The Steel in your Steel

What kind of steel is that knife made of? I have asked that question myself while perusing the tables at knife or gun shows. It is really a useless question if you stop and think about it. It might be 5160, O1, 440-C, ATS 34, D-2, or any number of suitable steels, but in the end does it really make any difference? Probably kitchen knives see more abuse and use than any other knife you’ll ever buy. Did you ask the lady in the house-wares department what steel they were made of before you bought them? Being the male chauvinist that you are, probably not, because they were for the wife and you figured she wouldn’t care. More than likely you looked all of them over, picked out the prettiest ones, something in a middle price range, and cashed out.

Now you are wondering, “Is my steak really that tough or is the darned knife dull again”. What do you expect, you have been using it for a year and never touched up the edge. It was probably made from some low carbon stainless and tempered to a spring temper to ensure it didn’t break. In the past year you’ve used it to peel potatoes, slice cheese, and chop frozen chicken legs apart. I wouldn’t be surprised if you even used it to open a paint can or tighten a screw every now and then.

How many times have you used that custom tactical knife that you paid $450 for? Come on now be honest. Have you cut open any 55 gallon fuel drums like the advertisement showed? Did you go out in the back yard and dig a fighting hole, build a dead fall, or take out a few sentries with it? Hmm, not likely. Before ordering it you read every article in the top knife magazines on blade steels and tempering processes. Now you can spout out the composition of every steel known to man and its optimum rockwell hardness, but does it really matter? Despite the number of times you have not used it you specified that it had to be made from one of the latest exotic blade steels and be triple sub-zero quenched. Who am I to pick fun at you, haven’t I gone through the same scenario myself?

If you’re buying a factory made knife, buy from a reliable company then you can be confident that they are using the appropriate steels with compatible heat treat processes. Personally I am not a big fan of the modern tough stainless steels. Some of them are damned near impossible to sharpen and once dull only a belt grinder will restore the correct geometry and produce a sharp edge. Many of these steels are never truly razor sharp even with the best of edges. With some of them you could spend a lifetime rolling a burr from one side of the blade to the other. This is the price you pay for not having to take care of your knife. Remember that the use of these carefree steels was driven by customer demands and laziness.

If you’re buying a custom knife then you should be buying from someone reputable, someone with a track record for quality workmanship and materials. Many custom makers offer a choice of steels to satisfy customer’s whims but I would recommend sticking with the maker’s preference. It never hurts to ask for references or links to articles about the maker and his products. If the maker does his own “in-house” heat treat it would be a good idea to stay away from the real exotic steels with complex heat-treat requirements. On a side note, I have watched in fascination as the late Bill Moran hardened and tempered a Bowie blade for me with an acetylene torch and a bucket of quenching oil.

When buying from a custom knife maker you might want to ask about his policies on customer satisfaction and returns. You might even want to get it in writing. One time I bought a used custom tactical knife and when it arrived it was as dull as the village idiot. I tried every sharpening device known to man and never could put an edge on it. After several unanswered emails to the maker I resold it at a loss. I will not own a knife that won’t sharpen. Not too long ago I owned a Bowie made by one of the masters of that genre. It would not sharpen either and so I traded it off for a Randall model 14. I may regret the passing of that knife because of the name it bore but certainly not for its lack of cutting ability. A knife maker should stand behind his product one hundred percent unless it has been abused. Shame on you if you were the one to abuse it!

Based on my own personal experience here is a list of men whom I bought custom knives from that were delivered razor sharp. In no special order they are;
· Gary Bradburn
· John Greco
· Kent Hicks
· Chris Peterson
· Brent Sandow
· Mr. De Leon
· R.J. Martin
· Dale Larson
· Bud Nealy
· Craig Barr
· Brett Gatlin
· Larry Harley

For the most part I have no idea what steel these makers used. I know
the men and they know their trade. That is good enough for me. That doesn’t mean I won’t read the next article on the newest exotic steel, it just means that when I order my next custom knife I still probably won’t ask, “What steel is that knife made from?”

David Decker
White Shadow Dojo

The Knife-Fighter: the Man, the Myth, the Legend

Dropping into a low crouch, his lips curled back in a snarl. A deep growl resonated from deep within his throat as his tongue flicked back and forth across his teeth like a darting snake. I knew I was in for trouble, he was in a foul temper and his knife was thirsting for blood. I silently slid my blade from its sheath.

This is “reality” as depicted in most knife-fighting media on the market today. If you daydream about taking on and subduing this beast then there are plenty of books and videos to satisfy your needs. These authors/instructors will tell you that they are teaching you reality when in fact they are only feeding your fantasy and filling their bank account. Cold hard statistics reveal that their version of reality occurs in less than five percent of all violent encounters. If you want a good taste of “reality” read James LaFond’s book The Logic of Steel. If you prefer the reality of pulp fiction then read the books we do not recommend that we have listed in the bibliography in The Rhythm of One.

I am convinced that probably less than one percent of all the people who buy knife-fighting books will ever try out the techniques in those books. Most of them, including those of you who purchased this book, are most likely vicarious martial artists or knife-fighters. That is not especially a bad thing. It is certainly preferable to having hundreds of people out in the streets practicing deadly knife techniques on their neighbors. But what happens when you are caught between a rock and a hard place? What will you do if you are confronted by a knife-wielding mugger or rapist? Are you going to drop into that low crouch and salivate in anticipation of cutting out your opponent’s gizzard? As scary as this sounds, it might work better than trying the techniques that were shown on the DVD on in that book you bought.

You might ask, “how do we get ourselves into these situations?” Whether combat is imagined or otherwise, men have an innate need to be valorous, to be heroes. If you do not believe me read the book by Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

"Campbell showed that the story always began with an Everyman just living his hum-drum life. Suddenly and unexpectedly, either by chance or by choice, Everyman is either pulled out of his ordinary life or chooses to leave his ordinary life to launch into a great adventure, whose ending he cannot know at the beginning.

The adventure, according to Campbell, then goes through several specified stages. The hero will journey into a dark world where he meets various forces or entities which he has to deal with. Along the way he encounters a teacher who gives him the instruction in new skills he will need to learn to successfully achieve his goal. No later than this part of the journey the hero becomes consciously aware of what that very specific goal is.

Striving for his goal, the hero is challenged to his limit, reaching a peak culminating experience, what Campbell calls a "supreme ordeal." The result is that the hero "gains his reward" and is forever changed by the experience. He often gains some new powers and sets off with them. Eventually the hero re-emerges to his society with these new abilities bringing a boon to his society which somehow restores that society."[1]

Romance, reality, fantasy, or myth, which one are you engaged in? It is a harmless albeit somewhat fruitless pursuit to train for that five percent possibility while ignoring the other ninety-five percent probability. What I see when I review a book or video is that the five percent solution appeals to the machismo in most men. The perception of becoming the ultimate knife-fighter able to beat all odds and vanquish all enemies appeals to a man’s subconscious. While this may be the heroes’ path it may not be the warrior’s path. Fantasy is OK when all of the parties are playing on the same game board, but Fantasy is harmful when those who are role-playing do not explain to the other participants that it is a game, and their lives may hang in the balance.

