Hello Everyone,
For those of you wondering where are the new posts; I am currently writing lectures for my martial arts classes and will return to the blog as soon as possible.

Conditioning

Hello Again everyone,
Conditioning refers to more than just body conditioning. It refers to training or rebuilding the body, mind, emotional response, mental response, awareness, and technique. Training by its very nature conditions the body. Specific muscle groups, tendons, ligaments and supporting structures work. Training and guided practice align physical and mental energy in the same direction. While it may not allow one to look like Charles Atlas, it allows on to operate effectively.

One must take care in conditioning the body, as to not lose flexibility, speed and maneuverability. Work out, lift weights, and train the body for power and speed. The exercises for speed vary from those that build power. Speed exercises focus on allowing the muscles to move with less resistance and can be target focused. Power exercises build build muscle in the same ways as do the typical weight training exercises.

Running, walking, cycling, cross country running, hiking, et cetera condition the body and its ability to endure hardship. Cardiovascular conditioning gives one the oxygen for more involved muscle movement. If one obtains more oxygen and conditions the body to move under stress; then such activities benefit the martial artist.

Mental conditioning allows for better handling of difficult conditions. Most individuals wonder; what would I do, if faced with a difficult situation. With proper instruction, many people develop a resistance to stressful situations. Some individuals ask, what happens if I freeze up. Training in action and reaction to an event, within a controlled environment allows one the ability to respond. Mental conditioning builds up resilience, This is not to say that life drops problems within one's lap, but one must learn to solve the problem or change their perspective. (Wayne Dyer, Wisdom of the Ages PBS Presentation)

Emotional responses may help or hurt, depending on whether they assist in finding a solution to the problem or not. Emotions represent real processes going on within the body. Even though some individuals interpret emotions as imagined or just manufactured within a person's psyche. Just as mountain climbing requires tools, so does overcoming and working with emotions. In a conflict a person may feel scared, angry, frustrated, apprehensive, or a combination of these feelings. But training in ways that allow the stress to be ratcheted up. This process must be tightly controlled, or it may lead to training difficulties.

Mental responses vary from what does one do next or panic. Make a plan and train that plan. Decide what one must do and do it. Think and act, not think then act. One builds a picture and views that picture through the mind. Think of a mind as a browser. It coordinates different information such as visual, auditory, olfactory, pressure, temperature, taste, and intuition. This information gets processed, some information gets kept and some information does not get kept. Discernment develops through attention and thought. But like great paintings, the artist may not think about the exact step by step of the painting. The technique happens when it needs to through training.

In conclusion, practitioners must condition their minds and bodies to defend one's self. Each person responds differently to a given situation. Physical and mental work hand in hand. One can never fully prepare for a first attack adequately, but preparation provides tools and allows individuals to survive.

Firearms

Hello Everyone,


Firearms represent dangerous weapons. All techniques learned anywhere concerning them should be taken with a grain of salt. What is the best defense against a firearm? Not to be in the situation. What is the second best defense? Run if you can to a place where the firearm cannot hit you. Other options exist for trained individuals. Training does not minimize the deadly nature of facing a loaded firearm with an individual bent on their own intent. Please keep these things in mind as you read this post.

Firearms vary in type and purpose. Rifles, shotguns, machine guns, carbines, pistols, etc. This discussion focuses on pistols and small scale firearms. If facing a machine gun, one must run and find cover immediately. This is not the movies where our hero faces fifty machine gun totting bad guys and defeats them all without as a misplaced hair.

Lets start with the difference between "cover" and "concealment." Cover is an actal object that stops the bullet, attack, etc. Concealment hides the defender from the attacker. You can see me or you cannot see me defines concealment. A door provides concealment and if thick enough provides temporary cover. Lock that door and the safety factor increases.

