Montreal Classes

I will officially be offering private lessons available 7 days a week during opening hours (posted below) as well as teaching 2 purely self defense/personal protection group classes per week at Senshido International's new home and headquarters; A1A Training Center located at 1201 90th Avenue Lasalle, Québec run by Senshido International Team leader Wes Derequito.

I will only be accepting a limited number of 10 people per class max, at the cost of $15 per class.  Each class will cover a specific topic agreed upon by the majority.  It is on a first come, first serve booking basis and if you purchase a package of 8 classes up front, you get 2 free.  You can also pay on a per class basis.

GROUP CLASS SCHEDULE: Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8pm BEGINNING Monday April 20th, 2015.

I am also available for Private lessons from Monday to Friday from 10am to 8pm (barring the days and times I am teaching group classes) and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 2pm. Depending on the weather, private lessons can begin as early as April 1st and held at a local parc near you.

I am accepting bookings and reservations for both group and private classes via PAYPAL as of now, for more information or to book your spot please drop me an email at i.am@richarddimitri.com and remember, first come first serve basis.

Thank you and all the best!

Rich

Truth: Strictly for those than can cope

One of the greatest things I've learned in the last few years, is that for one, the more scientifically literate I become, the more money I save. Direct result, cutting out such a monumental part of everyday bullshit that plagues so much of people's lives it is truly, utterly astounding. The second part is that it answered tons and tons of questions eliminating the constant nagging of cognitive dissonance and allowing for honesty to replace illusion.

And BRAVO!!!! by the way; a well deserved hats off to the charlatans and conmen out there that have been taking advantage of man's ignorance and pure unadulterated stupidity by making a fucking mint off it. I applaud you!!! I too was taken for many, many years, decades really, victim to the bullshit due to my very own weaknesses, ignorance and stupidity.  I say 'stupidity' because I then chose to remain ignorant even when presented with evidence for a long time..... and it is when we are at our weakest that we are the most vulnerable to these snake oil salesmen but like I said, I admit and applaud them though I do not condone what they are doing one bit as they are as much a part of the perpetual bullshit, pseudo-science, hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo plaguing the vast majority of humanity still today.

I don't understand what scares people so much about facts and truth to the point that they have to create and hang onto illusions, myths and legends..... sure they're cool, uplifting etc. but why the need for blind faith? I don't get that. At all. Not only deny the truth, but also for some unfathomable reason, to be offended by it?!?! Wow. Just... wow.  I for one was never offended by truth.  Sure it created a massive amount of cognitive dissonance and I sure as hell wanted to believe in all those things, be it deities, astrology, sasquatch, spirits, angels, demons, extradimensional beings, magic cures and what not, but the only thing they have in common other than being 'paranormal' or 'miraculous' is that every single one of those things lack one major criteria: EVIDENCE. They got none. Outside of tradition, hearsay, personal anecdotes and interpretations of events, they got nothing.

How crucial, critical is evidence?  Well, critical enough that in most first world countries anyway, we cannot convict a man, especially to a death sentence without evidence and facts.  Critical enough that I don't care who you are reading this, I can only imagine that if you were wrongly convicted for a multiple murder in a city that sustains capital punishment, you would be hard pressed to have all the solid facts and evidence revealing your innocence via the use of forensic science over eyewitness testimony and hearsay.

It requires outside the box thinking to evolve I agree, but it takes evidence based thinking to progress throughout our evolution.  Scientific literacy is and should be one of the top priority lessons in raising our children today. In my opinion, this will insure 2 things: 1. They won't be conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout their lives by every charlatan and snake oil salesman out there and 2. They will help undo the dark ages of religion past and present, and eradicate a good percentage of 'deaths by belief' be it through anti-vaxxers, religious fundamentalists and/or medicine/science deniers.

Sincerely,

Rich

At what level of ‘Self Defense’ will you settle?

What do you train for? Speaking of course, from a self defense, personal protection and self preservation perspective.  I ask this because I notice people train differently and seemingly for differing kinds of circumstances and situational predicaments I can only assume are based on their lifestyles and concerns within.

Some focus mainly on the physical aspects, which that alone encompases such a wide array of possibilities from dealing with the environment and clothing one is wearing to the actual physical responses used, it creates it's own set of questions for example; what, in one's seemingly normal lifestyle, would make them dedicate a large percentage of their training time perfecting their punching skills?

Now this is not a judgment call at all, it could be that the individual in question happens to be a gifted boxer and the level of violence they have been exposed to in their lifetime consists of basic road rage or alcohol based incidents and that their punching skills have come in handy on more than one occasion under these circumstances and therefor focuses their personal defense training mainly as such.

Compare that to the individual who is seemingly obsessed with firearms being the first and foremost training method of self protection they engage in who maybe lives in a more violent neighborhood and has perhaps lost an acquaintance or friend in gang related issues.

Then there are those who spend a large portion of their training on the mental side, training the mind as it were, to be the primary weapon.  The mental aspect is just as extensive and diversified as the physical ranging from working verbal defusing skills to tone down the average aggressor and managing one's fear to having themselves waterboarded in case captured and tortured by their perceived enemas. Enemies. I meant 'enemies'.

But then there are those of course, who are overtly paranoid and are out there literally training for the Zombie Terrorist Apocalypse while they are living in first world white suburbia.

The question here is, without judgment but simply out of curiosity; what are you training for? And if you have a family, are they equally as trained? To paraphrase the immortal Brandon Lee, at what level of self defense will you settle?