Some knife instructors feel that realism can be improved upon by snarling or making hideous faces. Others will use foul language and scream at you in an attempt to “condition” you to the realities of conflict. What you need to determine is whether these methods represent reality or not. In Mr. LaFond’s book the typical knifer moves in quietly and stealthily. He slips up close and silently stabs or slashes you making as little noise as possible and drawing as little attention as possible. How does this compare to what you learned on your latest DVD? Are we talking about two different realities?

Place yourself in the role of the anti-hero, the mugger or rapist. Which method of assault would you most likely choose? If there is someone standing there screaming obscenities at you and threatening you with a knife it is probably your irate wife not a mugger. Purchasing a three volume set of DVDs on how to use a folding knife is not going to do you any good if you do not train constantly and if you still walk down the street in a blissful fog. As I say in my new book: all you need is a few good techniques, a good quality knife, and the opportunity, skill, and courage to use it when the time comes. Don’t waste your money, or your time, buying the next three DVDs on the same topic. Practice your basics and be aware of your surroundings. In closing there is one book which I highly recommend. The book, Filipino Combat Systems by Mark Edward Cody, is available from Amazon.com or the FCSkali website[2].

[1] http://www.karmastrology.com/rek_hero.shtml
[2] http://www.fcskali.com/

Selecting a Fighting Knife

How does one go about selecting a suitable fighting knife? This is a very difficult question but there are two basic methodologies and about a dozen other factors. You can either buy a knife you like and fit your techniques around it, or you can buy a knife that is designed for specific techniques and then find a teacher to instruct you. No matter which route you follow, rest assured that it will take many years and perhaps many knives to determine if the initial decision was right for you. The trick is to stick with your training long enough to know. Listed here are just some of the variables that go into making that selection.

1. instructor’s preference
2. style of training
3. cultural dictates
4. your physical size or limitations
5. environment, urban or rural
6. state or local laws
7. security requirements
8. preferences & perceptions
9. budgetary constraints


1. Instructor’s preference: If you are already training in a particular martial art then your instructor will have a definite knife preference, based on the style he teaches. For example our karate instructor preferred small knives like keramit and folders because he trained mostly in a Filipino or Indonesian based art. Therefore his instruction favored close-in techniques, best suited to small knives. As his student you are obliged to follow that path or find another instructor. Some teachers will not object to you training with another person, while others strictly prohibit it. This can be a very touchy subject to bring up so you had better know your instructor pretty good before you ask. Otherwise you may suddenly find yourself without any teacher. If your instructor’s style is Combato or some other western style then his choice of weapon will most likely be based around a larger KaBar type fighting knife and broader techniques. During your search you will find that not only is there a difference in distancing and movement between inside and outside arts, there is also a difference in mentality. Do not mistakenly think that the forms in one style can be simply transposed into another. If you train under this assumption you will waste a lot of time.

2. Style of training: I think that this is adequately explained in the previous paragraph. There are certain weapons associated with certain styles. For example, you will not find a filipino stylist training with an Arkansas Toothpick. Depending upon which part of the islands he comes from you might find him using a dagger of similar size and shape. It is also possible that he might be partial to a barong, keris, or punal, or he may prefer the tiny kerambit tipped with a deadly poison. His choice will be a reflection of the village he came from and what his teacher preferred. Persons training in ethnic styles are often encouraged to wear the traditional garb and learn the language. This takes us to topic number three.

3. Cultural dictates: This does not necessarily mean that you have to be Korean to study a Korean art, although there are great advantages in understanding the art if you are. Typically, if you are a serious student of any art you have a desire to learn more about the culture in areas beyond the mechanical techniques. Some instructors may insist that as a part of your training that you wear traditional garb and learn at least a working knowledge of the technical language, a dojo vocabulary. They will also insist that you train with a knife representative of that culture. Other schools could care less what you use, as long as you pay your dues and testing fees. Oddly enough, often times it is the American instructor who tries to be more Japanese or Korean than their Asian counterpart. At times this can rise to ludicrous levels of silliness and get in the way of actually learning the true art. If you are of a certain ethnic background then I would encourage you to investigate your parent art and see if it suits your personality. I truly believe that styles evolved based on an ethnic mentality and that the shape of the weapons they carried grew out of that.

4. Physical limitations: Your own physical size will suggest the size knife that you should carry and what techniques you are reasonably capable of. Never try to over-compensate for your size or gender. Work within those natural constraints and you will suffer fewer injuries and be more successful. Be selective in choosing a style of martial arts based on your size. Sure a small person can learn to do judo as well as a big person, but do you think that on the streets you can successfully throw a person six foot four inches tall if you are only five foot tall? Be realistic in the expectations you make of yourself. Physical size may also limit the size knife you can readily conceal on your person. Again, if you are five feet tall then secretly carrying a Bowie that is sixteen inches long is going to be tough. Unless you have very strong shoulders and wrists swinging a two-pound Bowie is going to be a tiring exercise. If you have short arms don’t try to offset that by carrying a longer knife, pick a short, fast knife and learn to fight close-in. A good sharp knife is a great equalizer. Strength is not a requirement for knife fighting but stamina is a valuable asset. Therefore, rather than worrying about building muscle mass concentrate on building stamina.

5. Environment: Where do you live and where do you travel? This can influence the style knife you can reasonably carry without being looked on as a nut-case. If you spend a lot of time in rural America, farming, hunting, or working in construction you may get by carrying a knife in plain view. This is not usually the case. If you stop at the local Wally Mart or convenience store on your way home and you are still wearing your machete you may find yourself being swarmed by security guards or police. Obviously you must never carry a weapon on or near a school or airport whether it is concealable or not! If you really have concerns for your safety when travelling then you should read the “travelling with weapons” section in our new book. Common sense dictates carrying smaller knives in congested areas and larger ones in the country. This is not only for reasons of legality but for your ability to deploy them if you need to. Cold climates require longer blades than do warm climates. A kerambit with a two and three quarter inch blade will be totally ineffective against a man wearing a heavy winter coat. A twelve inch bladed bowie is unnecessary if your opponent is dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Practicality is a big part of making environmental and other choices when choosing a knife.

6. Legality: This follows naturally on the heels of the previous paragraph. The difficulty is in knowing what is legal and what is not. This is rarely defined in local laws and is instead left up to the whims of the local jurisprudence. Other times there are hard and fast rules; i.e. no double-edged knives, no blades in excess of three inches, no locking blades, etc. Many times I have carried a knife on the basis of “see no evil” in other words, out of sight out of mind. It is never good policy to flaunt your knife in public especially in crowded areas. Someone is certain to panic and call for the police or security if they see a Crocodile Dundee™ bowie hanging on your belt while you’re at the Mall. When in doubt carry a small folder and hope for the best. With foreign countries all bets are off. No matter what you do, as an American, you are probably breaking their laws.

