FEARS Ltd web site under reconstruction.......

[gmattson]

Are you reviewing some of the material you will be covering at Winterfest?

Lots of really fine material that our WinterFest friends should enjoy.

[robb buckland]

The material I post is usually conclusions from, or the actual base material (foundation)for the drills I use for presentation .Alot of new influences have been the result of my experiences with Jim Maloney and Briget over the last couple months. The individual training sessions are only a couple of hours long but the hour ride to and from leave lots of time for discussion.
Art says I micro manage my teaching ...maybe, but my intention is to micro manage my study time ; and then to carefully record my experiences (because I have a bad memory).
I have rewritten the lesson plan for "split second streetfight "probably a dozen times because my end game is to package a fighting system DVD / Handbook utilizing the attributes gathered from my experiences ....and I keep evolving damn it .....In my imediate future is a combat handguning course (I wanna know what they know).Previously I left this to others (the pros) but there are still gaps . In March I am spending a weekend with Dr Gyi (refining elbows, knees and headbutts into skill sets ).

The real estate game is slow, thus so is my money !!!

[robb buckland]

I have often expressed my love for the knee (here, there, and everywhere, and several others), and it hasn't waned at all. I enjoy locking someone up in a Thai clinch and delivering multiple, full-power knees. So, I have been asked how you defend the knee, but more important, how do you avoid getting kneed in the first place. To do that, you need to know how to escape or defend the Thai clinch.

Inside/Dominant Position

The first thing you need to know is that the inside position is the dominant one. That means that you have the ability to pull your opponent down into the knee, and you can move him around by moving your feet and pulling him in the same direction your body moves. Bottom line: whoever has the inside has the advantage.

Keep your head up!

The first defense is keeping your head up. If you are pulled down into the first knee, trust me, there'll be more! If you are bent over, knees will drive your nose into the center of your skull, then a downward elbow to the spine will paralyze what's left of you. You that you don't want to be there. Keep your head up and resist being pulled down, while at the same time, position your knees and hips to deflect any outside knees to your thighs, and avoid any straight knees to your groin.

Forearm your way out of trouble!
One of my favorite Joe Lewis techniques is to drive your forearm into the face of the man who's got you clinched and he will let go-he has to!
The only problem with it,(sorry Joe) , is that afterward you are back to square one, and no one has the advantage. I like to gain, or regain the dominant position or initiative by reversing an attack, not just neutralizing it.

That's why you should...

Reverse dominant position and gain the advantage!
Drive one arm at a time between the arms of your foolish attacker, then latch onto the back of the neck. If you want to try to gouge his eye on the way, go for it. Pull the opponent in toward you, and make sure your elbows are in so that you can use them to block his attempt to regain this dominant position. Then do the same with the other hand. You may need to back up, or buck your hips to make room. Clasp both hands behind the head of the opponent, pull him down, then drive your knees into his head. Use the inside Thai clinch to move him around and keep kneeing as long as you can, or until he goes down, then stomp until it's safe for you to go somewhere you can call rescue!
Use the lever move to get out!
Last, you can escape the clinch and get an angle on your opponent for striking by using the lever move. Step to your left quickly, put your hand, palm-up, under the enemy's left elbow with your right hand, and push up quickly, then step in that direction (to your right). Or you can do it the opposite way: step right quickly, the lever move with your left hand and escape to your left. The important thing is to do the initial move quickly to create the gap for your hand..................................


a work in progress.........

[Van Canna]

Good stuff, Robb...any video clips you can post?

[robb buckland]

Unfortunately it's their camera too , but I'll get some fresh stuff from Winterfest and my sessions with the UK guys in March......

Not for nothin the material I've viewed from 'The Dickie Ekland Sessions ' was great stuff !!!!

I was able to extract modules for heavy, double end bag and mitts .....some of which I had additional q & a corrections from Micky Ward (the horses mouth so to speak)

The clinch work is a work in progress as I am trying to pick Dr Gyis brain some more before IT 'airs' !!

[Van Canna]

Good stuff...always interesting to see how one can put 'rote exercises' to work in real life...when an assault comes by multiple armed punks in a dark parking lot

[robb buckland]

I tried to get Sensei Maloney to do some situational videos demonstrating just that and he said "It's your time now son......."


Sooo here we go...........

[robb buckland]

