In his incredible treatise "The Art of War," Sun Tzu says "The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy."
This sounds really simple, and it is really simple. But it is also incredibly far reaching.
To me, this simply means this: LEARN TO BLOCK OR DODGE.
Like really, really learn it. It's even more important than striking.
This also means footwork. If your footwork is lousy, you'll be a sitting duck every time.
And hey, I guess it also means keep in good shape - because otherwise it doesn't matter how good your techniques are, they'll not help at all when you get smashed by a roid-stuffed bodybuilder.
That's it really. Learn the lesson well. It's a deep one.
Like in my last post, it requires serious, serious drilling. Drilling with reality. There's nothing better than having headgear, small gloves, and someone trying to smash your face in. Because you'll survive fine, and it will teach you more than ten million hours of blocking in the air - which will teach you virtually nothing until you know what it is to be applied to.
That's really why you see dudes who "know karate" getting into a fight and looking pretty much like the other guys who don't really know how to fight. They haven't learnt how to defend themselves with reality. There's no grabbing in karate (or most Martial Arts), there's no grappling, no leg kicks and usually no head punches!
Which means that on the street when you get tackled, punched in the face and kicked repeatedly on the ground, you simply won't know WHAT to do.
So learn the first lesson well. On the street, there are no rules, so you must think accordingly. And you must always ask yourself if, in a real fight, you could block a wild series of punches from multiple opponents. Multiple opponents.
Here's a cool video where they do some wicked moves with some reality:
That's all from me...I think I'll go practice blocking a million times...
"The Guard" is something that is talked about in Jiu Jitsu a lot (I mean Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or the wrestling type of Jiu Jitsu). The guard is the other person's legs, which they wrap around you when they're trying to stop you from getting into the mount position.
Anyway, there's a lot of talk about it. In stand-up fighting, there's minimal talk about the guard. For MMA fighters, boxers and kickboxers, who form the bulk of professional fighting athletes these days, they pretty much have one type of guard - it's where your hands sit on your chin, and you take the impacts of the other person's punches on forearms, shoulders or back of the hands.
A good video that goes over this type of guard is here:
Let's call that the Closed Guard.
Whilst this is an excellent type of guard, it really does have a few flaws.
First up, it basically has evolved from boxing, wherein you have some gloves on (they're usually pretty massive), and you can take a heck of a pounding. In this case, it is a fantastic defence.
But in a pure street-fight scenario, you do not have gloves. So you're going to cop that punch in the back of your hand, take a solid concussive impact on your head - and if you're not really well conditioned, that's going to hurt a fair bit. Granted, if you are conditioned well, you'll probably take it okay, but you are guaranteed to get hurt a bit at the least.
The other basic type of guard is what I call the Open Guard.
And this is the interesting part: this guard is taught in Karate, Kenpo, Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun, all types of Kung Fu and virtually every "Martial Art."
It is also sneered at by all boxers, kick-boxers, MMA fighters and so on. Because most of the time it doesn't work.
But why doesn't it work?
I mean, these arts were developed when people were still chopping each other to bits with swords. People had knives too, and they'd be more than willing to stab you with them. The Japanese weren't exactly known for their kind nature in the past few hundred years.
So why "doesn't it work?"
I wondered this a lot myself, and then tested one of my instructors in some pretty rigorous sparring. And watched more You-Tube... and sparred some more people... and so on and so on... and do you know what I discovered?
These Martial Arts have not been taught correctly.
That's all it boils down to.
The Open Guard works just as well, and often better, than the closed guard. Because it also blocks the nasty groin shots that are so effective in a street fight - and cannot be used in a sporting environment such as boxing and MMA. These are actually sports, even if they are incredibly brutal, and so their techniques reflect this.
So How Have They Been Taught Incorrectly?
Okay, so with a statement like that I have probably made an enemy of every single instructor throughout the world - and a large number of them could annihilate me.
But my point is, in fact, that I have seen people use these open guards effectively, but often fail to pass it on to their students in such a way that the student is going to survive in a street fight.
And let's face it, you don't want to just survive in a street fight. You want to dominate. You should be able to control the fight so that it ends the way you want. Or at least, you should be pretty bloody confident, and have the skills to get you out of almost any trouble you get into - and that includes things like weapons, and group attacks (because how many fights happen with just one tough guy?).
