Info-Leeches and other E-Invertebrates

1. Disguise Repetition

Students can drop out very quickly if there classes are monotonous,to develop skill students do need lots of repetition. It’s your job to make the learning process exciting and fun through variation. Be creative have students work with partners, on pads, in lines, circles
and facing the instructor, keep things moving.

2. Keep Your Students Progressing

The martial arts belts system is one of our biggest advantages over other activities. It helps set goals for students and gives them something new around their waist that tells them they are progressing as they succeed at each learning hurdle, which motivates and builds confidence. Make the curriculum the main focus of your school, infact make it your responsibility to help every single person be ready to take their next test, if you do this 80% and above of your student body will be ready
to take the test. We are not talking about reducing your standards we are talking about refining your focus; encouraging students to attend class consistently and practice at home. Introduce mini monthly assessments, awarding stripes to belts to breakdown the testing phase into small chunks “inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard!”

3. Recognise Your Students Efforts

Students must feel progress; we all thrive on someone recognising our efforts and giving us praise, so if your student’s side kick has improved tell them about it, make their day! Be honest and sincere and learn to look for the good in your students.

4. Keep Safety In Mind

Protect your students especially beginners, consider proper pairing of students, teach correct use of equipment, preframe control at all times, and introduce sparring gradually. Make sure you can see and maintain control of the full class at all times. Beware of any past injuries or medical concerns, and plan your classes accordingly to be within people’s physical limitations. Check the floor space is clear and that people are not training too close together.

5. Motivational Curriculum

The perfect curriculum should be like a pyramid upside down, with less material at the beginning and gradual increases at each belt level. Using this method will not reduce the standards of your black belts and will dramatically increase the numbers that achieve this standard.
Having too much material at the early stages of a curriculum just overwhelms students and tells them this is too difficult for me.

6. Know Your Students

Make the effort to learn and use all our student’s names every time they come to class. Make eye contact with all your students and make appropriate physical contact such as handshake or high five.
Seek out the quite ones that disappear without anyone noticing, make an extra effort to speak to those students. Take time to develop rapport and show your students they are important to you, be careful not to overdue it, be friendly but not friends. Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

7. Smiling Sweating & Learning

Try and achieve a balance to your classes so students can smile and enjoy themselves without losing discipline, they get a workout as well as practicing the technical elements and they learn something in every class no matter how small. Using SSL will ensure your classes have a healthy balance that encompasses all your students’ needs.

8. Paint The Picture

Never assume your students know where they are going with their
training, make every class encompass the theme of achieving the goal of Black Belt, this will keep your students focused. So when something comes up in their life and something has to give, it will not be their martial arts training as they will realise how important it is to achieve their goals. Help your students to visualise the mental and physical skills they will achieve through their black belt goal.

Lee Mainprizer is a martial arts business expert and founder of http://www.mainstructor.com “the ultimate instructors tool”

You’d almost have to be living on another planet to not realize that swords of any kind are becoming very popular among collectors and even investors. Ninja swords and other styles of Chinese weapons are particularly in demand right now.

There are a few key aspects that you should know about before you dish out your money, especially if you plan to buy over the internet. Unfortunately there are many websites claiming to that certain swords are battle ready or can be used for cutting exercises in the dojo and in many situations that is just not true.

Sometimes you might see a website that features a ninja sword and the name of the weapon will be very similar to one of higher quality and will even look exactly like a better well known sword. So the unsuspecting buyer thinks he’s getting this unbelievable that no one else has found on a certain sword. Unfortunately he/she learns the hard way that it’s not what he thought.

If you buy a ninja sword that’s not worthy to be used for anything but hanging on the wall and you take it to the dojo serious injury could result. The main trait of a quality ninja sword that you need to look for is to be sure that the blade is forged high carbon steel and preferably differentially tempered.

Differentially tempered means that the back of the blade is not as hard as the edge of the blade. At first some people think that this is not a positive aspect for a high quality ninja sword. Differentially tempering is necessary so that it gives some flexibility to the sword. Differentially tempering makes the ninja sword virtually unbreakable. Hopefully this article has helped you to know the traits to look for when purchasing your next ninja sword.

