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Archive for November, 2010

Using it in a real fight:

Many pressure point systems focus a lot of attention on where and even when to hit. Where to hit is important but it should not be the first priority. It doesn’t do you any good to know where to hit if you can not manage to hit there in a real situation when you need to save the life of yourself or a loved one.

One of the basic problems shared by many people who study pressure point hitting is that they are unable to use their knowledge in a real fight. My personal belief is that if you can not use your self-defense art in a real situation then you are wasting your time. One of the basic problems is that in a real fight the action is to fast for the average person to hit a specific point or area on an attacker even if the thought crosses their mind to do so and because the targets are constantly moving the situation is quite different than the way most people practice pressure point hitting in the kwoon or dojo. Also, when adrenaline kicks in fine motor movement tends to diminish to less than 40% of what it is normally which means that it is very difficult to hit any one half dollar sized spot on another human being with any accuracy and most pressure points are smaller than a half dollar. Another problem is that many people are what are called non-responders or partial non-responders (I have personally seen indications that this is more than 1 out of 10 American people) to pressure point attacks and if a person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol and they are out of their mind they won’t be affected by a hit or they won’t feel it until much later. So, although where to hit is a very important body of study, where to hit should not be your primary body of study unless you are seriously interested in acupuncture or the medical side of pressure points.

I believe that it is good to get exposed to as much as possible while focusing on really learning essential techniques that can be used in a wide variety of situations and circumstances. Learning (by which I mean practiced to the point of excellent proficiency) about 12 to 36 good places to hit along with 6 – 10 good entries is plenty for a beginning (first 3 years) practitioner. The 6 – 10 good entries should be versatile enough to handle hundreds if not thousands of different scenarios and the places to hit should be readily available on the average person most of the time. By engage I am not recommending that you strike first in a situation because if you seriously injure or kill the attacker then you may have serious legal problems and if and when it is found out that you hit them first you may have actually broken the law (according to my attorneys), so, I always recommend to students and I recommend to the readers here that you should exhaust every possible option to escape and deter an attacker before engaging them. It doesn’t do you any good to win the fight and then spend the next ten years in jail. I consider my freedom to be a part of my reason for studying self-defense. Unfortunately, I have been attacked on the street over a dozen times. Because of my training method I have only had to hit a few (less than one out of three) of those attackers. All of the fights where I or a student has actually had to hit another person have been over in less than 30 seconds and most of them only lasted 1 to 3 seconds.

I have found it to be common that when to much attention is placed on where to hit that not enough attention is placed on how to hit. By how to hit, I am referring to things that are really essential to having a good ability to deliver a fast and powerful knockout hit in a real self defense situation.

Essential to achieve 1 Hit KO’s:

Some of the essentials to throwing a good 1 Hit Knockout are Proper Body Mechanics, relaxation, positioning, whole body movement and power, Knowledge about breathing and safely generating Explosive Force and using physical principles such as gravity and compression. This includes moving in a way that protects your own joints, wrists, elbows, shoulders, back, and neck. Our system also trains Iron Body and Golden Bell techniques to help protect the student and so that our more advanced students can not be affected by the majority of pressure point techniques.

To achieve a good 1 Hit Knockout it is also necessary to have some understanding of the body. This can be in the form of pressure points, internal body organs and structure or ways to strike the eyes, throat and groin or/and knowledge of vulnerable areas such as the knees and other joints of the body. In our system of Kilap Kilat Kun Tao Silat knockout hitting is one of the main areas of study with the emphasis always being on practical self-defense. Dim Mak and more advanced palms such as various levels of Poison hand, the Iron Palm, Vibrating Palm, Cotton Palm, Burning Palm and the Delayed Death Touch are taught later in the system. I hope this article has given some insight into 1 Hit Knockout Strikes and hitting methods.

