In this vintage video footage, wing chun kung fu grandmaster William Cheung demonstrates the wooden dummy as a training tool for kung fu techniques. Practice is the key to mastery in any martial art. Execution of thousands of strikes, kicks and blocks against a partner is the key to integrating the strategies and techniques in such a way that they become second nature. However, live partners are not always available. So the next best thing, of course, would be a stand-in — and that's where the wooden dummy comes in for the practice necessary for mastering kung fu techniques when a human partner's participation isn't possible. Training devices such as the wooden dummy have been used by China's Shaolin Temple fighting monks for more than 2,000 years. "There was a corridor that consisted of 108 wooden dummies representing 108 different attacking techniques," says wing chun expert and Black Belt Hall of Fame member William Cheung. "The monks would move down the hall and practice their defenses and counterattacks on them. " In this kung fu techniques video, William Cheung demonstrates how kung fu practitioners can use a device such as the wooden dummy to practice their own defenses and counterattacks. William Cheung then demonstrates the practiced kung fu techniques on his training partner and senior disciple, Eric Oram. Construction and Functionality of the Wooden Dummy for Wing Chun Kung Fu Training "The three arms on the dummy can represent strikes to the middle and upper gates and can be either punches or kicks," explains Wiliam Cheung disciple and wing chun techniques expert Eric Oram. "The leg of the dummy teaches the wing chun practitioner to move from one side of the dummy to the other, keeping in mind where the opponent's lead leg is at all times." The First Modern Wooden Dummy for Wing Chun Techniques Practice "In 1951 my brother George Cheung ... persuaded Hong Kong-based wing chun legend Yip Man to commission a carpenter to build the first wooden dummy outside of China," William Cheung recalls. "It was built and installed on the rooftop of my family's house on Argyle Street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. I've been training on the wooden dummy ever since. "In 1956 [George] went to Sydney, Australia, to attend university. He brought that dummy to Sydney with him. When he moved in 1959, he placed it in the care of a friend who ran a gas station. One winter's night when the temperature plummeted, [George's] friend used the dummy as firewood to keep himself warm. It was a sudden and tragic end for the first modern wooden dummy." Safety First in Your Wing Chun Kung Fu Training Because the wooden dummy is usually made of teak, it's essential to practice all your offensive and defensive kung fu techniques slowly and softly at first to minimize the impacts your body is forced to absorb. As your accuracy and technique improve, you can put more energy and intention into it.

I was recently fortunate to train, have dinner with and catch up with two friends who recently returned from Afghanistan. They’re members of a special-mission unit composed of some of the nation’s best warriors; they are to warfare what Olympic athletes are to sports. One is a serious martial artist and MMA practitioner, the other a combatives junkie who seeks exposure to virtually anything he believes will hone his self-defense moves, including kali , jeet kune do and more esoteric systems. Both practice hand-to-hand combat (H2HC) techniques and straight combatives regularly. Both have closed with enemy forces scores of times over the past eight years. Their unit has the intensity, funding and diligence to approach training and fitness in the most scientific and sophisticated ways. They’re able to take advantage of any training course the Command agrees is useful. Their fighting program encompasses boxing, jiu-jitsu , muay Thai , MMA and various forms of straight combatives. They believe the aforementioned combat sports promote conditioning and athleticism and foster a fighting mentality, while combatives leverages each of those skill sets and provides a streamlined, functional battle-space approach. Why Less Can Be More in the World of Self-Defense Moves Our conversation got around to martial arts, combatives, personal preferences, H2HC, organizational needs and training. Interestingly, despite being exposed to a wide variety of self-defense moves, both agreed that isolating and mastering fewer H2HC techniques that are, or become, personally intuitive — no matter where they originate — is critical to prevailing in individual combat. In other words, truly mastering the fundamentals of some self-defense moves results in a higher probability of achieving success than does having a passing familiarity with significantly more H2HC techniques — many of which might easily fit into the nice-to-know category. They pointed out, for example, that of the many submission techniques that exist, fewer than 10 account for the majority of wins in MMA. Among them were the arm triangle, leg triangle, rear-naked choke, kimura , Americana, heel hook, armbar and guillotine. Similarly, any boxer who can get in and out cleanly, use angles, fire jabs and crosses like rifle shots, intuitively counterpunch, implement a bomb-proof guard and move well solidifies himself as an opponent worthy of respect. In both examples, they’re pretty fundamental techniques, yet that’s what normally wins in combat sports. My friends’ point was that their H2HC experiences proved the same. Relatively few fundamental self-defense moves answer the mail over and over again. How Many Self-Defense Moves Should You Learn for Optimal H2HC Capability? There’s a simple, truthful elegance to answering the question, “But how many self-defense moves should I learn?” with one word: “Enough.” The trouble is, finite curricula sometimes leave people feeling doubtful, as if they don’t have enough tools or H2HC techniques in their toolboxes. I suggest they worry whether they have the right tools in their toolboxes and whether they’re reliable. Concern about the sheer volume of self-defense moves is usually the result of resisting the grind that living a combative or martial life is. It’s the result of accepting one’s skill level with any given technique instead of improving the execution of those self-defense moves; adding more when a person hasn’t mastered what he’s got is futile. Is another H2HC technique really necessary, or does the person just lack the skill to adapt and apply the fundamental in a broader set of situations? In What Direction Should H2HC Training Be Geared? Think of it this way: One combatant develops very basic knife skills that include lightning-fast thrusts, angled movements, and the explosive ability to get in and out quickly. Another concentrates on a more complex inside skill set involving trapping, redirection and counter-cuts. Who would win? They train the same amount of time, and each hones his self-defense moves. One approach is stark and simple. The other is more difficult, requires more dexterity and has more component pieces. I think either would be formidable. The exacerbating factor relative to our discussion here is duress, of course, and what each is able to execute under circumstances that have significant consequences. Although the search for better H2HC techniques that more completely answer our tactical reality should never end, we all should focus on fewer self-defense moves and grind out our training, which means we’re grinding in our motor memory. Retention of Self-Defense Moves Although I’ve never seen a study focused on it, I’d certainly like to know how much true motor memory we have. How many self-defense moves or H2HC techniques can we actually retain and maintain in that nearly intuitive state? I expect that it’s fewer than people imagine. I also think skill atrophy occurs at a faster rate than most realize, leaving us to suddenly discover just how perishable performance is, especially when we’re under duress. Consider people’s general appetite for developing and maintaining a high level of skill. The very fact that you’re reading this means you have an above-average appetite and buy Black Belt and/or read articles on BlackBeltMag.com because you have a more developed and serious interest. The average person’s level of interest, attention to detail, workout intensity and frequency of training are probably less than yours — meaning that dwell time on an ever-increasing set of self-defense moves and H2HC techniques simply isn’t significant enough to master the moves. As dinner with my friends wound down, the joint emptied and waiters hovered. The one who’s dedicated to the fighting arts simply said, “Yeah, you can search forever for the next big thing, but preparing for combat, you either get it or you don’t. Less really is more.” A couple of days later, the other one followed up dinner and our conversation with an e-mail I thought summed up my feelings perfectly: “The more operational experience guys get and the more they bang hard in training, the more they see through s**t that requires a blueprint.” About the author: Kelly McCann is a former U.S. Marine special-missions officer responsible for counterterrorism and counter-narcotics. He now serves as the president of Crucible, an elite empty-hand and weapons-training facility that provides security support services and trains military, government and law-enforcement operators to do whatever it takes to survive. Kelly McCann is the author of the book and DVD series Combatives for Street Survival: Hard-Core Countermeasures for High-Risk Situations . His book teaches you how to prevail in any street conflict with devastatingly effective principles and brutal techniques.

