Part 1 Combative Relevance
Training at the Geijin Ryu focuses on maintaining skills that have practical applications and are intended for actual use in combat or threat situations.
Achieving and maintaining combative relevance can be very challenging and has been a problem for all martial training for as long as it has existed. There are many reasons why this is challenging. These have as much to do with what is being practiced to the individual characteristics of the person teaching and that of the students.
The challenge is how to approximate combat as closely as possible without incurring serious injury. Martial systems have gotten around this problem historically by incorporating protective equipment, mock weapons and imposing rules on individual combat.
Martial systems are frequently criticized for being ineffective and fraudulent in the sense that they do not teach people how to effectively defend themselves. This is complicated by the fact that the combative culture is continually changing while the martial system becomes a tradition, no longer relevant to modern combat scenarios. Some systems have abandoned any pretense of being useful in modern combat while others choose to focus only on this problem.
How does the Geijin Ryu and Grandmaster Law address this issue? How does this it either deviate or differentiate itself from other martial systems and traditions?
When comparing martial schools for future selection, there is the caveat that within any system, a teachers approach to teaching and what they emphasize will vary. Observations made about (other) schools necessarily have to be based only on what has been made available to the general public. Systems employing so-called secret strategies that might be effective but that are not open to scrutiny lead to sometimes incorrect conclusions about its usefulness in self-defense and combat.
Other important questions relate to how to judge that a martial system is actually effective? What characteristics are important? Is combative applicability important to you in choosing an school? If so, why? Think about the different possible situations that require self-defense that you could realistically encounter and if you believe that system will prepare you to handle them.
In this article we will explore some of these questions and problems, considering this to be relevant not only to our own practice, but for all martial systems and their practitioners. This exploration is not exhaustive, and is in some ways preliminary. The purpose here is also to shed some light on and about the Geijin Ryu and it’s contributions to martial society.
There is no intent here to make claims that any school is superior to others, or to demean any other martial tradition while we try to define what is interesting and perhaps unique about Geijin Ryu.
Grandmaster Law is something of an enigma, and this is so even for many of his own students who have known him for a long time. Even those who doubt his claims of being trained in Ninjutsu, but who have opportunity to learn from him, will readily acknowledge that the methods he teaches are effective and unorthodox. The matter complicates for outsiders as he resists the interest of others into the details of what he teaches and where he acquired his skills.
To those of us learning from him, this is sometimes frustrating, but the subject is a distraction from what is really important. The important questions have to do with what are the contributions of this school and why it is worthwhile to study it. One indication of depth of knowledge and applicability is that Grandmaster Law never seems to run out of techniques. In the three decades I have known him he always teaches new material that builds on what has been taught before. All of it is useful and effective.
It is hoped that readers will give some thought to the ideas expressed here and decide for themselves the merit of various points of discussion and whether they agree with them. I should point out that though I have been studying martial arts a long time and I have observed a great deal and trained with many different people, I find myself learning all the time and continuing to correct my perspective on martial arts as I age. I hope that sharing my perspectives with you will advance everyone’s understanding, including mine.
Part 2. Techniques have no name:
Grandmaster Law has never indicated actual names to any techniques. Training in Geijin Ryu; it rapidly becomes obvious why this is so. There are too many techniques, and so-called variations , to start assigning names. There are fundamental categories that are generally the similar to that seen in other systems.
Many martial systems have core curricula and require the competent demonstration of these techniques for ranks to be awarded. Another common facet of martial training is to start with a core movement, and then analyze it through the variations it offers. For example, in Aikido, how many ways can you get to sankyo? Often the variations will not be named, but are considered in a category with the core technique. The core technique could be the end point, the starting point, or performed within a series of moves. The core technique is considered “core” for a reason. That reason usually has to do with general applicability and effectiveness. Such techniques are also considered essential to understanding the system and how it works. Without core techniques and strategies, expression of the martial art will be without value and will be ineffective. In many systems core techniques have names. In Geijin Ryu, they don’t. Instead Grandmaster Law talks about “principles” that are expressed through techniques. The principles are maintained in the variations as well. In addition to providing insight into the workings of the art: Core principles in Geijin Ryu are those that open a door or path to many new variations with broad applicability. They always increase the freedom to move and exercise control over the enemy. Sometimes techniques are chosen as important because they express a principles with clarity. The student is not expected to show that technique for the purpose of ranking, rather, during testing, the examiner will look for expression of core strategy and principle in whichever technique the student comes up with. The core principles are essential to understanding how the art actually works. They reveal an important feature underlying the workings of the body. Understanding how muscles, bones, nerves and even skin interact with each other, another body and the environment.
Some systems emphasize knowledge of the names of various categories of techniques, being able to talk about where they come from and how they came to be incorporated into the system. This is true for people who believe that a codified curriculum is important and use it as a means of teaching and demonstrating knowledge and mastery. The codified curriculum is like a map left by previous masters. The map, if followed correctly, should lead to the correct expression of the system. Such systems may justify this out of the belief that a system cannot be improved upon and is intact as transmitted from generation to generation. It also follows the Confucian ideals of loyalty and filial piety to ones ancestors and teachers, which is a prevalent view in many especially tradition bound systems.
Grandmaster Law has explained that this approach is anathema to the mindset needed to engage in combat as well as a barrier to the rapid advancement and insight of the trainee. He has stated that a student’s ability to verbally categorize knowledge about techniques has little to do with actually being able to use them. The other rationale is that there are too many methods to train in to spend time on semantic learning. In the context of combat the trainee expresses that which they have learned which is closest to the real thing experientially. Also, it has been our experience that most students are actually not that interested in scholarly knowledge about martial training systems, rather they come to training with anxiety about how to handle potentially threatening situations in their lives. There are among us, some who are interested in both experiential training and scholarly pursuit of combat systems also known as Hoplology.
The Geijin Ryu core curriculum, contains special rolling methods, body movements and certain types of stepping and walking. The core fighting techniques incorporate all of the above and specific fighting strategy, which is beyond the scope of this entry. Initially we emphasize exposing students to as wide a variety of techniques as quickly as possible revealing core methods as we proceed. In the beginning, students are usually overwhelmed sometimes complain about it. Some report that they cannot stop thinking about the techniques until they can do them. They will often say that they have seen a great deal, but feel like they haven’t learned anything. In a way this is true for some of them, but mostly it is not. What they are really saying is that they have seen a lot, but they don’t understand it, and because it isn’t understood, the knowledge is not retained. This exposure demonstrates the complexity of the martial arts and nature of the task before them to learn it. It is usually humbling and helps reality set in about how dangerous it is to engage in fighting, especially if a person thinks they know what they’re doing but really don’t. It is a correcting of perspectives that is needed to disabuse students of silly martial fantasies of omnipotence and anticipated heroics. Those who came for that fantasy usually grow out of it, or they don’t stay.
