Thursday, June 28, 2018

Harlan Ellison 1934 - 2018 R.I.P.

Hated his politics, but I loved his writing.

https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/harlan-ellison-dead-dies-star-trek-1202861048/

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/06/28/science-fiction-author-harlan-ellison-dead-at-age-84.html

Sunday, June 24, 2018

And Down Old Mexico Way......

Talk about a dysfunctional Police Force;

https://www.yahoo.com/news/entire-police-force-detained-mexico-town-where-mayoral-214643267.html

Saturday, June 23, 2018

More Gun Control Bullshit From Australia

Once again proving that gun banners are, and will never be satisfied.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180622/australia-law-abiding-rifle-owners-made-to-justify-their-guns-and-politicians-target-semi-semi-automatic-firearms

Monday, June 18, 2018

The Commonality Of Basic Strikes and Simple Movements For Combatives

It was at a Ramon Martinez Bowie Seminar that I attended in September of 2016. During a brief lull while drilling a movement to jam your opponents knife hand I got a chance to talk to my training partner. I brought up the issue of common movements for multiple types of strikes. I was taken aback by the fact that my training partner had never considered that one basic physical movement, specifically a pushing/shoving move, could be so versatile.

I got into how if someone grabbed you with one hand to set you up for a punch or stab with his other you had the option of just shooting out the hand of your free (non-grabbed) side and doing a shoulder stop, or striking your attackers face with a Tiger Claw, a Face Palm, a simple punch if that's your style, or even a Chin Jab if you're close enough. You could also use a Web Hand strike to the throat, a Finger Jab, or an old fashioned Karate Half Fist to the throat.

Whatever floats your boat.

By using your non-striking hand to keep his grabbing hand tied to your collar or lapel (whatever he grabbed to start the show in the first place) you can combine/chain several strikes to the shoulder, face and throat and then close it up a bit to slam your knee into what Craig Gemeiner of Savate Australia calls the guys 'wedding tackle'.

OUCH!

My training partner looked at me like he had never thought about it that way. One of the big problems with martial arts in general is over-complicating things. As My old Instructor Carl Cestari and his senior guys Ralph and Clint used to put it, “It ain't rocket science”.

You could just go to your BOB or Heavy-bag and get more practical use just from quickly and powerfully throwing your arm out into it rather than worrying so much about what the actual strike or target is. Once you have the gross motor movement down with speed and power, then you can work on targeting or finding which specific strike you feel is the one that you're most comfortable with. As my Combatives Instructors were always saying, learn to make it YOUR Close Combat.

Because when things go bad, you'll revert not just to your training, but to the techniques/strikes that you're most instinctively comfortable with.

Yes, one basic movement, 7 or 8 different strikes. That's what you call getting a good bang for your buck. Unless you live a life where violence is a constant fact, which allows you to respond better due to familiarity, gross motor movement, coupled with a small group of responses delivered with vehemence, is the best bet for the average citizen.


Moving next to what has sometimes been referred to as the “Meat and Potatoes” strike of the Combatives style of self defense. It has many names, Edge of Hand, Axe Hand, Karate chop, Judo chop, Shuto, call it what you will. I'm not going to get into the whole open hand vs closed fist issue. That's not the point of this article.

You can deliver this strike horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Throat, side or back of the neck, the kidneys, the biceps, the forearms/wrists, inside of the thigh (preferably just above the knee). Hand conditioning is required to a degree but you don't have to get crazy about it (unless you want to). But let's say you're not comfortable with the EOH, the simple option is the Hammer-Fist (Oh look, we do have a Closed fist strike, imagine that). Not as effective for a strike to the throat (unless your attacker has one hell of a long neck and likes to keep his head tilted back) but still effective. It’s even popular with MMA proponents.

And the important part, as regards the point of this article, is that the body mechanics are the same as the EOH.

