

The school yard shove, who doesn't know what one of these feels like? These are without doubt one of the most confusing forms of attacks. Football players shove each other before games to get psyched up, adolescents shove each other on the playground in jest, and violent offenders shove suckers every day in order to set them up for a more brutal assault. So how the hell do you figure out which one just happened to you?

Three words:

Means, Proximity, and Intent.

These words are your best friends when considering if you just became assaulted in any fashion. Think about these things often as you must have a clear understanding of them to use force on anyone.

Proximity is the freebie in this equation. If someone has shoved you, they have to be close enough to do it. Proximity has to do with the distance someone is from you. For example: if someone is standing across the street from you (lets say 50 feet) and is holding up his fists and shouting, "I'm going to kick your ass", you must realize that he is not close enough to do it. You cannot lawfully run over to him and punch him in the face. The proximity for his actions does not exist. Obviously for the shove, you are close enough to be shoved, so lets give you this one for the sake of Sundays lesson.

Means is another freebie in Sundays scenario. Means has to do with "The way" that the attack occurred. If I say that I'm going to shoot you, but you know I do not have a gun, then obviously this one cannot occur. This is one of the most difficult to deal with issues in a court room setting. How do you know the person had a gun or did not have a gun? How did you know the person had a way of beating you up? Etc. Let's go back to our situation from the Proximity issue. If your walking down the street and a guy comes up to you (he's no longer 50 feet away now) and says "I'm going to kick your ass" but this person is a double arm amputee and in a wheel chair, you probably cannot justify the "Means" in which he could harm you.

Intent is the only one with a bit of interpretation for our shove scenario. If someone who you have never seen before comes up to you and says "Hey pal, its me mike" and shoves you, its probably a case of mistaken identity and you cannot lawfully round house kick him (walker Texas ranger style) in the head. Our friend who just shoved you is probably having a case of mistaken identity. I would not be shocked if our pal Mike had a bit of alcohol in his system when he greeted you in a obscure way. If your walking across some train tracks and the MTC light rail train is about to hit you, and some hero type jumps out of no where and shoves you out of the way, I would highly advise against punching him in the balls. This guy obviously had no intent of hurting you. However, if a guy comes up to you and shouts "Mother fucker" and shoves you, intent might be established.

More discussion of this can occur in class if anyone would like it. For anyone who is in martial arts or would consider standing up for his family must learn these things and master them. It only makes sense! Feel free to email me with any questions about this at minnesotawesternmartialarts@gmail.com

Another quick legal issue: If your going to seek out the abilities to use force at all, I find it very important to know when and when you cannot use force. Why would you go get a gun if you don't know when you can shoot someone? Why learn a martial art if you don't know when you can use it? Check out these links for some laws on the issues for the state of Minnesota. https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=609.06 https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=609.065

Every year, the FBI comes out with statistics every year about crimes that are committed. I ask you, what distance do you think most deadly assaults occur? Fact: Most good guys get killed from the range of 0-6 feet. Check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aOz0w8xhUM

Some of the close combat tactics we covered in class have to do with a shove. Elbows are your friends. The basic idea is that you stick them in the beak of the attacker to protect your head, and deliver damage to your attacker. After that is dealt with, other tactics can be delivered as needed. The Elbow attack is great for close quarters (like the lady in the link above) or wherever you might be. Protect your head, smash with elbows.

The other main issue we covered is a close quarters knife attack. Mainly against the Sewing Machine attack. Check out the videos on my other postings to see what these look like exactly. Remember, block the weapon, get off line, control the weapon, smash the enemy and attack the "root of the problem". The dog brothers and Gabe Suarez made a pretty good video explaining violent knife attacks and how to avoid them. The video shows some good case studies and history on violent assaults. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0fPL4f3Eqc

Can't wait to see all you ugly mugs again next Sunday!

Sunday, February 15, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-02-15T18:48:00.003-06:00

Well, despite Phil hiding from us (chicken!) we had a bunch of fun! We transitioned into finishing initial impacts. From the clinch we worked on a few distracting attacks.

Fist Fighting defenses were covered in class. Mainly the bob and weave. What could be better than not getting hit? Answer, Nothing. The bob and weave is an old tactic that seems to show up in all kinds of martial arts. Boxing/Fistfighting/pankration seems to have the best one. Heres a video on the basics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpUCihaCWY This next video is a pretty good demo/traning routine on the Bob and Weave http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqvOD3nxDVE

1. Coup pied bas: this move is great from the clinch and is quick and potentially very damaging if your wearing footwear. From a clinch we throw this kick with the back foot. You strike the opponent in the leg, just below the knee with the instep of your foot. Most of the time, this is shin, but don't be afraid to deal a devastating blow to the calf area too. A good website on this move is http://www.onlineonair.com/savate/page1.html This move comes from Savate.

2. Head Butt: No no no, not the "WWE headbutt" that we have all come to know and love, but the dirty boxing headbutt. This little number can really rip you up! This video has a few of the strikes that we learned about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U9fBBIiRbY

3. Low Knee strike: This could be one of the most common martial arts moves ever. I'm not sure if there's a style out there that has never taught a low knee strike. This is a quick knee strike that usually can happen by accident when you are marching into your opponent. These knees generally hit groins, quads, or head if it is low enough.

Also from the clinch, there are a number of valuable throws and clinches that we covered. Keep in mind that in the techniques we teach, we should try to stay in a standing position even when our opponent is down.

