Smooth vs Ragged Movement for manifesting Violent Intent

05/08/2008 by richie.

What is “good martial arts form”?

Usually it is movement that is fluid, clean and precise. Controlled. Smooth.

But is that the most effective way of getting the job done in a street fight?

We want to inflict unconsciousness, damage, pain, fear and trauma as quickly, as effeciently and with the maximum EFFECT possible. Right?

Here is an example for your consideration:

In grappling “good form” usually means “no gaps” and fluid, decisive movement.
Gaps are sloppy, they provide your opponent with small opportunities to work for an escape, reversal or submission.
In grappling a lack of “fluidity” is usually perceived as hesitation (fear), indecisiveness or a lack of skill .
Short, hacking, jagged lines are usually the hall marks of the aggressive but unskilled beginner. They are a nuisance to roll with as they frequently cause injuries “by mistake”. There is a lesson there for street fighters.

To learn more about this principle check out the new video lesson here
Ragged Vs Smooth Movement Video Lesson

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

“Supra States” Combative NLP Strategy for Eradicating Fear (adapted from the principles of CIA mind control MKULTRA)

21/07/2008 by richie.

Supra States

The Problem: Even if you think you have the physical ability to deal with a fight your confidence is destroyed by your overwhelming fear!

Perhaps you’ve been training for a while but the very thought of getting into a real, mash up, savage fight with someone makes you tremble and doubt your martial arts training.

What use are your skills and training if you are paralysed with fear like a rabbit in the headlights in the face of real agression?

YOU WILL BE TOTALLY EXPOSED TO A GOOD BEATING… OR WORSE

I know it doesnt bear thinking about but: what if you couldnt protect someone close to you because you strength was stolen by fear?

Is this you? : “If Im honest: I really know deep down inside that if it did go off and someone did get in my face my physical training would be useless because I would panic and probably get my head kicked in by some scally thug who hasnt even seen the inside of a gym, but who just likes battering people when he’s high on drugs- can you help please mate?” .

I get emails like this all the time…

Does that sound like you?

I think its a problem suffered at some point by EVERYONE who takes up martial arts training with a view to actually protecting themselves for real.

Whats the solution?

Well, many well intentioned, intelligent instructors have tried to come up with solutions to the fear issue, by doing things like:

-affirmations/positive thinking
-doing NLP processes like “collapsing anchors” and “swish patterns”
-self hypnosis
-writing out lists of fears (like “fear pyramids”) and trying to conquer fear with reasoning
-more aggressive training and/or specific aggression drills
-telling students to just “get on with it” and “toughen up” , the Drill Instructor or Scary Sergeant routine

…to name but a few…

What is wrong with these strategies?

1. they will give you some results, but the results will be mixed, weak and different from person to person: where the results should be clear, strong, obviously observable (like a slap in the face!) and uniform

2. they miss a FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE of how human beings function in the world and process reality

What if I suggested that these tactics actually cannot work long term?
Its like running out of fuel in a car and pushing it instead:
Yes you can make it move with great effort, but

- the results are short term
- its actually not worth the effort
- its potentially damaging
- its very EXPENSIVE in terms of TIME and personal EFFORT
- as soon as you stop “pushing” it stops working
- it demonstrates a very limited understanding of the operation of the “machine”

The “machine” in this case is your mind, more specifically your “unconscious mind”- an extremely powerful machine that few have actually learnt to master, but those that have get POWERFUL RESULTS every time… with NO EFFORT.

I cant shout this loud enough: THE SECRET IS NOT MORE STRAIN AND EFFORT!!

We are conditioned throughout our lives to believe that only with great effort and strain can anything of value be achieved.

And in terms of your physical strength and fitness training that is mainly true (though training intelligently is still far superior to just training HARD).

Let me paint a picture for you:

A programmer creates a “software programme” to fulfill a specific task.
It works to a degree but for certain jobs it starts to “freeze” or even break down altogether.
The programmer knows he must do some reprogramming.
He sits at his PC and bangs the keys as hard and as fast as he can, he reprogrammes the software not once, but over and over again… for days and weeks on end…
but still gets the same results… and doesn’t change his programming strategy …
he just commits to banging the keys harder and even FASTER and decides the answer is to resolve to do MORE repetitions of the SAME PROCESS.

Yes, hard to imagine. Perhaps even a perfect description of total insanity?

“If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always got”

“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity!”

A good programmer knows exactly WHAT needs to be changed in the “software programme” and exactly how to communicate with the machine elegantly to create the programme he wants THE FIRST TIME he puts it in.