Damned if you do or don’t.

I don't know about other self defense instructors out there but for me, this has been and is one hell of a tough job.  Maybe I'm sensitive, I don't know, but dealing with the violence and its trail of victims, dealing with the politics of the industries and topping it off with the feeling that nothing you do or have ever done has even made a dent in the world, regardless of the testimonials or the number of friends and peers who tell you what a great and fantastic job you are doing; it still manages to leave this dense heaviness in the middle of my chest enough for me to battle the daily decision of leaving it altogether once and for all.

I wrestled with the idea of quitting for nearly 5 years. I tried leaving it all back in early 2012 when my son was born.  Though he was one of the main reasons factoring into several others at the time, that anvil in the middle of my chest was most certainly a decisive factor. I managed to somewhat stay away for 3 years while dabbling mainly in the sport side of the martial arts which was truly a breathe of fresh air to deal with people who simply wanted to get healthier and stronger in their lifestyles.

During those 3 years I decided to try various jobs and since I've never really had a real job by societies standards since I worked at a paint store in my late teens, I had no idea how to do a job interview, so needless to say, I was too "intense" for the first few and didn't get the job.  Once I learned the game some, I started getting work and I went from delivering pizza to working at a video shop to working for Parks Canada at a summer camp ground.

Finding it difficult to navigate from unfulfilling job to unfulfilling job as much as I enjoyed them during the short terms and worked with great people all around, I literally began hitting a state of depression and losing a monumental part of who I was and am, I had to go back to do what I do best, what I was and am literally born to do; and in October of 2014 I made the decision to return to teaching.

The job isn't 9 to 5 either, for me anyway, it's 24/7. I can't just 'shut it off', it's much to much a part of who I am and so that heaviness returned with it.  I have since dealt with and plunged right back into the world of violence, a dark world, one that left me cynical and unfortunately somewhat jaded, I can't deny that.

That sense of no matter what you do, no matter who or how many you help or have helped to date, no matter how hard you work, or try, or stay up at night, no matter how hard you push, it hasn't changed a thing. The violence is still out there, people are still raping, assaulting, murdering each other just as much if not more than when you began your quest.

Now I don't know if you believe in coincidence or that shit happens for a reason, but every single time I've come so really close to the decision of leaving it all behind for good, I receive an email or a phone call from someone who's life I have changed. Not saved; but changed and inspired.

Today was no different. I received a message from a Facebook friend I haven't directly really communicated with in years.  He asked me to call him as what he had to say he felt he needed to say in person.  I called him up and he confided in me that he is unfortunately and sadly, in his final days as cancer has taken its toll after a long and hard battle.  He is at peace and had wanted to just thank me for both my work and sharing my personal experiences with you good folk out there over the years, as I have been an inspiration and he felt I should know that I, amongst many others of course, were one of those who touched his life.

Needless to say, I am not quitting today and probably never will though it will be a daily battle with me, I know this. And to everyone out there I say, you never know whose lives you touch with yours, simply by the sharing of your own experiences.

DO SOME SHIT.

Sincerely,

Rich

Fighting or Self Defense?!?

Fighting or Self Defense?

Is it better to strike with a closed fist or an open hand? Are kicks useful for self defense? What about high ones? Can pure grappling be applied in a real fight? Is this move/technique/combo/strike/submission effective/efficient? Is this art/style/system good for self defense? Should the knock-out blow be the primary concern? Does a kick to the nut-sack work?

There are endless debates to these questions and countless more. The reality is, there is no right or correct answer to fit any collective mold as each individual human being differs greatly in critical enough areas to make any definitive response only a half truth.

The problem arises when teaching a group of varied people with too many differences to enumerate including but not limited to: past experiences, training or lack thereof, attitude, size, weight, height, age, strengths, weaknesses, daily routines, jobs etc. the list goes on and on.

How do these things come into play? Well, a 6 foot 4 inch, 240 pound athletic, 28 year old male who works as a bouncer and a 5 foot 2 inch, 105 pound grandmother suffering from mild arthritis will require either 2 very different sets of tools, each fitting the individual’s state of being and abilities; or, a generic approach to self defense using strategies, tactics and tools that even a 105 lbs grandmum can effectively apply.

Now if you come from the school of thought that a grandmother, woman, child or disabled person cannot efficiently learn how to protect themselves, then please allow me to offer the suggestion that whatever style or system you are learning or teaching is not a suitable one for self protection.  Why? Because simply stated, it’s the elderly, women, children, the disabled and those that are viewed of as weak in society that are generally victimized.  If what you are teaching isn’t adaptable to those that need it most, then what you are teaching is fighting, or the more macho term that gets all the tough guy wannabes out there a hard on, “combat” and not self defense.

And there is a difference. A boxing knockout punch could arguably be very effective for the 250 pound bouncer as a self protection tool but may not be the most suitable for the grandmother with mild arthritis; however, the open handed palm strike would work equally as well for both. See what I am getting at here?

A rear naked choke may work for most adults, male and female included as a valid self defense tool, absolutely, and I’ve used it myself on more than one occasion, but an average 5 or 6 year old child couldn’t efficiently use it to render a determined adult unconscious if they managed to get behind their attacker. A savage ripping and tearing to the face attacking the eyes and throat while latching on to the head however would work for both parties here. Bonus to the adults for also having the choke as an added tool to their arsenal however.

