Wednesday, January 01, 2020

Happy New Year 2020!

1/01/2020 11:00:00 AM    No comments





Happy New Year my Friends!

May you and your loved ones find Health, Happiness and Wealth in 2020!

Any resolutions for 2020? Please leave a comment.


Very truly yours in the MA and SD,

~ Stickgrappler

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Saturday, June 01, 2019

What Bruce Lee Taught Us by Badger Johnson

6/01/2019 11:00:00 AM  , , , , , , , ,  No comments



What BL taught us.

Development of short power, with the one and three inch punch. Studied Jack Dempsey and his drop-shift. Knew that the key element of patterns was incorporating the body energy or ground-path and not just arm strength, though didn’t say explicitly. However, also discovered a method of bringing short power just by over development of the forearm muscles and the wrist tilt punch.

Went beyond aphorisms, and flowery sayings, though he did include many from Krishnamurti and Zen sayings. Basically he was one of the first to relate deeper thoughts to personal combat. Others offered thoughts about military goals and tactics or mass combat, like Musashi’s Book of Five Rings and Sun Tzu’s Art of War, but not specifically personal combat.

Emphasized suddenness over sheer strength. Kinetic energy = 1/2 mv² - meaning the mass is much less significant than the velocity.

How to make weak things stronger especially those which are weak even on strong men. Upper back muscles, obliques, forearms, neck, abs, calves. He specifically worked on the bridge arm muscles allowing him to keep his arm raised and not pushed down.

Helped us understand how to analyze what’s important rather than what is showy, though didn’t say how explicitly. Emphasized the individual finding their best methods and abilities.

That hardening a body part is not the apex of MA. Better to harden a body system, such as wrist and forearm power.

It was fairly obvious that he was trying to think outside the box and to see outside the box.

Helps show us the path to self-coaching. Prompted people to analyze their own strengths and weaknesses, and to understand their limitations.

Mentally and physically explained how the build up was like a pyramid, with a base layer and a diamond-like pinnacle. Each level required the build up of the previous level, ending in a sharp point, beyond what might be possible without base building.

Adding nutrition and weight training and cross training even more than it was emphasized before.

How to find the best in other systems and then incorporate into your system.

He was not successful in getting across the ‘my forte may not be your forte’ - people just wanted to copy him.

Rather than tell us outright his secrets he dropped hints which made it worth looking deeper. Sometimes it’s better to hint than to just tell everything. IF you tell everything people undervalue it.

Concepts like ‘Fighting Without Fighting’, ‘Absorb What Is Useful’, ‘Having No Limitation As Limitation’, and other Zen-like sayings were incorporated into the body of knowledge for people to look more deeply into, giving the method more profound implications, and not just a gymnastic routine. (see the essay about the concept of Fighting Without Fighting)

Some sayings such as ‘Empty Your Cup’ are well-known but were not necessarily applied to combat. ”Obey the principles without being bound by them.” is also a good one, showing that to become great one must follow the principles, then, at the top levels of skill, ultimately break them. Interestingly some of his sayings change as one grows in mastery. ‘Hacking Away at the Non-essential’ may have a different meaning to beginners than to those with higher skill.

While others were saying to look for hidden meaning in fixed patterns he said ‘The truth is outside all fixed patterns’.

One thing that it’s important to do is not just to repeat his sayings but delve into the meaning, origin and deeper levels of the concept.

He figured out how to incorporate things like non-telegraphic action, non-intention movement into his fighting style, and using the ‘fast close’, make them actually work in practice. How do you do non-intention? You catch yourself doing a non-intention move and then reverse engineer it, and break it down for study. You can’t ‘intend’ to do non-intention. Once you have non-intention capability, you can then begin to predict or anticipate others’ movements before they themselves realize they’re doing them. This is one of the basis for ‘Attack by Drawing’ tactics.

He brought several fencing concepts into combat, among them, the ‘Five Ways of Attack’. He should have said “there may be more ways of attack than just five but you have to find them”. (see the essay on ‘the expansion of the five ways of attack’)

He taught that there were concepts such as “fitting in” to the opponent’s moves, not just opposing them. He emphasized the need for various types of broken rhythm, timing and tempo. You don’t use broken rhythm you break the opponent’s rhythm.

Not normally mentioned was that he had the concept of stage presentation or stage magic, or setting up the opponent to fail and himself to succeed. He used this whenever possible to give him a better than even chance to effect his moves and concepts. Such things even work in actual conflict, for example putting the Sun at your back and putting the glare into the opponent’s vision.

In movies, went from the endless superficial blocking and parrying to dynamic short fights.

Concept of how to go from zero to sixty in aggression or the use of a kill word and use of self-hypnosis to access the subconscious.

Realized that hardening body parts is worthless without a delivery system. You may have a hand grenade but if you can’t deliver it to the target it’s not worth much.

May have realized, though didn’t say directly, that aliveness, i.e. footwork, timing, resistance and energy were important aspects to have and to train. He did talk about all of them though didn’t give an overall concept.

He realized that for him his talent may have been in fighting but it’s not a very good way (at the time) to make a living so he went into films, instead. The lesson here is that being obsessed with fighting or combat or self-defense is kind of a ‘trap’. You can only sustain your edge or prowess or alertness for a short time. A fighter’s life-span is limited. Using a ‘firing solution’ (striking or engaging) is one of the last best options one should use to resolve conflict.