John Gottshall is the owner of Japanese Swords 4 Samurai. If you are in search of a
quality ninja sword you just might find the one you’re looking for at the Japanese Swords 4 Samurai website http://www.japaneseswords4samurai.com/.

14th May 2005 Crystal Palace Sports Centre London. UK

Henry Ellis, a direct student of the legendary Budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sense, from 1957 describes the great event at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre, London, to celebrate this great teacher and his arrival to Great Britain in 1955 and the subsequent inception of Aikido. Tribute website to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei at http://www.KenshiroAbbe.com . . .

The Bushido ZaZen International Society Annual Dinner

In February 2004 Derek Eastman and I were invited as guests at the annual dinner of The Bushido Za Zen International Society by its Chairman Mr Arnold Davies Hanshi an old student of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei and a close friend of my own good friend Bill Woods Sensei. These names alone meant that this evening was to be something special with so much history and martial arts background between us.

As we arrived we were met by Mr Clive MacDonald, a member of the Bushido ZaZen. Mr MacDonald and Mr Davies had been instrumental in putting together many of the facts to help with the protection of the true history of British Aikido during the great British Aikido Board Controversy.

Memories of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei

Mr MacDonald immediately brought several pints of beer to our table and from then on the conversation flowed along with the beer. As we spoke of our memories of the legendary master, Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, I said “Do you realize that it is 50 years next year since Abbe Sensei arrived in Britain!“ We all discussed the importance of this date, I then suggested that, as we all belonged to the Essex Aikido Forum ( EAF ), which is a group of like minded people interested only in Aikido without its politics, we agreed that we should organise a celebration of such an important date. Mr MacDonald called over Mr Davies who, without a moments hesitation, gave the event his full support and financial backing.

The Organising Committee

Before the evening was over we realised that this event would be bigger than anything ever previously organised by the EAF or any other Aikido organisation for that matter. We decided there and then that we would need a working committee if we were to put this very special event together. Mr MacDonald approached two other senior EAF member, Mr Mike Leavy and Mr Eric Gillett, who agreed to join our organising committee. I then approached Mr David Humm the administrator of the very popular website the “National Aikido Communication DataBase“. Mr Humm had also been involved in our efforts to protect the history of British Aikido. He also became a willing committee member. Mr Rob Peck agreed to be the secretary We now had a full committee of seven members who were now totally committed and dedicated to putting together the greatest Aikido seminar ever in the United Kingdom. I don’t believe that any one of us on this night were able to grasp the enormity of the task we had pledged to undertake.

The Venue

As the word spread throughout the Aikido and MartialArts communities and, from the interest that was now being generated, we now knew that we would need a prestigious venue After much deliberation and following a visit to Crystal Palace Sports Centre, we soon realised that this was to be the final venue. This was to be a wise decision as, with its great hall and facilities along with the accommodation blocks and restaurants, It would later prove to be capable of hosting the planned event comfortably. The event attracted 430 students. 60 guests, 370 spectators and visitors totalling almost one thousand people on the day With students from all over the UK – USA – France – Holland – Germany, Czechoslvakia.

The Teachers of the Day

As this day was to celebrate the arrival in the UK of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei in 1955, and the subsequent inception of Aikido. It was decided to invite the five surviving direct students of Abbe Sensei from the 1950’s/60’s mentioned below.

I, Henry Ellis and Derek Eastman had already agreed, now I had to approach my old friends, Sensei Ralph Reynolds and Sensei Hayden Foster, who willingly offered their support.

Sensei Ken Williams, first student of Abbe Sensei, was also approached. He had to decline due to prior commitments. He did however provided a letter of dedication to be read out at the event. I then approached Sensei Bill Smith Shihan MBE, who sadly had to decline due to health issues. His son Phillip attended to represent his father and the AikiKai. Now we had a full Aikido teaching team. The event was officially under-way. We also received a letter of tribute to the memory of Abbe Sensei from the Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba ..

The Guests

The guest list was a who’s who of the Martial-Arts world in the UK. There were 60 guests and, with respect, I am unable to mention them all but, the following will give some insight.

