Why tanto in randori but not in practice?

We have been told often by our aikido instructors that Tomiki's aikido was particularly aimed at randori - that is, developing a way for aikidoka to pressure test their skills with a viable randori system.  And I do think that is characteristic of Tomiki's aikido... to a point.

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But go with me down this line of thought...

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Tomiki was out to come up with a way for aikido guys to do real randori - not taking turns being uke for each other, but both guys trying to apply aikido skills at the same time against a skilled player.  To make the game interesting and productive, Tomiki had to get the players to give each other real attacks because aikido guys when they don't want to be thrown by other aikido guys stop exerting and withdraw their energy. So he made uke's attacks count for points.

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But why did he put the foam knife into the mix?

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Why not leagalize punches, like in a karate contest? Aikido folks deal with punches.

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Why not a shinai, like in kendo? Aikido folks deal with swords.

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Why not a padded stave, like in the old-style European quarterstave matches still popular around Tomiki's time?  Aikido folks deal with jo staves.

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Heck, those pre-war aikido guys even played with bayonets like in jukendo - why not have randori matches against a guy armed with a juken?

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What is it about the tanto that of all the weapons that the old aikido guys played with - what made tanto particularly suitable for randori?

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And if tanto was so particularly suitable an instrument for the randori that would be central in Tomiki's aikido, why is the tanto not more prominent in the rest of our practice?

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What I mean is this - we learn all of our aikido empty handed against empty-handed ukes who are making empty-handed attacks.  Then at some point the tanto is thrown in almost as an afterthought - a little bit of knife evasion practice, some junana with a knife, and a pretty minimal nod to tanto skills in a couple of the Koryu no kata.

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If randori (with a knife) is supposed to be so central to our aikido, why don't we do all of our training from day-1 with knives? Ukemi with a knife, taiso (tandoku and sotai dosa) with a knife, junana and owaza and urawaza with a knife, suwari with a knife... Tanto Everything Aikido.

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True, there's nobody telling us we can't practice that way - but (almost) nobody does practice that way.

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Another sort of aside - I wonder what would happen in a tanto match if you gave both guys a foam knife and allowed both guys to score with the blade or with aikido techniques?  Or maybe a hybrid of tanto randori and hat randori where either guy could score with the knife, the hat, or aikido techniques??

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____________________
Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com

Kata for knife defense is big-time B.S.

This thing makes the rounds every so often, and it's a good 4-minute laugh-riot, right? Well, if we are  honest, it makes instructors uncomfortable too, because of the kernel of truth within it.

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In aikido and judo, we often do hand-to-hand randori or sparring with a goal of 50% success rate. That is, I "win" about half the time and the other guy "wins" about half the time. This is not just trading throws (nagekomi), it is managing the intensity and controlling our objectives such that it is a toss-up as to who is going to come out on top in every encounter. If you find yourself throwing the other guy down 80-100% of the time then something is wrong with how you are doing randori. You need to dial it down so that the other guy has a chance to work his material and you need to reconsider what your goals are for randori - maybe work on something besides throwing.

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But when you give uke a knife, if the practice conditions are even remotely realistic, then tori's success rate should plummet to near-zero. The knife is just that good a weapon.

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If, through practice, we can build tori's success rate back up to near 50% while maintaining moderate realism, that is a phenomenal result! That suggests that the addition of a knife wouldn't change the odds much beyond those of a hand-to-hand encounter. That would be superb knife-defense - bordering on amazing!

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I think we get into trouble doing knife-defense in kata (as in Kodokan Goshinjutsu or Tomiki Sankata or Rokukata). In kata, tori is defined to have a 100% success rate and he is forced to look and move a certain way while doing it. The only way this is possible to overcome this double-whammy against a knife-wielding partner is for uke to throw the encounter badly in tori's favor, like Bob is teaching in the video above.

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Therein lies the knife-defense B.S. factor.