It takes time and practice to understand and utilize the core principles and strategies. It takes time to notice them in the first place, let alone understand their potential.
There is another reason for not naming techniques and their categories, that has to do with how we learn. Grandmaster Law frequently emphasizes that he learned techniques by direct experience with all the emotion and pain included. His own teachers dismissed semantic learning, instead focusing on how to apply techniques in order to survive combat. Semantic categorization interferes with the creative ability to observe the otherwise hidden relationship between movements. He has emphasized that factual knowledge learned through formal education has obvious value and has it’s place, but is not the best approach to combat training. I have often interpreted this to mean that the process of learning through categorization as expressed by language can close the mind to observation through other cognitive (thinking) and perceptual (sensory) routes that are actually more relevant to fighting in survival situations. For example you can categorize foot sweeps with kicking techniques for obvious reasons. If you do and you stop your analysis there you might miss their other obvious relationship to throws. Furthermore that intellectual exercise of categorizing the techniques says nothing about how the techniques feel to perform, to receive and how they relate to the positioning of your head, spine, hands and the handling of weapons. These categories are not likely to come in handy in a fight because you aren’t using your semantic cognitions while fighting.
Early on in my training with Grandmaster Law he would often state that how we train and move our bodies has all kinds of effects, direct and indirect, on our minds, many of which we are not immediately aware of. Indeed, trainees have expressed the development of economy of movement, balance, steadiness and directness in their thinking and their approach to situations becoming more inuitive. Thus techniques change and influence thinking, perception and behavior. He also asserted that the health and therapeutic effects of training both physical and psychological stem from this influence. It should further be stated that he never differentiated mind and body except when explaining certain details to students. As a physician and psychiatrist I have given consideration to this mind-body path of influence in his teaching. In fact, years ago this view would have been contradictory to what was then the understanding of mind and neuroscience at least in the common discourse. The effects of bodily activity, regulation and control on the mind and the minds influence on physical health was historically given only cursory mention. Interestingly, this concept was ahead of its time for the west, but not in Asian combat systems and other systems like Yoga. It has been discovered and confirmed in the last two decades that the plasticity of the mind was much more than what most earlier theorists believed. “Plasticity” meaning the minds ability to change and adapt to environmental influences and Learn. Exercise and training is an environmental influence. It is at once internal as in your personal mental learning process of performing technique and external as the techniques are applied to you with pain, imposed immobility, choking sensations, percussion etc. It should be noted that theories about adaptive learning/cognitive adaptability have been around since at least the 1950’s but they were not the conventional and dominant views. Current psychiatric and neurological thinking has moved to a model that would basically agree with what this combat system teaches, and is even the basis for some therapies such as EMDR in the treatment of PTSD. To illustrate the point a little further and in a more familiar context, please think of the last time you had the flu. If it was the flu, you will remember the aches (myalgias), fever (febrility), runny nose (coryza), fatigue and the psychological symptoms. The psychological effects of the flu are cognitive slowing, impaired concentration, an uncomfortable or unpleasant mood (dysphoria), irritability and probably effects on sleep and appetite. What happens to your body affects your mind, how you treat your body affects your mind, training your body influences your mind. It also influences mood, anxiety and biological rhythms driven by the brain. The reverse is also true. What your mind is doing affects your body, how it feels and performs.
It has already been noted that the idea that body movement influences the mind is not unique to Geijin Ryu or martial systems. It has likely been part of martial systems for centuries in various forms. The point of possible differentiation for Geijin Ryu is that the connection is expressed through direct functional experience that is enhanced by intentionally eliminating the distraction and limitations imposed by semantic categorization (naming). Training in most popular sport and military style combative arts have focused on repeating core techniques over and over until technical competency is achieved. The overall implications of training in that way has been part of the discourse on martial systems for at least decades, and although a rationale supporting the approach has been put forward, it has largely gone without critique, thus limiting exploration into alternative teaching strategies and learning methods.
Grandmaster Law stated that it is essential in his opinion that insight into the workings of martial systems not be limited by an academic approach. The successful combative application of techniques in real situations requires that a person will not resort to semantic (name, fact and meaning) knowledge but instead must operate using what is essentially “second nature” (functional knowledge or memory). It is like moving into a mental world with no words, where the mind operates with non-linguistic logic. In psychiatry and psychology we call this “primary process”. This is a form of cognitive process that exists and operates in our minds from birth and operates as the predominant mode until thinking processes become dominated by language as the dominant mode for conscious mental function, including mathematics. Primary process operates at all times even when we think using linguistic structure and influences our emotional responses to subtle perceptions of the meaning of things in our environment. The perception of another person as a threat may have nothing to do with what they are saying, and we may perceive a threat when there is no obvious or “logical” reason to do so. It is expressed in phrases like “having a gut feeling”. Our training is directed at influencing this process because it is the process that dominates in combative situations. A person will use the parts of their training that most closely approximate actual combat for self-defense. It should be further noted that we use different brain structures when fighting than we do when learning techniques in a safe environment and that for training to be useful in combat the learning must work on those areas of the brain and our consciousness that are active in actual combat. In this way, the training most closely approximates real fighting.
Part 3. There are no rules:
In Geijin Ryu one thing that is very strongly emphasized is that there are no rules in combat. This combat training system has principles and guidelines but no ethical rules or limitations. Having “no rules” implies more than just what it means, and stating it isn’t enough to make the meaning clear.
Having no rules is not as easy to live up to as one might think. It certainly does not mean you can fight any old way and win. What it really means is that you must do whatever it takes to win. Geijin Ryu does have strategies, which are not the same as rules. You are free to use any technique or strategy, as long as you believe it is likely to work. As a trained individual you are expected to have an understanding of what works and what, by contrast, is foolhardy. Strategies like “do not fight the enemy on their own terms” may sound like a rule, but in fact it is a guideline or strategy.
