One of the guest instructors at our training was a gentleman named Miguel Ibarra. Ibarra Sensei studies and teaches aikijujutsu and has a dojo based out of Bronx, New York. Ibarra Sensei has been a probation officer in The Bronx for decades (now retired) and has what you might call ‘real world experience’. Let’s put it this way, if your interest is in street effective and tested methods, Ibarra Sensei is your guy.

That being the case, I asked him what he thought was more valuable during his time on the New York streets, striking or grappling. His answer was essentially as follows:

For a police or probation officer, grappling is a much much more valuable tool. You have to remember – when a cop strikes someone, the immediate reaction of everyone around (including the suspect) is to cry abuse and try to sue. That is not to downplay the seriousness and reality of police brutality, but perpetrators who are struck tend to believe they are innocent victims.

The recent video of a Seattle Police Officer was of particular interest in the conversation, which you can view here:

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This officer was in a dangerous situation, being grabbed at by two irate women and surrounded by individuals who were looming in a threatening manner. it was within the cop’s legal right to strike the woman who accosted him. Yet, as we can see, this video has become an internet hot topic and has sparked controversy. If the officer had been able to handle the situation without striking, there would be no news at all from this arrest.

Ibarra Sensei’s aikijujutsu (known for grappling and joint-locking) is swift, direct, and punishing. It has to be for his purposes. He explained that since law enforcement officers need to avoid striking whenever possible in order to prevent lawsuits and scandal, they need to have an excellent ability to use the force of physics and joint manipulation to gain compliance. He also noted the unreliability of pain compliance when dealing with an adrenaline pumped, drunk, or high assailant who would like nothing better than to stomp your face.

Interestingly, when the conversation shifted to civilian self defense, Ibarra Sensei had a much more accepting view of striking. The continuum of force for civilian-to-civilian is much more even than that of cop-to-civilian. Therefore, for a citizen, a threat of being struck can be responded to with a strike.

To learn more about the various use-of-force continuums, please visit this page for police, and this page for civilian martial artists.

Unfortunately, if you defend yourself at all during violent situations, our litigious society might still come knocking at your door. That’s why it is good to actively de-escalate a situation and make sure bystanders see you trying (if you are lucky enough to get the chance).

Most experienced instructors I have encountered tend toward the mindset of “defend yourself first, worry about the legalities second”. If in the heat of the moment you can stay within the continuum, that’s optimal…but don’t get yourself killed trying to play nice.

Because of MMA’s core focus on effectiveness many TMA’s have had to take a fresh look at what they’re doing and how they’re doing it (which I think is beneficial).

That being said, MMA has experienced some serious growing pains and suffers routinely from “demons” that stand in stark contrast to the true nature of martial arts. Some of those demons have been poking their ugly heads out lately and I wonder if it’s just a bad series of events, or a larger trend.

Anderson Silva Gets Taunty

Anderson Silva is easily one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history. His ability to control distance and timing is uncanny, and his technique repertoire is impressive. Basically, he makes it look easy a lot of the time. Unfortunately, he recently abandoned all the respect and dignity that he infused into his earlier fights.

At UFC 112 Silva matched up against Demian Maia, and throughout the fight he taunted his opponent. While Silva did handle his business and landed plenty of good shots on Maia, he spent even more time dancing around and acting foolish.

Dana White was so angered by this turn of events that he refused to hand Silva the championship belt (which he successfully defended), instead giving it to Silva’s trainer before storming out of the stage area.

Mayhem Miller Brawl

In a recent StrikeForce fight Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson. All was going smoothly until the post-fight interview. As Shields was answering questions about the match, Jason Mayhem Miller entered the ring and sidled up next to Shields, giving him a cock-eyed stare. Once Shields noticed him, Miller took control of the mic and started challenging Shields to a rematch.

Nick Diaz (Shields trainer) took exception to the pompous maneuver and pushed Miller away from the mic. From there it degraded into an all-out brawl. Shields and his entire crew tried to jump Miller on the spot, but as the carnage commenced a team of security personnel jumped in and tried to separate everyone.

The situation devolved due to the petty and inappropriate antics of Miller combined with a thuggish lack of control on the part of Diaz, Shields, and their team.

Paul Daley’s Cheap Shot

At UFC 113 Josh Koscheck was able to defeat Paul Daley. Koscheck dictated much of the fight and by the end was looking to be the clear cut winner. At the sound of the final bell, the two broke. As Koschek began walking to his corner, Daley followed him and swung a big left directly at his face.

