United Kingdom. - Rayners Lane Taekwon-do Academy · In the 1935 book “Karate-Do Kyohan” Gichin...

2 - Jissen Magazine

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Welcome to the second edition ofJissen! I was absolutely delightedby the feedback and support thatthe first issue received. Thanks toeveryone who kindly supportedour fledgling publication andspread the word amongst theirpeers. All involved are verygrateful.

It’s great to know that we are notalone in feeling the martial artsneed a publication like this. The main purpose of this magazineis to spread information among pragmatically minded martialartists (at no cost to the reader) and we hope it will become thecentral publication for our community. Everyone who hassomething to share is strongly encouraged to contribute. Thismagazine is also free to distribute, print off, and make availablefor download. So long as you’re not charging people for it, weare totally happy for you to share this magazine however yousee fit with whoever you want (see details to the right). It isgreat to see so many of you helping in this regard. Witheveryone’s input and support this publication is sure to be ofgreat benefit to contributors, distributors, readers and, perhapsmost importantly, the martial arts themselves.

So what do we have in store for you in issue two? I’m delightedwith the contents of this issue as we have some great articleson the true nature of the “traditional arts” and how to train forreal situations. Please take a look at the contents page oppositeand you’ll see that we have plenty of information for you to read,ponder over and make use of in your training. I hope you enjoywhat our contributors have to share with us all this month.

We’ve also already got plenty lined up for issue 3; which will beout in a few months’ time. One bit of news that is sure to be ofinterest is that Michael Rosenbaum has provided us with anexclusive book on the history of karate! As with this magazine,the book will be entirely free of charge and we’ll let you know assoon as it is available for download. I’m sure you’ll all join me inthanking Michael for this incredibly generous contribution.

That’s enough from me. I hope you enjoy issue 2 and, as always,your thoughts, feedback and suggestions will be warmlyreceived. Please never hesitate to contact me [email protected].

Best Wishes,

EDITORIALISSUE 2 - Summer 2008

Jissen Magazine - 3

Issue 2 ContentsKarate Grappling: Does it Exist ?: Page 4

Want to write for Jissen or have your website listed ?: Page 54

Jamie Club cover photo taken by Sonia Audhali

L. Kane & K. Wilder continue to reveal the theory of deciphering kata

Brian Struchtemeyer looks at what we can learn from the airwar in Vietnam

Are the turns in TKD really turns? Matthew Sylvester looks at this issue

Knives: Face Facts or Run Away: Page 9

The 360 Degree Drill & Traditional Karate : Page 14

A Poor Craftsman Will Always Blame His Tools!: Page 19

The Hierarchy of Training : Page 24

The Street: Page29

The Way of Kata Part 2 : 3

Self-Defense & Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics : Page 37

Are Turns Really Turns?: Page 43

Iain Abernethy looks at some of the evidence for karate grappling

How to Spar for the Street Part 2: Page 44

In Defense of Nukite: Page 48

Victory Over Myself : Page 52

John Titchen discusses how to effectively train for knife attacks

Eric Parsons looks at reality training, the 360 degree drill & karate

How to use the forearms in combat is discussed by Chris Denwood

Jamie Clubb examines how we should structure our training

In this article Michael Rosenbaum covers the nature of “the street”

Iain Abernethy continues looking at how we can spar for the street

Lowell Hein defends to the role of Spear-Hand strikes

Dan Redmond tells us of his experience of overcoming fear

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In this article I’d like to ask if karate really doescontain any grappling? This is a potentiallycontroversial subject as I found out when I

wrote my book on the subject in the year 2000.The passing of the years has done little to diminishthat controversy. Certainly there is a now a solidinterest in this area of study within parts of thetraditional community. However, there are manymartial artists, from both the traditional andmodern fraternity, that believe that such methodshave never existed within karate.

The traditionalists generally protest on thegrounds that their sensei never taught them suchmethods and hence “karate grappling” is nothingmore than modernist revisionism. Manymodernists state that “karate grappling” is a directresponse to the MMA boom and again believethat such methods never existed prior to theadvent of the UFC in 1993. So what is theevidence for karate grappling? Did it ever existbefore 1993 or is it truly just modern revisionism?

One of the first things we need to explore iswhat type of grappling we are talking about whenreferring to “karate grappling”. In 1908 the purposeof traditional karate was clearly defined by thegreat Anko Itosu. In a letter to the Okinawaneducation authority outlining the nature of karatehe wrote, “[Karate] is not intended to be usedagainst a single opponent but instead as a wayof avoiding injury by using the hands and feetshould one by any chance be confronted by avillain or ruffian”. What Itosu is telling us is thatthe original karate was not designed for dealingwith a single skilled martial artist in a ring or inthe dojo, but is instead a means of keepingourselves safe in civilian self-protection situations.This is very important and we shall return to itssignificance shortly.

In the same letter Itosu also states, “Enter,counter, withdraw is the rule for torite.” Torite isan old term for grappling and means “seizinghands”. Itosu is therefore telling us that the karateway of dealing with civilian grappling is to get in

there (enter), do some damage (counter) andthen, once it is possible, flee (withdraw). As weshall see later, some of Itosu’s students recordedexamples of this strategy in their own works.

From Itosu’s outline of karate we can see thatthe karate of the 1900s did not concern itself withoutfighting a single skilled opponent, but insteadfocussed on the simple and direct methodsneeded to ensure safety in civilian situations. Wecan also see that the karate of that time didaddress grappling in that environment. However,karate did not contain the grappling methods fordealing with a skilled “single opponent”. Therefore,those that state skilled MMA style grappling canbe found in traditional kata are quite wrong. MMAgrappling is of such a level to be able to deal withboth a skilled “square go” and the civilianenvironment (when put into context and when theillegal methods are added back in). Traditionalkarate grappling does not address a consensualfight with a skilled opponent.

This is not to say karate is in any way deficient.It simply means it was designed for a certain setof circumstances and that we need to be clearon what kind of grappling we are discussing. Ifyou think of the direct low-level methods that mostmartial artists would utilise in actual self-defence– as opposed to the methods martial artists useto outsmart each other – that is the karate of the1900s and of the kata.

Having established the nature of the methodswithin karate, what further evidence is there thatany kind of grappling existed within karate priorto the “grappling boom” of the 1990s and wheredid grappling fit in to old school karate?

In the 1935 book “Karate-Do Kyohan” GichinFunakoshi – another student of Itosu and thefounder of Shotokan karate – wrote “In karate,hitting, thrusting, and kicking are not the onlymethods, throwing techniques and pressureagainst joints are included … all these techniquesshould be studied referring to basic kata”. So fifty-eight years prior to the launch of the UFC we

Karate Grappling:Did it really exist?

by Iain Abernethy

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have one of the key architects of modern karatetelling us that karate includes throws and locksand that these methods are found in kata. Whatis key for me is that in the same section he alsowrites “One must always keep in mind that sincethe essence of karate is found in a single thrustor kick, and one should never be grasped by orgrapple with an opponent, one must be carefulnot to be defeated through concern with throwingan opponent or applying a joint punishment hold.”This again reflects karate’s civilian nature.

Willingly engaging in a grapple means you arein the fight for the long haul and escape becomesmuch more difficult. The primary method istherefore to hit hard and fast and then flee. It’sperhaps a discussion for another article, butFunakoshi is quite clear that the key to self-protection is awareness and avoidance. If thatfails, Funakoshi tells that we should deceive theassailant and then pre-emptively strike and flee.This method is exactly what today’s leading self-protection experts also advise. Also in accordancewith today’s leading self-protection experts,Funakoshi is clear that grappling is a support

system and that striking must always be givenpriority. We must never seek grappling in the firstinstance.

The original 1935 edition of “Karate-Do Kyohan”shows a number of locks and throws –occasionally referring to where these methods canbe found in kata – using many photographs anddetailed text. In the pictures accompanying thisarticle you can see me demonstrating three ofFunakoshi’s throws: Kubi-Wa (Neck Ring Throw),Tani-Otoshi (Gorge-Drop Throw) and Ude-Wa(Arm-Ring Throw). Despite the fact that Funakoshidiscusses and demonstrates many throws in his“master text”, there are still many modernShotokan practitioners who deny that throwing ispart of their art.

Funakoshi also discusses tori-te methods in“Karate-Do Kyohan” and, in line with his teacherAnko Itosu’s advice, shows numerous escapesfrom common civilian grappling positions, i.e. hairgrabs, bear-hugs (front and back), single anddouble clothing grabs, seizing the neck etc.Funakoshi stresses the importance of suchmethods and recommends their regular practise.

So far we’ve seen that Funakoshi and Itosudescribe grappling in karate as being simplemethods that are there as a back up to the strikingand to facilitate escape in self-defence situations.I’d now like to look at some other historicalreferences to karate grappling.

One of the most important books in karate is avery old one called the Bubishi. The word “Bubishi”roughly translates as, “Martial arts trainingmanual.” As most martial artists are aware, karateis, broadly speaking, a fusion of indigenousOkinawan fighting methods and Chinese kenpo.The Bubishi deals with two kenpo styles thathelped form the basis of karate (those styles beingWhite-Crane and Monk Fist Boxing). Most of thepast karate masters had a copy of this book anddrew from it in their writings and teaching. TheBubishi contains an entire chapter on grapplingand escapes. Although the grappling methodscontained within the Bubishi are not verysophisticated, they are as effective as they arebrutal. The Bubishi’s twenty-ninth chapter alsocontains forty-eight self-defence diagrams; manyof which include grappling techniques that canalso be found within the traditional kata.Ude-Wa (Arm-Ring Throw)

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Kenwa Mabuni – founder of Shito-Ryu and yetanother student of Itosu – was one of the first toexpress concern that the grappling side of karatewas being neglected as the art made its movefrom Okinawa to mainland Japan. In his 1938book “Karate-Do Nyumon” Mabuni said that thekarate begin propagated on the mainland wasan incomplete version of the art and that peoplewere wrong to think that karate was devoid ofgrappling. He went on to say that those who didnot practise karate in its entirety were learning ahollow version of the art. Aside from the grapplingin karate, it is a little known fact that Mabuni alsotaught Shin-den Fudo-ryu Jujutsu to his studentsincluding Chojiro Tani: the founder of Shukokaikarate. So not only did Mabuni train in thegrappling side of karate, he also supplementedhis grappling study with methods from other arts.

Another karateka to train in Jujutsu and makeit part of their karate was Hironori Otsuka(founder of Wado-Ryu karate). Otsuka reachedgrandmaster level in Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsuafter many years of study under TasusaburoNakayama. In the two man drills of Wado we cansee throws and locks, and even ground fightingtechniques such as Juji-Gatame (cross lock).

From the examples of Mabuni and Otsuka wecan see that cross-training, far from being theblasphemy many modern “traditionalists” wouldhave it to be, is in fact traditional! Therefore thekarateka that wishes to build on the basicgrappling methods of karate should not be madeto feel they are abandoning the art for doing so.I see my own study of dedicated grappling artsto be following in the footsteps of many of karate’skey figures.

One grappling system that has a massiveinfluence on karate is the Okinawan art of Tegumi.Some martial historians believe that karate is infact a fusion of various styles of Chinese kenpoand Tegumi. It is has even been suggested thatthe name “karate” reflects this combination byusing the character for “Chinese” (kara) – latersubstituted with the character for “empty” whichis also pronounced “kara” – to reflect the influenceof Chinese kenpo and the character for “hand”(te) to reflect the influence of the native grapplingmethods of Tegumi.

Tegumi, as an art in its own right, is bestdescribed by someone who engaged in it first

hand. In his book “Karate-Do: My Way of Life”,Gichin Funakoshi wrote “Okinawan wrestling hascertain unique features. As with karate, its originsare unknown, and many Okinawans supposethat there must have been a relationship of sortsbetween the two … The Okinawan name for ourstyle of wrestling is Tegumi, and should you writethe word, you would use the same two Chinesecharacters that are used to write karate’s Kumite,except that they are reversed … Tegumi is, ofcourse, a far simpler and primitive sport thankarate. In fact there are few rules … The boutbegins, as sumo does, with the two opponentspushing against each other. Then, as it proceeds,grappling and throwing techniques are used. Onethat I recall well was very similar to the ebigatama(leg block and three quarter nelson) of today’sprofessional wrestling. When I watch wrestlingon television nowadays, I am often reminded ofthe Tegumi of my Okinawan youth … To stop thefight, all that any boy who felt he had had enoughneeded to do was pat his opponent’s body. Some

Tani-Otoshi (Gorge Drop Throw)

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boys, however, were so dauntless that they wouldgo on fighting until they were knocked out. In suchcases, it would be the duty of the referee to try tostop the bout before that happened. Like everyother Okinawan boy, I spent many happy hoursengaging in or watching Tegumi bouts, but it wasafter I had taken up karate seriously that I cameto realise that Tegumi offers a unique opportunityfor training …”

Here we have Gichin Funakoshi – who isfrequently regarded as “the father of modernkarate” – telling us of the crude “submissiongrappling” bouts of his youth and recommendingsuch training methods for the karateka. He thengoes on to explain how he and his friends wouldengage in Tegumi bouts against multipleopponents with the aim being to avoid beingseized and taken down (which is in line with theself-defence nature of karate). Funakoshi states,“I seldom had any great difficulty thrusting backa single opponent, but my difficulties increasedgreatly as the number of my opponents increased.Then, if I attacked one opponent, the others wouldfind an opening in which to attack me. It is hardto think of a better way than this to learn how todefend oneself against more than one opponent,and if this sounds like nothing more than achildren’s game, I can assure you that those ofus who engaged in it took it very seriously.”Funakoshi also describes bouts where peoplewould attempt to hold him down as he attemptedto regain his feet. Regaining an upright positionis of course the key ground fighting skill requiredfor self-defence.

For any skill to be of value it needs to be drilledlive. In my dojo we use the phrase “if you havenot done it live, you have not done it” to remindus of this vitally important fact. As part of oursparring we grapple to submission, practise livedisengagement from grips, drill fleeing frommultiple opponents (who can hold and strike) toa predetermined “safe zone”, and start from ahold down and fight to get back to our feet.Although the practicality of such training methodsis hopefully beyond question, some people fromwithin the karate community lambaste them forbeing “not traditional” or even “not karate”.However, the farther of modern karate himselfengaged in such methods and felt theyrepresented a “unique opportunity for training” forthe karateka.

So where does all of this leave us? The fact isthat there is a huge amount of historicalreferences to karate grappling and in writing thisarticle I was truly spoilt for choice. It was verydifficult for me to choose which references to useand which ones to leave out. Interest in karate’sgrappling methods was certainly greatly amplifiedby the rise of the UFC and MMA. However, thereis no escaping the fact that karate grappling wasaround for a very long time before 1993. Themajority of the texts referenced in this article werepublished many decades prior to that date.However, we need to be 100% clear that thegrappling of karate is not comparable to the highlyskilled grappling exhibited by MMA practitioners.It is, by design, very crude by comparison and asI said in the year 2000 in my Karate’s GrapplingMethods book, “If your aim is to compete in sportgrappling, or to posses the skills needed to outwrestle a trained grappler, then it would beprudent to take up a dedicated grappling art.”

The modernists who state that karate grapplingis a direct response to the MMA boom are wrong.We have seen that karate’s grappling methodsdid exist long before the rise of MMA. However,interest in that side of the art certainly owes agreat deal to MMA; which is just one more reasonwhy I like MMA and think the martial arts worldowes it a great deal. We have also seen thatkarate’s grappling is not in the same league asMMA grappling and therefore those who say thatMMA methods were in kata all along are alsowrong.

The traditionalists that protest to karategrappling on the grounds that their sensei nevertaught them such methods need to explore theirart in the depth it deserves. Most of the referencesquoted in this article are readily available andshould be studied by all serious karateka.Whether your sensei taught you these methodsor not, there is no doubt that the architects ofmodern karate practised grappling and regardedit as an essential part of the art. Certainly karatehas generally neglected its grappling since thewidespread growth of the art, but there have beenmany attempts to get people to reconsider thissin of omission.

Shigeru Egami, in his 1975 book “The Heart ofKarate-do” wrote about the neglect of karate’sgrappling methods. Egami wrote, “There are also

throwing techniques in karate… Throwingtechniques were practised in my day, and Irecommend that you reconsider them”. Anotherrelatively recent book that makes reference tokarate grappling and that urges us to includesuch methods in our training is H.D. Plee’s 1967book “Karate: Beginner to Black Belt”. In thebook, Plee – who was one of the pioneers ofkarate in Europe – wrote “One must not loosesight of the fact that karate is “all-in” fighting.Everything is allowed … This is why karate isbased on blows delivered with the hand, the foot,the head or the knee. Equally permissible arestrangulations, throwing techniques and locks.”

Surely there has never been a better time toreturn to the core of karate and practise the artas the holistic civilian combat system it originallywas? Time will tell if we will embrace thisopportunity or continue to deny what is in plainsight for anyone who cares to look. I really enjoytraining in and studying the nature of originalkarate and it is my hope that this article willencourage others to explore this aspect of theart for themselves. It is, after all, loads of fun!Thanks for taking the time to read this article.

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Iain Abernethy’s approach to karate has revolutionised the training of thousands of people. Through hisbooks, DVDs and seminars, Iain has shown how the traditional kata were created to be a logical and structuredrecord of practical fighting techniques. Iain’s fusion of old and new, east and west, is highly pragmatic, easyto adopt, and will only add to your current training and study. A member of the “Combat Hall of Fame”, Iainalso holds the rank of 5th Dan in Karate (BCA & EKGB) and is one of the few people to hold the positionof “Coach” (the highest instructor rank) within the British Combat Association; one of the world’s leadingpractical martial arts groups. Iain is in great demand on the seminar circuit and each year he teachesmany popular and inspiring seminars in the UK, mainland Europe and beyond.

