What Does It Take to Become a Master?

Dr. Anders Ericsson states that it takes at least 10 years and or 10,000 hours to become an expert/genius in any field of endeavor...More to become world class...

GC is based on the premise that we all have been practicing subtle movement as well as fast, haphazard, strong, sudden, balanced, concentrated movement all our lives just in order to live...All GC movement is is just general movement with some additional applications....The basic principles are not all that hard to develop...It surely does not take 10 years to become an expert...As far as world class is concerned only testing with pre- set rules can be used to measure a person's comparative ability...Some are born with enough talent to become world class in far shorter time...Since GC is formless by definition then it is beyond the parameters of Dr. Ericsson's postulation...Maybe I discovered/developed a training methodology that is superior to any other....LOL...

Can any of you help me understand this better...I read the book OUTLIERS based on his theory and found it not to fit GC...If you have read it and can prove to me that it is simply a matter of practice for 10,000 hours to become a master then I would enjoy the enlightenment..I have proven many times that it takes far less for some to become incredible just by tapping into their natural ability to move without conscious thought....OUTLIERS also states that it is just practice and a 120 IQ that is necessary to be a genius at anything...I guess anyone can be an Einstein with simple practice for 10 years....LOL
--JPerkins

The Problem is Gun Laws--ALL Gun Laws

I am frankly fed up with all of this back-and-forth drivel.

The obvious problem is gun laws. ALL gun laws.

There was a time when everyone could (and many did) carry arms — everywhere and most of the time. THAT is the proper state of affairs.

Not only "teachers", but janitors, receptionists, counsellors, and anyone on the school premises (except young children) should be free to go armed. Period. Just like they should be free to go armed in theaters, on planes, on ships, or ANYWHERE.

Some teachers might wish to carry a handgun, others might not. But some decent human beings in every school would be armed, and that's sufficient to:

a) Deter armed scumbags from going after what they believe to be a "soft" target. —and—

b) Provide a near certainty that any armed lunatic who did make the attempt to murder people in a school would be shot dead either before accomplishing his objective, or at least before completing all of the murders that he had in mind.

Anyone who argues at all with anti-gunners is a well-intentioned but misguided person. Those socialist/liberal creatures DO NOT WANT TO SEE GUNS IN PEOPLE'S HANDS. That's it. They do not care about logic, reason, or facts. Their motive is NOT fighting crime, making the cities safe, or persons being able to defend themselves. THEY WANT PEOPLE CONTROLLED.

When Larry Pratt was "interviewed" by Piers Morgan he absolutely stood out with facts and patient, well-articulated argument. The result? Morgan once again demonstrated what a rude, arrogant, self-important ass he is by attempting not only to shout down Mr. Pratt, but also to insult him. This is the tactic of socialistically-inclined power-mongers and their servants.

DO NOT ARGUE WITH ANTI-GUNNERS (or with socialists of  any ilk).

Piers Morgan will never be deported (as the well-intenioned, and understandably outraged people who signed a petition to have him tossed out of our Country would like to see happen). Why not? Because he touts the party line. This (i.e. Morgan) is precisely what the mainstream wants, feeds on, finances, and encourages.

I cannot help but wonder what is wrong with all of those who, properly, believe in private citizens being armed? Can't they understand that those who do not want private citizens armed simply do not want them armed. They don't care about lower crime rates where citizens are armed; about lives saved because of private citizens being armed; about the incredible almost non-existent violent crime record of armed citizens . . . etc. Nor do they even hear it when people — rightly — speak of how tyrannies demand  a disarmed populace, because you cannot enslave armed citizens.

Just the fact that these power-lusters ignore, distort, pillory, and decry the Second Constitutional Amendment should send the message loud and clear that they are the ENEMIES OF LIBERTY. But, the message just isn't understood, apparently.

C A N ' T   Y O U   G E T   I T   Y E T????????????????????????

--Prof. Brad Steiner
President, International Combat Martial Arts Federation
http://seattlecombatives.com/

NY Newspaper Publishes List of CCP holders

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/12/foghorn/new-york-newspaper-publishes-list-of-concealed-carry-permit-holders-names-addresses/#more-182019

Not sure if this is illegal...Many states have banned giving this info out...This was given to our newspaper for publication in 2000...Then supposedly taken down but too late...If someone can get this info through freedom of information act then why not get everyone's car registration information? How about everyone's driving record information? How about just the driver's licenses of folks just cause you may feel like it?....One reason I hate "radical" leftist or fascists…No use for radicals of any sort...Not talking about folks worried about the global warming but why not get the information on what cars folks are driving and if they don't get over 34 mpg maybe they should get put on the internet....How about folks who don't vaccinate their kids...Some folks don't want unvaccinated kids around theirs....etc...Nuts....Scumbags of all kinds don't get the punishment they deserve so there are no consequences when privacy rights are involved...I just had to fill out a new required form at my doctor's office which eventually goes to the government so that they can coordinate my records for me...How helpful of them...asked my mother's maiden name and other information that I never had to fill out for any doctors before...Have no idea what that meant...Only the beginning...1984 late but making it's arrival...Imagine if you or one of your family members needed something to calm their nerves and this becomes public information?...Not too good for getting a job...Or getting a gun...Or maybe they shouldn't be able to drive...Just getting started...
--J Perkins

