Desiderata by Max ehrmann

Here's something I thought you might enjoy:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

Feeling Better Now?

Tony Higo Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College
0800 092 0948
www.nat-mac.co.uk

Getting into the Rhythm - The Law of Cadence

This law is about understanding Rhythm and states that ‘life moves to a beat or rhythm mastering life is the matching of ones natural rhythm to ones environment’

We are all composed of energy and energy produces vibration or a beat; a rhythm. Everything in life moves to a beat, a rhythm; heart beat, day and night, the four seasons, the beat of a bird’s wing, the tides; the cycle of the Moon, the rhythm of our breathing. Being in accordance with the natural rhythm of life brings peace and harmony. Towns and cities have a fast beat an artificial rhythm and the countryside has a different rhythm which we can feel when we visit which may account for why so many city people flock to the countryside at the first chance they get. Being in accordance with the natural rhythm of life brings one a sense of peace and being out of rhythm often brings illness and internal discord.

The master martial artist understands that life is built around rhythm and seeks to match his own to the natural rhythm of life. In combat the master develops his own rhythm and destroys his opponent’s rhythm. His movements have a beat and his ability to change his cadence to match or exceed his opponent’s is what makes him a master.

There is a saying which goes ‘repetition is the mother of skill’, repetition is the rhythm of practice and the more we repeat or practice the more we develop our skill level. The more we practice the deeper our understanding and the more efficient our control of speed, timing, distance, leverage and balance. For instance running; running is a simple physical activity, it’s just putting one foot in front of another at a fast beat. But the experienced runner will move more efficiently, use less energy and develop more momentum through sustained repetition over time. The development of our skill in running is not intellectual though we can study it and apply what we learn from it to help others achieve greater efficiency. But the runner himself learns at a more basic level. By constantly repeating the practice of running his body learns how to run more efficiently and running more efficiently is the utilisation of the 5 DELTA keys more efficiently through practice. Understanding the learning process does not mean one runs faster but it can if used thoughtfully, but the constant repetition of the steps over time builds a deep, subtle innate understanding of the process that does not need to be understood, just utilised to reach ones objective.

Another saying is ‘practice makes perfect’ and this too is the utilisation of rhythm to build greater skill. The master martial artist builds his skill through many years of practice but he practices with an intent that in martial arts is called the ‘Way’. The way, the tao, the ‘do’ in Judo, aikido, karate-do, hapkido, tae kwon do represents the pursuit of the ‘way’ through sustained, thoughtful practice to uncover the secret of life. Only practice can achieve this, the sustained repeating of the same movements again and again over many years brings the master closer to understanding the ‘Way’. Through this practice his movements become so ‘natural’ that he appears to do things without any effort. His speed is deceptively easy, simple; his technique flows like water and his balance never seems to be disturbed.

Many practices bring this same ease of movement achieved through practice but the martial artist in particular uses his practice to divine the mysteries that elude most normal people. ‘You can’t hit a target that you can’t see’ is a phrase that we use in martial arts; ‘ordinary’ people won’t often attain an understanding of the ‘Way’ because they don’t know its there. They can’t see it because they don’t know about it, they can’t recognise it. Imagine it like a ‘magic eye’ picture; in order to perceive the image one must achieve a certain focus of ones eyes, but unless one knows the image is there one won’t know to change ones focus in order to see the image. In martial arts it has long been known of and the educated master is actively searching for it through constant practice of the same movements over and over again. By practicing their techniques over many years they (the masters)  learn more and more about the movement and by knowing what to look for they begin to glimpse the ‘Way’ which in my mind is the other side or what one might call spirituality, the greatest of all intelligences. Practice is rhythm or beat, done fast or slow in attacking technique or defensive technique. Practice of the beat enhances ones movement creating efficient technique.

In the AEGIS system we categorise defence into 5 levels based on their effectiveness in defence or attack; level 5 is avoidance of an attack and is the best way to stay out of conflict, though as with most problems, by avoiding them they don’t necessarily go away. Level 4 is to block the problem which means to put oneself at risk. Level 3 is to re-direct the opponents force and is the beginning of ones control over the attacker. Level 2 is to evade/intercept which is to hit him as he tries to hit you and level one is to attack which is to hit him before he tries to launch his own attack and is often the element of surprise. Each level has its own rhythm or beat and the less the number of beats, the faster the response down to the point where one starts before his attack is launched.

The level 5 beat is applicable only if one wants to avoid first and then counter attack but to move away from the attack as the level requires and then move back into danger to counter attack is slow; not to say it won’t work but the greater the time between the attack and the counter gives the opponent more time to build his own rhythm. Level 4 rhythm is block and counter which is two distinct beats, level 3 is the beginning of interception and uses an anticipation of the attack bringing the beat to a 1 and half beat. Level 2 is a simultaneous defence and counter which is 1 beat but still the beat responds to the attack and so whilst effective is still reactive.

Level one is one beat but its different this time as you are not responding you are attacking so you control the beat this could be called ‘no beat’. This is therefore the fastest response, not allowing the physical attack to begin. It’s for this reason that as the saying goes ‘attack is the best defence’ as it has the briefest rhythm being simply attack, it uses one of the most effective strategies which is surprise.

These are examples of rhythm used in martial arts but there are many more such as the rhythm in ones footwork, timing, techniques, combinations, and the like. But most of all the key rhythm is the practice of technique into the 1000’s with the intention of gaining the deepest levels of mastery. The ancient masters knew this and decried the efforts of later generations just as we do today. What they really decry is the attitude of the current generation who always seem to want faster results without application of the necessary number of repetitions. In reality some martial artists are applying themselves to mastery as they always have done whilst others want the faster results.

The point of all this is to understand that life is full of rhythm whether we realise it or not, but by realising it we can use it to our benefit. Martial arts and life build rhythms through practice and what is another word for rhythm ‘habit’. Our habits define us and as Aristotle said ‘we are what we consistently do’. We can achieve anything or nothing through our habits by applying our focus toward goals that are worthy or otherwise, either way we can build our life in whatever way we want, but if we take the martial ‘Way’ we can use the law of cadence/rhythm to delve into mastery and glimpse something much deeper.

