The Popularity of Grappling

Over the weekend, I watched some mixed martial art's matches on Showtime. Gosh, these athletes are really good. I love it when the fighters break to the ground and work feverishly on submitting one another.

Because of the popularity of the UFC and other MMA groups, I do get students from time to time that want to do nothing but grapple. And while grappling is an excellent way to get in shape and learn how to submit your attacker, I don't believe it is the ONLY way to learn how to defend yourself.

Take for example the video below.  

Warning, it is pretty graphic and the language is very offensive. However, it offers a quick illustration of what can and typically does happen in an altercation:

Protecting yourself on the street involves more than just dropping to the ground and rolling with your attacker. Having the ability to stand up and strike; or in this instance, even to block, is very important.

I love the Gracie family and what they have done for the martial arts, but I want to caution people who think that grappling is the best way to protect yourself on the street. Instead, it should just be a strategy in your arsenal of techniques.

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

Domestic Violence: The Facts

According to the Safe Horizon's website, the following are the latest facts on domestic violence:

 

Domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence) can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, orientation, socio-economic status, or other factors.

The Victims

• One in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. 
• Women experience more than 4 million physical assaults and rapes because of their partners, and men are victims of nearly 3 million physical assaults.
• Women are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner (30%) than men (5%).
• Women ages 20 to 24 are at greatest risk of becoming victims of domestic violence.
• Every year, 1 in 3 women who is a victim of homicide is murdered by her partner.

The Families

• Every year, more than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes.
• Children who live in homes where there is domestic violence are also victims of abuse or neglect in 30% of 60% of such cases.
• A 2005 Michigan study found that children exposed to domestic violence at home show greater symptoms of trauma, including becoming sick more often, complaining frequently of headaches or stomachaches, and being more tired and lethargic.
• A 2003 study found that children are more likely to intervene when they witness severe violence against a parent – which places the child at great risk for injury or even death.

You can find more information HERE.


Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

Domestic Violence Links

The following links provide up to date statistics on domestic violence and are highly recommended if you are looking for more information on domestic violence:

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Injury Prevention and Control: Violence Prevention.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Fact Sheets
National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Family Violence – Facts and Figures


Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

Rape & Sexual Assault Statistics

Rape and Sexual Assault Statistics

(From Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Victimization, 2009, National Crime Victimization Survey: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2217)

In 2009, there were 125,910 reports of rape and/or sexual assault.

More than half of rape and sexual assault crimes take place between 6pm and 6am.

Females are more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault than males.

Most victims of rape or sexual assault are females younger than 24 years of age.

Most rapes committed against women are committed by an intimate partner (spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend) or someone else they know (friend, family member, acquaintance).

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

New Cigarette Warning Labels

 
Everybody knew the graphic new cigarette labels the Food and Drug Administration would be disturbing. But the nine selected by the agency may still startle you.

The whole idea is that the labels will grab people by the lapels and be the visual equivalent of someone yelling: "Stop smoking!"

And, for the most part, the labels unveiled by the agency today live up to the advanced billing. Check out the ravaged teeth and damaged lip in the label on the left for starters.

Beginning in Sept. 2012, cigarette makers will have to give up the top half on their packages to display the nine images in rotation. In ads, 20 percent of the real estate at the top of the ads will have to be devoted to a graphic warning.

You can see the rest of the article, HERE.

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

Women and Self Defense

Statistically, current data shows that 1 out of 4 women are sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Yet, most women never take the time to learn how to defend themselves.

Why? Most women feel that due to their size, they have no chance against an assault, so they don't even bother to learn how to defend themselves.

Well, the secret to self defense is knowledge, that will give you techniques to defend yourself.

The below video was produced by the Gracie Family and features Eve Torres. While this video is meant to promote their new women's self defense program, it high lights why women often don't train in self defense.



I am of the opinion, no matter the circumstances, women should almost always fight back a sexual assault.

Please consider training in a good martial art's program. What you learn, could save your life!

