Why?
Because I'd never realized that there was any other way. Fighting was just a thing that you did in the school playground and then only for fun. One lad (I don't remember his name) a big fat boy, used to try and KICK people when he got angry. He was considered 'STRANGE'...
Martial Arts, never heard of it!!!!
Then it all happened...
I discovered Chinese Kung Fu movies, 'Kung Fu' the TV series, 'Bruce Lee', etc, etc.. Also I realized that I could change, that I could learn to do things that were 'amazing'. So at age seventeen I joined the Renshuden Judo club in London and that was the start of my life-long interest and involvement with Martial Arts.
Thirty-five years of martial arts training later, it's 2006, I'm aged 52 still only five foot six tall (though a bit wider than at age seventeen) so I'll never be mistaken for 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' or 'Sylvester Stallone'. However I have learned a lot about martial arts. I have trained in a very wide variety of martial arts mainly in the UK but also in the USA, Malaysia and Singapore. I currently instruct classes each week in Protectics Karate Jutsu and in Tai Chi and am also still active as a student of Kyu Shin Ryu Karate in which I hold a 4th degree Black Belt.
In
2001, I started teaching Protectics Karate Jutsu (PKJ). An integrated
system based on all my experience and knowledge. PKJ includes the 'normal'
kick and punch and trap and lock and throw and disarm and block and
strike and use weapons and all the standard aspects of physical martial
arts. However, PKJ also looks at the wider dimensions of combat - including
the psychodynamics of conflict; the use of language as a precursor
to and controlling force in combat; pressure points (and why they often
don't work); risk assessment, risk management and
much much more.
We also look at a significant continuum of force. You may have to defend yourself against a knife attack from a drug crazed madman, or from a highly skilled knife fighter, or from 'Uncle Bert' who is just larking around or from your neighbours' angry eight year old kid... You know what, 'one size fits all' just won't work - you need to have a continuum of force, a range of options. Against the drug crazed madman or the trained knife fighter where (if we are honest) your chances of survival is slim - you have to do EVERYTHING you can and if they get badly injured or even die, then that's just too bad! On the other hand, whilst obviously your safety comes first, there is NO WAY that you want to hurt 'Uncle Bert' or the neighbours' kid if you can possibly avoid doing so. Most martial arts don't have a continuum of force, they either teach techniques that would cause injury or death to anyone you use them against, or (and this is sadly the more common occurrence) they teach ineffective techniques that ONLY work in the training hall and would get you really badly hurt if you ever tried to use them!!!
Oh, by the way, we don't pretend - not even for a moment - that the techniques taught in Protectics Karate Jutsu are 'combat proven so they will always work'. No, we look at every technique and try to figure out what will go WRONG with it, how will it fail, and then... What can we do so that we make sure that we maximize our chances of surviving. You see, fighting is not about some Rambo'esque delusion of one man crushing multiple attackers. Real fighting is about being able to go home to the family, maybe battered and bruised, but having SURVIVED!
If you are interested you can click here for a 'blow by blow' description of my martial arts training.
We also look at a significant continuum of force. You may have to defend yourself against a knife attack from a drug crazed madman, or from a highly skilled knife fighter, or from 'Uncle Bert' who is just larking around or from your neighbours' angry eight year old kid... You know what, 'one size fits all' just won't work - you need to have a continuum of force, a range of options. Against the drug crazed madman or the trained knife fighter where (if we are honest) your chances of survival is slim - you have to do EVERYTHING you can and if they get badly injured or even die, then that's just too bad! On the other hand, whilst obviously your safety comes first, there is NO WAY that you want to hurt 'Uncle Bert' or the neighbours' kid if you can possibly avoid doing so. Most martial arts don't have a continuum of force, they either teach techniques that would cause injury or death to anyone you use them against, or (and this is sadly the more common occurrence) they teach ineffective techniques that ONLY work in the training hall and would get you really badly hurt if you ever tried to use them!!!
Oh, by the way, we don't pretend - not even for a moment - that the techniques taught in Protectics Karate Jutsu are 'combat proven so they will always work'. No, we look at every technique and try to figure out what will go WRONG with it, how will it fail, and then... What can we do so that we make sure that we maximize our chances of surviving. You see, fighting is not about some Rambo'esque delusion of one man crushing multiple attackers. Real fighting is about being able to go home to the family, maybe battered and bruised, but having SURVIVED!
If you are interested you can click here for a 'blow by blow' description of my martial arts training.