Teen Girl Defends Against Attacker

 
The following is a story taken from a news report dated 5/26/25:

 

A 13-year-old girl in California fought off a man using her jiu-jitsu training and broke his ankle when he tried attacking her on her walk home from school.

Police in Carmel, Calif., are now looking for the teen’s attacker. Police say the suspect ambushed the girl by hiding between two parked cars and stepping out to punch her in the face...

For three years, the 13-year-old has been taking jiu-jitsu classes at the Carmel Youth Center with Michael Blackburn, who teaches at the center...The teen applied what she learned in her class when the man tried to attack her...

“She punched him, she got him in a headlock, kneed him a couple of times, spun him around, threw him on the ground,” Blackburn said...“She had stepped on his foot doing all this, and when she threw him on the ground, he broke his ankle.”

The teen was able to run home safely but her attacker is still on the loose. According to the local outlets, Carmel police do not have any solid leads on the man but have released a sketch of what they believe he looks like. 

The suspect is believed to be around 6 feet tall, muscular and now has an injury to his left foot inflicted by the teen who fought back...

 

As stated, the unnamed teenage girl has been training in an unspecified style of jiu-jitsu for three years. This ended well, of course, but the 6-foot burly perp is still out there limping around. I'll edit in an update if they nab this slimeball.  This shouldn't happen to anyone, least of all a child.

Amazing—thirteen years old! Kudos to Sensei Blackburn and his Carmel-by-the-Sea dojo for teaching this young lady right.

Teachers As Fighters

Have you ever noticed that in baseball the team manager wears a baseball uniform? Now, he never partakes in the game; not to pinch hit or relieve the losing pitcher towards the end of the game. Aside from his senior appearance or the fact that he's maybe put on a few pounds over the years, the baseball manager is decked out like an actual playing member of the club. How interesting. In his heyday, the manager was a player with a major league team who typically had a decent record as a pro. After retiring as a player, he became a manager. It's a well paying job of course, but now it behooves him to give back to a sport that has been very generous to him. A good baseball manager possesses leadership, technical savvy, and when appropriate, wisdom, in order to guide his players to become a winning team.

In boxing, the coach is typically a trainer who has had at least some boxing experience, but not necessarily as a decorated amateur, let alone a prizefighter. Cus D'Amato, one of the greatest professional boxing coaches of all time, was never himself a professional boxer. I won't mention names, but some former world champions who have tried their hand at coaching had less than stellar results with their protégés. Teaching is not the same thing as doing. Perhaps mediocrity goes a long way when the disciple becomes the master.

Ah, yes—the master! This is the word I'm ginning up. Teachers in different categories mean different things. But in the realm of martial arts, mastery is something unique. In sports, the coach is a retired player, a player that may or may not have been an elite exponent of baseball, boxing or whatever. 

 

The martial arts master, however, is not only held as a master instructor, but a master practitioner. Now this is conjecture, thanks to legends, rumors, kung-fu flicks, and starry-eyed students delivering sermons on how their karate teacher or whoever can level ten people at a clip. Manager Tommy LaSorda, though he could deal with unruly players, umpires, and the not-so-rare bench-clearing brawl, would be hard pressed to hit one out of the park. Could trainer Cus D'Amato knock out an opponent in the main event? Of course not, nor would anyone expect him to. But the sensei or sifu is held to a different standard.

The romantic definition of the martial arts master is their mastery of multiple domains. This can be fraught with problems: Your sensei is not your shrink or financial consultant or life coach or buddy. (And while we're on the subject, I've seen the title of sensei thrown around like it was an "Employee of the Month" award. Being a black belt—in any style— does not automatically confer one to being called sensei.)

Boxing coach/fighter relationships, however, are replete with stories similar to genuine mentorships. By their account, some boxers have regarded their trainers as father figures who guided them away from what likely would have been a life of crime, drugs, and gang activity culminating in prison. And these relationships are certainly reciprocal, I'm sure. In a touching scene from Rocky V (1990), a wizened and wise Mickey Goldmill offers this heartwarming guidance to his disciple:

 

You know kid, I know how you feel about this fight that's comin' up. 'Cause I was young once, too. And I'll tell you somethin'. Well, if you wasn't here I probably wouldn't be alive today. The fact that you're here and doin' as well as you're doin' gives me—what do you call it—motivization? Huh? To stay alive, 'cause I think that people die sometimes when they don't wanna live no more. 

And nature is smarter than people think. Little by little we lose our friends, we lose everything. We keep losin' and losin' till we say you know, 'Oh what the hell am I livin' around here for? I got not reason to go on.' But with you kid, boy, I got a reason to go on. And I'm gonna stay alive and I will watch you make good...

...and I'll never leave you until that happens. 'Cause when I leave you you'll not only know how to fight, you'll be able to take care of yourself outside the ring too, is that okay?

