SAS Training

Don't get excited! We're not training you for Special Forces Commando or Urban Combat or anything like that so don't turn up in camo gear

In this case,  SAS stands for Sport - Art - Sport.

A is Martial Art
Art is the traditional side, the koryo. We emerse ourselves in the traditional way of training to absorb what is useful and discard what is useless. This applies to the Karate-do, Jujutsu, Muay Thai, etc.

S is Sparring and Sport.
This is the impact work on the pads which leads into sparring in the equipment in KB. It also means grappling and MMA, and also the stick fighting. For those who want to compete it has the added dimension of Sport competitions.

S is for Self Defence and Street Fighting - also Survival
This is the Goshin Modern element - making what we have trained in functional for the Pavement Arena.

Further list of KYUSHO

Tendo - the crown
Tento - the fontenalle
Mimi - the ears
Seidon - above and below the eyes
Danchu - the summit of the sternum
Kyototsu - the ren point at the base of the sternum
Kyoei - the 5th/6th rib space, beneath the armpit
Inizuma - above the hip - the iliac crest
Ushiro inazuma - the ischium
Ganchu - pec insertion
Myojo - the dan tien - below the navel - the bladder
Denko - the 7th/8th rib space
Kusagakure - the outer top foot
Dokko - mastoid - behind ear
Soda - between the shoulder blades - summit of T spine
Katsusatsu - spine T12/L1
Kodenko - base of spine - L5/sacrum
Bitei - coccyx
Hijizuma - elbow joint tendon - brachioradialis
Ude kansetsu - elbow joint - bone
Kote - wrist
Uchijakuzawa - inner forearm
Sotojakuzawa - outer forearm

The miyakudokori tendon at the wrist pulse
Deltoid
Bicep
Thumb pot
Clavicle - sternocleidomastoid
Chin shelf ren point
Zygomatic - cheekbones

Kyusho - Pressure Points - PSNA - List of main 26

Here is a list of the first 26 you have already been introduced to in class and that you will no doubt recognise (and remember painfully!).

Eyes and groin are obvious PSNA that can be atacked by a strike or pressure.
The eyes and called ganseki. The groin is kinteki.

Wanshun is the back of the upper arm, the tricep.
In the lap sao drill you strike this point.
In ikkyo henka you rub the tendon just above the elbow.
In tonfa ikkyo this point is self evident.

Kokutsu is the shinbone.
We have all had that experience where you've "barked" your shin on the coffee table when crossing the room in a hurry.
In combat we strike kokutsu to give him that "coffee table moment".

Hizakansetsu is the knee joint, attacked with a strike, usually a kick.

Uchikurobushi is the inside of the ankle joint.
Believed by some to be the most painful PSNA on the body, especially when rubbed.

Sobi is the back of the leg at the base of the calf.
A good target in keri kudaki, or vertical grappling.

Yako - the inside of the upper thigh, the long muscle. Painful if kicked at kb or vertical grappling range.

Fukuto - Ben's vastus the "teardrop" muscle at the lower inner thigh, just below where Yako runs to. The target of the "Ben Kick".

Miyakudokoro - inside the forearm.
Against an opponent punching you will cause real pain when cut into with your shuto.
Also a press and rub point when applying locks, particularly yonkyo.

Akiresuken - the achilles tendon.
Can be attacked with a strike.
Particularly effective when pressure is applied in ground fighting.

Three well known body blows are:

Suigetsu - solar plexus.

Kanzo - the liver.

Jinzo - the kidneys.

Sonu - the base of the throat, great for an ippon nukite strike or pressure attack.

Shofu - side of the neck - attack with shuto.

Keichu - nape of the neck. Attack with shuto.
The site of boxing's infamous "rabbit punch".

Komekami - the temple.

Three on the face which can be struck or pressed:

Miken - nasion or bridge of the nose

Jinchu - philtrum

Gekon - the labret point

NOTE: You CANNOT kill somebody by "punching the nose bone into the brain" That is a common myth spread by people who have no real experience. If this was possible boxers would die in the ring every week.

Mikazuki - the jaw - KO!

