The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

Senshido literally translates to “The way of 1000 masters.” I chose an
oriental name at the time (1993) because reality based systems and names
weren’t quite as common or as accepted then as they are today.  I originally
looked for a Chinese name but, if I remember correctly, “The way of 1000
masters” in Chinese was “Wong Fu Tien Si” and I didn’t want people calling
me up for an order of egg rolls and fried rice.  Senshido (a Japanese
name) translated well and The way of 1000 masters seemed fitting. At
the time, my system was eclectic and originated from various sources, so you can
see the connection.  Today,
however, Senshido has evolved tremendously. Although there are many influences
from other systems, it has become much more of a scientific, transcendental
methodology than a system per se.

The first thing we do is to help redefine an individual’s belief system,
changing it into one that is more congruent with the objective of survival.  We then
impart the necessary skills (profiling, situational and
environmental awareness, intuitive radar, pre-contact cues and indicators,
tactical threat assessments, etc.) to avoid a potential threat or
confrontation. After that, we arm students with pre-contact psychology (fear and
stress management, adrenal stress conditioning, physiological and biological
results, perception time enhancement, reaction time reduction, etc.) in order to
move, not necessarily faster than the opponent, but earlier.

The third step is the physical portion. We cover all ranges of combat
(contrary to popular belief, we’re not all about eye gouges and groin
strikes).  We rely heavily on athletic ability, conditioning the students
through functional combative strength training.  We cover tool and target
development in the kicking, boxing, close quarter combat, grappling, and
ground fighting games.  I separate grappling and ground fighting because you
can grapple standing up.  All the ranges are then worked together through
(if I may quote Matt Thornton here) “alive” drills, sparring, and scenario
based training.  I fundamentally believe in Matt’s approach at training
“alive.”  If you’re not sweating, bleeding, and invoking stress on a physical,
psychological, and emotional level in your training, then you are not
training for reality.

The last step (not necessarily in training time but for explanation
purposes) is to teach students the legalities of their actions.  It is important
to look at the legal, moral, and ethical aspects of self-preservation, as you
don’t want to end up being someone’s bitch in prison because you put some
drunk in a coma through excessive force.  The aftermath of a fight is
equally important. Will your “opponent” seek revenge?  Did the fight occur
in your neighborhood?  Was the individual “connected?”  Were there
witnesses? Do you know how to talk to a law enforcement officer?  A lawyer?  Have you ever spent
a night in the tank?  Do you have a record?  Do you know how long a record
lasts and are you aware of its effects when looking for employment or wishing to leave the
country for a simple vacation?  All these are integral factors.

How long have you been an instructor?

I began teaching functional combative training methods in 1987.

What prompted you to create Senshido?

What are Senshido’s principles, and what sets it apart from other arts
and systems?

The principles are simple: to enhance survivability at all costs.  I am more
interested in “landing the punch” than which knuckles to hit with or which
angle the fist should leave at.

How it differs from other reality based systems… well, judging from what I
have been exposed to, it is much more fluid in it’s conceptual and
philosophical processes than the majority of other systems out there, which seem
to rely more on technical applications.  Senshido translates to everyday
life as well. Many people, from all walks of life, apply our concepts to
their everyday lives. Although those who have successfully applied our
methods in violent confrontations speak volumes about the practicality of
our Senshido as a combative system, it is the others – such as parents who used our
work to help their kids overcome their fear of the dark, a mother who helped
her daughter work through traumatic events from her childhood, a
young man being bullied by his boss who applied our confrontation
management strategies to put an end to the behavior while maintaining his
position – whom I believe make us different.

Our approach is also nontraditional, even for reality based systems. We
don’t have a dark, brooding, or too serious “military” type approach. I teach
using humor and my own personality as opposed to becoming “the instructor”
or “Guru” when it’s time to teach.  What you see is what you get with me…
I’m the same person whether I’m teaching, eating, hanging out with my
friends, or whatever. No mask, no pretense, just me.

What are you feelings on pre-emptive self-defense? How do you address
legal and moral issues involving the use of force in your teaching?

I firmly believe in the first strike principle. However, I believe it needs
to be justified and one shouldn’t jump the proverbial gun with it.  There’s
a saying that goes, “Those who talk can be persuaded to walk.” For the
most part, that is true.  Verbal defusing is not only feasible, but probable
as well.  There are exceptions, though.  One should go pre-emptive if the
situation is escalating, if the aggression level hasn’t diminished at the
verbal attempts at defusing, and in multiple attacker scenarios.  Since there
are no absolutes in combat and everything depends on circumstance and
scenario, the scenario will always dictates the response.