Many, many people have compared the unconscious mind to a supercomputer that runs on certain programming.

But VERY, VERY few people actually know how to communicate with the supercomputer to create lasting powerful change.
It depends on certain rules. These rules for some reason are seldom if ever talked about, like they are some kind of well kept secret.

Well, in the “Supra States” course I will outline EXACTLY how to do this.
Follow the strategy of the course to the letter and you will get the most powerfully changed results you’ve ever experienced. I guarantee you it will not be what you expect. You cant expect what you’ve never experienced!
Its like a recipe, YOU choose what ingredients you want to put in, you make the order and I show you how to make the supercomputer unconscious process that order for you.

Sound weird?

Its totally natural, let me give you a clue:

Ever notice that your different in work than you are with your friends down the pub? In your speech patterns, body language? Probably in alot of ways you don’t notice too… like breathing patterns and eye movements.

Your eyes are the one organ that is directly mechanically linked to your brain and where your eyes habitually move affects WHICH PARTS OF YOUR BRAIN YOU CAN ACCESS MOMENT TO MOMENT and therefore the resources you need to access… like confidence, determination… aggression…

Thats enough of a clue, you want the rest?

Get your copy of the “Supra States” 3 CD course!

Its just $20 dollars or £10 and you can listen to it in the car on your way to work, at the gym… wherever… totally at your convenience you can train ALL THE TIME

This course is strictly for over 21’s - if the exercises on this course are followed to the letter you will get extremely powerful results that will also be detrimental to your personality: proceed with caution and self awareness… if you notice you start responding Unconsciously to situations in an inappropriately aggressive or confrontational way stop the exercises for a week.

http://www.streetfightsecrets.com/6.html

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

Fight Larger Opponents- “It dunt work like that”

21/07/2007 by richie.

“How do you deal with larger, heavier opponents?”look its like this… we are physical beings with limitations, nobody would bother to sit around pontificating about whether a chihuahua could battle it out with a rottweiler would they?

but could the chihuahua survive?

sure if it bolted out through the cat flap that the rotty couldnt fit through!

I listen to some of Bob’s stories about his time in the SAS… you know if a small special forces patrol is engaged against a larger opponent.
I thought it would be like Bravo Two Zero where they 8 men would kill 180 (allegedly)
but its not
they basically make like the knights in the holy grail and RUN AWAY!!!

ok its very tactical “running away” (whilst dishing out damage), but the only damage dished is just enought to achieve that primary objective of: running away

Now

you have said that you feel insecure… so do I so odes everyone reading this, you are amongst friends
I imagine that you think, “God if only I knew how to deal with that big bastard I would feel confident in myself”
Well, like the man in the advert says “It dunt work like that”

here are some SP /martial art favourite topics, go to any website and you will see the following categories:

-knife defence
-gun disarming
-larger opponents
-multiple attackers

What do these have in common? they are the stuff of nightmares, quite literally for some people

But the way in which we address these problems locks us into the limitations of the solution

Ok, say I do a “fighting a larger opponent” DVD

You buy it

You put it on

before reading any further wirte down what your expectations are

what would you expect to see? what would you expect me to talk about?

Ok

You have me in a room with my friend who is much bigger than me… it is a spacious room or a gym

what shall we do?

How to palm strike the head of a taller opponent

strikes to the body

head controls for taller opponent

kicks to the legs maybe?

anti grappling against a heavier person perhaps?

improvised weapons?

all in this one to one, spacious clean perhaps even matted environment

Can you see how much this limits us??? It has totally limited our thinking!!
Our job is to come up with solutions that allow us to move towars our objectives

WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE?

If you fantasise playing out a jean claude van damme/seagal/bruce lee barroom scene beating up the local thugs I cant help you

I cant guarnatee you will look cool or that you will feel good during or after or that you will be safe or that you will come away uninjured or that you wont get some kind of ptsd effect afterwards or that you wont get in trouble with the police or a gang afterwards

Its a fight… its a bloody big shovy, sweary, clothing rippy, glass breaking, furniture spilling, girlfreind screaming mess

Can you think of a situation where you absolutely have to fight a larger opponent unarmed? face to face? in a square go?

I tell you what, I love to write and I have a very active imagination and it stretches me mate, it really does!
Its like trying to think about the circumstances where I would be foreced to face a handy slashing knifeman on my own with no weapons, face to face in a square go…. when and HOW has this happened?

