Elbow Strike

I once accidentally hit a student with an elbow, and heard a sickening crack as they fell to the floor with a broken temple, eye socket, cheek bone, and a caved in face. It required a metal plate to fix. Hitting someone in the face with an elbow is nothing nice. It’s like hitting them with a hammer. Unlike a punch, palm, or many types of kicks, there’s no padding or joints to disperse the force of the blow. Yet, most people seem to emphasize punches and palm strikes far more than elbows.

It’s harder than most people think to take an opponent out with a punch, especially when you’re unable to nail them completely unprepared. And if you’re not the one attacking (which you generally won’t be in a self defense situation) your opponent probably won’t be unprepared.

In self defense you need to use the most powerful tools at your disposal, and if you’re unarmed, elbows are very high up on that list. Of course no one is going to stand still and wait for your elbow. You’ll need to get control of them first. The smack and hack (offensive) and the crash (defensive) are two great ways to do that. Using either of those “entries” you should end up with either an arm-control that you can use to pull your opponent into a vicious elbow (or knees and elbows) or a head-and-arm-control leading to knees and elbows. If you’re not already, consider putting a real emphasis on getting in close and nailing your opponent with an elbow.

The video above is of Maija (Sword and Circle) and her teacher Sonny Umpad, the founder of Visayan Eskrima. I’ve seen Maija’s posts on forums and blogs, but didn’t realize she had a blog of her own until a few days ago. Her blog is excellent, and I’d highly recommend subscribing. Although all of the posts are great, two are particularly interesting to me at the moment: Forms and Ego, Death and Progress.

In the post on forms, Maija starts out by asking if forms are valuable for people who don’t know what fighting feels like and/or don’t know how to visualize an opponent. She brings up Sonny’s feelings that forms are “inherently glitchy” and that the patterns within them can override reactions, and then comes to her own conclusions that there are benefits, especially if “you have felt the problem they were created to solve or the skill they were meant to refine”.

For the last few years I haven’t been teaching, and have only been training with my partners/students a couple of months each year due to travels. I’ve been attending classes at other schools, but the techniques and training methods are usually very different from what I’d prefer to be doing. So I find myself doing more solo training than I’ve ever done before, and I find myself creating prearranged forms as a convenient way to drill certain techniques and strategies. I’m also thinking these new forms would be great for former students who seem to have trouble practicing on their own, as they can be a guide to techniques and strategies. But Maija makes a great point that without knowing what a fight feels like and without being able to visualize the opponent, they’re probably of very limited value (so possibly not so great for beginners or those who don’t have some experience fighting).

I’ve also had an experience recently with Sonny’s point about patterns overriding reactions. At a new school I’ve recently been going to, when learning a stick vs. stick drill I repeatedly found myself reverting to counters I had done most often in drills I used to teach. To some extent, my ingrained responses slowed my ability to learn the new drill I had never done. But is that really a bad thing? I imagine it can go both ways. I’m a big believer in having a few solid “default responses” you can rely on, and ingraining them through repetition. There are two sides to that coin. On one hand prearranged partner drills (and possibly solo drills to a lesser extent) do ingrain reactions. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t have had such trouble not reverting to them automatically.  On the other hand, might it be better to simply “flow”?

This brings me to Maija’s next post, Ego, Death and Progress. I love this post for many reasons, and I love the “flow training” in Visayan Eskrima, which is something I’ve done very little of. In my upcoming trip back home I’ll certainly incorporate it into my training. The progression she details in the above post is great because it seems it may counteract the disadvantages of prearranged form training through a free flow as in the video at the top of this post, with structure to help practitioners win without dying (in the case of sword training at least).

The idea that forms training does ingrain responses to such an extent that those responses could be harmful is an interesting one. I like prearranged solo and partner drills because they’re a great way to work on perfecting body mechanics, training with full speed and power with little chance of injury and no gear, AND they ingrain responses like ramdon flow training cannot, in my opinion. I’m not sure yet exactly what I think of the downsides of ingraining those responses, or the possibility of using flow training to counteract those downsides, but I’m interested in exploring it.

