4 Martial arts you must try

Summary: A list of some martial arts you should absolutely try: Krav Maga, Kali, Aikido and Brazilian Jiujitsu.

I've had experience with a lot of different arts. They've all been useful to me, but a few stand out in my mind as must-haves. They're not necessarily the best arts, but they all have components that make them the best at certain things. Whether you're a seasoned martial artist or a newbie I think you should try out these arts (in no particular order):

Krav Maga

Quick to learn, effective, real

If I currently had to pick one art for everyone to learn it would be Krav Maga. Krav Maga is one of the quickest ways to become a reasonably effective at defending yourself. While some arts may take you years to become effective, Krav Maga will make you effective in just months (heck, maybe weeks). It teaches no-rules combat, has no sport element and teaches in a realistic manner.

Much of Krav Maga centers around using gross motor reflexes. This and its no-rules all-realism element make Krav Maga one of the most practical systems you can train at the moment. If you're into martial arts for the self defense component this is one art you should definitely try.

Kali

(aka Escrima, Arnis)
Weapons, real combat, lots to learn

I have never found a system better at teaching weapons than Kali. It teaches a concept of "One technique, many weapons", meaning that whatever you learn with (or against) one weapon should be almost instantly transferable to another weapon or empty hand. Kali also teaches weapons first, empty hand second because of this concept.

Kali teaches no-quarter, real fighting. Kali goes further than more defense-oriented-no-quarter-real-fighting styles in that it is an ancient warrior combat art. Kali isn't just about realism, it's also about killing your opponent and not getting killed by your opponent who does want to kill you. While you of course have the option to leave out the killing on your own, it's a very real part of Kali.

Some other great concepts in Kali:

• Hit the closest target with your longest weapon - Example: your opponent's hand is extended away from his body. Don't try to strike his body with your hand. Instead strike his extended hand. Also found in Jeet Kune Do (JKD).
• One technique, many ways to do it - Kali teaches one technique and expects you to understand it as a concept and apply it in many variations, not just one way as is taught in many arts.

There's a ton to Kali and it is often taught with other Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) as a component making it one of the most well-rounded systems you can study. Some notable ones: Dumog (ground fighting), Panantukan (boxing), Pananjakman (low-line kicking).

Aikido

Body movement, footwork and leverage

First off - I'm unsure of whether I consider Aikido to be a martial art or not. On its own, Aikido is very far from being a full combat system and certainly not practical for self defense in modern times. It would probably be considered decently practical for field battle with swords, but that's not very relevant today. Most importantly though, the more I read of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, the more I believe that Aikido was a means to an end for philosophy and spirituality.

However, Aikido teaches a few core things about martial arts better than any other system I've seen: using body weight and leverage is one. This is a key martial arts concept that must be understood if you intend to master any art.

In training Aikido the general rule is: if you're straining muscle you're doing it wrong. Some examples of how this is accomplished:

• Using your opponents energy (movement, weight, and on a deeper level - intent and emotion) against him.
• Using your body weight to its fullest extent.
• Using a much more powerful force to deal with a much weaker one. Example: using your body weight and your core muscles (abs, back, etc) against your opponent's arm.
• Disbalancing your opponent.

Aikido also teaches some other core concepts well such as great footwork, awareness and dealing with multiple attackers.

Another great thing that can come out of training Aikido is personal growth. Aikido's philosophy and spirituality components are strong and just. I gained a lot from training Aikido in this regard.

If you're entirely opposed to trying Aikido there are some other arts that teach Aikido's core concepts similarly: Judo, Wrestling, Systema.

Brazilian Jiujitsu

Ground fighting, leverage concepts that aren't as well understood in standing arts, even Aikido

Standing-only arts can teach you some great things, but if you wind up on the ground chances are you probably won't know what to do. If you've never trained ground fighting Brazilian Jiujitsu is one of the best places to start. Understanding at least the basics of ground fighting is essential for any complete martial artist.

Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) teaches leverage concepts that you will not find in most standing arts. Things such as limb isolation and grappling-specific leverage are concepts every martial artist should learn.

