About Martial Arts Part 2
Continuing the observations about martial arts
made by Sensei Russell Stutely which stirred up a lot of controversy in About Martial Arts Part 1
Last month I seemed to upset quite a few people with my article, well that was a complete success then I thought to myself. I struck a nerve.
I annoyed many Instructors.
I have had Instructors call me and challenge me to a fight; others called just to argue their case.
I had students call me and tell me how great their Instructor is and how he could beat me up if he really wanted to, but he was a true Karate-ka and would not stoop to that level.
I had other students call me and tell me that their Instructor had simply told them that I was wrong and that Karate does work and that they should pay no attention to my articles.
I am so pleased with what has happened. I shall tell you why. It means that there are now at least 12 more Instructors who are worried about what they are teaching and at least 15 students who have had the nerve to question their Instructor!
Now, if each Instructor has say 30 students, that means 360 people may begin to question their art, may begin to look at what they really want from it. A very small start you may say… well it reminds me of a story.
When the Berlin wall came down and then Russia split into its various states, Mikhail Gorbachev was asked how he changed the mindset of the whole of Russia.
“It was easy” he said, ” I only had to change the mind of one man, Ronald Reagan. When he was convinced that Russia was friendly, he convinced America. Then when America was friendly, it was easy to convince the Russian people!”
So, in the same vein, if one Instructor changes his attitude, it could well affect the whole of Martial Arts!
Make that difference! Change your attitude!
Now, on to how we can make Martial Arts work for the street.
As I stated last Month, you have to earn the right to land your technique! How do we earn that right? How do we put ourselves in a position to make things work? How do we land our devastating right hook or our devastating roundhouse kick?
The answer lies in the understanding of Body Alarm Reaction (BAR). Over the years, people such as Geoff Thompson and Peter Consterdine have written detailed accounts of the “Chemical Cocktail” all the fears and adrenal releases that occur pre-fight, during fight and after fight.
They have talked and explained how the use of Action triggers can help alleviate some / many of these problems. They are 100% right in what they have said and the solution they have brought to the table.
In the Dragon Society, we specialise in the teaching of Principles (what we call Players to the Game), BAR being one of the 90+ that we actively teach. BAR adds to the effectiveness of the action triggers that Peter and Geoff have espoused for so many years.
It is difficult to put across what is meant by this, and to appreciate the effectiveness of BAR in the written word. However, as they say, feeling is believing. Any one, who has trained BAR with us, knows exactly what I mean.
BAR can be used pre-emptively or reactively. It puts shock into your opponent at such a high level, that usually the body just can’t take it.
Put another way, your opponent has decided to start a fight with you / attack you. He has gone through all the mental trauma so superbly described by Peter and Geoff over the years.
He has gone through that decision process.
He has weighed up the options, the consequences and your abilities.
He has decided he can beat you. He now sees the light at the end of the tunnel. However, what he thinks is the light at the end of the tunnel is really the Headlight of you coming straight at him!
That is BAR. You are playing shock ping-pong.
The moment a threat occurs you launch into BAR response, again either pre-emptively or reactively, it works just as well either way.
I will attempt the best way to practice this, from a slow and pre ordained attack. Build up the speed, ferocity and venom of the attack with your training partner and then just do any attack with no warning.
Start facing each other. The attacker, gets himself in a fighting mood, gets angry and then whenever he wants grabs the defender violently on the lapels / t shirt etc, screaming wildly at him.
To begin to understand BAR, the defender should not know when or how you are going to attack. The defender should just react however he would normally react. Most people back up and are unsure of what to do. Stop the attack there and get ready to go again.
This time, the moment the grab occurs, the defender should clap his hands in front of the attackers face. The attacker should take note of how he feels at this stage.
The next attack is then met with a defence of slapping the attackers forehead with both hands (open) at about the power you would knock on a door. If done with “shock” the attacker will be momentarily stunned.
Next, the attacker should wear a head guard. Defender hits the same way but harder. Each time make a note of how the attacker reacts to being hit. The attacker must attack with ferocity and venom.
Next, attacker wears shin guards as well. At the moment of the attack, defender hits the head in the same way and immediately follows up with a strike to the shin.
You then follow all the above steps with a designated grab and punch, then a designated punch, and ultimately with any attack. Start slowly and work together, gradually build up to full speed and power attacks.
Then, you have earned the right to land your technique. Then and only then, can you do your roundhouse kick / right hook / Kata Bunkai or whatever it is that floats your boat.
The whole scenario detailed above is for a reactive situation. Just try it pre-emptively as well.
Have your training partner stand in front of you telling you how he is going to kick your head in and then BAR him!
See for yourself how easy it is.
See for yourself how you can follow up with whatever you want.
Master Russell Stutely Website for more information, books, DVDs or to arrange training at your dojo.
Malcolm Keith
Chief Instructor
Youshiki Goshinjutsu
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