Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
Personal Security Can Be A False Sense
False Sense of Security in some Martial art Programs!
Are You Being Lulled into a False Sense of Security?
by Kevin O’Hagan http://www.kevinohagan.com
In recent years the crazes of Boxercise, Tae-bo, Kara-robics etc. have swept the country. These are all fine forms of exercise and general fitness with an original theme. Thousands of people, especially ladies flock to these classes with the thought of getting in shape and learning how to look after themselves.
Let’s set the record straight, as I’ve already mentioned it’s a great form of exercise, but nothing whatsoever to do with self-defence!
These classes are watered down versions of Martial Arts moves that, at best, would be near impossible to make work in a live, self defence situation.
I find it disturbing as an instructor, who has taught and trained in combat martial arts for many, many years, that these ladies really believe that they can use this stuff in an attack/assault situation.
Boxercise is a fantastic workout but please don’t believe you can become a boxer from taking these classes. Boxing a real person and contacting with a human body is a totally different experience to ‘hitting the pads’.
I wouldn’t give any of the ladies taking these classes 20 seconds with my hometown ladies World Champion Jane Couch, of Bristol. She has put many a man down sparring in the Spanorium gym. This the real world of boxing.
False Sense of Security. There are many ladies who are under the impression that by being able to do a bit of ‘kickboxing’ that they are now equipped to take on anybody in a ‘street situation’.
Kickboxing is a fantastic sport but of little use to ladies in a self-defence scenario. Why?
Ladies are attacked up close. They are grabbed by the neck, hair, body and brought down to the floor, where a would be rapist will mount their body and punch them or hold a knife to their throat. Standing up and sparring with a male attacking, exchanging punches and kicks, does not exist in the real world.
Ladies who are looking for real protection would be better off spending their time more productively in a Brazilian Ju Jutsu class, learning to fight off their backs and feeling what it is like to have the weight of a male attacker on them, rather than learning a spinning heel kick.
Read any book or study any survey about assaults on ladies and all attacks come from close quarters, in the most confined of spaces.
In cars, pushed up against a wall, grabbed from the rear and thrown to the ground, attacked in their own bed. There is no exchanging of blows and sparing around.
So why do most women opt for kickboxing classes?
Firstly ladies can be very good at the technique, especially kicking. They seem to have a natural flare and ability for it. Also it gives them space to keep things nicely at arms or legs length, they are not too pressurised.
False Sense of Security.
I have met very few women who relish the grappling arts like Judo, Ju Jutsu, wrestling etc. Why?
Because it is up close and in your face, masses of body contact, hard throwing and stifling, ground grappling.
Those ladies I have met in the grappling arts have been bloody scary and good at what they do.
Because they have no fear of close body contact or grappling and the pressure it brings.
Some may argue that women are not born for grappling, they are too light in bone structure or muscle mass and striking and kicking better suits them. To a degree I agree, but they neglect grappling range at their peril because, like it or not, this is where they will nine times out of ten be attacked.
I believe every lady involved in Martial Arts should learn grappling and groundwork and very close quarter self defence. They should also learn effective close range striking, rather than spending endless hours on fancy kicks.
If you take Tae-bo Kara-robics for purely fitness, fine. If you practise kickboxing as a competitive pursuit, great. But if you want to be able to defend yourself effectively street wise, you should be looking elsewhere.
I also find that today’s young ladies have a dangerous attitude towards looking after themselves. They are much more forward and self assured, which is great as long as it doesn’t border on arrogance or a false sense of security.
I believe the ‘girl power’ crap promoted by the Spice Girls and similar has given the girls the idea that because they indulge in a little ‘recreational Martial Arts’ they are a match for any attacker. I think a bunch of young girls fuelled on alcohol are more than a match for a lone attacker.
But the real street predator will wait for one to detach from the herd and follow her.
When you are on your own, late at night, walking with a potential attacker in pursuit, suddenly ‘girl power’ doesn’t seem much of a comfort.
Now you have to analyse your options. If you can’t run, out smart or out talk this predator you will have to out fight him.
Feel lucky?
As he closes in and grips you tightly around the throat and you see the hate in his eyes, are your kicks and punches going to work?
