Readers of this blog will know that for the last couple of years I have taught at the USMAA National Training Camp in St Louis.
I will be there again this July. However, before then I will be hosting a regional training camp for the upper mid-west. The camp will run from Thursday 02 26 15 through Saturday 02 28 15 The logistics are still being locked down, but the camp will include: Law Enforcement Control Tactics ( One on One Control Tactics - O3CT)
Counter Ambush and Edged Weapons Defense
Takedowns
Ground Skills
Weapon retention and High End Use of Force
Traditional Japanese Martial Arts (Judo - Karate - Aikido)
Jui Jitsu (Sweeps and Guard passes)
Pre-competition fighting methods (Catch Wrestling / Bare Knuckle Boxing) WWII era Combatives Reality Based Self Defense Warrior repair , maintenance, and longevity training (Want to keep rolling after 40? Check out this class)
Dojo business and marketing (Some of the best teachers in America train in a church basement and have 5 students - This class is designed to help them continue to do what they love and grow their schools) Some of the Instructors we have lined up include: Gary Rudenick from Kato's Kodokan Judo and Jujutsu Omar Ahmad from Katamedo Jujutsu Randy King from KPC Self Defense Julio Delahuerta and Colleen Hillesheim from (Q) Querencia Fitness More names to follow as they are confirmed The camp will be held at The Mermaid Convention Center 2200 County Road 10 Mounds View MN 55112 Seminar costs: $150 3 day pass ($75 savings) - $125 for USMAA members ($100 savings) $75 / day ($25 savings) - $65 for USMAA members ($35 savings) $25 / class - $15 for USMAA members ($10 savings) A registration page will be up shortly on http://www.kpcombat.ca/
and or judomn.org
More details to follow but I wanted to get this information out as soon as possible.
James Bond will return in - Project Goshin (Que theme)
Goshin Jutsu has been on my mind a lot lately.
Dillon and I have been working on the Keishoukan Budo Syllabus
for 2015.
Incorporating Dillon’s Karate instruction as a regular part
of the “Dirty” Judo class.
As such I wanted
to make sure that our Atemi Waza covered all of Judo’s Atemi Waza.
In doing so I discovered that good information on Judo Atemi
Waza is difficult to find. Usually just
a chart of anatomical weapons to use and another chart of vulnerable points on
the human body that are good to hit.
Can you imagine if throws were taught this way?
This is a picture of your hand use it to grab him. Here are some places that are good for grabbing.
The strikes of Judo Atemi Waza are rarely taught as they cannot
be used in randori or shiai.
Mostly they are in the Kime no Kata and Goshin Jutsu Kata.
"Applying techniques of throwing and grappling to which
body attack techniques are added, Kime no Kata is formulated to aim to acquire
the most basic and effective way of defending ourselves from unexpected attack
of others. The practice of Kime no Kata aims to study not only the principle of
defense and counterattack but also the principle of manipulative body movement.
In the practice of Kime no Kata, tori and uke should breathe in good harmony
with each other, and further, tori has to work his body manipulatively without
laying himself open to an attack of uke." Kata of Kodokan Judo Revised,
1968
Kime no Kata, also known earlier as Shinken Shobu no Kata
(Combat Forms), was developed as a Kodokan kata around 1888.
*judoinfo.com
The Kodokan Goshin Jutsu was created nearly 70 years later in
1956 by a Kodokan working group to update the older kata with more modern forms
of self-defense. It also shows the influence of Kenji Tomiki, one of Professor
Kano's students, who also studied Aikido under the founder of Aikido.
The intent in this kata is different than with normal Judo
practice, in that this is a self-defense kata, the intent on the part of both
participants is to hurt the other. While the actions are controlled, so that
the attacker is not hurt, the defender's actions can easily be modified to
disable the attacker.
*judoinfo.com
"I seek not only to follow in the footsteps of the men
of old, I seek the things they sought."
- Matsuo Basho
What was Kano seeking in the use of Judo for self defense?
“to acquire the most basic and effective way of defending
ourselves from unexpected attack”
“the defender's actions can easily be modified to disable
the attacker.”
I seek those things too.
I don’t need to copy them exactly from 1888 of 1956 I need to focus on
universal principles that allow one to defend from unexpected attack and
respond in a scalable fashion depending on the goal as dictated by the circumstances.
Fighting to the goal - 3 reasons to use force:
·Escape
·Control
·Damage / Disable
"Judo is the study of techniques with which you may
kill if you wish to kill, injure if you wish to injure, subdue if you wish to
subdue, and, when attacked, defend yourself."
- Jigoro Kano
The more I look at incorporating fundamental striking to achieve
those goals the more “old timey boxing” or “BKB” Bare knuckle boxing makes
sense.
Here is an example form Carl (Judoka and WWII combatives
Instructor)
Old school Bare Knuckle
The fundamentals of BKB may appear silly to modern boxers
but they made perfect sense for their time place and purpose.
