The Focus'on Philosophy

What we focus on, we tend to feel.

Have you ever remembered a happy or funny moment, during a time of sorrow? Or ever felt anger about something from the past, during a happy moment with a friend? Our focus can be directed in less than a heartbeat. And following it, comes a feeling. Be in charge of your own focus and emotions. Change your focus and change your feeling. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, people who make you happy, people who help you focus on the good in life. If you focus on it, you will find it, whatever IT is. Learn from the bad, but focus on the good. Life is too short to be anything but happy. You don't have to be happy about everything that happens, but don't deny yourself happiness because of a moment of the past. Focus on the future and its infinite possibilities. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living. As the ancient Japanese Proverb goes, "Fall down seven times, get up eight."

What disempowering thoughts do you tend to have? What holds you back from being what you want and deserve to be? How might you change your focus in order to be more, do more, live more, love more, create more? Create something magical in your life right now. Create a life worth living. Change your focus and change your life. Be the change you wish to see in the world. What do you want out of life?

Drills:
Beginner - Next time you're in class or another safe place, close your eyes and listen. Hear everything that is happening but focus on nothing in particular. After a few moments, turn your attention to one sound and focus on this one sound. Follow this sound with your thoughts, pay attention to every detail. Recognize the direction it comes from, the tone, the pitch, the volume, the rhythm, etc. Next, open your eyes and see if what you heard comes from what you imagined.

Intermediate: While working with a partner during techniques, pad work, grappling or sparring try to read their telegraphs or feel their intention. Focus on the position of their legs and arms. What is their weight distribution? Can you feel if they are going to advance or retreat? Are they about to kick, or punch? Which side are they planning to use? Take note of their every action without focusing on your reaction to it. Be sure to start slow in order to learn to read your opponent. As you begin to correctly predict their movements, speed up the drill.

Advanced: Practice the same as the intermediates, but focus on your own intellectual responses to their actions and inactions as well. Begin to recognize every detail of the situation and seize every opportunity to succeed. Take advantage of their openings. Work around their strengths and overwhelm their weaknesses. Use the environment to your advantage. Work on your focus until you know what they are about to do, before they know.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments and help us by reposting this for your friends.

The Map is Not the Territory

Everybody has a plan till they get smacked in the mouth.

- Iron Mike Tyson 

In the field of General Semantics, there is a concept called the "Map-Territory Relation." The founder of General Semantics, Alfred Korzybski, famously stated in 1931 that "the map is not the territory," meaning that the awareness of the thing and the symbols we use to perceive it (in this case, the map) are not the same as the actual thing itself (the territory). General Semantics is the idea that our beliefs are formed by our perceptions of the world and specifically the language we use to define it. So a symbol such as a map, while useful as a tool to understand the lay of the land, is not actually the land itself which is completely separate and unique in physical and experiential reality.

The Belgian surrealist René Magritte addressed a similar concept in his painting The Treachery of Images. The painting is of a wooden tobacco pipe, with the words "this is not a pipe" written underneath it in french. And of course, Magritte was correct. For it is not a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe. Yet many who would look at the painting may be forgiven if at first they wonder how the artist could be so mistaken. For clearly, we see a pipe.

In our study of combat we discuss entry techniques, feints and distractions, set up strikes, combinations, defense and striking open zones, control maneuvers, repositioning techniques, and finishing moves. We talk about how to engage our opponent from different ranges, and which techniques to employ during each phase of the combat situation. We discuss how to approach unique aspects of combat differently, if the opponent attacks from the obscure zone we turn and face with zone coverage, if the opponent has our back we go stomach to stomach, if the opponent attacks our weak line we adjust our angle. We talk about how to counter our opponent's techniques, and what possible counters he may use, and how to counter his counters.

Generally speaking, in case of a fire in your home you need to get close to the floor, alert everyone, check doors for heat before opening them, and escape. Generally speaking, in case of an automobile accident you need to check for injuries, remain calm, and alert the necessary emergency services. Generally speaking, in the case of a home invasion you need to escape the home and call for help. Generally speaking, when I am engaged at range, I strike with kicks and punches, use cover positions to bridge the gap, close with my opponent using grabs and continued off hand striking, move to a control position, takedown and finish. It's good to have a plan.