Our habits are both our enemy and our friend and as long as we recognise which we can develop them toward our chosen goals. Our habits are our rhythm our cadence and our habits are literally thousands of times more powerful than our intentions. Just as Pavlov created chosen habits in his dog experiments teaching them to salivate at the ringing of a bell we can deliberately build our rhythm our habits to put our intentions on automatic by creating habits that achieve our goals in life and martial arts.

The secret to understanding the law of cadence is to decide what you want and how to use the law of rhythm to either get rid of old habits and build the new ones that serve your intentions or goals. This is not an easy task but one that is made easier by understanding the law.

By using the law of cadence we can develop our rhythm into one of the most effective strategies of martial arts which is ‘momentum’. Momentum is the development of cadence to the point where it overwhelms any opposition; breaking the rhythm of our opponent reaching a tipping point where the rhythm becomes too much to stand against and at which we point we win.

Thanks for reading today and I look forward to speaking to you again soon. If you want to gain a greater understanding of the martial arts experience give me a call on 0800 0920948 and get our full brochure or take advantage of our FREE 30 day membership by calling the number or go to http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=8 and book online.

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 092 0948

www.nat-mac.co.uk

Getting What You Want Through the 'Law of Focus'

This law states that ‘what you focus on becomes your reality’ Now, I ask you, ‘is the reality you have the reality you want?’ To see a target is to see a goal, an outcome and to see means not just physically with our eyes but mentally through visualisation. There is another saying which goes ‘you cannot achieve something that you cannot visualise having’. If you don’t believe that you can achieve or do not deserve a certain goal then you cannot visualise its achievement well enough to make it happen.

‘You can’t hit a target that you can’t see’

This is not to say that you cannot have it eventually because goals are like steps and each goal we achieve is a step toward a greater goal, for instance to become a world class Tennis player can be difficult to focus on unless you focus on the steps that will get you there. Many new students cannot imagine themselves becoming black belts and often do not set it as a goal. However as they progress through the coloured belt ranks they realise that black belt is achievable step by step and then they make it their focus.

Another saying goes ‘what you focus on expands’ and this means that once we set our selves toward a goal it can become all we can see. The philosopher and thinker Abraham Maslow once said ‘give a child a hammer and the whole world becomes a nail’. The intensity of our focus is crucial toward the achievement of our goals, and there is even a part of our brain whose job it is to recognise anything that could be useful toward achieving something that we are focusing on. It is called the reticular cortex and it is activated whenever we focus intently on any goal. If we are looking for a new car and we decide upon the model that we want, suddenly we start seeing them everywhere. If we are looking to buy a new house all of a sudden we see ‘for sale’ signs on every road we pass. They don’t simply appear because we are looking; they were there anyway but once we start to look our brains re-align their focus toward what we currently desire.

In martial combat our focus is trained through 100’s of hours of repetition to discipline our focus to what is necessary to survive or thrive; initially our beginners focus is on the physical aspects of the martial arts. In the early days of practice we push our selves physically and mentally to achieve proficient technique and even though our hearts and muscles are complaining at the stress they’re under we apply our will power to continuing through the pain barriers under the guidance and encouragement of our instructors. Gradually as we achieve better technique, smoother movement and stronger muscles we feel the benefit of what we have pushed ourselves to achieve.

Our focus is to improve our martial arts and as we focus our attention on martial arts everything around us seems to be martial arts just like the child with the hammer, everything has become a nail. Sometimes we push ourselves too hard and sustain injury and this is dangerous toward our continuation of our training as time out of our studies can cause us to shift our focus elsewhere and away from the life long benefits of the martial arts. However, if we exercise care and thoughtfulness in our training, applying our rest so that our bodies can recover and repair and if our instructors have the skill to know our limits even if we don’t we can progress safely. If they keep us away from heavy handed partners and practices that are dangerous for beginners we can avoid injuries and bad experiences that will falsely prejudice us against continuing our studies.

Focus must be tempered and this takes discipline, discipline that the martial arts will bring in abundance over time and this discipline like so much in martial arts can be applied to the achievement of other goals in our lives. In combat this focus is essential and required at extremely high levels; much higher intensity is needed than on the practice floor and your instructor will push you to increase your focus and intensity so you can draw upon it when needed.

What we focus on is important too and our focus will shift over time as our priorities change. Parents come to me to say how their child can’t focus ‘he doesn’t pay attention to anything’ the child is focused on what he wants and that is not the same as what you want. In time and with the right support the child can learn to focus on not just what he wants but also on things that he may not see the need for now but in time will see if he trusts his teacher that there is more to find.

This is where discipline becomes a part of focus, the ability to focus on things that we have to do but don’t really enjoy or want to do. The achievements we make in life are drawn from what we want on an emotional level, tempered with what we know we need on an intellectual level and the spirit we can apply to their achievement on a physical level. No worthy achievement fails to engage all the 5 intelligences but those that are not worthy will pull us out of balance. Unworthy goals beguile and seduce us toward them, our parents, teachers and mentors are here to guide us on what is worthy and what is not based on their experience but how do we really make the distinction ourselves. What is a worthy goal? Well this comes down to personal choice but I would say that we all know what is really worthy and what is not. We can ask ourselves the question ‘is this goal worthy of my focus?’ listen for what answer comes back.

Here’s a useful rule of thumb to help you decide what is worthy and what is not a worthy goal – ‘a worthy goal is hard today but easy tomorrow, an unworthy goal is easy today and hard tomorrow’ for instance go out drinking tonight (easy) but tomorrow we are hung over (hard) compared to a worthy goal let’s say exercise; its hard today but tomorrow is easy. When we pursue life through easy (or unworthy) goals we make ourselves more difficult later and the converse is true with hard goals.

‘Live for today’ some people say to me and I completely agree we must live in the now but what we do to ourselves today we pay for tomorrow. So if we want more ‘Now’s’ in good mental and physical health we have to discipline and focus ourselves passed immediate gratification and the transitory joy that brings and instead take joy from what we have or are trying to achieve over the longer term because one day the choice of how we live will be limited by our health. When we get older we lose our strength but if we have laid a firm foundation of health when we are young we are more likely to avoid debilitating health problems when we are old. It is true that what we do today, we pay for tomorrow and that works for both the good and the bad. Eating bad food today might bring instant gratification now but in the future their will be a price to pay if you’ve made bad food your habit. Difficult goals strengthen us, easy goals weaken us.