That most closely matches up with the needs of personal
protection (Goshin Jutsu)
Those principles are what are needed for effective self
defense striking and have a common core with the striking of WWII Combatives
and pre-war or Okinawan Karate.
Boxing removed from sport rules applied to personal protection
has been embraced in the Filipino Martial Art Panantukan or “dirty boxing”
Panantukan is just boxing unrestricted by sport rules. As such looks a lot like old timey BKB boxing
and old Karate.
Just as judo unrestricted by sport rules is the devil ( I
mean that as a compliment to its effectiveness) and looks a lot like old timey catch wrestling
The principles that work are the same and survive the test
of time no matter what you call them.
K.I.S.S.
Keep
It
Simple
Samurai
As I mentioned in the last blog when looking with a critical
eye at Nage Waza (throwing techniques)
I have begun to think that a stone has too many moving parts.
What do I mean by this?
The more parts (bells and whistles) the more things can go
wrong.
Better served by a few very solid principle based skilled
sets that work against nearly everything.
“to acquire the most basic and effective way of defending
ourselves from unexpected attack”
“the defender's actions can easily be modified to disable
the attacker.”
As opposed to trying to memorize a specific technique as a
counter to every possible specific attack.
Learn to handle what happens most and you can handle most of
what happens.
In Japan a 3 hour Judo class is the norm. In the west that may seem extreme. Many successful commercial schools offer a variety
of 1 hour classes.
I find one hour very limiting and I do this for my fun and
personal development more than as a business so like Sinatra said I have to do
it my way
Average American martial arts class – 60 Min
Probably 20 min warm up, 20 min skills, and maybe 20 min
drills
This is how we roll
Keishoukan Budo class 21/2 hours (150 Min)
15 Minutes Warm up
45 Minutes of Striking
-That is a lot of striking for Judo class.
That is more striking than a typical Karate or Boxing class.
-Why so much you may ask. If the need for striking skill for personal
protection hasn’t already been made by
the first part of this blog, allow me to include a portion of Omar Ahmad’s
White Paper on Katamedo Jujutsu
A practitioner of Katamedo JuJitsu will be
able to compete equally in any grappling or mixed martial arts setting.
Katamedo stresses that the principles of grappling are constant, as are the skills
involved... The principles of the arts are common, only the rules differ. As
such, a JuJitsuka must also learn the principles and tenets of atemi waza, or
striking, which are common to many traditional arts…. The most confident
fighter is one who can compete on equal ground no matter what the rules.
Or as Bruce Lee said...
Continuing...
40 Minutes of Ground Skills
50 Minutes of Standing Grappling
And once a week we add an additional 30 minutes of Randori
(Freestyle)
One of the reasons Judo replaced Jujutsu was randori and
shiai. Being able to go full out against
a resisting opponent. The allowed
techniques were paired down for safety but that training methodology gave Judo
(any art Wrestling , Boxing) an advantage against those that offered no such similar
training.
Military Schools, and Police Academies used to have Boxing, and
Wrestling clubs (sometimes Fencing clubs too) for this very purpose.
I have ranted before how today’s youth going into careers
that use force professionally have never been in a scrap.
We cannot teach them the same old ways.
I want to offer a relatively safe way to learn those hard
lessons.
So in summary, Project Goshin is my quest to use Judo to defend
from unexpected attack and respond in a scalable fashion depending on the goal
as dictated by the circumstances for:
• Professional
use of force
• Personal
Protection
In order to do that I have further incorporated the principles and tenets of atemi waza, or
striking, which are common to many traditional arts (Karate and BKB Boxing)
Further to provide safe ways to pressure test skills and
expose students to resistive conflict we will have weekly fight nights
exploring different styles of free style training for the different aspects of
combatives.
-ONE STEP
-NE WAZA
-NAGE WAZA
-ATEMI
WAZA (Kumite / Boxing)
-JYU WAZA
-RANDORI (FREESTYLE JUDO Rules)
“I have found that anyone who trains in a system and uses
sport or stress training is way better off than reading every violence dynamic
article and book you can get. But just so you know, you should do both. Educate
yourself in self defense and sport.”
- Omar Ahmad
If anyone would like written out rules / explanations of how
we do those freestyle drills hit me up in the comments.
In conclusion I want to end with promoting Freestyle Judo
You can check out their site from the link above but I
wanted to include this excerpt:
Freestyle Judo - The way Judo ought to be
There is only one Judo, and that is the Kodokan Judo of
Jigoro Kano. Judo is more than simply a sporting event; rather, it is a
complete martial art that has adapted over the years to various fighting styles
and techniques. Kodokan Judo includes techniques from wrestling, sambo, and of
course modern jujitsu. However, over the past two decades many of these
fighting styles were discouraged, and eventually penalized, in tournament Judo
for reasons cited as "better television viewing". Unfortunately, the
resulting rule changes resembled Greco-Roman wrestling in a kimono, all the
while professional Mixed Martial Arts grappling gained in television
popularity.