Its just not very likely at all- but not impossible so yes, sure prepare for it…. but lets keep a balance
Why dont RBSD/SP/STREET FIGHT practitoners spend a long time doing the traditional martial art thing of working defences against mawashi geri kicks and reverse hand karate stepping in straight arm body shots?

thats a genuine question… now I dont know your level of skill/experience and I have been accused several times recently of taking too much for granted and presuming that people know more than they do, so if Im going to slow here I apologise I dont mean to patronise you- this is also for the benfit of other people reading

WE (meaning SP practitoners-for want of a better term) dont spebd hours working defences against those types of traditonal martial art attacks because….

“It dunt work like that”

Its pointless! Nobody is going to present a problem to solve like that and a TMA defence (downward block or whatever) wouldnt be the best solution to the problem even if we were asked that type of “question”!!!

We get locked in with our own paradigms which form the limitations of the solutions we offer

Use your imgaignation

and remember we have all been socially hypnotised by films and tv shows
from buffy to kung fu to dark angel to beleive in crispy neat solutions

how do we work against that effect? well use the same context (films) but differnt content… I dont expect to stand in the middle of the group kicking people one at a time in the face like bruce lee in the big boss…. I expect to beat the fuck out of the prick (swearing done consciously -its good NLP telling neurology to gear up!) like joe pesci in good fellas or the pen scene in casino!

Im creating an expectation in my mind (my mental map of the world) that more closely fits the reality of what the experience will be (the territory)

The map is not the territory- THE TERRITORY IS THE MAP!

Ive been around a lot of violent incidents and Ive never,
never been set upon one on one by a realy big guy- they tend to be more placid (read:secure in themselves) than overcompensating short arses like me (read:little man syndrome) ANYWAY

Ive had to restrain them, choke them (from the back and with help- Im Not stupid!), Ive banged guys bigger and heavier than me inthe face and had them shrug the punches off (they both got lumpy faces after but no KO) so whilst I am “game as foook” I am not stupid

On the other thread the reason why I mentioned the rock troll scen in LOTR is because I really think its helpful to expand and exagerrate the problem and come at it afresh without all the nonsensical presuppositions and assumptions that have been culutrally fostered:

“fight like a man” or “duke it out” Im not John Wayne and I dont have a stuntman to get filled in for me so pardon my french but F$%K THAT FOR A GAME OF SOLDIERS!!!

Your bigger than me and your starting on me? You cheating bastard

(Size and strength are weapons that give an unfair advantage thats why combat sports have weight divisions)

Right you have just given me carte blanche to do beat the shite out of your skull BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

You want techniques for doing it? Nah, I dont think we should play that game… lets ramp up our state (into full code red sociopathic berserker blood lust) and just see what happens

You want to know how to deal with any unfair scenario?
larger opponents, multiples, weapons, ex grilfreiends, rock trolls (see exgirlfreind)
go and study a few Loki articles and get into that midset, go back and rewatch No Doubt No Fear

but dont…do NOT… please! think for one minute that anybody has a mgical solution to this problem, no system or style will be able to give you a better solution than when all else… ALL ELSE (you must try and avoid the fight) FAILS… get stuck in, egage with rage,hit with hate and have the samurai attitude of :
You cut my skin
I smash your bones
You smash my bones
I take your life

use reasonable force obviously

and remember thermopylae

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

“Knocking the Heart Out” - Musashi and Zen for the Modern Bushi

13/07/2007 by richie.

” Knocking the Heart Out-

When you fight and adversary and appear to win by your skill in this science, your opponent may still have ideas and, while appearing to be beaten, still inwardly rufeses to acknowledge defeat. Knocking the heart out is for such cases.

This means that you suddenly change your attitude to stop the enemy from entertaining any such ideas; so the main thing is to see that adversaries feel defeated from the bottom of their hearts.

You can knock the heart out of people with weapons or with your body or with your mind. It is not to be understood in just one way.

When your enemies have completely lost heart, you do not have to pay attention to them anymore. Otherwise, you remain mindful. As long as adversaries still have ambitions , they will hardly collapse.

In both large-and small- scale martial arts, knocking the heart out should be practiced thoroughly. ”

The Water Scroll
-Miyamoto Musashi 1643

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

Loki has a rant: technical nerdification vs real violence

11/07/2007 by richie.