The only real time there's a difference is if you're doing a 'Long Axe Hand' with your arm more fully extended if the distance dictates it. In that case it's more a rotational movement of the body using the arm in a whip-like motion unlike the short chopping motion using your body weight to put power into the strike for close up and personal work.

Are there any other carry-overs you ask?

Why, weapons of course.

The most obvious being a Palm Stick type weapon. A purpose made Yawara, a small wooden dowel, a flashlight of 5" to 6" or so length, or my personal favorite for the last few years, the Sharpie Chisel tip marker with the elliptical shaped body. Then there are knives.

Now if you carry a larger knife a standard edge-forward grip would be the best. But if you live somewhere that has blade size restrictions and you choose to stay within the legal guidelines you could wind up carrying something in the 3"+/- range. Usually once you're down to the size of blade, the handle is correspondingly small as well. Most likely with no guard to speak of. That's when going to reverse grip is a safer choice for you since it allows you to thumb-cap the handle.

Note: I am not advocating a reverse grip for a knife to knife encounter. In those cases even the extra couple or so inches of the edge-forward grip might the better bet. Especially if your assailant is using his knife in the conventional point forward grip.

So, you're in reverse grip and again, the basic motions of the EOH, or the Hammer-Fist come back into play with a little extra oomph thrown in as regards now, a Hammer-fist with even 2" of sharp metal projecting out from it can do some extra damage. Especially if you can get in a shot to the face or neck area. Even if all you have is a Bic pen, or ideally a good solid steel pen, you can up the damage to your assailant by the proper application of a chopping/hacking movement of your arm with the weight of your whole body behind it.

A horizontal strike (using your right hand) delivered to the right side of your assailant, either to his head, flank or thigh if he's coming at you from your right side would be just as effective as a vertical or diagonal strike. Think of doing a karate backfist, but with the bottom of your hand rather than your knuckles.

As for using a Palm stick for a vertical strike primarily, I think it would be better that way, however a horizontal strike would be just fine to the side of the head, the neck, and even to the chest depending on where you were in relation to your assailant. A good diagonal strike to the inside or outside of the thigh just above the knee would be pretty good at screwing up his ability to maneuver.

As far as regular pens vs 'tactical' pen, the problem is that the 'tactical' ones look like what they are and will draw attention. I also resent the price that most places charge for them.

In any event, the versatility of these two basic, gross body movements allowing for the application of close to a dozen varying strikes with or without weapons, against multiple targets, is just one of numerous reasons for training in WW2 style Close Combat for self defense.

I hope I’ve managed to make my point about how practicing just a few simple movements can translate into a number of practical, effective striking options. A lot of people who are not dedicated Martial Artists are looking for efficient ways of learning to some basic self defense techniques that don’t require a lot of athletic ability, or a commitment to a complicated course of instruction.

Do not however think that I have written this article to lead yo to believe that learning to defend yourself can be done in 3 easy lessons, and will turn you into an uber-fighter with little or n training. Too many instructors, especially in the Combatives field, promote that belief to bring in students. You still have to have the desire and put in the time and effort to become proficient in the use of the techniques.

There are no secrets, and there are no shortcuts.

Addendum: It's been 10 years and this is my 600th Blogpost. I just want to give a quick thanks to those of you who follow my Blog.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Final Proof that the British Empire is Finished

Seriously?? Winston Churchill must be rolling in his grave.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Own a Shotgun for Self Defense?

Then get some training. If you live in the Northeastern USA, try Chris Fry at MDTS Training: https://www.mdtstraining.com/

Click on the image to see the full picture.


Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Back When a Pocketknife Was Just a Pocketknife...

..and the police didn't break your balls because it was perfectly normal and most guys carried one. Unfortunately the rise of the "tacticool knife" has put an end to that in too many jurisdictions to number. The image below is just a reminder of the good old days.

If you hold down the control key, and hit the Plus symbol key a few times, it'll blow the image up enough for you to read the text of the article. Copyright for the image is Popular Mechanics Magazine.(yep, they're still in business and still worth reading)

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Poor George Soros....