It comes down to a lack of correct drilling.
In Kenpo for instance, there are several hundred techniques. They get progressively more complicated. You practice them in the air. Then you practice them on an opponent. You know what your opponent is going to do. Then you do the move, and he let's you do it.
There is no REALITY there.
The most basic reality of a real fight is that you do not know what is coming your way. So you have to drill accordingly.
Also, you have to drill people really trying to hit you - and you should know more than a single technique move once the fight has started.
Now, often the reason given for lack of such drilling is that someone's going to get hurt (particularly if there are knee shots, throat shots, groin shots, etc.). And that is a valid point. But you can modify techniques to a degree. And there's no reason why you can't practice basic blocking and counterattacking with great reality.
Personally...
I'm going to practice both guards - open and closed. Because the great thing about the closed guard is that if you don't know what's happening, you just brace up and take the hit. At least it won't knock you out, and you should survive okay. But if you've got your wits about you, and you're as quick as lightning, you should actually be able to block the attacks that come in - and that leads to some really cool techniques.
The most important thing is to actually start the drills on a low enough gradient that people can do them - and then build up a step at a time, with reality the whole time. Eventually you should be able to do this:
And that's really, really cooool. It's also yet another tool that can be used - and who would think you could move like that?! It's just a matter of drilling, drilling, drilling.
If you've never heard of Miyamoto Musashi then you're definitely not Japanese. And if you are Japanese then please go and commit seppuku!
Miyamoto Musashi lived in the 1600's in feudal Japan, at a time when warfare was endemic and extremely bloody. Swordsmen would regularly challenge each other to duels - to the death.
Musashi was possibly the greatest of these swordsmen in history. The victor of some 60 one on one duels to the death. He also fought in at least two major battles and even fought an entire clan of swordsmen once, by himself (and won).
His Go Rin No Sho or "The Book of Five Rings" was his first and only writing of his martial art. So you'd be safe to think that it definitely has something interesting and workable in it!
And indeed it is.
The thing about Musashi is that he was not competing for sport, entertainment or commercialism. He was competing to be the best. It was a deadly serious activity. Obviously no holds were barred! But the other thing that people sometimes don't realise is that his tactics went beyond merely combat. He would take any advantage that he could.
For instance, what he would often do would be to arrive quite late to an arranged duel. Sometimes several hours late. He would sleep in, have a good meal, relax, take his time - meanwhile his opponents had hurried and grown worried, and then had had several hours to wait and grow angry. When they lost their tempers in the fight, they also lost their lives.
So his point is that you take any advantage at all. Moral, spiritual, physical, environmental - whatever. And you use it to the full.
I have been reading his book (a translation by Thomas Cleary) and have started to understand a few of the principles he is teaching. The thing is, they are very sweeping. He doesn't go into many specifics. And that is also the genius of it. It applies to anything. But it's up to you to work out the application. That's the nature of an axiom.
Interestingly enough, some of his basic principles align very closely with Bruce Lee's principles.
Here are some of these principles, at least as I see them:
1) Don't be Restricted
You don't want to be too set in any one style or way. As Musashi put it:
"You should not have any special fondness for any particular weapon, or anything else , for that matter. Too much is the same as not enough. Without imitating anyone else, you should have as much weaponry as suits you. To entertain likes and dislikes is bad for both commanders and soldiers. Pragmatic thinking is essential."
This means that one should be fluid, changing to the situation. Never being static or fixed in your disposition or style.
This means that when someone knows you are a skilled kicker, you surprise them by closing in with your hands. When someone is ready for you to box with them, you take them to ground. In a street fight situation you could even go for a weapon.
This is extraordinarily important, and very, very similar to Bruce Lee's philosophy of "No Style."
Obviously this takes a lot of work. You've got to be very good at a great many things, and then be able to blend them all together, or switch from one to another seamlessly.
2) Attack With Intent
A lot of concentration can go onto preventing being hit, and having a guard. Whilst this is important, it should not be the focus of your endeavours. Your focus should be on hitting the enemy. \
"In the course of struggle for victory by military science, the thing is to concentrate on seizing the initiative and getting the jump on others in everything. The sense of a guard or defensive posture is that of awaiting the initiative."