I get disappointed when I see people applying their focus to things that are useless. X-factor, East Enders, Big Brother and programs like these are not worth a second of our focus because they are subtly addictive but they gain us nothing. We waste our time by watching them and anyone who spends time focusing on rubbish like this will fail to achieve what they are capable of because they are focusing in the wrong direction. We can all have the life of our dreams but we must focus without being sidetracked onto things that have no value. People say to me ‘but they’re only a bit of fun’ well so are drugs, alcohol and food. For most of us we have the discipline to pull back from things when they take too much of our attention but for many others they cannot. This brings into the realms of education which I don’t want to cover today but I hope you see what I am talking about. Focus is a skill that we can develop, it’s tremendously valuable toward a fulfilled life but it must be pointed at something worthwhile or it’s wasted.

Every successful person that ever lived has applied their focus toward their goals. Life is not a lottery win where we bypass the journey for the destination we think we want i.e. money, no, life is a journey where we focus on what we want and that focus shifts over time and achievement toward goals that at the outset we don’t know exist, but by focusing step by step on goal after goal we learn on the completion of each goal whether or not it brings what we really desire. Money may be an initial goal for many of us because it allows us choice and the ability to purchase things that make our life easier. However we learn after a while that whilst money often accompanies our goal achievement it is not the end in and of itself, rather a by-product of what we are striving for.

In the martial arts we strive for improvement in technique focusing on the very smallest things to understand how our technique improves our whole life. Our discipline and focus develops as we go deeper and deeper into the practice until we achieve what the Zen Buddhists call the ‘mind of no mind’ or as some call the ‘normal mind’. This comes with sustained and disciplined practice over many years and could be called ‘unconscious competence’ the ability to do something that is difficult with such ease that we do not even have to think about it.

The master martial artist doesn’t focus on the technique he uses to achieve his aim he focuses simply on his goal and the techniques fall into place as required. Just like with something we do much of for instance walking. We don’t think about walking we just walk. Our body makes all the decisions necessary allowing our minds to be elsewhere. In martial arts we make ourselves ‘walkers’ of every technique or strategy performed so often that when we need to use them they simply act doing the absolutely necessary without our minds having to be engaged. This is what I see as the ‘mind of no mind’ to achieve every task with the same mentality, effort and ease as if we were simply taking a walk.

At this point of ‘no mindedness’ we have achieved mastery and we enter into a new realm of spirituality a realm that can be difficult to achieve as so many things spring up at us taking away our focus to things of no importance like computer games, internet or TV. But what do you do when you need to solve a problem? Well you might take a walk in the country; re-connect with nature and the myriad of living things that exist there and by doing so attain connection with your spirit and the problem shrinks away or the answer springs into your consciousness often fully formed.

So focus is essential; focus requires motivation and discipline. Focus needs worthy goals. Focus is a learnable skill. Focus changes and matures with the accomplishment of each target or goal and focus links us to our spirit which is why I have placed it under the Law of Study because study requires practice, repetition and review and this takes our focus deeper and deeper until we connect with our spirit and connecting with our spirit is the true test of a worthy goal. Spirit is contribution, gratitude and conscience. Spirit is our real selves but to find our real selves we must apply the law of focus which states ‘what you focus on becomes your reality’ so focus on that which will if not immediately, will eventually uncover your real self.

Thanks for reading today. For more details on how you can learn, use and benefit from improved focus in your life you should book a Free introductory lesson at one of our Colleges. For more details go to http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=8 where you can read more about what we do and book your first lesson at the same tie if you want to. 

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts Colleges UK

www.nat-mac.co.uk

0800 0920948

The Law of Footwork

The law of footwork states that ‘a desired objective beyond ones immediate reach requires practised skill in the steps toward its achievement’. The necessary steps are what we call in the martial arts ‘Footwork’ and good footwork is important in the accomplishment of all athletic endeavours and in martial arts in particular. Some endeavours are particularly planned in their steps such as dance, hurdling and the like. In martial arts the subject is complicated by the fact that the objective is trying its hardest not to be achieved. Ones opponent wants a similar objective which obviously conflicts with ones own plans. What steps are needed, how and when?

In combat we take baby steps forward; that is half steps as every step could take you into the path of an oncoming attack. Caution is the watch word when moving toward danger and speed is the same when moving away. When we move forward in attack we do so cautiously unless we are using overwhelm or surprise as our strategy but when retreating we can happily move backwards at speed.

The same happens in life depending on the level of risk, whether it be physical or emotional. Imagine asking out a potential new partner, one rarely steps up and blurts out ‘marry me!’ in the first encounter for one the person will think you are crazy and that would blow out any chance you had before you start and secondly what would happen if they said yes and they turned out to be crazy? You’d certainly need good footwork to get out of that one! In business we act the same way – taking greater care when the risk is higher. Only experience can teach one the right approach and in goal setting of any kind we learn early that ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’. With experience of taking the same action over and over again we can be more confident of our steps but with any goal that leaves one potentially vulnerable we are always wise to exercise caution.

It seems obvious that footwork would be toward ones goal however depending on what level of surprise, deception or caution might be necessary, for instance whether the target will fight against ones conquering of it a more subtle approach might be necessary. Side steps, oblique steps, back steps and the like even ‘no steps’ are applicable as the situation demands. Good footwork is involved in all 5 of the DELTA sequence; that is the 5 key essentials for martial combat and life achievement. DELTA stands for distance, equilibrium, leverage, timing and acceleration and as I mentioned footwork aids all 5 elements. Distance is controlled through footwork, balance is achieved through it, leverage is improved or impaired by it, timing can often rely on it and acceleration can rarely do without it.

Not much can happen without good footwork and it is therefore an essential skill to develop. In the AEGIS system we utilise 5 step types, there are more but 5 is sufficient for most tasks. We also work on 5 direction types: forwards, backwards, left right and oblique angles. Once one understands and learns the steps one can practice and develop mastery of ones footwork thereby having the tools to use in ones strategy. With expert footwork any goal can be attempted but without it little can be achieved. Often we see novices who have developed fast in technique only to be let down by poor footwork. Footwork mastery allows technique to be delivered efficiently but one has to understand which steps support which technique or combination of. Footwork is essential in setting up and launching attacks and defences, it allows us to be spontaneous and to react fast with opportunities or against challenges.