Kubi-Wa (Neck Ring)

Is knife crime common? It seems that hardly aweek goes by without the press informing usof a violent and fatal assault occurring

somewhere in Britain. With the unfortunatevictims of these crimes from different areas ofour country on our newspaper front pages andon television for days at a time, it is easy to bestruck more by horrific these incidents are ratherthan how rare they are. In addition to reportingmany violent incidents the media has also raisedawareness that there is an increased trendamong young people to carry knives for selfprotection, and a MORI poll in 2003 indicatedthat 29% of secondary school students hadcarried knives for self protection at some point(1).

Our revulsion towards knife crime is natural. Inhis discussion on the killing at edged weaponrange, Lieutenant Colonel Grossman drew on anumber of sources to indicate the lengths thatpeople will got to avoid being stabbed, even whendeath is inevitable: Tutsi victims in Rwandapurchased bullets for their own execution ratherthan be hacked to death; mutineers in the 1857Sepoy uprising begged for the bullet rather thandeath by bayonet; despite the widespread useof bayonets at Waterloo and on the Somme veryfew bayonet wounds were inflicted (2). That fearof being penetrated by a blade shows too in the

unwillingness of soldiers to stab with theirbayonets, choosing to use their rifles as clubs –the bayonets serving predominantly as apsychological weapon to force the enemy to fleeor surrender (3).

A study of the Home Office online reports andstatistics and the various press reports availableon the BBC (and in the newspapers) allow thesubject to be studied in greater detail. These infact give quite a different picture of knife crime.According to the information given to the BBCby the UK Trauma Audit and Research Network,there has been no change in the overall numberof knife inflicted wounds since 2001 (4). That ofcourse says both a great deal and nothing at all.Six percent of all violent crime is knife related; toput that in context in 2004/5 there were 1,184,702 recorded violent incidents by police inEngland and Wales (5). So with this figure wecan guess at 71,082 violent incidents involvingknives, this means that it affected approximately0.14% of the population, assuming of course thateach incident involved different people (which isnot necessarily the case) (6). Of those 1,184,702recorded violent incidents there were 14, 425more serious woundings (and that does notmean knife attacks, just more serous injuries).Look at that number again and we see that only0.028% of the population were seriously injuredin violent crime (again assuming a differentindividual each time). This is a tiny proportion ofthe population, terrible of course for thoseinvolved, but not so terrible that you should beexpecting either knives or serious assaults atevery turn in most neighbourhoods.

In fact, according to available statistics from2002/3’s British Crime Survey, 72% of violentincidents did not use a weapon at all (7). Thatstill leaves 28% that did, quite a high figure, butit is a mistake to assume that that representsthe proportion of knife crime. Glasses and bottlesare the most frequently used weapons in the

Knives:Face Facts or Run Away?

by John Titchen

Jissen Magazine - 9

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night-time economy, which is where the majorityof incidents occur. Glasses and bottles alsocause the most disfiguring injuries (8). Asnapshot of knife injuries can be seen in theRoyal London Hospital data available throughthe BBC; they received 309 crime related knifeinjuries between July 2004 and June 2006 - ofthese chest wounds were the most commoninjury and 259 patients were admitted to hospitalresulting in 184 operations and 8 fatalities (9) Ifwe return to the 2004/5 statistics we can seethat if there were 71,082 violent incidents inEngland and Wales involving knives and only14,425 more serious injuries (not all of whichcame from knives but instead many from bodilyblows, glass woundings, blunt objects and guns),then not all incidents involving knives result ininjury. This shows that just because a knife isproduced this does not necessarily mean that itis going to be used.

Are knives the most common weapons usedon our streets?

Some readers may be surprised that they arestatistically more likely to be hit with a bottle or aglass as a weapon (in England and Wales) thanthey are with a knife, but this percentage simplyreflects the fact that the majority of attacks takeplace either in pubs/clubs or just outside thepremises. These sorts of attacks tend to beconfined to particular locales rather than bewidespread across the entire night time economyand it is good to see a number of clubs that insiston knife searches and the use of plastic glasses(10) If you are being threatened with a knife thenthe purpose of it is to scare you into doingsomething (15% of muggings in 2002/3 used aknife), if the person intends from the start to stabyou than they are less likely to display theweapon but will instead go straight for the attack.Fortunately the number of people in the generalpopulation who are psychologically able to stabanother person is quite small, although theconditioning environment of computer gamesand modern films is causing this to change (11).The carrying of knives is more about theimplication of strength and violence rather thanthe actual practise of it. The majority of peoplewho carry knives for self protection would nothave the time to draw a knife for use in a real

violent assault, nor would they have the mentalability to bring themselves to use it (12).

The trick now is to work out how to incorporatethis evidence into martial arts and self protectiontraining. If 28% of all violent attacks involveweapons then perhaps martial artists shoulddevote 25% of their time to weapons defences?This might be regarded by some as overkill, byothers as not doing enough – after all an attackwith a weapon might be more likely to lead to asevere injury. Fortunately there is a way in whichyour training methods can accommodate bothschools of thought: since there are only so manyways that the human body can move, this meansthat most attacks with weapons are likely to followsimilar trajectories to unarmed attacks, thus whiletraining for one you can train for another – if youalways imagine your opponent’s hands as‘swords’. A further important measure is that thenature of violent attacks with weapons,particularly knives, mean that you are more likelyto be threatened with a knife than actually cutwith one, thus you may wish to ensure you havea pre-emptive repertoire. The phrase ‘there is nofirst attack in Karate’ should not be taken to implyyou cannot attack first, merely that you shouldnot initiate any conflict – there is a difference.

Should I learn knife defences?

Many of you may disagree with the concept oftraining against knife attacks, after all knives canbe dangerous – should we be advising studentsto take them on? Shouldn’t we just advise ourstudents to run?

Knives can be dangerous – there is no doubtabout that. Despite the low incidence rate shownin all the statistics given above – knives still havethe potential to maim or kill you. A 3cm bladecan penetrate the rib cage, increase that lengthto 4cm and you have a blade that can penetratethe heart. In the UK it is estimated that 80% ofthe blades faced by Police Officers on duty fallwithin the size range of 7.6cm – 30.4cm (13).Scalpels and Stanley knives, while not stabbingblades, can inflict horrific injuries in split seconds,and can easily cause fatal damage to surfaceblood vessels. Highlighting and isolating the riskof being cut or stabbed and using it as anargument for not teaching students to defendthemselves indicates double standards. Every

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martial arts student is shown methods to defendagainst punches and kicks, some againststrangles and chokes, and all of these attackscan kill or ruin a life. Victims of violent crime diefrom the effects of falls and punches and kicksto the head as well as attacks from blades.Unarmed attacks are potentially as dangerousas armed attacks and thus to teach students todefend against the former but not includestructured training for the latter on grounds of‘personal danger’ is illogical.

There are a number of ‘props’ that someinstructors advise can help you against a knife.The item of clothing wrapped around a hand,the nearby chair, broom, saucepan, trash canlid, keys, handbag, briefcase, stab proof vest,leather jacket, gun – all of these could possiblybe used to help you – but how probable is it thatyou would have them to hand in time to use?You should train to use props by all means, andyou should always adapt to your surroundings,but at the end of the day they may not be there –unlike you.

Should I run if faced with a knife?

Instructors do not, of course, have to teach theirstudents to actively fight. In fact the mostcommon advice given with regard to knives is“run”. It is easy to tell people to run, but is runningthe best option? Knives aren’t usually producedat a great distance. In the time it takes youraverage person to turn to flee, the attacker hashad time to react and start to grab them – if theyhaven’t done so on producing the knife. Anattacker expects a victim to freeze or run - theydon’t expect them to fight back: very fewpredators choose prey that they think could bea danger to them. Freezing and flight areexpected, they will therefore get the quickestresponse. The Tueller Drill showed in 1983 thatthe safe distance required to draw and fire asidearm before an attacker with a knife couldclose distance and stab was 21 feet. An attackercan close 6 feet in 0.5 seconds and 12 feet inunder 1 second. At the range that a knife isproduced to threaten, very few people will haveenough time to turn and get a good head startfrom someone who may already be facing in thatdirection. If an attack is already in progress, theattacker is already advancing towards you with

intent to cut, the odds against getting a sufficientdistance are greater. At that range turning yourback on a knife may not be the best possibleoption. Without advance knowledge of how fastthe other person can run, thrust, slash or throw,presenting an unprotected back is not really agood move.

In addition to this element of doubt over theefficacy of running there are environments whereyou cannot run. There are also medical factorsthat may limit the ability of your students to run(knee, ankle problems, asthma etc). So, if yousay that you are teaching or learning self defense,you need to incorporate anti-knife strategies. Byall means be aware that you may be able toescape unscathed by handing over items, butthe situation may not always be such that thiswill solve the problem.

How can I safely test my knife defences?

This leaves the tricky question of formulatingphysical strategies for the ‘last chance’ option ofphysically attempting to defend against a blade.The only method you can employ with knifeattacks is to take a logical systematic approachto the training. DART uses a ten stage processto evaluate knife defenses.

Donning the armor to putknife-defenses to the test!

Step One: Identify the probable ways you canbe attacked (not the infamous Jim Carrey straightarm spoof) or threatened. Use police, forensicand A&E reports to help you identify the mostcommon places people are stabbed.

Step Two: Slowly try with a partner all thepossible ways your body can react against thethreat. Once you have a selection of strategiesthat seem to work - cut out any that initiallyinvolve fine motor skills.

Step Three: Kit up both people in decentprotective armor (14) and try the strategies youhave produced with a rubber blade against asingle identified probable attack/threat. Do thisin a static (one step) attack with full speed andpower. Automatically discard any responses thatwork less than 90% of the time – no matter howthey cool they look. Looking cool is somethingthat belongs in the movies, not in any realdefense against knives, unfortunately coolmoves tend to result in cool bodies.

Step four: Repeat step three but this time addpre-assault verbal threats and distractions toincrease the pressure level. Again - discardmovements that are affected by the greaterpressure.

Step five: Try step four after either an aerobicworkout or running round a stick to simulate anintensive stress reaction in your body.

Step six: Repeat step four but this time yourattacker is allowed to keep going for you untilthey have been hit in such a way that they acceptthe fight would have been over (move from staticto dynamic training). People do not generally stabjust once: once the psychological gap involvedhas been crossed they will keep thrusting andthey will panic if you get hold of the knife (theirown self protection instinct). The majority ofstabbings involve multiple penetrations.

Step seven: Repeat step six with the pre attackaerobic work.

Step eight: Move from dynamic to ‘alive’ trainingby giving the attacker choice of empty hand orany of the possible knife attacks you haveidentified, using pre-fight verbal and distractions.

Step nine: Add the pre-fight aerobic to stepeight.

Step ten: Replace your rubber blade with a feltpen to get a clearer idea of possible scrapingand slicing points and assess your survivability.

At any point in this ten stage drill you can returnto an earlier stage to take account of informationlearned. The more your mind and body has toremember the more likely you are to fail. Keep itSimple.

Use a rubber blade. If you always treat it withthe respect you would reserve for the real itemthere should be no problem with this tool. I haveseen a rubber blade snapped at the hilt due tothe impact it made when a student panicked andthrust his hand at the knife in an instinctiveprotective motion, and that is why it is my favoredtool: a wooden tanto or a blunt aluminum bladewouldn’t have broken; they would have brokenthe student. The speed, aggression andsuddenness of an attack combined with thepsychological stress (and anticipation of beinghit caused by wearing body armor) of verbalassault will give most normal people a sufficientadrenaline rush to come as close as reasonablypossible to real life conditions in training. You donot need to use an aluminum, wooden orelectrified blade. Let us not forget the purpose

There are many types of blades used onthe street, but the only one that isn’t isthe only one I would ever train with:

The rubber blade.


of engaging in knife drills – to give experience ofreliable effective responses for when there is nochoice but to engage, not to injure the persontraining.

Training in this manner isn’t an easy, but it is aworthwhile thing to do. You don’t have to do itpersonally - but every knife drill you teach or learnshould have gone through this kind of process.Knife drills should be as ‘road-tested’ as you cansafely make them - if they are not, what is yourlevel of integrity as a martial artist?

All violent crime is serious and knives are oneof the least forgiving things you may ever haveto face. If you practice defending against a knifewith tried and tested drills that have the integritythat comes from pressure testing then you willalways have more options, and options andexperience are crucial parts of fear management.Ultimately, you will make the choice what to do ifyou ever have to face a knife and you will be theperson who knows if you really did all you couldto prepare yourself for that situation.

Coach John Titchen teaches Defence Attack & Resolution Tactics to students, education professionals and corporateclients and can be reached via his website www.d-a-r-t.org.uk, e mail [email protected]. He is an accredited Coach with

the National Federation for Personal Safety and a Personal Defence Readiness™ Coach with Blauer Tactical Systems and isavailable to teach both self-protection, use of force and the law, restraint and Karate Bunkai seminars. The author’s newbook, Heian Flow System - Effective Karate Kata Bunkai, is available on Amazon and through all good bookshops.

As a student the author enjoyed the power and grace of kata but was frustrated by the lack of intelligentexplanation available for the use of the techniques. The bunkai that resembled the kata was awkward andimplausible while the bunkai that seemed effective looked nothing like the actual movements in the kata.Convinced that the movements must have had some form of combat effectiveness originally, he decided tostudy, cross train and look out of the box himself to find an answer, an answer that led to the drills in thisbook.

This book takes the 5 Heian Kata and breaks them down into progressively dynamic training and sparringdrills to teach students how to effectively counter the habitual acts of street violence. The drills all initiatefrom movements that simulate the body’s natural primal and protective flinch responses to attacks, andteach students how to close and create distance while moving freely between ballistic and grapplingtechniques incorporating close range striking, trapping, throwing, unbalancing and locking movements thatmirror the forms. Each drill is clearly illustrated with photos and explanatory text. The drills interlink so thatstudents quickly find themselves able to move freely from one Kata to another mid attack and defence torespond to the scenario created by their partner. The book also contains a detailed analysis of techniqueeffectiveness, an outline of the history of the forms and a discussion of the nature of violent crime and itsimplications for martial arts practice.

This book shows how to change kata from a sterile solo exercise into a dynamic form that belongs at theheart of your training. Whether you are interested in competition fighting or want to learn effective selfdefence, the drills in this book will improve your understanding of kata, timing, distance and repertoire.Heian Flow System will not only change the way you perceive these ‘training’ forms, but also the way you approach all kata.

The author has trained in several martial arts and presently holds instructor grades in four separate systems. In addition to martial arts classes hehas taught in secondary education, university and the military. His research training as a Doctor of History has always focused his approach to Karate;searching for effective answers to the question of bunkai. He is known for his practical approach to Karate training through his regular column inTraditional Karate Magazine and has taught seminars across the UK and in the USA. In addition to his writing and research he works as a senior officerin the Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve Training Branch and teaches seminars across the UK between running two dedicated Personal Safety clubsin Buckinghamshire, England

“I recommend the careful study of this work” - Bill Burgar“Dr. Tichen’s current work adds to the body of knowledge of the martial arts and

in particular to those who study the Heian Kata” - Rick Clark“The books that I enjoy are the ones that I feel genuinely add something to the discussion and come at things from

previously unexplored angles. This is one of those books.” - Iain Abernethy

HEIAN FLOW SYSTEM: effective karate kata bunkai

Available from Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk

Footnotes: 1 - This figure rising to 62% among pupils who had been excluded. 2 - D. Grossman, On Killing: the psychological cost of learningto kill in War and Society, (New York, 1995), pages 120 – 122. 3 - Grossman, pages 120- 128. 4 - BBC Website, report of 21 September 2006.5 - S. Nicholas, D. Povey, A. Walker & C. Kershaw, Crime in England and Wales 2004/2005, (www.homeoffice.gov.uk), page 74. 6 - I have hereestimated the population of England and Wales at 50 million. 7 - C. Smith & J. Allen, Violent crime in England and Wales, (www.homeoffice.gov.uk),page 13. 8 - A Finney, Findings 214 Violence in the night time economy: key findings from research, (www.homeoffice.gov.uk, 2004), page 3.9 - BBC Website, report of 21 September 2006. 10 - Although the flip side to this is that it may mean that you are in fact in a club whereviolence is a regular occurrence. 11 - See D. Grossman, On Killing: the psychological cost of learning to kill in War and Society, (New York,1995). 12 - See above. 13 - Data provided by the National Federation for Personal Safety (NFPS). 14 - Armour should protect the majority ofthe body from injury. This means that while pain may be acceptable the level of padding should be sufficient to prevent broken bones. Insituations such as this the padding should also be thin enough to allow natural movement. Please note that padding can only ever reduce theimpact force, it does not nullify it and as a result care should be taken when striking to areas such as the head or neck.


The 360 Degree Drill& Traditional Karate Practices

by Eric Parsons

Pick up any “popular” martial artsmagazine and you are likely to find atleast one article espousing the latest

in “reality-based self-defense” and at least onearticle in support of the more “traditional” sidesof the martial arts. In describing their viewpoints,the author of the former will typically denigratethe impracticality of the traditional martial artswhile the author of the latter will seem to considerall reality-based proponents as something akinto heretics. Plus, if all this wasn’t enough, thereare likely to be numerous letters in themagazine’s letter column arguing about previousarticles on the same issue. Everyone has to havetheir say!

Personally, I have always found such argumentsamusing. Both sides make valid points, but theytend to do so in such a manner that, even if theother side was willing to listen (which, most ofthe time, they are not), they would be turned offby the way in which the evidence is presented.One side wants to throw the baby out with the

bathwater, while the other has such a dogmaticattachment to surface tradition that it fails to seewhere their practice has diverged from theirstyle’s original intent.

