How Do You Fight?

During my recent visit to Japan for training, there was one overriding thing that I noticed about most of the black belts that I worked with. Now, if they were just having fun and aren’t really looking to be able to defend themselves against a determined attacker should they ever face one, then okay. But, if they really are looking to be proficient and have the ability to control a situation, then they probably shouldn’t be sending a clear and dangerous message to their attacker.

Here’s a question I shouldn’t be asking. After all, as a fellow who sells martial arts DVDs, I should be trying to sell you large amounts of everything, right? Because I prefer happy customers, let me answer this question. You don’t need much, when it comes to martial arts. The truth of the matter is that when a fight starts you only need a few workable techniques. And, sad truth of the matter, most of the martial arts being taught these days are pretty much filler. Karate, such as Shotokan, Uechi or Shito ryu, has dozens of forms, hundreds of techniques, fancy ways of taking apart an attacker, yet, all you need are the five or six that work. You need to isolate the five or six techniques that suit your mind and body, and then work them until they are second nature. There’s where the true discipline of the martial arts is, in spending the long lonely hours working just the important stuff until it works…every time. Kung Fu, such as Shaolin, has amazing routines filled with acrobatics, yet, when was the last time you saw somebody do a somersault in a fight, unless he was the one that was getting hit? Or, maybe you want the mysterious chi building exercises of such arts as Pa Kua or Tai Chi or Hsing I, but, again, how many fights have you seen where people use chi gung to win? Or, take kenpo, which has over five hundred death dealing techniques, virtually none of which work in the ring. Or Tae Kwon Do, with its amazing arsenal of kicks, but which kicks are of little value once the distance has closed.Or jujitsu, which has so many throws, but who can afford to take the time to roll around on a parking lot with more than one attacker to handle? These arts that I have mentioned, you see have weaknesses inherent within them. And it would appear that I am just bad mouthing arts. Actually, there is a madness behind my method. If you are interested in learninghow to defend yoursaelf quickly, find a course, maybe even just hang a punching bag and start pounding. A few months of calisthenics and sweat, and you will have what you want. This is all you need in the way of workable martial arts. But if you are like me, however, completely immersed in the martial arts, just cannot get enough of every system you see, then I have removed you from my arena, and given myself less distractions in the pursuit of my art. You see, all of those faults I have mentioned, I study all the arts and figure out ways to fix what is wrong, and I am an artist of The True Art. You want to be able to knock somebody down quick, go away, if you want the real thing, then be willing to go all the way.

Combatives expert Kelly mccann is a military and security analyst who was a US Marine special-missions officer responsible for counterterrorism and counter-narcotics. For more self-defense videos and articles,

There are many different types of self defense you should learn how to use if you are looking for methods of personal protection. These different types of defense include pepper spray, stun guns, and tasers. These are very effective methods of disabling a person so you can escape from the dangerous situation. Pepper spray is a self defense spray that is made of cayenne pepper. This spray is in an aerosol can and sprays in foams and even streams. This solution burns so bad that it will cause temporary disabling effects on a person for up to several hours. A person will be temporarily blinded, choke and gasp for air, and their skin will even burn. All of these effects are temporary and a person will not experience anything that is permanent to the person. You can stand up to 15 feet away from an assailant and the spray will be effective. You do not have to be close up. This type of self defense mechanism works for up to 30 minutes to several hours and gives you plenty of time to get away. Tasers are almost 100% effective in disabling a person and best for police work and catching someone. A taser works by sending jolts of electricity into a body and disables the nervous and the muscular system. Of over 3,000 people tested with a taser, not one person was not disabled and able to function with the jolts. A taser looks like a handgun. You hold it like a handgun, and you shoot it like a handgun. When using a taser you don’t have to be touching the assailant. You can stop someone from 15 feet away if you want to. Stun guns also send a jolt of wattage throughout the body but the stun guns only affect the nervous system. They are not considered to be as effective. Someone who is on heavy drugs or has a big build may not even feel the effects of a stun gun like they would a taser. Stun guns work very well on some people but they are not ideal. The reason is that the stun guns provide a shock and can disable a person for just a few seconds. You have to be touching the person physically with the stun gun for it to work which can be dangerous to get that close to find that the stun gun doesn’t work and not the attacker has you. There are many different types of self defense personal protection items you might consider. The most common are the stun guns, the pepper spray, and the tasers. All of these three types of self defense do not provide any permanent damage to a body nor do they lead to death. They are extremely safe methods of personal protection that give you enough time to escape the attacker. The pepper spray is the cheapest method and the most effective to use if you are looking for something that lasts a long time. A taser is the most effective and guaranteed to work but it only works when both darts make contact with the attacker.