As it turns out, Koscheck had spent the last 30 seconds of the final round berating his opponent while controlling him on the ground. He said things that were “much worse than your momma jokes” and did his best to steal as much dignity from his opponent as possible. Although these kinds of head games are not rare in MMA, Daley clearly took exception and chose to take a cheap shot after the fight was over.

Dana White summarily removed Daley from the UFC shortly after he found out about the incident.

The Sum of It’s Parts

On one hand, I think we all understand that fighting is a highly intense experience, which makes it difficult to be under perfect control at all times. These fighters are experiencing significant adrenaline dumps and are put in harm’s way. It’s tempting to argue that these incidences are just part of fighting, and that only soft-shelled wusses would bother to worry about it.

Personally, I find reason to be concerned. If MMA wants to be considered a legitimate sport and pastime like football (which MMA execs certainly DO want), they are shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly by proving all of their critics right. People that don’t like MMA are quick to point out the examples of juvenile, bone-headed, and disgraceful behavior amongst its participants. This recent slew of events gives them more ammunition than they need.

If MMA wants to be considered a martial art in the classical sense, these examples are moving them further and further away from the kind of character development and personal responsibility stressed in established arts.

Of course, there are plenty of examples of shady behavior in traditional arts as well. Remember when that Olympic Taekwondoka kicked the referee? That wasn’t so good. But MMA is at the height of its exposure right now and is at a pivotal point in regards to how the public sees it.

If MMA wants to move passed its reputation of being a face-punching playground for bullies and thugs, this type of stuff has to stop asap.

I hope MMA as an art can pull through it because I believe it has a lot to offer.

All martial arts are like paths up the mountain. They begin in different places and wind upward in their own unique way. Yet, as you get closer and closer to the top, there are more points of intersection. Eventually, all styles converge as one at the very peak.

Basically what that classic piece of martial arts wisdom is saying is that even though styles often look different, they share many of the same core principles. If you were to progress far enough in your understanding of one or more arts, you could essentially understand the essence of all arts.

This notion seems a bit lofty for sure, especially when pulling together two arts like…say…BJJ and Taijichuan. Nevertheless, if you train long enough, you will start to have moments that make you wonder if it’s true after all.

I’d like to share an example of that.

If you recall back in the late 60s and early 70s there was both a boom of traditional martial arts around the world and a counterculture led by the man himself, Bruce Lee. The argument made by Bruce and many eclectic stylists after him was that traditional arts were much too rigid and formalized. They didn’t accurately represent the dynamics of combat.

They also believed that their open mindedness and fluidity led them to certain discoveries that traditionalists would not be able to sink their teeth into.

In some ways the eclectic stylists were (and still are) right – there are plenty of stodgy, banal, and outright ill-conceived traditional practices out there. But some eclectics also assumed too much in believing that they were discovering things that were unknown to the fighters of antiquity.

Observe in the following video a man named Paul Vunak. Paul is a skilled Jeet Kune Do practitioner who has trained under Dan Inosanto, one of Bruce Lee’s closest students and friends. Paul provides a few anecdotes about Bruce Lee (0-3:30), and then discusses the concept that there only three times you can hit an opponent: “before, during, and after”. Watch from 3:30-6 for the full idea of what he is discussing (video is a bit loud, perhaps turn down volume at first):

What Paul received from Bruce via Dan is the idea of striking an opponent before, during, or after the initial strike. It breaks down as such:

• BEFORE – As the opponent’s body prepares to attack, you preemptively strike him.
• DURING – As the opponent strikes at you, you in turn strike at him but achieve victory through body position.
• AFTER – As the opponent strikes at you, you deflect or dodge and then send a returning blow.

This is a great concept if you ask me. It’s great according to old school Wado Ryu Karate too. Check this out (video is quiet, turn volume back up):

As demonstrated by Tatsuo Suzuki Sensei, there are three times to strike an opponent:

• SEN SEN NO SEN – As the opponent commits to an attack mentally and gears himself physically, you preemptively strike.
• SEN NO SEN – As the opponent creates his attack, you attack simultaneously in a seeming aiuchi (mutual slaying) but best the opponent through skill.
• GO NO SEN – As the opponent attacks, you avoid or block the technique and return with a counterstrike.