And, what was that intent? To be able to defendoneself as effectively as possible in the real world– plain and simple. That was the goal of the menwho developed what are now known as the“traditional” martial arts. Of course, that is alsothe stated goal of the today’s champions of reality.As these goals coincide and the anatomy of thehuman body has changed little for millennia (and,for that matter, neither has the nature hand-to-hand combat), it seems that the means used toreach those goals should also be similar. And,in truth, they are. To demonstrate this point, letus compare the 360-Degree drill, a commontraining tool used in Krav Maga, to two “traditional”martial arts practices – sticky hands and ikukumikumite – and discuss how one can be used tolink to and reinforce the other.

Figure 1 Figure 2


The 360-Degree Drill

Since some readers may not be familiar with thisdrill, I will begin with a brief description of how itis performed.

To start, students should be paired up with onepartner designated the “attacker” and the otherpartner designated the “defender”. Uponcommencing the drill, the attacker is instructedto deliver open handed strikes at the defender.These attacks should be varied and shouldapproach the defender from all possible angles– hence the name “360-Degree Drill”. In KravMaga, the attacks for this drill are typicallydelivered only from the outside-in (Figure 1), withthe focus on practitioners developing theirawareness of and reaction to peripheral attacks.However, direct-line attacks can also beincorporated (Figure 2) with positive results.Furthermore, the attacks should be delivered withvarying speeds and rhythms, depending on theskill level of the defender.

As the attacker delivers these open-handedstrikes, the defender’s job is to keep them fromreaching him or her. In Krav Maga, there are

specific arm and hand positions that aredesigned to be used against the various anglesof attack. However, when adapting this drill to anon-Krav style, one can simply modify the blocksalready present in his/her style to meet the needsof the drill. For example, my preference is toavoid solid force-on-force blocks but instead usequick deflections (Figure 3) that leave fewerholes in my defense and also lend themselvesto quick counter-attacks (Figure 4).Once thestudents have mastered this basic defensivestage, they then move onto the next level wherethe defender looks for openings in which to tapthe attacker on the shoulder (Figure 5). Thisworks to develop an active defense on one sideand also shows the attacker when he or she isopening him or herself up to counter-attacks,leading to a tighter, more efficient offense.

After gaining competence at this level, thedefender is then allowed to tap the attacker oneither the shoulder or the knee (Figure 6), whichadds high and low-line attacks into the counter-attacking strategy. Although this is often the limitof the drill in Krav Maga, further levels can be

Figure 3 Figure 4


added by allowing the attacker more offensiveoptions (foot sweeps, takedowns, etc.), which willautomatically force the defender to employdifferent defensive tactics and strategies, or bygiving the defender a broader palette of counter-attacks with which he/she can respond. Forexample, instead of responding with a simpleshoulder or knee tap, the defender could beinstructed to look for openings to fit in for a throw(uchi komi) or to always initiate the counter byfocusing on a specific target (eyes, throat, groin,etc.). In addition, the defender can be instructedto continually increase his/her reaction time,shortening the period between the block and thecounter-attack. Such simultaneous block/strikesare called “bursting” in Krav terminology but area concept that should be familiar to martial artistsof all stripes.

The 360 Drill and Sticky Hands

The term “Sticky Hands” encompasses a widevariety of partner drills that are most commonlyassociated with the Chinese martial arts,although they are certainly present in the

Okinawan and Japanese styles. In these drills,the two participants typically touch wrists, usingone or both hands, and attempt to stick togetherthrough a series of flowing movements that caneither be pre-arranged or free form, dependingon the specifics of the drill. Often, if an openingpresents itself to either partner, that partner isallowed to strike, throw, or press the otherpartner. The goal of such drills tend to be two-fold: 1 - They force both partners to soften upand be more flowing in their movements, as asure way to “lose” in the drill is to become stiffand try to muscle your partner, and also 2 - Todevelop “listening Jin”, the ability to anticipateyour partner’s moves based on the feel of his/her body movements. Clearly, both of these skillsare of great value to a martial artist.

Furthermore, many martial arts styles expandupon the sticky hands routines, creating “stickyforearms” and “sticky elbows” drills that movethe participants closer together. Closing the gapeven further, pummeling drills can be seen as aform of “sticky biceps” training. In some classes,

Figure 5 Figure 6


the lower extremities are involved as well. Forexample, in my judo class, we practice a “stickyfoot” technique where a person who attempts afailed sweep continues to stick his/her foot to theopponent’s, hoping to keep them fromestablishing a firm base and leading to aneventual loss of balance.

Bringing this back to the subject at hand, the360-Degree drill simply takes these sameconcepts but moves in the opposite direction.Instead of getting closer, the partners move (asmall distance) further apart. The contact is nolonger immediate from the beginning of the drillbut must be initiated through a block/deflectionthat is then held/maintained to control theopponent.

This point is most clearly seen once the attacksare sped up and allowed to come from all angles,including direct-line attacks. If the defenderremains truly defensive in such circumstancesand only focuses his/her attention on deflectingthe incoming strikes, an attacker with quick handswill inevitably win. Action beats reaction.However, if the defender becomes moreproactive, maintaining contact after thedeflections and employing sticky hands-style

control concepts, he or she can remain relativelysafe even from the quickest of attackers.

One way of maintaining this contact that is quiteeffective is for the defender to establish “elbowcontrol”. When the attacker strikes, the defenderremains on the inside and then slides the blockinghand up to the attacker’s elbow. (Figures 7 & 8)Once in position, the defender “sticks” the handthere and uses pressure to control the attacker’smovements. By controlling the elbow, thedefender effectively controls the entire arm andneutralizes attacks from that weapon.

Using control tactics like these also helpsdemonstrate the similarities between the 360-Degree drill and sticky hands, as they make itdifficult for an observer to determine who theattacker is and who the defender is. The drillbecomes a free flowing exchange in which theattacker is trying to break contact and strike, whilethe defender is doing his/her best to maintaincontact and avoid being hit. In fact, suchmovement reinforces the basic tenets of stickyhands as the drill pertains to strikes: (1) Whenthe force advances, deflect it, (2) When the forceretreats, follow it, and (3) When the force breaks,strike.

Figure 7 Figure 8


The 360 Drill and Ikukumi Kumite

Another piece of the traditional karate curriculumthat bears a striking resemblance to the 360-Degree drill is ikukumi kumite. In “The History andEvolution of Shorei-Kan Goju-Ryu Karate”, IchiroNaito and Scott Lenzi describe this practice asfollows: “This last component [of Miyagi’scurriculum] involved real combat practice, but wasset up in such a way that the students were notinjured. The junior was allowed to attack with anytechnique to any part of the senior’s body withoutrestraining kicks and punches. The senior mancould block or dodge, but was not allowed to initiateany counterattack. Finally, when he saw anopening, the senior student jumped in and pushedthe junior back with the palm of his hand. Thesenior student accordingly had to master atremendous number of techniques in order to usethem instantaneously. Since scoring points was ofno interest, the senior’s counterattack had to befinal and decisive. It generally took a minimum often years to reach this level.” So, the essentialnature of ikukumi kumite was a continual barrageof attacks by one (junior) student with the other(senior) student evading these attacks until adecisive counterstrike could be administered. Ofcourse, this is quite similar to the 360-Degree drill

with added counterattacks, particularly theshoulder slap and knee slap varieties, the primarydifference being that the attacker is limited in thetype and strength of the attacks allowed. Hence,the 360-Degree drill can be seen as an effectiveintermediate tool that students can use to preparethemselves for ikukumi kumite during that(seemingly) long 10+ years until they are ready forthe real thing.

Conclusion

As is demonstrated by the above example, theprimary difference between reality-based martialarts and those of a more traditional nature is largelyone of semantics. If we define “reality” and“traditional” appropriately, with the realistsconceding that the foundations of the traditionalarts are sound and the traditionalists giving up lazydogmatic approaches for the practical, effectiveself-defense that is truly the legacy of the oldmasters, we can then find a middle ground wherenot only are the ends the same, but the means areboth similar and complementary.

Well, hopefully this article has given you someideas to consider and perhaps a new drill or two touse in your training. Until next time – Arigatogozaimasu.


The art of karate incorporates manymethods in which to transfer your powerinto an opponent. By changing the shape

of the weapons used to transmit energy, a wholehost of resulting combat benefits can emerge.The common notion of striking with a closed fistis viewed by the traditional and more practicalkarate-ka as simply one of a vast amount ofstriking formations that are possible with theupper limbs. Almost every part of the hand canbe accentuated for use as a striking weaponincluding the digits and thumb, fore-knuckles,wrist, the back of the hand and palm. Even thetips of the fingers can be used in an almost ‘whip-like’ fashion to attack the eyes etc. Each of theseunsurprisingly comes with its own advantages,disadvantages and perhaps more critically, themost appropriate time for exploitation.

Likewise, the use of the forearms is animportant consideration for those karate-ka whoview their art as a practical means of self-protection. Simply carrying out a mere superficialglance through the traditional kata can reveal awhole host of ways in which the forearms canbe used as effective striking tools and more. Inthis brief article, I’d like to focus on this particularaspect and hopefully expose how adaptable theforearms can be to aid overall effectivenessduring close range altercations.

Before we look at the benefits and limitationsto which the use of the forearm can offer incombat, I’d like to first devote a few words to itsphysical composition. The human forearm isgenerally defined as the area of the upper limbsbetween the wrist (articulatio radiocarpea) jointand elbow (humeroulnar) joint. It consists of twolong bones, which are called the radius and ulnanot surprisingly coming together to form the aptlynamed radioulnar joint. These bones areconnected by a fibrous ‘sheet’ called the

interosseous membrane. As far as musculaturegoes, the forearm carries numerous including thesuperficial muscles that control the motion of thehand at the wrist, the flexors/extensors of thefingers, the brachioradialis used to flex at theelbow joint and of course not overlooking thepronators/supinators, which are employed totwist the hand to face different directions (i.e.rotating palm up or palm down).

Collectively, the makeup of the forearm can besplit up into two distinct sections or fascialcompartments. The first being the posteriorcompartment that contains the extensors, whichare supplied by the radial nerve. The other is theanterior compartment that contains the flexors,which is mainly supplied by the median nerve. Inaddition to these, there is also a third ulnar nervethat runs the length of the forearm. Blood isprovided to the forearm primarily via the radialand ulna arteries or more specifically throughouttheir many branches.

Although the seemingly complex makeup of thehuman forearm can lead to a number of inherentweaknesses (examples of these include ofcourse the fact that the arteries run very closeto the skin or the easily accessible radial nervebelow the elbow joint on the ‘thumb side’ of theforearm), a well conditioned limb can still proveto be a extremely versatile striking implementindeed. It must also be remembered that whenthe forearm is pronated (i.e. palm facing to theground), the radius and ulna bones cross overto a point at which the palm will no longer turnany further. It is this occurrence that is usuallyexploited throughout the numerous wristlocksfound in karate. Therefore in order to use theforearm effectively as a strong tool fortransmitting energy, its innate limitations needto be understood somewhat, so that they can beeither avoided or (as in some instances)

A Poor Craftsman Will AlwaysBlame His Tools!

by Chris Denwood

Ude: A brief look at utilising the forearms in combat


systematically strengthened by conditioning drillsdesigned in such a way as to ‘stress’ the forearmsin a controlled environment in order to bring abouta positive adaptive response.

In almost all aspects of life, the human bodyhas a fantastic ability to adapt and changeaccording to the specific environment it’ssubjected to. If and when the conscious decisionis made to step outside of our comfort zone todevelop, the body will respond by changing tosuit both the new challenge and the specificsituation. For instance, if a weightlifter is used topressing 100lbs and then makes the effort topress 110lbs, then an improvement will berequired. The body will thus respond to this bybecoming stronger. Conversely though, if theweightlifter then decided to instead attempt 200or 300lbs, then a negative response would mostlikely occur, inevitably leading to injury. Thisfundamental principle of ‘reasonable overload’ isthe key to almost every part of our martial training.Without it, we would never improve.

Throughout the traditional forearm conditioningmethods found in karate, the same principledescribed above is applied. The idea is basedupon the human body’s restructuring of bone andsurrounding tissue in proportion to a slow butconsistent application of physical stress (i.e.reasonable overload). When receiving repetitiveand controlled impact against the forearms, thetissue and bone can develop over some time,become more dense and strong, whilstsimultaneously reducing the number of ‘active’pain receptors. In short, the body will becomemore accustomed to the new challenge placedupon it and as a result, grow positively inresponse.

In karate there are many traditional methodsin which to condition the forearms and these wereoriginally deemed necessary because of thenatural emphasis placed on these areas duringclose-range altercations - the range in whichkarate originally specialised. Since visual reactioncan’t be relied upon at distances breaching thatof arms length, the most common subconsciousreaction is to quickly raise the arms in order todefend the vital areas such as the throat or eyesand if skilled enough, to obtain a ‘tactile reference’with the opponent. In these kinds of instances,one of the first parts of the body to clash willinvariably be the forearm. Regrettably, the

intention and word limit of this article doesn’t offerme the space to digress any further into forearmconditioning – although perhaps this can be aninteresting subject for a future piece?

On the surface, the more ‘modern’ methods ofkarate seem to have completely disregarded thecombat usage of the forearms. Yet, its well worthpointing out the fact that all the basic so-called‘blocking’ manoeuvres found in the art such asgedan barai, uchi uke, soto uke, age uke andotoshi uke etc, use the forearm exclusively as theprimary means of contact. I personally believethat this is in no way a coincidence and that thesemovements cover all the fundamental directionsof force or energy projection. The simple viewpointof considering these techniques as strikes alonewould certainly show the importance of theforearm within the combat philosophy of karate.Furthermore, taking these potential applicationsbeyond the realms of just striking illustrates theclear malleability of such a weapon. In fact withthis idea in mind, it would be reasonable toassume that in most cases and within morepragmatic combat ranges, the use of the forearmwould probably even surpass the use of the muchmore commonly taught fist. This argument is alsoreinforced by the fact that many of the traditionalshuri-te kata (even the modern Pinan kata of AnkoItosu) are literally rife with techniques thatpotentially employ the forearm – surely a sign ofhow valuable these were originally deemed.

Generally speaking, we can make contact withthe opponent via the four regions of the forearm.We can use the ‘palm side’, the ‘little finger side’,the ‘thumb side’ or the ‘back side’. Obviously,striking with the thumb or little finger side wouldinvolve the ulna and radius bones more, sincethe palm and back sides generally have moremusculature mass. In some cases, having lessmuscular protection can prove disadvantageous.However, in respect to the practical applicationof karate movements, the bones of the forearmcan still be utilised in variety ways to accentuatea particular technique or strategy. Examples ofthis could include the application of chokes or armlocking manoeuvres whereby extra pressure canbe applied via a forceful twisting action of theforearm bones against the opponent’s morevulnerable areas.

Unlike the fist or other similar hand techniques,a forearm strike is not limited by any weaker joint


i.e. the wrist. In addition, because most forearmstrikes are generally angular in nature (asopposed to thrusts), less emphasis is requiredon making sure that the body is aligned in sucha way as to cope with a large resulting energy.This is of course particularly important forthrusting str ikes since at the extreme,effectiveness can always be lost due to theopposing force having a consequential adverseeffect on the total power output. Like the elbow,which I suppose is really just another kind offorearm strike, a great deal of power can begenerated, which makes the use of the forearma serious consideration for anyone who wishesto make use of their upper limbs at close range.

Again, with respect to the modern interpretationof karate, it’s clear (and unfortunate) that in themajority of cases, the applications associatedwith the use of the forearm have either been lostentirely or are seriously under-used. If it wasn’tfor the longstanding traditional kata, whichconcentrates solely on close range practicalcombat, the remainder of the more extendedrange karate strategies have simply norequirement for such techniques. Not that I’madvocating that there’s anything wrong with this– it’s just the product of our natural human natureto alter our training in order to serve a particularpurpose. In karate competition for instance (towhich most modern day practice is gearedtowards), as soon as two combatants obtain afighting distance inside that of arms length, thecontest is usually stopped via the referee andreset back at long range again. Therefore in thisparticular environment, there is no need to hone

any skills at close range. This occurrence wouldobviously never occur in reality though and sowith respect to this purpose in mind, the weaponsand power development strategies that don’tdepend so much on distance or time have to veryquickly become a priority in these more lifethreatening situations.

Using the centre line as a reference, we canstrike with the forearm by either thrusting awayfrom the body, pulling in towards the body, movingto the outside, moving back in towards the centre,raising upwards or sinking downwards. These sixfundamental motions prescribe the gross bodymechanics and as already stated above, seemto be intentionally dealt with a great deal via thebasic ‘blocking’ techniques found in karate. Again,these movements do not only have to be appliedto striking. The pictures found with this articlegive a number of examples as to how theforearms can be used and hopefully serve toprovide some illustration as to the real potentialbehind these movements. For those who areinterested, I would certainly urge you to spend alittle time in studying this specific area and Iguarantee that you’ll be taken aback at theamount of adaptable combat applications, whichcan be extracted and incorporated into yourcombat arsenal from these seemingly basictechniques.

Photos (1) and (2) show the forearm being usedas strikes by incorporating two of the fundamentalmotions as described above.

Figure 1 Figure 2


Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Photo (3) shows the thumb side of the forearmbeing used as an effective choke. In photo (4), ajoint attack is being shown and in photo (5)another variation is demonstrated that utilisesthe twisting of the forearm to cause additionaldiscomfort to the area just above the antagonistselbow. Finally, in photo’s (6) and (7), the themehas been broadened slightly to include a veryuseful close range strike using the very end ofthe forearm towards the inside of the elbow joint.Although technically, this doesn’t employ theforearm exclusively, it’s such an effectivemovement that I figured it would be sacrilegenot to include it here. It also serves as a meansto show that during any form of adaptableanalysis, your creative mind should not be heldback by any limiting factors. As I always like toremind those in my dojo, ‘karate means emptyhand, so then by definition - everything goes!