Freestyle Judo brings back the "Golden Age" of
Judo competition by embracing the fighting styles of wrestling, sambo, and
modern jujitsu. Competitors who specialize in standing techniques can throw for
ippon. Wrestlers who prefer lower body attacks can shoot for the legs.
Grapplers who specialize in submissions have the time and flexibility to fight
on the ground. All of these styles are good Judo.
A judo coach observing a Freestyle Judo match for his first
time remarked; "That looks just like judo." The answer was;
"That's because it is judo. It's just judo the way it ought to be
done." Good judo is good judo and the rules of Freestyle Judo allow judo
athletes to use all the skills of judo during a match.
Freestyle Judo encourages participation from Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestlers, and Mixed Martial Arts enthusiasts by providing an
open-ended competition format.
Freestyle Judo is endorsed by Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, World
Judo Champion, former president of the USJA, and mother of Ronda Rousey, UFC
Champion and 2008 Olympic Judo Bronze Medalist, as the "Ultimate Judo
Style for MMA".
Freestyle Judo is an outgrowth or continuation of judo as a
sporting activity with adaptations in how a judo match is scored making it an
interesting and positive approach to judo competition. It's most definitely not
our intention in any way replace the Kodokan Judo of Jigoro Kano. Judo, as a
combat sport, has stood the test of time and whether people realize it or not,
has been the technical and theoretical basis for many other combat sports as
well. There is only one judo and that is
the Kodokan Judo founded by Professor Jigoro Kano in 1882. How people view a sporting event is directly
affected by the rules of the game. Judo is no different. The rules of the sport
of judo have changed through the years, and as is the case with any physical
activity, these changes in the contest rules affect how people teach, learn and
train in judo. Freestyle Judo's rules offer athletes and coaches another
opportunity to compete and dispay their skills in the sport of judo. Freestyle Judo is not intended to replace the
existing rules of judo; rather, Freestyle Judo offers more competitive
opportunities for everyone who takes part.
Freestyle Judo is not a different "system" of
judo. Good judo is good judo. The rules of Freestyle Judo encourage all the
skills and strategy of good judo to be used.
Freestyle Judo uses a numerical point scoring system for
both throwing and ground fighting. This provides an objective set of criteria
for allowing the athletes (and not the referees) to determine the winner and
loser in the match.
Freestyle Judo is Judo, the way your sensei did it. If you are old enough to remember how judo
was done in the 1960s through 1980s, you will remember that judo is really a
combat sport. Freestyle Judo allows all the elements of good judo to be used in
a safe and fair way. No soft or rolling Ippons and the referees allow the
athletes time to engage in newaza. Freestyle Judo is not for the faint of
heart. It is what judo was intended to be as a combat sport.
Freestyle Judo is the only form of sport judo that includes
a "no-gi" category. Basically, no-gi Freestyle Judo is "judo
without a jacket."
You can have the sport of Judo without the art. But you cannot have the art of Judo without
the sport. Freestyle Judo rules even if
just for in house randori give a solid foundation to enhance the art through
the sport.
As I previously mentioned the Vio Dy seminar was a blast again this
year. One of the reasons I go through
all the work of putting something like that together every year is it always
blows my mind.
So again, this blog will primarily be a brain dump of sorts to get the
thoughts in my head on “paper” before I forget them. Allowing me to further develop them throughout
the year.
So where to start?...
ODIN
Yeah, that is a real thing now.
It has evolved from me getting grown ass folks to play G.I.Joe and Super
Heroes with me in to a real brick and mortar / blood and bone entity.
We have card carrying members
We have active ongoing operations
I have a need to provide services I boasted I could accomplish.
So now I am in a place that looks a lot like – holy shit how am I going
to pull this off?
Like eating an elephant, one bite at a time.
First bite - What is ODIN?
• Operational
• Disciplines
• Instructional
• Network
O.D.I.N. is the code name for the world's daring, highly trained
special mission force.
An independent international intelligence service
Its purpose: to develop human potential.
Recruiting and training operatives to use their inherent abilities to
defend human freedom.
O.D.I.N. training can provide the means to become more than what you
are
To become the hero you are meant to be
People are wired to learn through play.
As we get older we get “too cool” to play anymore and learning becomes a
chore. Exercise stops being fun and
becomes work.
ODIN / Super hero training is a way to be active and play again.
It is a fun way to develop yourself, and help others. It is in no way an actual independent
international inelegance service hiding as a training program or a game. Because that would be ridiculous.
What are our goals?
Things I have stated on this blog that am I trying to accomplish:
Re-establish physical culture in American youth
Improve the level of and availability of training for professional
force users.
Help individuals become more selfactualized - who they want to be. Not so much for their personal vanity but
more so for the betterment of society.
In this way you are able to
perfect yourself and contribute something of value to the world. This is the
final goal of Judo discipline
- Jigoro Kano
“Strong people are harder to kill
than weak people and more useful in general.”
