THE DOKKODO OR WAY OF WALKING ALONE-MIYAMOTO MUSHASHI

Written by the greatest swordsman in Japanese history, it is a short work written a week before he died in 1645 and has 21 precepts. This is very valuable today: (highlights are my own)

The 21 principles of Dokkodo:

1. Accept everything just the way it is.
2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.
6. Do not regret what you have done.
7. Never be jealous.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
11. In all things, have no preferences.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
17. Do not fear death.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
20. You may abandon your own body, but you must preserve your honor.
21. Never stray from the Way.

Ensuring Health the Old-Fashioned Way:

• Plenty of Sleep
• Plenty of fluids including water, juices, the right kinds of tea
• Eat Right and Eat the Correct Portions
• A calm attitude (very hard in this day and age, always spar/do forms/practice, with a calm expression, intent, correct breathing, and focus)
• Respect for all
• Honor Always, to everyone
• Make sure to work out regularly and train (training is repetition, practice is understanding)

• Give yourself 1-2 hours a day, for you. This is not selfish, it is invigorating, for if you do not help yourself, you cannot help others

• Practice your movements, keep moving, do the 5 ways of breathing, the 8 brocades, the 18 Lohan methods, and the Qigong meditation and movements

The Five Methods and 1-2-3 Fighting Concept of Eagle Claw Kung Fu and Good Fighting:

The Five Methods:

• The Eyes-the eyes should be sharp and piercing
• The Mind- the mind should be calm and alert
• The Hands-the hands should be supple and fast changing
• The Footwork-the footwork should be agile and quick
• The Bodywork-the bodywork should be flexible and coordinated

The 1-2-3 Fighting Concept: (This combative strategy sounds simple but requires expertise, practice, and boldness/courage to execute)

• Take the opponent’s skill-study what the opponent is doing, and use it against him
• Set up the opponent-use false doors, feints, angles, deception, footwork, to deceive the opponent into thinking they understand what is happening
• Quickly win the fight-three techniques or ten seconds, longer or more complex, will lose the fight, especially if it is multiple opponents

PRACTICING/LEARNING CHIN NA (108 LOCKS), ONE OF FOUR PARTS OF FIGHTING (STRIKING, KICKING, GRAPPLING/WRESTLING, CHIN NA OR GRABBING/CONTROLLING):

To all, when practicing or learning chin na (108 locks of eagle claw for instance), a couple of points to keep in mind:

• Be totally relaxed, sparkling eyes, rooted feet, be nimble, and stay coordinated.
• Use your footwork to eat the space, create the bridge, instigate the attack.
• Use your waist to create the power of the technique as well as the direction.
• The chin na or lock movement should be relaxed and fast to the technique, then the first principle of Ying Jow locking is implemented: Jow Da Cum Na, or Grab, Seize, Lock. Once locked, the movement should either be controlling the opponent or finishing the opponent’s ability to resist.
• The concept of soft to hard to soft must be understood and executed.
• The six unities when attacking or defending are: unity of heart and mind, mind and chi, chi and power, hand and foot, knee and elbow, shoulder and hips. All of these must move together and be executed at the same time.
• There are seven principles in Ying Jow Pai, the first of which has already been mentioned. The other Six principles, which we will teach as you become more advanced are: Fan bug chun cow/ tumbling, elbowing, absorbing, Yah ho, yih na, sam cow, se sau or yield/catch/take down/protect, fun gun chaw gwat or tear muscle muscle/break bone, dim yut bye hei or hit pressure point/stop the breath/seal the blood, and nim yih moot mak or read the pulse/meaning see the opponent and understand his skill/intent.
• Employ the eagle claw walk (one of the four “pillars” of Ying Jow) i.e. the eagle claw footwork, to set up the techniques, the attacks, etc.

To all my students in class, and to the awareness/safety program, this is an excellent and detailed response to situations one might encounter on the street, written by a great martial artist and good friend, Master Kirby Baker. Take these lessons to heart, as they support what I am teaching in the awareness/safety programs as a CE provider for the Texas Real Estate Commission. Thank you! With honor and respect, Master Michael Aronson

“Let Their Body Talk To You”

 I know that all of us have on occasion had someone become confrontational with us and we had to process what was happening, what their problem was and how best to proceed. Hopefully, most of you have never had to physically engage in a bad altercation that caused you to hurt that person…but if you ever do, there are so many things that we want to be taking notice of, as when we allow their bodies to talk to us, we can learn so so much.

