The Next Two Considerations of Combat

We began discussing the Ten Considerations of Combat in an earlier post. Each of these considerations is of unique importance in fully understanding, and by extension properly responding to, any combat encounter. Today we will continue with considerations three and four. Positions and Maneuvers.

3. Positions
The positions of the combatants is a key determing factor in identifying the targets and weapons appropriate to the engagement. Understanding the concepts of Constant and Relative Centerline will allow the student to disect the opponent's position relative to the position of the student.

The opponent's position needs to be identified with regards to height, width, and depth zones, as well as the specific positions of the opponent's natural weapons.

Determing the height of the opponent is more than a mere determination of his stature. The student must determine whether he is standing, kneeling, crouching, slouching, etc. If the opponent appears to be slouching in his stance, it could be because he has pre loaded his legs to spring forward. It could also affect the power of the opponent's strikes.

Determing the width of the opponent's stance can help the student to understand which weapons are closest to his own targets, as well as what defensive maneuvers he may need to execute in order to defend against those weapons.

Determing the depth of the opponent's stance can help the student to understand whether the opponent intends fight or flight. An opponent with his legs spread far apart may be less prepared to flee, and by extension, more likely to stay in an escalating situation. An opponent who has drawn his stance in tighter may be preparing to flee, however, he may also be preparing to execute an offensive foot maneuver.

The position of the opponent's natural weapons is also important in determining what aggressive action to anticipate. Is the opponent prepared to execute a hand or foot strike? Has he raised his arms aggressively or defensively? Are his hands and feet within their natural range of motion?

Similarly, instinctual responses can affect the opponent's position. Ducking the chin and blading the body are both instinctual responses to aggression, as is raising the arms to protect the head. Identifying these changes in the opponent's position can help the student determine the escalating threat level. Finally the student must take into account the position of the opponent relative to the environment. Is he blocking a door the student could have escaped through? Is he near anything which could be used as a weapon? Is his position vulnerable in a way that could be exploited by the student, for instance near an obstruction or dangerous area? These are all important factors to be considered.

Just as range may determine whether or not to engage in conflict, positions are a determining factor in exactly how to do so.


4. Maneuvers
Foot maneuvers are often overlooked, but are one of the most important aspects of any violent confrontation.

Just as stances are the basis of all effective technique, foot maneuvers are the basis of all effective technique execution. Being able to turn a static fighting stance into a mobile weapon is the key to efficacy.

Foot maneuvers can be used to advance, retreat, or reposition the key actors within the combat arena. Knowledge of the correct and appropriate application of foot maneuvers not only allows the student to move safely and effectively, it also allows the student to identify the opponent's maneuvers within the environment, and allows for the incorporation of sweeps, trips, and throws into the repositioning of those actors.

In identifying the opponent's foot maneuvers the student can attempt to find flaws within the opponent's technique, as well as opportunities for entry techniques. Does the opponent lift his feet and step through the environment, or does he shuffle or glide? If he lifts his feet, then perhaps he can be directed into an area littered with small obstructions which he may step on. Does he shift his weight more than is necessary? Does he bounce in his stance or stay low and solid? An understanding of weight distribution can assist the student in delivering throws and other off balancing techniques.

Foot maneuvers are more than just moving through the environment. They are also a way to sense the environment. A skilled practitioner can detect obstructions as he moves through the environment, and avoid them or incorporate them into his defense.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice each of your first five foot maneuvers from a neutral bow. Incorporate hand and foot technique. Once you've practiced strikes with foot maneuvers in the air begin again with a focus shield.

Intermediate: Student A assumes a fighting stance. Student B circles Student A, striking available targets. Change positions. Alternate.

Advanced: Students A and B close in any standing grapple. Without breaking contact, Students compete using foot maneuvers and body positioning for a single pre-selected goal such as stomps, rear position, sweeps, throws, etc. Practice with increasing intensity, paying special attention to control and joint safety, especially around the knees.

Ground Fighting: Practice escaping and standing from mount, guard, side mount, north/south, scarf, reverse scarf, knee on stomach, and rear mount positions, using stand-up technique, box drill, and rolls. Practice defending while prone against a standing attacker. Student A lays on back. Student B circles in standing position. Student A maneuvers on ground to keep legs between their torso and Student B, while Student B attempts to move into kicking range of Student A's head. Alternate.

This is Self Defense

“Among the arts of self defense in which weapons are not used, no other can surpass the art of Kenpo.”

