Al Peasland - Complete Self Protection

Looking the Fool

2011-05-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Road Not Taken - by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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I’ve started my article with this poem because I think, one of the views of this poem ties in with the theme for this article.
Some have said that, one point Robert Frost was trying to make with this poem was that, when he chose to take the path that was less trodden (more grassy and wanted wear) he was simply taking the decision not to follow the crowd. To not worry what everyone else would say, suggest or think about his decision to go in a different direction to them.

As I sat in the gym the other day, gasping for air after my first set of Push-up – Burpee – Shoulder Press combinations, I glanced at a whiteboard that had been erected in a corner of the gym to record times and scores for a variety of challenges.
As someone had cleverly removed all oxygen from the gym at that time, I was able to spend quite a few minutes whilst gulping in chest aching amounts of in-effective air, to make some observations on the times that had been posted for one particular endurance concept rower challenge.
What impressed me was that there was a wide range of times posted on the board, by various individuals in the gym and, quite clearly, those with the relatively poor times were still prepared to post their names for all to see.

It was quite a refreshing sight and one that made me pay more attention to other activities around the gym.

I point out that this pondering and musing wasn’t just to gain more valuable minutes of recovery time before my next set of killer burpees, honestly!

My observations then moved on to spotting certain individuals who I have noted, return to the gym to carry out the same exercises day in and day out, never varying their routine and only performing the weight lifting feats that are obviously their favourite and the ones that they can impress the other gym-goers with.

I’m sure we’ve all fallen into the trap at one time or another where we avoid the pull-up bar when the gym is busy as we know we can only heave out a disappointing and possibly embarrassing two or three complete reps. Or we favour the benchpress that we’ve been mastering for years and wow the onlookers by lifting up weights that are heavier than small planets.

These two observations couldn’t be farther apart.

On one hand we have people prepared to post their name against a time for all to see, that is most likely the best they can do but in a different league to their competition. Then we have the individuals who will only experiment with their least favourite exercises when no-one else is watching.

I would suggest that the issue here is something of an ego battle that doesn’t want us to look the fool.
“Looking the fool” may be a bit harsh I agree, but my point is this.
The moment we become concerned with what others may think of us in the gym, is the moment we stop learning and stop growing.

I have written in the past about going back to being a white belt in a new martial art and the message is the same. The moment the 5th Dan is not prepared to don a crisp new white belt and get on the mat in a completely new club, with a completely new system and then get thrown around, tapping more times than Michael Flatley, is the moment we stop learning.

If you are terrible at pull-ups and you worry about what people will think of you when you try and fail, then you will never jump up and grab the bar. If you never grab the bar you’ll never get good at it and this applies to everything.

In order to learn, we have to be prepared to fail, and in addition, we have to be prepared to allow others to watch us fail.
NB: I will write more about this in the future as Failure doesn’t actually play a part in the learning process in my opinion

I think this message can be carried – assuming you can lift the weight of course – out of the gym and into every other aspect of our lives.

The moment you worry about what other people think is the moment you will stop doing anything for yourself. You will stop trying new things, you will stop living your own life and you will become a puppet of those around you.

Gertrude Stein said, "let me listen to me and not to them."

The irony is that those around you are too busy getting on with their own lives and worrying what others are thinking of them to really be caring about what you are doing and looking like anyway.
So I say, jump up, grab the bar and give it a go. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be reaching the reps, the times, the scores you aspire to. Letting your perception of what others may think of your initial attempts is just as bad as having them hanging on your legs and stopping you from reaching your dreams.

So if you ever get the feeling that you might look the fool, or you won’t live up to what people expect of you, that is the time to do it. That is the best challenge you can find as the progress in the given exercise will be a mere by-product. The real benefit will be the battle for self-control won over your own ego that was the only real thing standing in your way in the first place.

Thank you for reading
Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

Invest in the Process

2011-05-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Q. Why do we train?
“To be able to lead safer lives”

Q. Why do we want that?
“So we can do the things we want without fear or threats, or at least, with an understanding and an ability to deal with these threats”

Q. What is the benefit of this?
“So we can be happy”

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Q. Why do we train?
“So we can get good at something we enjoy”

Q. Why do we want that?
“So we can become great at something and excel”

Q. What is the benefit of this?
“So we can be happy”

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Q. Why do we train?
“So we can compete and test ourselves”

Q. Why do we want to do that?
“So we can massage our ego and gain more confidence in ourselves”

Q. What is the benefit of this?
“So we can be happy”

I would guess that, whatever your reason for wanting to study martial arts, your ultimate goal is to be happy.
Regardless of whether you want to be able to protect yourself, be great at a fighting art, win competitions, gather skills to a level where you can share this with others and teach, get fit so you can have more energy and enjoy a full life, join you’re your children in a hobby you can all share, etc etc, all of these reasons ultimately lead you back to wanting to be happy.
And it doesn’t have to be Martial Arts, I would suggest you can apply these same questions and direction of thought to anything you do, or choose to do.
We all want to be happy; the key is understanding what it is that makes us happy, or rather, what it is we should focus on to make us happy.

This article has been inspired by the following clip by Srikumar S. Rao, and this gentleman explains it far more eloquently and intelligently than I ever could, so please invest the next 10 minutes and enjoy this clip.

In this clip, Srikumar explains that we should invest in the Process and not the outcome. It’s about enjoying the journey rather than the destination, something I wrote about a long time ago – linked here…
http://www.completeselfprotection.com/Article-About-The-Journey.html
For me, this mirrors directly back to my martial arts and the journey I have gone through and still continue to go through.
The destination is merely something to give a general direction and goal to instil ambition. But it’s the journey and the process that delivers the instant rewards, the fun and the ingredients for happiness.

This works at whatever level you want to look.
If we consider the overall picture of studying martial arts and the journey of studying different arts, gaining skills, learning new processes and principals, discovering new things, the end goal is achieving a high level of proficiency in those arts, but the process is the learning and practising and drilling of techniques on a daily basis.

If you have fun drilling techniques, if you enjoy training each day, hitting the bag or rolling with a friend, your ultimate success in the arts doesn’t really matter, because you’re having fun anyway.

If we consider the other end of the spectrum where we take it down to a single fight with an opponent on the mat. The end goal and destination being the victory in the fight, but the process, the fun bit, being each and every move at any moment in time. Again, if we find fun in the process of rolling from one technique to the next or pitting our skills at any moment in time against a resisting opponent, we don’t really care about the end result of the fight as we’ve had fun along the way.
We write a lot about being in the Now, investing in the moment or the particular move and position at this exact time. Not looking too far ahead into the future or wasting time reviewing what just happened in the previous move.

By being in the Now, you can enjoy exactly what you are currently doing.

By enjoying the process and gaining pleasure from performing each single move to your best ability, you will never have to worry about the result of the fight. Win or lose you will have had fun along the way as you hadn’t invested in the outcome, just the process.

The real twist here though, is that when you invest in the process; when you spend your time enjoying and having fun in each single move or position or technique, you will start to find a lot more end results go in your favour too.

As a friend of mine recently said, "there are only winners and learners", so enjoy the moment, invest in the process and you’ll have a better recipe for fun and happiness, which is always our ultimate goal.

Thank you for reading
Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

CSP Masterclass - Month 2 Review

2011-03-31T02:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday saw the second instalment of our CSP Masterclass “The Arts” Seminar Series

This is a 6 month journey, consisting of one seminar per month, with each month focusing on a specific theme or range of martial arts.

The Masterclass is a closed-door affair, one which I am making sure we enforce in order that the students, who have sacrificed money and a lot of their time to attend, gain the full benefit.

However, I felt compelled to write a short blog on last weekend’s event and share them with you as it was a fantastic session and one which I know has left the 20 or so attendees of the Masterclass, buzzing, enthused and feeling like winners.

Each month we invite a special guest instructor to come along and join the instructor team to share their own area of expertise with the group. This month we were privileged to have our friends Simon Squires and Peter Wilson travel all the way down from Liverpool and Manchester.

Simon, not one to court publicity or celebrity instructor status, has been quietly studying a wide variety of arts for many many years, and amassing a wealth of knowledge in various areas, the most impressive of which is Combatives.

Simon, an instructor under the legendary Dennis Martin, has been teaching Combatives to some of the most impressive professional groups in the world for many years.

This month’s theme was “Reality” and so we wanted to cover a host of arts with the main focus being on the “reality” elements and what works for the street. Simon brought with him his trusted paddy assailant suit, heavily modified to take the beatings of seriously determined defendants.

Whilst I cannot go into the process or the finite details of what we covered during the day’s session, the culmination was each of our students who were fit and healthy to do so, entered into a violent confrontation with Simon in his padded suit. The students were all put under pressure, exposed to real adrenalin and fear, and then allowed to do whatever they needed to in order to survive and overcome the assailant.

Simon, with years of experience and mastery of this type of training, carefully brought the best out of each and every student.

As we later discussed, it’s a very fine line, putting your students through stressful and high pressure training scenarios in order to expose them to the feelings and realities of violent encounters, whilst not going too far and breaking them, physically or mentally. It takes great care, compassion and skill to push a student farther than they think they can go, and yet not too far as to damage them or set them back on their journey of self discovery and self belief.

What I like about Simon more than anything else, is his honesty towards Martial Arts and Self Defence – the two being linked but separate at the same time. From my own Animal Day experiences, this training was a great reminder of what we all need to include in our Martial Arts if we dare to promote what we teach as a form of Self Defence.

There needs to be pressure, there needs to be a threat of danger or injury or pain. There needs to be physical adversity and there needs to be consequence for not performing to your best. However, at the same time, there needs to be an underlying safety, a caring and controlling instructor who can encourage and facilitate growth, and a feeling of success and self-belief at the end.

This is what we did many years ago with our Animal Day Sessions, the only difference being both sides of the encounter were undergoing the same pressure and fear as we didn’t have the benefit of the passes suits. It was basically a fight with little protection, without rounds, and only stopping when one party was unconscious, unable to continue due to injury or submitting. It was brutal, honest and exposed our weaknesses in technique, fighting strategy and mental toughness.

Once you expose weakness, then you can repair it, and strengthen it, and this is exactly what Animal Days did.

As I cannot show you any of the fight footage from the Masterclass, I thought I’d share a few snippets of some very old Animal Day footage. It’s quite primitive, quite basic, lacks a lot of technique…….. and is Honest and Real and very commensurate with the reality of a fight on the street that has gone on past the first couple of punches.

It also shows self control, cognitive thinking under extreme pressure, and a respect for a partner who you are still trying to beat.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Simon and Peter, once again, for their support and contribution to the Masterclass series and also their time and support of everything we are doing at CSP.

I would also like to congratulate everyone who attended both the Masterclass and the CSP Sunday Morning class in Coventry. We were all extremely impressed with every single person’s efforts and abilities. The determination, the courage and the heart of everyone who entered the arena was outstanding – you should all be very proud of yourselves – Well Done

And to quote Mr Tully…. “Now tell me Martial Arts doesn’t change lives for the better!”

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland Personal Safety Expert

Sian O'Callaghan - Lessons for us all

2011-03-31T01:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 18th March, 22 year old Sian O’Callaghan goes out for a night out with friends

On Sunday 19th March at 2:52 am, Sian is filmed on CCTV leaving the nightclub to walk the half mile route home.

Sian was not seen again until 24th March, when her body was found after a suspect, who had been arrested, offered information as to her whereabouts.

At the point of writing this article, facts about what happened to Sian are still very limited and so we can only surmise as to what happened after she left the nightclub. However, having spent many years working on the front line of nightclub security, and having witnessed countless lone females leaving the various clubs and pubs that I worked, on their own, late at night and accepting lifts from waiting taxis and cabs, this incident highlights parallels of events that happen almost every weekend at almost every nightclub.

Below are some basic self defence tips that I offer to women and men when we’re talking about personal security / self defence when travelling on public transport or in taxis, cabs, etc

- Walk facing traffic – help prevent vehicles from slowly approaching from behind

- If a car stops, don’t approach – use your voice - Never accept lifts from strangers or those professing to be taxi drivers

- Only use pre-booked taxi drivers

- If taken home at night, ask driver to watch until you are inside

- Most taxi companies will text you the colour, make, model of the taxi you should expect – they can even give you the registration and name of the driver

- If a different taxi arrives, call the head office, don’t just assume it was an innocent change of driver and vehicle

It’s worth noting at this point though that we generally have the premise that taxi drivers are safe, honest and trustworthy, and especially if you are a lone female, helpful and considerate in ensuring you feel comfortable in their car and arrive home safely. Sadly, it would seem, judging by the limited facts published at the time of writing this article, this is not the case in the story of Sian O’Callaghan, who went missing on her way home from a night out, and was found murdered the days later, with a taxi driver being the primary suspect.

If we are to make some assumptions at this time, it is looking highly likely that Sian, who was last seen walking away from the nightclub, only about half a mile from her home, either chose to get into the taxi or was abducted by the taxi driver.

If she accepted the lift willingly from the taxi then we must use this as an opportunity to remind people that it is firstly illegal to flag down private hire cabs, and secondly, that it is not good personal security to accept lifts from taxis and cabs that you have not pre-booked. If Sian was more forcibly abducted by the driver then some of the other basic points about personal security on foot are more important.

Those of being aware of your surroundings, ensuring you walk facing the traffic, you don’t accept lifts and you don’t allow yourself to be goaded and drawn near to the vehicle. Often attackers will use dialogue and questions to attract your attention, asking you for directions to draw you closer to the vehicle so that they can grab hold of you.

Vehicles may actually drive past you several times in order to assess your awareness and how alert you are to their presence, in order that they maintain the element of surprise when the make their move.

It’s with a heavy heart that I have used this very real, very sad, and very current case to highlight these points and it is wrong to criticise poor Sian in her actions that evening. However, we can all learn from these events and we can all work harder and take more precautions with our own personal security so that we do not make it easy for these vicious murderers to carry out their despicable actions.

- When on a night out, ensure you are in familiar, and sensible company.

- Never walk home alone, even when it is only a short distance away (we often allow our guard to drop the closer we are to our home as the surroundings become more and more familiar)

- Never accept lifts from strangers, taxis or cabs that you have not pre-booked

- Never allow a stranger to befriend and accompany you on your journey, even if they seem like a good Samaritan

- Always pre-arrange your transport home

- Ask the driver to wait until you are safely in your home

- If you are in a cab and feeling nervous or uncomfortable, then ask them to stop at the next well populated area, or somewhere you know you can gain attention from others (asking to stop at a petrol station for money or cigarettes is a good ploy)

- Make sure someone knows where you are going, when to expect you back and how to contact you while you are out

- Have emergency numbers set to speed dial on your mobile – ensure it is well charged

- If you are being followed, walk more confidently and try to gain more distance between them and yourself, (only run when out of sight as it can indicate you are panicked and scared and will encourage them they have found the right victim)

- Know you limits – Alcohol can impair your judgement and rational thinking and is the most common date rape drug

Sadly, whilst we should be able to trust taxi drivers and others in positions of responsibility, we are ultimately still responsible for our own personal security and must always remain aware and alert to anything which could pose a threat to our safety. Whilst the taxi company in question have commented that they do their very best to ensure their passengers are safe, with all the good measures such as texting the car reg, etc – perhaps more should still be done in vetting their drivers.

But even that may not be enough if the person responsible for this crime has a clean record or has never been caught of any previous criminal activity.

And this is even more reason that we should always take the very best, the very safest, and the most sensible care ofourselves. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sian O’Callaghan’s friends, family and loved ones.

RIP Sian.

Stay Safe

Al Peasland

Personal Safety Expert

What They Don't Know

2011-03-31T01:45:00.000-07:00

“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”

Sometimes we may not know we have received a gift until much later on!

A short while ago, Lou and I were enjoying a wonderful meal with a couple of friends, and for some reason we got round to a lovely, heart warming subject.

We were talking about going out as teenagers, the things we used to get up to and the times we would come home a little later than promised. Our friend said she never realised it at the time but whenever she arrived home in the early ours of the morning, her father would just ‘happen to be up’, and in the kitchen, making himself a drink.

You know how it is in the middle of the night, when you wake up with a thirst and you can’t wait until the morning so you take yourself downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water or something a little warmer.

And just by pure coincidence, this would happen whenever his daughter was arriving home, so that he would just happen to be in the kitchen when she came through the door. Nothing particularly would be said, just a “Hi Dad, I’m home” “Hi hun, did you have a nice time?” And then off to bed.

Obviously, looking back on this as we chatted, it was clear to see that her father was just making sure his precious daughter was ok and home safe and sound, but without all the fuss of “where have you been until this time”, or “how did you get home”. The usual, and understandable, worried parent questions.

It was a lovely story that made you feel warm inside that our friend had never realised during her teenage years that this is what her father was doing. Almost a secret act that his daughter never realised, but one day would and when she did, she too felt warm inside and very loved. So we sat there and I’m sure we all started to think at the other things our parents had done for us, consciously or without thought, that would only become apparent many years later. A kind of secret treasure that we would unearth as our own knowledge and wisdom grew to give us the right tools to dig up this bounty.

Now, this isn’t an article on parenting, and so I won’t end the article here by asking you to look at what you are doing now that you can leave as pure gold for your offspring to find in later years. I am a martial arts instructor and so for me, this lesson draws a huge parallel with my job and role as an instructor to my own students and those I train with.

When I look back on my early years in the world of martial arts, I trained in a fiercely tough Karate club run by the legendary Geoff Thompson. As a young and impressionable 12 year old I had no idea that this was anything different to your run of the mill clubs, and so the hard sparring, the broken bones, the nose bleeds, the blistered feet and the continual ache in your gut from fear and anxiety of the next session, just seemed par for the course. However, as the first few years passed by, the toughness of the training I was undergoing didn’t cease. In fact it grew more and more as the years passed up to the age of 15/16, the training, quite literally, became brutal. We would fight for hours and most sessions wouldn’t pass without someone being knocked out, and usually that was me and often at the hands of my instructor. Sometimes it felt like I was being bullied or that I had done something wrong, but only partially. There was always something deep inside that kept the trust with my mentor and my guide, and the faith that this would all be worthwhile. The hard sparring, the punishing rounds, the leg crumbling workouts, all seemed like “extra special treatment”.

And then, without actually realising it, there became a shift in my training. A step change that saw me going from the one being knocked out continually, to the one holding his own with grown men, far stronger than me. I became hardy, robust and battle hardened. Handling my fears became a fun challenge and no longer something that crippled me and held me back. I became confident and self-aware, an understanding of myself that allowed me to take on anything. I was starting to unearth the treasure!

It was years later, working as a nightclub doorman on the troublesome doors of Coventry City pubs and clubs that several punches in the head from an 18 stone, 400lb bench-pressing goliath finally brought to the surface my beautiful bounty. The fact that I remained on my feet, weathered the storm and turned the altercation around to a victorious conclusion, unlocked the box to my sparkling secret treasure that had been carefully, intelligently and lovingly imparted and hidden away those years before. What I didn’t know at the time, my instructor knew completely.

What I struggled to accept and questioned at the time, my instructor proceeded regardless, confident and certain of the value of the gold he was offering and with faith that one day I would unearth it. Unearth it I certainly did, and so I continue to do so, almost every day. A secret gift that has carried me through many situations, both physical and mental and a bottomless well of treasure that I trust will be there whenever I have to dip my pale to draw out some more “tough” currency.

So now, as an instructor myself, it is my turn to hand over some secret treasure. Something that my students may not appreciate or grasp until they are further down their own path. As I’ve mentioned in many articles before. It is no accident that I teach classes early on Saturday and Sunday mornings and it is no accident that I don’t divulge everything we are going to be doing on an approaching grading. Nor is it an oversight that I only ask my students to do what I’ve done and can do and it should be no shock that I am always honest with my own beliefs and opinions on what I teach, the arts and self defence. It would however, be wrong of me, and perhaps a “Marty McFly” moment, in danger of altering the future, if I was to highlight all of the things I now do for my own students What They, perhaps, Don’t Know. But rest assured, I am doing them and they will become apparent in years to come and I hope they remember to look back on this article then!

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

Casey Heynes - Bullied Fights Back - PART 3

2011-03-21T03:39:00.000-07:00

If you find the following blog of interest - why not take a look at my website. Lots of articles, and information about Personal Safety and Self Defence - Al Peasland, 5th Dan British Combat Association
http://www.completeselfprotection.com/alpeasland-profile.html

As a final follow up to my previous two blogs on the Casey Heynes bullying story, I wanted to highlight a few of the points that Casey, so articulately put in his recent interview.

I’ve also posted a video blog of the event, pulling out a couple of points around the act of Self Defence in this situation and how the bullying has most likely gone on for some time leading up to this event. It would seem, judging by Casey’s comments, that we were correct in making that assumption.

So, here goes….

Casey says the bullying has been going on for several years, on a daily basis (at least 4 years during his high school). This was also corroborated by a friend of Casey’s family who kindly took the time to message me via Facebook.

This just confirms our initial assumption that these types of event don’t just happen, there will be lots of bullying and intimidation that will lead up to physical confrontation such as this, usually escalating in magnitude and severity.

The particular bully in the clip had allegedly been involved for the past couple of weeks, starting with teasing and some slapping, until it reached this level of violence.

This is classic “Target Selection” that happens, not only in bullying, but in the vast majority of violent crime, assaults, muggings, street robbery, etc.
Muggers, attackers and bullies are usually quite cowardly and won’t attack someone who they think will retaliate or has the ability to beat them. That wouldn’t make sense and wouldn’t be good for ‘business’. So instead, they “test” their potential victim. In street crime this can be simply to walk past their victim several times to assess if they are switched on or day dreaming and unaware that they are being observed.
Sometimes this can be to ask questions and conduct ‘interviews’ in the street in order to assess their victim’s reactions and state of awareness.
In bullying it starts at a lower level, verbal abuse or psychological intimidation, in order to test whether they have found a suitable victim to continue bullying.
This is why it really helps to be assertive, and take a stand early on before it escalates to a situation where your options are limited and possibly only left with using a violent response.