Hichu - adam's apple

Soto - Quad sweep, the outer thigh, where we land the Thai kick.

Kori - upper foot. Stamp on this!

Shuko - back of the hand. Strike or grind.

Kyusho - Pressure Points - PSNA

Pressure points are one of the most misunderstood and exaggerated areas of MA.

Kyusho is the Japanese word.
PSNA stands for Pressure Sensitive Nerve Areas, an American anacronysm.

People who don't know about them claim there are anywhere between 25 and 360 and they do various things. You can buy lists and charts showing all kinds of alleged PSNA. Most of these do nothing. The ones that do something are meaningless unless you are shown how to apply them in combat in real tme.

For example, we punch to the chin for a KO. A groin kick will stop an attacker. But to actually land these shots you need to train for them, not just know them theoretically. So it is with PSNA.

We teach a primary list of 54 PSNA for use in combat.
(One for each week of the year more or less!)

We do not give out lists and charts to be memorised. You learn these PSNA in context, in the dojo, and you remember them.

There are 3 kinds of PSNA:
ones you strike
ones you press
ones you rub

What we NEVER want to see is people in class trying to explain to each other what PSNA are "There's one there", "there's one there", things like that. You learn these at the proper time in the proper context, not from some chart or book, or what "a mate who does Jujutsu showed me".
Practice, not theory! ;D

Keep in mind you can strike and grind these points with stick as well as your "body tools".

Ken - fist - knuckles

Though we tend to think of the word "ken" as meaning "sword", as in Kendo and Kenjutsu, (even though the Japanese word for sword is actually "To") in Karate we use the word Ken to refer to our physical weapons or striking tools.

The word ken perhaps best translates to the English word "fist" or "knuckles".

When making a strike it is vital to be aware what Fist you are making and what knuckles you are hitting with.

Make a clenched fist and you have a Fudoken.
With this you might do a boxing cross using the first two knuckles
or a Wing Chun choy and use the bottom three.

Shuto is the knife hand. As well as the fleshy part, you have a knuckle at the base, the pisiform bone.

Haito - the ridge hand, using the index knuckle.

Koppo Ken - the thumb knuckle

Uraken - the backfist.
You'd be surprised how many people, having trained extensively in pads, actually think you hit with the back of the hand. Good way to break the metacarpals on the opponent's skull.
Use the back of the first two knuckles of fudoken.

Palm heel - heel of the palm, obviously.

With the long bones such as the elbow, knee or shin - well, we've all seen the cartoon dog holding a bone in it's mouth, with the nobbly ends. It's these nobbly ends we're using as "knuckles".
The elbow, knee and shin kick use the knuckle at the end of the ulna, femur and tibia respectively.

When kicking with the foot, use the knuckle of the foot, not the laces. If you have steel caps on, this makes your shoe a weapon.

Koshi is the ball of the foot.

The heel is the bottom of the heel, like in a stamp.

Head. The general rule for a headbutt is the line above the eyebrows is the weapon and the line below the eyebrows is the target.

The Japanese name for the head as a weapon is kikaku ken. But another term is zu tsuki meaning horn thrust. Imagine you have horns on your forehead, like a bull. Use one of those. Forward, down, sideways or up.

5D - the FIFTH Dimension of Combat

5D is where we start getting into the metaphysical stuff of MA.

Mushin - Wu Wei - No Mind.
The empty cup, the Void, the 5th level of the Godai, the 5th element.

In Mushin we go beyond Doai and Maai, the dimensions of space and time, and we just are.

I could write volumes on this one topic or I could write nothing.

The point is - you get there when you get there. It can't be forced, it can't be rushed.

Think of Neo in The Matrix when he realises he is The One. He sees the green code for what it is, not what it appears to be. Once he's achieved this,defeating his "unbeatable" enemy is easy.

This is where YOU want to be!

The Four Dimensions of Combat

The 1st Dimension
Length. Advancing and retreating.
This is best demonstrated in the Krabi drill - moving straight forward, hitting on one line with one angle.
Also seen in Jun Fan's Jik Chun Choy straight blast.
Rather then being limiting, this tactic takes away our need to have to think - we crash forward with power and pressure. The enemy is forced to retreat, he runs backward.
In boxing or Thai we drive him back onto the ropes or into the corner.

