Are You Good Enought to be a Martial Artist?

Sunday, August 22, 2010 | Read More | View all Recent Posts

by Mike Vassolo
originally published in 1997

The question I’ve posed in the headline has little to do with whether or not you possess the requisite skills to defend yourself. It goes deeper than that, and it is, ultimately, more important. The real question is whether you have the moral and ethical sense to be a responsible martial artist. I know that what I’m about to say is going to sound preachy, but please bear with me. Ethical decision-making in the martial arts isn’t often addressed, yet it can have a profound effect on your life, as well as the lives of others.
Of course, we all know right from wrong, but acting on that knowledge under the stress of a sudden street encounter can be very difficult for even the most experienced martial artist. Just when we need it most, sound ethical judgment may abandon us, and we might act in ways that are indefensible. I’m not talking about patently justifiable self-defense (e.g., when John Gacy is dragging you off to the crawlspace); I’m referring to those more ambiguous moments when a tense situation teeters on the edge of exploding into a violent encounter. Do you walk (or, my ego shudders, even run) away from that kind of situation? Do you become flustered by fear or taunted by vanity? Do you do right or wrong? Much hinges on the circumstances, much depends on your response, much hangs in the balance.
I’m certainly not recommending that you be passive in the face of potential harm, only that you use your mind as effectively as your body. In fact, I believe that we have a true moral obligation to vigorously defend ourselves when faced with real danger, because it also protects our friends, neighbors and society. If not for powerful self-defense, a person who harms me and escapes unscathed may well be encouraged to go on and harm others. Imagine how many lives would have been saved, if John Gacy’s first victim had successfully defended himself, and stopped the future mass murderer in his tracks. Unfortunately, few self-defense situations are so clear cut, and the unrestrained practice of Kenpo can be unforgiving, even deadly.
From the very beginning, Kenpo has taught you how to use powerful weapons against vulnerable targets. That knowledge is both a benefit and a burden, because you must now bear the awesome responsibility of having to exercise virtually flawless self-control. Not so much in the execution of techniques as in the judgment as to what to use and when. Misinterpret the situation, and you might unnecessarily take out an eye; act rashly, and you might needlessly take a life. Unlike aikido, for example, Kenpo is a martial art that asks no quarter and shows none. Before you can justifiably deliver Kenpo’s formidable weapons, you MUST be good, i.e., morally and ethically correct, or suffer the consequences, which may include an abrupt transformation from the role of an innocent victim to a lawbreaker who can be held criminally and civilly liable. In self-defense, the cost of flawed judgment can be enormous and even ruin your life.

By now you may thinking, “Something like that could never happen to a nice person like me.” However, there are countless unforseen circumstances that can suddenly put you in harm’s way and demand an immediate response. Imagine what you’d do if the next time you left home you were faced by a man who blocks your way on the street and stares at you in a way that you feel is menacing. To act ethically, there are a lot of questions you would have to answer before taking any action. Does he intend to harm you? How can you tell? What would you do if you tried step around him, and he blocked your way? What if he grabbed you? Would you break his nose? Choke him out? I’m not a police officer, lawyer or judge, so I can’t tell you what the consequences of any particular course of action would be. In fact, they might have a hard time predicting the repercussions, until the whole thing played itself out in a courtroom. That’s a bad place to begin considering the implications of self-defense.
The fact is that when it comes to harming another, even to preserve life and limb, there are no easy or certain answers. That’s why right now, before you’re ever faced with a potentially violent encounter, you must make a concerted effort to fully consider the moral issues surrounding various kinds of self-defense situations. Using your sense of personal ethics, you must develop a decision-making process that will help you instantly do the right thing under the most stressful of circumstances. (In addition to helping you during self-defense, this kind of thoughtfulness will also prove useful during many other situations that commonly occur in daily life.)
Ultimately, only you can decide what’s “right” under any given set of circumstances. For now, make sure that you give at least as much thought to the when, where and why of using Kenpo as you do to the how. Then, if and when you’re forced to use self-defense, you’ll know that you did your best to prepare for it, not just physically, but morally, too. Difficult as that may seem, you must accept the challenge, because to be a truly great martial artist, you must also have a truly good heart.

Stance: The First Technique

Thursday, July 15, 2010 | Read More | View all Recent Posts

by Mike Vassolo
originally published in 1996

I’m always amazed at how martial artists at all levels pay so little mind to mastering basic fighting stances. They’ll spend hours drilling their blocks, punches and kicks, yet they start yawning at the thought of spending a like amount of time analyzing and practicing their stances. Maybe they believe that because they can whirl through fancy combinations of techniques that they’ve already mastered the art of stance. But that’s a dangerous assumption, because your ability to effectively use stances isn’t likely to be truly tested until you’re being attacked on the street. Then it’s too late for anything but regrets.