Video: Proof that Concealed Carry Permit Holders Live in a Dream World, Part One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjZY3WiO9s


"The controlled study documented in these videos show that concealed carry permit holders are fooling themselves if they think they will be able to react effectively to armed aggressors. Most CCW holders won't even be able to un-holster their gun. They will more likely be killed themselves or kill innocent bystanders than stop the aggressor."

This was an obvious set up...Imagine trying to get your gun out from under a very large loose shirt while wearing gloves...What a terrible joke to play on folks who don't know any better...The  police trainer should be ashamed of himself allowing the totally biased media to use him as a tool....I guess he is one of those police officers who doesn't think civilians can fend for themselves...He might have a big hero complex...He should devote his time to training folks correctly if he is really interested in real safety....I have half a mind to make this one of the Martial Myths to show far better ways to teach for this and other gun related emergencies...
--John Perkins

What They Can't Take From You...

Whatever your political persuasion, the fact is that government has been working hard to take things from us: among them habeus corpus, privacy, and guns. Whether you favor stricter gun laws or looser the fact is there is one weapon of last resort they can't take from you: your physical and mental self-defense training.

There will be new GC training opportunities coming in 2013. Train hard.

UK Seminar?

Attention GC-Europe fans: Possible Lt Col Ridenhour GC Seminar at Mick's in the UK. Putting out feelers for a time frame...how many people are for Mid-November, early December or mid-January? Let us know which...

More On "Unavailable Yet Unavoidable"

It seems that there is some misunderstanding of what I mean by "Unavailable Yet Unavoidable".

Some folks think it is the same as the Tai Chi Chuan principle of simply absorbing or letting energy pass and then returning.

This means when a person either pushes, pulls or strikes the Tai Chi Chuan practitioner allows the other person to pass and then return. This is done while not losing connection with the opponent.

In Guided Chaos the idea of being unavailable yet unavoidable is somewhat different: In GC we feel the movement or intention of the attacker and move in such a way as to immediately absorb and return simultaneously. This is accomplished by absorbing and moving slightly off line as you either strike, push or pulse the attacker either causing him/her to be injured or loose balance or both simultaneously. There is no feeling of waiting for the completion of any movement from the attacker. Return and absorption are simultaneous.

The advantage to this is when dealing with multiple attackers there is no time to simply absorb and return because the attack may come from many angles at once. You can only keep your balance on one angle at a time for a hundredth of a second at a time, so you must learn to strike or pulse from various angles all at the same time while moving from one point of balance to another at the speed of lightning so to speak.

There is often no time for rooted adjustment but more of a "falling" into each split second position as you use the energy of falling and the simultaneous plyometric energy transfer with each return or avoidance. In other words you learn to create your stance and multiple strikes as you go in response to any movement from any angle at the same time or you move from a "causal" point. This means you move before the attacker moves using intuition or set up the circumstances for the attacker to "mismove", then you return with whatever response is necessary for your goal whether to strike, unbalance or both at the same time in various directions if needed. This is where I work with more than one opponent and move them in various directions both away from me or into each other while simultaneously striking them as the dynamic attack/defense occurs. Remember your return can and often may be an unrooted strike because you may not have time to find a root all the time so a strike to vulnerable targets like eyes, groin, throat etc may be necessary as well as "rooted" strikes, pushes etc.--John Perkins

-----------------

Hi John,

I found this a really useful distinction to make. I recognize it from my time in NY, but seeing it in black and white like this drives home the completely different mindset of GC. In comparison, my own mindset has prioritized the block/counter mentality which as I discovered is way too slow.... It's become an automatism that's difficult to change, but perhaps worse than that it seems to breed a passivity that allows people to attack - because I think I can block and stay safe .... uggh, sad!? So, your comments were a great wake-up call to re-calibrate and adjust this mindset 'before it's too late....' (just watched Deliverance with Burt Reynolds & co....there's a lesson; where passivity leads to victimization....). I'm still digesting the second half of [your post] - may take a while!

Many thanks,Paul

-----------------

John,

When I was at the workshop I saw first hand how important it is to get the Unavailable yet Unavoidable concept right, even against one person. I am working on this and answering the questions below will be extremely helpful.

