Final Presentation

Hello Readers,
     Its been a long time, but, here it is, my final presentation. Now, for each style of martial arts I named some advantages and disadvantages, but we must remember as martial artists that these disadvantages are overcome by being a practitioner for a long peroid of time. The disadvantages are there mainly for beginining students. The original presentation was in power point and I presented it at Barrett the Honors college at ASU to my fellow students and my Teachers. The presentation is located in the new page, named power point. Please check it out!
Thank You
Mr. Waaler

The End is Inevitable

This Post marks the end of my senior project, The Effectiveness of the Martial Arts. As with all things it has come to an end, but, I am told every end is a new beginning so I look forward optimistically. It has been wonderful participating in this independent research project - studying and training in not only something I care about deeply, but also a field of study that is ancient. I am sure that the first cavemen had their own system of martial arts to defend themselves from whatever threats they would face. I want to thank all the instructors and schools who allowed me to come and train with them over the course of my project. Sempai Erno, Sensei Poage, Mr. Barto, Mr. Jirov, Mr. Moylan, and Mr. C as my instructors and the Kyokushin Karate school, The Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts and Healing Center, Reality Defense Training, The Koncrete Gym, Z Ultimate Self-Defense and of course Depalma's Team USA Martial Arts as the schools I Visited. I thank Mr. Nishan for being my project advisor from school and also my school for allowing me such an opportunity to learn. I would like to thank all of my readers, even though I started the project for school I finished it for all of you. I will attempt to upload my finished presentation to my blog so everyone can check it out, look for it at the end of May. Thank You,

Mr. Waaler

Z Ultimate Martial Arts

Today I was lucky enough to be able to visit the Z Ultimate Self-Defense Studios, a martial arts school that teaches Chinese Kenpo. Chinese Kenpo is another form of Kenpo that has closer ties to Kung Fu and the Shaolin Temple, taking some of their movements from these sources. During our lesson we covered a basic form and a couple of self-defense techniques. I was told that often the movement itself is more important than the destination of the move. One of the ideas they have is Classical, Practical and Tactical.
Classical is the traditional forms and techniques
Practical is being able to teach them to a class safely and explaining them fully
Tactical is their application to real life self-defense

The Form I learned was a great example of classical practical and tactical.

The traditional movements flowed into a real self-defense scenario very nicely.
We then covered some knife self-defense, which is all about the movement of the body, being able to be in contact with your opponent can help you anticipate and retaliate against their attacks.

Visiting the Z Ultimate Self-Defense Studios was Awesome and I really thank Mr. Seth Moylan for allowing me to come and train with him.
Check out the new page for all the video and pictures!
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Grandmaster Fred Degerberg's Boxing Seminar

Today I had the privilege of attending a seminar taught by Grandmaster Fred Degerberg on boxing. We covered moves from primarily English Boxing - the western boxing many people are familiar with. We went over a lot of the stuff I learned with Mr. Jirov, but, we went more into the self-defense aspects of it.
In boxing there are 4 main strikes-
Jabs
Cross Punches
Hooks
Uppercuts
Also, there is a 5th punch, the overhead punch which is not as popular as the other four
We went over these four punches and how they apply to an idea called the 3d box- the 3d box splits up the range in a fight into height depth and width, and then allows for better training.
We went over a drill about moving away from contact, both with our feet and our bodies. We began by trying to touch our partners elbows, while they tried to touch ours and we were supposed to avoid being touched. Then we moved on to the same drill except for instead of touching elbows it was stepping on feet. Finally we combined the two. We used this movement drill to better turn into our punches.
On the self-defense side of boxing we talked about how you can't overturn into your strikes because you have to follow up with more attacks. We also talked about the knock-out buttons of the body.
One big target that can easily end the fight is the jaw, dislocating the jaw is very easy. When you throw your punch at the point of contact drop your fist and the jaw pops right out, leaving your opponent drooling and in pain. Usually this can end a fight, but, if they ignore their gaping jaw then you may have to follow up with a more devastating strike to somewhere like the temple or organs. This seminar really helped explain boxing not as a sport but as a martial art used for self-defense. I am so glad and honored to have learned from such a great master.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Boxing 2

So I revisited the Koncrete gym this morning and once again really enjoyed my time training with Mr. Jirov. Today we went over a lot more strikes and in the ring movements, we still worked out hard and even just doing the strikes was difficult.

Constantly he told me that I must be faster, speed was important for boxing, but, the most important thing was to stay relaxed. He joked how when people asked what he did for a living he said anesthesiologist - because he kept putting people under. The relaxing of your muscles will help your speed and in the end you want to help your opponent relax and fall asleep.

Time is getting short and I have found the last school I am going to visit, i can't wait - well actually i can and will have to wait seeing as i am not going until later this week.
Thank You
Mr. Waaler

Revisiting the Koncrete Gym

This Monday I will be returning to the Koncrete gym to learn more about Boxing and some of its technique and ideas. I just finished putting together the Boxing page on my blog, you should check it out. Also, if you want to learn more about the trainer, Vassiliy Jirov, you can visit the Koncrete Gym website, http://www.koncretegym.com/ and click on the trainers page. In addition to finalizing my visits to the Koncrete gym, I am making preparations to visit the last school of my project. As may comes closer and closer I get more and more excited to share all that I have learned.

Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Koncrete Gym

This Wednesday I took my first boxing class under the Olympic gold medalist and former IBF cruiser weight champion Vassiliy Jirov. Western Boxing is often not thought of as a martial art, more as a sport, but, it is still a martial art. This first class was just some basic moves and exercises, I was exhausted. We started out with jump rope, then we quartered the rope and had me jump forwards and backwards over it. We flipped some heavy bags and finished with some basic exercises.
Then we began the fun stuff, but by this time I was very tired.

Vassiliy demonstrated hitting the bags, and in the process broke one - " Too Strong" he said with a shrug.

We continued working on the bags, we finished up with the speed bag, which requires rhythm and coordination as well as strength. As hard as i tried I just couldn't get the speed bag as well as I had hoped.

 

At the end of the first class I had learned some important things about boxing, not just how much pain the drills can inflict, but also about wrist positions and how to hit. Also, Mr. Jirov explained that boxer's get to the point, a quick knock out in a fight so you don't have to be tired. This experience was amazing, and I thank the Koncrete gym and Mr. Jirov for giving me an opportunity. I will keep you updated for the next time i go.

Thanks

Mr. Waaler

The Path Changes

As I embark on the hardest part of my project, the rating of individual styles of martial arts I have come to the stage where I have found that my original proposal must be revised. Scoring each style is not practical, because every style brings something different, a different view and way of thinking through self-defense. Instead of scoring each style I will now be defining each style, describing its ideas and usages for self-defense. Going over what I learned from the style rather than whether or not it is better than another style. Understanding this I have changed from my original proposal to rate each martial arts style, instead I will be comparing them and assessing their comparative strengths and weaknesses. I will speak about how the style works, striking, sweeping, locks, maneuvers, philosophy etc. What I want to convey is that while every style of martial arts differs they all bring something to the table that is very similar, an increased ability to defend yourself, or the people who are important to you. I will also talk about what I learned from each style and how it has changed me personally and my outlook on self-defense. At the end of this project I will be making a power point presentation to my school, but, for everyone who follows my blog but does not attend my school, I will upload a secondary project end version of that power point

Thank You,

Mr. Waaler

American Kenpo 2

American Kenpo uses self-defense techniques to teach self-defense to beginners. A self-defense technique is a short form like combination of blocks, strikes and kicks. Each technique is designed for use off of a different attack, for example, off of a straight right punch or a left roundhouse punch. This forms the basis of self-defense. Progressing into the higher levels and ranks of American Kenpo the techniques become less and less rigid, allowing for them to be tailored, so they fit any situation or person. The techniques are a way to teach self-defense that makes it easier to conceptualize what moves flow together naturally and what moves work where. After learning as many techniques as it takes to become a high rank it becomes natural to perform certain movements which are what is desired so that in a real situation you have muscle memory to assist you in the heat of the moment. Grandmaster Ed Parker originally designed many techniques, but each generation after him has added to the arsenal of American Kenpo. Knowing many of these techniques myself, I believe that I am in a good position to better understand American Kenpo Self-Defense. Keep Reading!

Thanks

Mr. Waaler

Next in Line

I have been trying to get into contact with some other schools for me to visit, and have found a couple who I may be able to go and take some classes at. With these final two schools I would be on my way to finalizing my project. I have already visited 2 other martial arts schools, not including my own, so i have covered three of the 5 martial arts styles I am going to score. I am just waiting for confirmation from these other schools to go and visit their school. Also, I visited the self-defense school to have a better understanding of what pure self-defense is. I have begun the process of scoring each style, and I am finding it very difficult. The reason I am finding it difficult is because I know that all the instructors I have trained under are accomplished martial artists and are all great examples of martial artists. I would hate to make a score that they wouldn't agree with, the only problem is that no one is going to like a lower than amazing score on anything! But I trudge on through anyways, just making sure i stay true to what i have learned about the style.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Bodily Harm

When in a fight your main goal is probably to escape from the situation. In ideal circumstances you can get out of there with out any actual fighting happening - any fighting is risky, almost no matter how good at it you are. But, if you have to fight then remember you should only do as much damage to your opponent as you must to get away from the situation. Prolonging a fight when you can escape is a very dangerous thing to do and can result in you being defeated and mugged etc. The way to end a fight quickly is instead of trying to fight until they are knocked out or dead, you only need to fight until they cannot chase after you or pose a serious threat. For example, if you take out both of their knees, it is unlikely they are going to be able to follow you as you make your escape - and taking out their knees might be easier than knocking them out or such. Also, their are key points on the body where a good hit can really stop your attacker - Groin, eyes, throat, knees and temple. hitting one of these spots effectively will end a fight enough to allow you to get away from the fight. When dealing harm to the body be effective and concise. There is no need to punch someone in the stomach when you can poke their eye, and its more likely they can take a body punch and be fine than take an eye poke and be fine. Collapsing their throat is much easier than trying to grapple them into a choke, so just hit it hard and they will have a hard time breathing. Although this may seem a little gruesome, it is to save yourself or the people who matter to you, and to achieve this goal you must use all tools at your disposal. I sincerely hope you never have to get into a fight but, if you do please don't be afraid to use anything you can to escape.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Self-Defense, MMA and Tournaments