Casey says in his interview that he didn’t react to the teasing and intimidation, and he believes this is why it continued.

Casey also says that his friends had slowly dissociated themselves from him when the bullying started. A sad fact but one which is worth noting as, his friends will have acted in order to protect themselves from being bullied too. I say “friends” in the loosest possible way, as good friends would stick together, but it shows how groups of individuals can often still think as individuals and take any threats of bullying personally, without being able to step back and consider that sticking together will create safety in numbers and possibly prevent bullying from continuing in the first place.
This is another good course of action during the initial stages of bullying. When it starts, stick together and it will help to prevent it from escalating.

Casey also confirmed that, it was probably because he was now alone, that they continued to pick on him. The bullies had effectively separated out their prey, isolated the one who was proven to ‘not retaliate’ and removed all chances of support and back-up for their victim.

What I have also talked about in my video blog is the act of Self Defence.
Casey states that he acted in Self Defence, and this is something that others have questioned.
I agree, looking at the video from the comfort of our safe homes, we can see other, less aggressive, courses of action that Casey could have taken. Equally, as we have a legal duty to escape at the earliest opportunity if we wish to claim self defence, we could argue that Casey should have run away, pushed his bully back to create some space, or shouted for help; anything rather than picking him up and slamming him to the ground.
However, we have to consider a few things here.

Casey will have been extremely scared, and with adrenalin comes fear and irrational thinking. He may not have even realised there were other options open to him, and we have to take this into account when we sit and judge his actions.
He actually states that “he snapped”, indicating he was no longer acting rationally.
Also, we have to consider Context, as I have mentioned before. Context means, not only do we have to look at the situation played out in the video, but the surrounding factors such as Casey may be acting to prevent further assault or increased severity of violence in the future.
We’ve already seen how, by not retaliating in early, less violent, events, Casey has confirmed to his bullies he is a good choice of victim, and so their bullying campaign continued and escalated. So, Casey knew that, unless he did something different, things would only continue to get worse. This, in my opinion, is good self defence!

What’s also interesting is that Casey says, it all happened really quickly. “He came out of nowhere”
This is a classic statement made by victims of muggings, and street crime the world over. All too often we let our guard down and our awareness slips to allow attackers the opportunity to strike. The element of surprise works in both war and on the street in violent crime. And, when an attacker does surprise you and “comes out of nowhere” you are often then left in a momentary “freeze” state, unable to logically process the situation and your options, and always, your options will be drastically reduced to what they would have been had you noticed the event sooner.

Staying aware means you spot potential attack earlier, leaving you more options on how to react and avoid the confrontation.

What was saddest of all was that Casey says he had contemplated suicide when the bullying was at its worst. To hear that from any child is awful and means we need to look at ALL options on how we can stamp out bullying and not just the views of those at either end of the spectrum.

I’d like to thank Casey and his bullies for giving us all this video to bring to the fore the world of bullying, and highlighting this as an issue that needs to be addressed.
I’d like to congratulate Casey on handling the situation extremely well and also for the way in which he has handled this explosion of media interest.
I thought he interviewed brilliantly and came across as very articulate, intelligent and a gentle human being.

I’ll end my blog with his final comments that
“School won’t last forever”
Everything will end, just stick at it and it will end, even if it feels like it won’t.

Thank you for reading, I hope you have found something of interest in my blogs and look forward to posting more on these and many other subjects around personal safety and self defence in the very near future.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al
Personal Safety Expert

As a footnote to this and to keep a balance, I thought I'd include the interview of Ritchard Gale (Casey's bully)

Fence Concepts DVD - the most effective self defence tool to manage confrontation!

Casey Heynes - Bullied Fights Back - PART2

2011-03-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

If you find this blog of interest, feel free to take a look at my website where I have lots more articles, products and information on Personal Safety and Self Defence. Al Peasland - 5th Dan British Combat Association.
http://www.completeselfprotection.com/alpeasland-profile.html

Following alot of feedback from my latest blog around the viral video of Casey Heynes and his bully, Richard Gale, I thought I’d post a brief follow-up to answer a few comments, and give some more analysis on the event.
Also, as it’s National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence tomorrow, I thought It’d be a good opportunity to create a Part 2 of the blog post

http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/default.shtml

Jeremy Vine Show – 17th March – BBC Radio 2 – listen to it here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z1yyv

Listening to the Jeremy Vine show today on BBC Radio 2, I was a little bemused by the comments of Christine Pratt, who had been brought onto the show as an “expert” on anti-bullying and founder of the National Bullying Helpline.

A very worthy cause, and one which I am happy to link here...
http://nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/kids.htm

One comment she made however, is something I’d like to challenge
During the interview she said something to the effect of “not advocating any type of violence as a response to bullying”.

When pressed, she offered the following suggestions as to how Casey should have responded and acted in the situation we have all seen on the video.

This has been taken from the National Bullying helpline website and I will happily remove it from my blog if permission to include it here is denied.
C.R.I. : CONFRONT. RECORD. INFORM.
If you believe you are being bullied, it's Cool to CRI
1. Confront the Bully. Tell the Bully to stop. Tell the Bully how you feel. Remember, Bullies bully because they can – so don't let them.
2. Record the Bullying. Keep a log of the Bullying. Start a diary. Keep a record.
3. Inform someone. Tell a responsible person. Tell a Teacher. Tell an adult.
Basically ,she said Casey should have followed the strategies of CRI, which firstly requires him to Confront and then Record. However, Confront does not mean body slam his bully to the floor.

Whilst I agree with this advice during the on-set of bullying behaviour, I think we can all see that this particular situation has gone way past the, discussion and reasoning phase.

Encouraging the bullies to see the error of their ways through rational discussion and statements that inform them of just how the bullying makes you feel, is hardly going to stop the kid from punching the bullied in the face.

These steps need to happen very early on, after all, most bullying is systematic, prolonged and progressive.

She did say that there is one condition that could allow the use of violence as a response and that is a self defence situation. However, having read something that my good friend Marc MacYoung has written, I have to suggest that this wasn’t a full blown self defence situation.

Ok, so let me clarify all of this.

Firstly, when I teach self defence, the primary option of the defendant is to escape, and the sooner they can do this the better.

Based on this fact, Casey could have pushed his aggressor away and ran off, making his escape and staying safe.

Great!

However, one huge factor in “Self Defence” is CONTEXT

Context means to look at not only the threat, and the environment, but also the context in which it is all happening.

If this had been an incident between two individuals who had only just bumped into each other and were highly likely to never meet again, then the context would allow for the likes of Casey to make a sharp exit.

However, as we can all see, the context here is that of a school, where the kids involved most likely all go to the same school. They are going to see each other every day, the aggressor is most likely to have a large following, the victim is highly likely to have had a prolonged period of bullying that has slowly escalated to events of this magnitude.

This context means that, whilst Casey running away would solve his immediate self defence problem, it would most definitely not do anything to halt the bullying. In fact, based on my own experience, actions such as this are only going to help escalate the levels of bullying in the future. ‘Casey is now a victim, he won’t fight back and is easy pickings for any bully.’

Of course, Casey could have then gone to get help, reported to an adult, and got the support from his parents. I doubt this would have made much difference!

Lets also look at the aggressor in this event. He is younger and much smaller than his victim. This means he will have had to perform an element of target selection and, as he’s not preying on his victim to rob him, the chances are this selection process has gone on for some time.

It would have started with initial “tests”; verbal abuse, monitoring the responses from his victim; making note how his victim behaves when others are doing the bullying, etc etc

All information gathering to bolster his own confidence before he “bravely” steps forward to start his attack.

This is all a case of vying for position and status in the pack, the aggressor looking to show his strength in his group by picking on a much larger and older adversary.

This event, as Marc MacYoung states, is not Self Defence, and more of a fight. Both individuals have engaged in the fight, whether provoked or not, and one person has come out on top.

The aggressor decided to enter and start the fight in order to gain status in his group. To pick on an easy target that he has probably done many times before – hence his courage to get into the fight.

The victim decided to retaliate as, “enough was enough”. He could have run away but this would not have solved his major problem, that of the continued bullying.

The aggressor was still in the fight when he managed to pick himself back up off the floor, until he realised his leg wasn’t performing quite as it should.

Casey didn’t immediately run away after he had dumped the kid on the floor – implying that he was either in a “freeze” state of fear and adrenalin, or more likely, still “in the fight” and actively deciding what action to take next.

What Casey did was enter into a fight in order to solve a bigger problem. He probably did this without rationally thinking it through, as is understandable under the adrenal state he would most likely have been in.

He took action that some are shocked by, but one which I feel he had no other choice but to do. As I said, running away would only have encouraged his aggressors and bolstered their confidence further.

He also responded in a composed way and did not continue his attack once the threat was neutralised, something we see in a lot of “self defence” class drills.

One final thought is this. Our aggressor has already entered into physical confrontation, which means this is a language he understands and respects. He feels that by physically dominating another individual he is better than them and higher up in the status rankings. If this is his language then the best way to communicate and get your own opinion across is to talk in the same language, and unfortunately that means having to become physical yourself.

Casey Heynes vs Bully by kleksiq

Thank you for reading

A brief clip of the forthcoming exclusive interview

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

NB: I have now posted a final follow-up to this blog, with some more analysis and feedback from recent comments - CLICK HERE to jump straight to the article http://al-peasland.blogspot.com/2011/03/casey-heynes-bullied-fights-back-part-3.html

Fence Concepts DVD - the most effective self defence tool to manage confrontation!

Casey Heynes - Bullied Fights Back

2011-03-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

If you find the following blog of interest - why not take a look at my website. Lots of articles, and information about Personal Safety and Self Defence - Al Peasland, 5th Dan British Combat Association
http://www.completeselfprotection.com/alpeasland-profile.html

If you have any presence on Facebook, Twitter, the Internet or any other social networking, you can’t help but to have seen this latest viral video, of a school boy who finally snaps and fights back at his bullies.

In order to look at this video in a little more detail, I first have to express a few comments and assumptions.

We only get to see 40 seconds of this event, which means we can only surmise what has happened in the lead-up to this event both in the previous moments and in the days, weeks and months of torment that it has been reported young Casey has been subjected to.

We also only get a limited view of the scene, and so it’s difficult to appreciate what else is happening around the two who are the focus of the video. What support the younger, smaller bully has with him (clearly he has one person who’s helping to film the event) and towards the end of the video, a larger, older lad steps in to confront Casey, and actually starts to follow him as the video ends.

Finally, I also don’t feel comfortable using this video as a way of analysing how our victim could have applied better self defence techniques and better confrontation management strategies to protect himself against the abuse and the assault that he was subjected to. He was clearly feeling intimidated, clearly trying not to fight back and only defend himself and probably in quite a lot of emotion distress.

As a bullied child myself, being bullied all the way up to the age of 15, I can totally understand and relate to how Casey will have felt, both during, in the days, weeks, and months leading up to, and after this event.

We can only speculate that this won’t have been the first time Casey had been confronted in this way, especially for a younger and smaller boy to be doing the intimidating, it’s clear he would not have been doing this unless he thought he would get away with it and wouldn’t receive any retaliation.

Casey Heynes vs Bully by kleksiq

So, lets examine the footage without being critical of what either party have done.

Casey has his back to the wall. Not always a great place to be in terms of options to escape, but if he was faced with several members of a group, and we can assume our attacker isn’t alone here, then putting your back to the wall at least reduces the angles that you can be attacked.

Casey actually has his hands out in front of him, which is as we always recommend with Fence strategies, however, our attacker is still allowed to get close enough to grab hold and then punch.

This illustrates that when you are in a confrontation and you know it is aggressive, your Fence needs to be far more controlling and less passive if it is going to have any effect.

What this also shows me is just how, regardless of size, strength or ability, we can all adopt a victim and passive mindset when we allow feelings of intimidation and fear to take control. Again, this is no criticism of Casey, just a statement of how we should all understand that the most effective part of our self defence strategy starts with our mind-set, not our physical prowess.

After the first punch has landed, Casey then becomes more pro-active in stopping further assaults.
The point to note here is that Casey manages to block the next attempted right hook to his face, and some may use this as justification for using blocks as effective self defence. Unfortunately, whilst the block may have prevented further attacks, it did nothing to stop the assault from continuing. It did not remove the threat, nor did it improve the safety of the victim. Blocks don’t work when we are dealing with real self defence, at best, they merely reduce the damage you may receive at any moment in time, but will very rarely remove the threat. Attack is the best way to take control of a confrontation and fighting back is the only way to prevent further attack, when you have exhausted all other options such as escape, or verbal dissuasion, etc.

What happens next is a fantastic show of superior strength from Casey, who simply charges in, grabs our attacker, picks him up and slams him on the ground.

Whilst this may look quite violent and extreme, lets consider for a moment that Casey didn’t hit back, nor did he slam the attacker onto the low wall behind him or dump him on his head. These and many other options could have resulted in far worse injury for our attacker. Whether this was a conscious decision by Casey, displaying a cool presence of mind to choose a course of action that would stop the attacker without really hurting him, or whether this was pure luck during his instinctive reaction, we shall probably never know. Either way, our attacker here was very luck not to receive far worse injury.

Casey then steps back away and monitors the situation.

Something to be applauded and a lesson for anyone who teaches self defence with combinations that show the victim throwing an assailant to the ground and then finishing them off with blows or kicks to the head. The first bit is self defence, but the finishing blows can then become assault.

When I teach self defence I always talk about escaping at the earliest opportunity, so if the situation progressed to this stage, the defendant should have ran away the moment the aggressor was on the ground.

However, situations such as these can become complicated, especially when you know your attackers and may have to face them again on a daily basis. Sometimes, when you turn the tables such as this, you have to stand your ground and remain at the scene to back up your actions with lots of verbal and posturing to ensure anyone else thinking of taking the bullying helm, are deterred and left to ponder how it will feel if the same things happens to them.

What we see here though is the victim still being in a state of fear, adrenal dump and shock. He is focused on the attacker who is now climbing back to his wobbly feet, and not really paying much attention to the rest of his surroundings, including the taller lad who then steps forward to face him.

This, again, is a classic case of in-fight fear and adrenalin. Casey has not yet got to the stage where the fight is over, and so is still in a heightened state of awareness but has become target focused.

Fortunately another bystander pushes the taller lad back, but as we see, at the end of this video, the taller lad moves around her and follows Casey down the corridor.

When we have fights with people we know or in environments where we frequent or have no option to return to, such as school, places of work, streets near our homes, etc, fights such as this are never over just because this single altercation has ended.

What happens next is our victim (and I still call him the victim as he was the one being bullied to begin with), will now have massive post fight fear and adrenalin. The fear of what will happen next, the fear of comebacks and retaliation from the bully and his supporters and the fear of punishment from authorities. Often these fears, along with the pre-fight fears that lead up to these events, are far worse, far more damaging and far more personality destroying than the fear you experience during the fight. Often, when pushed to the limit, the body switches into autopilot and it just gets on with the task in hand, not leaving much time to consider the consequences, the dangers, the unknowns.

It’s only when we have time to stop and think that our minds can run away with us and start to create stories that will conjure far greater fears.

I think finally, this also shows how few people are prepared to step in and help in situations such as these. I wonder what our comments would have been if we’d only caught the tail end of this video with the much large lad picking up and throwing a smaller, younger boy. Thankfully we’ve seen more of the story, but we can also wonder if even what we’ve seen here is the full picture!!!

I congratulate Casey in turning this event around and I hope that everyone involved can move forwards, learn from this and lead better lives as a result.

I don’t think we should be watching this kind of thing for enjoyment, but I do think videos such as this are a source of education, not only for school children and teenage bullies, but for us all, as a parallel to more serious violence and self defence principles.

Thank you for reading

NB: I have now posted a follow-up to this blog, with some more analysis and feedback from recent comments - CLICK HERE to jump straight to the article http://al-peasland.blogspot.com/2011/03/casey-heynes-bullied-fights-back-part2.html

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

Dedication Requires a Why!

2011-03-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

Is there anything you do that you would love to be World Class at?

When you look at others who are clearly at the top of their game, does it make wish you could achieve the same dizzying heights in an arena of your own?

Are you someone who is inspired by others who are in a league of their own at their chosen specialism or does it expose your own feelings of inadequacy, leaving you deflated and unfulfilled?

If you are one of the latter, then I suggest the knowledge of this simple formula will change your perceptions of others who are clearly experts in their own class.

Passion + Dedication = Awesome

Quite simple really, but those three little words, when formed in this way can lead to World Class results and it works like this...

To get good at anything, and I mean really good, then you need to spend a lot of time doing it. Repetition is the key and the magic number of 10,000 hours, or 10,000 repetitions comes into effect if you want to get to a high standard at one particular skill.
However, this effort and this training has to be functional and not just a case of going through the motions. You have to be fully engaged to make every single repetition valuable and of benefit to your overall progress.
The problem is, this takes massive dedication. Huge amounts of selfless commitment and focus in order to stick at it when your mind wanders and your body tires.

Dedication to the task in hand and the ultimate end destination is crucial if you are to aim for expertise and jaw dropping Awesomeness in whatever field you choose.

Dedication isn’t just something you turn on, it’s something that has to be driven from within. The kind of dedication that a World Class level of expertise requires simply cannot be manufactured or falsely engineered, it has to be an internal desire and a limitless will to reach this dream elevation.

Viktor Frankl in “Mans Search for Meaning” says you can suffer any number of How’s if you have one reason Why.

What he meant was, if you have a good enough reason to do something, you will overcome any hurdle that is thrown in your way. Ask a mother who will brave an inferno to race back into a house to save her child. Once you have a big enough reason to do anything, you will be able to push yourself through any hardship to get there; nothing will stand in your way.

Dedication requires a Why!

In this case, the best reason why is to have something that you are passionate about. As an example, take something that you ordinarily do for a hobby. Often, we do hobby’s in our spare time, time which is valuable and which we can choose to spend doing anything we want, and so we choose to do a hobby that is what we would consider the best use of that time.
In addition, we often spend our hard earned money on our hobby, buying equipment or kit, paying for club memberships or licenses, possibly evening travelling far and wide to study and practice our hobby.

This is your passion and this is your reason Why.

So choosing something you are passionate about, such as your favourite hobby, pastime, or sport. These are the most likely areas that you will find a big enough reason Why to dedicate yourself to a level where you can reach expertise and awesomeness.

Passion + Dedication = Awesome

However, I’ll let you into a little secret. I got the formula slighty wrong. It’s not Passion PLUS Dedication, it’s actually Passion TIMES Dedication

Passion x Dedication = Awesome

Once you find something you are truly passionate about and have a dream and an internal desire to be world class at it, then your dedication will be repaid in multiples. You will want to practice your chosen specialism more than there are hours in the day. You will want to live, eat, sleep and breathe your field of expertise.
And with this kind of dedication, you simply cannot fail to get good.

The two clips linked in this article demonstrate my formula in the most impressive of ways.
Both of these professionals are simply at the very top of their game, performing feats that are both awesome and majestic to watch. Things we could only dream of being able to accomplish.
But the key here is, we all CAN accomplish these extremes of skill, if we too share their passion and their dedication to become World Class.

So choose what you want to excel in, and dedicate yourself to it, you’ll be surprised at the results when this little formula starts to kick in.

Thank you for reading
Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

Gattuso versus Jordan - Fight Analysis

2011-02-23T02:15:00.000-08:00

Following some interesting responses to a short video I posted to youtube, I thought I’d add a few more notes in this blog to support the clip.

For those who missed this story in the press a few days ago, the situation basically revolves around a footballer losing his temper with his coach, culminating in a confrontation at the end of the game where the footballer lands a head-butt on his coach’s nose before being pulled away.

What I wanted to do with my clip was not to go into the details of this actual event, who was at fault, the integrity of those involved, etc etc. For one, I am not a massive football fan and so don’t really know any background on anyone pictured in the clips let alone the main two protagonists in the altercation.

My aim is to use this footage merely to highlight some parallels between this incident and the types of violent confrontation that seems to becoming more and more commonplace on UK streets.

So lets get straight into it...

The main situation was preceded by an incident earlier on in the match where Gattuso came face to face with Jordan, and finished by pushing Jordan away by the throat. Again, I don’t know what led up to this incident or who was to blame, but what we can learn from this is as follows:-

Gattuso pushed Jordan away by the throat and then immediately turned and walked away. He did not hang around long enough to risk taking any retaliation from Jordan and he did not back up this single action with further acts of aggression. He was very animated and loud as he walked away, but in my experience, a lot of this is to hide an underlying nerves and lack of willing to continue a fracas that he has just instigated.

What we have to remember in incidents such as these is, often, the player knows he is surrounded by other guys who are likely to jump in and stop any fight before it really gets going. You can even seen a player from the opposing team walk over to Gattuso and try to calm him down. The fact that this player was able to place a hand on Gattuso’s face without him lashing out or knocking the hand away shows that gattuso wasn’t actually in a blind rage or fighting frame of mind, but was already happy to allow others to calm him down.

In addition, because nothing was really done about this action, and certainly nothing physical in return. Psychologically, Gattuso has now gotten away with it, which instills a few values in Gattuso at this point.

1. That Jordan is not likely to fight back and so vulnerable to further abuse – a safe target

2. That the it’s likely no one is going to step in a fight on Jordan’s behalf – he doesn’t have any dangerous backup

3. That those around are more likely to try to step in and calm things down rather than be additional threat – supports a feeling that others are also scared of him

Now we get onto the later incident.

At the end of the match, Gattuso is already spoiling for the argument and it’s no surprises that he heads back towards Jordan, the guy who he got away with being physical with earlier.

Obviously, I point out that I did not watch the match and so am not able to comment on other events that have happened or played a factor in how this final altercation came about.

Once the two guys are face to face we can see a lot of ballooning and posturing by both men, but certainly by Gattuso. This is a classic animalistic approach to try to scare your opponent in order that you can make him back down without actually having to fight him.
Sometimes this is because the aggressor doesn’t want to hurt his victim, but often it’s because the aggressor is actually a little afraid of instigating the physical attack, possibly a result of some self doubt.