1. In what you wrote, is there a difference between being balanced and rooting? It seems to me that rooting is stopping, at least for an instant, where as one can be moving and balanced but not rooted. Is that correct? If not please explain what is wrong with my understanding and/or elaborate in any other way you think will help me to get this.

--When you are rooted you are balanced and vice versa. The important point here is that Guided Chaos develops "Dynamic Balance"--meaning you can be balanced while stationary or moving under chaotic conditions and have a functional root in either or both feet as necessary. Similarly, you can drop and hit off either or both feet. Separating the Yin from the Yang includes plyometrically loading and releasing from foot to foot, using one-legged balance to step wherever you need to to maximize power, exploit entry angles and elude incoming strikes and pressure. The distinction is important because tai chi tends to develop a stubborn, though powerful double footed, slowly changeable and thus a sometimes non-adaptive root that under super fast multi-angled conditions is not as adaptive as GC for combat. This is not to say that Tai Chi does not move from one root to the other but it is not practiced with the idea of rootedness coming from instant step to step root change in any direction almost at once...Can they do it? I am sure they can given the practice and stimulus of an attacker moving from various positions and striking or pushing from many angles within split seconds such as is the training method of GC.
--J Perkins, M. Kovsky

2. I find that when I am not striking, pulsing, pushing or taking some other action from my root, that it is best to operate, most of the time, like a mid engine sports car. That is I generally try to keep my center in my lower abdomen and not let it rise or sink to the floor. I only let the energy go to the floor if I am bouncing it off the floor to use it. Is this correct? Please let me know and also tell me anything else I need to know in order to understand the difference between being balanced and rooting.

--Rather than think about my tantien or some other esoteric concept, I prefer a more mundane but visceral image: I like to "feel my feet in my hands". In other words, my entire balanced body unity giving me a direct line of power through every joint from foot to fist (knee, hip, spine, shoulder, elbow, etc.). This is no different from any other full body sport (football, tennis, etc.) and is similar to the boxing adage to "punch from the legs". Then again, I just gave the definition of "Threading the Nine Pearl Gates" as explained in the Tai Chi Boxing Chronicles so you could call this esoteric as well. And Dropping supercharges all of this. So line up your joints for power and balance and practice your Ninja Walk and wobble board...separately and together, as well as your Anywhere Strikes on the BOB.
--M. Kovsky

3. I am not sure what you mean by 'causal' point. Would you please explain that further.

--The Causal point is where even the opponent is not actually aware of what he is going to do next but you feel it and deal with him before he knows what happened...It is not clairvoyance but extreme sensitivity born of lots of experience working with many people in the most subtle way possible...Deep internal listening etc....JPerkins

--My take on what John is saying is that any connection you have with the opponent becomes like a thumb drive plugged into his Operating System where you download everything about his balance, intent, looseness, etc. (Actually I've heard John use the "download analogy" many times). Well, coincidentally, this again sounds like a modern paraphrase of the definition of "chi"--also found in the Tai Chi Boxing Chronicles: "The circulating point of finesse in the body." So everything old is new again.
--M. Kovsky

4. Patrick demonstrated the concept of "spring steel." I am not sure what he did to create that feeling. What it seems like he did was to pass/absorb and return simultaneously, without completely following through on return, and doing it slowly, so I could feel it. He also allowed me to begin to absorb/pass and return simultaneously, but he then started his pass/absorb return, after me, arriving before me, so that he always seemed to be attacking. Am I correct in my understanding of this? Please correct my misconceptions here and/or add anything you can that might help me understand this better, so I can train it properly. Thanks again for the information and offering to answer my questions, Michael

--Instead of thinking of "pass and return" as two separate actions, try the analogy of the "collapsing sphere": you're always moving in, often obliquely, into areas of lower structure. Imagine you're a bucket of water thrown at the attacker: the water mindlessly penetrates any openings in his defense while simultaneously molding to any incoming attack. This requires an adaptive, dynamic root, supreme looseness and sensitivity. Examples: folding an elbow into his face against hand pressure or pivoting a hammer fist to his liver against elbow pressure; skimming in a strike to the eyes while simultaneously deflecting/absorbing/eluding a punch to your throat, all with the same arm; turning in to hit on one side while being pressured on the other; tool replacing; "weaseling" your way through a thicket of defensive moves with no force; destroying a limb with combat boxing while ricocheting into a 2nd and 3rd strike...etc., etc.
--M. Kovsky

There is much more that can be written on these subjects but for now this should suffice until more experience is gained....JPerkins