A few things he had not yet developed:

1. Grappling flow and ground fighting flow - his grappling method was more of a collection of tricks than an understanding of rolling and guard and mount.

2. Mobile kicking - he didn’t have a complete concept for ‘mobile kicking’ which is using ‘unweighting’ and a high chamber position to bridge the gap. There is a sequence in Return of the Dragon where he bridges the gap using a short skip step against Bob Wall. But he doesn’t conceptualize this in his writings. Though he only gains a few inches with that kick it uses the principle of dynamic chambering and unweighting to close the gap and land the technique. I don't believe he understood it as a 'concept' since he had not incorporated it into his other kicks and was still doing the step up and chamber which is intrinsically slower.

Real-time of the 4 kicks in this scene

Slow motion on the initiation of the 1st, 2nd and 4th kicks

3. Transitions - may have had entering to trapping to grappling but not so much a concept of grip fighting, pummeling and sprawl. He had not fully incorporated the various methods of wrestling take-downs.

4. Did he have an understanding of or a method of testing for durability, or resistance to punishment? We don’t know if BL had a good chin or was fragile. He had small bones and a small frame.


Please check out Badger Johnson's other essays:


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Friday, May 17, 2019

Against One Who Scares Us by Badger Johnson

5/17/2019 11:00:00 AM  , , , , , ,  No comments




The Predator Who Scares Us

One of the more interesting comments made by a person in the original Usenet group rec.martial.arts, allegedly female MA-ist is this, regarding use of self-defense methods and tools:

“…against the person who scares me…”

All too often we see demonstrations by compliant people, sometimes by a person with a partner who is female or much smaller than they are, or just another student in their class.

Sparring vs fighting for your life
While sparring, in a class we are just playing a game with a fellow student, exchanging moves, almost taking turns.

Though in tournaments it’s different, generally you are matched with someone of similar if not equal skill, and you are trying to ‘score points’. Of course, modern MMA and sub-grappling tournaments the action is faster, somewhat more dangerous. Participants have higher skill and to the layperson seem quite above their ability.

 Who Actually Needs Self-defense Training?
Let’s talk about actual self-defense. We sometimes see very large, burly, 6’3”+ people giving a demo, and giving opinions on what to do. But in truth, the people who need self-defense are smaller, female, younger, the elderly, or even the partially disabled.

A technique should be comprised of “non-attribute-based methods”, which a less physically endowed can use. In some cases it should be admitted that for a 5’5” female (or smaller person) to attempt to use a physical move in hand-to-hand is not going to be successful. In that case the smaller female needs to have a force multiplier, such as a weapon or even a firearm, or perhaps a partner who might also be armed.

Compliant Demonstration Partners
When a demo is shown it should not be done with a compliant partner, but, if possible with a person who is actually a threat against the person showing the technique. Now, this is not always possible as there are some very large and muscular persons who lead martial arts schools (such as Mas Oyama, Bruce Lee or Rickson Gracie). In that event the demo is going to be misleading. Those adepts can make the simplest move effective. Compared to them every opponent is essentially unskilled. Thus following their example, what is sometimes called the ‘Founder Problem’, is sometimes less helpful for the normal person.

Attributes and abilities
Let’s look at attributes and abilities. Sometimes people talk about being able to use martial arts or self-defense moves against another person who they might claim is untrained in them. But it does not address the skills that an actual predator may possess. A true predator is someone who has significant experience using force and persuasion on another person and has a long history of success. Experience, you could say, is the ultimate teacher.

The Untrained, But High Attribute Athlete
If you consider a person who is untrained in martial arts but who is a professional athlete in another sport, for example a running back in a pro-football league, who routinely goes up against other players who are wearing pads and helmets, essentially body armor, and who are using steroids or other performance enhancing substances, you get a real sense as to just how ineffective a physical move might be against such a person who is physically attacking someone.

Could the typical martial artist (non-professional) use a grab release or a throw against such a person who was determined to defeat them? Why don’t people we see doing demos bring in such a person to show their moves against? Why wouldn’t Wing Chun players get a college level grappler to come in and let them show their ‘anti-grappling’ moves? Generally the answer is the don’t understand the scope and depth of the problem or the weakness in their approach, so they treat it somewhat lightly.

It’s because the basis of almost all traditional martial arts and most self-defense instructors relies on a somewhat compliant opponent to make their moves work. Imagine a typical demo where the instructor has a 6’5” pro football running back as their demo partner who is trying to win a bet for $100 or who is told the instructor harmed their child (as motivation), trying to show the typical ‘stick your arm out and I’ll do five moves and hit you’ sequence. They wouldn’t dare.

Watching Demonstrations Closely
So the next time you watch a demo, think about how it might work (or not) against a person who really scares the person demonstrating it. Don’t let someone show a 5’5” female being attacked by a 6’2” partner and the female throwing the partner around - it’s a fantasy. Without such fantasies, one might say that trying to use hand-to-hand techniques in self-defense is basically a high risk, low benefit approach. Against a serious self defense threat one needs a disparity of force (such as a weapon, particularly a firearm) or a partner who is trained to assure a positive outcome.