Leave it to a hurricane named Irene to nearly scuttle the first-ever joint photo shoot and interview with UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez—an event that was months in the making. Just 24 hours before we were scheduled to snap our first picture, lower Manhattan, where Black Belt's East Coast photographer is based, was in the middle of a mandatory evacuation. In an unprecedented move, the mayor ordered New York's mass-transit system to shut down. Meteorologists predicted that the storm surge could leave the coastal areas of the city under eight or more feet of water. Local TV networks scrambled to create Hurricane Irene logos and theme songs to brand their nonstop news coverage, and a few stations went so far as to broadcast computer-generated animation to show us what the flooded city would look like. With little left to the imagination in the future that the weather reports said awaited us, the odds appeared slim that we'd pull off the photo shoot. Because both fighters were scheduled by coincidence to defend their belts in their respective promotions roughly six weeks later, the demands of their training camps meant that a rain date wasn't in the cards for either man. After orchestrating a series of pre-Irene e-mails and phone calls involving the relevant parties—during which I received a helpful recommendation from Mrs. Edgar telling me where I could still find vacuum-sealed milk for my 15-month-old son—our plan was to hunker down in our homes and ride the storm out. When it looked like Irene was winding down, I'd contact everyone to determine if the guys thought they could make it to New York the following day for the shoot and, not incidentally, if there was still a New York to make it to. As it happened, Irene wrapped up her visit to the Big Apple more quickly than expected, which was fortunate because it helped lessen the still-significant effects of the storm on the region. The scale of the disaster was downgraded from "biblical" to "epic"—with pockets of "biblical" remaining, depending on how close to the nearest river you were. I was in my home in New Jersey, sitting in a dark basement with no power, sopping up water with a towel and bucket when my cell phone rang. It was our photographer, Peter Lueders, who was at that moment bravely riding his bike across the Brooklyn Bridge, heading straight into the evacuation zone. His mission was to check on the condition of the studio. Mass transit was not yet operating, so pedal power was the fastest means of transport available. He said he'd call back in an hour if everything was OK. I figured if I didn't hear from him in two hours, I'd have to find a boat and organize a rescue. Luckily, he's a capable cyclist, and traffic was understandably light on the empty streets, so it was only 30 minutes later when he called back. There was no flooding in the city, the studio was in order and the lights were on. That was very good news, but I was still in the dark with a dangerously depleted cell-phone battery. I needed to quickly establish the fates of the fighters. I first called Edgar, who had no power, as did most of the Jersey shore. (Did I just use those two words? Really, that's what we call it.) Then I phoned Alvarez in Philadelphia, where the swollen Delaware River threatened to wash out the bridges. The roads both would have to use during their commute were littered with downed trees, areas of flooding and sporadic closures. Conditions were sure to remain precarious throughout the next few days. Would they ignore the risks, forge ahead and take that uncertain journey into the city in the morning? Would we actually pull this off? Of course we would. Martial artists see every obstacle as an opportunity to overcome and improve. Not only did both fighters concoct plans to come into the city, but they also had called each other before I reached them and agreed to meet up at Renzo Gracie's Jiu-Jitsu Academy in midtown Manhattan to squeeze in a workout before our photo shoot. The next day, I asked Alvarez how champions like he and Edgar deal with the high expectations and constant demands the promotions, fans and media place on them. He answered: “[MMA] isn't really about always winning. It's about watching a person deal with a crazy amount of adversity, bounce back and still continue to fight. You need to know how to deal with adversity first before you can ever think about winning or being a champion. If you can deal with it, you can cope with anything inside or outside the cage. If you can't, don't even bother to show up." As I listened, I wondered how I could ever have worried that a mere hurricane would keep these guys from showing up.

On the eve of Tao of Jeet Kune Do's release, public awareness will be awakened again to the legendary man who wrote this book: Bruce Lee. As a child, I used to call him "Uncle Bruce." But there was another special human being who I regard just as warmly. And when looking closely at the Tao, this other person was behind the scenes, as well—a devotee who used his time and energy to build the most prolific and modern book in martial arts history. This unsung hero deserves to be remembered within the chronicles of the jeet kune do world. His name is Gilbert Johnson. Who is Gilbert Johnson? Why is he of major significance? Let's begin with the fact that Gilbert was specifically chosen by Linda Lee Cadwell to carefully and delicately tend to the sea of papers reflecting her late husband's thoughts, words and insights. The monumental task of organizing and preserving these writings by my honorary uncle would become a sacred endeavor for Gilbert, and he became co-editor of Tao of Jeet Kune Do (and The Filipino Martial Arts, a book by my father, Dan Inosanto). As an accomplished martial artist on his own terms, Gilbert was an inquisitive human being and connected very much with the teachings and principles of jeet kune do. Before his mission with Tao of Jeet Kune Do, Gilbert was a gifted writer and independent journalist who frequently wrote for Black Belt and other publications during the 1960s and 1970s. According to one of his family members, Gilbert experienced several life-threatening events in his lifetime, but he managed to survive. As a freelance journalist, Gilbert also threw himself smack into the middle of the 1979 protests in Isfahan, Iran, and survived to write of his account of the Iranian Revolution. Perhaps because he served in the military, Gilbert was prepared to boldly and resiliently come face to face with the world. Despite these experiences, Gilbert managed to have a big heart. He wanted to help people. Gilbert tried to share his enthusiasm and friendship with others no matter how old or young. I adored this man as a child growing up. He inspired me through the pure essence of his kindness. By the time the 1980s rolled around, the AIDS epidemic started to spread across the United States, where the illness was labeled a "gay disease." Sadly, Gilbert was one of the first people I knew to contract the disease via a blood transfusion, which he needed after being involved in a car accident. And because of this, he quickly understood the discrimination and prejudice he'd face. As a result, he became an activist to help spread awareness that AIDS can affect anyone, that compassion is needed, not hate. In my film The Sensei, I tried to show how this historical attitude affected the martial arts world by featuring a gay martial arts students who had to deal with discrimination. As a writer, director and producer, Gilbert would challenge me—mind, body and spirit—to address the prejudice that has touched the martial arts community. As a close family friend to my father and the rest of the original jeet kune do family, Gilbert was a brilliant choice to meet the challenges of putting together the most soul-searching and significant writings of my godfather. He tirelessly worked and employed the techniques of a researcher and detective. He studied and trained with my father and the other jeet kune do students at our family academy, which was humbly tucked away in our home's backyard in Carson, California. Gilbert wanted to understand and explore what Lee was saying through these precious and profound documents that were left behind. I like to compare his work on Tao of Jeet Kune Do to a doctor helping to deliver a child into the world. It has been 35 years since Tao of Jeet Kune Do was born into the public eye. I am glad that such writings will be exposed to a new generation and that Gilbert has a place in martial arts history for giving the world such a groundbreaking and spiritual book.