Mr F Motai of the Japanese Embassy – Sensei Bill Woods Aide / Secretary to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei 1955 - Sensei Bill Stopps, Personal Aide to Matsutaro Otani Sensei from 1947. - Sensei Robin Otani, Pesident of the British Judo Council. - Mr P, Don of Sport England. - Sensei N Jones, my personal guest. - Ms Jenny Earle, World Judo champion.

Mr Ken Cottier Shihan, a member of the Aiki-Kai World Council. Mr Gigs Shouten, a special guest from Holland. Joe Curran Sensei who read a letter of tribute to Abbe Sensei from Kazuo Chiba Shihan.

The Budo Demonstrations

During the mid day part of the event there was a break for the students while the Budo demonstrations were carried out by some of the very best exponents of the various arts on display. This was a unique event where students were now able to witness many of the Budo arts that they had never seen before.

Aikido -Judo – Karate – Iaido – Kyudo – Kendo – JuJutsu – Ju Kendo

The Event and The Day

This was a very wonderful and special day for me after almost 50 years of practicing Aikido. On the morning of the event as I entered the great hall at Crystal Palace Sports Centre to the electrifying sound of the Taiko Drummers and masses of students around the mat area plus many more queuing at the door to register. I walked onto the concourse floor to see all the various stalls set out. Mr Don Baney a specialist in Japanese works of art had a fine display of Samurai armour and swords, for more information visit: http://www.geocities.com/britishaikido/japanese_swords.htm The atmosphere was fantastic, an indication of the great day ahead. I met so many people that I had not seen for so many years.

There was a raffle at the end of the day with a prized valuable ShinKen sword, presented by Nine Circles Budo Equipment Supplies. A hand made Tanto presented by Sensei Dave Rogers of New Mexic,o USA. Other prizes included the book “Positive Aikido”, Gi’s, bokkens, shinai’s and many commemorative T-Shirts.

This was indeed a very special day.

I was privileged to be at the great event in 1963 held by Abbe Sensei at the Royal Albert Hall in London where I was assistant to Mikoto Nakazono Sensei. I never thought that I would ever see another event to equal that one. On this day of celebration and commemoration of the life of Abbe Sensei, I believe I saw the event to eclipse all others.

Henry Ellis Event Liasion Officer
Co-Author of Positive Aikido
Principal Coach Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido
http://www.EllisAikido.org
http://www.geocities.com/britishAikido

Henry Ellis born 1936. Co -author of Positive Aikido. A direct student of the legendary Budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957. Ellis has had articles published in several International Martial Arts magazines, he has written several articles on the proud history and lineage of British Aikido. Protecting the legacy left by Abbe Sensei from those that have attempted to alter the facts to advance their insatiable ego’s.

Henry Ellis co-author of Positive Aikido was a direct student of the legendary Budo master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957. He is the Principal Coach of the Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido UK - USA. Ellis has written several articles on the proud history and lineage of British Aikido from it inception in 1955.

In some areas of life, tension can be a good thing…at least in the short term. Tension can motivate us to complete a task. From my experience, this isn’t true for sportsman and woman. In martial arts, increased tension can slow your movements, can dull your brain and make you a soft target.

Is your heart racing even before you have started your exercise and you feel rushed and panicked?

Are the weeks leading up to a grading, demonstration or competition characterised by a disrupted sleep pattern and a stomach full of knots? If so, it is likely that you are tense and the resultant tiredness and lack of energy simply feedsback to your mind and you tell yourself that you are not going to succeed.

This negativity will stop you from performing well on the day even if at every training session your flying around the dojo and nailing each move at every attempt. Unfortunately, turning off the tension is not like switching off a light bulb; its not easy but it can and should be done.
There are two areas of your body that need to relax; firstly, the mind and secondly, everything else! I dont believe the two can be seperated.

To help relax the mind, start by ditching all stressful thinking and replace it with more pleasurable thoughts. Completely switch of the stress inducing thoughts; put them in a mental bucket as you go through the day and then empty your bucket before you start training. Okay, your bucket might fill up again during the next day due to the pressures of work and modern life but you can empty the bucket as many times as you like and as often as you like.

If you find the visualisation technique described above a little too ‘out there’, then try this instead…day dream. Imagine yourself somewhere nice, doing something fun and relaxing with people that keep you calm. This should lead to you feeling good and happy about life. When you bring yourself back to reality, keep a grasp of those good feelings you have just generated.

