Pray for Peace

I want to thank all of my readers but in particular one who said I interject some sanity into his life. I am a simple man, sometimes exceedingly simple. But there are some things that seem desperately obvious even to a simple man like me. I am not an intolerant man, nor generally a racist. But we are all being driven by forces in the media and in the creeping globalization of governments to start taking stands, making choices that are aimed at dividing us into religious, racial, and ethnic categories. We are purposely being set one against another. For what purpose?

This morning I awoke early unable to sleep. Things rumbling through my head. Maybe it’s the book I am reading (War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning) and the unsettling tales of the author’s experiences as a war correspondent. Maybe it was the In-My-Face headlines on the internet that Obama supports the Mosque at ground Zero. Why doesn’t he champion an inter-faith house of worship, or better yet why doesn’t he keep his damned nose out of it. This is a very personal nightmare that New Yorkers still deal with. Why is it that the Liberal hue and cry of separation of church and state does not apply to the separation of mosque and state? If the Imam is a man of God and desires to make Americans see how compassionate Islam is, then why doesn’t he work to help fund an inter-faith house of worship? What could be more compelling than Muslims and Jews, Baptists, Catholics, Buddhists, and Mormons all worshipping side by side for peace? What could be a bigger insult to New Yorkers than a mosque at Ground Zero? Where is obama’s support for the tower to replace those destroyed by muslim radicals? The State dept has set aside money to send the Imam on a worldwide publicity tour, for what purpose? But there is no money to rebuild on the site of the destruction wrought by them? I struggle to focus on who are the good guys and the bad guys and to find purpose behind all of this.

Apples and Snakes

Joy of joys I actually had two students for knife class last night! I have a policy of not teaching anyone who just comes in off the street so sometimes I go for months with out any students. It is one thing to teach how to punch and kick, it is another thing altogether to teach someone how to use a knife. Sure I can call it knife defense to make it seem less objectionable but knife-fighting is what it is ultimately all about. If you want to learn empty-hand knife defense I’ll teach you all I can but let’s not fool ourselves, the odds are badly stacked in your attacker’s favor.

Empty-handed you are a victim, given a knife you suddenly have a chance of surviving. But surviving and winning are not necessarily the same thing in this age of litigation. One of the first things I always give new students is a copy of the NYS laws on the use of force. The other thing is an excellent article on potentially lethal target. My reasoning in providing this information is not to make the student more lethal, but to educate them on areas it is best to avoid when you do not want to kill someone. Carrying a knife for self defense carries a huge responsibility that should never be taken lightly.

Even a cursory look at the cardio-vascular system of a human being reveals a target rich environment for the knife user. This is both good and bad but my options with a pistol are even worse. I am licensed to legally carry a concealed handgun in several states but I wish it were a concealed “weapons” permit. A knife gives the user many more options than does a hand-gun. A knife can cut lightly or deeply. A 45ACP or a 357 magnum cannot be shot lightly. The idea of grazing or wounding an attacker is silly when all training focuses on shots to the center of mass or to the head. What, are we going to try to inflict “only a slight head wound” with 450 ft-lbs of muzzle energy? But a skilled knifer can perform a light cut across the forehead of an attacker to discourage further aggression. Hands reaching out to injure us can be easily cut to disarm our attacker without terminal consequences. Try either of those moves with your revolver. Despite the perfectly good reasoning behind carrying a knife versus a handgun for defense the laws are what they are. Foolishness prevails and even books on the subject of knife fighting are often prefaced with “For Academic Purposes Only,” while books and classes on tactical hand-gunning are perfectly acceptable. I think that knives, like apples and snakes in the garden, have gotten a bad rap. Stop by the dojo some night and we can academically study the art of edged weapons.

From the Left

Well no one emailed me with an answer to my question about how you can gain the same advantage by fighting left handed, with your knife still in your right hand. Maybe the question was too difficult, too simple, or no one cared enough to email. I wonder which? (Right after I posted this I found that a reader had posted a good question, thanks) The photo is self-explanatory. (Holy Crap I look like Fidel Castro in this photo. Gwynnes photo is much nicer but same idea. The photos are from our book The Rhythm of One) Some people will say “Oh that is simple, I figured that out.” Some will say, “If you hold your knife that way your arm can be trapped against your body.” This is true if you insist on moving your knife around your body. Try moving your body around the knife for once. Anyway, what brave soul would like to prove that by trapping me? For those of you who are used to training/defending in the dojo without moving your body, this may be a problem.

The advantage I want you to see is that by placing your knife in this posture you move it closer to your opponent’s weapon hand/side. This alters the time-space continuum of the conflict. It also requires that when he cuts or thrusts that you move, you move your entire body not just your arm. Experiment and see where your body ends up as you expand outward from this posture. By the way Gwynne is standing in a mugamae posture (posture of no posture) here and while it looks lke a poor defense you could be very surprised. Remember knife fighting is not static! Too many schools of knife defense operate on the premise that if you have a knife in your hand you do not need to employ all of the other fancy stuff you learned as an empty-hand stylist: things like mobility, fluidity, circular movement, chords, etc, etc. The other salient point to this posture is your right shoulder. Yeh, it’s a big wide-open target isn’t it. Think about that......Well anyway that’s my answer and its up to you to see how it works, or not. I am working on another technique that I may name the Quasimodo. Got the picture?