7. Security requirements: Legality be damned, you feel your life is endangered every
time you walk to and from the parking garage to your office. Sometimes security has to take precedence over legality. You must be truthful with yourself and know that your fears are well-founded. Only you can judge the potential for encountering violence in your everyday life. Fear alone is not justification enough for carrying an Uzi or a Bowie to work. What do the crime statistics say? Know what is on the news and on the streets because these are often quite different than what is actually reported in government crime statistics. Will a pocket folder provide you with the edge you need, based on the crime in your area, or do you need something bigger in your handbag or tucked in your waistband?

8. Preferences and Perceptions: Finally we get down to the fun stuff, the gray areas that are usually based on our desires not our needs. How do I know? Because this was where I began my own knife collecting many years ago. Maybe we read a book where the hero carried a Bowie, or a stiletto, and that formed a vivid image in our mind. We equate the hero’s deeds with that particular weapon and are swayed to buy one just like it. This is how Hollywood creates the fantasy weapons market. Other times our choice is based on having a knife just like Dad carried, or Grandpa always used when he went hunting. These are heroes too in their own right. Maybe that knife you want just looks: mean, tough, deadly, magical, whatever. Perceptions often form our individual sense of reality and a weapon is an extension of who we are or whom we want to be. So our choice is often subliminally based on how we want to be perceived by others. Do we want to been seen as the hero of the Alamo, a secret agent, a deadly assassin, or the warrior who wins the heart of the beautiful damsel? Very few people will admit to the inner workings that drive their selection process. Why? Because they are too personal or they may be buried so deeply they do not truly know. A buyer’s choice may be based on aesthetics, purity of line, form or function. The mind may be stimulated by an appealing combination of materials or colors. The decision of one knife over another may be based on how well it fits in the hand. These are all things that a marketing person wrestles with when deciding which knife goes to market and which ones get shelved. Most of these attributes have minimal influence on the effectiveness of the weapon or its suitability for the user. Quite often they may even be at odds with what the user actually needs.

9. Budgetary Constraints: This is the most painful part of the selection process. Can you justify spending six hundred dollars on a fighting knife that will most likely never see a drop of blood drawn? When a six dollar knife will perforate an attacker with aplomb why do we feel we need to spend a month’s wages on a custom knife? This brings us back to preferences and perceptions. The flip side is what can we do when we cannot find the money to purchase a top of the line fighting knife? There are times that we have to face that reality and choose the best quality knife that we can afford. That may not be a knife that fits any of the other eight parameters outlined above. As I have said before, the perfect fighting knife is the one you have with you when you need it. Style, preference, aesthetics, legality, ethnicity, physical limitation, etc all are thrown to the winds when faced with the imminent threat of violence.

Spending some time in advance and giving consideration to the other attributes may arm you with a good knife should that time come. I hope that you never have need of it, but if you do, I hope that you have chosen your knife wisely.

David Decker

White Shadow Dojo

The Fog of Peace

What is it about the private ownership of weapons that causes politicians to lose sleep and civilizations to tremble? Can anyone tell me of any civilization or culture that was established by, or preserved through, hugs and kisses? News broadcasters talk about Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and the “Fog of War,” ladies and gentlemen I am more concerned about the fog of peace.

Through my love of knives and other edged weapons I have become acquainted with people all over this great nation and around the world and they all share the same passions and deep concerns. In an effort to stem terrorism America has engaged in wars of aggression in several foreign countries. We have overthrown governments and unseated irreconcilable dictators. We are losing the war on terrorism and another war right here at home. We are losing the War of Independence that our ancestors fought over 200 years ago. Daily our rights as citizens are being eroded under the guise of making us safe. Safe from what and whom becomes the question. It has become acceptable national policy to topple governments in the name of national security, or eradicate terrorists leaders with drones, yet we are now forbidden to take lip balm or shampoo onboard an aircraft. At the same time that military commanders are deciding whether to attack a sleepy hamlet with an airstrike or a cruise missile we are stripped of pocketknives before we can enter an Art Museum. Where is the sanity in all of this? Who are we punishing, and who are the terrorists? Our rights and freedoms are on the brink of extinction. This is a global problem that infects nearly every civilized nation around the world. Sharing some thoughts about intrusive knife laws I quote from a Japanese friend’s email, “I have a lot of doubts, though I love my country.” My friends in England and around the Globe echo this poignant sentiment. For example, here is a quote from the UK, “dave, by the way re. samurai swords, there is talk of them being banned here in the u.k. what a sad place to live.” Friends, I fear that we are wading through the sinister fog of peace.

One man hid a bomb is his tennis shoe and now every day tens of thousands of peace-loving, free citizens have to remove their shoes at airport screening. What if the billions of dollars spent bombing Iraq had been spent on better screening equipment? Wouldn’t that have made flying safer without toppling a foreign government and destroying a country’s economy, stability, and infrastructure? Some terrorists - whom we dare not describe ethnically for fear of inciting riots in the name of the peaceful prophet – hijacked four airplanes and destroyed Mankind’s fragile hopes for security and serenity. Because these religious nut-cases used knives to assist them in their evil purposes, civilized worlds will eventually seek to ban all knives as instruments of mass destruction and terror. How readily will we give over our rights to own knives and pointed scissors and lip balm? Is this really part of the struggle to save freedom? How far will Americans go to secure their safety, what freedoms will they sacrifice? I fear they will spill it all in the name of Homeland Security.

David Decker

White Shadow Dojo

The Evolution of the Cobra

A knife design is sometimes spontaneous and other times more evolutionary. Such is the case of the Cobra MkIII. What began as a seven-inch bladed fighting knife evolved into the current four-inch bladed self-defense knife you see here. Over time I have wrestled with my innate love of large knives versus the practicality of smaller knives. The Mk-III is the resolution of that quandary.

I initially designed a larger knife called the D~S #4 Fighting Knife. It combined my preference for both recurved and double-edged blades. My good friend Mike Sturman made this and several other variations. Armed with these prototypes I approached two major knife manufacturers here in Western, NY. It was a big disappointment when they both said that the design could not be ground with the machinery they had. To produce the knife would mean sacrificing many subtleties of the design. I decided not to go that route and for several years the design languished in my drawer.

As time went by I decided that maybe a knife with a seven-inch blade was not practical for anything other than combat use. The market had turned to combat folders, often with blades between three and one half, to four inches long. Obviously a folder when carried is only as long as its handle, a major advantage. The known drawbacks of a folder for defense are the necessity of opening it under stress, and the possibility that the locking mechanism or blade pivot can fail under pressure. One of the major stumbling blocks to carrying a fixed blade knife is that the overall length is partially dictated by the handle length. For example, a knife with a seven-inch blade is expected to have a handle five inches long for visual and ergonomic reasons. Another disadvantage of a fixed blade knife is the difficulty carrying it concealed, and the discomfort of having that long handle sticking in your ribs when you are seated.