Don’t be fooled by subtly compliant demos showing small people beating large people in a ‘sparring’ match. Even if the smaller person is using non-attribute-based methods, you can assume the opponent is unlikely to be highly motivated, and maybe even over-awed by the person’s reputation. Challenge your instructor to base their methods against a motivated person who scares them.

Professional Athletes vs Amateur Players
Above all remember that amateur athletes playing pick-up ball can’t hope to beat a pro athlete, and martial arts should always be considered a hobby, not a first option against a real threat. Always seek to deescalate, defuse, escape, evade, partner up, and if allowable by law, be armed. Even being armed is not very reliable unless you are partnered up, which is why law enforcement was traditionally done with a partner who could stand back outside of the reactive range and provide cover and back up.

Final Thoughts
Against a predator that scares you, the method should be a layered defense in the home, partnering in the field, and awareness of legal ramifications should a firing solution be required.

In Summary
  1. Find ways to understand your opponent, and how not to underestimate the threat.
  2. Always partner up. If you don’t have one enlist one. Remember predators also work with a partner.
  3. You can’t do it alone, even if heavily armed. This is why traditionally LE works as a team. One in the red zone, one outside seeing clearly.
  4. Use a layered defense - don’t rely on a single option.
  5. Don’t overestimate the effectiveness of single self-defense moves, or collections of tricks.
  6. Learn how to break down demonstrated moves - watch the opponent not the demonstrator.
  7. Appreciate the necessity for having energy, timing, and motion or footwork in your approach to self-defense.
  8. Stress-test your approach and methods, using internal methods - target practice, and external methods simmunition or paintball gaming
  9. Evaluate your weak points and the vulnerable areas in day-to-day practices, particularly parking lots, driving and after-dark activities.
  10. From time-to-time, tear down your methods and build them back up to refresh outdated methods.
  11. Remember that high attribute methods degrade over time.
  12. Train with your partner using internal and external methods. Develop emergency cues for action.




Please check out Badger Johnson's other essays:


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Tuesday, October 02, 2018

Inktober 2018 - Day #2: Fundamentals: Grips

10/02/2018 11:00:00 AM  , , , , , , , ,  No comments

Welcome to Inktober 2018 Day 2!

Inktober is an event where artists draw 1 picture for each day in the month of October. This year's focus/theme will be on the staff/spear with my notes. Please forgive my crappy picture of the page.

Enjoy!










NOTES

  1. Palm Up/Down grip - Fight initially at long ranges and can rapidly shift hands to center of staff for close-quarters. Powerful long and short strikes using 'push-pull' action of the hands.
  2. Palms Down grip - For close-quarters and levering. Effective for blocking and pushing.
  3. Baseball bat grip - Facilitates rapid, circular, flourishing attacks, where the staff makes a series of vertical spins to block and strike. Best for 5-6 feet staves. If hands closer together, can deliver powerful strikes like holding a baseball bat.
  4. Single-end grip - Used at long range. Facilitates long- and medium- range fights. Can deliver fast long-range thrusts.
  5. Reverse grip - Good for ascending strikes or levering between legs for takedowns/trips.

KEY POINTS

  1. Some grips may be better for attacks, blocks or both.
  2. Practice various grips in various situations.

SOURCES

  1. McLemore, Dwight C. "The Fighting Staff". Paladin Press, 2009.
  2. Demura, Fumio. "Bo:  Karate Weapon of Self-Defense". Ohara Publications, 1976.
  3. Varady, Joe. "The Art and Science of Staff Fighting". YMAA Publication Center, 2016.


My drawings for Inktober 2018 (this will be updated daily to add links to each subsequent picture in the series):





Inktober 2017's focus was predominately knifefighting and if you want to check it out, please visit my Projects page.

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Monday, October 01, 2018

Inktober 2018 - Day #1: Fundamentals: Staff Lengths

10/01/2018 11:00:00 AM  , , , , , , , ,  No comments

Welcome to Inktober 2018 Day 1!

Inktober is an event where artists draw 1 picture for each day in the month of October. There is an official prompt list for the picture of each day. Last year, I put my own spin to Inktober by focusing each drawing on the martial arts. After the first few pictures, I decided to focus on 1 theme for the whole month. Last year's focus was knifefighting and if you want to check it out, please visit my Projects page.

This year's focus/theme will be on the staff/spear. I am ambitious with this project, will do my best to post 1 picture a day. I also will be jotting down notes to each drawing as after all, I'm trying to learn staff/spear. Additionally, I need to hone my 'gesture drawing' skills as it will be beneficial for notes taking after a martial arts class/seminar. Drawing and notes will be on an 8.5" x 11" paper and I will collect them into a folder.

Enjoy!






NOTES

  1. "...you shall stand upright, holding the staff upright close by your body, with your left hand, reaching with your right hand your staff as high as you can, and then allow to that length a space to set both your hands, when you come to fight, wherein you may conveniently strike, thrust, and ward, & that is the just length to be made according to your stature."
    ~George Silver's Paradoxes of Defense (1599)
  2. George Silver is saying length of staff is determined by one's height.
  3. Waist height and shoulder height - best to use sword techniques
  4. Some Chinese styles consider eyebrow height as ideal
  5. Chinese and Germans used 8'-12' staves.