BJJ is recently very popular as a result of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and BJJ is a major component of most mixed martial artists' repertoire. While the sport element to BJJ is somewhat of a downside as far as realism goes, one great part of it is that it teaches you real-time fighting and forces you to realize that what you train is very different in real execution. Also, if you want to try a martial sport but don't want to get struck (much) (Boxing, TKD, Karate or any other striking art with competitions) then you should try out BJJ.

Another good blog - Gisoku Budo

Sean at Gisoku Budo is an amputee and badass martial artist. His blog covers his life as an above-knee amputee and his resulting perspective on martial arts. His art focus is on Karate currently.

Modern Martial Arts - Reality based and hybrid styles

Most of the new martial arts systems being developed are hybrid systems of already existing knowledge. Most new arts also center around the concept of reality-based self defense. Most incorporate both standing and ground technique. They also usually deal with weapons fighting. If you're interested in this you should check out some of these:

• Krav Maga - An older art, but continues to evolve and is one of the early examples of the modernization of martial arts.
• Keysi - Extremely close quarter combat system. A hybrid and reality based system.
• SPEAR System - Tony Blauer - Not an art on its own, but designed to be a component to all arts, Tony's system teaches using natural reflex actions (flinch response) as a component of self defense. One of the few out there that introduces new research and concepts.
• Jeet Kune Do - Older, developed by Bruce Lee, not to be considered a full system. A core system centered around Wing Chun and also western boxing and fencing, JKD encourages the use of all other arts that the individual practitioner finds useful. Some consider it to be the founder of most modern arts.
• Combatives - Various forms of hybrid arts used by militaries around the world.
• Systema - Hesitant to put it on this list - far from being new, but continues to evolve unlike most traditional arts. Is not very hybrid, but is certainly reality-based.
• Bojuka - Another hybrid system.
• Kajukenbo - Another hybrid system. The name works in two ways: "ka" ("long life"), "ju" ("happiness"), "ken" ("fist"), "bo" ("style") or "ka" ("karate"), "ju" ("judo"/"jujutsu"), "ken" ("kenpo"), "bo" (Boxing and/or Chinese Boxing Kung Fu)

A list of some more hybrid arts.

Note that none of these should be confused with mixed martial arts.
If you have more you'd like to add to the list please feel free to leave a comment.

Extreme Filipino Warriors cause the term "Leatherneck" and the introduction of the .45 Colt?

Summary: There are two rumors about the Philippines I often hear from Kali practitioners: Both the term "Leatherneck" and the introduction of the .45 caliber Colt are a result of highly aggressive and effective Filipino warriors. I've found some sources on the topics and will address these claims.
Skip to conclusion

The martial art of Kali (aka Escrima, Arnis) is said to have protected the Philippines from various foes: Spain, United States, Japan and others. The Southern Philippines, particularly the island of Mindanao is noted in history as being particularly problematic for enemies. While there is undeniable history surrounding these basic facts, there are some surrounding rumors that should be addressed.

Leathernecks

I've had multiple Kali / Escrima / Arnis folks tell me that the origin of the term "Leatherneck", a slang term for a member of the United States Marines, comes from a band of leather worn by Marines around their necks to prevent cuts to the throat. The claim is that Moro and other Filipino warriors around or after the Philippine–American War were so routinely killing American Marines by cutting their throats that they adopted the leather collar to prevent this. Many sources (1,2,3) point to other reasons much earlier in history - all the way back to 1776. Reasons being "it prevented the neck movement necessary for sighting along a barrel" and "to protect the neck against cutlass slashes and to hold the head erect in proper military bearing". Most also say that the leather collar was abandoned before the Philippine–American War started and I have read nothing saying that it was ever resurrected. It would not surprise me if the military readopted this practice either formally or informally and it is not documented. It's also likely that some soldiers may have individually added this to their armor - practice still going on today. Regardless of whether it was or not, the evidence seems to predate US Marines in the Philippines.

