Firm ground

 Okay, this fill be the final post (think of it as a het-trick) on the role of awareness and alertness in the grand scheme of personal protection...for now at least. The previous two articles touched upon some of the basic tenets of what is desirable and what is not in that regard. This time I'd like to point you to a great source for further study.

David W I Wilson's work From The Base Up! is a fairly recent book, and a pretty damn good one if I may say! From the very beginning, it is absolutely thrilling to see aa book whose cover page lets you know exactly what to expect. Specifically, taken together its title and subtitle - Building foundational skills for situational awareness, strategy, and self-defense - very aptly describe what the content is all about.

The aspect of this piece of work that makes me like it so much is that the author gives a very comprehensive, yet practical overview of what is a rather complex subject. He approaches the presentation from several angles, addressing the building elements of situational awareness, strategy and goals, willpower, context, tactics, force matrix, intent, structure, breathing, efficiency of motion, effectiveness, as well as practical application beyond combat. As you can see, it is an integrative approach that includes both "software" and "hardware" skills and discusses how they work together in striving for the optimal outcome. 

Remember how I said it was practical? Well, that is possible the strongest feature of Wilson's book. Whereas most other works on this topic tend to stay in the predominantly theoretical domain, spanning from the unnecessarily burdened neuropsychological treatises to cheap lip service pamphlets that boil down to "trust your gut" level of advice, From The Base Up actually deliver a well laid out progression of explanations, accompanied by actionable steps. It means the reader is given concrete advice and various exercises to better absorb the content, i.e. make the material useful in the real life. 

Now, be aware (excuse teh pun) that it is still not what most people would consider a handbook, because the subject matter is highly intangible and dependent on the user's individual circumstances and needs. However, it is exactly this that makes Wilson's book impressive - to my mind he hits the sweet spot between the education (underlying theoretical principles) and instruction (the practical drills/exercises), so that the readers who take it seriously could reap benefits that reach beyond instant solutions to problems they may not even have. 

Ultimately, a good understanding and "embodiment" of the material presented should make one much better equipped to recognize, prevent, avoid and/or manage all kinds of conflict situations in such a way to also prevent and avoid as many of the negative consequences (psychological, physical, social, legal...) as possible. 

With that in mind, it is hard to imagine a better investment in one's personal safety. 

Doesn't matter!!!

 On the track of the previous post, which dealt with the importance of situational awareness in personal safety, there is something I need to point out. In that post I mentioned OODA loop as a decision making model, and there is ONE single question you may ask yourself that could totally throw your loop off and gravely diminish your chances of an effective response in a bad situation. 

It is somewhat ironic that at issue (or the issue as it may be) is the same question I have repeatedly stressed as possibly the most important one to ask in your training - WHY?

Hmmm, how come? Well, please note in the previous paragraf that the description of the question is based on its importance in training. And there is a huge difference between training and acting in application. Namely, the process of training is meant to help in developing desirable attributes and skills that would ultimately increase one's chances of adequate performance in a moment of truths, whatever that may be for a given person (a competition match or tournament for athletes, mission for soldiers, assignment for LEOs...or responding to an assault for civilians). So, in order to ensure that our training is going in the right direction, it needs to be constantly analyzed and reviewed, with the goal of improving its effectiveness and efficiency in that regard. 

However, if or when you have to face the unfortunate situation of needing to deal with an attacker intent on inflicting you harm, the one thing you should not ask is "Why is this happening to me?". i.e. "Why is he/she/they doing it?" or any of the variations on the theme. You see, at that point, even if you found the answer to the question, it would not be helpful in any way to solving the problem. You need to act as decisively as possible, so the questions that would be more helpful are  what to do and how to do it. And hopefully, the training has already provided those answers and equipped you with proper tools for the implementation of responses. 

That said, there is the right time to ask that pesky WHY even when it comes to life threatening situation, which are best avoided (again, see my previous post), and that is either before or after the event, but certainly not during. Prior to the event is what is called preparation, in hope of getting some understanding of the phenomenon and raising the level of your readiness. Understanding violence and your place in it from this standpoint may be helped by some good works from Rory Miller (Meditations on Violence) Marc MacYoung, Varg Freeborn, Tom Sotis etc. In the aftermath of the event it is first and foremost the time to deal with any physical, legal and psychological consequences that may stem from it. Along the way you will possibly want to asking those WHYs, in order to do your best in attempt to avoid similar situations in the future or at least improving your chances of better dealing with them. 

Mind you, it is not an easy process and there are rarely completely clear and fully dependable answers, but as always...it is about increasing your odds. 

Wake up!

 As the year comes to its end, I've been reminded of several instances of real life threats, incidents, attacks, i.e. personal safety threats caught on video and circulated on the internet. In most cases the attacks were successful primarily due to the element of surprise, as they came unexpectedly and caught the victim(s) totally unprepared. It completely skewed their OODA look (do some research if you don't know what it is) and tipped the situation in attacker's favor. The victims' thought process was typically paralyzed (more about the wrong questioning in the next post), thus further impairing their ability to react. 

So, succinctly put, the main problem was the lack of situational awareness by the victims. In the personal protection circles it is one of the pillars of effective (re)action and often mentioned, albeit not always explained in detail. I won't go into it deeply either, but let's see what are its main components.

We see that the first phase of developing good awareness is to track what is going on in our surroundings. It effectively means not going around in the "autopilot mode", and instead be present in the given moment. That does not mean paranoid, but actually involved in perceiving what is going on in the overall sense. Essentially, it is like driving during rush hour  - yous can't allow yourself to doze off, but no need for super focused, nerve taxing attention either. After all it is (still) not a NASCAR of F1 race. 

The next component is comprised of comparing the info received against the background of habitual baseline that we have for a given time and place, in order to establish whether the situation is somehow deviating. If not - just carry on; if yes - how is it deviating and does it require more concern. 

Finally, in the case of relevant concerns, we ought to make general predictions of how the situation may unfold and decide on appropriate action, should our predictions show to be true. Namely, this accelerates the action, if the push comes to shove, as they say. 

By the way, this is also the summary of the above mentioned OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop.

OK, now you have the basic idea. However, as it is always the case, in order to ingrain this knowledge into a useful habit, some practice is needed. This is, of course, a subject that can be treated in depth, but let us get at least a basic start.

