There will be no fight!

[WTG]

Well,

I mentioned in another post that I had a fight coming up in a few weeks. Well it is off!

The person I was going to fight, has changed the rules of engaemnet. He says that AFTER his seminar, I can "jump" him on the way to his car if I REALLY feel the need to push the issue. And that he will do whatever he has to to protect himself, and I will suffer any results of those actions. He said there will be "no sparring" or any of that "vale tudo" crap...

So, of course *I* will be an attacker, jumping a guy going to his car with witnesses and he will use weapons or whatever... NOW, this has become stupid!

The whole point was that this person that I knew from another art was saying that what we do in JKDU was stupid and not real. ANd that training Aikido style was more than enough to handle JKDU Vale Tudo etc...

I simply stated my opinion and offered him the chance to prove his point, no malice or bad intentions. Well, as you see, he has made it so he can be safe with his un-tested opinions. As he knows I would be a fool to just attack someone going to their car.

It is against my personal morality, against the law and stupid! LOL!

So no fight...

-Rick

[Jim McRae]

The worst part is that this idiot will probably go around telling all of his friends that you were "so afraid of his bushido skills that you wouldn't fight." If vale tudo style fighting is so simple and so beneath his master-level-abilities, then what is stopping him from fighting you and cleaning your clock, proving once and for all that kowtowing and doing kata all day long really does make us into Kung Fu assassins? This is the same type of pseudo-black-belt that Bob Orlando talks about in his book Martial Arts America (a great book, by the way). Some guys know either consciously or subconsciously that they can't fight, at least not up to the level that all their self-hype would suggest. Thus, they repeatedly make excuses not to spar so that they can continue to run their mouths and yet not get hurt or be forced to actually prove their abilities. After trash-talking JKD so much, this guy has nothing to win by sparring: either hell freezes over and he wins the match — so what, he's a "Master" and it was expected of him — or he looses the match and looks like a total chump (especially to his students/followers). Unfortunately, this type of invertebrate will do anything to avoid a real conflict, so I doubt there is anything you could (legally) do to make him spar with you. Then again, you could always run over him with your car and then sue him for carelessly damaging your motor vehicle.

Take care and train hard,
Jim McRae

[WTG]

LOL!

Hi Jim,

this guy has told me that HE has nothing to prove, his methods have been proven over and over again, by himself and others in real fights.

He even says that he "rolled" with some "NHB" guys on "their terms" and schooled them... So he has no need to do it again...
He says *I* am the one with something to prove and if I want to prove it so bad, to attack him and face the results

Like I said, he went to Hartsell and Inosanto and Chai seminars and said he was at one time the area rep for Larry. He said Rick, why would I leave all those years of JKD to do this art unless I felt it was FAR supierior? He said I KNOW what you guys do, I'm not impressed...

Fact is there are people out there that will think this way and will not ever spar and will continue to spout off a load of horsecrap and there is nothing you can really do...

Just look at any month of Black Belt Magazine! It's to the point where I don't even like the term Martial art! Like Mat's combat athlete, or Blaise Loong "war craft" (although to me there is a gloomand doom feel to that) Maybe warrior training? In the sense that a warrior is one who faces challange to build a momentum of personal power...

That is why I like High performance martial arts, to me it means taking every aspect of our life to it's natural limit in terms of quality, or at least striving to do so...

Well, at least we can be sure "through experience" that we are on the right path, as to others, all we can do is lead by example and those sincere people will understand, and others won't.

Best,

-Rick

[Jim McRae]

"It's to the point where I don't even like the term Martial art!"

Yes, Rick, I have come to feel the same way. I usually describe JKD as a "fighting art" or a "self-defense training system" rather than use the term "martial art" and all of the baggage that comes with it. Your average Joe immediately associates a "martial art" with (1) funny white pajamas, (2) breaking construction materials with your hands, feet, and head, (3) shouting a lot, (4) bowing a lot, and (5) eastern mysticism (not to be confused with philosophy!). I think that Bruce Lee and most of the people who have come after him have all worked really hard to disassociate JKD from all of these aspects of "classical" training, and so I try to use terminology that will not give people the wrong image of JKD training. I have nothing against the term "martial art" in and of itself; I just feel that there are so many bozos out there that call themselves "martial artists" that I often want to distance myself from them.

Take care and train hard,
Jim McRae

[WTG]

AT the park again...

Speaking of public perception of this "stuff" we do...

Where we work out, there is a guy who brings three girls (about early 20's) that he is training I assume for some race, running distance I believe...

Well, they stretch and warm up on the picinic bench where we put our stuff. Two days ago, we were doing drills and I pull of my head gear, sit down to drink some water. This guy says, "so... you guys training to kill people?" LOL!

I almost spit out my water. I said no... Not really... Then he said, "or training not to GET killed?" I said, something like that...

Then he said, just get a gun! And took off running....

-Rick

[Jim McRae]

"Then he said, just get a gun!" (angry tirade to follow)

Rick, I applaud you for not clocking the guy with a stick as soon as those words passed his lips. I absolutely HATE the "I'll just shoot him" attitude that most critics of hand-to-hand fighting have. They think that they will be able to take out any assailant with their gun easily and quickly with no hassles. The problem is...

(1) Deployment: Unless you carry your gun in your hand all of the time, you have to go through several motions to get it out and firing, including: removing the concealing garment, releasing any thumb-break catch your holster might have, drawing the weapon, assuming a Weaver stance, taking off the safety (if its not a Glock or a double action revolver), aiming, and firing. According to the last FBI tests, it takes the average LEO 20 feet of distance between himself and a charging assailant to do all of these things. How often do you let someone within 20 feet of you in your daily life? All the time, right? Well, then, you'd better know a couple of empty-hand techniques to buy yourself time and distance to draw that big, bad pistol.
(2) Force continuum: A gun is lethal force. Period. Non-lethal woundings with a gun happen because the shooter missed the chest or head. You are not always justified in using lethal force in a fight. Are you going to shoot your drunk uncle at the family picnic who gets too rowdy? Are you going to start blazing in a barfight when some drunk hick takes a swing at you? If so, I hope you look good in a bright orange jumpsuit and paper slippers.
(3) Legality: You simply can't carry a gun everywhere. Many places don't allow concealed carry, and even the areas that do have limitations such as: places that sell alcohol, any state or federal building, any courthouse, police departments, banks, and any establishment that puts up a "no weapons allowed" sign. Basically, that leaves your home and your car as the only two options. Knives can go just about anywhere and it's easy to improvise a stick using environmental objects.

I love shooting and I grew up shooting. I have no doubt that guns are an excellent means of dealing with a violent attacker. However, if you think you can deal with a violent assailant using only firearms, you might just be buried with your big, shiny gun. Guns are a part of a force continuum that includes knowledge of empty hands fighting in all ranges, edged weapons, impact weapons, and chemical weapons.

I think that most people have the "I'll just use a gun" attitude because they are subconsciously afraid of how they would perform in a hand-to-hand situation. Or, they are just too lazy to put in the time and effort to train properly. Thus, they resort to firearms (which they also haven't put in the time and effort to train properly in, so they'll probably shoot themselves or some innocent bystander instead of the criminal). I'm glad this guy is training how to run long distances — it is a skill he will sorely need if he ever gets in a real fight.

Thanks for listening to my cathartic rant,
Jim McRae

[Burton]

I enjoy shooting, and training tactical firearms methods, but those who say "just get a gun" don't understand the core of our martial arts training: personal development. Training realistically changes your inner self, and allows you to function better in all areas of life.

Jim, good point about mysticism vs. philosophy. So true!