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
803-462-9425
samuraikarate@bellsouth.net

How To Take Down Your Attacker

In today's class, we worked on very basic techniques of taking your attacker down to the ground.

But before practicing our take downs on our fellow training partners, we covered the art of falling first.  This is an important part of training for a beginneer, because over time, students who train in karate must learn how to fall properly as well as take their training partner down to the mat safely as well.

Falling

For beginners learning how to fall, we practice the 4 "B"s....

1. Bite down
2. Bear down (bend neck so that your chin touches your chest)
3. Breathe in
4. Break fall (breathing out at the same time)

1.  Bite down simply means clenching your teeth so that they are together.  This will protect you from biting your tongue as well as prevent your jaw from being moved violently.

2.  Bear down with your neck.  It is important in falling that you protect your spine (neck) and one of the best ways to do this is by tucking your chin down to your chest.  This curves the spine and protects the back of the head from hitting the ground on impact.

3.  Breathe in.....it's important to get as big as you can, to slow down the take down.  When you are small and compact, you can fall with incredible force and hit the ground hard, which translates into potential injury.  We look to get big, to try and slow the actual take down.

4.  Breakfall means to hit the ground (mat or floor) with your open palms up to your elbows on impact.  They should hit at about a 45 degree angle to your body.  (4a)  You should practice breathing out on impact.  This will tighten your core and protect you from getting the wind knocked out with a hard fall.

The main principle of falling, is to allow your bottom to absorb most of the impact, with your arms dissipating much of the remaining energy during the fall.  Of course, your back is in position to take some of the fall, but you want to be careful not to land on your spine, rather, the impact of the fall should fall on the shoulder blades. 

Always, protect your head! 

You never want to fall like a big old tree.  In most instances, as you start to fall, you want to get to a squatting position, so that your bottom absorbs much of the impact.  Don't forget to kick your feet straight out, to prevent yourself from doubling over as you land on your back.  Pushing your feet out, also helps you to stay in a defensive posture.  You may have found yourself on your back, but that doesn't mean you still can't defend yourself from the ground.

 

Take Down

The basic take down that we worked on today, has the defender stepping forward with their outside foot slightly past the attackers right foot, the inside foot is used to seal the attackers right foot and to place your hip tight against the attacker.  Your hands will be holding both shoulders in a push/pull fashion.

What you are attempting to do is seal the hip and the foot, while rotating the upper body (spinning the spine on its axis) so that the attacker becomes unbalanced with, a resulting fall.

The defender should almost always carry their partner to the ground for safety.  On the street, in a real assault, you could just throw your attacker to the ground, or drop to the ground beside them, usually on one knee (closest to the attacker) so that you can follow up the take down with a strike.  Be careful never to just stand over your attacker when they are on the ground, as they can strike you or even worse, pull you to the ground if you are not careful.

Like everything else in the martial arts, falling requires some practice until you reach a point where you are confident and don't really have to think about what is happening as you are falling to the ground.  It is an important principle, as it might save you from serious injury in the event someone is attacking you and pushes you to the ground.

As for the take down, there are many other options to use to take your attacker down. We start off with this technique, as it is a good safe way to learn how to take your opponent to the ground regardless of your size or that of your attacker.

Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

803-462-9425

3 Main Reason Why Women Get Assaulted

As part of my beginner karate class at USC, I take 5-10 minute of every class and share topics that are related to assault that I want my students to understand.

There are many reasons why women get assaulted, however, most studies show that a woman gets targeted for assault for 3 MAIN reasons.  You might be surprised with the answers.  No, it doesn't have to do with how HOT the women looks or how SEXY she might be dressed.

AND yes, nearly 25% of all assault is female on man, so these rules apply to both sexes.


Reason # 1


Research shows the number one reason women get assaulted is due to poor body language.  In other words, how you walk, how you carry yourself when you are out in public is a large factor in determining if you get targeted.

Do you recognize yourself in this description?