The most useful tip for keeping yourself mentally relaxed may come across as a little harsh, but here goes… do not surround yourself with people or situations that get you stressed. You might know someone with the kind of personallity that generally brings people down, if so, have as little to do with them as possible. Life is far too short to let other people drive a wedge between you and your deserved peace of mind.

In the Martial Arts, physical relaxation is heavily influenced by the exercises and stretching that you do with your instructor. But I believe that you can practice total body relaxation at any point during the day which, in the long term, will help you become a relaxed individual. One simple exercise is to tense your muscles and then relax them, making sure you can clearly differentiate between the two sensations. Relaxing from an enforced muscle tension can force your body to relax.

Obviously, for many Martial Arts regular stretching is required to help reach your potential.
I’m not a doctor or physician and have only my experience to support this, but I do believe that through simple exercises such as the ones above, we can become more relaxed and de-stressed. This can only help us with our martial arts training.

David S Evans, co-founder of UK-MartialArtist.co.uk, Martial Arts Resource and BigRedBall website design, Birmingham (UK).

Nonetheless, Ohtsuka’s path as a budoka was set by this point, and would soon take its first fateful turn. He would soon meet the father of modern karate, Gichin Funakoshi. In the fall of 1922, Ohtsuka was giving thought to his future. Although his job at the bank appeared secure, he was not satisfied. He wanted to devote his life to his true passion, the martial arts. This interest was heightened even more when Ohtsuka found out that an Okinawan school teacher, Gichin Funakoshi, was invited by Crown Prince Hirohito to perform karate before the Emperor of Japan at a public hall in Tokyo. Ohtsuka attended the demonstration, and as a result became one of Funakoshi’s 35 original Japanese students.

Because of the popularity gained by the demonstration, Funakoshi stayed in Japan. Ohtsuka was at Funakoshi’s dojo nearly every night, absorbing the art. By 1924, he became chief assistant instructor. On April 24th, Ohtsuka was named among the first seven black belts in modern karate.

Funakoshi came to rely heavily on Ohtsuka. At 32, Ohtsuka’s realized his dream of being a full time martial artist. However, he found Funakoshi’s karate (later named Shotokan) lacking. He felt there was little sense behind the philosophies, the kata seemed to have no practical application, and the movements were too confined. Also, Funakoshi did not allow free sparring, leaving no way to truly test his karate. Therefore, while still assisting Funakoshi, Ohtsuka trained with other notable masters. These included Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito-Ryu Karate, as well as Choki Motobu, famous for his excellent technical and fighting abilities, and Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido.

Ueshiba O’Sensei helped Ohtsuka find the missing link, and officially begin the creation of Wado. Like Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jiu Jitsu, Aikido is a direct descendant of Aikijujutsu (a part of Samurai combative). The greatness of Aikido is in its reliance on natural movements, focusing on breathing, relaxation, and “ki” (lifeforce; breath; spirit). Whereas most karate tended to generate tension in performing techniques, Aikido was the opposite. Instead of meeting force of force, it blended with and redirected the opposing force or ki.

It was upon learning Aikido that Ohtsuka-sensei began to form a new budo, a Way of Harmony. He would eventually blend the basics of Funakoshi’s karate, the practicality of Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jiu Jitsu, and the spirituality of Aikido, as well as the natural, evasive movements of the latter two. Much like the Jiu Jitsu influence on Ohtsuka-meijin’s budo, Aikido had more influence on the principles from which techniques are derived, rather than the specific techniques themselves. Also, it would appear that Shito ryu Karate and Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jiu Jitsu had a much heavier influence on Wado than Aikido.

Owen Johnston lives and teaches Wado ryu Karate in Lake City, South Carolina. He enjoys reading, writing, training, movies & video games, and spending time with his fiance. For more information, please visit Johnston Wado ryu Karate - Online Community

The ninja were a military order in Japan. Most people have seen them in movies and fictional books.

They are the guys dressed in the black suits that seem to have amazing powers, such as climbing the outside of buildings with no rope, or seeming to disappear instantly.

