self-defense

I have been thinking about this question a lot lately and I’d like to hear people’s opinions. It’s not an easy question with an easy answer. I’m coming at this from a women’s self-defense perspective, but I think it can apply to men as well. There’s certainly a lot of pressure for men to defend themselves on a daily basis – the difference is usually the situation.

My question is, “How do we balance the need to have complete confidence in our ability to defend ourselves while still acknowledging the reality that we may not be able to?”

What I mean by having complete confidence in our ability to defend ourselves is that we need to have the mental mindset that we can protect ourselves or someone we love. We need to believe it is possible so that we will actually try. If we don’t believe we are worth defending, that we have the right to defend ourselves, or that we have the ability to defend ourselves, chances are we won’t. I do not mean that we have some false confidence that we think we can defeat anyone put in our path, because honestly we are bombarded with the exact opposite message everyday in the news, on TV, in movies, through true stories told by others or personally experienced, etc. Which leads to my second point – the reality is there are so many situations where women are hurt every day.

How do we avoid a defeatist mentality where we give up before a situation even presents itself?

How do we avoid blaming the victim for not protecting herself, when really, why should she be put in a situation where she has to?

This is something I struggle with as a martial artist because I feel like I have learned valuable self-defense skills that I should be able to apply in a real situation, but what if I don’t or cant? We talk about the unpredictability of self-defense situations and how no technique is perfect. Yet, I feel a sense of expectation, especially as I advance through the ranks, that I should be able to defend myself. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing – like I said we need to have that confidence. But, do we put too much pressure on ourselves and our abilities?

Which leads me back to my original question, “How do we balance the need to have complete confidence in our ability to defend ourselves while still acknowledging the reality that we may not be able to?”

I look forward to your responses,

Harmoni

May 2009 Technique of the Month - Self Defense from Arm Behind Back Up Against a Wall

Probably the longest title I've had thus far for a video. After our recent self defense class I sent out the questionnaire that you saw in my previous post. I had further discussions with one of the participants and she asked me about a scenario.

"If you are attacked and you have one arm pinned behind your back and you are
pushed up against a car or wall...... what do you do?"

I sent her back an email saying some possiblities and what I thought would be the best possible reactions to the situation. While I was writing the email I kept thinking, I wish I could just show her. Duh, I make videos at least once a month for Hapkido!

We did a little experiement with Harmoni and Lacy. It turned out to be some really good training and hopefully an eye opener. I realize that it is difficult to train with the realizm of a situation and I obviously don't want to hurt my students, but I think this was good training all the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J6rROHpE4M



Joshua Cather

http://www.shinkoohapkido.com/

Another Successful Women's Self Defense Class

I'd like to thank all of my fellow martial artists that came out to help with the self defense class Monday (April 14th). Thank you Craig, Harmoni, Hilary, Mike, and Norman for making the class a success.

I sent out a survey to the participants and here are some of the comments that I got back. I randomly alternated the color of the comments so you can tell when it is a different person.

In light of some of the comments below I will be thinking of some changes to the self defense class. One being either another class for defense against weapons or to incorporate weapon defense into the current class. I'm thinking about saving up for a redman suit as well, wouldn't that be cool!


What did you not like about the class?
Burning my elbows

Nothing, I learned even more and it was good to work on the moves I already knew.

Nothing, I thought it was great and informative.

I can't think of anything.

I can't really think of anything.


What did you like?
It was a great class---the most important part of the class, in my opinion, was being able to actually apply the techniques with full force, etc. It's extremely empowering.The class was both fun and more informative/helpful than I expected.

The instructor! Everything was helpful.

The actual practice of the self-defense moves. I think this is invaluable!

I liked kicking and elbowing Bob.I liked that the other students were women

I liked the discussion at the beginning, and how well you and all the helpers put us at ease and made us feel comfortable. And how you encouraged us that is was ok to stand back if we weren't comfortable with something. It was great.