The main thing is to break out of the bad habits and harmful state of mind, such as being lost in phone conversations, email correspondence or mindless scrolling when on the go. To get the ball rolling, give yourself an assignment next ime you are in public transport or walking the streets, especially the routs you know well, as those are typically where our autopilot takes over. For example, make sure to note all the people who wear a hat, or a scarf, or a piece of clothing of a predetermined color. Next, strive to pick up certain actions, e.g. moving with hands in pockets or unusually quickly, against the crowd, too slowly, looking lost etc. Don't neglect your hearing either - try to identify some type of sound! Can you differentiate between the sound of a passing bus, truck, motorcycle, car? Sounds coming from a construction site or a school yard? 

The point is not to try and do it all at once, especially if "waking up" after a long "sleep". Take one step at the time, spend a couple of days at each assignment and things will gain momentum soon enough. 

Now, this reminds me of a comment I read from Terry Trahan (founder of WeaselCraft, check him out): in order to develop good situational awareness, you need to have some environmental awareness first! It means going back to that baseline we mentioned before, i.e. knowing what kind of general social behavior is normal for a given place or space. What might be normal or acceptable in a park or on he playground may sound your alarm in a workplace. As a matter of fact, the normal overall atmosphere could differ radically between two establishments of the same purpose, but in different places, e.g. a bar in the blue-collar part of town during the home game of the local sports club on weekends, and the fancy restaurant in the business area during lunch time mid-week. You get the idea...

Being aware of those factors and attuned to your environment, with appropriate state of mind (do a quick search for Cooper's color code of awareness) should ideally prevent the situation from turning really bad in the first place, or at the very least prevent you from finding yourself freeze as the proverbial deer in the headlights. 

Take the step in the right direction and help the new year be good to you!

Real deal kung fu!

 As most of my readers/followers are aware, one of my main arguments in view of one's combative effectiveness, provided that is the reason they are training at all, is primarily related to their training methodology. In short, what you train in terms of technical arsenal is less important than how you approach that practice. Consequently, the problems that a lot of traditional martial art exponents face in attempting to use their technical toolbox in dynamic, non-cooperative sparring or competition stem from the training methods that don't fit that goal. 

But it doesn't have to be like that! Even what is typically considered the most exotic among traditional martial systems, i.e. the so-called internal kung fu systems, can offer viable solutions for the above scenarios if approached adequately. And if you wonder how, you are in luck, because a long time Xingyiquan  and Baguazhang teacher Mike Patterson comes to rescue! 

A long time ago Patterson had produced a number of instructional videos that present the technical content of those systems in his lineage, but it is his books that outline the training methods and progressions that should actually bring that material to a functional level. 

His first book is dedicated to the art of Xing Yi Quan (or Hsing I Chuan in the older transcription) and it happens to be quite comprehensive. In other words, the author covers all the topics that make those art "internal", as much as that classification is questionable, such as the brief introduction to meditative and energy practices, yin/yang theory as it applies to kung fu practice, interpretation of some classic texts about Xingyi, importance of daily training etc. Of course, there is the explanation of the elements that the technical curriculum is comprised of - five elements and twelve animals, but in that regard this book is not meant to be a technical manual. Patterson himself says that the moves are better taught/learned in person or in video format, but the commentary on these elements is still very good.

The segment that make the book really shine is his explanation of the training method that is used in his school do train able fighters. Oh, by the way, how do we know it works, i.e. that those Patterson's are effective as fighters? Well, they put it to test and let the world see it!

For example, here are the real time applications of a couple five-element fist techniques:

And then some of the animal form tactics:

So, Patterson calls his methodology R.S.P.C.T., which stands for realistically structured progressive combat training. Trying to give you a short overview here would be futile, because saying it includes partner drills, focus mitt work etc. doesn't really say much. It might be more relevant to point that the author has five tiers of practice in place: reflexive, structural perceptual, conceptual and tempering, according to the main focus at that point of training process. 

The important point here is that, as is the case with most good methods, R.S.P.C.T. is not limited to being used just with Xingyi or traditional marts as such, but can be adapted to serve the practitioners of any other combatively oriented system, regardless of their technical background. 

Being that the first book was well received, it is no wonder that the author decided to follow a similar formatting path with his second one.

Now, having in mind that Baguazhang (od Pa Kua Chang) is seen as even more esoteric that other internal systems, Patterson spends more time (or rather pages) discussing the underlying philosophies and methods of the system, including one of the best presentations of breathing and qigong practices I have seen in martial art books. Fast forward to the R.S.P.C.T. method as it applies to Bagua... In this case, we are shown how it develops the skills such as binding, turning, dragon stepping, and then we move to the areas of continued integration, clinch drills, defense, attack strategy footwork, rou shou practice, advice on strategy and fighting etc. 

As some may have noted from the above videos, in practical application those techniques do not necessarily look like "picture perfect" examples, but then again, the same can be said about any other fighting art, including boxing and MMA. Even so, this one is pretty spot on:

The bottom line is, if you are interested in traditional martial arts and their potential use in practical situations, especially kung fu, you cannot afford to skip these books. And even if you are not a fan of those traditions but still care about functionality of training, the training method presented in them is still valuable.

Book 'em!

 If you are person of certain age and with interest in the fields such as martial arts, combatives, self-protection, survival and other topics on the fringes of mainstream domains, you probably remember (and miss) the publishing powerhouse that was Paladin Press. I still fondly remember thumbing through its catalogs that I used to receive in the mail and eagerly awaiting for the arrival of the ordered books and videos. Heck, I liked their stuff enough to be on the elite client list for a while. After Paladin stepped out of the publishing game in 2018, not a week goes by without me lamenting its absence.

Fortunately, someone out there obviously felt the same way and decided to try and follow in the footsteps. Enter the publisher with the intriguing name Off The Books Books (OTBB for short)! Now, as much as I'd like someone to pick up and revive Paladin's old catalog, the new player took a different approach - publishing new titles. Fortunately, those already happen to be of a good number, signed by several authors, and all brought together under the editorial efforts of Fernan Vargas (including some of his earlier books). 

So far I have managed to read a few of the titles put out by OTBB and to my pleasure they offer plenty of good content to enjoy and for the most part live up to the expectations stemming from the titles. For example, the book on the Advanced Lessons in Knife Combat really does address the deeper principles and goes beyond mechanical maneuvers of the craft; the volume on The Tiger Spirit in Asian Warrior Traditions shed light on several aspects I hadn't been aware of; the two Street Craft volumes offer great examples of real life skills and their application etc. 