But the plan is not the fight. Moltke the Elder taught us that "no plan survives first contact with the enemy." Even a plan which takes in to account our opponent, his strengths and weaknesses, his tactics and strategy, and his possible counters and our counters to his counters, is immediately obsolete once battle is joined. The original plan doesn't exist anymore, because the parameters have changed. The opponent moves left instead of right. The lighting is inconsistent. It begins to rain. You are tired, or sick, or injured. The plan is not the fight. The map is not the territory. The painting is not the pipe. All the training and talking and study you've done in the dojo is in preparation, but training is not combat and your opponent is not your friend.

Everything is context specific. That is why the first consideration of combat is Environment. The targets you strike. The strikes you use. The range at which you engage. The way in which you engage. The intensity with which you engage. Is this a drunken reveler on New Year's Eve? Is this a desperate man fighting for a crust of bread? Is this a violent sociopath who will not stop assaulting you because you have yielded? Is your family in danger? Is there a chance to escape?

Everything is context specific. Do you grapple or strike? Do you follow your opponent to the ground with the takedown or remain standing to engage or escape from there? What do you know of your opponent? What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? What are your strengths and weaknesses? The man who knows himself and his opponent will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. Are there multiple opponents? Are they armed?

What we do in the karate school is make plans. We explore and study and dissect and examine and question and theorize and test. We follow a progressive system of expansive combat training which builds each skill upon previous simpler skills and futilely attempts to answer all possible questions about a dynamic situation of infinite possibility. The systems are artificial, because they seek to codify something which resists codification. At best, we can only imagine possible combat scenarios and apply our knowledge to those possibilities. We are drawing maps of fighting so we know which way to go.

But a map is a useful tool. It tells you where to turn. It tells you what to expect ahead. It tells you where be dragons. You wouldn't leave home without a map. And when you get lost, the proper thing to do is pull the map back out and find out where you are, and how to get where you want to go. Maps make safe travel possible, because they allow the traveler to prepare for the challenge ahead. That is why we paint pictures of fights in the karate school and why we practice self defense techniques against a number of attacks in a number of possible formations. That is why we ask questions, and seek the truth of combat, and practice that truth on the body. That is why we do the pushups and hit the pads. That is why we return, year after year, and stand on the line and set our Neutral Bow. We are studying the map, so that if we get lost, we know where to go.

But never make the mistake of thinking you are fighting when you are really training. We can only simulate the ultimate life or death combat scenario. We do not actually experience it. Your training partner is not going to kill you and though you may be injured in the karate school from time to time, you are not being actively assaulted. You are engaging in a practice, sometimes intense, which is designed to represent the combat engagement. But should you find yourself in a real fight, you must be prepared to change your plans to reflect the fluid nature of existing conditions. Or you must be prepared to lose. Fallen Sword in the karate school is a very specific response to a very specific attack practiced in a very specific manner where you strike very specific targets and your opponent responds in a very specific way. It is play acting. It is not a fight. Neither is randori, or sparring, or rolling, or Tiger in the Cage, or spontaneous defense. Neither even is full combat. Not in the karate school. It is training. It is making plans.

You need to make plans. That's why you have come to the karate school. To take the next step on mastering a unique and powerful art. To follow in the footsteps of those who've come before you. To learn how to fight, and why, and to prepare yourself for a fight which we should all hope never actually takes place. Sun Tzu's Nine Terrains teach us to plan according to the situation, to move to positions of strength, avoid combat, use environment to our advantage, marshall resources, and only when on death ground, to fight. The plan is to position yourself in such a way as to not have to engage the enemy. We plan not to fight, but no plan survives first contact with the enemy. And so we plan how we will fight as well.

Plans are important. But a fight is a fight. Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice your beginner self defense techniques. Realize that each one is a like a photograph of a moment in time. Have the opponent circle you, occasionally throwing the proscribed attack for each technique, and perform the technique as perfectly as possible, again and again. Practice this with one attack and one technique at a time.