 

Taking your lessons "outside" is a central precept in traditional martial arts.  When we come to the dojo we leave our hangups and worldly problems at the door. But we take the good lessons we've gleaned during dedicated training with us when we leave for the day. In this manner, karate-do becomes karate as a "way of life."

Consider this exchange Bruce Lee's character has with a student in the beginning of Enter The Dragon (1973). One-on-one he tells his young student, Loa, to kick him. After he fails to properly commit, Lee admonishes him. 

"What was that? An exhibition? We need emotional content. Try again." Loa then overexerts with an even harder kick, swatting air.

"I said 'emotional content.' Not anger! Now try again...with me." Lao finally launches a couple of decent side kicks, much to the approval of Lee.

"That's it! How did it feel to you?" As Loa ponders the question, Lee smacks him in the head.

"Don't think. Feel. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon." When Lee observes Loa merely looking at his finger he smacks him again.

"Don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all that heavenly glory. Do you understand?" Loa responds affirmatively by bowing, but again errs by losing eye contact with his master, receiving the trifecta smack upside the head. Poor Lao. A spiritual and technical lesson wrapped up in one. Does it get any better than this? Indeed it does, and Lee's summation here is sage advice for any martial artist.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent...even when you bow."

Loa bows, gazing intently at his master. Another day. Another lesson.

Toxic Masculinity

There was a movie a few years back called The Art of Self Defense. Despite the unassuming title, the film explores the pitfalls of encountering the wrong dojo to train at. The lead character is a milquetoast pushover who's afraid of his own shadow. After getting beaten and robbed he decides he's had enough and ends up taking karate lessons from a deranged sensei who encourages his new charge to be a violent psychopath. The student takes his misguided teachings into the real world with predictable results. I won't spoil things by revealing more, but not surprisingly, the story does not end well. Cultish behavior is nothing new in the martial arts, and with the advent of social media, young men are finding inspiration in the rather vile corners of the internet. 

My son asked me recently if I ever heard of a retired kickboxing/MMA competitor named Andrew Tate. I hadn't, so with a little digging I found that after Tate retired from competition he started to monetize online courses on how to get rich and "male-female interactions." His Hustler's University turned out to be a pyramid scheme targeting young men who were buying into his hype to become an alpha male. An alpha is the apex of male aggression and dominance hierarchy in the animal kingdom. Primatologist Robert Sapolsky has studied this in non-human primates and its relation to the highly stratified social structure of baboons*. In humans, being an alpha male is associated with narcissism, entitlement and even misogyny. In layman's terms, human alpha males are highly predisposed to just being assholes.

Tate's net worth supposedly puts him in the neighborhood of 50 million USD, but has since been kicked off numerous social media platforms (where he earns most of his money) for inciting violence and dehumanizing speech, particularly aimed at women. As of this writing, Tate sits in a jail cell in Romania awaiting a judge's decision regarding Tate's (and three others') involvement in a human trafficking scheme using women to create pornography for profit, among other charges including rape. I don't know if Tate's years as a world champion martial arts competitor led to his self-indulgent dysfunctional worldview of male dominance. Maybe he got messed up as a kid. A long held psychology axiom states that events that occur during childhood can reveal themselves in unpredictable ways later in life. I doubt that an undertaking in a traditional martial art style during his formative years would've put him on the right path (budo), but who knows? Would an early-life intervention have made a difference in a guy like Tate?

Jason Wilson runs a youth program for troubled boys in Detroit called The Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy, a quasi-martial arts facility that "is not a martial arts school but a Transformational Training Academy." Wilson, the chief instructor who cites a background in jiu-jitsu, judo, and kempo (but doesn't hold rank in any of these styles), teaches young men in a traditional dojo-setting the values needed to become an upright man and a decent citizen. Wilson muses how some martial artists can attain a black belt in their chosen style, but remain a white belt in the game of life.

"When I first started the CATTA, there were many “Scared Straight” programs in Michigan, and I had even participated in a couple", says Wilson. "However, I quickly discovered that inflicting trauma will never help a boy release it but instead teach him to suppress it. Nowadays, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a Scared Straight or Bootcamp program because discipline without love is ineffectual."

Maybe that's the antidote to toxic masculinity in young men: The understanding that the best and even worst of us have an innate need to love and to be loved. And the sooner the better. As The Beatles famously sang, "Love is all you need."

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

*Robert M. Saplolsky 2017. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst. Penguin Press.

A Pillar Of The Community

Here's a nice story for this time of the year. Meet Jeffrey Wall, a 16-year-old black belt practitioner in the art of Tang soo do who teaches senior citizens in his spare time. I saw this featured on on a cable news show tonight, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this heartwarming and inspiring tale here. Enjoy!