Unavailable Yet Unavoidable

It seems that there is some misunderstanding of what I mean by Unavailable yet Unavoidable....Some folks think it is the same as the Tai Chi Chuan principle of simply absorbing or letting energy pass and then returning...This means when a person either pushes, pulls or strikes the Tai Chi Chuan practitioner allows the other person to pass and then return...This is done while not loosing connection with the opponent...In Guided Chaos the idea of being unavailable yet unavoidable is somewhat different...In GC we feel the movement or intention of the attacker and move in such a way as to immediately absorb and return simultaneously...This is accomplished by absorbing and moving slightly off line as you either strike, push or pulse the attacker either causing him/her to be injured or loose balance or both simultaneously...There is no feeling of waiting for the completion of any movement from the attacker...Return and absorption are simultaneous...The advantage to this is when dealing with multiple attackers there is no time to simply absorb and return because the attack may come from many angle at once...You can only keep your balance on one angle at a time for a hundredth of a second at a time...So you must learn to strike or pulse from various angles all at the same time while moving from one point of balance to another at the speed of lightning so to speak...There is often no time for rooted adjustment but more of a "falling" into each split second position as you use the energy of falling and the simultaneous plyometric energy transfer with each return or avoidance... In other words you learn to create your stance and multiple strikes as you go in response to any movement from any angle at the same time or you move from a "causal" point...This means you move before the attacker moves using intuition or set up the circumstances for the attacker to "mismove"....Then you return with whatever response is necessary for your goal weather to strike, unbalance or both at the same time in various directions if needed...This is where I work with more than one opponent and move them in various directions both away from me or into each other while simultaneously striking them as the dynamic attack/defense occurs....Remember your return can and often may be an unrooted strike because you may not have time to find a root all the time so a strike to vulnerable targets like eyes, groin, throat etc may be necessary as well as "rooted" strikes, pushes etc...JP Send me your comments or questions...(It's all fun and games till someone looses and eye LOL).....Thanks, John Perkins

The Failure of Most Self Defense Systems and Teachers--by GM Perkins

Can anyone tell me why most self defense and martial arts teachers and students fail to take into consideration the fact that there is a constant flow of instantaneous change of dynamics during any real life and death altercation? Is there some natural law that blinds people to this fact?

Why is it that the automobile industry gets this and has computers attached to each wheel of some upscale sport vehicles which can detect thousands of changes in road dynamics per second which enhances the performance of these cars and people watching these commercials don't make the connection when it comes to dynamics of violence? Is it that folks think that humans cannot process information quickly enough to make a difference in a life and death fight?

Most human beings are able to tell the direction of the source of sound because the brain can distinguish to 1/50,000 of a second when that sound reaches each ear and gives a corresponding answer to it. If the brain can do this on a subconscious level then how fast can the brain deal with the sub-cortical stimuli and the various other kinesthetic stimuli along with the sounds and other indications of real time events?

It is only when we rely on the limited function of the linear/conscious part of our brain that we loose the ability to respond instantaneously to the real time events....

Fear is a main culprit when it comes to reacting to what is happening to us in real time...

Fear can also be used as a catalyst to explosive instantaneous correct reaction in saving our lives...This is what Guided Chaos training is meant to do....Enhance the subconscious mechanisms we all have which allow humans to perform seemingly super human feats....GC fighting can be likened to this...

How can an older man with bad knees, and many physical weaknesses prevail against men who are either a foot or more taller or many pounds heavier or many years younger? He or, in some instances, she relies upon the principles of Guided Chaos to get past the normal "natural" advantages of these others...What other martial art/sport teaches this?

Why is it that the prevailing method of teaching is to show a technique of attack and a corresponding action when it can be scientifically proven beyond doubt that this is a fallacious methodology? I am puzzled by this since my youth...

I see the best that most can come up with is some form of combination attack/defense movements that will hopefully fit the bill...Will/can any of you respond to any part of my rambling unfettered train of thought here?....Act as if this is the question of some curious child which is not far from the truth...Help me see how others think...What emotions come up for any of you...Thanks for your patience, JPerkins

FOCUS: HOW CONTACT FLOW FEELS DIFFERENT FROM PUSH HANDS

A big disadvantage for distance learners is that it can be very difficult to develop the correct "feel" of GC Contact Flow. NY students have the benefit of access to upper belts and masters (not to mention GM Perkins himself) but even here sometimes the ultimate goal of what high-level GC "feels" like can be elusive.

Many have assumed (mostly incorrectly) that Contact Flow "looks" or feels like tai chi push hands and/or wing chun chi sao. You might expect this from those who have never felt it but this error in interpretation crops up even in those who have felt GC. If you have an external MA background (shotokan, etc.), the differences between push hands and Contact Flow may be indistinguishable but in order to really get it and progress to an upper belt, you need to see that the differences are in, in practice, immense.

Now granted, the internal principles as applied by any given individual can vary greatly but in my (and other GC masters') experience, some general patterns have become evident (so if this personally doesn't apply to your application, more power to you, but all we can go by is what we've actually felt).

By and large, every wing chun instructor I've flowed with has felt far more yang than those in GC. There is more over-commitment, more pushing and pulling within a constant hi-level of pressure. Again, this may not be the rule but this is what I have experienced--with people who were no slouches.