Intermediates: Practice your sparring. Choose one technique, like Penetrating the Wall, and practice apply thing technique to every attack your opponent gives you. Jab, Cross, Kick, Punch, Grapple, Inside, Outside, Penetrating the Wall, again and again. Practice adjusting your opponent's position to make your technique apply and practice adjusting your technique to apply it to your opponent's position.

Advanced: Engage in Free Combat drills, with an eye to where techniques appear within the engagement. If the opponent attacks with a jab and you defend and counter with a kick, that is Fallen Sword. If the opponent attacks with a high grab and you counter with a trapping grapple, that is Entrapping Circles. If the opponent attacks with a low kick and your respond with a leg hold that is Defensive Cross. If the opponent attacks with a low body lock and you sprawl and turn the corner, that is Taming the Bull. Understand that the techniques occur naturally, without the need to "make" them happen, and that by recognizing where they appear you can see the signs on the map pointing you to your destination.

The Strongest Hand Technique

The other day someone asked me what the strongest hand technique in kenpo is. That got me thinking.

First of all, strongest is too general a term. Do we mean most effective? Heaviest? Hardest hitting? Biggest striking surface? Smallest? There's no way to answer this question in an objective way.

In kenpo we practice at least ten impact strikes with the closed fist alone. That doesn't include blocking, breaking, or gripping techniques. Plus another half dozen or so closed fist variations (knuckle strikes, half and thumbless fist), and well over a dozen open hand strikes (handswords, palms, claws, and finger strikes). All of which can be delivered from a number of different angles (forward, reverse, inward, outward, inverted), with a number of different methods (whipping, slicing, snapping, thrusting, hooking).

Even before you start moving up the arm with wrist strikes and forearm strikes and over a dozen different elbow strikes you have pinching and striking grabs and fishhooking and every kind of grappling maneuver.

And then there's bicep strikes and shoulder strikes and traps and hugs and  holds. And each with both hands and two hand techniques and lifting and pushing and pulling.

And there are dragdowns and throws and hand assist sweeps. And holding and bracing and tackles and reaps.

And all your techniques are dependent upon targets. A hook to the eye is different from a hook to the mouth or to the subclavian notch. They're also dependent upon intention. There's punching to break, or to push, move, blind, or lock.

Of course force equals mass times acceleration. So heavy is good, but mathematically faster is better. A hammerfist can maim, but so can a ridgehand. I heard a story once about Master Parker knocking out someone at a sparring tournament with a single backknuckle strike.

And we mustn't forget that every offensive technique is a defensive technique and vice versa, so don't forget your parries and pull down checks, slaps, cranes, and presses.

No hand technique can ever be executed without proper stances and transitions however. You can't separate the arms from the body as a whole and still be effective. Even when you're grappling or on your knees body alignment is key. Punching is as much about the feet as the hands. Always strike with the whole body.

But practice striking with only your isolated limbs just in case.

And don't underestimate the value of your hands in kicking either. Your hands can provide balance by grabbing an opponent or by swinging to counter your shifting body weight. You can even grab the opponent to pull him into a kick. Bringing the target to the weapon is one of the ten ways to add power.

Lastly, there's a whole shadow side of hand work that you can't overlook in your studies. Sometimes the most effective technique is the one that never lands. Feints, fakes. Misdirection. Your hands can create mind clutter when striking or set up grappling techniques by making your opponent defend one direction then suddenly changing technique to use his force against him.

The question is hard to answer with punch or palm strike. Even if it were that simple, no two warriors have the same proficiency with any two techniques. Besides that, each technique is unique based on how it's used in combination. A step thru vertical punch after a kick is a different technique from a lead hand vertical jab followed by an inward reverse handsword.

There is simply no objective standard by which to judge this question. Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, and Gene Lebell were all great fighters, and all used hand techniques. But they didn't have a consensus on the strongest hand technique. And saying that this technique is better than that for breaking doesn't even begin to address the issue.

The purpose of the Way is to master the self. We do that through the study of combat. It involves a lot more than punch and kick, like learning about human anatomy and how to corrupt its structure. And, at least generally, how to use weapons to do so as well.

A preference for one technique over another is just a stylistic bias. It should never be used as a measure of supreme efficacy. Some learn throws, some kicks, some punches. Western Boxing might prefer the reverse punch and a Muay Thai fighter might say the inward elbow strike is best, but in a street fight a grab to your opponent's testicles might be the best option.

