Fudoshin Martial Arts

 1)     Contact versus Non Contact Sparring

When I first started formal training in the Martial Arts it was with a school where only the blocks could make contact and you weren't allowed to attack the limbs or even to kick below the waist. Later on after I got my Black Belt I started to seriously question some of the techniques, training strategies and philosophies that were currently being employed. The one I'm going to discuss and give my own views on in this article is the need for at least contact training, if not indeed contact sparring.

First let me say that we still employ non contact sparring in my own club as this builds fast hand speed in both attacking and defence and also we have opened up all targets and empty hand weapons right from day one in the Dojo. The very areas that were banned are the ones that I feel a student should be targeting as a reflex, and that 95% of your kicks should be below the waist. In saying that, control of course becomes an issue and this is where the use of two man sets is superior to empty air training in everything from basics right through to self defence and on to weaponry. You start to learn about range, timing, reading you opponent, balance, etc, while also building your own conditioning to impact both given and received. One of the things missing in non-contact sparring how ever is hitting for effect. This means you can get the ludicrous event of some one basically punching, striking or kicking out of range and with little power and maybe beating on points a much bigger and more powerful opponent. I've seen it happen at tournaments and sparring in clubs where only non-contact sparring is employed, but I've got news for you people, - size does count! It dictates to a certain extent how you fight and definitely what tactics to employ.

From non-contact sparring and exercises we then move on to light contact training. This starts off with milling which is an exercise where two training partners are allowed to make light contact by just touching the other person with an open hand and kicks are not driven through. There are all sorts of variations to the theme though and the one I personally like is where grabs and takedowns are also allowed. This is the stage where full contact basics are also started utilising hit shields, Taekwondo body armor, Thai pads, and /or iron palm bags. At the end of this level you should be able to do the milling wearing body armor, head gear and mouth guard but still with bare knuckles and no shin pads, and be able to make and take full power blows to the body, lightish touches to the head and heavy kicks to the legs. You will also notice that the person opposite you has gone from being a training partner to an opponent. At this level in my club you will be around Green Belt, the first level of actual full on sparring. Also because you can still target vital points like the throat and eyes, (non-contact though) this is the sparring that is probably the closest to a real fight.

Next we move on to full contact sparring which while optional in my club is encouraged and the full contact training is mandatory dependant on age.

The sparring will vary from full contact to the body and limbs only; (similar to Kyokushin except in this mode we don't allow kicks to the head and the safety gear employed varies on the occasion but we use fingerless mitts to cover the hands) to full contact sparring utilising 16 oz gloves, head gear, mouth guard and shin pads in what effectively becomes kick boxing. So what does contact sparring teach us that non-contact doesn't and what are its drawbacks?

Well, it teaches you to hit for effect rather than for someone's opinion of a point scored or not. This means that your follow up is also dependant on what your previous attack achieved if any thing. It also means that any gap or weakness in your own defense both in tactics and technique become painfully (no pun intended) obvious. It toughens you up, you learn where you are really vulnerable and after you've been hit there a couple of times you'll find yourself blocking or covering that area automatically. It teaches you that you can be both resilient to an attack in some areas and can take a full-blown punch or kick and how in other more vulnerable areas you can be stopped dead with little more than a touch, as in a blow to the throat. It teaches you about force, speed, timing, and body shifting, it's pretty hard to ignore a technique when its just given you a bloody nose and you learn that the first rule of self defence (don't be there) means its better not to be there when a blow lands. So don't just rely on a block, use some form of a body shift at the same time, (a simple duck or twist if nothing else). You learn to use your own body weight and momentum in a punch or whatever to increase the power. Good balance becomes obvious, it's pretty hard to deliver an effective technique if you are stumbling around and makes it even easier for your opponent to take the fight to you. It teaches you tactics that are more realistic because you can see the effect or lack of for your self. Remember the old adage if you want to attack the east, first attack to the west. It'll show you pretty quickly to attack from the sides if your opponent is bigger or to attack down the middle if he is smaller. You only have to look to conflict in the real world to see these tactics being used albeit on a bigger scale. It also teaches you to keep on going even when you are hurt or winded and that your opponent will use any weakness shown, against you. (You can of course use this as in a feigned daze after a punch to the head for example, taking advantage as your opponent moves in to finish you off.)

