Posted by Scott on December 17th, 2007 — Posted in Martial Arts
I think enrolling children in martial arts classes at a young age can help them a lot. If you enroll them young, as older kids or even adults they will have more experience.
Martial arts helps most of all not because it helps children learn how to fight but because it helps children learn when to fight and how to avoid avoid fighting. The latter two skills help people protect themselves much more than the first one.
I think of prevention as the most effective form of self-defense. Once we get into a dangerous situation or a violent conflict, we have already greatly increased our risk of injury or victimization.
When looking for a martial arts school for your child or yourself, try to find one that focuses on prevention and avoidance. The same goes for any self-defense classes. You want to learn how to avoid getting harmed, not how to fight well.
What do you think?
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Posted by Scott on September 18th, 2007 — Posted in Martial Arts
Today I want to tell you about www.thenewwarrior.com. It’s a great website about martial arts techniques and it has many self defense videos.
The website is great for any martial artists who want to improve their skills and learn new ones. The website features many different types of martial arts. Users can upload and share their own videos. Plus, the website has an RSS feed.
The site works well, it’s easy to navigate, and it has nice fresh look to it. Check it out.
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Posted by Scott on June 19th, 2007 — Posted in Martial Arts
Dailypress.net recently published an article about the value of self-defense training. I include an excerpt:
Personal security is an important family issue that affects everyone in various settings — international, national, community, home, school and work, said Lynette Bunno, owner of Superior Martial Arts in Gladstone. Self-defense training is one of the few positive actions available to today’s families to improve personal security.
“Recent studies seem to support the value of self-defense training,” said Bunno. “In a 2003 survey for the Girl Scouts of the USA, 31 percent of girls between the ages of eight and 12 reported being afraid of being kidnapped.”
[...]
According to Bunno, individuals and families who learn self-defense techniques are simply better prepared to handle personal security. Improved physical and mental fitness, combined with proper technique, help children and women, especially, to remain calm and in control of potentially harmful situations.
Self-defense students also learn to be more aware of their surroundings. Children learn how to avoid bullies and abductions. Women learn how to turn their fear into power, so they are seldom victims. Men gain greater confidence and are better able to protect themselves and their families, in virtually any threatening situation.
Read entire article on dailypress.net.
Self-defense training does more than simply teach people how to violently fend off an attacker. The training also teaches people how to use confidence, assertiveness, and alertness to avoid dangerous situations in the first place.
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Posted by Scott on January 24th, 2007 — Posted in Martial Arts, News
Ashlee Crews is 12 years old, with only 95 pounds on her 4-foot-11-inch frame. But she has just thrown a 5-foot-10-inch, 160-pound man to the floor.
She used a technique called uke-nage, a karate term which means to escape someones hold and throw that person to the ground.
David Crews, Ashlees 24-year-old brother, is the man she just overpowered, and hes happy about it.
Mr. Crews has been studying Isshinryu karate under grandmaster Phil Little for several years, and now his two younger sisters also have begun studying at Phil Littles School of Karate in Anderson.
I think everyone regardless of age or sex should study (karate), whether its for a month or six months, because the world doesnt get any safer, Mr. Crews said, wrapping Ashlee in a bear hug.
Mr. Little, a 10th degree black belt, said the most important part of self-defense is confidence.
Be more assertive, because the person who is going to prey upon you is looking for weakness, he said. Confidence portrays strength.
If someone attacks you, try to get free and get out of the way, Mr. Little said.
If you have to fight, strike quickly and try to mark the attackers facial area and draw blood, so his DNA can be traced.
Read entire independentmail.com article by Samantha Harris.
I wasn’t aware of that tip to try and draw blood for DNA evidence. It’s definitely true. I think the best part of taking martial arts or other self-defense classes isn’t the fighting techniques, but rather the confidence. By learning to appear and actually be confident, assertive, and aware, students of these types of classes learn to avoid getting into dangerous situations which would require the fighting moves.
What do you think?
