Martial Behavior

We had a truly great class on Sunday. I think everyone will agree with me on that.

We covered good old fashion footwork, training drills, and of course pugilism. Our students made some very true strides and gained much from our new perspective on teaching pugilism and footwork. I think everyone took something home of value.

One of the concepts we talked about was being "A Martial Person".

Let's start with some dictionary, work shall we?

Martial:
Disposed to war or war like.

The definition goes on to say:
 Latin Mārtiālis  of, belonging to Mars,equivalent to Mārti-  (stem of Mārs ) + -ālis -al¹

Arts:
1.

the quality, production, expression, or realm, according toaesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or ofmore than ordinary significance.

When you combine the two, the basic definition is:

The Production or Expression belonging to the Roman God of War.

I assure you, that when "Mars" was standing around, he didn't look like this guy:


I want you to imagine yourself in a bar. You are watching patrons move around, eat, buy drinks, dance, pick up chicks, whatever... Now imagine Mars walks in. What would he look like?  How would he stand? What would he look like buying a drink? Hitting on a girl? Dancing?

The difference between "being Martial" and "Martial arts" is simple:
If you can turn the "Martial behavior" on and off, you are a Martial Artist. If you have the behavior of a shark about to feed, you have "Martial Behavior". If you are behaving Martially all the time, you are a Martial Person.

Side Note: Martial People never get jumped. Predators know the difference.

Let me give you an example.

Here are some Martial Artists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=176SLdBhj_A
When they talk about, "Finishing it", they are talking about a tapout or a choke to black out.

Here is a truly Martial person: Fast forward to about 4 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po3Cl8uCHvs

When someone like this describes violence, it's not a hobby to him. As the interviewer explains, "to him it was just another day at the office".

I recommend that everyone watch all 6 full youtube videos that that last video links to. They are very good and you will learn about real world violence and Martial Behavior. Not just Martial Arts.

He describes with a grin: "I was righteously worshiped".

Keep training!

Power Transfer

Perhaps the most important part of the physical portion of martial arts is the power transfer. I honestly think that a unskilled fighter will beat a skilled fighter as long as he can transfer power better.

No matter if you are punching, kicking, throwing, grappling or using weapons, Power Transfer is the key. A kick without proper power is not effective. A punch without proper power is meaningless. A throw without a good transfer is an accident.

What are the keys of a proper Power Transfer?

1. Explosiveness.
2. Rooting to the earth/footwork
3. Hip Rotation
4. Focus

We will get into these more later in this article, but let's take a look at Power Transfer in sports:

Baseball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aBKr9NoyXk
The video lacks proper explanation in explosiveness. I think this is largely due to the fact that it's something to be assumed rather than taught. The creator of the video also fails to explain proper hip rotation. But did you notice that he does proper hip rotation? I assume this omission is more of an accident than anything else. The focus part comes up in his videos later. Highlight: He mentions that you should have your REAR FOOT on stable ground. This goes with the Rooting To the Earth.

Football: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bET91RpahoQ
We talk about football in class a lot. This is because we have seen high level football players K.O. Blackbelts and other martial artists. Something about adapting your body to soak a 200-300 lb meat missile teaches you good footwork. This video explains a bunch of techniques and goes into the importance of proper footwork. I find it amazing that football players understand this stuff better than fighters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qkw_QWmt8w&feature=related
I like this one a ton. It's very simple, but says just about everything you can in under a minute. If all you did was practice two step drills, you would probably be a better fighter than most of your "fighters" out there. I wanted to point out the foot that's in the direction of travel moves first. Also, notice how they are off their heels?

Boxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqo9KzOaao
This video isn't flawless, but it makes it's points well. Light/powerful footwork is the thing to get from this video. He has good posture, mobility, and foot placement. Although he blades his body a bit much, he makes it clear why.

Muay Thai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzqVUnbkAM8
Very similar to the other stuff, but hopefully your getting the point: Good athletes are built on the foundation of footwork.