I've also done contact flow with many tai chi instructors, including one who was a national push hands champion. Despite being very sensitive and sticky (meaning they maintained contact well) they all had a heavy, gluey feel and a firm root. The push hands champion, in particular, felt like a sumo wrestler or NFL lineman. The only tai chi practitioner I've worked with who felt almost invisible while still able to maintain contact was a senior student of Master Wayson Liao's, but he was the exception.

I have also felt in people who have changed over to GC from tai chi, a feeling sort of like a progressive shock absorber, where they were light within the first 3 inches of absorbtion and then progressively more squishy until at close range they felt like you were moving them through rapidly drying chewing gum.

So--is this the way you want to feel in Guided Chaos? Absolutely not. I assume that you have followed your interest in GC this far because you thought something was different about it. There is.

I will descibe to you what doing Contact Flow with Lt Col Al, Grandmaster Carron and Grandmaster Perkins feels like to me. That "feel" is what I aspire to at all times and if it's something that perhaps you cannot feel yet, at least the analogies may be helpful in guiding your development.

All 3 of the above masters feel different, yet they are all more alike to each other than any of them are to any other internal stylists I've ever worked with, especially tai chi-ists.

Imagine being thrown into a pin ball machine where all the bumpers are made of hammers and knives instead of rubber...or a high speed washing machine filled with rocks and razor blades. You can't get out of the pinball machine or washer even though to you it feels like you're not being constantly pressed, like you might in a trash compactor. The key point here is that even though they feel nightmarishly loose, they never, ever lose contact with you. In fact, their contact is often invisible (hence, the old GC name "Ghostfist").

To me, they are all increasing degrees of the same scary formidability: Al is light as a butterfly and hits like a jack hammer...with a few whips thrown in for good measure. Tim feels like you're being torn limb from limb yet you cannot locate the source of the abuse even though he never breaks contact--even for a microsecond. And John...well...John feels like you're in a haunted house being pounded by angry ghosts. He is invisible yet all over you.

Read these descriptions over and over and try to understand the principles they embody: they do not absorb your energy; they reflect it instantaneously. There is no suppression, pushing, or drag on your own movement. Do you feel a beam of light as it reflects instantly off the mirrors in a funhouse? Are they slowed at all? Despite never losing contact with your partner, you never want your Contact Flow feeling like you're moving in a vat of molasses. As we describe in Attack Proof, your body should move like a well-oiled mannequin, with all joints free of restriction. An energy input here means an instant blow to the face there. Your careless push is instantly translated into your arm being pulled out of its socket. Your naive pull is instantly translated into a punch to the liver.

In tai chi, the principle is more passive, one of receiving and countering. GC is more about "block me or I'll take your head off". And if you do block me, I'll ricochet, skim, slide, fold, turn or tool replace into another strike with your reflected energy amplified.

The other main difference in feel I've experienced between tai chi practitioners and John or Al is the sense of their root. A high level tai chi man will have a root like a tree that cannot be easily moved. This takes many years of skill development. But understand this well: when you work with John, it feels like he has no root. This does not mean that he doesn't have one--it just means that you can't find it. This is because he changes his root in a microsecond in response to whatever energy he senses from you--and realigns himself to reflect your power back at you from a superior angle. This may manifest in anything from a minor pressure change in his feet, to a one inch readjustment, to a box step that has him suddenly behind you pulling your throat out with one hand and punching your liver in with the other. Note: all of this is covered in detail in the 6 hour Eye of the Storm DVD.

Hope this helps.
--Matt Kovsky

One-arm Contact Flow Training

The importance of one-arm Contact Flow training: you should develop the ability to attack and defend with one arm to the extent that you can deal with both of your opponent's arms with one arm. In motion he thinks he's in contact with both of yours when in reality you've got a spare. This training affords so many points of sensitive contact (elbow, hand, forearm, bicep, triceps, shoulder, etc.) that eventually when you mix it all together the opponent will feel like he's fighting an octopus with sledge hammers

Doing Contact Flow right: we get a lot of questions from remote students about correct CF practice, revealing self-defeating approaches. Some simple tips:

1-Go slow. You both need to creatively discover positional, directional, energetic and balance-related subtleties. Speeding up creates panic, cheating and ego issues.

2-Use the same amount of force. Your defense and offense must develop independent of strength--useful against monsters.

3-Stay close. All real mayhem occurs nose-to-nose. If you have enough room to spar you should have run in the first place. Questions?

YOUR QUESTIONS...

SOLO DRILLS


Q: In the NY class you were teaching me about how to isolate from my root so that I was utilizing less arm movement and moving to more advantageous positions using my body so I wouldn’t get stuck in grabs and be able to continue the flow. All I was wondering was if there are any drills you could explain to me where I could practice isolating from my root and any type of things I could do with the training partners down here so I could continue to cultivate this ability?