Dr. Andre KnustGraichen is known for his warm smile, eloquent speech and extensive medical knowledge. As a professor at a chiropractic college, he uses his hands to teach and heal. But the same hands that can mend a herniated disc can also drop an assailant—if the good doctor so chooses. That’s because he’s a master of several styles of pentjak silat, an art whose takedowns are little known but are among the most devastating on earth. Silat masters have used their style’s sweeps, trips and throws—in combination with blunt and edged weapons—in bloody warfare for thousands of years in Indonesia, often leaving opponents maimed, broken or dead. You’re probably thinking, If they’re so special, why haven’t I heard of them? It’s a valid question. Turns out that silat’s efficiency is the reason practitioners like to keep the art to themselves. For the most part, anyway. Nowadays, the close-quarters-combat system is receiving more attention because it teaches numerous ways to toss an attacker to the ground while allowing the practitioner to stay on his feet, close enough to deliver finishing blows while watching for accomplices. “The sweeps in silat create a lot of damage and injury, and that is why they cannot be used in a sporty climate,” says Andre KnustGraichen, the lineage holder of pentjak silat serak under Maurice de Thouars. “A broken bone or severe ligament damage is the usual outcome of these maneuvers. They must be practiced with caution.” Why Use Pentjak Silat’s Takedowns Silat practitioners typically identify three selling points: They take away an attacker’s mobility and ability to fight effectively. They permit you to use a falling assailant as a shield or barrier against other attackers. They give you extra time to counterattack, fend off other attackers or run. The thing that makes silat takedowns even more effective, however, is what happens immediately afterward: You don’t automatically follow your opponent to the ground. Instead, you stay on your feet whenever possible. The reasons to stay off the ground are manifold, KnustGraichen says, but chief among them are: Visual awareness—Remaining upright enables you to see other dangers, such as broken glass on the ground. Ready stance—Being on your feet makes it easier to deal with weapons. Mobility—Lying on your back in the guard position makes it tougher to run away or move so you can fight other assailants. Counterattacks—You gain tremendous striking power when you’re standing and gravity is on your side, and when your downed attacker has lost his leverage. One of the most potent weapons you can use against a prone opponent is the stomp, which is a key weapon in silat, Andre KnustGraichen says. Stomping with the heel is intuitive and inflicts pain. When you’re wearing shoes, the technique becomes even more painful, especially when it’s directed at your opponent’s hands, feet, ribs, head or groin. Andre KnustGraichen says that silat takes into account all the variables—multiple attackers, weapons and hazardous terrain—by having all its takedowns follow the same progression: Evade the enemy’s attack, disrupt his balance and drop him. Pentjak Silat Takedowns: Step One In submission wrestling, takedowns usually start with the practitioner shooting in to grab his opponent. In silat, things are different. The first step is to avoid—not “turn tail and run” but evade the attack while you move in, Andre KnustGraichen says. “Evade means to move oneself into the position of greatest advantage, not just to slip or avoid.” For example, as your opponent fires a punch along your power line—the path that leads to the center of your body—you can evade it by blocking or parrying with your hands while your legs close the gap by stepping off at a 45-degree angle. That differs from what’s taught in most styles, which tend to rely on linear motion—such as when mixed martial artists duck a punch before shooting in for a takedown. Silat’s 45-degree stepping is known as triangle footwork, Andre KnustGraichen says. Rather than retreating or sidestepping at 90 degrees, you follow the lines of an imaginary triangle and slip attacks without moving out of takedown range. It doesn’t matter which foot you step with or whether you move to the left or right as long as you avoid the danger while staying close. Your preferred range is between trapping and grappling. “Silat range is the distance where your hand can touch [your opponent] in front of you,” Andre KnustGraichen says. “If you cannot touch his shoulder, you do not sweep or take him down.” Aside from getting off the power line, your evasive movements free your hands to deflect the punch and distract him so your legs and feet can slide in unnoticed for lower-body attacks and the eventual takedown. Pentjak Silat Takedowns: Step Two As soon as you distract your enemy, you pounce. Use dirty tactics like eye gouges, groin grabs, neck twists, elbow strikes and forearm smashes to the throat. And that’s just with your upper body. While your arms evade and fire off these dirty tactics (also called “entries”), your lower body slams into his shins, knees, thighs and hips. This multi-angle attack is meant to inflict maximum damage and disrupt his stance, thus softening him up for the takedown. “While an attacker is off-balance, that is the time to deliver the decisive strike,” says Andre KnustGraichen, who serves as the CEO of Pentjak Silat USA, the American chapter of the International Pencak Silat Federation. “You don’t have to hit as hard, and the strike causes more damage to the unbalanced opponent.” You can disrupt an assailant’s balance using any number of counterattacks—in silat, a finger jab to the eye is just as effective a disrupter as a knee to the groin is. The choice of counters is up to you and the situation. This personalization of the second step enables you to flow more easily into the actual takedown. Pentjak Silat Takedowns: Step Three In most situations, you’ll be able to drop your foe with the forward leg sweep or the backward leg sweep. They’re the style’s two takedown concepts, but each motion can translate to hundreds of applications. The backward leg sweep can be thrown like judo’s o soto gari (major outer reaping throw). Or not. Depending on the circumstances and biomechanics involved, the sweep could be employed more like jujutsu’s hip toss, kung fu’s iron-broom leg sweep or a myriad of other variations. Silat’s different versions of the same concept depend on many factors, including whether you sweep your opponent’s front or back leg (or both), what part of your leg you use to sweep (thigh, knee, shin, instep, foot or heel), what part of your opponent’s leg you contact, and whether you use a pushing or pulling force. For example, if you start with your feet together, then explode into a horse stance while blowing through your opponent’s legs, that’s a backward leg sweep. (To get into the horse stance, bend your legs like you're riding a horse .) However, if you start with your feet apart, then sweep his foot while bringing your feet together, that’s a forward leg sweep. In this sense, silat doesn’t have any set takedown techniques. Its concepts give you the freedom to adapt to the situation in a way that’s natural, rather than forcing you to respond with a memorized sequence of moves. Why Pentjak Silat’s Takedowns Work One of the reasons silat’s takedowns work is they aren’t taught as extended sequences. You’ll never hear a teacher say, “Duck the punch, grab his lapel with your left hand, step behind him with your right leg, and then turn your hip and throw him.” What happens if your opponent doesn’t throw a punch? What if he kicks? To deal with the question marks, silat focuses on the aforementioned components of evasion, disruption and takedown. This approach is more versatile because each concept is taught independently in drills and kata- like movements. Once they’ve been learned, they can be combined “on the fly” into takedowns that will fit almost any attack. “You’re setting up the environment, parameters and circumstances in which you do combat,” Andre KnustGraichen says. “If you don’t have that, you’re basically going to be surprised and ambushed.” He likens silat’s three-stage takedown principle to Royce Gracie’s simple strategy in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s early days. “A lot of the strikers came in hoping to catch their targets randomly,” Andre KnustGraichen says, “whereas the game plan with the grapplers was simple—to get a submission.” Another reason silat’s methodology works is it requires little strength. The first two steps break your opponent’s balance, which allows your takedown to be based on angles and leverage rather than power. Furthermore, the art’s throws don’t launch the assailant into the air. They dump him nearby so you can cling to him like a spider ensnaring prey in its web. The closer he is, the easier it is to pummel him, break his joints or lock him up until the police arrive. (Dr. Conrad Bui is a San Francisco-based chiropractor and martial artist with more than 20 years of experience. He teaches jeet kune do, pentjak silat serak and taekwondo. Patrick Vuong is an Orange County, California-based freelance journalist, screenwriter and martial artist. He holds black belts in lai chung chuan fa and kenpo karate.)

