The following is a reflection on reality based training...

  I’ve been doing traditional MA for many years and always had this idea in my head somewhere that I was preparing for a “fight”-something mutually agreed upon.  Personal insecurities driven and always thinking about what others could do better than me.  When asked if I’ve ever had to use what I’ve learned, I would sort of embarrassingly say no.  Thing is, I never took into account the reality that I had been exposed to.  I lived 10 years in a bad part of Los Angeles starting at 17.  With the UC course I actually stopped and counted all the times I had been confronted personally as a target with intimidation, and violence ranging from sucker punches to an armed holdup and  they happened to me 18 times.  I counted 10 times for people I know that I knew of.  Among those were 2 murders, 2 sexual assaults, 3 jumpings, and a multiple attacker, armed  home invasion.   These were the REAL VIOLENT CONFLICTS and not FIGHTS.  Yet, like other trauma, I had put them out of mind as something other than what they really were-an education however limited in violence.

Some common denominators from these encounters.  I wasn’t in fights because I was usually able to avoid them.  The violent acts were thrust upon me and there was nothing consensual about them.  Things that helped?  Having confidence walking the streets of my neighborhood and feeling like I belonged there as much as anyone else even though visually I must have stood out.  Other things-people preferred to intimidate rather than fight.  If there was a weapon of any sort available people used it rather than not.  If friends were with others they were instantly involved to put the odds in their favor.   Everything always started with a blitz and it didn’t stop until the person couldn’t get up. Lastly, the perception of weakness and not being alert in the environment is key for being targeted  What Mr. Morrison is saying is absolutely true.

  From my experience, with martial arts training, the responses have become too tame and driven by fear of liability.  I’m guilty of this myself.  Example-joint locks against grabs instead of taking the lights out. Training to conservatively deal with someone you know  that gets out of line rather than the unprovoked person who comes out of nowhere. You can always tone down your responses but most people are never taught how to ratchet it up and therefore can’t.  Aggressive behavior even though needed at critical moments is frowned upon typically in society.  This underlies the unrealistic nature of most MA training.  Thank you Mr. Morrison for sharing your approach.  It’s changing the way I look at training.

The following is the second stratagem from the Chinese classic 'Thirty-Six Stratagems.

Long ago in China the kingdom of Zhao was besieged by an army from Wei.  In  an effort to distract the forces attacking the kingdom, the forces of  Zhao started their own invasion of Wei to attack the exposed and non-fortified areas.   

Today is July 1st so I picked today to post this particular stratagem.

Something similar happened during the Civil War.

During the Summer of 1863, Robert E. Lee had a choice to make.  Knowing that Vicksburg had been under siege by Union troops for over a month he could send his forces down to Mississippi to aide Vicksburg or he could launch an invasion into the north to possible take the pressure off.   He chose the later deciding that it would take too much time to get his whole army down there and the siege could possibly be over by then.

Lee sent his troops north to Gettysburg and the fighting began on July 1, 1863.  Vicksburg surrendered on July 4th 3 days later.

So, enough of the history lesson.  How can we apply this principle?

Here's a few ways and I'd love to hear how you could or have applied this principle...

If someone bearhugs you, most people immediately think of trying to free themselves  by struggling.  The problem is that many people run out of strength and energy and still don't get free.  

When in a bearhug under the arms from the front, one can poke the eye and pull the hair causing an attacker to fall backwards to the ground.

When in a bearhug from the front or back over the arms, there may be enough space to grab the groin.

Bite if you have to to cause injury.

Find a way to inflict injury if you are in a situation in which your life is in danger.

If one part of you is being forcibly controlled and is unable to move, there are still other parts that can still be used to defend yourself.

By proceeding with one's plans out in the open when the enemy expects that something is being hidden one's actions can go unnoticed.

What isn't looked for is often unseen.

Hiding in plain sight.

So many applications of this principle for so many purposes.

The internet with google, youtube etc...have so much knowledge accessible quickly and easily.

Information that in my younger years took forever to research even if I could find it is so readily accessible.

Yet, many people feel overwhelmed by it all.

So much so that truth has become something that is just relative to most people in this postmodern era.

The point of knowing these stratagems is not just to use them but sometimes more importantly, to know how they are being used on you.

The 36 Stratagems is a Chinese classic about strategies used to defeat an enemy by deception.  The classic was believed to be lost to antiquity but a copy was found by chance in more recent history and the work  has become better known.  It is similar in some ways to the Sun Tzu's Art of War.  

I will be going over each of the 36 Stratagems soon.  I will cover one each day that I feel the inspiration to write about them.  Please feel free to comment on them and share your insight into their possible applications.

If you trained in Gracie Jiu-jitsu you might be familiar with their steps to successfully using their techniques.  It goes something like this:  take the opponent to the ground, take control of the opponent, establish the dominant position and find a submission.  Those are great steps to guide what one is supposed to do from their perspective.  It's no wonder that if one gets skilled at guiding the opponent along with you step by step that one would have a distinct advantage over someone who was unaware of what to do on the ground.   

The reason I am bringing this up is because one could train in martial arts for many years as I have and never ask nor understand what is the purpose of what we are doing.   If you train in the Bujinkan, Karate or some other art, what are you trying to accomplish and how are you guiding the opponent towards that goal?