Honorable Great Grand Master James M. Mitose
What is Self Defense? (Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu)

This month in the Intermediate class we are discussing themes of Street Self Defense. We are exploring ranges, scenarios, and techniques which apply to Self Defense; and practicing drills which can help us to develop the skills necessary to survive a violent assault.

The first most important skill to develop is recognizing when to use violence.

“The times for violence are few and far between. They seldom if ever involve strong emotion on your part. If you're feeling extremely angry or upset, odds are that isn't the right time. It's probably better to back off and get some distance from the situation until you cool down.

When someone commits physical violence against you, it is NOT the time for half-measures or debate. Most people are victimized by attackers because they're still thinking about being reasonable and negotiating while the guy is attacking. Once a situation turns physical, the time for talk is over. It has been taken to the next level.”

Marc “Animal” MacYoung
Taking it to the Street

The vast majority of violent confrontations can be avoided by paying attention to your environment, avoiding potentially dangerous situations, and being willing to use reason before your fists. If you stay away from violent people and situations, and you are willing to walk away from them if you encounter them, you will have learned the better part of self defense already.

But when violence occurs and we can't talk or escape, we have to be ready to defend ourselves. In those extreme circumstances we need to have a set of guidelines which inform our behavior, and then a set of techniques and approaches we can use depending on the specific context.

“If you make these rules the cornerstone of your mindsetting to survive and escape violence, they will sound in your brain and help trigger an immediate reaction toward escape – as though you're on autopilot.

React Immediately – your best chance to escape violence and minimize injury is in the first few seconds.
Resist – your only alternative is to submit; both choices are lousy, but resisting gives you the best chance.
Crime Scene #2 – always more isolated than the initial point of contact, and always worse for you.
Never, never give up – your attitude can keep you alive when you're badly injured.”

Sanford Strong
Strong on Defense

Approaches for surviving self defense situations include Ambush Survival, Stances as Weapons, Defensive Stratagems, Stand Up Grappling, Striking and Escaping, and Changing Ranges and Levels. Striking, grappling, strong stances, and deceptive use of timing and angles are what make effective self defense. You're only as good as your basics.

In each class, we practice our techniques and drills against our opponent's with increasing intensity. At first, each punch and kick is delivered slowly to develop technique. But as we each grow in ability, we must ask our training partners to strike faster and harder in order for us to continue to learn.

“We should rehearse all the movements we expected to make in the actual match, and we should come as near as we could to the reality.”

Plato
Collected Dialogues

As we continue to improve, we practice more complex and difficult techniques. Beginning with simple punches and kicks, we soon begin to incorporate angle stepping, insertion strikes, and Poison Hands techniques. But even as the paths of motion and methods of execution we use become more and more sophisticated, it is still the simple movements which are the foundation of our style which determine our effectiveness. You're only as good as your basics.

“The trick in gouge fighting, just as in any other type of combat, is to expose the enemy's weakness first, to beat him to the punch, and to hit hard.”

Lieutenant Jack Dempsey, USCG
How to Fight Tough

In the end, the goal is not to learn how to fight like your instructors. It is not to go out and practice Dunham's Martial Arts as it is taught in the school. The ultimate goal is for you to internalize the lessons and teachings of the system and then to express them spontaneously in a dynamic situation. We teach self defense. As such, we are results driven. Not every technique will work for you the same way it works for your teachers. Size and strength and speed do matter. But if you continue to train, you will find what works for you. And that is the key. If you are attacked, and you survive, you performed the technique correctly. You won. Nothing else matters.

“As you begin developing skills from a variety of doctrines, you must learn to integrate them into an effective personal arsenal.”

Forrest E. Morgan
Living the Martial Way

That is self defense. It is not bullying. It is not coercion. It is survival. It is avoiding dangerous situations, and escaping them if you must. It is seeing your family one more time. It is not a game. It is not a matter of pride. It is six guys attacking you from behind with a weapon.

Kenpo is Self Defense. It is intended to be the weapon of the Just. It is a sword to be wielded only in the defense of yourself and others. Practice your techniques with utmost seriousness. They may save your life someday.

“Because you have such knowledge and power, and could easily hurt someone with it, you are obligated never to use more force than is necessary to stop aggression. Justice is a tightrope. It takes someone of great skill, humility, self-awareness, sensitivity, and moral restraint to walk it.”

Teruyuki Okazaki
Perfection of Character

Drills -
Beginner: Practice moving in both your Natural Stance and your Fighting Stances. Practice kicking and punching in 360 degrees. Practice your environmental awareness by paying attention to the number of people around you as you go through your day at work, at the gas station, at the cinema. This practice will help to awaken you to the presence of threatening and non-threatening actors in your environment.