KEY POINTS

  1. Shoulder height or shorter, use the staff as a sword.
  2. Eyebrow height (~5') up to 12', use staff techniques.

SOURCES

  1. McLemore, Dwight C. "The Fighting Staff". Paladin Press, 2009.
  2. Lindholm, David. "Fighting with the Quarterstaff". Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006.



My drawings for Inktober 2018 (this will be updated daily to add links to each subsequent picture in the series):




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Saturday, August 11, 2018

In Memory of: Bob Orlando (Oct 26, 1944 - Aug 11, 2016)

8/11/2018 10:54:00 AM  , , ,  No comments

Bob Orlando passed away 2 yrs ago on this date. Bob Orlando lost his long fight with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Bob Anselmo Orlando
Lakewood, Colorado
Oct 26, 1944 - Aug 11, 2016

As tribute, I'm archiving his "Author of the Month" entry from the now defunct Paladin Press.




PALADIN PRESS
Author of the Month

BOB ORLANDO -- September 1996



Bob Orlando was introduced to the martial arts while on active duty in the U.S. Marines (1961-1964). However, it was not until after he left the service that the flicker of interest kindled overseas became his consuming fire and he began serious study in Chinese kenpo-karate. Shortly thereafter he switched to kung fu, studying under Al Dacascos (who was then teaching in Denver, Colorado) for three years until a back operation made it impossible to continue in that high-kicking style. It was back to Chinese kenpo, where Bob received his first-degree blackbelt from Dr. John P. Cochran. Although Bob has subsequently earned additional rank, he prefers to say that he is a student of the arts and leave it at that. "Rank," he says, "is excess baggage. It becomes a hindrance to learning because everyone expects that you already know everything."
Ever a student of the arts, Bob's quest for knowledge has taken him into aikido, iaido, arnis de mano, and escrima. However, what has impacted him the most are the years spent studying Chinese kuntao and Indonesian pentjak silat under Dutch-Indonesian master Willem de Thouars. After nearly 12 years of training with de Thouars, Bob received his teaching certificate from him in 1994. He now owns and operates his own martial arts school in Denver.
In addition to authoring Indonesian Fighting Fundamentals: The Brutal Arts of the Archipelago, Bob, a graduate of a Jesuit university, has also written numerous articles for both national and local publications and has just completed his second book, Martial Arts America: A Western Approach to Eastern Arts, which he expects to have published sometime next year.

No longer a tournament competitor, Bob still supports tournament and sport karate. As a founding member and past director of the Colorado Karate Association (CKA) -- a nonprofit organization that works to provide competitors with a positive tournament environment -- Bob believes that the arts' sporting element still provides training benefits for the serious practitioner. He currently serves as one of the CKA's top referees. 

Although he is not a "professional" martial artist, Bob, a computer professional for more than 30 years, still considers himself a "full-time" martial artist, because he studies and trains constantly. His school is a small one, and that's just the way he wants it. "Our school is our laboratory. There, we test everything from the practicality of forms training and techniques to the latest craze in self-defense. We have a formal curriculum -- from white to black belt -- but it is not set in stone. For us, the concrete is never quite dry."
Of his own abilities, Bob says, "I have many skills. After nearly three decades in the arts, I ought to. But my skills came not because of any natural talent, but because I worked very hard to get to where I am today. My fortés are my analytical mind and my ability to share what I know with others. I take the complicated and make it simple. I am a teacher."
An experienced seminar presenter, Bob is available for seminars and may be reached by email at borlando@amoco.com.


Index of Paladin Press site archived pages:


Stickgrappler's Note: I am guessing the Paladin site will be shut down at the end of the 2017 year and I'm archiving select Paladin Press pages to my blog to preserve an essential part of martial arts from 1970-2017. Archiving some of the Paladin "Author of the Month".

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Thursday, August 09, 2018

Not Martial Trained, But Fighting Fit by Badger Johnson

8/09/2018 11:00:00 AM  , ,  No comments



Not Martial Trained, But Fighting Fit.

Let’s say you wanted to be good at fighting but did not want to study a martial art. What would you do?

As I mentioned earlier, I did a few things as a kid that made me a good fighter and I didn’t realize it.

I marched in a HS band, football games and parades. Those parades were from 3-5 miles long as I recall. The Macy’s parade is 5.5 miles. We marched in a relatively flat location in Tidewater, Va. I played a trombone which is not easy to play loudly and not light to carry for that long. We also dressed in wool uniforms with parade dress shoes and plumed hat. We were also required to ‘high step it’ when marching especially since the trombones were in the front. This gave me good cardio and increased my lung power (intercostals and diaphragm).

Around the age of 15 I built a log cabin about 10’ by 12’ about six big logs high, and dug out the floor to have an underground part. I used a hand axe, not a long axe. It took a couple months of daily chopping, dragging, digging and notching. I didn’t realize how much forearm strength it would give me, it was something I did for fun. Very good for shoulders and forearms and grip.

I delivered papers on a regular bike, I think one-speed with a huge basket on the front. It took about forty minutes to deliver them, but I had to pedal about 1/2 mile to pick them up and then 1/2 mile back. That gave me leg strength and added to my ‘wind’.