- Mark Rippetoe
If it was easy someone else would have done it already
What is our purpose?
To do good
ODIN will provide the means to become more than what you are. To become the hero you are meant to be, so
that you can be of service to others
How am I going to pull that off?
Well, I have a substantial to do list, and honestly I will need
help.
What to look for in the not too distant future (also note any one with
expertise in any of the following fields willing to donate said expertise any help
would be appreciated)
ODIN website:
·Learn through play
·Distance learning
·Splinter Cells
·Operations
k
o
Again most of this (blog) is broad strokes, throwing spaghetti at the
wall type deal. Getting my ideas down so
that when I talk with people that know what the hell they are doing I can
explain what I would like to make happen.
Learn through play
ODIN evolved from games I played when I was in college…
And playing Ninjas and Spy Girl with my daughters. “Spy Girl” is what we called the television
show Alias
The premise of ODIN is whatever name is on your driver’s license, pass
port, student id etc…, that is just your cover.
You are (insert cool code name here) who is actually an agent of ODIN
deep undercover.
How does this work through the web site?
I would like to set up a role playing type of game of a sort. The twist being, you are the character you
are playing, and the goal is to “level up” that character into who you want to
be.
How much time / effort does someone spend leveling up a character in a
video game or even a table top D&D type game because it is fun?
If ODIN is fun enough can that transfer to leveling up one’s self?
I am currently working on developing and coopting tests to set baseline
attribute scores.
Strength
Intelligence
Dexterity
Constitution (Toughness / Heart / Game)
Wisdom (Common Sense / Life Experience)
Charisma (Social Skills)
Ideally these tests will be fun / play as well. Like the which Star Wars character are you
type quiz people take on Face Book to kill time.
Instead of data mining to sell you shit you don’t need or set you
up for identity theft, these quizzes will help you get an objective look at
yourself. Allowing you to see what
victim profiles you may fit into, what your strengths are, and where you could
use improvement.
I am also currently working on ways players can earn experience points
by working on areas that need improvement.
I’d like a phone app that connects to, gains info from other apps. For example let’s say physical fitness is an
area you need improvement on. My fitness
pal is a great app that tracks your work outs.
I’d like to be able to link that app to the game so you get so many
points for working out.
Here is an advertisement for a work out game on Xbox one... Add some fun to your fitness routine - Tired of going to the gym and repeating the same old boring workout routine? Shape Up is the game that proves working out and having fun is possible. It features unique and entertaining 90-second challenges that transform the chore of exercise into a good ol' time. You might even find yourself looking forward to your next cardio blast or circuit training session.
Something along those lines. Making training fun, a game. No matter what area you are working on improving
Also in RPG’s skills are different from attributes. What skills do you have? What skills do you want?
Operational disciplines can be scary subject matter. There be dragons here.
How do you convince those that are afraid and risk averse, that risk can be enjoyed, and skills learned that will help one navigate uncertainty.
Sadly, the people that need this most tend to be the least likely people to seek it out.
The 250 lb. former linebacker gets a kick out of learning to be Jason Bourne.
However, the 120lb sophomore co-ed is the one that is on nearly every single victim profile. She is the one that needs Bourne's skills.
How do you get her to train in scary things? To face her dragons?
How do you sell the idea in the first place. That it's a good idea at all ... especially to those that are just waiting for society to become safe?
"Why should I train?, men should be trained not to rape"
Provide a safe environment to expose yourself to scary things.
Establish that what we are providing is in no way blaming the victims of crime for not having this type of training or for night fighting back.
You can have all the training in the world and you still may become a victim of crime.
I like to compare it to swimming, even the best swimmers occasionally drown.
However, in an emergency, that swim training can tip the odds in their favor.
No one calls swim lessons or competitive swimming drown victim blaming.
Everyone is afraid of the water until the learn to dog paddle.
Swimming is fun
Learning about awareness is not about being afraid or that danger lurks everywhere
A lot of people (women particularly) don't like to even consider it as it makes the world seem more threatening.
ODIN makes awareness a game, if you pretend to be a spy it isn't as scary
fake it until you make it
If you play the game enough that it becomes a habit you have ingrained operator skills
Those ingrained skills send off subtle not to be fucked with, find easier prey elsewhere vibes that pros and assholes will pick up on. Removing people from victim profiles
ODIN is fun
Be the best you. Not everyone
has a need or a desire to be Batman.
There are lots of very cool characters in the Batman books without whom the
Bat could never exist.
Not everyone wants to be Batman so in order for ODIN to be fun for
everybody, and to benefit from different skill sets and points of view ODIN
(the game) has to have different character classes.
Just as every Marine is a rifleman 1st then what ever job
they are assigned, all ODIN agents will work to improve and gain new Operational Skills
while benefiting society with the other skill sets they already have.
