Happy Chinese New Year and Sorry For the delay...

Happy Chinese New year and Sorry for the delay Here in taipei we have been celebrating like Crazy.....Stay tuned for Part 2 this week thanks
M.U.C.T

Modern Weapons Training: Practicality and Translating your Traditional art to suit your modern needs

   Ok, so lets talk about weapons.... No not guns, although a well rounded martial artist even if they detest guns should be versed enough to be proficient in their use. Why you might ask? Well last time I checked that was the weapon of choice for most of the bad people in the world so if they are going to use them then I should to if I want to take them away. Think about it for a second You train to disarm a gun but do you know how to use it or unload it or even turn on the safety? Another thing to think about with guns is that if you are familiar with guns then you will have less of a fear, that being said you will also learn better how to disarm if you know how to arm. Ok done with the guns I said my piece.
But what about all the other weapons out there where do they come in are they obsolete....hell no. Ok reality time, the practices of some weapons and weapon arts should be put into the category of spiritual and or sport and not touted as practical. For example when was the last time you went to the grocery store and brought along your samurai sword, spear or halberd? Does this mean that it is worthless...no not at all but we need to train ourselves to think modern. Many of the practices and principles that we are taught for classic weapons can easily be translated to a modern equivalent ( right now your probably like what is the equivalent to a rope dart or three section staff, well hold on I'm getting there). Here are some examples of traditional weapons and weapons techniques that can be translated into use with modern and readily available items.

Multiple Attackers

          Okay so today lets talk about multiple attackers, possibly one of the most dangerous situations to be in. This topic is not only hotly debated among martial artists but is something that a lot of martial arts just don't deal with. So today I will give you some ideas of what to do when facing more than one attacker, please remember that all situations are different and if the opportunity to escape presents itself then by all means take it.

Mental Preparation

When people hear the term mental preparation they immediately think of not freezing or going blank under duress, and while that is what is usually meant people don't realize that they can mentally prepare for a situation in other ways. Martial arts practitioners need to realize that while being physically fit is important inorder to survive or "triumph" in a  real situation your going to depend on 70% to 80%  mental and only 20%- 30% physical.

Today I would like to talk about a few things that you can ponder on or meditate on (what ever terms float your boat). First, do you know your natural weapons? No, not your hands, feet, knees and elbows. Your height, weight, speed, reach and strength. Consider this, if you are a shorter person how practical is high kicking? Not practical at all if you spend your time learning high kicks even if you are awesome at it, if your opponent's head is higher than you can kick what would you do. If you are slow and you know it then maybe techniques designed for speed aren't going to work for you. If you are short assume all of your attackers or opponents are going to be taller than you and train accordingly.If your are really tall then assume that most of your opponents will be shorter than you, in this case maybe doing some higher kicking isn't such a bad idea (remember never sacrifice power or stability for height fancy doesn't equal effective). That is what I mean by know your natural weapons.

The Rule of 3

Okay so what is the Rule of three? Well the rule of three is an old survival trick I learned way back in the boy scouts... 3 minutes without, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. But this rule of 3 also applies to urban survival situations and self defense. For urban survival always have 3 exit strategies i.e. the front door the back door and a window. But I really apply this rule to my martial arts and if you incorporate this into your training and realize that this is one of the core foundations of M.U.C.T.

Reality of Violent Confrontations

Okay, So lets start off with the reality of violent confrontations and reality based training verses sport or performance oriented martial arts. When I talk about reality most people ( who incidentally have never been in a true violent situation other than basically a school yard brawl) tell me things like "just punch him in the face" or "I would just kick his ass" I also enjoy "mma is the best martial art you can study" or "mma is the realist thing"....blah blah blah so on and so fourth well let me tell you "YOUR A MORON" and probably a meat head.

What is M.U.C.T?

      First let me tell you what this blog is not about. It is not about m.m.a, or any other sport oriented martial art. This blog is about Modern Urban Combat Tactics (M.U.C.T. for short) and reality based systems. Let me tell you about M.U.C.T, it isn't just a system or a philosophy and it definitely is NOT a sport. M.U.C.T is a way of life it is self defense, awareness and preparedness, it is how you approach situations and look at daily life. Let me give you an example.... When you go into a restaurant where do you sit? Well I sit always facing the entrance, why because I'm weird! No, it's because I'm smart. In order to see trouble walking through the door you have to be able to see the door. It is things like,.....how many ways can I get out of here, has that guy been staring at me for more than two minutes, that car has circled the block three time already, how many things are withing arms reach in any given place that I can use to defend myself, what environmental factors work for or against me in a certain situation. That is M.U.C.T! As a system of defense or a martial art it is what is simple, effective and devastating. How can I do the most amount of damage to my attacker/attackers that is necessary to remove myself from harms way while en-curing the least amount damage to myself or the person I am trying to protect.

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"Real Solutions for Real Violence"