A: Two solo drill recommendations:

1) Psycho Tango. See the second edition Attack Proof book.

2) Something with no name that Al showed me a while back: Find a very non-resistant object at around head/shoulder/chest height. The traditional object is a leaf on a tree, preferably at the end of a long, thin branch. In my old apartment I used a string hanging from the ceiling. The object should move in response to the slightest pressure.

Here's how to get started: touch the object with your fingers, being careful not to make it move. Now, while staying in contact with the object with your fingers but not disturbing it at all, start moving and stepping all over the place with the rest of your body. This forces you to isolate the body part in contact with the object while maintaining freedom of motion with the rest of your body. This is a tough drill, it's not easy to keep constant contact while not disturbing the object at all, so don't expect perfection at first. As you get the hang of it, touch the object with other contact points, e.g. your elbow, and isolate around that. Vary the height of the object and the angle at which you touch it. Get as crazy as you can with the movement of the rest of your body. Use TWO objects (e.g. two leaves with various distances between them) and touch one with each hand, and isolate from there. If you find yourself with nothing to do, you can do this with any object you can touch (e.g. a wall), you just won't have the feedback regarding whether you've given any pressure. You can also do it very small and slow if you're out in public, i.e. moving so small/slow that to outside observers it looks like you're just touching a wall or table and standing there, nothing unusual.

In contact flow, what worked for me was playing with the idea of not letting the other person feel where I'm going. This forced me to isolate, either with no pressure or with constant/equal light pressure. Also, letting people grab me hard and just letting them have whatever they're grabbing while I step into position to end it.

--Ari Kandel

Q: It’s been many months since I was last able to
visit you in New York. Am I on the right track with the following:
Practicing Washing the Wall, later reviewing GCC Combatives eBook;
concepts started to click in place, not just individually but as a whole.
I was practicing Washing the walls, then thinking about Sphere of
Influence, I finally understood –“NOT JUST KNEW”— why you remain close to
your opponent until you escape. Besides not giving your opponent a better
chance to attack (which was demonstrated to me multiple times during my
visits), my Sphere of Influence is quite small. To strike back I need to
be close. Combining this revelation with the Box step, other footwork,
moving the “Sphere of Influence”, and remaining unavailable; staying close
to your opponent “FEELS” safer than creating distance. The opposite of
what I demonstrated in the workouts. If I’m off on a tangent I’d like to
know and correct it.

A: Great questions; we love it when people are so enthused they're training
on their own, making discoveries!

First off, the drills you're referencing are called Polishing the Sphere
and Washing the Body. With Polishing, you're envisioning you're inside a
giant glass sphere wiping off steam. the "sphere" is as far away as
whatever tool (weapon) you are using to polish. The movements are all
outward oriented.

Washing is the opposite; you're literally attacking yourself and getting
out of the way at the same time. Washing develops sensitivity, polishing
does not.

Your revelation is important: it's only when you are in "sensitivity
range" (direct contact) that real mayhem (and practical defense) takes
place. Everything else is sparring and thus B.S. Your Sphere of influence
is anything within reach. You need to be comfortable with all weapons,
offense and defense, within this range. Most people, because of stiffness
and over commitment, are ineffective at close range, where GC trained
sensitivity tells you what you need to do without thought or even vision.
So in summary, you are on the right track!

Remember, the closer you are, the lighter, more sensitive and more
unavailable you need to be (the opposite of most people).
--Matt Kovsky 

Facebook, Blog, or Forum?

Facebook, Blog, or Forum? Hey all--wondering how people prefer to communicate and get GC news: our facebook, Blog, or Forum pages. Let us know!
http://attackproof.blogspot.com/ http://groups.google.com/group/guided-chaos-forum?hl=en
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guided-Chaos/133839683360276

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A FOILED ABDUCTION

A Guided Chaos Student's Close Call...

THE SETUP:

"It was a normal Tuesday commute to work. I got off the bus and was walking
along Lexington Avenue when a man in his late 20's, about 5'5" and about 150
lbs. caught me off guard and stopped me for directions. As many of you may
know, I'm 5'0" and weigh about 108. He told me he couldn't speak English and
he needed help looking for an address.

In his hand, he had a piece of paper with an address on it. I looked at the
paper and noticed the building he was looking for was right in front of us.
I pointed to the building and told him, "It's right here". He looked blankly
at me. At that point, I felt a warning in my gut and bladed myself from him.

I began to walk away when he grabbed me by the arm and started screaming
over and over, "Come with me! Come with me!" He pulled me into him and I
loosely went with his pull. I then Dropped into him with my elbow and he
fell flat on the ground. While he was on the ground, both he and I were
stunned. I stood over him (not proud to say) waiting for him to get up so I
could gouge his eyes out. What was I thinking? He could have had a knife or
a gun!