Facing Violence

I came across an outstanding self defense blog today, Chiron, which led me to the author’s website and to purchase two of his books: Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence and Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected. Rory’s blog and website have such great information on them that I wanted to share them here. (I don’t know the guy and have never communicated with him.) Anyway, check out his stuff. It looks great. I’ll post more on his books after I read them.

UPDATE: I’ve finished both books and they’re excellent.  Anyone who practices martial arts, especially if you’re at all interested in self defense, should read both books.  They cover the different types of attacks you might face, from an idiot in a bar to a real predator, rapist, etc., how to recognize which type you’re dealing with, how to avoid trouble or deescalate when you can’t, and what you should realistically expect.  They portray violence as it really is, and explain in detail why most martial arts and self defense training will fail in the face of a committed, brutal, and chaotic attack.  The books are also a fascinating study on human nature.  In terms of violence and social interactions, we’re not all that different from the animals we evolved from.  Fortunately, understanding these interactions that Rory breaks down so well, can seriously increase your odds of avoiding or coming out of a conflict in one piece.

I was very happy to see Rory explaining why matching specific defenses to specific attacks is generally a recipe for failure.  In a real violent assault you won’t know if your opponent is stepping forward with his left foot and throwing a straight right or stepping forward with his right foot and throwing a sloppy hook.  You’ll most likely be facing a barrage of chaos, and complex, fancy techniques will not work.  In “Facing Violence” he covers a few of his preferred default responses.  While I prefer those in our Fundamental Five, his responses, the techniques he demonstrates, and the principles that support them are solid.  I very highly recommend both of his books.

Street vs. Sport

I very rarely read or participate in martial arts discussion forums these days. But when I did back in the late 90′s, when forums were becoming popular, everyone was arguing about “street vs. sport”. (Matt Thornton and Burton Richardson were two of the biggest contributors arguing for sport style training.) With the first UFC in 1993, people saw how grapplers and mixed martial artists were wiping the floor with traditional martial artists. Most TMA practitioners either closed their eyes and pretended their traditional styles were more effective than they were, or adapted. Those who stuck with traditional styles often used a “street vs. sport” argument claiming their style was designed for the street where there are no rules, and was too deadly to be used effectively in the ring. These arguments went on for years, and the TMA crowd mostly lost.

Why MMA Wins

Since that time MMA has become hugely popular and most people regard traditional martial arts with a bit of skepticism to say the least, usually rightly so. There are two primary reasons most MMA fighters easily beat TMA practitioners. First, training methods. MMA training and the training in sports that typically make up MMA (boxing, Thai boxing, wrestling, BJJ, etc.) is the best there is. In these styles people train against fully resisting opponents. Most TMA training on the other hand involves doing solo drills and prearranged partner drills. This training does not prepare you for real fighting. If you want to learn how to fight you MUST train against uncooperative, fully resisting opponents. You have to spar in all ranges (stand up, clinch, ground, and the three together). The second reason TMA practitioners were easy for MMA fighters to beat was their poor technique. When training is unrealistic and practitioners are only training with members of their own style, very ineffective techniques evolve that don’t work under real, uncooperative pressure.

This Won't Work

Both the punch and the block above are great examples of the horrible techniques that evolve as a result of unrealistic training, not to mention the complete lack of footwork. So MMA is the best, and the street vs. sport argument is BS, right? Not so fast! Just because many of the TMA people making the street vs. sport argument didn’t know how to fight doesn’t mean the argument isn’t at least partially valid. Like everything, it’s not black or white, but something in between.

Why Street Is Different

Street self defense requires several components that sport fighting does not, and these make all the difference in the world. The most important of these are awareness, deception, dirty tactics/techniques, and weapons. Awareness isn’t taught or trained in sport fighting or MMA, but it’s extremely important in self defense.

Deception is hugely important in self defense, and when combined with the use of more damaging techniques and weapons, it can give a smaller, weaker, less skilled person the ability to beat a larger, stronger, unsuspecting sport fighter. MMA fighters can of course learn to be deceptive and use more damaging techniques, but because their training doesn’t require it they generally don’t, and generally aren’t prepared for these to be used against them. You fight how you train.