Figure 6

Figure 7


To conclude this short article I’d like to re-emphasise the universal fact that many of thecombative strategies in traditional karate haveinevitably been ‘de-prioritised’ due to the way inwhich the objectives of the art have changed toform the modern styles we see and practicetoday. If the primary aim of your practice is takenaway from the need to excel in close range self-protection and instead placed in areas such asspor t, self perfection, fitness, health,enlightenment or stress relief, then it clearlystands to reason that what was once deemedessential becomes naturally placed near the‘bottom of the pile’. Without doubt, karate (as itstands today) has many faces and each of uswho practice enthusiastically has the right to takefrom it what they need or what they deem to benecessary. However, if one of your goals doeshappen to be in the area of self-protection then

there’s no need to worry. Everything concerningthis aspect that was once prevalent in the art isstill very much present – it’s just that we maysometimes either have to look a little harder orincrease our understanding in order to uncoverit. I suppose, looking at the bigger picture then,the content of this article simply does nothingmore than humbly represent a mere drop in thevast ocean that is of course karate.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article; Ihope you found the content beneficial.

Chris Denwood is Chief Instructor of the EikokuSatori Karate-Do Kyokai and a senior instructorwith the British Karate-Do Chojinkai. For moreinformation concerning Chris’s approach tokarate or to enquire about upcoming seminarsetc, please call the E.S.K.K on 07801 531 914or visit their website at www.eskk.co.uk.


The Hierarchy of Training:Martial Arts Time Managemnet

by Jamie Clubb

Years ago I read an online martial artsdiscussion regarding limited training times.A martial arts student had written in with

a problem. He only had an hour a day to trainand wanted to make the best use of his time.The responses came in thick and fast. However,to my astonishment all of the programmessuggested consisted of mainly doing longcallisthenic exercises and stretching before asmall amount of time was dedicated to doingactual martial arts movements whether it wasagainst a bag or shadow boxing or forms. Thisintrigued me and over time I began to notice thispreoccupation with weight training, callisthenicsand general conditioning in discussions whereforum members compared their regular “martialarts” training regimes.

Many considered their formal classes to beenough to sharpen their skills and their hometraining was dedicated to improving flexibility,strength and cardiovascular capacity.Furthermore, when details were shared on whatexactly the exercises were they often had a veryabstract relation to their martial arts activity. Inessence, they just simply believed it wasimportant to keep fit in some shape or form andgave little thought to how exactly their exercisesmight contribute towards their martial artstraining. Oddly enough the solution for someonewho felt his stamina was letting him down insparring was not to simply do more sparring or,if this was not possible, do more work on thepunch/kick bag or shadow sparring, but to go fora run.

Yet, it is in this belief that martial artists seemto be pretty much alone. No other physical activitydevotes so little time to actually training thespecific activity. Swimmers swim, tennis playersplay tennis, yogis practice yoga and climbersclimb. Even writers are advised to write everyday. Whereas martial artists… well, they stretch,they run, they lift weights and sometimes theypractice martial arts, if time permit of course.

Those who feel that their formal lessons areenough might have a vague point if these lessonsdid concentrate one hundred per cent on trainingmartial arts. However, this is often not the case.A typical martial arts lesson begins with a runaround the gym followed by press-ups, sit-upsand so on. This is then followed by a lengthyperiod of stretches. Other classes just begin withstretching. Some of these warm-ups can takeup to thirty minutes, mind you I have knownclasses that spend even longer and back in 1999one instructor proudly stated in a public interviewthat he did not allocate more than ten minutesto actual martial arts activity. With children’sclasses we have an even worse situation, asinstructors not only have the lengthy warm-ups,but also have sandwich the actual martial artstraining with abstract bribery games to “keep thechildren’s interest”. Yet martial arts are discussedas being “a way of life” and the practice of themsupposedly trains instinctive responses that canbe applied under pressure. The mind bogglesas to how either of these statements can everbe true with the lack of importance this subcultureoften places on the practical training.

A key problem I have found is that martial arts,more so than most other forms of physicalactivity, are rarely taught with a clearly definedgoal for the lesson. This is little surprising withthe wishy-washy way martial arts are promotedor written about. Are they for self-defence?Sport? Spiritual enlightenment? Health? All ofthe above? In modern times there has often beenmuch talk about martial arts being about ajourney. However, without a clearly defineddestination, how can anyone make a worthwhilejourney?

The way the martial arts world get around thisis through something I call the “by-product myth”.This is the assumption that very important skillscan be acquired without the student realizing it.Although this can happen to a small degree, itmakes sense that the most productive results


are going to be when a student completelyembraces the full purpose of their training.Therefore what I propose is that serious studentsof martial arts adopt a strict time managementpolicy with their training. This should involveobeying robust principles that are in line withmodern coaching methods. At CCMA (ClubbChimera Martial Arts) we call this “The Hierarchyof Training”.

All training programmes should be done withthe end in mind. This idea is reflected in all threegroups I have listed in The Hierarchy of Training,but it is more evident in the most obvious in thefirst group: Specific Training. This is the specialistarea where you concentrate your attention onachieving a clear goal. It is where you work onone tactic or even an individual technique inisolation and then test it under different conditionsand ranges. Often at CCMA we try to bring outindividual techniques by beginning with a formof pressure test, where the students will findnaturally efficient methods they instinctively useto pre-empt or counter-attack an aggressor. Thenwe isolate these effective tactics and techniquesand use different methods to improve the bodymechanics, the reaction speed, timing, executionand the overall delivery.

A way to train a striking method, for example,might be to first restrict a student to striking in apressure test situation either as a pre-emptivedrill or as a defence against a grappling attacker.Then take the strikes that served the student bestinto a pad drill, where he will work to hit the padas hard as possible. Other pad drills can be usedto simulate a realistic or sparring environmentwith the pad-coach feeding the student withattacks. This gives the student the opportunityto replay the resistance-based situation, but thistime he takes a more empowered role and isactively prompted to take advantage of openings.With an idea of what improves the strikesconfirmed in the student’s head, the stage mightbe to shadow the strikes he has used bothagainst a fellow student and also the pads.Shadowing is a great way to record data andthen be used as a type of physical reference bookor diary. My belief, at the time of writing, is thatthis was the original purpose behind the kata,forms, patterns and solo drills of traditionalmartial arts. To keep a progressive training circlegoing, a student can then do another form of

pressure-testing or resistance based partnerwork to assess improvements, building up tospecific sparring.

Specific Training has a natural place ingrappling. I have never seen its practice moreprevalent than in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, SubmissionGrappling and Wrestling, where students willspend up to a month completely absorbing allaspects of a certain position or even a singletechnique. Like other areas of training, at CCMA,a student first derives his basic grapplingmethods from “live” encounters with otherstudents. Because we naturally grapple from anearly age, as a means to assert dominance overanother individual without seriously harmingthem, “Primal Grappling” is pretty easy to initiate.From Primal Grappling we find natural positionsthat work efficiently and then isolate them withsome compliant training drills. The pressure thencan be increased back up to specific sparring.They then can be integrated back into differentconditions, bringing in striking, weapons andmultiple aggressors.

Other examples of Specific Training includerole-play and escape drills. In fact, if we are totake this type of training into the realm of realisticself-defence these elements are pretty vitalfundamental components in our drills. Thismeans that realistic dialogue that incorporateverbal aggression and distractions should beimplemented to create the right atmosphere andinherent social disadvantages found in a real-life situation. Equally escape is the number onepriority in the majority of self-defence situationsand fundamental Specific Training drills that aregeared towards self-defence should have this asthe clearly defined goal of the student beingcoached.

Photos in this article taken by Sonia Audhali


Attribute Training is a term I first heard fromthe World Combat Arts founder, Mo Teague. Heused it to describe valid areas of training thatare not immediately relevant to realistic self-defence. This is not to say that it is not awor thwhile area of training for someoneinterested in self-defence, but that its purpose isnot as well defined as Specific Training. I defineAttribute Training as being combat methods thatare more geared towards developing will thanspecific self-defence tactics like pre-emptivestriking and escape. Therefore most forms of fullcontact sparring, where the object is to “win”rather than “survive”, falls into this category oftraining. When you Attribute Train you areeffectively stepping off a self-defence path andinto the wilderness of combat research, whereyou condition yourself to adapt and then returnwith new knowledge back to the severerestrictions imposed by self-defence training. Thisis where intelligent cross training comes into theplan.

If you have a clearly defined goal in mind, youwill learn the rules in a mind to break them. Youwill learn Western Boxing to gain the experienceof working with your hands in an environmentthat specializes in hand-striking. In the grapplingarts you will learn how to position yourself andbecome familiar with fully resistant people whowill be using restraining methods against you ina manner that is not far removed from anunarmed abductor’s tactics. In Muay Thai andMixed Martial Arts you will get the feel of grabbingin conjunction with striking from several ranges,which harks back to fighting at its most primal. Itis this familiarization with these areas and thehardiness that consistent training in themcultivates that we are after when undertakeAttribute Training. An intelligent cross trainer willlook past the complex shapes that the individualarts and styles take and will look to the universalprinciples that underlie the most efficient tactics.He will then sceptically dissect even the highestpercentage methods and investigate their originin the fight and, crucially, what their flaws arewhen he brings the tactics back to the self-defence path.

Functional Fitness is the title I have given tothe third type of training. This area deals primarily,but not necessarily, with solo training methodsthat are bit more abstract from the other two

groups of combat training. They vary from heavybag training to weight training. Methods shouldbe geared towards developing the musclememory and muscle groups involved in yourmartial art. As a general rule, martial artsFunctional Fitness training should involvecompound and combination exercises, includingsuper-sets and shock training. Martial artistsneed both stamina training, to handle the tiringstress the body can experience when feeling theeffects of adrenaline, and explosive training todeal with the rapid delivery of heavy force in ashort length of time. Compound exercises involvebig body movements and bring in the use of morethan one muscle group by moving the bodythrough more than one joint movement. A lot offree standing exercises, such as squats are goodexamples of compound exercises. I definecombination exercises as exercises that work twomuscle groups in the same rep. Press and cleanare brilliant combination exercises, roughlycombining dead-lifts with squats and the militarypress. Super-sets are two or more differentexercises done immediately after each otherwithout a rest in-between to make up a singleset. Shock training – or shocking the system – isthe practice of training one area of the body sothat the blood rushes there and then switchingto another part to ensure it receives more stress.Apparatus worth looking into include resistancebands and versatile crossover cable machinesfor more specific Functional Fitness, that drillstriking and throwing applications, unbalancedweights, secure yet unstable equipment such astrapeze bars or roman rings, kettle-bells for freemovement and awkward shaped weights suchas tyres.

In conclusion, I advise that in order to get betterat something, train that particular something.Then investigate intelligently into what methodsbest support the skills you need the most anddevelop your attitude to be adaptable yet resilientunder stress and tiredness. Finally develop yourbody, in addition to your spirit, in a manner thatwill best serve you in your chosen activity.

Condition your mind to be creative yet sceptical.If you are training for real-life self-preservationthen ensure that your Specific Training reflectsthis. For example do you routinely drill runningfrom an attacker that draws a weapon? Okay,do you then continue drilling the running when


you are forced to engage and subdue the threator do you get seduced by the lure of the physicalfight? In Attribute Training are you lookingtowards the robust fully restrictive combat sportsthat are transparently interested in developingefficiency or are you drawn towards those thatreward low percentage flashy techniques andoffer “quick fix” mysticism? Do you then look forprinciple links between the robust sports/arts andare you brave enough to question theirlimitations? In Functional Fitness, do you lookfor exercises that will test your whole being in ashort length of time or are you more interestedin cultivating your biceps and going through themotions as if it were a chore? When you do workan exercise geared toward combat efficiency doyou then look at how the body mechanics directlyrelate to the execution of high percentagetechniques and how you can improve thisparticular exercise to enrich the integrity of thetechnique?

These are all questions worth considering ifone hopes to continually progress in a productiveand relevant fashion. A final note on “TheHierarchy of Training”: many martial arts speakof a “higher art”. In fact, I went through manyschools and spoke to many martial artists, manywho fancied themselves as scholars, who lookedat me as if I were some sort of philistine if I daredto discuss the subject of combat efficiency. Well,so far my historical research has led me to thecurrent conclusion that virtually all of the world’smost established forms of martial art wereoriginally created for this purpose. They weren’teven invented with the philosophical notion thatyou train to fight so that you don’t have to fight.No, they were originally designed for self-preservation or the domination of the enemy, andmany were designed to kill. Such revelations –to my shame - made me become disparaging ofthe “white suit” arts that preached about peacefuland spiritual martial arts training, especially whentoo much of it seemed to a) be represented bybogus claims and outright mystical charlatanismand b) be taught by bullying hypocrites that tookadvantage of other’s insecurities. Yet, somewherein my consciousness I knew this disparagingattitude was also a type of cop-out on the realityof the situation. Luckily I was able to meet, readabout and train with real traditionalists that helpedme understand that all aspects of training could

not simply be divided up into white suit bad, nosuit good.

Civilians should not dismiss all notions ofbecoming a better person and influencing apositive environment. In fact, I would encouragethis strongly even if this is just for selfish reasonsto reduce the chances that you and your lovedones will be victims of assault. However, mytheory is – and this appears to be routinelybacked up by most people who train hard andintelligently in the combat arts – that a betterappreciation of life and other people comes frompushing yourself to your physical limit, facing fearand continually getting to your feet after eachdefeat. It wasn’t long before I found that thosepeople I considered to be at the top of the realisticself-defence ladder or who excelled at the full-contact sports, were often very peaceful andgood natured people who, having been “throughthe forge” were now working on “holistic self-defence” or, as my good friend Geoff Thompsonlikes to say, “defence from the self”. When yourbody is forged through heavy forms of resistance,be it from a training partner or a dead weight,your mind is tested too and so is your character.You just seem to value everything more, makingyou become more philosophical and this is whereyou develop your own personal higher art.

Photos in this article taken by Sonia Audhali


All too frequently, martial arts practitioners study their art without truly understandingwhere it comes from, how it was developed, and why it was created in the first place.Indeed, many don’t care—and if you feel this way, you should put this book down. Forthe rest of us, who have taken our art beyond tournaments, it is reasonable to expectthat we want to uncover the past. We want to understand the where, why, and how ofmartial art development. We are intellectually curious about our combative history.

To study the combative arts is to understand the circumstances of their developmentand to gain insights into the views and ethics of the societies that created them. As wetravel back in time, we see consistent evidence of martial systems being influenced bythose that came before and/or invaded. We also see the use of ‘pre-arranged’ fightingpatterns (kata) to transmit proven techniques from one generation to the next.

It is this transmission of martial knowledge, through kata and other forms ofcommunication, that this book will explore. The author will demonstrate that pre-arranged fighting techniques (katas) were used by ancient Greek, Egyptian, Asian,African, and European societies. And that Poetry, Dance, and Song were also significantmethods of preserving and transmitting battle-tested fighting tactics through the ages.

The purpose of kata training is not to become bound by the form but to transcend the formitself—to evolve.

Available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk & ymma.com

Michael Rosenbaum began his martial arts training at the age of five. Along with Isshin Ryu, whichhe has been practicing for 25 years, he has studied Bando, Judo, and Boxing. Michael is a formermember of the elite 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, and has completed Infantry, Airborne,and Jungle Warfare Schools. He currently resides near Knoxville, TN.


It was 3:00A.M. the end of a very long night forme. My shift at the bar where I worked as abouncer had begun 12 hours earlier, but it

seemed as if an eternity had passed since then.During the course of my time on duty I alongwith my par tner had broken up severalaltercations between drunken customers,thwarted the attempts of numerous minors toenter the bars premise on fake ID’s and had evenhelped a police officer arrest a very belligerentyoung man who was selling cocaine in thebathroom. As we placed him in the back of thesquad car he screamed police brutality; a chargewith no shred of evidence to it what so ever. Fullyrealizing this, the young man began slamminghis face into the back of the drivers seat in anattempt to create his own evidence. The arrestingofficer and I just stood there shaking our headsas we waited for the paddy wagon to come takeour psychotic friend downtown. We both agreeda rubber room would be to his liking.Later as I stood at the bars front door watchingour patrons stumble out into the cold morningair, the thing I wanted most was to just get homeand climb into bed. I was tired from the longhours, sore from having been slammed into awall by some drunken Rambo want-a-be, andjust in an over all bad mood due to our cliental,who were a mixture of middle- aged men outcheating on their wives, drug dealers conductingbusiness as usual, college kids whose soleambition was to get blind drunk, and a group ofbikers who regularly dropped by to grab a beerand a bite to eat. Ironically it was the bikers whoproved to be the most- well behaved of the lot.

Standing beside me was Brian, one of thebartenders, a tall lanky kid whose expressionbarely hid his contempt for those whom he hadserved that night. His apron was covered withketchup and grease stains and his boots weresoaked from all the soapy water that was usedto disinfect the kitchen floor each night. Like me,he too had, had a long night and just as the lastcustomer was exiting the door Brian, shouted;“Fight, Mike there’s a fight out there.” Withoutdelay I rushed through the bars big oaken doorsand sure enough right in front of me were two

middle aged men, both filled with whiskey,fighting over the company of a young lady whostood nearby. She was very delighted that herpresence would warrant such drama.Sizing up the situation I circled around the manstanding on the lower end of the slopedsidewalk and quickly steered him away fromthe other combatant. However by doing so Ibecame the focus of his anger, which was soonturned upon me along with a barrage ofpunches. He was not a trained fighter but thatdidn’t matter because with his powerful hay-makers it would only take for one to land andthen I would be in trouble. In an awkwardmanner I blocked some of the incoming blowsand ducked others each one sounding like adump truck had passed by my head. Finally anopening came, and I lunged forward pushinghard into his stomach with both my hands,causing him to double over and fall backwards.After hitting the sidewalk the desire to fight lefthim, as did much of his dinner. He tried to getup but could only manage to roll over on allfours and vomit. Seeing this I quickly turnedabout, and there- stood the other sport coatclad assailant who was drawing way back withhis right hand to hit me.

