How To Fight Good

Most of the people who learn self defense techniques through martial art training do so in order to be able to defend themselves. It’s a wild world we live in and self defense skills are important to prevent potential attacks and to give yourself enough self confidence to survive. Although people are looking for martial art training for self defense reasons, most martial arts are based on ancient practices and techniques.

Here are some really cool tips that will help you get the most out of your self defense training:

Control Your Fear

Even if you know the best self defense techniques you are still vulnerable if you haven’t developed one significant skill and that is fear control. You need to be ready to stay calm during a physical or verbal attack. There’s no training that can simulate a real life situation (e.g. a real attack on the streets). However there are certain martial arts and self defense techniques that will help you control your stress and your fear. These techniques will make you feel a little bit comfortable during a stressful situation (e.g. an act of aggression against you). These fear control techniques involve breathing exercises and hand positioning.

Be Prepared For An Attack

You ought to know that your body sends various signals to others. If you can read your body language then it will be easy to read an attackers body language and be warned of a potential assault before it happens. Some key warning signs of an attack are easily noticed. For example when a person is nervous and looks around him/her all the time, when a person’s jaw is clenched or when his/her fingers form a fist. Another warning sign is when someone is hiding his/her hands. Many attackers also change the tone of their voices and speak aggressively when they are about to attack. If you notice such behavior by a person, then you better try to avoid talking or walking close to that person.

Attacked By More Than One Person

There are cases where attacks come from more than one direction (e.g. more than one person attacks you). Self Defense techniques can teach you how to deal with such bad situations. The first thing you must consider when facing multiple attacks is to run away, if this is possible. The odds are against you so do not try to be a hero. Try to keep all attackers in front you so that you can see what’s happening. If it’s possible try not to be backed into a corner. Do not try to attack first unless you are really skillful at martial arts and self defense. Instead try to keep a defensive but not aggressive stance. In such cases you need to keep your energy reserves high so do not make unnecessary moves.

Most fight scenes rely heavily upon the vague, and somewhat inaccurate, public perceptions of how martial artists would utilize their skills in a real fight. That is an unfortunate limitation, because the most interesting aspect of the martial arts is what goes on inside the mind of the fighter. That is where the most compelling part of the story truly lies. It’s what needs to be told.

Authenticity is the Polestar

Authenticity is the polestar. An author must always know the subject, and if the subject is the martial arts, that means keeping a few basics in mind. First, there is no such thing as one martial art. Instead, there is an amalgam of thousands of both popular and obscure fighting arts worldwide.

We may be familiar with the term, Karate, which had its birthplace in Okinawa. But how many of us realize that there are dozens of distinct styles of Karate, each with its own rankings, requirements and principles? How many of us are familiar with the South American discipline of Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, which can be traced to Africa; or Krav Maga, the modern Israeli martial art; or the more than 1500 various styles of the Chinese martial art called, Kung Fu?

Hence, the first question an author describing a martial arts encounter must answer is what style does her protagonist practice? The next is this: how would that style fare in a real fight; with adrenaline fueling the encounter and panic setting in? The authenticity of a real fight is that it is savage, bloody and frayed at the edges. Unlike the crisp, well-executed forms and drills of typical martial arts training, a physical confrontation is hard to control. Breaking boards is fine, but they don’t hit back. An opponent does.

In short, write about the chaos of a real fight. Bring the reader into what makes a fight something to avoid. Show the dark underbelly of the encounter.

For example, here is a fight scene from my novel, Point and Shoot, in which the protagonist uses an Okinawan style of Karate called, Shaolin Kempo, which relies on the interpretation of the five shaolin animals (tiger, crane, leopard, snake and dragon) for its basic moves:

I ducked under the second swing and snapped myself into the tiger mindset. The other four animal styles of our Shaolin Kempo Karate system, the snake, the leopard, the crane and the dragon, often utilized a block or parry before moving in for a strike. The tiger was the only one whose nature did not significantly involve defense. This animal was at the top of the food chain, the strongest and deadliest in the Kingdom. It went in one direction, always forward, toward the prey. All offense.

