Portland police report that both men are expected to recover.

Ar least one attack was on a security guard who was overwhelmed and then stabbed in the back multiple times.

Simply watching the news, it’s difficult to say whether edged weapon assaults are becoming more common in Southern, Maine, but certainly they remain common. From these and other attacks we can unequivocally recommend that citizens and police officers interested in their own safety need to undertake edged weapon self-defense training.

Maine Martial Arts is one of the only schools in the state that focuses on defense against armed and multiple opponents. We spend significant amount of our training time learning to defend against knife attacks. We also focus on gun, stick and empty hand attacks.

Ultimately we learn the principles of defense against any type of attack.

This story is a reminder of how edged weapons are everywhere and are very dangerous.

Interested on training to protect you and your loved ones? Contact us.

I view this as a good thing, and certainly martial arts are a great activity for Mainers who want to remain physically active year round. Martial arts training, being a primarily indoor activity, is a great year round activity. And – there’s something in the martial arts for everyone.

• Seniors, for example, might enjoy the low impact health benefits of Tai Chi
• Young children can benefit from the discipline, and physical skills imparted in traditional martial arts such as karate
• Competitive extreme sports enthusiasts might get a thrill and a lot of great exercise doing MMA
• Everyone can benefit from self-defense training

My main advice for those who carry weapons for self defense is this: get a lot of training, and learn the law for your location. In the same way that owning a guitar doesn’t make you a musician, owning a weapon doesn’t make you Rambo. But, what if you can’t or don’t want to carry a gun, knife, or pepper spray? What if you do carry one of these things, but want to have other options or need a bridge in case your weapon malfunctions? What if an assailent gets your weapon away from you, what are some other carry options.

One of my favorite improvised weapons is a heavy pen. My sensei recommended carrying one that was out of ink, so you wouldn’t be tempted to use it to write and forget it somewhere. A good heavy pen can be a great stabbing and ripping implement, or can be used as a hand stick like a yawara or kubotan.

Before the recent airline restrictions on liquids, I used to carry a Poland Spring water bottle 1/3 full onto the plan when I flew. Holding it at the cap end, I have practiced throwing it underhand and striking face-sized targets up to 20 feet away. This isn’t a tool that would do a great deal of damage, but is intended to distract an opponent, allowing me to close distance.

A rolled-up magazine has incredible longitudinal strength for poking somebody. Poked at the eyes it can distract or even cause injury. I have seen a demo of somebody using a magazine at the end of a hammerfist to smash a glass window.

Any kind of bag, or backpack can be used as a shield when placed between you and an assailant. No, it isn’t going to block bullets, but it might entangle a knife or absorb a punch or kick. When I used to ride public transportation in Boston, I carried an L.L. Bean backpack with a padlock attached to the bottom of one of the straps. Nobody would think anything about this, since people attach padlocks to their bags when going to the gym.  However, I could swing the backpack by the top loop and strike with the padlock.

Ultimately, almost anything you can carry and hold can be used as an improvised weapon. But, like all other weapons systems, you need proper training to build the mental and physical skills. Maine Martial Arts includes improvised weapon training along with our self defense program. To learn more, just contact us.

John Moore Sensei

Courtesy

Martial Arts practice begins and ends with courtesy. At the beginning of our practice we “bow in” with a short ceremony, at the end we “bow out”. The ceremony is spiritual but not religious, and is a very important part of the training.

The importance of the ceremony is that we are shifting from our every day state of mind, to one conducive to practice. We are symbolically wiping off the feet of our mind so we don’t drag in the mental mud we’ve accumulated during the day.

We practice three bows. At the beginning of practice we bow to the kamiza – the traditional seat of the spirits at the front of the class. We hold in mind a sense of respect for those who died before us so that we may practice our art. We then bow to the sensei (teacher) of the class and hold in mind the thought – please guide us in our practice so we may grow. We then bow together and hold in mind the thought – please may we all learn safely together today, help each other, and grow as a community of warriors.

If some religious or other doctrine you practice prevents you from bowing, that is absolutely fine.

The bow is not a sign of supplication, but a sign of mutual respect. Nobody is bowing down to anyone, we are bowing together to show mutual respect. This is a gesture similar to a military salute or a handshake, but the importance is what you hold in mind during the bow.

During class, it is traditional to bow to the sensei after he gives some instruction. Again, this is not supplication but a symbol that says, “thanks for sharing”. The sensei bows back as a symbol stating, “thank you for listening.” Respect is always mutual.

When working with a partner or partners during class, it is traditional to begin and end with a short bow. We create a mindset of mutual respect and safety prior to working with one another, and say thanks after we practice.

Our classes are significantly less formal than in many other martial arts schools. There is no, “yes sir”, “no sir” or snapping to attention. This formality generally comes from schools where the original teachers came from the military and brought some of those traditions into their practice. Some people enjoy the formality and tradition, and that’s fine, but we don’t practice that way.

The Sensei

Sensei, loosely translates to “teacher” in Japanese and we generally use it in this context. It is better translated as “one who has gone before” as in a person with more experience.

As a title, in Japan, it is not reserved for martial arts teachers. Sensei has the same meaning as Doctor for someone who has achieved an advanced degree. If you were in College, you might refer to your teacher as “Doctor” X or “Professor” Y. This is the meaning of sensei.

In Japanese, the title is placed after the proper name. John Moore Sensei is correct, while Sensei John Moore seems correct in English but would confuse a Japanese speaker. We place the title after the name.

In class, you would traditionally refer to the teacher as “sensei”. If there were more than one teacher present you could refer to a teacher by their family name then title, “Moore Sensei”. It is up to you how you would like to refer to the teacher (as long as it is respectful). You may call our teachers by their given name. It is our tradition that the student decides when it is appropriate to refer to the teacher as sensei.

We currently do not use any other titles for our teachers. A lot of American martial arts teachers appropriate Japanese titles, or make them up. Some systems, like Bujinkan, have many levels of teaching and ranks. We choose to keep things simple.

We purposefully do not use the title “master” or any derivative, and do not translate the title sensei that way. It is our philosophy that nobody is ever a master of anything, that learning never ends, and the best teachers in the world continue to evolve.