Examples of other character classes / ODIN branches may include
ODIN Scientific Branch
Scientific Branch skills may include
Research
Web Design/ Development
Game Development
App Development
Equipment Development (Q stuff)
ODIN Artistic Branch
Skills may include
Logo Design
T-shirt Design
Poster Design
Clothing Design
Watch Making
Jewelry Design
Furniture Design
Wood Working
·Training Weapons
Knife Making
As the game evolves and more people play I’m sure more character classes
will develop. I want everybody willing
to contribute their skills to do good to have the opportunity to do so.
[Anyone who has game playing (DM) experience and or computer skills
that could help me develop this please contact me in the messages]
Distance learning
Once a month I put on Super Hero training for the Hamline University
Martial Arts Club in St. Paul covering a broad spectrum of Operational Disciplines
throughout the academic year.
Physical Skills
Physical Agility Testing
Structure / Power Generation
Principles of Joints Locks
Counter Assault
Principles of Striking
Biomechanics of Throwing
Fundamental Ground Movement
High End Use of Force
Academic Topics
Introduction to Operational Disciplines
State Statutes and understanding force law
Violence Dynamics 1 – Social Violence
Violence Dynamics 2 – Asocial Violence
Conflict Strategy 1 – Avoidance
Conflict Strategy 2 – Escape / Evade
Verbal skills – De-escalation
Verbal Skills deterring asocial violence
We have been having a lot of fun, we have been learning through play and I have been figuring out ways to
provide elements of this experience through the website.
Video of Academic Lectures
Power Point Presentations
Self-training exercises and drills
Work outs
E-books
Lesson plans
The N in ODIN is Network right?
Batman traveled the world to train with experts in many disciplines.
On the site I would like to have at least some basic intro level material on all
the Operational Disciplines previously listed.
I have tapped some guys already, and or if you are reading this and I
know you have skills in a particular area expect a message / phone call soon.
I also feel this can be a great opportunity to drive business to people
I know are excellent but are relatively unknown.
Which if I may say so myself is an excellent transition to…
Splinter Cells
A couple of goals / ideas I have with this
1) Those previously mentioned unknowns.
This sounds arrogant as I type it but I’d like to have some sort of
stamp of approval for folks I know are legit and I can confidently send people
their way to learn quality skills. Like
a subtle logo on their website or something.
People that know the logo will know.
The uninitiated will not. Also
shows those in the know that there are active agents in that area. Mission capable agents (more to follow)
...But we are initiated aren't we Bruce...
2) For folks that live nowhere near anyone listed in 1). Splinter cells can be groups of people doing
the distance learning programs together.
They are a way to develop study groups.
These groups can then host training opportunities and we can send
Instructors to them.
We can develop instructors in these areas.
Teaching
Training
Conditioning
Play
Always return to play
Part of the mission statement is to do good.
How does one go about doing that?
How is that play?
Do good
On the way to the airport with Rory Miller we had a conversation. That talk planted the seed of how I could make this happen.
We were talking about guys that dress up in Super Hero costumes. For the most part they seek out opportunities to be seen in their outfits. Halloween only comes once a year. There are only so many comic cons or free comic day events they can go to. Sometimes in order to be like heroes they will dress up and give sandwiches or first aid to the homeless.
Sometimes even pros play this game.
Helping people to be seen is one thing.
I'd like to offer another
Helping people from the shadows.
Learning through play, make helping people play, learn while helping people...without being seen
I'd like to make part of the game earning xp (and other rewards) for successful completion of altruistic operations, and developing such operations (creating opportunities for Operatives to use their skills to help others)
Good deeds done dirt cheap
The O – Team
If you need help..If you have a problem... if no one else can help... and if you can find them... maybe you can hire... The O-Team. Ideally we will be able to set something up like the TV show "Stingray"
On the show, Ray, who lives in Southern California, devotes his time to helping those who are in trouble. His background is shadowy; all that is known about him is that he advertises surreptitiously in newspapers, ostensibly offering a "'65 black Stingray, for Barter Only To Right Party" and including a telephone number (555-7687). Those wishing to enlist his services, presumably having learned the ad’s real meaning by word of mouth, can call him for help.
Ray does not charge money for his help. Instead, he extracts a "favor" from his client in advance that the client will repay Ray in the future by performing this favor, perhaps easy, perhaps difficult, upon Ray’s request. This favor must be given by the client. The favor can involve the current case on which he is working, or a future case.
Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, consider this justice a gift on my daughter's wedding day.