Unpopular Opinions

• Karate and other martial arts often have little street value. Want to really defend yourself? Get a gun and learn how to shoot.
• Running away from a fight isn't always cowardly. Sometimes it's just smart.
• Learning pre-arranged forms or kata will not make you a better fighter.
• Training with traditional weapons such as sai, or nunchaku have no practical utility. Like weapons? Learn a live stick fighting art, like Escrima.
• Punching a makiwara (striking post), or shin striking hard objects to toughen your limbs is self-mutilation.
• There are no "good" styles, only good teachers. And truth be told, there really are some bad styles.
• A high ranking instructor once told me that the more skill you have as a fighter the less you'll want to fight. My observations of some highly skilled karateka through the years leaves me to conclude: if only that were true.
• Masters and so-called luminaries in the martial arts are not life coaches. In matters unrelated to training, do not ask them for advice. Ever. They are not equipped to help you deal with your personal problems.
• Colored belts do more harm than good in developing competent practitioners.
• Realizing all the aforementioned items doesn't make you a pessimist. It makes you a realist. Enlightenment is not cosmic consciousness, but the rare ability to see things as they really are.

Fake Martial-Arts Documentary

Here's a project that should see the light of day: A full-length feature film exposing fraudulent "martial artists" that con those easily deceived. We're told that some of the frauds themselves will be confronted, so get your popcorn ready. Exposing and confronting fake martial artists is great fun that I've showcased here and here.

Sometimes though it's not fun or funny at all, as one of the creators of this project has received death threats from exposing these people online, whether it's from their cult-like followers, or from the fake masters themselves. As an American diplomat said today, "you can't promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing off corrupt people."

The indie producers are trying to pitch the idea of this documentary to Netflix. Since the executives at Netflix are all big fans of my site, maybe they'll like this. Let's make this happen.

The Role of the Instructor: Learning by Teaching

One day many years ago my sensei was giving a lesson when he got an emergency call to leave. Being the senior at the time, he asked me to finish leading the class, and off he went. I winged it, and I liked being in charge more than I could've imagined. Afterwards I came to the realization that doing and teaching something are worlds apart. I've never owned a school, but through the years I've taught and help prepare dozens of students for advancement that has equally benefited me. Give, and you will receive, goes the verse.

Learning is enhanced through teaching others; it sheds light on the subject matter from a different perspective. In one study, researchers tested the theory that learning by instructing others is viable because

...it compels the teacher to retrieve what they’ve previously studied. In other words, they believe the learning benefit of teaching is simply another manifestation of the well-known “testing effect” – the way that bringing to mind what we’ve previously studied leads to deeper and longer-lasting acquisition of that information than more time spent passively re-studying.

In the martial arts, teachers and seniors are expected to be role models for ethical behavior. The behavior of both the instructor and higher ranking students in a school can be very revealing. Newbies tend to be diffident, but they notice things. In an article for Black Belt magazine (August 1995), Dave Lowry writes,

The senior must also remember that, just as he evaluates the juniors in class, they are watching him. They will notice whether a male senior rushes to help an attractive female junior while ignoring male beginners. They will be observant of the senior's attendance habits and will notice whether he is frequently absent. They will notice whether the senior shows respect for his instructor and his dojo. And they will notice whether the senior lives the precept of his art, and whether its values are translated into his actions, both in and out of the training hall.

In addition to altruism and self-realization, it has been said that teaching in the martial arts is also a way of fulfilling one's giri, or obligation to the previous teacher(s), and to the art itself.

3D Martial Arts (And An Old Tale)

Here's a visually dazzling site that includes a catalog of some Japanese budo (martial ways), ceremonies, calligraphy and stage performance arts. While the computer graphics and 3D renderings are impressive, the descriptions, interviews and demos provided are comprehensive and well done. Of the non-martial-art themes featured it was the art of the Tea Ceremony — Sado (also called Chadō) — that caught my attention. Tea Ceremony has a long history in Japan which was influenced in part by Zen; Zen also influenced the development of Japanese martial arts. This inspired the fable of The Samurai and The Tea Master:

A tea master came into the service of a nobleman named Lord Yamagouchi. He poured and prepared tea for his master gracefully and with perfection. Lord Yamagouchi was so pleased he presented his esteemed tea master with the robes and rank of a samurai, which was quite an honor. Occasionally, the lord took his tea master with him on trips.

On one excursion, the tea master found himself in a precarious situation while out and about by himself. After turning a corner, he was confronted by a samurai. Appalled, the samurai questioned why the tea master wore the robes of a bushi (warrior). The tea master explained that his lord presented him with the outfit and rank.

Outraged, the samurai then challenged the tea master to a duel to test if he was worthy of this accolade. The tea master, being who he was, could not reject such a challenge. He agreed to the duel, which was to take place the next day. Terrified, the tea master quickly enlisted the help of a local swordsman to teach him the art of combat. But the tea master was no warrior and a crash course in swordfighting proved to be futile. Having an idea, the sword teacher simply asked his charge to do what he knew best — to prepare him some tea. The tea master kneeled in seiza and cleared his mind. With the dignity, grace and calm required of any master he prepared the tea.

