New Poll / Beat down

Hey everyone!

I wanted to direct your attention to the side bar ------->

I encourage you all to vote!

The Beat Down: Kick-ball style

So while surfing the inter-webs this morning, I came across plenty of news. I won't touch the whole Trayvon case with a 10 foot pole (at this point anyway). There just isn't enough information yet.

But what I will touch on is a case of "Soccer Beatdown".

I saw this video on Yahoo. Many questions and comments came to mind:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/south-carolina-teen-brutal-soccer-attack-earns-assault-103322121.html

First question: What would you do if this was your kid and it happened next to you?

Second question: What if you were running through the park and saw this happen right next to you with 2 total strangers?

Third question: How would you prepare your child (or a child you care about) for such an attack?

Fourth question: What do you think would have been the final result of this fight if there were no adults around? Like if this was just a pick-up game?

I don't expect anyone to answer these questions in the reply portion, but it would be interesting to discuss. I would like you all to mull these questions.

Furthermore, when you see such things in the news, you should be preparing your mind!

Most people just see these stories and react to them. The become 3rd party observers and will often come to a conclusion. If it's a Trayvon type thing, or a soccer fight, folks just say something like "What a tragety! Person ________ was so out of line!"

Rather that just subject yourself to an opinion such as the average observer, students of the Survival Academy should be putting themselves in the shoes of everyone. Watch all these news stories with the eyes of an actor.

"If I were playing the role of Trayvon,  how would have I acted?"

"If I were playing the role of Zimmerman, how would have I acted?"

"If I observed the Travon/Zimmerman fight, how would have I acted?"

Questions like these are HUGELY important for anyone who wants to consider themselves a martial artist.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.  ~Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

Examine every situation this way. Do not just sit back and soak up the "tragedy". Analyze it, learn from it. Try to correct similar mistakes in your head before they happen to you. 

There is a quote that is out there somewhere, but I cannot find it. It says something to the effect of "The body cannot go where the mind has not".

This of course means that you must IMAGINE and VISUALIZE situations before you deal with them. 

Prepare your mind! It will save your body!

How to make a weapon

We commonly debate the usability, and the quality of weapons. My recent poll is an example of this.

Is a club, bat, knife, or gun better? Brass knuckles?

Rather than go though and try to compare the abilities or weaknesses of each weapon, I wanted to write about the one weapon that we all have: Our Bodies.

Our Bodies are the only weapon that you can carry anywhere. Most importantly, your brain.

As Tristan's last article pointed out, your senses are your best weapon. Thinking and reacting before the violence is always your best option. Know when to shut up, know when to run. Pick your battles.

Know what "ground" you are on. http://suntzusaid.com/book/11

However, protecting your brain when violence shows up, is perhaps your biggest priority. You MUST use your body to protect your brain if you wish to survive.

So how do you forge the bag of Water and Carbon that holds your brain in a case of calcium?

1. Train your brain.
2. Weaponize your body.

These are the two elements that are essential to surviving violence.

This blog (and class) is much about both. Study, learning, and training is the only way to develop these. There is no magic pill...

How does a Martial Artist weaponize his body?

Do you sit under nautilus machines? Bench Press? Curls? Expensive gym memberships? Protein Shakes?

You must train your body for the activity you want to preform. If you want to set a bench press record, do bench press.

If you want to have big arms so girls like you, do curls.

If you want to have a social club, get a gym membership.

However, I want to let you know that there is more to weaponizing your body than going to the gym.

For functional combat strength, you must be able to preform powerful moves in EVERY direction. They must be explosive, accurate, and flexible.

There are many resources on this type of strength. Do many different workouts to prepare yourself for survival.

Here are some suggestions for all Survival Students (in no particular order):

-Kettlebells: power, balance, endurance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATsOHcuEwIo&feature=g-all-f&context=G23b0da4FAAAAAAAAHAA

-Body Weight Exercises: Power http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EpiAW7jnVs (Read the book!)

-Body Weight Exercises: Endurance/explosiveness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkD9LwDBWW0 (btw, if you can do this, you are a badass)

There are countless more exercises that everyone should do, but I wanted to give you all something to work with.