Strategies, if adhered to, improve your chances of success. They are not an absolute dogma. The rules, which Geijin Ryu disregards, are those invented for sport fighting and those given as moral imperatives.
Rules in sport fighting are prohibitions placed on techniques used in sparring and Randori type training. These include no strikes to the groin, no hitting the back, no full contact, no choke holds, no hair pulling, no eye gouging and so on. A lot of these rules are perfectly reasonable in sport systems where competition is emphasized and expected of the students. There is a lot of liability in martial arts when used competitively. You can likely imagine the injuries and lawsuits occurring if you allow and teach your students to kick genital areas and gouge eyes freely in sparring matches. Also, students are training to learn not to get injured or killed, but still need to have the capability to inflict injury or do what is necessary to neutralize a threat. So rules are needed in sporting contexts.
The limitations imposed by rules in sparring are a potentially serious problem for those hopefully rare occasions when you have to defend yourself. As I have stated, when involved in combat, the closest thing in your training to real fighting is probably sparring or rigorous self-defense classes. What gets used in fighting are those trained reflexes and behavioral patterns that occur with little or no conscious processing or thought. When you spar and train with rules long enough, you will favor techniques you have repeated the most. You can do them quickly, execute them better and you understand them best, meaning that you will be more comfortable and more confident using them due to experience. In so doing you may be less likely to use techniques that might otherwise end the fight quickly or that injures the other party. I have heard it argued that you should adhere to rules in a real fight, because that way you will win without causing serious injury, which is obviously desirable. Although this might seem logical it does not ring true and is rarely applicable. If someone has targeted you, it typically means they have assessed that they can win before the attack even begins. The attacker will likely be confident, feeling empowered and entitled to harm you and threaten you as they see fit. Otherwise the attacker may be in such a state of rage that they have lost all regard for their own safety and this makes them especially dangerous. You may quickly find yourself in a life or death struggle where you are completely out of your comfort zone and the repertoire of techniques that apply to sparring have little serious effect . If someone is trying to kill you, or you believe they are, do you have such technical mastery of your system that you are confident you can handle this kind of enemy while adhering to the rules? If sparring rules proscribe chokes and kicks to the groin, would you ever see sparring with a knife, a bat, or a tire iron? Many systems do not spend any time training for this, let alone training on the ground or against headlocks and other moves you are likely to encounter in a real fight. I can distinctly remember that mixture of panic and utter intimidation I have experienced when encountering someone I know can and will hurt me and my skill is not enough to stop them. That was before I trained with nearly the sole purpose of trying to survive combat. I realized that although I had some success as a tournament fighter I was simply not prepared for a real street fight. I had trained four years in Tae Kwon Do and I was no master at it, but I received a lot of attention for being fairly good at it, and had received awards. I remember also more recently when out of curiosity I went to train for almost a year in Aikido. At that time I was keeping my martial knowledge to myself out of respect and to try and learn a new system. I learned what it was like to try and suppress my “other” knowledge, while training under a more conventional martial art. I was able to manage, but was surprised when the instructor (who was at least 4thDan) stated, after I had shown him a few escapes from headlocks, that not only had he never seen anything like it in 30 yrs, but that in all his many years with Aikido they had trained only once against headlocks. I would not be surprised to hear that there are Aikikais where they do train against headlocks and other street fighting techniques. I know that now many combat and sport training systems schools incorporate more realistic self-defense techniques, while also preparing for sporting matches. I felt concern, however, that some schools were like the ones I had encountered, not prepared.
In the world of martial systems, the concern for realistic self-defense has led to the rise of other systems that concern themselves directly with how to tackle combative preparedness. These include systems like Krav Maga, Systema and other paramilitary styles. In this way, Geijin Ryu is not unique, and it should be categorized as a martial system where the training is absolutely intended for combative application. In fact it does share some more basic methods with Jujustsu, Krav maga, Aikibudo and Systema. These systems will also tend to emphasize a no holds barred mindset. Although there is similarity with these systems, they are not the same. I have observed enough of these systems and trained with enough people from other systems to make that statement, but I have not trained in them and therefore I am not as intimately aware of their potential limitations and advantages in combat.
One area where combat training systems are similar to one another has to do with how they respond to the problem posed by rules in training.
One way to partially address the problem of rules is to use body armor for the attacker and sometimes both the attacker and defender. This will reduce the risk of injury somewhat during self-defense training. We also wear tough headgear, goalie jocks, and the Do and gloves from Kendo armor. The armor helps but does not eliminate risk of injuries completely, especially those resulting from a torqued movements and throws.
Another way is to use techniques with a controlled level of application. This at least gets the student using techniques that can really injure and stop a fight quickly, without maiming one another during training. Therefore, in the student’s mind, they will naturally resort to painful and effective techniques in a confrontation. Our students know little of the rules for sparring used in most popular sport martial systems unless they have trained in them. Thus, they do not have any ingrained or conditioned resistance to using the techniques they are taught. I remember the struggle I went through in my early training to unlearn rules that limited my ability to fight effectively. We do not limit our repertoire of skills to “safer” techniques, which could impair our effectiveness in actual combat.
Like the other combat training systems, we also train with and against multiple attackers and types of weapons. We use mock weapons at first, but when more skilled we do limited work with real weapons. This prepares students to some extent to face various weapons, with which they will have familiarity. Using rules in such challenges can be disabling or fatal.
Some martial training systems have rules applied to attack-defense scenarios. In Geijin Ryu, the attacks for training purposes are usually aggressie and if you don’t move properly you will get struck and possibly hurt. Some of the videos we have released in the past do not show this because they were intended to showcase techniques. Proper attacks in this system typically avoid communicating intent through postures, this is often called “telegraphing”. This adds an element of surprise through unpredictability and greater reality to the training. The attacks do not usually require long wide stances because they are too obvious and slow. Attacks using wide stances are simply not very realistic and are less likely to occur in combat. You will see some lunges and occasional extended postures used by sport fighters, but these are intended for training against these attacks and not to be used in defending oneself. Our movements are not slow or rigid. This system maintains an approach to training against all kinds of attacks, including the types of erratic punches and kicks that inexperienced and inebriated people sometimes use. Preparedness means as wide a spectrum of experiences as possible, so that you are less likely to be caught off guard.