.45 Colt (aka .45 ACP, .45 Auto)

List of the cartridges pictured: Left to right:
1) 3 inch 12 ga magnum shotgun shell
2) AA battery (for size comparison)
3) .454 Casull
4) .45 Winchester Magnum
5) .44 Remington Magnum
6) .357 Magnum
7) .38 Special
8) .45 ACP
9) .38 Super
10) 9 mm Luger
11) .32 ACP
12) .22 LR

Kali people have also often told me that the Colt .45 (#8 in the photo) was also introduced as a result of conflict in the Philippines. The story usually goes something like: "The .38 Colt (#9 in the photo) was not powerful enough to stop them (Filipino warriors). Some were drugged, some were just determined to kill. Military members would shoot them multiple times, yet the warriors would continue to advance and, despite being wounded, get close enough to cut their throats anyway. The .45 was needed to produce adequate stopping power." I have found one source that backs up this claim. The time frames certainly match up. The .45 was designed in 1904 and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1911. The Philippine–American War war went from 1899 till 1902 and American occupation continued long after. The Moro Rebellion and other Philippine resistance movements continued for some time after the war and also into the occupation till at least 1913. The Philippines did not gain independence until 1946. The similar reasoning and time frame of the expanding bullet (or dumdum bullet) by the British seems to reinforce this claim as well.

Conclusion

The term "leatherneck" seems to come from an earlier time, but it isn't necessarily true that American soldiers did not wear leather collars during the occupation of the Philippines. The stories of the time before the Colt .45 (.38 calibers not strong enough to stop a drugged or determined Filipino) certainly back up why soldiers would wear it. This is probably why the stories are often told together.

History seems to point in favor of the Colt .45 legend.

Stab vs Slash: When to use both

Summary: With bladed weapons: slashing is good for causing tissue damage, stabbing is good for killing.

In Kali / Escrima / Arnis one of the primary attacks taught is the slash. I read once that the ancient Romans found it amusing that their opponents did so much slashing because the stab was so much more efficient at killing. The Romans themselves did a lot of stabbing and this can be somewhat evidenced by the short length of their swords.

This is a pretty readily apparent notion, so why do people slash?

More damaging in some areas

It's generally not a good idea to slash the body. Stab just about anywhere on the torso (major organs, etc) or parts of the arms and legs close to the torso (major blood vessels) and you'll likely have a killer blow. Don't waste a shot slashing.

However, the same is not true for the outer arms and legs. A stab can penetrate these and not cause death because there are no vital parts of the body there. What you want in these areas is as much tissue damage as you can get.
A stab can be less damaging than a slash to these areas. A slash can cover a greater area and on an arm or leg this can mean more tissue damage. Cutting through skin, muscle, tendons and ligaments is the goal. With larger weapons of the past the goal may have been to break bones or completely sever a limb.

Wider attack

Also, the slash is a bigger attack than the stab. It requires much less accuracy and can do damage over a wider area. This is perfect for limbs which are smaller and also moving around much less predictably (swinging weapons and shields) than a torso.

Slashing's large range also makes it a good shield even while in motion. A weapon with its tip pointed at your opponent protects much less area than one held upright.

Disabling

Kali teaches striking the closest target with your longest weapon. Example: hit his extended hand using your sword. This is good fighting strategy.

Disable your opponents weapons and you will have a much easier shot at your killer blow.

Non-bladed or hacking weapons

Force is key with non-swords: sticks, staves, axes, maces, flails. In most cases it makes much more sense to use a slashing motion with these weapons since your goal is not penetrating the torso to hit vital parts of the body. You want impact, not penetration.

This is significant to Kali training since the art teaches "One technique, many weapons".

Caveats

Historically things were very different in different times and places. Different types of armor, weapons and shields greatly affected fighting styles. So did the mechanics of field battle - you don't spar with anyone out in the field like you might one-on-one, you go for the kill as soon as possible. Field technique is much more committed and fast-paced. The number of attacks you get per person is limited because of formations (advanced armies), position strategy (you need your flank to get somewhere fast to make the attack successful), the possibility of multiple attackers and because you're holding up the line of fighters behind you.

Photo credit: hans s

Learn pressure point martial arts

Summary: Pressure points usage in martial arts is seldom taught properly, yet can be extremely effective and pratical. In the article I discuss what the points do, how they work and how/where to learn it.

Pressure points in martial arts (also known by the terms Kyusho, Dim Mak, vital points and other names) are areas of the body that, when manipulated, can cause pain and body dysfunction.

When I first wanted to learn about pressure points it took me an extremely long time to find anyone who actually taught it. A lot of people claim to teach it or claim it is a fundamental part of their art, but in many schools it is never taught, taught incorrectly or taught with little knowledge of the topic. Hope this helps you find a good starting point.