What matters is learning how to use the body as a weapon. Philosophies, strategies, tactics, these are just finite codifications of the Way.

The body. The mind. The spirit. Those are the weapons. When you can make the three into one, then you are the weapon. And your hands and feet are just where that weapon makes contact with your opponent.

In the end, I only know one good answer to "What's the strongest hand technique?"

The one you Master. The one you train. The one you use when battle is joined. In kenpo, we are driven by efficacy. The ultimate standard of success is victory. Victory in battle. Victory over the self.

Master the hand techniques in kenpo. In that practice, you will master the Invisible Enemies. Then you will find the true strength of the Law of the Fist and the Empty Hand.

Drills:
Beginner - Practice your hand techniques against the heavy bag. Remember the order of instruction, Form, Accuracy, Speed, and Power. Practice each technique ten times, on each side.

Intermediate: Practice using your stances to enhance the power of your strikes. Practice engaging with Ground Leverage, and Back Up Mass, and Rotational Energy. Practice striking with every hand technique, from every stance, until you can execute a devastating blow from any position.

Advanced: Practice using combinations of hand techniques in sparring. Practice alternating open and closed hand strikes when attacking your opponent. Practice flowing seamlessly from defense to offense, delivering powerful blocking techniques followed by explosive hand strikes. Drive your opponent back with your hand techniques, and force him to submit to your strikes.

The Importance of Stance and Posture

In karate, everything comes from your stance. Your power, your mobility, your strikes and grapples and defenses, it all begins with your stance.

In kenpo, we teach the Five Prerequisites of Proper Performance.

• Continuity
• Angles
• Balance
• Liveliness
• Posture

Two of those prerequisites, Balance and Posture, relate specifically to stance and the way it affects your effectiveness in combat. Nakayama Masatoshi, the renowned karate Master, disciple of Master Funakoshi, and contemporary of respected martial arts historian Donn Draeger discusses the importance of Stance and Posture in his 1986 instructional text, Dynamic Karate.

Page 23

"IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT FORM

If the body lacks balance and stability, offensive and defensive techniques will be ineffective. The ability to defend against an attack under any circumstances depends largely upon the maintenance of correct form.

Stance in karate is mainly concerned with the position of the lower part of the body. Powerful, fast, accurate, and smoothly executed techniques can be performed only from a strong and stable base. The upper body must be firmly settled on this strong base, and the back kept straight, or perpendicular to the ground. Although an effective attack is impossible without a strong stance, it is only necessary to assume this position just before delivering an attack. If the student concentrates too much on remaining in a firm and stable position, he will lose mobility.

REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD STANCE

In addition to the above, the following points are closely related to the development of a good stance. The student must:

A. Be well balanced when applying offensive or defensive techniques;

B. Rotate his hips smoothly when executing techniques;

C. Apply his techniques with the greatest possible speed; and

D. Insure that his muscles used in attack or defense work together harmoniously.

Therefore, the first consideration is the establishment of a strong and stable base. From this base all parts of the body must work together harmoniously as a single unit. In other words, the feet, legs, trunk, arms, and hands must be well controlled individually, but at the same time work together as a unit.

It is important also that the muscles necessary to perform a particular technique respond fully, and that those not used be kept relaxed. If your stance is incorrect, the harmonious interaction of your muscles will be absent and your techniques less effective. Poor form brings unnecessary muscles into play, muscles which often hamper speedy and powerful movements. Strong, fast techniques depend for their execution upon a firm base. Further, the delicate control necessary in karate is only possible with a stable and correct stance.

Most karate students have only an incomplete knowledge of stance. Many are unfamiliar with the varieties possible. Even in the case of a particular stance, there is a real difference in its form at various times. For example, the form of a particular stance is different in the ready position from its form at the time a technique is applied. The form of the stance immediately after the technique has been applied again different from the preceding two. There is a delicate change at each stage, although the form looks almost the same.

The concept of one definite stance for a particular occasion is foreign to karate. The stance chosen varies according to the circumstances. however, it must be natural and it must allow one to move freely in all directions and to assume any position.