No holding back.

I formed my hands as if I were gripping imaginary tennis balls and launched myself at him. I dug my fingers into the bicep of the swinging arm and ripped at the muscle, while striking the forearm on the same side, straight in with the heel of my palm, the “paw” as it were. It was a thousand year old battle protocol from the great Kung Fu masters: first, attack the arm that attacks you.

The bat fell to the ground.

Next, press the advantage decisively. I ripped into his face with the middle and forefingers of my right hand, raking along his nose and mouth. With the other hand, I struck his neck and dug my fingers in, grabbing the windpipe. The technique called for me to pull it out, lacerating his throat and killing him. But there were other options. I pushed rather than pulled, momentarily closing the windpipe against itself, cutting off his air.

Then, I sped things up. Kempo Hands.

I had once timed myself at six strikes per second, and if anything, at that moment, it felt even faster. A double palm heel blow to both ears, ripping downward along the cheek and collapsing onto his throat; stepping under and inside his flailing arms to shoot an elbow upward into his abdomen, taking his center; rolling into a palm heel strike to the groin; and back into a rising elbow to the underside of his chin; arcing down into another palm heel onto the bridge of his nose. There were no wind ups, no wasted motion; each movement was designed to roll naturally into the next.

His body jerked from one direction to the other, in rhythm to the apposite lines of each attack. The primary strategy of Kempo Karate was to strike an aggressor in opposing directions, so he could not muster his composure sufficiently to counter-attack. It also forced the aggressor’s body to lurch into the next stroke head on. The strokes would roll into one another and create a tumbling effect. To an outside observer, it would appear to be one simultaneous tornado of movement, of blinding speed, a blur too fast for the eye to follow.

Blood splattered from his nose and mouth. His eyes closed and he made a gurgling sound, flailing his arms impotently as he flew backward.

But my mind-set was the tiger, an animal that kept going when it saw blood. The next move in this particular combination would have gotten him on the ground and “smashed” both hands into his throat. The smashing tiger. A finishing blow to the throat, for insurance.

Instead, I took another step forward and chambered both my hands, palm forward, elbows bent: the left one at shoulder level; the right, at my hip. I shouted a Kiai, the warrior yell, and launched a double palm heel strike, imagining both my palms penetrating through his body. I made contact with his bladder and the underside of his cheekbone. They were both prime acupuncture points; but just as the meridians could be used for healing, the pathways could also be blocked.

His head whipped around, and he collapsed, lying on his back, bleeding from the various facial lacerations and coughing in fits.

*** *

The entire fight had taken less than five seconds; when done right, they usually did. I paused and reached into my back pocket, taking out some tissues, pressing them against his facial cuts. He lay there, quietly, allowing me to work on him. I had seen this before when I was a cop, the defeated male. Docile and compliant.

It occurred to me that this was how a deer might look after being taken down by an actual tiger. Completely shocked and overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attack, waiting for the neck bite that would end it all.

He coughed a few times, but was finally able to breathe again without laboring. I turned him on his side so he could spit out the blood. I wiped it away and found that there were only two places I had actually broken the skin. One was the juncture of his upper and lower lip and the other, his nose. After a few moments of pressure, they both stopped bleeding.

I helped him up and left him standing there, crouching with his hands on his thighs, I searched for my gun in the grass. I found it about twenty feet away. I opened the chamber out of habit to be sure it was still fully loaded and rejoined him. He lumbered his way to the door, ignoring me.

I noted that the baseball bat had landed on the ground behind him. I kicked it into the street.

He dabbed at his face and looked to see if there was anymore blood. “You fight like a girl,” he said.

The Author Must Inhabit The Mind of the Fighter

It is important that the author learn what it is like not only to throw a punch, but to take one, as well. Most of us have not been in an actual fight (at least as adults), yet we write about them with impunity. I am not advocating that a brawl take place at the next writer’s convention, but certainly, there is something to be said for an author going to the local marital arts school and learning the basics of controlled sparring.