Adrenaline is a crazy thing! He ran away and I still stood in the middle of
23rd and Lexington wondering what the hell just happened. I got to work and
I had such mixed feelings. Maybe he really couldn't speak English and needed
directions and I dropped the poor guy to the ground! I felt horrible. Then I
remembered the feeling I got in my gut while I unconsciously bladed myself
from him. Never ignore your gut or the potential of what you can do under
duress with the applications of this art. Thank you Master Perkins, the
Masters, and all of the the other wonderful, skilled men and women I train
with in the art." --Jeanine

LESSONS LEARNED:

Many brutal rapes and murders start out the same way: A classic "interview'
question to get your attention, followed by forcible abduction to Crime
Scene #2 where the horror begins and escape is impossible. You need to fight
back RIGHT NOW without a moment of second guessing.

Jeanine's GC training kicked in because instead of pulling against her
larger attacker (Jeanine is 5'0") she flowed with his energy and drove her
elbow into him (classic yin/yang sensitivity). This maneuver dropped him
instantly. That's the good part, and thank heavens he ran off. But we need
to examine what happened because Jeanine encountered additional risks that
could have been avoided. These are all from Guided Chaos Combatives:

1) Always maintain a Personal Comfort Zone that no stranger (or hostile
relation) is allowed to enter. You need to train yourself to break the
hypnotic tunnel vision that occurs when your regular attention is hijacked
by a criminal. This may consist of subtle psychological subterfuge
(the"Interview") or overt shock. GCC Scenario Training covers this in depth.
The instant Jeanine was addressed by the stranger, it would've been safer if
she had moved off-line sideways, quickly scanned for accomplices, and either
blown him off completely or maintained a 5 foot PCZ. The point of
establishing the PCZ immediately is so that he must actually take a step
towards you to close the gap to hit or grab you. It's probably lucky for the
stranger because if Jeanine had done this and he suddenly entered her PCZ
she would've ripped his eyes out at the get-go (we know her well!).



2) You fight to escape and survive, not to win a duel or fight for some
contrived notion of retribution. This is the most important part. You never,
ever know what the enemy is capable of. Any of you who've read Attack Proof
know the story of "The Battered Kickboxer" who knocked her attacker to the
ground but bent near him, only to be stabbed with a knife. You fight to
escape, not to win or seek retribution. You can lay somebody out, only to
have them turn over and pop you with a semi-automatic or be gang-attacked by
their buddies. This point goes double for women who on average have a higher
empathy factor than men. They may want to help their attacker after
incapacitating him. As GM Perkins emphasizes: "Ladies, get over it! Hit and
RUN!"

Wheelchair Self-defense by John Perkins

I have worked with wheelchair bound men a few times in the past. I am presently working on a program for the son of a friend of mine who is wheelchair bound. For decades I taught people how to perform contact flow and combat flow from a seated position. This eliminated them from stepping away and forced them to use flexibility to a high degree to make them unavailable and later unavoidable....It is a great methodology and has a lot of merit for standing folk training. I remember some who did not like to do it but after experiencing their progress loved it.

Presently I am training Tina and Patrick to work with wheelchair bound people. I have done much seated work with myself seated to deal with their height and it works out well and keeps me on the ball when it comes to maintaining upper body looseness and I found that I can drop from a seated position just by internally relaxing and suddenly catching my upper bodies weight with my abdominals doing most of the work. I have a small round stool that I use for much of this training but I have done it from any type of chair.

When my brother was in the hospital for prolonged cancer treatments I used to sit in his wheelchair and work as if I had no lower control moving the chair with one hand while using the other to fend off an imaginary attacker.

I know a little of how loss of lower control feels because I had a number of operations where the doctor used a needle to cut off the nerve impulse and feeling to my lower body. The effect usually lasted up to 4 to 5 hours after the procedures/operations and while stuck in bed I would force myself to rise to a sitting position for half an hour or so and imagine how it would be to be in this condition indefinitely....Very sobering to say the least....I count my blessings often that I have the use of my legs...I have recurrent kidney stone problems and can't take the regular anesthesia for these procedures....

To train someone to perform contact flow and combat flow from a wheelchair is not so easy but very rewarding. It gives a true sense of accomplishment to both persons....This is not sportive training but realistic self defense training....I have also worked with blind persons as well....I am developing a workable training regimen for a couple of our student/instructors in this....Hope this helps.....Anyone who wishes to train with me in this methodology is welcome...No charge for these classes....JP

What Is Your Primary Objective When Training Self-defense?

There are new, heavily marketed self defense styles out there that have "revolutionary" advice to offer the public: that you need to "injure the attacker."