.... all his Socialist dreams are collapsing around him and his money can't seem to stop any of it.....

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/09/george-soros-go-wrong/

Friday, June 8, 2018

Why Combatives gets a Bad Reputation

It's because of people like this guy. A man who talks about being an operator but was in the military less than a year. He started out doing 'Combat JKD' but then invented "Comhrac Bas' which purports to show how the Gladiators fought. Which is funny because comhrac bas is actually Keltic (not Latin) for Fight Boss (rough translation). But now he's teaching Commando Combatives and knife fighting.

WTF???

Just for a little more on Mr. Clugston, you can access this review of his 'Comhrac Bas' tape at the link below this paragraph. It also includes info about his 'credentials', written by Clugston's original JKD instructor who was somehow amazed to discover the Clugston was apparently claiming to have a Black Belt awarded to him by the said instructor. He was amazed because he, the instructor, never awarded Clugston any such thing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2OASWP6XRCDMK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1931363048

It's the fools, frauds and a other assorted charlatans who continue to contribute to the denigration of the Combatives based systems. The following video is an example of the extent of Mr. Clugston's knowledge base. It's pretty long I'm afraid, but it shouldn't take long to see what I'm talking about, so don't feel bad about not seeing it though to the end.

Please remember to double click on the video to get the full screen view of it.



Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Combatives and the Inclusion of Force on Force Training

Force on Force, Pressure Testing, call it what you prefer. I was always very skeptical about the concept after reading about it or watching it on Youtube and such. It seemed to be more of a game than anything else, and I still believe that too many times it does degenerate into a game. However after going to an MDTS Seminar in December 2015 where I actually got the opportunity to do some, I now feel that as long as the instructor doesn't allow it to turn into a game it does have value.

The shorter duration type of Force on Force certainly lends itself more towards a realistic confrontation than a multiple round sparring event. The most important thing I took from it was how important a good level of cardio conditioning counts. I did two 30 second bursts with a little less than a minute rest in between and while I got through the first one alright, I only made it about 15 seconds or so through the second. I was huffing so hard the instructor kept asking me if I was ok. I think he was worried about me having a heart attack. Considering I was 61 at the time I can’t say as I blamed him. It also definitely proved the value of gross motor skills, and how your ‘plan’ is always the first casualty.

The Image below was not of me. It was two other participants at the Seminar.



The guy I was matched against was a good 20 years (or more) younger than me, about 3 inches shorter and at least 20 pounds heavier. I'm pretty sure he was a construction worker, and once we went at it I became quite sure he was stronger than me. I was the good guy with the knife and the FIST helmet and he played the bad guy for the first go round. The forward pressure he exerted on me never gave me a chance to try and get fancy or technical, but I managed, even through the panic his constant aggression put on me, to at least try to target my strikes with the training knife I was using. I remembered to go high and low and to try to get a better angle to attack from. It was sloppy as hell and definitely not pretty, but I still managed, even through the adrenaline dump and believe me, there was one, to maintain at least a marginal semblance of a cohesive defense/attack.

It was, to say the least, eye-opening.

At the 2002 Combatives Seminar at Keane Univ, in NJ, Carl Cestari had us do what he called the 'Dogpile'. You stood there surrounded by just about everybody else in the class (at least 15 or 16 guys) and on the signal they all rushed you while holding large sized kick shields in front of them (about 16" x 24" +/-). They weren't allowed to punch or kick you, but they would repeatedly ram into you and try to knock you to the ground (virtually always succeeding). Your job was to get to the other end of the 'Dogpile' and out the other end. Whether you were on the ground or your feet, it didn't matter. The point was to give you an idea of being banged around repeatedly with little or no let up.

As Carl noted at the end of the drill, there was one thing we all had in common after we got out. None of us looked pretty doing it. The point was to persevere, take the abuse and keep on fighting no matter how sloppily you did it. Just as long as you did it.