So I determined to make a knife with a blade at least as long (or short) as most of the combat folders and combine it into the shortest fixed-blade package possible. I turned to the Indonesian punal for the handle shape. The punal or keris shaped handle was slightly modified to ensure that it fit in the user’s hand equally well in forward and reverse grip. Despite the handles short length there is adequate gripping area and there is a choil and thumb ramp to both orient the hand and prevent it from slipping onto the blade. Taking out a fresh sheet of paper I drew a straight line to represent where the point should lie and then scrunched up the D~S #4 blade to just over four inches. After several redesigns of the blade it is finally where I initially envisioned it. The MK-II was nearly perfect but it was ground from 6mm thick steel, which made the bevels on the blade steeper than I wanted, reducing the cutting ability somewhat. Because of this we went back to the excellent 5mm Sandvik Swedish steel. The final touch to the MK-III was the teeth on the back edge.

Once the teeth were added I realized that what I had created was a mini-Hobbit! I have always admired the REKAT[1] Hobbit, with only one exception, the shape of the guard almost forced you to use the knife in reverse grip. Not everyone is comfortable using the reverse grip and there are times it is not appropriate. On the other hand, although its blade is nearly a perfect size, the Pocket Hobbit has an awful handle design. The Cobra’s teeth are not intended for cutting parachute cords, seat belts, sawing wood, etc. They are designed to be used for trapping an opponent’s arm, allowing you to take control of his weapon. These trapping techniques are explained in detail in our first book[2] The Rhythm of One which is still available for purchase. The Cobra MK-III is one very powerful knife in a small package and there is no need to fumble about trying to open it under stress and it will not fail you under pressure. The Cobra is an excellent choice for your EDC (Every Day Carry) weapon. The cobra can he purchased with a choice of blade coatings and handle materials. Please contact me for more information and current availability and pricing. Look for the Cobra in an upcoming issue of Tactical Knives.


David Decker
White Shadow Dojo

[1] Round Eyes Knife and Tool; No longer in business.
[2] http://therhythmofone.blogspot.com/

There is more to life than competition...

Corning Martial Arts Taikai

This September, the White Shadow Dojo was pleased to participate in an event sponsored by the Corning Sister Cities Kakegawa program. Corning city shares a cultural exchange relationship with Kakegawa, Japan and the focus of this event was to increase public awareness of Asian culture and to showcase the many martial arts schools in the Corning Southern Tier area.

The first “Martial Arts Taikai: An Inter-School Martial Arts Demonstration” was held at Corning East High School. There were ongoing demonstrations from 11am- 4pm with nine martial arts schools in attendance including; Three Treasures Martial Arts, Hidy Ochiai Karate, Elmira Tatsu Do, Sukunaihayashi-kai Shorin Ryu, Kwon’s Champion School, Hayabusa Martial Arts, Alfred Martial Arts Chidokwan Karate and Hakoryu Jujitsu, Taijiquan, and White Shadow Dojo Iaido. Drawing from Japanese, Chinese, and Korean styles, the event offered a broad view of the unique differences which exist within these various traditions. Some of the schools were large, commercial schools with thirty demonstrators, while others had only four or five members, again exhibiting the variety of choices available for those wishing to study martial arts in the Corning Southern Tier area. Perhaps the most satisfying part of participating in this event was the fact that this demonstration was a cooperative, community event. Instead of pitting the schools against one another, as tournaments do, this event brought martial arts practitioners together in a spirit of sharing and learning. It was unfortunate that public attendance was small, however this was the first event of its kind in the area and the Sister Cities Kakegawa Program hopes to make this an annual event in the future.

Four members from our school demonstrated Iaido, the art of drawing and cutting with the sword. We offer a basic Japanese swordsmanship class at our dojo which includes a thorough study of the sword and its parts, and the history, philosophy, and use of the sword. Our members demonstrated techniques from three schools of swordsmanship and explained briefly about the use, history, and development of the Japanese sword. Many of the martial arts schools who attended offer basic instruction in some style of swordsmanship for their black belt practitioners. However, in this situation the sword is typically taught along with a variety of other weapons, and the techniques lose their subtlety and refinement, and are often misunderstood. In many schools it seems as if the sword is viewed as the next step when the Karate student progresses to black belt. This is a fine notion if the student is willing to put in the serious time and effort to studying this weapon (or any other weapon for that matter). I think that our members offered an interesting demonstration and perspective on the study of swordsmanship and reminded those in attendance that the study of the sword is in itself a tradition and lifelong pursuit, just like studying Karate or any other open-hand art.

This event fostered mutual appreciation and respect among the attending martial arts schools, instructors, and students and offered a realistic perspective of the martial arts to the public. The instructors all agreed that this was a great way of reminding themselves and their students just how much there is to learn and how important it is to work together to promote the values and benefits of the martial arts. In a world where competition can be cut-throat and the martial arts have become big business, it was refreshing to see that some practitioners still remember and embrace the values which were passed down to them by their sensei and forbearers.

Gwynne Decker
White Shadow Dojo

Some Lessons in Blade Geometry: The Dynamics of Cutting

For over forty years I have been experimenting and training with many types of fighting knives. Just when you think you know everything there is to know about a subject something new comes up. That’s the way it is with blade geometry and the dynamics of cutting. My test-cutting medium is not very exotic. It consists of simple cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls or hollow tubes formed by rolling 3 sheets of newspaper and taping them.


One night at our dojo I took some time to work with a new knife from Laci Szabo called the Kamaitachi™. This knife is like a kerambit on steroids. Right from the beginning I dismissed it as a stabbing weapon and figured it was only suitable for tearing and ripping actions. When I queried Laci about how this knife was intended to be used he said that it was “the simplest of all of his knives to use.” That didn’t answer a lot of my questions. Despite its weird shape I decided to try some experimental thrusts with it. I was quite surprised and impressed with the stabbing qualities of the knife. The point is so offset from the centerline of the blade that I thought it would create a torquing effect upon impact but it didn’t seem to. When thrusting it works best if it is held in a modified reverse grip. In fact for any technique it seems more comfortable when held this way. So now I knew it was capable of thrusting but it is still a very short-range knife compared to something like a Hells Belle Bowie. Another surprise was that when I tried slashing with the Kamaitachi it did not do well at all. This was disappointing considering its talon-like curvature. The poor performance may be due to my unfamiliarity with it or my technique so I’ll give it more time before passing judgement. Laci’s philosophy is that a knife’s ergonomics ought to be tailored to the way a human being moves, not the other way around. That makes sense to me but I still feel like I have to figure out which way to move my body to keep the Kamaitachi happy.

Next are two similar knives, whose prototypes were made by Mike Snody and then manufactured by two high-end cutlery firms. Through the wonders of Ebay I procured the first of these two knives, an older Spyderco Ronin™. Michael Janich originally designed the Ronin, Snody made the prototype, and Spyderco eventually picked up the design to produce the semi-custom Ronin. It is a neat little knife and doesn’t seem to have gained the popularity it should have. According to an article written by knife designer and self-defense expert Janich, during a thrust the unusual blade shape will cause the knife to ride the sloped back edge and thereby create an ever widening wound as it enters. (This is the same effect that James Williams of Ancient Edge/Bugei claims for his design the Hissatsu™.) Going against traditional logic, Janich also made the claim that the cutting edge of a curved blade will tend to push itself away from the target rather than cut into it. He said that this is especially true when trying to cut a rounded surface. That statement, although counter-intuitive, started me thinking. For example, you would assume that the gracefully curved Shobu tanto by Gary Bradburn would easily out-cut the brute shown above it with the straight edge. To my great surprise, they both cut equally well.