I lived near a wooded area so we were always climbing trees. I was the best at the rope climb in gym class.

So, I would say to build a fighting base, work on the following:
  1. Overdevelop the forearms, calves, shoulders and neck (to absorb strikes?). Forearms and hands give you extra grip-fighting capability. Calves give you the ability to be explosive. Shoulders allow strength in striking and also endurance to hold your hands up in guard. Practice some kind of jumping, even if sandlot basketball.
  2. Work on method to develop your cardio in the five ranges, and include burst, which is explosive ability for a few vital seconds. You can get this sprinting up hills, dragging a weighted sled and pedaling a bike uphill. (You also improve your lung power when playing a brass instrument).
  3. Play games. Frisbee, basketball pickup games, any running games, tag, or volleyball or soccer in school. This gives you ability to change direction and start and stop.
  4. Learn some kind of dancing. Again, that gives you cardio without really noticing it. It gives you rhythm and timing. You also get rhythm by playing a musical instrument. You get exposed to grace notes and subdividing the beat. This is good for broken rhythm.
  5. Use handheld tools. We played stick fighting and chopped trees and dug underground forts and shoveled snow and cut grass.

What about grappling? Well we grappled and wrestled as kids but without a lot of guidance. I did a semester of wrestling in grade school and junior high so I had an idea of what to do. I’d say this is an area where you most need some formal training. It’s reasonable, say around the age of 15-18 to get some BJJ training and to work on takedowns and grip fighting.

So without all of the formal martial arts stuff, bowing and kata and trying to kick high, you’d be a pretty formidable fighter when needed, though you might not win any formal championships, but again, how many people really need that. I was just living the life of a kid and young adult in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

It’s about building layers. Some attribute development through other base training, some focused work with a goal is needed. You might also need to have a role in mind, a temporary person or idea you put out there as a beacon or idol. But later you become your own hero.

© Badger Johnson, August 2018

 Stickgrappler's note:  Badger Johnsons follow-up essay on the 7 essential abilities needed to be fighting fit.

Hope this helps!


Please check out Badger Johnson's other essays:

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Tuesday, July 24, 2018

I fought at my first Dog Brothers Gathering!

7/24/2018 11:00:00 AM  , , , ,  1 comment

Photo Credit:  http://www.montrealmartialarts.com

This is my AAR (After Action Report) of my first ever Dog Brothers Gathering.

Many people who train the martial arts don't train stickfighting with minimal protection. For those that do train stickfighting, many don't fight at a Dog Brothers Gathering. And I'm guessing there are few people in their 50's with ~2 years of training going to a Gathering and might I add that the Gathering was in a different country to boot! I did all that ... WOW!

Enjoy!



July  21, 2018, Saturday
Gelinas Academy of Mixed Martial Arts
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

1 warm up knife fight (90 seconds)

And 5 fights (2 minutes each)  ...  I wanted one more fight but I took too long a break after eating a granola bar and a protein bar in addition to drinking 2 bottles of water. It was the 7th Canadian Dog Brothers Gathering so 7 fights would've been nice. Only 6 total fights though for a total time of 11.5 minutes between 11:00-3:30. My body is still achy all over after 2 days from only 11.5 mins of stickfighting!


1. Knife fight vs Wandering Dog/Shawn Zirger

I thought he got 3 clean kills but after the fight he said he only got one, the other 2 were not deadly. He said I sliced his forearm with a clean hit. We have been online friends for a long time and glad we finally met! The day after the Gathering he taught a block of material that blew my mind. If you have a chance, go train with Wandering Dog!

Wandering Dog:


"Was great to meet and get the day started with you."

2. Single stick with Foxhound/Matt Berry

We agreed to no knee shots and no grappling on the ground. He was recovering from an injury. He tried 2 spinning back kicks which missed ... on his 2nd kick I was able to hit his leg .... not hard but hard enough that IIRC he acknowledged it. He hit me quite a few times. He hits hard. Got me on my left elbow. He switched from his Dominant/right to his Complementary/left and I almost switched also. I fought with my Complementary Hand (Left). My Brother, "Dog" Chris, yelled at me, "It's your first Gathering. You are not left-handed. Switch to your right!" As it was my first Gathering, he felt I shouldn't have handicapped myself further especially against a Full Dog Brother who is a well-rounded martial artist and scary fighter.

But I am proud I stuck to my Complementary Hand ... I was very close to switching to my Dominant Hand though! But I resisted the urge. Towards the end of the fight I was driving him into the cage and got him pinned and was going to try for a "cameltoe" takedown but the bell rang.

Foxhound:

"Huge thanks and love to my opponents ...
@stickgrappler (huge respects to this man!!)"

"@stickgrappler you were great! Fighting Full Dog Brothers right off the bat?? I knew I had to play tricks on you right away, I am humbled to be a part of your first Gathering. I will be down to NYC to train with you fine folks before the Open. As far as I am concerned, though, you're a proven StickFighter!!"

