Watch out - the book bites!

Every once in a while, in the world of martial arts and combatives training comes a set of events that leads to the general paradigm change in how things are analyzed and approached. In the modern age, the first such occurrence with some media coverage was Bruce Lee’s open advocating of cross training, which at the time was seen as blasphemous in some circles. Today, however, his Tao Of Jeet Kune Do is a classic book, while MMA is a widely accepted concept, even among the lay people.

Oddly (maybe), the evolution in technical and tactical training methods of training hasn’t really been closely followed, until very recently, by adaptation in training in line psychological research, especially in civilian circles outside professional sports. Even more rare is the appearance of literature that treats the subject in a practical, yet profound manner, without oversimplification on one side, or the indiscriminate avalanche of expert terminology, in hopes of giving credibility to the publication. There have been some authors whose insights had come from personal experience, able to put it in writing in a sensible manner with excellent insights for the readers, such as Marc MacYoung, Rory Miller and Varg Freeborn, but those are few and far between.

It is thus with exquisite pleasure that I am writing today of what should be one of those milestone works – The Maul, written by Schalk Holloway and Gavin Coleman.

Very adequate

The subtitle of the book is Preparing for the Chaos of Close Combatives, and it’s an understatement. Many other books and videos will claim similar goal or result, but keep regurgitation the same old information. Holloway and Coleman have combined personal experience in dealing with daily violence in South Africa with modern research in neuro-science, as it applies to humans in the conditions of close combat. There have been works dealing with psychology of combat before, but mostly in terms of what to achieve and how to deal with it, but not so much about optimizing your daily training in accordance with the said research. Without going into detail, this means primarily the two states in which the brain operates and how they interact, as well as how they impact our performance. The only brief reference to this, which I have seen in martial arts literature was in a book by Luis Preto, but without deeper interpretation.

This book is one of those that are so well thought out that the logic of how its subjects are presented flows seamlessly, which makes it easier for the reader to comprehend and assimilate the material. The authors start with sharp and honest analysis of the actual problem, in terms of how most combat training programs are run, in comparison to what are the demands of the potential real world situations that would entail the use of such training. It is then followed by the relevant presentation of the information that one needs to have a grasp of deal with it. And unlike many other resources, Holloway and Coleman do not stop there, but actually proceed to offer systematic solutions and how to develop them.

Acting on it

The seriousness of approach and scope of the book is hinted already in the glossary of terms at the beginning – Close Combative Incident, Pre-Incident Indicators, Tactic Determinants, Current Reality, Unscripted Training, etc. Just take a look at their definition of Correct Execution:

…both an accurate movement pattern as well as successful application in an Unscripted Training or Play Learning environment. Correct Execution does not mean a person can simply successfully mimic what a movement pattern looks like, it means that they can use the movement pattern effectively and also achieve its intended outcome…

And not only are the authors honest in their investigation of the subject matter, but also when it comes to not pretending to be the revolutionary thinkers whose work comes from a vacuum. Instead, they give credit where credit is due and direct the readers to further sources for enhancing their understanding of the topics presented.

In case you are wondering, yes the book does go into the HOW TO aspect of dealing with an assault, primarily through use of edge and point tools, as they describe it. Still, the methodology is robust and versatile enough to be implemented empty-handed or with smaller impact weapons.

In conclusion, it is really difficult to recommend this book strongly enough, as a simple review is painfully inadequate in attempt to do it justice. The authors are easily accessible via Facebook and happen to be really nice, down to earth guys who will gladly answer your question related to their work, even if not necessarily stemming from the book.

If you would like to find more about Schalk Holloway make sure to hit his web place over at

https://schalkholloway.com/  where you can find his other book, too, but also read more about this one on the page https://schalkholloway.com/the-maul-book/

Being a lone rider

Training by yourself is all the rage these days, obviously, so everybody and their brother is casting their vote on what to do in isolated conditions. Now, I have already written about it (exactly five years ago!), and some of the more obvious aspects or approaches to solo training have seen their fair share of treatment here. Now, there is another way to train solo, and quite controversial one, too.

Say what!?

I’m talking about formal practice, i.e. kata, hyung, jurus, taolu…depending on the geographical origin of your chosen martial practice. The controversy arises, of course, in view of the value of such practice. Some traditionalists will swear by it and claim it the ultimate supreme training method; the modern day, sparring oriented systems, such as MMA or various (so called) reality-based defense methods will think of it as a bad joke.