There are rules in MMA, and in every specific combat sports competition, but not so in self defense. The quickest, most effective self defense techniques are illegal in sport fighting, and this changes the way people fight. The footwork that can accompany an eye strike or a groin slap for example isn’t very effective or useful in MMA. In MMA there are weight classes, and a 150 lbs woman has very little chance against a 200 lbs man largely due to the technical limitations of sport fighting. Typical sport style training completely neglects the most efficient and effective techniques, along with the set ups and footwork that makes them work best.

Possibly the most important distinction however is the use of weapons on the street. In MMA there is not only no weapons training, but the techniques and positions that are trained would often lead an MMA practitioner to be more vulnerable to weapon attacks. In self defense the use of and defense against weapons should represent at least half of all training. It’s highly unlikely a person will ever be attacked by a single opponent who is smaller, weaker, and unarmed. The use of weapons in self defense leads to a massive advantage, and the ability to defend against them is essential.

The Solution

MMA training is top notch, and all self defense practitioners should adopt the same approach to training. But MMA is severely lacking in the areas of awareness, deception, dirty tactics, and weapons. The solution is to combine the two, ending up with the most efficient and effective armed and unarmed techniques, realistic training, and a winning strategy involving awareness and deception. That’s reality based self defense, and the aim of Hertao.

Oveready Triple XPG Surefire 9P

I’m a big proponent of flashlights for self defense. My first quality self defense light was an Inova X03, a very solid light plenty bright enough to blind an opponent with night adapted vision. But after getting my first Surefire, an LX2, I was hooked even further. The beam on the LX2 is so bright that shining someone in the face with it at night is physically shocking. Not only that, but it’s an excellent light to carry. Later, the Surefire 6PX Tactical came out, which is a terrific option for someone not wanting to spend as much on something like the LX2.

Then I discovered Oveready, a company that makes custom flashlights with the highest quality parts…Surefire hosts (bodies) with custom coatings, tail caps, bezel rings, and LED emitters. Their Triple XPG Surefire C3, which uses a triple LED emitter from Torchlab, in a Surefire body coated with a ballistic grade ceramic, bored to accept rechargeable batteries, and with a metal rather than plastic bezel ring, was too hard to pass up. Not only is it an extremely high quality set up, but it’s advertised as a 1,100 lumen light. My other Surefire lights were advertised at 200 lumens. If those numbers don’t sound like much, here’s a comparison photo:

LX2 vs. Triple XPG

The image above is of the LX2 beam (at left) and the Triple XPG beam (at right) placed about 3 feet from a wall. It was the best way I could demonstrate the difference in a photo, but the photo doesn’t do it justice. The beam on the Triple XPG looks like something you’d expect from a helicopter search light. It’s astoundingly, shockingly bright. The beam on the LX2 does project further due to the lens and beam pattern. But up close…maybe inside of 30 yards or so…the Triple XPG throws out a monster wall of light, capable of blinding a small group of people with one flash.

I chose to get my light with the Surefire 9P host rather than the C3 host, as I figured the 9P may be better to quickly grab. Since it’s round, the grip is the same no matter how you grab it. However, I’ve also ordered a C3 host to see which one I end up liking more. I chose the single level Triple XPG rather than the one that has a high, medium, and low mode, so for self defense it would be very simple to operate…without concern for using the wrong mode accidentally. I also picked the smooth bezel ring instead of the one with “teeth”, so it wouldn’t look like a self defense light.  Thus, I can travel with it on a plane, etc. This set up, in my opinion, is not ideal for an everyday use flashlight (it’s too bright), but makes an incredible self defense tool. While the 9P and C3 are on the big/long side compared to the LX2 and 6PX Tactical, they are still easy to carry in a back pocket or deep front pocket. Here’s a comparison image:

Self Defense Lights

The Surefire 9P is at the top, followed by the LX2, 6PX, and an Inova X5 (which I would not recommend as a self defense light due to the relatively weak beam).