You can expect more detailed reviews of a selection of those books as I get to do them, but for now suffice to say that I am elated to again have the opportunity to being challenged, inspired and guided on my own path of further research in martial arts and other (more or less) related avenues in the years (even decades?) to come...

Just keep bringing 'em on! 

Staff it!

Been a while since I posted something instructional, as in hands-on instruction. So, let's change that state of affairs! Here is a lesson on the use of two handed stick/staff in line with the Bakbakan Kali curriculum of FMA - Dos Manos, or also used to teach the bladed weapon version, i.e. kampilan.. 

The forms in Bakbakan are used as lesson plan, and this video is a fairly good depiction of that approach. It was recorded for the purpose of teaching the material to members of the European Hub, but here it is made available for the readers of the blog! Remember, take each "bite" of the form and work on it as a separate combo/technique, in order to get as much mileage as possible from it.

I hope you get something from it...but at least - have fun!

Classical classic!

 If my previous post sounded like a call to action, maybe this one will help point to the right direction.

You already should know that I support any motive to learn martial arts, as long as it is congruent with one’s needs and with a clear vision of what the person is training for. In that regard, it is obvious that learning traditional martial systems as a form of cultural study is beyond doubt valuable, but...can it also be effective as a practical fighting method?

Well, again, those of you who have read through this blog are aware that I firmly believe the effectiveness of a combative system is predicated more on training methodology than its history or the „real deal skills“ of the old masters. So, there is a way to approach the traditional arts in order to make them usable in actual fighting? The question „why does it have to be traditional?“ aside, the answer is – yes! And if you are wondering how to achieve it, I have a brilliant book to recommend, where the whole path is superbly explained.

If you happen to belong to the category of practitioners who seek to go beyond mere repetition of your chosen art’s techniques, drills and forms, in an attempt to actually understand the WHYs behind the WHAT and HOW, you cannot afford to skip The Principle-Driven Skill Development in Traditional Martial Arts, written by Russ Smith. The title may seem a bit long, but it tells you exactly what the book is about. Still, let me try to give you a somewhat closer insight into the material covered. Let me say right here that subject matter is not limited to a single system – Mr. Smith has background in Chinese (southern kung fu styles) and Okinawan (goju-ryu) arts, so the book cleverly shows how the conceptual framework of the former can be used in the latter. But properly understood, the principles described can be integrated into the training of any style or system.

The book is very nicely divided into half a dozen chapters which outline the conceptual tools one needs to adopt on their way to functionalization in traditional arts. In the introduction the author aptly addresses the typical problem of disconnect in the traditional arts, i.e. the lack of adequate synergy among the main training modes in that environment. He then proceeds to make a significant point that many instructors, sadly, ignore – teaching is communication, which is why the instructors need to grasp the basic steps in improving the skill of their students. Those are presented as the identification of actionable principles, development and/or modification of the curriculum etc. Sifu Smith concludes by explaining how to use the book for the best results, and I urge the readers not to skip this section!

On the premise of teaching being communication, the next chapter deals with terminology and fundamental assumptions that serve as the guidelines in the further treatment of the material. By being aware of the need to accurately describe these pillars of communicative exchange, the author shows some of the traits of great instructors. As such, it is important to pay attention to what he has to say about what martial art is and is not; what is the foundational aim of self-defense; the distinction between techniques and applications; and key success factors in one’s training, described as principles, applications¸ and attributes. This section alone will make a lightbulb blink many times and lead to numerous a-ha! moments in finally understanding what has been hindering your or your students’ progress.

With the foundation set, the author takes us on the tour of general methods (FA), whose understanding ought to serve as the launch pad for the improvement of the overall functional skills. He starts with the discussion of three types of timing in dealing with and opponent (different terminology than mine, but close in meaning); next is the need for technique stretching to meet the demands of purpose, physical context and starting point; then the strategic (dis)advantages of various positions between the participants etc. Excellent stuff, applicable across the board in any kind of combative endeavor, be it in in the real world or in the sport arena.

Now we move to the treatment of tools (XING) that we need to command when striving to bring the previous principles out. Some of the highlighted ones are the three gates, three sections, eights bridging principles and so on. They are not all numerical, LOL, but everything is explained in a concise and understandable manner, in line with the previously noted need for better communication. This is probably the chapter where you will gain deeper understanding of the technical arsenal of your art.

Sifu Smith’s analysis of power (GONG) as it realities to the improvement and effective use of a person’s technical skill is second to none! Namely, he manages to explain the principles of power, leverage and body structure without sinking into the depths of overly technical engineering or scientific jargon, but also successfully avoiding to dumb it down to the point of being meaningless. Hitting the right balance is the trap that too many other writers have fallen into. He demonstrated similar ability when discussing the four movements concepts of Chinese systems (sink, float, spit, swallow) – presents practical understanding without reaching for pseudo-metaphysical terminology that might make it all sound more advanced, but also potentially confusing.

In wishing to give his readers an actual working plan of action, the author concludes with a chapter that delineates a teaching model for skill development. Here, he points that the functional skill is the result of going through the stages of knowledge development, understanding and transference/application. It means the progression from the isolated skills and rills, through the next step of selecting proper actions via the drills of the constraint and affordance type, to the experimental testing of application of in the progressively non-cooperative drills with wider boundaries, such as classical push hands, chi sao and other more or less free-form exchange approaches.

All in all, we have before us a comprehensive treatise of what is frequently neglected, yet remarkably important aspects of training in the traditional martial arts. Too often is the notion of tradition limited to the superficial imitation of costumes and rituals, while failing to identify and respect the intent that was the driving force behind those arts.

In the end, as well as the material in the book is explained, Mr. Smith also offers a video instructional where it is shown in motion, for an even better learning experience. There is nothing else left but to conclude that this is a phenomenal work, which sets the new standard to the coverage of traditional martial arts beyond historical and ethnological approach.

Fake it...or make it?

You know the saying, sure, but I don't think it holds in martial training. Well, at least not as an attitude. Although many times have I pointed that different folks train for different reasons, hence varying motivational drive, and all of them legitimate, there is still good reason to approach training seriously. Just what it means to be serious can, again, differ from one practitioner to the next.