A few concrete examples can help illustrate the above points. In zenkutsu-dachi (front stance), there is an important difference between the stance as a preparation for applying a technique and the same stance at the moment of application. In the former instance the knee of the front leg must be bent and the muscles in the thighs and calves of both legs relaxed to permit flexible and quick movement. However, the instant a technique is applied, the muscles of the legs must tense to strengthen the hold of the feet on the ground and to give power to the movement.

Furthermore, in either the front stance or neko-ashi-dachi (cat stance), the position taken must not be so low that the muscles become tense, inflexible, or stiff. If this occurs it will be impossible to move quickly when necessary.

It is detrimental to the development of beginners if, instead of concentrating on basic training, they attempt to imitate the stance used by advanced students. The advanced may stand very lightly with their hips in a relatively high position. however, they can change this stance in an instant to a very strong and firm on with the hips low. It is difficult for beginners to duplicate this change, for the obvious reason that advanced students have spent a much longer time practicing. If beginners stand like the advanced, they will lose their balance at the moment of focusing the technique. Remember that in addition to stability while in a ready, or defensive, position, the stance must provide enough strength and firmness to withstand the shock caused by the application of techniques.

Stance changes according to the direction of our movement and the kind of techniques applied. The exhaustive studies of our predecessors have resulted in a number of stances which form the basis of present-day karate.

Each stance was designed for a particular purpose. Therefore, progress in learning will be slow if beginners do not adhere strictly to the form of each stance. Do not permit the form of a particular stance to deteriorate so that it is difficult to tell it from another. Pay strict attention to the requirements of each stance.

Certain training methods are useful in learning a stance. For example, it is helpful to keep the same stance under tension for a long time. Another method is to alternately tense and relax the muscles for short intervals while holding the stance. This latter method also helps to develop the coordination and to cultivate the feeling necessary for correctly focusing a technique. 

When learning a stance it is helpful to practice the offensive and defensive techniques which are the best delivered from it."

Practice your stances. Too often, we focus on blocks and kicks and punches and self defense techniques and combinations and forget to practice our stances. Practice them in place. Practice them in motion. Practice them on uneven terrain.

Practice your stances. Work on Balance and Posture. Practice practice practice. Stance is everything. Stance comes first. Mastering your stances is the beginning of mastering karate.

Considerations Five and Six

Today we will continue our discussion of The Ten Considerations of Combat. We have discussed Environment, Range, Positions, and Maneuvers. Here we will discuss Targets, and Natural Weapons.


5. Targets
Targets determine techniques. It can be no other way.

The student must be able to both identify available targets, and determine the appropriate techniques and weapons to use against those targets.

Understanding the opponent's position allows the student to identify the available targets exposed by that position. Are his arms too low to effectively defend his head? Is his body bladed, or is he facing the student square, exposing his solar plexus at a ninety degree angle to the student? These questions are important and must be answered by the student within fractions of a second.

Once the targets are identified, the student must be able to execute the appropriate techniques. The natural contours of the human body, as well as the size and density of the chosen target are some of the aspects which determine the appropriate weapon. It would be inappropriate to use a finger thrust technique to the opponents jaw, however, that same technique might be appropriate to the eye. A front thrust kick may be appropriate for a strike to the opponent's bladder, but not generally to the opponent's solar plexus.

The availability of targets fluctuates constantly with changes in the opponent's position. Identifying targets, selecting the appropriate weapons, and launching the appropriate techniques must all occur with immediacy, something which comes with experience and consistent practice.


6. Natural Weapons
Natural Weapons are the tools with which the student is able to execute his offensive technique.

In this case, the deliniation of these as "natural" weapons means that they are those parts of the student's body itself which can be used in an aggressive manner. Typically this is thought of as arms and legs, hands and feet, but in practice there are other natural weapons which can also be applied to the situation.

Every part of the human body can be used either as a striking surface, or as a fulcrum against which leverage can be applied to injure or maim the opponent. The head and forearms can be used as striking surfaces, or the neck and shoulders as fulcrum points.

Perhaps the most important natural weapon is the mind. Learning that the mind can be used as a weapon is a key step in the student's instruction. It can be used to escalate or de-escalate a situation. It can be used to dissuade an attacker from his intended use of aggression, or infuriate him into acting irrationally. It can be used to disguise the student's intentions, techniques, and direction.