Let me tell you, having Mika S. or Ron F. Batter and ram you, kick shield or no kick shield, was nobodies idea of a good time. Not entertaining at all (unless you were in the bleachers watching, LOL!) but it certainly gave you an idea of being under constant aggressive pressure from multiple attackers.

Below are photos from the 'Dogpile' drill. The victim in the following photos was a guy we’ll call ‘Les’.

In the first photo he's the guy in the white tee shirt in the middle of the pile who's already been knocked to his knees. In the second photo he's completely surrounded and getting pummeled, and in the third photo he's at the right hand side of the pile and has just gotten clear to make his escape.







Nothing can really duplicate a real attack, but drills like this force you 'turn it on', and as you get a little more accustomed to the pressure (chaos/fear/ panic, call it what you will), your brain becomes a little more functional. That should be what allows you to actually use what you've trained (even if it comes out sloppy) and not just start flailing about.

‘Les’ described his experience at the bottom of the Dogpile this way;

Being the guy at the bottom of the pile, what I recall is luckily having my right arm free, as I was face down getting crushed. I recall starting to get dudes moving off me by using repeated EOH strikes--the first to someone's Achilles tendon area, the rest--as opportunity presented itself. Really, it was just about causing pain, and getting people to change their attitude towards something that served my goals--which in that instance, was getting them the fuck off me! HAHAHA!!!

My escape methodology was different from 'Les'. When my turn finally came around, I wound up literally crawling out of the pile from in-between somebody's legs. A technique I remembered from watching the 3 Stooges during my misspent youth! :-)

There was also another guy we’ll call ‘H.F.’ who gave the best performance of the day. After escaping the Dogpile we were supposed to hit the two BOB dummies before completing our escape.

‘H.F.’ pulled out an airsoft and shot them.

Now that's what I call style!

So to sum things up, while for quite a few years I didn’t think much of Force on Force training, I have now come around to the belief that when done properly, it should be added to Combatives training. When combined with regular drilling, whether with a partner or working on a heavy bag or BOB type training dummy it will be a worthwhile aid in training.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Another Post on the Failure Of International Gun Control, Todays Stop, Australia

Mexico, London and now The Land Down Under. The Roll Call of failed Gun Control Laws just keeps rolling along.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/05/30/australian-secret-gun-factory/

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Apparently Gun Control in the UK is Not Working all that well Either

As if 130,000 knife assaults per year weren't enough.....

https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/01/man-shot-with-machine-gun-in-north-london-left-fighting-for-life-7596792/

Friday, June 1, 2018

Ed's Manifesto FB Post On Gun Control Failure in Mexico

The Pro Gun Control people in the USA just don't understand that it's never going to work.



Ed's Manifesto
May 26

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Pictured here are a few of the "Fast and the Furious" guns. Found like most, in the hands of some very bad people in a very bad place. I lost a few friends to guns that where later linked back to this operation, so when I speak about it I do so with a very specific point of view, one that many have never bother to listen to. Gun running in to Mexico is a legit problem but not just from the US. Ports down in Mexico have long since been used to bring ammunition and guns In as well.
Guns have always been a part of life growing up in Mexico. With the restrictions placed on legal and responsible gun owners only benefiting criminals. Most people, especially on the northern border area of Mexico own a gun that was obtained by irregular means, most of these brought down from the US. I remember sometime back in the late 80's and early 90's a shift as far as the types of guns used by criminal groups. Most times handguns where the preferred choice, then AK's and AR's started to appear all over the place. With civilian AR's being brought down to Mexico then modified to be full auto and AK's coming in from all over the place.
It has always been an arms race. When gun ships started being utilized by federal government forces the response was downing one of them with an RPG in Guadalajara. And so it goes.
There is only one legal gun store in Mexico run by the army.... Yet guns are everywhere. Gun control doesn't work once the proliferation of fire arms is already set in the culture. And it sure as hell doesn't work when the criminal element is already armed and overwhelming the security forces of the country putting forth such restrictions.