If you are afraid to try that, use that fear in your story. Emotional content is a powerful tool for a writer. Your characters should be afraid to fight on some level. The way they deal with that fear, either by denying it; using it to bolster their awareness; or allowing it to overtake them in a fit of panic, will establish the realism of your fight scene.

Perhaps your central character is so angry that he sets aside the fear. Perhaps your character is protecting a loved one so she ignores her slight stature and lack of real training and proceeds to overcome a larger opponent. The actual punching and kicking should be secondary. You must guide the reader into inhabiting your character’s feelings and motivations about the hostile encounter.

You Need Not Describe Every Grunt

We all know the standard refrain for new writers: show don’t tell. In a fight scene, the author can “tell” the reader a great deal about his characters by simply “showing” how they fight. In this scene from my book, Point and Shoot, I wanted to paint a portrait of how an older man named, Grandfather, would overcome two younger, stronger ones, whom I call White Shirt and Pony Tail, by utilizing the internal aspects of the martial arts.

”Management. We had a complaint from one of the other guests about noise.”

”We’re leaving,” he replied. “Give us ten minutes to clean up.”

”I can’t hear you, sir.”

White Shirt leaned into the door. “I said we’re leaving.”

Suddenly the door exploded off its hinges, smashing directly into him. He arced across the room.

I had so rarely seen Grandfather let loose to maximum effect in these last years. When he did, it looked nothing like what Bette and I would do, none of those solid and crisp Kempo Karate combinations he had taught me so long ago, drawn from the basic system. His movements were now hidden and obscure.

And unstoppable.

He calmly stepped inside the room. Pony Tail leveled his gun, taking aim from the other side. Grandfather ran his hand in a large arc from head to waist. It looked like he was fanning the air. Pony Tail shouted in pain and fell backward, dropping the gun.

Grandfather approached him without haste. Pony Tail righted himself and scrambled to pick up the gun again.

Still far away from him, Grandfather clapped his hands together, and twisted his palms outward. The younger man smashed against the far wall, caught in a wave of energy. That gave Grandfather the time he needed to reach him. He placed his fingers gently on Pony Tail’s gun hand. The weapon immediately dropped to the floor once more. Then he lightly tapped the center of Pony Tail’s chest. The younger man collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

By now, White Shirt had pulled himself back together. He had his gun aimed.

Without touching him, Grandfather made a short, blunt movement which I did not recognize. White Shirt grimaced and dropped the gun, holding his hands to his temples. There was another blunt movement, this one emanating from a twist in Grandfather’s hip, something akin to a bump and grind.

White Shirt also collapsed to the ground.

Conclusion

Fight scenes should be viewed as opportunities to develop characterization and introduce emotional content to the story. To do so, the author must present a both physically and mentally authentic description of the encounter. Now, go out there and have your characters kick some ass.

When you want to look athletic and sporty on the streets or on casual activities, consider going into fight fashion, where the designs of clothes and shirts lets out the masculinity in men and toughness in women. Anyway, this is what celebrity clothing for athletes is all about. Even if fight fashion is not the current trend or fad, it still shows the athletic side in you. Thats why Triggonomics mens clothing and womens clothing is the right choice anytime when you want to look athletic matched with what is known in celebrity fashion among fighters. This fight fashion apparel is a celebrity clothing owned by a celebrity in the fighters field. This makes Triggonomics, not only a fight fashion but a celebrity fashion as well.

Triggonomics is a celebrity fashion initiated by Frank Trigg, a fighter athlete who turned entrepreneur with his fight fashion apparels both for men and women. For mens clothing line, Triggonomics offers T-shirts, hoodies, beanies and hats and for womens clothing line, there are t-shirts and panties. The t-shirt on mens clothing can range from sizes small to 3x large fit while womens clothing t-shirt range from extra small to large. Hoodies for mens clothing can be with or without zipper and can range from extra small size to double x large. Hats could be at size medium to large. Panties in womens clothing have sizes from extra small to large.