In the exact moment that he drew back hisfist everything went into slow motion, and as ifin a vision I knew where, when and how hispunch would be thrown. The mans eyes werefilled with anger when he lashed out at me butthe second before his fist crashed into my faceI ever so slightly stepped to one side of him.One moment I was there and the next I wasnot. It was one of the most beautiful slippingactions you have ever seen. Earl Flynn couldhave not done any better and my opponent’spunch thundered by me out into empty space.“On guard” I felt like shouting but at that preciseinstant the rule of Murphy and his dastardly lawcame into play.

Just like the other man, who was now on hishands and knees dry heaving, the fellow whosepunch I had side stepped was not a trainedfighter. Therefore when his fist went sailing out

The Streetby Michael Rosenbaum


into nowhere the force behind it made him loosehis balance. And because this happened on asloping sidewalk, one covered in ice and snowhe fell right on top of me. I tried desperately toget out of his way but it proved impossible due tothe snow and ice beneath me. There was a crash,a curse, and then we both went rolling down thesidewalk locked in one another’s arms. Duringour decent my opponent made several attemptsto gouge me in the eyes and gab hold of my hair.I on the other hand was praying; “please Jesusdon’t let him have neither gun nor knife”.

Finally our long protracted roll ended at thecurbside, and we found ourselves still entangledwith one another sprawled out in the snow, iceand slush. My attacker had ended up on top ofme with the better position. However, as he triedto get up I punched him hard on the jaw andthen managed to roll over on to his chest in whatis known today as the “mount position”. Here Iwas finally able to choke him by using the lapelsof his coat. Yet, before I could render himunconscious, a crushing weight fell upon my backand from somewhere behind me I heard the barmanager screaming: “break it up, break it up”. Itwas during all the confusion of my “encounter”that the manager, a big man who weighed closeto 300lbs ran out and sat astride my back.Beneath me lay my drunken opponent who notonly had to contend with me but the managersextra 300 pounds as well. He gasped for breath,groaned, and then finally screamed aloud “OhGod get them off me”. Except, for my pride anddirty clothes I was uninjured, but my opponentwas taken to the hospital for several fracturedribs, thanks in part to the managers decision tosquash the affair instead of letting it play out.What had begun for me as a very chaotic event,one, which I’d gained some control over, quicklyended up as a scene right out of the keystonecops.

Whenever a martial artist asks me about streetfighting and what may or may not be the besttactics I always tell them this story becausethroughout the years it’s served as a goodexample of just how chaotic and uncontrollablea street altercation can be. A street fight/self-defense situation never turns out to be how youexpect or want them too be. Yet this often is overlooked at times in our training.

Since the terrorist attacks of 9-11 I’ve noticedthat many instructors are emphasizing the self-defense aspects of the fighting arts more thanthey have in times past. And while this is good,what often is not addressed in teaching self-defense is the nature of the beast. By that I meanthe chaos and violence that are an integral partof a street confrontation. Far to often when itcomes to teaching combative aspects, especiallyby an instructor who has a lack of experience inthis area, there is a tendency to “gloss it over”with quick fix approaches. Many of which are notbased on sound judgment, nor first handexperience. The following explores some of theseareas.

The Illusion of Ease: One common belief oftenput forth is that for a trained fighter it is an easyprocess to meet and defeat an assailant. Thiseven includes an unarmed practitioner pittedagainst an armed one. The latest phase in this“illusion of ease” is the one I saw while browsingin a local Borders. As I sipped my coffee I cameacross a martial arts book that showed variousmeans to defend against attackers who werearmed in a manner of different ways. Some ofthe explanations were well founded but one inparticular that caught my interest was thesegment on how to disarm an opponent armedwith a hand grenade. It involved a long intricateprocess that showed how you grabbed thegrenade from your opponent’s hand, threw themto the ground and then placed the grenadebeneath them all the while you dove to safety.Having myself been in the military and had thepleasure or shall I say displeasure of throwing ahand grenade, several questions came to mymine about this. One of them being is that mostgrenades have a 3 second time delayed fuse onthem. This is done so that you have time to throwthe grenade but your opponent doesn’t have timeto pick it up and throw it back at you. In my opiniongrappling with your opponent then throwing themon the ground and then placing the grenadebeneath them would take more than threeseconds. Unless of course your, Rambo, JohnWayne, Walker Texas Ranger or any of the otheraction hero’s who we see on the silver screen.There is another factor to be considered hereand that is the kill radius of an exploding handgrenade. Most have a 50 -yard kill zone, whichmeans that anything more or less with in a 50 -


yard circumference will be either killed orwounded by the grenades explosion. This canbecome even more complicated when youconsider that some grenades are fragmentationtypes, which throw out pieces of metal whileothers may be incendiary models that usephosphorous to burn their victims to death. Inthis presentation of grenade defense runningaway was never considered as an option, whichby the way would have been my first choice.

This illusion of ease is also given with manywho teach the ever- popular “pressure point”attacks these days. While this can prove to be avery valid aspect of the martial artists trainingwhat many forget is if your opponent is drunk,mad, on drugs or are all three combined, thentheir threshold for pain has risen greatly! A simpletouch, tap or grab is not going to achieve thedesired results. A strong uppercut to the jaw, ora stomp to the knee, yes, but a finger lightlyplaced upon the temple or wrist will not. Fightingis a very physically demanding endeavor onewhere time is measured in split seconds notminutes. When it comes to street fighting andstreet self defense there is no illusion, it’s tough,demanding and at times down right dangerousstuff.

Weapons: In keeping with our hand grenadescenario the issue of confronting an armedopponent should always be kept in mind. If youcan defend against an armed opponent thenmore than likely your chances against anunarmed one will be good. However what weoften fail to understand is that; whenever aweapon is used, then your chances for survivaldiminish as much as 90 percent depending uponthe skill at which the attacker can use theirweapon. Should a knife be used your chancesmay decrease as much as 50 to 70 percent. If itis a firearm and your opponent is at a range ofsay 10 to 15 feet then your chances for survivalmay decrease as much as 80 to 90 percent.These are depressing facts but they need to bekept in mind if your object is to plan an effectivestrategy against an armed opponent. All factorsneed to be considered because you may haveonly one opportunity to exploit an opening in yourassailants plan. Weapons are not something tobe taken lightly. You can take a punch to the faceor stomach, but when it comes to a gunshot orstab wound the effects can be fatal. Also inteaching weapons defense we sometimes forgetthat running is a very valid and effective option.Even the most skilled warriors in times past knewwhen and when not to engage in battle. The callof retreat has been heard more than once in thefighting arts long history. This is a lesson weshould not overlook especially in this day andage of automatic firearms.

Your training has to fit the fight: Far too oftenyou will see the practitioner trying to make thefight fit their training instead of vice a versa. Thisis very common- place with many practitionerswho often, spend- much time trying to figure outjust how kata/form movements can be appliedto an engagement. The movement or movementswill be viewed from all angles most of which arebeneficial to the defender. What can be lost inthis analysis is that the opponent used duringthe exercise is often a very willing one who wantsthe definition to work just as much as thedefender does. There fore the chaotic reality of acombative situation can and is overlooked. Inactuality most fights/self defense situations occurat the most inconvenient times and places. Moreoften than not you won’t execute thosepredetermined responses found within your formor kata just as you have practiced them so often

Could you disarm an armed opponentagainst the clock?: 3, 2, 1 ...

Photo on this page is free of copyright


in the dojo. Instead you may be forced to utilizecatch as catch can techniques, which may ormay not resemble those you have practiced. Inaddition to this is the fact that your own surge ofadrenaline will hinder your motor skills leavingyou with being able to execute only the mostelementary of techniques. This is why manycombative systems like military bayonet trainingutilize techniques that are based on a KISSsystem. Keep It Simple Stupid. They realize thatin the heat of battle anything beyond a simplethrusting, chopping, or kicking action may be outof the question.

All fights are different: Experience can play abig role in how you perform in a street altercation.However all fights are different, no two are alike.If you find yourself defending against the attackof a seasoned rapist or mugger then the natureor the engagement will be of a life or deathnature. One in which your intent will be toseriously injure or maybe even kill your attacker.Yet, on the other had if your involved in a disputewith your drunken uncle over a football gamethen breaking his knee may not be the properresponse. A come along wrist twist orsubmission hold yes, but breaking his leg overwho did or didn’t score a touch down is a bitmuch. This leads us to the legality of self-

defense. The nature of your attackers threat willdetermine to a large degree how you respond.For instance if a pickpocket takes your wallet;should you chase them down and then breaktheir back, you may end up spending more timein jail for attempted murder than they do forstealing your wallet. Remember the dynamics ofeach situation will determine how you respondto it.

Conclusion: Can today’s martial arts training,be of value in dealing with self-defensescenarios? The answer is yes it can, providedthat we stop to analyze our training and take timeto understand what we may or may not encounteron the street. Probably two of the greatestweapons the study of a fighting art provides uswith are a developed sense of awareness thatteaches us to be not only in tune, with ourselvesbut also our surroundings and the ability todevelop physical responses to dangeroussituations. Both of, which can help us greatly indealing with potentially dangerous situationsshould we be forced too. However when Iconsider some of my past “street experiences”;even with all the knowledge made available todayand with all the instructors out there teaching greatself-defense, I’m still a firm believer in: The fightyou can walk away from is the best one of all.

Mike Liptrot is one of the UK’s premier grappling coaches. Afull time international judo coach, Mike started training in Judoat the age of six. Thanks to the massive influence of legendaryJudoka Tony Macconnell, Mike had a successful competitioncareer, competing in his first International at sixteen yearsold. Presently the Chief Coach at the Kendal Judo Centre (anofficial Olympic facility to be used by international players inpreparation for the 2012 games), Mike is in charge of all theinstruction and coaching from the youngest to the oldestmember including recreational players to top classcompetitors. Mike’s teaching is in great demand and herecently produced his first DVD on Judo. Please visit Mike’swebsite for training tips, seminar details and all the latest news.

www.mikeliptrotwww.mikeliptrotwww.mikeliptrotwww.mikeliptrotwww.mikeliptrot.com.com.com.com.com

Michael Rosenbaum is the author of: Okinawa’s Complete Karate system Isshinryu, Fighting Arts TheirEvolution from Secret Societies to Modern Times and Kata and The Transmission of Knowledge in Traditional Martial

Arts. A former paratrooper, he has been involved in the martial arts since 1966.


This is the second of several articlesexploring the hidden meaning of karatekata. This material is an excerpt of various

sections from the book “The Way of Kata: AComprehensive Guide to Deciphering MartialApplications” by Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder.The purpose of these articles is to unveil someof the methods of analyzing and understandingkata applications to make them relevant andmeaningful for modern karateka—both in self-defense and in tournament conditions.

What is the theory of deciphering kata?

In the previous articles we discussed that kataapplications are rarely obvious and that the workto uncover hidden techniques in kata is calledkaisai. Since it offers guidelines for unlocking thesecrets of each kata, kaisai no genri (the theoryof kaisai) was once a great mystery revealed onlyto trusted disciples of the ancient masters in orderto protect the secrets of their systems. Using therules of kaisai no genri practitioners can decipherthe original intent of kata techniques by logicallyanalyzing each specific technique to find theirhidden meanings. The 12 rules of kaisai no genriare split into the shuyo san gensoko (three mainor basic rules) and the hosoku joko (ninesupplementary or advanced rules).

The next rule of kaisai to discuss is, “Everymovement in every kata has martial significance.”

Every movement in every kata has martialsignificance

“Once a form has been learned, it must bepracticed repeatedly until it can be applied in anemergency, for knowledge of just the sequenceof a form in karate is useless.” – Gichin Funakoshi

Every movement of every kata has at least oneapplication that can successfully be used in areal fight. The ancient masters did not wasteeffort on pretty; they were concerned withfunctional. There were no kata tournaments orsparring competitions where they could win fancytrophies to line their dojo windows. There wereonly life and death struggles to survive. Not onlywere they concerned about random violence

from robbers, extortionists, murderers and otherthugs, but also about kakidameshi (dueling), thetradition where budoka (martial artists) routinelytested each other’s fighting skills in actualcombat.

Remember, too, that they did not have thebenefit of modern medicine. Even minor injuriescould become life threatening. A broken jaw mightcause a person to starve to death. A broken armor foot might preclude his ability to earn a living.And since there was no welfare in feudal timesand most folks lived in agrarian society, nothaving work could be life threatening as well.Even a minor infection could be fatal. Antibioticshad not been invented yet. Consequently katawere developed to crush the life out of an attackeras efficiently and ruthlessly as possible.

The Way of Kata: Part 2by Kris Wilder & Lawrence Kane

Kris Wilder teaching in the UK (2008)


Even yoi (which means “prepare”), the very firstpreparatory movement in kata, has martialmeaning. Gogen Yamaguchi wrote, “When theleader calls yoi, you have to cross both hands infront of your body while you breathe in; and then,while you are breathing out, bring both fists toyour sides as if you are tightening your belt, thentighten both armpits like you are pushing at thefloor with your fists and put power in your wholebody. The reason you cross both hands in frontof your body is to cover the groin area from asudden attack; at the same time, you show theopponent that you will not attack suddenly. As inthe etiquette of the samurai in which they takeoff a katana (sword) from the waist and changeit to the right hand showing that no cowardly act,such as slashing the opponent without notice,will occur. From that meaning, the inside of thehand that is crossed has to be your dominantarm.”

When examining kata for applications,practitioners cannot discount any movement. Inthe old days when most kata were developed,each contained a fully integrated fighting system.Nothing was superfluous. Every technique hadto have real-world offensive or defensiveapplications, usually more than one. Forexample, another interpretation of the yoimovement at the beginning of a kata could be aneck crank takedown, while the similarmovement at the end of a kata might representa double clavicle strike (e.g., as defense againsta tackle). It can also be used deceptively to baitan opponent’s attack, leaving the practitioner’shead exposed to more accurately predict andcounter the adversary’s initial blow. As with anyother kata movement, applications for yoi areonly bound by a practitioner’s creativity andimagination.

Creativity is required in other areas too. Forexample there are many kata in whichtechniques appear to be shown more than once,perhaps to the left side followed by the right orvice versa (e.g., yoi at the beginning and endingof each kata). Most times such applications arenot truly mirror images; they are actuallyasymmetrical. In other words, they are not simplyshowing the same thing from two directions butare actually describing two similar-looking yetfunctionally different techniques.

For example, in gekisai kata dai ni, there aretwo mawashe uke (wheel or circular blocks)shown in neko ashi dachi (cat stance), one at 45degrees to the right of your starting position andone at 45 degrees to the left. While they looknearly the same, one demonstrates a closingtechnique while the other shows an openingtechnique. Even in this basic kata there is muchmore going on than the untrained eye canperceive.

The only exception to this rule is found in thekihon (basic) forms. On occasion a diagonal stepcalled yanjigo (literally “forty five,” as in a 45degree angle) is required to re-centerpractitioners back to the kiten (origination) pointfrom which their performance originated. This istechnically not part of the kata hence it has noapplication. Similarly if kata performance endsfacing any direction other than shomen (front)there will be a realigning shift or turn at the finish.Again, this movement is purely to ensure thatYoi - The 1st movement in kata


practitioners finish their kata in an aestheticallypleasing manner, ending in a location from whichthey may repeat the sequence or start anotherkata without any additional superfluousmovements.

Another rule of kaisai we’ll be discussing in thisarticle is, “Utilize the shortest distance to youropponent.”

Utilize the shortest distance to your opponent

“In attacking techniques such as oi tsuki (lungepunch) or choko tsuki (straight punch), themovements must be straight and quick, so as totake the most direct path to the opponent.” –Morio Higaonna

In geometry, the shortest distance between twopoints is a straight line. In business, the shortestdistance between two points is integrity. Infriendship, the shortest distance between twopoints is trust. In martial arts, the shortestdistance between two points is where you strike.

To have the greatest opportunity for success,practitioners must strike or defend with theirclosest body part. Defensive techniques must cutoff the attacker’s blow before it gains too muchspeed and power, catching it as close to theopponent’s body as possible. Offensivetechniques must afford the adversary as littlereaction time as possible. The shorter thedistance, the faster you get there.

Karate punches, for example, shoot straight outfrom chamber (usually at the practitioner’s side).With rare exceptions, such as furi uchi (swingstrike), there is no curve involved in a punch.Traveling at equal speed, the John Wayne-stylehaymaker commonly seen in barroom brawlstakes a lot longer to land than a traditional karatepunch because its curved path covers moredistance to reach the opponent. Remember,however, that linear punches are more effectivewhen they come in at an off angle as opposed todirectly into the opponent’s enbusen (line ofmovement).

This concept is corollary to the principle of notusing two steps. The essential point is that extramovements take extra time. In a real fight, speedkills. You must both be fast and efficient. Utilizeyour closest weapon (nearest limb to theattacker) and keep striking until he or she is nolonger a threat. A simple tandem drill helpsdemonstrate how:

Work with a partner. One person will be theattacker (tori) and one the defender (uke), tradingroles after each set. Initially work at half speedusing a scale of 4:1 (four responses to oneattack). Utilize your closest weapon (limb) foreach attack and defense. Your partner must onlydefend against your last technique; then itbecomes his or her turn to employ threeunimpeded techniques followed by a fourth onewhich you get to block.

Here’s how it works: After the initial attack (e.g.,punch, kick, whatever you agree upon), uke getsfour moves before tori gets to move again. Theemphasis is on technique, so you do not have togo fast. Be sure to strike lightly so no one getshurt while they are unable to defend themselves.Each technique (e.g., punch, kick) a personemploys counts as one move. Movement suchas a shift or step performed simultaneously witha technique is not counted as a separate “move.”If your defense involves a technique (e.g., block)that counts as one of your four moves. Anexample of how this might go follows:

You attack with a chest punch. I block (1), shiftand punch (2), elbow strike (3), and backfist (4).You absorb the first three attacks, and then blockthe backfist (1), perform a knee strike (2), thrustkick (3), then shift and lunge punch (4). I blockthe lunge punch and the cycle repeats. Anycombination of techniques may be used. Eachpar tner honors the other’s techniques,responding as if they were actually struckforcefully. The goals of this drill includeestablishing flow, targeting your opponent withyour closest weapon, and practicing the principleof continuous attack.