What are pressure points and what can they do

Pressure points generally correspond to points found in acupuncture. Note that this is not the same as weak points of the body such as the groin, throat, etc.

As a martial artist you'll be interested in the following applications:

• Pain compliance
• Body dysfunction (limb becomes limp, joint loosens, person becomes knocked out, etc)

Here's a video with some knockouts:


Other things the points can do:

• Treat medical conditions (see Acpuncture)
• Arouse or enhance intimacy

How they work

You can hit, rub and press on points. Most points do not react the same way to each action and some are unresponsive to one or more.

The reactions caused by manipulation of the points generally follows Traditional Chinese Medicine theory. This makes sense because all the points that are used for pain are the same ones that are mapped out on acupuncture meridian channels and are used for treating medical conditions.

Sometimes reactions are local - hitting a point on the head causes a lot of pain on your head. Sometimes they're remote - pressing a point on your arm causes you to lose your breath.

Pressure points don't work on everyone. The points that work on one person may not work on another. On some people they won't work at all. Some people have nerve damage, others just aren't affected. I've heard estimates usually around 2-20% of the population that are generally unaffected.

Where to learn it

I've had the opportunity to work with pressure point martial artists from many different styles. There is a lot in the way of educational video out there - generally you have to buy it though. Not all that many schools that teach this sort of thing unfortunately, but you can find them here and there.

Here are some names and arts to look out for:

• Kyusho International - Led by Evan Pantazi. This art focuses solely on teaching applications for pressure points - martial, healing and intimacy. On the martial side its lineage is partially from George Dillman and a lot of the practitioners are Karate guys. However, the art is taught in a style agnostic manner, so bring-your-own-art. These guys are very technical and use points on the meridians as the core of the art. Lots of good videos from these guys and a good number of schools that teach it.
• George Dillman - Karate background and his information has spread through a lot of Karate dojos in the United States. Dillman is big on teaching how katas are a blueprint for a lot of pressure point applications. Taught with a very Karate-leaning stance. Good number of schools that teach it, decent amount of video material.
• Systema - A Russian martial art that I consider to be the more practical cousin to Aikido. Systema teaches pressure points regularly, but does not do it based on acpuncture points. Systema usually teaches them as somewhat random points on the body that should be committed to memory. Systema sometimes refers to the effect that pressure points bring as 'psychic' energy. I think this largely comes from Russian culture and a strong belief in the power of the mind. A prominent guy in the North American Systema scene is Vladimir Vasilev. Pressure points are just one part of the art. You can find a good number of Systema schools in the states these days. Lots of video out there too.
• Chinese martial arts - Key person: Erle Montaigue. Many Chinese martial arts claim to use pressure points as a component of their art, but from what I have observed, it is rarely taught. Erle Montaigue has researched the topic extensively and has a ton of information out on it. Unfortunately Erle's knowledge does not seem to have propagated through as many Chinese Martial arts schools as much as one might hope. It's difficult to find schools that teach a lot of his stuff. You'll probably have to grab one of his videos to gain from his knowledge.

Feel free to leave comments and questions.

Martial arts, self defense and the law

One thing that is not on many people's minds while defending themselves is the legal ramifications of what they are doing. Charged with emotion and more concerned with your life and property or that of someone else rather than the safety of an attacker, one could easily neglect to think that they might be the one in trouble with the law because of the confrontation.

Peter Hobart gives an excellent introduction and summary of this topic as well as some fine detail around it that is specific to those studying and teaching martial arts.

Laws vary greatly country to country, state to state and even municipality to municipality.

Most of his article centers around the state of Pennsylvania. The article is not dated, although the latest date mentioned in it is 1996. Much has changed in very recent years around the concept of Castle Doctrine here in the United States. Castle doctrine is a hot topic lately. Check it out.

And remember - Police do not have a constitutional duty to protect you. You're on your own out there.

The best defense is avoidance, the next is running

There's no better self defense than not fighting at all.

Footage from Casey Jones Movie

I'm the foot ninja with the double swords that disarms Casey with a very kali-esque move. Pretty cool trailer.

Casey and Mikey vs the Foot from Polaris Banks on Vimeo.