I am huge at creating space in ANY possible engagement. If the person enters my space for whatever reason, maybe just asking me what time it is, do I have a cigarette, do I know where blah blah blah is, etc… I immediately get my hands up in a manner that my palms are turned outward with fingers pointed straight up to appear as I want no problems. I find this is not just my best bet for anything that might be coming next, but it sends the least threatening message possible and that I want no problems. I also will move back from them in this same process, as this helps me to maintain better space and to let them know they are in my space.

One needs to be careful when someone approaches you and speaks very quietly, tries to whisper to you or even speaks in a language you don’t recognize. This can make some feel they need to move a bit closer to them, or they allow them to get closer to you, so you can better hear what they are saying, as this can often be nothing more than a way to get inside on you and attack you in some way. Again…make it your Golden Rule to get those hands up and move back to create that space before you continue ANY DIALOGUE with them. This should be your “Go To” response in ALL CASES when someone is entering your space for whatever reason. Just let them know they are invading your space and to please respect that.

Usually, the first thing I look to is their eyes and their body language, while I am processing whatever it is they are saying. I make sure to let my smells tell me if I am picking up on alcohol, or maybe just really bad body odor, as this can at times tell me if I am dealing with someone who rarely showers and might be just a street bum looking for whatever. I let my senses take in all I can and try not to miss the little things, AND NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING!!

Obviously, as we look to their eyes, we should be noticing things…. but don’t become too absorbed initially with looking into their eyes, as you may be missing that obvious bulge under a shirt, or their hands moving to something on them, or anything that might cause reason for suspicion and/or concern. Usually, this quick glance over them only takes a fraction of a second and should be done right from the get-go. Once you have taken in that initial glance, let their eyes now talk to you.

Some may not know this or think of these things, but the appearance of their eyes can tell you a lot. For example, red eyes can tell you things. Maybe they are tired or maybe really stoned on weed, or even maybe they have just recently been crying. These things can tell you where their head might be at in those moments.

If you see their eyes looking at you with great intensity, look at their pupils. If the pupils are really dilated, they could be high on pain medication or heroin…..however, many psychedelic drugs like mushrooms, LSD, PCP, etc… can be reasons for very dilated eyes too. If you notice their pupils are just pinholes, this can mean they are possibly high on meth, cocaine, or some other form of uppers. Either way, knowing someone is obviously high should make us even more concerned about where things may be going next. Obviously, these are going to be just assumptions again based on what you are seeing in their eyes, but this could be very valuable information in how to proceed possibly.

It is crucial when looking into someone’s eyes, that you make sure you are already conscious of what you have taken in at first glance AND, you are not going to miss any movements their feet or hands make while you are processing what their eyes are telling you. We see this mistake happen in countless stabbing videos, where the guy is in your face and you are looking into their eyes and don’t see or react in time to how their hand went for a hidden knife and now it is too late, as he has already stabbed you.

There is no doubt that you need to make that eye contact in the early stages, as it shows respect, it shows sincerity in wanting dialogue, it is helping you get a better read on where their head might be at, etc…. Again, having created that space allows you to take in more of them, be able to keep eye dialogue with them and at the same time allow you enough space to effectively respond to any quick or sudden reactions they might make towards you. You need to know what they are thinking, but this DOESN’T MEAN you become consumed by that eye contact, that you miss other things happening behind the curtain.

I have been in many altercations, and I was able to effectively defuse some of them by having paid attention to subtleties in what their eyes were telling me, and not have removed my eye contact and just went into commando mode by now staring at their chest, shoulders, neckline or whatever your eyes prefer to go to when in “fight mode” now. Typically, when I go into fight mode (sparring or otherwise), I tend to not watch the eyes at all. My eyes will drift down to their chest and shoulder line mostly, as I find that their breathing can tell me a lot and their shoulder line tells me if they are starting to rotate or rise, which is a clear sign something is happening. I can also gauge gap better by knowing where their center mass is from me.

I have had a couple experiences in where I felt the obvious next move was, we were going to be getting down, and so just by lowering my eyes to that place I like to go to and getting a serious look now from me like I am processing my attack or response, the person lost their nerve and elected to back down. Often, when a person sees you are not afraid of fighting, they lose their courage.

(NOTE: We need to be careful here though, as eyes do lie and they may try to act like they don’t want a problem anymore, only to now explode on you when they think you have lost your focus… or bought their bluff.)