After you perform this drill a few times and getit running smoothly, change the scale to two toone, then finally to 1:1. As long as eachpractitioner gets at least two movements per turn,it’s pretty easy to trade techniques back and forth,blocking then counterstriking. As soon as thescale gets to one to one, you should notice a bigdifference. Conjunctions have been removed. Youcan no longer block and then strike because yourturn ends with the block.

In this manner, once you get behind, it is almostimpossible to do anything other than defendyourself—just like a real fight. Remember, he whocontrols the momentum ultimately wins the fight


almost every time. The objective of this drill, ofcourse, is ultimately to find ways tosimultaneously defend and attack. It might gosomething like this:

You attack with a head punch (1). I drop toshiko dachi (sumo stance) ducking below yourstrike and punch your ribs (1). You pivot, elbowstriking my side, which simultaneously deflectsmy punch and counterattacks (1). I pivot out ofthe way and spin kick (1). You shift inside myrange and straight punch (1), I straight punchback to your solar plexus inside your strike (1).Because I’m on the inside, my blow lands whileyours glances off my shoulder. Since Iconnected with an un-deflected blow to a vitalarea (the solar plexus), the round ends. Webegin the drill again.

Any combination of techniques can beemployed. Go slow enough that you are able to

use proper stances, adhere to your style’sstrategy, and employ its tactics in a safe andcontrolled manner. In this fashion we learn thevalue of stance, position and angle inapproaching an opponent. We learn that thereis no time in a real fight for two steps when onewill do. Ultimately, the only way you can win isby firing again and again with your closestweapon until you break through your opponent’sdefenses and disable him.

Now that you understand the principle, lookfor ways in which your kata utilize the shortestdistance to an opponent in demonstratingbunkai (fighting applications). This rule is notonly good advice in a fight, but also a greatindicator of the intended target and angle ofattack portrayed by any given kata movement.Look for the shortest distance to your opponentfor both offensive and defensive techniques.

About the authors: Lawrence Kane is the author of Martial Arts Instruction (2004) and Surviving Armed Assaults(September, 2006). Kris Wilder is the author of Lessons from the Dojo Floor (2003). The two collaborated on The Way of Kata(2005), the book from which this information was summarized, as well as The Way to Black Belt (2007), and The Little Black

Book of Violence (2009). If you’d like to obtain a copy of The Way of Kata book the easiest way is to order it from Amazon.com.Lawrence can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]. Kris can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

The Way of KataThe Principles for Understanding Kata are Largely Unknown – Until Now!

The ancient masters developed kata, or “formal exercises,” as fault-tolerant methods to preserve their unique,combat-proven fighting systems. Unfortunately, they deployed a two-track system of instruction where an ‘outercircle’ of students unknowingly received modified forms with critical details or important principles omitted. Onlythe select ‘inner circle’ that had gained a master’s trust and respect would be taught okuden waza, the powerfulhidden applications of kata.

The theory of deciphering kata applications (kaisai no genri) was once a great mystery revealed only to trusteddisciples of the ancient masters in order to protect the secrets of their systems.Even today, while the basic movements of kata are widely known, advancedpractical applications and sophisticated techniques frequently remain hidden fromthe casual observer. The principles and rules for understanding kata are largelyunknown.

This groundbreaking book by Kris Wilder & Lawrence Kane unveils thesemethods, not only teaching you how to analyze your kata to understand whatit is trying to tell you, but also helping you to utilize your fighting techniquesmore effectively—both in self-defense and in tournament applications.

Available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk & ymma.com

“This comprehensive book bridges the gap between form andapplication in a realistic, easy-to-read and easy-to-apply manner” –

Loren Christensen, 7th degree black belt


Whenever I speak to a group of martialar tists and bring up the topic ofdissimilar air combat tactics (DACT),

the response is swift and consistent: How canaerial combat possibly relate to martial arts andself-defense? Simply put, modern AmericanDACT was born from the fatal consequences oftwo mistakes martial artists and defensive tacticsinstructors frequently commit. The first is havinggaps in your doctrine, or the big picture outlineof what you think works in self-defense. Thesecond is training to defend yourself against thewrong adversary. To understand how theseelements relate to aerial combat and benefit self-defense training we need to travel back to thestart of the Cold War and its effects on America’sair war in Vietnam.

Planning for Nuclear War

Prior to Vietnam, American pilots enjoyed anoutstanding track record of success indogfighting (this is the vernacular term for aerialcombat. The technical term is Air CombatManeuver or ACM). In World War II Americanpilots had a “kill ratio” as high as 20 enemy aircraftshot down for every American plane shot down.In the Korean conflict this number remainedimpressive averaging around 14 to 1. This storyof phenomenal success came to a crashing haltearly in Vietnam when the American ACM killratio fell to less than 2.5 to 1. The reasons forthis staggering drop in performance were bornin the late 1940s and early 1950s when U.S. airpower doctrine shifted in response to nuclearweapons.

Following the end of the Second World War andthe nuclear detonations over Hiroshima andNagasaki, military planners were reasonablyconfident any future large-scale conflict wouldinvolve nuclear weapons. Prior to the introductionof intercontinental ballistic missiles in the very

late 1950s, nuclear weapons could only bedelivered by fleets of heavy bombers flying overthe enemy’s cities and naval formations. As such,the emphasis of those in military air power andaircraft design was not ACM, but developingplanes and tactics for intercepting enemybombers and shooting them down as far awayfrom their targets as possible.

All new American “fighters” were designed toclimb to altitude extremely quickly, then fly blazingfast in a straight line, and finally fire long rangeair-to-air missiles – presumably at slow, ungainlybombers. Additionally, these new planes werebuilt without guns as no one thought pilots wouldengage in a turning style dogfight whensupersonic aircraft and beyond-visual-range(BVR) missiles were available.

Self-Defense Training &Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics:

by Brian P. Struchtemeyer

What martial artists can learn from the air war in Vietnam

One aircraft resulting from these designrequirements was the F-4 Phantom II, which wasused by the Navy, Marine Corp, and Air Force. Itwas a beefy jet with a take-off weight of 60,000lbs. Well-suited as an interceptor it broke severalworld records for its rate of climb and linearspeed. But because of its size and design, it had

The F-4 Phantom

Photo on this page is free of copyright


a large turn radius, lost massive amounts ofenergy when maneuvering, and burnt fuel toofast to stay in a dogfight for very long. This is thepoint where doctrine influenced design alsoimpacted pilot training.

Because of the interceptor assumption, pilotsstopped training in ACM. This was so much thecase that pilots were actually forbidden to engagein practice aerial combat – officially it wasconsidered an excessive safety risk. This ofcourse was regularly ignored by pilots who wouldcall one another to arrange a date, time, location,and altitude to meet and mix it up in the sky, but,and this is an important but, they almost alwaysflew against pilots flying the same kind of planes.In other words, F-4s would “spar” other F-4s andso on. Because both pilots were flying the sameplane and had similar backgrounds the result wasalmost always a turning duel where the pilot whocould tolerate higher G forces and avoid stallingtheir aircraft at low speed won. It was not so mucha test of realistic strategy and tactics as it was ofphysical strength and fundamental flight control.In many respects this was identical to martialartists sparing each other.

Assumptions versus Reality in Vietnam

So with all this in mind, America enters theVietnam War overloaded with hefty fighter/interceptors and pilots having next to no trainingor experience at aerial combat. As a result,interceptor pilots flying F-4s had to provide aircover for other aircraft and close air support forground troops. Against them, the Nor thVietnamese flew Soviet built MiG-19s and MiG-21s. The Soviet built MiGs were plain andrudimentary by American standards, but theywere fast, exceptionally maneuverable, and wellarmed with both large guns and powerfulcannons. Against these jets U.S. planes at aminimum had to ditch all of their bombs andexternal fuel tanks in order to fight effectively, orat worst were shot down. U.S. pilots also learnedquickly that the fancy air-to-air missiles they haddidn’t work well against the nimble Soviet fighters.Remember the design requirements for theoriginal air-to-air missiles envisioned shootingdown large, slow-moving bombers, not a smallfighter zigzagging through the sky. The upshotwas American pilots put up their worst ACMperformance ever.

Eventually the Navy got sick and tired ofwatching pilots get shot out of the sky andordered Cmd. Frank Ault to examine the situationand determine what needing fixing. The resultwas a 1969 report titled Air Warfare MissileSystems Capability Review. More commonlycalled the Ault Report, it outlined a host ofchanges including the design of air-to-airmissiles, the best use of those missiles, addingold-fashioned guns to all U.S. fighter aircraft,essential changes in the performancerequirements of future fighter aircraft, and finallya host of recommendations for pilot ACM training.

A Return to Glory

New planes take years to design, but the AultReport’s training suggestions were implementedquickly. The training suggestions placed a strongemphasis on pilots learning the relative strengthsand weaknesses of different aircraft and how touse the strengths of American aircraft to exploitthe weaknesses of enemy aircraft. Specifically,this meant training in dissimilar air combat tacticswhere students flew standard American aircraftbut the instructors flew jets that mimicked theperformance of contemporary Soviet aircraft.Equally important, the instructors were taughtto imitate flight maneuvers and tactics used bythe enemy in the skies over Vietnam. The netresult was the opening of a training unit in 1970best known by its informal name, Top Gun.

Early Top Gun instructors taught Navy pilots toavoid turning duels against MiGs and insteadexploit the powerful engines of the F-4 totransform the engagement into a vertical fight.The interceptor qualities of the F-4 allowed it toout climb the MiGs and gain a superior positionabove the MiGs, then dive down in a mannerthat gave the Americans an advantage. Thisalong with other changes in tactics designed toimprove the performance of early air-to-airmissiles, the Nor th Vietnamese pilotsthemselves, and simple bolt-on gun pods madea decisive difference in the air war. With the birthof Top Gun, the Navy’s kill ratio climbed from2.25 to 1 back up to 13 to 1. The Air Force on theother hand was slower to change and saw its killratio fall further from 2.42 to 1 to an all time lowof 1.92 to 1. Clearly, selecting tactics anddissimilar training methods for the correctadversary made a huge difference for U.S. pilots.


Implications for Self-Defense

While this interesting historical story may notseem relevant to personal self-defense in today’sworld, it is ripe with valuable lessons. First, weneed to consider our fighting doctrine and makesure it isn’t unbalanced or missing an importantarea. Well-worn examples of this are anexcessive emphasis on high-kicks or groundfighting. Both concepts have their place and theirstrengths, but there are places and situationswhere they can cause more problems than theysolve. If you doubt this, try to grapple in a parkinglot sandwiched between cars – there’s no roomto roll. Likewise, high-kicks in rain and ice presentsome unfortunate complications.

Second, when was the last time you foughtagainst a criminal or someone who could imitatehow criminals fight? I suspect the answer is never.The simple answer is that martial artists sparagainst other martial artists, usually just in theirown school or system. This is just like the F-4pilots who would informally train against otherF-4 pilots. It didn’t really matter who was good inthose aerial duels as it didn’t reflect the natureof the enemy they would eventually fight against.

Vietnam was a nasty war that extracted ahorrible price for pilots. Along with the possibilityof ending life as a brief fireball in the sky,American pilots also faced being captured by theNorth Vietnamese. Many of those men who werecaptured in the mid 1960s were not released untilthe Paris Accords ended the war in 1973. Someare still missing, and captured American pilotssuffered some of the worst recorded torture inmodern history. One of the best ways we canhonor the sacrifices of those men is to learn fromtheir experience and avoid the mistakes that costthem so dearly.

So far we have discussed how the U.S. fellvictim to narrow assumptions in its air powerdoctrine following the end of World War II andover pursued an emphasis on interceptingbombers to the detriment of basic aerial combat.Additionally, pilots generally lacked good trainingin air combat maneuver (ACM) and what informaltraining they did have only pitted similar pilots inidentical planes against one another, whichrepresented an unrealistic scenario of who theywould actually have to fight. The net result wasan abysmal performance by U.S. pilots during

the first part of the Vietnam War. The Navyadjusted by creating Top Gun, instituting a moreflexible plan for air power, and specifically trainingtheir pilots to fight enemy aircraft rather than theirown. Here is a brief look at how martial artistscan apply the knowledge learned from those pastmistakes.

Gaps and Bad Assumptions in Doctrine

The pivotal lesson of doctrine from the Vietnamair war is not to pursue one element so far itleaves gaps in other areas. Enemy aircraftinterception has its uses. The failing was pursuingit to the exclusion of traditional aerial combat.Likewise, most martial arts training excessivelyassumes a planned and prepared fight. Consider,all sparring in schools is announced, studentsare given a chance to know who their adversaryor adversaries are, a neutral third party ensureseveryone is properly prepared and only then,does the sparring actually begin.

This basic assumption of an “honorable” fightis terribly flawed with respect to authentic criminalbehavior. Thugs thrive on surprise and ambushtactics. While this reality is rarely if ever practicedin modern self-defense schools it was recognizedin the past and the best solution wasencapsulated in the Japanese term “zanshin,” orawareness. As with so many elements of Asianmartial arts this has been allowed to morph intosome form of psychic superpower. In a sensiblevein however, it simply represents situationalawareness or taking time to look, listen, and stayaware of your surroundings. From a trainingstandpoint it simply means creating scenarioswhere your external awareness must bemaintained while doing other things and allowingambush sparring.

Additionally, the excessive emphasis onunarmed fighting has created another gap in theself-defense skills of the vast majority of martialartists. Humans prefer to use tools. This is equallytrue for a hammer and a nail, a remote controland a TV, or a weapon and a physical threat. FBIstatistics clearly show a strong preference forweapons by criminals. Just consider a simplethought experiment: If a criminal has gone to thetrouble of planning out the when, the where, andthe how of mugging someone, isn’t it fair toassume they’d remember to bring their favoriteshank? Of course they will. Hopefully no one


doubts weapons are easy to obtain or assumesgun control laws will protect them.

Because of its emphasis on unarmed fighting,Asian martial art systems consistently underemphasize if not simply ignore realistic counter-weapon training. Some self-defense methodshave recognized this and are starting to makeprogress. Good examples include RussianSystema and Israel’s Krav Maga. Keep in mindthese examples only represent a start in criticallyexamining the typical doctrine found in martialarts, I hope you recognize the danger of havinggaps in your self-defense doctrine and take timeto review yours and make adjustments asneeded.

Learning to Fight Like a Thug

Sun-Tzu among other great strategic thinkersmade it clear that it’s vital to understand youradversary. Tragically in martial arts and self-defense training in general, this guidance is alltoo often overlooked. If you had to commit a crimetoday or imitate a raw, “uneducated” street fightercould you do it? I suspect you’d have a few basicideas, but you’ve never given it any specificthought and certainly haven’t practiced it. This isunfortunate, as we learned with U.S. air power,dissimilar training was the key to renewedsuccess. Here’s a short list of “techniques” (orperhaps more appropriately the lack thereof)commonly used by “uneducated” fighters.

The two-handed shove: Ah, the two-handedshove, the mere thought triggers nostalgia. If youare not familiar with the two-handed shove andits common appearance at the start of a fight,you’re either an alien escaped from Roswell oryou’ve been living under a rock. This simpletechnique has a surprising number of strongpoints, which accounts for its survival from theschool yard playground through adulthood: it isquick, easily disguised, successfully puts youradversary off-balance, and permits very fastfollow up with other offensive techniques.Because the shove-er uses their whole body withthe technique but also recoils their arms, it’stough to “block.” The best way to deal with it is toutilize superior range control prior to the firststrike (e.g. stay just out of range) or if hit with it,go with the flow and reposition yourself outsideof follow-up range or better yet off-angle thencounter.

The John Wayne Haymaker: This is anothertechnique everybody is familiar with. A haymakeris the great big looping punch where the armfollows a path similar to throwing a pitch inbaseball. Generally speaking circular strikes likethe haymaker are far more common amongthugs, criminals, etc. The linear strikes found inboxing and most systems of martial arts requirea lot of training. I’m reminded of this frequentlyat the local boxing gym. The young boxers lookcrisp and have excellent linear jabs and crosseswhen working on the heavy bag. Once sparringbegins, linear strikes are harder to find andlooping hooks and haymakers show up – all themore so in late rounds when people are tired.

Another element to watch for in the haymakeris the side headlock. Escaping from the sideheadlock tends to be one of the first self-defensetechniques taught in martial arts, but rarely areyou shown how people wind up in the sideheadlock in the first place. Most people seemstunned someone would actually try it. However,if you watch boxing you’ll see a looping hookthat misses but wraps around the opponent’shead leading to a tie-up, which the referee ishelpful enough to break-up. In a street fighthowever, that situation of a big arcing punchwrapping around the adversary’s head is whatleads to the side headlock. It’s just a simplematter of rotating to the side of your haymakerand locking in with your arms. No, it still doesn’tmake much sense to use, but people, especiallyuneducated fighters do this, so you need tounderstand it and be able to accurately simulateit for your training partners.

The hold and hit: As with so many techniquescommonly found among criminals and otheruneducated fighters, you simply need to look atthe rules of boxing and other combative sportsand work backwards from what the rulesspecifically prohibit. A good example of this truthis holding and hitting. In boxing like in mostmartial art sparring it is illegal to hold with onehand while you hit with the other. Not being boundby rules, criminals are still fond of doing this.Why? Because it works! Holding on reduces youradversary’s mobility keeping you close enoughto strike repeatedly and can even increase thestriking energy transferred to the target. Practiceit so you too can imitate a thug.