     Today I want to talk anout where the martial arts have gone and are going to. Traditional martial arts are still around and are perfectly fine, but martial arts have begun to become "modernized." In the 70's martial arts began to become more in the spotlight, it became popular and well known with personalities like Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and others. After a second generation MMA was developed and martial arts tournaments have become commonplace. Tournaments have branched out, creating new competition divisions and ways to judge your abilities. Martial Arts has many practitioners for many reasons. Some popular reasons are Self-defense, MMA or sport fighting, and tournament performances, like XMA (extreme martial arts).
     MMA has become extremley popular in recent years, showing some of the top athletes compete. MMA, or mixed martial arts is a fighting based sport. Two fighters with little to no padding step into the ring and a tapout or knock out finishes the match usually. MMA fighters are adept at most fighting techniques and are physically tough, its about strength and stamina as well as accuracy and focus. Sport karate and other forms of competition based on fighting or sparring attract the same type of people.
     Tournament performance has ecome increasingly mor  e popular with the creation of the extreme forms division. Showing off with spinning and jumping kicks and flips extreme martial arts is about form and showmanship as well as focus and discipline.
     Self-defense is well, self- explanatory. It is the real life self-defense that you learn to defend yourself. This has changed from original martial arts because many places have started to get rid of the art side and focus solely on the defense.
     These have become really popular aspects of modern martial arts, but, a happy mixture of all three is probably best to become an all around good martial artist.

Casing a Joint

      I'm not talking about robbery. I am actually talking about sizing up attackers, how to tell if you are being mugged by someone who knows what they are doing or just random Joe who really doesn't know whats going on. There are three big encounter types when you need to size up an attacker - Weapon encounter, Pre-Brawl and Premeditated Attack.
     Whenever a weapon is involved you must carefully weigh the situation, if the assailant asks for something easily given without much consequence, i.e. your wallet or watch, it is probably best to just give it to them, material possessions can usually be replaced - your life and health or the life and health of those around you cannot be replaced. The two common weapons that could be encountered are handguns and knives. For knives, if the assailant brandishes the knife and you can see the muscles in their arm flexing as hard as they can then they don't know what they are doing, or if they are holding the knife like a Harry Potter wand, with their wrist weak then they really don't know what they should be doing. If their arm is flexing hard then their reflexes with the knife are inhibited because they have to relax the muscle before they react to what you do. If they are holding the knife like a wand then either they are too cocky and that can be taken advantage of, or, they haven't handled a knife as a weapon before, in which case they could probably be disarmed with a relatively low risk. For handguns it requires some knowledge of the weapon. First, although it may seem silly, see if you can tell if the safety is on. If it is then you can proceed forward with relative safety (that's a pun). Check the range of the opponent, firearms have a range of increased effectiveness, if they are farther away than what one step can take you quickly then they are more dangerous, if the gun is right up against you then you have more to work with. You cannot beat a bullet but you can beat the reaction of the person holding the gun.
     For a pre-brawl  size up keep in mind the state your opponent is in. A brawl is often just a fight that has no deadly consequences nor is the opponent really trying to get something from you. Your opponent may be drunk or high, in which case you must adjust your fighting style from causing pain to more of a inhibiting injury standpoint because they might not feel pain the same as they would if they were not drunk, high or whatnot. If they start in a recognizable fighting stance with their hands in the A position, then they have had some training. Hopefully they will just throw their hands up wildly, allowing you to trap and break their arms if necessary.
     For premeditated attacks the assailant is more likely to have some thought out plan of attack, so beware of being cornered or flanked. Also, its more likely that this encounter may prove deadly. Premeditated attacks may or may not include weapons of some kind, so be vigilant of your attackers clothes and body movements to see any forms that look like weapons. Guns can be tucked into the pants or have holsters. knives are hidden in coat or pants pockets, or on boots and legs. switchblades have a slight edge that is visible outside of the pocket for easy access and opening.
     To take in your opponents appearance, does he have scars etc. think about how this can help you. An old injury is just waiting to be reopened, sunglasses can be broken and used to blind your opponent, piercings should be ripped out to cause pain and disorientation, and piercings above the eyes obscure vision with blood. If the opponent has cauliflower ears, its most likely they are used to being hit, so instead of punching, use nails and teeth to the eyes, throat and other vulnerable areas
I hope that none of you ever have to be in a situation where violence is required, but if you are, remember -don't hold back, do what you must to save your life.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Terminology of Attack

If you have ever taken martial arts then you know that there is a name for every attack concievable. In their traditional names they describe the attack, using directions and anatomy. For my project I must use a Set of terminology that I will apply to all of the styles I study. There are many terminology banks out there, in many different languages, but I will be using Master Ed Parkers Terminology when describing martial arts maneuvers - and if there is a specific move that has no suitable name in that terminology I will use the most common name for the movement. The martial arts moves and attacks are called basics, and the basics are split into five main categories.
1. Blocks 2. Strikes 3. Stances 4. Maneuvers 5. Specialized Methods
On the most basic (no pun intended) level blocks are defensive, strikes are offensive, stances are positioning, maneuvers are movements to set up other basics and specialized moves are mostly locks and holds, but include a mish-mosh of moves that won't fit anywhere else. Each type of basic is further split into different types. Below is a list of the types.