3. Double sticks vs Candidate Chili Pepper Dog/Badger Jones

I may have hit his hands a few times. I blocked with my head way too many times though LOL. He hit me with 1 rib shot and 2x on my forearms. He said I telegraphed. We didn't get a chance to chat about our fight. We have been online friends for a long time and glad we finally met. I have been training the Cavewoman series and it didn't manifest in this fight despite me using it in our training group sparring. Much to work on.

C-Chili Pepper Dog:

"- Jack Lee, double stick, despite your self-deprecation, you showed good technique and power and took on a lot of heavy hitters for your first Gathering. (also, nice to finally meet you after some 20-odd vears of online discussion)"

4. Double sticks vs Sage Dog/Roger Whissel

62 yrs old, hip replacement last year and also Ascended to Full Dog Brother last year. We agreed to no grappling and no knee shots. HE HITS HARD EVEN THOUGH HE'S 62!!! Got hit in my head with his Caveman (diagonal slash down) from his Dominant/right hand. The first ever head shot where my head felt the hit! All other head shots I ever got I can hear I got hit but the mask took the hit and my head didn't feel those ... he hit me in my left elbow where I had bursitis a few years ago. Swollen now. Hit me on the ribs with nasty looking stick hickey that hurt a little but is nothing. At one point, he dropped one stick and I let him pick it up. We have been online friends for a long time and glad we finally met.

Sage Dog:

"You were awesome my friend. Thanks for the fight."

5. Single stick vs Kevin Fillman

His 2nd Gathering ...  nephew of Sage Dog. Forgot to say no knee shots to him prior to the fight ... he went 2x for my knee and I avoided except for the first where he hit me on my thigh. Stick hickey from thigh disappeared already. Lost my stick ... don't recall if he hit my hand, hit my stick hard or I just dropped. IIRC he said he hit my stick hard and I dropped it then. I clinched and pinned him vs cage as he repeatedly hit my head ... I tried to control his stick arm to no avail. After the fight he said he never fought a lefty before and that after his right dominant hand Caveman strike it was easy for a lefty to hit his forearm which I did (I was able to use "follow the force"). I told him that my Dominant hand is my right and I fought with my Complementary hand and he was surprised!

After this fight on Saturday, Wandering Dog offered some words of advice which sounded cryptic at first. After Sunday's seminar in which he taught a block of material from his current martial arts research that he was reluctant to share initially, his advice from the previous day was crystal clear!

Kevin Fillman:
"Thank you for the kind moves and also the fight. You made me have to adapt to your style. Thank you for the lesson"


6. Single stick vs Candidate Painted Dog/Liam Burke

It was late in the day, fewer and fewer Fighters were lining up. He was sitting down in the spectators section and was tired. On an earlier Facebook post of a mutual friend, he encouraged me to show up and that he would be honored to fight me. I asked him if he still had a fight left in him and despite being tired, he wanted to go with a technical fight with machete. Told him I'm a stick guy and I offered to fight a technical single stick fight. He said with sticks he didn't think it can be technical. He thought about it for a little and said ok ... we were the penultimate fight. Forgot to say no knee shots before we started and he kept going after my knee! I didn't think to hit his head as he went for my knee :( After the fight he said I was the only one he fought today to adapt mid-fight. I think his first drift shot grazed my thigh... then he went for more drift shots and I cross-stepped or 'elastico' back on those shots  and avoided his knee shots. I really don't remember now how I was able to avoid his drift shots. All his previous fights of the day he landed his drift shots at the knee. At first I didn't know he was a Candidate Dog Brother and during dinner I looked up the Fighters List and found out... if I knew I may not have requested the fight ... LOL at me!

C-Painted Dog:

"Glad I didn't hit you in the knee. Drift shots to the leg have been a huge part of my game these days.

You're being modest and you did damn well. It was an honour to fight you and I hope to continue sharing growth with you."


Due to my Family/financial situation with Princess Stickgrappler #1 in 2nd year of college, Princess SG #2 a junior in high school and SG Jr a high school freshman, I may not get to go to another Gathering to test myself until SG Jr is out of college in 7 yrs. I would be 60 then and may not fight at a Gathering at that age despite this Gathering having seen Tuhon Phil Gelinas aka Sled Dog, 65, a 63 yr old gentleman recovering from his stroke and fighting at his first Gathering and 62 yr old Sage Dog fighting.

Nothing broken ... swollen elbow only. Nothing lost. Everything gained!

MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO MY FRIENDS/OPPONENTS WHO TAUGHT ME WHAT I NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON AND FOR MAKING MY FIRST GATHERING AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!

ALSO TO DEFENDER DOG AND THE REST OF THE DBMA NYC TRAINING GROUP FOR HELPING ME PREPARE FOR THIS! YOU ALL HELP AN OLD MAN REALIZE ONE OF HIS DREAMS! THANK YOU!!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST MY SINCEREST AND DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO MY FAMILY FOR THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND LETTING ME GO DO SOMETHING CRAZY!!

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Thursday, July 05, 2018

The Art of Fighting Without Fighting by Badger Johnson

7/05/2018 11:00:00 AM  , , ,  No comments


One of the most important concepts that Bruce Lee and others (Sun Tzu) talked about is ‘Fighting without Fighting’.