"That's it!" exclaimed the sword sensei. "What do you mean?" replied the tea master.

"You don't need to learn anything from me. When you meet your adversary tomorrow just pretend you're preparing tea. Your state of mind when you perform the tea ceremony is all that is required. Just hold your sword like you hold your chashaku (tea scoop)." The tea master could not comprehend how his respectful ceremony would prepare him for a fight to the death, but with no other recourse he took his teacher's advice and prepared for the showdown.

The following morning when he met his opponent, the tea master performed exactly as his sword teacher had instructed. The samurai had expected to see a quivering wreck of nerves, but instead his eyes fell upon a quietly confident, unshaken opponent. In fact, he thought that this was an entirely different person than the one he encountered the day before! So awed was he by the man before him that he bowed respectfully, asked for forgiveness, and retreated from battle without once raising his sword.

Bad Schools

I received an email yesterday that's a doozy. Here's part of it:

My school's the f*&%ing sh!+. We don't play tag like a bunch of (expletive) when we fight. We're (popular style) and everyone knows our rep. If you want respect here you have to pay for it in blood.

The above is actually in response to an article I wrote in 2007 about sparring injuries. This person went on to rant about how protective gear was ruining the arts and, frankly, the rest of what he wrote was so incoherent I'm not even going to bother reproducing it here. However, what he did say about his style in particular is true: It's known for its emphasis on heavy, knockdown fighting.

I like keeping the training experience "real" as long as things don't get out of control. On the other hand we all know about McDojos that have 8-year-old black belts, binding contracts, and sparring sessions that resemble pillow fights. Still, other schools are so "traditional" they don't even spar! Yet another "sensei" from my area has to close and reopen his school periodically due to some very bad press because, well, he's a cult leader.

This is why when people ask me to critique styles, I'll decline. A style is not a living and breathing thing; it's a theoretical construct. I always advise those really interested in studying the martial arts to go visit schools in progress and observe the behavior of the instructor and students. Many schools do indeed have some kind of a "rep" — for good or bad. And you don't need to be an expert in anything to tell the difference.

Got Racism?

This is a flyer from the first professional kickboxing card held in the US. I first chanced upon this image from the book Al Weiss' the Official History of Karate in America. The organizer for this event, one Lee Faulkner, apparently took some well-deserved heat* for the inclusion of this little gem:

SPECIAL BOUT BETWEEN BLACK MILITANT
GREG BANIES & WORLD CHAMPION JOE LEWIS (WHITE) JOE LEWIS

Lewis did go on to defeat Baines (misspelled as Banies), but that's besides the point. One wonders if either man realized they were being used for race-baiting in an attempt to drum up ticket sales.

________________

When Bruce Lee began teaching martial arts in California in the early 60s there was outrage in the Chinese community because of Lee's open door policy of instructing non-Chinese students. A match was arranged between Lee and Wong Jack Man, another kung-fu sifu from the area, with the understanding that if Lee lost he would have to close his school down. A victory by Lee would ensure that he could teach Caucasians or anyone else he wanted to. Lee prevailed, the bout taking either 3 or 25 minutes, depending on who was asked. Within a few years, Lee would begin to instruct Hollywood's elite, charging up to $300 per hour.

Speaking of kung-fu, one of TV's most popular shows, Kung Fu, depicted the struggles of a Shaolin monk who finds himself dealing with everything from racism to barroom brawls in the American Old West. Ironically the lead role of Caine, the orphaned son of a Chinese mother and American father, was originally supposed to go to Bruce Lee (who reputedly contributed to the storyline) but was turned down. Instead, the part was given to David Carradine, an actor with hitherto no background in the martial arts. The reason: Lee was considered "too Chinese" to play the mixed-race character.

Here's a clip of Caine dealing with racism:

The method of nonviolence seeks not to humiliate and not to defeat the oppressor, but it seeks to win his friendship and his understanding. And thereby and therefore the aftermath of this method is reconciliation.

— Martin Luther King, Jr., 1956

*Mitch Stom 1970. Black Belt (Magazine). Vol. 8, No. 3, p.55.

Profile of a Martial Arts Cult Leader

Here's a story about a guy from my neck of the woods that exemplifies what a martial arts cult leader is all about. For years he's adorned lampposts and telephone poles with his hand-written signs that beckons all to "Fight Back" that includes his phone number and lists aiki-jiu-jitsu, aikido, and kung-fu as part of the package, along with a drawing of a singular sai (tri-pronged truncheon).

I've never met "Sensei Jerry" but I know of two people who briefly trained with him, one of them a former instructor. The stories that have come back include students having to defend against (or threatened with) a myriad of weapons, such as bats, live blades, 2x4s, and spears.