The equivalent life skill in footwork are the steps we take in our strategy toward our goals, our game plan is composed of a series of steps planned in advance of our start. Just as with launching a kick or punch we plan the strategy to land the shot and our skill shows when we have to react and adapt to any misjudgement or change in circumstances. Skill in goal achievement means we get better at choosing our steps toward it and just like babies taking their first steps one starts with ‘baby steps’, possibly using others or objects for support. Gradually our balance improves and our steps become more certain until we can march confidently.

The baby step analogy is useful also to help us understand and judge our progress in life and martial arts. Just because we are adults doesn’t mean we can’t take ‘baby steps’ when we are unsure of the ground. With a new life goal it is useful to have someone else for support, to lean on or to even catch us when we fall. Just like a baby we can eventually achieve independence but every new challenge will test the confidence we have in our steps. If however we understand how the steps work we can better use them in more different situations. If we understand the laws that govern our steps we can apply them toward the achievement of many more goals in more and diverse areas. The true master of martial arts and therefore by implication life well understands the law of footwork and how to apply it.

Thank you for reading today and I look forward to speaking again soon. I have almost finished blogging on the laws of combat with only 2 more of the 25 laws left to cover. Those of you who are already a part of the AEGIS system will be taught how all these laws work and interact as part of our Leadership or Certified Instructor Training Programs so you have a lot to look forward to as you will learn how to apply the laws not only to your combat skills but to your life, specifically how to improve your life with it. The martial arts were developed exactly for that: first to survive and then to thrive. Unlike most martial arts systems the AEGIS system focuses on martial arts at the holistic level rather than just the physical survival model or those that seek to achieve higher intellectually and spiritually but offer little guidance on the journey except to encourage one to practice. Whilst practice will bring understanding eventually one can achieve deeper levels through being guided by ones mentor/instructor. Sure it’s the journey not the destination that matters but what’s wrong with understanding more, faster? The spiritual levels are so deep anyway there is always more to delve; digging deeper is always more rewarding if one knows what one is looking for. 

For more information on the AEGIS system you can take a 30 day free trial by booking online at http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=8 and I know that it’s a decision you won’t regret. Do it now and open up to a whole new world

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 0920948

www.nat-mac.co.uk 

The Law of Acceleration

The law of acceleration states that ‘the achievement of an objective to match or exceed an externally controlled time frame requires precise control of ones velocity’

Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity of a moving body, it can be slow or fast and the speed of acceleration is decided by the time available. When you’re driving to work and you’re running late you accelerate when you are too early you might decelerate. Acceleration is ones control of speed to fit the time frame available.

In combat we need to be able to accelerate quickly as fights happen very fast and we have to act fast to complete our objective in the time frame available. The ‘window of opportunity’ may not be open long and in combat one must maximise one’s opportunities to reduce the number of casualties.

It is said that a ‘goal is a dream with a deadline’ and the ability to complete the objectives within that deadline requires one to be able to control the speed of completion of the objectives. In a business environment that may be hitting targets by the end of the month. At the start of the month the target may seem easily achievable with plenty of time to meet the objectives, but then circumstances outside ones sphere of control step in to hinder ones progress. As the deadline approaches one has to be able to increase the speed of the task completion to match the shrinking time frame. Bonuses, pay cheques, sales prizes and the like are only awarded to those who have sufficient skills to complete the tasks and also the ability to speed up or even slow down their completion to match the remaining time available.

In one on one combat which happens very fast one has little time to make decisions, react or plan and adrenalin fuelled fear acts to cause one to potentially over accelerate our actions causing us to misjudge targets and thereby fail to build sufficient acceleration to match the window of opportunity. As with all actions speed is not the only factor and in combat the DELTA sequence of distance, equilibrium, leverage, timing and acceleration all play their part in the achievement of the best outcome. Speed alone is rarely enough and control of speed relies on the other 4 components to launch the attack or defence from. Without balance leverage is reduced, without control of distance timing is spoiled and without leverage speed is wasted and so on.

Any goal once it is truly a goal with a specific outcome and a time frame in which it is to be completed immediately becomes externally controlled by the time frame and specificity applied to it. Once you set the goal you hand over the control to an external force, in this case the time frame and outcome you have stated as your aim. If you take the goal seriously then you have a finite time in which to complete it and this can build an innate sense of resistance a paradox which we create. None of us enjoys doing anything within another’s time frame, at another’s speed even if the time frame is set by ourselves. Emotionally we will be drawn back to our habitual way of doing things unless the goal itself conforms to our established habits. As the saying goes ‘if you want something you’ve never had before, you must do something you’ve never done before’ and many of our goals require us to do something we’ve never done before.

The achievement of new outcomes requires the completion of new tasks to get there. The first time we attempt a new goal our timing will be ‘off’. Goals generally are either missed or exceeded and new goals markedly so. Achieving a goal within the time allotted requires precise control of ones objectives and the speed at which they are accomplished.

So acceleration is the speed at which the objectives are completed and that control of speed gets easier the more often/experience we have in completing or achieving the goal. In combat we all have our favourite strategies and techniques and we re-use all those that give us the best outcome. The more we use them the more we achieve the goal we want, with each achievement of the same goal we learn more about the acceleration and timeframe we have to achieve it in. If we need to speed up we can and if we need to slow down we can do that also.

Like a gymnast performing a back flip, to the outsider each one seems the same but to the performer every one is different, every one must be completed within the time frame demanded, the time it takes to jump spin and land upon ones feet. Once the jump has started there is no turning back one is committed to the goal and any deviation from it will result in disaster. So if the jump is made slightly wrong one must control as much as possible what one can make the necessary adjustments required to complete the task safely within the maximum time still available.

Once we set a goal, a specific outcome within a specific time frame the time frame becomes external to us and outside our control. As soon as we make the decision that this goal will be achieved in this or that time frame we hand over the time we have to achieve the goal as much as if the time frame was decided for us. Sure we can arrange things so that we are prepared for the goal using the law of hierarchy to set things in the right order, the law of set up to plan the first move and the law of launch point to give us the best start. But once we say ‘go’ the time is out of our control. We cannot control time but we can control what we do with the time available and in life as in martial arts, the more often we complete the same action the more efficient we become in the action and the more able we are to control the speed of the action. This is the key to acceleration not speed as in ‘as fast as you can’ but speed as in ‘as fast as necessary’. That could be slow or fast as long as it matches the time frame imposed upon us or by us.

