Skip to main content

The Barbary Shrug [A Chapter in Frontier JKD] by Mark Hatmaker

 


[For background on Frontier JKD see this brief essay to set the stage.]

San Francisco’s Barbary Coast received this nickname from its violent rough n tumble nature. The original Barbary Coast refers to the Berber Coast of North Africa where Muslim Pirates held sway for some time. The US fought a series of engagement wars there from 1801 to 1805 known as The Barbary Wars—it is from one of these battles that we get the line “…to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine Hymn.

With the advent of The California Gold Rush in 1849, San Franciso and its environs went from a population of 492 to over 25,000 people.



Most all seeking fortune in the gold fields or…in less savory ways.

From overlanders who crossed the continent to get there and folks who ‘rounded the Horn via sailing vessel, importees from the penal colony nation of Australia, a huge influx from China, a notable contingent from the Five-Points Gangs of New York and many other wild mixes of cultures and men and women of dubious morals.

The violent nature of this region led wags to dub the region The Barbary Coast after the piratical forebear.


Into this mix, we find a melting pot of violent methods meeting, meshing, evolving—among them a diabolically simple root tactic dubbed The Barbary Shrug.

It went by many names and was known in many regions, but here, it took on a certain flavor.

Our latest instructional volume: The Barbary Shrug Frontier Alley-Fighting, Anti-Grappling, Breaks, Rakes, & Striking Malice [Black Box: Frontier JKD #1]

Provides the following historical tools.

·        Details the 3 key aspects of The Barbary Shrug.

Then provides 24 wild [and I do mean WILD] ways to exploit this counter-grappling tool.

Among them…

·        Dive Breaks & Reapers

·        Edged Climbs which should send the souls of Silat enthusiasts.

·        “Inserts” to please all Dirty Boxing tacticians.

·        And a completely insane but, oh, so simple compound fracture-maker called “The Dutchman.”

Wanna Join Me on this Path to the Original JKD, Frontier Fighting, and Bonafide Rough n Tumble?

Well, you can snag this volume for the this month’s discount price here. [Subscribers get it at more than 50% off.]

Have a gander at the following resources, perhaps even consider joining our Subscription Service and Becoming Part of the Black Box Brotherhood.

Resources for Livin’ the Warrior Life

The Black Box Store

https://www.extremeselfprotection.com/

The Indigenous Ability Blog

https://indigenousability.blogspot.com/

The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2fTpfVp2wi232k4y5EakVv...



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apache Running by Mark Hatmaker

Of the many Native American tribes of the southwest United States and Mexico the various bands of Apache carry a reputation for fierceness, resourcefulness, and an almost superhuman stamina. The name “Apache” is perhaps a misnomer as it refers to several different tribes that are loosely and collectively referred to as Apache, which is actually a variant of a Zuni word Apachu that this pueblo tribe applied to the collective bands. Apachu in Zuni translates roughly to “enemy” which is a telling detail that shines a light on the warrior nature of these collective tribes.             Among the various Apache tribes you will find the Kiowa, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua (or “Cherry-Cows” as early Texas settlers called them), and the Lipan. These bands sustained themselves by conducting raids on the various settled pueblo tribes, Mexican villages, and the encroaching American settlers. These American settlers were often immig...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indigenous Jeet Kune Do by Mark Hatmaker

  Likely we are all familiar with the following Bruce Lee quote…  " Research your own experience; absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is essentially your own." It is a foundational bit of wisdom found in Mr. Lee’s posthumously published collection of combat notes titled Tao of Jeet Kune Do . It is a more straightforward transliteration of teachings phrased more ambiguously in the Tao Te Ching , attributed to Lao zi. For my taste, I prefer Mr. Lee’s iteration to the Tao Te Ching . The JKD teaching is straight forward and allows for no wiggle room for interpretation. But… What if I were to tell you that more than a few Indigenous warrior tribes of the American frontier embraced that bit of JKD pragmatics centuries before the publication of that volume in 1975? There are more than a few Warrior teachings that echo this hard-edged no-fealty to dogma, disdain for tradition, worship only at the altar of efficiency and effectiveness. I have ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Roadwork by Mark Hatmaker

  Mr. Muldoon Roadwork. That word, to the combat athlete, conjures images of pre-dawn runs, breath fogging the morning air and, to many, a drudgery that must be endured. Boxers, wrestlers, kickboxers the world over use roadwork as a wind builder, a leg conditioner, and a grit tester. The great Joe Frazier observed… “ You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you're down to the reflexes you developed in training. That's where roadwork shows - the training you did in the dark of the mornin' will show when you're under the bright lights .” Roadwork has been used as a tool since man began pitting himself against others of his species in organized combat. But…today’s question . Has it always been the sweat-soaked old school gray sweat suit pounding out miles on dark roads or, was it something subtler, and, remarkably slower? And if it was, why did we transition to what, and I repeat myself,...
Post a Comment
Read more