One of the criticisms we hear often is that Kyusho is taught with static techniques and is not dynamic enough. There is some merit to the claim but it is not entirely accurate either.

When teaching amy new skill, it should be practiced in a safe and static manner. The fundamentals must be taught and practiced until they become second nature. Speeding up too soon will cause bad form and risks injury to the uke, or receiver.

Even after the proper form is learned, it can still be risky to speed up. Consider a joint lock, for example. Having someone resisting as hard as they can and putting the practitioner in a position of having to manage the amount of force applied and the amount of travel in the technique would be extremely dangerous. Likewise, strikes done at full speed can hit with tremendous force if the distance closes faster than anticipated. Of course the challenge here is that this is done without gloves and is targeted at weak points on the human body to add insult to injury.

Yet, if you never train at speed and with resistance, you will never know if it works some will say. Does one need to be shot with a firearm to know it works? Or cut with a blade? Of course not! So, what can we do to close the gap? How about working your training as you do now, but separating the technique into phases.

By separating the technique into phases you can practice each component separately and train for the transitions. Let me illustrate with an example. Consider a punch to your face where you plan to parry the right hand strike with your left hand and then counter with a right hand strike to the LV-14 region of the ribs. The interaction could begin with both people wearing appropriate protective gear and be done with speed. Padding could be worn to protect the ribs and the parry and strike could be done fast but with open hands and the strike done with minimal power. This would be Phase One which focuses on improving reaction time and developing hand speed and some accuracy for the parry and strikes.

Phase Two of the technique would involve striking a heavy bag to get the power development and practice the strike. A Bob bag by Century would be perfect for this so there are anatomical markers.

Phase Three would be working with a partner and practicing as you do now with static and controlled strikes to practice the nuances of the technique, angle of strike, knuckle placement, etc.

Remember that properly executed in real applications, Kyusho is done full power. So, even if you miss the pressure point, you should have what non-Kyusho practitioners have – blunt trauma. This is the fail safe of Kyusho training. If the energetics of the technique fail, you still have a hard strike. And if you remember from our post on the Martial Onion, you can attack the organs, nerves, and other systems of the body if you miss the pressure point.

Joint Locks could be broken down much the same way. Phase 1 is the dynamic interaction leading to the grip for the lock. You just need to stop short of applying the lock and using force. Just go for the attachment. Phase Two would be slow static training to work the technique with minimal force. Phase Three would be working any strikes with a similar approach to the above. Phase Four would be developing skills to deal with counters and failed techniques.

Anyway, you get the idea. Feel free to work the phases differently or add additional components. All of the above is a more dynamic way to do the training without risking the health of your partner, which should always be your primary concern.

Do you train in a similar manner? Or do you have other ideas? Let us know in the comments.

The DSI generally categorizes each of the components of Martial Arts skill development into one of the five following areas:

1. Karate Do
2. Karate Jutsu
3. Tuite
4. Life Protection
5. Life Taking

The majority of practitioners never make it beyond the first level of Karate Do. Most Martial Artists stay in this level for their entire career.  This level focuses upon the development of life skills such as discipline, honor, self-discipline, and such.  These are fine attributes to develop and in no implies that anyone focused upon developing Karate Do skills is any less of a Martial Artist.

The next level we have defined is Karate Jutsu.  Techniques of Karate Jutsu are characterized by being more disabling to the opponent.  Knockouts are common along with targeting the sensitive pressure points of the body to gain compliance or render the opponent incapable of continuing the fight.

Tuite involves the application of joint locking techniques.  These can be applied either for simple compliance or for destruction of the joints.  Submission/compliance techniques are not how tuite was intended; it is much more of a modern development.  Tuite is designed to set the opponent up for a disabling strike but causing the person to commit more weight and limit their mobility.

Life Protection is regarded as a higher level of skill development as it is designed to stop an attacker while preserving the lives of both the attacker and the defender.  It takes a tremendous amount of skill to balance both aspects.

The final area of skill development we teach is Life Taking.  It is, of course, the most extreme of the levels and requires a very specific skill set.  These skills are not common knowledge and are often kept secret amongst the most skilled of experts.

There is no right or wrong answer as there are all levels of skill development available in Martial Arts development.  So, what is your specialty and are of focus?  Let us know in the comments.

What are “Players to the Game?”  This is term defined by Professor Rick Moneymaker, co-founder of the Dragon Society International.  One of the goals of the DSI is to keep terminology simple and easy to understand.  As such, this term was coined to refer to principles and methods that make techniques work much better.