To achieve any goal we must exert some control over our speed towards it and as I said earlier the more we practice the goal the more we can control the speed of its achievement. This is why a production line works so well because each step is repeated so often that the outcome is certain and the acceleration a completely known quantity. What matters most I suppose is the outcome we pursue with our acceleration, the goal we pursue and the worthiness of it. However that is a discussion for another time, for now its enough to understand what acceleration is and how we use it and that includes how it fits with the other 4 keys of the DELTA sequence.

Thanks for reading today and I look forward to speaking with you again soon on another topic that I hope might interest you

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 092 0948

www.nat-mac.co.uk

Real Reality Martial Arts

It seems like some of the loudest voices in the martial arts these days are the reality martial arts; those that teach the down & dirty street defence. Kewap, Defendo, Krav Maga and the like are quite prominent in their advertising, but whilst I once believed in the street effectiveness of a martial art in the form that all these systems are offering, I have now developed my thinking to a deeper level that these systems seem to be missing.

Let’s take a look at how martial arts developed all those millennia ago. Martial arts are not unique to the human race are they? No, all carnivores and quite a few herbivores have developed fighting methods of defending themselves and feeding themselves, in fact some styles of kung fu have based themselves on the martial arts that animals use such as preying mantis, monkey style and the like. And this is an important function of the martial arts to allow and help us to survive. Survive to live, eat, procreate etc. Survival of the fittest is a well known saying the world over isn’t it? We all need to survive for as long as possible don’t we?

However whilst survival is important it’s not necessarily fun or particularly fulfilling, the meanest animals on Earth are surviving but it doesn’t look like they’re having a good time does it? People living rough on the streets are surviving and that certainly doesn’t look like it’s a very rewarding life. It is my belief that the skills that we use to survive are the same skills that will help do much more than survive, these skills will also help us to thrive. It’s what I call Survival and Thrival, survival definitely, but thrival preferably.

Martial arts are the systemisation of the laws, principles, rules, strategies and techniques that have allowed the human race to rise above all the other animals on the planet. Over the years the sustained practice under good teachers brought a deeper understanding of the skills and how they may be better and more fully applied to life as well as combat. This is why the ancient masters connected with religions and philosophies and deeper meanings of life because they had studied their arts so deeply they had learned how to use their skills not just for warfare and survival but they had also applied their skills on a more global level. This allowed them to use their martial arts skills in business, relationships, health and as a tool for developing spiritually.

Business and world leaders have recognised for centuries the skills that make a successful life and a life of achievement and for years they have studied the works of Sun Tzu, Musashi and the like, people who had already learned, interpreted and applied their martial skills to achieve a life of fulfilment.

However I get frustrated by the limited thinking of many martial artists today who’s thinking is too limited to survival and not thrival, too based in the physical and emotional levels of the martial arts to realise what else can be achieved using the very same skills. We must look beyond the purely physical skills and ask ourselves the question: ‘is my life better for studying the martial arts?’ most martial artists would say yes to this but what about the follow up questions such as: ‘Am I thriving?’ ‘Am I achieving all that I can?’ ‘Is what I am achieving helping me become richer, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?’

From what I see of some martial artists the answer is definitely ‘NO’. What do I base my assessment on? Well the fact that they focus on either pure survival techniques or competition. I’ve discussed already what is wrong with survival martial arts so what is wrong with competition? In one word ‘Ego’, it’s all about ego; beating someone else, measuring success by the number of trophies in your cabinet. It’s not REAL! Also it doesn’t help. The word egotist is generally used as an insult isn’t it? Do you like egotistical people? No, they are in your face, pompous and emotionally weak. Egotists generally have some character defect that they are trying to overcome and it’s fairly obvious to everyone around them though not to the egotist himself.

The ego exists to be either superior or inferior to someone else so competition is a great feeder to the ego, as its all about winning or losing; being better than or lesser than. The overall achievement through competition is very little in terms of future application and you end up leaning on past successes to justify current failures. The martial arts skills that make us good competitors are wasted on what is in the main, pointless trophy collection. Beating or being beaten by someone teaches us the false message that success is a measurement against others rather than treating failure as experience we treat it as not being good enough as a person. Whereas competing against ourselves gives us a truer measure of success or failure. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said ‘there is no nobility in being superior to another person, the only nobility is in being superior to who you were yesterday’.

In summary martial arts are not about winning, martial arts are about achieving the outcome you desire. That desire is certainly survival but once you are surviving, surviving is no longer enough and we move onto thriving and we only thrive through applying the skills of survival more effectively. Martial arts skills are the skills to do this, so think beyond how they help you to survive, think beyond the one sidedness of competition. Think instead about using these skills that you have developed over 1000’s of hours of study to bring yourself a balanced and fulfilled life – that is what REAL REALITY martial arts are REALLY about.

Thanks for reading today and I look forward to speaking again on another martial arts related topic very soon.

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

For more details on our programs go to http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=9

The AEGIS Black Belt Graduation 26th March 2011

The Black Belt candidates are busy honing their skills, getting fit and practising their demos for the big day. Over 25 students are testing for the ultimate prize in martial arts BLACK BELT!

Years of study, training and dedication has brought them to the peak of their abilities and they will be duly recognised for their achievements. Plus existing black belts will be doing their ‘mid terms’ where they have to demonstrate that they are maintaining their skill level in order to continue being recognised as an AEGIS black belt. Our black belt testing is one of the UK’s most demanding but as the saying goes ‘you only get out what you put in’

We’d like you to join us as our guest and be witness to the tremendous unleashing of human potential as demonstrated by our students under the watchful eye of their friends, families and colleagues as they step up to the challenge and it is fair to say that their lives will never be the same again.

