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Fights vs. Dealing with Violence

7/5/2022

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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.


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Stratagem 2- Attack Wei to Rescue Zhao

7/1/2022

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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.







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    James Clum has been studying Martial Arts for 42 years.  During this time he has run a dojo/training group for over 20 years practicing Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

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