Tuesday, June 11, 2013

UFC legend Royce Gracie to showcase Brazilian jiu-jitsu by Jeff Wagenheim

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images



It's been 20 years since a family from Brazil showed the world how to fight. The Gracies organized a combat tournament in the old McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, invited seven fighters from various disciplines -- a boxer, a sumo wrestler, a kung fu fighter, and so on -- to compete against the smallest guy they could find in their family photo, and put the whole spectacle on pay-per-view television under the title the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The fighting style that Royce Gracie used to defeat three bigger, stronger men and win that one-night single-elimination tourney -- plus two more UFC events over the next year -- was Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a variant of a Japanese martial art that had found its way to South America a century ago. Royce and the other offspring of Helio Gracie, collectively the most prominent practitioners of the art, called it Gracie jiu-jitsu. And today, even as the UFC has moved on to feature fighters well versed in all combat styles, from ground fighting to standing fisticuffs, the Gracies continue to preach the gospel of jiu-jitsu.

On Sunday, the first family of Brazilian jiu-jitsu will present its second annual Metamoris Pro Jiu-Jitsu Invitational at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles (7 p.m. ET, PPV stream at metamoris.com, $19.95). The six-bout card features an arm twister's row of black belts, from Andre Galvao to Braulio Estima to Kron Gracie, and also some names recognizable to mixed martial arts fans, such as UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub and Shinya Aoki, a former champion in the Dream, Shooto and One FC promotions.

Royce Gracie, whose nephew Relek founded Metamoris, sat down with SI.com to talk about the event as well as what he's up to.

SI.com: What seems to set Metamoris apart from other prominent jiu-jitsu tournaments is that there are no points awarded to score the matches in this event. Why is that?

Royce Gracie: Martial arts were created as a means of defending yourself. They were not created to score points. So what my nephew did was he took the points out and also made the fights 20 minutes long. It's a mix of endurance and skill. You have to know what you're doing and you have to pace yourself, but to win you have to attack. The best man will win.

SI.com: What if no one gets a submission in the allotted 20 minutes?

Gracie: This year there are three referees who will decide who won. Not by points, but by who was the best fighter. And it's possible, also, that the fight will be a draw.

SI.com: Another of your nephews, Kron, is in the main event, against Aoki. What is it like for you to watch him compete, as opposed to being in there yourself? Do you get more nervous?

Gracie: [Laughs.] Yes, I get more nervous when I'm in the corner than when I'm in the ring. My nephew knows what he is doing, but when I'm watching I can't react for him. I can help him train, but on the day he's the one who's going to walk in and take care of business.

SI.com: Speaking of which, do you have any unfinished business in fighting? A couple of years ago, when the UFC returned to Brazil after a long absence, there was talk that you might make a comeback. You even said you had one fight left in you, that you wanted a rematch with Matt Hughes. But now Hughes is retired. Are you officially finished, too? At age 46, do you feel comfortable with that?

Gracie: Man, been there, done that. I fought in the first UFC, three fights in one night. Second UFC, four fights in one night. I fought the second-longest fight in history. My father had the longest fight in history, three hours and 40 minutes [against Valdemar Santana in 1955]. I fought for an hour and 45 [vs. Kazushi Sakuraba in 2000]. I fought against Akebono, 6-foot-8, 490 pounds. Yeah, I paid my dues. I did my job. I sleep fine at night.

SI.com: With no fighting in your life anymore, how do you satisfy your competitive nature?

Gracie: I just got back from an MMA tournament in Dubai. And the night I got there, I heard that earlier in the day the promoters took some fighters up in a plane for skydiving. But when they got up in the air, most of the guys were, like, "Uh-uh." No one wanted to jump. I thought, man, I would have been the first one off the plane. Get out of my way. I'm a Gracie. We take every day as a competition, a challenge.

SI.com: I suppose in your family you get that way from an early age. Are your own young kids always pulling out a checkerboard and saying, "Let's go, Dad"?

Gracie: They're always challenging me. And that's good. They keep me on my toes, man. Keeps the sword sharp and clean.

SI.com: You don't seem like a guy who'd let someone beat him. Do you go hard at the kids?

Gracie: [Laughs.] Well, with the kids, we want to build them up to win. So every time they challenge me, I push them and push them, and at the last minute, they take it.

SI.com: What do you think of the MMA that your kids are growing up watching? The fighters of today are well versed in a variety of disciplines, from standup to the ground. The thinking is you can't survive as simply a jiu-jitsu guy anymore. Do you agree?

Gracie: Fighters have to adapt. Look at Lyoto Machida, for instance, or Chuck Liddell. They come from a karate background, but they had to learn wrestling to avoid being taken down. If they did wind up on the mat, they had to know jiu-jitsu, just to know what's coming at them. I learned my boxing and kickboxing not because I was planning to knock somebody out. I just needed to know how standup fighters moved, how they would set me up with a kick or punch. So, yes, fighters have evolved, but they all have one main style that they call home, where they feel most comfortable.

SI.com: Nowadays, though, a lot of gyms don't teach one particular discipline, like jiu-jitsu or karate. They teach mixed martial arts. Do you think something gets lost when young people learn this way rather than focusing on a single tradition that's been passed down through the generations?