So far I have not worked with the Ronin as much as the other knives being discussed but without a doubt its needle-like tip will provide serious penetration, and the cutting edge, although short, should cut deeply. The Ronin’s excellent cutting ability is the result of some blade dynamics I will explain shortly. Maybe if the Ronin had been made available in something a bit bigger, something with more than a three-inch blade, it would have made more of a dent in the knife market. In winter, when an attacker is liable to be bundled up in a heavy sweater and coat, any knife with a blade this short is going to have a tough go of it if you decide to defend with a thrust.

Next, the JuJu™, a Snody/Benchmade knife, with a blade shape (a modified wharncliff design) somewhat similar to the Ronin. Penetration was excellent, as would be expected. Being a bit larger than the Ronin, and having more mass, the JuJu really does well in cutting tests. The cutting qualities of yet another straight edged blade were much better than I expected and that is what finally triggered my research into an area of blade geometry that I had not explored before. The JuJu has a chisel-ground blade, with only one bevel, which makes for a very acute edge angle. This in itself improves the cutting performance but that is not the whole story as we will see later. Having a short four and three quarter inch blade makes it difficult to accurately hit cutting-targets and I often found myself drawing my cut too short and missing the target altogether. But if my aim and distancing were good, and my angle was correct, pieces of the cardboard tube were sheared off clean as a razor stroke.

The last weapon I want to discuss is the popular Razel™ from the Graham brothers. Although the Graham brothers describe their invention as the most useful tool you’ll ever own, this razor-chisel utility tool has some very interesting possibilities as a weapon. It doesn’t take much imagination to recognize it as a “slasher”. After all, the blade is nothing more than a truncated straight razor. My Razel also has a slight belly, but is this the source of its phenomenal cutting? After forty years of playing with knives, knowing beyond a doubt that curved blades cut and straight blades puncture, I had to question whether I was right or wrong? I hate to admit it, but I was pretty much wrong. What was also surprising is the Razel’s impressive capacity to create large holes during a thrust but I’ll discuss that last.

So where does cutting power really originate from? If, as Mr. Janich said, a curved blade is not the most effective shape, why isn’t it? It’s a matter of PSI, pounds per square inch. That sounds boring already doesn’t it? Consider for a moment the lowly single-edged razor blade, the same one used in utility knives and scrapers everywhere. If you take a test medium and place a razor blade with the full edge in contact and push down with all your weight, how deeply will that blade cut? Not very deep I would guess. Ok, now perform the same test and slide the blade along the surface[1]. You should see a difference, because now you have pressure and movement. Finally, apply the same pressure, cock the blade up forty-five degrees so that only the corner or tip is contacting the surface, and slide it along. If the tip doesn’t break off you will see a huge increase in the depth of the cut. Why would the tip break off? Because the PSI are very high when you apply the same force on a very small area, in this case just the tip of the razor blade. It doesn’t matter how long or short the razor blade is since you are only cutting with the tip. There is no curve to the tip of the razor blade either, it is just like the point of the Ronin, the JuJu, and the Razel. Therefore, I am not so sure that it is the curvature, or lack thereof, that makes the difference in the blade’s cutting performance. It is more the fact that the curved blade does not allow the fullest application of PSI that can be developed with the tip of the wharncliff style blade. With a curved blade the tip may never come into contact with the cutting medium at all. In essence the best cutting is not actually done with the edge, straight or curved, and therefore the blade length and shape have little influence on cutting performance.

I said I would address the thrusting capabilities of the Razel later, so here goes. Many people have looked at the blade of the Razel and arbitrarily decided that it cannot be used to puncture or thrust. These people must not have experimented at all with the knife or they would know how stupid that statement is! When the Razel is held naturally, in the right hand with the wrist held straight, the knife is angled about forty-five degrees to the left. This means that during a thrust the sharpened flat end of the blade is not striking the target squarely. In fact what you have is a very wide tipped blade something like a Roman pugio (dagger) or a hunting broad-arrow. Since both edges are razor sharp this knife will definitely penetrate, and in the process leave a very wide wound channel. So much for arbitrary determinations and that is what this whole article is about.

These discoveries make me wonder about the effectiveness of all those traditional drop-point deep-bellied skinning knives that have been marketed over the last 50 years. Perhaps if nothing else their blade shape was most effective at preventing them from cutting too deeply (for the reasons stated above) and penetrating internal organs. Their actual cutting performance may not have been what it could have, had they used a wharncliff style blade. Similarly, I am questioning the performance of re-curved blades, which have always been a favorite of mine. My particular affinity for knives with this shape may be due to the sensuality of the curve more than to its actual performance. Again, I was basing my preference on perception and other’s opinions, not on actual testing.

If high PSI focused on a small area is the secret to cutting then why did the Kamaitachi do so poorly? A sickle shaped blade is designed to gather in and cut and the pressure on the target is applied over a broad area, growing until it reaches the tip. I suspect that at this point the target can be torn or ripped but not smoothly cut. Remember that the cutting action of a sickle blade is applied against very tiny stalks of grass or grain. The talons of a bird of prey are not intended to cut; or else their game would slide through their grasp and escape. The talons are designed to gather in and clutch. That is exactly what the Kamaitachi does! It can be used to trap and tear, or collect-up, pass, and stab.

While we all have preconceptions of what a hunting knife or a fighting knife is supposed to look like, as the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “Form follows Function.” Once in a while we have to address our preconceptions, consider the options, step outside of the box, and question the function. Considering the cost of the knives involved, this has been an expensive experiment but I think that I have learned a lot about how a knife really works and just how wrong perceptions can be.

David Decker
White Shadow Dojo

[1] You will probably find that in order to slide the blade you must shift it, slightly lifting one corner so it doesn’t dig in and prevent sliding. This means that you have shifted the pressure to a smaller area, increasing the PSI which, in addition to the movement, also affects the cutting.

Edged weapons training

White Shadow Dojo
Class Make-up & Philosophy:

Our personal philosophy is that we train, if other people come they are welcome to train with us. If they do not come we still have to train. It is really that simple. Many years ago I stopped charging students for lessons. This is my way of repaying a moral debt to my instructors, many who taught me freely. In the White Shadow dojo we use the same method of ranking as a koryu, recognizing only student and mentor grades. Our students train in seitei[1] sword forms and in knife defense with no expectation of receiving rank. They train purely for the sake of self-improvement. The relationship between mentor and student in our school is different than that found in most schools because of our approach. Sometimes new students who do not understand our philosophy feel they have no obligation to come to class regularly because they have nothing invested and they do not see any tangible reward. To be honest, I do not want a student who comes to class on the basis of rank, promotion, or monetary profit or loss. The students who have stuck with us are excellent technicians, but they have acquired more than technical skills, they have developed a sense of self-worth that a colored belt or a certificate could not have given them.