I have heard and I need to track this figure down that twenty three feet is the effective distance that a human can cross before another human armed with a firearm can effectively draw, aim, and fire. But I would not want to be in that situation.
Firearms come in two main types for pistol; revolver and semi automatic. Revolvers have a cylinder that holds the ammunition. That cylinder turns and brings one shell in line with the firing pin. The firing pin hits the round and the resulting explosion propells one bullet through the barrel and past the muzzle. The bullet then finds its way at a given speed to its target. (1)

The semi automatic on the other hand has a different. The clip holds the ammunition and a slide strips off one round from the clip and loads it into the barrel. The firing pin then impacts the back of the round and the round travels down the barrel and out its muzzle. (2) Every time a person pulls the trigger, a round fires. Some individuals claim that semi automatic pistols jam. But the choice in either amounts to an educated choice.

The person defending against such a weapon should avoid the situation if possible. If avoidance is not possible, then do what one must do to survive. Keep the weapon pointed away from you at all times. Only well trained martial artists should even attempt to "grab the gun." But if you must, then do so and keep it aimed away. If you survive the encounter, then you have won.

Remember that in an encounter that involves the use of deadly weapons that one person will probably be dead and the other changed forever. I will continue to update this post as I become more informed.

Crime: A working layperson's definition

What is a crime? According to Webster's Dictionary as "An action or negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interest of the state and that is legally prohibited." (Random House Webster's 476) But most laypersons understand crime as an offense committed against them. The offense or injury can be committed by one or more people and the effected can be a single person or multiple people. Definitions assist in understanding how this world works. Crimes vary from someone stealing lollipops from a five year old to intentional murder of an individual for a variety of reasons.

Self defense focuses on protecting one's immediate person or a group of people from immanent physical harm. That takes such things as property crimes, fraud, ex cettera off the table for now. Crimes that directly affect the personal physical safety from harm remain on the table. These crimes usually vary from assault to attempted murder. If a person is murdered, then their protection methods failed and the issue is that of the surviving family members and the state to handle.

Definitions for certain crimes are listed below. Please keep in mind that these are from the Random House Webster's Dictionary and do not in any way constitute legal advise or opinion. Please refer to proper counsel when formulating specific questions of law. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's legal code contains definitions that may or may not vary from Websters. This information provides a place to begin your search. It does not and will not constitute legal advise.


Assault: The crime or tort of threatening or attempting to commit immediate offensive physical contact or bodily harm. Merriam Webster dictionary of Law 1996.


Battery: The crime or tort of intentionally or recklessly causing offensive physical contact or bodily harm that is not consented to by a victim. (dictionary.com Merriam Webster.)

Attempted Rape: unsuccessful attempt to rape a victim.

Rape: Unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent. (Miriam Webster Dictionary: Rape. Legal Definition Source: www.dictionary.com)

Attempted Murder: An attempt to commit murder, though the victim survives.

Murder: The unlawful and unjustifiable killing of another under circumstances defined by statute. (Merriam Webster Dictionary: Murder. Legal Definition Source: www.dictionary.com)

Please keep in mind that crimes not covered in this post involve property crimes and should be handled by duly appointed authorities.

There is before contact and during contact. If someone threatens action or attempts to attack, then assault. If someone make successful contact, then assault and battery. Some jurisdictions shortened this from assault and battery to assault.
A live victim makes a heinous enough assault attempted murder; a successful murder means that the victim becomes an inanimate object.

Some individuals define rape as a "sex crime." While the crime's nature remains sexual, rape has less to do with sex and more to do with power. The act of taking control of another human being and harming them motivates some attackers. A defender must be ready to so what is necessary to stop the attack. Keep in mind that some individuals believe that it is about the clothing or other factor concerning the defender. It is not; it has always been about power.

Please keep in mind if a defender goes beyond the equal force doctrine, the defender may be subject to legal action. Different states and countries use different doctrines and enforce laws differently. Please refer to that country's specific legal code and legal system for laws concerning self defense in that country. This article is only meant to provide basic information and does not constitute legal advice. Please seek the council of a qualified lawyer in your community for all the laws that apply to your locality and state.

As this writer learns more concerning the legal system and its twists and turns, indirectly through legal council, this blog will be updated.