Another account:

Hell, there was even an annual outing called, “The Hunt”, where the students would be let loose to survive and scavenge in an open area while Sensei Jerry, and assigned “hunters”, would hunt the hiding students. And the hunt didn’t start in the woods, no, it started that week and you could be attacked at any time, even while at work, at home, or even in your bed. The website’s last noted hunt was from 2012 where Jerry described a team leader who was kidnapped in his sleep the night before the hunt was to begin…

An anonymous source from the same site corroborates with his experience at the school:

Enter Sensei Jerry. “Class” began with a recap of the most recent “hunt” that took place in Connecticut. Those who had somehow performed in an unsatisfactory manner were punished…with swirlies. I kid you not. Four other members of the group picked them up, carried them to the bathroom, and did the deed. The Sensei then congratulated everyone on a job well done, and began espousing the benefits that come with training – being able to disguise oneself in any situation, stretching out one’s “meridian system” (according to Sensei Jerry, computers and TV were a government plot to lower life expectancy and the only way to combat this was with the “good fear”). Then, it was time for class to begin. What followed can only be described as: absolutely f*#!ing insane.

Martial arts cults are nothing new, of course. A while back a reader recommended a book called Herding The Moo that describes the experience of training at a cultish school, from white to black belt. I never got around to reading it, but I've read other accounts about how cults actually develop from the psychological perspective of an adept in Eastern philosophy who has researched phony spiritual leaders or gurus.* "Characteristics of Pathological Spiritual Groups" could be readily applied to sociopathic martial arts instructors and their credulous students, to wit:

• The leader assumes total power to validate or negate the self-worth of the devotees, and uses this power extensively.
• The leader keeps his followers in line by manipulating emotions of hope and fear.
• There is a strict, rigid boundary drawn between the group and the world outside.

In addition, many of these "sensei" either claim some high rank in a made-up style (or styles), or have a rather tenuous one in a legit system they no longer are really affiliated with. For example, certain exponents of Ryu-te kempo such as George Dillman and Jack Hogan claim to be able to KO anyone without having to touch them! But Ryu-te founder Seiyu Oyata (d. 2012) has never advocated, much less demonstrated, a "no-touch knockout.". Needless to say the no-touch KO has since been debunked. Only duped students have been brainwashed into complying with the herd mentality. More people need to say the emperor has no clothes.


*John Welwood 2000. Toward a Psychology of Awakening. Shambhala Publications, Inc.

How To Be A 'Class A' Karate-ka

Peter Urban (l.) vs. Don Nagle in an exhibition match, New York, 1962

One of the first books written on karate authored by an American was The Karate Dojo: Traditions and Tales of a Martial Art by Peter Urban. Urban studied Goju-ryu in Japan under Gogen Yamaguchi before establishing a school in Chinatown, New York.

First published in 1967, the reader should appreciate that this was an era of massive cultural upheaval in the US, some of it for the worse: crime and drug abuse were on the increase, in addition to an unprecedented "lack of respect for authority" as Urban saw it. One of his goals was to have authoritarians learn karate so they could command respect from their otherwise disrespectful charges.

The blackboard jungle that is all too common in American cities would cease to exist if teenagers knew that their teachers' knowledge encompassed more than history or mathematics, that they also had knowledge of the art of self-defense.

Urban also sought to have karate become an integral part of law enforcement training and to be taught in public schools. He felt that crime, neurosis and unhappiness would be reduced if society embraced the spiritual tenets of karate that fostered discipline, self-improvement and character.

________________

Aside from the guidance of a competent sensei, Urban's view was that trainees should be held responsible for their own progress. He is very stern about putting karate into a sincere and proper perspective. Throughout the book we find passages relating to fearlessness, forgoing the effects of pain and how "true Karatemen" should train while on the mat and behave when out and about.

The centerpiece of the book features a chart on self-examination utilizing attributes that fall into three basic classes: A, B and C. A is the stuff of black belts and masters. The B variety are hobbyists on a good day. C guys are losers or manic depressives or both.

(Click on image to expand)

In the same section a second chart dispenses with philosophy and focuses on the sparring and training habits of Class A "Lightweight", "Middleweight" and "Heavyweight" trainees.

The Karate Dojo, while not the best of its genre, is still a decent book and at 145 pages is a quick read. Peter Urban was a karate pioneer in the US who truly sought to bring his art to become a mainstay of American culture and society.

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Somebody I know wants to open a karate school and devote himself to it full time. He says he's done plenty of research and introspection on the matter and believes he's up to the task. A lot of uncertainty here, I tell my friend, as the state of the economy and the current lack of popularity of traditional martial arts would be potential obstacles. Martial arts clubs come and go frequently, even when times are good.

I will say that the ones that do endure seem to be run by people that are doing it exclusively, full time. Maybe that's the secret.

I'll share another "secret" with you. If you want to stay in the martial arts game for the long haul you must consider teaching.

But is becoming a professional martial arts teacher an advisable career choice?