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I think kata is the culprit - at least, embu (demonstration) mode kata. Attempting to hit 100% against a knife while moving in a prescribed manner is impossible. But kata is not totally useless - what if we take the kata patterns as starting points and redefine our goals and what we think kata is supposed to be.

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What if kata were a set of pre-arranged starting points for a randori-like drill, in which the goal were to survive (not triumph) about 50% of the time against a live (semi-resistant) partner?  That would be doable!

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By starting with the kata patterns, you are able to reproduce the starting conditions precisely, which allows you to study some particular area of interest.  

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In drills you are allowed (maybe even expected) to fail sometimes - which is unacceptable in kata.  By reducing the target from 100% to 50% you eliminate the ego threat involved in learning to do kata. No longer do you have to worry about failure as an ego threat because a drill is like a game of tag in which you are supposed to lose 50% of the time (because losing is valuable experience too).

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 ____________________
Patrick Parker
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Laser-focused autumnal tachidori

We have a small dojo space with limited headroom, so almost all of our long weapons practice (bokken, jo, etc...) is done outside on the driveway or lawn.  The only problem is it is usually scorching hot and 100% humidity outside in the summer here in southwest Mississippi, so summertime becomes our taijutsu (empty-hand) and tanto (knife) season, when we can practice in front of an air conditioner, and fall and spring become our taijutsu and long-weapons season when it is pleasant outside.  We don't quite hibernate in the winter-time, but that is our season to do more tandoku (solo practice) and much less falling while the mats and our bodies are cold.

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We've been doing this for several years this way, but our weapons practice has not been as focused and productive in the last year or so (or perhaps I've been paying more attention to it and have just realized how sorry we are in the past year or so ;-).  So I decided that this year for our autumnal long-weapons practice we would have a laser focus on one particular aspect or kata or facet instead of doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that and then not seeing it again for several months.

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So I asked Whit what facet of weapons he wanted to work on this Fall and he immediately said, tachidori! (Taking a sword from uke as you throw him!)    Really - the toughest aspect to practice outside (unless we drag a mat outside each day.  But you know what?  I'm up for it if he is!

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I figure for the next 2-3 months to devote all our outside weapons practice to tachidori and collateral skills (kihon, maybe some jodori, maybe even some sparring or kumitachi with foam sticks?).  

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Here is a list of the 9 Tomiki tachidori...

Tomiki Tachidori
Sankata

• men maeotoshi
• men shihonage
• men aigamaeate
• do oshitaoshi
• men hijikujiki

Rokukata

• men oshitaoshi
• men wakigatame
• men hineri oshitaoshi nage
• men kotegaeshi

And a couple of videos...

Sankata tachidori (starting at about 6:00)

 

Rokukata tachidori (starting at about 2:00)

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Patrick Parker
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Yoshinoro Kono Sensei

We are currently feeling ripples of this teacher's influence in some of the things that we do.  Pay attention to this fellow's research...

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...and watch how he moves!



There's actually a ton of material on YouTube about Sensei Kono



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Patrick Parker
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Knife practice in aikido

A few days ago, Sensei Strange made a comment in a conversation that I thought was interesting.  He called aikido - at least as we are trying to express it - a "knife-aware art."  I thought that was a pretty good description.  See, it's not our primary purpose to learn knife fighting or knife defenses, but the addition of a knife does seem to make aikido closer to what it is supposed to be.

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Lately (last couple of years) we've been progressively adding more and more knife into our practices and looking to see how it changes things.  A training knife or two can spice up any of our exercises or techniques that we practice.

