What About Board Breaking?

Recently, a friend of mine who is a black belt, suggested I get some breaking boards to work with the next time I get some friends together to work out. I was expecting to him to say that, before the day was over. Perhaps the first image that one has upon hearing the words "martial arts" or "Karate" is that of a practitioner breaking through a stack of boards or bricks with a powerful side kick or reverse punch. It's become such a basic facet of martial arts lore and tradition that few people stop to consider what it's for or whether it's even useful. And that's the point of this blog post.

Board breaking is used to demonstrate a practitioner's perfection of technique: form, power, balance, etc. One person holds the board, or several in a stack, if the practitioner is really good, and the other executes a specific strike in attempt to break it.The boards are usually made of pine and vary in thickness. This practice, along with Kata, has become one of the most important facets of most classical martial arts curriculum. Instructors and students alike will swear by it and it is required in all belt testing.

There are certain issues I must take up against board breaking. First, it's a gimmick. Breaking a board only means one thing: you can break a board. Boards do not move, hit back, or even feel like a real opponent. If someone stacks up ten boards and side kicks through them all in one shot, that same person might miss an opponent who can only break two boards but spent more time on footwork. It's not a coincidence that few champion board breakers become champion full contact fighters. If board and brick breaking were proof of real life technique mastery, then why doesn't the world champion brick and board breaker enter into the UFC and break Anderson Silva or Frankie Edgar in half with the same move they used to split ten cinder blocks? All they would have to do is hit them once, right?

Consider this: If a fighter becomes undisputed world champion by using fast techniques with a little power, deceptive speed and good timing and can break three or four boards with the same moves, is he less advanced than other practitioners who can break ten boards with their classical methods? Is their technique "better", or is there more to technique development than how many boards you can break? Why are we judging techniques that were designed to enforce our will over our opponent by how well they damage the fibers found in one inch slats of American pine? How does "enforcement of will" relate to "disruption of cellulose"?

Master Fighters and Master Teachers: Are They The Same?

Is your martial arts instructor a master fighter? Must an instructor be an expert at performing the techniques he or she teaches their students? This question has been the subject of much discussion and rightfully so. If your instructor must be an expert fighter to be an expert teacher of fighting, this would considerably narrow the field of good instructors. This view of "master teacher is a master fighter" would be true if teaching the art of combat was one dimensional. But it isn't.

Different instructors work with students in different areas and indifferent ways. Some instructors teach discipline, some focus on sparring science, some are best at giving us the confidence we need to use what we have learned from other instructors. It's helpful if your instructor can perform the techniques with an expert level of efficiency and this is very important for younger students who need visual examples. But more advance concepts can be taught on master's level without being an expert fighter, or even an expert of performing the technique. This can be equated with most other sports. Bill Belichick of The New England Patriots is currently the highest rated coach in the NFL and has never played football on a professional level. Similarly, the greatest gymnastics coach in history, Bela Karolyi, only participated in gymnastics on an amateur level. However, both of these men teach the world's top competitors in their respective sports. Belichick cannot blitz or block for a professional running back in an NFL game but that's what he teaches his players to do on an expert level. Karolyi cannot score a perfect ten in the Olympic finals but two of his students have under his instruction.

In the fight game, the best example is boxing. Many of history's greatest boxing coaches were never master fighters. legendary boxing instructor Eddie Futch, who trained such greats as Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and George Foreman, was never a professional fighter but only a sparring partner to the legendary Joe Louis. Angelo Dundee, perhaps the greatest boxing trainer of all time, never put the gloves on at all. Angelo learned how to teach boxing by keen observation while working for years as a bucket man. By martial artist's standards, he would not be qualified to teach anyone how to fight. But he has taught no less than fifteen world champions, including Sugar Ray Robinson, Willie Pep, and Muhammad Ali, who are perhaps the three greatest boxers to have ever lived. But don't think about training with old Angelo if you want to learn how to fight because he doesn't have a "Grand Master" tittle or a seventh degree black belt around his waist...

There are many great fighters who aren't great teachers and many great teachers who aren't great fighters. If Dan Inosanto fought Mike Tyson in their prime, I would bet the family farm on Mike Tyson because he's a better fighter. But if I wanted to learn how to fight, I would go straight to Dan Inosanto because he's a better teacher. Kicking really fast or hitting really hard doesn't mean you are able to teach other people to do the same. Teaching and fighting are two separate skills that take much talent and hard work to master. Let's not confuse them.

Three Basic Teaching Tips

In my estimation, teaching is probably the most important job there is. This is a bold claim, as all jobs form the social structure that makes life possible, and like the food chain, each effects the others. However, without the proper knowledge, nothing can be accomplished as you can only act with constructive purpose by following your mind's recognition of how to complete a task. Therefor, all tasks, mental or physical (other than instinctual needs and reactions) must be learned, and some of us help others learn as our livelihood: it's called teaching. Although the saying goes that "those who can't do, teach", it is more probable that "those who teach, can do anything". You see, spouting off information is merely talking. Helping someone understand that information, how it applies to them, appreciate it as a fascinating subject, become inspired to master it and therefor, master their own will, and show them how to accomplish this...this is called teaching. I have met very few people who I would say are great teachers. Having been a teacher of all grade levels, even college aged students, since the age of fifteen, there are quite a few principles I've picked up on concerning this intricate art. Here are three of the most basic, and therefor, most important principles I've learned over the years.

(1) Teaching Is the Art of Simplification. This was my first lesson on teaching, courtesy of my friend and only martial arts instructor, Joel Puryear. Most teachers make little or no effort to break down the material they are teaching, to make it more accessible to the average person. Some teachers even strive to complicate material in a hidden effort to feed their ego as one of the few people able to interpret or understand the given information. This is a byproduct of one's insecurity and a guarantee that no one will be learning much in that class. A good teacher takes information and simplifies it. You should not want your instructional material to be difficult as this is only a sign that you are unable to explain it to your students. This does not mean your material won't take a sufficient amount of hard work on the students part. Executing a well timed counter side kick, working out an algebraic equation, and mastering impressionistic painting are all skills that will take many hours of dedication. Simplification means that a teacher helps the student to better understand the concept behind the skill. Teachers should find simple formulas for explaining information rather than trying to come up with something on the spot. One of the best methods of simplification is to relate a process to something in everyday life a student can relate to. Make simple analogies. Teachers should also give several examples of each concept they are trying to convey. For instance, if you are teaching indirect angular attacks, show the student several different executions of this strategy. Show them how to gain distance and time with the shoulder fake and then execute the side kick underneath. Then show them how to fake a side kick and come over the top with a backfist. Giving several examples will allow students to find the similarities between each one and then identify the concept. It's always inspiring to watch that moment when it clicks, when the student realizes how simple it actually is. Enjoy these moments, it means you are doing your job right. It is an accomplishment on everyone's part when student proclaims, "Oh, that was easy!"

(2) Be A Principle Centered Instructor. A rule says "don't do this" whereas a principle says "this works and always has". I do not believe in "rules" in the application martial arts (or many other subjects) because their are simply too many variables in every situation. When I'm teaching someone, I do not focus on style, I focus on principles. Principles transcend styles and are applicable to any situation. I equate this to geometry. Euclid, the father of geometry, laid out universal principles of geometry which are always applicable, transcending all types of geometry and all geometric problems. For example, a straight line is always the shortest distance between two points. There are no exceptions. This is also one of the universal principles of martial arts: the shortest distance between a weapon and a target is a straight line. It doesn't matter if you are a Karateka, Judoka, or boxer, a straight line is always the shortest distance between two points. The principle transcends each style and remains universally applicable. Another, and more technically advanced, principle would be controlling your opponent's set point. This is essentially dictating how an opponent is positioned in relation to you and how to keep him from finding his distance, alignment, and defensive posture. Once again, it does not matter what form of fighting you study, one should always apply this in combat because it transcends both style and form. You could apply this concept to the work of a professional nutritionist. Ask a nutritionist how to lose weight and they aren't going to give you a customized diet, they are going to give you principles on weight loss: balance your diet, eat low density foods, etc. This method of instruction is important for the benefit of the students but also to the teacher, for it will not only allow you to become a more skilled instructor but will keep you in business. You will be able to reach a much wider range of students this way. Joe Lewis is a premier example of how to be a principle centered instructor. He understands, better than any teacher I have come across, how one may enhance their skill by application and mastery of principles rather than style. Another important part of being a principle centered instructor is to always inspire your students to execute with total conviction. You must also execute the instruction of your material with complete conviction. A half hearted teacher will have no hearted students. It doesn't matter what you are teaching, that will always be true. It's a universal principle.

