The Real Facts of Life

It would be a lot easier to enjoy your life if there weren't so many things trying to kill you every day.
The problems start even before you're fully awake. There's the fall out of bed that kills 600 Americans each year. There's the early-morning heart attack, which is 40 percent more common than those that strike later in the day.

There's the fatal plunge down the stairs, the bite of sausage that gets lodged in your throat, the tumble on the slippery sidewalk as you leave the house, the high-speed automotive pinball game that is your daily commute.
Shadowed by peril as we are, you would think we'd get pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. But you would be wrong.

We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the United States, but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year.

We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually.

We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones.

Shoppers still look askance at a bag of spinach for fear of E. coli bacteria while filling their carts with fat-sodden French fries and salt-crusted nachos. We put filters on faucets, install air ionizers in our homes and lather ourselves with antibacterial soap.

But there is one statistic many people overlook. You read everyday about it in the paper, see on the news, perhaps you keep a deep personal fear that haunts you, as it does destroys lives and causes horrible deaths. And if you leave the safety of your home, go shopping, work, drive or basically live....You are at risk. A 83% chance risk of being a victim of crime at some level. Yet most people do nothing about it or think they are but really are deceived. I know many are thinking, that won't happen to me or I go to the gym or I studied self defense .... Most self-defense programs do not work! Most martial arts classes are outdated, too technical, too staged, too controlled, teach high kicks, complicated wrist maneuvers, hard to reach pressure points, basically a sport or exercise program and a very dangerous illusion of self defense in the real world.

For Critics of being Armed or Not Diligently Studying a Basic Defense Skill -
PLEASE READ BELOW

One in every 133 Americans, on average, will become a murder victim, and one in every 12 women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape, a Justice Department study concluded recently. Using figures compiled by the Government's National Crime Survey.
( Some information from News Week Magazine).

PERCENT OF PEOPLE WHO WILL BE VICTIMIZED BY CRIME ONE OR MORE TIMES DURING THEIR LIFETIME STARTING AT AGE 12

VIOLENT CRIMES, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS: RAPE, ROBBERY with ASSAULT

Total population - 83% chance it will happen to YOU!

Male 89%
Female 73%
White 82%
Male 88%
Female 71%
Black 87%
Male 92%
Female 81%

RAPE AND ATTEMPTED RAPE

Total female 8%
White 8 %
Black 11 %

ROBBERY AND ATTEMPTED ROBBERY

Total population 30%
Male 37%
Female 22%

ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED ASSAULT

Total population 74%
Male 82%
Female 62%

ROBBERY OR ASSAULT, RESULTING IN INJURY

Total population 40%

PERSONAL THEFT, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS

Total population 99%
Male 99%
Female 99%
White 99%
Male 99%
Female 99%
Black 99%
Male 99%
Female 98%

CHANCES OF BEING A CRIME VICTIM DURING REMAINDER OF LIFETIME, BY AGE.

VIOLENT CRIMES, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS: RAPE, ROBBERY AND ASSAULT

CURRENT AGE / %

12 years old 83%
20 years old 72%
30 years old 53%
40 years old 36%
50 years old 22%
60 years old 14%
70 years old 8%

ROBBERY OR ASSAULT, RESULTING IN INJURY

CURRENT AGE / %

12 years old 40%
20 years old 30%
30 years old 19%
40 years old 11%
50 years old 7%
60 years old 4%
70 years old 2%

PERSONAL THEFT, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS

CURRENT AGE

12 years old 99%
20 98%
30 93%
40 82%
50 64%
60 43%
70 24%
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)

Even if only a 1% ( 1 out of a hundred, most people encounter a 100 people or more a day, whether shopping, at work or on the road) So even a 1% chance you should learn basic safety and take a reality-based seminar. BUT 83%! What do you think? I am a 35 year veteran and master teacher of reality based martial arts after being a former assault victim ( after years of studying the local Karate), as well seen the aftermaths of murder, rapes and assaults as an E.M.T. during the violent 1980's.
I Have since found a system that is very practical, physically and mentally that has accompanied me in violent street encounters, in which me, the intended victim turned the aggressor into the victim.

The moral of this story is to find a reality-based school of defense with a experienced, good teacher. Many functional soft styles exist for elderly or less healthy people. At a minimum, take a intensive, smart safety awareness course that offers practical escapes.