These classical terms are not specific to karate. In the video above the narrator mentions briefly that jujutsu also utilizes them. Not discussed is the importance of SEN in the art of kendo as well. In fact, there are perhaps no arts where the razor thin difference of each SEN is more critical.

Observe the strikes in this kendo match, and see if you can determine which SEN is used even when they slow things down 16x (video sounds normal, turn volume back down):

If you’re able to compute SEN and execute as fast as these kendo players, you’re on your way to becoming a fine martial artist indeed.

One final example comes from the book “Living the Martial Way” (pg. 95 to be exact). In it, author Forrest Morgan discusses a meeting he had with an old expert. One might assume the expert was a Korean stylist as that was Morgan’s background, but we can’t be sure.  The old man stated that there are three ways to handle an attack: avoid, evade, or intercept.

• INTERCEPT – As the opponent begins his attack you overwhelm it with your own focus.
• EVADE – As the attack comes in you parry but stay inside the strike range for a counter.
• AVOID – As the attack comes in you remove yourself from danger.

This methodology doesn’t line up verbatim with the previous two, but very much expresses the same ideas. In fact, if you watch the Wado Ryu video again, you’ll see all three of these concepts in play during Sen Sen no Sen, Sen no Sen, and Go no Sen.

I’ve Got It, You’ve Got It

Sometimes methodologies ring true no matter what your style. And, when practiced with vigor, even allow us to share commonalities in our training.

The big question at this point isn’t whether or not your system of martial arts has “before, during, and after”, but moreso how do they go about saying it? (and if they don’t say it, how can YOU go about saying it?).

That fame grew rapidly. Soon the first few teachers that had trained in Okinawa and Japan were opening schools in the U.S. Some of those schools achieved high visibility and grew quickly, often finding that many more faces were popping in and out than were expected. Some of the more business savvy teachers realized that they could make quite a profit by charging testing fees, and promoting people through a series of ranks.

That first generation of karateka were being watched closely by a different class of people – the financial opportunists. These crafty individuals took the notion of money making through karate and multiplied it ten-fold by creating contracts, a myriad of belts, and get-rank-quick factories. They then expanded out into whole federations and took their businesses nationwide. When that happened, exposure for karate hit a climax – you couldn’t walk down the street of any small town in America without tripping over a couple of 9th and 10th dans.

Unfortunately, while karate was riding it’s sugar high, many people forgot to stop and notice that the quality (on a nationally broad level, not to say ALL quality) was declining at a rate exponential to the increase in quantity. Eventually, just like any kind of currency that becomes too abundant, the value of karate rank plummeted. A black belt was no longer awed and admired, but chuckled at because Lil 12-year-old-Johnny down the street had one too.

But then…just a few short years ago…something happened. Karate’s reign at the top of martial arts attention (alongside Tae Kwon Do) sputtered. It had fallen for a common trap – it had struggled with its own success.

MMA – The New Hotness

“Have you seen UFC?” people would ask each other in semi-hushed voices. “Those guys go into a cage and just duke it out. It’s for real. None of that hocus pocus nonsense, just real fighting.”

MMA, or mixed martial arts, is what many of the cage fighters in UFC professed to practice. In fact, many of those fighters were inspired by Bruce Lee, who had taken the first chunk out of traditional martial arts in the late 70′s. After Bruce had died his eclectic ideas took a hit and were swallowed back up by corny Kung Fu and Karate action. But UFC was a resurgence, and one that was gritty and real like the action in Bruce’s movies.

The UFC started off small and underground but became a sensation in no time. It’s popularity skyrocketed as Dana White (owner/founder) proved to be a marketing and business savant. He parlayed his federation into extremely profitable Pay Per View events. And then, in a move that left many ‘big wigs’ scratching their heads, he created a show on regular television for free consumption.

Nowadays you can’t go to any athletic store without seeing Tapout or Affliction gear. Stars like Anderson Silva are higher profile than any current boxer, and more MMA fighters are household names than ever before. Truly MMA’s star has risen and exploded.

But…looming in the murky shadows…

The Profiteers Were Ready For MMA

This is America, and to quote South Park, “if you don’t like it you can just giiit eeeouut.” In America capitalism is the rule, and martial arts profiteers know that. The people that spotted the trend of karate and capitalized on it are still around, or at least have their share of imitators and proteges.