Got some photos of myself

From Photo shoot 2009-04-10

I got some photos taken of myself the other day by Mike McClure in Austin, TX. A lot of them are martial artsy so I thought I would share them here.

I've been looking into doing some acting and everyone has been asking for headshots. I had a total of one decent one before. Now I have quite a few more. Still not really sure what my 'look' is. Still not sure I want anything to do with acting.

Strength without bulk: Types of isometric training and what they can do for you

Summary: Certain types of isometric exercise have the capability to increase your strength while not increasing your bulk. Some martial artists seek this out as it allows them a greater range of motion and more agility while still gaining strength.

I found a great article today by Christian Thibaudeau about the types of isometric (static contraction) training. This is one of the most comprehensive reads on the topic that I've found on the internet.

A quick summary:

There are ultimately two types of isometric exercise:

• Overcoming Isometric - pushing or pulling against an immovable resistance
• Yielding Isometric - holding a weight and your objective is to prevent it from going down

And three ways to do it:

• Max Duration Isometric (Repetitive Effort)
• Max Intensity Isometric (Maximum Effort)
• Ballistic Isometric (Dynamic Effort Method)

The most important thing to gain from the article is that the different types of isometric exercise yield different results and contribute to different types of gains.
Chris Thibaudeau's article focuses on bodybuilding (building muscle mass and bulk, not necessarily strength) so he includes some hints of information about isometric exercise that does not contribute to bulk and only to strength. This is seen as a downside by bodybuilders. However, we will examine this from the opposite perspective: Martial artists and others looking to increase strength but not bulk.

Why gain strength and not mass?

This is something Bruce Lee explored quite a bit as he realized looked to optimize his strength gains. Bruce found that the bulk he had gained through body building hindered his movement and thus began his search into training that could build his strength, but not increase the bulk. He found isometric exercise.

I have never seen any suggestion pointed at it and I have no idea how she works out or even if it's a hoax or not, but isometric exercise may be a key component to how Varya Akulova makes significant strength gains without gaining bulk.

This could be useful to plenty of others besides martial artists: dancers, gymnasts or maybe you just want to be discreetly strong.

It may not entirely make sense as a martial artist though. Mass is one part of force, acceleration (velocity) the other. A greater amount of useful mass could enable you to hit more powerfully. It all just depends on your own personal style really.

How does it work?

I have heard different things about how non-bulking isometric exercise actually does its strengthening. Mostly either tendon strength or muscle hardening/density. Not sure how much I believe the tendon strength bit, but all parts of your body grow and strengthen, even bone, so it's not that far-fetched. I just haven't heard of any evidence to point to whether it's real or not.

Isometric training for martial artists

So how do we achieve strength gains without getting bulked up? According to the article there are two ways:

Max Intensity Isometric (Maximum Effort)

From the article:

This type of isometric training doesn’t have a significant impact on muscle mass, however, it can increase muscle density and myogenic tone (also called "tonus" or the firmness/hardness of your muscles). Its main effect is on maximum strength development.

Earlier in the article Chris states something significant about the history of isometric training in general and makes a note about max intensity:

Many studies don’t report a lot of muscle growth from isometric training. This is only because the old German model (Hettingter and Müller) of six-second actions was used in the initial experiments. This duration of effort, albeit adequate for strength gains, isn't sufficient to cause hypertrophic changes in the muscles. In other words, it won't make you big.

This form of training is called maximal intensity isometric training and it's similar in effect to the maximal effort method (1-5 reps with 90-100% of your max), which leads to strength gains with little, if any, muscle size gains.

Ballistic Isometric (Dynamic Effort Method)

From the article:

This type of exercise is especially good to develop starting-strength and is very useful for any athlete involved in a sport where explosive starts from a static position are involved. But for bodybuilding purposes, it’s basically a waste of time.

How to quantify

So you're strong, but you don't want to be huge. How can you measure it? Strength to weight ratio (strength:bodyweight). Take how much work you can do (lift, hold, etc) and compare it with your body weight. Here's a sample from a chart I found:

Bench Press - Adult Men
Body Weight	Un-trained	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
114	84	107	130	179	222
123	91	116	142	194	242
132	98	125	153	208	260
148	109	140	172	234	291
165	119	152	187	255	319
181	128	164	201	275	343
198	135	173	213	289	362

Unfortunately weight-lifting tables are some of the only plentiful metrics out there. There are no bodyweight:reps or bodyweight:hold-time charts.

