Dog Brothers Public Forum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Muhammad_Qawi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nxCVgWTweA

Professor Ron Chapel,, the Kenpo Master had this spine issue (stenosis). He was very articulate on it as he spoke late one night in Cliff Stewart's house.
I'd suggest you look him up. His knowledge of Physiology is really good. He is quite a martial artist too.

---Tom Furman

Sounds great Marc. Too bad there is not a "Poz and Crafty" interview like you and TopDog in the first DVD.

---Tom
www.tom-furman.blogspot.com

This is very cool. Think of the massive amount of wasted time on Eskrima Digest with guys saying Panantukan did not exist!
Suntukan sounded like Shotokan or something...
I'm glad you are coming out with this.

I'd love to attend the Inosanto 4 day Silat fest in May... I am interested to see his metamorphosis of perhaps adding BJJ 'rolling' to the Silat structure of groundwork via Harimau, Rikeson, etc.

No doubt Guru Dan's light speed organization has warped ahead. Input from Ron Balicki's Shooto, and Erik Paulson no doubt has influenced him too.

The beat goes on,
--Tom Furman

Could you run down the material that you hoped to convey?
I really liked Greg Thompson's H2H book. Very foundational stuff. Basic, but high percentage.

--Tom Furman

I am grateful for my incredible friends that I have met in my martial arts journey. Such texture, wisdom, and insight.

--Tom

I'm glad everything turned out well. I look forward to your observations and creative input on this material. I've discussed this at length with Ray Floro (machete, fencing footwork, Garrote, etc ). He has recently been influenced by Japanese Sword and mentioned that the old Illustrisimo machete material was REALLY good as well. Interesting that the Spanish Fencing pops up in the Phillipines and in Venezuela.

Glad you hooked up with the Tapado player that Bruno mentioned. It's important to keep our sources open. Look for some Silat, with material very close to the source,.. in South Florida this year. We may have something brewing! 

I get what I attract,.. so says the Law of Attraction,
--Tom Furman

This is from a surgeon with martial arts experience. It was posted on www.irongarmx.com . Very interesting.

"Anyway, the upshot is killing someone with a blade isn't as easy as it looks on TV. The scene where someone gets stabbed in the belly, then looks shocked, then drops dead is unrealistic. Either a fair amount of damage needs to be done, some very vital structures injured, or a fair amount of time to pass if the wounds aren't horrendous in order for someone to die from stab or slash wounds.

There's quite a bit of variability as to how folks respond to trauma in general. Some seem to die with minimum injury and others seem to withstand huge blood loss and horrific injuries. I haven't a clue what differentiates these two populations but wish I knew...

I said it before and I'll say it again. In a conflict for my life, I would rely on a blunt force instrument to the head before a bladed weapon to just about any anatomic structure to most quickly stop a threat. It doesn't matter what level of adrenaline you've got or what drugs you may have in your system. If you're struck hard enough in the head, you're going down. Also, the long term implications of a survived head injury are (in general) worse than those of a knife wound you recover from.

Trauma and human response to trauma is very interesting. I don't know if I believe that primates and humans in particular are harder to kill. Hunting injuries to animals are typically(hopefully) quite precise and should result in a rapid humane kill. Fighting injuries to humans presenting to trauma centers are less so. I would guess those folks shot by skilled snipers die quickly, similar to hunting wounds.

Anyway, at risk of being accused of being "disturbing" again, here are some generalities for delivering fatal wounds with a bladed weapon.

First: the blade must absolutely be sharp. I've operated on plenty of folks in which a dull edge pushed structures away rather than incising them. Arteries are relatively thick walled and elastic, a dull edge will displace rather than cut them.

Second: All other things equal, a larger blade will be better.

Third: Relying on a single wound to incapacitate an opponent is a bad idea.

Anatomic considerations: The body's actually pretty well designed and protects the most important structures.
If you want to get to the heart there are two reliable ways: A very sharp and sturdy knife thrust strongly just left of the sternal border around the 4th interspace(about nipple level on a guy) will do it. Otherwise, just go under the sternum(under the xiphoid) and aim at the left shoulder. This is basically how we place a needle in the pericardium to drain fluid out from around the heart.

The flexor/medial/anterior surfaces of the extremites are where the money is. In the arm, that's the inner aspect of the upper arm, the crease at the elbow, the palmar aspect of your forearm. In the lower extremity imagine a line from the crest of your pelvis to your pubic bone. About 1/2 of the way up(usually a bit less actually) you get your femoral artery and vein. If the weapon is directed back and up into the abdomen a bit, you can get the iliac vessels. These are especially hard to get to surgically and can not easily be treated with direct pressure. The femoral artery goes medially down the thigh (there's a deep branch as well) and then behind the knee in the midline roughly. It breaks into three vessels below the knee and is no longer that great a target.

