What I Do

A friend asked me to write a quick description of what I teach so he could get a better idea of how what I do compares to other martial arts stuff. So here is what I wrote:

In essence I teach the Art of Deception: why you need it, how to get it, and how to use it.

If you are uncomfortable with the word 'deception', feel free to insert 'tactics and tactical thinking' instead. :-)

All martial arts are born of deception - Upping your own odds as much as you can whilst minimizing those of your opponent. Gaining advantage (in time/space), hiding your true intent, causing your opponent to commit an error, etc etc. Sadly most in the modern day have forgotten how important this used to be for those engaged in combat. Today there really are no consequences to 'losing', no persistent threat of death, maiming or potential for a slow, painful, decline. Now only points for win or lose, or a referee stopping the fight to prevent serious injury.

The techniques more likely to cause serious injury that form parts of traditional systems - those that could be lethal, break bones, dislocate joints etc - were long since taken out of full contact practice and sport.

Throws in Judo that would break arms, or rip knee tendons were taken out. Neck and spine breaks caused as a result of throw angles have been adjusted to contain an escape. We don't allow strikes to the brain stem area because we don't like to kill our training partners or fellow competitors nowadays. We also tend to avoid 'cheating' - eye gouges, nut grabs etc

This is all cool, but systems that purport to be 'functional' outside of a sport setting have to work against someone actually trying to kill or maim you, or at least against someone who does not care if they do.

Swordplay is one way to bring these historically ever present 'consequences' back, and provide an arena in which to explore these ideas. There is no real incentive to do this empty hand as hits are rarely lethal. Cover, and use of muscle power make it less of a problem to cause damage even if you have to take some to prevail. Both take a few hits? No problem.

Adding edged weapons takes power out of the equation, and the in built lethality makes everything matter much more. The smallest mistake can cause maiming or death, so the incentive to NOT make a mistake is very high. (And before you ask, no, I don't train with live weapons, much, but all trainers should be handled and respected as the real thing otherwise the training is meaningless).

My teacher said "To kill is easy, especially if you do not care for your own health. To die is even easier. But to live ...? This is where the 'art' is".

This is also where the deception is.

Deception buys time, and time is space. You need enough of it to dispatch your adversary AND get back out of range (If you can reach them, they can reach you - No one 'dies' instantaneously), which is tricky when they are trying their best to do the same to you.

There are a few different types of deception:

Spatial deception - Basically sleight of hand, playing with geometry and relative positioning,

Temporal deception - Playing with the perception of time by varying speed, and related to spatial deception

Psychological deception - Possibly the most interesting, and combining elements of both spatial and temporal deception by using faking, baiting, and causing freezing and looping, or other errors, in the opponent.

That's what I teach, and I use the blade work of the Visayan Style Eskrima of Sonny Umpad as the way to do it. This just means using short, single edged, single handed swords, with no hand guards, made of crappy steel whilst wearing no armor. Basically the shittiest options available whilst still carrying, and facing, a lethal weapon.

The combination of the sharp but fragile sword and the lack of protection, make the necessity of engaging the frontal lobe before moving essential to one's well being.

Previous knowledge of some kind of sword art is a bonus though it is actually not a prerequisite to learning to think this way.

What is a prerequisite, is an interest in strategy and tactical thinking, and a maturity of thought that understands that the goal is to get away as unscathed as possible, not to fight until both parties are dead because you 'got them too'.

I teach these concepts (a.k.a. getting away) through a series of drills and partner practices that students can take away and refine on their own. What I don't teach is technique, knife fighting, how to go to jail, or the '154 deadly disarms of doom'.

The material works best in small groups - Up to 6, 8 at most.

3hrs just scratches the surface. A day gets you a bit further, but either will hopefully expand peoples' imaginations enough to start them thinking smarter.

In effect I am using weapons work as a tool to understanding something much bigger: That in any one on one interaction, whether it be adversarial or not, there is always an 'other'. You cannot necessarily control them, but you can control yourself, and you can control the relationship.

This plays in a little to Rory's plastic mind exercises, and also into his Concom material, because much of that control rests on your ability to recognize who your opponent is, what they want, what they see, and use that information to get what you want. The drills I teach help you to do that, with or without a sword in your hand.

As a bonus for sword practitioners, if it is of interest, I also teach how edged weapons work. I talk about the sword and the different parts that make up it's design - The cutting edge, the tip, the flat, the back edge, the shape of the blade, the handle and the ways to grip it. How it moves and how to use all the parts, and how the shape and design of each blade dictates how it is used. I like to compare different swords from different cultures, though really enjoy the myriad swords of the Philippines and Malay peninsula. I have studied Toyama Ryu Battodo and western style foil and sabre fencing and believe that the design of the blade and the way that it is used are inextricably linked.

Swords are cool in and of themselves, but they are even cooler in the effects carrying one, and facing one, brings out in you, and other people.