I love it when Loki has a rant… he swears a lot, the sentence structure is wafty and spelling is bad so please forgive him (not that he cares whether you do or not)

Reading Loki when he is a rant is a really good way of brining you back to earth I find. Back to reality. With a thump. Probably the Thump of Loki’s fist connecting with some poor persons skull. Martial arts intrinsically tempts us towards over intellectuasion and nerdification…. why? its in its essential nature - because by necessity it is a systemised studyyou cant do violence “non violently”- remember to keep that violence there in your training.Here we go….

“Techniques”, “Favorites” and “TACTICAL Delivery System”           

 How many times do you see people advocating simple techniques and tactics in the self defense field? What you will find on these people is that they are usually the ones that are “technique collector”, a common question that they like to ask is “Can you give me a list of your favorites techniques?”(And those who likes to discuss the issue between palm striking and fisted strike for years), they are also the ones who likes to analyze about a strike FOR EIGHT FUCKING PAGES! GIVE ME A BREAK!

DO you ever seen people in boxing gyms discuss about the right cross every two days in a week? Yea, yea, yea now you are going to tell me they are sport fighters. If you apply the same format in the different manner (Which you should) from realistic sport systems into your self “defense” (you know about the deal) arsenal, you can take away much of the bullshit. The format here is ATRRIBUTES FIRST, with a few simple techniques.

 In a real “Do or DIE” combat situation or a drag out street fight, you are probably will want to rely on one or two hard hitting effective shot combined with gouging and maiming tactics etc. So, what matters here is, for the holy living Christ sake DO IT WITH FUCKING HATE. Destroy them, go bat shit, maim them, NOW you, YES YOU, step out of the way and let your inner animal, demon, or whatever that is to take over, a lot of the discussions on techniques are just plain nonsense and are ludicrous idea when some is REALLY trying to TAKE YOU OUT .

Other attributes you need include, strength (Emphasizing on Brute strength and explosive strength here. Strength endurance and speed strength.), reaction time, agility, coordination etc. THESE are the stuff you want to load your “weapons” with. Not silly mumbo jumbo tactics. “Favorites”, the list located on my computer is call favorites, which has no fucking thing to do with fighting. Stop discussing and start working.           

  Another group you often see are “Tactical SURVIVAL, URABN destruction” and “REALISTIC Military combat System” (Yea, does that even make any sense). These groups often attract many people (I am not talking about the ones with navy pants and tactical gears, they are not in the self defense field, they are masters of hypnotizing themselves, others and movie directing)

Anyway regarding these tactical guys, they are pretty much like the people I mentioned above, but these are the people that teaches these ideas. Always, check, analyze yourself before enrolling into any program, a lot of the stuff out there which is popular and recommended by so many “experts” are actually being unrealistic even it SEEMS realistic (Remember what I said about hypnotizing?)

 I know this article won’t offend anyone,

because

THOSE IDIOTS DON”T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

THE END         

  

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

Badly photocopied Zen and finger mutilation

02/07/2007 by richie.

 

“The Zen master Gutei made a practice of raising his finger whenever he explained a question about Zen. A very young disciple began to imitate him, and whenever anyone asked the disciple what his master had been preaching about, the boy would raise his finger.

Gutei got to hear about this, and when he came upon the boy as he was doing it one day, he seized the boy, whipped out a knife, cut off his finger, and threw it away.

As the boy ran off howling Gutei shouted, “Stop!” The boy stopped, turned round, and looked at his master through his tears.

Gutei was holding up his own finger. The boy went to hold up his finger, and when he realized it wasn’t there he bowed. In that instant he became enlightened.”

This is one of my favourite Zen stories

“oh it so unZen to have a favourite”- shut up weakminded buffoon and listen…

In any filed of human endeavour, or indeed anywhere where humans get together, people will be very quickly assigned taks and roles and a pecking order will be quickly established. This is necessary, it is itrinsic to our genetics as pack animals.

In martial arts and in psychology I see this kind of imitation going on all the time. Watch out for it. Not in other people. In yourself.

In martial arts you will get guys teaching the same techniques as their teacher for the skae of it. They dont know what they are for, they dont really understand them. But teacher does it… so will I.

Have you ever noticed in martila rts clubs how often the head student develops the same hairdo, facial hair and dress sense as the teacher?

There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself some things are worth modelling and some things arent. It is making the distinction that is important.

The distinction between “form” and “essence”. Gosh, doesnt that sound a bit grand?

Essence means that which is essential, that which is absolutely necessary.

Form is just the packaging it comes in.