Intermediate: Practice long range evasion. Have a training partner attack you with kicks and punches and use stance transitions, foot maneuvers, angle stepping, and body movement to avoid contact. Slowly increase speed and intensity. Practice de-escalating dialogue with a training partner. Use soothing hand gestures and a calm, even tone of voice as you back away. Occasionally suddenly escalate to violence so that both students can practice transitioning between reason and violence.

Advanced: Practice Poison Hands and defending against multiple partners. Pinching, biting, finger strikes, and attacks on the opponent's air can all be used to increase your combat effectiveness. Practice holding one opponent in a headlock or choke hold as a human shield while you strike out against another. Gradually increase intensity. Practice identifying and employing environmental weapons in self defense situations. Keep your eyes open for objects in your environment which could be used offensively as a weapon or defensively as cover and concealment.

New School! New Location! Next Monday!

Hey guys! This is it! Starting this coming Monday, 4-18-2011, we'll be having classes at our new location on South National. The address is,

3524 s national springfield mo 65807


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It's on the East side of the road, just South of the Bradford Park Apartments, in the same shopping center as Shultz and Dooley's Too, Jimmy Johns, and Picklemans, across the street from the hospital.

Make sure and be there! Classes start at the same time, and I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody there! If you go to the old school, we won't be there, so be sure you mark your calendars.

You might also want to give yourself a little extra time to get to class. Google says it's roughly five miles and fifteen minutes from the old school if that helps at all.


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I know you'll all be coming from different routes, but it's really fairly easy to find.

If you're coming in from James River, head north past Primrose. If you're coming south on National it's just past Walnut Lawn. The school itself is on the north end of the shopping center.

I hope you guys are all able to make it. I've got an exciting class planned, and I know Mr. Dunham is looking forward to breaking ground on the new school. I know I can't wait to have a little more room to maneuver during class!

Monday! 3524 S National Springfield Mo 65807! Don't miss it! And if you get lost or can't find the school, call us at (417)766-2682.

Wherever we go, we take our training with us. Old school, new school, the real training takes place within. We've got big plans for the new school, and we're always looking for new ways to help you, the students. Thanks to everyone who volunteered their time and effort to help get the new school ready! This is going to be a very exciting year at Dunham's Martial Arts!

"One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train."

-Morihei Ueshiba

See you there.

The Long and Difficult Path

In the book Martial Arts Teaching Tales of Power and Paradox, Pascal Fauliot collects myths, legends, and parables about masters of zen, tea ceremony, and the sword. He uses these stories to convey a series of lessons on confronting ourselves and the challenges of living the Way of martial arts.

At the beginning of Chapter 3, he describes for the reader the path of self improvement.

Confronting the Mountain

As long as you are incapable of
going beyond the mountain, it is
impossible to attain the Way

Wei Kuan

"Tradition tells us that following the Way is akin to scaling a steep mountain. The person who has chosen to undertake that ascent will select the slope he wishes to attempt and set off in search of a guide who can show him the path. These choices are deciding factors. If the slope is too steep, or the guide too inexperienced, the results can be disastrous. But nothing is guaranteed, even with the best possible guide. There are numerous obstacles ahead and many painful efforts will have to be undertaken. A great struggle that involves going one-on-one with the mountain is necessary. One's muscles are straining, one's fingers are tightly clinging to the rock. Each movement must be precise and measured. Nothing can be left to chance. One false step will lead to a long fall.

But what is the point of this challenge that does not let up for a second, poised halfway between the summit and the abyss, between life and death?

The person who dares the mountain knows, or at least something within him or her knows, that the great struggle takes place inside. The mountain is only a pretext. It permits a man or woman to come face-to-face with him, or herself, it provides one with an opportunity to go beyond oneself. It is by coming to grips with these kinds of difficulties that the student will develop the discipline, the will, and the energy necessary to his continued evolution. In reality every ordeal is a help in getting to the way. "If Heaven is about to entrust an important mission to a man, it begins by filling his heart with bitterness and by confusing his powers of perception and overturning his plans. It forces him to exert his bone and muscle. It forces him to endure hunger and all manner of sufferings. When the man emerges triumphantly over all these trials and tribulations, he is then capable of accomplishing what would have been impossible for him to do before." This quote from Mencius is a very precise answer to the question: "What is the true meaning of life?"