Dear Reader,
As a weathered traveler as well as an experienced former EMT and Private Investigator, I have seen my share of violence. Several years ago I was a victim of an assault myself. At the time I was a very good karate student of 5 years. Successful in sparring and had clean, fast and speedy kicks and punches. However, one night I was confronted on the Virginia Beach board walk in Virginia USA. In my mind as well as in the classroom, I thought of myself as Billy Jack or Chuck Norris-like. After all in a kind of a after school back yard fight, I did my karate kick Billy Jack routine with success against a local bully. But that was just adolescent anger and barely a real fight and non lethal. But this on the board walk, by what appeared to be 3 intoxicated and angry off duty sailors was a different thing all together. I saw a knife and realized these 3 men were serious and wanted money and looked anxious to use the knife. REAL FEAR kicked in. Real fear is not at all the same as performance anxiety or general nervousness. It s very different. Your legs are numb, you have tunnel vision and confusion, and the sound of your pounding heart becomes the focus. My crisp skills in the class were replaced by being unable to throw my numb legs in to a kick or to barely move them at all. Then I realized I was breaking my school's "Humanless Rule of: BE FEARLESS!, I was already defeated as I did have fear. (I now know that is Bull&%$ and fear is actually an ally). Focusing on the adverse affects of fear I tried a kick and remembered being surprised by how terrible it was and how I couldn't feel my legs. They jumped me, punching the hell out of me and I was lucky they didn't knife me or hurt me too badly. After getting my ass handed to me, I did some serious soul searching and I ultimately quit karate and went on a 3 year venture visiting various martial arts schools. I found most systems had a problem of being restricted by outdated rules and techniques or forms, with no flexibility. Many techniques were not realistic at high speed or under the stress of a REAL street attack or required too much physical agility and physical skill performance. I became an EMT and joined an Emergency Ambulance-Rescue Squad service during the early 1980's just as crack cocaine was sweeping the inner cities and violence exploded around the country. At the time I was trying different schools and styles and was very disappointed to find that nearly all were sport focused, many with unrealistic self-defense techniques or major overkill. So while still searching for the right system and to expose myself to the real world, to help condition me to the street and for my new found quest to find reality in martial skills and true ability under fire, this was the main reason I became an EMT.
Finally, In 1984 I found the perfect thing for me, a close range combat kung fu where fear is welcomed and responses simple and reflexive and very functional under stress with no unnecessary flash. I have now been doing it ever since with a found philosophy of "Using no way as way. Having no limitation as limitation"."Absorb what is useful; disregard that which is useless."- Bruce Lee
Also, I have since used my skills several times to a 100% success rate as have some of my professional students.
What I learned and maybe you should evaluate, is to re-exam what you are really studying, teachers too are often mistaken. Especially now-a-days with the success of sport fighting and martial arts being popular in movies, the lines of what's real and what's sport or movies are being blurred, especially knife defenses. NOT FOR ME, NOT ANYMORE!

Sincerely,
Matt Plewes
CAI Founding Directer

Finding a Teacher or Carry a Weapon

Unfortunately, most local schools (the local YMCA-"type") karate as well as high kicking sport-based tae-kwon-do like sport styles won't work under the stress of a real street encounter. Though, they may look functional in the controlled class or staged demonstration or at an organized competition. They are excellent for health and discipline, but are sport based and require many years to be somewhat effective for real defense. They will teach you openings, speed and balance. But sparring, no matter how good you are, is a game that is basically safe and not fighting. It has whole different dynamic than the real world of fighting. Sport is sport! No matter if they offer a "self-defense" class and the instructor swears by it. They're are a few exceptions, but, from my experience, very few.

Part of the problem is instructor training. Students are too eager to become teachers. In the west people perceive Black Belt as an instructor or master level, yet in truth Black Belt is the beginning of the real training. The martial arts colored belt ranking system originated in Japan, where I have been living the last decade, so I know.
A common misbelief that needs to be clarified is the "black belt as master" stereotype, In reality, a black belt indicates the wearer is competent in a style's basic techniques and can begin formal training. The 1st Dan black belt is thus seen not so much as an end, but rather as a beginning, a doorway to advanced learning. Instructors with 1-4 degree Black Belts are mere students themselves. Before black belt levels colors are just the very basics, preparing for "real" training. For an analogy using language learning. The under "Black Belt" colors are like learning the alphabet and the black belt levels are learning to put words together and start talking".
Do you want a third grader teaching you a language they should be studying themselves or a college graduate?

So the problem in America and other countries is many put to much value on the Black Belt. If you are not 5th degree or higher, you are a student or a tutor that should still have a Masters guidance and not a master or even a full teacher.

- When searching for schools and teachers, don't be impressed by how many belts, students, certificates or trophies the instructor has. Trophies are from Sport and mean nothing on the street, nor do belt colors, the attacker doesn't care about belt color or trophies. The trophy is your life.
Multiple Black Belts? Remember a Chinese Proverb; "One style mastered, is better than 100 tasted" And one that is so, so true 'You know enough to get hurt".