Defense against weapons in Geijin Ryu involve those you are likely to encounter in a real attack. These include the knives, sticks, guns and common items like bats. We also learn to fight against an enemy using a chain, rope, various tools and machetes. We do not spend as much time against swords and other historical weapons that are no longer contemporarily relevant. It is true that these weapons have features in common with modern ones, the tanto is basically a knife, the machete is like a short sword, chains and staffs are still around. But if you can train using weapons that are very close to modern ones, and your goal is to be prepared, it makes sense to use those tools that most closely approximate current weapons.
It should also be noted that discarding the usual paraphernalia of the martial arts dojo is another way of having “no rules”. We greet each other and we show respect, but we don’t treat Grandmaster like a god or a guru. He dislikes people who try to adulate him or who show false politeness and unrealistic sentiments. In this art, we are taught to read this behavior as unnecessary manipulation and it raises flags that the person is not to be trusted and may intend to do some sort of harm or deception. It can get very subtle and sometimes and makes you ponder the meaning of the training. We also train wearing street clothes. There are no rules about attire as long as the student is clean and appropriate to be in public. Grandmaster Law made an observation that I agree with; that wearing specialized training uniforms create learned environmental associations with the accouterments of martial systems. Granted, mats, gloves, body armor and clothes that don’t tear all have a purpose. We sometimes use body armor when practicing certain methods applied with greater speed and power, so that we learn what it feels like to use the techniques this way. But the vast majority of the training is now done in natural settings wearing regular clothes. We train in snow, light rain, darkness and of course, sunshine. We get dirty and dusty, and sometimes ingest or inhale some dirt as part of the experience. Fighting in a winter coat isn’t like wearing a T-shirt, or no shirt. In extreme cold we sometimes move indoors for safety. Indoor training will also involve indoor obstacles such as desks, chairs and all kinds of things you are likely to encounter in real life. We train in cars and other tight spaces as well. We fight using our own clothes and those of the enemy, we use bed sheets, purses, crutches and belts. There was a time in the past when we wore uniforms, mostly in the 1980’s and early 90’s. This was to build an image, and for demonstrations. Eventually it was decided that uniforms, patches and belts are a distraction and we rarely, if ever, wear them.
Rules of conduct in the training hall: We have those, but they are not to create a zen-like and meditative environment. One of the hardest things to deal with in a real fight situation is distraction. This can be not only from objects around us, but also from other threats and for the safety of others we might be trying to protect. Loud noises and worst of all our own emotions of fear and anger are typical distractions we encounter. We have often trained with loud and distracting music, like you might find in a bar, gym or store. In a fight you may face a volatile enemy that feels threatening this is sometimes mimicked in practice. Grandmaster Law has probably lost some students as a result of teaching us with such intensity and pain that we were sometimes afraid of him. Those of us who endured this scary side of training are far better at handling threat and intimidation. Most of all, I found it heightened my ability to assess threat significantly, such that I am much better at sensing it from others. After working with Grandmaster Law, dealing with confrontational people has become more manageable.
One of the most important lessons to learn in self-defense is how to avoid dangerous situations. A great deal has been written about this elsewhere, and a lot of it is common sense, but we probably all know people who are not very good at identifying danger signals coming from potentially dangerous people. This is not that easy to teach and learn. It requires a special type of sensitivity training that comes from working around the visceral uncertainty that you might be in danger. It most importantly and fundamentally requires training in interpreting body language, with the caveat that some are skilled at concealing intent, which itself can be a focus of training. Inebriation, masculine-type over-confidence, uncontrolled anger and ignoring known red flags in another persons history and even assumptions based on someones appearance can all lead to a failure to correctly assess risks. There are many such examples that can be learned from the narratives of victims of violence. We all would learn from paying attention to them. Combat avoidance is part of combat readiness.
This brings us to one last important part for this segment regarding rules or guidelines on how we conduct our lives. Earlier I stated that there are no moral or ethical prohibitions in the training. While this is true, it is not what it seems. In this system, whether prospective students agree with it or not, we do not preach a value system. We do talk about causality and the consequences of behavior. We talk about questioning prevailing attitudes and the wisdom of assumptions. Grandmaster Law has always had an interest in knowing what we think and why, he tells us frequently that he learns from us, even when he already knows where he stands on an issue. We understand that circumstances may occur in life when you may have to break a law to do what you what is right. You may have to break the law to defend a family member. We don’t advocate breaking laws, but sometimes people have to make split-second decisions that could land them in trouble, and then must deal with the consequences. There is tolerance in our system for diverging perspectives. There are no rules based on a specific philosophical or religious affiliation. That stated, tolerance for differences is a two way street. If students are unhappy with being around others who respectfully disagree with them then they may choose to seek a place with like-minded peers. What unites us is our desire to be proficient in the art and to learn as much as possible. Fighting and combat are to be taken very seriously, they are very dangerous, not a joke, a game or a casual past-time. We cannot let personal differences get in the way of our goal of combat preparedness.
We support the individual right to be who they are, not to have to conform and to think freely. Our students decide for themselves what they believe, and decide their own ethics. We do discuss these things, but we don’t try to get people to conform to the opinions of Grandmaster Law or any of us that teach the art.
PART 4. There are no beginner or advanced techniques:
Training is like jumping into a river that continues to flow though the lives of all that are training, the teacher being the source for the current students. All martial training systems interested in the continuing development of their methods change what and how they teach as they continue. They sometimes discard preceding practices and/or incorporate new ones, changing the priorities of the content they teach. Some teachers have been criticized as being hypocritical because of this, or otherwise grandiose, for not faithfully following the interpretations of their own teachers. Some feel that a martial system curriculum should have a stepwise beginning, a middle and end with a higher plateau of mastery. This is a natural progression for many skills that people learn, and also seems to apply to individual growth. As such, that progression can be reflected in a curriculum. Some masters and teachers are painstaking about trying to preserve their system just as it was handed down to them.
In Geijin Ryu there are basic movements that need to be understood in order to be able to practice and prepare a person to really learn a combat system. These include understanding basic principles about movement, learning to fall, roll, proper distancing and position, and how to hold and carry a weapon etc. These skills are what all beginners need to know in order to learn actual techniques, but have little to do with whether techniques can be considered “basic” or “advanced”. In Geijin Ryu there is no real predetermined curriculum. As discussed previously there is no core defined repertoire of techniques. It is a system, and understanding the system is essential to being able to use it. The system can be understood through any and all of its techniques.