I’ve seen this countless times where guys will act tough and aggressive and hope that it is sufficient to scare their target without having to get physical, and usually this is because they are actually afraid that if it does get physical, they may not have the tools to back up their threats.

My next comment is more of an assumption, and that is Gattuso, now surrounded by his teammates, is secretly hoping some of them step in to drag him away before it gets to the stage where he actually has to do something. Unfortunately, they are not as quick as he had hoped and so the situation very quickly moves to a stage where he has to act. The result is a very half hearted head-butt to Jordan’s nose. One which clearly doesn’t cause any harm or damage other than to surprise Jordan a little.

At this stage, we can identify a few areas where Jordan could have done better to protect himself, such as using more of a Fence position to maintain his personal safe space and monitor Gattuso before he threw the head-butt. It shows how vulnerable he was with his hands down by his side, and unable to react quickly enough to defend against this head-butt.

It also shows how fast situations can escalate from initial verbal confrontation, through to posturing and finally through to initial attack. It all happens in just a couple of seconds, leaving very little time to prepare, and defend unless you are observant and able to take necessary steps and precautions earlier in the preceedings.

What also happens next is classic of an aggressive individual who doesn’t really want to fight. The head-butt is delivered, and Gattuso steps back rather than forwards to continue the attack. As soon as the other players grab hold of Gattuso and he knows he is being held away from his target, he then launches into a violent “let me at im” rage.

Again, from personal experience on many occasions, I am fairly confident that if the guys holding Gattuso back suddenly released him, he would have remained there as if held back by an invisible barrier. I’ve seen many a “tough” guy being held back from fighting me and others by their girlfriends who are half their size.

It’s a classic case of the aggressor looking for a way out and an excuse not to have to fight, but still maintain face and appear to be the tough guy.
In both parties, Adrenalin is also running high. Gattuso will have built up his adrenalin in the minutes leading up to this event. Slowly growing the anger, the rage and the courage to start this course of action, which is very similar to attackers on the street who have to build themselves up, often egg’d on by their friends, before they instigate the attack.

Jordan, on the other hand, had a big dump of adrenalin the moment the head-butt landed. It wasn’t hard and certainly wouldn’t have stopped him from fighting back but the rush of adrenalin had more of an effect than the head-butt did. For a second you can see him freeze, with the realisation this had actually happened. Shocked, if you will, before he gathering his thoughts or simply reverted back to instinct and came back at Gattuso.

This is also confirmed by the statements following the event, once everyone had had chance to calm down and assess the career limiting actions that they had taken during the confrontation.
Adrenalin can play funny games with the mind, not least of which, the ability to shut down and bypass cognitive and rational/logical thought processes and revert back to instinctive and primitive decision making. The conscious decision of whether or not this is a good idea, can often be clouded or bypassed completely once Adrenalin has been invited to the party.

Situations such as these can be seen up and down the country on any Friday and Saturday night. Especially with the inclusion of excessive alcohol, we see scenarios played out on every nightclub door across the land.

However, once you start to look below the surface you can start to understand the processes that are at play. The psychology that is happening, even without the knowledge of those involved.
It’s primitive, it’s basic and understanding it can make a difference on how you should act in order to stay safer.

Joe’s first option should have been to avoid the incident completely. Especially after the first incident, he should have removed himself from the situation or had the player removed.

If this wasn’t possible, his next step should have been to notice the build up of aggression in his player and prepare himself for this.

Finally, by positioning himself more safely during the confrontation, by preparing for some kind of attack and having a safer “Fence” position with his own hands and body, he would have been able to take control over the fight without necessarily having to fight or strike back.

Worst case, he could have got the first shot in and ended the confrontation quickly and decisively. After all, if the head-butt had done it’s job, Joe could have been rendered unconscious and so all chances of protecting himself and using self defence would have been made redundant.

I hope this article has been of interest
Thank you for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

Hero versus Gunman

2011-02-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

The Hero versus The Gunman

I read with great interest the latest story of a “have-a-go” hero, thinking nothing of his personal safety, tackling an armed jewellery thief and then slipping away into anonymity before anyone could praise him for his actions.
A great headline story from many aspects, not least because the robber was armed with a handgun and also with an accomplice.

I’m writing this, as an author and self defence specialist, having only read a few newspaper and internet articles and looking at a handful of photographs snapped by an Evening Telegraph reporter who happened to be there at the scene on another job.

Risking Own Safety
Obviously, the main issue is the risk, to his own safety, that this “hero” (lets call him the vigilante for the sake of this article) put himself in, in comparison with the perceived value of the crime he tried to prevent.

Perception of Level of Crime Affects Decision to Intervene
It’s possible the vigilante had no idea what level of crime had been committed, so whilst it’s easy to say he should have not intervened, as risking your life over a handful of gold chains isn’t worth the risk. It’s highly possible that he thought something more serious had taken place, and in fact, this could well have been the case having also heard that the jewellery shop owner also tackled the gunman too.

Perception of Level of Threat (armed or not?)
It’s also quite probably that he had not spotted the weapon held in the gunman’s hand, in which case, he may have considered it more of an even fight between himself and the thief, with a good chance of a successful outcome.

Adrenalin Clouds Rational Thought Process
In addition, as other witnesses have attested to with comments such as “it all happened in seconds”, the vigilante will have been thrust into a self defence situation he may never have been involved in the likes of before, triggering adrenal dump which will have limited his cognitive thought process and resulted in him acting on instincts.

What, to the readers of the subsequent reports may have seen as a dangerous and foolhardy course of action, from their comfortable breakfast tables with coffee in hand, may have seemed perfectly logical and sensible to the vigilante with mass adrenalin coursing through his body.
So, lets assume the vigilante was acting on instinct, under the affects of adrenalin, trying to do his bit to prevent a crime of magnitude that he considered more than just that of theft of a handful of gold, with a thief who he perhaps considered unarmed…. What else could he have done differently?

Well, there are lots of martial arts out there who will show you self defence techniques to disarm gunmen, but sadly, when you go from a safe environment of a sports hall with plastic and wooden handgun replicas and assailants who are compliant and happy to let you practice your technique, to the real world with an aggressive, armed robber who’s in possession of a “real” firearm, those techniques are massively less effective.

Whilst the mechanics of those techniques taught may be perfectly viable, performing them under extreme stress, with the real danger of instant death should you make the slightest mistake, will make them far less effective. And let’s not forget, you only need to mess up once with these types of self defence techniques and you could be dead.

What Could Have Been Done Differently?
So, moving away from any fancy Martial Arts techniques to disarm this robber, what could our vigilante have done better?

Well – it seems he was able to knock the weapon out of the robber’s hand, according to some reports, but the photographs we have seen show him clearly hanging onto the robber by his empty hand – allowing the robber to wave the firearm around and even point it in the vigilante’s general direction.

Who knows why he wasn’t shot as a result? Perhaps the firearm was only a replica, empty or jammed, or perhaps the robber didn’t want to risk escalating a jewellery heist into a murder. Either way, our vigilante was extremely lucky to get away unscathed. (NB: latest reports do suggest the firearm was real)

Neutralise the Immediate Threat - Knock Out the Assailant
In any incident with a weapon, where you have no option but to fight back, your first priority is to neutralise the most immediate threat which, in this case, is the firearm in the robber’s hand.
This should have been the first thing the vigilante went for, if only to prevent it from being discharged in his direction.

Yes, the robber still has his other hand, feet, head, etc, to attack with but priority one is not to get shot.
Whether the weapon is then removed from the robber’s hand, or put under control, the next step is to render the robber unconscious.
In a one on one altercation against an armed assailant, there is no room for applying a citizen’s arrest, or trying to restrain the individual. The robbers need to get away will be far greater than the vigilantes motivation to restrain him and so, often they will break free and this could result in gunshots.

Knocking out or choking out the robber is the only safe course of action in this type of situation, and therefore, you need to assess your own abilities to perform such actions before you consider becoming a vigilante.

Well Done That Man!!
I say congratulations to the vigilante on this occasion. Through his determination, his honourable course of action and a big chunk of good luck, he was able to hamper the escape of an armed robber, long enough for photographs to be taken and evidence to be gathered. He also managed to escape serious injury himself which is of a priority. I believe we are still surrounded by people who will step up when the situation demands it and perform heroic feats such as this and we should applaud anyone who puts themselves in harms way for the protection of others. I think it’s also important, however, to use these types of cases to study violence and human behaviour as much as we can so that we can all learn for the future and better equip ourselves should we be the next potential hero.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

Full Circle

2011-02-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend saw the first seminar of 2011 for myself and CSP, joined by my ever ready teaching partner, Mick Tully.

We were invited up to teach a group of martial artists in Sheffield, at our friend, Michael Keys, Ronin Self Protection Systems, club.

Unfortunately, as fellow martial arts instructors will be all to familiar with, my vehicle tends to take quite a pounding each week. Carrying lots of kit around from one class to another and doing considerable miles at weekends, driving from one end of the country to another teaching on seminars and workshops.
So, it was only inevitable that at some stage we’d have some car troubles on one such journey and this weekend was the one.
It resulted in me having to call out a very nice AA man, who turned up in quick time and spent the next 40, finger freezing minutes, taking my car apart and repairing the problem. The guy was a legend, and we were obviously most grateful for the help.

Mick and I got chatting to our friendly AA man and I’m not sure how we got onto the subject, but we spoke abit about the history of the AA.
He told us that it was formed in 1905 when motorcars were just beginning to appear on roads around the country.
What was fascinating was that the original purpose of the AA was to have employees stood on the roadside and warn motorists who were displaying the AA emblem on their cars, of police speed traps further down the road. The motorist would slow down from 14mph to something more acceptable, and then pass by the policeman, who was probably timing their speed with a calendar and everyone was happy.

As time went on, the AA obviously branched out into other services for their ever growing client base. However, what was even more interesting (well, to me anyway as I knew it would make for a good theme for an article) was that in 2005, the AA went full circle and posted on-line a map of all speed camera locations so as to warn all of their members where speed traps were placed. Apart from the uproar this caused with the Police, it was a classic example of how you never forget your roots and how things often tend to go full circle.

“So”, I hear you ask, “What on earth has this got to do with Martial Arts”.
Well, let me tell you….

When we’d finished the martial arts, we all sat down and spoke a little about what we had covered and how it was just a small part of what we do. I explained how I was a traditional martial artist by trade and the whole “Reality Based” image I seem to have acquired is just an extract from my real passion and beliefs, which is “The Arts”.

I’m sure most people think I’m just a “Reality Based” instructor when in actual fact, I consider myself a “traditional” martial artist.
I have grown up in the traditional arts, working up through the ranks, marching up and down doing technique drills and repetition, performing the prescribed one step sparring and the dance like patterns we know as kata.
These arts are have formed me and shaped me into who I am today. They have given me my solid foundation, upon which I can build almost anything.
What I didn’t do is then move completely into the world of Reality training, all I actually did was teach and train that aspect as a small part of my syllabus.

If I only taught what works outside, my syllabus would be very short and brief and most of that would probably be taught outside of the dojo.
What I do is teach The Arts, the limited few I have experience with and to the best of my ability. From these arts I will highlight what I have found to work outside but I won’t stop at just teaching those parts.
And this is what we were doing at the seminar. Going full circle and introducing people to the arts, with a touch of what works for real and probably a bigger portion of what doesn’t or most likely won’t work as well.

You see, I see martial arts as a language. OK, brace yourself for another one of my analogies here….

When you learn a language you try to gather as much of the vocabulary as you can. Learning as many words and ways to say things as you can so that you can converse at any level, to anyone and in a manner which fits the situation. More importantly, you dive into the structure of the language, understanding the rules and principals of how words should be strung together in order to make the most sense (my article writing is not the best example of that…. Ah, such irony!).

What I may do is also learn a few swear words, for those moments where only a swear word will do. Something that requires a short sharp response that gets straight to the point and exhibits a little more assertiveness and aggression that any other statement simply could deliver.

To me, the structure of the language is the Basics in Martial Arts. The stances, the balance, the posture, the body mechanics, the art of combining techniques, forming long strings of flowing moves.

The vocabulary is the techniques, the moves we learn from different ranges, some long, some short, some which work best when coupled together, some which are fine on their own.

The swear words are the “Reality Based” techniques, the ones which are more appropriate and most effective in violent confrontation.

Swear words, on their own, would make for quite an assertive language. It’s fair to say that people would be quite sure of your intent and attitude when you spoke, however, it does limit your ability to make friends, to converse in a more rational and welcoming way and also limits you in terms of what you can actually communicate.
And even when you’re only swearing, the structure of the language is still quite pertinent in order for you to make some sense and have some effect, just as the basics in your traditional art are vital when you are delivering your “reality based” techniques.

There are no short cuts, there are no “Reality Based” fast tracks and to kid yourself that there are, or to sell to others that you have some is misleading and wrong, in my humble opinion.
To get good, effective reality based techniques, you need a solid foundation, with great basics. And if I’m going to go to the trouble of learning those basics, then I might as well pick up a few other "words" while I’m there. Get a better grasp on the whole art, where those reality based techniques have come from.
It won’t be time lost, it will be time well spent, as this knowledge will make you a far more rounded and competent player.
And finally, when I want to hone my street based fighting further, I simply need look no further than the basics. By going back and improving my foundation, my techniques, reality or otherwise, can then grow stronger and more powerful as they have the right support beneath them.

So yes, just like the AA and it’s 106 year history that has seen it do a full circle in one of the services it offers, I have done the same. I started in the arts and I continue to train and teach in the arts, it’s just that I’ve learned a few swear words along the way!

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

If you are interested in experiencing a wide range of arts, without the commitment to other clubs and associations, why not consider the CSP Masterclass for 2011.

We are teaching over 12 different arts, with specialist guest instructors helping out each month to bring you world class instruction in arts which will blend and compliment what you already do.

Equally, if you’re considering getting into martial arts, this course is a fantastic way to gain a taster in a diverse selection of styles so that you can move on in the direction you like the most.
visit http://www.completeselfprotection.com/Masterclass.html for full details

Embrace with Open Arms

2011-01-14T02:37:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine said something many years ago that has remained with me ever since and that was;

“Embrace the ones you love with Open Arms”

We were talking about partners and relationships but I think it applies just the same for Martial Arts instructors.

As an instructor, when I enter the dojo, I see not only students, but friends and loved ones. People whose progress and discovery of everything that Martial Arts represents and offers lies in my hands.

People who have put their trust and faith in me to ensure I take them down safe and honest paths, with measured challenges and opportunities for growth along the way.

“Do I think I have all the answers?”

Most definitely, 100%, NOT!

Which is why, I embrace my students with open arms and encourage them out of the nest to seek other instruction, be it in different styles or even in the same arts that I teach.

This article isn’t in any way intended to “big myself up” or preach about what a fantastic instructor I am. I am still a student after all.

But, if I don’t have all the answers and if I truly have my student’s best interests at heart then I have to send them out and encourage them to seek from as many sources as they can. In fact, it is my responsibility to help them and I would go one step further to say, it is my duty of care to teach them the philosophies of martial arts and go out and find those other sources of instruction on their behalf.

Embracing with open arms however, comes with a bucket load of fears.

Fear that my own classes will slowly empty

Fear that the instructrs I send my students to will be better than me and so my students will never return

Fear that my students will find a passion for arts that I cannot teach and so have no further need for my own tuition

Fear that I will be exposed for being a bad instructor, with poor technique and a lack of ability to live up to my own hype

And so the list goes on.

But, my duty as an instructor is to deal with each and everyone of those fears and to never ever impart them onto my own students.

The natural reaction to everyone one of those fears is the same; to close the doors on my class and tie my students in to only being allowed to train with me.
And so, the moment I act on any of those fears, means to prevent my students from becoming the very best they can be.

Not only does this prevent the ones who have trust in me from being the best they can be, it also shows them I have not mastered control of my own fears and so how can I ever expect my students to be able to master theirs!

“No”, I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know many who do.

So I encourage you all to venture out and seek from as many sources of expertise as you can and you should also expect those who support, teach, train and love you to encourage you to do the same.

I’ll leave you with a generous, open-armed hug of my own

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

If you are interested in experiencing a wide range of arts, without the commitment to other clubs and associations, why not consider the CSP Masterclass for 2011.

We are teaching over 12 different arts, with specialist guest instructors helping out each month to bring you world class instruction in arts which will blend and compliment what you already do.

Equally, if you’re considering getting into martial arts, this course is a fantastic way to gain a taster in a diverse selection of styles so that you can move on in the direction you like the most.

visit http://www.completeselfprotection.com/Masterclass.html for full details

Cross Training - Article

2011-01-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia defines Cross Training as:-

In mixed martial arts and self-defense applications, cross-training refers to training in multiple martial arts or fighting systems to become proficient in all the phases of unarmed combat. This training is meant to overcome the shortcomings of one style by practicing another style which is strong in the appropriate area. A typical combination involves a striking-based art such as Muay Thai, combined with a grappling-based art such as Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Many hybrid martial arts can be considered derivatives of such cross-training.
Modern mixed martial arts training generally involves cross-training in the different aspects and ranges of fighting.

Some people train in multiple styles in order to become more rounded martial artists. The ability to be able to “hold your own” in any given range, from weapons down to striking, and finally grappling and ground-fighting, is something that you can rarely get from any one single art.
However, some would say this can result in a bit of a “jack of all trades” and not someone who is actually focusing and striving to attain expert skill levels in any one area.

Moreover, some take it to the natural conclusion of studying multiple martial arts styles and systems so as to reach for expert skill levels in the world of mixed martial arts. A kind of expert “jack of all trades” if you will.

This, for me, is all perfectly fine and to see someone who has a supreme talent in whatever range you place them in, be it kicking, punching, or grappling, is fantastic to see and most certainly a fierce and dangerous adversary. Someone who can cope with an expert in any range and with the added ability of being able to take that opponent to a different range where they then become the superior force, is an art-form and a fine example of a martial artist.

However, there too, is absolutely nothing wrong with remaining focused on your one chosen art or range. In fact, we need true experts and masters (if one can every really attain such a level) in each and every style. After all, who else does the cross trainer go to when he needs the very best tuition in any one of his/her chosen combined arts.

Over my own martial arts career I have sought to gain knowledge in all of the main ranges and I have done this by seeking tuition from the best I can find in each of those ranges. I learned boxing from professional boxing coaches, I then learned to grapple from some of the best wrestlers and judoka I could find. I’ve taken myself to find the very best instructors in all of the arts I’ve studied and most of those have been specialists in their own chosen art.

So we need specialists and we need those who follow a path that is ‘one art’ and ‘one direction’.
However – here’s the twist.

When I suggest to a fellow Karateka that he may want to consider some roadwork to improve his endurance in the dojo; or to introduce a couple of weights sessions per week to improve his overall strength and explosive power, I get very few raised eyebrows.

And yet, when I suggest he go and study another art that may complement and enhance his own form and technique in his chosen art, this often still doesn’t get the warm welcome that my previous advice received.

If my Kata contains throws, then why not pop along and take some advice from a judoka who does this for a living?

If my Kata contains hooks and uppercuts, then what should stop me from gaining some expert advice from the world of Western Boxing where they too do this for their primary art?

If my TKD sparring doesn’t contain leg kicks or elbows, that is not to say that committing a few hours to a Muay Thai class to experience how they are done won’t benefit the rest of my sparring game.

I have made a few statements above, not to single out the arts of Karate or TKD in any way at all, but merely to emphasise my point.
Cross Training doesn’t have to simply be about leaving your main art behind to become a “jack of all trades”

Cross Training is about complimenting you own style. About gaining more experience from the “Experts” who dedicate themselves to studying the things you wish to experiment with and bring back to enhance your own game.

In 2010, I was blessed to be invited to teach in Seattle alongside of some fantastic instructors from a wide range of arts and backgrounds. As I always teach in shorts and t-shirts now, and not a traditional gi, I think a lot of people forget where my origins and roots lie, that of Shotokan Karate.
So it was refreshing and wonderful to be sharing a dojo floor with a fantastic group of experienced martial artists, predominantly wearing their karate gi, and yet all of whom were massively receptive to the techniques and teachings being thrust in their direction from quite diverse styles and arts.

It showed me there is most definitely a place for Cross Training in traditional arts and not just that of using weights or hitting the road, but using other martial arts to enhance your own preferred style.

Cross Training:- It’s not selling out, it’s buying in more!

Cross Training:- It’s not about detracting from what you are already doing, it’s about adding to it!

Cross Training:- It’s not about watering down your traditional art, it’s about enriching it with more flavours!

So I urge all the traditional martial artists out there to consider looking further afield; to widen your field of vision and consider delving into some other arts. It’s fun to put on a white belt again, it’s rejuvenating to start something new and it’s a great way to enhance what you already have.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland
Personal Safety Expert

If you are interested in experiencing a wide range of arts, without the commitment to other clubs and associations, why not consider the CSP Masterclass for 2011.

We are teaching over 12 different arts, with specialist guest instructors helping out each month to bring you world class instruction in arts which will blend and compliment what you already do.

Equally, if you’re considering getting into martial arts, this course is a fantastic way to gain a taster in a diverse selection of styles so that you can move on in the direction you like the most.

visit http://www.completeselfprotection.com/Masterclass.html for full details

SNOWMAN - Short Film

2011-01-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

In Dec 2009, my good friend Stephen "Hollywood" Reynolds approached us at CSP for our help with some fight choreography for a new Short Film he wanted to produce.

For those who don't know Stephen, he is responsible for all the hard work filming and producing my own Martial Arts Instructional DVD's and is simply an amazing talent.

Mick Tully and I jumped at the chance to try our hand at fight choreography, and with Stephen's brief of wanting something realistic, but with a touch of Cartoon Hero thrown in for good measure, we set to work building a fight scene situated on the top deck of a bus, that forms the main scene in the short film.

With the support of some of our guys at the CSP Coventry Classes, we worked through the scene, refining it to fit the enclosed space of the bus and shaping it to tie in with the storyline that Stephen had already created.