The average salary for a martial arts instructor where I live is at present $40K/yr. Now if you started at something like that it wouldn't be too bad. The cost of living is murder in Greater New York; forty grand won't get you too far here. Subsidizing your income with something else sounds like the ticket, but like I said, it's the full timers that seem to have the most success. One local guy who runs an American kenpo school has been at the same site for twenty-two years! That's extraordinary. He has a huge place with hundreds of students. Again, teaching martial arts is all he does.

When Tatsuo Shimabuku was commissioned by the US government to teach karate to Marines in the fifties he was paid $300/mo. for his services. Prior to that he was a farmer, but even after he got his teaching gig he still maintained a fortune telling business that he ran on the opposite side of his dojo under his real name, Shinkichi. Somebody who trained with him on Okinawa told me his fortune telling services were in high demand as his predictions were 97 percent accurate. Shimabuku's contemporaries must have seen him as a sell-out for teaching US servicemen karate for money (in due time many of them followed suit anyway) but Shimabuku correctly predicted he would be laughing all the way to the bank.

Abuse of Power

Recently a karate school owner told me he picked up an entire family of students courtesy of abuse attributed to their former instructor. Apparently the young boy spilled water on the deck and was summarily back fisted in the chest by the burly sensei. Great marketing ploy. One wonders if this genius has a good attorney to counter these episodes. Sadly, stories of this ilk are fairly common. In fact this particular account is relatively tame.

The following comes from a news report concerning a judo club in Japan:

A Japanese court on Wednesday found a martial arts instructor guilty over the death of a six-year-old boy, a court official said, in the first criminal case over judo training in Japan.

It is the first criminal case filed by Japanese prosecutors against judo trainers, according to a victims' group, despite over 100 child deaths blamed on harsh training or hazing between 1983 and 2010.

The 36-year-old instructor, who owned a private judo club in Osaka, admitted he threw the boy excessively in training. The boy died in November last year from brain swelling, local reports said.

In Japan, judo hazing has a lengthy history and I suppose it was only a matter a time before this practice had a trickle-down effect to the kids' class.

Whenever there is a rigid hierarchy in place with passive or helpless bystanders there exists the propensity for anything from bullying to full blown physical abuse. We see this in institutions such as prisons, public schools, hospitals and nursing homes.

In 1971 the social psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment at Stanford University to simulate a prison environment using students as prisoners and guards. The "prisoners" were even picked up at home donning jail garb and brought to the basement of the school's psychology department to begin their "sentence." But the experiment had to be stopped after just six days as the behavior of the "guards" far exceeded the expectations of Zimbardo and his colleagues. Prisoners were subjected to being sprayed with fire extinguishers, cleaning toilets with their bare hands and performing pushups with the guards standing on their backs, among other things I'd rather not go into.

This sort of dehumanizing behavior can translate into the power structure of a martial arts school. Some sensei let their own sense of power get the better of them. As one blogger puts succinctly:

The instructor's ego is one of the most dangerous opponents the student will ever face. Sometimes it is obvious. Martial arts has a hierarchy and a power dynamic and in too many places competency is not tested and compassion is assumed. It is a sweet spot for bullies and predators. Where else can you hurt people and they pay you and say, "Thank you, Master." What bully wouldn't get off on that?

Indeed. The following illustrates thusly:

DISCLAIMER: explicitly violent

Titles, Bowing and other Lunacy

I called my first karate instructor by his first name, as did everyone else. Later, when I began traditional studies elsewhere, the Japanese title of sensei was conveyed. Sensei is an honorific term designated for instructors who hold the rank of at least sandan (3rd degree black belt), and this is the way it should be. Junior instructors should not be referred to as sensei, even if the top brass isn't around. But the lower ranked yudansha (black belt holders) have achieved something special, so they deserve some recognition. When addressed, Mister or Miss or simply "sir" gets the job done. I don't like the title of sensei to be thrown around.

One school I trained at had the annoying policy of calling anyone with a black belt sensei. I really hated that. As a young shodan (1st black belt) I had no inclination to teach and as such I didn't feel I should be afforded the title. Furthermore I felt this practice took away from the legit instructors that actually earned and deserved this distinction. But it gets worse. If said yudansha walked into the dojo during the course of a class, it was understood that everyone had to stop what they were doing - regardless of whatever that was - and perform a "courtesy bow" to the exhalted black belt "sensei." I kid you not. The first time this happened to me I actually turned around to see if some big shot was walking in behind me. Naturally I failed to bow back to the class, much to the chagrin of the chief instructor, but I respectfully protested. "Sir, why do you call all the black belts 'sensei'? I'm really not comfortable with that. 'Mr. Vesia' would be fine."

"No, no... we call the brown belts 'Mister.' It's all to show respect, Sensei John."