We may start teaching students to use a staff often on their first day. We do not tell them they must master postures and empty hand techniques first. I know some masters and teachers might disagree with this, arguing that the students will learn bad habits that they have to unlearn later, or that they could even get injured. That is neither wholly true or false. It depends on how you teach and it depends on the assessed attributes of the student. Our first goal in training is not to emphasize technical perfection, it is to prepare a person to face dangerous situations and have them survive and hopefully win. We have noted that a number of our students have had to use the system for self-defense well before they had any technical mastery. Even though their skill was still limited, it was found that even shoddy execution of techniques led to a successful outcome. When asked what helped them the most, the students would reported that the realistic training helped them not to panic, and the techniques were effective. I have personally witnessed people who were experienced martial systems technicians get beaten by a violent person with little skill. Grandmaster Law tells us that if we want to be prepared, we don’t have twenty years to work on our postures and that we should work on them as we do all our techniques and we will improve by doing the techniques in their entirety. A common anecdote, especially about WuShu/Kung Fu relates that a teacher will have students learn seemingly useless moves for a long time. This tests their faith and loyalty, and if they persevere it ultimately pays off in a situation some day. That might be true in some cases, but that is quite an investment just to find out if it will actually work. Chinese martial arts movies, especially from the 70s and 80s depict this sort of thing, often humorously showing students (especially westerners) being duped and exploited by teachers who need money but don’t want to give out their methods to non-Chinese.
Grandmaster Law also stated he chooses to teach differently because the step-wise approach implies too much codification and routine in martial skills training. Codification means predictability and both are considered barriers to combative success. The basic movements are imbedded within the other more complex movements and will be learned while doing the more complex moves.
It is true that some movements are more complex and require more dexterity and skill. In Geijin Ryu that doesn’t mean the technique is “advanced” or that it is intended for more experienced students. Watching very advanced masters of many systems, we find that they might favor techniques that are simple and direct. When they do more complex moves, we often say that they “make it look simple”. Grandmaster Law discourages complicated moves, or using too many maneuvers to bring down an opponent. The goal is to at once to end a fight as quickly as possible, and neutralize the threat. Therefore it’s important to be capable of using techniques when faced with clear disadvantages. So you might have to get fancy when you are in a complicated situation, but complicated techniques have their own disadvantages. They are good for dazzling people when putting on demonstrations and they give the impression of mastery. Mastering complex movements in training does not translate into being able to express that mastery in combat. In general, there is nothing showy about Geijin Ryu. The traditional weapons are low tech, unadorned and intended for use in combat only. There is never intent to show off skills to others, quite to the contrary, survival rests in part through remaining obscure. We even feign incompetence in fighting to make our enemies bolder, inducing them to miscalculate our abilities, which can reverse the element of surprise. Fancy training wear, weapons and brash displays of skill are anathema to Geijin Ryu.
Interestingly, the term “advanced” can imply that a technique is dangerous. Some dangerous techniques are easy to do and are not complicated. Even if easy to perform, it may not be easy to understand. Dangerous techniques tend to be thought of as advanced because they are taught to more trusted and responsible individuals. Meaning that you are more advanced and senior in the system if you are being shown certain things. Due to their inherent liability and the advantages they confer over others, some techniques are typically kept hidden, some may refer to this as advanced training. In reality, techniques should not be considered advanced because they are dangerous. It is easy to kill someone with a knife or a gun and it requires no special training. The average murderer who does this could hardly be considered an advanced martial artist, though they are dangerous. The murderer also has an experience the typical martial artist does not, that of knowing what it takes to kill. Sociopaths aside, many people who have to kill are traumatized by the experience. Many combat veterans oppose violence, others cannot quiet their own internal turmoil after killing, especially if they were nearly killed in the process. The subject of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is far too involved to discuss here, but I mention it because it may be an unwanted consequence of using martial skills to harm or kill others. Martial systems practitioners may find themselves intimidated by people known to have killed others, or they may understandably fear enraged and unrestrained people. This is a normal reaction, but as discussed in the last entry, scared or not, they must be able to use your skill while facing the distraction of emotions like fear and anger.
Because of the ambiguity in what term “advanced” means in martial arts, Grandmaster Law does not teach that there are advanced techniques. He teaches that students become advanced as they learn and understand the system and as they are able to express it. There are many disciplines in Geijin Ryu in which to practice. I have met people who are naturally skillful at doing gymnastics, others who learn very quickly how to throw shuriken and shaken, some who learn nearly everything quickly and competently, but are not good at teaching the art. The term “advanced” is too vague and relative to be useful. We would rather talk about the competence of an individual in using martial system methods, and in teaching it to others. We caution others to think carefully about people who make claims of holding back “advanced” techniques. Such statements while intuitively logical may portend manipulation to keep students engaged when there is little more to offer. I would also encourage any student wanting to learn martial system to ask themselves why they want to learn and what they expect to be able to do with it once they have learned it. This should help them decide how and with whom to proceed.
No blocking, no stopping, freedom of movement without resistance:
Teaching martial systems has many pitfalls. As we try to approximate real application of techniques, the risk of injury increases. Also, what can be done at slow speed, may not work quite so well when having to react quickly. Practicing is completely different when there is time to think and manouver. Testimonials from survivors of assault talk about how different actual fighting feels from practicing in a dojo. There are important and fundamental reasons for this. Anyone who has ever experienced depression, panic, rage or perceptual problems like hallucinations can tell you it isn’t something you can just “snap out of”. Survivor manuals start out with stating that a panic reaction is dangerous, as it impedes our ability to think rationally and problem solve, while depleting the few precious seconds or minutes in which we have to react.
This subject has been treated to exploration in many contexts and is familiar territory in the military and for first responders like police and firemen. In Geijin Ryu, the emphasis is on combative preparation. It is understood that the involuntary nature of panic, perceptions and moods like sadness and rage occurs because they arise from different parts of the brain than where rational minds operate. The fight or flight reaction, the assessment of risk and emotional significance occurs in a relatively small brain structure at the base of the temporal lobes called the amygdala. Like all other brain structures it is interconnected to many other areas, and like those areas, the network is called into operation when the right situation presents itself. However, when it operates too actively during sleep it can cause insomnia and frightening dreams. The amygdala is considered a more primitive, but highly adaptable and important part of the brain. When it isn’t active enough people are described as being emotionally unresponsive or “flat”in circumstances when reaction is needed.