Gracie: You don't say, "Hey, I'm going to go get some Starbucks." No, you're going to get some coffee at Starbucks. "Hey, I'm going to make a Xerox." No, you're making a copy on a Xerox machine. So kids want to learn mixed martial arts? Mixed martial arts is what you do inside the cage, inside the ring. What they should be looking to learn is a martial art.

You learn a style. You learn wrestling. You learn Gracie jiu-jitsu. You learn boxing. You learn judo. You don't learn mixed martial arts. You learn a style or maybe more than one style, and then you mix them. But you don't teach a mix. People come up to me all the time and ask, "Do you teach UFC style?" [Laughs.] UFC is a brand. It's not a martial art.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Yamaoka Tesshu - The Secret of the Carpenter's Plane

 


I'm posting a passage from a book in honor of Tesshu's 177th Birthday. He tried to teach Shugyo in a lecture. In the Japanese Martial Arts, the term shugyo means the pursuit of knowledge, studying, learning, training and discipline, etc.




The following passage is from a lecture given by Yamaoka Tesshu to his students. In it he tries to explain the process of Shugyo.

There are three methods the carpenter adopts when using his plane. They are rough planing, medium planing and finish planing.

To practice rough planing make your body firm, stretch out the stomach and brace the lower trunk then with equal strength in both arms plane to a rough finish. In other words use the strength of your whole body without relaxing it. If you do not use sufficient effort you will not manage to rough plane.

Next there is medium planing. With medium planing it is not merely a question of using all your strength. You must plane the surface flat by adopting a natural modulation of strength in the hands. This is to prepare it for the finish plane. However without the experience gained from rough planing it will not be possible to succeed with medium planing.

Finally there is finish planing. This time the wood that was prepared by earlier medium planing is made even smoother and free of flaws. To do this you must plane with one single stroke at a time, from one end of the timber to the other. If your heart is not calm when you make this single stroke, you will score many flaws and faults into the wood and if there are flaws then the timber has not yet been finished. For the carpenter in his use of the plane this is the most important stage.

First of all you must be in possession of mind, body and technique. For the carpenter mind, body and technique equals plane man and timber. If the man thinks to plane the plane will catch; if the plane is thought to plane it will rise off the timber. To possess mind, body and technique is represented here in the action of one place of plane, man and timber. If this is not mastered thoroughly then however much you train to be a carpenter you will never plane timber well.

In order to become proficient at planing timber the most effective way is to begin training in the way of rough planing. If you can do this well then you can also manage medium planing and finish planing.

However, in order to finish plane well there is a secret. Although I say it is a secret, actually it is nothing so special. Just put mind, body and technique out of your head and plane away. It is by doing it in this way that you do a good job. And here, without being aware of it, you will have mastered the secret of finish planing. There is something quite interesting about this secret, I think.

Before you have mastered this for yourself, nothing that has been taught you will be of any real use. Thus, there is no other way than to try to discover it for yourself. No matter what you do, there is no way that anyone can communicate this to you.

The Kendo Reader
Noma Hisashi (1910-1039)
Page 8


For other entries on one of Japan's greatest swordsmen, please check out:

BIRTHDAY: Today marks the 177th birthday of Yamaoka Tesshu!

Yamaoka Tesshu (June 10, 1836 – July 19, 1888)



Tesshu, when he was younger, was very much a braggart and had to win at everything. One of my favorite anecdotes about him.


Regardless of what it was, Tesshu did not like to be second to anyone.

...

There are other examples of Tesshu's dare-taking. Young swordsmen of his day liked to brag about how much they could eat and drink. An acquaintance boasted to Tesshu, "I ate thirty hard-boiled eggs at one sitting."

"Only thirty?" Tesshu raised his eyebrows. "You should be able to eat fifty. I can eat a hundred."

"Really?," the acquaintance challenged Tesshu. A hundred hard-boiled eggs were brought and Tesshu gulped them down in front of several witnesses. Tesshu returned home and vomited for the next three days.


The Sword of No-Sword:  Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
John Stevens
Pages 8-9


Happy 177th Birthday Yamaoka Tesshu-sama!


For other entries on one of Japan's greatest swordsmen, please check out:

Sunday, June 09, 2013

5 Short Vidclips of Mike Tyson (Teaching / Q&A)




There are some nuggets to be gleaned in these 5 short video clips of Mike Tyson.



Mike Tyson Teaching the Fundamentals of Boxing





How Mike Tyson Learned to Box





How Mike Tyson Psyches Opponents Out






Mike Tyson talking about his Squared Stance





Mike Tyson talking about Boxing Styles


Saturday, June 08, 2013

Johny Hendricks takes Boxing Lesson from Iron Mike Tyson

A short video hit Youtube of Mike Tyson teaching UFC fighter Johny Hendricks. I made one animated GIF of Tyson throwing the old 1-2.




Here is the video clip... too bad video creator used a song instead of what Iron Mike was saying.




WOW! Mike Tyson looks like he can still be a force to be reckoned with.