Naturally, for the people who engage in the martial arts and combatives training for the purposes of actual self protection, professional work (security, law enforcement, military) or sport/competition proper focus and commitment are sort of taken for granted. But the other two main niches - cultural/traditional students and recreational trainees - would also benefit from a deeper dive into understanding the underlying principles and applications of the chosen art/system. 

Specifically, it can frequently be the case with those whose main reason for the study of martial arts is the research of cultural tradition to get lost in the minutia of historical accuracy of costumes, armory, lineage, stances, postures done in solo formal exercises etc, while neglecting the deliberate drilling of actual combative applications. The thing is, when one attempts to recreate or understand the technical details of a system of movement without taking into account the actual purpose of that movement, the outcome of such a study will be an empty shell at best. In other words, all the attempts to attain some accuracy in practice and reenactment will boil down to guesswork. At worst, it will be mere LARPing. 

While for the recreational exercisers it might be all about workout - breaking sweat and burning calories - the authentic intent that stems from the actual understanding of the underlying strategies and principles will actually help to move with purpose, which in turn stimulates the higher expenditure of energy in training. 

To keep this short, what I want to say is: don't let yourself slip into a mere imitation of the chosen activity. Yes, it can be frustrating to deal with the mistakes on the road to actual improvement, but at least it will be an opportunity to really learn and truly raise the level of your performance, instead of mindlessly and carelessly repeating the mistakes...if nothing else, then to avoid self-inflicted injury. 

Ultimately, the choice is yours, and I'm not judging anyway, but the road to true enjoyment leads through true self-investment. 

Kung Fu - virtual yet authentic!

 As some of you may remember, some time ago I mentioned on this very blog that I was taking a step back to a beginner student process of learning a new, traditional-type art. It was not mentioned back then what it was, but now it has been a little bit over half a year, and this might be a nice opportunity to share some of my impressions.

First of all, although from my input here it is clear that my main areas of coverage are essentially FMA and RMA, along with a few other weapon based methods, as well as western fighting methods, including MMA, in the past, I have had a particular kind of interest for a long time when it comes to traditional Chinese arts. As an example, back in the second half of the 1990’s I spent a couple of years training in Uechi-ryu, which is normally perceived as a school of Okinawan karate, but in essence is a slightly modified southern Chinese martial system. That said, the teacher of that school, the late Mario Topolsek, also taught taijiquan and a little bit of baguazhang, of which the latter later become my favorite kung fu system. However, it too quite a number of years before I found a competent instructor to point me in the right direction of exploring baguazhang…but that is not my topic today.

Somehow, about a year ago I first learned about Baji Quan, one of the so-called northern schools of Chinese martial arts, coming of the Hui nationality, i.e. a Muslim minority from the Hebei province of China. This article will not deal with the historical background of the art, because that is not what attracted me to it. It was the quality of movement and overall attributed displayed by some of the exponents on the internet that drew my attention. 

As it often happens, there are several lineages of bajiquan out there, and my initial criterion for picking one was simple – availability! In this case, it means an online school, which then met other criteria of quality instruction and well presented material. I found that in the BaJiShu online program of sifu Vincent Mei.

So, what is it that makes his program good? First of all, it really is a program, which reflects the lineage from which sifu Mei comes, that of the renowned Wu Tan school of founder Liu Yunqiao in Taiwan. Basically, it is a curriculum of material that follows a well thought out progression, aimed at teaching the practitioners not just the moves, but also the underlining principles and physical attributes required for the proper execution. 

There are certain specific aspects of this online school that make it stand out. Namely, you can’t just sign in any time you want and then access the material at your own pace. No, you can enroll when a new group (cohort as it is called) is formed, thus starting the journey with several other people at the same time. Why is this important? For a very important reason – every week you get access to a video with material to be worked on, and then you have to submit homework for review. The neat aspect is that all of the classmates in a cohort submit their homework to the same online folder, so everyone is able to watch everyone else’s progress. Once a week, sifu Mei posts a review with commentary, critique, corrections and additional instruction, so you are able to learn from the common mistakes and general feedback, as well as the specific, individual comments. And let me tell you – the instructor has a sharp eye for catching even the smallest details of students’ performance. It also helps that he uses frame-by-frame video analysis to bring his point across.

The teaching approach is quite interesting. One of the forms from the school’s curriculum is taken as a lesson plan (which reminds me of FMA master Rey Galang!), and then dissected into components that make it. In practice, it typically means one of the maneuvers from the form is taught each week, presented as contained within the form, then analyzed in detail; next, the application is shown, so that the understanding of it gives a better feel for the moves; finally, a drill is derived from the technical elements, in order to really focus on the underlying principles of the material covered. 

By the way, the weekly lessons are not presented in isolation, but rather in each one the sifu leads an actual training session – warmup, basic exercises and foundational stances, followed by reps of essential punches and kicks. That way, it reminds you to put in your daily work before tackling new material. Trust me, with the attention to detail and weekly homework deadlines, you will never be complaining about not having enough to work on, despite the seemingly bite sized instruction.

The whole package is expanded by membership in a BaJiShu members only group on Facebook, where you can exchange opinions and experiences related to lessons and other material of interest, thus reinforcing the sense of belonging, as in a non-virtual class or club/school.

Yet, if you are not a person who can commit to this approach, you can order standalone weapon programs or recordings of Bajiquan seminars held every year.

For those who would like to have a peek into where the training leads to over long-term practice, sifu Mei has a Youtube channel with ample additional input for those who need the motivation from a wider context of what the program has to offer in the later stages of instruction. Honestly, while I am perfectly happy with working on whatever happens to be the ongoing lesson at the time, it is nice to see some partner drills to complement the functional understanding or absorption of the information.

All in all, with his BaJiShu project, sifu Vincent Mei has been doing great things for bringing the traditional Chinese martial arts into the 21^st century. So much so, that he was able to generate enough interest and support for the expansion of the concept, so now the Tsang Wu Ge Academy project he started is offering other Shu classrooms – Chang Chuan and Hung Ga, with top-tier instructors…and hopefully even more systems coming in the future.

In conclusion, BaJiShu is a prime example of how modern communication technologies and media can be used to adequately propagate traditional martial arts as best as possible, short of in-person instruction. And in order to bridge that shortcoming, sifu Mei goes on annual seminar tours of North America, Asia and Europe, thus creating possibility for members of his online academy to also experience the dimension of live instruction and cross hands with other practitioners. What better way to deepen the feeling of belonging and commitment?