Its easy to get the two confused and that is where some people start to do some criminal damage. Mindlessly pumping out the form whilst having no idea of the essence is far worse than just shunning the teaching all together.

The form of the Zen master Gutei’s actions are absolute violent cruelty.

But the essence is absolute kindness and compassion. Takes a lot of bravery to be that kind.

Idiots will say “that means that you can chop off peoples fingers to enlighten them”… No… you have confused essence with form and you are no better than the kid imitating Gutei.

Why is it criminal to engage in this kind of imitation. Because you will be believed by people who are gullible and want leadership. That is called “ripping people off” where I am from.

I know plenty of psychologists who fall into the same trap.

Do you know anyone who is into NLP?

If you do… do they change when they start to talk about the subject?

Not all people who are into NLP, but some people really change when they talk about it in a way that is quite unpleasant. Same as when people discuss Zen. Why? Because these subjects, these words impress people. So some naughty characters will shamefully use these teachings as a crutch to prop up a flagging sense of self and to dazzle people with cheap, shallow imitation.

This will then be copied by another nitwit and the bad photocopying process goes on… till most of what is in circulation is a load of shit.

Then everytime you come into contact with someone who is into NLP or Zen (in your world view now:  a load of bollocks propagated by a bunch of wankers) would you be at fault for switching off?

Speaking of NLP… fans of Richard Bandler. I can spot so called would- be NLP trainers who are Bandler fans straight away by the mediocre half assed way they “model” (copy/imitate/ape- in their case that is what these idjits reduce modelling to) Bandler… usually taking all the Form but none of the Essence

i.e. they swear a lot, some brits even affect a slightly american twang (this makes my soul curl in on itself with shame), they are rude and provocative to their clients, off hand and dirsepcetful about the clients situation, overly familiar and slightly nasty

what they miss is: compassion and skill

Bandler has it by the bagful and if you just APE his demeanour without putting in the time and dedication and work (work? yes work, the fucker has been at it his whole life!!!!! you think youre going to get that good after a weekend course? hahaha!) you are just coming across as a bit of twat with a superiorty complex

Frank Farelly when asked about his strategy for doing provcative therapy:

first line “I move straight into my heart chakra and generate love theiriwhich i let pour out of my eyes and smile…”

I dont know exactly what that means for him, but Im going to go out on a limb and guess that when he seems to be ridiculing his clients and being mean to them… something else may be occuring at the same time… I mean Im not a mind reader, Im really just guessing…

Authenticity

the opposite of Imitation

Osho’s comment on the story:

“Now, imitation cannot lead you anywhere. Imitation means that the ideal comes from without, it is not something happening within you. You have a seed within you; if you are imitating others that seed will remain dead.

Gutei must have been very, very compassionate. Only out of compassion you can be so hard–the imitation has to be cut severely. The finger is just symbolic. The boy has to be shocked severely, and the suffering must go to the very root of his being. A very intense moment of awareness, a very great device…

Gutei shouted, “Stop!” In the moment of stopping there was no more pain. Just out of old habit, when the master raises his finger the boy raises his–which is not there. And for the first time he realizes that he is not the body–he is awareness, consciousness. He is a soul, and the body is just the house. ”
Anything we do just for show… or to please otheres… or to try to meet other peoples needs… or to work to get a pat on the head from some mentally projected parental/authority figure…

… will be cheap and hollow.

It either is yours or it isnt.

But dont fucking copy me or I’ll chop off something more valuable than your finger 

 

;0)

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

my heart is black and knows no mercy

30/06/2007 by richie.

You know whats wrong with society in the UK today?

People are soft.

People are whiny.

People suffer delusions of grandeur.

Weakness is indulged instead of being snuffed out at the source as it should be, like the dimly flickering, scented aromatherapeutic candle of whimsical wooly thinking floppiness that it is.

Back in the day, in the rugged hood of Greece when people liked a good old bit of battle, if your private army was struggling you could apply to the Spartans for aid.

The Spartans would typically send, not a small army in support as we might expect, but one man… a General.

It is not the resources we have a vailable to us that count but how we use them. Give up all excuses and self pitying whining, it will get you nowhere and the cold indiffernet stars will spin in their heavens whether you make it happen or not. Whether your “self esteem” is low or not.

Self esteem is an interesting subject. Why do people expect to have self esteem? It is a symptom of a life well lived. Why would you expect self esteem rotting away in a job you hate, with a partner you cant stand living to other peoples expectations and demands.

Expectation. Thats the other thing. We have leanrt to expect things. Support. Mercy. Help. Respect. Respect???!!!