Of course, Musashi had guards, but they were never static. They changed according to the situation, just as his weaponry and tactics changed according to the situation.
3) Victory by Any Means
Musashi was a proponent of victory by any means. And this is definitely truth if your life is on the line, and even has application in the ring or in a situation where you don't want to seriously injure someone. It means that you do whatever it takes to win. You think outside the circle.
This means, in a street fight situation, that there are no illegal moves. You hit the groin, poke the eyes, or do whatever you need to do to survive the encounter. There's about a million ways this applies. It can mean fighting dirty, or just fighting in ways that people don't expect - or using the terrain intelligently.
4) Holding Down the Pillow
Sounds weird, but that's Musashi's wording!
"Holding down the pillow means not letting someone raise his head. In martial arts, in the course of dueling, it is bad to be manoeuvred around by others. It is desirable to manoeuvre opponents around freely, by whatever means you may...
"Martial arts include stopping an opponent's striking blows, arresting his thrusts, tearing away his grips...Stopping an opponent's attack at the initial outset, not letting him follow through, is the sense of 'holding down the pillow.'
"For example, you inhibit an opponent's attack from the letter a, so to speak; you inhibit an opponent's leap from the letter l, and inhibit an opponent's cut from the letter c.
"Whenever opponents try to attack you, let them go ahead and do anything that is useless, while preventing them from doing anything useful."
This is an extraordinary ability! But this is truly what you must do. Allow your opponents to do useless actions, then completely interrupt and stop them whenever they actually attempt to do something effective.
Examples of this includes stop-hits, such as those used in Jeet Kune Do and Wing Chun. Where you kick an opponent's foot before he can kick, or punch their hand or arm to stop it coming in, or entangling it and closing with them - making the arm useless.
Takes a lot of drilling!
5) Normal
"Normal" refers to your state of mind and your state of body whilst fighting.
In particular it refers to a very important principle of Musashi's - that your state of mind not be affected by the stress of fighting.
"In the science of martial arts, the state of mind should remain the same as normal. In ordinary circumstances as well as when practicing martial arts, let there be no change at all - with the mind open and direct, neither tense nor lax, centreing the mind so that there is no imbalance, calmly relax your mind, and savour this moment of ease thoroughly so that the relaxation does not stop its relaxation for even an instant."
It's simple yet highly effective. If ever you've seen someone who lacked the ability to easily confront the scene in front them, you'll have seen someone who was probably going to lose!
You need to be able to relax, be calm, be able to easily face what is in front of you and not have it affect you.
That doesn't mean you should be carefree! But that you should not give in to fear of being injured or even killed. You've got to be able to face what you're up against or you'll be finished off quickly!
And this on physical bearing and movement:
"In my martial art there is no change in footwork; it is just like walking along a road as usual. Following the rhythm of the opponent, finding the right physical position in conditions of both hurry and calm, the stride should be orderly, without slack or excess."
6) Rhythm
Musashi says a lot about rhythm.
"Rhythm is something that exists in everything,l but the rhythms of martial arts in particular are difficult to master without practice. "...In the field of martial arts there are rhythms and harmonies in archery, gunnery and even horsemanship. In all arts and sciences, rhythm is not to be ignored. "There is even rhythm in being empty. "...The way to win in a battle according to military science is to know the rhythms of the specific opponents, and use the rhythms that your opponents do not expect producing formless rhythms from the rhythms of wisdom."
Some of the ways this is visible is when you lull an opponent into a false sense of security. Attack at a certain pace, in a certain way, and get him used to the attack. Then change the pace, change the attack slightly. It keeps him guessing, keeps him uncertain, unable to properly predict what you're going to do.
As with all these principles, it requires a lot of practice!
One of the most challenging things about learning a martial art is that practicing a technique or set of moves is very different from being able to apply them in a real-life situation, or in sparring.
Funny enough, sparring is very different from what you would call a "real life scenario." To be honest, from my experience techniques will often work in a real-life scenario somewhat better than in sparring. That being said, if they don't work in sparring you obviously don't know them well enough!