(3) Make Learning Fun. This is one of the lost arts in the teaching world. You can't expect to keep students very long and you certainly can't expect them to learn much if they aren't having fun. This does not suggest sacrificing hard work. It suggests you get creative with how you have your students go about doing it. The first step in this process is to ignite a student's inner fire, their burning desire to learn, through the application of your material. This means you must be whole heartedly enthusiastic in your work as a teacher. This is the basis for executing the instruction of your material with conviction. Often times a student will be turned on or off to a subject, method, or technique, simply by how enthusiastic their instructor may or may not be, respectively. Bruce Lee was like this. His whole hearted enthusiasm turned many people on to methods or ideas they may not have considered otherwise. Once your students can see that you not only enjoy your given study but enjoy sharing it with them, there is a much greater appreciation among the students for your material. Another and all too overlooked tool is humor. Wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin is, in my opinion, the premier example of the mastery of this tool. Ask someone why they like Jeff Corwin and I'll bet you fifty dollars that their answer will be "Because he's hilarious". Jeff Corwin, who I have had the pleasure of meeting, understands better than anyone how to keep material that many people may consider boring (how many non-wildlife enthusiasts watched wildlife documentaries before he came along?) and show just how enjoyable it can be. He keeps the viewer constantly involved and in on the joke, laughing with him or laughing at him. Bill Wallace is the Jeff Corwin of martial arts. He is not only a master of what he does, but he uses humor as a primary method. Humor in teaching is like a carrier for a vaccine. The vaccine does the work meant to be accomplished but the carrier gets the body to receive it.

There are dozens of other important teaching principles that every instructor should know, but these three are a great starting point. Always remember that your job as a teacher has enormous consequences, good or bad, based upon how you treat this responsibility. Your goal as a teacher is simple: to help your students reach theirs. Take pride in your work and enjoy it. Do your job with effort and dignity.

How I Stay In Shape

All athletes need to stay in shape. This factor is often times what decides the outcome of many sports matches. Of all athletic endeavors, there are few that compare to the fight game in terms of how fit the practitioners must be. This is because fighters endure not only the physical exertion they put themselves through, but the physical toll their opponents put them through. Watch "The Thrilla' In Manila" and see what I'm talking about. I'm not a professional fighter, this does not interest me, but I am an instructor and I like to stay in excellent shape (think Bruce Lee). Over the years I have had many people ask me what I do to stay in such good condition. Here is a brief summery of how I stay in shape. My hope is that others will use this as a means to improve their own physical fitness and by doing so, not only increase their ability as an athlete (of any kind), but that they might also find the simple joy of living with good health, as I have.

First thing is first, and that's my diet. Christmas day of 2005 was a big change for me. I am well know for being a health fanatic and that was day one. I chose that day because it would be easy to remember and would help me keep track of time. I eat whole wheat and whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean meats, lots of fresh dairy (I rarely eat cheese). That's it. I drink lots of juice, milk, and I enjoy healthy varieties of tea, which I usually make myself in a cast iron tea pot. Water is a given and I drink plenty of that every day. I don't touch anything with refined sugars, caffeine, enriched white flour, or trans fats. I stay away from fried foods also. I eat no fast foods except one or two items on the Chick Fill A menu (which I researched before ever eating them). I read the health label on anything and can name the calorie stats on most common packaged foods. When it comes to a typical day in the life of myself and what I eat, it goes something like this. I wake up and eat breakfast (most important meal of the day) and this nearly always means whole grain cereals with 2% milk or skim milk with some fruit, such as bananas. For lunch I may have a small bowl of whole wheat pasta and more fruits, grapes being a particular favorite. About two or three hours after lunch I usually eat a small meal consisting of fat free yogurt (tastes really good when you freeze it yourself) and more fruit. I often drink all natural tea during the day also. For dinner I might have a salad with chicken and steamed vegetables. This is not always the same, of course, but these are staples of my diet. I also love Japanese food, especially sushi, because fish is so good for you and it tastes awesome. This all natural food diet serves as fuel for the day and for my workout sessions. It also helps me maintain my weight and a good immune system.

Now let me take you through my daily workout. I workout from two to six hours per day, seven days a week. I like to begin my workout sessions with my endurance training. Beginning as a boxer before studying martial arts, my two favorite endurance exercises have always been running and skipping rope. There is no endurance exercise better than running. I put on some sweat clothes, lace up my workout shoes (a pair of pumas) and hit the road. I start out running slow for about one hundred yards before I kick it up. I always make sure to run and never jog. Jogging is terrible for your back, shins, and joints. You should sustain your running at six miles per hour or above. I generally do interval running, which is where I run for a while then explode for one hundred yards or so, then go back to regular running. This repeats until I am done. And when I say "explode", I mean run harder than you can imagine, focusing on the initial quickness of my take off. I usually run four miles. My minimum is two and my maximum (so far) is six. I also add shadow boxing and footwork drills into my running. Sometimes I turn around and run backwards or side ways as well. After I return from my run, I pick up my eight foot leather jump rope and get to work, no breaks taken. I work on all different foot work patterns. I like to cross the rope, double jump, and move all around the room, never staying in one spot. I do this for about ten minutes. Sometimes, if it's raining or I'm gone all day until night fall, I substitute a stationary bike for running. I spend about forty-five minutes on the bike, averaging about ten to fifteen miles and burning three to four hundred calories (of course, calories continue to burn after you stop).

Now that I'm nice and tired, I work on my flexibility exercises because my muscles are relaxed.
The exercises I perform are very simple. I begin with my feet one shoulder width apart and I bend down and touch the floor, holding it for a while. I repeat this once or twice. Then, I spread my feet apart a little more and touch the floor again, only this time, reaching back behind my feet. As I spread my feet out again, I put my head to the floor and hold it for a while. Now I begin focusing on going lower and lower. These stretches work the inner leg muscles such as the adductor group. I always keep my feet flat on the floor, bladed as martial artists do when throwing the side kick. After a while, I stand up and put my hands on my hips and roll them around. Now I'm loosening up the fasciae latae, the muscle on the side of my hip. From here I pull my foot up behind my leg to stretch the iliosolis muscle, the head of the quadricept. When I'm nice and relaxed, I put my fists on the floor and slide out into the side splits. I like to hold this one the longest and lie on my stomach, sliding forward then back to stretch each muscle from multiple angles. I also like to have a partner push down on the back of my hips for that extra stretch! All in all, I complete this set of flexibility exercises in about ten or fifteen minutes. My routine is essentially a slightly modified version of Bill "Superfoot" Wallace's stretching routine.

Now that I'm nice and limber, I like to begin by shadow kickboxing. I loosen up, work on footwork, and throw combinations. Then I practice my techniques on targets. I like to do most of this work on my heavy bag. I generally begin by working single techniques, then combinations. After that, I kickbox the heavy bag for five to eight, three minute rounds. I take thirty second breaks. After this, I go back to single techniques and combinations. While I'm working these techniques, I'm not just counting off numbers. I always work on specific principles such as my distancing, timing, recovery, defensive posture, power, economy of motion, footwork, visualization, etc. Then of course, there is sparring. I don't have sparring partners often and I beg and bribe as many people as I can to put on some gloves and head gear to work with me. Then I like to focus on foot work, angular attack drills, and other tactical drills.

After this, I like to take a break. I rest for two hours or so. I usually eat dinner here and relax. When I go back, I do the hard stuff.

This is my hour for strength training. I love weight lifting for strength training. there are many routines I have experimented with but my favorite is the good old circuit routine. This utilizes slightly lighter weights (still heavy though) and works like this: You have multiple stations or exercises, each working a different muscle group. You work each station for thirty seconds to a minute as fast as you can and move straight the next station with no break. You only have to do about seven to ten stations to completely wipe yourself out. I usually do fifteen and focus on compound exercises, working multiple muscles with each station. This not only builds strength and muscular endurance, but is one of the most effective fat burning exercises I've ever seen. This is because of the increased demand your body has for oxygen during this workout. Utilizing this method, I brought my weight down from one fifty to one twenty-nine in less than a year. My waste line dropped from around thirty inches to about twenty seven inches. This is the same routine Bruce Lee utilized during the making of Enter The Dragon. Watch the film and let the results speak for themselves! After doing my weight lifting, I work on my stomach. I do hundreds of repetitions of waste twists, leg raises, sit -ups, side bends, and butterfly crunches utilizing a medicine ball (I throw it with my feet back to my hands, then back to my feet).