1. Duck Under: We have covered this one before, and although it is not a "throw" really, it sets up for a ton of other moves that come off of the side position. You can check my earlier blog about the duck under.

2. Single Leg Take down: This move like the duck under, has a lot of finishers and techniques for getting to the actual throw. From the side, we slid down the near leg, picked it up, placed it between our knees and pivoted to knock the opponent down. There are many many other ways to do it. Here is one video of a Single Leg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOKaCtNmrv0

Another part of the class was the knife work we did. If you check my earlier blogs, you can see different videos about the sewing machine tactic and why it is so damn deadly. If fleeing is not an option, block the arm, get off line, destroy the attacker. This method is much to hard to explain without being in person, but that's the basic idea.

Thank you to all who showed up. Special thanks to Tristan for getting me a copy of those PDF files. Very nice stuff!

Sunday, February, 8, 2009 - Class Supplement

2009-02-08T20:51:00.004-06:00

Another exciting and fun day at Enso Aikido! Chris and I showed the worlds most classic Knock Out punch. This is a Drop Step shoulder whirl that has historically delivered devastating blows. Part of the other things we went through had much to do with throws and covers. First thing is first!

1. The Drop Step Shoulder Whirl: Depending on who you ask, this punch can also be called a Cross or even a Hook. I feel a Cross is a bit longer of a range and has a bit more to do with the arm. A hook to me is a bit tighter and less of an advancing attack. Just like the "Cover and stomp" or the "Boar" that Chris showed everyone, this footwork is a advancing attack the uses your weight teamed up with the gravity of the Earth. If you want to see what this looks like, check out THIS LINK! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6gqdwVBcCY

Another quick thing on punching. Chris made a lot of outlandish comments about Rocky Marciano fighting dirty and using hammer fists, forearms and elbows in his fighting. Well here's the proof that he was telling the truth! Watch for forearms and hammer fists especially! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQEL5sd2aOo

2. Throws: The throws that Chris and I showed today had one major thing in common... You don't need to go to the ground to finish it. One principal of Street fighting or Western Martial Arts is that you need to stay higher than your opponent. If I take you to the ground and grapple with you, I must assume that you don't have a weapon, and that you don't have friends. These of course are foolish assumptions and could end up getting you hurt or killed. Here are some pictures of the techniques being displayed. http://www.historical-pankration.com/archive_item.html?archiveid=1039 Another: http://www.historical-pankration.com/archive_item.html?archiveid=1115

The Duck Under http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LieteXvyNWc
Foot Sweep: This one is done from a grapple, but passing a punch and getting to a side makes it work just as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buL8s-ktz7k

3. Covers: The covers Chris and I showed are part of a large series of covers that we have seen over the years. Although I don't have historical documentation for all of them, I do have a few for you. http://www.historical-pankration.com/archive_item.html?archiveid=1101
Elbow Block... Not exactly the way we teach, but close enough for demonstration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVVVzz4tGzQ
Side cover. It's more muay thai than western for sure, but still really effective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58A-JR-MaKw

Contact me with any questions ANY TIME! Hope to see you all next Sunday!

Saturday, February, 7, 2009 Class Supplement

2009-02-08T18:58:00.003-06:00

On Saturday we drilled the basics with many very accomplished fighters. These were people that held higher belts in martial arts and are no strangers to a fight. However, when weapons, multiple attackers, noise, stress, and god knows what else are introduced, things change drastically. In class Chris and I showed many basic moves and covers. Check out these videos and see if they remind you of anything from class. Keep in mind that you should be watching footwork, good habits, and bad habits. At what point are you aloud to hit your attacker?

Boogaard: Left hand control/strike, right hand strike. I made reference to the hockey fighting and how it applies to real life and difficult terrain. Silly, but effective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1EGzp9DLY

Bas Rutten: How to Win bar fights instructional video series. Some good stuff in here regarding objects around the bar and how they can be used to hurt you. I also saw something similar to what Chris teaches at the 1:22ish mark. He doesn't use the same cover, but the arm block elbow with the elbow to the face is very similar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fWfxrPQG5U

Sucker Punch Video: Watch the encroachment on the victim. How close would you let them get? The aggressor has obviously been in a fight before. The way he checks around him before he moves in for the sucker punch is the sign of an experienced sucker puncher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2VabDnu_YA

Watch the "Sewing Machine" Tactic used on the guy in doing the Dips at the beginning. Also, watch it in play at about 2:15 at the picnic tables. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeWP2swZy4U

Good example of fighting behavior. I'm not sure who the original aggressor is in this video. However, at some point the "skater" (guy with the shaved head) goes on the offensive. He uses palm strikes to push people away, then attacks his opponents while pushing and delivering rapid blows. Did the "skater" give any ground at any point in the video? How far away were the first blow and the final blow in distance? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LVOKAl9a7k

Example of a horrible "self defense system". A lot of patty cake style of tactics that would never work against forward aggression. Why would you let someone grab you if you can help it? If someone is going to shove you, you better be ready to fight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sgpDJqj7Jc

What I like about this video is that you can see that the "Boyfriend" takes control of the fight and holds it the whole time. I'm not certain that he was justified in the force, but his forward progress is impressive. His fighting isn't all that fancy but for fighting on wood chips, he got it done. The other thing I like is that you can see the "other dudes" post their hands in the "oh shit I'm about to get hit" position several times http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9jiiPZ40Pg

Great example of how a "1v1" street fight never occurs in real life. This fight looks planned but it quickly turns into a beat down. This guy is lucky that he was a quick mover. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0wZwJpID80