A good fighter can control his opponent with either a jabbing technique or with a power maneuver. He has to be skilled at both. ln the gyms where I have trained there is a saying which permeates each and that is, "If you can't jab, you can't fight." There is a big difference between a jabbing type strike, either with your hand or with your foot, versus what is called power hitting or blasting. A jab is basically designed to be a sudden explosive technique designed to attract attention. Sometimes when it is fired, you intentionally miss your opponent. You are simply wanting to take notice.
One of the hardest things to do in the fight game is to learn how to infiltrate your opponent's territory as well as his mind set. The jab, either with the kick or with the punch, is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this. The footwork is very important. You must be able to explode in and out of his defensive perimeter before he can answer your attack. Sometimes the jab is used simply to get your opponent's attention either by putting it in front of his nose or by hitting it. Sometimes you use the jab just to make your opponent blink so you can follow through with something else. It is also used to back him up; to tilt his head from side to side, up and down; to collapse his defense; to draw his attention downstairs so you can hit him upstairs, or vice versa. Once the jab is established, then we use the jab to get his attention so we can follow through with a power kick or a power punch or grab your opponent. The jab is not of much use if it is not followed by something effective. Remember that the jab is a sudden violent release of confined energy. You can sting or burn with it, you can back your opponent up with it and if he is tired or frustrated you can even drop him with it.
Keep in mind you do not always have to jab the target. You may throw a quick jab kick at your opponent's knee cap, inside his thigh or on his hip. You may kick or punch his elbow, his forearm, pop him on the shoulder, just to break his balance or to disrupt his focus. I have seen fighters miss the jab on purpose just to scrape their opponent's face with the elbow or the forearm. One of the reasons for twisting the punch on the end is to cut your opponent's flesh. If you are fighting bare knuckle, sometimes you can not only twist your knuckle into his face, but you can also twist your fingers into his eyes.
After you have mastered the first phase of perfecting the jab, working on making the entry and the initial contact against your opponent, then we learn to follow through with a power maneuver For example, you can make your entrance with a jab kick, following through with power punching. Or, enter with a jab punch and then follow through with power kicks. Or, make your entrance with either a jab kick or punch and follow through with grappling. Your next step after you have been able to follow the jab with something, is to master getting in and then out and circling your opponent. It is a bad habit to back up when your opponent is attacking you...it is dangerous. If you get popped on the end of a long kick or a punch as you are backing up, you are going to go down. So work on getting in and out, then circle to your right or circle to your left. Learn to circle your opponent, especially a taller opponent, a faster opponent, a larger opponent or a more aggressive opponent. Do not back up.
At this juncture in your training, you can start working on various tactics, which will help you to build strategies to fight different types of opponents. Sometimes you may be confronted with a southpaw; a good kicker; or a good puncher; someone who is hard to hit; a good inside fighter; a good outside fighter; someone's good right hand or someone who has a good left hook. Keep in mind, one of the best ways to neutralize any of these advantages is by the proper use of an effective jab, either jab kicking or jab punching. To make sure your jabbing skills are effective work with sparring partners who know how to neutralize the jab. Use someone who knows how to work the body. This kills your speed, it kills any type of movement and it neutralizes anyone's jabbing skills. All it takes is one good body shot.

[Van Canna]

Excellent strategies Robb.

Maloney and I always felt that the best way to deal with a 'fighting situation' in progress...if unable to avoid it...is to shut the adversary down before the intent of his attacking moves is transmitted from his brain to his limbs.

A good example of this is when Jim knocked that biker sensless with a palm heel slap ...as the biker tried to get up from his chair while attempting to reach behind him for a Bowie knife.

[robb buckland]

.

I am a professional fight trainer, not a street fighter. I deplore violence and work to avoid any
type of street fight, challenge, or encounter. But they have not always avoided me. Here are my
top seven ways to make sure a fight ends quick and with me unhurt.
1. The Straight Right Hand

This is easy to fire and keep your balance, best followed with left hook or ridge hand. This is
also the most common attack, so move to your right and watch for it. It's coming.

2. Carotid Choke

From the front, side or rear, this is the fastest, most humane way to end a fight quickly. A short
interruption of the blood flow to the brain makes Mr. Tough Guy take an instant nap. This has
been outlawed for use by the police because it can be applied wrong and become an oxygen
choke, which is deadly.

3. Finger Flick to the Eyes

This is the fastest weapon you can fire. You're not trying to injure their eyes as much as get them
to blink, raise their hands to their face and stand up a little. This sets them up to get blasted.

4. Shin Kick to the Leg

There is nothing quite like watching the fear come into Mr. Tough Guy's eyes when he has a
hard time standing on his leg because you just cut into it like a baseball bat with your hard
shin. This is very hard to block. Takes the fight right out of guys.

5. Head Butts

Go straight in with your forehead to his nose. Snap your chin down at the last second to add
velocity and explosion to the blast. His nose will explode and his eyes will water. Basically, he's
your to finish or forgive.

6. Knee Strikes.

Devastating strikes—it really doesn't matter what you hit. A good knee strike penetrates deeply.
Cup the guy behind the neck with both of your hands and pull him into a series of five or six
hard knees. Whatever you hit will hurt
.
7. Major Sweep Takedown
.
A major sweep is a large outside to inside backwards sweeping pull of your leg behind Mr.
Tough Guy’s leg. Smack his jaw with your palm heel and then grab his head and push in the
opposite direction of your sweep. As he falls slam his head into the ground or the corner of a
table with your hand.

Of course if you can read you opponents intent ...thats always always good for starters......

[robb buckland]

It always amazes me how impresive a little knowlege of basics goes such a long way with the masses...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV5TfZBB ... r_embedded

[Van Canna]

.