The frontal cortex of the brain located just above the hairline in those of us who still have hair, and for those without, just above the forehead, is where most rational thinking processes occur. This is where most commands and control takes place. In most people, the frontal lobe can at least temporarily override the amygdala, and influence our reactions to emotional states so that we adhere to our hierarchies. For example, if I ask politely for more cake I am more likely to get it than if I just grab it. The priority being the hedonistic experience of eating cake…
There are times however when the amygdala will take over control of our frontal lobe as it reacts to perceived threats to our dignity, control, life and limb, or threats to those we love. Most have probably heard stories about how people have reacted in survival situations instinctively and at times have committed acts of heroism. They will observe that they reacted “without thinking”. The exact same phrase is used in apologies when someone has done something irrational and hurtful: “I’m sorry! I acted without thinking!” What does this mean and how does it relate to the subject of martial arts practice? The answer is that it has profound relevance.
The amygdala responds to our senses, and it is constantly monitoring what is going on in the “association” part of the brain called the parietal lobes, where all or sensory data, including feedback from the body is interpreted and it’s meaning extracted. For example: If you are shown a picture of a fearsome tiger in a book you normally will not react with fear because you quickly deduce it to be a print of a photograph. The same image of an actual tiger glaring at you menacingly might be cause for alarm.
It has been said that martial arts practice, when it fails to prepare people for combat can lead to false confidence, with disastrous results. I have also heard it said that some confidence is important because it stays off any panic that might occur, which could be equally disastrous. Grandmaster Law talks about “living in the moment”, which should come as no surprise. It’s pretty important to be in the moment when you are in danger. But what he is talking about is being in the moment when training, and being “mindful” of danger at all times. It can be thought of as assigning a new set of priorities for the amygdala to listen to. Training your amygdala so to speak. I have trained people with over-reactive amygdalas and seen first hand how it was brought under control through a gradual process of desensitization. In this way training was actually therapeutic.
If training works in part through training the responses from and to the amygdala, then this means that the right kind of training should be effective in combat situations. The first objective of training being that of gaining control over one’s own responses, but is that enough?
In many martial arts, and it should be fair to say that in a number of sports also, there is the process of gaining psychological dominance over the opponent. This can get complicated, because a person with too much self-confidence or the inability to accurately assess a situation can believe they have dominance when they do not. An opponent can also be falsely made to believe they have dominance, when they do not and a person can fake confidence. This moves into the realm of psychological strategies. The whole idea of having dominance over the opponent is course, critical because it often decides who will be the victor, or survivor. Can you have dominance over your opponent if you are overwhelmed with your own panic and fear? Obviously not. So while it is important to dominate yourself first, the next order of business is to lead the conflict to the desired outcome.
This is where the strategy built into the actual techniques themselves plays a crucial role. Many of the disputes about the inherent superiority of one art over another are the result of the belief that better techniques and strategies can make up for other strategic disadvantages. This seems reasonable. It allows us to make claims that a weaker and less physically capable person can defeat a physically superior enemy if they use the right methods. A simple version of this argument consists of the view that guns are superior to swords. Well, they are, but not in all situations.
Grandmaster Law spoke a lot about not getting lured into the comfort zone of the enemy or not to fight on their terms. Don’t try to outbox a boxer, don’t try to outwrestle the wrestler and so on. Do not confront their strength. Use technique in a way the opponent is probably unfamiliar with, and thereby destabilize them psychologically (activate their amygdala) and dominate them.
The strategies found within the techniques of Geijin Ryu consist not only of what they do, but also what they don’t do. Grandmaster Law is emphatic that there is no blocking in Geijin Ryu and states that if you see blocking, the art is not ninjutsu. Some other arts have similar constructs, by either blocking very little, or doing a variation that deflects attacks. A number of Chinese arts including Chin Na and Tai Chi do not block much if at all, the same is true for Aikido. Not blocking is not enough to label an art ninjutsu obviously. But, why not block? This has been explained by different people in other contexts, but to summarize why blocking is not done in Geijin Ryu it is simply that it delays the fighter and impedes moving in an seizing the enemy, which is needed to gain control over them. When executing a block there is a momentary stop created. While it is true that a painfully executed block can discourage an attacker, blocking in itself also hurts. It is natural to block and people do it without being trained to, although not as well. If you are trained to block in your sparring, that is most likely what you will do in an actual confrontation. The point was driven home to me well before I ever met Grandmaster Law, when as a young teenager I was training in Tae Kwon Do and one of my fellow students showed me his badly bruised and swollen arm after he had blocked a strike from his angry father wielding a wrench. Granted, the block may have saved his skull, but his arm wasn’t much good after that, and what if his father had continued striking him that way? What if it had been a blade?
Geijin Ryu is mostly a very tight close quarter system. The goal is to neutralize the enemy as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. Striking is utilized, but is not the dominant method and is done in such a way as to complement the seizing and pinning of the enemy. I mention this because striking is a very common strategy in many arts and is frequently the dominant strategy.
So, when there is no blocking there is no stopping. When there is no stopping there is greater freedom of movement.
That freedom of movement is essential to turning a disadvantage into an advantage and turning the prospects in battle.
In Geijin Ryu another essential feature is to get behind the enemy, if not completely, then at least partially. This is necessary to take effective control of them. Grandmaster made a strong point of stating that in ninjutsu there is no “squaring off”. In other words, battling the enemy face to face is strongly discouraged. This is not merely a strategy of the combative techniques, but is core to all ninjutsu activities. In historical guerilla warfare where shinobi were used, they were typically small bands facing more numerous enemies. They increased their chances of success in many ways, but one of the main ones was not to face the enemy’s strength. As a ninja, you do not allow the enemy to exercise their strength against you.
A second piece to this strategy is to dominate their mind. Many martial artists talk about “leading” the mind of the enemy. In arts where they do openly face one another, this is most easily done by taking the offensive. In ninjutsu this is often done by taking on the enemy in such a way that they cannot see what is being done. If they cannot understand what is happening they cannot respond properly and will typically fall back on what either best approximates the needs of the situation or what they most extensively learned. If their training background is known, for example Karate, this makes them more predictable. The ninja moves in such a way that what they are doing cannot be seen or easily understood. In this way they can dominate the mind of the enemy and take control over them. This helps even the odds against a much stronger and better trained or prepared enemy, like the small bands of shinobi facing larger forces.