Friday, June 07, 2013

Verbal Judo: Diffusing Conflict Through Conversation



Please check out this video clip of Dr. George Thompson speaking about Verbal Judo/Tactical Language at the Columbia Business School. It is 91 mins 12 seconds long.


Academic-turned-cop and best-selling author George Doc Thompson describes how tactical language allows leaders to achieve their goals. Daniel Ames, the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics, confirms that managing conflict is a critical predictor of leadership success and shows how what works in the streets converges with recent findings in social science. The workshop was part of the Program on Social Intelligences Science Meets Practice series, which pairs hands-on leadership training with breaking insights in psychology research.



 





Some of Dr. Thompson's Verbal Judo articles I've archived to this site:

IN MEMORY OF: Dr. George Thompson ( - June 7, 2011)



Two years ago today marks the passing of Dr. George Thompson. His contribution to Law Enforcement (as well as to anyone who needs to speak to people) cannot be overstated enough. He created Verbal Judo which essentially is a blueprint on how Law Enforcement should speak to the general public. I'm not Law Enforcement nor know anyone personally, but his Verbal Judo book/teachings has opened a new dimension for my Self-Defense thinking as well as my day-to-day life,




AUBURN, N.Y. — Dr. George Thompson, the English professor-turned-street-cop who ultimately taught one million professionals the art of verbally redirecting negative behavior, passed away June 7 at his home in Auburn, New York. He was 69.

Here at PoliceOne, Doc Thompson contributed columns for many years, beginning in 2005. He helped our community examine how conscious communication impacts the job. He regularly contributed tactical tips, too, and had us thinking about human interaction as a tool for police.

Dr. Thompson was affectionally called “Doc” by the professionals he trained in his methodology of Verbal Judo. To develop his tactics, he would watch police officers participate in real-time crisis situations and observe strategies for talking down violence.

Using what he observed from the “salty old dogs,” as he liked to call the LEOs, he assembled a legion of global trainers who brought the lessons to police forces. He trained departments large and small, including the NYPD and LAPD. He also worked with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Private enterprises outside of law enforcement have been trained in his methodology, too, in order to protect employees from verbal assault and physical violence. Verbal conflict mitigation can be applied to harassment and bullying in general as well as the issues that are more specific to police.

Dr. Thompson held a B.A. from Colgate University and a Master’s and Doctorate in English from the University of Connecticut. He completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University in Rhetoric and Persuasion and went on to author four books, also publishing work that appears in magazines and periodicals. Major networks like 48 Hours and Inside Edition have reported on his training techniques.
Doc often called his communications strategy “martial art of the mind and mouth,” and was a fan of martial arts himself. He achieved a 2nd Dan in Judo.

Doc Thompson survived throat cancer for many years, and staunchly committed himself to a busy speaking and training schedule despite his condition, which reduced his ability to speak for extended periods of time.
He had recently received treatment to enhance his breathing, and he passed away unexpectedly. Doc’s family includes his wife, Pam, their nine-year-old son Tommy Rhyno Thompson, two adult children, Kelley (Ronald) Monach and Taylor (Valerie) Thompson, and five grandchildren.




Dr. George J. Thompson is the President and Founder of the Verbal Judo Institute, a tactical training and management firm based in Auburn, NY. He has trained more than 700,000 police, corrections, and security professionals and his Verbal Judo course is required in numerous states. The course has been tailored for other organizations, including mental health, the gaming industry, and hospitals.

Doc received his B.A. from Colgate University (1963), his Masters and Doctorate in English from the University of Connecticut (1972), and he completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University in Rhetoric & Persuasion (1979). Widely published in magazines and periodicals, his training has been highlighted in such national media outlets as NBC, ABC, & CBS News, CNN, 48 Hours, Inside Edition, LETN, In the Line of Duty, and Fox news, as well as in the LA Times, NY Post, Sacramento Bee, and other publications.

Doc has created the only "Tactical Communication" course in the world and he has written five books on Verbal Judo, each analyzing ways to defuse conflict and redirect behavior into more positive channels. The Verbal Judo Institute, offers Basic & Advanced courses in the Tactics of Verbal Judo, and a five-day Instructor Training option.

As of July of 2009, several new online Verbal Judo resources are available:

For free audio newsletter for police, corrections and security professionals click here.

To obtain the free multi-media newsletter for civilians click here.

Online and telephone coaching program for individuals who have received prior training in Verbal Judo are available as well.  Simply click here.

On a personal note, Doc and Pam are the proud parents of seven-year old, Tommy Rhyno Thompson, and Doc, a survivor of throat cancer, has returned to active teaching. You can contact Doc via e-mail at doc@VerbalJudo.com at VJI, Inc., 2009 W. Genesee St. Rd., Auburn, NY 13021, 315-253-0007.




Copied from http://www.policeone.com/police-trainers/articles/3801352-Police-trainer-Dr-George-Thompson-dies/

http://www.policeone.com/columnists/George-Thompson/




I've archived some of Dr. Thompson's articles:


May Dr. Thompson's Verbal Judo help you in your communications with others!