This daily routine changes often but the exercises here are the real staples that I have found to be most effective for me personally. I always train as hard as I can, executing every movement with conviction. I always try to break my previous pain barrier. Like in a fight, you can never quit. Here are a few quotes I always recite to inspire myself to work harder, even when I don't feel like it.

"I worked out for four hours a day when I was competing, but I killed myself for those four hours"- Bill "Superfoot" Wallace

"A fight is won out there on the roads, alone in the gym, long before I dance under those lights" -Muhammad Ali

"If you can break the pain barrier then maybe, you might be a champion, but if you can't then forget it" -Arnold Schwarzenegger

"I never even think about quiting; next to dying, it's the last thing I'd ever do" -Joe Lewis

"When everyone else was eating I was running, when everyone else was sleeping, I was working out, that's how bad I wanted it" -Benny "the jet" Urquidez

"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level" -Bruce Lee

Why Use Kicking?

Many people are baffled at the idea of a full contact martial artist using kicks as a primary weapon. This is because since the day we are born, we instinctively use our hands for the vast majority of tasks we perform. No normal child is going to reach for a bottle or toy with their foot. Likewise, when we learn to fight, it's natural for us to use our hands because we can coordinate them and keep our balance when using them. However, some of us like to use our legs as our primary fighting tools. Although this may appear impractical to many, there are some good reasons to kick.

First, there's your distancing. Your leg is much longer than your arm and can increase your reach when you need it. Kicking is the primary tactic of a martial artist who prefers to maintain the out side distance zone. The length of your kicks allow you to keep your opponents on the end of your techniques and prevent him from smothering or jamming you techniques from an inside position. An illusive fighter, the "Cat and Mouse" type, can keep an opponent from effectively closing the gap through the use of counter kicking. One of my personal favorite counters to a hand technique is to intercept my opponent with a side kick. As my opponent begins to execute a linear punch or try to grab me, I lean back using a shoulder roll and execute a side kick at their unguarded ribs. Even a relatively tall opponent's arm is usually shorter than my leg. Kicking can also help you close the gap. You can use your kicks as stabilizing techniques. This allows you to neutralize your opponent's position. You can follow up by punching or using a take down as you close the distance between you and your opponent. Once again, the side kick is a good example technique for this purpose.

Second, there's power. All things being equal, a kick will land with more force than a punch because of the superior muscle size and weight of the leg. The most powerful technique known to man is either the side kick or the spin back kick (two variations of the same movement). Another excellent power technique is the rear leg round kick, called a "Thai kick" or "cut kick". It's much easier to break someone's ribs with a kick than with a punch. Likewise, people get punched in the head quite often and keep fighting but when that rear leg round kick lands on someone's face, they nearly always go down, if not down and out. Consider that thirteen of Bill Wallace's full contact career knock outs were by way of side kick to the ribs. If you want a real scare, watch Joe Lewis fight David Moon in the 1968 world championships in Karate. Lewis breaks Moon's ribs and sends him across the mat and into the crowd with one kick. Click here to watch the video

Third, there's surprise. Because most people are not accustomed to using their feet as weapons, there are circumstances where they wont expect you to use them either. A basic application would be kicking taller opponents. Although inside fighting with circular and lateral movements is ultimately the best strategy for such opponents, you can catch them with surprise kicks. They won't see it coming because they aren't expecting you to try it. In close range exchanges, kicking can be employed to a surprisingly effective degree. This takes an incredible level of flexibility but there are those of us who can do it, especially martial artists from Tae Kwon Do or Hapkido type backgrounds. One of my favorite close range kicks is the hook kick. When I am on the inside, working my opponent with hooks and clinches, I often disengage and "close the back door" (the term for ensuring an opponent doesn't step with you or attack as you attempt to clear his reach) with a hook kick at almost point blank range. Because I am nearly doing the splits for this kick at point blank range, no one ever sees it coming. I don't recommend this for anyone but very experienced and highly flexible kickers, but it can be done and it does work. Bill Wallace used this particular method to high effectiveness during his point fighting and full contact career. Click here to watch the video

There are disadvantages to kicking, of course. Once your opponent is inside the range of your knee, it's impossible to continue to fight using only kicking. Also, your balance is partially compromised when you are standing on one leg for a kick. Does this mean you shouldn't kick? Of course not. You simply need to know what kick to use and the appropriate time to use it. The leg can be just as fast and accurate as anyone's hand. Also, consider the fact that kicking is the only means of attack that can reach any target area on your opponent without changing your positioning. You should definitely learn to box and grapple, there's no question about that. But kicking is just as effective in it's own right. People have been successful with kicks for many years and will continue to do so.

The Ten Greatest Movie Fights

I love martial arts and I love movies. Put the two together and you have a perfect formula for entertainment that movie makers have been using for years. I'm not one of the die hard Kung Fu film historians who can point out and name the extras in virtually every martial arts film, but I have seen my fair share of movies, especially those with fighting in them. I have compiled a list of what are, in my personal opinion, the greatest fights in cinema. This is by no means a definitive list and it is very much based on my own personal likes and dislikes. Here we go!

10. Rocky vs. Apollo Creed from "Rocky"
This is what's called "the icing on the cake", the ultimate payoff for a movie that is not actually about fighting. The original Rocky film is a love story and excellent drama that happens to be about a fighter. The film is concerned first and foremost with telling a story and it brings that story to a climax with one of the best fights in cinema history. Based on the bout between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, this fight is ridiculously inspirational. Rocky is a southpaw who uses a trench fighting or brawling style of fighting. He is slower than the lightening quick Creed who picks him apart with combinations early in the first round. When Creed gets too cocky, Rocky nails him with a left hook that temporarily puts Creed on the mat and gets the fight on its way. Both men give their absolute best and fight their hearts out for the tittle, neither willing to give up, which is what the entire film is about. The most inspirational scene is the moment when Creed puts Rocky on his back with an uppercut that seems as if it will end the fight right there, just as Adrian choose to walk in. But despite being cut, bloodied, broken, and swollen beyond what most fighters would endure, Rocky stagers to his feet, turns to Apollo and says "Come on!". Then Rocky beats the crap out of Apollo for the remaining three minutes of the fight. It's an excellent fight scene where both actors put on as convincing a performance as an actor pretending to be a fighter can. Unless you are a trained professional, you would think they were real boxers.

9. Rambo vs. the police from "First Blood"
Surely you expected to see Stallone on this list more than once! Only this time, instead of being a warm hearted boxer, he's a psychotic ex Green Beret. A particularly dangerous ex Green Beret named Rambo, who doesn't like forced dry shavings because they remind him of being tortured in Viet Nam. This occurs after a short series of police abuses and Rambo has had enough. He loses control and proceeds to whip everyone in the police station using a very accurate portrayal of seventies elite military martial arts. He escapes a baton choke hold with backwards head butts, kicks an advancing opponent in the groin and nearly gouges the ugliest officer's eyes out. As bad as this seems, if you watch the film you have no remorse for the police as the receive this beating because they deserved it. The scariest part is that the actors portraying the police had doubts a real Green Beret could take on all four of them. Stallone had the fight supervisor, who was a Green Beret, try it out with the actors. The conclusion was that a Green Beret can in fact take out three untrained men very easily. This fight is great because of the accuracy of it's period martial arts portrayal and because Stallone is in such great shape that we never question his ability for a second. Besides, we already knew the guy could fight after watching Rocky. Truthfully, I'd rather fight Rocky!