Always been a fan of the ‘smoke em if you’ve got em’ adage, if you possess certain tools that you can work, don’t get rid of em, just add other tools to your arsenal and allow the most logical and natural of choices to YOU manifest themselves as they do. Don’t forget the ‘acid test’; in the end, you absolutely must test your skills in a well replicated scenario with proper protective equipment (best on the market today is Spartan Gear hands down) and apply them in real time/real speed, no consent situations.

Certain people can make pure Tae Kwon Do work in a multiple attacker armed attacker situation, while others have used boxing, grappling, karate, name the art or system here, successfully as well and on more than one occasion. If YOU can knock someone out with a single blow or can kick 2 people in the face without putting your foot on the ground in between, or if you can submit Brock Lesner with a pinkie twinkle, then all the more power to you and by all means, keep doing so but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your skills are directly transferable to another..

I personally live by a very simple rule when teaching self defense; if my 67 year old 5 foot mother can’t do it, then it isn’t a self defense tool/concept/move, it’s a fighting/combative one. No matter how long my mother would train for in boxing today and regardless of who her legendary boxing coach could be, she will never be able to knock out a 230 pound coked up rapist attacking her, but she would more than certainly be able to tactically position him using behavioral strategies to lure him into a vulnerable enough zone and moment where she could debilitate him with eyes and throat attacks long enough to successfully get away. Same could be said for a child defending themselves against an adult.

And also simply stated, if these tools and tactics are functional for those that are deemed vulnerable in society, then they are equally and even more dangerous in the hands of those capable of using the more combative and athletic based tools if; and that’s a big fucking if, they can get their egos in check and realize that we don’t force fit a system/style/art to an individual, but instead, we modify the system to suit the particular individual and their needs.

In the end, it doesn’t matter who thinks or believes what’s best for you but YOU. Taking someone’s opinion on something as serious as self defense or whatnot without first and foremost researching and sampling things for yourself to see what suits your sense of everything most is limiting and self oppressing; and to think that once you’ve discovered what’s best for you, is also automatically best for everyone else if fucking myopic and egotistical to say the least.

Do some shit.

Sincerely,

Rich

The 5 principles of physical retaliation: REBOOTED

The 5 Principles of Physical Retaliation AKA “The Shredder”

Once struck, there are generally 5 different reactions a human being will have after getting struck.  The individual who has been struck can react in one or more of these ways.  In no particular order they are:

1. To create distance.The individual hit will back up and move away to regroup or protect themselves.
2. To clinch.The individual will close the distance and latch on defensively to the other who hit him.
3. To counter strike.The individual struck strikes back immediately (with or without a weapon), no quarter given on the counter.
4. Drops semi or fully unconscious.The individual struck is put out of commission.
5. Takes the shot, looks at you dead in the eye and replies:“That all you’ve got?”

Knowing and understanding these reactions are imperative in order to have a contingency plan for each and every one of them. If your mind is trained to be prepared and accordingly react to any or a combination of any of these reactions, it will be extremely difficult to be caught off guard and one’s recovery time and natural flow are much quicker and with no hesitation.

Your mind will be ready for whatever outcome and won’t go into the dreaded assumption frame.  One of the worst things one can do is assume.  I’ve always said, the only 2 safe assumptions anyone can make in the face of potential violence is that 1. Your opponent is carrying a concealed weapon and 2. He’s not alone and he’s got friends. That’s it, that’s all.  Any other assumption solidifying a naturally flowing process can impede in your survival.

The key in physical retaliation is your ability to spontaneously improvise your next move based on your attacker’s reaction. Your attacker will always dictate what your next move is going to be based on the 5 possible reactions they will have after you landed your first strike.

The following are the 5 principles of physical retaliation and they are always applicable regardless of what style or system one practices or what the scenario or situation may be. You will even find them applicable in the sporting arena.

Principle # 1.  Economy of motion. 

Musashi said, “Do nothing which is of no use”.  Basically, do not waste energy on unnecessary movement.  There are 2 ways of doing this.

1: Your intended natural weapon, whatever it may be whether it is a jab, kick or submission application should be the initial point of movement prior to any other part of the human body.  If your intended strike is a left jab, then the left fist should be the very first thing to move followed by the rest of the arm, then body.

2: It’s important for you to have a mental and philosophical reason for everything that you do.  Don’t just throw a kick or punch for the sake of throwing it.  Many fighters as they circle each other feeling each other out will unnecessarily throw ‘something’ because nothing has happened yet.  If it is done with reason backed by strategy, then it is fine but a lot of times fighter’s just kick or punch for the sake of it because they are sparring or scenario replicating.

When my students spar, I randomly stop them and ask them why they did what they did in terms of strike or combination, for the most part; they don’t have an answer.  It’s important for the student to understand and know why they are doing what they are doing.  This will economize on wasted motion and help the student strategize consistently while maintaining energy.

Economy of motion also economizes on both mental and physical energy.  Energy is a key factor in survival.  For the most part, stress, fear and the adrenaline dump will cause a mental energy drain which in turn will deplete one of physical energy rather quickly.

Principle # 2.  Non Telegraphic Movement.

Non telegraphic movement ties in directly with economy of motion. This principle basically states not to telegraph your intention to your attacker by making any unnecessary movements or gestures prior to your initial attack.  This includes facial expressions, shift of body weight, shift of eyesight, idiosyncratic movements prior to striking and winding up, etc.