— Don Corleone, The Godfather
Sound Cool? I think so I imagine something like this once we are up and running. One guy wants to earn xp designing an op. So he gets a flyer advertising volunteer services placed in the Sunday newsletter of a local church. Some grandma goes to a page on the site and fills out the request form. Or calls a number and someone else does the web stuff because computers might scare grandma. Either way the parameters of the mission are set, and we get to know some things about grandma. For the sake of explanation lets say she needs her lawn raked and tree removed. We also learn that she enjoys knitting and is part of a knitting circle that meets Thursdays from 3-5pm. So guy goes to the website and sends out the Bat signal: Need Operatives in the greater Minneapolis area for lawn care and tree removal next Thursday from 3-5. If special skills were required it could be listed as a requisite for participation. Also gives people with those skills an opportunity to earn points using them to help others. So guy gets a crew of say 10 operatives. A couple of specialists with landscaping skills and equipment and some others that can handle a rake. They cut down the tree and clean up the yard and disappear like shadows. Kagenorenmei. Specialists earn points they can use to level up or trade to acquire new skills, say like one free class ant the next VioDy seminar. Grandma comes home and it is a miracle, what she asked for happened. Next week she receives a call or an email. We require no payment. If you want to show appreciation tell others how to contact us for help. Also if you would like to help others, your knitting circle could make 30 pairs of gloves. Guy gets points for running an op and turning an asset Next month 30 pairs of gloves somehow show up in a warm clothing drive for the homeless. If we do our job right only those we have helped will know we exist We will become an urban legend
Ok that is the general idea. Nothing to it but to do it.
Anyone that wants to get in on the ground level and help me get this beast up and running any help would be appreciated
Train hard, Train smart, Be safe (don't get caught)
The Violence Dynamics Seminar was two weeks ago already.
I took some time to let ideas bounce around in my head for a
bit.
The next couple of blogs will be a brain dump of a type to
help me sort out all of the information.
This blog post I want to focus on takedowns.
At the seminar I taught a class on striking into
takedowns. It was later in the week
after we covered some basic fundamentals.
In my mind this class was an opportunity for students to practice
practical application of those principles.
If I am honest with myself the takedowns class ended up
being just a group of techniques I like to do
Instead of application of the principles we had worked, it
became memorizing technique.
That is perfectly fine for a martial arts seminar of one particular style,
but directly antithetical to the Violence Dynamics ideal of developing better individuals.
As opposed to producing flawed copies of the instructors.
So I started to think - how can I teach a principle based
approach to takedowns?
Start at the beginning – What is required to throw another
human being?
Any throw will need the following:
Grab
Move
Off balance
Fit in
Execute
Fair enough, but...
How do you know if you should even try to throw
someone?
When you do know, how do you
know which throw to do?
The - Grab, Move, Off balance, Fit in, Execute process can
be refined down further. With further
refinement those questions answer themselves.
In order for a throw to make any kind of
sense tactically you have to be close enough to throw.
Therefore the first principle of takedowns has to be positioning.
Positioning -
(Relational position and orientation)
In sport application of grappling arts there is a gentlemen’s
agreement between the participants.
I will not hit, kick, bite or spit at you if you agree to do
the same.
This makes throwing “safe” from anywhere
Before (and outside) of this agreement, if you are in range
to throw you are in range to get hit.
{If the enemy is in range, so are you and incoming fire has the right of way}
That means outside of such an agreement there are only so many
places where it is “safe” to throw someone from.
For style neutral reference I’ll use this chart
0
1
2
2 ½
3
0 is called 0 because you want to spend ZERO time there. All of the enemy's offensive weapons are viable and not only are you in range you are in the cross hairs.
Action is always faster than reaction if you find your self in this position you need to go on offense to get off the X
1 is safe to throw from as long as you are outside of the enemy.
To clarify - Let's say you move to the 1 position on the left side of the enemy. To be outside of him means your right leg is to the right or out side of his right leg.
If your leg is inside of his you can easily get kicked in the giblets and your leg is also vulnerable to sweeps (see removing structure coming up)
Although 1 is safe to throw from when kuzushi, the next principle is applied the positional relationship between you and them usually changes to 2 or 21/2
2 is a great place to throw from, especially with your center line on their hip bone. I have found that overbalancing to the front works best from here.
2 1/2 is also great your hip bone on their hip bone.
Offbalancing to the back works better here. You can also offbalance forward but the process of offbalancing puts you in the 2 position.
3 is clearly a gold mine.
Also there are only so many ways to get into those positions.
You can:
Talk your way there (see references to werewolfing in
previous blogs)
Strike your way there
Find yourself there after a counter assault from the front
Find yourself there after a counter assault from the rear
It has to work in both offense and defense.
No matter how you ended up in a good throwing position you are not going to throw anybody if they can maintain the ancient Japanese principle of HA or headou over assou. Translated as head over ass.
Therefore....
The second principle of takedowns has to be off balancing.
Kuzushi
Generally taught as the 8 directions of the compass.
However, I have found there are really only 3
ways to off balance someone
NOT – Nose over toes (Number 1 on the chart above)
HOH – Head Over heals (Number 2 on the chart above)
HOS – Head over side “I’m a little tea pot” (Numbers 3-8 on the chart above)
As mentioned previously many times the position you throw from will dictate the offbalance that makes sense.
Also as mentioned sometimes offbalancing changes or dictates the position.
You need to get their head outside of their cone of balance (see picture above)
With that in mind I have found...