8. Martin Riggs vs. Mr. Joshua from "Lethal Weapon"
Once again, this is an actor pretending to be a special ops fighting expert and Mr. Gibson does it perfectly. After a series of twists and turns, Officer Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and Officer Riggs (Gibson) have shot, burned, and blown up every bad guy but one: Mr. Joshua. Mr. Joshua, played by that freaky Gary Busey, is a classic physical villain and the only character in the film who can match Rigg's martial skill. After chasing Mr. Joshua down, Riggs engages in hand to hand combat with him on someone's lawn in front of the entire police department, which sounds stupid but is actually awesome. This fight is as realistic as martial arts fights come. They use excellent techniques and the period fighting style is very accurate. The best part for me was when Riggs tries to put Mr. Joshua in a triangle choke and fails three times throughout the fight before finally getting him! That's realistic! There are other awesome moments such as when Riggs defends himself against a pole with a police baton and when he hits Mr. Joshua with a jumping front kick. Most people would say that's not realistic but it is. That's what Green Beret trained to do in the seventies. This fight should easily make it into anyone's top ten if for no other reason than that Gary Busey gets the crap beat out of him. Besides, Gibson does martial arts so well in this film you would think he could take on Jet Li! Wait...what...when?

7. Neo vs Agent Smith from "The Matrix"
This is the ultimate grudge match and rests on the farthest side from real life fighting as you can get. Taking place in the computer world of the Matrix, it is an all out Kung Fu battle between Neo, the chosen one, and Agent Smith, an invincible computer program designed to kill people like Neo. Neo knows that no one has ever fought an Agent and lived, and doesn't even believe himself to be the chosen one at this point in the film, but fights him anyway. In the Matrix, rules such as gravity can be bent or broken. What ensues is one of the coolest fights in cinema. Neo uses a relaxed but fast, flow like water style of Kung Fu that only Keanu Reeves could pull off. Smith uses a hard ground and pound, brawling style of Kung Fu. The two go at it and take turns winning portions of the fight. The best part is when Neo is making a fantastic comeback and throws a straight punch at Smith. Smith traps the punch just before it hits him in the neck but Neo extends his fingers Wing Chun style and puts them right in Smith's throat. Then he delivers a jumping triple front kick that would make Jackie Chan jealous. The reason this fight is so good is because of the innovative filming methods used, combined with the fact that the lead actors put in a good eight months of martial arts training before filming. Look at them perform the moves. It's not perfect but it's really good, a lot better than if they used doubles. The best aspect of this fight is that by now you have become emotionally invested in the characters and have learned that they are not invincible or immune to being killed off as the movie goes...

6. Bruce Lee vs. the Karate school from "Fists of Fury"
I could have left this one at "Bruce Lee" and said no more. But I will. This is one of the most influential, beautiful, and most well choreographed fights ever conceived of. The big deal with this fight is that you have a real, world class martial arts master playing the lead, fighting other real life martial artists. There are no quick cuts, tricky camera angles, wires, or CGI. This fight is set up by one school's act of hatred and racism towards another (intentionally symbolic of WWII Japan's oppression over China). Bruce Lee will have none of that and lets the Japanese school know it, marching in the midst of more than twenty enemy martial artists and their teacher to tell them off. Anyone could do that but only Bruce Lee could proceed to annihilate every one of them when they try to start a fight! The first one approaches and is beaten by Lee at his own game, who uses Japanese throwing techniques to send him back across the mat. Then they all jump in and surround Lee, circling as each waits for someone else to charge first. When someone does, Lee springs into animal screaming action, using what can only be described as the most beautiful martial arts moves to have ever graced the silver screen. He side kicks one, spin kicks another, and throws the next. He uses elbows, punches, and anything else the classical practitioner would notice doesn't belong to any one style. One lucky guy gets a kick in and Lee rolls with it across his jacket on the ground, revealing for the first time what would become his trade mark weapon: the nunchaku. After he spins it around in an intimidating display, we the viewers know for a fact that this must be a Karate school for the gifted, because they are all still coming at him. And as we expect, he destroys them all, takes on their teacher (without the nunchaku) and beats him to a pulp as well. The best part of this fight is the magnificent over head shot of the first exchange of blows when Lee is surrounded. This is the quality of fight scenes only available when the actor's trailer door reads "Bruce Lee".

5. The Bride vs The Crazy 88 from "Kill Bill"
Inspired from the fight mentioned above, this is a classic homage to all martial arts cinema, even featuring the great martial arts acting legend Sonny Chiba. The Bride, a woman with no name (an obvious tribute to the Italian Western genre) portrayed by Uma Thermon, seeks revenge against the black ops style martial arts assassination team who beat her within an inch of her life on her wedding day and by doing so, took the life of her unborn child. Once a member of this team, she is able to track them down and kill them using her martial skill. When she thinks she has finally cornered O-ren Ishii, she finds herself surrounded by The Crazy 88, who's numbers don't actually total eighty-eight but thought it sounded pretty cool. They all wear Green Hornet style masks and suites and fight like nobody's business. She takes them all on at once with her specially crafted katana, slicing more limbs than can be counted. Her sword play is awesome for an actress portraying a fighter and her yellow pants and jacket are an obvious shout out to The Game of Death. After decapitating one man for each of Charlie Sheen's public scandals, the fight is taken upstairs, even across the rafters as she fights the double sword wielding Sonny Chiba. I don't think I can pick a best moment because it's all totally awesome, just like the rest of the movie. Easily worthy of anyone's top ten list.

4. Jackie Chan vs Benny Urquidez from Meals On Wheels
I have never seen this movie but I have seen the fight a few hundred times. Jackie Chan is known for his mixture of comedy and Kung Fu, but don't let the comedy fool you, he is lethal at martial arts. And when you put him against kickboxing legend Benny "the jet" Urquidez, you have one mad fight on your hands with enough funny moments to remind you it's a comedy too. This fight is a superb display by two world class athletes. The movements are beautiful with lots of spinning kicks, arms locks, wide punching, and everything else you can think of. We get to see Benny use his trade mark sweep and spinning back kick. We are treated to a ridiculous display of agility when Chan catches Benny with a spin hook kick that I guarantee you will rewind to see again. The best moment in the fight is when each man tries to execute a wrist lock on the other, backs away, and shakes their hand off. Classic Jackie Chan stuff. The fight ends with Chan nearly knocking Benny out of a high story window and saving him when he could let his enemy die. I don't know about you, but some day when I have kids, I want them to grow up to be martial arts masters with that kind of class!

3. Sebei Iguchi vs Zenemon Yogo from "Twilight Samurai"
This fight is astounding for the strong story it brings to a close as well as for the intense and realistic samurai fighting. After a series of events critical to understanding this final confrontation, Sebei is sent against his will to assassinate a rebel samurai who is easily more skilled than he. With nothing but a kodachi (short sword) Sebei tries to begin his duel only to be led into a deep conversation with Yogo that is as interesting as the fight itself. After being nearly convinced to let Yogo escape, he accidentally offends him by revealing his original intentions to kill him with a short sword as opposed to an actual, full length katana. Then the fight is on, and it's very tense with Yogo aggressively pursuing Sebei throughout his house. Sebei is younger and stronger, though less skilled, and manages to survive a closely fought match, not without receiving and giving some serious wounds. After being thrown to the floor and cornered by Yogo, he is saved by pure luck and practicality when Yogo catches his long sword in the rafters as he comes down on Sebei. Sebei seizes the moment as a true samurai would. This fight is incredible on its own but you must see the entire film to truly appreciate it. So drop what you are doing and watch it. And if you complain about having to read subtitles, I'm coming after you with a short sword.

2. Bourne vs Jarda from "The Bourne Supremacy"
This fight has gone on to reshape the entire last decade of fight scenes. This is the first mainstream fight to use quick cuts, shaky camera work, bare essential techniques, and Escrima style martial arts. It all makes for some very intense stuff. You know Jason Bourne isn't going to die because it's the first twenty minutes into his own movie, but you are on the edge of your seat every second of this fight none the less. He is faced with the other only surviving agent from Tredstone. Bourne knows Jarda is as lethal as he is but makes the fatal mistake to look away when the phone rings. Jarda jumps all over Bourne, even with his hands tied and begins to strike him in the throat, transition behind him, and attempt choking him to death while they smash window blinds and roll across furniture. Bourne gets him off and kicks him across the room. Jarda ends up with a knife and two free hands, Bourne grabs a rolled up magazine in desperation and makes good use of it. They battle it out standing then on the floor. Everything is filmed very fast and chaotic and makes you feel very insecure about Bourne's immediate future. Jarda begins to choke Bourne with a lamp cord only to be put in the position himself, from which he cannot escape. He is brutally choked to death just out of frame. When it's all over, Bourne just lies there for a minute, trying to get himself together. He has killed for the first time in two years and he has done it in a fight that will be imitated by film makers for years to come. The best scene is when Bourne is being chocked against the window. It's so chaotic and filmed so well. It's very tense.