Go forth to bad-asshood!

"When there is freedom from mechanical conditioning, there is simplicity. The classical man is just a bundle of routine, ideas and tradition. If you follow the classical pattern, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow - you are not understanding yourself." - Bruce Lee

Where is the Danger?

Just ran across this article, and it is worth looking at. Not that it should feed any hysteria or generalizations, but certainly should motivate you when it comes to building your awareness, observation, and self-protection skills.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/as-chuck-e-cheese-goes-so-goes-america

It seems adult violence is spreading, and not just from the places you would think like gang members and street thugs. Fights and beatdowns aren't just for the hardcore anymore, they are becoming commonplace. Yes, even Chuck E. Cheese.

I clicked on the link to do a YouTube search for Chuck E. Cheese fight, and sure enough there are plenty listed. Combine these with the Ihop and McDonald's fight vids we have already seen, and you get the idea that cooking at home is far safer! Now from what I've seen in my cursory glances, the people involved tend to be of a certain economic class. To put it succinctly: ghetto and redneck. It looks like others get caught in mess, but this illustrates that one cannot give every human being the benefit of the doubt that they are willing to act like human adults and not animals.

There are plenty of suburbanites that are willing to get into fights at their kids soccer and little league games too. It appears the veneer of civilized society is thinner than we imagine.

So, be careful and watch where you are. The videos I saw tend to have a few things in common:
1) People assumed since they were in a 'safe' place, that nothing bad would happen.
2) They didn't mind being mouthy and make provocative comments which will escalate hostilities.
3) Paid no mind to the fact they had their kids present.

It's one thing to go into a potentially dangerous situation, but to do so with your family and children is ridiculous. If you want to practice self-protection, it isn't enough to look at the giant smiling mouse logo and assume you are entering a safe area. Look around at the environment and crowd and see what kind of people are there. Let your instincts talk to you and LISTEN!

If you are going to ignore an internal voice, ignore the PC one that is telling you not to judge and treat everyone equally.

While I'm not quite ready to condemn humanity, this article does match what I have seen personally that indicates society is becoming more violent and primitive. If you successfully avoid the places and people who act like animals, splendid. Just be ready when you go out in public. It seems like this sort of behavior is spreading. In a bad economy, theft and violence spreads like wildfire and our economy is poor and headed downward.

Stay safe!

Defying Gravity

Hey fellas!

I wanted to take some time to post some videos so people can see different gravity defying fighting.

I don't mean flying, paragliding, or any other such thing. I mean combatively defying gravity. How do we equip ourselves with the proper skills and bodies to avoid our foe using gravity against us? How do we keep from being on the ground?

Before I answer this, I think I should take a step back: Why do we avoid gravity?

You can watch COUNTLESS BJJ/GJJ, grappling, wrestling, and other arts that's sole goal is to get on the ground.

Eddie Bravo Vs. Gracie shows this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4ASonA9t6c

Instructional videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_k_zElz4aU&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLCCE8DD5E6355976D

Wrestling has it too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsUclOxuAos

All of these moves if done right (by their definition) ends up with you on the ground when you otherwise wern't. All these experts, martial artists, black belts, and MMA fighters do this, so why don't we?

Do Chris and Reed REALLY think that they are smarter than the whole grappling community?

Answer: Of course not. The reason that we don't advocate these versions of these moves is because our goal isn't to win a match, it's to escape and get as much distance with our assailant as possible. If you are caught on the ground, you are not fleeing, so you are increasing your risk of getting hurt.

Remember, if we break their arm, and they break our arm, we lose. Additionally, the WWE is the only "sport fighting" organization I know of that has the "assholes have friends rule". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlgeXT2lpu0

This is why the majority of the throws we teach, keep us off the ground.


You see, if I stay on my feet, and you fall down, a timer starts. If it takes you 3 seconds to get off the ground, I now have 3 second head start. How much is a 3 second head start? In high school, I ran the 40 yard dash at 5.1. Let's call this 5 (I'm much faster now). With that math, that means I can get 24 yards away from you before you can get up. That's enough room to get away from a knife, a blunt weapon, or even a poor marksman. If you can do this, you just saved your life. Sure, you didn't win "the sport match" but your kids, family, wife, and people who love you will be glad. That is a bigger win than the UFC title in my opinion.