What is truly at stake in this inner battle? For the masters, the real obstacles that prevent the student from making any progress are those erected by his or her artificial personality. The ordinary individual, choking under a yoke of mental and physical habits, his vision of the world distorted by a screen of illusions, is an invalid cut off from the depths of his being, depths whose potential remains untouched. The necesary work to be done consists in exploding these physical and psychological blocks so that the individual's latent forces can blossom freely. The goal of budo, the way of combat, like any authentic path, is the regeneration of the individual. But this self-realization can only be attained through a merciless struggle against one's own defects, weaknesses, and illusions. Vanquishing one's inner obstacles requires the patience to be relentless in tracking them down and the courage to confront them when that search bears fruit. Pride, cowardice, impatience, and doubt, all fed by illusion, are so many dreadful traps in which a great many people have fallen. The path through them twists like a snake; it is long, difficult, and taxing. Not allowing oneself to become discouraged, persevering no matter what and in spite of oneself, is one of the keys to the Way."

The inner battle. It is the one we truly face. Self defense is a valuable skill to develop; humans are an intra-species predator. But when we step onto the training floor we do not face an enemy. There is no mugger, or murderer, or villian between us and our goal. We face only ourselves.

The battle against our own illusions, our fears and self imposed limitations, against the Six Invisible Enemies, is a long one. It will take all of your life to walk the path of self improvement. But each time the karateka steps foot inside the school he moves further down that path. Each decision we make to move forward, in karate, in life, embodies what Fauliot called, "the regeneration of the individual."

Drills -
Beginner: Set a goal to practice each of your techniques twice when you get up in the morning and twice before bed. Even if you are really tired. Even if you don't want to. If you forget, forgive yourself and try again next time. Identify something you are afraid to do.

Intermediate: Next time you're working out, keep count of how many pushups and situps you can do comfortably during your physical training. Then attempt to add two repetitions of each every time you train. If you get tired or fail to meet your new goals, take a break and return to the exercise later. Make it a point to do an extra set of each at the end of your workout. Make plans to confront your fears.

Advanced: Perform each of your forms from beginning to end. When you run out of forms to do, begin again with your earliest forms and run through the lists again and again. When you get too tired to continue, perform the forms each one more time. Lower yourself into your stances. Hold each position and breath deeply as you experience the fatigue and weariness of your body. Focus on completing the task. Overcome your anxieties and have new experiences.

Even the Masters Have Masters

At Dunham's Martial Arts, we practice a unique style of American Kenpo. Many of the Self Defense Techniques come from a tradition handed down from Grandmasters of the art's past. Our lineage can be traced back to the practices of the Shaolin temple monks of China themselves. It is an ancient battle art, thousands of years old, reflected through many cultures on its way to our school.

It began as a simple method of physical training and self defense. Our legends tell us that a Buddhist monk came to the Shaolin temple from India and requested entrance, but was denied. So he went in to the mountain caves and stared at the stone walls for nine years seeking enlightenment, until his image was burned into the stone. It was only then that he was allowed to enter the temple. Upon entry however, he found that his fellow monks were out of shape, sometimes falling asleep during mediation and unable to perform the physical demands of their order. Combat practices had existed in China since the semi-mythical Yellow Emperor first taught violence to man more than 4000 years ago, and the monk, whose name was Bodhidarma, incorporated those martial practices with a series of physical exercises which would come to be known as The Eighteen Hands of Shaolin.

While most likely apocryphal, there is no doubt that the rigid, stylized practices which the monks of Shaolin would later develop would revolutionize martial practices in China, and later, in the many parts of the world that their culture would influence. The Ming General Qi Jiguang included description of Shaolin Chuan-Fa, (少林拳法 "fist principles"; pronounced “shorin kempo” in Japanese) and staff techniques in his book, Ji Xiao Xin Shu (紀效新書), which can be translated as "New Book Recording Effective Techniques." When this book spread to East Asia, it had a great influence on the development of martial arts in regions such as Okinawa, Japan, and Korea.

It is sometime during this period that our oldest known martial arts ancestor can be somewhat confidently identified. He is a man named Peichin Takahara who taught Chuan-Fa in the Shuri region of Okinawa. He was a monk who was revered as a great warrior and taught compassion and love while emphasizing dedication both to knowledge of the techniques and to physical practice and hard training. Beyond Takahara, we have only semi-legendary martial arts masters and warriors from China and Japan. His student, Kanga Sakukawa became such an expert that people simply called him “china hand” and taught Te; which would later be know as Shuri-Te after the region it was practiced in. His student Matsumura Sokon practiced Shuri-Te and was never known to have lost a duel. He taught Anko Itosu who taught in his Ten Precepts that his own Shorin-Ryu was, “not intended to be used against a single assailant but instead as a way of avoiding a fight should one be confronted by a villain or ruffian.” His student Choki Motobu studied with other future Masters such as Gichin Funakoshi and would go on to found Motobu-Ryu.