There are other reasons of course but now for some of the drawbacks with injuries being the most obvious one. Most of us have to get up and go to work the next day so safety becomes an issue, so then we start donning gloves and safety gear and apply rules of engagement. The trouble with this is that it becomes more of a sport and less of a martial (military) practice. This means that we should be using a variety of training strategies to try and negate any gaps in a particular method.

To summarise; non-contact is useful in developing speed an accuracy and allows us to target the vital points of the body, it helps build the confidence necessary for contact training and is particularly suitable for lower ranks and new students as well as the juniors (under 13 yrs). Contact training and sparring enables us to build our power and to apply techniques for effect but does need the necessary safety gear and rules out the more vulnerable vital points. It also gets you used to being hit and still carrying on.

Now for those who say their art is too dangerous to be able to make contact, I would say that any good system should be deadly, it's the name of the game, but you still need to at least do contact training to keep yourself honest and to help prepare yourself for the brutality of a real fight.

I have based the afore mentioned views on my own experience in various Martial Arts including kickboxing, various training courses in Security for 'High Risk' environments, and from my own experience in life including time as a Police Officer and Security Guard in Auckland and also of course in teaching my own version of Kempo Karate and Kobudo.  

When we learn about the Martial Arts it should be remembered that what we are studying are techniques that were designed by and have their origins in the military of the day, to be used in combat which was predominately conducted at close quarters. The fact that what ever style you happen to be studying has been modified or even completely changed to include unarmed combat as well as civilian self defence, should not detract in any way from its effectiveness. If it does then it's a step backwards and you should seriously question whether you should commit years of training to it. It must be pointed out that close quarters combat both armed and unarmed was and is taught by the military in a much shorter time frame than this. The practice how ever is also continuous as it must be for it to remain as a reflex and committed to muscle memory. So what we should be doing in effect, should be simple, effective and be able to be used from day one not just after years of training. After all what we are studying is not rocket science, but is the science of hand to hand combat, everything else is just an exercise to increase our effectiveness in a self defence situation or in the sport fighting arena.

Now all that was a pretty long preamble to what I'm going to discuss in this article but I feel that too many have lost the plot and forgotten the point to all our training, and that is to be effective fighters pure and simple. Not in a ring, but on our battleground which is present day suburbia. This is Bujutsu (martial art), the reality of our training. All the other side effects like fitness, health, character building and even spiritual development for some is Budo (martial way). Bushido (warrior way) was more than just a set of rules that the Samurai adhered to, it was a way of life and governed every aspect of his existence from what he wore to who he could marry and even in some instances to how he died. His life was about service to whatever ruling family he was part of and his loyalty was absolute. There was much emphasis on death and I think it was Musashi (a famous Samurai), who said if it came to a choice between life and death, - choose death. They knew that the destiny of a soldier was death and accepted this as part of their lives. The modern application of Bushido still governs a lot of your life but with out the preoccupation with death but rather with living to and standing up for your principles and is a personal thing rather than a general code of conduct.

Kempo Karate (fist law empty hand), has its roots back in prehistory and as an exercise we can trace most Eastern martial arts including Kempo, back through the Middle East to Europe and the Mediterranean. If we really want we could probably go right back to the dawn of time when man first came on the scene and started to fight amongst their own tribal groups as well as competing tribes. But the history of the development of warfare is beyond the scope of this article and is better left to more informed historians, suffice it to say that any martial art (military practice) has been modified through countless conflicts down through the ages to stay effective for the very practical reason of survival. This leads us to the practice of martial arts today here in New Zealand and as an instructor I've heard many and varied explanations from my friends and students as to why they train. All of which are relevant to them and whatever their reasons are for starting they seldom remain the reasons for continuing in their training. My reasons for instructing have remained the same however and one of those reasons is to take those who are interested and who I deem of suitable character, and train them to be able to defend themselves in today's environment in an effective manner. So our emphasis is on the practical application of the best strategies, tactics and techniques that I can find and modify to better suit us. We still use sparring in the Dojo as a dynamic demonstration of technique and to toughen people up. I think of it as an exercise rather than a competition and for safety purposes it is done to rules. The ladies in our club don't have to cut their nails. Why would I take away one of their better weapons? We train in shoes as often as in bare feet, as that is what we would probably be wearing on the street and is another effective weapon you have on you. This is all stuff that is relevant to our times. But actual confrontations still remain predominately a hand to hand close quarter affair and have changed little down the ages. We are indeed suffering under similar constraints to the Okinawans when they were subjugated by the Japanese in that we aren't allowed to carry weaponry around with us even for self defence and must be creative with what we have legitimate reason to carry. This is why though the majority of our training is empty hand utilising the weapons we were born with (hands, feet, etc), against the variety of scenarios that we may be forced to deal with on the street or even in our own homes. This then is the Kempo I teach today with its primary function to turn my students into fighters capable of defending themselves in the fastest and most effective manner possible, in short to be deadly. I do this by staying as current and as up to date with our times as the past masters did in their times. After all they did not just look to their past but learnt from it and moved on.