MMA’s high profile has made it the go-to style for many potential students looking to get into martial arts, and if more people are looking for it, more profiteers are looking to give it to them. The problem, as you might imagine, is quality. There are a lot of good schools out there that teach MMA, or BJJ with MMA, or even traditional martial arts with MMA infused. These schools are building good extension programs and good core programs. But, just like with karate, they have to compete with chains, franchises, and quickie wannabes that are looking to cash in on that hot MMA buck.

In fact, in many strip malls and other locations you can see a direct transfer of where a karate school was, and where an MMA/BJJ school is now. Some entire franchises have gone ahead and made the switch.

It’s a bit painful, but it’s reality.

So How is MMA Saving Karate?

When karate was the main game in town, there were tons and tons of voices trying to get your attention. Everybody was yelling about this style or that style and what amazing secrets you could learn there. The high quality instructors who were focused primarily on quality could rarely compete. It looked kinda like this:

A bit disorienting isn’t it? Even in just this little collage it is easy to miss Tsuyoshi Chitose, the mild mannered man sitting in seiza. In this way it has been easy to miss really good karate amongst the white noise on a national level. Just imagine this picture only 10,000 times larger.

All of that nonsense is still around of course, but MMA is pulling more and more of the voices away. The blabbering snake oil salesmen are pitching a new and more attractive product. Because of that…karate seems to be quieting down a little. Just enough to start letting through those voices that have a lot of amazing things to say.

I’ve Seen it Happening

Have you ever visited a martial arts forum? There are some high quality ones out there, but generally they are places for people to yell at each other with no one ever really listening. A few years ago the style wars were raging full force in karate forums. If you wanted a reasonable discussion with people who were deeply skilled and invested in the arts, you were going to the wrong place.

One of the problems was the newness of technology and the high learning curve. Many of the most experienced karateka were not tech savvy enough like the youngsters who were bombarding the message boards. Now new technologies have been put in place that are so smart and intuitive that anyone can use them. Twitter and Facebook, for example.

I’ve started a community on Facebook, and with only slight moderation, I’ve found myself interacting with a whole bunch of bright and skilled martial artists. It’s nothing special that I did – we all simply found each other and realized it wasn’t a crazy notion for martial artists to learn from each other. Many (but not all of course) flaming and trolling fanboys have moved on to arguing about MMA matches, which has cleared a gap for traditional martial artists. Not to mention more and more great martial arts bloggers have started up their own sites to make high quality information available.

In the real world, karate instructors who truly and deeply love their art are persevering despite the lower number of total students walking in the door. Since those high quality instructors are the ones sticking around, the odds are increasing ever so slightly that interested students could find themselves learning real karate. If that’s the case, they have a much better chance at sticking around and becoming thoughtful traditional martial artists themselves. As such, there is a chance for them to perpetuate the good kind of karate rather than the paper thin kind.

Until Next Time

To the BJJ and MMA practitioners out there who are deeply invested in their art – you should know that you have some brothers in arms over in TMA (traditional martial arts) who know about the struggle you are going through and will continue to go through.

Hopefully we can all meet on the other side when the next big thing hits…whatever that may be.

Author Forrest Morgan doesn’t boast epically high ranks in multiple styles, nor does he stand to inherit any deep dark martial arts secrets from hidden masters. Despite that, he has managed to pierce the heart of the matter and create a manual for the ways in which modern day soldiers and citizens can apply the martial way and warrior mindset in their every day lives.

I had a chance to ask Mr. Morgan some questions regarding his background, mindset, and opinions on how he sees the martial arts. I hope you enjoy this interview and gain something valuable out of it!

Q&A:

MA: Thank you very much for participating in this interview Mr. Morgan. First off, could you give a little background about yourself for anyone who may not be familiar with your martial arts or military experience?

FM: Certainly.  Put simply, I am a man who has chosen to serve his country and live a warrior lifestyle.  That said, I do not claim to be particularly accomplished in either of those pursuits.  I spent 27 years in the U.S. Air Force, but was never decorated for valor or even saw combat. I actively trained in martial arts for 30 years, but was never a tournament champion.  The highest grade I reached in any system was 3rd dan.  However, over the years in which I served and trained I gained some insights—or at least I believe I gained some insights, readers can decide for themselves—about warrior culture and how martial arts training relates to that culture.  I chose to share those insights with other martial artists.