You cannot achieve this strategy while resorting to blocking. You cannot perform Geijin Ryu martial arts without using this core strategy.
Additional point s for consideration is that blocking leaves the defending party in the line of the attack. The consequence being that they are still in a position to have further attacks directed at them. This prolongs the fight, which increases the overall risk, which could include receiving charges from the authorities for engaging in fighting.
Every technique blends with every other technique:
Building on earlier points that explain the need for freedom of movement, there is the fundamental property of Geijin Ryu’s system that all techniques can blend together. Grandmaster law has been adamant that this is the case because there are no stops or blocking to the movement. But what exactly does this mean?
It means a number of things, and as is typical of combative systems there are many nuances. On one level it means that once you have engaged the enemy, and you have seized and started to control, you can transition smoothly and freely from one technique to another. This is because you are free to transition your posture as needed. The importance of this should go without saying, but for the sake of illustrating the idea fully, it means that the technique permits you to transition and adapt with an enemy that is struggling and fighting back.
This point needs also to be made because of the common criticism of ninjutsu, and other arts with similar jujutsu and Aikijutsu like features, that the practitioners are overly compliant and “go with” the person demonstrating. The criticism originates from the observation that this very clearly occurs in demonstrations and on-line displays of martial arts techniques. When teaching and showcasing a technique compliance is expected to a certain degree. Experienced students understand that being over-compliant will make the technique utterly ineffective, and in fact such compliance can be at the origin of one strategy for countering techniques. Most students use a certain inertia to “resist” the technique but comply when the technique is effectively executed. They are not actively resisting by trying to counter the move. If they did that, teaching could not continue. Another reason for compliance (not over-compliance) is to avoid injury. Resisting some techniques can result in dislocations and even broken bones, something I can personally attest to.
I think critics are important and they need to be listened to. This is difficult when they are not respectful of others. But even when disrespectful, they may be right. Critics should for their part be careful about jumping to conclusions about other martial artists and their systems based on what has been put out in the public. Anyone can be made to look bad or good with the right tools and intentions. It should not necessarily be assumed for example that a system has no ground fighting techniques just because they have never been publically demonstrated. Likewise it has often been stated by many on the internet that practitioners of ninjutsu do not practice resistance training. This seems true if some of the material out there is accurately representational. It should be stated here that resistance training is done with Geijin Ryu, with the caveat that it requires some experience to do it without getting injured. Some schools appear to have abandoned such training out of concerns for liability, which sadly makes sense, and takes us back to the conundrum about how to train as closely as possible to real combat without getting counterproductive injuries.
So does freedom of movement using techniques of seizing and control work without compliance on the part of the enemy. The answer is “yes” and “no”. A real enemy will not be compliant, they will fight back and resist techniques. If their resistance is more than you can handle, and your skill set is not up to the task you cannot control them, and you will likely get hurt. This is true no matter what art or fighting sport you choose. The enemy has to be made compliant.
This is done through a combination of strategy and technical skill that includes everything from timing, posture, distance, positioning, fluidity and category of technique (including weapons) used.
In Geijin Ryu freedom of movement starts with body movement and positioning. There are positions from which you can strike the enemy, but they cannot strike you, though you are right in plain sight of them. This only lasts for a fraction of a second as both parties continue to move, but is often all that is needed to land a hit. There are also ways to move that take advantage of visual and positional blind spots inherent to the enemy’s body and movement. This brings in control, and dominating the mind.
In Geijin Ryu it is relatively easy to transition from one body movement to another. When the enemy is under control this can lead to a measure of overconfidence, and showing-off that contributes to techniques looking “fake”. Grandmaster tends to discourage this and tells students not to waste time with “too many moves” and to “be direct” utilizing the shortest and quickest means possible to disable the opponent.
I have watched many martial arts videos and noted that it is very common to see a teacher to pin a student or have them be compliant until they are locked in, then ask them to resist the technique. Most of course cannot, or might make a perfunctory gesture to show they are immobilized. In proper training students should be allowed to learn escapes from many holds at ALL stages of a technique. An experienced fighter who has done some grappling, wrestling, throws, joint-locks, sweeps, strikes, pins and so on, can often quickly realize what their opponent is trying to do before they can finish the move and thus escape and even counter effectively. There are simple counters to headlocks and chokeholds that require almost no effort. Using them doesn’t mean the enemy will stop there and give up, but it does mean they will lose that opportunity to choke or strangle you to death. That gives you the chance to counter or get away.
Geijin Ryu spends a lot of time with counters and escapes. They are highly valuable techniques in a fight that can save your life. I have tested the concept of adapting movement and technique in this art repeatedly to see if indeed it is possible to transition freely as had been shown to me so many times, and it holds generally true. As to whether it is genuinely true for all techniques, I do not know, but I can verify that the freedom of movement, adaptability and vocabulary of techniques in Geijin Ryu is substantial. This opinion has been also shared with me by people trained in other martial arts who have been impressed with this feature of the art.
Use stealth at all times:
Geijin Ryu does use breathing techniques, but none of it involves making loud noises such as kiai, or the various other sounds uttered by martial artists who practice martial arts such as Kendo, Karate. In Geijin Ryu you will not see us learning to make loud sounds as part of our training except in one instance. We do have a technique to stop people and even throw them with a yell. This may seem very odd to some and even far-fetched. In fact it plays upon the startle reaction by being timed in a specific manner and produced at a certain range, with a certain tone.
Stealth to a large extent is built into the techniques. This applies for example to break-falls, and very much so to rolls. In Geijin Ryu break-falls are learned and used when necessary, especially when demonstrating techniques, but roles are preferred as a means of landing. Also Geijin Ryu rolls are different than those of most other arts I have seen in that we do not use the knees for nearly all rolls, the hips are used differently, and the spine almost never makes contact with the ground. That loud thud so often heard with rolls is absent. This is a critical part of stealth training, of which rolls are an integral part.
You may ask what relevance stealth has for modern day practitioners? It has many beneficial and potentially life saving applications which are actually beyond our scope here. But the ability to conceal oneself from sight as well as sound is very important to escaping others. In this art all movement is intended to be quiet and discreet in nature. Rolls are used to cover ground quickly and quietly while breaking visual and sound signatures associated with human movement. We also practice our roles around stationary and moving objects, regulating distance, height and positioning both at start and finish. There are ways to roll on rocks and tree roots, under and over obstacles. There are rolls while holding weapons of various sizes and lengths while moving around obstacles. All of this is considered combatively relevant; not when squaring off with someone but instead from a survival perspective.