Following this - Stephen then took a masive gamble with me and asked me to play the part of the "Snowman" - which was a great opportunity for me to try something new and get into the Fear zone again. Without hesitation I said YES, and then Stephen told me I would have to be sprayed white, razor my head, wear pink contact lenses and bleach my eyebrows.
I still said YES!

What followed was a fantastic experience for me, a huge learning curve and a gigantic respect for anyone who steps in front of the camera to act out their character. I worked with some wonderful people, especially Philip Goldacre who plays the Detective Inspector, who was a true gentleman and incredibly talented. I felt both incredibly out of my depth and yet massively supported by everyone who was there. A great way to test your fears and experience new things!

The result is the 15 minute film featured at the bottom of this blog.

More of Stephen's work can be found here!
http://www.reynoldsfilms.com/

Stephen is now raising funds to produce the feature length version of Snowman, and any contributions are greatly appreciated by both him and me. To see someone such as Stephen, have such passion for what they do and commit absolutely everything to realising their dream, the least we can do is thank him for giving us all the inspiration to follow our own dreams and perhaps help him on his way a little ;-)

Read a great review of Snowman - HERE

There are more stills from the production, and the official trailer to the movie on my own website
HERE

Crossing The Pond - Podcasts 7 to 11/11

2010-12-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Crossing The Pond
Round Table - Podcast
7 to 11 of 11

Welcome to the remaining parts 7 to 11 of the X-PO Podcast, recorded in August in Seattle.

Around the table were Kris Wilder, Rory Miller, Marc MacYoung, Iain Abernethy, Nicholas Yang and me (Al Peasland).

I've been posting the podcast installments as they were made available by Kris and I have posted links below for those who have only just started to follow this blog so that you can catch up and listen from the beginning.

Once again, a massive thanks to Kris for making this happen and to all the instructors present on this podcast for sharing a great couple of weekends with me.

If you missed and of the previous parts, they are linked here:-

Part 1/11

Part 2/11

Part 3/11

Parts 4/11 to 6/11

Crossing The Pond - 7/11

Crossing The Pond - 8/11

Crossing The Pond - 9/11

Crossing The Pond - 10/11

Crossing The Pond - 11/11

Practice Makes Perfect

2010-12-20T00:55:00.000-08:00

Even when you are born to do something.

Even when that very thing is handed down genetically, over the centuries of evolution.

You still need to Practice!

As a martial artist, even when you think you have a move perfected. Even when you can make that technique work against every opponent, time and time again......... You still need to Practice!

So, lets take a little tip from nature and learn to drill techniques over and over again - even if we're training on our own.

On the other hand of course - this could be simply because the "wise old owl" actually has a very small brain due to the space that their large eyes take up in their skull.......

Nah - I still like to think he is practicing to get closer to perfection.

Stay Safe and Keep Practicing

Al x

10 Ways to Stay Safe at Christmas

2010-12-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

Read the Article HERE

Understanding that this is the time of year that our threat levels increase, from risks of accidents and personal injury through to the dangers of physical assault, and from burglary of your home to the more serious street theft and robbery, it’s crucial that we apply the correct levels of personal security and have a safe and fun Christmas.

So, to give you some help, I’ve decided to give you my own Top Ten tips on how to have a Safe Christmas.

I hope you enjoy the article and feel free to share it with your friends and loved ones.

Read the Article HERE

Merry Christmas from all at Complete Self Protection

Here's to a fantastic 2011

Stay Safe and Have Lots of Fun

Al x

Merry Christmas Message from CSP

2010-12-06T00:25:00.000-08:00

From myself (Al Peasland), Mick Tully and my wonderful wife Louise, we'd like to send a very special Thank You to everyone who has worked with us this year to make 2010 such a year to remember.

Thank you for your support and friendship.

Merry Christmas

Here's to a fantastic 2011

Stay Safe and Have Lots of Fun

Al x

Multiple Assailants

2010-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I wrote this article for Bleeding Edge Magazine and thought I'd now share it with you all.

Before I start this article I want to emphasise a point.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are faced with a group or gang of aggressive individuals, then you are already in a very bad position.
I would go one step further and suggest you need to look back and ask yourself, what it was that you did wrong, what opportunities that you missed and what warning signs did you fail to notice, that has lead you to this position.

The first and most vital part of good self protection is to avoid confrontation wherever possible. This rule is even more important when we begin to consider the scenarios of facing multiple assailants.

Faced with overwhelming odds and being completely outnumbered means you are already on the back foot and now having to make the best of a bad situation.

With that in mind, it’s important for me to highlight that there are no magic pills, no silver bullets and no Jason Bourne techniques that are guaranteed to get you out of this situation unscathed.

What I aim to do with this article, is offer you some insight into how groups typically operate, drawn from my own experience and that of my close peers who have all been in situations where we’ve faced large numbers of violent individuals.

Standard Factors

Ok, here is a gross generalisation, but one which does apply to lots of groups.
For simplicity I’ve offered the proportions for each type of group member assuming a total of 10 in the gang

Leaders – 1 or 2
Most gangs will have one or two key players who are the ones who are prepared to instigate the violence and commence the proceedings. Like most organistations, these individuals are the leaders of the group and are often perceived to be the more capable fighters, the stronger and the most experienced members of the pack. They are the leaders because the followers in the group look up to them, often through a fear of their abilities or reputation.

Followers – 3 or 4
After the key leaders of the group you will then find a good percentage of followers who will jump in and fight once it has been kicked off. These individuals will often not have the courage or ability to start proceedings but are prepared to wade in as soon as it commences.

Back Markers 4 or 5
Often you will find a similar percentage in the group who will only jump in to the melee when they think it is safe to do so.
In doing so they know they can be part of the gang but without having to have the risk of leading the fight or exposing themselves to any dangers.
Back Markers are also known to avoid the conflict altogether, but will make all the right noises and appear to be involved, when in fact they simply don’t want anything to do with the fight.

As I said, this is a gross generalisation, and will not apply to all groups in such a clinical way. However, knowing these assumptions, this helps to dictate some standard responses that we can apply to help offer us better chances of success.

Strategies

So, here are some of my own strategies for dealing with aggressive groups.

Don’t Be There
To reiterate the point of avoidance, my first suggestion is simply for you not to be there in the first place.
Whether this means totally avoiding a location or a situation that you know may occur, or running away at the first opportunity. By not putting yourself in front of this group, it’s fair to say that you have the best chance of not being hurt as a result.
The key with running away is making the decision to do this early and not leaving it to the last minute.
What often gets us into trouble is our ego or our lack of concise decision making to Act Now rather than later. Telling ourselves it will be ok rather than not taking any chances, we often let situations progress for far too long, due to our inaction and indecision.

If you want an analogy for facing life’s problems and not just gangs of chav hoodies, this is it….. take action Now – not later.

Get Aggressive
As I discussed with my Fence Concepts book and DVD, using an aggressive Fence is a great strategy against groups and gangs.
If you have not been able to avoid the confrontation, then getting aggressive can buy you those vital few seconds to make your escape.
This is what I call Psychological Barriers.
Becoming aggressive works on many fronts, and is a great tool for shocking your attackers into a momentary Freeze state. The fact that your response is not the usual response this group would get from their potential prey, it interrupts their normal operational procedure and causes confusion and shock.
I have also made a point of calling the members of the group Individuals, and this is an important factor. Most, and I say most with a hint of generalisation again, members of a group will take aggressive behaviour, threats and psychological attacks on an individual level. Even when they rationalise your behaviour and remind themselves that they are part of a group who will easily defeat any individual, for a moment they take your aggression personally and that creates doubt and fear within them.
This is your chance to escape and revert back to plan A, which is to run away.

Physical Barriers

Your next strategy should be to start creating physical barriers between you and then.
Personally I would like a 10 mile bus ride as the physical barrier between myself and any violent group, but assuming you’re not able to do that, the next best thing is to use your environment.

Environmental
Having a good awareness of your surroundings, ideally should have prevented you from being in the situation in the first place, but at least will have given you some appreciation for what objects are around that you can use as a barrier.
Consider using parked cars, walls, fences, bins, trees, as physical barriers that you can position between you and the group.

At this stage, before we consider the worst case scenarios of having to get physical, we want to make sure we aren’t penned in and cornered, so be careful when using objects as a barrier that you don’t inadvertently block your own escape route.

Physical Barriers alone may not do the job so this should still be used along with an Aggressive Fence, with lots of posturing and ballooning.

Human
If you’re not able to find objects within your environment to act as a barrier then another option is for you to use one of the gang as a human shield or human barrier.
In my Multiple Assailants DVD I show some options for doing this, but it basically boils down to either grabbing one of the group and working some good vertical grappling clinch to position them in front of you, whilst still being extremely aggressive and demonstrative towards each of the group, or, it means knocking out one of the group and getting yourself on the opposite side of their unconscious heap on the floor.

By taking this physical action you start to change the dynamic of the group.
The fact that you’ve knocked out or are in control of one of their group means you are now prepared to fight, something that probably doesn’t normally happen when they attack their prey.
If you choose wisely, you will have probably also beaten one of the group whom they all look up to and are probably afraid of, which now puts doubt in their minds.
In addition, if they now have to step over their friend to get to you, this will create a fight or flight state as it will take a big effort for one of the followers to step forward and instigate the physical.

In addition to all of that, you have also slightly evened up the odds as they are now a man down.

Pre-Emption
Mentioned briefly above, your final option is to use your pre-emptive strikes to take out the biggest threat.
My instructor Geoff Thompson talks about the Red Letter Strategy. This is where you attack the one that is the biggest threat, just as the first utility bill you pay, is the one most likely to cut off your supply.
So this is where you need good peripheral vision and good all round awareness, something which will be a struggle as you will most definitely be full of adrenalin and fighting tunnel vision amongst many other negatives.

In my dvd I show lots of options for scenario and pad drills that will help develop the skills for these types of situation.

The primary strategy here though is to hit each target once and then move on to the next, regardless of the result of your strike. If you get too focused on one individual, it will give the rest of the group the opportunity to swarm you and overwhelm you.
So the general rule is to hit anything and everything that moves.

Fight to Escape
The final strategy is more of a basic rule that needs to be followed.
This rule is something I teach everyone when I deliver personal security training courses, and that is, never fight to win or fight to perform a citizens arrest. Fight to escape.

The purpose of all of the aforementioned strategies is to create an opportunity to escape and revert back to your plan A of Not Being There.

A Final Thought
As I said at the start of this article.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are faced with an angry mob, you need to ask yourself what did you do wrong or what did you miss that has resulted in you being there.
The strategies I have listed are not comprehensive by any means, nor are they a guarantee of success.
You are outnumbered, you are outgunned and you are in a world of trouble.

Regardless of the strategy you choose, one of the main things that will get you through an event such as this is massive determination, massive aggression and massive intention.
Do not stop and do not go to the floor and the moment you get an opportunity to escape, you take it.

My Multiple Assailants DVD contains lots more information on dealing with multiple assailants, including lots of training drills and scenario drills that can improve your skills and chances. Most importantly, they can also be a lot of fun.

Thank you for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

Multiple Assailants DVD - Buy It HERE

Crossing The Pond - Podcast 4 to 6/11

2010-11-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

Crossing The Pond
Round Table - Podcast
4 - 6/11

Welcome to parts 4, 5 & 6 of the X-PO Podcast, recorded in August in Seattle.

Around the table were Kris Wilder, Rory Miller, Marc MacYoung, Iain Abernethy, Nicholas Yang and me (Al Peasland).

I will be posting all 11 parts of this podcast as they become available.

Thanks to Kris for making this happen.

If you missed and of the previous parts, they are linked here:-

Part 1/11
Part 2/11
Part 3/11

Crossing the Pond 4/11

Crossing the Pond 5/11

Cross the Pond 6/11

KIAI - It's Worth Shouting About

2010-11-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I wrote this article for Martial Arts Illustrated and thought I'd now share it with you all.

As, what I would call, a “traditional” martial artists of some 25 years experience, I have spent many years, taking from my arts, techniques and principals that would work for me outside on the street.

I worked on nightclub doors for many years, which also helped me to confirm and verify what worked and what didn’t, what could be modified and adapted and what could not.

One thing that has stood out for me as, arguably the most effective and directly applicable technique, is the Kiai. The “loud shout” you often hear in most Katas and most point scoring attacks on the competitive mat.

It’s a technique that needs very little adaptation, if any, for the street.
Whilst most other physical techniques have to be modified, if only as minimally as to be practiced from a smaller, more natural stance, or a less obvious no-guard, hands down position, the Kiai can be delivered in exactly the same way as it’s been practiced countless times in the dojo.

Those from a Karate background will recognise the Kiai points in your Kata. The two or, sometimes, three places in your Kata where you deliver the technique with added ferocity, Kimae and focus, whilst simultaneously releasing a loud, aggressive shout.

This should not only be an explosion of aggression and intention through the voice but also through the physical Kimae, the muscle tension, your facial expression, even the glare and emotion in your eyes.

Most of us learn this to begin with as a simple “shout loud”.
I can recall beginners in my early Karate days asking what a Kiai is – and after being told, “it means to shout loud” would then proceed to scream the words “SHOUT LOUD” at the top of their voice when practicing their Kata.

It’s quite rare in fact that you see Karate practitioners actually express genuine emotive aggression when performing a Kiai, usually it is just a loud shout, from the tops of their lungs.

To quote Myomoto Musashi, he said there are 3 shouts. The pre-fight shout, the in-fight shout and the post-fight shout.
For self defence, I would suggest the pre-fight shout is the most important. The purpose of this would be to scare off an attacker, making them feel that they have just picked on the wrong person, mistaking their initial victim selection process as having accidentally chosen a wild animal and not an easy prey.

For self protection, this is often known as the Aggressive Fence, where you use your voice, your body language, your posture and your predatory style actions to display massive aggression and rage at your potential attackers. It works against individuals and can also be extremely effective against multiple assailants.

However, this only works well, when the Kiai is be delivered with total commitment, one hundred percent emotive aggression and venom. For it to work effectively, for the attacker to genuinely feel this aggression, and for these shouts to trigger their own adrenal response, the person delivering the Kiai needs to believe it themselves.

For you to make anyone else believe it, you first need to believe it yourself.

I can recall a good friend Alec performing Ippon Kumite (one-step sparring) many years ago.
It has to be said, everything we did back in those days at Geoff Thompson’s Shotokan Karate Club, was aggressive. We loved it and lived for aggression training, heavy sparring, and full on testosterone inducing fighting.
So even one-step sparring was made as real and as deliberate as possible. It was quite simple, if you didn’t block you got hit.

For those not familiar, one step sparring requires both practitioners to stand in a Yoi (ready) position facing each other.
The first person then steps back into a downward block (Gedan Barai) and names the area of the body they are going to attack. Either Jodan (head) or Chudan (body). This would then be followed by a step forward with a straight punch to that target area, with the second person stepping back and delivering a block to prevent the strike from making contact.
However, Alec was well known for stepping back in the most aggressive of manners, and then literally punching you with his scream of “JODAN”. Even when you knew this was coming, the shock of this auditory explosion and the feeling of venom and pure hatred in his voice and body language would almost always cause you to wobble and stagger backwards a half step, in a vain attempt to stop yourself jumping out of your own skin and running for the door.
This was exactly the response Alec wanted because, no sooner were you gaining your composure and getting back to your ready position, was he charging forwards with a technique that contained the same level of ferocity and intention of making contact with it’s chosen target. You quickly learned how to block these attacks, either with a solid technique or, often, with your nose or jaw, which I found worked very effectively, albeit not very pleasantly.

This was a perfect example of pure aggression delivered with a voice backed up by total commitment and belief.
Even when you knew it was coming, it still shocked you and for a moment, you honestly believed this person, this friend and training partner, hated you and was about to set about destroying you.
What’s even more important was that, if you were to ask Alec, he would say that Yes, for that split second, he actually did hate me and did want to destroy me, even though we were best of friends.

And that there is the key. The secret to delivering a committed and effective Kiai. You have to deliver it with emotive aggression that you genuinely believe for that moment in time.

Take this Kiai onto the street in a self defence situation and the effects are the same.
This explosion of aggression and ferocity at a would-be attacker can often be enough to trigger their adrenal response and put them into a flight or fight state, or more importantly, momentarily place them in a Freeze state, whilst their conscious mind tries to rationalise the situation and make a decision on which of the fight or flight options to take.

In addition, this animalistic scream can be enough to raise alarm bells with passers-by, draw attention to your confrontation and dissuade an attacker from continuing. I would add, never to expect people to come to your aid, for that puts your safety and chances of a successful outcome in someone else’s hands. If they don’t come, you are still in trouble. What it will do thought, is draw attention and most attackers don’t want witnesses.

However, that is all a by-product, the primary purpose of your Kiai is to show your attacker that you are not to be messed with. That you are the wolf in sheep’s clothing that they did not spot and now they are in a world of trouble. Turn the tables, if only for a few fleeting seconds, because these are now extra seconds that you didn’t have before.

There are other types of Kiai point in a real-life attack. Myomoto Musashi mentions these as well, such as the in-fight Kiai, where you are now already engaged in physical conflict and use your Kiai as a way of increasing your own aggression levels, adding more purpose and intention to your attack.
It could even be as subtle as talking calmly and confidently as you choke your assailant in a very composed and controlled manner. This is in-fight dialogue that can make you appear to be totally at ease with the situation and a master of the street fight.
This all helps again to trigger fight or flight responses within your assailant, all helping your worthy “self defence” cause.

The final is the post-fight Kiai, which some may mistake for a celebratory or victorious shout for joy. Often this is used to scare on-lookers, send home a final message that discourages anyone else from taking the same foolish action of attacking you in the future.

All of which are highly tested and highly effective tricks of the trade of doormen and street fighters alike.

And, all of this is an extremely useful strategy, but not the main reason for my article.

The one, often overlooked aspect of the Kiai is the fact that you are practicing your ability to switch on and off your emotive aggression in an instant.
YOU are the one in total control of your emotion. You decide when to Kiai and with practice, are able to summon up pure hatred and rage in a split second, with total self control.

For me, the importance of taking control in a real life situation is crucial. If you are to stand any chance of winning or even just surviving a real attack, you must take charge and be the one in control.
We all know this is vital if you are to deliver a pre-emptive strike, as we always talk about not waiting to be hit first, but it is also imperative when we look at accessing the right mindset and attitude.

If we have to wait to be attacked physically outside, in order to have the motivation to switch on our aggression and Kiai mindset, then it may be too late.
I cannot rely on a potential attacker to trigger my aggression, because that puts me in their hands and reliant on their actions, when I have to be the one in charge.

So for me, the most important aspect of learning to Kiai properly is the ability to switch this on for myself; at will; when I need to.
And if I am not able to do this in the dojo, amongst friends, where I am least likely to be self conscious or embarrassed, then I cannot expect it to work for me when I need it to outside.

What’s more, if you can switch this on, then you can also switch this back off just as quickly, gaining an emotional mastery, albeit of only one quite primitive “anger” emotion, that can be translated to any event or situation in your life.

When I access a Kiai state, for that fleeting second, my intention is pure and complete. I am “in the zone” and I am in a pure state of aggression and certainty.
Being able to access such a powerful mindset, at will, means I now have a tool that I can utilise whenever I need to, and not just to access anger or rage, but any emotion linked to any intention.
This ability to switch on and off intention means I can use this to accomplish anything.
100% pure commitment
100% pure focus
100% pure intention
100% pure enjoyment
100% pure love
All are accessible using the same self control and on/off switch

If you want to take from your art, a technique that is directly applicable to self defence, personal security and the bigger picture of Complete Self Protection, then I suggest you look long and hard at your Kiai – it’s worth shouting about.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland x

Crossing The Pond - Podcast 3/11

2010-10-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

Crossing The Pond
Round Table - Podcast
3/11

Welcome to part 2 of the X-PO Podcast, recorded in August in Seattle.

Around the table were Kris Wilder, Rory Miller, Marc MacYoung, Iain Abernethy, Nicholas Yang and me (Al Peasland).

I will be posting all 11 parts of this podcast as they become available.

Thanks to Kris for making this happen.

If you missed and of the previous parts, they are linked here:-

Part 1/11
Part 2/11

Crossing The Pond - PodCast 2/11

2010-10-19T00:16:00.000-07:00

Crossing The Pond
Round Table - Podcast
2/11

If you missed Part 1 - it's HERE

Crossing The Pond - PodCast 1/11

2010-10-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Crossing The Pond
Round Table - Podcast
1/11

In August 2011, I was lucky enough to be invited to join 5 other amazing martial arts instructors on a "one-of-a-kind" event.

Starting in Seattle (USA) and finishing in Coventry (UK)

The following is the first installment of a podcast we recorded covering many topics from our own Martial Arts backgrounds, our thoughts on modern martial arts and one or two jokes thrown in for good measure.

Sit back and enjoy the chat between.......
Kris Wilder, Marc "Animal" MacYoung, Iain Abernethy, Rory Miller, Nicholas Yang and me (Al Peasland)

CSP Masterclass 2011

2010-09-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Complete Self Protection

Masterclass 2011

6 Month Series of Seminars entitled...

"THE ARTS"

To find out more and to book your place visit our website at

http://www.completeselfprotection.com/Masterclass.html

To read what those who've already attended have had to say - check out the testimonials page

http://www.completeselfprotection.com/masterclass-testimonials.html

That Is Why

2010-09-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have taken the inspiration of this article from a fable in the wonderful book “Soul of a Butterfly”, Muhammad Ali by Hana Yasmeen Ali

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soul-Butterfly-Muhammad-Ali/dp/0553816462/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1285082777&sr=1-2-spell

"Two peasants were travelling down a winding road on their way to see the king. When they approached the gates of the kingdom an army of foot soldiers bullied them and ran them off.

Then one peasant said to the other,
“That is why.”

The next day, the two peasants travelled down the winding road again with hopes to see the king. This time an army of horse soldiers rode up, threw stones at them and ran them off.

Then the peasant said to his friend,
“That is why.”

The two peasants would not give up, so they travelled the winding road again. This time the king’s carriage pulled up, and when the king saw the two peasants standing there in torn clothes, with cuts and bruises all over them, the king got out of his carriage, walked up to the two peasants, put his arm around them, and gave them each a gold coin.