Was the description of the class provided accurate?
Very, and it was helpful to know what to expect.

All other respondents said "Yes"


Did you feel that the instructors were approachable and gave good feedback?
Several "Definitely" and "Yes" responses

Yes, they were very good and I felt that I really learned how to do the movements so they would be effective. They gave great advice and were patient in showing the technique until you got it. definitely, all of them were great.


Was there anything that you would like to see in future classes that we did not cover?
Defending yourself against people with weapons

More techniques of breaking away from holds. I still think I might not be strong or tough enough to break free.

I think I would just like to see follow up classes or maybe have this class done quarterly throughout the year. I would like to take a class with my daughter every year as a refresher.

I'd like to have more safety tips and suggestions.

Maybe what some good options are if an attacker has a weapon?


Would you consider coming back to another class?
Definitely!!!

All Other respondents said "Defininetly" or "Yes"


Are you interested in any other martial arts?
I would definitely enjoy it and may get into it in the future. I would have to give something else up first ;-)

I know I need to find a way to workout, not sure what is best for me at this time.

I am considering taking classes.

??I don't know


Any other comments?
The class was great and I learned a lot. I would be interested in taking more classes. I would like to do more scenarios where I could practice actually using more force (I didn't want to hurt one of your nice instructors).

What you do is extremely important and I'm thankful I made it to your class. Thank you.

I always walk away feeling more confident and stronger. Also that I am not in as bad of shape as I thought.

I really want to thank you for having the class! It was great and I have been telling everyone about it. I am forwarding your email on to others and hope that more of my friends and co-workers will attend. I feel that I learned a lot and it was also a great learning experience for my daughter.

Just Thank you !!!

Great job. I will definitely recommend future classes to my friends.

I have several friends who wish they would have taken it with me, so if you offer it again, please let us know, so I can bring them.


http://www.shinkoohapkido.com/

Breaking the Power of 10 (Pull Update 3)

I began to hit a plateau in my pullup count a couple of weeks back. Generally I do sets of pull-ups throughout the day a couple before work a couple when I come home from lunch etc. With these sets I'm not going to exhaustion but rather until I think I may have one more left in me if I push it.

I was looking at my logs and I realized I had written 10 for a majority of my reps. I realized that I was giving the number 10 too much power. It just seems like a nice whole number to finish on, so much more mathematically pleasing to the eye than 9 or 11.

I wasn't doing as many pullups as I should have. When I started out on my quest to 20 I could do around 6 to 8. Quickly I was doing 10 consistently and I felt like I had accomplished something. When that wore off I reevaluated why I wasn't progressing anymore.

I decided I wasn't going to stop at 10 and made my new number 12. I was amazed at how much my brain liked to stop at the number 10, but each time I got on the bar I told myself "I'm going to 12!" and I was able to do it. Now I'm thinking of bumping my min rep number up to 15.

I did a max on Chin-ups of 18 on Sunday. I just did 15 wide grip this morning. After 20 my goal is for 50!

What does this mean for my Hapkido students? All too often we do exercises where I stop at a measly 10 on each side. You know it's coming you're not worried about any extra. Well be forewarned the number 10 no longer has power in our Dojang.

-Joshua Cather

http://www.shinkoohapkido.com/

April 2009 Technique of the Month - Recovering from a Takedown

This month we "Tackled" ways to recover from takedowns. Basically getting your legs between you and your attacker and then standing up safely. In addition we show recovering from a shoulder throw and a leg takedown. Then some class time at the end where we kicked the crap out of each other's legs and knees.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4wZWUh1Z-Q






http://www.shinkoohapkido.com/

Interview with Josh Cather

1. Mr. Cather, you are the owner of Shin Koo Hapkido located in Lincoln, NE. Are you owner and instructor, as well?

I share the school with two Taekwondo instructors that were in the building before me. I was training with them off and on and finally we decided that it would be okay for me to partner with them and teach my own class there. I really do it for the love of the art and teaching.