Oveready custom lights are expensive, there’s no doubt about it. But the product you’re getting is top notch, as is their customer service. Their lights are made in the US, and if you email or call you’ll be talking to someone in the US. If you’re considering a self defense light and want the best you can possibly get, I’d highly recommend Oveready.

For more information on using a flashlight for self defense, see our pages on the palm stick and self defense flashlight.

Galle Face Green, Sri Lanka

My wife and I took a trip to Sri Lanka for a few weeks at the beginning of this year.  Other than the delicious food and some nice natural scenery, the trip was unfortunately a real disappointment.  People attempted to scam us several times a day, there were incredible numbers of stray dogs on the verge of death at every turn (hairless, missing legs, crushed paws, open sores, etc…very depressing), and overall there just wasn’t much to see.  We travel a lot, and this was the first trip I remember where we were ready to get back home well before it was over.

Train Ride

We traveled from Colombo to Galle on the same train line that was made famous by the terrible tsunami in 2004, and did see some pretty beaches:

Sri Lankan Beach

But most of Sri Lanka looked more like this:

Sri Lankan Road

Anyway, one of the only cool things I managed to find on the trip was this beautiful antique Sri Lankan knife called a piha kahetta:

Piha Kahetta - Sri Lankan Knife

It was very rusty when I bought it, but I spent this morning cleaning it up and I must say it’s a very nice looking knife.  It’s heavy, and extremely solid.  I love the carved handle:

Piha Kahetta Handle

Here’s a picture with the wooden scabbard:

Knife with Scabbard

The last post I wrote on the palm stick was about a year ago, when I explained why I didn’t like it as a self defense tool. After spending the last year experimenting, I’ve changed my mind. What I don’t like is the way most people I’ve seen use the palm stick, striking targets that have relatively little impact, using inefficient entries, flipping the stick around in their hands, etc. As I wrote in my new section on the palm stick, people shouldn’t be asking themselves how they can use a palm stick in a given position, but what the best technique for a given position is. That might involve using the palm stick, but it might not! The problem is when people get into the “everything looks like a nail” mindset because they’re carrying a hammer.

In addition to the main palm stick page I’ve added pages with a palm stick attack, palm stick defense, and another on the flashlight for self defense. I hope you find them useful!

For me self defense isn’t only about physical techniques against physical attacks.  If you’re really interested in self preservation you should also be considering non-physical threats against your well being.  I’ve written a few posts on digital defense, protecting yourself online, and will write a bit here about protecting your finances from catastrophic events.

A guy named Nassim Taleb wrote a book a few years back called The Black Swan, using the term to describe improbable events that greatly alter the course of history.  His argument is that these rare events are the primary drivers of history, and because they’re unpredictable, the future is also unpredictable.  Having lived in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit, I can relate to this.  Although hurricanes are somewhat predictable, the affects that Katrina had on the Gulf Coast, the city of New Orleans, and all of the residents in this region was not.  Many people lost everything and became far worse off, some people became much better off through unexpected changes in their lives, others moved to cities they never thought they’d be living in today, etc.

One thing we do know is that we all will be affected by more Black Swans.  We’ll have more economic booms and busts, there may be terrorist attacks that alter the course of your life, wars, etc.  So what are you doing to make sure your savings and income is protected?  How are you practicing self defense related to that aspect of your life?

In searching for info about Black Swans I came across this article on what turned out to be a great finance site, FinancialCalculator.org.  The entire site has great information, but I particularly like the points to follow to be best prepared for catastrophic events…having no debt, maintaining good insurance coverage, creating multiple sources of income, diversifying your savings, and having a flexible mindset.  These should be part of every self defense course, as they’re going to be more important to most people for “self defense” than physical defense against physical attacks.  Expanding your concept of self defense to include other aspects of your life is an excellent idea.

Vibram Five Fingers

Some of you may have noticed my unusual shoes in many of the pictures on my site. I’ve been meaning to post about them for a year or so now but keep forgetting. For the past 2+ years I’ve been wearing Vibram Five Fingers.  I’ve got 3 pairs at the moment, and these are the only shoes I wear 99% of the time, for everything from martial arts training and casual wear to mountain trekking and kayaking.  They’re the best shoes I’ve ever had in my life, and I can say with certainty that I’ll never wear a pair of tennis/running/hiking shoes again.  You can find many more enthusiastic reviews of Five Fingers here at BirthdayShoes.com.