Blocks- Striking, Parrying, Pinning, Positioned and Specialized
           Specialized - Catching, Trapping, Jamming, Lock-out, Sliding Check, and Ricocheting

Strikes - Foot & leg, Hand & arm, and Head - and for each
          -Clawing, Slicing, Whipping, Thrusting, Hooking, Roundhousing, Hammering and Specialized
* Foot and Leg strikes are usually called kicks and hand and arm strikes are called strikes in general

Stances - Attention, Bow, Kneel, Horse, Cat, Twist and Special

Maneuvers - Foot and Body
       Foot - Step Throughs, Shuffles, Crossovers, Twists, Jumps, Dives, Feints, and Special
       Body - Falling, Weaving, Bobbing, Slipping, Rolling, Riding, Turning, Feints, and Special

Specialized - Vice-like, Pulling, Pushing, and Un-balancing
       Vice-like - Biting, Pinching, Squeezing, Grabbing, Hugging, Tackling, Choking, Sandwiching, Fulcruming, and Scissoring
       Pulling - Jerking, Yanking, Ripping, and Tearing
       Pushing - Pressing, Nudging, Bumping, and Shoving
       Un-balancing - Buckling, Tripping, Throwing, Sweeping, and Special

Almost any martial arts move you can think of can be describe by using this naming system. To better describe the styles I am learning i will be using this system.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Scoring Styles

After visiting a couple of schools and learning about their styles of martial arts I realize that this scoring business will not be as cut and dry as I had foolishly believed. To understand a style, you must understand its mindset. The mindset of the style is that of its founder, the founder is the product of their environment. Understanding this can help realize why each style fights the way it does. Shorin Ryu is always trying to be aggressive, in control of and on top of the opponent because of the Okinawa people who founded it. They were shorter than most and so had to compensate when they would fight taller opponents. American Kenpo was created by a man who in his youth was a street fighter in Hawaii. Every style has its own favorite targets, strikes and blocking styles, the problem is that in the end all of the different styles want to come to the same conclusion - survival of the practitioner and defeat of the opponent. What had originally been the less important in scoring, practicality of maneuvers, ease of escape, and time for full impact of damage to come into effect will be more important than damage dealt or sustained. Because most styles will deal roughly the same amount of damage, a knock out or kill. Also I must realize that the scoring will be for a random practitioner – not the highest black belt or the first class white belt (or equivalents) this must be based off if the style was used by completely average person with no experience of another style. It is obvious that any style is effective if used by an exceptional martial artist, and I have yet to visit a school with anything less than exceptional martial artists. So as I keep this in mind I continue on with my project to learn and train more.
Thank You     
Mr. Waaler

Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts and Healing Center

This monday I was able to visit the Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts and Healing center. They teach Shorin Ryu, a style of Karate originating from Okinawa, that prides itself on power and follow through. It was awesome to go and visit their school. First was a sparring class where matches were 2 minutes long. I got to spar with Sensei Bowley and a couple of others.

After the sparring class I got to participate in the normal teen and adult class. In this class we began by going over some basic joint locks and throws. I was partners with Sensei Bowley, and as we practiced I learned more about Shorin Ryu. Check out these videos!

After we went over the basic throws and locks the class split to begin practicing their traditional katas. At that time I went over with Sensei Poage, one of the head instructors of Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts. We discused Shorin Ryu and used the makiwara board, a training instrument used to toughen bones and ligaments. He taught me about body rotation in shorin ryu.

The visit to peaceful warrior martial arts was wonderful and I would like to thank them so much for allowing me to come and visit.
To see the videos and pictures from Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts check out the new page!
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Damage Sustained

After observing and taking classes in martial arts I have realised that many trained martial artists can take strikes and damage that would be unpleasant to the extreme for someone who hasn't trained to take the hits. For the purposes of my rating system I am going to have to assume an average amount of damage that can be sustained. This is a disadvantage to some styles that have emphasis on being able to take hits. The point of the rating is to show someone who wants to quickly learn a style to increase their ability to defend themselves. Many martial artists who have been training for an extended amount of time are more resistant to injury, to varying degrees. What I am going to do is simply hit counting, how willing is the "style" to take hits in return to strike their opponent. A very high ratio would not serve a beginner, simply out to learn to defend themselves, as well as a low ratio would serve them. In the long run though, being able to take a lot of damage without being affected is very important. This distinction to martial artists may seem odd, but, if I had to take into account the average practitioners time spent to gain a roughly equal ability to resist injury and how much injury is sustainable before their offensive capability is handicapped this project would take more than the allotted span of time. To put it plainly, I will score higher for the less a style gets hit, and lower if a style gets hit, even if an advanced practitioner of that style should be able to take the hit, because the chance of injury is increased. If the opponent got one lucky hit then that would be unfortunate, to limit that chance I am going to rate damage sustained as a hit count category.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Good Timber

The tree that never had to fight
For the sun and sky and air and light
That stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil,
Who never had to win his share,
Of sun and sky and light and air,
never became a man,
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow in ease;
The stronger wind, the tougher trees.
The farther sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength;
By sun and cold, by rain and snows,
In tree or man good timber grows.
Where thickest stands the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both
And they converse with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife
This is the common law of life.
                                              
                                                     Unknown

Linear Motion or Circular Motion

When it comes to striking an opponent you must consider whether you will use a linear strike or circular strike. An example of a linear strike would be the classic front hand jab, a circular strike would be a rear hook punch. The initial instinct might be to throw the rear hook, assuming that you could deal greater damage and increase the likelihood of injuring your opponent enough to stop the fight, but the problem with that thought is that when you strike to the outside of the body you are not generally striking as important of target areas. There is a theory in the martial arts called attacking the center line. The center line of the body has a large concentration of “fight ender” points. The nose, neck, solar plexus, and groin are just the obvious examples, the face as a whole is one giant vulnerable spot, and it’s loaded with opportunities. But some of the spots we wouldn’t normally think of, like the liver, heart, the point under the navel and the sternum can also cause an exceptional damage.