Getting away from the eyes now, their breath can tell you a ton. If a person proceeds with erratic breathing, they are now ramping up in their stress or anxiety…. This can tell you a lot. If you notice this type of thing, you can be sure they are building up to some kind of response that needs your attention.

If you are a quick off the line kind of fighter, a big inhalation of breath is plenty of notice and time to deliver an interception response or even just getting off before them with counter efforts or some manner of attack on your part. For those who have never been in a real fight, many times things seem to happen in slow motion and so often we will notice small subtleties that give us plenty of notice and time to respond effectively. DON”T BET ON THIS HAPPENING EVERY TIME, but I have experienced it enough times, that it will often be what you experience.

Noticing their breathing can be huge in how you may want to proceed with things, so be sure to monitor this type of thing, but again…..don’t be so consumed at ANY one thing, that you get caught sleeping at the wheel.

Posturing of their hands is huge. When one takes notice of their hands for example, you can often read into what they are thinking without them even knowing they are showing you it. I have stood across from people in dialogue and seen that their fists were clinching, this is a sure sign they are thinking of smashing your face. lol Don’t miss that one, as you would be amazed at how many will show this in their hands while trying to converse with you. Funny thing, the ones who are just standing by and watching the encounter unfold will often say how they noticed the person’s hands in tight fists while talking with you prior to firing off their attack. Don’t be that person that has to learn that after the fight by your friends, as this is a huge red flag that they were thinking of smashing you all along.

Obviously, if their hands come up into some manner of a boxer’s stance or posturing, don’t get sucked into the next move needing to be YOU taking on a sparring stance now. The less you show your possible attacker, the better. You don’t want to let them know you are a skilled or trained fighter. Continue with the “Please don’t hurt me, I am just a victim” stance and posturing of your hands. This not only doesn’t give them more info about you then necessary, but it continues to sell the fact that you didn’t want the fight, AND it won’t cause them to escalate their adrenaline, or levels of intensity more than it already is. That can and will often make them a tougher opponent possibly.

Even when I have had others square off with me, I maintained my posturing and distance, as I try to stop the obvious from happening right up until I know it needs to happen. Can’t tell you how many times it got right to that moment, but because I didn’t bite on their wanting to engage yet, there was still the chance of avoiding it altogether. That is why space is so crucial, as you don’t have to go until you absolutely know it must happen…and usually you will know this by how they are acting or responding to dialogue.

Lastly, is the feet and body posturing. Feet can tell us so much of what someone is thinking. I take notice of the feet often when moving with others. For example, when a rear foot is turned away from you for example, you can tell the person is thinking about not so much rushing you, but either looking for a lunge attack or more likely to counter whatever you might be coming with. If that rear foot is turned forward, they are likely looking to shoot in on you or just rush you with some manner of blitz attack. This is not always going to be the case, but it often is. Again, no matter what we take in visually, NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING, just take those bits of info in and be ready to deal with the possibilities.

I find that how a person turns their body, has their hips positioned, how they are standing (whether knees bent more or just high in the posturing for example), what their balance is over those feet, etc… can tell us a great deal what they are thinking. Be sure to take those types of things in, as they are letting their bodies talk to us and we should be taking all that talk into our processing how to proceed.

I get that many are quick to say, “don’t think, but feel”….. or “be in the moment”, and these things are true. But, if you have ever been in a real fight and especially all that tends to happen leading up to that exact moment when all hell breaks loose, you will know that there can seem to be a lifetime of shit happening in the moments leading up to the violence finally happening, providing you remain calm and alert while you are taking it all in. If you allow yourself to get all into your emotions however, you rarely are able to process much of anything. When you have allowed your emotions to override your brain, you can basically kiss all this type of stuff goodbye.

I realize I have rambled on enough, and if you have stayed with this post this far, you either did so because you enjoyed the confirmation to what you do already, or you saw value in what I shared? Either way, I appreciate that you made it this far. I am gladly sharing these things based on the many events I have experienced or witnessed over my years, but I equally employ any and all of you to be sure you are passing this type of knowledge and training on to your students as well. My personal experience has taught me that what and how we proceed prior to an event happening, is often equally as important as to what we need to do to survive the event once it gets physical. Never lose sight of the importance of training your students in what to do prior to the fight, so they can either avoid it completely, or to be better prepared for when and if they ever must find out the hard way.

Being a better fighter is not always just about “technique”, but using our brains, controlling our emotions, and using our experiences and hopefully our training in how to avoid altercations in the first place.

As always Brotherhood, train hard and train smart…

-Ooosss, Kirby Baker