• Tegatana - the walking kata - hold a trainer in one hand and suddenly you get a lot more aware of different things each hand might be doing.  This is also a good basic exercise on how to move with a knife without cutting yourself.  Sometimes I like to wear bluejeans and put a pocket clip trainer in my pocket and practice deploying it during each step of the walk.  Try holding the knife in a standard grip (like a hammer) or a reverse grip (like an icepick) and you glean different ideas from the walking kata.
• Releases - give uke a trainer in his free (non-grabbing hand) and all of a sudden tori is a lot more interested in getting off line when uke passes ma-ai and getting into shikaku and controlling uke's center.  Give tori a trainer and let uke grab tori's knife arm and tori gets a lesson in weapon retention - or let uke grab tori's non-knife hand and tori gets a lesson in continuing to do aikido despite having a free blade - not letting his own knife capture his attention.
• Junana/Owaza - of course, the obvious practice mode here is to give uke a practice knife and tori tries to apply Junana or Owaza.  But what if you give tori the knife?  How can tori express the principles of the techniques of Junana or Owaza with/through/using a blade?  What if the knife is folded and in uke's pocket - can tori control uke enough that he can't deploy the knife?  What if the knife is folded and in tori's pocket?
• Randori - try doing toshu-style randori (both players trying to do aikido) but give both players a blade and see where it goes.
• Blade vs. blade flows - similar to Filipino practices - we've been working on inserting a kuzushi with every cut without disrupting the flow of the drill or getting too preoccupied with either the blades or the kuzushi.  Of course, this is difficult b/c a kuzushi should, by definition, break uke's rhythm and flow and make it hard for him to continue until he recovers.  So you have to  slow down the flows to give uke time to recover from each kuzushi so you can continue the drill.
• Disarms randori - We've been working disarms in a give-and-take sort of flow, almost like randori.  the partner attacks and you take the blade and immediately attack.  He takes the blade and reattacks...back and forth.

photo courtesy of Seniju

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Patrick Parker
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Police searching for armed robber

Wow! I just heard about this.

Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013 4:03 pm
(http://www.enterprise-journal.com/)

McComb police are searching for a man suspected of stabbing a woman during an attempted Thursday afternoon armed robbery. Officials said the suspect is a a black male wearing a white T-shirt and blues jeans and is possibly in north McComb. 

Officials and witnesses said a man attempted to rob a woman at the Medical Arts Building on Rawls Drive around 3:15 and stabbed her in the left shoulder. The assailant took nothing, and police brought the woman to Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center for treatment. Police were searching for the robber in the vicinity of Delaware Avenue, West Street, Kendall Street, Rawls Drive and around Edgewood Park.

I was walking by that building about that time with my four children, and saw nothing!  Gotta stay prepared and stay alert!

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 ____________________ 

Patrick Parker 

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Pre-positioning in martial applications

Back in the day, when I was teaching Ergonomics and Work Design classes at college, there was this concept that we talked about - pre-positioning.  If there was a tool that you were going to have to use then you wanted to define a standard location and orientation for that tool so that when you reach for it, you can find it without searching for it and grasp it ready-for-use instead of having to waste time rotating and re-orienting the tool.

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The same applies in martial applications in many ways.  For example...

• With many tactical folding pocket clip knives, you are able to change the pocket clip to hold the knife tip-up or tip-down blade-forward or blade-backward so that you can pre-position the knife in your pocket the same way every time, ready for deployment with your dominant hand (left or right).
• In aikido, most all of the operations that the aikidoka needs to make with his hands he would prefer to do directly in front of his chest, where he is strongest and most coordinated, and hand actions most often happen in the plane between uke's and tori's centers - where the conflict is happening.  So, when a hand is not otherwise doing something in a technique, it is usually pre-positioned on the plane between tori's centerline and uke's centerline.  This way, the hands usually have the least distance to move to do their next action.
• In judo, consider the common 3-step turn-in for seoinage.  If tori tries to turn in with his feet in any random position then it will frequently take several tiny steps.  But if tori makes his first step (before he turns his body) by turning his foot inward as far as it will go, then the subsequent steps will be easier and it will almost always take 3 steps (or sometimes just 2) to turn in.  By pre-positioning the foot in preparation for the turn, you make the actual turn more efficient.