This brings to mind another problem. People that never "truly" made the ranks of a system, or the "Certificate Chasers" people that attend a seminar here or there with a renowned master, but themselves have only these few hours with said masters, and then you have the thousands of "Martial arts self-proclaimed Prodigies". Never mine the centuries of tried combat techniques and refinements, I'll invent my own style and proclaim myself master or 10th degree Black belt. ( Most of these "Prodigies" never even legitimately got a basic Black belt themselves!).

When searching for a system, you are looking for functionality that YOU can do, that excepts your physical and mental limitations and embraces fear and human attributes and natural reactions under the stress of a violent, unpredictable street encounter. Which isn't easy to find. They are more reality-based schools today, however, there are also many wanna-be-bad-asses and not true teachers, many that claim to be masters are not even close. They teach anger, fearlessness or other poor mental preparedness, or lack of I should say.

In a very few cases people can do a sport and real world defense. But why? It's like trying to learn tennis and racket ball, they contradict each others technique.
To me this is kind of like fighting in a real war vs. fighting in a video game. It's a totally different thing , not real, The real world is 90% mental. The next best thing is War games in real nature. As far as self defense, real scenario training, not points or losing. Win, win is what you should instill in your mind. Not what sport teaches; points, losing, safety of a ref to stop. The real world is GO and be committed until the attacker becomes victim, and failure is not an option. Sport teaches failure is an option in the deep mind and that you can LOSE. Losing on the street can mean DEATH. So fighting is 90% mental and survival minded. Sport teaches you can lose and you do lose (Die) So why, why, why train this way? In my teachings, I never say point, lose or mistake in my classes, these words are forbidden. It's do again and keep going and get nastier as failure is not an option.

I accept that some people are sport fighters and street- savvy as well. Many claim they can do both and know the difference, but I doubt it seriously. The very, very few that can, my beef isn't with them. It's with the vast majority that confuse the two, especially the newer generation and new students. It can be disastrous when they take a sport to a street fight.

A street encounter isn't as technical, as it is much more mental and your training should be geared this way. Simple , survival mode with a attitude of not to be a victim, not really a defensive or submissive mindset, but a determined mindset with technical skills that are functional, reflexive and natural.
Also know fear is human, real and okay as it helps prepare you for fight or flight.

If you hear: "Be fearless" in your schools motto, you know you're in the wrong place. A fantasy camp of perhaps a self proclaimed bad-ass instructor with a few brutal cool techniques or it's a sport on some level. Many may have even won tournaments and are blinded by the "illusion of success" of the class room or ring, but, would most likely lead to disaster on the street.
Now "Anger" isn't okay, it's one letter from D-anger. Anger loses one's control as well as makes unwise or premature moves. Anger should ONLY be used at a very beginner, survival stage of training, such as a Rape defense class. But, higher levels and mastery of defense, anger doesn't exist in any positive form and will only prevent you from being a true master.

Please read my articles on "Fear", "Really Reality based" at a minimum, before choosing a teacher or school.

READ THE TRUTH ABOUT FEAR > http://chuntianacademy.com/articles/directors-featured-article-fear
READ REALLY, REALITY-BASED DEFENSE > http://chuntianacademy.com/articles/read-first-really-reality-based

-You need to be fore-warned and fore-armed; If you carry mace , baseball bat or a gun, are they always with you? No, you need empty hand skills as well, everyone. Also, you need to know how to use them, physically, technically as well as mentally in the real world. Also know, I strongly discourage carrying a knife. Statistics show, that people that carry knifes have a higher chance of getting cut themselves by pulling them out prematurely, under the wrong circumstances and leads to elevating a simple fight or robbery to murder....Yours. Agree or not, statistics don't lie and I'm just the messenger here.

-Also, you should know The Law. http://chuntianacademy.com/american-self-defense-law
There are a lot of OVERKILL techniques on Youtube that would land "YOU" in Jail and the criminal would likely "walk".

-Know Real Safety and Preventions ( see various articles and tips on this site)

-Know Empty Hand Techniques ( escapes focused)

-If you arm yourself ( gun, mace), know you don't always have your gun, mace or even a baseball bat, tire iron with you. ( shower, restricted areas, airplanes, foreign travel etc, etc, etc) and should have empty hand skills as well.
If you tote a gun, just like the empty hand drills, practice the automatic- RADD-"Retreat and cover, As you Draw and aim Drills" that we have in our Pro-SACT ® - Weapons Workshops Program.

Feel free to email me any questions about a potential system. I will answer inquiries free of charge. I hope to soon have a page of endorsed schools with contacts on this site in the future.

Matt Plewes,
Chuntian Academy International Director