New? You could get a 1960's-era Bruce Tegner book that says the same thing. Since before World War II, Col. Rex Applegate, Fairbairn & Sykes and Brad Steiner have stated in one form or another that life-and-death combat is about nothing less than "Kill Or Be Killed."

The trick: how to AVOID being penetrated as well as DELIVER your weapons against a non-compliant aggressor who is ALSO trying to defend himself. It is all about adaptation and improvisation. Train only to hit and you can't adapt to a changing defense. Train only specific defenses and you will be overwhelmed. Train primarily to blend, flow, improvise and adapt--and you will be able to adapt.

That is the key to surviving violent chaos and that is the gift GM Perkins offers.

GCC Manual available now in 2 versions

Full color pdf with enhanced formatting plus a 40 minute chunk of the Companion 2 DVD http://guidedchaoscombatives.com/

Amazon Kindle version in black and white with simplified Kindle formatting: http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Your-Life-Reality-Based-ebook/dp/B003U6ZI...

2 Florida Officers Die After Traffic-stop Shooting

"EXPECTING" TROUBLE:
2 Florida Officers Die After Traffic-stop Shooting
[Sent courtesy Bradley J. Steiner, President International Combat Martial Arts Federation http://www.seattlecombatives.com/]

Tragedies such as the one reported below can only be prevented by EXPECTING TROUBLE whenever a suspect is being interfaced with. NO EXCEPTIONS. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "ROUTINE" STOP. Please study and consider the implications of this catastrophe so — God willing — future events like this will be avoided by other officers. You should scrutinize the teletype sent to your department.
--Brad

By the CNN Wire StaffJune 29, 2010 10:10 a.m. EDT(CNN)

-- A second Tampa, Florida, police officer shot during an early-morning traffic stop Tuesday has died, authorities said, as a massive manhunt was under way for two suspects.

"Doctors have pronounced Officer David Curtis deceased," Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said in a statement. "His family has chosen to harvest his organs so he will remain on life support for the next couple of hours while that takes place.

"Officer Jeffrey Kocab was pronounced dead at a Tampa hospital after the incident about 2:15 a.m. ET Tuesday. Both officers were 31, according to the department.

Kocab's wife was due to give birth next week, while Curtis leaves behind his wife and four sons, ages 9, 6, 5 and 8 months.

Curtis had pulled over a vehicle and found its male passenger had an outstanding warrant for "minor violations," Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor told reporters Tuesday. Kocab responded to back Curtis up, and "as they put their hands on the suspect, the suspect spun around, pulled a firearm and shot both police officers," she said.

Curtis pulled the car over because it had no license plate, authorities said in a statement. "Officer Curtis determined the passenger was wanted on a worthless check warrant" out of Jacksonville, Florida, the statement said. He called for backup and Kocab arrived. Both officers approached the vehicle on the passenger side.

Officers responding to a 9-1-1 call from a witness found both officers on the ground and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, police said. Both were taken to Tampa General Hospital. Kocab was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, while Curtis was put on life support and later pronounced dead.

Both Curtis and Kocab were shot in the upper body, Castor said. They were shot at close range, she told reporters, and body armor would not have helped them avoid injury.

Police dogs had tracked the suspect to a location, she said, and door-to-door searches were under way.

"We haven't positively Identified a suspect, but we have a very good suspect in this situation, and there's probably a great deal more to it than just that misdemeanor warrant," Castor said.

"This is an unbelievable tragedy for these families, and for the larger family of TPD, and for the larger family of the city of Tampa," Mayor Pam Iorio said. "Our hearts are just breaking."

Kocab had been with Tampa police for 14 months, police said, and moved through the TPD's training program at an accelerated pace "because of his outstanding police skills."

Castor said he previously was with the Plant City, Florida, police. Curtis has been with the department for three years and eight months, according to McElroy. He previously was a jail deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Castor described both men as "solid police officers and outstanding individuals" who both worked the midnight shift. Kocab, she said, was "looking forward to being a father," and Curtis was devoted to his wife and sons.

Police were searching for a red 1994 Toyota Camry connected to the shooting and an African-American male and female, McElroy said. The male was described as being in his mid- to late 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 150 to 170 pounds. He is thought to be wearing brown shorts, a white T-shirt, a black vest and white sneakers, police said. No detailed description was available on the woman.

The officers' deaths come nearly a year after Tampa police Cpl. Mike Roberts was killed in the line of duty last August, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said in a statement."

The safety of Tampa residents was the first priority for Officers Kocab and Curtis, and today they selflessly made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their city," the attorney general said. "They will certainly be missed not only by their loved ones, but also by the city they worked to keep safe."

Authorities set up a perimeter around the shooting scene and were conducting "an extensive search for evidence," police said. "The search for the suspects extends statewide. The suspects are considered armed and very dangerous."

Police were asking to be contacted by anyone who witnessed the incident, has information on the suspects or spots the vehicle.

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