I bet y'all could come up with a bunch more examples of pre-positioning in martial arts.

photo courtesy of DVDSHUB

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 ____________________ 

Patrick Parker 

www.mokurendojo.com

Diversify for survival

There is a lot of talk these days on Facebook and even some on the more traditional news sources about some combination of the Government and the UN and the Democrats (and maybe even alien invaders and undead communists) plotting and planning to take away our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

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I can't ever figure out who to trust - I'm certainly not going to get my news from Facebook, and sources as diverse as Public Radio and FOX news are all at times both reasonable and ridiculous - so I will not weigh in today on the likelihood of our gun rights ever being seriously abridged.

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But I did want to make a comment - and this applies to whichever side of that gun control issue you think you're on.  Don't rely solely on guns (they're just machines, for goodness sake!) and don't count on the perpetual good-will of the government toward your use of a gun.

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You would be well-served to diversify your self-defense and survival skill-set.

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Sure, you should practice with your guns and you should continue to lobby to protect your right to keep and bear arms, but you should hedge your bets.

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Practice Proficiency in ...

• BULLETS
• BLADES (knives and swords)
• BLUDGEONS (sticks and clubs)
• BODY (unarmed)
• BRAIN (the art of strategy)
• BRAWN (strength, endurance...)

...for Protection.

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One B is not enough.

(Can you tell I was feeling assonant today?)

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____________________
Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com

Thoughts on Tueller

I'm not a law enforcement officer.  I don't even play one on TV.  In fact, I didn't even stay at the Holiday Inn Express last night.  But Nathan at TDA Training did ask me to contribute some ideas to a week-long discussion of the famous Tueller Drill.  Check out the video at Nathan's blog, and while you're at it, check out this gruesome example of the 21-foot rule played out in this police reel.

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I enjoyed TGase's post about the flaws within the Tueller experiment and I appreciate his assertion that Tueller's results did not validate any sort of claim about the superiority of any particular weapon (a knife) over any other particular weapon (a gun).  I intended to write this post on the idea that what Tueller does demonstrate most effectively is that a gun is not a magical talisman that automatically assures victory - but Paul at Tactical Arnis beat me to that point.  Kudos to both of y'all for excellent, informative articles.

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In my opinion, one of the take-away lessons from Tueller (perhaps unintended by the original author) is that a knife in the hand of a person with the right mindset is the most versatile, effective, gruesome, demoralizing weapon invented in the last several thousand years.  Sure, the handgun is (I suppose) the centerpiece of police force projection, but again, the handgun is not a magic talisman.  This point is effectively demonstrated by Tueller.

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Also, Tueller's results were intended for police consumption.  Using it to justify anything in the civilian self-defense context is a stretch - particularly because of the simple fact that most civilians will not have access to a handgun most of the time.  But Tueller does illustrate an important point that is one of the centerpieces of our aikido system.  That is...

You can never afford to underestimate the potential of your opponent.

Or, put another way, you have to treat every single training encounter as if your opponent is the most dangerous bad guy imaginable, armed with the most awful tactical advantage imaginable. Or, in shorter form, "You can never tell who you're standing beside."  To us, that means we try to assume that all opponents are armed with a knife.  You have to design your practices around the assumption that your opponent has the potential to kill you if they have the ability to touch you.  That's pretty stringent, and it leads to practices like stab-twice randori, starting already stabbed, and progressive chaos.

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As we have done knife randori like this over the years, we have come up with a few pretty reliable pieces of information. First, all of aikido (and probably most all of self-defense) is based on a couple of techniques that we call shomenate (A.K.A. the palm jab to the chin) and aigamaeate (A.K.A. iriminage, a palm jab to the chin done from outside the opponent's arm). The tactical idea behind both of these techniques is the same:

• get out of the way at least a little bit.
• get at least a little bit of control of the weapon arm
• crash into the opponent's center with your whole bodyweight, spearing into his head violently with a stiff-armed palm, locking his neck, and throwing him away.
• disengage and run away immediately.