Our class sizes have always been small, partly because we live in a small town setting, partly because of our philosophy, and partly by choice. Knife defense or knife fighting is not something that I believe should be taught to large faceless classes. This is not like teaching a class on empty-hand fighting, macramé or watercolor painting. I choose to be discriminating about whom I teach and what I teach them. If you choose otherwise you may someday meet one of your own students under adverse conditions and the questions will arise; do you remember him and did you teach him everything you know? Our teaching methods do not use role-playing or acting out scenarios. We feel that training for something that you know is just pretext is a waste of time. There are too many possible scenarios and no real sense of life threatening danger to make them useful.

We focus on hyoshi and gamae, honing the student’s sense of timing and positioning. Obviously, the primary component of any good defense is awareness, being in what is often referred to as condition yellow. Secondary to awareness is your response time, the efficiency of your movements, and an instantaneous and effective counter-attack. So the first, and most important, physical movement is to use the correct angling to shift off-center of the attack. In that same space of time, you should be striking or cutting your opponent, at the same time, not afterwards. This is a core component of our teaching; this is hittatsu no hyoshi, or the rhythm of one.

In fact, our first book The Rhythm of One is about combining defense and offense into one seamless movement. Our methodology is typically more responsive than offensive. Many people talk about reaction times always being slower than actions. That depends totally on the two people. If you don’t believe me, watch how differently people react when a stoplight turns green. Unless a person is deranged and attacks in a blind rage they will have a target in mind. It might be your chest, neck, arm, whatever, but they consciously make a determination of what and where to attack. Quite often they telegraph this information a fraction of a second before they attack. As the defender your agenda is completely different and you can respond by counter-attacking any part of your opponent that moves or is within reach, without any precognition or forethought. As soon as your attacker locks onto a target you are free to interdict and preempt his attack. Your counter-attack should be aimed at taking control of the center - that imaginary line that runs between two opponents - and taking-out the weapon control system. If your focus is totally on controlling the weapon – in this case the knife - you ignore your attacker’s other weapons. Chushin is the Japanese concept that applies to taking control of the center of an engagement and by doing so denying your opponent his base, disrupting his physical and mental balance.

Our second book will go into greater detail on timing, but I would consider an attacker’s first move to be when he begins to draw his knife, which should be your cue to strike, not when his knife is actually coming toward you. If his knife is already out, then his first move is cocking his weapon arm, and that is when you should attack. So although responsive in nature, I am not advocating that you let your opponent strike or cut you first. (No wonder so many teachers say that you should expect to get cut!) Yes you might get cut but don’t make that a precondition of your training or your response. As Yagyu Munenori said, combat is not about winning, it is about not losing. My strategy is about not getting cut and one of my high priorities is not sacrificing my empty arm by sticking it in the line of attack. This has a lot to do with making a wise choice of stances.


Methodology:

Our teaching methods are unabashedly old style and traditional. They rely on performing many repetitions of a technique to build muscle memory until the student is comfortable enough to allow variations in the attacker’s angle and speed. (If you really believe those instructors who say that you can learn a knife art, or any art, during a weekend intensive, then I wish you well.) Once a student has acquired a set of basics to work with, free style sparring - or randori - is allowed at reduced speed and power. When the student has proven their ability to control their techniques they are permitted to work at full speed and power, using either training gear and light contact, or working unencumbered and pulling their techniques. No attacks to the head or throat are permitted for obvious safety reasons. This is a time-tested method. It has been used for hundreds of years in Japan to train some of the world’s most indomitable warriors. Today many students are unwilling to put in the time to perfect even the most basic techniques. They want to learn an entire system in a one-day seminar and unfortunately there are teachers who are willing to meet, teach, and certify them all in one day.

Perhaps the most important difference in our school is what we don’t teach. We don’t teach knife disarms, traditional stances, hollowing out, or grabbing techniques. In contrast to most schools, we teach unassuming stances that do not offer any hint of how, or even if, you intend to defend yourself. Our stances are intended to conceal your skill level or martial arts training. They are completely relaxed, natural and non-confrontational. Being relaxed is very important. If you are not relaxed, then your movements will be tight and slow, and you probably will get cut. Taking a formal stance sends too many signals to your opponent and gives him too much information. Taking a fighting stance may actually trigger an attack, whereas being less confrontational might help diffuse the situation.

I believe that one of the worst things a teacher can do is place too much emphasis on fighting from a particular stance. It worries the beginning student and becomes a serious distraction. The more unnatural the stance is the worse time the student will have remembering it. All of his other techniques will suffer because of this distraction. I know that it has been said that a proper stance is the foundation on which everything else is built. Attack a well-built house with a bulldozer and see what gives. Now try the bulldozer against a mound of sand or a body of water and see what happens. Students who finally learn the teacher’s signature stance often become rooted in it and end up an easy target for their attacker. Many people have wisely said that the best defense is to not be where the attack takes place. That could mean being in a different part of town or just inches off to the side of a thrust. Either way it requires being mobile not rooted.

Hollowing-out, as a technique, provides your attacker with a wonderful opportunity to make a second attempt to stab or cut you. Hollowing-out will gain you just enough time to think about how much it’s going to hurt when you do get stabbed. When you hollow-out you negate any chance you had of taking the initiative and you have given your attacker the next move. This commonly taught technique is the inevitable result of being too rooted in a stance and being totally unprepared for an attack. A far better option is to simply move off-center, right or left, and strike, cut, or throw your attacker.

We also do not teach grabbing techniques because they do not work! Unless you are very quick, have an iron-man grip, are bigger or stronger than your opponent, and are also incredibly lucky, you are destined to end up with lacerated hands and arms. If you are lacking in any of these elements you will be picking your finger up off the floor. I have had a 250 pound man lock onto my knife hand with both of his hands and I could still cut him. I have seen blood drawn when a man trying to grab a wooden training knife got stabbed in the hand. While you are grabbing the knife hand your attacker still has two legs and one hand free to kick or punch you. Wrestling with an attacker’s knife hand is a last ditch practice that should be avoided at all costs. Remember, to control the knife you should take-out the weapon-bearing arm/hand, the legs that provide mobility, or the control center that directs them, the brain.

Gwynne and I have trained and taught in both karate Gi and street clothes, with and without shoes. The type of clothing worn for training is not that critical if you are teaching sensible techniques. If your techniques include a devastating spinning back-kick then the ladies who go to work in pencil skirts and stiletto heels are in deep trouble. I guess if you want to find out if those advanced techniques will really work, then everyone should wear pencil skirts to the next class. Our classes typically combine a mix of young teens and adults, male and female. Working with a student a foot shorter than me made me appreciate how useless some techniques were, for the shorter person! Training with a slight-built female student weighing 80 pounds less than me made me realize how badly she was going to get pummeled if I didn’t find a better technique for her to use. If that technique was better for her wouldn’t it also be better for a man? Sometimes we get locked into fuzzy logic about this sort of thing and overlook the obvious. Realistically you should not teach some techniques that are specifically for women and others for men. What about teaching big and tall men’s techniques, and small men’s techniques, are they for another day or another seminar?