We have talked a ton about get ups and getting off the ground.

I wanted to take a moment or two to show you all what truly skilled fighters due to get up (and not so skilled ones who just get it done).

First one: Chuck Liddel.
Chuck is by far the best "sprawl and brawl" fighter to ever be in front of the camera. When he started, he was kinda average at everything (striking, wrestling, etc) by pro fighting standards. He couldn't afford to go to the ground with monsters of the mat like the Gracies. Chuck got really damn good quickly, and ended up being one of the greatest fighters to ever live: mostly due to his anti-grappling skills.

Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tfuZapzZsVY#!
I recommend watching the whole thing because it's entertaining and good to watch. But I will point out some highlights that have to do with this article.

0:22- Chuck avoids a quality take down with a solid sprawl.

0:33- Watch closely, get ready to pause it and watch it again. Chuck does a GREAT cram and uses very good strikes to make the guy pay.

0:46 - Chuck is trying to submit a guy. The guy gets out. The result: The guy almost takes Chuck's back. Chuck does a very quick get up. It doesn't look perfect, but it is. You can pause this get up and see some very familiar poses.

0:58 - His opponent goes to the ground after a hit. The hit looked like it missed, and I suspect he was doing it just to get some rest on his back. Anyway, Chuck doesn't mind this, and kicks the shit out of the guy who goes to his back. Imagine with a work boot on?

1:21 - 1:24 - It happens very fast, but his opponent tries to grab Chuck. Big mistake. Chuck defeats the attempt without much effort and the guy receives a punch for his effort.

1:31 - Another take down attempt on Chuck. In Survival Academy Class, he would have ran. In this case, he blasts the guy in the head.

The video goes on and on. I would write blurbs about every 10 second clip (in case you haven't noticed).

Chuck teaches the Sprawl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wyhAm8o_Tmo

High level wrestling:
This video is of one of the Big Ten wrestling Championship matches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cV9c7Bi3TQ

1:00 to 1:15ish, you can see the wrestlers each doing a series of get ups, get outs, stand ups, hip heists, and other AMAZING wrestling. They wen't outside the ring, but the guy on the bottom was clearly getting out.

1:30 is another amazing piece of work. Starting from "referee's position" the guy on the bottom is out in less than a second.

3:50 another referee's position. Watch the hip movement and get up skills. Really really high end stuff.

7:54 starts a little exchange that has good bit of get ups.

Once again, the whole fight is worth watching. Very very good wrestlers and it's something that you could benefit from learning about.

Now that you have seen some high end get ups, I wanted to show you a low end get up, that simply got the job done. And really, that's all that maters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=07Lc--cRps8

Was it pretty? Was it clean? No... It got the job done. There was some technical aspects to it, but basically he got away with shitty form due to the poorly skilled attacker.

See you all at class!

Targeting and the Human Anatomy Part 6: Groin

If you are like me, you winced a bit about this topic.

The pain is intense, it's nasty, it's dirty.

Then why would I make it a Green Target?



Simply put, it's too inconsistent.

Don't get me wrong, its a GREAT target. Use it when appropriate every time.

As Bas Rutten says, "It's the most under estimated strike".

If you have ever watched America's Funniest Home Videos, you have seen the ol' nut shot on video. We all know what happens.

If you have played sports or rough-housed, you have probably been hit there a time or two.

For purposes of this chart, I had to make it Green. Although painful beyond anything, the groin shot rarely causes a true mechanical failure. That area is very resilient. It's got a good blend of bony mass and flexible parts.

Where does the inconsistency fall into it?

1. Armor. I have seen belt buckles, heavy pants, long coats, and other items that protect this spot very well. Of course, this isn't the intention of these products, but they are out there.