How can anyone just expect respect. It is earned.

Typically the Spartan General would arrive to find an Army in dissaray. Not bad men, just men who gotten used to easy lifestyles and self centered material gain. They have lost all sense of “common good”, pride, discipline.

Sound familiar?

The Spartan Gneral would remedy this primarily by setting untis and regiments one against the other in competition. Nothing like a common enemy to draw people together in the attainment of a group goal. Nothing like competition to make people PUSH THEMSELVES to greater achievment.

Yes, push themselves. If you can motivate people to do that you are a leader. If all you can do is organise you at best a mangaer, at worst a bureaucrat.

There is no discipline but self discipline.

I can take away everything from you, punish you, imprison you even torture you but if you refuse to do a thing, it remains undone… if you are determined enough eventualy I will kill you with my coerscion.

See Ghandi, the gap toothed, ghetto nappy wearing gangster understood this priniple and he was a leader. He made people push themselves.

Back to our Spartan General. Isnt it dangerous having units of men at each others throats competitively? A little. So what? Back in the day, bar room brawls, insults and pranks were encouraged between regiments. Spartan children were taught to sing specific songs written to mock lazy/ weak men.

Shame is a great motivator.

People dont seem to feel it that much nowadays. Jerry Springer, Trisha and all the rest of that televisual excretia prove that. People will parade their addictions, infidelities and weaknesses with a kind of twisted pride in front of millions. Theses are the same benefit claiming, compenesation grabbing, emotional handicaps who weaken us from within.

Are they bad people? No. Do they lack the resources? No.

They just dont know any better.

Back to the Spartans… would this inter regiment rivalry lead to men being more likely to protect their fellow regiments on the battlefield or less?

Think about it.

People need a strong sense of who they are. This can only be developed through adversity.

Adversity. When a whining x factor wannabe stands in front of the judges and gets mown down by the high panted mr.cowell but mooed over by the motherly sharon… who is being cruellest?

Should we let people carry on with their ridiculous self delusions. Is that kindness?

What have you learnt most from? The good times or the bad times?

You ever recieved a good dressing down/ telling off/ moment of shock/panic and emotional turmoil that afterwards made you think… “I will never let that happen again.”

We can give people the adversity they are lacking in their lives.

In Russian Martial Arts they take pride in training with very little equipment and doing their work on hard wooden floors or concrete. They say that matts are a “bad friend” as they will cushion the blows for you. The floor is a “good friend” as the floor will let you know where you are going wrong.

Zen stories are full of masters violently/shockingly attacking students… what is the intent? to bully them? to break them? or to build them and make them?

The truth is the truth is the truth. Sometimes it hurts, but at least its real.

I found a great thing about human behaviour when I used to deliver seminars in schools. Mainly to “troubled” 16 year olds. I would get fantastic results from students who were branded “naughty”, “useless” or “stupid”. Why? Or more importantly, HOW?

People will react in the way you treat them. They will always resond to your expectations.

If I treat  my students like young adults, guess how they try to respond? Like young adults! Its not hard is it?

If I baby you and assume you cant hack the truth and need molly coddling, guess how you react?

See the downward spiral?

My auntie. Lovely lady, heart of gold, Terrified of her own shadow. She hates driving and the experience frightens her. I used to be a professional driver as I owned my own little chauffeuring biz (one of my many manifestations) and I love to drive. I am a confident driver. I foolishly offered to give her a lift.

After just 5minutes of expert NLP hypnosis from my Auntie (she does this quite naturally and unconsciously) in the car with me I was a bag of nerves and actually started to repsond to HER expectations and HER projected standards. After 10 minutes I actually had the experience of feeling nervous pulling out of a junction.

I’ve lived in the centre of London. Terrifying other drivers by nipping out in front of them at a junction is just a little bit of fun to give yourself an adrenaline spike. Its cheaper than redbull.

You will act in the way in which I treat you. I expect the best from my Martial Art students and that is what I get. It is a given. Of course you can do it. Of course you can learn this straight away. Of course you are ready to move on to the next thing. Its easy and you are brilliant. How could it possibly be a problem?

This isnt idle pontification by the way. Educational psychologists have proven time and again that you can affect a students I.Q. score by altering their beliefs about themselves and the way the teachers treat them.