Basic holds and grabs: Closely related to thehold and hit are the basic holds, chokes, andgrabs for which you were probably shown simpledefense moves against as a white belt. Theclassics are bear hugs, lapel grabs or chokes,etc. In both my research and experience, I’vefound that these tend to be used due to a lack ofbetter ideas. When you pick a fight, you have tohave a plan for what to do when your adversaryhits back.

Just as boxers clinch when in trouble, streetfighters will also grab on when in trouble, if forno other reason than to smother your arms andprevent you from punching. It doesn’t do themmuch good unless they have a friend to hit forthem, but these hugs, grabs, and chokes arecommonly seen in muggings and real fights.

Additional complications

Those four techniques represent the coretechniques I’ve seen used in street fights andnon-weapon muggings. A few others aredeserving of quick mention starting withweapons. Like I said earlier, almost all self-defense schools and systems do not placeenough emphasis on counter-weapon training.If you have any doubt about how commonweapons are in violent crime look up the NationalInstitute of Justice statistics. If a criminal attacksyou without a weapon you’ve gotten very, very

lucky. Additionally most cr iminals haveaccomplices. Just as wild dogs run in packs, sodo thugs. Multiple opponents represent a wholehost of new complications. You have to considerwhere everyone is positioned and where you arefree to move with respect to them and theenvironment. You also have to incapacitate youradversaries much faster because while you’reworking on one, the others are positioningthemselves to thrash you. Both of these realitiesare easy enough to simulate in dissimilar trainingscenarios.

Learning an art versus applying it

A martial art is just that – an art, and there is adifference between learning the art (e.g.memorizing the movements and developing thebasic skills) and applying that art. Developing adoctrine that recognizes the strengths andweaknesses of the art is the starting point ofapplication. Remaining flexible, comprehensive,and simple are keys to good doctrine. Dissimilarcombat training is the venue where doctrine istested and you learn to execute your art againstrealistic threats. In the case of personal self-defense, that requires someone to fight like athug and most martial art schools never do this.Just as revising its doctrine and creatingdissimilar air combat tactics was pivotal for theU.S. in the skies over Vietnam, I encourage youto consider the same in your self-defensetraining.

“Almost all self-defense schools andsystems do not place enough emphasis on

counter-weapon training”

Brian P. Struchtemeyer (author)

“Weapon photo” above is copyright of Peter Consterdine - used with permission


Does a Broken BoardEqual a Broken Nose?

Available from www.Paladin-Press.com

Training to Achieve the Striking Force Proven to Stop an Attacker

Precisely how hard do you have to hit to stop an attacker? And how do you train to develop that level of force?

This groundbreaking training guide tackles a vital but overlooked aspect of practicing the martial arts: How do you know yourstrikes are powerful enough and accurate enough to stop an attacker? How do you measure the strength of your strikes? Hasyour training accurately simulated a hostile encounter?

Author Brian Struchtemeyer details the exact level of impact force found in modem“less-than-lethal” weapons used by law enforcement to physically subdue criminalsuspects and shows you how to attain this level of force with your punches. Whenofficers use LTL tools, they are able to reliably stop more than 90 percent of criminalsuspects—and that’s when they are only aiming at the thighs or abdomen. They knowthey must be careful because the impact force delivered by these tools could causesevere injury or even death if aimed at more vulnerable body parts such as the headand neck.

Struchtemeyer integrates the long sought-after answer to “How hard is hardenough?” with an engaging and often humorous cross-cultural study on the history,nature, and practical use of surrogate targets, including the heavy bag andOkinawan makiwara. Along the way he connects a diverse range of topics,including psychology, early American football, and the statistics of random chance,to the simple goal of effective stopping power in unarmed strikes.

Finally, these varied topics are synthesized into a set of training drills usingsurrogate targets that allow you to measure the force of your blows so you knowwhen you are hitting with the same level of impact force proven by lawenforcement officers to stop a violent opponent in his tracks.


In this article I want to look further at howpatterns can be studied and interpreted in newways, and in ways that don’t necessarily follow

the set course of the pattern. Most people lookat you strangely when you ask if a turn in apattern is really a turn. Visually, of course it is.Take the ITF TKD pattern called Dan Gun forexample. We shall look at the very opening ofthe pattern. As with any pattern, the techniquestarts in Chunbi. You then turn 90 degrees to theleft and go into L-stance, knife hand guardingblock.The next move is then a stepping forwardobverse punch.

As soon as my left handhas struck, I blitz forwardwith my right leg and hand,striking to the jaw area. Youcan punch, palm, or elbowdepending on thecircumstances and theenvironment. Either wayyou will get a lot of forcebehind your strike and youare on your way to leavingthe scene.

Are Turns Really Turns?by Matthew Sylvester

Judging a book by its cover, this looks very simple. But are you really turning 90 to the left, or is thisindicating that you should be 90 to the left of your opponent? The latter makes sense, especially if youconsider that by moving to this position you’re not only on their outside, you’ve trapped their left handand neutralised their right hand (because they can’t punch you easily).

If you have a punch bag or (even better) a BOB-XL try this from the fence. In this situation, you’reinitiating the fight, not being passive and letting them attack you. When your right hand is coming backto your hip, go through the motions of ‘trapping their arm’ and returning it to your hip. It makes muchmore sense to do this.

As you can see in the sequence above, I’m facingBOB with my fence up. As I start to move, I chamberthe knife hand guarding block the ‘karate’ or WTF/Kukkiwon way, i.e., my right hand goes out low whilstyour left hand is chambered palm up on your rightshoulder. As you can see, I make sure that the righthand actually strikes the target around the diaphragm.As I’m doing this, I step my right leg out to the right.You’re now 90 degrees to their left (or should be),and their neck is nice and open for the left knife handto strike into. This does not actually have to be a knifehand however, as a forearm will suffice just as welland will still reflect the form of the pattern.


by Iain Abernethy

How to Spar for the Street:Part Two

In this series of articles we are discussing howto make your sparring relevant to realsituations. The sparring in most dojos is based

on the rules of modern competition and thereforehas little in common with real situations. To beclear, I’m not for a second saying there is anythingfundamentally wrong with competitive sparring.If you want to win tournaments, that’s how youneed to spar. The problem occurs when peoplemistakenly believe that training for competitionalso develops the skills needed for the street. Itdoesn’t.

In part one, we briefly discussed the nature ofreal situations and covered two of the keys tomaking your sparring relevant to the street. Inthis second part, we’ll be expand our discussionand cover four more of these keys.

Start without warning

Some situations will start without any warning,i.e., if your awareness wasn’t what it should beor if you are the victim of a well-executed ambush.It can therefore be good training to also haveyour sparring start without warning.

Seeing as the sparring can start at anytime, allparticipants need to wear their protectiveequipment throughout the entire session. Thestudents will then engage in normal training(fitness work, drilling techniques, hitting the pads,etc.). Whenever the leader of the training feelslike it, they will shout out the command, “Fight!”At that instant all students should begin sparringwith the person or people nearest to them.

The great thing about this type of sparring isthat you are never sure what situation will developor when. You may quickly respond to thecommand and attack a class mate, only forsomeone else to attack you from the rear. Onesecond you thought you had the advantage, thenext you’re frantically doing your best against twoopponents. After a certain amount of time, theperson leading the training will shout, “Stop!” and

the students return to whatever they were doingpreviously.

It’s important that the person giving out thecommands does their best to ensure that thesparring is unexpected. I’m partial to shouting“Fight!” during water breaks, in the middle ofdrills, straight after a previous bout of sparring,whilst they are performing push-ups, andimmediately after I’ve told them the surprisesparring is over (my personal favourite!). Thestudents quickly begin to expect the unexpectedand start to fight well regardless of the situationand position they find themselves in.

If you are training as part of a small group,another way to have sparring start withoutwarning is agree that anyone can attack anyoneelse at any point during the session (you maywant to make some exceptions in the name ofsafety: i.e., agree that you can’t be attacked whenhandling weights, etc). The lack of the commandto start makes the sparring all the moreunexpected. It also ensures that all training donebetween the sparring is done with the correctattitude. If you start doing things in a half-heartedfashion, your partners may very well decide it’sa good time to attack you!

Surprise sparring is a great training methodthat can get you used to having to fight withoutwarning. It is also a great way to give a trainingsession that added edge.

Keep the combat up close and personal

Most exchanges between skilled martial artiststake place at a greatly exaggerated distancewhen compared to what happens on the street.The vast majority of real fights start close, andthey stay close. In the street there is rarely a gapto be closed and there is rarely any back andforth. This obviously has a significant effect onhow we structure our sparring for the street.

As we’ve established, real situations will beginwith dialogue or without warning. The distance


at which words are exchanged is typically thesame as punching distance (Photo 1). So in thecase of dialogue, the distance has already beenclosed when the situation gets physical (peopledon’t try to intimidate you from 10 feet away!). Ifa situation begins without warning, then thedistance has already been closed.

When two martial artists fight in the dojo orcompetitive environment, they typically begin thefight from outside kicking distance (Photo 2). Thismeans that a key part of martial arts sparring isto effectively close that gap. These skills areessentially an irrelevance for the street. Comparethe distances shown in photos 1 and 2 and you’llsee that in the street fights are much closer.

Another big difference between the street anda dojo exchange between two martial artists is

that the there is no back and forth. In the street,people don’t back off, move around for a bit whilelooking for an opening, before closing the gapagain. All of this means that when training forthe street we need to exchange techniques atclose range (the exception being when we flee,which we will look at later).

When you start your street sparring, you shouldbe within arms length of your partner and youshould stay at that distance. With practise you’llget used to fighting at this distance. However, tobegin with you may need to force the distance;here are two ways to do this.

• One of the best ways is to limit the floor space.The students who aren’t sparring form a circlearound those who are so that there simply isn’tthe space to exaggerate the distance.

• Another way was introduced to me by ShihanChris Rowen. Chris simply used a karate belt totie the students together! It’s a simple methodbut it works incredibly well. The students can’texaggerate the distance and hence it forces themto spar at a realistic range. The only downsidewith this is that the students can’t practiseescaping. That said, as a way to isolate close-range skills it’s superb.

When you keep your sparring close there area few things you will learn. One of the key thingsis that blocking becomes almost impossible.There simply isn’t the time or room to react. Thisis a really useful learning experience as it brings

home the importance of being pre-emptive andproactive in the street.

Another characteristic of close-range fightingis that it becomes very important to keep bothhands active. Both hands should be eitherattacking the opponent or setting them up so theycan be attacked i.e. setting datums, removingobstructions, etc. As a brief aside, it is for thisreason why you don’t see hands held in ‘guardpositions’ in kata but you do see both handsconstantly working.

Keeping the sparring close is a great way tolearn about what is required for the street. So tomake your sparring realistic it’s important to startclose and stay close.

Photo 2

Photo 1


Don’t bring trained responses into the mix

One of the most important things for martialartists to appreciate is that when training for thestreet trained responses are not a factor. Asmartial artists we get trained to respond in certainways to specific stimuli, i.e. when the opponentdoes motion A; you are trained to respond withmotion B. When two martial artists meet thesetrained responses are invariably exploited:martial artist 1 will move in such a way that itlooks to martial artist 2 as if he is attacking withmotion A. Martial artist 2 counters with motionB, just as martial artist 1 hoped he would. Byresponding with motion B, martial artist 2 makeshimself vulnerable to motion C; which was martialartists 1’s true intention. He attacked with motionA to illicit a response which would set things upfor motion C.

In a street fight, you can’t use trained responsesin the same way; hence you need to do your bestto eliminate such practises from your streetsparring. Trained responses aren’t relevant in thestreet for two key reasons.

• Your opponent is highly unlikely to be trainedin the same martial discipline as you are andhence won’t react as predicted. But what if he isa martial artist, I hear you cry.

• The street is so very different that even ifyour attacker is a trained martial artist he won’tfight like he does in the dojo or competitiveenvironment. Street fights are far faster,emotional and chaotic than martial bouts.

Observe two world-standard martial artists fightand count the average number of techniquesthrown in a 15-second period. You’ll notice thatmost of the time is spent moving around andplaying for position. The overall rate of exchangeis actually pretty low. Certainly they are likely tobe some blindingly fast exchanges, but they areoften very short in duration. The ones that lastthat little bit longer are the ones when acombatant becomes injured or disorientated andthe other moves in for a win.

A street fight is consistently frantic. It starts fast,stays fast and finishes fast. There is no time fortrained reposes. Indeed there is no time forresponses of any sort.

In addition to being faster, a street fight is alsomore emotional. The intense nature of a street

situation means that neither you nor youropponent will be best placed to process theinformation that exploiting trained responsesdemands. So in the unlikely event that you domeet another martial artist in a street situation,it still won’t be like a dojo or competitive situation.

A good illustration of this is the fight that brokeout at the Tyson / Lewis press conference in therun up to their long awaited bout. There we hadthe two best heavyweight boxers at the time, butwhen it kicked off for real the resulting exchangewas nothing like a boxing match. It was a “streetfight,” and was hence faster, more chaotic andmore emotional.

Trained responses aren’t a part of a street fightand hence they shouldn’t be part of your streetsparring. The difficulty of course is that you willbe training with other martial artists so it initiallytakes some discipline not to engage in “gameplay.” The instant you do start trying to illicittrained responses, you’re no longer sparringrealistically. In a real fight you need to keep thingssimple and direct. Practise keeping it simple anddirect in your sparring.

Escape: Don’t stay and fight!

In part 1 of this series we established that a fightis what happens when self-protection goes bad.Real fights are thoroughly unpleasant affairs thatcan have severe medical, emotional and legalconsequences. If you therefore get theopportunity to stop fighting and run you shouldtake it without hesitation. Many a wannabe toughguy will frown on the idea of fleeing a fight, butthe smart and experienced people who have“been there” will always advise flight over fight.The true warrior doesn’t risk his life and libertyover his ego. He always does the smart thing.

I recently had the opportunity to talk to a martialartist who a few days previously had beenapproached by two men armed with knives. Hequickly assessed the situation and ran away. Hetold me that he was disappointed with himselfbecause all he could think to do was run. Heasked what techniques he could have applied inthat situation. My advice was that he shouldn’tfeel bad as he had dealt with the situationperfectly. His awareness was such that he hadspotted the situation early enough to allowescape and he had the presence of mind to actin what was undoubtedly the right way.


Fight two armed men and at best you’re goingto need some serious stitching back together.Because he had run away, he didn’t even getscratched! I’m cer tain that anyone whounderstands the street would advise nothing butrunning in that situation. Putting distancebetween yourself and a dangerous situationkeeps you safe and ensures you’re able to spendyour time on the fun things in life. So for yoursparring to be street smart, you need to practiserunning away.

Fleeing a fight is not as straight forward as justturning tail and running. If there is a sufficientgap between you and any would be assailant,you can do just that (again, this emphasises theimportance of awareness). If, however, theassailant is close enough to strike you, or thesituation has degenerated into a fight, you needconfusion and distance. If you don’t haveconfusion and distance when you begin running,you will be giving the opponent your back. Badthings can occur when if you do that!

If you have managed to incapacitate theopponent, even for a moment, then in thatmoment of confusion and disorientation youshould flee. Because the opponent won’t be ableto immediately react, you have the chance togenerate sufficient distance to allow a successfulescape. When a gap appears in the street, yourself-protection training should have conditionedyou to make it bigger. Much bigger! You shouldnot be thinking of closing the gap and continuingthe fight.

A great way to practise fleeing in training is tomake part of your dojo a “safe zone.” Your aim isto reach this safe zone while your partner (orpartners) prevent you from doing so. The fullrange of martial techniques are allowed, but if agap is created (they rarely appear on their own)the aim is to extend it and make it to the safezone.

Another good way to practise escaping is tohave two people at either end of the dojo, whilethe person practising fleeing is in the middle. Theperson in the middle will run towards the firstperson and they start sparring (using bothgrappling and striking). As soon as the fightingbegins, the person who started in the middlemust break contact and create a gap. He thenruns to the other end and repeats the process.This drill is a great way to develop the skillsneeded to create a gap, and engrain the habit ofrunning when you have. It’s also one hell of awork out!

Running away is the smart and practical thingto do whenever possible. Hence, you need toensure fleeing is included in your sparring.

That’s it for part two. The next issue of Jissensees the final part of this series where we willcover the final four ways to ensure your sparringis relevant to the street. I hope you enjoyed thisarticle and I’d like to thank you for taking the timeto read it.

Missed Issue One?If you missed the first issue of Jissen you can download it from any ofthe websites listed in the back of this magazine (page 54). Issue onecontained the following articles:

To be informed when the next issue of Jissen is available for download,please subscribe to the free newsletters at www.iainabernethy.com

• Tradition & Karate• There is nothing “peaceful” about the Pinans• Kiai: the fading cry of the martial artist• The Way of Kata: Part 1• On-Ko-Chi-Shin• Taekwon-do Patterns & Self-Defence• Personal Security• The bunkai of basics• How to spar for the street: Part1


by Lowell Hein

In Defense of Nukite

S ome young enthusiasts of karate believethat it can be learned only frominstructors in a dojo, but such men are

mere technicians, not true karateka. There is aBuddhist saying that “any place can be a dojo,”and that is saying that anyone who wants to followthe way of karate must never forget.

- Master Gichin Funakoshi

When men and women first fought, it wasunquestionably with empty hands. As themillennia passed, through bloody trial and error,we refined our empty hands into effectiveweapons for our own defense. More than justclubs, our hands have fingers, giving us the abilityto strike precisely. This maximizes the impact ofour strikes in the same way the point of a speardiffers from the end of a baseball bat. This is theorigin of the weapon martial artists now refer toas the “Spearhand”.

Whether called Nukite, Bil-Ji (shooting fingers),“Dart”, poke, or finger-jab; whether using the full4 fingers, 1 finger or 2; Spearhand techniques,though an integral part of nearly all advancedforms in the Asian fighting arts, seem to be rarelyused in self defense situations.