"As real as it gets." Often used as the tag line for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it refers to the fact that the event's bouts are as close to a real fight as the law and the fighters' safety permit. The catchphrase also refers to Spike TV's reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. In this classic interview, former UFC champ Randy Couture talks about what it takes to mold someone into a MMA fighter. Black Belt: How do you start training someone who wants to be an MMA fighter? Randy Couture: The first thing you need to find out is if he has a background in wrestling or judo or some other combative sport. You can play off that and develop other skills. The person's basic fitness level is also important. You have to teach the kind of fitness needed for MMA competition through cardiovascular training, anaerobic training and inner-strength training. Black Belt: What kind of athletic background besides combat sports would be an advantage? Football, sprinting, long-distance running? Randy Couture: All those sports bring a particular foundation, at least at a fitness level, that you can play off, but I'm not sure any of them offers a distinct advantage in MMA. However, it’s important that the person has competed in something and has a competitive spirit. Black Belt: Is competitive spirit something a person either has or doesn't have? Or can it be taught? Randy Couture: You can certainly test it. There are so many innate qualities that a person either has or doesn't have, but you can still educate him, push him and see how far he can go. And you can constantly push that wall back until he can go further and further. Most people can go a lot further than they think. Black Belt: Once you evaluate the person and learn about his background, where do you go from there? Randy Couture: Being at the top level in this sport, I've developed some tools and techniques for conditioning a fighter’s body the way it needs to be conditioned and for developing the skill sets he needs to be well-rounded. So the next step is to set a training regimen that builds conditioning through sprinting, running, biking, weightlifting and circuit training. It also includes time on the mat, light sparring, mitt work, ground training and wrestling. The goal is to develop skills and tools he can rely on when he needs to. Black Belt: Do you agree with those martial artists who insist you can get all the strength and endurance you need from doing your art, as long as you do it enough? Randy Couture: To some extent that can be true. There are plenty of examples of people who don't do any of that extra stuff. But when you get to the higher levels and want be the top dog, you have to do the extra stuff that will distinguish you from the others. You have to do those extras like increasing your foot speed and improving your dynamic, explosive power. Black Belt: What comes next for the budding MMA fighter? Randy Couture: Light sparring and putting him in different situations. You have to ensure he has an open mind and checks his ego at the door. He has to believe that he's always going to learn something, and he has to put himself out there. He has to risk being tapped out, risk losing-not only in training but also in fights that will challenge him. Black Belt: Say you're training a grappler who's got some decent skills. Do you try to perfect his grappling techniques, or do you focus on striking because it's his weakness? Randy Couture: I would spend more time-and this is the perspective I have as a wrestler who'd never been in a striking sport-on striking. Weaknesses have to be made into strengths. But the second you neglect one area of his training, somebody will point it out to him in competition. With a grappler, I would spend a lot of time on his hands and his ability to stop takedowns. Black Belt: For the grappling portion of his training, which arts would you draw from? Randy Couture: Certainly wrestling and jujutsu would be big components. I've also learned some things from judo players that I've found applicable. Wrestling is great because of the mat sense and intensity it brings, as well as the ability to take opponents down and control them from the top position. Jujutsu will teach him how to be on the bottom, how to fight on his butt and back, and how to find ways to not only submit his opponent but also to sweep and change positions. I would couple that with Greco-Roman wrestling, especially the clinch position, because in mixed martial arts, a fighter's posture is so much more upright than in most grappling sports. It applies very well for infighting and being able to take an opponent down while controlling him. Black Belt: What about for striking? Randy Couture: Western boxing and kickboxing are the most effective striking arts for this combative sport. Black Belt: Why not Thai boxing? Randy Couture: I think Thai boxing fits with what Greco-Roman and clinch fighting do best: infighting. The elbows and knees are very effective tools at close range. Black Belt: What are the essential skills and martial arts techniques you would cover? Randy Couture: The fighter needs good balance and footwork. He has to be able to defend himself, use his hands and elbows to cover his head, parry punches, and slip punches, kicks and knees. He also needs to be able to throw a proper punch and execute good combinations of kicks and knees. From there, he should move into clinch range, where he works inside control, neck wrestling, trapping and ways to not only strike but also take his opponent off his feet. He has to meld wrestling with striking, especially from the open position. He can't just go out with the intention of setting up his opponent and taking him down. It's too obvious to work, too easy to counter. Black Belt: Is that because fighters these days are too smart to fall into the traps that might have worked during the early days of the UFC? Randy Couture: Yeah. Everybody's cross-training, learning wrestling skills, learning to counter takedowns. A fighter's got to be prepared and understand that his opponent is going to know what's coming. And then he's got to work at being adept on the ground-whether he's on the top or bottom. He's got to be able to scramble, sweep and get back to a neutral position-and find in those transitions opportunities to submit his opponent. Or if he gets his opponent down, he's got to be able to keep him at a disadvantage so he can chip away at him. Black Belt: Would you also teach him how to use the environment—the fence and the mats—of the octagon? Randy Couture: There are definitely tactics for fighting in a ring and a cage. There are things he has to watch out for and things he can take advantage of. Black Belt: How do you approach strategy? Is there one you always teach, or are there four or five ways you would introduce? Randy Couture: It varies from opponent to opponent. Obviously it's more difficult training younger fighters because you don't have a lot of experience with them and their capabilities, and you generally don't know much about their opponents. But as a fighter moves into the higher ranks, you get the opportunity to see a lot of tape of his opponents. You notice their tendencies and how their strengths and weaknesses will match up with your fighter's strengths and weaknesses, then you figure out ways to win. They have to be willing to break themselves down and be honest about [their abilities]-and then go to the gym and do what it takes to execute that game plan. Black Belt: Did you encounter any special challenges while filming The Ultimate Fighter? Randy Couture: There were a lot of challenges for the athletes that created some challenges for me. Guys came