I look in disbelief at the displays of overly complicated and often flowery techniques that are being foisted on an unknowing public and being called a martial art, but which in fact have degenerated to just a display art. They may look good visually but have little if any practical application for self-defence. An example of this for those who saw it was Sky's screening of Extreme Martial Arts where initially I was quite impressed with their athleticism but absolutely appalled at the free fighting at the end. I won't elaborate further other than to say the old Chinese expression of 'embroidery kicks and flowery fists' springs to mind and that I should have been warned when one of the Instructors said a form wasn't 'showy' enough. Real martial arts aren't about being showy and a lot of the techniques can appear quite simple and mundane but are quick and deadly when applied. The fact that training the body is the first step in your search for self improvement should not lessen its purpose of being effective in hand to hand fighting, which for us law abiding civilians means in self defence.

Kempo - 'Fist Law'.

When I'm taking a class on self defence I usually start with asking them 'what's the 1st rule of self defence?' and get some blank stares from my new students and the answer of 'don't be there' from my more experienced people. I then ask for the 2nd rule, which results in more blank stares and the answer of 'don't be there', again from my more senior students. With us this is the one and only rule to self defence and while this is a simplistic approach it does illustrate quite clearly the importance of being aware of your surroundings, what's going on around you, the time of day, etc. To avoid any trouble in the 1st place and also that if trouble finds you, to get out of the way. To this end the one rule to self defence, - 'don't be there'. This simple approach is the core to any sound self defence system. It has to be simple, quick to execute and effective in application. By now most of you are probably aware of what happens to you in a high stress situation like a violent confrontation. You get a massive adrenaline dump which really helps your gross motor skills and can add tremendous power and speed to what ever you decide to do or how you react. You can however also lose control of your bowels, your heart can beat so fast and hard that it feels like you are in eminent danger of a heart attack, you can get real angry and aggressive and fight back, so scared that you run like all the demons in hell are after you or maybe even freeze and do nothing. You may even do all these things on different occasions. This does not make you a brave person or a coward; it's just how your body may react under stress, particularly for those that have no training to fall back on. Any training you do should utilise your natural reactions and not fight against them. The moves themselves should be simple but effective and just as importantly they should be utilising primary options. Remember you are not there to fight but are in defence of your life and/or love ones etc.

Now as to the primary options themselves, they should be applicable to as many circumstances as possible, they should be as non specific as possible, (as in they can be used whether countering a push, punch, knife thrust, club attack, etc), they should counter with reasonable force, (as in the difference between being pushed and having a knife stabbed or slashed at your throat), they should use only gross motor skills, and be quick to learn and simple to execute. These are all principles of self defence.