Black Belt is the badge of honour in martial arts and represents the 5 keys of combat which are Attitude, Expectation, Game plan, Implementation and Study. These 5 life essentials are epitomised by the AEGIS black belt and with the help of our Black Belt Leadership Program our black belts not only build them into their martial arts lives but also their daily lives, you see martial arts done properly is NOT based on just making you into a fighting machine. True black belt is not just about changing your physique either; it’s about taking control of your life, shaping it and creating the best life that you can imagine. Black belt is also NOT just about helping your own life but also the lives of those around you. Think about it, we don’t live our lives in isolation from everyone else. No, we share our lives, our goals and dreams and just as the master martial artist uses his skills to protect others he/she is also expected to proactively assist others to share in the benefits that they themselves have done and achieve what they have done too.

Too often martial arts is portrayed as egotistical, winning at any cost and destroying enemies when the real picture is the defence of others, the aid of others and the development of others. Every good general needs an army of soldiers just as every good instructor needs students. A general isn’t a general without soldiers and an instructor isn’t an instructor without students – likewise the very essence of black belt excellence relies on others in its achievement; those who help us along and those we help along the way.

With this in mind I would like to invite you and your family and friends to witness our black belts in their achievement by clearing your diary for the 26^th March, coming along to St Margaret’s Massive Church Hall at 11am and there you’ll get to share in the glorious atmosphere of support, enjoyment and achievement as these dedicated martial artists are awarded their black belts after first demonstrating their skills. I can promise that at the end of the graduation you will be inspired by these people both young and old – you’ll have a whole new view on martial arts and it will be an event that will stay and inspire you for many years to come – So please join us on the day!

For more information go to http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=10 scroll down to the bottom of the first blog and you’ll find a PDF document with more details on our Black Belt program. If you’d like a brochure on our programs go to http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=9  and send your full details or phone us on 0800 0920948. It’s a decision you will NEVER regret!

Best wishes and I look forward to meeting you very soon!

Chief Master Tony Higo

7^th Degree Black Belt

Founder of the National Martial Arts College

And the AEGIS martial arts system

IF Only....

This week I have been thinking about what is 'Tough'? Is it being, strong? Winning? or trying to be strong and trying to win? I'm sure inside you know the answer yet all around us we see people looking or acting tough with no internal, real, content. Two of my heroes are Nelson Mandela and Ghandi: were they tough? absolutely! were they strong? No doubt about it! They had REAL strength based on 'feeling the fear and doing it anyway'


They did what was right for the right reasons and were prepared to to die for their beliefs. They weren't hyped as tough like UFC fighters, they didn't swagger and act macho full of shallow egotism, they were the real deal living their lives so others could live better ones. They sacrificed themselves and suffered for their beliefs and that's the kind of toughness I seek. Its no good looking tough on the outside if you have no iron core within you that's like combing your hair over a bald patch everyone can see through you.


How do you get toughness? You have to do the things that challenge and scare you, you have to face complete failure and keep going. You have to do what you believe is right in the face of everyone else saying its wrong and you have to do it for something that not just you benefits from. Rudyard Kipling put it better than I ever could so check out his famous poem below and then attack your challenges with true warrior spirit and remember the only failure is NEVER trying!


Best wishes and have a courageous day!


Tony Higo

IF you can keep your head when all about you 
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;


If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:


If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;


If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son

For more information on how we build toughness click on the link http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=7

The Rules of 5 and the 5 Rings

I first read the ‘Book of 5 Rings’ (Go Rin Sho) when I was in my late teens and to be frank I really didn’t get what it was all about. At the time it was much favoured by businessmen as the ‘new thing’ using martial arts strategy in business. I couldn’t see how that worked, and being young I was like most young people, only concerned with ‘technique’. I did not see strategy as the application of laws and principles which utilised techniques to achieve an outcome; I saw strategy as techniques used in battle and business without fully equating it to one on one combat. Remember the distinction I make between strategy using techniques and techniques as strategies as there is an important difference here that you should think about.

Over the years I have read and re-read the Go Rin Sho gradually increasing my understanding of it. It is a book that requires some deciphering: it was written 400 years ago by a samurai warrior named Myamoto Musashi who was and still is one of the most famous of Japan’s samurai. He fought over 60 to the death duels starting at the age of only 13 and was victorious in all of them. However the book is not easy to understand as it was written in old Japanese which has been translated into modern Japanese and then into English and in every translation something of the original is lost. However by reading and re-reading one can begin to understand what Musashi was talking about, not that his concepts are that difficult but being translated as they have been and without the benefit of diagrams and an understanding of his mindset and background it can be difficult to discern his meaning.

However, getting back to my point, I have recently redeveloped our black belt leadership program and as part of that process I wanted to establish the absolute essential elements or laws that govern success in martial arts and life. Using our martial arts training as a metaphor for how we use our life, we at the National Martial Arts Colleges teach our students to gain success in their daily lives by applying the laws, principles, rules, strategies and techniques of combat training. Using martial arts as a mirror to reflect upon how we live our lives.

After many years of studying and applying the principles of martial arts and life success I have distilled what I consider to be the absolute essentials of success down to 5 keys which are: Attitude, Goal setting, Strategy, Action and Study. We use the name of our martial arts system AEGIS as an acrostic for students to memorise the key laws of success as: Attitude, Expectation, Game plan, Implementation and Study. As you can see some of the initials didn’t even need to be changed to fit the acrostic which I found interesting too but I won’t go into that here. After this I also included several other concepts that are essential to making the first laws to work, these are: the RADAR action process, the 4 plus 1 intelligences and the DELTA sequence of key martial arts skills that all techniques rely on to make them work.

After I had begun constructing the new Leadership program it suddenly hit me that each of these key concepts consisted each of Five keys. DELTA, AEGIS, RADAR, and the 4 +1 intelligences (4 + 1 = 5) all have 5 elements. Without realising it I had been developing concepts each of which consisted of 5 I therefore decided to put together a series of rules to support these concepts which I call the ‘Rules of 5’ The rules of 5 enable our students and instructors to quantify exactly the amount of content and context contained in our martial arts system. Knowing that there are virtually 5 of everything in the system allows students to learn the system faster and for the instructors to teach it more easily. If a student is for instance, trying to practice his stances he knows there are 5 and 5 guards, 5 steps, distances, levels etc. It is always easier to learn something when one knows the full extent of the content and the context that is the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of the subject. No one likes to find that there is, after years of study, more in the syllabus that they didn’t even know about, it would be like turning up to an exam and suddenly being faced with a question that isn’t in the syllabus.