in with different levels of conditioning. Some were really prepared and ready to go, and others had no idea what they were getting themselves into and consequently suffered physically, which made it difficult for me to push them. Some guys had better skill sets in some areas versus others. If I tried to focus on their weaknesses without singling out individuals, I couldn't spend the proper amount of time with others who didn't need that extra training. In general, I put them through a peaking phase as if, at the end of this, they were going to have a big fight. I tried to get them physically in the same kind of shape I get in for a fight. Black Belt: What have I left out? Randy Couture: The biggest piece that guys miss is the mental skill it takes not only to get through a training camp, but also to deal with the adversity of competition. They have to deal with the negative self-talk, and the jitters and the pressures of going out and performing in front of a bunch of people. They have to relax enough to do what they're trained to do. Black Belt: At the beginning of the UFC, it seemed like it was average guy against average guy, art against art. But now it's Superman against Superman, and everybody knows every relevant art. Seeing how much the whole sport has progressed, are you limited with respect to how good you can make an average person who might weigh 170 pounds and have done 10 years of karate? Randy Couture: It depends on the individual. We're all blessed with certain gifts and abilities, and that average guy has those things, too. Maybe he just hasn't tapped into them yet, and for some people, it's going to take longer than others. There are so many variables that play into making a good fighter; mind-set is probably the most important. What does he think his limitations are? Is he willing to do the work to get where he wants to go? It's almost more important than any physical gift he has. Black Belt: What's the optimal age to attend a training camp like the one shown in The Ultimate Fighter? If you're a champ when you're 40, that's one thing. But if you start when you're 40, that might be totally different. Randy Couture: Again, it depends on your background: What did you do in that 40 years? I'm 41, but I've spent my entire life since I was 10 competing in sports. To take a 40-year-old guy who's never competed in anything and get him up to speed physically and mentally for this combative sport is a big challenge, but it could be done. Will he be a world champion in a year? Probably not. Will he be able to compete within a year? He probably could. Black Belt: What advice would you give to people who will read this article and aspire to compete in the UFC? Randy Couture: The environment is a huge factor, so they should find a place where they're comfortable and where they're going to be exposed to all the pieces of the mixed-martial arts fight game. They should find a group of guys they can trust, guys who are going to teach them things and help them progress as a person and a fighter. You're only as good as your workout partners. Black Belt: What about advice for people who aren't quite ready to move into a training camp? What about that 16-year-old in Kansas who thinks, "When I'm 20, I really want to be a fighter; but now I'm living at home and training three days a week"? Randy Couture: It's not too early at 16; he still has to find that right place, and hopefully it'll be fairly close to home. It'll be a little more accessible when he turns 18 because he can go his own way. If he has a wrestling program in his school, that's a good place to start because it's an organized sport, and most programs are pretty good at developing at least one piece of the game. Black Belt: What about other options like going to the YMCA and doing boxing two days a week? Or lifting weights at home? Randy Couture: Those are all pieces of the puzzle. If all he can work on where he's at now is striking, then he should go to town on that and look for a different situation to add the other skills down the road.

In Malaysia, they say a man is not really capable of defending himself against an attacker unless he knows something about bersilat. Its self-defense techniques date back to the early 15th century and today is still popular. The art enjoys such popularity that it can be practiced by anyone whether he’s 8 or 60 years old. When bersilat was first introduced to the Malacca Court by a religious teacher from North Sumatra, Indonesia, it became a necessary part of a young man’s education. There have been considerable changes made in the original style, and through the years, it was practiced in secret with complicated rituals and customs. In Malaysia, bersilat attracts many men to its evening classes. Particularly youths living in villages and suburban areas indulge in learning its self-defense techniques. They are taught the fine points of parrying or avoiding an attack by an opponent who may be armed with a kris (Malay knife) or pedang or parang panjang (Malay sword). Young folks nowadays take up bersilat as an artistic form of physical exercise, and they often demonstrate the art at ceremonials. Instructors emphasize the of its self-defense techniques. The Bersilat Breakdown Basically, bersilat exists in two forms. One, the silat pulot, is purely for exhibition at weddings and other ceremonials. The other is known as silat buah and is used for serious fighting. One can tell by the opening graceful movements the type of bersilat the performer has mastered. With a leap, he will begin moving to the rhythmic strains of an orchestra, demonstrating the techniques of defense against one or several assailants. The movements consist of quick parries and counter-strokes with the arms, well-timed steps and swift kicks. There are many versions of bersilat. The most common are the bersilat gayong and bersilat harimau. To a lesser or greater extent, most of the movements involve a spiritual aspect, with the performer uttering religious incantations and blessings. This, say its devotees, helps bring out supernatural strength and provide the body with protection. All of the training and exercises in use today have been handed down from the original bersilat masters and are passed on by the loyal disciples from generation to generation. Malaysians like to speak of its early beginnings. They tell of the legendary hero Hang Tuah of Malacca, who lived in the 15th century and is considered the father of bersilat in Malaysia. Bersilat’s Origins With his friends, Hang Tuah traveled great distances in his day to learn bersilat, and his glorious exploits are vividly described in many Malay classics. With four of his friends, Hang Tuah made long and difficult journeys to reach Mount Rundok to meet mahaguru (grandmaster) Adi Putera to learn bersilat’s techniques. After long training and plenty of strenuous exercises, Hang Tuah continued his studies at Majapahit in the Mount Winara area with mahaguru Persanta Nala as his instructor. The knowledge he acquired through vigorous bersilat training taught him how to face an enemy and this he passed on to his followers. Many later proved to be loyal warriors to the State. The movements involved in bersilat when used for defense or on the attack can be summed up as follows: salutation movement (gerak langkah sembah) art of bodily movement, a dancelike affair in which the performer employs weapons. This is known as penchak seni tari dan seni tari bersenjata. avoiding movement, which Malaysians call elak mengelak side-striking tactics, which Malaysians refer to as tepis menipis kicking and falling techniques or sepak terajan stabbing tactics, called tikam menikam art of warriorship, classified