Understanding the use of natural weapons is key to self defense.

Drills -
Beginner: Students A and B face each other in a fighting stance. Student A calls out one target and a weapon he could use to strike it on Student B's body, then performs that basic making sure to hit his target with a good basic strike. Student B then chooses a different target on Student A, calls it out and names his basic and then executes a controlled strike. Alternate until one student or the other can not think of a new target. Begin again.

Intermediate: Students A and B practice Three Hit Kenpo with selected categories of targets and weapons. Upper body, closed hand strikes, front of the body, kicks and leg strikes, etc.

Advanced: Students practice Offensive Defense. While sparring, each student identifies which targets he will be hitting in combination, and which weapons he will use. Combinations must be two or more targets and include both arm and leg strikes.

The First Principle of Personal Defense

Some consider Jeff Cooper to be for practical pistol shooting what Webster is for dictionaries - the final authority. His thoughts are simple, his actions straight forward, and his results are unquestioned. His book, Principles of Personal Defense, has only seven short chapters, but the topics of those chapters should give you some impression of how he approaches self defense.

1. Alertness
2. Decisiveness
3. Aggressiveness
4. Speed
5. Coolness
6. Ruthlessness
7. Surprise

These, more than the kicks and punches you train in karate, are the tools which will keep you alive when the worst case scenario occurs. In the following chapter, "The First Principle is Alertness," Jeff Coopers lays out the importance of what we in kenpo call Environmental Awareness, and describes some drills the student can use to develop it as an ability.

The First Principle is Alertness

"A commander may be forgiven for being defeated, but never for being surprised. This maxim is among the first to be impressed upon new lieutenants. It is equally applicable to individuals who aspire to a degree of physical security in today's embattled society. Alertness is, to some extent, an inherent personality trait, but it can nonetheless be learned and improved. Once we accept that our familiar and prosaic environment is in fact perilous, we automatically sharpen our senses.

Two rules are immediately evident; know what is behind you, and pay particular attention to anything out of place.

It is axiomatic that the most likely direction of attack is from behind. Be aware of that. Develop "eyes in the back of your head." Eric Hartmann, the WWII German Ace who is unquestionably the greatest fighter pilot of all time, (1405 combat missions, 352 confirmed victories), feel that he survived because of an "extremely sensitive back to his neck;" and conversely, claims that 80 percent of his victims never knew he was in the same sky with them. Combat flying is not the same as personal defense, but the principle applies. The great majority of the victims of violent crimes are taken by surprise. The one who anticipates the action wins. The one who does not, loses. Learn by the experience of others and don't let yourself be surprised.

Make it a game. Keep a chart. Every time anyone is able to approach you from behind without your knowledge, mark down an "x." Every time you see anyone you know before he sees you, mark down an "o." Keep the "o's" ahead of the "x's." A month with no "x's" establishes the formation of correct habits.

Observe your cat. It is difficult to surprise him. Why? Naturally his superior hearing is part of the answer, but not all of it. He moves well, using his senses fully. He is not preoccupied with irrelevancies. He's not thinking about his job or his image or his income tax. He is putting first things first, principally his physical security. Do likewise.

There are those who will object to the mood this instruction generates. They will complain that the do not wish to "live like that." They are under no obligation to do so. They can give up. But it is a feral world, and if one wishes to be at ease in it he must accommodate to it.

Anything out of place can be a danger signal. Certainly anyone you don't know approaching your dwelling must be regarded askance. It's 99 to 1 that he is perfectly harmless, but will you be ready if he turns out to be that other one who is not?

Certain things are obvious. An unfamiliar car parked across the street for long periods with people in it who do not get out. A car that maintains a constant distance behind you while you vary your speed. Young men in groups, without women, staying in one place and not talking. These things should set off a first-stage alarm in anyone, but there are may other signals to be read by the wary. Anyone who appears to be triggered out of watchfulness and into action by your appearance must be explained. Anyone observing you carefully must be explained. Anyone whose behavior seems to be geared to yours must be explained. If the explanation does not satisfy you, be ready to take appropriate defensive action.