From my point of view, techniques and their principles should work in all situations - just with a little bit of modification depending on what exactly is happening at the time.
From what I have seen of most American Kenpo sparring (primarily on Youtube - the font of all wisdom), there is very little "kenpo" in the sparring that I have seen. It looks basically like a sloppy version of Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kickboxing, or any of a variety of martial arts.
That being said, I've also seen it put into use with devastating effect in sparring - though with some definite "modification." And it is devastating. So much so that I am determined to learn how to do it myself in any situation.
Here are the problems with most techniques I've ever seen taught (in any martial art - karate, kenpo, tae kwon do, etc.):
1) They assume you can move further than you can, or faster than you can.
The missing ingredient is proper prediction. If you need to step at the same time as a punch is coming in, the only thing you're probably going to do is step back, right into more punches.
The thing is Attacks Come In FAST.
You can usually punch a couple of times before someone can step - unless they're thoroughly drilled.
That being said, people can duck quickly - and will do so instinctively, drawing their heads back, or bobbing and weaving. This is something that boxers do with great effectiveness.
You can of course time your step-back so you miss the pinch, and then counter-attack successfully. This is a very effective form of technique, and is used both with punching and kicking.
The point about this one may not be that it's faster than you can step, but you don't see the attack coming in properly, and so you don't know where to step, can't stop the hands or feet coming in at you, and so simply step back, get hit or manage to block it, and end up trading punch for punch.
This is not a very skilled way of fighting - trying to go blow for blow is clearly not the concept of Martial Arts.
2) They don't factor in the opponent's next move.
Sometimes this is true, sometimes not. The techniques I have been taught in Kenpo are all predicated on an "Ideal" basis. So ideally they attack in a certain way, and then you block, and when they react from that impact you do another strike. But it doesn't give you any drills to deal with them potentially blocking some of your attacks, or continuing to attack you anyway.
This is why boxing and its similar arts such as muay thai and kickboxing are so effective and widely used - they give you methods of attacking. So you drill how to attack over and over again, and eventually you can batter your opponent down. It works in the thick of fighting when everything is a blur.
But it's still not the ideal sort of martial art.
3) The Drills Aren't Simple Enough
There's an old saying which goes something like, "Even the best plans only last until the first shot is fired."
Complexities are completely lost in fighting. They're too hard to remember, unless they're drilled over and over again.
And it's much easier to drill a simple series of actions than a complex series. That's why people who've had a few lessons of karate remember to punch straight when they're in a real fight - they've drilled that simple punch a thousand times. And it will be pretty damned effective.
To learn the martial art, you've got to start with basics, and drill them over and over again.
Remember these are only my own observations, and points that I am trying to see if I can improve or change - and they're things I've observed about my own sparring, as well as others'. So it's not a criticism - it's something I want to improve about my own fighting.
Practical Kenpo Techniques
By that I don't mean that Kenpo techniques aren't practical - because they are. But just not for every situation. They're rather rote. It's a very set attack, and your response is very set
So how do we learn to mix it up in sparring, or apply it at speed to changing situations?
Simple. We take really basic moves and principles, and then work out how to apply these faster and faster under pressure. Drill, drill, drill.
The missing ingredient is simple that: DRILL IT.
Boxers drill their moves over and over again. They're covered in sweat and gasping for breath... and then they come back and do it again. Why? Because it's bloody hard to put into practice! And you need to train your body to react without thinking about it.
The Attacking Mace Drill
I have based this drill off the Kenpo technique "Attacking Mace," which is very well demonstrated in the above video by Casa De Kenpo.
There's one difference: they're stepping back. I want to drill stepping forward (but on an angle).
Let's take a look at this Kenpo Universal Pattern again.
If you look closely, you'll see there are eight main lines branching out from the centre.
These and some of the basic lines of attack.
Imagine you're in the centre, and someone attacks you - they're probably coming down the centre line, throwing some sort of straight punch. It might be a jab, or a cross, or even a looping punch - either way it's essentially coming down that centre line at you.
If you step back, in all likelihood you may get away from the attack, but you're still going to be in danger.
This is your basic instinct.
Further, if you step back, block, then punch, you've got a lot of distance between you and your opponent. If he's any good, he may just block your counter attack - and then you're in trouble!