1. Bruce Lee vs Chuck Norris from "Way of The Dragon"
This fight is, to me, the pinnacle of all possible cinema match ups. Here are the two most famous on screen as well as off screen martial arts practitioners. Each is a real life master. Although the film itself is just terrible, this fight is second to none in its choreography, display of technique, and and display of strategy. This fight takes place in the Coliseum in Rome. Each man is a modern gladiator, engaging in the oldest, most personal and most primitive confrontation known to humanity: one on one, unarmed combat...to the death. Each allows the other to warm up out of a mutual respect. When they are ready, Lee circles out and gets set. A moment of silence...then...WAH!!! Three lightening kicks by Lee, and two fakes, all caught and parried by Norris, who is the heavy in this fight. Each take turns throwing kicks with speed and accuracy only attainable by real life masters. As the fight ensues, Lee finds Norris to be too strong to fight toe to toe. He begins to imply the tactical strategies that we the viewer know come from his philosophy of Jeet Kune Do. After getting up from a spin hook kick, he loosens up and begins to move like a boxer. The music changes and signifies the turn of the tide as Lee begins to baffle Norris with his broken rhythm and non classical movements. In most other movie fights the professional knows when an actor is merely playing a fighter, but here one sees an unfolding of real life tactics and strategy second to none. Bruce goes on to beat Norris to a pulp, displaying speed unrivaled both on and off screen. After incapacitating Norris, he offers to let him go. Norris will have none of it and attacks Lee one last time, forcing Bruce to kill him. After the fight, Lee displays class second to none by placing Norris' gi and black belt over him. The best scene in the fight is the incredible slow motion sequence filmed in one long shot as the tow men fight around the hall. It's the best fight I've ever seen in any film. For the viewer, it makes the martial arts, for a moment, become the center of the universe. That's what good movie fights are for.

Should Martial Artists Practice Kata?

One of the oldest forms of martial arts training is the practice of techniques in a choreographed pattern. Each pattern has it's own name and purpose. This is known primarily as "Kata", taken from the Japanese language. Korean schools call it "poomsae" and most Westerners just call it a "form". Regardless of what name you use, it's the same thing and most martial arts schools swear by it and regard it as the most important aspect of one's training. However, I disagree.

My opinion on Kata comes from my approach to martial arts, which is that of a full contact practitioner and one who strives to be prepared in the event of a realistic altercation. The basic theory behind Kata is that the continual practice of the technique will allow it to be perfected and ready for application and that the discipline required for this practice will ready one's mind.
Many instructors, such as a Wing Chun instructor I spoke to, also argue that Kata helps the practitioner remember the many techniques of their chosen martial art. A Tae Kwon Do instructor I spoke to went so far as to say that Kata "is the basis of ALL sparring". There are several flaws in this entire line of thinking. Lets begin with the idea that rehearsing Kata will ready your technique.

I agree that people who continually practice Kata have good looking techniques. I don't think there's any argument about that. The problem is that a good looking technique is not necessarily a realistic and efficient technique. The main problem comes with the fact that Kata, with a few exceptions such as Kendo, is not practiced against a target or an opponent. There is no way to judge your distance, timing, accuracy, or power. Imagine a baseball player who practices fielding pretend baseballs, throws baseballs at the air instead of to a team mate, and practices his batting without having a ball thrown to him. It doesn't take Mickey Mantel to tell you that when the time comes, this individual isn't going to perform very well. Why then, when it comes to fighting, is there such a difference? I don't think there is. When you practice, make contact against targets. You can practice all the same techniques and learn to add power, timing, and distancing at the same time. Hitting the air will not prepare you for hitting a person.

Can Kata help you remember the techniques? Of course, any type of repetition will help muscle memory. But a problem arises. The techniques in Kata are performed with incorrect movements. When someone throws a punch during a Kata, their stance is usually far too wide. When your stance is too wide, you cannot move freely or use effective footwork. Your legs are also very vulnerable to cut kicks. The next step of the punch requires the student to draw the punch back. This is a serious mistake in sparring and a deadly mistake during a real altercation. When you draw any technique back, you are telegraphing your movements. You might as well wear a sign with your intentions written on it. Then the punch is snapped out and held at it's extended point for a brief moment. This pause is meant to allow the practitioner's instructor to view the form of the punch. However, this promotes one of the biggest mistakes in all fighting which is leaving gaps in your offense. Gaps in your offense will create the gaps in your defense. If you pause at any moment, you are vulnerable to a counter attack and will most likely be hit by one. It's called "waiting for a receipt" or "asking for an autograph". There is also a major flaw in the application of defensive postures during Kata. Practitioners will draw their rear hand back to their hip when throwing a punch. This is highly unrealistic. You should keep your rear hand up by your chin. Your opponent is not trying to hit you on the side of the hip. Of course, instructors will say, as my instructor said to me at one time, that you should first learn this "proper form" but you won't use the techniques in this manner when actually fighting. Then why practice them that way? This cannot be equated with any other sport. All other athletic endeavors require their practitioners to practice movements the same way they will use them in competition. Kata does help you to memorize the techniques but you are memorizing them in an unrealistic fashion.

Now lets take on the idea that Kata is the basis for "ALL sparring". Is the practice of these choreographed routines necessary for one to become an efficient combatant? The answer is no. Boxing, Kickboxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, and Jiu-jitsu are just a few examples of fighting arts that do not use Kata and these arts turn out world class fighters on a regular basis. When you think about it, how can a choreographed routine possibly prepare someone for a fight in which there are no set patterns or movements. Fights are always chaotic and the very nature of combat is centered around the fact that your opponent will resist your intentions. Lets go back to our baseball player. Imagine now that his entire team practices the same way he does. Lets also add the idea that his team practices entire choreographed games with no actual opponent. Imagine they told you that this method of practice is "the basis of ALL baseball". You would know they were crazy. But when a seventh degree "Grand Master" tells you about Kata, you sit and listen to his "wisdom", and join this practice in hopes of one day becoming a master through it's application. It's no different than the fake baseball game. Real opponents do not follow choreographed patterns and routines. It's just not going to happen in the universe we live in. By the way, if Kata is the basis for ALL sparring, where are the katas for ground fighting? Think about that for a while.

Does this mean that a martial artist should not practice Kata? Not necessarily. Although not an efficient method of preparing for combat, it may be useful for elderly practitioners who may not enjoy hitting a heavy bag or sparring anymore. Kata is also part of the traditional art form of many martial arts styles. If you are looking into martial arts for traditional purposes or learning a specific style as an art form, then you should practice the Kata. I do not practice Kata and because of this I do not claim to be a practitioner of any one specific style. I am simply a free style martial arts practitioner who focuses on full contact and training for realistic altercations. For this purpose, I have no need of Kata. In the end, the choice of learning Kata is neither right nor wrong, just don't expect it to save your life.

Blind Hero Worship

I have no idea who might have been the greatest martial artist of all time. Too many men and women have passed through history unnoticed for one to make such a claim for any individual. And many who have been noticed for greatness never had the opportunity to compare skills with certain others in their field, due to time or location constraints. However, I do know one thing. I have met students of the greatest martial artist on multiple occasions. You see, nearly every martial artist I meet believes their instructor is the greatest practitioner of the arts to have graced our Earth. This is the problem of blind hero worship.

Everyone is selling something. This is not good or bad, only reality. We each sell an idea, opinion, belief, or product by our very existence with other human beings. It is essential for anyone trying to make a living by acting on this salesmanship to understand the importance of building up your product. Martial arts instructors must build their product also, and this product is the instructor's skill and knowledge combined with his or her ability to relate this information to their students.
Unfortunately, some mistakes are often made in this sales process. Sales experts proclaim and defend the superiority of their product over the competition and many salesmen come to believe their own claims. When the product you are praising is your own ability and knowledge, this encourages self absorption. Self absorption is individually, and yet all at once, the source, equivalent, and result of pride. In fact, "pride" could be considered layman's terms for "self absorption". In the essay "Tao of Gung Fu: A Study In the Way of the Chinese Martial Art, Bruce Lee states that "Pride emphasizes the importance of the superiority of a person's status in the eyes of others. There is fear and insecurity in pride because when a person aims at being highly esteemed and achieves such status, he is automatically involved in the fear of losing his status. Then protection of his status appears to be his most important need, and this creates anxiety."
It is here, at the protection of status, that one loses sight of true mastery of martial arts. It is now essential for this individual to guard this self fulfilling state of mind.