Why is this important? It involves a methodology of dealing with conflict that gives a successful outcome, with a minimum of subsequent issues. It is a way to empower individuals to handle daily life. It gives an alternative to simply butting heads, using logical and sensible tactics. It is both a way of acting and a thought process and something one can practice and affords personal growth. Below are some ideas. As always research carefully the ‘how’ of enacting these methods in your own situation. Not all of them may be applicable to everyone.

Twenty-Five Examples of Methods of Fighting Without Fighting.

1. Do Not Be The Enemy - Define, or redefine your enemy. Often it is yourself. Sometimes we ‘need’ our enemies to keep us vigilant. The body needs stressors to keep its defenses strong.

2. The Brain - Use your brain, your best weapon, find a way to put the enemy on bad footing, or in a situation where they self-defeat.

3. The Art of Interception - Bruce Lee talks about the art of interception. We must intercept the opponent’s intent, their opportunity and their methods, not only up close but at a distance. Intercept motive, means and opportunity.

4. Make Careful Choices - Choose your battles carefully.

5. Seek To Make A Friend - Make the enemy your friend or at least see their side and thus deescalate things.

6. Be The Gray Man - Use stealthy methods, be transparent, leave no trace. Striking causes wounds which can be used as complicit evidence. Be the ‘gray man’.

7. Multiple Fronts - Encounter the opponent on multiple fronts. You can use overwhelming methods to defeat that which you might not defeat on a single front.

8. Define Your Enemy - By defining your opponent I mean not just carefully researching them, it, him, but look beyond an individual. Your opponent might be fatigue, or lack of self-knowledge or lack of preparation. It could be internal or external. It could be an idea, a prejudice which is keeping you confined.

9. Laying Traps - One way to intercept the opponent is by laying traps. If you know an action will make the opponent go right or left, lay a trap where they will go. Understanding the opponent is paramount because you can not predict what they will do to lay a trap if you have not understood their motivation.

10. The Subtle Beats The Overt - Seek subtle means over overt means, because those use less energy.

11. Limit Your Damage - Before you engage the enemy, try to make sure that though you might take damage you can survive and not be destroyed should you lose any particular engagement.

12. Seek The Successful - Look for real world examples of how success is achieved, analyze that success for principles you can incorporate.

13. Do Not Fear Failure - The best teacher is failure, so don’t be too afraid of failing in any one encounter. You learn and can come back and win later.

14. Be Elsewhere - The best way to win a battle is often not to be there. While your opponent is engaging and expending energy you are somewhere else.

15. Anticipate Early - Anticipating danger and trouble is part of interception, it doesn’t necessarily mean you never seek to engage, just engage on your terms.

16. Blow It Off - In any conflict if possible, always seek to ‘blow it off’. Let time pass. There’s less chance for unnecessary or unpleasant repercussions or backlash.

17. Poker Face - Avoid showing your intent, or plans. It may cause the enemy to fear your level of threat. Poker face.

18. Do Not Gloat - Once you have succeeded in solving without conflict avoid the tendency to gloat over your success. Allow the enemy to save face.

19. Do No Harm - Adopt a ‘first do no harm’ approach to conflict and resolution.

20. Do Not Be Drawn In - Try never to be drawn needlessly into an ego-driven conflict.

21. Do Not Cling - Learn and practice ways not to cling to a goal or an object. Do not cling to the need to be right or wrong.

22. Add Your New Findings - If you need victory at times, consider adding a new method of resolution to your list that you get from experience. You have added a new tool toward self-mastery. That kind of victory will last.

23. The Six Diseases - Study and work at solving the six diseases of excessive self-consciousness.
“The six diseases are:
  • The desire for victory;
  • The desire to resort to technical cunning;
  • The desire to display all that he has learned;
  • The desire to overawe the enemy;
  • The desire to play a passive role;
  • The desire to get rid of whatever disease he is likely to be infected with.”
24. Practice What You Learn - As part of the process one should seek ways to practice and perfect the art of fighting without fighting.

25. Avoid Ego Battles - Seek the 10,000 foot view on issues. This will help one to not be caught up in ego-battles with strangers.

© Badger Johnson 2018



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Friday, June 22, 2018

Vengeance (1970) - Mala fight - GIFs and video

6/22/2018 11:00:00 AM  , , , ,  No comments



Friends, it's Friday and you know what that means? It's "Flexible Friday"! I can hear you asking what is "Flexible Fridays"? LOL

On some Fridays this year, I will post a video and an animated GIF set from Movies/TV featuring a flexible weapon in use. Today's Flexible Friday features a fight from the Shaw Brothers classic film, Vengeance (1970), where a BG (bad guy) uses a mala (a string of beads) on David Chiang.

Enjoy!







The scene spliced into 3 animated GIFs.

 





Some of the isolated actions from the scene:











(Begin Billy Mays voice) "But wait, there's more!"  :)  (/voice)
3 bonus GIFs

 
 



Please check my Projects page for more videos/GIFs on Flexible Weapons in Movies/TV.

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How Bruce Lee may have improved skill using biofeedback by Badger Johnson

6/22/2018 11:00:00 AM  , , ,  No comments



The method of improving a skill…

In martial arts, a skill would be a way to be more effective.

1) Identify the skill needed correctly. That means applying a criteria set to assure one is not working towards a relatively unhelpful skill.