2. Do you employ any other instructors to assist you?

Not currently. Craig Willeke helps teach ground fighting on Saturday mornings, but he does it for the workout and the camaraderie.

3. Where does Hapkido come from, and why was it developed?

The basic make up of Hapkido comes from two base martial arts of Daito Ryu Aiki Jutsu (Japanese jointlocks and throws) and Taek-Kyun (Korean Kicks and striking). Choi Yong Sul is said to have brought Daito Ryu Aiki Jutsu from Japan and spread this martial art under the name Yoo-Sool (Also Yoo-Kwon-Sool and Yawara)

Ji Han Jae trained under Choi and took Yoo-Sool and mixed it with Taek-Kyun and some weapons techniques and coined the name Hapkido. This can be a controvercial topic as many claim that Choi is the founder of Hapkido. I agree that Choi is a great man but it has been documented that he never changed his martial arts from the original Daito Ryu curriculum while Ji made the martial art more complete. If anything we study Ji’s original brand of Hapkido.

As to “why” I am not sure. Ji was in charge of training the Korean Secret Service at one point. I feel that it just made sense to tie Taek-kyun and Yoo-sool together to make a fairly complete martial art.

4. What does Hapkido's principles and techniques hope to accomplish?

I will cite the meaning of Hapkido “The Way of Coordinated Power.” Our major objective is to unify the mind and the body. The three theories of Flowing like Water, Circular Motion, and Harmony/Nonresistance lay the ground work for how to use the techniques to accomplish this goal.

In a less theoretical sense I find Hapkido to strive to meet the needs of any type of self defense situation. Several of the techniques can be used in a variety of ways from disabling to subduing to escaping the situation. It is a martial art that would be useful for men and women, police officers, military, bouncers, etc.

5. How does Hapkido compare to other martial arts; some pros and cons?

The answer to this question will be biased depending on who you talk to. My goal is to present and teach Hapkido as practical martial art for self defense. I strive for my students to be successful in any situation that they may need to defend themselves. This exposes the student to kicking, striking, grappling, throwing, ground fighting weapons, etc. This can also be a con because learning to defend yourself from all of these different ranges takes longer than just focusing on one like many martial arts do.

6. Why do you believe Hapkido is for you and your students?

My answers to the last 2 questions pretty much sums this up. A big part of me practicing Hapkido to this day is due to an awesome instructor, Mr. Michael Burnett. I believe that any martial art can be effective, but it is the teachers that pass it on that are more important than the system itself. I am thankful that I have a great teacher and I hope to follow in his footsteps.

7. How do you pronounce "student," "school," and, "teacher" in Hapkido's native language?

Student: Hak Seng
School: Kwan
Training Hall: Do Jang
Teacher: Kyo Sa Nim
Master: Sah Bum Nim

8. Does Hapkido require the practice of set movements, or katas?

That depends on your definition of Hyung (Korean for forms Kata is Japanese). You could consider our sets of jointlocks from wrist grabs as set movements. But if you are talking specific forms as in Taekwondo, our schools does not require forms to progress. I have taught some taekwondo forms to some students who were interested and I have tried to convert a couple forms to be more Hapkido like but I have not made a move to teach them along with the Hapkido curriculum. Some Hapkido organizations have them as part of their curriculum, we do not.

9. How is this beneficial?

Some of the major reasons for practicing forms are:

1. Catalog the curriculum so when you practice you cover all techniques

2. Something to perfect when working out alone

3. Requires balance, breath control, sometimes cardio, focus to do a form well

4. Can be good meditation when the moves are held in muscle memory

10. When new students visit your school I am sure they are filled with many questions. What are some common/frequent questions you are asked?

How long does it take to get the first belt or black belt?

What is your martial art background?

How long have you been teaching?

How much do classes cost?