            But, on the side of the body the head and legs are really the only single shot fight ending points available. Punches to the arms really don’t do as much damage as other areas could, in fact you and your buddies have punched each other in the arms. Another downside of the circular movement of certain strikes is the telegraphic nature of the strike. While a straight jab is quick and hard to see coming, a haymaker punch can be seen before the punch has even been prepared fully, let alone thrown. The type of person who starts a fight with a haymaker shouldn’t be able to land a punch because of the they are telling the world that they are coming and they leave themselves vulnerable for too long before their strike would hit.
            The time a large circular strike would be appropriate is when the opponent has committed to a failed movement and is off balance, unable to either block your strike or counter with one of their own, then when you use the strike your circular strike will be powerful enough to end the fight, especially if you strike to the temple or mastoid.
            But, every situation is unique and should you find yourself in a situation that would merit a circular strike do not hesitate to use it.
Sincerely,
Mr. Waaler

Reality Defense

This Monday I visited Reality Defense. It was an first introductory class and so we went over some of the basics of what self-defense is. Thank you to Troy Coe who let me come in to his school, and Thank You to Jeff Barto who taught me my first class- I really appreciate it! We covered the basic myths of self-defense.
1. It won't happen to me
2. Someone Else will protect me
3. If I don't Fight back... they won't hurt me
4. I studied Martial arts already, I'll be fine
         -Most martial arts are 99% competition and exhibition, and 1% Self-Defense
5. Weapons Are the Answer
         - Having a weapon and knowing how to use it doesn't ensure your safety by any means
6. Only the Strong Win
         - The ones who win are not necesarilly the strongest
All of these myths discourage people from learning to defend themselves properly.
Also We went over the founding concepts of Reality Defense
1. Survival Concept- do anything you must to ensure your survival
2. Maximum Resistance
3. 9 second rule, you want the fight over in 9 seconds
Next we went over the position that you should assume when you get into a conflict
- strong side forward with your body squared up with your opponent and your backhand is near your chin and your front hand is about shoulder high, so now whenever you block you mirror your opponent.
But when it comes down to it everyone needs to be able to defend themselves. During this class we went over some basic parrying blocks and maneuvers.

We went over the 4 forms of defense.
-Blocks and Parries
-Evasive Footwork
-Body Evasion
-Stop Hitting
Finally we went over two versions of a straight jab, sight lined and unaligned. A sight lined jab keeps the elbow of the punch in towards the body so the opponent only sees the fist, and must rely on depth perception to see it coming, so their reflexes are slowed. When you punch an opponent you must penetrate 6 to 8 inches to make sure that you do damage. The information we went over in this class is very important for my project, providing a baseline for which i can base the self-defense capabilities of other styles on, I cannot wait to go back for more lessons from reality defense.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Sunday Kumite at the Park

For most people, sunday is a day of rest. But, this sunday i didn't rest, in fact i got to go and take another kyokushin class. This past Sunday I went to a small park called Northsight Park off of Thunderbird rd. to participate in another Kyokushin class. This class was very similar to the first class i took in kyokushin, with an emphasis on movements and their uses in a fight. We practiced some basic movements and defenses, building up to more complex kicks that could be used for a KO hit to win matches. At the end of the class we Fought a little. I had the honor of fighting the instructor, and i learned a lot from our fight. We talked about the defense aspects of Kyokushin Karate, this style of martial arts is a fighting style of martial arts. When we were talking about fighting, Sempi Erno said that one way that we could quickly end the fight was to strike at the opponents head and overwhelm him while we set up a kick to KO our opponent. He also mentioned that when in a real fight striking the same area, especially on the thigh, will end the fight quickly.
I want to say thank you to the instructor of the Dojo, Sempi Erno. Your expertise and respect have greatly helped my project, and I am very thankful that you let me come and learn from you. Osu!
Now Spring break has just begun, and it gives me time to take a break from everything and i hope that all of my readers enjoy it to its fullest!
Thanks, and Happy Spring Break,
Mr. Waaler
P.S. Please enjoy the new videos!

Practitioner vs. Style 2

Anyone can fight. Anyone can defend themselves. Anyone can be physically and mentally fit. Martial Arts are just one path of many to find confidence in your own abilities and to hone those abilities. Each style of martial arts shares the same aim, bettering its students. And any practitioner of any style can become an effective martial artist. The difference is the way they become effective. The individual style is what must be measured, without any bias from those who are training in the style. This distinction must be stressed, without it I am no better than those who claim they have found the only true way of martial arts. What I hope to find is what styles are most effective at what. If a style of martial arts has been around long then it obviously must have some merit or people would stop training in it. But, when it comes down to self-defense I want to know which style would deal with it most effectively, without the personal adaptation of any practitioner. I want to make sure that my intention is not misunderstood; I am not judging styles for their philosophy or anything beyond the basic merits of its self-defense, just the certain basic and average reactions of a style, combined with the basic teachings and maneuvers of the style.
Thank You for reading,
Mr. Waaler  

Kyokushin Karate

     Yesterday my journey began in earnest, visiting my first Dojo. Run out of the Aikido of Scottsdale building the Dojo in question teaches traditional Kyokushin Karate, also called Kyokushinkai. Kyokushinkai is made of three Japanese kanji,
     Kyoku meaning “Ultimate”.
     Shin meaning “Truth” or “Reality”.
     Kai meaning “Society” or “Association”.
Kyokushinkai practitioners are confident in their style, as they should be. Training in the traditional ways they show great respect and discipline while training. Kyokushin karate is a full contact traditional karate style that mainly focuses on fighting and self-defense through discipline and power.