2) Find a way to measure the skill, establish a baseline, then find a way to measure the skill improvements. Ideally, this method of measuring should be similar to the human paradigm and be able to break down improvements into fine increments. For example you may want to measure the ability to increase speed. First you break down speed into components. You have MPH speed, initial speed, reaction speed, movement speed. If you can separate these, then build even a small increase into each then when you add them back into technique speed, they may be able to synergize and give a bigger improvement. All improvement would probably need to incorporate bio-feedback. It’s known that some functions and abilities do respond to biofeedback if you can find the method. You can even improve certain functions of the body thought to be involuntary (BP, pulse rate, maybe even synapse firing). You would need a way to show the effect - for example an oscilloscope or a meter of some kind, like a reflex timer.

If you were just trying to ‘move faster’ with no idea of your actual speed or you increase or get an improvement you might succeed better doing some kind of training, yet never know it. Being able to monitor even small improvements is essential, since the increase of something as fine-tuned as speed could be in very subtle stages.

If you were trying to improve power, say power in hitting you could have a power meter such as a punching pad which would give impact in specific digital terms. You could the experiment and find the various methods. You could start just measuring your favorite moves to establish a base-line. Then you’d break moves down into thirds (a favorite method of Bruce Lee’s [BL]) and then work to build power in each, trying to do two basic things. First you’d want to remove all barriers to power such as tensing opposing muscles, then you’d want to be bio-mechanically perfect - no wasted movements or out of synch movements.

You’d look at the various attributes such as speed, power, fluidity, chaining moves, assisting moves, foot movements, and methods of getting ground-path involved. Drop step, body inclination, hip rotation, hip pivot, and so forth would be studied. You’d want to reduce the recoil of your power transfer so you weren’t getting a return jolt and assure all the force was going into the opponent.

3) You would look at the combination of availability and delivery system on the body’s vital or crucial systems. One method would be to view the body as a machine. The body functions on levers and hydraulics and bellows (breathing) and circulation. You’re want to have a consideration of a way to interrupt or disrupt one or more of those mechanical systems. This was popularized back in the 80s by Ron Van Clief, surprisingly. By using this method you can isolate and discriminate your approach. You’re not just saying ‘oh, hit the solar plexus’, you’re saying hit it how, (delivery system) and why (disrupts the circulation, nervous system and breathing). Indeed there might be other ways to view the weaknesses and functions of the human body but this is one of them.

Another is to ‘control the head’. This is a good approach because it’s very simple. You can often find a way to control, grab, encircle, trap or otherwise restrict the head. Then you have control over the sensory systems, the balance, the hearing, and even the breathing, You may be able to do a simple head trap and then follow up fairly easy. This is the method I did back in the 80s when I was to fight (spar) two opponents. I calmly stepped forward and put my hand behind the larger opponent’s head in almost a calm motion and bent him forward at the waist. From there it was easy to get a lapel choke position but just to hold him there. I used his body as a support to throw a kick and hit the other opponent. This was so totally unexpected the first opponent, when I let him go, ran over and grabbed his clothes and knapsack and ran out of the studio. He did not see the soft head trap as a danger and so was lulled into moving with me and not resisting at first, but by then it was too late.

5. Another method is to use apparatus to improve various functions. You can unleash on an apparatus much more readily than on an opponent even if they are wearing protective gear. You can spring load the apparatus to not ‘disrupt’ unless sufficient force was applied and have a variable setting. This is just biofeedback in a different form. It’s why BL had James Lee build the various pieces of equipment, each with a specific skill set to improve in its design.

6. Certainly there are skill sets which are more of base building than specific. You can build broad systems, mitochondrial density, nerve pathways, hypertrophy, vascular supply and cortisol clearance. There may be other skill sets you can work with that are not well known. It’s known that things like learning to juggle which has been shown to build the cortical or cerebellar regions of the brain (1). I would think doing things like variable sinawali would also build those systems, as well as hand juggling (Balisong manipulation and knife flipping) could improve the ability to ‘break down time increments’.

7. A good example of being able to break down time is to study music. We have ‘grace notes’, syncopation, rhythm and beat and those can be translated it things like ‘insertions’ when doing energy drills. Sinawali takes a three part rhythm and makes it more accessible. People normally work in a 1-2 manner not in ‘triplets’, as in 1-2-3, which are inherently faster. Here you develop ‘fast eyes’, as Guro Dan Inosanto calls it.

8. Working on the previously discussed non-intention speed and non-telegraphic speed is important. You can film yourself and watch the videos to find imperfections and to enable you to smooth out movements. They have things like force plates which and be used with biometric filming to help a golfer develop a better swing. Those could be adapted to be used in martial arts.

To bring this into perspective - when BL was working on his ability to hit 4-5 taped together pine boards which were free hanging, using a stepping side kick he didn’t just keep trying to do it as a whole skill. I believe he would have broken it down into steps and sequences, maybe figured out the force of his kick and the force needed to break them and worked on methods and positions to bring those up to the required speed and power. He’d have used machines and graduated methods.

(1) https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17957-learning-to-juggle-grows-brain-networks-for-good/





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Stickgrappler's Sojourn of Septillion Steps