As you are dragged into the bushes and you lose your footing on the muddy ground and crash to the floor with your attacker’s full weight on you, how will you feel?
Frightening scenario?
I hope so, because that is the hard reality. Not some comfortable training hall scenario played out to the latest chart music.
I write all this to urge girls to really think about what they practise and not to put themselves into potentially dangerous situations through ignorance, or over confidence, borne from incorrect training methods.
Too many women and girls are assaulted, raped and murdered each year in the UK.
If you are looking for effective self defence you will not find it in a Kara-robics class or it’s ilk.
I do not mean to insult anybody from the things I say, just help them to view things more realistically. My wife has been a practising Martial Artist and a black belt for many years and will echo my sentiments, as will many of the ladies I have taught over the years.
I just ask – don’t be lulled into a false sense of security – or you will pay for it in the long run.
Ladies: check out my books ‘I thought you’d be bigger‘, ‘In your face‘ and ‘Grappling with reality‘, for a view of realistic training.
Kevin O’Hagan
Tags: personal security, realistic training
Self-Defense For Women
THE VALUE OF HARDCORE SELF-DEFENSE SKILLS FOR WOMEN:
1. Vicious self-defense skills
are the foundation of all other levels of skill, technique, etc. They give the defender the confidence to use less-aggressive tactics, if appropriate, and always have the confidence to increase the nastiness and aggressiveness at any time.
They also provide the most efficient means of ending a conflict, giving the best odds of a speedy return to family and friends. Without a base of the most vicious stuff, students may feel apprehensive about attempting any sort of defense, since they would have nothing to fall back on if the initial attempts fail.
2. Vicious self-defense skills typically incorporate the most primitive and natural motions and body weapons we have. This fact makes them the most efficient training choice for most folks, who will not devote countless hours to practicing more athletic, less-effective movements.
3. Vicious self-defense skills also carry the most devastating psychological clout when confronting an attacker. He will immediately sense the extreme danger to his personal safety, causing him to act out of self-preservation. This protective reflex, in turn, messes up his offensive game plan.
MORAL: Learn to fight dirty and nasty.
Learn about edged, impact, and firearm weapons.
Experiment with improvising weapons out of objects all around you.
Figure out how you’d use them, too.
Merely having this knowledge is excellent insurance against attack by the “unknown”. Fear of the unknown is one of the greatest “paralysers” out there.
Be proactive! Those stupid fire drills we had in grade school save lives every year.
Having a foundation of SD knowledge may save your life as well.
Hardcore Self-Defense Skills for Women
“I thought I’d relate an interesting experience I had over the weekend. We held a training session for a female client, who had been “recruited” by one of my assistant instructors.
She stated almost immediately (after the introductions) that she “believed that you get what you seek, meaning that she was one of those who felt that taking Self-Defense courses increased your risk of being attacked.” (!?!)
She further stated, ” I may not pay much attention to what you show me, since I’m not really a believer in fighting.”
Well, we proceeded to allow her to understand that by learning the hows and whys of vicious self-defense, she was actually freed up to feel less threatened and paranoid.
She now had an “ace-in-the-hole”, and would not become flustered as easily in less-serious situations. She began to pay rather close attention….
Fast forward to end of session: She thanked us profusely for what we were doing for women. She left with a new appreciation for something she had misunderstood.”
Self-Defense – Women
________________
Lee Aldridge
Head Instructor
Reality Based Fighting Concepts
www.fightingconcepts.com
..hope Lee’s article helps you..
Malcolm Keith
Chief Instructor
Youshiki Goshinjutsu
Womens Self Defence Classes
For those who teach Womens Self Defence Classes
, this short article may give you further ideas on creating a curriculum and a sequence of classes to cover the basic elements of self-defence without all the myths and unrealistic techniques fed out on the back of martial arts.
Consider as a framework Womens Self Defence Classes running as a short course over 8 meetings, perhaps as an evening class or a Saturday morning and having a duration of about 4 hours per meeting.
Bear in mind that women are never usually attacked in some ‘martial art’ way.
“…ladies are attacked up close. They are grabbed by the neck, hair, body and brought down to the floor, where a would be rapist will mount their body and punch them or hold a knife to their throat. Standing up and sparring with an attacking male, exchanging punches and kicks, does not exist in the real world…”
Kevin O’Hagen
Self Defence Meeting 1
Self Protection starts with Awareness. Students would receive a selection of articles and a reading list of recommended books.