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Posted by Scott on November 13th, 2006 — Posted in Bullies, Martial Arts
A Wisconsin instructor said the most important aspect of self-defense isn’t physical at all; it’s emotional, especially in children.
“The most important part is the confidence and assertiveness training,” said Greg Schaalma, chief instructor at Martial Arts America. “We teach how to use strong eye contact, strong body language and how to use their voices in a strong way.”
Strangers look for easy targets, Schaalma says. If kids learn to be assertive and confident, they may just not get chosen.
“The child needs to be aware, confident, assertive and make a lot of noise,” Schaalma said. “Those are some of the things you can do before you get grabbed. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up to start from a losing position.”
Read entire thenorthwestern.com article by Krista B. Ledbetter.
I agree about the importance of confidence and assertiveness. Not only can these emotional skills protect children from abductions or such, but also from bullying. Like almost all victimizers, bullies prey on insecure victims who appear weak or unassertive.
In addition to the self-defense benefits, the strength of confidence and assertiveness help one achieve success in many aspects of life. In other words, success comes to confident and assertive people.
What do you think?
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Posted by Scott on September 13th, 2006 — Posted in Martial Arts, Self-Defense Advice
Bodyteen.com has an extensive collection of self-defense advice for teens. The site includes Diagrams, instruction, and practical advice on avoiding danger, defending your body, and kicking ass when you’re left with no other choice.
As Bodyteen wisely advises, always consult your physician prior to beginning any exercise or physical training program. Should you experience any strain stop immediately and seek the advice of a licensed health care professional.
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Posted by Scott on August 13th, 2006 — Posted in Martial Arts, Self-Defense Advice
Ideally, a good self-defense program should reflect these philosophical points in its outlook:
1. No one asks for, causes, invites, or deserves to be assaulted. Women and men sometimes exercise poor judgment about safety behavior, but that does not make them responsible for the attack. Attackers are responsible for their attacks and their use of violence to overpower, control and abuse another human being.
2. Whatever a person’s decision in a given self-defense situation, whatever action she/he does or does not take, that person is not at fault. Someone’s decision to survive the best way she can must be respected. Self-defense classes should not be used as a judgment against a victim/survivor.
3. Good self-defense programs do not “tell” an individual what she “should” or “should not” do. A program should offer options, techniques, and a way of analyzing situations. A program may point out what USUALLY works best in MOST situations, but each situation is unique and the final decision rests with the person actually confronted by the situation.
4. Empowerment is the goal of a good self-defense program. The individual’s right to make decisions about her participation must be respected. Pressure should not be brought to bear in any way to get someone to participate in an activity if she’s hesitant or unwilling.
Guidelines For Choosing A Self-Defense Course
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Posted by Scott on August 4th, 2006 — Posted in Martial Arts, Self-Defense Advice
by Norm Bettencourt
How you train is how you will respond and react in the real deal. Self-defense is about survival and nothing else. It is not about fighting fair, clean or being honorable. Its about doing what you have to do to go home and see your loved ones once again. You dont know how a thug is going to react when you connect your first blow to him so make sure you mean it when you attack. He could back off (flight) or become enraged (fight), plane and simple combat is about doing whatever needs to be done so you get out alive. Lie, con, manipulate so you can catch him off guard and administer a tactic. Release the idea from your mind the image of a “DIRTY FIGHTER” there is now such thing only a fighter who survived an attack. Free your mind of that idea could mean the difference between life and death, it will subconsciously hamper your actions. You have the right to protect yourself and kill when your life is in jeopardy. When in combative mode your thoughts and actions should be as vile, vicious and violent as possible. Thoughts of legal or moral consequences of your actions should not even cross or enter your mind. If they do it will subconsciously hold you back in giving 100% in your attack and that could mean your kids or loved ones not seeing you again. The importance of training realistically or condition stimulus training could mean the difference between life and death. Training the mind to be accustomed to stimuli that is violent and vile you mean not freezing in violent situations.