To provide you a short synopsis of my life and career, I began formal training in Taekwondo Chung Do Kwan in 1972.  Four years later, then a newly promoted 1st dan, I enlisted in the Air Force.  I spent the first three years in the Air Force (after basic training and tech school, of course) as a communications analyst at Misawa Air Base, Japan, where I completed my bachelors degree in night school.  On urging from my flight commander, I applied for Officer Training School, and, to my surprise, was accepted.

After commissioning, I became a space operations officer and worked at various levels in that field for most of the rest of my Air Force career.  About 18 years in, however, my career took a turn, and Living the Martial Way played a part in making that happen.

That was about a year after the book came out, and I was a student at the Air Force’s highly-selective strategy school, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS).  Back then the school chose one student a year to send to a civilian university for a doctoral degree, with the expectation that the student would eventually return to the SAASS as a member of the faculty.  It was a competitive selection.  As I had written a successful book, I had an edge on the other applicants and was chosen.

As a result, I spent the next several years at the University of Maryland studying under a future Nobel laureate (he received the prize in 2006).  From there I spent a couple of years in the Pentagon on the HQ Air Force staff in the long-range strategic planning division.  Then it was back to SAASS where I finished the last three years of my career as a professor of comparative military studies.

With the education and experience the Air Force was so generous in providing me, I managed to get a post-retirement job at the RAND Corporation doing strategy research and analysis for the Air Force, the Army, and other defense clients.  I’ve been doing that for nearly seven years now.  For the last three years I have also been an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. I teach in the security and intelligence studies major.

MA: Could you dive a bit more into your martial arts education?

Sure.  As I said, I was a 1st degree when I joined the Air Force.  I spent the next seven years away from my instructor.  I trained whenever and wherever I could and also taught on a couple of Air Force bases, but back then, I believed in loyalty to style and remained a Chung Do Kwan 1st degree.  In the early 1980s, however, I was assigned to a base near my instructor and returned to formal training, earning 2nd and 3rd degree over the next several years.

However, by then I was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with taekwondo as a martial art.  The rich, combat-oriented system I had learned in the early 70s was being watered down, converted to a pure sport, and repackaged for mass consumption.

Example of Chung do Kwan Sport Sparring:

Beyond that, I had become skeptical of proponents’ claims that it could be effective in all tactical situations.  I could see that even the fuller system I had been taught was deficient in close-quarters combat (where most personal attacks occur) and ineffective on the ground. Therefore, on my next military assignment, I set out to find training to “fill the holes” so to speak.  Over the next 15 years or so I studies several different jujutsu systems, earning a 2nd degree in Hakkoryu and a 1st degree in Akayama Ryu.  It was several years into this period that I wrote “Living the Martial Way”.

I continued active training until my retirement from the Air Force.  About that time degenerative arthritis forced me off the mat and hardwood.  I still maintain my physical fitness with low-impact cardio and weight training, but martial arts training is now more than my eroded joints will tolerate.

MA: That is a shame that your joints will no longer tolerate full training! But I suppose the mental lessons learned never go away.

What was it that first got you interested in the arts (self defense, hobby, etc)?

FM: I started martial arts training for self defense and to build my self esteem.  I grew up in a suburb of Detroit.  It wasn’t the inner city by any means, but it was a rough, blue collar neighborhood nonetheless.  I was a tall and gawky teenager—tall enough to get the bullies’ attention, mouthy enough to piss them off, and too skinny to back it up.  As a result, I was pushed around on a pretty regular basis.

By my mid-teen years I was fed up with it and determined to study martial arts.  My parents refused to pay for it, so I read books and kicked and punched a homemade heavy bag until after my first year of college when I could pay for my own training.  I visited a number of schools and chose the one that looked the toughest.  Fortunately, it was also one of the few I could afford.

MA: You are the author of Living the Martial Way, a very popular book among traditional artists. What was your original impetus for writing this book?

As I said above, by the mid eighties I had become dissatisfied with what taekwondo had to offer.  As a military member, I had met a lot of martial artists from other systems and trained with some of them. I had lived in Japan a couple of years, studied the language and culture, watched the local police demonstrate their empty-hand combative measures, and watched the Japanese military train in their unarmed combat system.  I had studied various Asian philosophies in college.  As a result of all of this, when I returned to my home organization, I soon realized I was much more informed about martial arts, Asian history and philosophy, and… well, personal combat in general than any of my peers or superiors in the taekwondo association, people who had grown up in a single style, swallowing the pabulum about the supposed superiority of that style that the organization fed them.  Consequently, as I explained in the introduction of “Living the Martial Way”, I set out to deliberately learn what my organization was failing to teach me, technically, tactically, philosophically, and spiritually.