Thursday, June 06, 2013

To Gi or Not to Gi By Armando Basulto








Armando Basulto (bottom) in the 1999 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan American Championships
In the last decade, the status quo of the martial arts world has been shaken at the foundations by the emergence of the Gracie family and their particular brand of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Though the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu challenge scene had been in existence in Rio for over 30 years, it was the new crop of Ultimate Fighting Challenge and other No Holds Barred competitions that thrust BJJ into the spotlight. All of a sudden, there was a mad rush by martial artists everywhere for good training in groundfighting and grappling. 

Within the Jeet Kune Do Concepts community and especially PFS, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been incorporated into an already existing groundfighting curriculum. In the spirit of "absorbing what is useful" and training as realistically as possible, we have taken the techniques, strategies and submissions of BJJ and downplayed those elements which could be viewed as "limitations" or "ways". 

To this end, martial artists incorporating BJJ into their JKD program train the greater part of the time without the traditional kimono or "gi" and opt instead to train with just a T-shirt or bareback. Though it remains true that a greater portion of training time should be done without the confines of traditional uniforms, rules and formalities, there are some benefits to training with the GI that should not be overlooked.


Firstly and most obviously, except for those folks lucky enough to live in warm weather year round, T-Shirts are not the uniform of the day 365 days a year. In New York City, we wear coats and jackets at least 9 months out of the year. If our goal is to train in conditions closest to the most probable scenario, then sparring in just a T-Shirt (or no shirt at all) would be most unrealistic. Sparring with the Gi on allows one to not only train chokes that are easily recreated with a jacket or coat, but also opens up a myriad of other sleeve and lapel controls. If possible, training can be done while wearing the coats or jackets themselves. Even though it can get hot and uncomfortable (and zippers and buttons can be hazardous) it is something everyone in search of realistic scenario training should attempt.


Secondly, sparring with the Gi can actually be more difficult than without. Though you will definitely have more techniques and chokes available to you for attacking, you will also have to defend from these same techniques which are now available to your opponent. Now that you have sleeves and lapels to grip, it's possible to work the open or "spider guard" and attempt sweeps and reversals, but your opponent now has sleeves and lapels to grab on you, making every reversal or transition 3 times harder. As an experiment, spar with a partner with Gi's on for 5 minutes, then strip off the kimonos and continue for another 5 minutes. You may be surprised at your increased speed and fluidity.


You can take it one step further and spar within the confines of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament. The rules of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament emphasize proficiency in the skills (i.e. attributes) of groundfighting/grappling. Though there has been some talk that the tournament competition has actually hurt BJJ's effectiveness and has diluted the art, it is in this environment that the real artistry of the good Jiu Jitsu player can be glimpsed. Points are awarded for obtaining the dominant position (like the MOUNT or TAKING THE BACK) or for sweeping or taking down your opponent. Though, obviously the end goal is to get your opponent in a submission, thus ending the match, this type of training rewards one for "dominating" the fight either by jockeying for position or keeping your opponent constantly defending. This will inevitably make one a better grappler/groundfighter. 

Too often, people with only a "Cliff Notes" knowledge of Jiu Jitsu struggle and waste precious energy (in conflict with JKD's conservation of energy and effort) trying to get that armlock or choke before they're actually in the proper position (or have placed their opponent in a position where he practically "gives" you his arm or exposes his neck). Sometimes it maybe more fruitful to simply sweep or reverse someone who has taken you to the ground and place yourself in a better position to deal with possible multiple opponents rather than getting tunnel vision while concentrating on getting that fancy armlock. 


I am by no means advocating that everyone run out and purchase the $300 Brazilian-imported "kimonos" covered with patches and the name emblazoned on the back. The current recommendation to train 80-90 percent of the time without a Gi still holds true. But when you do don the white kimono the other 10 or 20 percent of the time, you should make it as productive as possible and know how to utilize it for maximum groundfighting attribute development. Though the sin of growing too dependent on the Gi is a much greater crime than lacking the experience of sparring with a Gi, there are many benefits and lessons to be learned by trying to work within the limitations of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament scenario and its uniform....the Gi. 



NOTES

My sincerest gratitude to Armando Basulto for his kind permission on reposting his article to my site. This article was originally published in PROBE magazine (the magazine of Progressive Fighting Systems).


Another article by Coach Basulto I've received permission to repost:



A little about Armando Basulto. He is a 1st Degree Black Belt under Royler Gracie/David Adiv and  began training in the 1970’s in Judo, Boxing, Kickboxing and various martial arts disciplines. As a competitive kickboxer, he has fought in the USA and Europe (Muay Thai and Savate). He began his training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the early 1990’s in California. Armando has been a private student of Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie and David Adiv.

Mr. Basulto has been a member and representative for Royler Gracie/David Adiv (RGDA) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for over a 14 years, coaching his students to several championship titles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling. He has traveled to Brazil to train at the world-famous Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro and was a competitor in the 1999 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan American Championships. 





Contact information for Armando Basulto:


Wednesday, June 05, 2013

10 Seconds To Fight By Armando Basulto






 
Armando training a unit of Britain's Royal Marines, 3/4 Commando


Some coaches subscribe to the old saying: "Pain is the best teacher, but nobody wants to go to his class." Though it should be obvious that nobody wants to train just to get hurt, there is much value in experiencing the "pain" of not only pushing yourself physically and mentally, but of preparing yourself for the physiological shock of the give and take of an altercation (in or out of the ring!). In other words, get used to getting hit...or "tapped"...or hit with a stick...or....