To this practitioner – the whole package is clearly the winning combination!

Celebration!

As you all probably know, one of my closest friends and biggest influences in the field of martial arts (and beyond) is Alex Kostic. Today is his round number birthday, and to celebrate it, I decided to share an instructional video we did a few years ago. Although his teaching methodology is always improving, this still represents a fairly good introduction to the way Alex dissects certain topics in training. 

Hope you will enjoy it!

Wrong direction?

 Sometimes I can't help noticing that we live in a world where everything is quantified, so the notions of success and achievement are based on measurements, typically in an attempt to be (quasi)scientific in one's approach to training. While such a view has some value in certain domains, particularly in a professional sport field, I believe that in some other practices it might be (at least occasionally) harmful. 

Even in a very streamlined sport of weight lifting, for example, there are so many factors involved (sleep, mood, state of health etc.) that it would be ill-advised to focus on the numbers as the sole indicator of progress. More than once have I seen a lifter miserable after a good session, because they failed to reach a goal that was a number on the paper (or the screen). How do you quantify quality or pleasure?

Things get even more complex in an oppositional skill based arena that is martial arts and combat sports. For a lot of people involved in these, there is this idea of making progress by "getting to the next level", which entails learning advanced techniques and/or more new maneuvers. You see it everywhere, from the modern BJJ and MMA gyms and their new tricks of the trade, to the traditional schools, where the new belt means new forms and techniques. We always strive to get to a new step and climb higher on the chosen ladder of success. 

But what if that is a wrong viewpoint? After all, they say that advanced techniques are the basics done really well, right? Wouldn't that mean we ought to get deeper, not higher? Hey, even the Earth's structure prefers depths to heights!

So, let me try and provide some answers to the above questions. I happen to be a proponent of the basics done well school of thought, because the concept of deep skill is the foundation for the execution of advanced tactics and strategies. In other words, with an excellent command of a finite set of skills/techniques, one has the confidence and cognitive resources to use them in solving the changing demands of a dynamic combative situation. A classic example may be the legendary Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, who decided to train his kicking techniques only with the left foot, but make it so good that his opponents had difficulties dealing with it, despite knowing what to expect. Or Rickson Gracie rolling each participant in a seminar and submitting them all with the same technique! 

Therefore, with a proper learning and training process it is possible to develop required attributes, thus being able to overcome most challenges faced in the process of training and/or application. I know, we are constantly exposed to so much novelties in training and bombarded with all kinds of (dis)information, so it can be really hard to keep it at bay while maintaining focus. Yet, we are often reminded that "Jack of all trades is a master of none..."

"...but often better than the master of one!", however! Wait, what? Aren't I contradicting myself? Well, not really. See, IMHO, one needs to be a comprehensivist in terms of areas of competence, but then a deep diver in each of them. Naturally, the number of those areas of competence will depend on your purpose in training - sport, cultural study, recreation etc. Let's say you are a MMA practitioner with competitive inclination: you would need to develop some functional skillset in standup/striking range, clinch/wrestling and the ground/grappling game. Now, if you have previous background in one of the disciplines that are typically perceived as "main ingredients" of MMA (i.e. (kick/Thai)boxing, wrestling, judo, sambo, BJJ), it could be possible and maybe even recommended to build a strategic approach of taking the fight to your area of expertise, with solid defense in all the others.

Let's see what the deep dive consist of, then. The first thing would be to identify a finite set of techniques and tactics that make the functional foundation within that area and then work on truly internalizing and integrating them, to a degree that we could improvise and play with them at will. For example: in the standup game - jab, cross, front hook, low kick and (maybe) front kick, corresponding parries and defenses; in the clinch game - a couple of controls and takedown from wrestling (underhook, weezer, single leg), head/neck control and a couple of elbow and knee strikes from Thai-boxing, takedown defense/sprawl; on the ground - essential positional control, 2-3 escapes for each position, 2-3 submissions from each position, a couple of fundamental sweeps/reversals, and fundamental ground and pound options. 

Huh, it is still quite a bit... But, if you get deeply skilled in those, there will almost certainly be no need for jumping or spinning kicks and backfists, scissor throws and suplexes, berimbolos and lasso guard or calf slicers. Leave those to the folks specializing (i.e. deep diving) in those singular disciplines.

If your aim is on the pavement arena of self-protection, you will also want to address hand held weapons (impact and edged...firearms if it fits your legal environment), with emphasis on access and deployment, along with a couple of low-risk and effective techniques/strikes, while discarding the twirling and flipping stuff. (There are quite a few reviews of the applicable instructional volumes on this blog). When it comes to defense, focus on control over disarming. While on the subject of street self-defense, if you try running a couple of scenarios that involve multiple attackers, it will quickly become obvious which physical techniques and tactics are to be prioritized (footwork, standing wrestling, straight punches, low line kicking). 

Thanks to the easy access to video footage of all kinds of physical situations, it is relatively easy to figure out what are the technical and tactical tools that should be prioritized, so-called high percentage ones, in order to avoid straying away from your training mission. 

After that, all you need is to dig in...deep! 

Spear sphere

 A while ago, in a Facebook group about MA books and magazines, I posted about a few of my favorite sword/fencing books and referred to the sword as "the king of bladed weapons", just to be quickly reminded that such title traditionally belong to spear. There was a short and friendly debate about my emphasizing bladed and whether that changes anything...but that's not the point. 

After giving it a bit of thought, it became obvious (well, to me) that there are a couple of reasons why both may be true. First, we are really talking about two different periods. Namely, the spear got its reputation of royalty through antiquity and medieval times, while my perception of the sword as the high aristocracy was related to the later periods - from renaissance to the late 18th/early 19th century, which is when the management of swords developed into a revered art and science. Second, the surrounding in which the spear shone was the battlefield, i.e. war theater with armies clashing in massive numbers of combatants. Sword, on the other hand, took over the primacy as a dueling weapon in urban areas, with either one-on-one scenario or smaller number of participants. 

Not to mention the geographical, social and cultural influences that could be taken into account...so let's keep it simplified!

That said, while it is easy to think of swords as an EDC (every day carry) weapon of choice in its time, I have hard time imagining anyone carrying a spear around other than a very specific purpose, either for hunting or military assignment. Speaking of the military context, it bears saying that if a soldier/warrior had both of those on them, the spear probably did have a primary role, while the sword was sort of a side arm. Something like rifle and pistol as a modern day equivalence. 