11. Would you say males or females show greater interest in your school?

For a while it seemed like I was getting more females maybe because I was teaching the women’s self defense, now it’s about even.

12. And, what is it that a new student usually wants to learn?

All students are different. Some are interested in pure self defense. Some are interested in the full martial art and the tradition.

13. Would you say self defense, martial arts in general, physical or mental fitness, or something different?

I think self defense and martial arts in general. I don’t think someone would last long just looking for physical fitness.

14. When you accept a new student, what are the goals you would like to see the new student accomplish?

My goal is to be true to myself and the art and pass it to my students the best that I can. I want all of my students to learn an effective way to defend themselves and gain confidence in their ability. I also hope to help the student accomplish their own personal goals.

15. What dynamics do you believe a new student can bring to your school, your students, and you as the instructor?

The more people you work with on the techniques the more likely you will be able to apply them when attacked. Not everyone reacts 100% the same to every technique. The same holds true for attitude and aggression. The more you work with different types of people the better.

As for my teaching, the more times I can relate the same information to different students the better I learn and internalize the information.

16. With this process in reverse, what dynamics do you think the new student can experience?

I want my new students to feel welcome and become a part of the family so to speak. Hopefully this whole new world of knowledge will open up to them.

17. By the way, how long have you been teaching Hapkido?

I was looking at my resume the other day and I have on their since 2001. I started helping my first instructor by teaching a Taekwondo kids’ class. After that I taught out of my garage and in a student’s basement and finally teamed up with some awesome Taekwondo instructors after working out with them for a year or so. We now share the school and it has been going really well.

18. Is it the only martial art that you have received training?

I started in Taekwondo in 1991 then Hapkido in 1993. I received my 2nd Degree in TKD in 1995 and my 3rd degree in Hapkido in 2005. I have been to a couple of Karate schools and some Jui-Jitsu classes just to visit the schools and make friends and contacts with fellow martial artists.

19. What initially drew you to learning Hapkido?

I didn’t feel challenged by the Taekwondo school I was with at the time. I wanted to learn something different. A friend that I worked with was going to check out Mr. Burnett’s class and I went with him. I was hooked from there on out.

20. Do you sometimes find yourself as that young, inexperienced student when you first began learning the martial art of Hapkido?

It’s hard to remember that far back. I struggle with some of my new techniques with weapons and such. Sometimes working with ground fighting or with Mike Catron I work on something I haven’t done before and I feel less coordinated than usual.

When I started teaching in a way I felt like I was starting over again. I had to learn the techniques well enough to teach them. I found it very difficult at first to relate some of the information to my students.

21. Would you say you are still a student?

Definitely! I still feel like I have a lot to learn. Maybe not the same learning as my students but I have epiphanies or learn some things in spurts. Sometimes I come up with a new drill or exercise that brings home a theory or puts a technique into perspective that I didn’t think about before. I watch a lot of videos and read books trying to learn from them.

22. Has your passion as a student for Hapkido changed, and has the direction of your Hapkido ambitions changed, as well? How has this affected you as an instructor?

I feel I’m still trying to figure out what type of teacher I want to be. Sometimes I get crazy ideas in my head that I think will revolutionize Hapkido. Sometimes I want to throw the belt system away. Sometimes I want to teach my students how to write Korean and say all of the techniques in Korean. I try to keep a happy medium of tradition and innovation. I think I am on to something great and will hopefully continue down that path with our Hapkido.

23. How do you see yourself as an instructor, or describe what kind of instructor you believe yourself to be.

I’m the type of person that likes to know the “why” when it comes to a technique or theory. When I teach I think it is important to convey the “why”. I think so often there are instructors that go through the motions and just keep practicing techniques for the sake of tradition. I want to understand the technique and decide if and how much it is worth practicing. Hopefully my students realize that I have a reason for everything that we do and they trust me.