Warriors throughout history have made experiential learning part of their training. Men who prepared for war were expected to deal with the stress and shock of being on the receiving end of an enemy's attack, but were expected to keep their wits and respond in kind. In knighting ceremonies, the newly minted knight was often struck a blow across the face with the admonition "let that be the last blow left unanswered!"

Medieval chronicles depict knights, emboldened by a chivalric code, religious fervor or courtly love, taking blow after blow, with lance or sword and continuing to fight, vanquishing their opponents before (often but not always) succumbing to their mortal wounds. Though at times these accounts could be exaggerated, the archeological evidence showing both weapons and men surviving after repeated battle abuse, show this was not a fantastic or even uncommon occurrence.

In more recent history, during the Civil War and the Indian Wars, the subject of the "Dead Man's Ten Seconds" was often mentioned in accounts depicting battles. In many of these stories fighting men continued to fight heroically for ten or more seconds after taking a fatal blow, oftentimes mortally wounding and defeating their opponents before succumbing to their injuries.

The term "Dead Man's Ten Seconds" appears in some early Western documentation (i.e. accounts of Texas Rangers, not Dime Novel idealism), depicting old gunfighters of the frontier era receiving fatal wounds yet still out-firing their opponents.

In most of these gun battle encounters, from the time of the fatal hit to the time the lack of blood flow carrying oxygen to the brain caused loss of consciousness/death, was approximately ten seconds. Headshots of course in most cases take out the subject at once as expected. This happened enough that the term "Dead Man's Ten Seconds" became part of the lingo and jargon of the Frontier.

Experienced fighting men of the period were aware of these "Ten Seconds". One account (a first hand account in the book A Texas Ranger by N.A. Jennings, circa 1870's) tells about two Texas Rangers that had a huge dislike for each other but, both handy with the gun, knew that the other "...would have his "Ten Seconds" to do what he needed to do. I have heard several men tell another man in the heat of a bitter dispute to take his best shot if he wanted but he 'Would have his ten' as well. I never witnessed it go past that point knowing full well they meant that they would follow thru."

These "Ten Seconds" are far more common in a knife fight after a fatal wound, and in most cases it takes some time before the loss of consciousness is complete. Duels with Bowie knives were common during this same period and accounts of these fights in newspapers of the time tell of the combatants wounding each other over and over and continuing to fight (see Duels and the Roots of Violence in Missouri, by Dick Steward).

Two books, Forensic Pathology and Gun Shot Wounds, both by Dr. Dominick J. DiMaio, Medical Examiner discuss that if the central nervous system is not hit and the skeletal structure has not been damaged to the point that it cannot bear the weight of the body, a fatally hit human can still function for 10 seconds or longer. 

In a gun battle, perhaps more than in unarmed combat, the most unpredictable component affecting reaction time and capability is the psychology of being shot. We are conditioned by TV and the movies to expect a person (and ourselves) to fall immediately and die instantly when struck by a bullet. As countless police videos will attest, this only happens with any surety in the movies. Many "one shot stops" occur because of the psychological trauma of being shot, regardless of the physical damage done. Of course, this assumes a certain degree of rationality, which can be absent due to drugs, alcohol and psychosis.

Michael Platt, who was involved in the FBI's "Miami Massacre" (1986), was hit with a non-survivable wound within seconds of the initial gunfire. He continued fighting and killed two agents, and managed to wound several more before dying. Ed Mirales, an FBI agent, was shot in the arm with a crippling round, yet was able to work the action on an 870 shotgun one handed, and end the fight.

Though most people are fortunate to have their knowledge of killing limited to TV and movies, police officers are trained to expect someone who has been shot to be capable of continuing the fight for some time (at LEAST 10 seconds) - certainly enough to empty the magazine on their weapon. With this in mind, law enforcement personnel (and our combat troops) are taught to keep firing as long as the bad guy continues to present a deadly force threat - i.e. they drop the weapon or lose consciousness.


Working live fire drills with the SIG 220
Working live fire drills with the SIG 220













The only shot that will instantly stop a fight is one which disables the central nervous system (brain or spinal cord). Dr Martin Fackler, the director of the wound ballistics laboratory at the Presidio of San Francisco in the 1980's, did the definitive work on this subject (Wound Ballistics Review, Volume 5 Number 1, Spring 2001). It followed the 1986 Miami FBI shootout, and helped the FBI (and others) reach decisions in handgun calibers and bullet design. 

One of the conclusions of the study was that if the brain or upper cervical spines are hit, incapacitation is almost invariably immediate. If not, the bullet must create a large enough wound cavity and disrupt blood-bearing organs (lungs, heart, liver, spleen) and arteries to promote the rapid lose of blood and consciousness. Depending on the size of the wound cavity, organs involved, and rate of blood loss, incapacitation can take 10 seconds or longer. 

In Basulto Academy's Combat Pistolcraft curriculum, we always train both aimed fire, and instinctual or "Point of Aim" fire. This is not only to accommodate the degradation in fine motor skills caused by the adrenaline rush but also to prepare one tactically and mentally for being able to return fire and "stay in the fight", even after having received a wound.

