******************************************************
A fool always finds one still more foolish to admire him. – Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux
******************************************************
Been getting a lot of emails about a couple of documentaries that played again recently on cable TV.
Basically, the point of one show was to highlight martial arts teachers who taught their students various ways to ‘condition’ themselves to ‘take a hit’. The finale of the show was when four guys simultaneously punched the master in the neck and he walked away.
The other show focused on martial artists doing things like: bending spears with the hollow of their neck, sitting on the floor in a cross-legged position while ten students attempted with ‘all their might’ to push the master over, and a variety of others who could pass needles through their skin without bleeding, cut themselves, then ‘miraculously’ stop the bleeding, put sharp objects in their eyes, etc…
The emails I got from you guys asked: 1) What do you think of the benefit of this type of training? , and 2) How does TFT ‘condition’ the body to take a hit?
Well, to answer the first question… I think conditioning the body to ‘take a hit’ is a complete waste of time.
“Why?” you ask.
Simply because… violence is so unpredictable. —————————-
I can almost guarantee that the area of your body you chose to ‘condition’ will NOT be the area attacked in a real situation.
More importantly there are over 70 anatomical areas of the human body that provide some 200 SPECIFIC targets that cannot be ‘conditioned’. As you can see… it’s very easy to injure the human body just by knowing a small numbers of these 200 options.
As to the second question, “How does TFT ‘condition’ the body to take a hit?”
That one is easy… WE DON’T!
You can’t condition the body for real violence… and neither can those people listed above. Don’t be impressed with parlor tricks.
To the guy putting a sharp object in his eye… offer to do it for him (just be prepared to stab him in the eye).
For the guy bending the spear with his neck… step behind him and shin kick him to the groin, then watch how easily the spear pierces his throat!
The guy having four others punch him to the neck (I’m not even going to address the fact that all the punches simply cancel each other out)… just have ONE guy punch him to the kidney, then strike his windpipe with a forearm. Then the other three can call the paramedics.
For the guy sitting cross-legged and having everyone attempt to push him over… take your fingers and dig them straight up under his chin and watch him topple over.
Finally, the sword swallower… I guarantee if you take your fingers and jam them down his throat, he will gagged and puke just like everyone else.
The point is this: the human body can be trained to handle trauma to a specific area under CONTROLLED conditions. This has nothing to do with creating injuries. Take away the controls… and chaos reigns.
That’s why attempting to control the uncontrollable is a very poor use of your time.
The good thing about proper targeting is that you get injuries REGARDLESS of the other guy’s size, strength or speed.
Remember… the best way to survive a violent encounter is to be the one doing the violence.
So spend your time making sure you get the most out of the tool of violence. Let the other guy waste his time bending spears.
Well, that’s it for this newsletter.
Until next time,
Tim Larkin Master Close-Combat Instructor, Creator of Target Focus(TM) Training
PS: Targeting and causing injury utilizing available tools are the focus at each of our live training sessions.
These continue to garner impassioned reviews, like this one from David Mullins of Bakersfield, CA, who attended a recent training in Las Vegas: “My expectation prior to coming here was to learn a little more than what the videotapes had conferred. I thought I had a [pretty good] handle on the principles but found out I didn’t know squat. The class has truly been a life changing experience for both my son and me. Needless to say, it exceeded my expectations, far beyond anything I imagined. It completely shattered my dependence on trying to remember techniques. I can’t remember one technique we covered on day one BUT I now know how to hit combinations of targets in ways that WILL cause injury. I can’t tell you what a FREEING feeling that is to me. Take this course! Don’t even consider anything else. This is light years beyond anything out there.”
Or Chris Stoddard of LaGrange, WY who said, “Unquestionably the most simple and straight forward information you can get to save your life. If you can see through the Hollywood violence of the movies and really wrap your mind around the idea and brutality of ending your killer’s life or at least forever changing the physical characteristics of it, then sign up now. What you learn will change forever how you approach nearly every situation. It IS life changing!”
We don’t hold many of these events so you’ll want to take advantage when they are offered. You can register for the next one by going here: http://www.targetfocustraining.com/livetraining