Over the next few years, as I researched and learned, I enriched the training I was giving my own students, bringing in techniques from other systems, developing scenario-oriented street tactics, assigning the senior students outside readings, and holding discussion sessions with them (often over pitchers of beer).  My senior students and I became a tight-knit group, something of an elite squad, envied by students at other locations in our organization (and resented by some other instructors).  It was an invigorating period in my life, but as my assignment at that base approached an end, several of my students became concerned.  “You’ve got to write a book,” one of them said.  “We can’t get this stuff anyplace else.”  I laughed.  We had learned a lot, but certainly I didn’t have enough material for a book—or so I thought.

A few years later, while winnowing away the hours on midnight shifts manning a command post at HQ Air Force Space Command, I began outlining my ideas just to see if there was enough there to call it a book.  What I discovered was not only did I have enough material for a book, but I had too much for a single book.  I had to cut it in half.

MA: Do you feel as if martial sport is growing at a faster rate than traditional martial arts? Are you concerned that sport may push art into extinction or extreme obscurity?

Yes, martial sport is certainly growing faster than traditional martial arts.  Indeed, it has been since kumite and randori were first introduced in karate-do, judo, and kendo training in the 19th century.  Will it push “art” into extinction or extreme obscurity?  Well, it depends on what you mean by “art” and, beyond that, what you mean by “traditional martial arts.”

You may be surprised to hear that I am probably not the “traditionalist” some people think I am.  Rather, I am a warrior in the true tradition.  That tradition is not slavish adherence to a particular martial organization, style, or set of katas in the name of tradition.  Rather, it is to seek out and master whatever combat methods are needed to assure victory in the specific strategic context in which you expect to find yourself.  That does not mean, if you’re a police officer, that you practice sport karate in the belief that it will prepare you for the tactical demands of your job, and neither does it mean that you practice “traditional” 17th century sword techniques with the same expectation.

Few professional warriors who truly need unarmed combat proficiency for their jobs—elite military forces, police officers, intelligence operatives, etc.—spend much time practicing what most people consider “traditional martial arts,” especially the ultra-traditional kodo or “classical” arts, such as kenjutsu, kyujutsu, yarijutsu, etc.  And you wouldn’t want them to.

Would you want the U.S. Army trying to defend the nation with swords and spears? What would you think if the U.S. Navy refused to equip itself with state-of-the-art warships because wooden sailing vessels are more “traditional”?  Even the less archaic, non-classical, traditionally-oriented martial arts, such as karate-do, aikido, jujutsu, etc., systems that strive to maintain their customs, training methods, and techniques unchanged from the late 19th or early 20th century, are usually not directly applicable to most 21st century threats without some amount of modification.  These systems are not true bugei (martial arts), which are purely utilitarian in nature, they are budo (martial ways), systems practiced for self improvement.

There is nothing wrong with that.  Budo training is valuable in itself.  I have enjoyed it and gotten great benefit from it, physically and spiritually.  Many of the techniques and some of the tactics taught in budo systems are, with modification, suitable for real combat, but they are not martial arts, strictly speaking.  They are martial ways.

Whether these systems die out in favor of martial sport remains to be seen.  No doubt some of them will.  However, true martial arts will never die out.  As long as human beings are in physical conflict with one another, they will develop and practice methods to restrain, defeat, and kill their enemies.  The methods will evolve in response to changing tactical requirements, or they will (and should) be discarded.

* * *

Continued in Part 2

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about Lyoto Machida, wherein I explained my fanhood for him, and how it wasn’t just me – Machida’s popularity has been consistently growing over the past 8-9 months. One of the main reasons why is Machida’s karate-inspired fighting style. His traditional background (along with a black belt in BJJ) is making big waves throughout the MMA community. How could it not – the guy has yet to lose a round.

These days it seems that karate is branching out, and the latest person to do the branching is Vitor Belfort. Belfort is a recently returned UFC fighter who has been studying karate for years. Many analysts are remarking at Belfort’s excellent control of distance and timing, and how he seems to have a natural sense of space. People are also commenting on the speed and directness of his counterattacks after making other fighters waffle and miss.

This may all sound familiar to UFC fans because those are the exact qualities that are granting Machida so much success.