Martial arts instructors ensure this status by systematically drilling their students to believe that no one can compare with their skill and wisdom. The instructors insist on tittles such as "Master" or "Grand Master". Co-instructors will repeat the head instructor's sales pitch, only with firm belief in it's reality, and the students pick up on this behavior, resulting in hero worship.
Hero worship leads to blind acceptance of an individual's ideas as truth and therefor, the rejection of all others. Co-instructors and students are now philisophically blinded to outside influence and will be unable to tolerate a difference in opinion. About a year ago I visited one particular martial arts school to observe the instruction and curriculum. During the conversation after class, one of the co-instructors vehemently stated that the head instructor was better than Bruce Lee. By merely remaining silent, instead of joining the hero worship, I was revoked for my "pride" and told that I didn't understand martial arts. A few minutes later I was asked to leave for mentioning another instructor's name.

In the end, the problem of hero worship is the result of one individual who feels the desperate need to acquire and maintain status as being superior to others. True experts in the martial arts are those individuals who have both the incredible skill and knowledge and have no fear of not being esteemed. Such is the essence of self sufficiency and the first step towards true mastery.

Use Proper Safety Gear

We as martial artists need to practice our techniques on resistance equipment. Instead of just punching in the air, or "dry land swimming" as Bruce Lee called it, we must make contact with different types of targets. And then there is sparring, when we make contact with each other. I don't know about you, but twenty years down the road I don't want to be hearing those bells that aren't really there. I want to make sure I use the best safety gear for the appropriate training. I practice full contact. I need gear that will protect my hands and wrists, shin and insteps, groin and kidneys, head, and mouth. You see, the human body can take punishment but it isn't designed to be hit. Lets begin with your hands and wrists. These are very fragile areas and just holding your wrist at a wrong angle during a punch can easily break any one of the eight bones located there. If you think that's sounds bad, consider the hand has twenty-seven bones. So, when practicing full contact against a heavy bag or a real opponent, you will want a good pair of hand wraps. If you have ever watched a boxer in the gym, you should know what these are. They are long bands of very strong and flexible gauze like material. You loop a strap around your thumb and follow a specific pattern around your hand until you reach the velcro strap on the other end. When you are done, it will essentially look as if you are wearing thick, wrist length gloves with no fingers. This will keep your hand semi insulated and fairly stable. MMA and kickboxing practitioners have jumped on the band wagon with boxers and have incorporated these into their essential fight gear. These are not mean to be used alone though. You need gloves also. Here is where things start getting tricky. For a very long time, martial artists didn't use gloves...of any sort. Bare knuckles where the normal fighting practice. But before you freak out, consider that the fighters of the day weren't actually allowed to make hard contact in competition. Unless you fought in certain specific states you would be required to pull your techniques short. This changed around 1972 when Master Jhoon Rhee innovated the idea of martial artists wearing safety gear (See "History of Martial Arts: History, Traditions, People" by John Corcoran). This allowed much more contact to be made. Unfortunately, the material used for the sparring gloves, and is still popularly in use today, was made of foam. Foam was never made for insulation or safety, it was made for flotation. This resulted in the safety gear being nearly as dangerous as bare knuckles. I remember sparring with one of my more advanced students who was much bigger than me and we were both using the foam safety gloves. I had helped him develop a mean right hand lead and one day he caught me square in the side of the head with it, right in the temple region. I shook it off at the time but I had some severe headaches for the next two weeks. It was partially because I was an idiot and not using head gear, but mostly it was because of the thin, insufficient insulation of the gloves we were using. I probably had a minor concussion. What my student and I should have been wearing were a good, 12-16 oz set of boxing gloves from a reliable company like Everlast or Top Gear. Many people think boxing gloves will hurt more, but they save you from a world of pain and injury. It provides good insulation for your hands and wrists. High quality boxing gloves will actually allow you to punch a brick wall without damaging your hands. And with all the newest technology being put into these gloves, they just keep getting safer and safer to use. They will also protect your head. That insulation and shock absorbing technology could save you from anything from a headache to severe brain damage. They also build very real confidence. From my first day studying boxing, theres nothing I love quite as much as putting on a good pair of boxing gloves. Now for the foot gear. Unfortunately, the exact same story entails here but without one important detail: there were no boxing gloves for your feet to replace the foam foot pads. What eventually came about was the use of shin guards. Martial arts like Muay Thai use protective shin and instep guards that are exceptionally safe for both the weapon and target. I highly recommend you pick up a pair of these and ditch your old foam foot gear. The great thing is now with all the major martial arts suppliers putting shin guards on the market, there are many different styles. Although people associate shine guards with hard and heavy kicking, there are also very light shin guards that will enable practitioners of Tae Kwon Do to keep there quick lead leg and spin kicks. Next, you need good mouth gear. Once again, technology steps into save the day. Not only will being hit in the mouth possibly damage or remove your teeth, but the shock may damage your brain. When people go down from a punch in the chin, it's not because we have any vital organs in our chin. It's because of the shock through the jaw bone into the brain. Originally, fighters used once piece mouth guards. These were better than nothing but still inadequate. Then came along the double sided mouth guard that could actually conform to your mouth structure if you dipped it in hot water first, much like making your own dentures. This helped protect the teeth, but the brain was still suffering. Shock waves travel through rubber too. Now days we have some really nice mouth guards by Shock Doctor. They are expensive but highly worth it. You would probably end up paying more for capped teeth or a CAT scan. Buy the mouth guard. If you have a school, you can usually purchase them in bulk for a major discount. Now for the groin and kidneys. You do not know the meaning of fear until your third degree black belt sparring partner side kicks you right next to the groin area by mistake. The best groin and kidney protection will again come from boxing suppliers. They have been making them for over half a century and they are getting pretty good at it. I won't go into detail but you can find what you need with Everlast, the oldest and best boxing company there is. Just be sure that you buy a product with proper insulation and don't be fooled by any cheap foam models from unreliable companies. Last but certainly not least, is the head. In fact, it is the most crucial area to protect. Your brain is the command and control center of the body. When it has a problem, your life changes forever. When it shuts down, your life ends. And in fighting you will be making lots of contact to your opponent's head and you will take contact to your own. It's crucial you choose good effective head gear. Once again, no cheap foam models most schools use. It may help against a backfist or ridge hand, but when you get caught with a spin hook kick or round house with the shin, you will wish you had made a better selection...if you can remember anything, that is. The more reliable the company name is with professional fighting organizations, the more expensive the product, and the newer the research, odds are, the better the head gear is. It's not cheap but was is cheap that's worth buying, especially when your health is on the line? Of course, some good advice will also help some. Such as, remember that when you are sparring, you aren't working on power. Your sparring sessions should be dedicated to practicing and perfecting distancing and timing along with strategic principles. You need power on the heavy bag. So it's important to know how to train and to know what safety gear you should use accordingly. Otherwise, you will have people looking at you funny when you are seventy and constantly shouting "Someone answer that phone!".

Psychology In Self Defense

(This part one of a two part post on self defense)

It is always best if you can avoid a fight if you can. However, sometimes it doesn't work out. Anytime you find your self in a realistic altercation, there are a few things that won't hurt to know. When teaching on this subject, most schools and instructors will delve right into the plethora of self defense techniques, paying no mind at all to the more important aspect of fighting for your life: your thought process. Knowing ten thousand self defense techniques is useless if you are not psychologically prepared for the situation. The biggest problem anyone has in a fight is our natural reaction to freeze up. This is especially true when we are crowded by our attacker. And it is a fact that most realistic attacks happen at very close range. Forget what you read in defense manuals where you see two people squaring off, face to face. Your attacker will likely come from behind or the sides and be less than a foot away. It doesn't matter how many moves you know or how many boards you can break, if you freeze up in this situation, you are in serious trouble. Therefor, the most important part of fighting for your life is to have the will and mental power to execute under pressure of physical violence. As they say in wilderness survival situations, "Don't panic". They same applies hear. Instead of letting fear control you, you use it as a tool to sharpen and heighten your senses. Let it come to you as a friend, a reminder that your life is on the line. It's impossible to completely rid yourself of fear in a fight. It would also be detrimental, for fear keeps us in check with our reality.