As they walked back down the winding road, one peasant said to the other again,
“That is why.”

When they were both back home sitting in their little huts, the other peasant asked his friend what he meant when he said,
“That is why?”

The first peasant responded,

That is why they are foot soldiers, and that is all they will ever be.
That is why they are horse soldiers, and that is all they will ever be.

And that is why he is the king."

The reason I love this fable is because I think we all experience “That is Why” moments all of the time.
The story offers a very valid and sound justification for why we all lead the lives we lead and why we all have within those lives, that which is fitting for who we are.

I look back at some of my good times and some of my bad times and I then I compare the kind of person I was during those times and I come to one conclusion. “That is Why”
The things I was doing, the company I was surrounded by, my attitude to life, the list goes on, were all the factors that governed what was happening in my life.

I think this fable is a great tool for making us all stop and take a good look at ourselves.
Look within and not without and discover your own “That is Why”

The moment we realise that everything that happens to us is of our own doing and of our own control, is the moment we can make changes and effect different results.
What I love more about this story though, and the main reason for me posting it as this month’s article, is the attitude and the acceptance that the first peasant gains by telling himself and his friend, “That is Why”.

Instead of taking all the abuse personally, the first peasant simply affirms to himself that, this is happening only because that is who these soldiers are. They know nothing else and are not personally to blame. It’s not their fault, it is just how it is. For if they knew better, they would probably not be those foot soldiers in the first place.

Every man has enough power left to carry out that of which he is convinced.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

This quote is great because what it tells me is, for every single one of us, we can look at Who we are and What we do, and know That is Why we are where we are.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland x

Your Best Shot

2010-08-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

It was Nietzsche who said
“Imagine if we Really did do all we could”

For me this translates to when we often say
“Well, I tried my best”
Or
“I gave it my best shot, it’s not my fault it failed”

Really?

Did we Really give it our best shot, or is that just what we’re telling everyone and ourselves in an attempt to forgive ourselves for the failure to commit and subsequently succeed?

There are a myriad of reasons why we may fail at something. Our fear of success, our inability to handle the victory, our ill-preparedness for the resulting success, the list goes on.

It can also be a simple lack of commitment and intention placed upon a given task.

Again, this can be due to many things including, our lack of passion for the chosen task, our simple indifference to the subject matter, or even worse, our simple laziness.

To give something your best shot means to have committed every single fibre of your body, every single ounce of your strength, every inch of your courage, every morsel of your desire and willpower to the sole aim of a successful outcome.

It means to have had a steadfast resolve to not give in, not turn back, not be waivered and not be deterred.

This short and succinct statement of “Giving It Our Best” actually demands a vast amount from an individual and so it’s no surprise that we often throw this comment out there without really having the grounds or justification to back it up.

So, I challenge you all now, as I challenge myself.
Pick the next thing you want to achieve and then really really do Give It your Best Shot.

Do your absolute best. Give it everything you have. Don’t Try your best – DO your best.
And last of all – don’t wait to see what happens, because waiting to see what happens means you’ve taken your foot of the gas, stood still and handed over the outcome to fate. Sprint through the line, don’t pull up 10 metres short.

I liken this to the lesson to one that I give to my students when trying to generate more power from their kicks or punches.
The lesson is to kick THROUGH the target, not AT or TO the target, but to do that, you have to AIM through the target.

Rather than pull and snap the kick back at the point of impact, the point impact is assumed to be further through or past where the target actually is.
In fact, it is intended that hitting the target should come as almost a surprise in stopping the kick from progressing when we have expected it to carry on further.

The point here is that the kick is not set in motion and then all energy switched off once the leg is in flight – as though waiting to see what happens when it reaches the target.
No, the kick is continually powered all the way to and through the target.

The success of the kick landing is not something we have waited for after an initial blast of effort – it is something that happens almost before we had expected it to whilst we actually continued to work hard, driving towards our goal.

Whatever your target it, Financial wealth, Business success, Marital happiness, you should approach it in the same way.

Don’t start a business and then leave it running under it’s own steam, waiting for the successes to come rolling in.

Don’t kick-start your relationship with a few romantic endeavours and then sit back and wait for marital bliss to make an appearance.

Don’t eat well and train for a few days and then expect your health and your body to return your short-lived good deeds with a fighting fit humananoid vehicle suitable for a mens health front cover.
Continue to work, power through, and Do your very best. Whilst you’re busy doing these things you will suddenly notice the rewards have appeared along the way.

When you really really do do your best, you’ll be amazed at the results.

“When you reach the top, keep climbing”

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al Peasland x

Have Fun

2010-07-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

If you’re been around my website for some time, if you’ve read any of my previous articles, or if you’ve listened to any of my interviews or seminars, you’ll know there’s one theme that underlies everything I do and teach.

It has to be fun.

You may notice that I always finish my articles with the same line. And I write it with the utmost sincerity and wish that you all Stay Safe AND Have Fun.

For me, having fun is a huge part of complete self protection and personal security. After all, self defence really does start with the self, so before we consider learning techniques to beat up that “would-be” attacked, we need to start considering making the rest of our lives more rewarding and more fun.

In addition, good self protection is about giving you knowledge and skills that allow you to experience more of life, safely, with an understanding of the risks and balanced security measures you should take. It’s most certainly not about scaring you with all the bad things that can happen out there, so that you simply lock yourself away and never venture out into this wonderful world for fear of the potential risks.

"Self defence should open doors not lock them shut."
Al Peasland

And when you open doors, you start to have more fun.

What has prompted me more in writing this article though, is the constant stream of Reality Based Systems that seem to be totally focused on Aggressive, Angry, Adrenalin fuelled, scenario drills, questioning each and every technique’s ability to “take a guy out” more efficiently than the next.

Don’t get me wrong, I am totally in favour of having reality in your training, in fact, it’s my background in this type of training, and experiences on the door that I think allows me to offer skills and coaching in this world.
However, I think there is a real need for some balance with all of this training and also a “reality check” for some reality based systems.
After all, how much time and effort do you really need to focus on an event that may never happen.

What a lot more of those students will find is every day they will be doing jobs they don’t like, living lives that don’t fulfill them or make them happy, and doing lots of things which aren’t fun.

Personally, I’d rather focus on the fun bit and enhance the vast portion of my life that doesn’t involve being attacked on the street or getting into fisticuffs. Start working your pre-emptive strike and fence drills on the sticks and stones that life throws at you rather than just the fight outside the chip-shop that you could have probably avoided anyway.

And this brings me nicely to my point of having fun.

I say this in every seminar – Make It Fun.
The day I am not having fun, having a laugh or getting enjoyment from being on the mat, is the day I find something else to do.

The youtube clip I have linked here shows my case in point.

The escalator at a subway station is a far more appealing way of climbing up to street level than having to walk up those leg aching stairs.
But once you make it a fun activity, suddenly everyone is exercising without even realizing it, and not only that, having a lot of fun in the process.

This is something that is echoed by many many pioneers, sports men and women, business men and women.

"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun."
Thomas A. Edison

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."
Dale Carnegie

"It's the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they're gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave."
Tupac Shakur

If your training feels like a chore, then you need to take the advice of Thomas Edison. Make it fun and it will no longer seem like hard work.
Anything you want to do – find ways to put a fun element into it, and you’ll find you’ll be able to do it for longer and get more success along the way.

And on that note, I’ll leave you with my usual and heartfelt tagline

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

Keep It Simple

2010-07-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

Did you know the average reading age for the Sun newspaper is 5 years old?
I didn’t know that until I attended a report writing course several years ago.
We were discussing the benefits of keeping the language in our reports simple, clear, concise and straight to the point, when this fact was highlighted.As you move your way up through the more mature and professional journals, so the reading age increases, until you get up to documents such as legal journals, or terms and conditions for contracts, where the reading age can be anything over 21.

You know the sort of documents when you have to read each sentence several times before you can hope to begin to understand what on earth their gibbering on about with their “forthwith’s”, and “aforementioned’s”, and “hereinafter’s”.

What impressed me most though was the fact that, whilst reading something as kindergarten as the Red Top Newspapers is very simple and easy to do, the process of writing at this level is actually very difficult.

I mean, just copy and paste some of my own articles into the Flesch Kincaid scale and you’ll be shocked at how much I needlessly extend my sentences with more words and more syllables. (e.g. this paragraph was 13.2 – I still have much to learn)

To illustrate, here’s a story that I heard about.
The newspaper article was written by the reporter and submitted to his editor for final approval. It was a story about a bungled burglary where the criminals had climbed upon to a corrugated iron roof of a marmalade factory.

When the final draft was received back from the editor it read, “the burglars fell through the TIN roof of the JAM factory”

Little changes to shorten the words used and thus reduce the reading age of the story, making it easier for the end user to read and digest.

If we consider for a moment that the purpose of writing a low reading aged editorial is to deliver your message as efficiently, as deliberately and clearly as possible, then we can start to understand the importance of “Keeping it Simple”.
To be effective with your words, it helps to keep them short, direct and cut out all the unwanted, fluffy, elaborate and flashy grammar. This is particularly important when you want your words to be hard hitting.

I used that last phrase because it ties in nicely with my main interest of self protection.In my humble opinion, this rule translates into any form of physical self defence you wish to employ in the worst case scenario of having to deliver some whoop-ass to an attacker.

If you want your self defence techniques to be hard hitting, effective, direct, and get the message across as efficiently and powerfully as possible, then you need to keep it simple.

“People love chopping wood. In this simple activity, one immediately sees results”
Albert Einstein

I also want to have basic techniques that are going to be applicable to the majority of situations, that way I almost have a one-size-fits-all philosophy. When we compare back to the newspaper analogy, the easy to read Sun has over 3m readers per day whereas your Guardian only has 1 tenth of that.Quite a worrying thought in more ways than one but we’ll stick with my main theme for this article for now.

If you’re truly training with only the thought of fighting in real life situations in mind, then you need to keep your syllabus extremely small and simple. The moment you start to elaborate on your core basic techniques with fancy moves, flashy kicks, long drawn out combinations, and set sequences to fit the prescribed responses of your attacker, is the moment you are no longer training for reality.

A controversial comment to a lot of people who have built entire systems around real life self defence perhaps, but it is the truth.

Once you grow a system beyond the basics, if it’s only for self defence then you are starting guild the lily and create a system out of something that should remain very very simple.However, if you are training with far more in mind than just the fisticuffs on the street, then it all becomes totally relevant and applicable again.

What’s important to note is that, whilst delivering simple techniques may be the most effective option, learning and honing those simple techniques can be anything but simple.

It takes far more commitment and dedication to continue to focus on the basics.

It takes far more self analysis and self control to work on the finite details that turn those basics from being good to being great, and from being remembered to being instinctive.

And it takes far more patience and discipline to continue working on the basics when the temptation to introduce more exotic and outwardly impressive moves is ever present.

Therein lies the lesson. Face the difficult option of learning the basics, for, while it may be a challenge, you will guarantee yourself the best successes.As someone once said – don’t practice a thousand different techniques once, practice one technique a thousand times.

Now take this analogy, as I always suggest in every article, and apply it to everything else you wish to develop. Often the simplest option provides the best results.

A simple unselfish act of charity;
A simple caring gesture;
A simple “Yes or No”;
A simple “I Love You”

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

Control

2010-06-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

This weeks article is about Control, or more specifically, Self-Control.

Self control is the ability to control one's emotions, behaviour and desires in order to efficiently manage one's future. In psychology it is sometimes called self-regulation.

No truer is this than when faced with a tough sparring partner, who seems able to place his gloves on your face at any moment he so chooses.Whilst your deficiency in technical ability may have no answer for this barrage of attack, your own self control can determine how you respond and react to this unwelcome punishment.

Many will have heard the phrase, “Being able to take a shot” and most of the time this is centered around ones ability to receive a heavy blow and not buckle or slip into unconsciousness as a result.

I prefer to consider ones ability to be able to take a shot is someone who will not react emotionally or have their following course of action directed and governed by this temporary defeat.

"As strong as my legs are, it is my mind that has made me a champion."
- Michael Johnson

As a fighter, the best thing that can happen in a fight is for your opponent to allow your connecting punches and strikes to effect their emotions, enraging them or frustrating them, because, when this happens, they become even easier to hit.

When an opponent loses their temper or becomes annoyed with your ability to tag them, their technique becomes less important than evening up the score and so their form becomes more scrappy and more open.

It’s this simple lesson that we can all take and apply to all of our challenges, whether that be a more skilled and talented sparring partner, or life’s punches and kicks that never seem to end and always seem to find their target.

Developing the self-control to refrain from reacting, enables us to be able to think rationally and therefore Act rather than React. As a result, when we take conscious action, it will be more focused, decisive, functional and controlled.

When I think about control I only have to look at my other day-job to see just important this is.
As you know, I work for a formula 1 team.
The formula 1 car being the product this team design and then race. This vehicle is fantastically astonishing and impressive in many ways, none more so than the sheer power and performance it can generate.
With an ability to accelerate from 0 to 100mph in less than 3 seconds, and top speeds of nearly 200mph, it is an extremely powerful machine.

And so, with all of this power, it needs great control in order to harness is, direct it and not let it go spinning off the track.

Control comes from many elements, one of which being the steering wheel, which is estimated to cost around £30,000 to manufacture and over 1 week to assemble. A complex and obviously, important piece of equipment, essential to the control of the car.

It’s this analogy, the value placed upon the need for total control, that I relate back to my martial arts and those skills developed in sparring and other areas of training.

As we become more talented and gifted martial artists, we develop more power, and this power needs to be controlled. Not only when on the mat or in the ring but also when we are out and about in our everyday lives.We are learning to become fighters and with that comes great responsibility to control our emotions, our behaviour and not allow situations to dictate our reactions.

Self control can be developed in many ways, not just in sparring and being able to take shots without responding inappropriately.
How about taking yourself into the gym when you would rather be supping beer down the pub?
How about pushing yourself for another round on the bag when every inch of you wants to call it a day and hit the showers?

And if you can do that in the gym, then why not in every other aspect of your lives?
Sparring is not just teaching you how to avoid being hit – there are far greater things to be learned in this simple exercise.

Who’d have thought that being hit in the face could deliver such wonderful lessons?

“The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.”
- Tennyson

Stay safe, have fun

Al

What Are You Thinking?

2010-06-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Some recent events have prompted me to start this weeks’ article with a favourite poem of mine

State of Mind Poem

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you won’t;
If you like to win, but don’t think you can,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;
For out in the world you’ll find
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in a state of mind.

For many a game is lost
Ere even a play is run,
And many a coward fails
Ere even his work is begun.

Think big and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you’ll fall behind;
Think that you can and you will;
It’s all in a state of mind.

If you think you are out classed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise;
You’ve got to be sure of your self before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can.
anon

The biggest message from this poem is the fact that in order to achieve you first have to believe. (Thanks to Darren Checkley for this perfect phrase that is the basis for his own Personal Trainer business)Your mindset is probably the most important thing to get right first if you are to embark on any journey or any event that you wish to have a successful outcome.

If you don’t believe me, then let me give you a little description of a week I’ve just had to help illustrate this point.

It started with an event, that I won’t go into, but one which basically left me feeling very down, very upset and very angry. That’s as much as I will say about the matter, but quite simply, I was left with a week of sleepless nights while I ran thoughts and conversations around and around in my head, as I often do when in times of turmoil.

So, lets just say I was in a “not so positive” place when I embarked on my week-long journey of replacing a bathroom in one of my rental properties for a wonderful tenant who has been with me for many years and really did need a nice shiney new bathroom.

It started ok – the destruction of ripping out the old suite and smashing tiles off the walls was quite therapeutic. Sadly, however, even this day of bashing and physical exertion in this room, with only my self for company, was not enough to release all of the frustrations I was immersed in.

So when it came to the more delicate tasks of fitting the new suite, and all of the jobs I normally enjoy doing, it started to go a little downhill.Not to blow my own trumpet but I am actually quite a good DIYer, having done a fair bit of property development, so ordinarily, replacing a bathroom in the space of a week, with some extra help from my equally talented father, should not have been a problem. But immediately, things started to go wrong.

Without boring you further, a brief list of some of the hurdles I encountered included, fitting the bath only to have to remove it to fix a leaking pipe, several visits to a well known store to collect more fittings to complete the installation, re-siting the toilet as it didn’t fit, switching sinks due to incorrect sizes, fixing leaks, unblocking pipes, tiling the floor and then re-tiling it to fix broken tiles.And so the list goes on.

Most of these issues, as they arose were followed with many expletives and a few “why me’s”.It seemed nothing would go right with this job. Every task was a chore, made harder by one problem or another, set back on top of set back.

It most certainly was a stressful week and I was left pretty much wrecked by, not the physical exertion but the mental pressures I had struggled with all week.I complained that it was as if the bathroom was fighting me, which logically is a ridiculous thing to suggest.Lou hit the nail on the head when she said that, most of these problems were because I was in a bad place and nothing to do with the bathroom itself. Of course, she was totally right.

My negative mindset was the catalyst for the problems and acted like a magnet for DIY disasters, made worse my the frustrations that ensued after each additional set back.

So, if you want something to prove that thinking positive is a pre-requisite for having positive things happen, then look no further than my week of negativity to see just how many negative things happened when my mind was in the wrong frame.

The universe craves balance and so if my week of negative thinking gave way to negative results, then it is safe to assume that positive thinking will bring about positive results.
So I ask you to spare a moment to as yourself – “What are you thinking?”I’m now through it, over it and past it. The bathroom looks great, the tenant is extremely happy, and my following week was full of great training, great times with great friends and several pieces of great news that have given me renewed positivity again – just in case you were at all worried - ha ha

I would like to leave you with a little quote of my own based on my past two weeks of very opposite states of mind and paralleled results

Choose your thoughts wisely, for;
Whatever you Dream of you give power, and;
Whatever you fear you will also give power, and;
Whatever you give power to will be attracted to you

Gandhi said it far more eloquently

Keep your thoughts positive,
because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive,
because your words become your behaviours.
Keep your behaviours positive,
because your behaviours become your habits.
Keep your habits positive,
because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive,
because your values become your destiny.

And remember
“sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who THINKS he can.”

So, do your best to stay positive folks, you’ll be amazed what can happen when you do.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

Work Harder

2010-05-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

As always, my articles are usually inspired by things that have happened to me, and to those around me.
This week is no exception and it is with the great news that my brother Mick Tully has received his certificate to confirm his recognition and well deserved place on the Dan Inosanto Apprentice Instructor program, that I write this weeks article.
For those not aware, to be awarded such a position not only requires the proposal of a senior instructor within the Dan Inosanto program, it also requires a lengthy, if not life long study of the arts.
Mick has done just that, and was so highly regarded that not one, but two of his instructors, a couple of the most respected men in their field, both proposed Mick for this achievement.

But these things don’t come easy. Certainly not on the back of one or two sessions a week for a few years, and most definitely not on the back of a week-end or 6 month series of seminars. No, this type of award is the result of many many years hard work, dedication and commitment to the arts.
It is this dedication, this focus and faith, this self belief and continual strive for self improvement, that gives me this weeks’ inspiration.

Those who know me know I’m no stranger to hard work. I am a firm believer that it’s not just about working “Smart Not Hard”, it’s actually about Working “Smarter AND Harder”.

The only thing you get by being lazy is Fat, so as well as learning smarter and more efficient ways to work, you still need to put in some time, commit some energy and some sweat, if you want to make real progress.

Ask Thomas Edison who reportedly took over 12 years to invent the lightbulb

He himself said “There is no substitute for hard work”

Ask Alexander Bell who reportedly took over 6 years to invent the telephone.

Both achievements took incredible commitment and dedication, they took tenacity and unwavering staying power when things got difficult or looked to be making no progress, and they took faith and belief that one day the hard work would pay off.
Once you have that belief and understanding that your efforts will eventually be rewarded, then you have the reason to keep driving forwards. Without that belief then you will stop at the first hurdle and never reach your full potential.

As Mick is quoted to say a lot on our classes, if you’re going to paint, do you want to be a painter and decorator or do you want to be a Michael Angelo. And lets not forget that Michael Angelo took over 4 years to paint the Sistine chapel.
He could have just slapped a coat of magnolia over that ceiling and been done with it within the week, but he wanted more, and he had faith that when it was done the rewards would be magnificent. But those rewards didn’t happen overnight, nor did they happen with a couple of hours work a day and plenty of coffee breaks in between. He was smart with his ideas and methods of painting that ceiling but he also worked dam hard too.

Everything that’s worth doing is probably going to take a lot of effort, but the rewards will be ever present once you commit to putting in the hours and giving it your all.

Sir Isaac Newton is quoted as saying
“If I am anything, which I highly doubt, I have made myself so by hard work.”

And I have a little quote of my own that I think sums up this whole article

“Most people expect Everything but give only Something
Only when you’re prepared to give Everything can you start to expect Anything”
Al Peasland

And without fear of making this article a long collection of quotes and motivational phrases I’d like to leave you with something that I heard the amazing Randy Pausch say in one of his lectures

“If you want the secret to my success, call me in my office on a Friday night at 10pm and I’ll tell you”

So start working hard. Know what you want, commit yourself to it, have some faith that you will get there and be prepared to make an effort.

Work Smarter AND Harder.

Congratulations to Mick Tully on his fantastic achievement. I know how pleased he is with this prestigious accolade and I am thoroughly excited for him. Not only for the recognition he has received but also for where he will take this in the future.

Oh, and a final footnote. I just told you all that working hard will bring the rewards. The beauty is that sometimes you get even more than you had bargained for, which I see as a Brucie Bonus for making the effort in the first place.

Well Mick not only received the certificate he was proposed for in the Jun Fan and JKD arts, he also received another accreditation to teach the Filipino arts too. Totally unexpected but totally deserved.
Sometimes you just have to put in the hard work and trust that the rewards will be there.

