‘Articles’ Archives
Politics as Personal Security Risk
It was a cold, dreary day, with temperatures hovering around a finger-numbing 37° Fahrenheit. Wracked with a terrible cold and more than a little feverish, I nonetheless dragged myself out of bed for twenty minutes to take photos of an event worthy of note. Vice President Dick Cheney was to speak at a fundraising breakfast at the Holiday Inn [...]
Enemy, Thy Name is Complacency
When I was in college, I witnessed something that would change my outlook on awareness and self-defense forever. I was leaving a four-story residence hall in which one of the university's dining halls was located. I had just come from dinner and was feeling relaxed and untroubled. As I exited the building I stopped to see what was going on [...]
Sportfighting is the Problem
Well, it wouldn't really be fair to say that sportfighting is the problem. More accurately, sportfighting is part of the problem and contributes to it. By "the problem," I mean that of the countless training opportunities and curricula available, too many consider themselves the answer to the question, "How do I prepare myself for success in [...]
On the Word, “Warrior”
What is a warrior? There's no doubt that the word "warrior" is overused in today's marketing and popular culture. Those ranging from sports figures to social crusaders to political activists have been called "warriors," often inappropriately or with exaggerated awe. If we look past this overuse of the term, however, we can still find both [...]
Traditionalist Cliquery and Self-Defense
It is a curious sensation to enjoy immensely the work of an author with whom you often disagree. This is the emotion I experience most frequently when reading anything by Dave Lowry, whose columns for Black Belt magazine have been collected in multiple bound volumes. Lowry is a traditionalist. Lowry is, in fact, an unabashed, avowed traditionalist [...]
Self-Defense: The Individual Right
For the self-defense exponent, few things are as immediately irritating, illogical, exasperating, and enervating as an argument about self-defense. Martialists, who understand the realities of force and self-preservation, rightly believe there should be no argument. An aggressor who seeks to harm you without provocation and without justification [...]
The Internet as Medium of Self-Defense Instruction
Do you keep an open mind? You shouldn't. Let me explain. I had a conversation recently with someone who took issue with my publishing approach to The Martialist. I hold in very high regard the "marketplace of ideas" concept that characterizes the best philosophical and political debate. One of my favorite magazines used to be Liberty, [...]
Unreality-Based Self-Defense
There is no shortage of criticism to be found on the Internet. Stating any opinion in this medium invites the ignorant pontification of a legion of armchair experts, most of whom are woefully misinformed on the topics about which they choose to comment. Articles here at The Martialist have spurred a great many responses, some of which I found [...]
A Critical Look at FM3-25.150
Use by some branch of the military is often held up as the ultimate "street cred" for a martial art, combative system, or fighting technique. As anyone familiar with the process of selecting firearms for the military can tell you, however, the military is a bureaucracy first and foremost. Any weapon and any program related to a weapon owes as [...]
Complexity and Efficacy in Personal Combat
How simple is too simple in the martial arts? How complex is too complex in pragmatic personal combat? This is a topic of frequent discussion, particularly among combatives exponents. While practical, realistic fighting must indeed be kept direct and functional, I believe it is possible to ingrain through training useful techniques and [...]
