real knives...

Knife attacks are gruesome.

Do not be mislead into any false security.

I highly recommend reading the entire series (on-going) of knife defense at ol' Journeyman's site. It is a community dialogue on the subject, directed with insights from a very qualified professional.

side effects: programmed reactions

I notice many quirky things I do on a day-to-day basis because of my training. Here are some of the highlights:


- I turn to look at things in cat stance (eg. if i turn in a grocery store to look at the shelf behind me i rotate in this high defensive stance)


- I often answer "Hai" instead of "Yes" when people ask me questions

- I have to stop myself from bowing when I enter or leave a room


- If i am carrying a butter knife from the drawer to my plate of toast I conceal the blade alongside my forearm (boy, is the bread surprised!)

- When i reach out to do something, say open a curtain or whatever, I automatically tuck my thumbs in or alongside my index finger so neither one is in danger of being grabbed or broken

- When I am in pain from a non-martial arts scenario, like a dentist's needle, I tap to make the discomfort stop

And I am sure there are many more. One just hopes the practical aspects of the art are as successfully programmed....

Weapons and Empty Hands

It is often taught that a weapon can be used as an extension of empty hand technique. I think this is very true, and it often helps to think of it as such. However, I also like to think of training with a weapon as a means to give further insight into empty hand technique.

I have noticed, for example, the more I train with a yawara (small stick), the more I transfer these same techniques to my weaponless defenses (for nerve point attacks I often use a knuckle in place of the stick). It works as well with longer weapons such as a Bo staff where leg kicks can be substituted for many of the sweeps/attacks.

The bottom line is that we are always training to hit the same joints and vulnerable areas of the body regardless of what we have or do not have in our hand.

This is not to say a weapon will not be more devastating if it connects (a bullet's speed beats a straight punch any day--and a knife is sharper than a ridge hand strike), but in the end, we can use our hands and feet to emulate such attacks.

And vice vera, of course.

avoiding burn-out

Monday night was an intense class of kata, stance work, and knife defenses. Last night was white belt basics, due to a new member in attendance.
And I loved both.
The change of tempo suited me well last evening, especially as I've had kata coming out the gi lately, and a chance to step back and reacquaint myself with the fundamentals of jui-jitsu was perfect. I worry when the simple aspects get lost in too much advanced technique and I am always happy to return to the basics to make sure these foundations are still intact. Or at least close to it.
As I've alluded to before, rust can form quickly, and bad habits may easily return.
I also feel intensity is a great aspect of training--going hard after what you want can be amazing--but burn-out is never far behind without a pendulum shift. I think last week, this burn-out was getting close.
But today I feel ready for more.