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BLACK BELT
REALITIES
Michael Andrew Lord VanBlaricum
It
is a common misconception that having a black belt is paramount
to being a self-defense expert. Unfortunately some Black Belts
also believe this. Each martial artist is inherently protective
of their own style and training, so much so that many martial artists
ignore the realities of the short falls within their systems, sacrificing
their own self-defense training at the cost of saving face to their
parent system. For over 20 years I have trained in both Traditional
Korean Hapkido and Taekwondo. There was a time when I also believed
that just because I was a black belt that I was a self-defense
expert.
The
art of self-defense combines the aspects of biomechanical techniques,
mindset, training and tools. Without in-depth knowledge and
training in all of these areas of self-defense, a person is unprepared
for the reality of violence. Guns, knives, Martial Arts, violence
awareness and prevention seminars, etc are simply tools that one
can use in a self-defense scenario, but by themselves they are
not the embodiment of self-defense.
One
of the largest trends today among Martial Artists around the world
is Sports Martial Arts. Why not, it is fun, exciting and almost
everyone can participate in it. Some schools are so focused
on Sports Martial Arts today; they ignore the traditional aspects
of their Systems forefathers (Unfortunately at the cost of their
students self-defense skills). Tragically, just a few years
ago, in my hometown, a nationally rated Tournament Champion was
beaten to death in the street by three drunken punks. Shock,
outrage and disbelief plagued the local martial arts community. Black
Belts even went as far as making excuses for their dead martial
arts brother such as "he must have been blind sided" or "it wasn't
a fair fight, there were three of them", etc. People in the
community thought that I was being callous by pointing out that
he responded the way he trained. I still stand by that statement
today. This young man was taught how to tournament fight,
with limited contact, where rules were inherently strict as to
what actions are and are not acceptable in a tournament. Sadly,
he was woefully under prepared to deal with a real life street
fight that involved multiple assailants, because his training focused
solely on winning tournaments, not surviving deadly attacks on
one's life. There are no rules when fighting for your life
on the street and the person trying to kill you will not play by
any fair code  of
conduct.
Most
modern day American Martial Arts comprise some elements of self-defense,
but usually within a very constricted system of steps and techniques
hidden within, where the modern practitioner is unaware of the
actual combat or self-defense application.
This
past decade, we have seen an explosion of martial artists training
in ground grappling thanks to the popular full contact/no holds
barred martial arts championships such as the UFC. With this
we saw the shortcomings of some striking and "traditional" systems
against a well rounded fighter who could close the distance, control
their opponent, take them to the ground and then dominate them
with striking and submission holds. Thanks to this, many modern
day martial artists realized the importance of ground grappling
skills and began to implement these skills into their workouts. Many
martial artists realized they needed to supplement their training
to become more well rounded because they saw it either first hand
or on television. Unfortunately few ever take real life examples
to heart, such as the above-mentioned Black Belt who died being
beaten to death in the streets by untrained drunks.
Maybe
it is the nature of mankind to downplay the seriousness of one's
own shortcomings and have a false sense of security in one's own
ability. Just look at Americans who have firearms in their
homes believing that just possessing them in a locked safe will
provide them security. Obviously this is not true and the
person will most likely never have time to retrieve the firearm
if someone broke into their house and tried to kill them in the
middle of the night. Have we as martial artists become that
complacent, believing that our forms, sparring and traditional
weapons work will provide us with all the training we will need
if we ever have to fight for our life?
I
use to think that, until I was almost stabbed to death by an enemy
combatant who I had already shot 8 times. He still managed to take
me to the ground and almost kill me. Every day when I look
in the mirror I have a scar running across my forehead that reminds
me how my own overconfidence and complacency almost cost me my
life. Obviously, this event changed my life and way of thinking,
especially when it comes to martial arts. Suddenly the traditional
aspects were less important to me and the street applications were
all I was concerned about. I sought out training from various
schools and people who were like-minded.
Many
will be offended by these words, and to those I ask you to examine
your own self-defense philosophy and how your own style and training
prepares you for a life or death struggle. For some martial
artists, training is way to improve oneself either physically,
mentally or spiritually, they could care less about self-defense
and there is nothing wrong with that. However, to think one is
a self-defense expert just because there is a black belt around
your waist is a dangerous self-illusion.
If
self-defense is an important outcome of your martial arts training,
make sure that your training involves simple and realistic techniques
that are easy to use.Avoid complicated self-defense techniques
that involve multiple steps and fine motor skills. Do not
be biased and ignore other self-defense tools and training such
as knife and gun skills. Attacks on your life are quick, devastating
and brutal, your response to these attacks should be the same.
About
the Author: Michael Andrew Lord VanBlaricum is a Certified
Law Enforcement Instructor, Certified NRA Instructor, 4th Degree
Black Belt in Hapkido Hoshinsul, 2nd Degree Black
Belt in Taekwondo and Owner and Chief Instructor
of LordVan Tactical LLC. To contact Michael or learn more
about LordVan Tactical LLC self-defense philosophy or seminars
visit www.lordvantactical.com or
call 651-324-6854.
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