     My visit began when I arrived at the dojo at 6:40, after the initial meet and greet we went outside the dojo and ran for 15 minutes, the first 10 minutes was just normal running and the last 5 minutes were sprints. When we finished we entered the dojo and removed our shoes, no shoes were allowed in the dojo at all. Then we began 30 minutes of stretching, all of the stretches were conducted in Japanese. The dojo itself had a high ceiling and padded floor for training on.

At the beginning of class we bowed to the front of the room (I am in the Black uniform)

We did some basics focusing on speed and power, using basic punches and kicks, in Kyokushinkai, punches are not supposed to go to the head, because that is too easy, only kicks are allowed to the head. After about an hour of basics another martial artist came in to the dojo, he was not a student of the dojo, but, he came to visit just I had.

The other martial artist is the one on the far left

 He went over some of the techniques that he learned from his dojo. The reason we did this was to get used to inter-style fighting because on March 24 there is an inter-school fighting gathering. I got thrown around a lot (check out the video) but also learned a lot.

 At the very end of class, by this time 9 o’ clock, we started Kumite, which is like sparring or fighting (also see the videos). By the end of class it was 9:30. My class in Kyokushinkai was enlightening to say the least and I quite enjoyed it.

Thanks, and keep reading

Mr. Waaler

Ground fighting vs. Stand up fighting

The Martial arts can be split into two large groups, primarily ground fighting styles and primarily stand up fighting styles. Some examples of ground fighting are wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and grappling. Some stand up styles are karate, kung fu and Kenpo. Basically both of the two groups are well equipped for self-defense in a one-on-one situation. But the problem arises from multiple attacker scenarios. In multiple attacker scenarios the ground fighting abilities become less effective because you are fighting one assailant for too long before disabling them. By that time the rest of the attackers have swarmed you. But, knowing how to fight on the ground is critical for the success of a one-on-one confrontation, so it comes down to which type of confrontation is more likely to be most numerous, one-on-one or multiple attacker situations. Most martial arts styles combine to some extent both grappling and stand up combat to make sure that their practitioners are ready for most scenarios.

On a side note, to better understand self-defense without any bias from a a specific style of martial arts I am visiting a self-defense school. They have taken self-defense away from the specific styles and have combined them into a mish-mosh of movements and maneuvers that most effectively defend the practitioner. The school is called Reality Self-Defense and I am quite excited to go.
Keep Reading,

Mr. Waaler 

Common Sense Self-Defense

The library is a wonderful thing. Books on almost every topic, including self-defense and martial arts. I occurred to me that to rate self-defense of a style that I would have to compare the reactions of that style to a basic response, one without any stylistic influence. For that I turned to self-defense handbooks and seminars. Places that teach self-defense, but not martial arts are easy to find, they don't bother with the spiritual or mental sides of the martial arts, and instead they focus solely on combat and defense.

Also, handbooks that discuss self-defense are easy to find, and that brings me back to the library. I found a book there called, Common Sense Self-Defense, 7 Rules That Can Save Your Life. This book outlines 7 self-defense "rules" that can help you become safer and be more confident in self-defense situations. One of the things that really surprised me in this book was two things the book stressed, "Hostile situations are a fact of life," and "do what you must to survive." These two points really stuck out to me, because if you can take to heart these two points you are well ahead of the average person.

The book was written by two men, one Dave Garcia, Police Officer and Former Marine, and two Stewart Smith, Security Consultant and Former Navy Seal. They combine their experience to best convey the self-defense attitude to their readers. The best thing about this book is that it doesn’t have any influence from a specific martial arts style. It is mostly military in its origin. This book should prove to be useful in analyzing different forms of self-defense.

Thanks for reading,
Mr. Waaler

American Kenpo 1

  
American Kenpo is the first style I will score. Seeing as it is the first style of martial arts I have ever done it seems fitting if I score it first. I do not intend to put the scores of each style on my blog until I have scored all five styles of Martial Arts. I have finalized the scoring system, and am applying it to American Kenpo.
   I am not putting myself as the practitioner for American Kenpo, which would lead to obvious bias on my part because I know what I am looking for in the style to receive a high score. I will be asking an Instructor from the martial arts school I train at to represent American Kenpo.
   What is American Kenpo? American Kenpo is a style created by Ed Parker based on the teachings of Professor K. S. Chow and a mixture of real-life self-defense and other martial arts styles. Professor K. S. Chow lived in Hawaii on the island of Honolulu and was the martial artist who gave Ed Parker his first black belt.
   Ed Parker went on to create the first modern martial arts tournament, the International Karate Championship. As well as teach many famous celebrities, most famous of all, Elvis Presley. Master Parkers was labeled a rebel while he started to create his martial art because of the non-traditional way he treated martial arts. They were not a mystical ancient tradition that must be respected and revered. But, he saw them as ever changing to suit the time. He uses the example of the sport of Boxing. The great classical boxer, John L. Sullivan, would not be able to win a match against our present day boxers because of how far we have come in perfecting boxing. The same applied to the martial arts.
   In American Kenpo the style of martial arts is based off of both linear and circular motion, and brutally exploits the weak areas of the body. In self-defense the rule is to survive. American Kenpo practitioners are encouraged to train and study hard, but Master Parker believed that when it came down to it, every person needed just one thing to defend themselves, guts. The one thing you can’t teach easily was the one thing that was really required.
   Master Parker came up with this system’s philosophy to better equip each student with “guts.” American Kenpo is not just a physical style of martial arts, it also entails a large philosophy to back up its physical manifestation.
I can’t wait to score it.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

...And possible Death

When measuring the effectiveness of martial arts, it is neccesary to measure the damage that can be inflicted onto the body. So I researched the damage that can be done to crititcal targets on the human body, no doubt there are more than I included, but these are the main target areas. Its surprising how many things can possibly cause death. But, now the damage chart is a page on my blog, check it out!
Mr. Waaler

p.s. a big thank you to everyone who helped me figure out if the damage chart was accurate, and I hope you feel better soon! :)

p.p.s Thats a joke.