It didn't stop there. At the end of class we would all line up to bow to a portrait of Shimabuku (our founder) hanging on the wall. Then the most senior student present bows to the instructor. The whole class bows. All fine and good. This is the stock ritual most Isshinryu dojo are accustomed to. But this place took it further. Now the sempai (seniors) were then required to bow to the juniors uttering "skit skit kohai ni rei". And of course the newbies had to return the favor ("skit skit sempai ni rei"). I must've bowed 10,000 times during my brief stay at this school.

To top it all off, the chief instructor of said school who had been campaigning for a long awaited promotion to 5th dan ended up driving away almost all of his students when he began to exhibit bizarre behavior, culminating in a divorce, the closing of his school and other personal disasters I'd rather not go into. Becoming a shihan was the beginning of the end for this guy, who became so identified with his persona as a martial arts master that it drove him crazy. We sempai, kohai, sensei and even various renshi could only helplessly watch this onetime decent karate instructor completely lose it, both psychologically and professionally.

I think respect and titles are an important and even necessary feature in traditional martial arts. But when they become the pursuit of self-aggrandizement or to bolster the status of certain students it can only lead to trouble.

Size Matters

Yesterday while I was at work making a delivery in the parking lot of a busy village, I noticed a smattering of people heading towards a popular chain karate school. It was obvious they were students as they were already attired in gi-pants and t-shirts with the school logo. As I observed the class from the sidewalk there was a chief instructor barking commands while a couple of younger black belt sempai milled about and made corrections. It was a good mix of men and women at various stages of rank and fitness. Curiously, all the belts worn had a solid black stripe running down the middle. But what really caught my attention was the size of this adult class: about forty students! It was a sizable facility that could easily accommodate a large class. Most schools that I've trained in through the years weren't much bigger than a deli and I can fondly remember spirited sparring sessions where we would occasionally crash into neighboring matches.

Originally, martial-art teachings were transmitted one-on-one. Later, the idea of group "lessons" emerged. Today, some schools have gone the way of syndication, offering courses in MMA, karate and cardio-kickboxing, complete with contracts and TV ads (geared mostly toward kids) with the hopes of attracting a mass following.

Personally I like training in a decent-sized class where camaraderie can thrive - about a dozen people. More than that would likely dilute the quality of instruction, even if the sensei has helpers. If I'm running a class I make it a point to at least get everyone's name right. It seems to me that the bigger the class, the less personal it becomes for everyone.

Do you prefer to train in large groups or smaller settings?

Choosing The Right School

"Which style is best?"

Recently someone interested in the martial arts asked me this now-timeworn question via email. He made mention of a catalogue of styles, almost implying that he should pursue more than one. I defined some very broad categories of martial arts: grappling, striking, competitive and so on. But the main idea I wanted to drive home was that he was asking the wrong question. How should I know what style is best suited for this young man? Really, a "style" is a theoretical construct. It's the school that should be the main focus of his query.

First and foremost the would-be aspirant has to do some investigating. Go out and visit some schools to get a feel for what it is you're looking for. Many people end up training at a particular venue because it's the closest one to home. The commute typically gets the highest priority. There's more to it than just that, and there are a confluence of other factors that need to be considered:

1. The reputation of the school.

Word-of-mouth is not only the best advertising, but fairly reliable. It's a good place to start. If you seek instruction for your child, talk to the parents from your community. Even if it's for yourself it behooves you to visit the school in question and watch a class in progress.

2. The instructor.

While you're observing a class, what kind of person do you see in charge? A style is only as good as the instructor who's presenting it. Not only someone who is technically proficient, but one who exudes the characteristics you would expect from a competent teacher: leadership, patience and empathy. A good teacher should be a source of motivation and inspiration. A sensei is one who has gone before on this journey, so (s)he should know what you're in for.

In the US, anyone can open a martial arts club, no questions asked. Realize that not everyone is qualified (or should be allowed) to teach.

3. The students.

A good school and its attendants should be like a surrogate family. How do these people behave? Would you want them as neighbors? How do the students interact with each other? Personality and even occupation play a factor in how you'll fit in at a particular school.

I've noticed that certain styles tend to attract specific classes of people. Intellectual, white-collar and artistic types seem drawn to internal styles such as tai chi and aikido. The young guys love MMA. The blue collar working class gravitate towards karate and kempo styles. Of course these are sweeping generalizations based on my observations.

4. Method of payment.

Avoid schools that offer contracts. You never know how things will work out, and once you put your signature on something it can be very binding and difficult to get out of. Look for a place that charges by the month. I used to train at a school that had a pay-as-you-go policy (I was paying $4 a class, although that was many years ago). These days corporate schools charge up to $150 per month and expect you to sign for 6 months to a year's worth of lessons. Payments are then automatically withdrawn from your checking account. Welcome to the wonderful world of McDojos.

This list is by no means exhaustive. My point is that your school, its attendants and especially your instructor(s) are far more important than whatever style you train in. Visit some schools you may be interested in, and listen to your intuition. Choose wisely.