Here are some tips and dirty tricks
- HIT FIRST, HIT HARD, KEEP HITTING
- Always attack in mid word, phase or sentence i.e.” I will do anything you say, please dont hur” ATTACK NOW. The element of surprise is on your side he is not expecting you to do anything.
- Practice saying your trigger sentence, phase or word and cueing yourself to attack when you say it. Make sure your speech is smooth and that you are not telegraphing your words or actions before attacking.
- If you are a woman use the power of “sweet talk” get him to believe that you will do as he says, then turn the tables when he least expects it.
- When speaking use your hands to help you speak, set them up to deflect or to position them closer to the target area you want to attack.
- Use your surroundings, push your attacker into an object so he trips or falls. Giving you time to run off or to follow up with a more devastating tactic to immobilize him.
- Gouge, spit, throw dirt or sand in his eyes to temporarily blind him to give you those vital seconds to get away.
- Make your training as real as possible have your training partner grab you, swear, yell at you and rehearse what you are going to say before you attack
Remember your ” TRIGGER WORD” to give you the signal to attack.
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Norm Bettencourt is the creator of TACT Self Defense which specializes in combat management tactics for mind, body & spirit. |
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Posted by Scott on August 1st, 2006 — Posted in Martial Arts
by Jeffrey M. Miller
If you’ve ever seen or been a part of a conventional martial arts program, one of the things you may have noticed is the level of activity of the students according to rank. It seems like the white belts do little to get results – they have the simple techniques – while the upper levels do more and more. And, while this is in some ways normal and natural, it’s the way each level comes off the floor at the end of class that makes the difference.
In my experience with conventional martial arts training in several disciplines, the picture was always the same. At the end of a typical class, the white belts returned to the locker room practically rumple-free, while the black belts were sweat-soaked and sore. Now, this might be perfectly acceptable if all we were talking about was organized fitness classes, however; in the realm of self-protection and personal defense, there are several problems that should be considered.
To begin with, it’s difficult to imagine that a martial arts master or self-defense expert would be expending more energy than someone who is relatively untrained. After all, in the real world, it’s the “new guy” on the job who is working harder to get the job done. You would never see the professional, or the person with years of experience, working up a sweat. Even if a last-minute project came in with a short deadline, you can just picture the rookie running around trying to “do stuff,” while the seasoned, experienced worker says, “Stop.”“Here’s what we’re going to do.”“You do “steps 1 thru 3″ and I’ll do “steps 4 thru 7,…”
“…and we’ll still have time for two coffee breaks.”
The secret here is that the professional has been at his field for much longer and therefor developed better and more efficient ways to handle things. It’s only logical that he or she would be able to do more…
The secret here is that the professional has been at his field for much longer and therefor developed better and more efficient ways to handle things. It’s only logical that he or she would be able to do more……much more…
The secret here is that the professional has been at his field for much longer and therefor developed better and more efficient ways to handle things. It’s only logical that he or she would be able to do more……much more……without the same wear-and-tear that someone new to the job would. The question is,
…if this is true in everyday life, why is it backwards in the areas of martial arts and self-defense?
The truth is that, in a life-threatening situation, the key to winning involves the concept of “energy conservation.” That means that…
…the combatant with the greatest amount of energy or resources at the end, is the winner.
You just don’t have the benefit of taking the long road and complicating things with longer strings of techniques and tricks when your well-being is on the line. The key is in finding more and more ways to cut corners and lessen the time and effort necessary for escaping or controlling your opponent. This means keeping the defensive situation under ten seconds – under two or thee if possible – not two minutes as most martial artists are used to in the context of sparring and sport competition.
In the realms of personal protection, efficiency is the key. When training for self-defense, learn to look for ways to reduce the number of moves as you get better.
“How can you do more with less?, is the important question.
In the long run, learning to “fight smarter, not harder” should be more than a training idea.
It should be the serious student’s motto.
Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and director of Warrior Concepts International. He regularly conducts seminars and training programs for individuals, corporations and groups on both principle-based self-protection and unleashing human potential. He is the author of the books “The Karate-Myth” and “Controlling the Fight,” as well as the videos “Danger Prevention Tactics” and “The Cutting-Edge: Surviving a Knife Attack.” He can be reached through his web site at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com |
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Posted by Scott on July 17th, 2006 — Posted in Martial Arts
by Eric Gehler & Jim Johnson
Daddy, I want to take Karate!
Mommy, Jimmy on the bus hit me again today
There are many reasons why parents want to sign their children up for Self Defense or Martial Arts classes. Once you have made the decision, now you are faced with many different options and questions. What style? How much does it cost? Is my child to young?
Martial Arts and Self Defense Styles
There are as many different styles of Martial Arts as there are religions in the world. You have probably heard of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu, and even Aikido, but there are still numerous styles and offshoots of the Major styles
So what Style is the Best and what style should I choose?
In reality, it is this authors opinion that the style of Martial Arts your child will learn is not that important. What is important is the method of teaching and training that your child will undergo. With Martial Arts training your child should learn self-discipline, self-respect, and self-esteem, along with the confidence and ability to defend themselves.
The Instructor, (or Sensei) is the key. I suggest that all parents visit several locations with there children to observe the Instructor at work. Make sure you visit a beginners class as well as an upper level class. The beginners class is where your child will start.
Does the instructors personality and philosophy match your morals and ideals? Does the class participate in any Eastern Religious practice that doesnt match your faith? Do you want your child viewing this instructor as a role model? Most children will look up to their Martial Arts & Self Defense Instructors as role models and will be in awe of their skills and abilities. Make sure that this person who will be dealing with your children matches your values.
It is also important to view an upper level class. The beginner classes are usually very tame, and the teaching philosophy is tailored to a younger audience. However, the older the student is, the real teaching and training methods are put into effect. You may feel comfortable with how the instructor teaches the younger beginning students, but may not be comfortable with how they handle the older students.
Cost
The majority of Martial Arts & Self Defense Locations (or Dojos) run their business on a membership basis. Customers must sign contracts, where they are obligated to pay for a certain time period to participate. The locations are run like a gym membership, you pay for a certain length of time and may participate as often as you desire.
Unfortunately, rarely are the hidden costs discussed when signing up for a class or membership. What are the hidden costs? The most over looked cost is the testing fee. In Martial Arts there are numerous skill levels that are equated to a belt rank. After a certain period of time and training, the student is ready to advance to a new level or belt in their martial arts style, and a belt test will be performed. This belt test almost always required the student to pay a belt-testing fee. I have seen fees from $50 up to $500 depending on the belt rank. Parents, make sure you inquire about these fees and are comfortable with them before you sign any contract.
Another hidden cost is required items to purchase. Some locations require that you purchase a uniform with the schools logo. The average cost of these uniforms range from $30-$50. As the child advances in rank, protective sparring gear is required. Now this is normally mandatory for the childs protection and safety, but can be expensive. Normal safety gear for Martial Arts consists of Foot Pads, Hand Pads, Head Gear, Mouth Piece, Groin Cup, and optional Spar Vest. Depending on the style and sizes all this gear together cost about $150 retail or higher.
So Parents, factor in the total cost of classes, testing fees, and required equipment when making your decisions.
Age
At what age should my child begin Martial Arts or Self Defense? Now this is an often-debated issue. I have seen children as young as 4 years old participate in Martial Arts or Self Defense training. Some have been successful while others it was just to young. The age of which a child should start Martial Arts or Self Defense classes should be judged on an individual basis and be determined by the parents. Some key points to consider. Does the child have a good attention span? Has the child participated and flourished in other group activities? Is the child comfortable in larger group settings?
If the child is currently enrolled in grade school and has no problem adapting to those settings or conditions then they should be considered old enough to participate and benefit from Martial Arts or Self Defense instruction.
Article written by Eric J Gehler & Jim Johnson. www.aimusainc.com
Permission is granted to publish all or any portion of this article. Authors name and website must appear with any publication.
About the Author
Eric & Jim have been in the Martial Arts business for 15 years.
www.aimusainc.com
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