Thanks for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun

AL x

Al's 25 Questions

2010-04-29T02:17:00.001-07:00

A good friend of mine Kris Wilder has a great blogspot where he invites senior martial artists to share their thoughs via the forum of only 25 questions/statements/quotes, etc

Here's what I had to offer - you can see the full blog from the link at the top

25.Sometimes, 25 questions just aren’t enough.

24.I love animals more than I love a great deal of people.

23.Love your family, Love your friends, Love your partner, but most importantly, Love yourself. You are the only one who is guaranteed to be with you your entire life.

22. With a beginners mentality the world of opportunity opens up, but with a masters mind the choices are few. The moment you think of yourself as being “in the room”, is the moment the door is firmly closed in front of you.

21.If you want to be a tall tree, don’t chop all the others around you down – just grow taller. My brother Mick Tully

20.You know you have to make things change when you find yourself sleeping on a sofa with a gun under your pillow.

19.Some days all you need is a cuddle, other days you just need to toughen the hell up.

18.My Animal Days are many. Some are ongoing battles that feel like they’re never going to end. Some are over in a flash with instant rewards.
What’s your Animal Day?

17.Embrace the ones you love with open arms.

16. We may want to achieve great things, but sometimes we do that by helping others to achieve great things.

15.We make a living through what we get but a life through what we give. Sir Winston Churchill

14.You can’t learn to swim without getting wet and you can’t learn to fight without getting hit.

13.When you are balanced you are more difficult to knock over. That applies to the attacks from your training partner and the kicks and punches that life will throw at you.

12.You can be a Jack of All Trades AND a Master of One.

11.Work smarter AND work harder.

10.The tallest branch is never the safest roost, but it certainly gives you the best vantage point.

9.Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are busy living our fears.

8.Integrity is precious and fragile. You work your life to build it up but it can all be lost in one moment’s action.

7.You’ll find out who your real friends are the moment it becomes uncomfortable for them to be your friend.

6.Self Protection begins with the “Self”.

5.The day I am not laughing and having fun on the mat – is the day I find something else to do.

4.Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take – but the number of moments that take our breath away.

3.Reputation is what others think of you – but character is what you actually are. Work more on your character and be concerned less about your rep.

2.If it was easy – everyone would be good.

1.You cannot have Courage without having Fear.

One Size Fits All

2010-04-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen those t-shirts that profess to be “One Size Fits All”?
You know the ones, where the manufacturer was probably cutting costs and so to save a few pounds by carrying fewer variations in sizes, so added a little lycra to the cloth and suggested it would fit anyone.

If you’re lucky, then you will be one of the people who the size actually does fit, but for the vast majority, it will probably be either a little squeeze requiring a deep intake of breath before you don the garment, or you’ll be able to get yourself and a few of your friends in there with you.

The reason for this strange rambling though is that, however it fits, good or bad, usually, in most instances, you can actually get the stretchy clothing on, and the one size fits all analogy, whilst perhaps testing the Trading Standard’s definition of “FITS” a little, actually does apply.
So here is where I bring this back to a more sensible point.

For self-defence and self protection, we always talk about keeping it simple. The flashy jumping spinning back kicks you see in the movies simply will not work, which is why the basic, straight to the point, pre-emptive strikes should be favoured.And, when it comes to training techniques that you intend to draw upon should the need arise, I would suggest you need to apply the “One Size Fits All”, or rather the “One TECHNIQUE Fits All” rule to this strategy.

Here’s why.

If we assume we are talking about only punching as our chosen system for selecting effective pre-emptive strikes, then you ultimately have an infinite array of punching techniques, and punching angles to choose from.To keep this very simple – as a situation arises, the positioning and orientation of yourself in relation to your attacker(s) could be perfect primed for a powerful Right Hook.
Alternatively, the positioning may be more suited to a short Left Uppercut.

What this means is, you would need to train a variety of punches from this one art in order to have the appropriate technique that perfectly fits the situation.

What this also means is that, if you only have limited time to train, then your time now has to be shared amongst all of those techniques, which not only reduces your skill level growth for each specific punch, but also reduces the development of your instinctive muscle memory.Some suggest that having too many techniques in your arsenal, particularly if they are all of limited training and practise, will result in a mental logjam should the time arise where you need to select a technique in an instant.

Personally, I do agree with this theory to a point, however, in a real life situation the most important instinctive response you need to have is one that simply says fight or run away. It doesn’t really matter what techniques you choose to throw then, everything will be bolstered with a massive level of intent and determination which is what will win fights.

However, if you spend all of the time you wish to devote to “realty based” street conflict, on one or two high percentage techniques, such as Right Cross, Right Hook, Left Slap, etc, your “one technique fits all” rule then comes into play

“If you chase perfection you often catch excellence”
William Fowble

Pareto’s 80/20 rule really does play a big part in this, in that, most situations can be dealt with the same technique or a slight variation of it.If you get proficient, and I mean, world class proficient, at one technique, you stand a great chance of being able to shoe-horn that technique into any situation and make it work for you.

Now, just like the t-shirt analogy, for some situations the technique might not fit perfectly, it may be a little loose or tight, but it will still do the job.
More importantly, you will have mastered a technique that you know gives you the best chances of a successful outcome in any given situation, and this confidence will change your whole approach to the situation in the first place.

Perfecting a single technique, or in my experience, continually striving to perfect a single technique, is also a great training strategy. It breads personal discipline, self-analysis, and a change in mental attitude towards everything as you understand the value in not just doing something well, but aiming to do it perfectly every time.

Even better still, when you take a step back and look at the process you are going through in order to perfect this single technique, there are a whole host of attributes that you can translate into everything else you desire to be good at.The dedication past boredom, the intention to master, the self sacrifice, the attention to detail, are just a few of the personal attributes you will need to harness in order to move forwards on your quest to a fight stopping “fit all” technique.

Transfer these same attributes to your business, your relationship, your other hobbies, your dreams and you will start to see the same growth and improvements.

So what I am saying here is to consider the prospect of becoming a master, an expert of one thing. Whilst you may never get there, you will have picked up some very useful skills along the way to help you improve everything.And at a very base level of physical self defence, you’ll have a technique that can get you out of jail more often than not.

I’ll leave you with the quote which I think sums up this article including the need to keep self defence techniques simple

“Perfection consists not of doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things exceptionally well.”
Angelique Arnauld

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al

Enjoy my new 2010 Trailer below

Al Peasland Trailer - 2010

2010-04-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Having just finished filming a new Multiple Assailants DVD and a few other trailers and promotional clips, my good friend and cinematic genius, Stephen Reynolds, has kindly put this "Al Peasland 2010" trailer together for me

I hope you enjoy it

You can also view it from my vimeo folder - CLICK HERE

http://www.vimeo.com/10848237

SNOWMAN - Short Film

2010-04-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

SNOWMAN is a short film written, filmed and produced by my great friend Stephen "Holywood" Reynolds.

Myself and my fellow CSP Instructor, Mick Tully, worked with a few of our students on the fight choreography for the main fight scene in the film, which resulted in Steve offering me the part of the lead character, the Snowman.

Below are a couple of screenshots with a link to the Official Trailer which gives you a brief insight into what this fantastic short film has to offer.

And if Steve can put this all together with a crew of 3 people and a budget consisting of charm and cheeky grins, imagine what he can produce with some investment for his feature film.

CLICK THIS LINK to watch the trailer
http://vimeo.com/10528248

Climbing Higher

2010-04-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Whilst chatting with a friend on a recent seminar, he explained how he had trained in a wide collection of martial arts and systems, much like myself.
What struck me as different to my own martial arts journey however, was that he was searching for something specific, namely, skills geared totally towards street based self protection.
He’d followed a lot of the various “buzz” systems as and when they had appeared, gaining experience and instructor grades in each of them.
As the years passed, he would become disillusioned with each one and so, move onto the next revolutionary system that was in the limelight for being the most effective and most potent self defence system available.

What I found most refreshing though was his attitude towards the time he had spent studying, training, teaching and then moving away from each of those systems.

I, like you, was expecting to hear bitter and resentful comments towards the time, money and most likely, blood, sweat and tears, he had invested in learning these various systems, only to realize they didn’t offer what he was searching for, and to consequently have to move on and try again.

In fact, he was totally relaxed and comfortable with this investment. He saw this time spent as part of the journey. He didn’t see this as having chosen the wrong paths to follow, he actually felt that it was valuable effort spent in order to find out that it wasn’t the right path for him.

Almost as thought it was a journey of elimination. Learning and then casting aside the things he didn’t feel were right for him. Every system learned and then rejected was one less to choose from going forwards.

Now, I could quote Thomas Edison here who is famous for stating that the 5000 times his light bulb experiments failed were just feedback not failures, and that every time the feedback was negative, he knew it was one less thing to try, another variable removed from the equation.

However, I like to see these journeys more as climbs. Our experiences and skills we learn along the way are more akin to us rising higher.

As we climb higher our vantage point changes. What we believed to be the truth yesterday, may be different today. That doesn’t mean we should look back and consider ourselves to have been liars or unknowing of the truth, just that today we now have a loftier viewpoint from which to gain more information and knowledge and change our perceptions.

As we spend more time training in a martial art, we become more experienced, and if you like, reach higher levels of insight and knowledge. Our truth can change, just as our horizon moves farther away the higher we climb.

Consider for a moment a man lying on the ground. His horizon is only a few feet away. Then consider a man standing 6ft tall, his horizon is now miles away and so his own perceptions, beliefs and truths are all altered by this new perspective.

Recently, I also watched a program about the astronomy and scientists calculate the size of the universe. Now I’m not very knowledgeable in these areas and I don’t pretend to be a Patrick Moore of any kind, although I do play a mean glockenspiel, so I won’t bore you with my primitive understanding of all things astrological. The only Galaxy and Milkyway I know are sold in sweet shops and taste very nice!

However, one thing that was totally evident was that, if you want to climb high to gain a better view point, you couldn’t get much higher than exiting the Earth’s atmosphere and going into space.

"It's hard to appreciate the Earth when you're down right upon it because it's so huge. It gives you in an instant, just at a position 240,000 miles away from it, (an idea of) how insignificant we are, how fragile we are, and how fortunate we are to have a body that will allow us to enjoy the sky and the trees and the water ... It's something that many people take for granted when they're born and they grow up within the environment. But they don't realize what they have. And I didn't till I left it.''
Jim Lovell - Apollo 8 & 13

"Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slow swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realise this is Earth . . . home."
Edgar Mitchell - Apollo 14

It was Jim Lovell who famously talks about how, when on one of the Apollo missions, he looked back at the beautiful blue Earth, held out his hand, extended his thumb, and managed to hide the entire Earth, with the billions of people on it, totally behind his thumb.
It changed his perspective on everything. It showed him just how small and insignificant we all are and yet how important we all are at the same time.

And a great comment that sums up how sometimes, what you expect to find as you climb higher may not turn out as your had planned, but is a valuable and wonderful discovery anyway...
It was also Jim who said that when NASA sent him and his crewmates to explore the moon, the most important thing they discovered was the Earth – symbolized in one of the most beautiful photo’s I’ve seen “Earthrise”

This is quite literally the most extreme way physically you can climb to higher vantage points to gain a better perspective.

The key point here is this

You can climb physically in order to gain a higher roost in which to view things differently. Some climb as high as outer space.
Alternatively, you can climb in your martial art, raising your level of skill and expertise in order to gain a better view on the arts and their function and suitability to your personal requirements.
You can even climb metaphysically, to enhance your own “self” to dizzying heights of personal development. Altitudes that most cannot reach, touch or relate to.

Whatever way you choose to climb, you will find new truths the higher you go.
Sometimes you may love the new learning’s offered to you from this loftier position, some truths you may not like at all.
But rest assured, either way, the climb will have been worth the effort.

So start your climb now and strive to get as high as you can in whatever it is you want to excel at.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche
“He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.”

Stay Safe & Have Fun

Al

PREPARATION

2010-03-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.

Benjamin Disraeli

This week, as with most, I have been doing a lot of preparation.
I’ve been busy making plans and preparing for lots of events that I have scheduled, some that I am expecting to happen and some that I am hoping will happen in the future months.

In fact, the majority of the things I do are a form of preparation for the future; even writing these articles to offer my thoughts to those who care to read them. I’m preparing them for others to read, but also to help me prepare for and practice my own writing skills so that I may be good enough to get more articles published and even write more books on the subjects I am most passionate about.

In fact, we are all preparing for things, almost all of the time.

Whether it be something mundane such as preparing our meals or preparing our clothes for the next day, to preparing ourselves physically for the demanding lives we lead, right through to preparing ourselves mentally, psychologically and intellectually so that we may progress and be capable to manage the challenges we intend to face throughout our lives.
This thought got me looking at the power of “preparation” and how important this process is for our future growth.
If there is anything that we want to do well, then we first have to make good preparation.Often, this preparation takes the form of practice; practicing a task or action repetitively in order to become more skilled and versed in that action.

PRACTICE

For me, this is obviously in the form of practicing martial arts techniques in order to become better at them, more skilled, more experienced and more knowledgeable about them.As my long time instructor Geoff Thompson said on a recent seminar, it’s not just about practice makes perfect, it’s Perfect Practice that makes Perfect.

The only way we get good at anything, is not only to practice it, but to make certain that what we are practising is correct, or better still, perfect.

So seeking out great instruction, finding the best resources, and investing in the absolute best information to allow you to practice perfectly from the very outset, is a real key to rapid success and high level mastery of anything you want to do.

I discovered this to my cost many years ago, when as Geoff’s main training partner and Uke, I spent a lot of my time demonstrating and teaching alongside him.

I became the one who took the throws and the falls in order for Geoff to demonstrate and teach the techniques. What we didn’t realise at the time was that I was actually learning, through this inadvertent practice and repetition, how to be thrown.

I actually became easy to throw and takedown as most of my time was doing that very thing.So, when it came to fighting off with others, I was struggling to win any fights on the ground as I was so used to adopting the weaker positions and offering openings to be thrown more readily.

This was something that I then had to train out of my muscle memory, which took quite some time, but it just went to show how you get what you train for and if you are to practice anything, you need to be practicing it correctly and practicing it in the way you want it to work for you when you need it to.

In simplistic terms, my practicing of martial arts, is not only preparing me to become a more knowledgeable and skilled exponent but also to become a better teacher who has more and more to offer his students.In effect, my practice is preparing me for success.

The beauty is that without much thought, I am also making good preparation and taking the right precautions for events that I intend never to happen, such as a physical attack on the street.
You could say, this is the art of being prepared, or some may argue, this is actually planning for failure – as a confrontational situation could be seen as a failure on my own personal security measures.

For example, my pre-emptive strike is not just a form of preparation for when things go wrong for me on the street. It should also be preparation for me mentally and physically, teaching me how to apply focus, commitment and dedication to learning a single technique or skill in order to eventually gain some mastery over it. This lesson then prepares psychologically to know how to approach other challenges or difficulties that I need to overcome in the future.
However, what I have found, both in my own life and in that of others is that we often get more focused on the “planning for failure” mode and forget to plan for success.

Which brings me nicely on to Planning, another form of preparation.

PLANNING

It is said that Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance, so just as practicing what we want to do is vital to our success, so is making the necessary and correct plans.

We all plan.

We all make decisions and think ahead in order to help run our lives more efficiently. We are certainly in an age where, our high paced lives simply won’t function without good advanced planning skills and strategies.

I am reminded of a documentary I watched many years ago. It was of a team of soldiers performing winter survival training. One of their tasks over the week long period was to demonstrate that they could make fire from the simplest of methods, of rubbing two sticks together.

Each soldier would spend a couple of hours on this task and then, if no progress was made, would crack on with some other duties and drills and return to it again later.

What caught my attention with one particular soldier was that he became totally focused on making fire. With a determination commendable, he forged ahead, rubbing up blisters on top of blisters to make those sticks generate heat worthy of fire.

To his amazement, suddenly he got smoke, then a feint flicker of flame. Sadly, his amazement was quickly followed by absolute crushing defeat when he realised he failed to plan ahead and had no kindling ready to keep the flame alight and grow it into real fire.

The simplest of tasks of planning ahead and preparing for the success of making fire by gather a few sticks would have made all his efforts worthwhile, but for whatever reason, he’d failed to make this preparation.
Possibly he had never expected to have such success, and as a result, gave no thought as to what he would do should his efforts prove fruitful.

So we need to shift our thoughts in order to plan for success and focus less on the planning for failure. Thinking as much, if not more, about what we are going to do and what we intend to happen rather than solely focusing on our contingencies for if things go wrong.
Unfortunately, what happens to all of us from time to time is we plan for the wrong things or we simply fail to plan at all.

How many of us hear the stories of the lottery winners who blow all of their cash in a short space of time.We all play the lottery in the hope that we win a life changing lump sum of money, and yet a lot of us don’t plan ahead and learn how to deal with such large sums of cash. How do we manage and how do we control this sudden wealth. Without planning we are either not really expecting it to happen, or we are simply ill prepared for when it does.

Now the lottery is a bad example as I don’t think you should ever place your future wealth or success into the hands of lady luck, as that means it’s totally out of your control, but you get my point.

Whatever it is you do, make sure you plan ahead, and then make sure your planning; your practice and your preparation is the best you can afford and is focused on the success.

A Final Word of Caution

With this lesson in mind, we can all see the need to plan ahead and prepare well before we embark on anything, however, a final word of caution.

While we’re going about the business of planning and practicing and preparing, we can find ourselves actually never leaving the preparation stage; never putting it all into real practice.
It’s a bit like the student who studies for a degree in the comfort of a campus university, and finding he enjoys the study, continues on to another degree followed by yet another and another, never actually leaving the campus and applying the skills he’s been busy gathering and practicing.

So like the soldier who failed to plan for success by gathering some firewood ready for when he made flame, we conversely need to be careful we don’t just end up gathering lots and lots of logs and never actually get around to lighting the fire.

And without fear of sticking (pardon the pun) to my forestry theme, it was Abraham Lincoln who said

If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first hour sharpening the axe.

But remember, he did leave time to actually start chopping the tree as well.

Practice well. Practice perfectly. Then all of this planning and preparation will go to giving you perfect performance.

After all

Todays preparation determines tomorrow's achievement.

Thank you for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

The Comfy Chair

2010-03-12T00:24:00.000-08:00

I’m all for pushing myself, testing myself and putting myself under pressure.
I write a lot about how we must take the tough roads and make the difficult choices. How the power of growth is in restriction and having self control to be able to place ourselves under restriction in order to grow further.
I totally understand the value in taking ourselves out of our comfort zones and facing adversity head on.I have learned my biggest lessons by doing these very things, and I continue to do this on a daily basis.

However, in order for something to feel tough, uncomfortable or restrictive, we need to do it intermittently and not constantly, in my opinion.

Anything we do continuously will become familiar and gradually will become normal. The result will be continually reducing impact and effect on ourselves resulting in ever diminishing returns.

One way to do this is to frequently change what we do to apply the pressure.
For example, Animal Days, the all out fighting I have written about in the past, were ways of adding extreme pressure to our training. The nerves and fear we all felt before and during these sessions was a great test of will and character and a very good way of exposing weaknesses within ourselves.
However, over a prolonged period of time, the effects lessened, to the point where myself and most of the other lads actually looked forward to these session with relish and excitement, rather than paralysing fear.

The real purpose of these Animal Days was then lost and made redundant by our familiarity.
So, the only way to re-kindle that fear is to find it in another way.

I found that fear again when I started doing lots more public speaking and presenting, but again, that fear has reduced over time as I become better, more confident and more comfortable with that arena.

And so I continue on to find other ways to induce the fear and test myself again; new uncomfortable zones; more areas of restriction.

What comes next is the realisation that you are no longer becoming comfortable with each fearful environment, such as the full out fighting, or public speaking, but you are actually becoming comfortable with Fear itself. You start to realise that all of these different stimulus that conjure up fear and anxiety and stress are simply different ways to create the same internal reaction and it is the management of this fearful reaction within, that is the real key.

So the next thing is to find ways to activate other unwanted or non-productive emotions and feelings. For example, restriction training focuses on creating frustration, another negative emotion that can kick start lots of other unhelpful responses.We place ourselves in restrictive situations, whether that be in the gym punching with your back to the wall, or in our home lives with lack of time or money. This restriction will activate frustration as we cannot do what we want or get the results we desire. Learning to deal with this frustration, to replace it with relaxation is the result of this type of test.But again, these different tests are all geared towards exposing the same emotions and feelings and teach us to control them in the same way.

So now to the real reason for this article.

With all of this pressure testing, and self-empowering benchmark testing, we can all get a little bit weakened by it.Too much and it can actually start to have a negative effect.
If we consider our minds as muscles, then just as every body builder knows the value of rest and recuperation time, so our minds and our spirits need the same time to recover from these pressure tests.

It’s true we should all seek the tough path, the rough and hard course that is uncomfortable and challenging, but equally, some days, the comfy chair is good.
The comfy chair is not only a nice place to be, some days it’s actually THE place to be in order to allow yourself to recuperate, recover and recharge from all of these challenges.It’s the place where you can sit, switch off your guard and relax in the knowledge that you can review your recent achievements without worrying about the next fearsome test that lies ahead.
I’m not saying the comfy chair should be your first port of call, it should be a reward for your efforts; a safe harbour after weathering a storm.
Nor am I saying you should stay in it too long, as you’re likely to expand in the wrong directions, if you get what I mean.If anything, the comfy chair becomes a great test in itself as leaving it can be another challenge.

It’s perhaps easier to remain on the tough path continually than it is to have periodic moments of comfort that you know you will have to get up from and leave behind again and again.Kind of like the smoker who has given up but who has the strength of character to know he can still be surrounded by cigarettes and other smokers, or the recovering alcoholic who can still frequent the pubs with his drinking buddies and not partake himself. That’s real strength and real test of character.

So, some days, the comfy chair is great.

Getting on it is great for recuperation and getting off it is simply another challenge.

Enjoy the comfy chair – you deserve it

Thank you for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun
Al x

Face Forwards

2010-01-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, you will be more than aware that I had my first proper skiing experience a few weeks ago; and if I do say so myself, I didn’t do all that bad considering I had only previously spent about 8 hours in total on the man-made slopes of the Tamworth Snowdome.