The Skillful Teacher

We've all heard the saying, "Those that can, do; those that can't, teach." There's no guarantee that someone who's highly proficient in their subject matter can teach their skill. In fact, quite often it's gifted people that have trouble understanding why others don't have the same knack they do. I certainly don't believe the opposite is true: that incompetent slobs make qualified teachers. Mario McKenna has an interesting article in this vein which in part discusses the surprisingly wide spectrum of talent and ability that exists in karate instructors. While I don't think one has to be an expert to teach at some level, a fair degree of proficiency should be expected. At the very least, a good teacher should be a decent technician in their art and be able to explain every nuance with clarity.

So how good is your teacher? I don't mean as a sensei but as a practitioner? Aside from her/his ability to present the martial arts, are you at least reasonably convinced this person could handle themselves if they were actually attacked? Does your teacher spar with you? There's a perception of the martial arts master as an invincible warrior, no matter how old or wizened he is. Aikido's Morihei Ueshiba would offer a kaiden (teaching license) to any student who could even so much as catch him off guard at any time. Nobody ever succeeded, even when attempts were made when the master was supposedly sound asleep or even on the toilet! Now there was a Kodak moment if there ever was one.

Most instructors are highly skilled in some area, whether it's sparring, kata, or even fitness. In this day and age an out-of-shape teacher isn't very marketable, regardless of their level of proficiency. The best instructors tend to be multi-faceted so students can make their own adjustments as to what works best for them.

Teachers Gone Bad

Do you find yourself in awe of your instructor? Or do you just show the customary respect that is normally given to authority figures such as a boss or a police officer? Do you regard your sensei as a mentor and a friend? Is (s)he approachable? If you're looking for an object of admiration or a role model in your martial arts instructor you may come up short. The truth is, instructors run the gamut from being highly qualified to woefully incompetent. Others exhibit grossly unethical behavior. I remember one distraught mother who came to me describing how her son's karate teacher was so hungover from the night before his eyes were rolling back into his head - this was happening while he was teaching a children's class! Spirits is a euphemism for alcohol, not to be confused with the spirit of martial arts. He must've got them mixed up.

In his book Martial Arts Madness, Glenn Morris likens some instructors to "violence fixated phys-ed teachers without teaching degrees." Personally, I've had to listen to my share of stories of instructors field testing their martial prowess in the street and cleverly disguising foul techniques in tournaments to win trophies. These guys actually give bullies a bad name. Realize that young students are impressionable and are easily influenced by these yarns. There are no bad students - only bad teachers, says Mr. Miyagi.

Lately there seems to be a horrific trend toward pedophilia in martial-art schools. Some of these vermin do get caught (one got busted courtesy of a hidden surveillance camera in the changing room), but keeping track of past offenders can be a tall order. In Britain, the governing body enforces a criminal records bureau check. If somebody is on that list, they can't get insurance or a license to open any club that involves children. In 1984, karate teacher Jeffrey Doucet was arrested by FBI agents for allegedly kidnapping and molesting an 11 year old student. While he was awaiting extradition at a Louisiana airport, he was shot in the head execution-style by the victim's father right in front of a TV news crew. He probably did the guy a favor, as hard-time prisoners have an established code of ethics that put child abusers on the lowest rung and mete out their own form of justice.

Finally on a somewhat lighter note, a martial arts club from my area was closed down recently when it was discovered that it was operating as a brothel during the day. Apparently the owner felt that teaching kung fu and offering "massage therapy" was providing a community service. He avoided jail time, but his probation officer is keeping close tabs on him. At least somebody is doing their job right.

Giri: The Concept of Obligation

Many years ago, my father worked as a longshoreman on a New York waterfront for a busy shipping company. He made union scale wages (good pay) and worked a 4-day week - an excellent job. His duties included unloading cargo and taking inventory of received goods. One day, the presense of an unscrupulous element became known, and it was suggested to him that he look the other way when certain shipments came in. He was assured he would be reimbursed for his cooperation. In those days, dimedropping (whistle blowing) was not a wise option in a mob controlled industry, and my father felt he had no choice but to quit his job. "I refuse to be obligated to the wrong people", he explained.

Giri (Jpn; pron. "gear-ee") loosely translated means "obligation", but with profound moral and ethical connotations. This is a concept that is pronounced in the teacher-student relationship in traditional martial arts. The classical ryu (martial arts school) was not run like a business, and there was no exchange of money or goods between a master and his disciple. The student, however, was expected to carry the obligation of loyalty to his teacher, school, and the other students through perpetuating the art.

True giri entails performing acts of service to everyone we are in some way dependent on; service to your family, co-workers, community, and society. It is the pursuit of fulfilling one's duty that is not be confined to the dojo, but to be practiced in all walks of life. But giri that expresses itself for the wrong reason (giri literally means "right reason") can easily be warped into something less than honorable, like that situation my father found himself in all those years ago. The day he walked away from that job, it was for the right reason. My father had fulfilled his giri.