In this article, I have briefly touched on the subject of 1 Hit Knockouts. It would take volumes to be able to explain all of the possible techniques in full detail. In addition, I would like to thank my teachers Masters Tyrone Jackson and Uncle Bill from whom I have obtained some of my information on this subject. I would also like to thank all of my teachers for the wonderful knowledge they have bestowed upon me. Any errors made in the writing of this article are strictly mine and should not be taken as a reflection of any opinions other than my own. This article was written with the greatest respect and admiration for all of my teachers.

One of the most popular of the extreme sports has to be skateboarding. Out of all the more extreme sports it has to be the one that has lasted the longest over the years that have passed so far.

One of the coolest things about skateboarding is that is requires so little to get started. With other sports, you have to gear up with all kinds of equipment but with skating all you need is a skateboard. Of course, you should also have safety gear like a helmet and pads. This sport can be extremely dangerous so good safety equipment is a must as well.

One last important thing to have when you decide to get into this sport has to be the shoes. You will definitely want to pick some with good foot protection and ankle support. You will also want to make sure they fit properly as well because a shoe that does not fit right can cause its own set of problems. Shoes that do not fit properly can cause issues like blisters and foot sores that will make skating very uncomfortable and painful.

When you are trying on a new pair of skate shoes they should be comfortable because you will want to be wearing them for long periods of time. They should also be able to take a lot of abuse during a skater’s use. One more thing is that they need to have good treads that grip well to the board.

Another part of the skate shoe that you should look at is the show laces. It’s important to have heavy duty type show laces due to the amount of abuse they can take during the various skating tricks. Regular shoe laces do not stand a chance to the amount of use that they get and it would be a horrible thing to be in the middle of a good skate session and you have to quit for the day because of a pair of broken shoe laces.

The tread is something that is needed to keep the feet on the board. You don’t want to be slipping around while trying to perform the raddest trick ever.

It is true that sometimes these types of skate shoes can become quite expensive and cost a lot of money, but they can be just important as the board itself. Get yourself a good pair and they will last you through the entire season this year.

To be a good athlete you must have good training practices. Training practices are more than just what you do on the track; they involve how you live your day to day life.

Coaching – Seeking out someone with more experience then you is always a good idea. There is no sense re-inventing the wheel when someone has already tested several methods and can save you a lot of time leading to greater effiency in your training.

Since it was created in 1882 by Kano Jigoro of Japan, Judo has become one of the most popular martial arts in the world. It is quite a rigorous and physically demanding sport, appearing in several major international sports competitions. As a result, when partaking in judo training, it is important that a high quality judo uniform, or gi in Japanese, be worn to avoid tearing and damage.

Judo uniforms are generally constructed out of 100% cotton, bleached white. Cotton is the best choice for breathability. Care should be taken when laundering, as most judo uniforms are not pre-shrunken and will shrink up to a full size from excess heat. Therefore, washing in cool water and air drying is highly recommended to avoid shrinkage.

There are three pieces to the judo uniform: the jacket, the belt, and the pants. The jacket is quilted with a thick pliable collar and wide sleeves. Two short splits are on either side of the hip, which are reinforced with extra cloth. The jacket is secured with a belt, coloured according to level, wrapped tightly around the body and knotted. The pants feature an elasticized drawstring waist with wide legs to allow for movement. In areas where there may be a lot of friction or stress from pulling, reinforcement at the seams and additional padding is vital to prevent damage. These include the shoulders, collar, knees, and crotch of the pants.

The cloth for gi’s comes in a variety of weights and textures. For training purposes, judo uniforms are made out of single weave cloth. The appropriate weight for a Judoka (Judo practitioner) is measured in ounces or grams, and depends on their ability and age. Usually, beginners at a younger age opt for lighter weights while older advanced students and instructors choose heavier ones. Weights can vary from 7 ounces or 198.44 grams to 40.57 ounces or 1150 grams.

For competitions, double weave cloth is ideal for judo uniforms, making them thicker and heavier. Judo uniforms for competition use tend to be more durable, and as a result, much more expensive than single weave. While training judo uniforms come in white, competition level uniforms also come in blue.

Higher quality judo uniforms should not weigh down the practitioner and restrict their movement. They should fit loosely and comfortably on the body.