2. Gender. I know this hurts women. A lot. But I'm not sure if it's as consistent or as vile as it is on a man. A quick youtube search comes up with millions and millions of views of men getting hit in the groin, but none of women. This is one of those things that nobody will ever really know. I have never been a woman, and no woman has ever been a man... Sort of. With today's medical procedures, there are a fair bit of "men" without these parts, and a fair bit of "women" with these parts. Of course this is a very small percentage, but it is something  to consider. I have heard friends of mine say stupid things like, "Pfft. I don't need martial arts, I'll just kick him in the balls". Are you sure about that?

I'm not really sure if I need a specific description of what this is like, or what organs are affected... This is kind of one of those things that speaks for itself.

Just be cautious and use it appropriately.

Decision Time

Time for a Vs. battle.

This is one of these metaphorical, bull shit, unscientific fights. See if you can relate...

Fighting out of the Red Corner:

This man has never fought professionally. He  has never been inside of a fight school. He holds a GED that he received in prison.  He stands 5 foot, 10 inches tall, weighs 180 lbs,



In the blue corner, this man has spent no fewer than $5,000 dollars on martial arts training. He may or may not hold several multi-colored belts that wrap his pajamas nicely. He has a 9-5 job, a higher education degree, and hasn't been punched since the 4th grade. His parents were married and he always got nice gifts for Christmas.

He stands between 5 foot 8 and 6 foot 3 and weighs in at about 190 lbs (because you know, working out is hard and those damn Christmas cookies were so fucking delicious).

He attends Survival Academy 3/4 Sundays a month...



Who are you betting on? Who is going to win this fight?

Do we really think that this fight will be sanctioned? Will both fighters play by the rules? "Red corner" has done no fewer than 1000 push ups a day in prison (when hes not playing basketball, lifting weights, or boxing in the courtyard that is), while our Blue corner man is "too busy" to get in his reps.

Which one of these fighters is jacked up on an illegal pain killer? Which one has a "Ache in their back from an injury from 5 years ago"? Which one has actually hurt someone before?

The fact of the mater is, that our man in the Red Corner is nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, this particular asshole might be a bit more trained than the average dipshit, but you can bet your ass that he also isn't the most dangerous one either.

The predator doesn't care about weight class. He had to master the get up from the time he was 6 years old and his options were to let his drunk ass dad (who was a felon himself kick the shit out of him) or get up and run. Sure, his dad was an experienced fighter and out weighted him by no fewer than 100 lbs, but fear and pain are powerful motivators.

Why learn to box when cold-cocking the guy who is walking out of the store checking his voicemail delivers the same results?

Simply put, the choice is yours. Our man in the Blue corner still has a chance... he's smarter, in overall better health (not to be confused with condition mind you), and has learned a thing or two from people who have fought against our guy in the Red corner plenty of times.

What is your decision going to be?

Just to give you more a view of your "red corner" opponent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SatKJZcLDQk

Vs MMA figher... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H30CiRXQoRY&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf_57J_pkXk

39 minutes of people more well prepared than you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8tANR5UZYU

Violent Encounters

Any time you get a group of guys together (usually guys who do this...) and the topic of martial arts/ fighting comes up, people get weird. Guys all have complicated theories and elaborate Bruce Lee/ Chuck Norris fantasies about what actually happens in a fight, whose style is more effective, and what they'd be able to do in that situation. Frankly, it's not much different than listening to a couple of stoners watching Animal Planet opine whether the polar bear or the elephant would win in a fight.

So, rather than focus on this sort of BS, you should read about what actually happens in real life.

This is a US DOJ publication from 2006 outlining a number officer/ offender violent encounters based on reports and interviews with BOTH officers and offenders.

Remember Reed and Chris talking about how the guy jumping you has probably been doing this all his life:

The offenders generally had been exposed to more overt violence at an earlier age than had the officers. The offenders were more readily able and more willing to use force, including deadly force, than were the officers. When contemplating the use of deadly force, the offend- ers also had fewer constraints placed upon them than did the officers.

There's lots of good stuff in here; I'll post more after I read the whole thing. I'm primarily interested in effects of stress and trauma on perception, memory, offender behavior and how to train realistically.

Highly recommended.

Too Many Posts?

So I have posted a lot recently. Dare I say, too much?

There is a ton of good information in my previous posts, so I highly recommend you check those out.