Now, here things get a little more difficult to pin down. During the 1930s a Hawaiian born man of Japanese descent named James Mitose began teaching kenpo and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he taught the art to American civilians on the island to prepare them for a possible Japanese invasion. Where he received his martial arts training is a matter of some debate. He called his art Koshoryu (old pine tree school) Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu. He seemed to attribute his art to the teachings of Choki Motobu, although there isn't any record of him training under Motobu, and some people also claim he was taught Yoshida Kenpo from his grandfather. The art he taught appears to be based on the practices of Japanese and Okinawan martial arts descended from the earlier Chinese Chaun-Fa. He would go on to teach William Kwai Sun Chow, known as Thunderbolt for his hard hitting techniques, who would call the art he would pass on to his students Kara-Ho Kenpo which is still practiced by more than 10,000 students, most in the United States. One of those students was Ed Parker, who brought the art to the mainland, where he attempted to incorporate more of the traditional chinese movements of its earlier roots with modern self defense applications drawn from common street encounters into an art he would eventually call Ed Parker's American Kenpo.

Ed Parker taught a number of students, many of whom have gone on to found their own systems of martial arts. Two of those students were brothers, Al and Jim Tracy, whose Tracy's Kenpo is now a worldwide organization that emphasizes the earlier teachings of Mr. Parker. One of their students, Jim Mitchell, would also train under Mr. Parker himself, and would then go on to teach Mitchell System Kenpo Karate as his own style of what he learned from his teachers.  A student of his, Theron Sturgess, now teaches his own systematic approach to learning martial arts at Dynamic Edge Martial Arts.  Today, Chris Dunham, who has studied over the past 20 years under Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Sturgess, and many others, has opened up his own school to teach Dunham's Art of American Kenpo with an emphasis on empowering each student with serious self-defense and personal development.

And that brings us to you. Many of you are learning Dunham's Art of American Kenpo. But like the many Masters before you, it is your challenge to make it your own. To internalize the lessons passed down to you by your instructors and to express your knowledge of the arts in your own unique way. This practice is handed down, instructor to student, and has been for thousands of years since the legendary Yellow Emperor. Each generation, each culture, leaves its own unique mark on what they inherit and passes something new on to the next generation.

Shaolin Chuan-Fa, Te, Shuri-Te, Shorin-Ryu, Motobu-Ryu, Yoshida Kenpo, Koshoryu Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu, Kara-Ho Kenpo, Ed Parker's American Kenpo, Tracy's Kenpo Karate, Mitchell System Kenpo Karate, Dynamic Edge Martial Arts, Dunham's Art of American Kenpo. What will the next art be? What will you bring to the art? What will your students call it someday?

It is important to know the lineage of your art, because it is the path by which the knowledge you hold came into your hands. We owe much to our martial ancestors for devoting themselves to preserving the traditions and practices we engage in today. But we owe an equal debt to our descendants, to be more than a kenpo practitioner. We must be martial artists, and like all artists, we must create.

Create a great day. Create a new art. Create a tradition and history worth remembering. Become a legend of your own. Kenpo will continue on in to the future, and the students of tomorrow will speak of the practitioners that came before them. It is a chain unbroken that leads directly to every student.

You are the next great Master of Kenpo.

Drills -

Beginner: Practice each of your techniques with seriousness and commitment. You are only as good as your basics. Practice each hand and foot technique ten times, each side, on the bag and B.O.B. Look to your senior students for advice on execution and training methods.

Intermediate: Learn the principles and theories behind the techniques. Understand why the stances are structured the way they are and how to use those stances in combat. Practice upper and lower body blocks and strikes with a partner from each of the stances in your sets. Look for opportunities to work with lower rank students and set a positive example for them by your knowledge and diligence.

Advanced: Learn how to transmit knowledge to younger students. Learn how to do, but also how to teach. Begin with your first techniques and practice teaching them by the numbers, in the air and on the body. Identify key principles and movements important to each technique and practice demonstrating these to students. Come up with three drills each for teaching kicking, punching, and blocking.