The owner of the fight fashion in Triggonomics is Frank Trigg, a fighter for American Mixed Martial Arts and owns two more companies. Tagged radios where he also co-host in the show, and R1 Training Center where he co-owns with Rica Chiapparrelli. R1 Training Center is a wrestling and mixed Martial Arts training and learning Center. Trigg has been involved in the promotions of PRIDE Fighting Championships, Icon Sports, Ultimate Fighting Championships, Rumble on the Rock and World Fighting Alliance. Aside from promotions involvement, Frank Trigg had been a finalist in the 2000 Olympics for wrestling and had fought other fighters events.

Being a Celebrity in his own field, Frank Trigg has developed the celebrity fashion of Triggonomics. Triggonomics clothing lines is basically a celebrity fashion for celebrity fighters. Because of influence of Frank Trigg in the fighters arena, he readily promotes this celebrity clothing which focuses on fight fashion. Celebrities in martial arts, wrestling, boxing and other fighting athletics can take advantage of the signature clothing from Frank Trigg. Triggonomics has become a celebrity clothing since 2003 when Trigg started the business. Such celebrity clothing has an athletic theme designed for a certain market niche.

Both the mens clothing and womens clothing are made up of quality material which Frank Trigg believed to be good for athletic wears. Wearing Triggonomics apparels is like wearing celebrity clothing because its design and material matched with the urban athletic theme that most celebrities into fight fashion wears. Also the celebrity fashion that bears Triggonomics is not just suitable in athletic fighters events or any ordinary athletic event for that matter. It can be worn before or after gym sessions and even as street wear. When you wear it in gym you are wearing it as celebrity fashion in the gym because of the signature Ergonomics fighter theme apparel. Most fighters know this celebrity clothing especially if you are in the gym who knows Fran Trigg.

When one thinks of the fight clubs, the picture that automatically comes to mind is of well maintained, strong willed fighters, giving everything they can into the fights even at the cost of their own lives. Well despite all the laws and precautions, there are some real fight clubs in secret locations where people from all sorts of life gather to witness these grueling competitions. Anyways the focus is that, not all fight clubs are of this fearsome type and for some it really disillusions them when they come across phony, overrated guys who think beating each other makes them tough guys. Well the secret is, one would hardly find tough club fighters pounding each other with toilet seats or is that how the fight club really operates?

Well the message behind this view is that many of the so called fight clubs are simply playful ones, more like an entertainment! Simply actors. Indeed there are the fight clubs formed by teenage boys, wanting to feel macho and tough like they see in movies. They may form a band of fight groups, challenging one another in fights that are not too destructive and most are just playful stuffs. Maybe these are in a way harmless too. But what about the grown up adults having secure jobs and stature pounding each other just for the sake of it. Actually there are many of this type of fight club that is more or less a sad version of the real fight clubs.

Anyhow, the real secrets behind joining one fight club or another lies on the individual themselves. Somehow being a member of the fight club seems to give them a sense of toughness. Well some may dispute this but yes, for some all these are simply pleasures to be involved, maybe like a hobby?

When we hear of fight clubs, we simply think of tough men and women giving everything that they have into the fights, and it’s often a very bloody affair. However one secret behind all of the so called fight clubs is not really toughness and integrity. It’s somewhat funny. Just imagine, to make yourself tougher, wearing a fencing mask and whaling away with frying pans and tennis rackets is not toughness. Or is it? It’s childish!

Maybe the notion that fight club fighters are rough and tumble beings, ready to do anything really attracts the guys. Another secret maybe that they love to hear people say “you did WHAT? Man that’s something!” reaction and they feel so great!

Well another reason why not all fight clubs are that attractive and remarkable; you see the so called fight club is used as a way to direct and defuse frustrations in their life, work etc and take it out on something else. It also works as a therapy for some! But hey, pounding each other to a pulp doesn’t sound a great impulse and yes, many uses fight clubs to channel their personal frustration into the fights. As such not many find these fight clubs to be beneficial; it’s more of an entertainment but then the fighters, the REAL ones, are good.

I’ve talked pretty badly about the mixed martial arts (MMA) as a form of self-defense in the past, but always promised to talk about its good points someday. This time I’m going to discuss the technical problems inherent in learning a martial “sport” and trying to adapt it for use in real combat, but I’ll also show you what we CAN learn from modern MMA.