By quantifying our AEGIS system this way we make it so much easier to learn, practice and understand which is refreshing when so many martial arts are no easier to understand than the Go Rin Sho with techniques that are not only not used any more, but no one even knows what they were for in the past. Even the most transparent subject can be further understood and mastered through regular and sustained practice but I despair of those systems that complicate their art unnecessarily which could let a novice down when he most needs his arts defence. A system that takes years of study to make it work is of little value when dealing with a confrontation that happens before you become a master. It has always been my concern to ensure that what I teach can be used immediately and without modification or deep understanding. If it can’t then I have let my student down.

I referred earlier to Musashi’s Book of 5 Rings and I was surprised when reading it again only a few months ago I did not connect his 5’s with the 5’s I have been evolving. It wasn’t until I was reading it again just a few weeks ago that I suddenly realised the connection. I was reading and making noted when it suddenly hit me that as he was detailing his 5 stances and 5 guards that it hit me! Perhaps I’m a little slow but I had put together my leadership program and written thousands of words on the laws, principles etc without making the connection. Why do I mention this? To make some connection with Musashi’s genius, perhaps? Or perhaps I have been unknowingly influenced by reading his work in the past? Who knows? But what I do know is that he was trying to achieve the same end, his work was written just before his death and he knew that he wouldn’t be around to mentor the future generations’ progress and study of his system. He was quantifying his system, creating a distinct content and context for his students to understand his teaching in his absence.

I am doing the same, (hopefully my death is not as imminent as Musashi’s was) I am aware that I can no longer teach all of the students in the AEGIS  system, there are too many schools in too many places and this problem (if it is a problem) is not getting any easier as our schools grow. With this in mind it is my goal to teach my instructors to understand exactly what I know by quantifying and labelling everything that I know so that the AEGIS system is passed to each of the coming generations with as much of my experience as possible in the teaching and who understand the syllabus and can likewise pass on the system without it ending up being almost indecipherable as I see so many other system have become. Only time will tell I suppose, and I must be prepared for the AEGIS system to change and adapt and as long as it remains workable and relevant I will be happy enough that I have done my bit.

Thank you for reading today. For more information on our martial arts programs why not get our full colour brochure by clicking on the link http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=9

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 0920948

www.nat-mac.co.uk

The Holy Grail - Secrets of the Martial Arts Part 3

The way that martial arts have been passed down to us reminds me of an old story I heard years ago. A young wife is cooking a large joint of beef and when she brings it out of the oven her husband asks why she has cut the joint into two halves. She explains that that is how her Mum showed her how to cook it. Intrigued the husband asks his mother in law why she cuts the joint into two wherein she explains that that is how her Mother always did it so she naturally did it the same. Still fascinated as to what benefit came from cutting the meat into two pieces he approaches his wife’s grandmother to see if she can elaborate as to why she cut the joint in half. He wonders ‘is it to allow the meat to cook faster or to allow the joint to brown more thoroughly?’ And so he asks the ageing granny why she cut the joint in into two. She looks at him and says ‘well you have to remember that when I was young the ovens were smaller than they are today, so I had to cut it to make it fit.’ Martial arts, particularly those using kata and forms are based on these practises of teaching techniques the same way as they were taught to you, without knowing really what the techniques are for or what they mean. It’s a dangerous practice when you think that so many novices are practising a system of combat, learning score of techniques and all without knowing what they are or even how they work!

Technique is another area I will focus on in my blogs and my personal adage is ‘we don’t need more technique, just to be able to understand the ones we have’. Students constantly seem to be searching for more techniques but this search is faulty, one of the earliest sayings I learned in martial arts was ‘one technique mastered is worth a thousand sampled’ and this is a principle that is worth following. To search for more techniques is to undervalue those that you already have, looking for new ones when you haven’t mastered the Basics yet. The student who looks for more technique reminds me of another saying ‘a jack of all trades and master of none’. You see we have the knowledge to create a workable martial arts system, its right in front of us but we ‘can’t see the wood for the trees’.

The wisdom is already before us but it is disguised as styles, philosophy, religion, sport and egotism. My reason for writing this is to show you what I have discovered in the hope that you will gain from it what you need to master either my system or the system that you already practice. Some of what you learn will be uncomfortable because it challenges your systems teaching but others you will recognise as not being able to work any other way. I hope you, like me will enjoy the results of my study and have the mindset and commitment to practice it and pass it on to the next generation without it having to be deciphered

Thanks again for reading and I’ll speak to you again soon on another subject that is close to my heart

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 092 0948

www.nat-mac.cuk

For more information on our programs simply click on the link http://www.nat-mac.co.uk/www.nat-mac.co.uk/info.php?p=9

The Holy Grail of Martial Arts Part Two

When studying the laws of combat you’ll find that there are those that apply every time and then sub laws that apply in different scenarios. The skill is in separating the ‘wheat from the chaff,’ discerning what applies where, seeing through what is your styles philosophy or what you have taken as gospel from your own instructor. At the end of the day your instructor is not infallible and may, like you have taken everything at face value, not questioning his own learning because he didn’t feel he knew enough or you might come from a background of ‘don’t question your instructor’ or the ‘black belt is always right’ none of these mindsets have done anything to increase our understanding of our martial arts. Some instructors refuse to answers questions because they themselves don’t know the answer.

Let’s face it most of us involved in martial arts come from a working class background and part of being working class is having less education than the middle class. This means we struggle often to dig deeper in what we learn because our fundamental education has not prepared us for it. It is certainly the case for why martial arts remains a largely oral tradition, passed down through the centuries via word of mouth and consequently why we have lost so much of our understanding on the way. Every generation or two has had to relearn from scratch what their master’s master already knew. Learning martial arts is like having a memory problem where every time you learn something you have to learn it again the next time you train. It’s like a martial arts version of ‘Groundhog Day’ every generation having to start again from scratch!