Your attack should be explosive and sudden preferably from a verbal defusing stage where the body language is natural and non-threatening.  If you’re already engaged in the fight and your opponent is still ‘active’ your attack should still be explosive and sudden without any prior movement to initialize it except the intended weapon of choice (whether natural weapon or actual weapon) and the ‘beat’ and ‘rhythm’ should be broken and erratic in nature.

Principle # 3.  Opportunity striking VIA your nearest weapon to your opponent’s nearest available and most damageable target.

This principle dictates you striking without giving your opponent the opportunity to negate, block, jam, parry, slip, evade or counter your strike.  In order to do this you need to strike with (as Bruce Lee prophetically stated in an episode of Long Street) your nearest natural weapon to your opponent’s nearest open or available target.

While doing this, repeat the word “Opportunity” to yourself as you begin your strike to the moment you land your strike.  If you can say the word ‘opportunity’ more than once, chances are your opponent would have had the opportunity to react instinctively in negating your attempt to strike him and you did not use your closest natural weapon to their closest available target.  You should only be able to say the word ‘opportunity’ once at the most by the time you reach your intended target.

This doesn’t mean that your initial strike should be the knockout blow or strike that ends the fight, although that would be ideal, it isn’t always probable. For the most part, in a real violent physical encounter, your first strike may be just a distraction or flinch instigator which will allow you to follow through with a more powerful or terminal (fight ender) strike.

Sometimes, a bite, pinch or spitting in the opponent’s face will cause a momentary enough distraction, which will allow you to capitalize on providing your timing is sharp.  It’s important however, that when you follow up after your initial strike, you do so on the using the shortest possible time frame between your strikes so that your opponent doesn’t have the time to react and negate your follow up strike.

(This principle is demonstrated and instructed in full detail in our Surviving the Streets & Tool and Target DVDs available for purchase via the shop section)

Principle # 4. Primary Targets.

In a real fight, you need to end it as quickly as possible.  In order to do that, you have to debilitate your opponent.  However, it is necessary to judge whether the situation is a maximum potential for violence (life or death situation) or minimum potential for violence and whether or not your opponent is a good guy having a bad day or genuinely an asshole, as everyone can have an off day.

A maximum potential for violence situation requires use of extreme force.  The primary targets on the human body that will debilitate any attacker regardless of size or level of impairment, are the eyes and throat.  As human beings, we have the innate instinct to protect our eyes and windpipe. If your opponent can’t see, he can’t fight, if he can’t breathe, he can’t fight.   It’s really that simple. Even if he doesn’t feel the pain, if he can’t see, he’s gotta find you to reach you and hurt you. You can play Marco Polo with that mother fucker all day. If he can’t breathe, he’s only got so long to go before he succumbs to lack of oxygen.

The rest of the human body is secondary.  There are no other specific targets as there are nerve clusters everywhere on the human body.  Striking the groin, the sides of the biceps or the shin will all cause a flinch response creating another opening allowing for an immediate follow up strike if necessary.  Strike as many places and as often as necessary in order to reach the eyes and throat and debilitate your opponent.

If your opponent has been debilitated without you having to have struck his eyes and/or throat, then all the more power to you; however, if your opponent is drug or alcohol induced or if he has a high threshold of pain or if he’s emotionally disturbed or hell, all of the above; then chances are, if you haven’t struck his eyes or throat in order to cause him to reflexively protect himself, he’ll most probably keep coming at you.

Principle # 5.  Tactile Sensitivity.

Tactile sensitivity is the ability to interpret your opponent’s energy through the sense of touch. The majority of fights will start at the close quarter range also often referred to as the trapping range.  Dialogue and communication will allow for an attacker to get in the close quarter range without necessarily having to strike you yet.  This is where the assailant has access to lapel grabs, strangulations, shoves, tackles, headlocks, static knife threats and attacks, intimidation tactics and more via sudden ambush.  If the fight is not dealt with at this range it might well lead to the ground or possible stabbing.

Tactile sensitivity is applied the second you and your opponent have come into physical contact together.  At the close quarter, ground fighting and in close body to body boxing range the hand is much, much quicker than the eye.  If your opponent decides to pull a knife out of his belt or back pocket while in the clinch, you will not be able to see it but you will be able to feel and read his body language shift through the sense of touch.

There are countless drills that help develop the tactile senses and freestyle grappling on its own is a phenomenal way of doing so as you are constantly trying to interpret your opponent’s next move through the body to body contact. However pure grappling doesn’t offer the benefits of defending against strikes and weapons which should be added into all tactile sensitivity drilling if self defense is the primary concern.

A good tactile sense will allow one to defend oneself better at the close quarter and ground fighting ranges.  You’ll be able to feel and intercept an oncoming attack as it develops.

There’s a story of a Tai Chi master whose tactile sensitivity was so developed that he had a butterfly in his hand try and fly away and he followed it with his hand until his arm could no longer extend upwards as the butterfly finally flew off it.

The 5 principles of physical retaliation are always applicable regardless of the situation or scenario or tools of choice once things have gotten physical.  They require proper training and mental blueprinting.  Once they are acquired however, they become unforgettable and imperishable skills, like riding a bike and applicable to all martial arts styles or systems.

Train intelligently and diligently.

Rich Dimitri

Updates

REGARDING CERTIFICATION

I am still receiving lots of requests and questions regarding certification and as thankful as I am for the interest, I am no longer certifying anyone in anything, and as things stand, I don't plan to again.  I do not market a style or system or singular methodology, I purely teach personal protection and self defense; and since I don't own 'self defense' (we all know who does lol) I cannot certify people in self defense.

