anyone interested in a Dallas training group?

[SoonerBJJ]

I've been thinking about this for awhile and finally decided to pull the trigger on this idea.  I hear about other very successful and productive training groups in other areas and want to guage interest for something similiar in the DFW area.

Since we are here we probably have some interest in developing the skills and mindset to protect ourselves and our families, but what are we doing to continuously refine and hone those skills?  Situational awareness, hand-to-hand and shooting are perishable skills that must be practiced if you expect to have a chance of calling on them when it really counts.

I'd like to organize a group of like-minded individuals to meet on a regular, but not too demanding basis.  Just a few times a month could be enough to polish skills or learn new ones that could potentially save your life or that of someone you love.

I haven't talked with the owner yet, but I have a location in mind that could serve our purposes very well.  The DFW Gun Range has very large room with mats, mirrors, punching bags, etc in addition to a nice, recently renovated indoor range.  I think they would be game but I'll check into it if I sense there is interest.

I am no expert in anything and am not qualified to be an instructor in any of these skills but I give a shit and that is a start.  There are tremendous resources among us that could be motivated and utilized very easily.

Specifically I would like to work with material from instructors that have been of great influence to myself and that I believe offer the highest yield and most practical skills for the average man (or woman) on the street.  Examples include Southnarc, Crafty Dog and other Dog Brothers material, Rodney King's "Crazy Monkey" and street boxing system, SBG material and various other street-applicable BJJ/MMA sources.

We could train H2H, knives, close quarters gun fighting and attempt to refine mindset and situational awareness through real life case studies, force-on-force, discussions, etc.  We can make this ANYTHING the group wants.

Additionally we would have an indoor gun range on the other side of a wall.  We could incorporate live fire drills and standards to keep those skills sharp.

You don't need and background or need to be a badass to get involved, you just need to give a shit about your life and those of your loved ones.

This is completely open and would belong to all those involved.  Post here or PM me if you're interested.

[SoonerBJJ]

The first training date has been set for January.  Contact me for more information.

[Crafty_Dog]

Sooner:

I like the sounds of this.  Would you please keep me apprised of how it is working out for you guys?

TIA,
CD
Craftydog@dogbrothers.com

[SoonerBJJ]

Sooner:

I like the sounds of this.  Would you please keep me apprised of how it is working out for you guys?

TIA,
CD
Craftydog@dogbrothers.com

Will do.  The "Die Less Often" DVD is actually a large part of the motivation for this training group.  Once we get under way one of our priorities is going to be bringing in guest instructors to augment and refine our training.  I'd like to see Crafty in Dallas this year.  I'll be in touch.

Sooner

[SoonerBJJ]

The first training session went really well and the next is scheduled.  Contact me if you're interested.  Here are my thoughts from that training session:



This weekend I finally got the opportunity to train with the concepts and techniques from Crafty and Gabe's "Die Less Often" DVD set. I met with several forum members... for this opportunity. I bought this set when it first came out as I've had great experience with Dog Brothers videos in the past and was intrigued by the idea of integrating these concepts into a weapons context.

Coming from a stand up background of western boxing and muay thai, I was initially uneasy about the idea of a right lead stance (I am right handed). My striking experience and footwork matrix is all based out of a standard left lead fighting stance. After some time playing with the kali false lead I realized that my initial unease was a result of my lack of understanding. In down time at work or home I would practice setting the stance and moving around the diamond. It didn't take long to realize that in the KFL I feel like a tremendous amount of energy is built up in my legs and hips, like a spring ready to snap. In the standard left lead I feel very comfortable and neutra but there is no energy stored within the stance. In order to move against a stationary object (the guy brandishing a weapon in front of me) I have to generate all of the forward power from a starting point of zero. In the KFL I feel as if the power is already there, in my hips and legs as a potential energy, like a spring that is ready to be sprung. Against that stationary object I am able to generate a more powerful surge more easily and more quickly. Rather than initiating from zero, I am starting from a mechanical advantage. Sorry for using so many terms from freshman physics but this is the best way for me to describe it. You have to work with the position until you feel this. It's critical for the left shoulder (assuming you are right handed) to be positioned properly to feel the potential energy. After playing with this I think several of the guys felt it too.

