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‘Just Saying’

There’s an increasing interest in practical application in martial arts today because people want to see a purpose and value in what they are learning.  This shift in focus is the result of a large influence by Jiu Jitsu, MMA and Reality Based Training.

The question is how do we know what we are learning or teaching is relevant to us?   It makes no sense to practice disarming a person in possession of a sword or an AK47 because of the extreme unlikelihood of anything like that is ever going to happen in our world.  However, to an Afghan soldier this sort of training would be very vital.  So the humble martial arts instructor has to be aware what's relevant and useful and that can difficult if they do not have the experience or access to resources. 

My focus has been practical application since the mid ‘80s when I first started training the Filipino Martial  Arts; that was a big shift from the traditional Karate which I was already doing for well over a decade.  It was relevant to my working environment such as working the doors in Sydney night clubs and solo law enforcement and there were times of having to take immediate action (off duty) on rat bags who broke the law right then and there – rapists, car thieves, drunks, thieves, dangerous drivers, serious assaults.  Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time (Bruce Willis, eat your heart out – no script, no special effects).  What do you tell your wife at 5am when you were supposed to be in bed 5 hours earlier.  With only a pair of shorts, runners and some worked up courage, five people arrested.  The media thrived on the story for months.   

Nothing wrong with being a martial artist and not having such life experiences but please don’t flex your muscles and tattoos, flash your belt and market yourself to convince the world you are invincible.  I bet, in one real situation, a lot of these 'wanna be's’ would turn to water and jump on Facebook to call for help. 

I've always told tournament promoters I am the wrong person to judge self defence events.  How do you score someone who defends against 3 attackers with baseball bat, sword and bikie chain and then finishing it all off with a handstand at a World MMA event?   

Techniques taught at schools should be relevant and effective.  This will only happen if the Instructor has an inquisitive mind by making use of the plentiful resources out there; flashy belts and Dans are not going to help anyone.
GA

The ‘Ordinary Guy’

Martial artists are disciplined and structured fighters but, in a situation, emotions can inhibit their performance.  This is because emotions and  fighting don’t mix very well.  We've heard it many times over ‘keeping a cool head’ is the best advice in a situation.  This is demonstrated by well trained police officers, doormen etc who keep their cool and will do a much better job in comparison with the ‘ordinary guy’.  

Police officers, and the like, generally are able to keep their emotions under control because what they do is not personal.  They get involved in a situation because it's their job to do so unllike the ordinary guy who may get involved in a heated situation with emotions flaring up.  The more personal, the more emotional, the more difficult to perform. 

How does one keep a cool head?  Ask the the experts; these are the people you want to talk to or learn from.  Keeping calm is not only better for performance but when the Cops turn up, the first thing they do, is will want to talk to the person who is most composed when trying to figure out what has happened or who is the culprit.  If they don't like you, you are already behind the '8' ball so you need to remain calm.

Relaxing is not so easy for the ordinary guy because they are not acclimatised to confrontations but just be aware the less emotional you are, the less likely you are to say something stupid and do the wrong thing.
GA

PS: Happy Birthday to Soke Richard Norton

The Missing Link

Overall, martial arts schools are good at what they do and produce some pretty good athletes.  On face value, the martial arts predominantly are about self defence and very few martial artists will question if what they are learning is ever going to help them out on the street.  That question in today's climate seldom arises because there are many other great reasons for taking up the martial arts.  But that question still remains and many fear to answer, ‘Can I defend myself?'  Especially those who may be dependent on it because of their occupation or the environment they spend most of their time in.

The truth is every martial art can be effective and useful but a street situation could turn out to be disastrous because of an important missing link in training.  Very few schools are not aware of the real life drama that takes place before the fight even begins.  Students are trained to respond to the Instructor/Referee's signal before commencing their 'fight'; they are warmed up and ready, and know what they are getting into, with rules to protect them.  In a real situation there is a lead up to the fight which sparks off high emotional acitivity resulting in the inexperienced freaking out. This causes not being able to think clearly or respond accordingly. 

There are plenty of available resources which provide the missing link such as Reality Based Training (RBT) which aims to acclimatise students to the threats and trains them to read the precursors and use the most effective and simple moves in stressful situations. This is a big subject and a lot of training is required if people want to be ready for that ‘fight or flight’ situation.  It is really up to the Instructors or individuals to do a bit of research if they want to get somewhere with this, otherwise, be prepared to accept defeat and don't kid themselves or their students.

Happy New Year
GA