Mushin: the Way of No-Mind-Ness

The highest state one hopes to achieve in self defense training is the state of no-mind-ness, or in Japanese, "Mushin."

It is when you react without conscious thought. Someone attacks you and "it" happens, you don't think about it all.

This is simple to read and understandm, but takes much training to reach. 
Trying to reach this state, people go one of two routes:
They train in several styles, trying to learn every technique they can get their hands on, hoping that such a toolbox will provide them with the answers for whatever situation they would find themselves in.

OR

They train in one style, hoping that it contains all the answers they will ever need.

Which is right? Both.
Which is flawed thinking? Both.

No one ART or SYSTEM has all the answers.  However, the idea of constant learning for the sake of accumulating techniques is just as flawed.

Techniques must be simple, effective and practical in order to be learned, functionalized and should the need ever arise, used in a real life encounter.

My adice is simply this:  one must research and learn techniques from several styles and systems that conform to the pillars of functionality.  Simple, effective and practical.

I have done all the guesswork for you.  The result of my studies is the White Collar Warrior Self Protectiion Skills Home Study Course.  Check it out.

Be Safe,

Bobby

What Would You Do?

What do we hear from the time we are old enough to walk, talk and think for ourselves?

"Don't be bad or you'll go to jail."

We don't need any other reinforcement than the plethora of films and TV shows that show us the horrors of life in the big house.

Not a place I want to be, that's for damn sure.

BUT...
What if you were out one day, minding your own business, obeying the law like we are all taught...and then two police officers show up, cuff you and take you in the back of their car and, before you know what the hell is going on, charge you with a heinous crime that you are TOTALLY innocent of?

Imagine having to spend 17 years in prison, knowing you were innocent but due to either corruption, loopholes or goold old fashioned government incompetence,had no hope-until you were exonerated?

Sounds like a bad dream or an edge-of-your-seat emotional thriller...only it's not.It is exaclty what happened to Alan Northrop of Woodland, WA.  You can read his story and view the accompanying news clip here:  http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/25/justice/wrongful-conviction-payments/index.html

Scary.  Just plain disturbing.However, it is not the only case of this by far.
My question to you issimply this?

If you had to defend your life against hardened criminals, people who don't share your value system or views on life and respect, today-could you?

the proper answer is:  I don't know, but I will train the proper way so as to ensure my natural reactions will serve me as best they can.

Everyone has their point where the animal nature can come out. Ask a timid mother what she would do if she saw her child being attacked and she would turn from a shy docile lady into a wailing banshee of fury, with the physical aggression to match.

Next time you train, keep this scenario in mind and see if it doesn't change the way you think, move, react and fight.  Remember, you train (or should train) to be ready for anything, not just bike path muggings, home invasions or bar fights-and sure as hell not karate competitions or point sparring matches.

If you have no training, start. Today. Now. Order the White Collar Warrior Self Protection Skills Home Study Course.  No further plug is necessary and, quite frankly, if the story above doesn'tmotivate you to

Shit happens.  Be the best person you can be, but also sharpen that part of yourself that can turn into a killer.  Like our saying goes, "Train to become an attacker's worst nightmare-or experience your own."  For my money, I don't know if a nightmare gets any more terrifying than the story I just directed you to a few lines earlier.

Be safe, Be prepared and God bless.

If you choose, say a prayer for this guy, and for all those poor souls who are victims of a broken system who have to fight their way through life every day when they have done NOTHING to deserve such an existence.

Bobby

A Tornado Haze of Windmill Violence...

One of the quotes I just read about self defense stuck out in my head, so I'm sharing it here:

"A Tornado Haze Of Windmill Violence...Brutal Defeats Refined, Simple Dominates Complicated."

Wow.

I like that one.

So often people lose sight of the fact that in a self defense encounter when your life is threatened, you need to explode in, as the quote says, "a tornado haze of windmill violence." 

Technique wise, brutal beats refined.  A bitter pill for many to swallow, but choke it down.  In order to pull off a fine motor skill move, you need to practice it over and over, then functionalize it in realistic scenario training over and over. Sounds like a lot of work to me, especailly if you have to do things like, I don't know, work!

I'd rather spend my time training simple, effective and practical stuff that goes right for the eyes, throat, balls and shins,and practice it with INTENSITY, becvause I know in a confrontation, you fight like you train.

As the quote says, "simple dominates complicated."  Keep it short, to the point and barbaric. Too many moves = odds of success going down the toilet.  No presuppositions, no fancy fluff.  Just "meat and potatoes" self defense.

Check out the White Collar Warrior Self Protection Skills Home Study Course today for just that.

Stay Safe, and Keep it Simple!!

Bobby

Your Time to Train...

We're busy.

I'm busy, you're busy, we're all busy.

You know who else is busy?

The scumbag looking to rob, the rapist scouting out locations for easy prey, the sicko who wants to stab or beat someone to death just for sh*ts and giggles...

If you think I'm hyping these things up, then man do I feel sorry for you!  Open a freaking newspaper or turn on the news (I personally try not to do either because the negative energy coming off of both is just too great to try and fight, so I leave them be.  I don't need to read an article every day to know things are dangerous everywhere-I take those as a "given" in today's day and age).

Point being, the reason of being busy as an excuse to not learn proper techniques of simple, practical and effective self defense is the WORST reason to not do so.

Crime NEVER takes a holiday-and neither should your training. 
Proper training for purposes of self defense should be condensed, to the point and realistic.  Techniques should be simple to learn and perform, effective against various opponents and practical for your body type.