Your next hurtle to jump is the one concerning your attitude and intent toward your attacker. To put it in context, in a realistic altercation where you may be the victim of anything from murder to kidnapping or rape, there is no win or lose, only survival and the alternative. You must completely forget your preconceived notions of morality and dignity. You will have plenty of time to think on those things later. The only thing that should be in your mind at the moment of the altercation is how to enforce your will over that of your attacker. Nothing else matters. Should it even come down to killing your opponent, if your life is on the line, kill him. Also, have no hesitations about attacking first. It's called pre-imminent attack and it can save your life. I've seen schools teach their students to never attack first, always counter. They teach this as a facet of morality. Similar to the idea that the good sheriff in the old west waits for the evil gunman to draw first. Do you know what would happen to such sheriff's? They'd get shot.

The third step is understanding that it's all about self preservation. Finish an attacker only if you absolutely must to ensure your survival. If you can get away, you should. Many schools teach their students how to use finishing techniques once they have their opponent on the ground. This is very foolish. If your opponent hits the ground, keels over, or even takes his attention off you (if he is not within reach) then make a run for it. One of my favorite self defense illustrations for my students is a simulation where I have them role play and try to talk their way out of a fight with me. I act mad and push them, yelling for them to "just try and hit me!". If they play it smart and handle the situation properly, I let them walk away. If they act like a tough guy, I always do something that shocks them because they never once let this possibility cross their mind. I yell for three or four students to come help me beat this guy up. It completely shocks them. It's all safely simulated and I never actually let anyone in this particular drill actually touch anyone else. But the point is made and they never forget it. You never know the extent of your situation. Your opponent could have ten friends around the corner. He could have a knife in his pocket, or worse, a gun. Always get out if you can.

In the end, remember this one thing: it's about preserving your life. Forget anything else you have ever been told. It's not about honor, justice, morality, or anything else that was conceived by men who never really fought. At the end of the day, if you go home alive, you've done well.

My Top Seven Martial Arts Influences

Everyone has influences. Fighters are no different. In each and everyone of us, there is a part of someone else, someone who helped make us who we are. In my practice of martial arts and my strive for excellence in this field, there are many individuals who have helped guide my path. But there are seven who stand out from the rest. I owe each of them a part of who I am.

The first was Muhammad Ali. As a fourteen year-old, I saw Rocky for the first time and knew immediately that boxing was for me. Whoever thought up that training montage knew what they were doing. My first thought was that I should find out who the greatest boxer of all time was, and study what he did. And of course, the greatest was "The Greatest", Muhammad Ali.
Interestingly, finding Ali was pure luck. I rented a boxing documentary from the library featuring some of the all time greats. But when Ali came on, and I saw the man move, I was in awe. There was something more here, this was no ordinary man. No one even told me he was the best, I knew the moment I saw him. From Ali I learned not only how to move, punch, and be very sneaky against my opponent, but I learned about incredible heart. When I saw the clips on the documentary taken from the Fight of the Century in 1971, I couldn't believe my eyes. How could a man endure that and even jump up off the canvas after being hit with the hardest left hook of all time? Heart, that's how. He was willing to die in that ring.

The second major influence was Bruce Lee. What I have learned and am still learning from Bruce Lee goes beyond martial arts, so far in fact that a later blog is due on how this man changed my life. But for now, let's keep it in scale. I took up martial arts when I was sixteen. I remembered hearing some friends once talk about Lee as "the all time best", so I began doing my research.
I purchased a book of compiled writings by Lee...and my mind nearly exploded. I don't know what it's like to see what's at the end of the universe or learn the last digit of pi, but I imagine it's the same kind of enlightenment I experienced upon reading the writings of Bruce Lee for the first time. This man had a profound understanding of philosophy, psychology, life in general, and how it all related to, as he put it, "the art of expressing the human body". Oh yeah, let's not forget how good the man was in his chosen field. It was by studying Lee that I learned for the first time just how skilled an individual could become at their chosen endeavor. His technique border lined an inhuman perfection. His physique nearly incomparable. Whenever I get a little arrogant and think I'm all that, I imagine myself next to Bruce Lee. It puts me in my place every time.

The third influence was my good friend and only martial arts instructor, Joel Puryear. He is a talented and knowledgeable third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. When I began martial arts I asked if he would teach me and he did, at a fraction of the normal cost someone would normally have to pay for his time and expertise, I might add. Joel taught me about basic technique and combinations. I had already known how to punch and throw hand combinations but this was a whole different ball game. I remember the first time we sparred I tried to hit Joel with a right hand lead. He picked up his front foot and punched a side kick into my ribs I'll never forget. I had never been kicked before. I had a lot of unlearning to do. Joel helped me learn to spar effectively. I had private lessons so I was fighting a third degree black belt all the time. He encouraged full contact as well. It really helped me learn quicker than most.

The fourth influence was Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris was most influential on my thought process. I learned from him that your mental attitude was just as important as your physical skill. A lot of people talk about the power of positive thinking, but Norris demonstrates the power of positive action. You cannot for one second allow yourself to have doubts because your body will literally accept it as a command. If you think you will fail, odds are you will, even if you are skilled enough to succeed. You have to always move forward. And if you hit a stumbling block, turn it in to a stepping stone. And if Chuck Norris hits a stumbling block, it explodes on contact and assembles a stepping stone automatically, out of fear. (I met Norris in 2008, a great day)

The fifth influence was Joe Lewis. I think it's only fair to say that Joe Lewis has had a greater impact on my fighting skill, mental toughness, and fighting mentality than any one else. I actually divide my martial arts into two eras: pre-Lewis and post Lewis. Joe Lewis is five inches taller than me, fifty pounds heavier, and there is no comparison in our power and speed. But everything he teaches works for me. This is because Lewis has so perfectly broken down the fight game that he has universal principals, tactics, strategy, and training drills that will increase anyone's fighting proficiency. And when I came across Joe Lewis' material, my fighting ability, as well as my teaching ability, sky rocketed. When I spar, I know no one can touch me. And if they do, I have the knowledge I need to neutralize their advantage and make their defense collapse. Since I have began to study under the man twice voted by Black Belt Magazine as "the greatest living Karate fighter", my confidence is unshakable.

The sixth influence is Benny "the Jet" Urquidez. Once again, "confidence" is the key word. It takes a special kind of man to walk in the ring against any opponent, in their home town, and fight under their own rules with the world tittle belt on the line. And when someone can do that and be victorious 58 times, you call him Benny "the Jet" because that's his name. It's also important to mention that Urquidez is almost exactly my size, so anything he does will work for me. That's where I picked up my spinning back kick, one of my favorite techniques.

Last on the list is perhaps my favorite fighter, the one man who just continually puts me in complete awe. He is of course, none other than Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. I don't remember how I learned about Bill Wallace but I'm sure glad I did. I followed his example when in doubt of recovering from an injury that could have stopped my training permanently. Without his example, I couldn't have done it. He also influenced my style. Although I was first a boxer, my trade mark has become my flexibility and kicking. I love to show people how I can drop into complete side splits. I love kicking people in the head too! Wallace's example has increased everything from my speed, deceptiveness, flexibility, and set up skills. But more importantly, his example serves as perhaps the best on how to treat others. I contend that you will not meet a nicer, more down to earth guy than Bill Wallace. Or a funnier one too. He always has a smile on his face. I remember when I met Wallace last year. It was the best moment in my study of martial arts. The man literally puts the entire room in a good mood. And all the while, you know that this funny, light hearted man in front of you is a deadly weapon that the best fighters in the world failed to conquer for six straight years until his retirement. How could anyone not be influenced by a guy like that?

You Fight How You Practice: Why I Advocate Training Full Contact

It's probably a good thing that I first studied boxing, rather than a traditional martial arts style.
I was also very fortunate to later have a martial arts instructor who appreciated my skill and mentality as a boxer. From day one, I knew I had to hit or get hit, not only in a fight but in my training sessions as well. Unfortunately, many other practitioners aren't as fortunate.