I am however fully available for workshops, private and semi private instruction as well as SKYPE consultations if interested. Check out my course descriptions on my website to see which suits your needs best.

If however, you are absolutely interested in a Senshido certification, then please hit up Wes Derequito at Senshido.com as he is the new Senshido International Team leader.

 
MOVING BACK TO MONTREAL

My family and I are moving back to Montreal for 18 to 24 months prior to moving to Ecuador.  We will be arriving on the first week of April and I will be available to teach private and semi private classes at Senshido International's new location in Lasalle, A1A Training Center run by new Senshido International team leader, Wes Derequito.

Wes is also hosting me for a workshop on May 23rd at A1A Training Center where I will be breaking down and demystifying the 'Shredder' tool and concept.  Joining me at the workshop will be Chris Roberts of Safe International as well as a good bunch of the Senshido International Team coming in from pretty much everywhere.  Join us for a great time!  For more details and information, please hit up Wes Derequito at info@araacademy.com

 
NEW MATERIALS

I will also be releasing a few new instructional DVDs and a follow up to my best seller 'In Total Defense of the Self' this year as well as contributing in a few of the new Senshido International instructional DVDs also to be released this year.

Thank you and all the best.

Sincerely,

Rich

What if?

Imagine what if.....

What if instead of bombarding people with ads on TV of countless pharmaceuticals, fast and processed foods, they bombarded us with ads on the health benefits of free range, organic meats and produce as well as how a healthy lifestyle avoids the need for such medicines in the first place?

What if the media were to promote reading, learning, growing and evolving instead of telling us what to wear, what to drive, what to think, what's successful, what's 'in'?

What if people were as interested in their neighbor's lives as they were on the Royal's or some movie star couple?

What if we acknowledged and greeted, even if just with a nod or smile, everyone we encountered?

What if we took the time, every single time (unless it was detrimental to our own lives) to lend a helping hand every time we saw someone in any kind of general daily struggle from holding a door to helping with groceries to picking up something they dropped to letting them have your seat on a bus regardless of their age or gender, etc.)?

What if every single time every single person saw litter anyhwere, they simply took the time to pick it up and toss it in the nearest garbage or keep it until one was found?

What if instead of soda, candy bar and chips; vending machines in the majority of hospitals, schools, gyms and arenas were filled with organic fruit and vegetable juices, nuts, seeds and health bars?

What if the hemp plant was legalized world wide and education was provided on how to industrialize it allowing third world countries & giving the poor the means to make their own food, clothes, fuel, over 2000 textiles, etc.?

What if by legalizing it, we could now make paper from it therefore saving the rainforests and chopping of trees? What about the fact that fuel can be made from it? What if we indeed made eco friendly and inexpensive fuel from hemp instead of using oil?

What if every single person on earth holding any kind of grudge against anyone at all from minor to major regardless, forgave and move on?

What if every human being on earth could see themselves in another and could actually grasp beyond mere comprehension; but actually doing some shit about the fact that we are all connected whether we like it or not, we are all interconnected regardless of religion, gender or nationality, sexual orientation etc. would violence still be as prevalent within our species?

What if instead of making cars most people can't afford; and even those that can, can rarely ever use at their peak due to traffic laws and the like -what if they only made cars that were safe, secure, reliable and didn't go beyond the highest of allowed speed limits? (faster cars can be purchased or leased and only driven at tracks or certain allocated areas in order to be able to "kick it" and enjoy them as they were meant to without risk - as it were.)

What if the tobacco and alcohol industries weren't 2 of the biggest sponsors on the "WAR ON DRUGS?"

What if humanity ceased to make, distribute, market and sell cigarettes and people had to grow their own tobacco to make and roll their own if they wanted to smoke?

What if more money was spent on education instead of privately owned prison systems?

What if all drugs were legalized and regulated and the 5+ million per year spent on the war on drugs was allocated to murder/rape/pedophilia crimes, would it reduce the 800,000+ incarcerated per year for marijuana and increase the incarcerations of rapists, murderers and pedophiles? Would there not be more money for investigating much harder felonies? Or instead, what if the 5 million a year was used for education and schools?

What if more was spent on health and fitness education, would obesity and malnutrition be as high?

What if law enforcement financially grossed what athletes, movie and music stars make, would corruption greatly reduce?

What if children of the future were raised free of separate religions but instead raised to view all of humanity as equal, all of humanity as a brother-sisterhood without factions or differences?

What if God weren't looked upon by most as judge, jury and executioner and instead, nothing more or less than the energy of pure and simple unconditional Love - without judgement, without guilt, without oppression, without character or personality or gender?

What if humanity collectively accepted a worldwide human law passed that no one on earth can have more than 1 child for a determined number of years in order to greatly reduce the growing and threatening 8+ billion population mark while maintaining our species for the greater good of our species and the world we live on and in?

What if a breathalyzer were to be installed in all cars as a means of starting the ignition/engine instead of a key or remote and if the breath is over the legal limit of driving, the car simply doesn't start? Same thing with the seat belt.... no seat belt, car don't start. How many lives would that potentially save from drinking and driving?

What if every single human being on earth who owns a home worth 1 million $ or more were to sell their home, move to a different neighborhood, purchased a 400 thousand $ home instead and used the balance to help all the tsunami/earthquake/flood victims worldwide?