Now, a lot has been written and said about the actual meaning, or original purpose of these forms, so I will not delve into it here. Suffices to say that, as some may expect from me, the point is not so much in what you do, but rather how you do it. And there are some glaringly different approaches!

First, let me stir some commotion – (kick)boxers do katas, too. In essence, whenever there is a standardized set of techniques strung together to be performed as a sequence, you get a formal exercise. In boxing, one of those might be jab-cross-front hook; in kickboxing jab-cross-roundhouse kick; in Thai boxing they can get quite elaborate; in savate there are standard combos performed when testing for grades, just like in many traditional Asian arts.

savate is French after all

However, it is immediately evident how these formal exercises are practiced in said systems. Let’s just go back to that basic boxing combo – all three punches might be done to the head…or, head-body-head…or head-body-body…or body-head-head…or you-get-the-picture. Next, add the footwork variables, as in stepping: all advancing; all retreating; advance-advance-retreat etc. All of a sudden a single formal exercise yields a mind-numbing number of possibilities in application.

In most Asian arts, as practiced today, forms tend to be some kind of pictures to be added to your album. Basically static in presentation, even with predefined rhythm in performance. Yes, even so there could be some merit in doing them, to work on your breathing, focus, stamina and so on. I mean, in the circumstances of home quarantine that may be enough… But why not take it a step further and break them apart, maybe even assembling techniques in a different order altogether? Kind of like Legos! You can follow the instructions, but you can also make your own ideas.

Lgo action!

The only traditional art (as far as I know) that nurtures this approach as an integral part of its teaching is silat with its pecahan method. Admittedly, there are schools out there who also work on bunkai, along with their kata, but those are also frequently fossilized and done by numbers. Indeed, there are always those thinking out of the box, such as Iain Abernethy or Gavin Mulholland, but everybody could, and should, try this approach, at least once in a while.

Finally, there is another very important aspect of traditional forms that I find interesting, but, alas, it is not often paid attention to. It has to do with finer mechanical points of technical development, but instead of trying to explain it in writing, take a look at this brief but good demonstration:

In conclusion, although nothing beats working with good instructors and training partners, there is still so much work to on your own that you should never be caught idle of bored!

Basically fundamental

I was asked on several occasions if I had ever gone to coach a training session without knowing what I would do? In short, the answer is - no! Admittedly, I have appeared in sessions without previously planning the class, more than once. So, how come the answer to the question was negative? Quite simply, there is a super important aspect of training that you can always revisit without feeling guilty... As the matter of fact, if you are not training every day, and making it part of that daily training, you are probably in need of more. It is called - BASICS!

If a man of Virgil Hunter's caliber, coaching champions, stresses the importance of fundamental techniques and tactics, who am I to dispute it? After all, he works with champions and challengers in a tough world of professional boxing, where the failure to train properly is very costly in so many ways.

Now, some may argue that the entire technical arsenal of boxing is rather basic in general, and that other combative systems operate in a more diverse circumstances, hence demanding more variety in training, too. Say, weapon based methods would be like that, right? Well, not exactly. Namely, while the challenges that the practitioners of non-sportive approaches to combat may be of wider scope, effective responses to them are, nonetheless, based on a limited set of mechanical and tactical principles that are best adopted through the diligent practice of those system's basics.

Interestingly enough, most advanced practitioners, and particularly those good in actual fighting, enjoy the constant focus on fundamentals, because they tend to always find new applications and variations of those underlying principles. And it is exactly those novel expressions and applications that make "new and advanced" techniques, but are only possible owing to the incessant drilling of foundations. My main FMA instructor Roger Agbulos keeps repeating his mantra of "advanced techniques being fundamentals done really well", and when you get to spar him, the deep trueness of this sentiment becomes very obvious.

Besides, this attitude is not limited to martial endeavors either. Legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi is famous for starting the 1961 season with Green Bay Packers by gathering the team and saying: "Gentlemen...this is a football!" Another legendary coach, this time from basketball, John Wooden, would even go so far to teach his players how to put on their socks and tie their shoes.