However, knowing that I had this very limited experience, and bearing in mind that it had been almost 12 months prior to this trip, you could say I was a little apprehensive when I donned my extra long, beginner-stiff, ski’s.
Apparently, the more flexible, shorter ski’s are the equipment of choice for the more advanced skier, and trust me, flexible I did not feel in my borrowed, slightly pinching, but carefully colour matched Black ski boots.

If nothing else, at least I was well colour co-ordinated, ie, all in “Milk Tray Man” black, and remembered my good friend Paul’s advisory words,
“Al, you can never look too cool on the slopes”
as I promptly slid my reflective Oakley’s onto my hat, just to complete the outfit.

Ski’s on, and after my first fall of the day, which was getting off my first ever chair lift at the top of the ever-so steep Blue Run, I was ready for action.

Now, those of you who ski, will already notice my wry humour in a “Steep Blue Run”, but for a novice, it looked pretty steep to me, so I’m sticking with that – thank you very much.

Those of you who know me, you will be more than aware that I had my first proper skiing experience a few weeks ago; and if I do say so myself, I didn’t do all that bad considering I had only previously spent about 8 hours in total on the man-made slopes of the Tamworth Snowdome.

However, knowing that I had this very limited experience, and bearing in mind that it had been almost 12 months prior to this trip, you could say I was a little apprehensive when I donned my extra long, beginner-stiff, ski’s.Apparently, the more flexible, shorter ski’s are the equipment of choice for the more advanced skier, and trust me, flexible I did not feel in my borrowed, slightly pinching, but carefully colour matched Black ski boots.

If nothing else, at least I was well colour co-ordinated, ie, all in “Milk Tray Man” black, and remembered my good friend Paul’s advisory words,“Al, you can never look too cool on the slopes”as I promptly slid my reflective Oakley’s onto my hat, just to complete the outfit.

Ski’s on, and after my first fall of the day, which was getting off my first ever chair lift at the top of the ever-so steep Blue Run, I was ready for action.
Now, those of you who ski, will already notice my wry humour in a “Steep Blue Run”, but for a novice, it looked pretty steep to me, so I’m sticking with that – thank you very much.

And, as I have said many times before in interviews, and in my articles, I like to be at the bottom of a class. I like to be in an arena where I am a novice. It means I have a lot to learn, and that is a good thing not a bad one. Standing in totally unnatural footwear (no, not the Saturday night high heels), with planks of wood strapped to the underside, designed to actually allow me to slip and slide along, was no exception.

I may have been on the top of a mountain but I was certainly at the bottom of my learning curve.
Looking down at the slope, it somehow suddenly looked a lot steeper than it did from the relative comfort, albeit freezing cold, of the chair lift. I know fear. I have felt it many times in many situations. Some of my own doing, others forced upon me by the world I inhabit and the people who surround me in it. So, the feelings I had at this precise moment were no different than any other time, just conjured up by a different environment.

I would suggest that it was my closeness and familiarity with fear that dulled it’s effects on me, and allowed me to step forwards into it with an outward ease, and not my lack of fear or fearlessness, as some had commented.

That said, it was still a pretty scary moment as I pushed myself from a standing start into a zig-zagging, Frank Spencer like motion down the slope.

What I had remembered was something my first instructor had said many many months before in the, now seemingly tiny and flat snowdome. “Face forwards and attack the slope”.He also said, that even though we were high, the slope was no different from the top as it was from half way up, it just felt worse because it was higher.

But, I also remembering that falling on deaf ears to most of my group as we moved higher up the slope during our lessons. Our techniques all became less relaxed and less comfortable,, clear signs that fear was taking charge and forcing us into postures and a stiffness that would result in our fears being realised due to the bad technique and form.
So I faced forwards, and I attacked the slope. At one point, after a few spills, Lou actually heard me muttering to myself that this “bloomin slope isn’t going to beat me”.

John Berryman says:-
"We must travel in the direction of our Fear"

Facing down the slope; facing the thing that frightens you most; actually helps you to form a better posture and technique. This technique saves you and allows you to progress down in a controlled and efficient manner. It’s almost as though, facing your fears gives you the biggest rewards…… hmmm, what an interesting thought!

The best part was that, as I made more progress and the results confirmed the principals of facing down the slope to improve technique, I was keen to try this more. Just as though overcoming my fear had taken me to another level; a steeper slope; a greater challenge.

By overcoming this initial fear, my world opened up, a few more slopes and a couple more mountains at a time. I was able to travel further afield and reach other areas of the slopes that my fear would have prevented me from seeing had I not had the courage to face forwards on that very first slope.

What I would also point out however, just to keep a balance with this article, is that, whilst I didn’t remain at the foot of the hills, too scared to venture up on the lift.

Nor did I hit the advanced black runs for my first attempt. I did it in small, challenging but manageable stages. I was also prepared to take a step back to the slower Green slopes when I wanted to practice a particular technique or treat myself with an easy descent and give myself a break. I made sure I had great people around me who knew how to encourage me, guide me, coach me and stretch me safely.

Facing forwards and attacking the slope is no different to facing anything else that scares you.

For me, relating this back to my own martial arts training, it’s exactly the same as grappling an opponent who has you in a pin and who’s starting to rain down some heavy “Ground-n-Pound”.Turning away only serves to put you in a more vulnerable position. More often than not, the best defence is to face into the onslaught and actually turn towards the fire. Facing into the fear gives you more options and often offers better results.

In boxing, the one thing you are taught is to never turn your back on your opponent. Even when the punches are raining in you should never turn away. Instead you should cover up and face towards the attack.

Again, this means you stand a better chance of defending yourself and fighting back to bring it to a better conclusion.

I would argue that most things in life require us to face into the attack. Stare down that which frightens us, if only to be able to see it and analyse it more clearly, but in most cases, so that we can overcome it and move on to bigger and better things.

So, if my little trip to the French Alps serves you nothing more than this one lesson, it was very worth it.Face into your fears, and attack your own slopes – don’t turn away!

And remember, "You cannot have Courage without also having Fear"

Thank you for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun
Al x

Don't Look Down

2009-12-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

Have you ever climbed a high mountain?

I can’t say that I have although I would suggest that I’ve climbed quite a few proverbial mountainous ranges in my time, whether that be the tough challenge of a real fight on the cold honest pavement, or battles with some internally dark times and a few other things in between.

I can’t speak from experience when I say how tough it is to climb a real mountain but I can equate, from my own experiences, some of the analogies that I have heard fellow climbers talk of.

Have you ever been up high and to avoid the fear that the dangerous height triggers told yourself “not to look down”?

“You’ll be fine”, encouraging friends will say, “just don’t look down”.

And they would probably be right.

The problem, however, is that, when scaling your own Everest, whatever that may be, only looking up can be quite a daunting thing. When dragging yourself up each leg-aching rung of the life ladder that will lead you to your ultimate goal, the top can appear so far above you that you never seem to get any closer.
The soul destroying feeling that you are working at your maximum, tirelessly towards your dreams and never feeling as if you are making any headway can be hard to continually handle.

It can be very frustrating, and it can pull you back down like a dead weight in your rucksack, triggering all the negative emotions that make so many people stop in their tracks, turn around and head back down for base camp again.

On these occasions, this is where we need to ignore the advice "Not to look down" and take a good long hearty look below us.

Take stock of just how high up you already are.

See how far you’ve already come, how many hurdles you’ve already climbed over and just how far along the path you’ve actually trodden.

In a previous article, “It’s all about the journey”, I spoke at length about how we need to enjoy the journey and not become fixated with the end destination, and this week’s article is no different.

We can become so focused on the end target, the summit of our ambitions, that we allow ourselves to become disheartened if it seems to be taking us far longer than we had planned or hoped.

Trust me, if you were to ask those closest to me they will tell you I am the absolute worst at this, but I am working on it and that is why I am writing this article.
We need to stop every now and then and take a look back down. It can often be surprising just how much we’ve already achieved.

Things that were huge accomplishments at the time, but somehow, their difficulty and rewarding achievement has faded as time has moved on.
We’re on the run up to Christmas as I write this article and it’s always a time when we look back over the year and have a review of the things we’ve done, the places we’ve been, the good and, hopefully the not too many bad times we’ve come through.

So there’s no better time than now time to review your progress on your own ascent. Treat it as a milestone to stop and measure your successes and achievements, you may be pleasantly surprised at just how far you have come.And if your end goal still feels so far away that it seems un-reachable, then why not take a rest and enjoy where you are right now.

Unless you’re comfortable and able to cope with and enjoy the view from the height you’ve reached this far, there’s no point in racing on any higher anyway.If you can’t appreciate the level you’ve reached, why should you be given any more.

The trick here however, is not to get too comfortable with this period of respite and reflection.

If we stop for too long, admiring our handy work thus far, we may get stuck and find so much comfort that we lose all will to continue on to our original goal.

There’s lots of options here and far more than I could cover in this short article. For example..Perhaps you are now truly happy with where you are, in which case there’s no need to move on anyway.Perhaps, by continuing on, you actually aren’t happy with your lot and you really need to accept that perhaps this is as far as you will ever get anyway, so accept it and enjoy it.

The point I’m trying to make here is that we can often lose confidence in our ability to reach our goals and the best way to keep ourselves motivated and on track is to stop, take a breath and look back on how far we’ve already come.

Celebrate and enjoy the progress you’ve made, in whatever it is you desire.Enjoy those around you; enjoy the person you have become.

Then re-kindle the passion and the drive that has taken you this far and re-light it to give you that boost you need in order to press on and venture higher.
So, whatever your own Everest may be, remember to take a look back down every now and then – good luck with your climb

Thank you for reading

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

TRUST

2009-12-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

Trust

Like most of my articles, I get inspiration for the general theme from either something that has happened to me recently, or in the past. Something I’ve read about, something I’ve questioned, or even something that a friend may have mentioned in passing.

This week is no different, and it was on our weekly journey south, for another night of training, that my great friend Mick told me about a tough day’s training he’d had on the mat with another of our friends, Brian.

It reminded me of the countless times I had been in a position of vulnerability as a student with my long time instructor Geoff. Struggling to free myself from another of his elbow snapping arm-bars or closing my eyes and regulating what was left of the breath in my body as he squeezed out the last of my oxygen reserves in a classic choke hold.

Trust me, if you’ve ever been in such a position where the only option left for you is to tap and submit before everything goes dark, you’ll know how vulnerable, and totally at someone else’s mercy you are.

I’ve been fortunate and unfortunate, depending on how you look at it, to have been on the delivering end of similar chokes and strangles when working the doors of Coventry for many years and knowing that ow the life of a complete stranger lies, quite literally, in your hands, is a very sobering thought.

From many many hours on the mat, I know there is now way I would willingly put myself in the same vulnerable positions with a complete stranger off the street as I would with my training partners, students and instructors. Why? Obviously because I have complete Trust in them, as I hope that they do with me.

I posted on my facebook profile a questioning status of TRUST IS... and received many fine responses from my friends. Alot of which surrounded the martial arts, as you might expect and all eluding to the same thing
The trust we have when we are training with someone who is in a controlling and winning position. The trust we place upon them to be fair, to be respectful, to be compassionate, to be gentle and dare I say, to be loving in the lesson they provide.

My instructor Terry talks about loving as an instructor, and I think this has been another inspiration for this particular article of mine. For, as an instructor, it is the love of the arts and the love of teaching, the love of passing on the truth as I see it and the love of seeing my students progress that spurs me on to be the best instructor I can be.

But all this Love will be wasted if Trust is missing.

The trust a student places in a teacher will directly reflect how much they will learn. This is a trust that must be nurtured and cherished, for just as I put my life in my strangle holding partners hands for a brief moment in time, so a student places their entire education, learning, growth and direction in their instructors hands for a lifetime.
What a teacher says to a child can stay with that child forever, and as a martial arts instructor, what I pass on to my students in their very first lesson can shape their impression of me, the arts and it’s place in their lives forever.

For any teacher, this is a very powerful position to be in and also a fantastic opportunity to help guide and direct students towards whatever it is they wish to achieve.

It’s been said that Trust can take 20 years to build and 5 minutes to knock down, and it is this juxtaposition of great power and fragility that I see Trust as one of the most important attributes an instructor must give to all students and conversely, students to their teacher.

A trust of a student means they must always receive the truth, in the form of honest training from solid foundations. If we talk Physical Self Protection then the techniques taught must be tried and tested, they must work and must not be created simply to bolster a small syllabus.
If it is the arts that are being taught then they must also be taught correctly, with integrity and accredited to those who have invested their lives before us to develop and evolve them.
If it is personal growth then an instructor must teach with empathy, compassion and with love to build a trust that will allow the student to go forward with courage born from faith that their teacher has given them the right lessons and the right instruction.

So yes

Trust Is when you know your partner will release the moment you tap out.
Trust Is when you turn up to your first class, knowing nothing and placing your future in the hands of your instructor.

So I guess my message this week is a simple one.

Who trusts you?

George MacDonald said
“To be trusted is a greater compliment that to be loved”

What I love the most about this whole process is that it also works in reverse.

For me, personally, I would say I learn as much from my students as I do my teachers. Everyone has something to teach, and who better to learn off than my students whose trust I have built up and honoured.

TS Elliot says
“Those who trust us, educate us”

So finally I say

Who trusts you and what can they teach you?

Thank you for reading

Stay Safe, and Have Fun

Al x

When to Get Physical?

2009-11-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

When should we become physical in a confrontational situation?

Teaching on a recent Geoff Thompson masterclass, I was explaining my own interpretation of the Fence Concepts and clarifying each stage of these principals using my own Fence Flowchart.

I explained how the Fence must be natural and invisible to those around. I then moved onto the Controlling Fence, explaining how this should be a momentary position, not something which is static and prolonged as taught by most instructors it would seem.

I then moved onto the important Decision Making stage which is where we have to decide how we’re going to deal with the situation in hand, assuming we’ve let it get that far and haven’t been able to employ an effective avoidance strategy.

I simplified the process with my chart to show how, ultimately, we only have one of two routes to take.
We can become submissive and feign weakness to our attacker, or we can flip this coin and become totally aggressive and enraged.

The submissive option, I would suggest, through many years of personal experience is highly likely to result in physical conflict, either from your pre-emptive strike or from your attacker’s onslaught.
To tell your would-be assailant that you don’t want trouble and to beg “please – I don’t want to fight” is a great way to tell your attacker that he/she has just picked the right victim.
This is great if you then intend to follow up this action with a pre-emptive strike, as your attacker will have momentarily relaxed in the thought that they now have an easy target. The result will be a more likely chance of success with your first shot.

It’s worth nothing that in all my time working the doors of Coventry, I cannot recall one incident where I have told an aggressive assailant that “I didn’t want trouble” and to “please not hurt me” only to have them respond with “Oh – ok mate – really sorry”.

So, as I state more clearly, and in more, detail in my Fence Concepts book, going Submissive is usually going to be followed by physical action and I would highly recommend that this action is yours in the form of a solid pre-emptive strike.

The alternative to this is to become massively aggressive. To explode in a rage of fury. And to balloon and posture like a rabid animal ready to lash out at anyone or anything stupid enough to get in your way.
The intention is to totally shock your assailant and make them completely believe that they have picked the wrong victim and that now they are the prey instead.
Trust me – this works!

The upshot of this action is that it can give you a far better chance of surviving this encounter without even having to resort to physical action such as fighting. By inducing this “adrenalin filled” state in your attacker, you can at the very least buy yourself a few seconds to escape, and at the best you can totally bottle-out your attacker and have them back away from you.

The reason for this article was a result of an innocent question from one of the students on the course and that was...
“How do you know which of these routes to take, Submissive or Aggressive?”

A simple question but quite a complex answer if I’m totally honest.

Firstly, I emphasise again that to have let a situation get to this point, means you’ve most likely missed warning signs earlier on that would have helped you to spot this potential encounter ahead of time and take the appropriate steps to avoid confrontation in the first place. Good awareness skills are vital and if performed well, this decision will be required far fewer times than you think.

However, we are where we are and so we must make the right decision.

In a confrontation we really have 4 options on how we can proceed.

Comply – Give the attacker everything they ask for.

Diffuse – Talk the situation down or perhaps talk your way out of the situation rationally and calmly.

Escape – Run away at the first opportunity – possibly after employing an aggressive fence.

Physical – Start hitting – possibly after employing a submissive fence, asking a question, engaging the attackers brain (what there is of it) and then knocking him out.

Which of the latter two options we take will depend on a variety of factors and logical decisions such as:-

Your legal position and what you are allowed to do in the situation that fits within the law.
Your own ability and being honestly aware of what you are capable of physically.
Your environment, who is around who can help or hinder your chances of success.
The level of threat you are facing.
What you stand to lose, who or what are you protecting.

The list could go on, and in another article I will elaborate more on how we can deal with a lot of these issues ahead of time so that we have less decisions to make should the time arise and more clarity of thought when we need it most.

These are all logical questions and decisions that all have a bearing on how you should act and the route you should take when choosing Submissive or Aggressive.

One thing which often gets missed however is this...

When we talk about being pre-emptive, we mean being first with our physical punch. Hitting first in order to defend ourselves as efficiently as possible.
The danger is, that if I stand in front of someone who is about to attack me and I decide to hit first for any reason other than it being my absolute last resort, then I am in danger of becoming the bully that I am trying to protect myself from.

To choose to hit first before employing every other option is to make the assumption that the person in front of you is less skilled than you and going to be vulnerable to your punch.

If, for example, I was to stand in front of a group of attackers, knowing full well that I don’t stand a chance if the fight kicks off, you can rest assured I’m going to try every tactic under the sun to avoid physical confrontation with this crowd. Using an Aggressive Fence could afford me the option to defeat or escape this crowd without having to go physical.

I would only become physical as an absolute last resort. If I thought that no other course of action was going to have the desired effect.

It is with this same mentality that I would argue you should approach a lone attacker.
To hit first before you have exhausted the other options, or before you have reconciled that none of those options are going to work, is to become the bully.

To clarify. If I believed that becoming aggressive and posturing and ballooning against a single attacker would actually work, but I choose not to use this strategy and instead start punching, then I am the bully.

Don’t get me wrong, I am totally in favour and in fact, a massive advocate of hitting first. To employ anything less in your physical strategy is to open the door for personal attack and possible defeat.
However, what I am also saying is that this strategy must still be your last resort.

So in a nutshell, your decision to choose either a Submissive or Aggressive Fence should be governed by a whole host of logical factors. It should also be a gut instinct and an intuitive decision based on the situation as it happens.

And remember, not only are you answerable to the law, you also have to answer to yourself.

Stay Safe & Have Fun
Al x

BALANCE

2009-11-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

When I started my martial arts journey in Shotokan Karate, at the age of 12, one of the things I remember being a large part of my training was Balance.

I remember the repetition of front leg kicks whilst standing perfectly still and poised on one leg.

Slowly raising alternate legs until my knee was above waist height and then, with as much control as possible, extending my kicking leg out in front and pushing my hips forward for more reach and powerFinally, holding my leg fully extended for what seemed like a thigh burning eternity, and then retracting at the same steady speed and finally coming to rest, both feet together.

This simple and basic, static drill, developed many attributes. It broke the kicking technique down to it’s constituent parts so that I could hone each stage of the kicking process and then smoothly blend those stages back together once perfected.It increased my strength and muscular control, and aided my flexibility so that I could perform all of those high flashy kicks I so desperately wanted to be able to show off.

What it also taught was Balance. The ability to simply stand, stationary, without bouncing or shuffling around whilst I raised, kicked and lowered my other leg.It taught me how to focus and maintain good posture during this balancing act, which is paramount if you than want to take this technique into other aspects of the art.

We repeated this drill many times and worked it with the primary range of kicks the art contained. Front snap kicks, side thrust kicks, reverse thrust kicks, and front roundhouse kicks.
With each technique, balance became the primary goal; to be able to stand there completely still and in perfect balance whilst delivering and demonstrating each kick.

However, Balance has a much bigger part to play in Martial Arts and in life, than simply being able to physically balance yourself on one leg.

At the next stage we can look at how well we balance our training, with a well proportioned mix of heavy sparring, pressure testing, soft training, fitness training, technique and art training, solitary training, partner training, the list goes on.

In addition, we can also strive to achieve a balance with our training that incorporates research, reading, watching instructional DVDs, training with different instructors, seminar and class training.

From this we can start to cross train and get a balance with various sports and activities that all come together to supplement our ultimate goal. Mixing activities such as weight training, or gymnastic training with our martial arts, all geared towards improving our overall game.

And yet, the application for balance goes even further than this.

A book I read recently talks about having a Life Balance. In it, the author explained how we should all have a balance in our lives of Work, Rest, Play, Family/Relationships and Charity.

We should put back into society what we take out and at the same time have a balance of personal time and time for friends and family and relationships.

How you balance that is a personal journey.

Some people may be able to combine some of these so that perhaps your work is actually your personal fun/hobby time. Perhaps you work is also your charity and your route for tithing and giving something back.

Getting a good life balance is crucial if you want to be both successful but also be healthy and leading a full life.

A life that affords you the successes you desire without being detrimental to you or anyone else .

It’s interesting how this requirement for balance also then applies into our Personal Security strategies.

On the Women’s Self Defence days that I hold around the country, I talk a lot about awareness and assessment. The main emphasis however, is not just being aware of the bad things. When I show someone how to become more switched on, I teach them how to look for good as well as bad, safe as well as dangerous and places to move towards as well as places to avoid.It’s very important to keep a balanced approach to your personal security.

When I’m walking around I’m making note of people who might be a threat and also people who may be able to help me. I look for places that I should avoid, such as dark alleyways and lonely footpaths, and places that I could run to, such as busy shops.

By keeping this balanced outlook, not only do I afford myself a complete and comprehensive personal security strategy, I also stop seeing the world as completely negative. I find that I can spot far more positive, good things in my awareness drills than I do bad.