Specifically:-

1. Body shift - this can be to the side, backwards, to the front or back on a 45 degree angle or even directly to the front, depending on how you react and the threat/s imposed. If actual full body movement isn't possible then ducking or twisting out of the way should at least be attempted.
2. Parry - this should be open handed as in, with a palm heel, a cover, check, a grab, etc, and done in conjunction with the body shift. Retaliation - I believe this should almost always at least start with a strike, (as in a kick to the knee, strike to the throat or finger flick or stab to the eyes etc). I personally would avoid any grappling as I don't think getting into a tussle is a primary option. Attacking 1st is definitely a primary option if you are ready and have not been caught by surprise. Remember all 3 of these moves, the shift, parry and retaliation are done if not simultaneously then as near as possible to being so.
3. Targeting - if someone attacked you with a knife and you had a gun in your hands, you would shoot them. We don't carry guns for defence in New Zealand but in this scenario it doesn't mean that our response to this attack should be toned down. You should be targeting areas that give you the most chance of a successful hit and maximum damage; you might not get a 2nd chance and are lucky to even get one. Don't waste it! In saying this if someone was just trying to punch you, you are not justified in killing or maiming them. A person with a weapon and/or multiple attackers is however another story. In fear of your life you are justified in using what you, considering the circumstances, consider to be reasonable force. However remember the saying, - " it is better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6". Don't get caught up in the legality of what you are doing, your 1st concern is the danger imposed on you by your attacker/s and reacting in an appropriate manner.
4. The areas to target that I would suggest are the knees at kicking range and the throat and eyes when within hand range. There are other targets of course and some would suggest the groin but to me this is a secondary target as it's not always as effective as you might think and is harder to get an effective strike in. If landed correctly of course it is very effective.

The reason that we train for self defence using gross motor skills as opposed to fine motor skills is that under the aforementioned adrenaline dump your fine motor skills will be lost. Just as importantly however, in a real life situation you should be using stuff that doesn't rely on you being too specific. A grab must work whether you have managed to grab his wrist, forearm or even the upper arm. Any one who has tried to grab the arm of someone with a knife doing multiple rapid fire stabs at your body and slashing at any arms or legs that get presented will know what I'm talking about. If a move only works by grabbing the wrist then it's too specific, still good to know, but not a primary option in a self defence situation. Personally as I've already stated in this same scenario I would be doing a combination of low kicks to the knees using a variety of technique, (round house, side snap, front snap, etc), and palming off, striking, etc while looking for the grab, strike, and takedown if appropriate, ie - one on one. It must also be remembered that the person with the knife in this scenario can just as easily be kicking and striking at you with his free limbs and may not just be focused on using the knife and may even trick you with it.

This is just an example of course and the many different situations you could find yourself in are limitless in their complexities but the basics to a good self defence system are the same. There are other aspects of course like being able to turn your own aggression on and off like a switch. I think of it like using a gun. When you pull that trigger there is no half hearted of frightened to act bullet coming out of the barrel, only a full on focused hunk of metal doing what it was built to do.

The training and practice you do in your self defence should give you the same degree of effectiveness, albeit at only close range, but your mind needs to be as much committed as your body to reach this degree of deadliness.

Eventually with enough continuous training your body will take over and react without any conscious thought. Remember the object of training is to make any actual confrontation or encounter to be just like training, - only it's for real.

Now all this may sound rather simple and mundane especially to any one with any actual training in the martial arts but this is for self defence, not for free fighting in the Dojo. How you actually do the moves, (as in the body shift, etc), are where the real differences in effective moves come out. Next time you are in the Dojo sparring, try for instance parrying the striking arm at the elbow with a palm heel and feel how you have control not just of that arm but of that persons actual balance. You should also find it easier to do the parry as the elbow is moving a lot slower than the forearm, wrist and fist in that order.

It takes a bit of practice and you can't always go to the outside but it is very effective and works in free style practice and not just for set moves.

Talking of set moves, I think this type of training is fine to learn the mechanics of a move but should be for only the initial part of the exercise. As soon as the students have got it working they should move on to trying to apply it under progressively more dynamic and aggressive attacks. This is where they will see whether it works for them or not. We are not all built the same and what works really well for one may not for another for any number of reasons. How they move and react is where as an instructor I build on their individual strengths and adapt moves to suit them, not the other way round.

So while I only have one rule to self defence, I do have a few principles that I have found to be important. Using primary options that you have sorted out with training is one of them. Another is the correct training to be able to implement what ever moves you have found works for you. You can't get round this, you must put in the time and sweat in the Dojo to be effective in the streets. Remember the old adage, - "It is better to sweat in the Dojo than bleed on the streets".

In finishing this article I feel I must, as a law abiding citizen and Christian, point out that just because you may have trained yourself to be effective, maybe even deadly, does not entitle you to use excessive or unwarranted force even in self defence. You must stop your retaliation as soon as that threat has been removed, don't allow your reflexes to finish off a disabled attacker, for instance, if he is no longer a threat. If this can be done by you just removing yourself from the scene, then leave. Do not allow pride or anger to rule you, a true warrior has more self discipline than this, ie, road rage is not self defence!