With that in mind, it occurred to me that the battlefield  of the days of yore most probably offered ample opportunity for asymmetrical engagement where different weapons were pitted against each other, thus possibly giving us the answer about the question of one weapon's superiority? Lo and behold, other have already dealt with it! 

And this is but one example...you can find quite a few others out there. Mind you, it is sort of a rabbit hole, so be warned! One thing that becomes conspicuous rather soon is that there are VERY few attempts at grabbing the shaft of the spear and then closing the distance. Besides the fact that there are many different types of spears (and other polearms) out there, once you try it out, it becomes obvious that such a tactic is actually harder to pull off that it may seem, especially if there is a lot of maneuvering space for the person wielding the the spear. 

So, where do you start with learning a few basics, in case you are interested at all? Again, there are many options available, depending on the preferred approach in terms of historical period, geographical area of origin etc. Still, probably two prevailing avenues are HEMA sources and those of Asian background. 

With regards to the former, even a cursory search will yield a huge number of results. Those will either be written - articles and translations/interpretations of period manuals - or videos that cover similar material. Here is a nice one for fundamental basics:

In the latter case, it may be difficult to get down to the practical stuff (provided that is what you are looking for), as so many Chinese and Japanese systems of use may rely on forms as the means of teaching, and those are often hard to decode if you do not have some background in that approach. So, let's turn to a more simplistic and modern version:

Of course, since I brought up the matter of practicality, one might wonder what is the point of learning to use spear at all nowadays? Well, for one thing, in the domain of personal protection, the mechanical and technical principles of the weapon itself could be implemented with some sort of improvised tools (broom handles, spades...). However, even more important is the development of other, higher level, attributes such as distance management and footwork, space awareness, tactical adaptability etc. In the military domain...well, as much as the bayonet plays a role (if at all), the methods of its use will be well grounded in the use of spear. As a side note, but related to that, in the Soviet Russia bayonet fencing was part of the national fencing competition circuit alongside foil, epee and saber for quite some time, probably into the 1970's, if not longer. 

Maybe we could use what is left of nice weather to do some outdoors training and reap some of those abovementioned benefits... 

Quick job

For the last few weeks I've had a huge amount of work to deal with, which, of course, severely limits my options in terms of choosing when and how much to train. Still, daily training is non-negotionable, and that requires some adaptations. So, how do I deal with it?

Basically, so far my approach has been the scattered practice. I guess it could be seen as a variation of the Pomodoro method, but with a different aim. Namely, the Pomodoro technique is typically used when one needs to learn a new piece of information (or skill, in our case), thus emphasizing focus and deliberate study. 

However, in times of limited time availability, I prefer to emphasize the "maintenance" work, i.e. practice the stuff that is already somewhat within my grasp. The reason is that my "episodes" are normally much further apart than 5 minutes, scattered throughout the day, and also shorter (10-15 minutes sometimes), which means the lack of continuity that serious study of a new skill would require. And that brings us to the question of material selection. 

This will, naturally, depend on your needs in training and whether you are doing it solo or with a partner. In the former case, some may choose to work on their forms, others on reps of the individual techniques/maneuvers, still others on footwork etc. All fair choices... Personally, I strive to get the "biggest bang for my buck" through a compound approach - take a technical element (maybe a combo) and then work it with dynamic footwork and in mid to high intensity, optimally also with strong mental imagery. That way, it feels I am getting some technical material done along with a certain amount of conditioning, and possibly even some tactical practice. If nothing else, it always makes sense to do some physical preparation work - strength, endurance, flexibility...it's up to you. In the end, even if you mange to squeeze in just 15-20 minutes of such daily action, by the end of the week you'll end up 105-140 minutes of training! Hey, it is practically two full sessions! 

How about partnered work? Well, my take would include 5 minutes of some sort of light dynamic drilling, just to set the pace in order to avoid injuries due to overzealous attitude and omission of warm up; then proceed to do some kind of sparring - either free or with tactical constraints - as long as you are able to not let it get out of hand in terms of intensity. I mean, sometimes these micro-sessions are conducted in the workplace... 

There you have it! Don't let the little lazy excuse-maker, which we all have inside our brains, take over. Cumulative effort will make a difference and bring good results, if you are diligent and smart in your training. 

Sword sorcery

They say good things come in threes. Also, it seems that all the great bands tend to have a triumvirate of great albums among others...less stellar. A similar thing may be said about book authors. It is a rare occurrence, though, when someone hits three brilliant pieces out of three! Well, today we have a shining example of that rare breed - Maija Soderholm. 

Maija is a phenomenal exponent of blade arts, mainly of the Filipino provenance, and an excellent instructor, too. While it might be customary to introduce a person in this field by means of her teachers etc, she stands so firmly on her own expertise that even the fact that she comes from the lineage of legendary Sonny Umpad doesn't diminish her own contribution to the development and advancement of the arts. Fortunately, she happens to be as mighty with a proverbial pen as she is with a sword, thus writing a string of books hinted at in the introduction. 

The thing that really made me love those is the common theme of all her products, i.e. higher-level, strategic dimension of dueling with sharp (and pointy) steel. In other words, Soderholm tackles the tricky topic of thinking process behind the seemingly "magical" performance by all the greatest exponents of this art/science. So, let me offer a brief review of her books, in the chronological order of their publication. 

In the debut volume the author sets the standard for the whole "series" in several regards. First of all, I love the visual theme/design of the cover, which has been kept for the later volumes as well. Next, the title - The Liar, The Cheat and The Thief - is nothing short of brilliant! It very aptly represents the overall "mood" of the material contained within the book. Namely, Maija does not deal with philosophy and ethics of martial arts as they are typically presented nowadays, in terms of self perfection as part of a wider social environment. Instead, her focus is on the self preservation in the situations where life and limb are at stake. Even so, however, there are higher dimensions in this kind of endeavor, beyond the mechanics of technical performance, as important as they are. 