Breakdown of the Keys:
1. Explosiveness cannot be learned any other way than practice. You can watch people in class who practice this a ton, and those who don't. Micro movements and small muscle movements are really what cause this to be effective. Shadowboxing/Jump rope/explosive body weight exercises are what develops this. Hit the bag, watch in the mirror and EXPLODE!

2. Rooting to the Earth is a term I learned in Shotokan Karate. The concept basically comes down to the ability to use the terrain as a springboard to launch your explosiveness. If you are caught on bad footwork, your fighting just doesn't work. Additionally, if you have no grasp of the earth, you are likely to be knocked out or thrown much easier. Judoka practice "Un-rooting" their opponents all the time. It's why their throws are so effective. There are many ways to learn to do this, but proper foot work is where you should start. No mater where you are, what your doing, or who's around, just think: "Are my feet properly rooted to launch significant power?" The football video mentions curling your toes. In football this is commonly referred to as "Grabbing for Grass". Launching off your feet is where Jack Dempsey's "Drop Step" really comes from. Make sure you are properly rooted before you try it though!

3. Hip rotation is essential to knock out punches. The baseball video show's this best, but good kicking tutorials are good to watch too. Opening your hips adds so much power to your shot's that it's tough to put into words. Hip Heists, windmill's, and "Elvis drills" are some great way's to develop power with this. Hip rotation is covered in Jack Dempsey's system as a "Shift" masterfully.

4. Once you have the above skills down, it's time to focus it. The ability to focus on your hip movement (or anything else) while placing a shot against a guy's jaw is a important skill. Once your body has developed all this energy, it's time to Transfer your Power into a target. Keep in mind: If your hand isn't strong enough to bear, you will likely damage yourself more than the opponent. Make sure you focus your damage properly! There is no way that I know of to knock someone out without landing your technique.

On the Lookout

Just saw this news article today:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Serial-Butt-Slash-Suspect-Identified-129371533.html?dr

We often imagine the kinds of attacks we might have to deal with as we train. As we exit our training hall, hopefully we are more mindful of potential threats around us. We envision a street person or thug approaching us with ill intentions in some bad part of town, and that is enough to get us in a mood to throw some smack down. What about people who do not look very threatening?

Do you keep your awareness up in peaceful places, such as a shopping mall in broad daylight? How about the situation mentioned in the previous post: your own living room with your cousin?

As much as I hate using anecdotal evidence to justify paranoia or worse, hysteria, having even one guy doing minor knife ambushes in a shopping mall gives good cause to never assume you are in a safe place.

It is probably not happy living to be on constant lookout for a potential attack at every turn or from every person within ten feet of you, but this news piece gives reason to be a little more careful.

How many victims become victims because they just don't believe it would happen: 1) To them, 2) In that place, 3) At all, or 4) From that particular person.

So what to do about it and how careful to be? That is up to you. Should you be acting like Inspector Clouseau on guard for Kato's ambush attack at any moment? Probably not. Personally, I think one should be aware as one can reasonably be (and this can be improved upon all the time) and be ready go at a moment's notice. It will come when you least expect it.

Opportunity: Perhaps your best weapon

It's one of the most important elements of a fight. Debatably the most important part.

When violence occurs, and you are the victim, a small window of opportunity might be the only way you will get out of there alive.

We don't cover it very much in class, but keep your mind open to different opportunities martially. When sitting in your favorite Star-Shmucks, sit calmly and watch the door. Watch the ebb and flow of customers walk into the coffee shop. Watch how the crowd moves and congregates. Imagine now that one of the patrons stands up with a gun, slaps their girlfriend, or does some ill shit.

Based on the current state of the Star-Shmucks, do you have the opportunity to escape cleanly? Do you have the lane of travel to intercept the offender? Patience may be required to get your opportunity. Use verbals, non-verbal languge and silence to wait out a window for opportunity.

The link I have for today is a good example of this....

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2268925.shtml?cat=1
See you all at class!