by Malaysians as ilmu keperwira’an In addition to being an excellent form of physical training, the art of bersilat has great spiritual value, serving, according to its devotees, as an important aid of enhancing one’s spiritual development. As a bodybuilder, it helps in the achievement of general fitness, it provides alertness and gives the participant the courage he needs to meet his daily challenges. The Benefits and Brutality of Bersilat To the people who practice these self-defense techniques, many significant benefits are offered. According to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Malaysia and Selangor Silat Seni Gayong Association of Malaysia, the value of bersilat can be summed up as follows: As a dance, it develops an aesthetic feeling of a cultural nature. As a form of physical training, it promotes good health, and as a form of spiritual education, it develops such qualities as calmness, tolerance, observance, mental efficiency, courage and self-confidence. An expert who specializes in the throwing and unbalancing techniques of bersilat says any Malaysian can defend himself against an attacker by using very little physical strength if he knows bersilat. The expert, who is skillful in the use of a technique of hitting the vital spot known as seni sendi, points out that there are 12 critical nerve centers in the body. “All of these spots are vulnerable to severe pain at the slightest touch of an expert’s hand,” he says. “The technique will make an assailant react as though he had suffered an electric shock.” According to this authority, a small man should never try to rely on his own strength when he goes up against a bigger man who happens to be a sheer brute. Instead, he should make use of the opponent’s strength for counterattacking. “If attacked,” he explains, “one must think quickly, clearly and analytically about the position one is in and how best to get out of it. All this is more or less automatic.” As he further describes it, “Just screaming and struggling may not avert tragedy. For example, if grabbed by the throat from behind, the victim of an attack will be thrown back and probably lose his balance and fall if he becomes panicky and pulls forward. However, if he grabs the attacker’s wrist and pulls the arm away from his neck, he can flip the attacker to the ground. The confidence and know-how a bersilat performer displays is often enough to send an attacker running for dear life.” Another self-defense technique taught to bersilat students is kunchi, a locking procedure. It’s a handy way of giving a prowler or a burglar the bum’s rush once you sense his presence and give it to him in a very painful way. If an attacker grabs his victim from the front, an expert can startle him by hitting a nerve center. The attacker will then loosen his grip and he can throw the attacker backwards by using his legs, the expert says. However, if the assailant grabs the victim by the neck from the rear, the defender can grasp one of the attacker’s fingers and bend it back. The pain is unbearable. One of the simplest locks is to hold the attacker’s arm flat on the ground by pressing the knee on the outside of the attacker’s elbow. Once a person is pinned down, you can take all the time you need to decide what to do with the culprit. One thing is sure, the rascal will never get away. One passing thought in the use of bersilat. Its teachers always stress that its followers must not use it to initiate an attack. It is strictly for self-defense, for counterattacking when one is in danger. Only then, they say, is one justified to use it.

Throughout the decades, Leo Fong has worn many hats—actor, writer, director, producer, minister, social worker and fitness coach—but his most important role has been that of kung fu master. Born in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), China, Leo Fong moved to Arkansas at age 4. In his youth, he used his pugilistic skills to become an Amateur Athletic Union and Golden Gloves champion in Arkansas and Texas. He then enrolled at Hendrix College in Arkansas and later received a master’s degree in theology from Southern Methodist University. After beginning his career as a Methodist minister, he earned a master’s degree in social work from Sacramento State University. Leo Fong moved to Northern California, where he began training in a variety of martial arts. He attained master-level rank in taekwondo, jujutsu, si lum kung fu, choy lay fut and wing chun kung fu. He had the good fortune to train with three legends: choy lay fut’s Lau Bun, sil lum’s T.Y. Wong and then-wing chun practitioner Bruce Lee. Leo Fong often receives credit for inspiring Bruce Lee to develop his boxing skills and for helping him formulate jeet kune do. But Leo Fong opted not to spend his days promoting Bruce Lee’s art. Instead, he founded his own style, called wei kuen do, the “way of the integrated fist.” It’s a complete system based on boxing, kung fu and street self-defense, Leo Fong says. Leo Fong’s impact on the American martial arts community dates back to the 1970s. First, he penned Sil Lum Kung-Fu and Choy Lay Fut Kung-Fu for Ohara Publications (now Black Belt Books). They were the first books about those arts written in English and aimed at the general public. Leo Fong was recommended to draft the text by his friend and training partner, Bruce Lee. During the 1970s and ’80s, Leo Fong became one of the first people to produce and star in martial arts instructional films. He continued to inspire and educate through his books, which included Wei Kuen Do, Winning Strategies for Karate and Kung Fu, and Power Training in Kung-Fu and Karate (co-authored with Ron Marchini). In the mid-1970s, Leo Fong started working in the film industry. He starred in Kill Point with Cameron Mitchell and Richard Roundtree, as well as more than 20 action and adventure movies. While living in the Philippines making motion pictures, Leo Fong began learning the stick arts. He studied under Remy Presas, founder of modern arnis. When Leo Fong returned to California, he trained with Angel Cabales, founder of serrada escrima. Leo Fong later assembled all that he’d learned into a new system called modern escrima. In 1984 while visiting George Dillman, Leo Fong was introduced to pressure-point fighting. Although the art was still in the developmental stage, Leo Fong realized the self-defense value of being able to effortlessly strike vulnerable points. Over the next two decades, he watched George Dillman refine his martial art, then incorporated parts of it into wei kuen do. As a martial arts teacher, Leo Fong integrated self-defense techniques and principles with spiritual lessons, and the result inspired and educated thousands. He was one of the first people to create a martial arts program at a church and to develop a youth program based on the arts. With help from Ron Marchini, he ran a successful chain of schools in Stockton, California, and together they promoted hundreds of tournaments, attracting the likes of Chuck Norris, Mike Stone, Howard Jackson, Joe Lewis, Bob Wall, Steve “Nasty” Anderson, Billy Banks, Steve Sanders, Cynthia Rothrock and John Chung. After retiring from the church, Leo Fong dedicated himself to mastering the arts of healing and energy. By combining fitness training, psychology, spirituality and the martial arts, he created chi fung, a complete mind-body-spirit workout. He teaches it 10 times a week to hundreds of followers. For his efforts to spread the Chinese martial arts and boost the fitness level of all students, Black Belt is pleased to name Leo Fong its 2006 Kung Fu Artist of the Year. (This profile originally appeared in the December 2006 issue of Black Belt.)