Behind ninjutsu you will sometimes see reference to ‘hidden powers’ or ninja magic. Learning what this is exactly is part of the journey of the ninja master. All of us have the ability to tap into a greater force than we usually display. With training you can master this.

But behind all that mystery is the true story of the ninja master, who has very definite training. The actual martial art has a name, which is ninjutsu. Jutsu is a Japanese word for way.

There is also another Japanese word for way, which is do(pronounced doh)

So you have karate-do, which means the way of the empty hand.

Ninja Training in the US

There are various training schools in the US but before you start I suggest you read up on it. A great resource I have found is by Ninja Fanatic, John Lee.

Cover the ground in his book - Ninja Secrets Revealed - and then you will be more prepared to take your training further.

All such training starts from a desire, which gradually develops into mastery.

Today could be the start of your journey to mastering the ninja art and all its secrets.

Good Luck.

Or as they say in Japanese: “Gunbatte Kudasai”

Graeme Sprigge is a tae-kwon-do exponent with the rank of blue belt and brown tip. One of his hobbies is martial arts. He is currently studying Taijiquan (tai chi), using reference material from Master Wang Peisheng one of the Beijing Masters More Ninja Info Here

Copyright 2005 Graeme Sprigge

I received a returned video from a well meaning, but severely misguided, former customer. This is a rarity since over the past 2 plus years and hundreds upon hundreds of videos shipped; I can only count 3 returns. One was unopened, one included a note that the recipient thought the videos would be something else, but he intended to buy the rest of the videos we offered, hmmm smells a little fishy (incidentally, this person has been banned from buying anything from us again). And lastly, this well-meaning person. The note inside prompted me to write this article. He identified himself that he was an orange belt in Krav Maga and that he has been instructed to “relax” and be loose during a life or death struggle. Now, I have not trained in Krav Maga nor do I know anything about the modern version of it. My focus is on the “relaxing” strategy; which I have heard from a variety of different “experts” during my 30 plus on the mat.

For efficiency of movement and economy of energy, there is NO DOUBT, that being relaxed is better. In combative sport it is essential that you conserve your energy and use it when an opportunity presents its self. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works when your neck is on the line. There are two instances that “relaxing” in a real fight can happen. The first is you have had hundreds of life and death confrontations. This allows you to be inoculated against the stress (some times). In that case, I want to meet you. Now it is IMPOSSIBLE to replicate fighting for your life in training. You can get intense, but it’s not even close. Because deep down, you know you’re not going to die, no matter how intense you train.

The second is you’re a sociopath. In that case you should be arrested.
Let’s look at a non-fighting example:

Most of us drive, some better than others. When you’re driving and you get cut off, what happens? A shot of adrenalin and your moving before you can even think about it. Your hear rate increases, you start to breathe rapidly and you spit out the nearest obscenity. Are you “Relaxed?” Most of us drive EVERYDAY. If it’s something as mundane as driving (unless you’re driving with Clint, in that case it IS a life or death situation) why aren’t you able to RELAX when you are about to crash? Simple, because you realize that your life is at risk and your body prepares for the worst. And there’s NOTHING you can do about it. Now don’t start telling me about some Grand Dragon Wizard Master. I’m talking about you.

Here’s another example:

First responders, people who deal with life and death regularly, Fire Fighters, EMT’s, Police and Soldiers all get that gut-churning feeling when they know SOMEONE’S life is at stake. No matter how many times they go to a call, they get the same feeling. That’s why training is simple, routine and repeated thousands of times. You need to perform common tasks during uncommon circumstances. And this is the ONLY way to do it. It’s only your training that prepares you. And it’s the repetition of high percentage techniques that will save you at that critical moment. It has to be instinct. During these times, your body is only going to allow you to perform certain functions. Relaxing is not one of them, pissing your self is. On the site I talk about the effects of your body’s mobilization for battle (www.how2fight.com). These are biological functions you can not over ride. IT IS AUTOMATIC.

This is where combat sport and real combat part ways. No matter what is “allowed” in competition, you know the other guy is not going to kill you. It doesn’t matter if it’s the UFC or the Olympics, you may get beat up, but you won’t get dead. You will be nervous, tense, and even scared. But deep down you know that if you get into trouble, the fight will be stopped. This is ALL the difference. Men like Carl Cestari, Charlie Nelson, W.E. Fairbairn, EA Sykes, Biddle, Applegate and others all experienced this first hand. Even Bruce Lee talked about using the “straight blast” when really pressed. Why not use the straight blast EVERY time?