If you think I’m exaggerating the importance of perfecting your stances, imagine trying to strike back at an attacker while your body rocks, sways and wobbles. The results would be inadequate at best, because if you don’t have a solid firing platform, you won’t have powerful weapons to use in your defense. (That’s why sweeps are so effective in disrupting an opponent’s assault. After all, you can’t fight, if you’re falling.) When you’re attacked, you must automatically assume a good martial arts stance, or you can’t even begin to counterattack effectively. That’s why stance is the first and most important technique in personal defense.

Of course, there’s much more to stance than simply how and where to place your feet. All good stances must be stable, fluid, flexible and versatile. A stable stance allows you to effectively fend off an attack, and then counterattack with powerful blocks, punches and kicks. A fluid stance lets you move with quickness, agility and balance in all directions. Flexibility permits you to change easily from one stance to another with poise and control. And a versatile stance allows you to forcefully deliver your most powerful weapons from both sides of your body without first telegraphing your intentions.

Because the best foundations, like bedrock, are simple, you need master only a handful of stances that have been proven effective under combat conditions. The two most important are the horse and the bow and arrow. For all practical purposes, you can be a powerful and highly skilled fighter if you will just take the time to master these two basic stances. Simply perfecting the movement from the horse to the bow and back again will teach you a lot about how to effectively transfer power in a way that allows your inner strength to come into play. You will then be striking with your entire body rather than just a hand, foot, elbow or knee. Of course, there are many other stances that you may want to master to help increase your combat capabilities. I’ve found that the crane, the cat, the cross step and the back stance can all be quite useful under certain circumstances.

In closing, just remember that if you don’t care enough to invest the time to master basic stances, you will never be half the fighter you could be, no matter how good you are now. That’s why stance is the first technique, not just when you’re a beginner, but when you’re an experienced martial artist, as well. So starting now, work on your stances until they overflow with the fighting spirit that you put into all of your other techniques.

An Interview with Adriano D. Emperado

Friday, July 9, 2010 | Read More | View all Recent Posts

found on John Bishops Kajukenbo

Unlike many of todays so called masters, Adriano D. Emperado is a very humble man. He has no publicist, has never been one to seek out publicity, and rarely grants interviews. Black Belt was very fortunate to locate Professor Emperado at the Forbach Martial Arts Academy in San Clemente, Ca., where he was conducting the saturday morning black belt workout. He was also spending a few days with his student Gary Forbach before going to Hawaii for the holidays. We thank Mr. Forbach for assisting us in obtaining this vary rare and exclusive interview with Professor Emperado, the Sijo (founder) of the Kajukenbo system and our 1991 Instructor of the year.

CN: So what have you been doing the last year or so, besides being elected to the Black Belt Hall of Fame?

EMPERADO: I’ve been living in a cabin in Virginia, where I have been writing my autobiography. I have a deadline of April 1993 from the publisher so I’ve dedicated all my time to it…Read More

Ed Parker’s Gi

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 | Read More | View all Recent Posts

Lee Wedlake talks about the gi top he was given by Ed Parker Jr. A video by Bill Spearman, Spearman Resource Group in Ft. Myers, FL. Lee Wedlake began training in the martial arts in 1967 and was a student of Ed Parker back in 1979.

A very interesting bit of history. To check out more of Lee Wedlakes videos, visit his Youtube Channel. Also visit his website at leewedlake.com.

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Unarmed Self Defense Against Weapons

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | Read More | View all Recent Posts

by Mike Vassolo
originally published in 1999

When I wrote Kamikaze Fighting, the Self-Defense of Last Resort a decade ago, I gave short shrift to unarmed self-defense against weapons, probably as a result of denial. After all, it seems almost impossible to escape an armed attack without suffering some kind of grievous injury, and, of course, being killed is also a very real possibility. As a highly trained martial artist, I simply refused to admit that my system’s techniques weren’t foolproof—or even likely to be very effective—when facing an attacker with a weapon. The problem wasn’t with any individual techniques that I might use against the criminal. The real challenge was surviving the initial attack so those techniques could be delivered with accuracy and power.

Troubling questions about the effectiveness of what I was teaching nagged at me for years, until I finally forced myself to squarely face the issue with a candid, critical eye. This helped me develop the concepts and techniques that led to the writing of my new book, Death’s Doorstep: Unarmed Self-Defense Against Weapons. The book’s conceptual foundation is brutally realistic, and the self-defense techniques are simple and powerful, because they are intended to save lives on the street, not win trophies in competition. …