What if every single person in the world who owns a watch that is worth over $1000 sold their watches, purchased a $100 watch instead and used the balance to make sure that a child somewhere doesn't starve to death?

What if we only did half of even one third of all of that?

What if....?

Sincerely,

Rich

Welfare on Ego

The following incident occurred on June 26, 2009 and I wrote about it as soon as I got home. What this incident perfectly illustrates is that self defense encompasses and deals with much, much more than a physical defensive response; it requires enhanced awareness, the ability to spontaneously improvise moment to moment as a situation unfolds and to strategize under pressure while manifesting the tactical applications of one's chosen strategy. The ability to decipher the kind of individual(s) you are dealing with can be determined by various factors from environment to time of day/night, and can greatly enhance one's chances in interrupting and shifting a potential shit storm simply via proper choice speech and a solid communicative delivery system. That said, here's a great example of what I am talking about.

I’m walking through the park as I frequently do with my dog, usually at hours where people are either working or having dinner, or long lost in their slumbering dream worlds, suffice it to say, it’s pretty empty when we stroll.

Not the most exciting story to read about in terms of action or cool moves or how I defeated 3 armed men or anything… but hopefully you were able to gain something from this. John Lennon said it best when he said, “All we are saying is, give Peace a chance.”

Functional Combative Drills Now Available

Functional Combative Drill training manual, NOW AVAILABLE in the shop section, $12 or FREE with any other purchase and at all times. Also check out the DVD download of the same title as an excellent accompanying training tool.

"Functional Combative Drills is an excellent source for anyone wishing to increase their combative skill set. These drills will fit seamlessly into any training program/martial art and offer a unique outlook on how you truly need to train should you wish to survive a violent confrontation.

Having done many of these drills myself, I can tell you that they are exciting and fast paced. They will improve all of your combative attributes and enable you to develop a holistic hand to hand combat arsenal. Everything is taken into account. Rich leaves nothing out and the explanations of each drill are very simple and well communicated to the reader.

With 59 drills included, you will have plenty of material to keep you your training partners busy for a long time. An incredible value."

Jeff Liboiron
Nanaimo, BC
Senshido International Team Member

What is a victim

Is it a person who has been attacked and hasn’t survived? Is it also a person who has been attacked or abused several times? Is it a person who hangs their head low while walking down the street in a fear stricken and submissive state in anticipation of violence and abuse? Is it a person who looks a certain way, lives a certain way, talks a certain way? Is it a certain personality type, psychological or social profile, or is it a mindset, a perception of oneself? It’s hard to say really, if you ask most people a victim is everybody else but themselves.

Why am I on about this? Well, most of the time when I approach a person about taking personal protection classes, or more specifically a woman friend about one of our rape prevention seminars I always get the: “I don’t need cause it’ll never happen to me.” array of speeches. Whether they are referring to their lifestyle, hairstyle or who they know it seems that most women are impervious to the depravity of others. Lucky aren’t they? I also get, when speaking to more learned or spiritual people, the: “I don’t act like a victim, have that mindset or project that image.”, speech. Incredible the number of self-actualised people on the face of this earth. Please do not take my cynicism the wrong way. If I’m being sharp with my words it’s because I care, and because I understand the importance of safety for ourselves and our loved-ones.

So what is a victim? I believe it’s is a person, for one reason or another takes no responsibility for their actions or the actions of others that directly affect them. In essence it is the person that blames everyone else and has willingly given up their personal power and made themselves helpless to the world around them. Sound familiar yet? How about the person that says it’s not my fault, it’s because she said this and he said that. Or the person who believes that can’t do anything to change anything in their day or life because he or she controls this or that and therefore makes it impossible for me to do anything. It is that person that we hear whining incessantly about what this or that person has done to them, and how it’s not fair, life isn’t fair and if only things were different. Wait a minute, isn’t this all of us? Maybe not all the time but at some point or another in maybe our day, week, month, year or life we have each sounded like this. So are we in danger? You tell me. The only time we can be sure of what we feel, what we know and what we project is in the here and now. There is no way for any manner of person to know what their state of mind will be every minute of every day for the rest of their lives, and even more so where they happen to be at those minutes. What if you are walking down a deserted street, late at night, with your worst nightmare waiting around the corner when it so happens that you’re carrying yourself like a victim. Can you tell me beyond all certainty that this will never happen. Because if you know with certainty the things will and will not happen to you from this moment until you pass on, by all means please call me and tell when and if I’m winning the lottery, cause I could really use a new boat.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that when people get attacked for any reason that they have done anything wrong, or made some mistake. On the contrary, they were being what we all are and can never escape, human. So all those that are not human at this time may stop reading this piece and please refer to my extensive works of extra-terrestrial assaults and what not. Moving right along, when anyone decides to violate you in any way, never should you say you had it coming, or you deserved it, for it is their mistake, and just think what a mistake it will be if you have a plan of action.

But what of the attacker? Why attack you, what propels any human being to want to defile another, destroy another in some measure. Surely, you think I’m referring to a sociopath or run of the mill nut job rapist. But I’m not; I’m still talking about the same people who are victims now and again. Haven’t we all done or said hurtful things to others and especially loved ones. Haven’t we all screamed, yelled and berated the odd stranger, friend or sibling. Haven’t some of us raised our hands against these same people? I know I have, I’ve said things to people I love I wish I could have taken back seconds later or traded blows with a friend over something stupid, or picked on my little brother because he was just that, little. Am I a monster, were they all victims? Who knows?