This is the value of the videos @ www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com are why they are so successful with military, police and seasoned martial artists. They know the difference.

When you fight for your life your body operates in a way that is beyond your control. You need to train in such a way that allows you to operate in this “zone”. Did you know that a typical adrenaline blast lasts only 30 seconds? Then you need about 3 minute to “reboot”. That is a lifetime when you are fighting the unknown. Weapons, multiple assailants, broken bottles on the ground, snow, sleet- all must be factored in. Standing toe to toe and practicing your contrived techniques….where does this happen. Even trying to practice your breathing is ludicrous (not the rapper, that’s ludakris). How many first hand accounts start with “He came out of no where” or “he suddenly appeared”. If you see him or “mark” him, chances are he will pick another victim. He will come out of no where!
The other element that should be mentioned is your assailant. Personally, I train for the meanest, toughest SOB I can imagine. I picture him appearing at my door. I think about him coming into the door of my dojo and only one of us is going home. And I guarantee you, if some one is standing between me and my family- there’s no question of the outcome. Incidentally, you should feel the same way too. It’s easy to practice to beat your training partner; it’s easy to do something on your friends or even the local blow-hard down at the pub. That’s 70% of the world. You should worry about that psycho 1% and let the other 99% take care of its self.
If you think that you ARE trained you will be surprised what happens when you are in this situation. You never think you are going to act the way you think you are.

True story: Famous Okinawan Karate man, was serving as a Marine in Viet Nam. This person had trained in Okinawa under Choki Mobotu for several years prior to his deployment in Vietnam. During his training with Mobotu he endured endless hours of makiwara training and bogu fighting. During a firefight in Viet Nam the conflict degraded in to hand to hand. As I am hearing the story, I was waiting to hear how he decimated a V.C. Platoon with a reverse punch, I mean real “One shot- one kill”. Since grenades was all he had left and they were too close to throw them, he proceeded to bash people in the head with the grenades. After that, did he start knocking dead with a front kick, no he proceeded to use his helmet as a club and smash guys the enemy in the face. Was his training a waste of time? Definitely not, in fact, it was probably his training that gave him the stones to do what he did. Did he ever imagine his reaction, no. But it worked. The point is even if you think you’re “trained, you won’t know what will happen when your life is on the line. When your gross motor skills kick in and you CAN’T EVEN SPEAK, do you think you will be able to “RELAX”.

©2005 www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

Damian Ross is the owner of Zenshin and instructor of Tekkenryu jujutsu and Kodokan Judo. He started competing in the combative sport of wrestling in 1975 at the age of 7 and began his study of Asian martial arts with Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do at the age of 16 in 1984. In 1989, Shinan Cestari gave a seminar at Sensei Ross’s dojo. Sensei Ross has trained under Shinan Cestari’s direction ever since. In addition to Tekkenryu Jujutsu, Judo and Tae Kwon Do, Sensei Ross has also studied Bando. Sensei Ross continues his study of Judo under the direction of 8th degree black belt Yoshisada Yonezuka and Tekkenryu Jujutsu under it’s founder, Carl Cestari. Below are is a list of some of his title ranks

Yodan (fourth degree black belt) Tekkenryu Jujutsu under Carl Cestari
Shodan (First degree black belt) Kodokan Judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka
Varsity Wrestling Lehigh University under Thad Turner
2nd Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do
http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

“Fight Club” is the kind of film that can make you squirm, belly laugh, and think, “That’s profound!” in the space of a few minutes.

Starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, this is, on a superficial level, a flick about underground boxing, or if you prefer, brawling clubs.

No money changes hands, no betting occurs, and the pugilists’ only compensation is the thrill they get from kicking butts.

A cult develops that externalizes violence to the surrounding society, targeting various “establishment” symbols, such as TV and electronics stores, public officials, and office buildings.

Just when you think, “Now, they’ve gone too far,” the plot twists to make you question nearly everything you’ve seen to that point. The real and unreal start to unravel, and you wonder if you’ve been played for a chump.