To start with, the author describes a set of hypothetical circumstances that very well paint the kind of mindset required for thriving in the sort of situation that the material is aimed at. again - dueling with bladed implements. She then proceeds to explain why deception is the key word/idea in the foundation of advanced combative practice, in her view. The main section of the book, in Part 2, is dedicated to a number of drills designed to develop in the practitioner a constellation of skills that would help them in being successfully deceptive. The drills are divided into several categories, such as timing, footwork, faking, mirroring etc, depending on their primary developmental goal. This part is also where the only possible shortcoming of these books is found...all exercises and activities are described verbally, with no pictorial illustrations whatsoever. Now, this is not necessarily such a bad thing, as it means the inbuilt guidance to personalization and creativity in practice. Still, if you are adamant about seeing the "original" way of doing them, there is a set of corresponding videos available through Soderholm's website. The third and final section of the book offers several clarifications regarding the author's path leading to the lessons presented and several other tidbits that help put things together.

Her second title is The Hustler. While the previous one was mostly a hands-on instructional, this volume is more...theoretical in nature. More specifically, it will require that you put your thinking hat on and approach the material from the personal interpretation of the presented information. See, it still deals with deception, but goes a step further in treating the subject as a course in managing attention. Both the opponent's and your own. That said, it could be said that Soderholm is seeking to bring to the forefront certain facets of human nature that are relevant to the task at hand, which should help us understand the bigger picture of the activity (Remember? Yes, sword dueling!). And why is it important? Well, because it is easier to put the pieces of the puzzle in the right place if you have the picture before you, and it means the reciprocal endeavor of trying to figure out how to overcome the opponent, while simultaneously preventing them from overcoming you. Possibly most illuminating is the description and analysis of the Arc of Action, as she calls it, with its phases of before, during and after, because so many people seem not have the grasp of that continuum. The thing is, understanding that part will help immensely with the applicability of the rest of material, including time and targets, methods of control, and the art of reading the opponent. Obviously, the kind of knowledge that could be gained from understanding and working with this material is precious when you need to analyze other people's styles and overall strategies that run their approach to fighting. Whether that is for the purpose of countering or emulating them...I leave that up to you.

Finally, the last book (only for now, hopefully) is The Spy and the Rodeo Clown. This one also has the intriguing subtitle Swordplay and the Third Game, which is another way of pointing to the progression that these volumes present in terms of personal "game" development: the first book teaches us how to be unreadable for the opponent; the second is about reading their intention; while the this particular strives to reach the ability of "writing the opponent". In other words, guiding their actions to where you want them to be. In more other word, if in the first book you set the traps and waited (hoped) for the prey to fall into them, this time you are actively luring them to walk into that trap. It is possibly a more proactive approach, but in a rather subtle manner, since the trick is in making the opposition believe they are doing it of their own volition, i.e. in their best interest. Do you now get the references to magic and sorcery? 

Maija has an interesting mode of presenting this material - she first gives you a set of tasks/assignments to do, and only after teaches how to solve the riddles and/or problems that might emerge along in the process. In my experience it is an excellent approach, because it starts with acquainting oneself with the context, so that everything learned afterwards makes much more sense and is easier to retain and further develop. Very few people in the contact weapons world offer that sort of instruction, and I have yet to see more of them getting so deep into it while staying practical. 

The author is known for her championing the training method of random flow as the best way to instill this range of skills, but in order to make things easier to grasp, she first points to an important distinction between the interview and conversation, to better understand the scope of application and appreciate the spheres of influence in the contact range and edge of range (both while entering and exiting the contact range) etc. There is a lot of ground covered here, and it is not something that can be quickly absorbed into one's personal combative expression. It will take time and effort for sure, but in the long term it is not something that should be neglected or dismissed. On the contrary - at the advanced age you need advanced skill to compensate for deteriorating physical attributes, especially in working with weapons, where the margin of error is much narrower.

Before the end, I'd like to suggest a reading order different to chronology of publishing. Even though you can certainly go through the progression as already described, but from the standpoint of understanding the context first you may want to start with the Hustler, then carry on with LCT, and finally work on the Spy and the Rodeo Clown. Whatever the preferred order, you won't regret diving into the material. 

In conclusion, for everyone who takes a serious approach to martial arts, training hard and smart, these books  not only belong to their library, but ought to be read and referenced often and lot.

Re-start

 I have always loved new beginnings! The excitement, challenges, joy of discovery...I've always had the feeling that it brings out the best in me. And over the last few weeks, it has been sort of a double treat for me!

First, as an instructor, I have finally put together a small training group in the new country that I moved to a few months ago. And it is great to have serious guys to work with - putting in time and effort, smart and athletic to begin with, listening carefully and following the instructions to continue with. Sheer joy!

As a student, decided to join an online training program in a system that I had never dealt with before, thus stepping out of my comfort zone. Not wanting to reveal too many details just yet, let me tell you that so far it has been inspiring and joyous to work hard as a beginner and having that sense of accomplishment that comes with daily training. Expect more insights in the future, when I feel confident enough, and with the necessary minimum of experience, so that my comments will make some sense.

Sure, the biggest overall challenge is time management, but at this point it is doable. The second in line, considering my tender age of 50 is energy management. Specifically, it primarily means sufficient recuperation from daily sessions, but with some discipline and commitment (nothing new there) regarding nutrition and lifestyle, there haven't been any real problems.

No big lessons here, but again - do not fear new beginnings, because, as the saying goes: there is no growth in the comfort zone! 

Hidden in plain(?) sight

But whose fault is it? 

What I mean here is an interesting phenomenon that occurs as a result of experience gap in a given filed, which in our case is martial arts and combative training. Specifically, with years or decades of training and practice certain things become kind of obvious, or at least they seem that way...to us. 

art by Karl Addison

However, the level of perception for the phenomena that make one's field of study can become quite high due to an equally high degree of kinesthetic perception, i.e. inner feel for the movement and general body behavior, stemming from countless hours of working on and with our bodies. And, after long period of such experience it is easy to forget how it all looked and felt in the beginning. 

If you are an instructor, you should not allow obviousness to become a part of your training plan. OK, if you are a coach who spends most of the time working with fighters and competitive athletes, who follow a continual training regime, the understanding of all the important things will indeed unfold over time. Yet, if you are working with who cannot or will not engage in that sort of work, for whatever reason, and particularly in a group format, it is important to regularly repeat even the most basic (and seemingly obvious) lessons/instructions. There are at least two strong reasons for this: one, there is always someone in the group who "doesn't get it", and subsequently may hinder others as a training partner; two, even for those who did get it (or think they did), such instruction may gain new/deeper meaning when reiterated over time.

This is especially case when you have in your class a person who shows the potential and/or desire to also be an instructor at some point. Namely, for them it is not just the process of learning the subject matter, but also learning how to present that material and helping others understand it. And if the art/system you happen teaching is important enough that you'd like to see it grow in the future - this is an important element of contributing to it.