Meditation

Hello Everyone,

What is meditation? Mental Weightlifting remains my working definition. There are two distinct types of meditation; with and without object. Focusing one's mind on an object, such as breathing, provides an effective vehicle for the meditator. The object can be anything; breath, light, drawings or paintings, movement, even the sky will do. Meditation without object involves focusing the mind on an empty space within. Some practitioners accomplish this meditation with ease, while others may take years to achieve this goal.

Martial arts also provides an object. A form, striking technique, kicking technique or other movement may be a useful object. The purpose of any technique, from a self defense standpoint, remains self protection. But these same movements can be used successfully to meditate.

The martial arts assists with meditation without object. Focus on the object, then eventually let the object go. Once you have the empty space, the mind may attempt to fill it with unwanted thoughts. Let go of each thought, the same way one lets go of cars passing on the highway. The thoughts get less and less until nothing remains in the space.

Meditation benefits the martial artist in a number of ways. Mediation develops awareness, confidence and calm, and stress reduction. Most individuals carry around thoughts, ideas, and general to do lists that reduce awareness. By meditating, the martial artist reduces these general wandering thoughts. This process allows more information to come in form the outside. The more information properly managed, the more aware the person. This awareness benefits martial artist and non martial artist alike.

Confidence and calm develop from meditation. When in a stressful situation, the mind downshifts. This downshifting reduces the martial artist's ability to act and react. When one trains in a given situation, the situation seems familiar and may be handled better. When one meditates and learns about a given situation, then the mind may remain in a calm state. Fear unchecked takes away control. Learn how to control the fear and use that energy. Even if an attacker attacks, one trains in how to handle the situation. Do not see this state coming right away, but it will come.

Stress reduction remains a main benefit of meditation. The Samurai practiced the tea ceremony. This practice provided an opportunity to focus one's mind before a combat. But it also allowed the samurai to decompress after combat. Physical exercise, meditation, talking, and journaling all provide opportunities to reduce stress levels. Simple breathing proves to be an easy meditation for the beginner.

Breathing meditation.
1) Close eyes
2) Pay attention to breathing
3) Slow down breathing
4) Make exhale longer than inhale
5) Continue for about a minute
If you need a way to time it, use a kitchen timer

I will post more on meditation, but read this article and think about it.

HPE 120 Summer 2010 Students

Please read over the appropriate blog entry for the week and comment on it. Please identify who you are. Further instructions will come during each class.

Weapons: Non Firearm

Hello Everyone,

Why does one practice with weapons that firearms made obsolete? There are a number of reasons that weapons practice should remain important. Such reasons as Physical training, ranging, and use of makeshift weapons represent viable in this day and age.

Physical Training and Weapons
At least eighteen weapons and non weapons proficiencies were required to be a Chinese soldier, unarmed techniques only made up one of those proficiencies. (Henning 173) One does not walk down any street with a bow and arrow, but the physicality that weapons’ training develops is just as important today. Most martial artists train at the gym as well as train the specific art’s techniques. A two or three pound sword develops muscle, sinew, and control in all movement aspects. The following quote from warlord Feng Yuxiang explains weapons practice physical benefits. “If you want to exercise your body, is a blade not enough? Is a sword routine not enough? Of China’s eighteen types of martial arts, not one is incapable of drenching our entire bodies in sweat, stimulating all the body’s blood, tendons, and bones.” (Morris 195) This physical training assists the martial artist in development both related and unrelated to the martial arts practice in question.

Other weapons focus the mind on other aspects of training. Archery focuses the mind on distance, attention, intent, and focus. Smaller weapons such as the sai focus the mind and body on close range movement. Longer weapons such as the bo staff focus on extension of the body and mind as well as ranged attacks.

Ranging

Weapons assist ranging an attack and allowing a defender different responses to given attacks; even though today a martial arts practitioner does not walk the streets with bo staves, swords or sais. Each weapon only extends out so far from the body and in the hands of a skilled practitioner can inflict damage as well as convince the opponent to move along, but weapons provide training in distance measurement as well. Just as a ruler benefits the carpenter in distance measurement, weapons training does so with the martial artist. “When a carpenter becomes skilled and understands measures he can become a foreman.” (Musashi, 42)

Practice with weapons gives the practitioner real time experience. A sword, such as a Chinese broadsword measures about thirty six inches from tip to pommel. Knowing the distance between attacker and defender allows the defender to see and feel the distance. A practitioner grips it and realizes how far thirty six inches measures from their body, without any other measuring device. Measurement provides a useful ranging reference that the practitioner now understands.