The good news is by training in techniquese such as those found in the White Collar Warrior Self Protection Skills Home Study Course you will be able to read, learn and practice whenever you have a few minutes to spare.  Obviously the more time you put in to practice, the more adept you will become, BUT even by starting with a few minutes here and a coffee break there, you will be planting the foundational seed in your brain, both in the techniques themselves (which are gross motor skill in nature, thereby easier to pick up) and just as importantly, the non-physical aspects of any self defense encounter which are covered as well in detail.

Remember, BUSY is just a 4 letter word.

So are DEAD and HURT. 

Don't let one beget the other-get cracking today...

God bless, and as always, Stay Safe!

Bobby

The most important moment of your self defense training...

Everyone thinks it is if and when you are attacked.

That is a close, close second-but it is not the most important one. Proficiency in the combat arts (be it in the self defense realm, tournament setting, MMA cage or boxing ring) is a by-product of your training, albeit the most important one (if you train martial arts in any capacity, your first priority should be to learn to protect yourself and your loved ones-if it isn't you'd be better off going to a ballroom studio, the gym or learning how to build a ship in a bottle-sorry if I piss anyone off, but that's just the way I see it).

Ready for it? here it is...

Getting started.

That's the most important moment of your self defense / personal protection training.

Too often with any task, be it balancing your checkbook (we've all been spoiled by online banking-God knows I have), cleaning your car/garage/office/etc., or painting that spare room in your home, you can become overwhelmed by the logistics of such a big task. What almost often happens is that you say, "That is a big job; I'll do it tomorrowor on the weekend when I have more time."

The funny thing is, that never happens-it never works out quite that way, does it?

You have to train yourself to just get started and to say "to hell with the specifics."  Things will fall into place as you move along.

So it is with your self defense training. Make a decision NOW that you are going to begin this process TODAY, RIGHT NOW.   Check out the White Collar Warrior Self Protection Skills Home Study Course and take the first step.  You don't have to see the end result (be it a painted room, a clean garage or proficiency in the skills to remove you and your loved ones from danger), just GET STARTED and things will fall into place.  Trust me on this-I am not physically gifted by any means, I just took that first step 18 years ago and have never looked back, and today I am much more confident and competent in this area, but I am always learning, growing and developing-as it should be.

Join me, won't you? =-)

Get moving, and as always, God bless and stay safe!

Bobby

This is just plain disturbing...

Whilst checking my email, I came across this article from the Huffington Post.  What it has to say is not only tragic and barbaric,but downright sick and twisted...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/vermont-strangulation-death_n_1385206.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D147455

I'll keep this one short and sweet.

I think I can speak for anyone with half a brain and a good sense of common decency when I say that if I had the opportunity to remove the people who committed this disgusting act (note: I didn't say the accused-that's not for me to say) from the Earth with no legal repercussions, I would not hesitate for a millisecond...and then I would,in the words of Clint Eastwood from Gran Torino (one of my favorite films), "go home and sleep like a baby."

I HATE reading articles like this.  That teacher was someone's mother, someone's daughter and many more children's role model and positive influence.  How many lives are forever scarred due to this senseless act? Let me be crystal clear, it is not my job to judge whether or not the accused are guilty; that is a job for the law.  It is my DUTY to impart to you the very REAL and URGENT need for people everywhere to learn simple, effective and practical means to protect themselves, because as we see every day, threats like these are not "isolated incidents" as the media would like us to believe (and, to be frank, those who do believe that don't know their ass from a doorknob).

I always think of my wife, my sisters and my mother when reading things like this.  It really, REALLY blows my skirt up.
Check out the White Collar Warrior Self Protection Skills Home Study Course today. For only 7 bones a Volume,it's practically a steal-but I don't view it that way.  I view it as the cheapest life insurance policy out there.

Pray for her, her family and friend, and her students.  Pray that justice is delivered quickly and with no errors. And pray for your families to be safe....but plan for the worst anyway.

God bless, and stay safe.

bobby

Technique Vs INTENSITY

In my opinion, the one factor that will determine whether or not you will survive a life-threatening encounter boils down to one word: INTENSITY.

Now, before some of you reading this get your underwear in a bunch, know this: I am not, NOT, N-O-T saying that techniques don't matter.  I mean, think about it: how can you defend yourself if you don't know what to do?  You need to learn techniques to protect your life, it's as simple as that. However, the techniues must be simple in motion, effective in use and application and above all, practical for use wherever you may need to use them (note that I didn't just say "the street" because last time I checked, people don't just get attacked on the "street.")

However...

Learning all the techniques in the world, even the type of techniques listed above (which are the only kind of techniques I care to learn anyways) don't mean sh*t if you do not have the corresponding INTENSITY to put them to use effectively.

There is an old Chinese maxim, "courage first, strength second, gung-fu (or 'kung fu' to us Westerners) third."

What does that mean?

Easy.

The biggest attribute one can develop is the ability to EXPLODE into a whirlwind of hellfire and aggression when one is attacked....but also have the temperance to turn it "off" once the threat is neutralized.  This is not as easy as it sounds,nor does it mean "going apesh*t," screaming and running around like a nutjob who scaled the wall of the looney bin. What it means is being able to effectively call upon what Bruce Lee called "controlled cruelty."  One can train this alone, through various means of mental training but the only way, and I don't care what anyone else says, to functionalize this and develop it fully is through realistic scenario training.

Fortunately, we show you how to do this and much,much more in our White Collar Warrior Self Protection Skills Home Study Course.


Drop a few bucks on it and get crackin.'

Saty safe, and practice with INTENSITY.

Bobby