This "Stay in the Fight" mindset is an attribute that must be developed and trained in all self-preservation scenarios. It is not simply the "get tough" attitude in dealing with training injuries or exhaustion. It is also a trained familiarity with the trauma of getting hit so that response time, accuracy and intensity are not affected.

My Muay Thai teacher instilled in his students the mantra of "take one, give two!" He was tough fighter in Thailand, his commitment so complete to the ring that he had a tattoo across his forehead (literally!) announcing his occupation as a fighter for all to see. Many of the blows received in the ring, whether it be a Savate match, a Muay Thai or boxing match, would put the average pedestrian down before the cameras would have time to take a picture. What makes fighters tough is their familiarity and acceptance of the blows as part of balancing that algebraic equation of "The Fight".

Daily sparring is not enough (though it is a step in the right direction). For obvious reasons, you could only limit yourself to the "shock" of a particular intensity and/or scenario (unless you are willing to ask your training partner to shoot you or stab you weekly so "you can get used to it"!) What is required is also a complete realignment as to your expectations and limitations when the chips are down. You must develop your "Will to Survive" beyond the mere "tough guy" level.

Your mind must be sharpened to the commitment to "stay in the fight" regardless of pain or surrounding distractions. Visualization, before and after training, is essential, but your mindset while sparring or "rolling" or even at the firing range must be developed as well. This can, and should be a self-managed part of your training, but a good coach will lead you to it without you even knowing it. You should incorporate this mindset development into all facets of your training.

  • For starters, when sparring, never allow yourself to stop or quit before the round is over. Do a whole round where you are not allowed to punch or kick (only defense) followed immediately by a round where you respond to every hit by your opponent with 3 blows.
  • When grappling, always roll for a predetermined time period (not until someone taps) and do not reset after each tap but rather have a mutual agreement that as soon as a submission is locked in, you immediately release and continue from that position.
  • At the firing range, dedicate a portion of your time to point firing and not just target practice. A great drill is to do a set of Squats/Pushups to raise your heart rate, then immediately draw your weapon and fire.
Ultimately, the ideal is to feel confident in what your mental and physical state will be even when traumatized. Your ability to stay in the fight is important in a competitive sport environment, but in a self-preservation mode, your "ten seconds" could mean life or death for you and your loved ones. You owe it to yourself, and your loved ones entrusted to your care, to "Cowboy up"!





NOTES

My sincerest gratitude to Armando Basulto for his kind permission on reposting his article to my site. This article was originally published in Blackwater Tactical Weekly and the Las Vegas Police's Training Wheel.

A little about Armando Basulto. He is a 1st Degree Black Belt under Royler Gracie/David Adiv and  began training in the 1970’s in Judo, Boxing, Kickboxing and various martial arts disciplines. As a competitive kickboxer, he has fought in the USA and Europe (Muay Thai and Savate). He began his training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the early 1990’s in California. Armando has been a private student of Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie and David Adiv.

Mr. Basulto has been a member and representative for Royler Gracie/David Adiv (RGDA) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for over a 14 years, coaching his students to several championship titles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling. He has traveled to Brazil to train at the world-famous Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro and was a competitor in the 1999 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan American Championships. 



Contact information for Armando Basulto:


Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Ron Saturno - More on Hitting with the Elbows




Continuing Master Ron Saturno's series of articles on the Use of Short Weapons. Prior to reading today's post, if you haven't already - please read:



We spoke about a few uses of the elbow. We spoke of hitting the neck with the elbow. The totality of the cervical vertebrae is only about 5 inches. We can then be assured that some, if not many of the important targets on the neck will be hit if the neck is struck. Even with the Adam's Apple and on both sides of the neck is ST9. If the elbow can strike either of these bilateral points, we can get a knockout. If we strike ST9 we are hitting the 10th and 12th cranial nerves, the Vagus and the Hypoglossal nerves. We are also hitting a cervical branch of the facial nerve. The vagus has filaments going to the heart, the lungs and even down to the stomach. The carotid also runs very near this point. It was called mans prognosis and was where the Yang pulse was taken at one time. A harsh strike to ST9 can break flack off the carotid artery and cause a stroke. We can also cause a signal being sent to the carotid plexus and then on to the brain, if we compress the artery. The carotid plexus could send a signal to the brain warning it of an extreme blood pressure increase.. The returning signal from the brain can sometimes cause the heart to reduce the rate and strength of its contraction. This has really bad effects on the respiratory system in general and can cause death. Located on either side of the sternocleidomastoidiuis muscle is LI18 and a little lower SI16. A strike to the neck hit "all" of these points. Of course striking the thyroid cartilage is a given, if you want to be responsible for someones death. The breathing tube is just the size of your smallest finger. There are also important nearby blood vessels that could also be damaged. Bad Ju Ju I tell 'ya, just all bad. Lets move on now.