4)    GIVING MEANING TO LIFE

 Over the years I have noticed many people have come to the Martial Arts for reasons other than just self defence or sport. Many were looking for some meaning or purpose other than the western liberalism and materialism so predominant in todays society. They were actually trying to look beyond a self centred existence, to one with other values so obviously missing in the business of making ends meet.

Training in the Martial Arts can seem to fulfil this need by giving a clear cut path of achievable goals leading the way to the ultimate goal of attaining a Black Belt. There is also the belief that somehow Chinese philosophies and mysticism can fill that empty hole in their lives and give a deeper meaning to their existence.

Now there is no doubt that training in the Martial Arts does empower people with all sorts of life skills other than just the obvious one of self defence and fitness. Training builds self confidence; discipline, self discipline, and an awareness of ones own abilities and limits to name a few. But training in any sport or physical activity can parallel these qualities other than self defence. It is really the philosophies and eastern ideas being taught, in conjunction with the physical training, as an alternative to western thinking that separates martial art training from other physical activities.

Having a healthy body can be achieved relatively easy. Achieving 'enlightenment' however is done by transforming the way we think of ourselves, others, and the world around us, and this is where the oriental philosophies with their millennia of thinking, researching and rationalisation come in. They can seem to be very attractive and make all sorts of sense to a spiritually starved and self indulgent people and for those looking beyond just a superficial understanding of ones own existence. Ultimately however they are flawed in that they are just another man made attempt at trying to come to grips with the reality of the human condition and are limited to and by our comprehension of such ideas.

There is a better Way!

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am strongly Christian and hold views and ideals in keeping with this. It is this that I would like to expand upon a little in the hope that I can help provide an alternative path to this 'enlightenment'.

Being Christian is no longer fashionable in main stream western societies and I feel a lot of this is due to a poor understanding, weak doctrine, and the often negative reporting that it is being portrayed by the media in general, but also and more importantly, sometimes by Christians themselves.

It takes real self discipline, commitment, and strength of character to actively follow the tenants and ideals of being Christian. You do not have to be weak, a pacifist, emotional or afraid. You actually need all the qualities that being in the military and/or training in the martial arts teaches you. You also need other qualities however, like an empathy for your fellow man (including enemies), and a willingness to forgive and move on, for example. But on the whole training to be a warrior mirrors what I believe to be the correct attitude when training ourselves to live beyond satisfying our own self centred needs.

This is done by placing something other than ourselves as the centre of our focus. In the military this discipline is needed to achieve the level of self sacrifice that may be necessary on a mission, but in reality seems to be more often done in protection of ones fellow soldiers.

You do not have to be a doormat to be Christian. To be effective you do however need to be assured, trained and capable, (virtues also expected in any fighter or soldier), to be better able to stand up for yourself and be counted. While our purpose and mission may be different, our objective of bringing the Gospel to a very troubled society does require the same sense of service, sacrifice and determination.

The battle we fight is insidious in that our morals and ethics are gradually being undermined and eroded by an overly liberal way of thinking and living. We seem to be unable to learn from history where any civilisation that had fallen in on itself, become soft, and been given over to decadence and immorality has also ultimately perished. Take a look at Babylon, Greece, Rome or almost any modern day society for examples of this.

Violence is everywhere and it is our personal responsibility, Christian or not, to be able to protect our loved ones, ourselves, or indeed anybody in need of it that we can assist. We are no good to our families or the wider community if we are too weak to even do this!

At my club we have a wide mixture of all sorts of people with their own views and philosophies and we do not teach anything other than martial arts and self defence.

We do also talk about the various histories and philosophies tied up in oriental martial arts systems but only as a tool to an understanding of the concepts, not to promote them as a way of life.

So while I do not talk about being Christian in a martial arts class, I am certainly not ashamed to say that, yes I am Christian with all that that entails, and yes I know of a better way to live and to coexist, and to give meaning to life.

For any of you, who have become jaded and disillusioned with a purely selfish and materialistic approach to living, give me a call, if I can not help or answer your questions I know someone who can!