Most traditional martial arts schools focus on point fighting and consequently, they have some interesting drills and sparring sessions. For example, one of my favorite partner drills is a simple distancing drill using the side kick. Two practitioners square off and take turns firing a side kick at each other. One fires, the other defends using distancing and then counters. The drill then repeats.
When I do this drill, my partner and I always wear good protective gear and this allows us to make controlled, medium power contact. This is very important and will give you not only the proper distancing but a very real level of confidence you have never felt before.
However, in most traditional schools this drill is done quite differently. I have seen one Korean style school that had it's student's fire the kick with no conviction, no contact, no counter, and no repositioning. They were standing outside their opponents critical distance line and letting the kick fall short every time, on purpose. And they tell the students this is going to save their lives in a street fight! It will save someone's life in a street fight....the other guy's.
This practice of disallowing actual contact has many severe effects. First, there's your distancing.
You could liken it to practicing on the rifle range and intentionally firing short of your target, thinking this will allow you to hit the target in a real situation. You don't need to be a marksman to see how foolish this is. Similarly, if you constantly let your punches and kicks fall short in practice, they will fall short in a real altercation. You've heard that you play how you practice?
Well, you fight how you practice too.

Then there's the psychological downside to this line of thinking.
When you aren't making real contact in your training sessions, you are being conditioned to react to a kick for the sake of reacting. This stems form a training mentality that I call "cooperative combat". It works like this. A school focuses only on light contact when they train. The students are taught to block or avoid the punches and kicks and they do, even though there is no real contact being made. What happens is that eventually the student will become accustomed to his opponent defending against flaky punches and kicks even when it's not necessary. The two partners are in essence "cooperating" as they fight. If this practitioner then fights someone in full contact or enters a real altercation, this practitioner will subconsciously expect his opponent to react defensively. The opponent, who has no preconceived conditioning to react to a flaky punch or kick, takes it with no effect, and flattens the practitioner in question. I have seen it happen and I have done it myself.

This leads to the third and perhaps most dangerous consequence of training without full contact:
taking a shot. Or lots of them. If you don't condition yourself in the gym or dojo to take punishment, you won't take it in a fight either. Not only will you be beaten down physically, you will lack the psychological training needed to take a shot. Most people who are not used to real contact will freeze up when they get hit and this is all a full contact fighter needs to put you away.
You will also close your eyes. And it's not the punch you see that knocks you out, it's the one you don't see.

Challenges

Over the years, people have often come to me or mentioned in a conversation that someone they know has challenged me to a fight. I am of course, the last to know about it. Usually this occurs when a friend is talking to someone who practices martial arts, or thinks they practice martial arts, and my name is brought up. But why does this end up in a challenge? After all, I meet martial artists all the time and have many more friends who know martial artists and I never challenge anyone. The answer to this question is directly related to my answer to the challenge, which is always "No".

The problem lies within the individual issuing the challenge. Most of the time, this is a case of insecurity. A martial arts practitioner may have doubts about their own ability, lacks confidence, or feels he is unappreciated by his peers. So they feel they must beat someone up to prove themselves. Many times this individual just wants to show off in front of people. I have never been challenged to a fight in a remote location. It always seems to be at parties or crowded areas.
In many cases the individual isn't even a martial artist, just someone who thinks they know what they are doing because they watch MMA every Saturday night.

Regardless of who challenges you, it's always going to be a lose/lose situation. If you lose, you may be hurt and you will look foolish. If you win, the other guy will be hurt and you will still look foolish. Besides, beating someone up when they have such a problem with insecurity will only make it worse. And if your defeated challenger was just a hot head looking for attention, now he will really be after you with much worse intentions. This kind of grudge can last forever.
Normally I just try and talk my way around it. I tell people that if they want to spar and they are interested in a controlled, learning experience for the both of us, then I would love to spar with them. And I always do. However, if they want to fight and beat me up, forget it. I have nothing to gain by any possible outcome of such an endeavor and neither do they.

Quality Vs. Quantity

So how many martial arts techniques are there anyway? And how many do you have to know?
This is an age old question: the question of quality vs. quantity. Although many practitioners advocate learning many techniques, as many as one hundred or more, I don't agree with this idea. A martial artist is better off discarding the techniques that don't fit his or her physical make up and fighting mentality and instead, focus in on a few techniques that work well for that individual.

You will be able to tell very quickly which techniques work for you and which don't. I would recommend taking five or six techniques to start with and practice them until you have really become efficient with each one. Then, learn at least one or two combinations to use with each technique. Think of it as a one of those nine digit electronic locks for your car door. There are only nine digits but it is nearly impossible to break the code because of the incredible amount of combinations there are. Similarly, you may only have a few techniques but you can hit your opponent with many different combinations. And it doesn't stop there. There are multiple angles to fire each technique from as well as many ways to set up an opponent for each technique.
(I will write on this subject later in detail)

Don't be afraid to have a trade mark technique. This can work in your favor. Many times an opponent will be over anxiously looking for you to fire that one particular technique and this will leave them vulnerable to a sneak attack. Muhammad Ali would frequently establish his famous jab as his principle weapon and when his opponents started looking for him to throw it, he would switch up and hit them with a sneaky right hand or 45 punch.
Being known for a few techniques may also force an individual to continually increase the skill and deceptive methods with which they are delivered. This has made for some exceptional fighters.

I primarily use only ten striking techniques in sparring/competitive style matches. I have four hand techniques: a forward hand strike, straight right, hook, and uppercut. And I primarily use six kicking techniques: a side kick, round kick, hook kick, front kick, spin back kick, and spin hook kick. Early on when I began my only formal training (Tae Kwon Do), there were many more techniques I was made to try and learn. Out of respect for my instructor I practiced each one diligently. But many of them just didn't seem to work for me. For example, to this day I still hate using the ax kick and the crescent kick. I have never once scored on anybody with them. So I cut them out of my training regimen. I only use them today for theatrical purposes.

Many people believe this shows lack of dedication to the art. I believe it shows an effective training practice that prevents a waste of time. After all, as it was once said...
"I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks, but the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times".

Why I Reject The Belt Rank System

The way the belt rank system in martial arts works today, I think it would be best to discard it.
When Benny "The Jet" Urquidez earned his black bet in 1964, he was fourteen years old and the martial arts establishment was in awe of this feat. Today, it's common to see students in any school who are only ten or eleven but are wearing first, second, and even third degree black belts.
Some people claim it's an increase in average skill but I don't buy it. I think our standards over who can wear a black belt have changed dramatically. Dramatically in the wrong direction.

In older martial arts schools, there were usually three or four belt ranks between white and black. Today the average number of belt ranks is around ten and some schools even use colored bands between ranks, making it more like twenty! What happened?
You will hear lots of explanations such as "It motivates kids" but I believe it all comes down to two simple answers: Ego and money.
Everyone has an ego and some show it more than others, but if you really want to see someone with an insecure and carefully guarded ego, walk into a martial arts school. Everyone these days feels like they have to prove themselves better than the other guy. A student who has been training for two weeks longer than another will want to show it with a higher belt rank. Often, there is no real difference in skill between the two. Just a difference in pride.

The second reason is money. This is not the students fault, it is the instructor's.
Martial arts instructors know that a large amount of their total income is from their youngest students. And you have to keep these students enrolled to make your money. A young student who has been training for a long time will want to be promoted. And if the instructor doesn't think they are ready, odds are that they will quit and enroll in a school that will promote them. So how does an instructor keep students for several years and still satisfy their desire to constantly earn new belts? Make multiple belts with many bands, patches, and belt stripes between each rank.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. Many martial arts instructors will manipulate the teaching of patience in the martial arts to keep students in their school. They will tell their students that if they ask about when they might have their next belt test, they are showing a lack of patience, and now the time must be extended. All the while, the student's enrollment money keeps on coming in. It is a very sneaky trick to make students stay enrolled and paying as long as possible.

Ultimately, there is no true need for a belt system in martial arts. I don't want to be judged by someone's own personal idea of what my belt rank means. Because I don't wear a belt or hold a martial arts rank, people can only judge me based upon my performance.
After all, many fighting styles don't use ranking systems. In professional boxing there are no belt ranks except one (the world tittle belt). If someone wants to know how good you are, they have to watch you box. The same applies for wrestling. So why do we need the belt for other styles?

Very few martial arts schools and trainers today require the same expertise, mental toughness, and teaching ability that used to be required to don a black belt. There are exceptions of course. Organizations like the Joe Lewis Fighting System and the Ukidokan systems hold true to awarding black belts selectively and only to those who have the real qualifications.
But over all, I see the belt system as a problem. A problem that might best be discarded.