All of our randori over the years has verified this basic idea - if you go into a knife encounter with any plan but the above, You're likely to get killed.  But the above plan saves you a remarkable percentage of the time.  

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It turns out that all the other stuff in aikido - all the stuff you think of as aikido - the cool wristlocks and the airy breath throws - those are just backup plans.  This basic plan enumerated above makes up easily 80% of aikido, and all the cool stuff fills in around the edges.

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And you know what's cool?  Tactical guru, Dave Spaulding agrees with me!

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So, in summary of this somewhat rambling, stream of consciousness...

• Tueller is an interesting experiment that has implications primarily for police, but that us civilians can also learn from.
• A gun is not a magic talisman that assures victory - particularly if you allow you opponent within a few paces of you.
• A gun is a powerful and useful weapon, but IMO, a knife is demonstrably more versatile at close range.
• You can never afford to underestimate your opponent's potential. You must take this idea into every single training encounter.
• You need some variety and speed and resistance in your knife defense practice - not just the slow zombie attack over and over again.
• You have to have a fundamental tactical plan that makes up the vast majority of your system that is simple, easy to remember, works under pressure, and involves evasion, automatic control, and immediately-disabling atemiwaza (strikes)

[photo courtesy of Jesse Millan]

____________________ 

Patrick Parker 

www.mokurendojo.com

Tueller Drill - The 21-foot rule

When I started blogging several years ago I sent out some emails to the best bloggers in my niche asking for advice and assistance.  One of the most helpful of these folks was Nathan Teodoro, who was running the TDA Training Blog, far and away the best martial arts blog with the highest readership at that time.  Turns out that not only was Nathan the big dog of the martial blogosphere, but he is a nice, personable guy - easy to work with and a lot of help to me. (He may not be too comely, but he's got a great personality ;-)

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Next week, Nathan is running a series on his blog on the famous Tueller Drill which resulted in the commonly-known 21-foot rule.  That is, Tueller and his cohorts found that a man with a knife could consistently advance about 21 feet and cut an officer before the officer would be able to draw his sidearm and fire.  Imagine that!  21 feet!  Get up and march that out so you can see the distance I'm talking about.  Let that sink in.  Check out the video intro at Nathan's blog.

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That means that if you let an aggressor with a knife get within about 21 feet of you and you do not already have your weapon online and firing, that your sidearm is irrelevant.  You have been effectively disarmed!

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Not only is Nathan running this series on his blog next week, but he has asked me to play along, and provide a guest post.  I'll be honored to present a guest post on my thoughts on The Tueller Drill and the 21-foot rule next Wednesday  I am definitely the least among giants with regard to the guest posters - you can also look for articles by TGace (author of The Things Worth Believing In) and Adam (of Low-Tech Combat fame)!

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So, stay tuned here at Mokuren Dojo and definitely watch Nathan's TDA Training blog next week!

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Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com

Weapons in martial arts

One thing that is interesting to me is which weapon systems go with which empty-hand arts.  For instance...

• In karate classes, you most often see long staff, nunchaku, tonfa, and sai.
• In kung-fu classes, you see longstaff, spear, and saber.
• In aikido, you see knife, short staff (or spear), and sword.
• In judo, the little you do see involves stick, knife, and gun.

Of course in each, you see other weapons but for the most part the above seems typical.  Why do we never see bo work in aikido?  I know the answer is because it just isn't done.  But it doesn't make sense that you can weild a jo in an aiki-like fashion but those principles don't translate to the bo.  Why couldn't someone (for instance) do aiki-bo?

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When I first started doing karate in college, we did staff work but I haven't done much of that for a long time.  I figure it's time that I dusted off whatever remnant still lies in my brain...

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How I kill people with a knife

I remember a class back in the early 1990's, we were working on some knife techniques.  Standard type knife defense stuff you see in martial arts classes. 

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At that time we had a middle-aged Cambodian woman in the class as a white belt.  Pretty unassuming woman - plain-looking - quiet - stocky build.  I think she was studying something nerdy and boring in college like Plant Pathology.