HOS works best for bringing bigger guys down to your size
allowing you to take them NOT or HOH.
So really there is one way to cut "giants" down and two ways to kill balance.
Once you get to a place it is safe to throw from you will have
to take their balance from them (binary decision either front or back). If your position dictates the offbalance, or the
enemy is already off balance due to your effort to get that “safe” position, the decision tree reduced even further.
No decision needed – take the gift
Bone slave - Puppet Master
The "Platinum" move
Much like Rory Miller’s Golden Move, only better
Improve your position
Worsen their position
Protect yourself from damage
Damage them
* Twist them up in such a way that they cannot move
Once you are in position, and they are off balance, bone slaving / puppet mastering is twisting them in such a way that it is difficult for them to use any of their strength. Also you are forcing them to bare all of your weight. For all intents and purposes removing their ability to move in any direction except the one you want them to which causes the throw.
From here there are only so many ways to make someone hit the ground.
Therefore...
The third principle has to be method.
Methods to put someone on the ground:
Lever
Area Denial
Remove Structure
Trebuchet
Bone Slave / Sacrifice
Lever
I place lever throws first because I feel they are the least
complex of the throwing methods I describe.
A lever throw is when you lock the spine so it is one big lever
arm. You use that lever arm to put the
head so far head over heals or nose over toes (outside the cone of balance) that the enemy cannot recover his
balance and falls.
Example of a rear off balance lever would be Aikido’s Irimi
Nage or variations of Judo’s Kuchiki
Daoshi
Examples of a front off balance lever would be like from the video above, except you drive their face into the ground instead of spinning them around, giving them back their balance then taking their balance to the rear.
Area Denial
The only way to recover from a lever throw is to change your
base. There are only so many ways the
enemy can move their feet to regain their base to prevent being thrown. If you put something in the way of that, say
your own foot, you are denying them that area.
When they try to regain their base they trip over your feet and fall
Like Tai Otoshi to the front or classic WWII combatives “Hip
Throw” to the rear
Remove structure
If somehow they were able to regain their base (area denial failed). They are now dependent on that leg to maintain
that base. While keeping them off
balance and twisted remove the structure of their base by cutting off “sweeping”
that leg
From a rear offbalnace this would look like Osoto Otoshi
From a front off balance like uchi matta or even harai goshi. All dependent on how you and the enemy fit together.
Trebuchet
A trebuchet traditionally consists of an arm resting on an
axle, which rests high on a base structure. The arm of the trebuchet is like an
off-center see-saw with a huge counterweight on the short end and a sling
attachment on the long end.
Principles by their nature do not need to be forced. The results of following them should be all
but effortless. Sometimes in the process
of stepping in to deny an area or remove a structure your hips will slip under
their center of gravity.
When this happens your combined structure is like that of a
trebuchet. If you drop your weight quickly
as you hang on to them, they sling shot around your body.
At Vio Dy we touched on this a little bit.
Take advantage of the gifts offered don’t hunt for or force
a throw (any “technique”)
Seio Nage is an example of what I call a trebuchet throw
In my most humble opinion Seio Nage is hard to set up and execute.
But assholes jump on your back
Seio Nage is instinctive, natural and makes sense when an
asshole jumps on your back.
It feels (to me anyway) artificial and forced when attempted
from the front.
Also when attempted from the front it is very easy to counter. Simply pushing on their hips or just dropping your weight is usually all that is required to squash it.
I find the using that sling shot around your body as opposed
to over your shoulder has a much higher probability for success and is easier to
use for smaller stature people vs big guys. (it is unlikely that you will be
attacked by someone smaller and weaker than you)
Examples of this would be Uchi Makikomi as opposed to Seio Nage
Uki Goshi as opposed to O goshi
Bone Slave / Sacrifice
Bone slave – I’m going to lock our skeletons together so we
are like conjoined twins. Where one twin
goes the other has to follow.
This
concept can / should be stacked on top of all the other principles to make them
work even better. As a stand alone
principle it is the basis for a sacrifice throw. I have a tactical need to put you on the
ground…
Vio Dy flashback, before we go further let’s look at why
force is used
Escape
Control
Damage
Fight
Of those categories, in which of those does it make sense to
go to the ground?
Escape? Hard to run
while you are tied up on the ground with someone. In order to escape by putting someone on the
ground you are going to have to control or damage them first anyway.
Control? – Sure that makes sense. Cops take bad guys to the ground for cuffing all the time.
Damage? – Yup
Fight? – Yes but fighting is social violence done for fun or
to display dominance and is not a legitimate use of force anyway.
So back on point, tactical needs to go to the ground are reduced down to control or damage.
If you need to go to the ground to control or damage you can
throw yourself to the ground and your conjoined twin has to follow. The mean little trick is to twist in such a
way that they hit the ground first and provide you with something soft and
squashy to land on.
Another place where sacrifice throws make sense
strategically is when you need to increase chaos.