But not to stray too far from the point let’s get back to why, I or any of you might behave this way. A very famous buzz word in the psychoanalysis and psychotherapy vernacular comes to mind, projection. By that I mean to take whatever feelings or perceptions we have about ourselves (good or bad) and projecting them onto another person, in effect holding them responsible for whatever our state of mind may be (funny where it seems this is going). There is also transference, where we superimpose certain dynamics of a relationship we may have with a certain person, onto another relationship because of similarities between each of these people. If light bulbs aren’t going off yet, let me coax your higher reasoning with an example: think of a person you don’t really know that well, that you hate, I mean that you can’t stand, that really irritates you, that you would like to see take a nasty fall only to double over laughing at this sight. Whether it’s your boss, a friend of a friend etc… Don’t be shy, now why does this person annoy you? Do they talk too loud, are they arrogant, do they never give you a straight answer or are they too brutally honest? Anything will do, I’m sure you can all think of at least one person, or at least a person you do like or love that gets on your nerves in one way or another. Now tell me why it makes you nuts that they are one way or another? In the case of the person you don’t know that well, how can you pass judgment on them, you know nothing about what makes them the way they are. What if you did? Would you be so hard on the person you may find arrogant if you knew that his parents had verbally abused him/her or their whole life, taking every opportunity to make them feel like nothing, convincing them they would amount to nothing. Now it’s understandable isn’t it, it’s acceptable, they are human too and have a right to be how they are (you moral consciousness might be telling you). So why did they get under your skin in the first place, it wasn’t personal, and they didn’t act like this just to piss you off did they? Could it be that whatever made you angry is within you, that you either saw within them an unresolved issue with a closer relationship, or an aspect of yourself you’re not comfortable with or in complete denial about? Maybe.

Let’s move away from my pontificating and use myself as an example. I have always disliked, or had trouble with emotional people. By that I mean people who can’t help but communicate every single feeling they have in a one minute time span, and who seem to, in that one minute experience a ridiculous variety of emotions. Yes, I may be exaggerating but just to make my point and I will freely admit that I am getting annoyed just thinking about it. I mean these people; every little thing is an event: they cry, the laugh, they scream a million times per day. JEEEEEEEESUS!!!! So why does it piss me off, because growing up, I wasn’t allowed to express what I felt, I was stifled, and as I grew I was told that as a man I had to be stoic and bottle everything I felt, never sharing or finding relief. If not, I would have failed those who had painted this image for me and this was most unbearable. As a result I thought that those that lived a 24hour drama were weak, selfish and I looked down on them. But as I grew older, and read enough books, spoke to enough people, I came to understand all this psychobabble I’m going on about, on different levels. But still, they piss me off. Because now, though I understood why they may be the way they are and me the way I am, I began to envy what they had that I couldn’t seem to achieve, the simple expressing of one’s emotions. So in reality, I was never angry with them, but with myself, I did only hurt them with my words or actions but myself as well. I watched Fahrenheit 9/11 the other day and a U.S. soldier, years younger than I, had understood this and said something I found remarkable; that every time we take life we kill a part of ourselves. Well isn’t it the same when we lash out at others?

So back to my initial point as to why a person may attack us, provoke us etc… Barring certain exceptions (only because I believe that all rules or statement of fact especially when opinionated has at least one exception). It could be that this person looks at you and on some level sees what they hate in themselves, and so they chose you, they project onto you: Maybe it’s because your tall, or you look like you have money, or simply your of a certain gender or race, and your attacker is going to take all the dissatisfaction they feel in their life at that moment and make you pay for it convinced you deserve it somehow. Sounds like a victim trying to make victims doesn’t it. When you think of a person antagonizing you, trying to escalate a situation like this they can become violent, on some level its like they want you to feel what they feel, like this they can take a good look at themselves in you eyes and then tear what they see apart. Richard once said in one of his articles that you have to take everything into consideration when approached in a hostile manner: where is this person coming from?

Does that imply compassion on some level for all manner of aggressor’s? Maybe. But remember that compassion for others can never come before self-love and by that I mean the appreciation for your existence and the subsequent will to preserve your life there from. Should we feel some measure of compassion for even the sickest, nastiest of criminals? I think so, especially after we hear how they got that way. Does that mean that it is up to us to save them and therefore allow our compassion not override the necessity to commit violence in order to protect ourselves?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Do you think that by allowing any kind of attacker or abuser, get the better of you on any level, does them any favours, or encourages them to change their ways now that you have so freely given them your power, now that they have seen the wrong they’ve done? If that were the case, criminals worldwide would be handing themselves in to the police or seeking therapy en masse. Besides if most of us can hardly figure out what’s best for ourselves how can we possibly be qualified to know what’s best for others. It seems to me, in any event, that you show more compassion to them and yourself, defending yourself (whether by diffusing or if you have no choice, fighting) than by giving in to them; because you send that message to them and to yourself that it’s not okay for anyone to strip away your humanity so they don’t have to face themselves. Anything less, is self-hating at best.

I just want to conclude by saying that though I didn’t directly quote anyone other than one thing Rich said, I can’t take sole credit for the structuring of my opinions, many of the things I’ve said (if not all) have been said before. So let me say that this was inspired by the writings of people like Dostoyevsky, Carl Jung, Dan Millman, Thich Nhat Hanh and a host of others. But my true inspiration comes from the people in my everyday life who in many cases are wise and learned. So I thank my family, the people at Senshido, and my close personal friends (you know who you are).