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After the instructor had demonstrated a technique, she whispered to me, "I don't attack like that when I kill people."  I thought that she had just mis-spoken because her Engrish was pretty broken.  So, being a smartalek, I jokingly asked her, "How exactly do you hold a knife when you kill people?"

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Without flinching or hesitating, she turned the knife over (icepick grip) and said, "I sneak up behind, grab face like this and jerk back.  Then I stab in neck two or three times!" (pumping her hand up and down.)

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I was dumbfounded...  Mortified... It was at that point that I realized she must have been a young adult in Cambodia during the 1970's and 1980's.  She had not mis-spoken.  She'd said exactly what she meant.  When she'd killed people she hadn't done it like we were practicing. 

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The moral of the story - You can never tell who you are standing next to.

[Photo courtesy of Alan Chan]

For a great intro to how knives are really used by one of the foremost experts...

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End the collusion by adding a knife

One of the most common complaints about aikido is that it is unrealistic because if compliant partners that give wimpy attacks and then jump onto the floor to make tori (the defender) look good.  Some have even gone so far as to call this collusion.  I wrote a few days ago about one way of ending this collusion by simply trying to screw the technique up every so often.

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Today I wanted to mention another way to improve the attacks and end the collusion - by adding a rubber knife into the mix.

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First, some warnings - use good sense.  Even a flexible rubber knife can destroy an eye, and the handles of rubber knives are often thick and inflexible and hurt when you get hit with them.  Don't ever, ever practice with wooden or aluminum simulation knives because these can still stab, and it's easy to fall on them. (It's nearly impossible to fall on a wooden sword, but easy to fall on a wooden knife.)

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With those common sense warnings in mind, adding a rubber knife into practice can make it a lot better - or it might not change your practice much.  It's tempting to learn 2-3 cool moves (one of them has to be tenkan kotegaeshi) and consider yourself competent at knife techniques.  Phooey.

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Let me suggest a different mode of practice.  You should never become completely comfortable practicing against a knife.  The purpose of adding a knife into practice is to make uke more aggressive and more obviously dangerous - to make the attacker totally outclass the defender.  The presence of the knife should make you very uncomfortable - so uncomfortable, in fact, that it should force you to grow and get better.

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And don't get stuck (pun intended) with simple, slow tsuki (chest stab) or men (overhead) attacks ala Jim Carey's famous karate skit.  Here are a couple of ways of varying things in order to end the collusion and put some spice - some life back into your practice...

• Stab twice - define uke's role by saying it is his intent to stab or cut tori twice, no matter what else happens in the technique.  Perhaps at a beginning level you might say the first attack has to be a zombie tsuki but the second attack can happen however uke wants.  Here's another article about the stab-twice idea.
• Progressive chaos - You might start with the first attack being a zombie tsuki, but then progress to practice where they still have to make a tsuki but they might preceed it with a slash or feint.  Progress from there toward freeform attacks in a stepwise fashion.  But progress instead of stagnating.
• Start already stabbed - Perhaps you can start some techniques having already been stabbed in the shoulder or side, working under the assumption that a sneaky knife attacker might likely hit you before you can pull the trigger on your technique.  Work your technique maximizing control and minimizing the frequency and depth of cuts you sustain.

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 Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮

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Name that atemi!

Photo courtesy of Bobster855

Cool old photo of WWII era marines training an aikido atemi as a defense against a bayonet thrust.  Question for my aiki-geek buddies: is this particular atemi technique shomenate, aigamaeate, or gyakugamaeate?  It has elements of each, but is also missing elements of each.  Very similar to some of the Sankata jodori techniques.  Also notice the sneaky footstomp kuzushi - one of my favorite tricks!

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282
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Suggested great books on aikido, judo, and strategy.
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Spyderco Endura 4 FRN

My new Spyderco Endura 4 FRN came in today! I got this from climbinggearinc.com in exchange for some advertising on the blog here. Great knife! I'm looking forward to using this - it looks like it'll be a joy to use!