Vibram Five Finger KSO

My preferred model is the KSO (Keep Stuff Out).  These are minimalist shoes with VERY thin bottoms.  They allow you to grip the ground like no other shoe.  Wearing them is like being barefoot, but with protection for the soles of your feet. You need to take some time to adjust to wearing them, as the muscles in your feet are likely to be unnaturally weak due to common shoe designs (a real disaster for your body).  The other thing about Five Finger shoes is that they tend to bring you back to walking and moving as your body was meant to.  Because there is no padding in the heal, you’ll quit doing a “heal strike” when walking or running, which will dramatically decrease stress on your knees, hips, and back.  Most people who wear these shoes not only report stronger feet, better balance, etc., but also knee, hip, and back injuries that disappear.  Here’s a great video on the science:

The only time I don’t wear KSO’s is when I’m hiking on steep and rocky mountains.  In those cases I wear Treks, as they have better grip for such situations, and a slightly thicker bottom to protect against bruising from sharp edges.  The black leather is also a bit better for nicer clothes. 

Ditch whatever shoes you’re currently wearing for martial arts/self defense training, and get yourself a pair of Vibram Five Fingers.  You’ll probably end up wearing them all the time, but they’re the best shoes for martial arts training you’ll ever wear.

Wing Chun is a controversial style, and for good reason.  Many of the training methods are ineffective at best.  The prearranged solo forms, which are questionable as training methods in the first place, have illogical orders and stick to the superstition that having 108 moves each is somehow better than 50, 63, or 107.  Routinely, MMA practitioners deride Wing Chun as being a BS system.  This sentiment is understandable, but incorrect.

The concept of simultaneous attack and defense in Wing Chun is excellent, as is controlling the center, the solid structure of the techniques, and basic trapping.  The emphasis on attacking the eyes, throat, and groin is also great for self defense.  But in order to pull any of it off in reality, the training needs to be realistic.  And, some modifications will make Wing Chun safer to apply.  Even still, Wing Chun was not made for the ring.

The lop sao or pull is a great trap to use before kicking your opponent in the groin (following up further if necessary of course).  And the groin kick is very effective.  But you can’t use groin kicks in the ring.  The pak sao or smack is another great trap for self defense, especially when followed by a hack in the neck or finger in the eye, neither of which are allowed in MMA.  You can follow the lop sao or pak sao with punches or palms, but against boxing style structures the “pak sao, punch” or “lop sao, punch” combinations are far less effective.

There are exceptions.  Using a pak sao to create an opening for a punch or two, possibly causing your opponent to cover or retreat, will provide the opportunity for a double lop sao (two handed pull) into knees and elbows against a cover, or a kicking follow up against a retreat.  But due to the unrealistic training in most Wing Chun schools, practitioners are only used to dealing with other Wing Chun stylists…who very often ineffectively stand in one place attempting to block, block, block as a cooperative defense.

In MMA you might see someone opening with a jab-cross combo from boxing, followed by a kick from Thai boxing, followed by a clinch entry and takedown from wrestling, followed by ground techniques from Brazilian jiu jitsu.  They take what’s useful from each style and use various parts where they’re appropriate.  Wing Chun can be used similarly.  An MMA practitioner could use a pak sao trap to increase the likelihood of landing a jab, followed by a cross, then a double lop sao into a knee, etc.  The structure of the “tan sao” can be used to stop a takedown attempt.  The “huen sao” techniques is identical to the initial motion of pummeling or swimming in the clinch.  In self defense, the simultaneous biu sao and punch works very well against most hooks, as does trapping to eye jabs, groin kicks, and throat strikes.

Wing Chun isn’t just BS, and it does have a great deal to offer.  But in order for the strengths to come out, both WC and MMA practitioners need to open their minds and forget about previous prejudices!