Indigenous Ability

[A re-vamped version of a prior offering, with Drills now included for both empty-hand and Bowie knife work.] In 1986, John Hackleman launched his gym The Pit and fighters from this base were known as pit-fighters. The most renowned of these pit-fighters was former UFC-light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. Pit-fighting was in actuality a harder form of Hawaiian Kempo, which in itself was formerly known as Kajukenbo, yet another hybrid martial art originating in Hawaii in the late 1940s.  The admittedly awkward word, Kajukenbo, was meant to do honor to the arts that constituted its whole: Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, Kenpo, and Boxing.  Not a bad mix at all. Kajukenbo still survives under that original name, with some branches calling itself Hawaiian Kenpo, and Coach Hackleman ballparking on Hawaiian Kempo [note the “m”] to emphasize the harder approach to training and application that he advocates. I’m sure you noticed that, so far, the arts we have ...

Crew, we must always be mindful that the rough ‘n’ tumble grappling dictum “use the man, not the mat” is more than a mere urging “to give weight.” We also want to find all the ways we can spike hollow or soft recesses, butterfly-pin yielding flesh, thumb-rake into our grips and all the other nastiness that makes hooking un-sporting. We also discuss split-gripping here which renders “strong hands” soft. What you can’t see here is “mousing into” your grip, which should be a given. Anyway, if these sorts of tips, details, and evil minutia floats your boat consider joining the RAW Crew, details here http://www.extremeselfprotection.com

Well, that question is a little provocative, not necessarily polite conversational fodder for today’s standards. You might be thinking, “ Hatmaker, just who do you think you are to question my intestinal fortitude?” But, questions of individual courage and bravery and cowardice were commonplace for century upon century. Honor Codes in myriad forms offered different cultures tangible yardsticks by which to measure a fellow human’s grit and gumption. These questions of bravery were measured via deeds, demonstrated in actions, measured by observation of the individual hewing to the given Honor Code in day-to-day life.  Mere assertion of “ I bet I’d be brave if I had to be ” were only words that a child would utter, or despised braggadocio of some privileged adult of nobility who was exempted from tests of valor, and thusly no evidence was provided to back up the claim. Living life in such a demonstrable way allowed the smaller social circles in days when life was a...

In this conversation Craig Gemeiner and I talk about his domain of expertise, Savate. Craig Gemeiner began his martial arts training in 1975, and began coaching in 1982.   He specialises in the study of traditional Western fighting arts, particularly Savate and its associated disciplines, and adapting them for modern use.   Craig was a founding member of the Australian Savate Federation Inc., which was recognised by the Federation Internationale de Savate, and served as its first president and technical director from 2002 to 2010.   Craig won a gold medal at the 2005 Asia Pacific Open Savate Championships, captained the first Australian team to compete at the World Savate Championships in Paris in 2008, and won a gold medal at the 2016 Savate Open Tokyo competition at the age of 53. Gemeiner holds the rank of Silver Glove Technique Level -1 in Savate -French boxing.   He currently coaches Savate on the Gold Coast, Australia. Gemeiner Academ...

Today’s sermon will weave a tale of housecats, early American colonists’ observations regarding battle-prowess in Native Americans, gang-bangers, good ol’ boy hunters, fox-hunters in the Old West, gamers and screen-users, Afghan Combat studies and, if we’ve done our job right, make a case for making risk part and parcel of cogent combat training. Let’s start with the adorable housecat, Felis catus . Study after study has recorded that outdoor housecats are responsible for an astonishing amount of depredation. Any of us who own one of these “awesome prowling machines” [tip of the hat to Les Claypool] is aware that they can go through chipmunks, field mice, and birds like nobody’s business but…the story is deeper than that. For every kill you see, there are likely a double handful that you were not privy to witness.  If you want the skinny on just how serial-killer-esque the common cat can be, Pete Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center authored a book on ...