Patience is a Virtue

The first step to learning about other styles is to go and learn them. No matter how many books you read you won't understand the style without actually going to a practitioner of the style and having them teach you. Knowing the feeling of a style is just as important as knowing the concepts, if not more important. How could anyone claim to rate a style if they had never done the martial art itself? But, we must realize that martial arts styles are not completely different. Many styles are more similar than they would care to admit, so learning a style’s basics will not take as long as if I was a complete beginner because I have had previous martial arts experience.

But, to secure martial arts studios that I could train at I have contacted a couple and have asked them if I could train there to better understand their styles. I won’t name the schools here (just I case they tell me no way) but, if I am allowed to train there I will list the school’s name and style.

If you are wondering why a martial arts studio wouldn’t let me train with them the answer is simple. I am not their student. Now it’s not about the fact that I don’t pay money to them or that I don’t think their style is worthy or any nonsense like that, it’s because I don’t have the loyalty and the commitment to their school and style. When a new student signs up to take classes at a school they are (or their parents are for them) essentially promising loyalty to that school and respect for that instructor. When I come in, the instructor would have to take me at my word that I respect their teachings, school and style, because not only have I never taken class or met the instructor before, but I have also taken class and learned from a different instructor who already holds loyalty from me.

This would be hard for any school to do. Any school that lets me train there is giving me the benefit of the doubt, a luxury that I do not take for granted. But, hopefully enough schools will give me the benefit of the doubt that I can make my project as best I can. So as I wait for responses i have to remind myself, patience is a virtue. 

Sincerely  

Mr. Waaler

As one Journey Ends, so another Begins

We have come to the close of my high school career. My last day has come and gone, and now I find myself with this project looming over me like a cloud. My official project has begun, and I will meet it head on. Luckily I find myself overwhelmed with sources for my project, ranging from martial art schools to manuals of martial arts. Looking at my project I can see that it may be interpreted to be an attempt at a rating of the styles themselves, saying definitively which is better or worse, which this project definitly is not trying to do. This project is assessing five martial arts schools of different styles abilities to teach effective self-defense and how each style varies in its reactions in self-defense. What will be shown at the end of the project is not what style is the best, but actually which style is most suited for what-multiple attacker self-defense, one-on-one, teaching, linear self-defense, circular, high damage output, safe escape etc. Each style will be slightly varied in each section, but, hopefully the final answer will come out to be that any style of martial arts is at least mildly successful at all types of self-defense situations. That is what the martial arts are about, defending yourself and making yourself better than you are today, physically, mentally and spiritually.

On a side note, I have found the chart for basing damage dealt and damage received, it will be based off of the chart found in Master Edmund Parker’s “Infinite Insights Into Kenpo Book 4, Mental and Physical constituents.” Although this book may be American Kenpo in nature, the anatomical damage charts are without stylistic influences.

Visiting Schools

Dear Readers,
       I am in the process of narrowing down local Martial arts studios for me to visit. We are at a list of 12 so far, but the final list will only include four. I will be scoring my original style, American Kenpo, as well as the other four styles so that I have a style that I intimately understand. Do not think this will mean that i will be biased towards American Kenpo, I will strive to be as neutral as possible. But, in reality, I will most likely be harder on American Kenpo because it's my style. When I have chosen all the schools I will be visiting I will post them on the Blog so that they are known to anyone following this blog.
Thank You
Mr. Waaler

Passive Self-Defense

As any good martial artist will tell you, the best way to win a fight is to not get into a fight at all! Avoiding a self-defense situation is the best defense. Just observing common sense when it comes to how you act will limit your chance of getting into a self-defense situation.
Would you ever walk through a back alley at night while waving a hundred dollar bill out of your back pocket? Hopefully not. This is obviously a bad idea, even though it does not guarantee you to have to defend yourself, it just makes it more likely. By just increasing your awarness of what can increase your likelyhood of being attacked, you can lessen the likelyhood of being attacked.
Being aware of your surroundings:
Park under streetlamps, Walk in pairs when in unfamiliar areas, don't wander, etc.
When talking about self-defense, prevention is better than having to fight and win. So, styles that take this into account will be scored equally as if they were teaching self-defense.
Thanks,
Mr. Waaler

More on Kyoshi Kovar

Dear Readers,
       When i first posted the link to Kyoshi Kovar's Satori acadmey I failed to realise that many people would prefer a biography over an aggresive advertisment website to sign up for his school. To learn more about Kyoshi Kovar you can visit his blog, kovarsblog.kovarsystem.com. Also, to view his legendary 7th degree black belt test you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8veaWpK2hNI.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Kyoshi Kovar's Instructor Seminar