A common ruse of the sociopath is the penetration of a dwelling under false pretenses. Anyone can claim to be a repairman or an inspector of one sort or another. It is often impractical to verify credentials but merely being aware that credentials may easily be falsified is protection against surprise. The strong need only remain watchful. The weak should take further precautions.

On the street let no stranger take your hand. To allow a potential assailant a firm grip on your right hand is to give him a possibly fatal advantage. Use your eyes. Do not enter unfamiliar areas that you cannot observe first. Make it a practice to swing wide around corners, use window glass for rearward visibility, and get something solid behind you when you pause.

All this may sound excessively furtive and melodramatic, but those who have cultivated what might be called a tactical approach to life find it neither troublesome nor conspicuous. And, like a fastened seat belt, a life jacket, or a fire extinguisher, it is comforting even when unnecessary.

Needless to say, no sensible person ever opens the door of his house without knowing who is knocking. If your entrance way does not permit visual evaluation of your caller, change it. The statistics may be against a threat waiting outside, but statistics are cold comfort after you discover that your case is the rare exception.

The foregoing suggestions are merely random examples of ways in which the principle of alertness is manifested. Situations are numberless, and specific recommendations cannot be made to cover them all. The essential is to bear always in mind that trouble can appear at any time. Be aware. Be ready.

BE ALERT."

Sound advice. There's a reason Environment is the first consideration of combat. You have to be aware of what is going on around you, who is a threat, where your escape routes are, and what you could use to defend yourself. Sometimes that means knowing where help is, sometimes that means knowing where the exits are. Sometimes that means knowing the terrain or the likely places for an ambush. Never walk by the entrance of a dark alley without looking down it first. Never leave a stranger at your back when you are alone.

The First Principle is Alertness. Practice it every day, and you may never need to resort to violence. Because you will avoid potentially dangerous situations before they become potentially lethal ones.

Drills -

Beginner: Practice walking into a room and immediately closing your eyes. See is you can identify ten objects placed throughout the room by name and location. Are there obstructions you could place between you and an opponent? Household items that could be used as environmental weapons? Everything in your environment can be used by or against you. Imagine ways in which they could be employed by you and your opponent.

Intermediate: Practice identifying potential striking targets on the people around you in public. Does the way the person stands in front of you in line at the taco stand make him vulnerable to unbalancing techniques? Does the heavy boxes a person is carrying down a flight of stairs make it more difficult for them to defend against low line kicks? Or does it give them a weapon to use against you? Engage this intellectual exercise as you go through your day to learn how to adapt to the position of any potential opponent.

Advanced: Think like a villain. Imagine how you would surprise and attack a potential victim. Look for dumpsters you could hide behind, dark corners that would cloak you in shadows, or blind corners where you could lay in wait. Understand how a predator would use these different aspects of the environment as lures or traps. The more you explore how your opponents would plan to attack you, the more prepared you are to avoid and react to those potential attacks.

On the Swept Plateau

   "When there is no wind, row."

                       -Chinese proverb      

                                  

Your karate training won't always progress at the same smooth pace. In the karate school we have a regular schedule of classes, curriculum, and tests; but your own personal growth in the arts will sometimes move in fits and starts. Sometimes you feel like you are on fire, like you pick up every new technique immediately. Other times you feel like you are plugging along, getting a little better all the time. You go to class, you hit the bag, and you feel yourself gradually getting stronger and faster.

And then sometimes you feel like you've been running and running forever. And one day you look around and it's been a long time since you saw any new improvements in skill and you start to question if it's worth it. Will my training ever pay off? Are all these repetitions, and bumps and bruises and scrapes, really making me better? You practice the forms and show up to spar but you feel like you're stuck. You can't see a horizon in any direction and you've gone so far without a major step that you've begun to lose context.

You're on the plateau.

The Way of martial arts is an upward winding path. Sometimes it is steep, and sometimes it is shallow, and there will be times when it seems to extend in front of you forever with no end in sight. It is easy during these times to become discouraged in your training. But that is just a part of the journey. The things that excited you about karate when the gains were easy and the time between rewards was minimal seem to have less of a draw now. Where you used to show up to class early chomping at the bit for the next technique or drill, now class seems a burden, and a part of you begins to justify not putting in the effort by focusing on how long it's been since you felt like you were growing.