In the abdomen, you'd be trying to get to the aorta or the vena cava. This would be actually VERY difficult with anything you're likely to carry around. There are some posterior approaches taht would work, but I doubt they'd be useful in the middle of a chaotic fight. The liver occupies the right upper quadrant and is a giant target. A large knife and multiple wounds would be necessary and there no guarantee whatsoever that this would end a fight quickly.

Stab wounds to the chest in general are likely to get the lungs which can result in collapse(by pneumo or hemothorax) and bleed quite a bit in general. Here, you might actually do well with a smaller knife, since if the opening in the chest is big enough, they won't get what's called a tension pneumothorax. In a similar vein, a small wound to the heart, like an ice pick doesn't kill by bleeding. The blood gets in the sac around the heart, and when the pressure builds up the heart can't fill. If it can't fill, it can't pump and that's that.

The neck is a tried and true target for bladed attacks. A tracheal injury in and of itself may well do nothing.
The carotid artery is medial to(on the inside of) the jugular vein and is a good target. Honestly, if I were able and wanted to inflict maximum damage from a bladed attack to the neck I would insert by stabbing where I thought the jug/carotid were and direct the knife to the contralateral side and backwards. When withdrawing, I'd try to pull the whole thing over to the other side. Alternatively you could direct it to the other ear(the back of it.) If you make a muscle in your neck, you'll see your sternocleidomastoid muscle. There's an inverted V formed by this muscle as one head goes to the clavicle and the other goes to the sternum. the hollow at the top of this V is a pretty good shot on the carotid and jugular.

If you get stabbed or cut and the guy runs off(or if it's an accident, etc) the treatment is DIRECT PRESSURE. Avoid tourniquets. Don't use pressure points above the injury. Get some rags or whatnot and jam them right on the wound and push HARD. Virtually all extremity injuries and even most neck injuries can be controlled by this maneuver.

Bear in mind that a fatal wound won't necessarily equal stopping your opponent. It does you no good if you get killed and then your opponent dies later in the ED or in the ICU.

Hence my statement about head injuries."

I've watched this guy train over the last year. This YouTube I posted is the whole year. Beyond incredible.
http://www.physicalstrategies.com/i-believe-in-training-do-you.htm#respond

--Tom

Sure Marc,
Bruno Cruicchi is the man I call my instructor. He has been doing martial arts for over 40 years. He is Italian/Armenian and born in Cairo. He lives in Caracas, Venezuela, and Miami, Florida. We met through a silat email list several years ago and have been friends ever since. He is the mentor to our Miami based training group. He teaches many arts but focuses on the Venezeulan ones with our group. Personally he and I discuss blade and silat. His training is in Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Indonesian, Venezuelan, Chinese, Indian and Euro or Western arts. His primary focus is Venezuelan, Filipino, Indo, and TaiChi (Chen). His is a textbook of international travel, martial arts, styles and people. He knew Don Draeger and lives a similar lifestyle. He can root out the oddest sources of martial arts from Stick Lickin' in the Islands to Portuguese Staffwork, to African Testa. He can give you an outline and a story about the instructor as well. Bruno makes his living as a linguist and speak 8 languages fluently,,, probably many more if pushed. I predict that the infusion of Venezuelan Stick and Blade will have the same impact as Thai Arts or BJJ on DBMA,.. it is that POTENT as a source of full contact material. He can start with the story of training in Indian Weaponry with his Silat instructor, or his entry into a French LaCanne Tournament using Venezuelan methods or his honeymoon trip to Paris and his meeting with the Adityo Hanafi Sumatran Tiger Silat Clan,,,,,... but you will have to buy the coffee or beer,... It will be a long night and you will tire before him. He is of course,.. The International Man of Mystery.

Don't pass this up. DBMA will never be the same. The methodology will change, as will the footwork,,, trust me.
----- Tom Furman

The Animal List is an email list. Kind of like extended family. I have a statement by Guru Tristan on why he quit on my laptop. No need to publish it since it was on a Silat Mailing List. He was not happy with things to say the least. BTW Tristan Sutrisno is one of the highest/most seasoned instructors I know of. He is 57, Silat with his Uncle Pak Lek since the age of 5. Japanese Arts with his Father since the age of 5. (Shotokan, Iai-jutsu, Aiki-Jujutsu). His Father's instructor, was GICHIN FUNAKOSHI. 52 Years of study. He was an Airborne Ranger, Highly Decorated in Viet Nam. Military Contractor, Concert Security Team Supervisor, and a bit of bouncing and other Hi-jinx since then. My instructor, Bruno Cruicchi is a student of Tristan's and Bruno has been in the arts 45 years. Stevan Plinck is also an acquaintence of Guru Tristan. He just stays slightly below the radar. I have been trying to hook Cliff Stewart up with Guru Tristan for a while. Bruno got Tuhon Tom Kier up to a training camp in the Poconos one year as well. Really a good man who I hope to train with sometime. Salt of the earth.