Dragging the tip of the olecranon of the ulnar bone across the area of the temple is also capable of severely harming someone. The middle meningeal artery can be ruptured or torn if we strike hard enough in this area. We have three layers of protective tissue surrounding our brains, the dura, arachnoid and pia layers. These tissue layers can hold the escaping blood within the brain vault. The pressure can cause brain damage and or death. The shot pupil thing is from severe pressure upon a cranial nerve. If we see this, imminent death is near: So off to the Dr's we must go and go soon we must...


An elbow strike high upon the forehead is also quite capable of causing severe damage. Two weak points are the suture at the top of the skull and a little further back the spot where the anterior fontanel was (softspot). These areas are weaker than most other areas of the skull and can be damaged with a good strike with the elbow to these two areas.


An elbow to the base and back of the head. Strikes directed to the area of the medulla are life ending and I won't share this info online.


Strikes to the upper quadrants of the body are also effective. A strike to the clavicle can easily break this bone and cause a consequent rupture of the sub-clavian artery, besides damage to the nerves of the brachial plexus. We have a few nerves in this area. The anterior thoracic nerve, first intercostal nerve, which also serve Lunge 1.So we know that the point Lu1 is nearby. Lu 1 itself is also served by the medial supraclavicular nerve. You'll notice that I speak nerves. I could do the TCM theory, but the German's say that, "With Americans' everything is electrical". So by speaking electricity everybody is easier to get into the buy in.


A strike to the center of the chest between the nipples can cause damage to the right ventricle of the heart, besides a few more nerves. If we lay into the chest we can compress it like a spring while are damaging it and then the chest will decompress and we get to see the man fly backwards. This is an exiting blow to see performed.


I think that we have covered a lot. Many of you reading this will find my dribble pedantic. But, there may be a few who can get good mileage out of this information. Study my points carefully and we will continue soon. God Bless





Other articles by Master Saturno:




Notes

My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site. 

You can contact Master Ron Saturno via:

Email:  5masterserrada@gmailNOSPAM.com (take out the "NOSPAM")
Phone:  209-513-8027
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ron.saturno

Monday, June 03, 2013

Ron Saturno - Hitting with Elbows and Knees





Continuing Master Ron Saturno's series of articles on the Use of Short Weapons. Please read Setting the groundwork for the use of short weapons prior to today's post if you haven't already.



We had a small read put up on Facebook a few days ago promising more on my personal application of elbows and knees in a fight. My personal development of elbows and knees came about out of necessity. Simply put, "I am not a large man". My chances of toeing up with aggressive men who are larger and stronger than me are very good. My diminutive size can also encourage mens' aggression: Some men size other men up on the basis of size. If another man is much smaller than themselves, than they feel their odds of winning are good and quite honestly, it's a fairly safe bet. Now I am a firm believer that it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog that counts, but 250 or more pounds of muscle is more than enough to cause me some concern. Don't let little d!cked men fool you, size does count, because women "do" count, just when you are not around. So we have established that size does count. I brought up the big men because they are who give me my most concern. My thinking many years ago, when I started formulating my personal method of self-defense was simple. Screw the little guys, "If I can drop a big guy, the smaller guys will be easier to drop." Besides weapons, knees and elbows are people droppers. They are short blows and can therefore be used quickly, powerfully and efficiently. If we train for specific targeting with the elbows and knees, they are easily capable of, "One hit quitters". "One hit quitter" is street parlance for one shot, one drop. So lets get into the business of hitting with the elbows and knees.


If we can pull someone into an elbow or a knee and then strike them, the force expended "into" the target goes significantly up. Pulling while striking into a target is superior to most other applications of the knees and elbows, although there are exceptions. Whatever your system is, there are any number of knee and elbow application techniques. I don't want to delve into various martial systems intricacies, or make comparisons between them. Use your strong back muscles to pull them into your knees and elbows and your powerful chest muscles, or glutes to drop them, it's as simple as that. Yes, the art part is also important. If I grab a man behind the neck and pull him toward me, we can easily get his neck bent forward and downwards. If we can get his neck into a 30 degree angle or so, the neck becomes a segmented column. The cervical vertebrae are now more separated and much more susceptible to damage. If we were to slam an elbow into the neck with their neck in the described position, we can induce severe damage to the cervical vertebrae, especially the third cervical vertebra. That area of the cervical spine is weak We can choose the jaw as another valid target We can get good value for the bang. Important nerves follow along the jaw line. Sometimes men will open their mouths during combat. If we can sink the elbow into their jaws when their mouths are open we can easily break the condyle of their jaw, we can create multiple fracture points on the jaw and most likely cause an immediate knockout, or knock the fight out of them.These are fight ending uses of the elbow. If we lose control of their necks after the elbow strike, we can back (b!tch) slap the opposite sides of their faces, targeting the GB points and immediately come back with an opposite elbow.. A percussive strike instead of the backhand b!tch slap can also be used. After the initial application of the first elbow, we take the hand of the arm of the elbow we used, cup the hand and use the edge of palm to strike their lower jawline, while simultaneously cup striking their eardrum. The ridge of the palm would be hitting ST5 and the cupped palm would be attacking the important nerves of the ear, besides possibly causing the hammer, anvil and stirrup bones of the ear to possibly cause internal bleeding. Directly in front of the ear are points SI21, SJ19 and GB2, besides points going around the earlobe in a circular pattern. As you can see the elbow sets the tone of the fight and the follow up shots are icing on the cake. As you can see: I am always striking high value targets and am prepared to give immediate follow up shots. A lot of men are too stupid to fall right away. Our job is to educate them. Lets leave off now because people are complaining about the lengths of my posts. I'll keep going tomorrow. I hope that I have given a little something for thought. God Bless




Other articles by Master Saturno:




Notes


My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site. 