Sometimes it happens at brown belt. Sometimes it happens at black belt. Sometimes it happens to a beginner. You keep doing what your instructors say, practicing the drills and performing the kata, but more and more it seems like a thankless chore.

The nights are dark on the plateau, and when the strong winds blow you have to make a decision. Do you keep training? Or do you stop training?

What you sometimes lose sight of when you are on the plateau is that there is only one secret technique of karate. Keep training. Regardless of how good you are or were or could be, if you keep training you will get better. The only way to stop getting better at karate is to stop doing karate. Left foot right foot. Better today, better tomorrow. Even when you're on the plateau the way to move forward is to move forward.

The wonderful thing about karate is that it works. And when you are on that plateau and you've been running and running, and you've been doing the repetitions and putting in the mat time, even though you didn't want to, you are training. You are training and training and training. And all that training pays off. You don't see it while you're doing it. But then another day comes, and you look around and realize you can suddenly see so much farther than you could before. Now you can see the long flat plateau below you, and how far you've come, and you can see the slope of the land from a perspective you didn't have lower on the path. The plateau is always followed by a massive leap in skill and understanding.

This can be a challenging time in your training as well. When you suddenly realize how much better your front kick can be you also suddenly realize that the front kick you felt confident and proud of before is beneath your new standard. It feels like all your skill has disappeared. But it hasn't. Your new understanding gives you the opportunity to grow further than you knew was possible before. But you have to keep doing the hard work that got you there. Right foot left foot.

When you are on the plateau it can be easy to lose perspective. You forget the gains you've gotten from your training before. You forget your victories. The plateau is not a place of victories. The plateau is not a place of defeat either. In some ways, that would be easier to deal with. FAILING means Finding An Important Lesson, Inviting Needed Growth. Instead the plateau is a place of interminable perpetuity. It is a challenge to the spirit. It is a battle with the self.

If you press, if you lean into that strong wind, you will leave the plateau behind you. Your mind will blossom, your skill will grow, and the scales will fall from your eyes. You will see karate as you never had before and you will express your new understanding and ability in everything you do. But the time for training is not done. You must continue to chop wood. And then, one day, you will look around and realize hot coals have fallen to embers, boiling water has grown tepid, long shadows cross the land and you can't see the horizon in any direction.

There are always more steps. There are always more plateaus. There is no ending to the challenges to the body, mind, and spirit. Karate is not a thing you finish learning. But when you have been through a plateau before you know what to do when you find yourself tired, empty, and parched.

Left foot. Right foot. Lean into the wind. Keep training. Keep showing up.

You will climb beyond the next plateau, and the next, and the one after that. Because karate teaches us to never give up. To apply ourselves to our training every day. To keep climbing.

You will find yourself on the plateau someday. You may have before, you may be there now. It is not the end. It feels like you've been running for ever and ever because you have been. You are getting somewhere soon.

Keep running.

Drills -
Beginner: Practice each of your techniques twice. Then practice them again three times each. Then again five times each. Then again three times. Then twice. Practice your techniques until you think you aren't getting anything out of it anymore. Then practice your techniques one last time. You will never finish practicing. You will never do "enough" repetitions. After a hundred, or a thousand, or ten thousand, you can still do five more and get better.

Intermediate: There will be times when you get tired of practicing the same drill or pattern again and again. You will want to skip around, or only practice your favorite techniques, or hurry through your kata practice so you can get to "the fun stuff." Remember, even if you've had this class, or done this activity, or sparred with this training partner time after time after time there is still a new lesson, right there in front of you. You will never stop learning from Short Form 1. Find joy in the drudgery. Embrace the chores and celebrate doing the daily work. The practice is the method.

Advanced: You have experienced training plateaus before. You know what needs to be done to break through to the next level, but you will still feel the miles as they pass beneath your feet. You will become parched, but you can quench your thirst with the sweat of your brow. You will grow cold, but you can warm yourself in the fires of your will. The plateau is no longer a frightening place for you. It is a predictable place, where the terrain is familiar and comforting and the time passes easily. Keep training. The next evolution is just ahead.