Here are a few of the points that I draw from this movie that are of special interest to the martial artist:

(1) You can prevail if you decide to take a battle, a disagreement, or a cause to the extreme. Even certified tough guys, including the mobsters you see in the film, can be intimidated and will back down if they believe their adversaries are crazy enough to do anything.

(2) Men are seeking gender clarity and reaffirmation of their core instincts. The forced feminization of males during the past several decades has created role confusion and dissatisfaction among males as well as females. “Fighting,” however you construe this term, provides a forum for men to be tested and to learn who they are on a deep, primitive level.

(3) Men were not minted for the purpose of wearing neckties and performing nerdy roles inside of sterile office buildings. Our most natural inclination is to be hunters, not custodians.

(4) Women will tolerate a great deal from men who are in touch with their basic instincts, and they’ll relentlessly toy with or destroy those who aren’t.

(5) To borrow a phase from General Stonewall Jackson: “One courageous man makes a majority.”

You might like this movie simply because of its unpredictability.

I like it because its characters are onto something.

Take the exchange between Pitt and Norton on the plane, where Norton hands Pitt an obscure compliment that Pitt decodes on the spot, and then Pitt incisively asks:

“How’s that working out for you?”

“What?” Norton responds, puzzled.

“Cleverness. Is that working for you?”

With this brief exchange, Pitt implies, “You’re a wimp.”

Cleverness, indirection, and cute word play don’t make you a man, so cut the crap and don’t fool yourself.

Men, whether they realize it or not, are attracted to the martial arts partly because modern society provides few opportunities to be completely nonverbal, to escape the endless symbolism and etiquette that informs professional and personal lives.

With a fist headed toward your teeth, there’s no time to talk; only to act.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to: http://www.customersatisfaction.com

I was going to write about the BASICS of “practical unarmed combat”. Things like a solid and productive core of strength training, development of real speed and power. Body conditioning and toughening, Stamina. A “never say die” iron will. You know “esoteric” stuff like that.

But here are something’s you SHOULD do before any of THAT.

Get your ass into a REAL Judo Dojo or REAL Sombo academy. Get on that tatami and do randori with some REAL Judoka or Sombo men.

Get your ass into a REAL wrestling club. Get on the mat with some REAL wrestlers (old time catch hookers and rippers especially).

Get your ass into a REAL boxing/kickboxing/muay thai gym. Get in the ring with some REAL hard and fast hitters.

Invest some dough and get any of a number of “real” street-fight videos or even some good boxing/thai boxing/NHB matches. This in lieu of going out and insulting a group of inner-city gang-bangers, some “real” Mafioso, or some Eastern Block gangsters.

At this point you should be fairly black and blue, mauled a bit, and generally “worked” over. Unless you are an absolute numbnuts you should have a fairly good idea of what it takes to EVEN SURVIVE a REAL fight against a resisting and determined opponent.

The foregoing should give you at least an “inkling” of what you’ll need for REAL “practical unarmed combat” training.

If the “light bulb” doesn’t flash in your noggin’…well maybe you deserve to get your ass tromped.

Copyright 2003 http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com ©

Carl Cestari began his study of the martial arts with judo at the age of 7 under the direction of Yoshisada Yonezuka. During the past forty plus years Carl has dedicated his life to studying the martial arts, hand to hand combat systems, history and religion. What makes Carl unique is his combination of martial arts, law enforcement, military and real world experience. Carl has been exposed to a multitude of people with a wide variety experience. The following is a list of some of Carl’s ranks and honors.

Shinan (Founder) Tekkenryu jujutsu
Ryokudan (6th degree) Koshinkai Karate under John Burrelle
Godan (5th degree) Jujutsu under Clarke of the World Jujutsu Fedaration (now defunct)
Sandan (3rd degree) Nippon Kempo under Narabu Sada
Nidan (2nd degree) Judo under Masafumi Suzuki
Shodan (1st degree) Judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka
Shodan (1st degree) Shukokai Karate under Kimura, Kadachi and Yonezuka
Shodan (1st degree) Daitoryu Aikijujutsu
Instructors Certificate- Charles Nelson System of Self Defense under Charlie Nelson

http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com