The current light-heavyweight king of the mixed martial arts is Lyoto Machida, a dyed-in-the-wool shotokan karate stylist. Sure, he’s also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but when he’s on his feet and knocking people out, he’s mostly using shotokan karate techniques. Watching him take apart top fighters with his shotokan skills is definitely satisfying for martial arts pluralists like me, but it’s more than that. Lyoto Machida’s career is one long lesson in how knowledge can limit us. We learn about the world through direct observation, but no one can observe or experience everything. That makes all personal knowledge finite. Because of that, we have to take the sum of our experiences and make judgments about truth based on our limited knowledge. That means extending the most reliable truths and assuming that they’ll continue to be true in the future. It’s called inductive reasoning, and it’s almost the default setting for how-to experts like martial artists. But there are problems with induction. The most important one for us is that there’s no guarantee that any truth, no matter how reliable it’s been, will continue to be true. Lyoto Machida’s career in MMA is a good example of this. After a period of style-vs.-style experimentation in the 1990s, MMA settled into a nice groove. Everybody learned from those matches, and people who wanted to win cross-trained in the winningest styles: muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and Olympic wrestling. Because we learned that these ways of fighting had consistently worked well, we “knew” they’d work in the future. Other styles, like karate and kung fu, had failed miserably in MMA, and we “knew” they could safely be ignored. But what happens when an Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder is a karate guy that no one can beat? We run up against the problem of induction. The classic example of this is the black swan. We see a number of swans over a stretch of time, maybe years. Every swan we see is white. Because we’re not able to observe every swan in existence, we reason from what we’ve seen that all swans are white. We even feel safe in saying we know that all swans are white. Then a black swan shows up, and inductive reasoning looks pretty weak. It didn’t really give us the truth, and it didn’t prepare us for an anomaly like a black swan. Right now, Lyoto Machida is our black swan. He’s the guy who shouldn’t exist but does. He’s the champion who puts the lie to any blanket dismissal of karate in elite MMA competition. Lyoto Machida’s career is one long lesson in how knowledge can limit us. We learn about the world through direct observation, but no one can observe or experience everything. That makes all personal knowledge finite. Because of that, we have to take the sum of our experiences and make judgments about truth based on our limited knowledge. That means extending the most reliable truths and assuming that they’ll continue to be true in the future. It’s called inductive reasoning, and it’s almost the default setting for how-to experts like martial artists. But there are problems with induction. The most important one for us is that there’s no guarantee that any truth, no matter how reliable it’s been, will continue to be true. Lyoto Machida’s career in MMA is a good example of this. After a period of style-vs.-style experimentation in the 1990s, MMA settled into a nice groove. Everybody learned from those matches, and people who wanted to win cross-trained in the winningest styles: muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and Olympic wrestling. Because we learned that these ways of fighting had consistently worked well, we “knew” they’d work in the future. Other styles, like karate and kung fu, had failed miserably in MMA, and we “knew” they could safely be ignored. But what happens when an Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder is a karate guy that no one can beat? We run up against the problem of induction. The classic example of this is the black swan. We see a number of swans over a stretch of time, maybe years. Every swan we see is white. Because we’re not able to observe every swan in existence, we reason from what we’ve seen that all swans are white. We even feel safe in saying we know that all swans are white. Then a black swan shows up, and inductive reasoning looks pretty weak. It didn’t really give us the truth, and it didn’t prepare us for an anomaly like a black swan. Right now, Lyoto Machida is our black swan. He’s the guy who shouldn’t exist but does. He’s the champion who puts the lie to any blanket dismissal of karate in elite MMA competition. It doesn’t matter if it turns out that Lyoto Machida is the only martial artist who can make shotokan work at that level. Just like one black swan changes what we know about swans, one karate guy winning the UFC belt is enough to change what we know about karate and MMA. In both cases, all it takes is one example to show us the limits of our knowledge and the need to learn and understand more. Of course, there have been other black swans in MMA. When everybody knew that stand-up fighters were easy prey for wrestlers and jiu-jitsu stylists, kickboxer Maurice Smith won the UFC heavyweight title. When everyone knew that pro wrestlers were just entertainers who couldn’t actually fight, wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba was tearing up the middleweight division. When everybody knew that muay Thai was the best way to fight standing up, Manson Gibson was winning titles using a backfist, a side kick and lots of lunatic spinning techniques. Sometimes these men changed our minds about what was effective, and sometimes they didn’t. What they didn’t change was the tendency to believe that the future will be like the past. The lesson we should all learn from the black swans of the fighting sports is that inductive reasoning can take us only so far. After a point, it becomes a self-justifying circle (i.e., reasoning inductively because it’s worked in the past) and inadvertently limits knowledge. The way forward is to go beyond what we know and discover what impossible things we can make possible. If we’re as talented as Lyoto Machida, that way might lead to the top. Keith Vargo is a freelance writer, researcher, martial arts instructor and author of Philosophy of Fighting: Morals and Motivations of the Modern Warrior.

Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1948, Masayuki Shimabukuro began his martial arts career with childhood lessons in judo, karate-do and Okinawan kobudo. Upon meeting 20th-generation grandmaster Miura Takeyuki Hidefusa, Masayuki Shimabukuro began a lifelong pursuit of emulating his template for technical mastery and human compassion, grace and humility. In 1976, he moved to Southern California and began teaching shito-ryu karate-do, iaido, jodo and Okinawan kobudo---just in time for the 1980s fascination with samurai weapons and philosophy, which had become one of Masayuki Shimabukuro's specialties. In the early 1990s, Masayuki Shimabukuro became a founding member of the North American Japanese Karate-do Masters Association and now serves on its board of directors. In 1995, Miura Takeyuki Hidefusa appointed Masayuki Shimabukuro international chairman of the Nippoin Kobudo Jikishin-Kai and entrusted him with the dissemination of authentic eishin-ryu swordsmanship. In 2002, Miura Takeyuki Hidefusa awarded Masayuki Shimabukuro the title of hanshi and named him the 21st-generation inheritor designate of muso jikiden eishin-ryu iaijutsu. Masayuki Shimabukuro became a member of the prestigious Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, the oldest martial arts governing body in Japan. In 2003 he wrote the United States Amateur Athletic Union’s competition guidelines for iaido/battodo and served as the chairman for the organization’s iaido/battodo division. In 2006, he was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as Weapons Instructor of the Year.

Ong-Bak (2003) contained so many jaw-dropping stunts and such innovative muay Thai that it seemed like its star, Tony Jaa, was an overnight success. But the walking stunt reel had been honing his craft for a long time—ever since he apprenticed as a teen for Thai stuntmaster Panna Rittikrai. Tony Jaa carried, cooked and cleaned for Panna Rittikrai’s crew, and in return they developed Jaa’s skill at melding muay Thai with taekwondo and gymnastics. In Battle Warrior, you can see how he blossomed. Recently released stateside as a two-disc DVD by Golden Star Films, this 1996 Thai film isn’t overly interesting to the casual viewer. It has low production values, amateurish cinematography and cartoonish acting. And the screenwriting is so bad it’d be a waste of time to describe the plot. The fight choreography shows little semblance to the awesomeness performed seven years later in Ong-Bak, with many of the movements plagiarized from Hong Kong flicks. The best part of Battle Warrior is the extra DVD, which is loaded with bonus materials. There are TV interviews with Jaa shot during the publicity tour of 2006’s The Protector, which offer insight into his life, influences and goals. They even show clips from his live-on-TV fight skit with Protector villain Johnny Nguyen, a former U.S. wushu team member and Spider-Man stuntman. Also included are an interview with Tony Jaa and his mentor, Panna Rittikrai, as well as featurettes and Q&As with other cast and crew members. (Patrick Vuong is a freelance journalist, screenwriter and martial artist based in Orange County, California.)