Finally, there is one important distinction we ought to have in mind. When I rant about fundamentals here, it does not mean the disciplinary methods, i.e. customs and protocols aimed at teaching the students proper etiquette and conduct during classes (not that this is unimportant), but rather the aforementioned tenets and principles that form the technical and tactical groundwork of any given system. And with that in mind, the best way to get to the advanced levels of training is to find joy and pleasure in working on the basics.

In the long term, it is not about how soon you can skip to the next phase, but rather how long you can stay at the same and find it beneficial. 

Goal setting...

...is overrated. I sincerely think that. While we do need some sort of metrics to see how much we have been progressing, if at all, in certain undertakings, in my view the entire "goal setting for increased productivity" mantra has been ridiculously overused. And at this time of the year, I have the similar sentiment about New Year resolutions.

In case you are wondering, this is not some rant aimed at venting out, nor am I in the bad mood. The thing is, for the most part I am enjoying the life as it is, in the sense of journey taking precedence over destination. Therefore, the grand majority of things I do in life, at least those I with passion, need no clear quantification in order to make me happy about them. As long as I enjoy the process and see/feel progress (even if not constant), it is good.

Such attitude is probably what enables me to be in this whole martial artsy thing for a long run, and hopefully with more place and capacity for growth over many more years. And there sure have been accomplishments over time, but I tend to see them more as milestones and highlights along the way, rather than something to be taken as goals in and of themselves. While it was not part of some master plan at the outset, I allow for my motives, goals and aspirations to grow, shift and change organically with age and maturity in training, and in retrospect it seems to have been the right recipe for me.

With that in mind, I actually look forward with optimism for what the future will bring...

Happy holidays!

Bang for the buck

Last week I did a favor for a new friend, 15-ish years younger than me, and he was somewhat confused and surprised that I didn't want any sort of monetary compensation. I answered that I had been on the beneficiary side of similar situations before, so this was my opportunity to pass a good deed. It brought to mind the saying that "All the best things in life are free", and I wasn't sure whether that is right or not.

I guess everybody has their own, personal gauge of evaluating things in life, particularly in terms of "bang for the buck". To keep things in the domain of martial arts and training related things, I have received some free instruction over the years, and paid rather heftily for some other. I have also conducted both free and paid classes. On the receiving side, I can honestly say that some of those free sessions were much better than some of those paid ones, and yet, I do not regret paying for those that I did. All those experiences were instrumental in building my view of what is a large and important segment of my life, mostly in good ways, so I am grateful for having gone through them. However, I do not necessarily hold the instruction or lessons that came detached from monetary compensation any less valuable that the costly ones. After all, I feel I have paid for the former with my sincere effort, sweat, bruises and bumps, even blood occasionally. Some of the people who offered them are my friends to his day...as are some of those whom I paid to learn from. As the matter of fact, this very blog started as my attempt to pay dues and express gratitude for everything good that has happened to me over the past tree decades (and some) in and around martial arts.

On the other hand, it is definitely true that there are persons out there who have hard time appreciating things they do not have to pay for. That does not deter me from still teaching for free when it feels right. Have I made wrong assessments in this regard sometimes? Yes! But there have been good calls, too, and those are cherished moments.

Nowadays it might be more difficult, especially for younger practitioners, to have the appreciation for some things, with all the freely available stuff on the internet, bot excellent and awful. The way I see it, it just makes me all the more happy when presented with the chance to make difference and set a positive example in someone else's life experiences...even if it turns out to be mistake.

Investing in future

Teaching martial arts to kids is something I have always been reluctant to do. My main issue is that, the way I see it, it just doesn’t work well in mixed groups, i.e. it requires a dedicated children’s group. The nature of the material taught is not even among the top priorities here, but rather the training methodology and dynamics of the class, if you’re going to keep the kids’ interest and have them stay long enough to reap some benefits from training.

There is, however, an avenue of training with children that only occurred to me recently – private sessions. Namely, my own son (10 years old) has shown some interest in my weapons training and I agreed to teach him some. Obviously, this sort of approach has its ups and downs.