Weapons and Their Uses
Ancient and pre modern weapons also open the mind. One cannot walk down a street armed with these weapons. Such activity lost societal approval long ago. But one can carry a variety of modern tools that with training and an open mind, take the place of these ancient weapons. Bo staff or spear techniques learned now apply to any long handled tool; such as a garden ho, rake, mop with or without mop end, or even a walking stick. Use these tools to keep an attacker at distance. Other weapons translate differently and to different objects

Sword techniques easily translate into cane techniques. Sword training also covers mid range attacks. This weapon covers attacks shorter than a bo staff and longer than a sai or knife. A sword usually ranges between eighteen and forty two inches long. The length varies, depending on the weapon’s style and purpose. Some exceptions do occur, but this establishes a baseline for a blade. Some swords have single cutting edge and others have dual cutting edges. Swords vary in weight, from very light competition blades to far heavier purpose built blades. Each sword allows the practitioner to work different areas of their bodies. The turning, swinging, thrusting, and pointing motions required assist in an excellent upper body workout; the footwork and leg movements, and stances provide both muscular and balance workouts. But what can one do with a sword today?

People no longer walk down a street or on a train with a sword, for the most part. Modern society frowns on weapons being brandished in public. The cane replaces the sword as a useful weapon in today’s hand to hand combat. A cane in some cultures singles out weak individuals with poor mobility. In other countries the cane presents a formidable weapon in capable hands. The person using the weapon must train with that weapon; so if and when the time comes one uses it effectively.

There are other weapons in the martial artist’s arsenal that cover even shorter ranges that a sword or cane. Traditionally the jutte, sai, and knife provide close range support to a defender. These weapons do not weigh much, for the most part and provide only a small amount of weight for muscular benefit. These weapons train in quickness and precision. Coordination built by the practitioner using these weapons improves a variety of activities.

Training in each weapon also allows the practitioner to feel comfortable in close range fighting. But none of these weapons are allowed everywhere and some cannot even come out of the studio environment. How one handles a small close range weapon allows the techniques to transfer from the studio to the real world. One real world analog to a kama or jutte would be the tire iron. Some cars still come with a single handled tire iron. These items are about a foot long and made of steel. Flashlights fit into the small weapons category. One can use them to increase weight in the hands as well as striking specific bodily points.

Conclusion
Each weapon provides weight and movement skill training. The weight of the weapon allows the martial artist’s body opportunity for improvement. Lifting a two or three pound hand weight during aerobic activity increases the aerobic activity’s benefit. The weapon can be substituted for a hand weight, but the practitioner must learn how to use the weapon as well.

The knowledge gained from training in ancient weapons also readily allows the practitioner to use non weapon objects as weapons. Mops, Canes, and flashlights only represent a small number of possibilities when it comes to weapons. Train with them and train with a person. No amount of knowledge helps a practitioner, if the practitioner does not practice it regularly.


Additional material
If a person armed with a firearm attempts to attack; do what you must to survive the encounter. Do not bring a knife to a gunfight. Escape if you can. We will address firearms specifically in another posting. Additional material to this post will be posted in the comments section. Please keep in mind that this post does not cover all weapons of the ancient world. Books written on the subject could fill a small room.

Bibliography

Henning, Stanley E. “The Chinese Military Arts in Historical Perspective.” Military Affairs 45, No. 4 (December 1981): 173 - 179.

Musashi, Miyamoto. A Book of Five Rings. Translated by Victor Harris. Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press. Paperback Edition 1982.

Morris, Andrew D. Marrow of The Nation: A History of Sport and Physical Education in Republican China. Berkeley California: University of California Press, 2004.