2nd dimension
Height. Attacking high and low.
In boxing this means bringing in body shots as well as the head shots. Same applies in KB and karate.
In lo kix and Thai we add leg kicks and the leg block.
A whole new dimension to give the enemy a wholenew set of problems.

3rd dimension
Width. Lateral movement.
The triangle footwork from Kali.
This can be applied in stickfighting, karate, boxing and KB.

4th dimension
As all Sci Fi geeks know, the 4th dimension is Time.
Having the 3 dimensions of space covered - Do-ai - distancing, we need to cover the dimension of Ma-ai - timing.
You can't go instantly from outrange to corto - you progress there and that takes time - what we call beats.
Imagine an opponent attacking with a J,C,H ABC - you defend using parry, roll, salute.
To defeat him with timing you Intercept him on the half beat.
No matter how fast he is you will always get there first. You have moved ahead in Time - you have moved through the 4th dimension!

GODAI In Combat - REAL World applications and examples

The technique we use here is the right hand KO punch, but in four different examples, each a manifestation of an element of the Godai.

Each scenario presented here is a real situation I have faced in my career.
There is NO THEORY here - each example is 100% REAL!


Earth
Standing on the door you are Earth, the mountain, the oak tree, immovable. You tell a customer he can't come in. You are strong and confident. Nobody is getting past you. You ARE the Door!

The customer gets angry and steps up to attack. From The Fence you land your KO punch to his jaw and knock him out. You have no need to be afraid or angry, you have no need to attack or defend. You simply apply the correct response for the situation at hand.


Fire
The alarm goes and you rush inside to see a full blown fight has erupted on the dance floor.

You move straight in and knock out each man who is fighting. If they are not trying to get away they are trying to get stuck in, so you neutralise them. One, two, three, you crack your KO punch to their jaw and they drop to the floor. You are Fire, an unstoppable force of nature.

Water
One of the other doormen goes to deal with a customer, to ask him to leave. Suddenly CRACK! The doorman goes down. This is no ordinary customer but a dangerous, trained, experienced fighter. As you move in he squares up to you. You are now in a fight with a skilled opponent.

You react, you defend and you counter. You nullify his attacking blows and set up your opportunity to land your KO, taking him out of the game.


Wind
A drunk customer is being rowdy and it is time to ask him to leave. You can't allow him to hurt another customer, yourself, or a member of your team, but you can't allow him to hurt himself either. Nor is it appropriate to go in with maximum force, maybe breaking his jaw or arm.

You do your best to avoid a violent solution. The drunk swings at you. You parry his first swing, and maybe his second. But when he swings a third time you use the Captain's Log to parry down his attack and then land your KO. You gave him every chance.

To take this analogy further, rather than the punch, from the Log use ikkyo to take him to the floor and restrain him. Then call another doorman to take his other arm and walk him out together so nobody needs to get hurt.

So you see the KO punch, which theoretically is a Fire technique, can be used as a technique by any of the four elements you are manifesting, as the situation demands.

DO NOT restrict yourself to any element, art, or technique or you are destined to fail.

Had I decided to be a "Fire" doorman I would not have prevailed in the other 3 situations presented. I certainly would not have done the job for 10 years and would probably be in prison for GBH or Manslaughter right now.

Sometimes it is appropraite to be Fire.

Sometimes you need to be Wind or Water.

Most times you just need to be Earth.

GODAI in Combat

Although I have used the Godai analogy to describe the 4 AFA that makes up STMA, it is also true that each Art can manifest the 4 elements.

Each element is a manifestation of your inner feeling:

Earth - confidence
Water - fear
Fire - Anger
Wind - compassion

The physical postures, called kamae, and movements are manifestations of these feelings in combat.

It is a MISTAKE to believe you can select to be one element and fight that way as you need to adapt and respond as the need arises. The only element you should try to be is Ku - The Void.

Let's look at an example of a specific AFA using the 4 elements.

Eskrima - though we classed Kobudo as the wind element of STMA, fighting with a weapon can use any of the 4 elements.