Dont be a victim – don’t look like a victim. 10 Starter Tips to be Safe – (stuff like walking with your eyes up, keeping your keys in your hand when going to your car or your house, why you might want pepper spray, don’t leave your purse where it can be seen in the car while you’re driving, put your money way before you leave the bank, etc.) The basic message being that you don’t have to be the toughest person on the street, you just have to be a more difficult target than the next person. Most crimes against women are crimes of opportunity. So reduce the opportunities for the bad guy to take advantage of you.
Shouting – it’s OK to make noise – learn to YELL!!! This is practice in anticipation of the physiological shock everybody experiences in personal confrontation and gives them a way to start breathing instead of freezing.
Experience using forceful, bad language on people – and have them use it on YOU!
6 Basic Strikes
We would have a “Bob” (the punching bag shaped like a man) with some sort of groin attachment. The students would learn 6 basic gross motor techniques. Palm heel, rear elbow, groin slap to the rear, knee to the groin (bad guy standing) knee to the head (bad guy on the ground) eye rake/flick. (I am not saying gouge out the eyes – just a rake/flick to get the startle response. Students would also learn two major distractions – groin grab and face spit. They would practice all 6 gross motor strikes and the 2 distractions on “Bob.”
This would all happen in a very low pressure, low stress session.
Self Defence Meeting 2
Bulletman training Level 1
If you’re not familiar with a Bulletman – it is a padded body suit with a large padded helmet. The helmet is locked onto a set of shoulder pads so the wearer cannot move the head. This allows for pull power shots to the ‘attackers’ head with a minimal risk of damaging their neck. There is also an over-sized groin protection that allows for pull power knee strikes to the ‘attackers’ groin.
See a video clip that shows this in action at http://www.youtube.com
Students are taught the 6 techniques and two distractions from Meeting 1 again and how to shout and deliver them at the same time.
Bulletmen would attack but without verbal confrontation and intimidation, just physical pushing and pulling only. No feedback or corrections are given while they experience someone attacking them – just see how they do.
Eye contact exercises 1 – just standing and looking in the eyes.
Eye contact exercises 2 – looking someone in the eyes and saying
things like: leave me alone, quit bothering me, I don’t want to talk to you, don’t touch me.
In a voice that means get the f*** back.
Eye contact exercises 3 – similar to #2 except now someone will say something unpleasant first to the women who should now respond using the actions rehearsed in Eye contact exercises 2.
Self Defence Meeting 3
Verbal ‘wolfing’ scenarios no physical attack.
These would be mini role plays of common situations
1- aggressive guy in a bar
2- aggressive guy at a private party
3- aggressive stranger on the street during the day
4- aggressive stranger on the street at night
5- waiting alone at a bus stop
6- waiting alone at a train/bus station or airport
7- too friendly of a talker a the grocery store/bank
8- additional scenarios would be used as needed (for example – for a group of high-school age women you could address hallway and locker room scenarios)
Each role play would be followed up by debrief & suggestions on what could be done differently.
Then the same character will role play again trying to incorporate the suggestions.
Self Defence Meeting 4
Bulletman training Level 2.
This time it’s physical and it’s verbal.
Going through the same format as the verbal only session — with debriefs between sessions and the same person doing the same scenario again trying to incorporate suggestions.
Meeting 5
Night of the living dead training
Verbal wolfing from a bad guy not wearing pads.
Then the women move in slow motions to counter the physical attacks. They are allowed to target anywhere with any technique – this lets them see how what they did on the bulletman would look like on a guy without a suit. The mean face and loud shouts would be very disabling for many women. Of course, this would require a very highly skilled man to be the bad guy to be able to keep the scenarios real and for him to stay safe if the women over-react.
Self Defence Meeting 6
Being aware of and using your environment. Talk about listening to that little voice inside that tells you when a situation is going to get bad, or go from bad to worse.
Talk about learning to use what’s on hand — including:
Cars – to use as an obstacle. Also the idea of not getting out of your car just because somebody told you to or because you were in a minor accident.
Walls.
Purses, keys, pens, plastic grocery bags, things you might have on hand and how you might use them.