Finally, regularly repeating even the mundanely "self-evident" axioms of your teaching will make you seek new ways of doing it, thus improving, expanding and deepening your own understanding of the material, not to mention the benefits for your teaching skill.

Obviously, it is a win-win proposition, so what's not to like?

Diving deep

On the heels of the previous post, I wanted to see how such a thorough approach could help in one's own learning and training experience. Although at the first glance it may seem that a more or less scholarly approach to learning a martial/combative discipline is more theoretical than practical, it doesn't have to be. The thing is, on one's training journey it is very easy to fall into the trap of accumulating information, especially nowadays, i.e. going for breadth of research. However, we would all probably be much better going for depth. 

In practice it means seeking to really, truly get a hang of any chosen skill by putting it through the wringer of working on it through a series of filters and criteria, in order to figure out all of its advantages and shortcomings. It could be any specific skill/technique you want to work on, armed or unarmed, and you can find some good ideas and insights into the aforementioned filters and criteria in a book that I reviewed quite some time ago. 

Of course, the experience will be more fruitful with a systematic approach to the study, and choose the material so that you will not lack motivation to work on it. 

source

So, this has been a short post, but could prove to be a very impactful one. Let me assure you, from personal experience, that if you undertake this sort of activity at least once in a while, it will propel you understanding and subsequently benefit both your learning and teaching endeavors. 

Stick Scholars

 

Every once in a while a person or a piece of work appears in the ever growing universe of martial arts, and leaves a mark that can change the shape of our understanding of that universe. Some do it by shaking things up, almost causing seismic effects on the previously accepted views, like Jigoro Kano, Bruce Lee or the Gracies. Some give new appearance to older traditions and propel them to unforeseen levels of popularity, like Choi Hong Hee, Morihei Ueshiba and Karl Gotch. Some leave behind written works that keep providing inspiration and food for thought for future generations, like Sun Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi and, again, Bruce Lee.

It is the last category that I’d like to discuss today. In the Western world, the topic of martial arts has for a long time been treated in a book format primarily as either an esoteric phenomenon to feed the imagination, or as a rather banal sort of pictorial book. The endeavors that would successfully join a scholarly approach in study and popular accessibility in presentation have been few and far between. Interestingly enough, in Europe that path originated with fencing treatises, especially those in the second half of the 19^th century, penned by the likes of Alfred Hutton or Egerton Castle. However, the man who took it to a higher level was the legendary sir Richard Francis Burton with The Book of the Sword, and he gave this field of study a name – hoplology. 

Burton and Draeger

 However, it took several decades for this approach to gain some traction in the 20^th century, under the guidance of Donn F. Draeger and his associates (Armstrong, Beltzer, Smith etc.), with special emphasis on the martial arts of the Far East, resulting with several excellent books on the arts of Japan, China and Indonesia. Unfortunately, with Draeger’s passing in the the early 1980’s, hoplological research slowed down drastically.

A few years ago I was thrilled to see the emergence of a new “player” in the field, namely the organization called The Immersion Foundation (TIF for short), which injected the much needed energy into this field of study, with its driving force Mahipal Lunia at the helm. To be brief, they undertook a two-pronged strategy in continuing the development of hoplology: on the one hand they continued the model of expeditions, in order to learn the arts in their “natural habitat” (such as the Caribbean, Philippines, Portugal, South America etc.); on the other hand they organize the annual Immersion Labs, i.e. seminars with several instructors giving presentations and providing deeper insights into a chosen topic for that year.

 

During all of those events, the material is carefully recorded and processed for archiving, analysis and publishing. Owing to such work, a couple of month ago we got the brilliant opportunity to enjoy the benefits in the form of The Book of the Stick! What we have here is a four-volume anthology of articles, interviews and scholarly papers on various facets of stick fighting arts and methods from all over the globe. With more than 2000 pages worth of material, this is an unprecedented presentation, both in terms of breadth and depth. Besides the soft cover edition with b/w photos (see the previous link), it is also available as a hard cover, full color version or even an eBook.

Now, each volume is available separately as well, but it may be really hard to take your pick. Namely, the material isn’t organized and presented along the lines of geographical or cultural criteria, but rather in the alphabetical order of featured authors’ names. While this may seem strange at first, I really came to appreciate this decision by the editorial team. See, it would be too tempting to immediately go for the “usual suspects” of Chinese, Japanese or Filipino arts, in line with personal experiences and preferences. And yes, it might appear to be a rational way to invest your money, right?

 

 

Well, I firmly believe that disadvantages would outweigh the benefits here. I mean, you would easily miss on some true gems that are to be found in each of the four volumes this way. Let’s have just a quick glance at some of the great featured to be enjoyed:

Vol.1 – the introduction to hoplology and TIF, which gives us a better understanding of the whole field and the scope of work; Kalinda, the stick art of Trinidad; Bonafont cane system of urban Argentina from 1930’s; African stick practices in the House and Zulu cultures; the Irish methods of Bataireacht.

Vol.2 – the Colombian art of Grima; war club in Native American war arts; actual application of stick skills in the modern day environment; the so-called hermit training avenues; combat measure methodology of Antonio Tatang Ilustrisimo.

Vol.3 – framework of the Hawaiian art of Lua; the Cuentada training methods of FMA; the rarely seen stick aspect of Burmese Bando; the amazing presentation of how HEMA material can be approached in a modern way for general applications; stick arts of North Africa.

Vol.4 – the Italian tradition of stick fighting; the Lathi of India and Punjabi stick arts; dueling and multiple opponent engagements in the Portuguese Jogo do Pau; Indonesian Ulin Limbuhan.

Don’t get me wrong – this is just a small sample of what can be found in this invaluable resource. Of course there is an abundance of material on the Japanese and Chinese methods, as well as those less expected, such as Greek/Byzantine legacy of pole arms, Maori arts, when it comes to geographic origin, and various approaches on the traditional-modern continuum. Above are simply some of the “chapters” that I found most interesting, for one reason or another. Obviously, the amount of work that went into preparing this seminal publication was astounding, so I would like to say the entire editorial team and organization deserve thumbs up and hat off for their effort.

In the end, no amount of reviews or talk about The Book of the Stick will ever convey just how excellent and important this series is. You will have to get the books and see for yourself.