The Art of the KO

In most cases, Knowledge is Power. When it comes to the martial arts...if you are teaching...then yes...Knowledge is Power or else no one would seek you out...BUT...Knowledge of what? If all one can do is dazzle someone with their BS, well...then the students, and the instructor for that matter...would have a false sense of security should they ever have to test their skills in a real confrontation. This is a case where Knowledge is being used to impress people...not to impress upon them the need to get on the mat and train. The key...IMO...is to train to reaction and response...and when I say this, I mean to do all of the above while understanding the nature of the threat level of the attack as well. There are times to just extricate yourself from the situation and there are times when the only way out to incapacitate the attacker, quickly. I have said this before...theory has its place. The important next part is to train the principles so that you so not ha

a load of C.R.A.P. - Concealed Representation of Attack Points :-) There is a time and place for the theoretical practice within all martial arts.  The true test is...can you pull it off in a real fight? The theories work great if you are a healer (acupuncturist or massage therapist) and your client is not trying to fight back. I admit it!  There have been times when getting a massage I have tapped out!  I was in Australia getting a Thai massage and this woman threw me all over the place like I was a rag doll! I'm not sure I could have taken her if I decided to fight back :-)...When she asked how I wanted my massage...I said strong.  She said, "OK...I am locked and loaded."  I should have run at that point!! Seriously now...I was a willing participant and let her take control because the only way to truly get the benefit of the treatment...is to relax. This is not the same when someone is trying to take your head off.  The first thing going trough my min

The other day someone was attempting to teach me a new skill (non martial arts related), but  definitely one that requires a great deal of focus. He did a great job of explaining the basics of this and it was pretty cool to get a basic understanding on how to do this. Now when I say basic...that's all I was looking for initially because I know my learning style.  As he got excited about what we were talking about he went into more about this skill...and I was lost.  Not because of how he was explaining...but because my mind was focused on the basic parts and my mind was full. Like I said..I know my learning style.  I had to let the info seep into my head for a few days and then practice this...then I am sure questions will arise and then I expand on this new skill. So when learning Kyusho for example, is it better to have everything thrown at you at once or in a stepped manner? Some people can pick through everything and connect the dots...some like myself have t

Are you being distracted by training methods that won't help save you in a real situation? I started wrestling when I was 12 years old and one of the things that my coach impressed upon all of us was that in order to get good at wrestling you must wrestle. There are some people that were in better shape on the team than others because they put in the extra hours running etc. those that put in the extra time actually wrestling excelled at wrestling and usually had better technique and therefore were in a better position to win. When I started Kyusho many many years ago, 27 to be exact, we focused on all the theories according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). And I can tell you some of the guys in our study group they knew the theories backwards and forwards, but it didn't help them in fighting or rather Self-Defense. I was involved in a study group back then and it was a great intro to Kyusho and more realistic self defense.  While we sparred...we did s

When I first started Kyusho, our main focus were the laws of acupuncture according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).   In order to get into this study group one had to have already achieved their black belt in whatever discipline they were training in.   So this seemed like a logical step in my evolution as a martial artist.  At the end of a certain period of time, taking tests on meridians, acupuncture theory, etc. we were to be awarded 2nd Dan.  This was fine with me as we were increasing our body of knowledge, etc. We sparred every Wednesday, which was a lot of fun and we built some camaraderie amongst  ourselves in the process. As I said in a previous blog...there were those in the group that could tell you all the theories of TCM backwards and forwards.  They had a great theoretical knowledge of the material and were competent at sparring.   My interest was in Self Defense.  So for 6 months I put the books down, except when I had a question