Do you walk with your head down, your shoulders slumped, your chest in?  Do you generally keep your hands in your pockets? Do you walk with purpose or just shuffle along at a slow pace?  Do you make any eye contact?

Some people are under the impression, if they appear small, no one will notice them.  Well, they are wrong and potentially inviting trouble!

Attackers are looking for people they believe will give them little or no resistance.  The attacker wants to get in quickly, strike and take his victim to a secondary location without being seen or heard.  They are looking for someone who appears to be weak, afraid or timid.  Attackers are basically cowards and they don't want to attack anyone that they can't control easily!  So, if you look like you might put up a fight, there is a good chance the attacker will pass on you.

Why do you think the elderly get attacked so often?  Because a 90 year old is not expected to put up much of a fight if confronted!  It's a miracle that they can even walk, right?

So, I want YOU to start today, changing how you walk!  I want you to walk with a purposeful stride, like you know where you are going and what you want.  I want you to walk with your head up, shoulders back and chest pumped out!  You are walking with some "attitude" and your body language is communicating CONFIDENCE!  You want to allow your arms to swing with each stride, as psychologically, this makes you appear to be larger than you really are.  Plus, having your arms free allows you to react quicker if attacked.

Yes, I want you to make EYE CONTACT! The kind that says "I know you are there and I am making sure you know I know....and by the way, I am not afraid of you" kind of eye contact.

Need more convincing?  Just take a look around you and watch people walking in the grocery store or in the parking lot.  I am pretty certain you will be able to spot the people who are confident and portray a very strong body language and the ones who don't.

One last note about body language.  One of the most important aspects of walking with a strong body image is having your head up.  This gives your eyes the ability to remain vigilant, constantly looking for potential danger.

Reason # 2

The second most common reason women get assaulted is lack of awareness.

Are you the type that turns their back to the crowd when answering your cell phone?  I know you are trying to be polite and make the conversation quiet and private, however, you are creating a perfect opportunity to strike.

Are you someone who likes to carry a big pocket book?  I remember my mother carried this huge bag around that I could get lost in when I was a young child.  Trying to find the car keys sometimes took days!

Well, I might be exaggerating, but you get my point.  When you become focused on a singular task, that is the time that attackers like to strike.

How about sitting in your car texting or maybe updating your check book since you were shopping and purchased some items?  Another big NO, NO!

Walking into the rest room without checking to see if anyone was following you?  Looking for something in the trunk of your car?  Running the neighborhood with your Ipod at full blast and your earphones on both ears?


We live in a society filled with so many distractions every day, however, we MUST do all we can to be alert and aware when we are out somewhere and potentially vulnerable!

Reason # 3

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

We can't always control this, but we need to be aware and try to avoid places that could potentially be dangerous.  For example, the roof of the parking garage at the mall late at night, say during the Christmas holidays, when the stores stay open late.  Conversely, parking in the basement of a downtown parking garage.  Parking far away from the football stadium in a poorly lit parking lot.  Leaving your place of work by yourself late at night.

If you live in a city, walking down a dark alley!

Hopefully you get the picture.

I feel like you can't always prevent this, because sometimes there are circumstances beyond your control (getting a flat tire on a country road or highway); however, be mindful of potential areas that you would be vulnerable in and avoid them to the best of your ability.  Try to leave work with a friend or make arrangements to have someone pick you up.  Be patient and search for another parking spot that isn't so far away or in an area that has better security.  Don't try to change that car tire.  Call a family member or friend for help.

The Big Three

Attackers pick their victims for lots of reasons and there is NO way to predict with 100% accuracy how to avoid an attack.  However, research has shown the above reasons to be the 3 most consistent reasons given  by attackers that were caught.

If you work on creating a confident and strong body language, maintain a high alert level at all times and  avoid areas that could represent trouble for you, then you will go a long way towards helping yourself stay safe!




Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

2000 Clemson Road

Suite # 9

Columbia, SC 29229

803-462-9425

samuraikarate@bellsouth.net