If you train in Judo, the answer is simple, you are looking for a throw that will get you points.
In boxing it's the KO, TKO or winning by points.
In Jiu-jitsu it's getting a submission or winning by points.
In traditional martial arts that are not competitive, one may never think about this or even realize that it's even a problem.

A person who is learning martial arts for self-defense purposes must take the honest look at what they are doing and ask why?
If I throw the opponent to the ground, can he just get back up and come at me again?
Old school martial arts were never for consensual fighting.
They were always for self-defense.
Since most of our martial arts developed in the US from Japan after WWII, a lot of this was never shared with Americans.
Furthermore, during the occupation of Japan, the type of martial arts practice that was allowed and the way it was practiced had changed from the pre-war eras.
Ever think about what has changed?
Training in the Bujinkan, as many early practitioners can attest to, was brutally painful.
What happened?
As its popularity grew, over time it became more tame.

The purpose may be different for each person according to how they see it.
However, I believe that Soke Hatsumi has tried to give us some direction.
When we practice and study Taijutsu hasn't he mentioned many times that we need to have a just mind and heart?
Hasn't he told us in so many words to not rely on techniques but be in the present and make decisions on a case by case basis.
If we apply this, we must make decisions on what to do and how much force to use according to what arises.
This is the complexity that arises when an art is not a sport but a way of life.

sPictured above is a 19th Century print of the famous ninja Nezumi Kozo.  His name means something like "rat boy". 

How did he get such a name you might wonder?

He was said to break into structures using stealth on feudal missions and he kept mice or rats in a bag which he would release if necessary as a distraction.  If he made a noise that alerted guards, he would release the rat and run away or at least that's the legend.   The rat would distract the guards and create confusion which he would use to get away.   Some superstitious guards, probably unwilling to admit their own mistakes, claimed that the ninja had turned into a mouse, and so the legend goes.  

We can learn a lot from animals like the rat, mouse or even raccoon.  They are patient, quick, clever, agile, and very persistent.  Of the various lineages taught in the Bujinkan (Soke Hatsumi's Ninjutsu Organization), Togakure Ryu is lineage that actually has techniques that fall into a grouping which translates as "run away like a mouse skills".  These techniques consists of trying to get away from an attacker when one has been seized primarily.  

Whereas many martial celebrate  the fighting prowess of various of animals.  It is not the fighting abilities that we look to in using the paradigm of a rat or mouse.  It is the animal's ability to free itself from a dangerous situation and its ability to remain unnoticed and blend into its hiding places that we praise.   

​

I've been a school teacher for many years.

Imagine the frustration a teacher feels when reading assignments in which the student...

1. Cannot spell
2.  Cannot use proper grammar
3.  Cannot formulate their ideas and put them on to paper.
4.  Does not have even basic penmanship.

Such is the case when students of the martial arts have teachers who rush into waza (techniques) without having a foundation in the basics.

Spelling, grammar, writing ability and penmanship all develop together slowly over time.
I've used this analogy to make a point about martial arts training.
It takes time to develop martial arts skills from the ground up.
Many people these days are not aware  of the time and effort involved in what it takes to learn martial arts and have unrealistic ideas about them.

In training, spelling corresponds to kamae (foundational structure of the body).
Grammar corresponds to tai sabaki (how one moves the body evasively from place to place and transitions through  different positions).
Waza (techniques) are put together once one understands how to stand and how to move.
Kihon (basics) help to instill could habits through repetition.
Kata (forms) are sequences of movements and techniques strung together to develop a model of correct continuity.
Bunkai (analysis) refers to multiple applications of the movements of a form when broken down into its constituent parts.
Kumite (sparring) tests the student's ability to creatively put together what they've learned on the spot.

Have you ever learned a foreign language?

Would you be fluent if you only memorized long lists of nouns, verbs and adjectives?
Would you be fluent if your pronunciation was so bad that no native speaker could understand you?
Would you be fluent if you just memorized applicable phrases?

​A lot of people who take the initial step of learning martial arts drop out because they want to be fluent and the steps to get there take too long.
For many it's easier to pick a martial art they've seen on television and opine about it on social media.
Sadly, for many these days, it's easier to play a video game of martial arts than to put forth the effort to learn them.

 Is it points?

Do you get a knockout?
Do you get a submission?
Do you get an ippon?

Depends on what you call fighting.
Depends on what you call winning.

I consider being able to walk away safely from an attack on the street winning.
I consider using good judgement to steer away from dangerous situations winning.
I consider using social skills when I can to avoid conflicts as winning.

The best way to beat an MMA fighter is to do MMA better than the person you are fighting.
The best way to beat a boxer is to be a better boxer than the person you box.
The best way  to beat a grappler is to grapple better than they do.

There's a reason why.
They fight according to expectations and rules.
Some things are allowed and some things are not.
Learn the parameters of a game and its rules and you can figure out the clearest path to winning.
Athleticism, ambition, strength, speed, stamina, cunning, strategy are all necessary to be a champion,

Do people learn martial arts to be a champion usually?
Do people learn martial arts out of a desire to compete usually?
If not, then what exactly is the purpose of learning martial arts?

Is it not to defend oneself?
If you were attacked on the street, is anyone following any rules?