Self Defence Meeting 7
Bringing it all together.
Taking what we learned in meeting 6 and playing out scenarios with men in bulletmen suits doing wolfing.
Random attacks by bulletmen and you defend using whatever you can in your environment.
Same format of role-play, debrief for improvement, and re-role-play the attacks. Meeting 8
VR simulation
Students put on goggles and movement suits and then would be run through different surprise situations. Several in a row – a culmination of all the other lessons.
Everyone would be scored. If anybody’s score is below a certain cut-off point they would be invited to re-take the course at no cost.
Everybody else gets to go through graduation.
Twice a year “refresher”
1 day seminars based on Self Defence Meeting 7 for graduates only.
Tags: Womens Self Defence Classes
9 Tips for Mental Toughness
It takes more than visualisation, self talk, relaxation and concentration to be a real winner in life.
It takes a kind of strength through mental toughness that a few people understand.
But once you DO understand it, you can master yourself and how you respond to ANYTHING that comes your way.
Remember, too, that YOU ARE GREATER THAN ANYTHING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.
Here are some action tips for you to gain more mental toughness in EVERYTHING you do.
Listen to the experts.
Read biographies and listen to audio programmes telling of winners who have overcome tremendous obstacles and setbacks to become successful. Check out success stories in magazines and the internet-fitness, money or otherwise, you’ll find they are people JUST LIKE YOU. So if they can do it, why the hell can’t you?
No pain, no gain vs patience, pacing, and persistence.
You don’t need to go through emotional or physical pain to succeed. This is a myth. When you realise that failure and handicaps have NOT prevented winners in any area of life, you gain more confidence and courage to pursue your own dreams.
But you don’t need to ‘come from behind’ to get ahead.
Learn from the trial and error of others, and expect a lot of yourself. Not a pipe dream, but expect a lot and expect to get it. It can be easy to over train, over commit, and overwork if your expectations are too much. GO WITH THE FLOW. Success WILL come; understand it may take months instead of days.
‘What next?’ thinking.
Give yourself solution-oriented feedback when solving your ‘problems. Don’t dwell on what went wrong. What are you doing about it? Spend your energy on moving forward, finding an answer. Journaling helps here. What did you accomplish today? What went well? What can you do better? How do I feel about my progress? Are my goals making me reach, or am I just going through the motions? Am I focused? Are my goals MY OWN?
Get comfortable with the unfamiliar.
Make it a part of your daily routine to do something totally different from that which you would normally do. Work out at a different gym. Put your TV in the closet for a month. Drive to work using a different route. Change workout routines regularly. You’ll be better prepared to handle diverse environments with greater calm and confidence.
Think and speak well of your health.
Teach yourself and your children to use positive self-talk about fitness and personal health. Too much attention is paid to minor aches and pains, like there’s value to not feeling good. We tend to make real what is the ‘main feature’ of ourselves. What’s YOUR ‘main feature’?
Don’t be a victim of ads and fads.
Yes, the world is full of greedy people looking for a fast and easy to way to put your money in their pockets. Make sure the thing that impresses you meets your criteria, and satisfies your concerns. Mental toughness doesn’t mean going it alone, with lose weight fast or get rich quick schemes. Mental toughness means learning from the pros who have been there and done that.
Hang out with people who have already achieved their goals or who are dedicated to goals similar to yours. Avoid associating with people who have the same unresolved problems or who are frustrated by their lack of achievement. You know, the pity parties. ‘Oh, woe is me. My life is in an unheaval. How about you?’ ‘You poor thing. Woe is me, too. I feel terrible about myself. How about you?’ Some people tend to thrive on the attention they get when they feel bad.
A strong community of like-minded people give you motivation, support and purpose for succeeding.
Focus on desired results.
Pure and simple: winners dwell on the rewards of success.
Losers focus on mistakes and failure. Do what’s necessary NOW. Be in the present. Then you don’t have to worry about what happened yesterday or what’s going to happen tomorrow. Thus, two thirds of your worries disappear.
Expect the unexpected.
You can’t control what nature and others do. You can anticipate what MAY happen, and prepare for them as best you can. You can also control your response to what happens.
‘Spend your energy on moving forward…’
Tags: mental toughness
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