Tarek Kazak

Simplicity Revisited

Martial artists in general still don’t fundamentally understand the concept and extreme importance of pre contact psychology. It’s amazing to see forum after forum; message board after message board, all that is being discussed is ‘techniques’. Which technique is better, which techniques would you use against an armed attacker, multiple attackers, a grappler, a huge individual?

Bruce Lee said “The height of cultivation lies in its simplicity”. Simplicity works. During the adrenal stress stage, fine and complex motor skills perish. Complex motor skills only play an important role if you are the attacker or once you establish mental and physical dominance over your opponent. The more technique, dexterity, or practice is required the less likely a technique will function in a high stress situation against an enraged attacker.

Elaborate submissions, compliance techniques, certain locks, pressure points, high kicks all require a great deal of inner calm and a high level of skill which in turn requires decades of consistent training, all of which are luxuries we do not have when faced with extreme aggression at an inopportune time. Relying on gross motor skills and reflexive responses based on realistic training strategies will enhance any fighter’s tactical edge.

When a potentially violent confrontation arises, our parasympathetic nervous system picks up on it and our survival instinct kicks in leading our sympathetic nervous system to take over. We immediately evaluate the threat and proper personal protection requires that one trust their intuition. A presence of danger instilling sudden fear is where most people begin to visualize defeat, which in turn destroys one’s confidence regardless of their level of skill.

This is where most people lose the fight, the moment they begin to hesitate and doubt their skill, their training and themselves. This is where the psychological portion of a fighter’s arsenal comes into play. Fear and stress management, confrontation management and manipulation of human behavior skills, are all integral elements (more so than the physical) to a fighter. Never, ever undervalue the mental side of your training.

The communicative aspect of hand-to-hand combat is grossly undervalued by so called “martial artists” or “self defense experts”. Dialogue will highly influence most violent confrontations and street fights. As Dan Millman said, the conventions of language play an enormous role in the ways we view the world. Words are used to convey messages, which create images that affect an individual’s behavior and perceptions. Threats, profanity, challenges and other verbal attacks will affect one’s perceptions and response. How you’re spoken to and how you mentally perceive the way you are spoken to will have an impact on your physical responses.

How you feel in that moment will alter those perceptions as well. Are you having a good day, bad day, are you ill, did your best friend just pass away in a car accident? Are you one hundred percent healthy etc?

Dialogue will also alter the fighting range you are in. (For example: an individual stares you down, suddenly, he approaches you and asks you “What the fuck are you staring a?” then he pushes you…). Using the simple example we just gave; our attacker went from kicking to Boxing to trapping range using a verbal initiator to enter to the physical confrontation range.

This all becomes critical information to the complete fighter if he is to fully develop his combative arsenal. Verbal defusing strategies, choice speech, congruous behavior and de-escalation tactics are used to defuse the confrontation or “set up” the attacker for an effective physical retaliation.

Using the body’s natural survival reflexes that include flinching, ducking, spontaneous blocking, develop your physical retaliation principles based on whatever position you ended up in. This way, the impulse of your reaction is a reflexive response making it the quickest and most natural response because its nucleus is your reflex. Look at what you instinctively do without training, and then work your combative tactics from there. Your spontaneous and natural options will be faster developed without any stylistic interference.

Your combative arsenal must coincide with your behavioral and psychological arsenal so that your entire being (mind, emotions, body and spirit) fully cooperates in the total defense of the self. Since defusing and de-escalating through negotiation is our secondary objective (secondary because the primary objective is avoidance through awareness and intuition), the physical arsenal must emerge from natural and non-violent stances allowing for deception and spontaneous retaliation without telegraphing your intent.

To fully understand “mind” one must research the mental side of confrontations and how the human mind works on our perceptions. To fully understand “body”, one must understand how the “mind” interprets and perceives things and how that plays with our “emotions” and in turn, affects our physical presence.

The sum of the whole “mind, body, emotions” in turn work together or apart to form the spirit. If the three are in tuned then the spirit is at peace; if they are not then there is havoc on the spirit. Einstein once said that if we can continuously have the “mind body and emotions” working as one then we are in “heaven”, but if the mind is in turmoil and the emotions react to that turmoil then the body follows and we are in “hell”. James O’barr went on to describe it as such: &#x201CWe do not recognize our souls until they are in pain.”

How unfortunately true.

Back to the physical side: knowing thousands of moves and techniques will create major problems in the natural flow of spontaneity during a real life extreme violent attack. In real life, it’s the surprise or “sucker” attack which counts. All other confrontations are not entirely “real” personal protection/self defense situations since they allow for some sort of preparation.

If it isn’t a “sucker punch” (by sucker punch we refer to any attack that catches you off guard completely) then you somehow participated in the escalation of the attack. In which case you have to take into consideration the more dangerous moments of a confrontation, such as extreme stress or fatigue when your cognitive thought process and hand eye coordination aren’t functioning one hundred percent. This is where reflexive responses pay off the most.

Understanding and using reflexive responses will allow one to spontaneously react, maximizing their perception time and minimizing their reaction time since there is no memorization involved since the skills are forever with you. The defense mechanism is imbedded within your reflexes. In turn it will give you more faith in your discipline, combat abilities and confidence level.

Richard Dimitri