As for the legal aspects, well, the force used must parallel the threat
faced.  The passive stance psychology and verbal defusing attempts enhances
your legal chances. The passive stance [a non-aggressive protective stance
taught in Senshido] does several things to enhance your
chances: It is a window of opportunity for your opponent to “walk,” your
awareness of the potential threat, a moral and legal permission to go
pre-emptive in case of witnesses, reflexive protection of your centerline,
access to offensive tools, and more…

Do you teach the use of weapons? How do you approach weapons defense?

Weapons are a crucial element of any self-defense program worth its salt.
However, it has to be based on experience and thorough research, not some
“style’s” answer to weapons defense.  One has to look at statistics.
(This includes weapons
used, how they were used, the relationship between the pre-contact stage and
the actual use of the weapon, behavioral elements of armed assailants etc. An excellent book for such examples is
James
LaFond‘s The Logic of Steel).  In
order to understand how to defend against a weapon, it’s imperative that you
understand how to kill with said weapon.  It’s only logical.

Have you experienced violence in your own life? Would you tell us about
it?

As I mentioned before, yes several times, for three main reasons.  

1. Job
related working as an undercover security guard, a bouncer, and bodyguard. 

2.
Stepping into a violent confrontation in which someone was about to be or was
being victimized.  

3. Wrong place, wrong time.  I got into
more confrontations than I care to have been in.

I’ve been attacked at knifepoint on several occasions. I’ve also been attacked with broken beer
bottles and a crowbar. I had guns pointed at me on three separate occasions;
on one of
these occasions the guy actually fired a shot (he missed, I urinated, I disarmed him, and
I took a dive as he ran off).  I even, unfortunately, faced a
multiple armed attacker situation, which had to be, bar none, one of the worst
experiences of my life – but I survived.  

Each violent confrontation was a
learning experience.  For example, I was caught in a huge melee one time and
was handling myself fine until I was struck in the back.  I turned and took
care of the problem but considered it a huge failure even though I survived
relatively unharmed.  Why I considered it a failure was because, had it been
a knife instead of a kick or a knee, I might not be here writing this right now.
Experience is a wonderful teacher.

What are your thoughts on the state of martial arts instruction and the
self-defense industry today?

I think it has come a long way.  People seem to be gearing much more towards
a pragmatic approach.  The reality-based systems have evolved
tremendously in the last 10 years, thanks to people like Sammy Franco, Geoff
Thompson, and Tony Blauer.

What is “The Shredder,” a term I’ve heard often in conjunction with
Senshido?

The Shredder™ is a concept over nine years in the making.  Its evolution has
come a long way.  It has attracted much attention in the martial arts and
combative communities and has been referred to by most as revolutionary. The
Shredder isn’t pretty.  It isn’t an x,y,z, type of martial arts technique.
If you’ve ever applied it full out, then you have disfigured your opponent. 
You have torn away parts of his facial anatomy, probably scarring him for life.

I realized through the training and teaching that the Shredder was not
just a physical tool.  It wasn’t just a technique or a sequence of “moves”
any longer.  The timing was shortened from a half beat to a quarter beat,
incorporating all five of Senshido’s Five Principles of Physical Retaliation™:
Economy of Motion, Non Telegraphic Movement, Closest Weapon to Closest
Target, Primary Target Acquisition, and Tactile Sensitivity.

Due to an overwhelmingly high demand, I am releasing a package on the Shredder which
comes with a 50-page book and instructional tape
describing, in detail, the concept of the Shredder and its applications.  (For
a review of the Shredder package at Martial Direct, click here.)

Are you part of, or do you work with, any individuals or organizations
you’d like to recommend or promote?

What are your thoughts on the Internet and its use in transmitting and
exchanging self-defense information?

It’s both good and bad, actually.  Good, because now there’s an easy resource
for excellent information that makes it very accessible to anyone and
everyone.  Bad, because anyone out there with a dot com, a few pictures, and
some basic research can pass themselves off as an expert.  People with no
information or knowledge can easily be fooled by [websites presenting poor, even
ludicrous information].

What do you do when you’re not working?