For the most part, a six-foot, two hundred-pound man does not need much technical skill to assault a one hundred-pound woman, whether he is armed with a knife or not. So the techniques we teach are biased toward the weaker person, the one who is most likely to be the victim anyway, not toward the person more likely to be the aggressor. Body mass or brute strength must not be a part of the technique or the winner and loser are clearly defined before the confrontation even begins. Our techniques rely on avoiding impact or hard-on-hard blocks by choosing the path of least resistance, parrying, deflecting, and transitioning off-line. The techniques must work without the compliance of the “attacker” or they are worse than useless, they are deceptive. There is a very fine line between building a student’s self-confidence and giving them a false sense of security. One time a man asked me to create a simple course for the aged and infirm that they could use to defend themselves. While this is a noble concept I could not in all honesty find any executable techniques that people in this category could expect to use successfully. How do you teach a crippled gazelle to defend itself against a pack of jackals? Unfortunately the laws of natural selection are usually in the predator’s favor. One of the predator’s keenest senses is his ability to find and target the weak and defenseless. For this reason the awareness in your defense must be coupled with an air of confidence and assuredness and not emanating the scent of a victim.

Training Gear:

We use a wide variety of training knives in many materials; i.e. wood, rubber, aluminum, steel, and in various sizes and shapes. Hard rubber knives are best for beginners but at a more advanced stage the student is expected to use either an aluminum or steel blunted blade to increase their awareness of being hit. Students who become too comfortable with soft blades can become ambivalent about grazing cuts or light chops. Getting hit with a metal blade helps to restore that crucial sense of realism and blade awareness. For those student’s who attempt a disarm the feel of a metal blade in their hands is more convincing than one made of rubber. It is for these reasons that we do not use foam padded weapons in our training. Live blades - sharp weapons - are used for test cutting and solo drills, and only by the more advanced students. It is not recommended that inexperienced people work with live blades because it is too easy for them to cut themselves while performing even simple flow drills.


Summary:

Concerning the question of whether training in a dojo setting is realistic or not, would it make it better if we called it a reality-based-confrontation-center or some other equally silly thing? Dojo is just a word, in our early days we trained barefoot; on asphalt parking lots, the terrazzo floors of our community center and high school hallways, and in grassy back yards. Each of these could have been considered our dojo.
How long does it take to become proficient in unarmed defense against a knife? More importantly, I would ask, how do you know when you are proficient? Certainly performing a knife-disarm in class in not proof positive of your proficiency. The only real proof will be that which no one should hope to gain, surviving an actual knife attack. Let me rephrase the question. How long does it take to become proficient in unarmed defense against a training knife in a class room environment? That depends upon many things including the student’s aptitude and desire. One of the most respected authorities on the subject, William E. Fairbairn, said there is no sure defense against a knife attack. That is a pretty sobering assessment. One important thing I have learned in the past fifty plus years of life is that some systems are better than others, but the instructor’s attitude and his philosophy will have a greater impact on a student’s learning than all of the fancy techniques or systems out there. It bugs me when instructors, who were educated in a traditional style, give recognition to their teachers only for the advertising value and then go on to explain why their new system is better than anything their teacher ever taught. After thousands of years of conflict, a punch is still a punch and a kick is still a kick. Personally I refuse to train under any man or woman who show disrespect to their teacher or his style. Prospective students of the martial arts need to be cognizant of the difference between good qualified instruction and good marketing schemes and I think that this book will help the readers make those educated choices. Thank you for the opportunity to share our philosophy.


Dave Decker II
Instructor
White Shadow Dojo

Tactical Principals of Hittatsu no Hyoshi:

1) Assume that anyone approaching you is armed, especially if one or both hands are not clearly visible. Anticipate nothing, expect anything.

2) Never stand facing a possible opponent squarely nor with your weight evenly distributed. You must make sure that you can move in any direction instantly without having to shift your weight.

3) Avoid using hard karate style stances that root you to one spot or give your opponent any indication of your skill level or intentions.

4) Never accept the full energy of your attacker if you can deflect or parry it.
If you must block then use hard on soft and soft against hard.

5) When responding to an attack, taking the outside line is generally safer and improves your chances of escaping, but it is harder to reach, due to having to cross the line of attack. The inside line is tactically better if you have the ability to do serious damage to, and incapacitate your attacker.

6) Your defense and offense must blend into one seamless movement. Once he has initiated a conflict you must not allow your attacker any second opportunity to have another turn.

7) Against a circular attack (hook punch, Roundhouse punch, kick, or stab) enter straight in, and against a straight-line attack use a circular defense.

8) You must take control of the rhythm of the fight very early on if you hope to survive.

9) Always attack the nearest target using the shortest route and then get your weapon hand the heck back out of range. Snap-cuts are the quickest moves and least likely to suffer collateral damage by being intercepted by your opponent’s counter-cuts.

10) NEVER grab for your attacker’s knife or knife hand. The odds of you successfully grabbing and controlling it are miniscule compared to the chances that you will have your hand seriously lacerated and rendered useless. If you want to control the weapon arm do it after you have taken out his weapons control system, the brain.

11) Understand the strategy of purposely leaving a gap in your defense, but be prepared if your attacker doesn’t take the bait.


[1] The Seitei forms are generic sword kata often used for tournaments and suitable for teaching the basics of swordsmanship.

A review of our book by Steven Dick, Editor of Tactical Knives Magazine

May 2006

The Rhythm of One: Hittatsu no Hyoshi
Self-Defense concepts and techniques against a knife attack

By: David Wm. Decker & Gwynne Erin Decker, softcover, 148pgs., $25.00, 60 Steuben Street, Dept. TK Addison, NY 14801, ghdave2@hotmail.com


"As the title indicates, about 80% of this book is either on unarmed defense and/or the use of improvised weapons against a knife attack. Though both Western and Asian schools of martial arts are utilized, the emphasis would have to be said to be the eastern techniques. The authors are fairly opinionated and, without using their names, openly criticize the systems taught by several well-known instructors.

Many law enforcement instuctors feel it is first necessary to train in knife combatives before you can really understand how to defend against a blade. Using the reverse logic, studying unarmed combat should also help you become more proficient with a knife. The actual knife combatives section of the book are basic but useful, and the author has an excellent section on selecting a self-defense knife.

Like any close-combat manual, simply reading it will not make you significantly safer. You must actually train with a real live sparring partner. The Deckers' book is a useful step-by-step training program if you are willing to put the work in. "

Koryu, Hotrods, and Re-Muddling

Koryu, Hotrods, and Re-Muddling

There is something in the American psyche that says I can make it better. I suppose this is one of the reasons why many people who settled here decided to leave their mother country throwing caution and tradition to the winds. There is also some unspoken rule that says newer or faster is always better. Well folks, it isn’t necessarily so.