In a weapon attack the opponent comes in with a #1 strike, the caveman strike, the natural strike of the Human animal.
Let's see how you respond:

Water - you defend. You roll back into largo, removing yourself from the path of attack and strike at his hand to make him drop his weapon. You can then respond with a counter to his head once he has been "defanged".

Fire - you attack. You crash the line with a roof block, burning through his attack and taking his head off with a powerful strike of your own.

Earth - you intercept. As he steps in with his stick in caveman chamber you step forward to meet his intention and deliver your strike on the half beat. You neither attack or defend, you just use the appropriate move with proper distance and timing. This is based on the confidence that you were never in any real danger.

Wind - you evade. Moving with triangle footwork you sidestep and attack his hand. Unlike Water, you are not retreating and being defensive, you simply move sideways and he strikes empty air. Then your own strike hits like lightning.

Ranges of Combat

7 weapons rangesOutrange, weapons range, largo, medio, corto, grappling, ground

We start our kobudo training with single stick, so base our range system on that.

Ranges in kobudo start from the outrange, the pre-contact phase.

Then there is weapons range where the stick can hit each other.

Then there is largo where we can hit the hand.

Then there is medio where the stick reaches him, we can check his weapon hand with our alive hand, and our kix can reach him.

Corto is close range where we can hit with the punch, the punyo - butt of the stick, our punches and our HKE. It is the range of stick locks.

Grappling range is body-to-body where we use the stick chokes and throws.

Ground range is when the fight goes to the ground.

The weapons range and largo range extend out to sword range and spear range for the longer weapons.


6 ranges of unarmed combat

Outrange, kick, punch, trap, grappling, ground

Range in Kickboxing starts from the outrange.

Then we get kick range, then punch range, which are self explanatory.

Corto for KB would be the range of hooks and uppercuts in boxing, knee and elbow in Thai.

Boxing of course has no kick range.

A TKD fighter would be like a largo mano fighter, staying at long range throwing big kicks.

A karate fighter would use kicks and punch ranges then come out. They would not court corto range.

A kickboxer would be comfortable in corto, using hooks and uppercuts, and Thai fighters love to get in and use the knee.

Wing Chun fighters stay pretty much at corto. They enter quickly through kick and punch range, avoiding the whole kickboxing phase so theycan employ traps and close range blasts.

A grappler ingores kick, punch and trap ranges and starts with a collar/elbow tie up from which he looks for throws.

It can be argued that the tie up is corto and the uchikomi is the entry to grappling range.

Martial Arts Self Defence Croydon

The British Shiro Tora White Tiger Martial Arts is based at the Hombu in South Croydon.

Our system is currently taught to Police Officers, Door Supervisors,

Prison Officers and Security personnel.

Our Head Instructor is a 7th degree Black Belt with over 30 years experience.



 Tuesday 8.15pm to 10pm



http://www.shirotora.co.uk

These classes are for all levels, beginner to advanced.

If you want to learn to fight – come to see us!

 

Shiro Tora South Croydon Martial Arts

Our Head instructor holds the ranks
7th degree Black Belt in Karate
5th degree black belt in Kempo Jujutsu
5th degree black belt in Ninpo Taijutsu

Which form the core of our Unarmed Combat Street Self Defence system

We also incorporate trapping and Chi Sao sparring from Wing Chun Kung Fu
and the Unarmed phase of Kali

Our classes also include

Kickboxing

Impact and pads, partner drills and sparring from

Karate, Muay Thai, savate and boxing

Weapons

Kali escrima sticks and knives
Krabi krabong double swords and spear
Kobudo okinawan Tonfa and Bo, Japanese sword and Jo

Grappling

Throws from judo
Projections from aikido
Sweeps from karate
Takedowns from jujutsu

Ground fighting

Comprehensive progressive drilling in ground combatives done on mats, carpet, hard wood and grass

STMA Grass Day Spring 2019

STMA Grass Day Spring 2019 will be revisiting the 2013 lessons of 6 years ago.

Open to beginners and Advanced Black Belts.

https://whitetigermartialarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/stma-grass-day-early-spring-2013.html