I am a professional fight trainer, not a street fighter. I deplore violence and work to avoid any
type of street fight, challenge, or encounter. But they have not always avoided me. Here are my
top seven ways to make sure a fight ends quick and with me unhurt.
1. The Straight Right Hand

This is easy to fire and keep your balance, best followed with left hook or ridge hand. This is
also the most common attack, so move to your right and watch for it. It's coming.

2. Carotid Choke

From the front, side or rear, this is the fastest, most humane way to end a fight quickly. A short
interruption of the blood flow to the brain makes Mr. Tough Guy take an instant nap. This has
been outlawed for use by the police because it can be applied wrong and become an oxygen
choke, which is deadly.

3. Finger Flick to the Eyes

This is the fastest weapon you can fire. You're not trying to injure their eyes as much as get them
to blink, raise their hands to their face and stand up a little. This sets them up to get blasted.

4. Shin Kick to the Leg

There is nothing quite like watching the fear come into Mr. Tough Guy's eyes when he has a
hard time standing on his leg because you just cut into it like a baseball bat with your hard
shin. This is very hard to block. Takes the fight right out of guys.

5. Head Butts

Go straight in with your forehead to his nose. Snap your chin down at the last second to add
velocity and explosion to the blast. His nose will explode and his eyes will water. Basically, he's
your to finish or forgive.

6. Knee Strikes.

Devastating strikes—it really doesn't matter what you hit. A good knee strike penetrates deeply.
Cup the guy behind the neck with both of your hands and pull him into a series of five or six
hard knees. Whatever you hit will hurt
.
7. Major Sweep Takedown
.
A major sweep is a large outside to inside backwards sweeping pull of your leg behind Mr.
Tough Guy’s leg. Smack his jaw with your palm heel and then grab his head and push in the
opposite direction of your sweep. As he falls slam his head into the ground or the corner of a
table with your hand.

Of course if you can read you opponents intent ...thats always always good for starters......

I like this, because it is very close to the way that I teach now...along with serious conditioning and impact training using the lines of force and direction of our system...with some 'sister' variations...like open hand slaps, shutos, forearms 'cross cutting' [like trying to break a bat] and shearing along the carotid artery in a 'spearing' action.

What good is all the kata, kumite, bunkai etc._ unless a student gets some serious feedback as to how effectively he can 'hurt'...'stop' his opponent when self preservation is on the line.

[robb buckland]

Thanks Van

[robb buckland]

“Thy self feels a profound sense of value, a desire to dignify and to protect that which I call me, the person, whereupon I embrace a sacred need to preserve an acknowledgement of my inner courage, of which those who have never fought or
engaged in RMA training will ever know.”- Joe Lewis

Too many so called “experts” put a great emphasis on neutralizing ones fear; we call this unscientific process emotional suppression. When you attempt to expunge ones emotions such as fear, you unintentionally reduce their level of awareness by decreasing an important faculty called consciousness---mankind’s ultimate weapon for survival. These schools of thought fail to realize the difference between what is fear and that which is normal, ordinary nervousness. Nervousness is necessary and profoundly important; it allows you to be cautious and to remain alert.

Many martial art instructors today are afraid their curriculums will not be interesting, so they abandon any tactical structure and try to create easy, non-reality based exercises.
This widespread thinking is equivalent to allowing military troops to enter the battle field having loaded their weapons with blanks. Too great an emphasis on the desire to have
fun, or to avoid pushing students to develop a tolerance to pain and fear can permanently short circuit one from building the necessary, inner resources to engage in Reality Martial Arts.How to develop these inner resources or to test ones deepest courage cannot be appropriately accomplished without real fighting, combat sparring, or one’s eager participation in realistic interaction drills. Any instructor may claim to be experienced to guide one through all the fundamental and appropriate steps in achieving this level of
expertise used as the recognized standard in this field of Reality Based Martial Arts training.

[robb buckland]

A thought.....

Different arts aren't really defined by what they include, but by "what they take away." To expound on this thought, what is fighting? it's everything from ICBMs, tactical/battlefield nukes, B-57s, gunships and artillery, machine guns, rifles, pistols, clubs, knives, then empty hand. Notice how much there is there? You can further take the subset of combat, empty hand, and include:

Strikes:
head butting
biting
shoulder thrusts
elbows
forearms
open-hand strikes
fists
hip checks
knees
all the various kicks
Grappling
standing
grappling
ground grappling
throws
traps
locks/breaks
takedowns, trips, sweeps, etc.

There's more, you're welcome to add ... but the idea is the same. What differentiates styles is what they take away from that list.

Judo, for example, started out as what? Jujitsu. So did Aikido. What differentiates them from their ancestors? What they took away - much of the vicious striking and some of the grappling techniques were refined/modified.
The same is true of every other art, including karate (I always use lower-case to denote the generic Okinawan and Japanese striking arts and their derivatives, including TKD). What's taken away, in general, are many of the items on the lower list of grappling. Not all. Stylistically, some will include more or less than others on each list, but the formula is more or less correct.
Just a thought...