Bright and early I awoke on Saturday January 28. It was the day that Kyoshi Kovar was coming to Arizona to give a seminar about teaching martial arts and in particular teaching effectivly. Kyoshi Kovar opened his first school in 1978, and he combined the teaching of self-defense and life skills to empower people with the martial arts*. The seminar was to be held at the South Gilbert location of DePalma's Team USA Martial arts, and schools around the country were coming to attend. The seminar started at 9 o'clock, so I arrived around 8:30 am. By the time the seminar had started about 30 people had arrived from around the southwest (and one from canada), to learn from Kyoshi Kovar. Kyoshi Kovar throughout the seminar explained how the best way to teach martial arts, interact with students and parents and all in all just run a great martial arts school. He explained the teaching skills required to best bequeath our martial arts heritage to new generations. His teaching philosophy will be the basis for the ranking system of teaching self-defense. His 16 teaching tools are going to be the guidelines for rating each style and system I encounter. Although to the non-martial arts instructor these tools may seem superficial, or even useless, the experienced instructors realize how important these tools are, especially when teaching younger students. 1- Friendliness 2- Transformational Communication 3- Focus Anchors 4-Preframing 5- 3 x 3 rule 6- public praise, private reprimand 7- 3 d's 8- Praise challenge praise 9- influence over authority 10- SSL rule 11-Disguise repitition 12- zero downtime 13- rise to challenging students 14-every huddle discussion a masterpiece 15- safety first 16-never compromise the instructor student relationship. This seminar really helped me define a previously nebulous concept, effectiveness at teaching. But, now i am ready to push on.
* if you would like to learn more about Kyoshi Kovar and his schools, Kovar's Satori Academy of Martial Arts, then check out his website - http://www.kovars.com/

Martial Styles

Dear Readers,
       I have to choose four styles that will be rated in my project besides American Kenpo. I have been contemplating over which styles i should choose, i am leaning towards commonly taught martial arts with large followings in the United States. I am currently in the process of trying to find schools in Scottsdale, Arizona that i should go to train a bit at (to better understand their style of martial arts). If you know any good schools that would be willing to help me in my quest to better understand and rate their style, please comment with their name address and/or website.
Thanks
Mr. Waaler

Practitioner VS Style

As with all things, it is not the "what" that matters so much, but the "who". The greatest athlete is not great because of the sport, but because of themselves. This is necessarily true for the martial arts. So throughout the course of this project, while one style may seem superior, in reality it is up to the practitioner for the effectiveness of the style. For example, while traditional Karate-do may seem too slow or too linear, a master at Karate-do can easily win a fight.
My project is not about proving which style is superior, but which style is most efficient when it comes to self-defense. Effective at teaching self-defense, effective at fighting in self-defense situations and easiest to use. Perhaps one style may take years to learn enough to defend yourself, while other styles only take 10 months to learn enough to defend yourself. My project will attempt to make clear what styles are more apt in the area of self-defense.
When it comes to the martial arts, there are 2 main groups of thought- defense before spirit, or spirit before defense. Either the martial art style is based in the martial or the art of the martial arts. Krav Maga is very martial, while Tai Chi is very artistic. So obviously when it comes down to self defense, some styles will be more effective with less training time, because the style is based on defense and fighting.
A problem that arises from modern day martial arts is the tournament circuit. So many schools nowadays have changed their curriculum to suit the needs of the tournaments, more flashy moves and less realistic fighting styles. The sport of fighting has increased in popularity, and therefore has changed the way fighting is taught, because instead of always training to fight in real life situations, many schools teach to fight only in the safety of the ring. But, with the rise of real life self-defense classes many martial arts are reviving the self-defense aspect of the art.
It is this aspect, the resurgence of self-defense in the martial arts and in individual styles is what I am studying.

An Evening Contemplation

Dear Readers,
        In an attempt to provide evidence in my ability to accuratly judge the merits of martial arts self-defense capabilities i have provided previous works of mine in this area, please take a look at the attached pages to view a thesis essay on self defense, a performance of a self defense based kata and a self defense technique that i created myself.
      The technique describes the movements sufficiently to attempt on your own- warning, be aware that all described manuevers are intended for martial artists and so if you have never trained in the martial arts before use caution before attampting any of these actions.
Thank You
Mr. Waaler

First Official Post

Dear Readers,
       I have always been interested in the martial arts, in fact i have been studying them for most of my life. I wanted to do this project to further research the martial arts to better understand one third of modern martial arts.
      As many martial artists know today the martial arts are much different than what they had been. With the rising popularity of martial arts for show, stunt men, actors, tournament competitors etc. the martial arts have been fundamentally split between the martial and the art. Perhaps this has also allowed the arts to be more popular in general, but it has given the martial arts a lot of bad publicity. The increase in popularity means the opportunity for money has increased, making the martial arts more business than education. This gives rise to martial arts schools that many good martial artists would describe as belt factories. These schools churn out belts not for skill but for money, pay your 2 month fee and you will be upgraded to your next belt. This style of teaching is counterproductive, lessening the quality of the martial arts.
            But, there is also a great appeal for these schools, being able to earn a black belt quickly with minimal effort attracts many who don’t know what the martial arts is really about.
            Martial arts are not about showy movements and flips that are seen in tournaments or movies; it isn’t even about being able to beat up people. It is about yourself, being confident, self-disciplined, and respectful. And to achieve these traits mental practices are paired with martial exercises to become the best we can be in both our mind and our body.
            The ability to defend yourself is most important to your being confident. But self-defense is worthy to learn in any case, even if you don’t want to go through the arts side of martial arts.
            My project will show what styles of martial arts are most focused around self-defense, and who most effectively teaches it. This project will analyze 5 styles and rank them on a scale of 1 through 10 for seven categories, for a total score between 7 and 70.
Thanks, keep reading,
Mason Waaler