We should be tough. With ourselves. With each other. Like a pack of wild dogs, constantly fighting and rough with one another, then when an outsider tries it on your attitude will be… “hahahaaha! is that all you’ve got? come to me precious and I will introduce to whole new vistas of suffering and terror”

Im kidding obviously. But Im sure you take my point. Dont namby pamby people. Its not fair. On them!

Crush the delusions. Disillusion them. They may not thank you for it. They may hate you. So what?

Are you addicted to being liked?

Do you think people liked the Spartan Gneral who came over and started telling them the way things were going to be? Like? Popularity? I say a pox on popularity , I spit on the weakness and people pleasing it fosters.

Im sure the Spartan General would return every night to his tent, his cloak wet with tears that nobody wanted to invite him round for tea.  His “self esteem” in tatters.

If he didnt get results, people would die, families would be killed or sold into slavery.

“Oh my job is so high pressure, I think Im suffering from stress, let me see my reiki therapist quick!”

You deserve: NOTHING

Nobody owes you anything

If you want it, Take it

Why are you asking permission?

Its down to you, to make it happen

 

 

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

“The sacred chin jab” -stupid WW2 combative snobbery + chiropractitioners from hell

29/06/2007 by richie.

Unfortunately…

there are many unpleasant things one thinks of when one thinks of RBSD and its practitioners. I mean look at the guy who coined the term “RBSD” in all its blatant redundancy (Reality Based Self Defence? what else should self defence be based in? what does this “reality” distinction really mean in reality anyway???)

This man shall reamin nameless as I bear him no ill will personally BUT 

scarcely is he seen out of military fatigues… the last video clip on self defence I saw him introduce he stepped proudly onto screen in a flak jacket, helmet, webbing and was sporing a H+K MP5 submachine gun- this for a video not on shooting, but unarmed combat. Necessary? Not really.

 Some practitioners and instructors also fall into this rather unsightly “urban ninja” category. Unphysical, comic- book collector types, seminar junkies who squirrel away tactical kit and weapons in preparation for… something.

When taking the piss out of RBSD people it is customary to mock their combat pants, mal coordinated gangliness, “kill everyone and piss on their corpse” sentiment sprawled across the tshirt they picked up at the last seminar and the shouting and “faux” forced pseudo aggression that goes with a primary technique banged repetively loundly and usually quite ineefectually into a pad, simply called:

“The chin jab”

I dont know what the history of this technique is and frankly I dont really give a fuck who made it and where. There is an apalling snobbery in the world of RBSD around certain sacrosanct subjects and sacred cows: one of them is WW2 combatives.

Apparently this technique was “created” by those who developed the silent killing commando course of blah blah blah

Do you care? Does heaping historical fact upon a concept lend it validity?… well ahem… apparently, yes, it clearly does … but it shouldnt dammit!

 Now, I am what is known in NLP terms a “polarity responder”, or in common popular British diction: an “Arse”.

This means that if something/someone is popular and everyone tells me I must be into it (whether its a film or music or anything) I respond with stubborn hatred for it. I assume that if its popular it must be shit. Childish I know, but there you go.

Therefore I only really enjoy films when they come out on DVD, especially if I feel they are targeted at me (29 year old white public schoolboy).

Ergo I hated all of Guy Ritchies films (the more targeted I feel the greater proportional response in resistance I give) with their matey, pub anecdote, plazzy gangsta, middle class voyeurism, criminal tourist, mockney, FHM reader appeal. Blurgh!   That is until they came out on DVD 3years after their release… (except of course for “revolver” which really is a load of shite, but because everyone said it was shite, I tried to like it. I tried REALLY hard. But in the end it was still fucking shite.)

The Chin Jab is a fine example of this… because the RBSD crowd crow on and on about it and the WW2 Combatives “validation- ohh- goodness- it- was developed- in - a- real- war- and everything” THING… I have been simply forced, nay compelled to hate/deride it and write it off as one more peice of posturing nerdism from the DVD/book/smeinar/tshirt collection brigade

Fast forward to now…

Ive been giving lots of private classes recently. Have to say there is nothing for curing the maliase brought on by immersing yourself in the RBSD cesspit of nerdism/narrow mindedness/circular logic/forum warrior ship like giving private lessons again.

It reminded me of one salient fact: I love to teach… its a buzz… and I’m really good at it which makes my ego feel all warm and gooey inside

One of the things Ive found teaching palm strikes is that their range of usage is far greater than nomrally thought of if you just take it easy, get a bit creative and think about what you are doing.