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Here's a very good review (my knife is identical to this one except mine is black scale, is half-serrated, and is not a limited production run.)




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Patrick Parker, is a Christian, husband, father, judo and aikido teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282
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Power and mobility in aikido and swordwork

Photo courtesy of Vincent

Aikido is, in large part, based on swordwork. This extends not only to superficial motions (for instance, shihonage looks like shihogiri), but to concepts and strategies too.
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Mobility and power is largely a trade-off, and each martial art makes this stategic decision differently, placing itself on a spectrum between power and mobility.  A good example of this is modern karate, in which mobility is largely forsaken for power. Aikido would be an example of an art that largely forsakes power for the sake of mobility. There are, of course, counterexamples in both arts but the exceptions only serve to prove the rule in that they make it even more obvious that the exception doesn't “look” like karate/aikido.

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In the case of swordsmanship, which is more necessary – power or mobility? Obviously you don't need power because you have a 3-foot long knife! You have so much leverage and mechanical advantage with the sword that any cut at all is likely to be very serious. If he can touch you, he can kill you.  You'd better get your butt moving and keep it moving. You can't ever count on having enough time to stop to develop a maximally powerful stroke.
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Aikido gets this idea from swordsmanship – if you allow uke to touch you, he may kill you, so you need to stay in motion more than you need to develop power. You need mobility – and the right mindset – to keep from getting cut

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Patrick Parker, is a Christian, husband, father, judo and aikido teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282
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Intended change in pocketknife laws

If you use or carry a pocketknife, and want to retain your right to do so, It's time to write a couple of letters. From an email a student sent me today:

...US Customs is trying to broaden the definition of "switchblade" to include some pretty common pocketknives, making them illegal. You can see this site for more details: http://www.kniferights.org/

...Customs has only allowed a 30 day Request For Comments instead of the normal 90 or 120 day RFC. Deadline is June 21. The site has good instructions for how/who to write. Also, they're not accepting online comments, so you have to write them snail mail! LOOKS like they're trying to sneak it through quickly, and make it hard for people to block. I'll be writing them and my congressmen!

You will notice, in reading the document referenced at this website, They "intend" to change this interpretation, rather than "proposing" to change it.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to revoke four ruling letters relating to the admissibility, pursuant to the Switchblade Knife Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1241–1245 (and the CBP Regulations promulgated pursuant thereto set forth in 19 CFR §§ 12.95–12.103) of certain knives.

I find it very underhanded and distressing that Homeland Security and U.S. Customs intend to change the interpretation of this law, rather than proposing that legislators or voters do it (or not).

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I will be writing a letter. And I suspect (hope) that many of you will too.

http://www.kniferights.org/

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Patrick Parker, is a Christian, husband, father, judo and aikido teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282
____________
Subscribe now for free updates from the Mokuren Dojo blog

Bram Frank - realities of cutting

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Patrick Parker, is a Christian, husband, father, judo and aikido teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282
____________

Subscribe now for free updates from the Mokuren Dojo blog

Bram Frank - biomechanical cutting

____________
Patrick Parker, is a Christian, husband, father, judo and aikido teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282
____________

Subscribe now for free updates from the Mokuren Dojo blog

The frozen ham knife defense

The following is a great example of situational defense - and it's side-splittingly funny too. Who ever knew that traditional judo kata had a technique in which tori makes use of a frozen ham to defeat a knife-wielding attacker (at about 1:00 on the video)!

Reminds me of my introductory Japanese class in college in which one of the textbook examples was a customs person inspecting a traveller's suitcase and exclaiming, "What is this? A ham! That is not allowed!" We thought it was a pretty inane example but little did we know they were just protecting their national security!

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UPDATE: BSM had a great idea! Click on the link below to purchase your very own self-defense ham. Send me an email and I'll verify that you purchased the ham and I'll send you the Official self-defense ham manual for free!