Michael Jones has trained in the Bujinkan for 19 years. He has traveled all over the world including Japan numerous times, having been fortunate enough to gain valuable insight into martial arts from some of the world's leading practitioners. He’s also been fortunate enough to be able to cross train through Muay Thai and Systema which has also added to his understanding of body movement. He and his partner Randa Richards run Kunoichi/Shinobi Dojo, Cardiff Martial Arts Academy in South Wales, U.K. Find out why he prefers Ninjutsu as a life-long practice. Age: 36 Rank: Judan (10th Dan) Style: Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (Ninjutsu) Where he teaches: Kunoichi/Shinobi Dojo, Cardiff Martial Arts Academy, South Wales, U.K. Check out Black Belt+ for more instruction from world-class teachers. *Due to editorial limitations, parts of this interview may have been abbreviated. Black Belt+: Who or what inspired you to take the path of Ninjustu? Michael: I happened across Ninjutsu by chance. An extended family member took it up and quickly sold me on its application. I hadn’t heard of it before and I was excited to give it a try. Within a few months I was hooked and although I have cross trained in other martial arts, I always stayed loyal to Ninjutsu above all others as it is the best fit for myself. My extended family member didn’t train for much longer but I continued to diligently turn up three times a week to try and improve my skill set. Black Belt+: Tell us about the art form you teach? Michael: Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu was created by Hatsumi Sensei with the approval of his sensei before him, Takamatsu Sensei. Hatsumi Sensei wanted to bring Ninjutsu into the 20th Century and expand so it was no longer transmitted through family lines. He then created the Bujinkan from a set of 9 Ninjutsu and Jujutsu schools. He would then begin accepting Western students, who would introduce the art to the rest of the world. Although it is steeped in tradition and was originally designed for combat in Japan, it can easily be adapted to modern conflict. The art itself teaches a mixture of hand to hand techniques as well as using an array of weapons from the Staff, Sword and bo shuriken to name a few. With heavy emphasis on movement, distance and timing, Ninjutsu aims to confound an opponent with a mixture of skill and strategy. It's not just about being able to hit hard for us, but also knowing when to hit and where to hit. Choosing to manipulate what we can control to most effectively overcome what we can’t control. Black Belt+: Tell us about your master? Michael: Although I frequently train abroad with various practitioners from across Europe, most of my training is transmitted to me by Sensei Ryan Hobbs who I train with twice a week. He initially had a background in sporting martial arts but chose to follow a different path when he found the Bujinkan. He is an unassuming man with little interest in recognition of any kind. He has a keen attention to detail which makes him a very conscientious teacher with a wealth of knowledge to impart. As well as Sensei Ryan Hobbs I also train every couple of months with Sensei Marc Moor. He is a particularly dynamic teacher who has a wealth of real world experience whilst working close protection. Black Belt+: Describe the training in Japan? Michael: The training in Japan is vastly different to what we do back home. It is of a much higher level and I would also say that the training is generally less physical. The basics are expected to have been mastered in your own time and training so that they can concentrate more on subtlety and the feeling of a technique. All the hard training and conditioning tends to happen in the earlier phases of our martial arts education. In Japan you are more likely to be put on the floor without quite realising how it happened or find yourself distracted by a technique that you think is being applied only to find it was another technique altogether. The Japanese rarely feel the need to knock you to the floor (although they can with astonishing force) but prefer to capture your balance and then let you believe you have regained your balance before taking it again. Black Belt+: Can you teach in the same method and approach to your students in the UK as you learned in Japan or do you have to modify? Michael: I would have to modify. The teaching I do in the UK is primarily to prep my students should they ever want to go to Japan themselves. If I tried to teach exactly what I learned in Japan it is likely that I would do a disservice to the lessons taught. It’s one thing to try and learn what they teach in Japan but to be able to adequately transmit it to my students would take a deeper understanding of the material than I currently have. I of course show my students what I have learned but their understanding of what they are seeing will increase when their understanding of our basics are more complete. There is a progression to follow and jumping too far ahead too quickly wouldn’t be productive to my students. Black Belt+: What are the most important basic elements to master to become proficient in the art? Michael: The most important basic element to master Ninjutsu is adap tability. We don’t focus on any one attribute as it would fail against an opponent who does it better. The first thing we tend to learn is the Kihon Happo, which is a set of 8 basic techniques that is at the heart of everything that we do. Within these techniques we cover strikes, distancing, throws and locks and once we have mastered those, everything is just a variation of those techniques. First we learn the form of these techniques so that it becomes ingrained in us and then we move on to variations. We then practice dissecting them and putting them back together so that whatever the situation calls for, there is an appropriate response within the Kihon Happo. This is the essence of our adaptability. Recognizing when an opponent may strike better than we do, we resort to throwing and locking. When an opponent is clearly better at throwing and locking such as a judoka, we would resort to striking. It’s really a jack of all trades approach with the aim of adding as many tools to your box as possible. Black Belt+: What is the emphasis of your teaching? Michael: My emphasis is self defense/survival. Particularly self defense that is geared towards being smaller and weaker than your opponent but finding a way regardless. I like to think that Ninjutsu has a certain longevity that allows you to improve with age rather than peak at 30 and then slowly decline. When I talk about self defense I’m not necessarily talking about winning a conflict which is often ego driven but doing just enough to ensure the safety of ourselves and loved ones whilst removing a threat. If the most prudent way to do that is to learn when to distance yourself from a situation, then that is also a great skill to have. Black Belt+: You have taught around the world, what are differences if any between Americans vs international students in learning and mastering the art? Michael: I haven't seen much in the way of differences between Americans vs European students which I think is mainly due to the teachers. Most teachers will try and get out to Japan as often as possible and that is what generally unites us with common goals. As our knowledge is trickling down from the same source in Japan, we tend to be on similar paths, with the same aspirations which are to be our best versions of ourselves. We do this by strengthening the Bujinkan through forging strong relationships with each other. I’ve witnessed some martial arts such as Karate have their own US identity but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Ninjutsu as regardless of what country we are from, we are all drawing our inspiration from Japan. You can learn more about Michael and his school HERE And HERE. Start training now for free! Instructional videos on Black Belt+ Download and subscribe directly from Black Belt Magazine at plus.blackbeltmag.com. Or download in the App Store or Google Play.