A female student last week insisted on delivering palm strikes to my chin and jaw rather than to the forehaed as I had shown her, because “it felt more natural to her” (in her words)…so I went a long with it, presupposing that if that is the more natural method for her, who am I to change her- If I let her do it “her way” it  means she will enjoy the training more and is presumably more likely to remember and apply it under duress if she is ever attacked.

So as Im recieving these palm strikes to chin and jaw Im noticing that:

1. they turn your head more than a straight palm to the forehead

2.you can pretty much control which direction you want the head to go in if you strike, stick then push (the student made this up herself- when I asked her why she did it she said “isnt it obvious?”- I was so proud)

3. if delivered with more speed and power I think the effects would of been devastating

Note: I said “think”, as in I presume… Ive never used it for real but I think my thoughts are fairly well qualified on the subject to give an opinion of reasonable validity. Because this is my job and has been for several years.

Why?

The chin jab is a pushing palm strike that drives the head straight up and back, the direction of force is straight up. Why have I been converted to it? Well now that i’ve recieved a few (done at low speed with control -this is the “shot placement on the body” drill) Ive realised:

1. the shot comes in under your peripheral vision making it harder to prepare or “brace” for

2. it slams the jaw shut: I talk as I teach, many people talk before/during an assault…talking requires the jaw be open and the tongue be slipping in and out of the teeth in order to make sounds… when the jaw is slammed shut the injuries would be extensive (possibly): broken teeth, bitten off tongue, dislocated jaw. (this is apart form other injuries coming from pure impact like concussion and whiplash and spinal damage. I wonder what injuries people get if they get in a car crash and bounce their jaw off the steering wheel? Anyway, I certianly felt very vulnerable.

3. The head is moved right “offline”- all the way offline! is the head taken if the practitioner “follows through” with the shot. (”Online” would be where the head wants to be- over the spine, over the c.o.g. over the feet- in a straight line- a natural posture “shizen no kamae”). As we know: where the head goes the body will follow. Its far more disorientating to have your head moved/twisted rather than just being simply hit (unless it K.O.’s you of course!)

4. It feels quite natural to deliver and can be done with no “wind up” or cocking motion- try this on a real live person NOT a pad (pads are for striking, this movment is a bit more subtle than that- somewhere in the vague “grappling/striking” borderlands where most effective technique comes from):

TRY: from a natural “line up” (hands up, non confrontational but ready, conversational position) raise your hand up under the persons chin, let it rest in the heel of your palm and focus on pushing the head straight up so the person is looking at the ceiling, then move a bit further until the person can see the top of the wall behind them and the spine is arched… what you do with your feet? Move them naturally to make this happen. You will work it out. Do this reaaaaally slowly five times and just fell it out. Now do it once with full mean intention, but real slow. Now do the initial move fast and hard, but DONT contact- stop short. NOW you can take it to the thai pad and give the intial strike portion of the move full whack. (Remeber your hitting a human chin so glance of the upper/top bit of the pad, have the pad person hold it horzontally and chin height-obviously!)

After this short experiment, you may well be convinced that this is a technique worth developing.

After the training session, myslef and the student ween to the pub with her boyfriend. As ever there was a large gang of lads in there who were pissed. Me being the paranoid, schizoid sociopath that I am (see typical psychological profile of combative instructor)  immediately began to plan for what to do in case it “went off”:

you know: where are the Exits, what people will I have to shove out the way or use as weapons- typical urban ninja stuff really. It occurred to me that I might use this new found toy called the “chin jab”. I had a vision of my self and my student going through the gang like a pair of chiropractitioners from hell, leaving a heavy multiple whiplash claim in our fearsome wake. Of course nothing happened. The lads left a few minutes later, probably freaked out by the way I was staring at their chins greedily and smiling maniacally to myself.

Anyway, tempis fugit and all that… more tomorrow… in the meantime go and chin jab test your boss- he will love it.

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »

Welcome to the first ever Streetfightsecrets blog!

28/06/2007 by richie.

Well,

here we go, into the world of blogging… I dont really know what it means… Im making lots of updates to the site and trying to navigate my way areound the 1 and 1 interface to make the site look and feel a bit more professional and like there are real live human beings behind it.

(Not literally behind the screen, like little oompa loompas beavering away, handling dvd orders and such- that would be plain wrong)

So… you will be subject to all my thoughts as well as updates on courses, DVDs and the like.

The forum goes live this afternoon, please join and feel free to post.

Oh and join my newsletter to if you want all the latest DVD offers.

Cheers

Richie

Posted in Uncategorised | No Comments »