I encourage my students to ask questions about Hapkido and why we do certain techniques or hold certain philosophies. Of course there is a good time and way to ask questions. The middle of class is not always the best time to stop for a discussion and saying something to the affect of “This wouldn’t work” is not very constructive.

I really like to use analogies when I teach to relate the information in a way that the student can understand and apply the information. I have heard other people comment on this as being one of my strengths.

Hopefully my students see me as someone they can trust. Not only to teach them a martial art but also as a friend and someone that they can come to for advice.

24. Now, Hapkido means, "The way of coordinated power," when translated from Hangul (Korean) to English. In your own words, what does Hapkido mean?

For someone that doesn’t know anything about Hapkido the standard answer from me is: Hapkido is a Korean martial art that encompasses a wide range of practical self-defense techniques including punching, striking, kicking, joint locks, ground fighting, weapons techniques, and the mental and health benefits of meditation, acupressure, and the development of ki.

25. More personally, what does Hapkido mean to you?

It’s become more than a martial art that I do as a hobby. I consider it to be a major influence on my life and one of my defining characteristics. For me the martial art goes beyond a set of techniques put together. I consider it my way of life and I feel it has shaped the person that I am today. It has helped me come out on top in my personal life several times over.

26. What do you enjoy most about being an instructor?

I like seeing the growth in my students as they progress. It’s really becoming self evident in Harmoni. When I look back at some of the video tape that I have of her she has progressed leaps and bounds. She is representing Hapkido the way that I think my students should.

27. When you are instructing a particular student on a movement, what are you trying to accomplish?

I display the technique how it should be done at a normal pace and explain some of the best applications and possible targets for the technique. If it is a new movement for them I try to break the technique into bite sized chunks. For instance on a side kick I usually teach the chamber first and do only that for a while then move on to the actual kick when the chamber is where I want it. The first time they learn a technique I try to be careful not to overload with too much information and just get the basic large motor skills across. The details come with practice and further instruction.

28. What are some tips you have found successful and useful?

Realize that every student learns differently and what might make one student go “oh yeah that makes sense” might make another student’s eyes glaze over with confusion.

Students come and go and there is nothing I can do about it. When the first students that I taught quit I was very upset because I felt like I poured all of this knowledge into them and I wasted my time. I came to realize that I did gain knowledge and improved my teaching ability with them. Hopefully they took something away from my class that they can use in their lives.

29. How important is verbal and tactile communication?

I’d say the 80% of what you learn in Hapkido is through tactile communication. Words can only take you so far you have to feel what each technique is like when applied on you and when you apply it on someone else. There are times when my analogies help someone have that ah-ha moment but most things just need to be felt.

30. How do you define success as an instructor?

Many ways.

First and foremost: The satisfaction of my students. I like to hear when they feel they have improved or how Hapkido has made changes in their lives.

Second: Through recognition from my instructor and fellow martial artists. At the last testing all of the judges said that Harmoni and Matt should be promoted unanimously.

31. What accomplishments can one or all of your students obtain that would validate everything you do as an instructor, in other words give you that warm, fuzzy feeling inside?

I look forward to having my first black belt student, I think that will be a huge day for me and that student.

Groin Strikes Continued

One more thought that I didn't cover in my last post is the proper use of force needs to be tailored to fit the situation.

Consider the following situations:

You are in between a home invader and your child's room.
Your brother is drunk and being obnoxious during the family Thanksgiving get together.
A police officer is arresting a passive resistant 60 year old man.
A 100 lb female is fighting to avoid being raped.

Different situations call for different techniques and different use of force. We shouldn't pigeon hole self defense or fighting to one definition/situation/scenario. Where a groin strike is perfectly acceptable in half of those situations the other 2 situations it would be excessive and could cause permanent damage.

Mr. Burnett responded to me and said it was an interesting topic. He said he never focused on it because of the reason I stated at number 5. He also brought up the potential for causing permanent damage to the person you are having a confrontation with.



Josh Cather
http://www.shinkoohapkido.com/