In the beginning, there was Vale Tudo in Brazil and Cage Fighting in Russia. The only rules were “no biting or eye gouging.” That was almost the real deal, but even then I told people that one of the best techniques for getting out of chokes, neck cranks and many holds on the ground had to do with the proper use of pressure against the eyes of your opponent. But still, it was “almost” the real deal, technically-speaking.

Then came big business. They tried (especially in the USA) to gain acceptance from the commissioning authorities in order to be allowed to be shown on cable TV, which necessitated increasing the rules and number of “prohibited techniques.” The end result was that modern-day “No Holds Barred” fighting has barred so many holds that the modern sport of mixed martial arts has almost nothing to do with a real street fight, much less with the sort of battlefield combat that a soldier or LE guy will have to face.

But modern NHB can help you survive a violent encounter!

How?

Simple—just do what they aren’t allowed to do. Specialize in it.

Eye gouges are illegal? Then you know what to do when attacked!

No striking the throat or the cervical spine region of the neck (just under the back of the head)?

Now you know where to hit an opponent trying to take your life!

No kicking an opponent on the ground in the head? That’s the only time anyone will see me kicking someone in the head!

“Small joint manipulation,” aka bending and twisting the fingers is illegal because they are small and fragile and can easily be broken, even accidentally. If you have to control someone’s arms without seriously hurting him, that’s a very good alternative to a standard armbar!

No stomping kicks to the knee joint–those techniques end fighters careers, while Muai Thai low kicks just result in bruises and cramps. Threaten my life and see which kick I use!

No headbutts, elbows, groin strikes, . . .

Learn those “dangerous, illegal techniques”–they can and will save your life on the street!

To those who crave for action and knowledge over the internet, maybe a dose of fight TV video online and Science Online TV can satisfy your hunger for such. Like one popular fight video site, they offer a wide variety of videos showcasing different fights of individuals using varied fighting styles or techniques. Martial arts, ultimate fighting and tons of street fighting videos are made available for people to buy and download. Not only does it show man to man fights but also female fights as well. One can see these war princesses battling it out for the prize.

The mechanism to watch fight TV video online is simply just buying some “credits.” After buying these credits, actually from several choices of package deals, the customer gets the rights to download the videos to be stored in his or her local hard drives. The advantage is that there is no streaming necessary and you can watch these videos multiple times at home even during offline connections. Moreover, to hasten the curiosity of avid fight enthusiasts, short previews of the fights are made viewable. The videos also have captions and video descriptions for a quick understanding of the entire content itself. All videos are also arranged well to fit under their own categories. As to availability and being up to date, you do not have to worry because the videos are increasing by the minute. There are lots of new videos added to the domain each day. You will never be again left behind from the fight shows you really loved. You can make a collection of these videos and have the benefit to play them again and again no matter how many times you so desire.

Regarding Science, education nowadays is not only offered in schools but also through the World Wide Web like Science Online TV. Without the hassles of an actual teacher and the disadvantage of very limited time periods, students can now learn about Science a lot easier and faster in the comfort of their homes. Science television also boasts of comprehensive content from almost all types of Science available for the learner to know about. It offers great scientific information made accessible through the technological advancement of the internet. Lectures are also given with video and audio formats including basic lectures to fun and simple animations and even up to documentations of the great contributors to the evolution of Science themselves, the scientist. Complex and more educational materials can also be accessed by simply a click away.

Science Online TV is really very beneficial to a wide population of viewers. It offers the study of numerous Sciences namely Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Life or Earth Sciences, amongst others. These are all imparted to the students providing them the vital avenue for learning. Moreover, there is a huge stack of educational videos preserved to be seen in Science TV. There is absolutely nothing to worry about this service because all content are uploaded and made by trusted sources. To top it all, some online televisions of this type go beyond what is expected and is becoming more interactive than usual. There is already a beginning trend of having an online teacher to even mimic the important day to day student-teacher interaction done in typical classroom settings.