I saw this video (apparently 21 Million others did too), and I couldn't help but post it.

This is the CLASSIC street fighter behavior. Remember, this is a CLEAN fight. Nobody used weapons, and there was no cold cocking. But watch the skills of the Security Officer and the skills of the "other guy".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdfSLnKMqq4&feature=related

Survival Fitness: Essentials

I wanted to take a moment to give you all some fitness and drilling tips.

Lately, folks have been asking for some advice on some basic drills and workouts to be done at home.

I have made several recommendations in class, on the blog, and other places, but alas, folks want MORE!

I will eventually make a permanent list that will probably be pasted up on our blog so that it won't just get scrolled out like the others have.

Drills:
GET UPS!!!!
Every one of you should have this mastered. Drill this more than anything, then drill it again. There are several ways to do this. I dare you to try to google "Proper Turkish Get up" or "Jujitsu Get Up". There are thousands of videos out there, all done by "masters", blackbelts, or other gurus. Frankly, I haven't seen a video out there that has it exactly how we teach it, but you can find good ones out there. I advise you all to drill this till your eyes cross.

Duck Walk:
This is a great exercise, as well as a drill. There are many ways to do this, but here is the most traditional for wrestling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbVP4vDffu4
Or this works too. It's the same move, just slightly different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XxvEaUWNsg

Advanced---- Add some "take downs" or "shots" into your drill. I know this video is called "get up progression" but it's not our kind of get up. Watch this video to get some more advanced Duckwalk/Fitness ideas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfMM476ApA4

Shadow Boxing:
We have talked about this for a long time, and everyone should be doing this multiple times a week. The guy in this video is clearly teaching ring boxing, and nothing that we teach. However, the words he says apply. Try to avoid doing his style of boxing, and stick to the strikes you know. Also, I don't like his footwork, so don't do that... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUJDKUDI0cY

Heavy Bag:
If you have one. Use it. If you don't have one, Get one...

Heavy bags are valuable for so many things. Ground work, stand up, and of course, striking. Work your punches, mechanics, grapples. There are many ways to work a heavy bag, but I will only cover a couple:

1. Methodical, slow, patterned drilling. This is great to master strikes you know. Do each punch 10,000 times and you will be close to learning something. Watch George Forman. Keep in mind, he has done much more than 10,000 but would still work the heavy bag slowly for hours. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZtZlTIglDU

2. Footwork, weight, and speed training.
In this video, Jack Dempsey works the heavy bag. He stands where the heavy bag dangles and lets the thing constantly push on him. Every punch is up hill. For our students, I would add in head covers, elbow spikes, and other drills. Also, he practices moving around it, level changing, bob/weave and others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJkiwu_04dw

3. Grappling. This video isn't dedicated to just heavy bag stuff (it has much more in it) and although his point is BJJ/MMA, you can still use this video to get ideas for how to do our stuff. While he focuses on armbars, you should focus on getting up, just as an example. The slams, and other drills he do is HUGE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k5uyGii33c&feature=related

Note: With all this stuff, a Bob, or another striking tool is very helpful too. Heavy bags themselves arn't the best for our kinds of striking. Use what you have... Even if it's tires... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM5fLpdJKRE&feature=related

Sprawling:
We have covered it in class, and the video is a "mat wrestling" sprawl, but it's very similar. Do this drill till you puke out your gut fat and you have a sixpack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j8F4bi5QQ8
In our system, we try not to belly bounce so much, and stay off the ground a bit more, but this is a great way to train it. Note: his footwork is arguably the best ever. With the sprawling drill, you will see much of our "ground/wrestling" footwork in his other video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eFdRJmRYeQ&feature=related Note: This is obviously not the exact stance you want when your standing up, but the footwork concepts are good. The drill is awesome.

Those are the drills we will start with. Everything else should just be a variation on what is already here. The last thing I will leave you with is some pure exercises to do. Hindu wrestling has probably the best overall mechanical application to the Survival Academy. This video has exercises that will not only make you a healthy badass, but they will significantly help you in class. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0NLilpx1l4&feature=related

Enjoy!