Many years ago my wife and I were house shopping for an older home, a nice Victorian, Greek Revival, or Queen Anne. We would have settled for a classic American farm house, if we could have found one. What we soon realized was that many people in the upper income brackets bought new homes made with substandard materials pretending to look like old homes. A lot of average income families bought the type of houses we were looking for and “fixed them up.” During our house search we discovered a new architectural term, re-muddling. This means taking a house with lots of potential and destroying any intrinsic charm or historic value by trying to modernize it.

Re-muddling could be as innocuous as covering hardwood floors with carpet, or as vulgar as gluing bright orange shag carpeting to the walls as pseudo-wainscoting or covering up cracked plaster and lathe walls with textured vinyl paneling. Common symptoms of re-muddling are: dropped ceilings, replacing solid wood doors with flimsy hollow cored ones, discarding large paned windows and installing house trailer sized ones, and removing supporting walls - to build a breakfast bar complete with the requisite old west stools.

What do the lower class folks do? They live in a rusting mobile home plopped down next to a charming but crumbling cobblestone house or a rotting Queen Anne. Rather than invest the time and money into preserving the old homestead, they opt for the luxury of formica counter tops and pressboard kitchen cabinets. Instead of fixing the old slate or tile roof they huddle under a tarred aluminum one while the grand dame their forebears cleared land and cut lumber to build tumbles to the ground.

In the 1950s it was especially popular to take old cars and convert them into hotrods. Many of these old cars were substantial vehicles, with quiet low revving motors, plush interiors and polished wooden dashboards. These cars ran smoothly and quietly, moving with a certain grace and panache. While a Hudson, Sudebaker, or Desoto might not win any sprint races they could probably extract many of today’s off-road vehicles from a rutted road. With no thought to their intrinsic value many of these cars were either left rotting in farm fields, stripped for parts, or modified into hotrods. The recipe for a hotrod was simple. Take any 1940s coupe, strip off the front fenders, hood and grill and replace these with fenders from a motorcycle. Auto re-muddlers – AKA hot rodders - also threw out the original engines and transmissions, along with all of that upholstery and wooden dashboards. They replaced these with orange or lime green shag carpet – the cure-all for all types of re-muddling – put in an aluminum dashboard and a steering wheel that is four sizes too small. Its always a hit with the car show crowd if you replace the original wood rimmed steering wheel with one made of welded and chromed links of chain. If this re-muddling is done properly you end up with a fast, loud, ill handling car, with a roof so low you can barely see out the tank-slit of a windshield. The good thing is that after the alterations are complete no one can tell whether you destroyed a Ford, Chevy, Plymouth, etc. This helps to prevent the local conservator - who restores antique cars - from committing violent acts against your person. That same oddball conservator is often seen patiently trudging through the muck of some auto graveyard or barnyard hoping to find a discarded engine and transmission to restore some old, useless thing. Are you seeing any parallels yet?

Not too long ago I quietly reminded a new Iaido student to bow when he entered my dojo. His response was, “In Tae Kwon Do we don’t do all of that old stuff, we only do what works.” I could smell the heady aroma of fresh shag carpet as he strutted by. This young man had recently received his black belt and he wanted the entire world to know that he had mastered his art form - which is about sixty years new. With a sublime air of superiority he presumed to explain to me why his style was better than the four hundred year old Koryu I study. It was obviously better because his style is newer and had eliminated all of the extraneous “stuff”, like courtesy, formality, and respect. He never questioned how our style had survived for four hundred years.

Recently while training with a junior sword student he consistently took the wrong stance. I kept correcting it and he kept ignoring it. Finally I asked him if he didn’t understand the posture. He replied that he did but he thought his was better because it gave him two inches more reach. In the background I could swear I heard blatting engines and oversized tires squealing around the A&W parking lot. When I explained to him that his posture exposed his entire left side to attack he decided maybe he would try it the old way. I am old fashioned but it would seem to me that before a student can rightfully ask “why” you do something, they need to ask “how” you do it. It is impertinent and insufferably arrogant to suggest improvements to a technique that you still cannot perform satisfactorily.

Adding fuel to the discussion was the opinion that since our Japanese teachers had not seen fit to come to America more than once a year that we were left on our own to analyze and “work-out” what the techniques meant. I do not remember them giving us this task, only showing us what we needed to work on and leaving us to do it. I am content to work these techniques knowing that they have been perfected by many swordsmen finer than myself. I take it on faith that they work – even if I don’t fully understand how or why.

We could argue these technical points over the formica-topped breakfast bar, sipping a double latte’, but not when we are on the dojo floor. Seriously, since when did students begin to assert their right to analyze and dissect a school’s teachings, altering them to fit their own needs before they can even duplicate the techniques - as performed for them by a man in his sixties? If a question arises then take it to the teacher and do not presume to form your own corrections until you are the teacher. Even then, you must be very careful not to modify things just for the sake of change! Only in America would a student expect that the teacher owed it to him to travel six thousand miles just for the privilege of teaching him. Even Mohammed finally bent his will and went to the mountain. There was never a question of whether the mountain was obliged to come to him or whether there was a shorter, faster way to get to the mountain.

If the tile roof on your Greek Revival leaks don’t slap a blue tarp over it, fix the tiles and for God’s sake be careful where you park that mobile home. You don’t want to dent your shiny new tenement on wheels by backing into Grandma’s tumbling-down Victorian house. I’m sure you would tear the old thing down to improve the view of the rusting Hudsons and Desotos in your back yard, but that too would take too much work.

Does hot-rodding or re-muddling occur in the martial arts? Come-on, do you really have to ask? Are you a martial arts re-muddler? Have you introduced motorcycle fenders, chain steering wheels, and shag carpet into your school? Have you convinced yourself that by doing so you have invented a better way? If so, please give your teachers the courtesy of calling it something different to save them embarrassment. If you can’t perform your teacher’s techniques, if you won’t invest the time or money to learn them, it is no big deal. Strike out on your own and say their techniques were old useless “Stuff” anyway. Hey, why not start your own school? Since there are hundreds of other people too lazy to follow tradition, finding students should not be a problem. Create a new style and invent lots of new techniques. It doesn’t matter if your students cannot make them work, just tell them that the techniques are too advanced for them and if they did learn them they’d be too lethal to use. Name your new style something modern and flashy and use all of the new buzz-words and politically correct phrases. To be safe never allow your students to compete against other schools because they might be beaten by students who learned by old-fashioned hard work and sweat. Instead, let your students compete internally where they can see the full value of your new methods. You can proudly display their chromed plastic trophies in the shag-carpeted entrance where you sell rubber shuriken, budo knick-knacks, and subscriptions to Blank Belt magazine. Make sure that every new student signs a long contract or next week they’ll be opening their own school just down the street. They’ll be teaching a new style and explaining how old fashioned and useless your techniques are. You might find yourself alone on a barstool, leaning on your trophy case and drinking a double latte’. Just think, isn’t it wonderful, the American way of life and free enterprise?