On the positive side, we are able to squeeze some training whenever it is convenient, and possibly more importantly, it doesn’t have to go on for a full hour, or whatever designated duration. It makes things easier with keeping them focused, although some variation in training is still required. That said, I find it neat to have two or three activities planned and then rotate through them in 2-3 minute intervals. The biggest point to remember, as it seems to me, is that the kids basically need to know the purpose of the activity if you want them to do it with any semblance of attention and commitment. For example, isolated footwork drills or swinging sticks along predetermined angles can be a drag, but replace the stick with a sword replica, instead of abstract angles put some kind of target to elicit the same movement, and move the target a bit –and you’re in a game!

The downside that prevails, in our particular case, is the attitude during the training session. My son has this high-curiosity type of personality and will easily slip into the “why this, why not that?” rabbit hole that wastes time. On the other hand, if I cut him short and make him proceed without an answer he will have hard time getting back to focused work. It may be the main advantage of group work, as the children will somehow feel less inclined toward endless rambling with other peers around.

OK, so, how does this experience transfer to teaching kids privately, as clients? Honestly, I have no idea. It’s not something that really piques my interest, for many reasons. I do have ulterior motives in teaching my own, though. Namely, besides all the right reasons for doing it, in terms of benefits for the kid, I actually hope to “build” my own training partner in a few years, that could, hopefully, help push my training further and maintaining a good regimen year-round, regardless of training seasons and vacations, or the availability of other training partners.

Old news

There is this thing I have been hearing more frequently lately, although this kind of topic has been around since forever, but probably I haven’t been paying attention. Maybe the “tipping point” was a conversation my wife had with a renowned taekwondo coach here, and who happens to be an “ancient” friend of mine, i.e. we started training TKD together back in 1991. Long story short, he said we trained differently back then, and the modern-day Olympic training and trainees are different, too. So, after that the old school vs. new school duality began popping up more often. I gave the subject some thought, and you will read about my conclusions here, but I would love to hear/read about your thoughts, either in comments or elsewhere.

The first aspect that crossed my mind was that the main difference is in training methods, which should be improving with time, especially when there is a sport modality to a martial art in question. That involves technological advancements as well, with regards to training equipment, protective gear, electronic scoring etc. The changes in competition rules can have major impact to the tactical and technical emphasis and development of a system. With all of the above, the “new school” should be better, right?

However, if that is the case, how come some older practitioners end up often having the upper hand in sparring or fighting the younger ones, even when they do not necessarily embrace all the innovations? We all have seen it happen in both striking systems (boxing, kickboxing, weapon arts) and grappling methods (BJJ, wrestling, judo). Sure, experience will play a significant role, but if that was a decisive factor, then the attributes of youth (cardio, speed, strength) would take a back seat, so the older the exponent would only get better with age…but things are not so linear.

In my own view the advantage of the “new school” IS in the enhanced training methods, there is simply no way around it, but the advantage of the “old school” must be the attitude of its representatives. In simple terms, in the yesteryear we did not take the availability of good instruction (if any at all) for granted. That means that the percentage of members in any martial art program who were highly passionate about it and therefore ready for sacrifice and commitment, was notably higher. As a result, there were fewer dropouts and higher percentage of good exponents coming out of most schools/clubs that were existing at the time.

For example, there were no TKD clubs in my town, so I had to travel 20 miles to the capital city 4-5 times a week for training…and I did it for 4 years, before opening my own club back home. Most guys in that original group were commuters as well, and we all noted that in our own clubs afterwards the people who lived closest to the gym were also the flakiest about training. I did the same with some other arts I tried, and with similar results.

Another thing is the proliferation of all kinds of martial arts through the internet media. Nowadays, any initially interested person can easily get lost in a gazillion Youtube videos, and then be overly picky about what they want to train, even without any understanding whatsoever. I have met quite a few youth who will not train anything else but ________ (fill in the blank) thing they saw somewhere on the Internet, but even without training will gladly offer their unsolicited opinion all those other systems they won’t train in.

Interestingly enough, many of my “fellow old-timers” see the massive presence of Youtube as both sides of the curse/blessing coin. Namely, if one has already gained some experience in actual hands-on training, it can be a valuable source of further information and inspiration in personal advancement. But, if at issue is someone whose entire “expertise” stems from hours of watching those same videos, it could lead to many misunderstandings and delusions.

So, where does it leave us? I honestly don’t know. As it seems, the survival of good fighting methods and schools, or their evolution, depends on the new generation practitioners able to cultivate old generation’s mindset while maintaining their own era’s advantages.