You can contact Master Ron Saturno via:

Email:  5masterserrada@gmailNOSPAM.com (take out the "NOSPAM")
Phone:  209-513-8027
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ron.saturno

Sunday, June 02, 2013

Ron Saturno - Setting the groundwork for the use of short weapons





I'm sitting here at the computer putting down what was passed to me a long time ago. If we stand in a vertical position and put our elbows and knees at 90 degrees, both elbows and knees are parallel and are the same distance. Elbows and knees are therefore equal distance short weapons. Knee them, reset your weight and follow with the elbow is a bread and butter move with Escrimador's. Elbows and knees are just some of our short weapons. Hips and shoulders are even shorter weapons. Because of the olecranon of the ulnar bone we really don't have to swing our torso into the blow like many believe. A short and snappy strike with the elbow can handle most problematic people and you won't radically effect your base or your ability to throw quick follow up blows. The elbow is also pretty devoid of pain sensors and we can hit pretty damn hard without feeling a lot of pain. I have seen the elbow severely damaged, so it still remains a tool with limitations.The knees are just as effective pain inducers as the elbows, if not more so, because of your leg weighing more than your arm. People who can raise their knee "up" into the target and therefor bring in their powerful glutes into the fracas are people who bear watching very carefully. We should be careful that they stay a safe distance from us. Both elbows and knees are rotated from the waist, more specifically the lower elixir field, dan tien, sea of chi, testes and ovaries gland chakra, call it what you will. The short blows expand from this area and are especially effective if expressed in connection with the legs. In order to create good power we have to throw from the dirt. Power begins at the earth and up thru the body and ends up "in" our target in the form of a wave. We need to snap the knee up into the target and quickly regain our balance. Lifting and than striking and holding the knee in that position just begs for trouble and I see it all of the time. If you observe someone "not" throwing with the help of the earth, then you'll be observing someone "not" hitting with their full potential. Guys who grab you and pull you into their knees while pushing up from the earth at the same time, just hit stupidly hard. Guys who grab you and pull you into their fast traveling elbows, just hit too damn hard. This push and pull application of forces is the hidden secret of many a martial art. It works in many ways and in many applications of force. Guys who fly into you with their body weight hit damn hard as well if they hit you, but the pulling while striking is what I do and so I won't venture an opinion as to what is superior. Pulling while pushing works well for me and since elbows and knees are close weapons in my mind: I will personally stick to what I know and have practised. If you can fly, why not why, I say. At over 200 lbs. I don't think that I can fly much anymore, well maybe after a 6 martini lunch....


I promised to start in on weapons and distance. So I am just setting the groundwork for the use of short weapons. In my Escrima "everything" is a weapon. My mind, shoulders, elbows, knees, fingers, etc,. and even whats in my pocket. My belt, hat and shoes as well, change and wallet. Tomorrow I'll start in on elbows and knees from the mind of an Escrimador. Hope that you'll enjoy it. Oh, by the way L.A. was a great place to be the last week.




Other articles by Master Saturno:




Notes

My deepest gratitude to Master Ron Saturno for his kind permission in allowing me to repost his articles to my site. 

You can contact Master Ron Saturno via:

Email:  5masterserrada@gmailNOSPAM.com (take out the "NOSPAM")
Phone:  209-513-8027
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ron.saturno

Saturday, June 01, 2013

NEWS: Police arrest man carrying long blade who ran into downtown Manhattan restaurant

My commentsIs that a sword in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Read on!



Police arrest man carrying long blade who ran into downtown Manhattan restaurant

The unidentified suspect pulled out the blade and ran when confronted by police. He was later cuffed after running into the Central Buffet eatery.

Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News / A traffic cop spotted a man carrying what looked like a sheathed sword near Howard and Centre sts. in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday.

Cops nabbed a man with what appeared to be a sheathed sword after a cop directing traffic spotted him walking on a downtown Manhattan street.

The unidentified suspect was walking around Howard and Centre streets when the officer spotted an unusual bulge in his pants shortly after 5 p.m., witnesses said.

When the officer approached, the suspect pulled out a sheathed blade and ran away, stunned witnesses said. The officer called for backup and gave chase to the man, who darted into Central Buffet.


Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News / The plainclothes officers pursed the suspect and arrested him at the Central Buffet.



Two plainclothes officers arrived and collared the armed suspect in the vestibule of the store.



Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News / The man carrying the blade was taken to a hospital, where he was to be given a psychiatric evaluation.



We were too scared,” said Qi Wei, 23. “All I saw was two undercovers ... they came from that door and ran to there and grabbed him.”

The suspect was placed in an ambulance heading towards a nearby hospital, where he would be given a psychiatric evaluation.
Copied from http://www.nydailynews.com/

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