To watch the Belfort fight (it only lasts one round), click here or below:

Due to his impressive win, Belfort is slated to fight Anderson Silva, aka, the guy so good that he makes champions look like raw beginners. Although UFC fans are pining for a Machida-v-Silva matchup, it looks like Belfort is going to have to do instead (both Machida and Silva have declared friendship with one another and a strong desire not to fight).

The most interesting thing to come out of these recent events is a raised eyebrow about karate from MMA fans and fighters. We’ve all been so overexposed by crappy, watered-down karate that seeing good karate in action is both intriguing and confusing. Fighters like Machida and Belfort are also doing karateka a service because they are showing the value of arts like BJJ, and how it isn’t a sin to be well-rounded and open to outside concepts.

Very interesting developments! Pay attention everyone because these are the things that slowly shape the martial arts realm right underneath our noses.

It’s easy to forget what made Bruce Lee so dynamic and dominant. Check out a little bit of this video and you’ll remember:

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For anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing a Bruce Lee movie, I recommend them highly. Here is a helpful hand in locating them:

Enter the Dragon (The most famous film. A martial arts epic!)

Return of the Dragon (Actually filmed before Enter the Dragon but renamed in America to capitalize off the success of Enter. Still Awesome)

Chinese Connection (Some consider this movie to have the best plot and message)

Fists of Fury (Bruce Lee’s breakout film)

Game of Death (This one is barely a movie, but still has good fight sequences)

Bruce Lee always preached fluidity and economy of motion. Certainly he didn’t sweat the technique, which is one reason why he was so great!

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For those of you who have seen the movies, help the newbies with your recommendations in the comments below!

When dealing with self defense, you never know what situation you’ll find yourself in or what you’ll have on hand. That’s exactly why I am such a big advocate for unarmed self defense. Even gun owners can’t be locked and loaded all the time.

That being said, I’m also a proponent of tilting the odds in your favor as best as possible. Real life isn’t like the MMA Ring and you don’t need to tap a guy out or go three rounds. The sooner you can resolve a dangerous situation, the better.

It’s that mindset that drives the people at TBO Tech, and fuels them to find the most innovative self defense tools around. For any readers who have been toying around with the idea of upping their self defense options, keep on reading.

Some Uncommon Tools

You know about tasers – they can take a rough looking attacker and turn him into a twitching pile. But check out THIS taser:

“Hello? Ohh hi 950,000 volts. What? You want to talk to this creep getting too hands-on with me? Ok.”

Just in case that is too subtle for you, I’d like to recommend this:

That is bear spray. Walk around with that in the holster and you’ll get some respect.

Other Neat Things

TBO carries a wide variety of products. They have a lot of cool surveillance equipment, ranging from nanny cams to pen recorders. There are also really useful home security products. It’s worth a minute or two of your time to go browse around and see if there is anything that catches your interest. They also also offer a 90 day guarantee on any product you buy, just in case you want to try something out.

Special Offer

As a way of welcoming ikigaiway readers, TBO Tech is offering 10% off of your purchase. Just use the code ‘ikigai‘. That’s a darn good deal!

If you’d like to check out the fight for yourself, click the picture above or this link.  Also check out Noah’s page for more fights and options.

For those long time readers out there, you’ll know that I am a big fanboy for two UFC fighters – Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva. This last fight, which took place at UFC 101 in Philadelphia, was another stunner that left me wondering how Anderson Silva performs at such a high level.

Silva’s last two victories over Patrick Cote and Thales Leites were widely regarded as underwhelming. There was a lot of controversy as to whether or not Silva was losing his touch, or if he was just getting bored. It turns out he wasn’t losing his touch.

Forrest Griffin, a UFC pro and highly regarded competitor, tried to stand up with Silva but had no success. In fact, Silva made Griffin look like a tentative rookie (which he is far from being). After a minute or so of gauging each other, Griffin tried to establish a rhythm on Silva by throwing out half-paced punches and kicks. Silva calmly slid away from those attacks, and carefully picked his opportunities to explode into Griffin.

Everytime Griffin attempted to push the pace, Silva slipped the attack and punished Griffin in return. The result was a fight so lopsided that some people are wondering if Griffin threw the fight, or if he was sick/drugged during the match.