The hand-to hand fighting techniques are also intended to be done quietly and to silence the enemy as much as possible. This is an important reason why we do not square off and confront an enemy head on. The enemy can make a lot of noise before engaging and can alert supports and attention to their situation. Approaching the enemy strategically and using stealth keeps the control and advantage. A hallmark of Geijin Ryu strategy is to move in and out unseen.
In many public places there are security cameras. These have benefits and disadvantages for anyone having to defend themselves in front of one. This has happened to some of our students. The benefit of such cameras is obvious if you are the one defending against an attacker. In court, the video can exonerate. The disadvantage is when using a vigorous defense, charges can be incurred if it is assessed that you went to far in counter attacking and whether you correctly assessed the risk faced.
The art of escape and moving in a manner that is unconventional can be beneficial on camera. The fact that we do not block and move in very close quarters makes our movement difficult to interpret on camera. We have tested this in the dojo many times and it holds true. Without large extending ballistic movement our defensive techniques look innocuous and like we were only trying to get away, which is exactly the desired effect.
Another aspect of stealth that I have not yet seen discussed elsewhere has to do with the amount of time actually spent fighting. This aspect of efficiency is actually part of stealth because the longer it takes to fight the more conspicuous you become. You can get pinned down and delayed. Unless you are concealed it is important to be continuously moving. The concept of stealth is not merely a matter of not making noise and not being seen, it’s a matter of not being exposed in space and time. The less time you spend in a dangerous zone the less risk you face.
Geijin Ryu techniques take the shortest route to achieving the goal of winning in a fight. There is no interest in bravado and showing off skill. Having unknowable motives is part of the cognitive stealth that contributes to successful use of martial skills.
Detectives are often successful not only because of forensic evidence but also because they seek those who have motives to commit crimes. In historical ninjutsu for example, motives were concealed using suitable distractions that often pointed to others with motives. The motive in self-defense should be only survival and the maintaining of an intact spirit or dignity. The later point means trying to avoid the kind of humiliation that can cause long lasting psychological damage. The motive is not to be some sort of champion, to show off to erotic partners, or look to the situation as a personal proofing ground. This kind of egotistical indulgence will often have catastrophic results for both the person engaged in it and their loved ones.
Train ambidextrous: In routine training it’s common to note in persons that are handed to right or left will execute techniques differently according the side of the body that leads. This is natural and need not be suppressed. Although, in learning a repertoire of techniques it’s important to practice the same techniques on both sides. Once a broad repertoire of techniques has been developed, and they are used in actual fighting, it’s not as important that they are different from right to left. What is sought is a level of comfort using either side such that there is no deficit in competence with either. Seeing trainees and competition fighters favoring one side or another can make them predictable. Often they will repeat and a favored combination, such that an observant opponent can utilize a counter against them. This is especially problematic in sport fighting styles that focus on mastering a more limited range of techniques. In Geijin Ryu, this viewed as a problematic barrier to effective adaptation in fighting. This issue of adaptation in fighting is core to the successful use of martial arts in fighting and requires an understanding of the psychological processes at work in order to teach it. The mental activities that take place in training are not those that happen in a combative situation.
Minimize routines, be direct. The objectives in defense oriented combat require the neutralization of the attack in as short a time as possible. This is commonly known as Neutralization of the threat. Advocates of firearm use as a form of defense tend to be familiar with process and language. It is generalizable to all defense combat. As stated above, combat strategy and philosophy in Geijin Ryu is not for the purpose of dominance over others. It is primarily for survival. Bearing that in mind, and the aforementioned need for adaptive flexibility, Geijin Ryu training emphasizes that there be almost no routine, especially in the combat training. Being direct speaks to being efficient in using techniques. A frequent critique heard in martial circles, is that in some cases, martial practitioners use too many movements to achieve a result. This is systematically discouraged in Geijin Ryu.
Training with obstacles and distractions: How often do we notice that we may start out with an objective in mind, hoping to achieve it within a certain time, only to discover multiple obstacles and unexpected events derailing the original plan? Some might think this is the norm, especially with any kind of complex task. It should also be noted that obstacles, especially unexpected ones, are a source of frustration and duress. Duress in unfamiliar and highly dangerous contexts can dramatically affect performance. The perception of being overwhelmed may cause an individual to give up and allow their attacker to hurt them, perhaps hoping it will be over quickly, or the attacker will limit the harm they induce. That is a very risky gambit. While it is true that fighting is an escalation of conflict and can worsen an outcome, it may also be the only way out of a situation. Humiliating language and behavior is universal in fighting. Intimidation can be very effective. It is used frequently in sports because it is known to impair performance. Training in martial techniques with friendly and compliant partners can undermine preparedness for the worst aspects of fighting. An unwashed, malodorous and bleeding attacker, who is repulsive might also curb willingness to engage in close combat. The sensations and smells of blood, urine and feces may enter the equation. To those familiar, blood is initially at body temperature and feels slippery like oil, then it becomes sticky, then pasty and flakey. These novel sensations, along with fears of contamination with disease and so on, can also impair performance. People have to be candidly taught that such ugly experiences may be in store for them in a fight. Aversion to sticking your fingers in someones nose or mouth cannot be allowed to deter you in a life or death situation, nor should it diminish your aggression. Master Law specifically taught us to train with a loud, threatening, mean and scary enemy, so that there was less of a chance that you would be intimidated. Because such experiences have high emotional salience, they can impair retrieval of memory, they can disorient and can interfere with movement through activation of the fight or flight responses. Then there are regular obstacles: cars, posts, chairs, counters and other people. Sometimes and even often, obstacles can be shields and can present unexpected weapons. It’s important to train routinely around and using physical barriers and limitations.
Training in the dark.
In Geijin Ryu the methods taught can be utilized in very low lighting conditions. Surprise attacks and assaults often occur in such conditions. You need to be able to respond without relying on eyesight.
Everything can be a weapon, most historical weapons are not needed
Train with and against realistic attacks
Study the other arts and understand them
Part 9, Blend your martial arts into all your movement, you are always training, blend in with the public and do not draw too much attention to yourself.