If you are losing (see also taking damage) you have nothing
to lose by making things more chaotic
If you are being thrown to the ground there is a point where
physics take over and there is nothing you can do to stop it. So drag that son of a bitch to hell with
you. Remember, the mean little trick is
to twist in such a way that he hits the ground first and provide you with
something soft and squashy to land on.
Even if you hit the ground first, you can’t quit. Quitting is death. Keeps the momentum of the throw rolling. Find a way to win.
We have discussed removing their balance and structure to throw them. To be able to take advantage of their loss of balance and structure, and to prevent ourselves from being thrown. We must maintain out balance and structure.
Therefore...
The fourth principle has to be maintain your base.
Combatives.
My definition of combatives is starting with your primary weapon as a foundation and working back to empty hand from there.
I bring that up now because a good rule of thumb in maintaining structure throughout the throw is to ask your self "Am I in a solid shooting position?" "Would I fire a weapon from here?"
If the answer is no it probably means your structure is shot.
That is Judo's Jigo Hontai or defensive posture. Solid structure. You can also move while maintaining this structure. If your attempt to throw takes you away from a solid structure it is much more difficult to deliver force into the enemy.
When position and off balance come together the delivery method becomes more instinctive / obvious. Circumstances will dictate the throw. Use this naturally, accept the gift. Don’t fight it to get the
Kodokan ideal.
Lots of Judo throws have added flash to make sure the ref saw what you did and you get credit for a full Ippon.
I don't need credit from a ref. I just need to smash that fucker into the ground.
A perfect example of this was Makoid Sensei's demonstration old man Osoto Gari on me last summer
He used the following model:
Grab
Move
Off balance
Fit in
Execute
But that model fits within the principles I mentioned today.
Grab - got into throwing range
Move & Offbalance - he moved into a position it was safe to throw from as he took my balance to the rear and twisted me so I couldn't move and all our weight was on my right foot.
Fit in - he maintained his structure while preventing me from regaining mine.
Execute - he removed the structure of my post (leg).
His feet never left the ground. He had no need for flash. It just had to work against a bigger, stronger, younger opponent with out much (if any) effort.
Takemusu Aiki is the spontaneous creation of technique
Position off balance and delivery come together as a
spontaneous gift appropriate for the circumstance and the defender / threat
factors.
Another thing Makoid Sensei said to me last summer, was that young instructors try to show how much they know by showing tons of techniques that no one remembers.
Old instructors show one or two principles that are remembered and give the students the ability to master tons of techniques.
It took me a while to figure out how to teach a few principles.
I have come to call these principles "Caveman Judo" although it can be applied to any style of throwing.
Why Caveman Judo you ask?
A couple reasons
To describe one of the reasons Rory Miller references the book "Angry White Pajamas". The book is about a guy from England that enrolls in the Yoshinkan Aikido Honbu Dojo Senshusei course.
Anyway in the book there is a story about some of the greatest Aikidoka of the time out drinking while mourning Shioda Sensei's death.
A fight breaks out and they all end up rolling around on the ground throwing wild punches.
Some of the best and most severely trained guys in the world and none of that skill was used in actual confrontation.
Rory makes the point - Under pressure you are going to be a cave man. Might as well train to be the best cave man you can be.
Another reason...
So easy a caveman could do it.
For throws to make sense tactically they have to be all but effortless. They have to be giant killers that small stature people can use against nightmare attackers.
Finally, like a caveman these throws are fairly brutal.
Slamming someone into the planet will cost them.
In review - The principles I have come to understand that make throws work:
Positioning
1
2
21/2
3
Offbalance
NOT
HOH
HOS
Platinum move
Method
Lever
Area Denial
Remove Structure
Trebuchet
Bone Slave / Sacrifice
Maintain your base
Takemusu Aiki
The spontaneous creation of technique
Position off balance and delivery come together as a spontaneous gift appropriate for the circumstance and the defender / threat factors.
It has been two weeks since the Violence Dynamics Seminar.
Since then I have been implementing these principles in my teaching, and the results have been impressive.
Lise has thrown me so hard (see brutal like a cave woman) I could smell colors
Rob (roughly 1/2 my size) "accidentally" threw me with a Harai Goshi. - Takemusu Aiki
Rob threw me effortlessly in such a manner that if I were in the air any longer I would have received frequent flyer miles from Delta.
Luke who started training with us two weeks ago, and Greg who has trained with us of and on are throwing spontaneously under pressure. Throwing at a level that usually isn't seen until brown belt (approximately 3 or so years of regular training)
Kristen was throwing instinctively after her first class!
I've been receiving requests on my face book page to explain these Caveman Judo principles further.
This blog is just a first step.
Soon an ODIN YouTube page containing video of these principles in action
After that I plan on putting together an e-book
Stayed tuned here for further updates
Train hard, Train Smart, Be safe
Also I just noticed I went an entire blog with out a comic book reference.
So for your entertainment here is one of my faves showing Batman kicking Superman's ass with Judo....and Kryptonite
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