The Elements, I think can relate to Chakras. This would be a question for Guru Cliff, or Professor Ron Chapel who are really versed in the pressure points/Chakra's/Elements. Not much of this is taught anymore.

Tony, Give Santiago Dobles a call since I think he has this down on paper relative to Silat, Yoga, and Tantra.

--Tom Furman

"The Tree That Walks" is down the street. His input, considering his background, would be cool.

We (DBIMA) are in conversation about carrying this knife.

I like the deployment, but I'd rather you design your own based on your input, TopDog, Salty, etc. Inclusive of Lameco/Inosanto Mix/Sayoc/and Pekiti.

I used to bug Cliff Stewart about this. An LA Silat knife, and a W.A.R. knife

I have enjoyed looking at the designs that Ray Floro came up with.


---Tom

I may look into this. The "Walking As A Warrior All Your Days," part is more interesting since I'm 50 and teach conditioning to Pro Athletes and Contract Security. Technical knowledge that requires brains and innovation vs Tattoo's and a shaved head are where it's at for me. I'm applying the same philosophy to exercise.

--Tom

Knowledge of the Sayoc Vital Templates seems to be a good idea along with this medical management information. It lends to identifying the types of wounds and possible implications (internal damage and the anatomy).

-- Tom Furman

I know Benjamin has done a 'Budo' "Power" tape, and from what I read, a DBMA Conditioning program. What are his plans for commercial DVD's? His structure of KrabiKrabong to Ground and everything in between certainly shows the futuristic morphing of the DB's.

--Tom Furman

http://www.martialinfo.com/comments/LarryHartsell/

RIP Sifu.

How much of Guru I's Silat has now been adapted from the Tony Felix Wali Songo material?
BTW is the the term "Maphilindo" now transmuted to Majapahit, relative to the Inosanto Academy Silat?

Tom Furman

This is a post from Steve Maxwell, a Masters Jits Champ several times over and one of the hardest core conditioning trainers around.
It is from Steve Cotter's forum. www.fullkontact.com . Very interesting observations.

"I drove from Philly to Rhinebeck, NY. I had stayed and did some training at my old gym, Maxercise, for a couple of weeks. I was keen on getting back on the road to the Omega Institute, in the Catskills and training with this amazing Ukranian yoga master. I do use the term 'master' loosely. This guy is the real deal. He earned a master of sport in swimming back in the USSR (which unlike some claims can be proven). He has a PHd in robotics and submarine design. He dropped out of western culture to study eastern philosophy. He claims that the western mind has developed with primary concerns regarding the outer world of form like banking or technology. His studies of the eastern mindset showed much more developement of the inner worlds. He went to Nepal 26 times to train in the Buddist monasteries and to India 41 times to train under various yoga gurus, most of whom no one has ever heard of. His system of Universal Yoga was a complete ass kicking. He demonstrated for the class some advanced techniques and performed some beautiful Vietnamese yoga of which I had never heard of. He later hooked up his computer to a large screen TV and showed us pictures and videos of his travels. According to Andrey, most of what is done in the US is not yoga, but a dumbed, watered down version of the real eastern thing. His system was such a balance of strength, flexibility and stamina. He taught us the deeper energetic work along with the visualizations that are supposed to accompany the physical movements. I also learned some great pranyama techniques for walking meditations and running. facinating stuff. I was very fatigued by weekends end. I am going to study with this guy for a month during his intensive teacher training sometime in the fall. I've been incorporating his stuff in with my own system of physical culture with good effect."
Steve Maxwell

Here is the video. Nice stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Eyg32W4aE

Set up ten 2 minute round Crossfit type stations. That would be tire flipping, kettlebell swing, barbell thruster/pullups, 440 sprints, burpee's, etc, skiprope, hindu pushup/squat, punching the heavybag all out, etc, etc. etc.
Do the full ten rounds on whatever day of the week your test would be. Include stickwork/fighting stuff in 3 of those rounds, (bag, thai pads, stick hitting a tire). Take only a minute between rounds then reduce this to NO TIME AT ALL,..NO REST. On the other two training days, just do five rounds but be inventive and use www.crossfit.com or american parkour for ideas on the training modalities.

Any other questions, ask me or email.

--Tom

Running parallel to the 'tippy-tap' drills, ....who can give an example of the application of "destructions" aka gunteen, elbow spikes, etc. that Guro Inosanto uses as entry material to Empty hand Kali, and his Maphilindo Silat?

--Tom

I've communicated with Lloyd and Nigel for years now. Top notch martial artists and very articulate in their history, psychology, and methodology. This blog is a GREAT education on African Martial arts.

--Tom

I caught a clip of Lonely Dog's "Power" DVD on Youtube. What is the brand of "wobble" platform that he is using while practicing the 'fluid attack'??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MRPywJN3No

Thanks. Tom Furman
www.physicalstrategies.blogspot.com