This balanced approach also then means that my level of security is more balanced and more appropriate for whatever situation I am in. The result is I am less likely to be paranoid, locking myself away in order to keep myself safe, but also less likely to be caught off-guard and unaware. I can lead a more fulfilling life with a more balanced outlook and approach.

Switched Off!!! A Little Too Overcautious???

So, from a basic martial arts drill that saw me standing steadily on one foot, I have been able to take that concept and apply it at many levels. A quite simple notion of balance can have massive effect on my martial arts training, my personal security and in fact, my whole life.
A final thought.

"When you are balanced, you are more difficult to knock over. This applies to attacks from your training partner and the kicks and punches that life can throw at you."

Al Peasland

So - Get In Balance!

Stay Safe and Have Fun
Al x

Giving Generously

2009-10-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Tithing, as my mentor Geoff Thompson would explain, is the ancient belief that if you give without thought of personal gain, you will actually receive back ten-fold.

Giving not to receive, but knowing you will actually receive anyway.

This is a great notion and one that I am striving hard to achieve more and more. However, what I feel is even more important, is not just the act of giving, but what we actually give.
What I mean by this is that in order to give generously; for it to be true tithing, we need to gift things that we value and not things which are easy of us to replace or which we have an ample supply of.

For example, it’s easy for the wealthy celebrity to “do a lot of work for charity”, when they still have their private jet to fly home in. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m wise enough to appreciate that celebrities can offer charities far more with their public position and fame than they can in monetary terms, and this article is in no way aimed at having a dig at those people, far from it.

What I do mean though, is that giving something that you have worked hard to earn for yourself, or giving something which you have precious little of yourself, is a far bigger and more wonderful tithing.

Someone who I consider a close friend of mine recently reached onto their bookshelf to offer me a title that they thought I would find of use and assistance. I happily accepted their kind offer without first seeing the book in question. However, once the book was placed in my hand, I realised it was very old, very well read, and most likely, very difficult to replace.

My immediate reaction was to suggest I hand it back once I had read it, to which my friend replied and said,
“No, I want you to have it”

Now, perhaps, I thought, this book wasn’t that good after all, and that is why my friend was happy to see it go from his book collection.Of course, I was wrong. It was a fantastic read and one that I will continue to use for inspiration and assistance in my future articles and books.A truly generous gift.

And it was this gift which reminded me of another story that I’d like to share.

Forgive me for not re-reading the book in order to quote the story accurately, but it was a story from Anthony Kiedis’ life story, entitled Scar Tissue. Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, recalls a story when he was young and rummaging through the wardrobe of a celebrity friend.
He stumbled across a fantastic leather jacket and told the celebrity how great it was. His friend replied,
“Yes, it’s my favourite jacket... you can have it”.
Anthony being polite said,
“No, I can’t. I couldn’t accept your favourite jacket”
To which his friend replied,
“That is why I want you to have it. Why would I give you something which I don’t like myself”

And this is my point exactly.

True tithing is the giving of what we feel is precious to us. Something we have limited resource from, possibly something we cannot replace ever again.

The best example of that is our time.
We can get back pretty much everything else that we lose, except for time. Once it’s gone it’s gone and so to offer our time to others is the most generous of gifts. This has to be closely followed by things that we’ve worked extremely hard to earn and make our own, perhaps our knowledge and our skills.

And here we have it, the generous gift of teaching.

As a martial arts instructor, it’s my job to pass on everything I have spent the vast majority of my life learning and discovering. Often with hardships and pain along the way. True tithing is to gift my students with all that I know, the best that I know and not hold anything back. Giving them my time and my attention along the way.

We all tithe, all of the time, often without realising it, so we must make sure we do it generously. Selflessly not selfishly. From the monetary donations we make, to the time we spend with others, even down to the words we use. Because, just like any gift, the words you give to others are very difficult to take back, so choose them wisely and make them generous.

And remember...

"We make a living through what we get, but we make a life through what we give"
Winston Churchill

"Think of giving, not as a duty, but as a privilege"
John D Rockefeller Jr

Stay Safe and have fun

Al x

Putting Paper in the Plotter

2009-09-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

For those who know me, you’ll know I spend some of my time each week working for a formula one racing team.

My role is to manage all things relating to the CAD (Computer Aided Design) software that the engineers use to design and develop the racing car.

As an ex-design engineer myself, having worked on projects such as the Eurofighter wheels and brakes, or the Porsche Cayenne’s Four Wheel Drive gearbox, I have a good appreciation for what the designers do on a day to day basis, and dare I say, am quite well qualified to do their job myself.

My job role is quite varied and can range from presenting new process ideas to senior management, managing software upgrades which could potentially see the whole engineering effort grinding to a halt if done badly, down to fetching rolls of paper from the stores.

Who said Formula One was all fast cars and celebrities?

It was during one of my more menial tasks of re-loading paper into the large plotter that I stopped and had a moment of self pity.

“What on earth”, I asked myself, “has my life come to?”

A 1st class honours degree, and a fully chartered engineer, now stood forcing paper into a plotter that has decided it’s going to spit it straight back out at me with every attempt I make.
“Where did I go so wrong?”
“Is this what my life has come to?”

You know, all those massive, self pitying questions we ask ourselves when we have a moment of weakness.

I then recalled something that I heard on a talk by Nick Vujicic. This is a gentleman who was born with no arms or legs and now travels the world as a motivational speaker. Truly inspiring.
He said on one of his talks how, as a young boy growing up, he prayed and prayed for a miracle. He prayed that his miracle would be to somehow get arms and legs and if not that, then at least meet someone else who could tell him it was going to be ok. Someone who was in the same situation as him, who knew how he felt and could show him the way. This miracle never came.

Then, many years later, he met a girl with a similar condition, who had obviously made similar prayers for miracles. He realised that his purpose was to be someone-else’s miracle. He could be the person to show this girl the way.

Now, I have digressed ever-so slightly, as I often do, but my depressing task of putting paper into a plotter, thinking “is this what my life has come down to”, suddenly became more purposeful.

No, I have not lost the plot. (pardon the pun). I’m not writing this thinking I am suddenly the miracle that all of the designers have been waiting for. But what is important to remember is that, without me fulfilling this small task, the Engineer’s designs and ideas would not actually make it onto paper. The result would be that they couldn’t approve these designs and consequently, the company wouldn’t be able to purchase or manufacture the parts.
In addition, the quality departments would then have no parts to inspect and even if they did, would have no drawings to measure and check the parts against.
The result would be no racing car built this week and two empty spaces on the grid at the next race.

A little dramatic perhaps, as it doesn’t quite work as simply as this in these 3D – digital days, but you get my point.

My small job was to help serve others. This little task allowed others to continue to perform far more important tasks that ultimately had massive impact and effects on the company and team.

Sometimes we have to look a little wider than what we are doing to see how it can affect and help others. That makes the actual task at hand a little more worthwhile and gives us more purpose.

We may want to achieve great things, but we may also be able to do that by helping others to achieve great things.

This is why I teach.

Stay Safe & Have Fun

Al x

JUST DO IT

2009-09-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

I’m writing this article after a relaxing break with my gorgeous Lou in her favourite part of the world, Spain.The week-long break was a last minute thing that began with a conversation about us both needing some time out to recharge our batteries. The conversation including topics such as, “Can we spare the time”, “Can we afford the break”, “Shouldn’t we save our money and stay at home”, the usual stuff we all do when considering a last minute holiday.The conversation ended with “Let’s Just Do It!”So we did. To coin a phrase, we booked it, packed it and ******* off. (one for all you Peter Kay fans out there).

Once we’d made the decision to Just Do It, we were committed and there was no turning back as far as we were concerned.

Now I know, a short break to a hot climate is not exactly a challenge or a great demonstration of “Just Do It”, but it was the catalyst that inspired me to write this week’s article.
The moment you switch into the Just Do It attitude and mindset, nothing gets in your way and what’s more, the results come back to you thick and fast. Far quicker than skirting around whatever issue it is and pondering, musing on all of the what-if’s and allowing all those fears and negative stories to kick in.

There is also no substitute for Just Doing It. Whilst we may kid ourselves that doing something less scary or less difficult may help us in our overall direction towards our goals, there is no better way to get the results you are looking for than just doing that very thing you wish to excel at.
I’ve read with great interest some emails I’ve received recently from lovely people who have emailed asking to train with me. They ask what I teach and how tough the sessions are, and then usually finish with a familiar statement of “When I get myself fit I’ll come down and train”, or something to that extent.

I am as guilty as most, if not more, of being afraid of training with certain people because my levels of fitness or skill will be no match for them or their class. Offering to go away and get my fitness better before I enter their class. In reality, this is usually just another way of saying, I’m nervous and fearful so will give myself more time to pluck up the courage. After all, in my experience, the best way to get fit for something is to Just Do It.

We can use supplementary training and cross training to help with conditioning and physical preparation but if you want to be a great wrestler, you won’t get good in the weights gym, you’ll get good being on the mat – Doing It!

I’ll give you another example:

Whilst sat on the beach, looking out to the awe inspiring vastness of the beautifully calm and flat sea that stretched for as far as I could see, I turned and said to Lou,“I wonder how far we can actually see today?”
Looking out at the horizon and swearing I could see the curve of the Earth in the distance I was just curious as to how far away that horizon actually was.

Now, being an Engineer, I put my analytical mathematical brain into gear and started to work out the trigonometry of where the horizon actually was. I knew the rough diameter of the Planet Earth (I know – I’m that sad!). From that I could figure out how high off the ground we were, stretching a line out tangentially to the radius of the Earth I should be able to calculate how long that line would have to be in order to meet the tangency of the Earth off in the distance.

I explained this to Lou and whilst I’m sure her frowned stare back at me was one of total amazement at my level of mathematical genius, she then replied.

“Why don’t you just get someone to sail out and you can radio to them the moment they go out of sight. They’ll know where they are and you will know exactly how far you can see!”

In other words – Just Do It, don’t theorise and don’t bother pondering and calculating and assuming, just get out there and do it.The beauty is in the simplicity and after all, it is only three little words.

In my other life within the Formula One industry, we spend vast amounts of time and money using the absolute latest and most sophisticated virtual systems for analysing designs and testing their performance before they are even manufactured. And yet, after all that effort there is still no substitute for putting the car together, getting it on the track and actually testing the real thing.

I intend to fill my life from this point forward with a lot more, Just Do Its.

As my mentor said to me a long time ago; We sit on the driveway of life watching the world go by, afraid to pull out into the traffic. So, I say to you, it’s time to get moving, get off the driveway – and Start Doing!
As always, thank you for reading and until next timeStay Safe and Have Lots of Fun!

Al x

CHANGE

2009-08-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

This week and last I have been experiencing change.

No, I’ve not been having hot flushes or moments of dizziness. Well, maybe one or two.

I have in fact taken notice of how many things have changed throughout the past couple of weeks. Some of these are changes imposed upon me, seemingly out of my control, and some are changes I have actively sought.
What has been most interesting is that, only once I had let go of what I currently knew to be right, and what felt comfortable and safe, did I really start to experience the benefits of the change.
I’ll start with a Martial Arts example.

If you were to ask me what I am as a Martial Artist, I would most likely answer, “A Karateka”.Whilst I’ve not donned my Karate Gi for many years, I still consider myself a student of the art of Shotokan Karate and if you were to take a look at my fighting style, I’m sure that would still be evident.The long deep stances may have shortened a little, and the traditional low guard ready for long reaching reverse straight punches may have morphed slightly to more of a pugilist form, but the signs will still be there.

No more so than in my Roundhouse, (Mawashi Geri), kicks.
Having spent 20 plus years developing and evolving the intricate body mechanics of this particular kick and countless thousands of repetitions on the heavy bag and with sparring partners, I’ve been quite content and comfortable with my kicking ability.

However, it is this comfort that I have used as my indicator that this is a time for change.

So, the past few weeks has seen me focusing with more intent on changing my body mechanics and trying to modify, not undo, all those years of muscle memory, in order to take on the Muay Thai shape.A big thank you, at this point, goes out to those who have spent a lot of time with me recently, sharing bruised legs along the way, to patiently help guide me on this journey of change.

Now I could take this article down the path of the benefits and the lessons I’ve learned about this particular new technique and the philosophies behind it; such as, throwing the kick with almost a carefree attitude; being nonchalant in the delivery to a point of almost casual relaxedness; trying less in order to achieve more. The lessons were plenty.

But I’m focusing on the act of Change this week and so I will continue with this theme.What I noticed was that I only started to see improvements in this new technique when I let go of the old, familiar, comfortable, muscle memory that I had become so fond of.
This ability to let go of the past in order to take the most from the present is vital if we are to be able to manage and enjoy the act of Change.
In my other life, I have also had a very busy week of change, but this time, it’s a change that those around me have had to endure or enjoy, depending on whom you speak to.I have been tasked with supporting a large group of individuals as they return to work from a short break to be presented with a whole host of new computer software and applications to cope with.
This has been a fascinating demonstration of the power of change, and how its strength can either help or hinder depending on your own attitude towards it.
Those who welcomed the new software, who accepted it had changed, quickly set about learning it with a patience and tolerance that allowed them to grow. It’s not been easy for them, but it’s a fact that often things have to get worse before they can get better.
For example, try fitting a new kitchen without first ripping out the old one and turning your adequately functioning kitchen into an empty, dusty room. You get my point.Those, on the other hand, who refused to accept the new software, spent most of their time procrastinating at how poor it was and how they wanted the old software back. For a time they were effectively living in the past, reminiscing on how good the old times were which served no purpose other than to delay their progress with the now!

These past couple of weeks have reminded me of a great book I read many years ago, and one which I highly recommend you seek out.

Who Moved My Cheese?

This is a story of 4 mice that find cheese, and day after day take the same route from their home to this vast store of nourishment; until one day when the cheese runs out. Now, without their comfortable, familiar and reliable store of food, two of the mice immediately set out in search for more. Not knowing if they will find any but certainly not waiting around to ponder on where their first supply had gone.A brave and courageous decision, but their ready acceptance to this change in circumstance meant they were able to start their search still fit and energised from their last full cheese meal.
The other mice continued to take the same journey each day, in the vane hope that one day their cheese may return.Obviously, the cheese doesn’t return, and all they had done was delay their chances of finding new food, leaving them hungry and weak in the process.

I won’t spoil the rest of the read for you but suffice to say..

We all like comfort, reliability, and consistency. These things are great as they help us to plan and become efficient at what we do. For example, how many of us take the same route to work every day, even when it becomes tedious and boring. We continue on because we become familiar with the average time it will take, and can plan our day around it more efficiently.Repetition is also the key to success, so there is a lot to be said for having constants in your life and continuing to work and develop on the same thing.

However, we also need to have one foot on the starting block of change. Always being ready to adapt and move on to new things, new ideas, new software and new kicking techniques.
It’s said, you cannot steal second base without letting go of first and this is no more evident than when experiencing change.Only when we let go of what feels comfortable can we start to experience the benefits of the new. Yes this takes courage, but no one said it is easy.

And as Dr Spencer Johnson says in his book,

“The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese”

Author Philip Crosby said

"If anything is certain, it is that change is certain. The world we are planning for today will not exist in this form tomorrow."

“Change should be a friend. It should happen by plan, not by accident.”

So be prepared to change, whether it is imposed upon you or better still, act first and make the change.

Until next time

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x

'AS IF' Attitude

2009-08-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

I have entitled this weeks article “AS IF” Attitude, but it could equally have been branded Intention or Commitment.
As always, inspiration for my articles comes from many sources and it’s always nice to see that various areas of my life often serve up the same menu of messages and directions. It gives me reassurance that I am on the right path or at least have a balance in my life that means I am surrounded by the right influences.
It’s said that..

“Good men usually have around them people who expect them to be better than they have any intention of being.”

..and I fully believe that this should always be our aim; to have great influence in our lives in whichever direction we turn. Do You?
Anyway, I digress, so back to the plot.

In NLP, we use the phrase “AS IF” quite a lot when we want to change the way we feel about certain events or occasions, for example.
If I have an event, or an occasion that I am particularly nervous about, I will apply an As If Attitude to this via deep concentration, or relaxed meditation.I will muse over the forthcoming event and then take myself past it to imagine myself As If it had already passed with a successful outcome.

If you feel you are not good enough, skilled enough, or experienced enough to accomplish a task, imagine yourself As If you have all the skills you need. Chances are you probably already do anyway. Imagine how your life would change if the outcome was a success. Shape your thoughts As If the event had now passed and everything went according to plan. How would you then feel?

In reality, we all do everything with an As If attitude it’s just that often it’s not quite the right one. We can enter into things As If we are going to be victorious, As If we are not going to succeed, or As If we couldn’t really care less, and many other attitudes in between.
So really, this article is about having a positive As If attitude rather than any random As If mindset.
Using the As If attitude will change the way you approach something and also change the way you feel about something.

On the Self Defence Forum this week, one of the members had posted a link to an article which suggested, through “extensive” research and trials, that positive thinking may not have a positive bearing on the outcome of an event. In fact, it went further to suggest that it could lead to negative results as the positive suggestions spoken internally by the test participants didn’t lead to a better result and so they became despondent.I’m sure the test results did give this feedback, but what I would suggest is that it’s not simply a matter of repeating positive phrases to yourself, you also need the right intention and the right mindset. Words will do nothing without intent and commitment behind them. So saying “I will succeed” must be coupled with faith that “I will succeed” and then an attitude As If I know I’m going to succeed, and knowing already what I expect to feel like when I Do Succeed.

This may all seem like positive claptrap but I use my final source of inspiration this week to highlight exactly what I mean.

During training this week with my instructor Terry Barnett, we started with some pad work, drilling some basic trapping techniques.
I won’t go into the intricacies of the drill here, except to illustrate my point.
Our first round was to simply trap and counter with a back-fist onto the focus mit.
Once we had this smoothly and efficiently with good body mechanics, and importantly, commitment in our back-fist strike we then expanded the drill slightly.
This next round the pad holder blocked our back-fist, cutting off its path to the pad, such that we then had to clear the obstruction and continue with a second attack to the pad.Again, we drilled this for some time.
This is where the drill became interesting because, what we noticed was how our initial back-fist attack changed once we knew it would be blocked. Our body mechanics, our positioning, our forward motion, or lack thereof, all changed as we began to pre-empt the block and better set ourselves up for the clearance and second attack.
This lack of commitment was exposed when the drill changed so that the pad holder was allowed to choose at random whether he would block the initial back-fist or allow it a clear path through to the pad.

We immediately noticed how, when we anticipated the block, if it never actually came, our back-fist was poorly executed and often didn’t reach the intended target.

The purpose of the drill was to throw each technique As If it was going to hit the pad; As If it wasn’t going to be blocked, which is how it would be thrown in reality.Once, or if the attack was blocked or covered, then we had to react to the new situation, clear the obstruction and continue with our forward motion and attacks.

There are lots of analogies in this simple drill and I have picked only one which is the As If attitude, but some others could be..

- To make every action a deliberate one.
- To not expect or anticipate failure.
- To be flexible enough to change our course of action when a block or hurdle is thrown in our way.
- To accept sometimes our first course of action won’t achieve its intended goal but to carry on anyway with a revised plan.
- To not try to continue forcing something through that simply cannot work, particularly when the situation has changed such that our original plan is no longer valid.
- To not be disheartened when our actions aren’t successful.
- To be sensitive to change, only so that we can identify it quickly and adapt and modify just as speedily, rather than be sensitive where we are unwelcoming and uncomfortable at the first signs of change.

The list could go on but I need to get back to my original plan.
We proceeded with every action As If it was going to achieve its desired result.So our initial back-fist had to be thrown As If it was going to be successful, and only when/if it’s path was blocked would we then adapt, clear the block and continue to attack.
When I translate this to my own area of Martial Arts, the Self Protection and dare I say, “Reality Based” arena, this As If attitude is probably one of the key mentalities that will make the difference between win or lose.

For example, should the need arise and I have to throw a pre-emptive strike, every single shot I throw will be with the commitment As If this one will be the knock out shot. I have to have massive intention and massive commitment with both the technique and my attitude; otherwise it most certainly will not achieve the desired result.

I throw my punch As If my life depends on it, and it probably most certainly will do.

The paradox with this however, is that I also keep an attitude As If even this first shot is still not enough. I must maintain a posture and a self control after my first shot As If the guy is still going to be conscious and upright and still posing a threat. Without this mindset and self control, I will over commit with my first technique and could end up in a vulnerable position after my failed first shot.

It’s a very difficult balance to get, to fully commit a technique with 100% intention that it will work, but also have a backup plan, just in case it doesn’t.

When we look at the specific mechanics of a good pre-emptive strike, we should always be throwing our shots, As If the pad or target was a little further away than it actually is. This means we will be punching through the target rather punching onto it.

Look at the best 100 metre sprinters and you will see they run the race As If it’s actually 110 metres. They sprint through the line not up to it.
And I would argue that anything you wish to achieve, anything you wish to accomplish you should apply the same commitment and intention and the same As If attitude.

Try treating or imagining your boring 8 hour day at the job you hate As If it’s going to be 9 hours. You’ll be pleased when you finish work earlier.

A silly example perhaps, but it brings me back to the As If mindset and the tools we use in NLP to achieve successful outcomes.
Visualisation techniques use the same principal.

"Before you create something for real, you must first create it in your mind and this is where visualisation comes in."

But successful visualisation relies totally on having the As If attitude, in order to see things As If they are already there and outcomes As If they have resulted in what you desired.
How many times have you experienced yourself or witnessed others who have had a negative, self doubting mindset before they begin a task, only to see themselves fail. Some would say this is a self fulfilling prophecy, and they would be right.After all..

“The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.”

But what really makes the difference is when you apply the As If attitude. Enter any task As If you are already capable and already experienced enough. Have the mental approach As If you ARE going to be successful, and the results will follow suit.

So when I throw the back-fist at the pad, I do it As If nothing is going to get in its way and I do it As If the target is further away than it actually is. My action will then have total commitment with total intent.

And if I take this As If attitude and apply it wherever I need conviction in my actions I will, without doubt, increase my chances of success.

Stay Safe and Have Fun

Al x