Why is this? After all, these techniques werethe bread and butter of many of our martial artsancestors. Gichin Funakoshi, Mas Oyama,James Mitose, Yip Man and others, all consideredNukite or Bil Ji to be an important weapon intheir combat arsenals.

The Moral Dilemma

One reason may be that Nukite and Bil-Ji aresurgically precise attacks, usually to vital areasor nerve centers. They were (and are) intendedto be used to kill or disable, and therefore seemto be “overkill” to many practitioners.

This seems to have made many teachers(understandably, perhaps) reluctant toemphasize the detailed practice and applicationof this type of technique.

While the aversion to teaching such strikes maybe understood, their effectiveness is such that

no student of unarmed combat should ignorethem.

It is true that Nukite can be very dangerous topractice; and when used in a physicalconfrontation, can easily result in the death orserious injury of the person being struck. Keepingthis in mind at all times while training (andinstilling it in the minds of those you are teaching)is critical.

Combat versus Sport

Another major cause of the disappearance ofNukite from common usage was the advent ofmartial arts as a sport.

With the rise of Tournament Karate and Kumitein the 1960s and 1970s, American/EuropeanKickboxing in the 1980s, and recently theexplosion in popularity of the myriad variationson the “Mixed Martial Arts”, it has become alltoo common for many of us to partner train or“spar” wearing gloves of some kind. This oftenresults in a fighter using Western boxing handtechniques to the exclusion of all others.

By effectively eliminating the practice of throatand eye strikes (as well as fingertip to torsoattacks), these sports have created a culture inwhich such strikes are rarely practiced in afreestyle scenario.

Kumite, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, MMA, andtheir offspring (no matter how effective they maybe against an untrained fighter “on the street”),have rules, regulations and referees involved.

These types of training can be effective forlearning to defend oneself, and certainly havevalue for teaching how to withstand contact,physical conditioning, perfecting one’s timing, etc.On the downside, they are extremely limitingwhen it comes to allowing a fighter to practice(and defend against) the brutally effective openhand strikes of Chuan Fa and Karate.

Mental Conditioning

Science has proven beyond all doubt that, in theabsence of time to consider, reflex takes over.


Since what we do repetitively in the Dojo,Kwoon or Dojang (or the garage, for that matter)determines how we will respond when attacked.Frequent training with gloves on, even the openhanded type, creates a subconscious mind-setin which the closed-fist punch becomes a fighter’s“default” move. Because of this mind-set - thoughwe may “know” the Spearhand - it is literally notavailable for our use when an instantaneousresponse is required.

This subconscious tendency to punch (what Icall the John Wayne Syndrome) effectivelyremoves an important array of targets (the eyes,the hollow of the throat, the larynx and solarplexus, for example) from the defender’s options.These targets, attacked decisively and accuratelywith the finger-tips, can instantly change thecomplexion of a fight in your favor, and areespecially useful when facing multiple attackersor those with weapons.

If used correctly, the Spearhand can be as quickas a boxing jab, (but with slightly more range),and the shock of its impact is physicallyunavoidable, giving your following attack agreater chance of success. While an enemy mayhave an “iron-jaw” (and many do), not many cancultivate an “iron-eyeball” or “iron-throat”. Theinvoluntary reflexive reactions to this contact can“open the gates” for your entry, making Nukiteextremely effective as a set-up for elbow strikes,head butts and throws.

The good news is that, with time and diligence,our mental conditioning to rely on punching canbe overcome. A few simple additions to yourtraining regimen can train your mind and bodyto “remember” this weapon, thereby increasingyour defensive options.

Finger Conditioning

Unlike many of the ancient (and some modern)masters, I respectfully disagree with the idea thata fighter’s hands must be turned into callused,rock-hard, armor-piercing appendages. I knowfrom personal experience that there is muchdamage done to the hands by this type of training(often unnoticed for many years). I feel it is ananachronism better left behind. Your own bodyis your best teacher. Listen to it.

Done properly, the bag and partner work shownbelow (combined with common sense), will allowyou to teach yourself exactly:

1 - What position your hands, fingers and wristsshould be in when making contact.

2 - How hard to strike without damaging yourself,while maximizing impact to your chosen target.

Solo Accuracy Training

On a hanging bag, mark several areas one inchto two inches in diameter. Go all the way aroundyour bag, making the marks at varying heightsbetween four, five, and six feet. If you don’t wantto mark-up your bag, attach some duct tape anddraw on it instead. Remind yourself: Accuracyis the point of this exercise.

a) Stand in whatever way you prefer, keepingin mind that since the shortest distance betweenyour finger-tips and your enemy’s eyes/throat isa straight line, your lead hand is probably yourbest bet as primary weapon in many cases. Ofcourse, do not limit yourself to this: when you

Nukite for kata and nukite for contactmust differ slightly. The “classics” shownhere are broken fingers waiting to happen.


feel the rear hand is appropriate to the situation,use it.

Avoid hooking or curving motions. These strikescan be very effective from a boxing-type stance,with the traditional lead jabbing hand being yourweapon of choice.

b) Using slow motion at first, strike the markedpoints, visualizing them clearly as an opponent’seye, eyes, solar plexus or throat.

Tense your weapon only at the moment ofimpact, seeing it crushing the target. (If yourfingers are not curled slightly, you will jam orbreak them.) Slowly increasing your speed onthe target will enable you to find the perfect fingerposition for you.

Always alternate hands while practicing, and(as your speed and accuracy increase)concentrate on snapping your strike, instantlyretracting your hand to prevent its being seizedby your opponent.

c) Feel your body’s alignment change as youstrike. You will feel your center of gravity shift.Flow with it. Strike while stepping back, forwardand to the sides. Visualize your opponentattacking you as you move. See the chin andarms blocking you.

The purpose of the slow-speed practice is toallow your body to naturally self-correct as yourlimbs, torso and feet change position.

d) Circle the bag, always being aware of yourarm extension. Reaching too far to strike is acommon mistake, and can lead to your suddendefeat when facing a skilled fighter. Shuffle orslide in and out to achieve whatever distancefeels the most comfortable.

Note: When visualizing attacking the eyes,strike the points you have marked with Ippon(Single-finger) and Nihon (2-finger) Nukite only.

When working the throat, neck and solar plexusareas, these two, all well as the Yonhon, or 4-finger variation, should be used, using either thePalm-up variation (very useful in defeating the“lowered-chin” defense), or the Vertical; whichcan be used to deliver a more powerful strike.

Gradually (over days and weeks) increase yourspeed, motion and finally, your amount of impact.Whenever you reach a point where you see youraccuracy is slipping: slow down.

There’s no hurry. Every time you train correctly,your accuracy and speed improve.

Another excellent way to work on accuracy isto hang some glasses with the lenses removedaround your home. As you walk by them, shootyour finger(s) through the openings. Do not touchthe frames. Your speed and accuracy will soonincrease dramatically.

Partner Training

Caution should be used when practicing Nukitewith a partner. Always start slow, and concentrateon accuracy rather than power.

REMEMBER: These are potentially fatalstrikes, and that fact should always be keptin mind while training.

It will feel strange at first, but bracing thefingers with the thumb at the secondknuckle is critical for contact. It maximizesfinger rigidity, greatly increasing thequality of impact, as well as minimizingthe possibility of injuring yourself.


For eye strike practice, pick up some tight-fittingsafety goggles: NOT ordinary safety glasses. Thiswill prevent the attacker’s fingers from slidingunder the glasses and possibly damaging theeyes.

For throat work, a hard plastic cervical collarwith padding inside (available from most medicalsuppliers) should be worn. If this seems likeexcessive caution, stop reading for a momentand very gently tap the back of your knucklesinto your own throat (carefully, now). See what Imean?

Some decent impact must be made if yourtraining is to be effective, and the collar will helpyou achieve that. As with the bag, it is veryimportant to mark specific locations on the collarto attack. Pinpoint accuracy will only come if youpractice aiming for a very small area.

Use caution when training!

Severe injury or death can easily result fromheavy contact to the front or sides of the trachea(or windpipe) area, even through a protectivedevice.

All the methods and principles used on the bagcan and should be applied to your partner work.

Start slowly. Have your partner attack you witha wide range of methods and combinations. Fortraining geared towards “the street” to beeffective, it must be as realistic as possible.

Nukite is most effective as a first strike defense.This does not mean you should strike first, butrather catch your attacker coming in, and as heopens himself up (as any attacker must), exploitthis opening to your advantage.

As your opponent attacks, use the vital areasmentioned above as your targets, following upwith elbows, punches, kicks or takedowns, asyou prefer. A major key to combat success is tooverwhelm your attacker with combinations.Traditional ikken hissatsu proponents maydisagree, but the more times you strike youropponent, the less chance of hiscounterattacking.

The key here is to increase your number ofavailable weapons, not to give one up to use theother. We should always remember to be martialartists; in the true sense of the word.

Switch off with your partner, and you willimmediately learn valuable lessons in how todefend against these strikes. You may find that aslight movement is often more effective than ablock or parry.

In Conclusion

Remember, these strikes are simple to learn, buttheir application difficult to perfect. This is ourart. There is no hurry. There is no need to let egotake over.

Making a commitment to yourself to work thesetraining tips into your practice can make you amore complete fighter, offensively anddefensively. No matter our skill level, “style”,gender or physical size, all can benefit from thistype of training.

If you are just learning these strikes, you arebringing an incredibly empowering weapon toyour arsenal. If you have previously learnedNukite or Bil-Ji, but have left it in the backgroundof your martial practice, it may take some timeto overcome your neglect. No worries.

Eventually, with proper practice, yourSpearhand strikes will be landing with power,pinpoint accuracy, and will be literally too fast foryour opponent’s eyes to follow. Give it time.

About the author: Mr. Hein was first exposedthe Asian fighting arts in the form of ShotokanKarate at age 12. He later became a student ofKenpo, Chuan Fa, and Kali. In more recent yearshe has studied, taught and exchanged ideas withopen-minded martial artists (of all styles) inbackyards and garages whenever theopportunity presents itself.

He resides in Miami Beach, Florida, and iscurrently working on his first book.Please feel free to contact him with yourcomments (pro, con, or otherwise), [email protected] or [email protected]

Warning: the methods discussedin this article should never bepractised unless you are underthe direct supervision of anexperienced and qualified martialarts instructor.


by Dan Redmond

Victory Over Myself

I had awakened at 4.15am. The date wasSunday 9th March 2008. I looked around myhotel room and then it hit me like a bolt of

lightning: the big day had finally arrived! Realisingthat I would not get back to a peaceful sleep, Idecided to get up, dress and make a pot of strongcoffee. When the coffee was ready, I turned onthe television and tried very hard to concentrateon the news of the day. I couldn’t believe hownervous I felt and I reflected on how I had gothere.

Last march 2007 I had been visiting a goodfriend in England and had previously read abouta kata championships that was organised byUnited Martial Alliance (UMA) at Burton uponTrent and was in progression at that time. I hadmade a detour to investigate. The thing that hadimpressed me, apart from the high competitorstandards, was the fairness of the judgingdemonstrated throughout the day. Before I left forhome, I searched out the organiser Mr. JimMc.Sherry and gave him my business card.

Then in January 2008 a set of entry forms forthe 2008 kata championships arrived at my home.I placed them along with a pile of other paperworkthat I had promised myself to clear up. Later whenworking on the papers I came across the kataentry forms and the idea occurred to me, thatmaybe I should enter the championships, eventhough I had not competed at any level for 25years. I selected three categories, “male over 40years”, “mixed male and female over 40 years”and the “coaches” and posted off the entry forms.

I promised myself to partake in a regular trainingprogramme to help sharpen up on my kataperformance. I was thrilled at the thought of takingpart in the championships and began to adoptthe positive attitude that I was going there; notonly take part, but to also win. Leading up to theevent I practiced the kata faithfully each day. I hadselected the two kata that I felt best suited me:Wanshu and Jion. I then booked my flights and ahotel. Now I was ready!

Now here I was in my hotel room, nervous as alittle kitten and full of self-doubt. The previous

evening I had found a quiet area behind the hotel,where I could do some practice and found myselfmaking lots of mistakes, this then started off a lotof nagging, doubting questions: What if I forgetthe kata tomorrow?; What if I let myself down bydoing everything wrong?; What if I just freeze onthe spot?

My wife Maureen had asked me why I was doingthis. I had told her that she wouldn’t understand.Now, at this late stage, I also didn’t understandwhy I was doing it. I had trouble getting to sleepthe night before; now I was a nervous wreck. Icouldn’t understand this change in my attitudesince I left home. Now I was not thinking aboutwinning: I was just hoping to remember the kata!Here I was at 4.15am wide awake in my hotelroom and just contemplating my escape on theearliest flight home to Northern Ireland.

I went down for breakfast at 7am. I really couldn’teat much. I had too many butterflies in my gut. Itried some more coffee, trying to get rid of thenegative thoughts that I was having.

I tried to visualise myself doing each of my katareally well. It worked and I began to get back theold self-belief. My taxi arrived at 10am and I wason my way. The venue was packed with membersof various clubs who had travelled from all overEngland to compete. From time to time I foundmyself in conversation with other people and forsome reason I found myself informing thesepeople that, I had travelled all the way fromNorthern Ireland, that I would be 66 years old inJune 2008 and that this was my first competitionfor 25 years. Looking back I think maybe I wasprobably paving the way in case I had a badperformance, or messed up the kata. At leastthese people would know I had some very goodreasons for my failure. It was a long wait. I checkedthe timetable and discovered that my first eventwas scheduled for 3pm. I watched otherperformers in early events and became morenervous. I left the hall often and outside I tried totake my mind off the situation making many visitsto the toilet. Once again I attempted to banish thenegative thoughts in reminding myself that I waschief instructor of the Chujo Karate Association,


that I had many years of experience behind me,that I had been a former Northern Ireland kumiteinternational and that I had faithfully practised mykata.

After what seemed like a lifetime my first eventwas called. I lined up beside the other competitors.Now I realised how the little children felt beforeCKA gradings and competitions. If only they couldsee me now. I felt like a complete beginnerstepping onto the dojo floor for my first karatelesson and to make matters worst I was the firstto be called. I don’t remember much else afterthat. I do recall walking to the mark on the floorand announcing Wanshu kata.

After the first few moves my mind went blankand only my dedicated training carried me through.My body just continued without the use of mymind, finished on the embusen and awaited myscores. Then to my surprise, I received athunderous round of applause. The word hadcirculated around about this old guy who had notcompeted for 25 years. The audience had gottenbehind me and it was sweet music to my ears.The other competitors performed their kata and I

was placed 4th. I felt very relieved. I had done it! Ihad taken on my demons and I had beaten them.

Thirty minutes later I took part in my next event.This time choose Jion kata. I felt more relaxedand again I finished in 4th place. In my third event,the “Coaches” category I finished in 7th place.

Then it all started. During the remainder of theday I was approached by well-wishers, mostlycongratulating me on taking part after so manyyears out and also on my kata performance. Somemen in their forties and fifties told me that I hadinspired them to take part next year.

Due to the nervous tension, the wholeexperience had left me exhausted, but I also feltelated. I had given myself a challenge and hadsucceeded. I didn’t finish in the medals; but I hadachieved a victory over myself. I had donesomething that I didn’t need to do and had movedoutside my comfort zone and it felt so good. Iconsoled myself by realising that not only had I“talked the talk” but I had also “walked the walk”. Iam looking forward to taking part again next year.The competitive spirit has been revived and I wantto do it all over again.

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If you’d like to contribute to Jissen, please send us an email with an outline of your article (not the article) and if we think it issomething our readers will be interested in we’ll ask to see the full article. One of the main aims of this magazine is to give aplatform to all martial artists. It does not matter what grade you hold, what arts you practise, or how well known you are at themoment. If you’ve got something to share, we’d like to help you. You will always retain the copyright of your work and we do notrequire any form of exclusivity. Also, as a way of thanking you for sharing your knowledge, all contributors will qualify for acompletely free half-page advert which you can use to promote your group, website, or even any products you have produced.

www.iainabernethy.com The home page of applied karate exponent Iain Abernethy

www.westseattlekarate.com The website of Kris Wilder and his West Seattle dojo

www.eskk.co.uk Chris Denwood's website featuring his artilces and detials of his group

www.fightingforms.com The website of Fighting Forms author Matthew Miller

www.raynerslanetkd.com Club website of Rayners Lane Taekwon-do Academy

www.hemeltkd.co.uk Club web site for the Hemel Hempstead Tae Kwon-Do Club

www.nagashi-shukokai-karate.co.uk The website of Nagashi Shukokai Karate based in Manchester

www.tstmartialarts.com Coventry ITF Tae Kwon-Do

www.rska.co.uk Royston Shotokan Karate Association led by Shihan Peter Deacon

www.freewebs.com/okkosensei/index.htm The website of OKKO Karate Jutsu Group

www.scottishkaishinwadokai.co.uk Home page of the West Coast Kaishin Wadokai.

www.donwell-karate.org Traditional Shotokan Karate in Washington, Tyne and Wear

www.sanchinryukarate.co.uk The Official Website for Sanchin-ryu Okinawan Karate Organisation

www.samuraikaratecornwall.co.uk The homepage of Samurai Karate Cornwall (Shukokai-based Karate)

www.sai-long.org Sai-Long Academy: a private training facility in NorthernVirginia

www.karatekit.co.uk Karatekit.co.uk sell a wide range of martial arts clothing and equipment

www.nortondojo.co.uk Norton Dojo Karate Club.Traditional Okinawan Goju - Ryu, Sheffield

www.maec.com.au Martial Arts education Centre: Karate, Ju Jitsu and Kobudo

www.guinnmartialarts.com The source for applied martial arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.

www.freedommartialarts.net Ludington, MI. Area leader in traditional martial arts & cardio kickboxing

www.shotokan.dk Club website of Vejle Shotokan Karate-Do, Denmark

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