Education issues account for why we know so much about Japanese martial arts, for one thing they were educated men who wrote down much of what they learned for future generations which is why we still have access to works such as ‘the book of 5 rings, ‘Hagakure’, ‘The Life Giving Sword’ and ‘The Art of War’ (which is Chinese) to name but a few. The authors of these books were learning and teaching with other higher caste martial artists keeping the knowledge for themselves, their families and their clan, fortunately we have benefitted from these writings. The road we are travelling has been travelled before, many times and because these earlier warriors had education they could transmit their message by more than just word of mouth, putting their ideas on paper for other educated generations to benefit from as well. The only issue with these ancient tomes is that they are written from a different perspective, philosophy and religion, they have to be translated into modern language and different languages which often make them difficult to understand. They we teaching to the converted, those who already understood the concepts they wrote of and for this reason some of the volumes are difficult to decipher. I have read the ‘Go Rin Sho’ (Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi) many times but my early attempts brought me little understanding as I had few references to connect me with his message, whereas now when I read it again I gain deeper understanding than I could have had before as I have travelled a path that is similar in many ways to Musashi’s journey as a martial artist and teacher.

I don’t want to have to study martial arts for decades to be able to make it work for me. I want what I teach to be easily understood and immediately applicable. If you come to one of my schools and practice for the first time ever, I want you to have new skills that you can use if you need them on the way home! Of course with deeper study you’ll reach a greater depth of understanding and longer term benefits, but I don’t want to study a martial art that is like deciphering hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt! I haven’t got time for that. Who would play football or tennis if you had to study it for years before it made any sense?  No one, football and tennis are simple and effective, deeper study can give deeper enjoyment certainly, but you don’t have to enter into a mysterious cabal and be initiated into a system like martial arts systems seem to have to do.

Even Gichin Funakoshi who was instrumental in bringing Karate to the world did not understand it completely. He practiced his kata through years of repetition gaining an understanding of the movements at an almost atomic level but he didn’t always know what the movements meant. If he did he certainly didn’t pass on his knowledge. Karate like most systems started out as a complete system and included locks, holds and throws but it is only recently that karate historians have deciphered that some of the movements were not double blocks or groin gouges but actually throws. My Karate instructor was a good practitioner but he didn’t know what the katas meant. This is not a good starting point for a system of combat that is sold as a method of self defence. It’s like being taught how to handle a gun without being taught that it will require bullets if you want it to work.

Check in tomorrow to read part three of the Holy Grail of Martial Arts

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 0920948

www.nat-mac.co.uk

The Holy Grail of Martial Arts

In my 40 year plus study of the martial arts I have had one identifiable aim that has been a constant and that is to find the Holy Grail of martial arts and combat, those techniques that will work every time with anyone in any situation. This is a really big ask, by that I mean how do you measure it? When will you know when you’re there? How could you ever test it if you felt you’d found it anyway? Bear in mind I was in my early teens when I began so my was perhaps a little bit too optimistic coming  from such an immature standpoint though I must admit the quest has pretty much stayed with me over all this time.

Thank you for reading today. Check in tomorrow for part two of the 'Holy Grail of Martial Arts' 

Best wishes

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

0800 092 0948

www.nat-mac.co.uk 

Call us today for a Free 30 day Trial Membership 0800 0920948

The Law of Judgement part 2

Every judgement is based on the potential success of a task and also how the action will be judged afterwards, in terms of success, law and morality. Self defence is fraught with worries about the danger to oneself obviously but also for the danger posed to ones aggressor and how any injury to him will be viewed by the law. Good training and a thoughtful education will influence our judgements, hopefully for the better but certainly it will increase the number of available choices before we decide on which course of action to take. A martial artists choice of effective action in combat will depend on the ‘relevance’ of his training to the challenge that presents itself. I say ‘relevance’ and by that I mean how applicable his training is to actual self defence. Without getting too political on the subject my judgement on many of the martial arts systems I have seen and studied is that they are not ‘relevant’ that is they are not applicable to the situation, in other words they wouldn’t help much more in combat than a knowledge of golf or tennis. This is my judgement on martial arts systems and the consequence of this has influenced what I teach and the curriculum taught in my schools motivating me to teach a system that based on my experience of combat and which I judge to work in the wide range of experience I have had.

My reasons for writing about the laws of combat is to use my experience to help martial artists realise that what they are learning should not be based so much on style but on content and that content should be driven by the universal laws that govern all things in life and combat. This is why my writing speaks of laws, strategies, rules and techniques to show the difference between these concepts. To demonstrate that every strategy or technique is governed by a law and that if one knows the laws the techniques will be practiced and applied better. In martial arts there are things that are equally if not more important than technique and every effective martial art will contain certain principles in its make up that decide its effectiveness. These are the concepts of Fitness, Aggression, Strength and Training what I call the FAST principle:

F is for Fit, every effective martial art in its practice will promote high levels of cardiovascular conditioning. One never knows how long the fight will last and at what intensity so we must prepare ourselves for this.

A is for aggressive attitude. Aggression is necessary in combat, controlled aggression but aggression all the same. One cannot fight for ones life half heartedly, one must fight at one hundred percent intensity and this intensity is pure aggression. I said earlier ‘controlled aggression’ because we must be able to switch it on and off at will so we do enough but not to over step the mark, doing more damage than is necessary.

S is for strength both physical and mental most opponents choose us as victims because they are stronger or at least they think they are. Effective martial arts systems are not out to turn us into bodybuilders in size and weight but they must develop the strength to perform effectively against the average opponent.

T is for training and as I said earlier training should be relevant to the current trends in street defence both in physical and mental attitude. There is nothing new in martial arts despite what the adverts say. No one has discovered a more effective way of running than we did thousands of years ago. Of course we have all sorts of shoes and styles and what have you but at the end of the day they are all just fads, in fact today ‘experts’ are taking us back to thin soled shoes almost like running in bare feet. Martial arts are the same as it ever was, the same the laws and principles remain unchanged for centuries though the techniques come and go with the fashion at the time.

The FAST principle is one of my judgements on martial arts effectiveness and I use it as an example of judgement and how we might apply it in our lives.

In summary, judgement is a continuous processing of decision making and action taking. Every move we make has been judged to be the most appropriate for the outcome we desire in life and martial arts. Our judgement can be improved and if it is our martial arts and life will too. The skill of the master is in his judgement and how he applies it.

Thanks you for reading today

Tony Higo

Chief Instructor

National Martial Arts College

www.nat-mac.co.uk

0800 0920948