Keep in mind that chart is purely a weight-lifting-bench chart. There are other types of strength that won't necessarily be evident by comparing to that chart. Examples:

• A guy who can bench 200lbs but can't do 100 pushups straight
• A guy who can do 100 pushups but can't bench 200lbs
• A guy who can hold a static pushup position for 3 minutes straight, but can't do 100 pushups or bench 200lbs
• People who can bench 200lbs or do 100 pushups but can't hold a static pushup position for 3 minutes

You get the idea. There are different types of strength. I have seen these examples evidenced many places first-hand and it is often noted by gymnast, yoga, pilates and body weight enthusiasts too.

This is a good chart, but it's only one kind of strength.

Go to work

Try it out. I keep isometric exercise a part of all my workouts. About every 4th workout on a particular muscle group I will do an isometric version of my regular exercise on it.

Feel free to add comments.

Good martial arts blogs

Ran across Nathan Teodoro's martial arts blog today. This guy has a lot of good stuff, has been training a long time and blogging a long time. We have a remarkably similar training background too. Find out more about him.

Yesterday found Matthew Apsokardu's blog. He's been training for 13 years and has deep experience in a few arts. Not as many similar styles to me, but he's got a lot of good stuff on his blog. More about Matthew here.

Highly recommend you check both out.

Training martial arts for real life fight escalations

Summary: Fight escalation (yelling, shoving) is a topic not visited by most martial artists and schools. Since it is such a huge piece of almost any fight, any person serious about self defense should learn about it.

I was reading a post by Eric Frey this morning where he states:

I’ve yet to go to a school that talks about how fights actually start, and how a student can identify if a situation is likely to escalate to a fight. Martial arts classes go straight to the action part of it. This is very bad because most fights are won or lost before the physical part starts.

...Bullies usually start out with looks, then some slander, and finally pokeing or pushing.

I couldn't agree with him more that fight escalation (aka: fight signs, emotional escalation), isn't taught enough in martial arts and self defense training. I will say though that it does exist in some schools. I've had this training and I teach it to others.

One of my Kali teachers, Steve Fristoe, was intimately familiar with this topic and was a committed student to psychology. We often drilled emotional escalation situations. An example of one of these drills: Student A verbally and emotionally abuses Student B; add physical abuse to that with rough shoving and other fight escalation indicators. Student A will yell and push at Student B, being as aggressive as possible while Student B stands and takes it (or attempts to).

Most fights start with these signs.

I've done this with multiple people since then. It's harder than it sounds, even with people you know. Some people break down and even start crying. Knees tremble, whole bodies shake. The training is there to help you understand how you react and get you used to dealing with such a situation. A step after this is calming the other person down verbally and with body language (de-escalation). After all this is when you start employing your actual fighting.

Fights are extremely emotional situations. Getting used to all the emotion that comes out of one helps you deal with it better. It helps you keep your own emotions out of it and makes you more aware. You become more capable at avoiding fights and more prepared for when one does start. More schools should teach these drills and no student with self defense in his or her interest should go without this training.

Martial Arts Movies Suck Part One: Martial artists cannot fly

Movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero represent fantasy, not martial arts. To me, as a martial artist and lover of practicality in fighting, the perception that movies such as this are an accurate representation of martial arts is annoying and insulting. They have a place in the film world, but should be classified as fantasy and much less so as martial arts movies.

Facts:

• People cannot fly
• Flips and big flashy moves will not help you in a real fight (most likely)

I'm not saying you can't like them. It's a personal preference, I know. Just don't associate it so closely with reality and real martial arts. Flight and gymnastics are not part of real fighting.

I enjoy pratical martial arts like you might see in movies like Taken or the Bourne series. You see quite a few examples of practical, real technique in these that works well on film and is believeable.

Photos from the Casey Jones Movie

Michelangelo, Foot Ninja, Casey Jones
Uploaded by jessecrouch

Finally wrapped up my screen work with the Casey Jones film project. I've posted a bunch of photos from it on Flickr under my account. I've also started a Casey Jones Movie group and there should be some photos from other folks float into that shortly.

Will keep you updated on how the production goes.