So why not try this? Step out on one of those 45 degree diagonal lines. This will also get you off that line of attack (though it's much more gutsy - because you may just end up copping a hit to the face full-on).
I.e. he throws the punch, and you do a bit of a boxer's weave (protect your head), block the punch (go for the elbow, it gives you greater control) and shuffle or step forwards on a 45 degree angle.
Then throw your counter-punch. If you've pulled it off you'll end up quite close to him, and it will lend your punch much greater power.
After that you could do any of a multitude of attacks. You could check his arm down with your blocking hand and deliver a backfist with the punching hand. Or whatever.
The Drill
Okay so the drill is actually really simple. Have a partner throw that punch. He can step or not, as he chooses. You can have block and shuffle up a bit, getting slightly off that line of attack and delivering a hit. Remember, this is not a step. You can of course step if you want, but you probably won't have time. Just do a slight hop forward on an angle. Watch how boxers move - you want that same little shuffle-up move. It's fast, and very effective.
Then get a bit more challenging. Have your partner throw a series of jabs and then throw a punch. You've got to block the jabs and then still perform the Drill on that punch.
Do it over and over again.
Then try it in sparring, just with hands. You could try one person attacking and one defending, then swap it around.
Then try it in sparring with legs and hands.
Then go back to the drill again and add some more moves at the end. You could try a right left right combo at the end, or a right punch followed by a check or trap with the left arm, then a right backfist - or you could even try to scoot your right leg behind your opponent and sweep him (sweeping him over with your right arm).
Do the attacks with reality. Your partner's got to really throw those punches or you won't really learn to block and move.
Try it under pressure. See if it works. It's basic - I know. That's how it's supposed to be. I reckon it works - but see for yourself.
You know a really important principle in Martial Arts - and in warfare in general - is "economy of motion."
This is what my instructor commonly calls "shortening the circles."
The above picture is of a Kenpo patch. I believe it's called the "Universal Pattern," though I tend to refer to it as "Kenpo Circles."
It looks really confusing at first, but when you have a good look you can see that it's actually divided into eight main divisions, and that everything on it gets smaller and smaller.
Shortening the Circles
Simply put, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line - so why would you add extra distance in?
The best philosophy on this that I have found is the Kenpo "Point of Origin" principle. Everything starts from where it is right now. You never wind up a punch or pull back to get extra power for a hit. Just strike from where you are right now. And then from there, hit again and again.
Of course, human instinct tells us to wind up. It's a natural thing. I do it, many great martial artists I know do it... and often they're still so quick that you don't notice. But those who don't wind up end up like lightning.
Actually that's the difference between life and death on the street. How long do you take to hit? To block? To hit and block (simultaneously)?
Pretty much every movie you've ever seen with martial arts in it has been dramatised. Even Bruce Lee dramatised his martial arts to make it look good - though it was still incredibly practical. A lot of them use big motions, cool-looking moves that are all fancy and require lots of time to strike. But they just don't work. Because in the time you've taken to wind up for that hit - you've already been hit!
This is a fascinating video on the usage of karate techniques in MMA.
Slowed down, it really shows how Lyoto Machida uses his karate origins to great effect.
Note how he draws back to the hip when he strikes. But note also the hands move around a lot (sort of windmill) when he and the others kick. Something my instructor always warned me against (that being said, it's being done with such speed that it might be hard to take advantage of such an opening).
These are very simple techniques that are quite effective as attacks that you can draw upon when attacking an opponent. In high-stress real-life combat situations, you need extremely simple manoeuvres that require little thought and as little movement or as simple movement as possible. Complex moves simply get lost in the rush.
It's also interesting that a lot of the strikes seem over extended and wild from a martial artist's point of view - and yet they're undeniably quick and very effective.
What an amazing video. This is a tutorial by sifu Paul Vunak regarding Jeet Kune Do Trapping. For anyone unfamiliar with Jeet Kune Do, it was the martial art created by Bruce Lee, and which he discusses in the book "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" which means "The Way of the Intercepting Fist." Funny enough, Bruce Lee later said he wished he hadn't named it that, because his style was best called, "The Style Of No Style." That's a pretty cool philosophy - one I'll definitely be finding out more about.