One thing I can guarantee is that there was no throwing of the fight – Griffin is renounded for his big heart and taking a dive would never enter into is realm of possibility. Furthermore, there are no reports (as of yet) confirming illness or injury on the part of Griffin. What we are left to conclude is that Silva was simply operating at a level that nullified Griffin in every way.

Silva is a little guilty of antics during the fight – dropping his hands and urging Griffin to come and fight. That stemmed from the stream of bad press he had been getting from his last two fights, and the accusations that he was not putting out any energy or effort. It is also important to note that both fighters showed each other full respect throughout the match, which is a big differentiating factor when observing antics vs mockery.

I’d also like to point out that when Silva dropped his hands it was because he was in such dominant control of distancing and timing that that was the only way to get Griffin to come and fight. Silva saw the opportunity to use such a tactic to win, so he took it. He further demonstrated his command by knocking out Griffin in an almost casual fashion.

Call this match what you will – weird, unusual, astounding, intriguing…for me, I can confidently say that it was definitely worth watching.

This is an extremely unfortunate event; one that every martial artist and fighter should take note of.

The Details

Forrest, 38, is best known as the first man to defeat Shane Mosley (an extremely dominant force in the boxing world). Forrest was also a member of the 1992 Olympic boxing team alongside Oscar De La Hoya. Achieving a professional record of 41-3, Forrest was able to attain the ranks of welterweight and junior-middleweight champion.

On Saturday the 25th Forrest stopped at an Atlanta gas station to refill the air in his tires. His 11-year-old son was in tow, whom Forrest allowed to enter the gas station itself. While refilling, Forrest was approached by a gun-wielding assailant and was robbed of his Rolex and championship ring.

As the robber made his escape, Forrest retrieved a firearm from his vehicle and began pursuit. The chase went on for roughly 3 blocks where the assailant was able to slip away. Forrest, still in close pursuit, encountered another individual, according to police lieutenant Keith Meadows:

“Forrest comes around the corner and he encounters another individual who we believe has a gun in his hand,” Meadows said, adding that Forrest and the second person “exchange words” before Forrest “realizes that this is not the individual who actually robbed him.

“So he turns to walk away and it was at that point the subject shot Mr. Forrest a number of times in the back,” Meadows said. – Yahoo Sports

The Takeaway

Here we have a sports fighting phenom – strong, fast, confident, and effective. On top of that, he was reportedly a great father and humanitarian outside the ring. Yet despite all that he still fell victim to a classic case of street violence.

No matter how much ground-n-pound, kyusho, or sparring we do, we can never be sure how things will unfold on the street. Furthermore, if we let our anger and self-confidence take ahold of us, we might exacerbate an escapable situation.

No one can be blamed for Forrest’s death besides the assailants. However, it is becoming more evident that Forrest made questionable decisions in dealing with his situation. The first of which was making the choice to stop. Trainer Emanuel Steward had this to say:

“I always preach to my boxers to never stop for gas late at night when you don’t know your surroundings,” Steward said. “Vernon did, and his natural instinct as an athlete was to go after his assailant. He’s going to fight back. The problem is everyone, it seems, has a gun.” – Freep.com

Awareness and proper planning are very underrated tools for self defense. No matter how skilled or well armed you are, Steward is right – it seems like everyone has a gun.

The second issue was Forrest’s decision to chase after his possessions. I can only imagine what kind of sentimental value the championship ring must have had, but it was replaceable. As that robber ran off so did the immediate danger to Forrest and his son. Unfortunately, street justice wouldn’t have been served, and Forrest seemed like the kind of man who wanted to punish wrong doing.

Who can say they haven’t felt the same way at some point?

We need to take stock in our training and realize the importance of the mental side of body, mind, spirit. We need to be able to quickly choose when fighting is necessary and utterly required to protect ourselves and others. This is extremely difficult, especially when combined with the quick chaotic nature of true violence.

The third issue was Forrest’s disengagement from his eventual killer. When Forrest lost site of his robber, he encountered another individual who was allegedly wielding a firearm. The two exchanged words, and Forrest realized that this wasn’t the guy who robbed him. After that, he turned his back to walk away, and was shot repeatedly.

I don’t know what was said, but there is absolutely no reason to trust this random, armed individual enough to turn your back or drop your guard even for a moment.

When it comes to violent events, hindsight is easy. We can do shoulda-woulda all day, but the fact is those split second decisions determine the final outcome of the event. Perhaps we can store Forrest’s untimely death in the back our minds so that we might learn from it.