After working on setting in the KFL we incorporated the brachial stun. This is where the importance of the energy stored in your hips and legs became so apparent. From this position it's very easy and feels natural to spring forward at an angle into the adversary. The power can be delivered through the brachial stun or as a driving force. I found it most useful to drive the adversary and it naturally flows into turning the adversary away so that you can follow up with knees, elbows, make space to deploy your own weapon or just to run away.

We only worked from the KFL at very close range. We were using it as a close range "fence" when dealing with an unknown contact or attacker at a few feet distance. Right now this is where I see the greatest utility for the KFL in my counter-offensive (I didn't say defensive) structure. I've "dry fired" this enough that it's now pretty intuitive to get into this stance when in a close range fence. I feel more confident that I can deliver a large amount of forward power very quickly from this stance than I ever did with a left lead.

We also introduced the "dog catcher." In this first meeting we only worked against forehand knife attacks. I don't have any background in pekiti tirsia or any other defensive knife structure. With a little practice I found it pretty easy to make the initial pekiti and complementary hand motions. After some live knife attack drills I am very intrigued by where this can go.

After feeding forehand strikes we eventually moved to live knife attack drills. The attacker was only moving at 60% and we knew where the attack was coming from but this is only the beginning for us.

I had watched the DVD footage of poorly executed techniques (and the resultant deaths) enough beforehand that I tried to avoid making their same mistakes. The DVD shows footage of live drills at the seminar, both of poorly executed and "successfully" executed techniques. This is an excellent feature because you are able to learn from the failure and success of others.

In the first few evolutions I felt like I did pretty well with engaging the initial attack. I intercepted the attack without getting cut. I angled away from the attack and milked down to the wrist in order to drive the weapon hand down to the mat in what I called the "baseball bat technique." When I was sufficiently focused on controlling the wrist I found this technique to be successful.

After initial success, in a subsequent evolution I lost focus on the wrist and died as a result. I was controlling the weapon arm too high near or above the elbow and took gut and neck shots. This is a lesson I would rather learn on the training mat than on the street. I did this a few times.

Some other observations:

My background is Brazilian jiu jitsu and grappling. I love a ground fight. BUT when you are in a knife fight DO NOT stick around for a grappling contest. In one of the first evolutions I succeeded in negotiating the attack and got the adversary to his knees and had taken his back. I hadn't gotten control of the knife but I had negotiated the attack and was free behind the adversary. When I saw his back my first gut instinct was to pounce and look for a submission. Bad idea in a knife fight. I had the opportunity to run or draw my own weapon and hesitated for an instant while I thought about a submission attack. BAD IDEA. Run or shoot the fucker. Another lesson I'd rather learn on the mat than on the street. I didn't have that problem again. I made the mental context shift after that first evolution and never had the problem again. I didn't end up dying in that evolution but it was an important reminder.

This is a critical point for anyone that has ever competed in martial arts, grappling or MMA. It was first brought home in Southnarc's ECQC. I died several times there because I wanted to fight when I should've just run or shot the fucker. This kind of training is critical to rid yourself of such notions when in a fight with weapons.

Another problem that arose a few times was when I would negotiate the initial attack and get the attacker to his knees while retaining control of the wrist. Everything looked pretty good from my position behind him until he would pass the knife to the other hand. When you can't see the knife it's easy to focus so much on the attacking arm that you don't see it when he transfers the knife to the other hand. I cannot allow this to happen.

Overall I feel like this was an excellent training session and I am very pleased with this material. I have already incorporated the KFL into my close range fence structure and feel like I have the beginnings of a defensive knife structure. I'm really looking forward to seeing where we can go with this material.

Thanks to Crafty and Gabe for sharing.