In the world of law, there are essentially two types of crimes: mala en se (Latin for evil in itself) crimes and mala prohibita (Latin for evil prohibited) crimes. The distinction is important, and most Americans don’t understand these concepts. Mala en se crimes are obvious infringements upon the rights of others. This would include [...]
Here’s a video covering a story where an 11 year-o successfully fends off a kidnapper who was trying to drive off with his 9 year-old sister. Jonah Yano credited years of training in jujutsu (or Jui Jitsu) with helping in his defense of his sister. Here’s important takeaways I want you to understand: Link to [...]
In an effort to draw a distinction between training and competing in sports martial arts and the reality of self defense, I make the analogy: training for sport is to self defense as NASCAR is to parallel parking. I did sport karate when I was in college, and it was fun. But I stopped because [...]
My buddy Ray, who is studying Systema, gave me a link to a great article here on neurological training. Another thing that self defense “experts” (the one who pay thousands to advertise in Black Belt Magazine) have been touting like mad over the past few years goes something like this: Under stress only gross motor [...]
Today I was inspired by this story about a local grandmother who single-handedly fought off two armed home invaders. I was inspired because this story highlights how untrue many statements are that I’ve heard from martial arts and self defense ‘experts’. Let’s break down a few myths that I’ve been trying to debunk for years: [...]
I encourage my students to train mentally with little imagination exercises they can do when they’re out and about. When you go to a place that isn’t your home look for the exits, look for improvised weapons. When in the presence of other people, gauge their distance and imagine how you might react if they [...]
I have a lot of respect for the Gracie family – and Hélio Gracie in particular. Here I’ve found this Youtube video, purportedly of Hélio Gracie doing a self-defense demonstration. Link to this post!
Watching the news in Maine this week, you may wonder what the heck is happening. Three separate stabbing incidents in less than a week have been reported in Maine. Link to this post!
Thumb through any martial arts magazine from any time in the past up to today and you’ll find a lot of advertising. You’ll see systems advertised as “The World’s Most Lethal Fighting System,” or teachers as, “The Deadliest Man Alive.” If you don’t look at martial arts magazines – I’m not kidding here, these are [...]
Martial Arts photos from Flickr
Commentary: Casey Haynes – Australian Kid Bullied Caught on Video
Right now on Facebook and Youtube there’s a video of a young boy from Australia fighting back against a bully. That video has gone quite viral. Apparently there is even a Facebook page with over 75,000 members supporting the young man names Casey Haynes. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a copy of the [...]