These are essentially the “secrets” of the Martial Arts that practically everyone talks about but few people seem to know.  As we travel around the world and meet with Martial Artists of all ranks and from all styles and systems, we routinely ask if their system has secrets.  When we ask if they know what they are, no one seems to know any secrets!  And it is not that they won’t share with us; they admit they do not know any secrets themselves!  And this has happened all the way to 10th Dan!  Surely if anyone knew them, it would be the heads of the systems!

So, how many secrets are there?  Who knows!  No one will share them, but the DSI will!

For over 30 years now, the DSI has collected these secrets from our research and have painstakingly been documenting these so they will no longer have to remain a secret from our brothers and sisters in the Martial Arts.  Many have been lost over the generations but we are extremely active in tracking these down and making sure they are not lost for future generations.

And who gets to decide who is allowed to learn them?  I have even been told by practitioners over the age of 60 with over 40 years in a system that they were told by their instructor that they were not ready to learn them.  Are you kidding me?  If after that long of a commitment, someone cannot be trusted to learn the finer aspects of an art, there is a problem.  Or, perhaps the instructor does not know any themselves, which is the more likely case.

How do we discover and document these secrets?  There are processes by which we are able to extract them and even discover new ones.  In future articles, we will be looking at some of these and the processes by which we discover new methods.

We have already documented over 200 principles.  Many of these are available on video at https://www.dragonsociety.com/shop.  We have an entire Players to the Game series on DVD and streaming.

We are also putting together a series of seminars on teaching these principles and methods, which apply to all sorts of techniques including strikes, joint locks, grappling techniques, etc.  These methods are truly style independent and agnostic.  Find out more information at https://www.dragonsociety.com/mastery.  We are also looking for hosts to host these seminars and would love to know if you have a location and would be interested in being a host!

So, do you believe there are “secrets” in the Martial Arts?  Have you been trusted with the leadership in your style with any of these so-called secrets?  Be sure to let us know in the comments!

As we travel around the world, the DSI often asks the question “Are there any secrets in your system of Martial Arts?”  Without exception, when we ask “What are they?” or “Name one.” we get confused looks.  And these are not strangers we are asking.  These are those who are close to us.  The bewilderment is not an act of surprise that we would ask to see their secret methods; instead, it is a realization that they cannot name a single one of them!  After an awkward silence, we begin to share our “secrets” with them.

So, what are these secrets?  And how do we know them?  The DSI has spent decades travelling all over the world discovering, collecting, and documenting little known methods to improve Martial Arts techniques.  These come from all over the place and from a myriad of systems; others come by sheer luck; still others, are found by broad studies in topics not even related to Martial Arts.

Once we find these, we methodically document the principles and add it to our vast library.  By doing this, we ensure that future generations of Martial Artists don’t have to re-invent the wheel so-to-speak.  This is why we are considered the premier research group and the world leader in pressure points and martial science.

Why don’t more people know these?  I believe many Martial Artists have blinders on their eyes.  They are so focused on their own system of Martial Arts, they do not see the variety we see.  When we observe a high ranking Martial Artist performing a technique, we critically analyze what they are doing and why it works.  We identify patterns of movement and look for the components that are essential to the technique.  For those only studying their own system, they are limited in what they will see to those within their own group.  As a result, their growth potential is limited.

Moreover, many are not permitted by tradition to make any changes or improvements to their art.  In the DSI, we respect traditional systems and feel they have much to offer.  At the same time, we also believe in making minor adjustments where we have discovered better ways.  In this way, the arts continue to grow and evolve.  Times have changed and much must change with them.

Why refuse to evolve?  Can we honestly say that those who came before us were perfect?  Can we really say that they knew everything?  Of course not!  To do so would be preposterous.  They did the best they could with the knowledge they had.

Now, what we are not suggesting is that someone with limited knowledge go out and make drastic changes.  Tweaks can be made to base techniques to make them more applicable today and to incorporate these secret methods into them.  This is growth without sacrificing past knowledge.

Ready to start learning these secrets?  We do have an entire series of videos which detail some of the most used secrets, which we call “Players to the Game.”  Why such a strange term?  Well, calling them “secrets” seems like market-speak.  “Players” terminology denotes the idea that each method or principle is a “player” in the overall “game” of defeating one’s opponent.  Our founder, Professor Rick Moneymaker coined the term and it has stuck ever since.

Check out the first video in this series here: https://www.dragonsociety.com/product/players-to-the-game-volume-1/

In coming posts, I plan to examine more of these “Players to the Game.”  Be sure to post some comments and let us know what you think!

The Stretch Relex is where stretching a muscle causes the excitation of muscle spindles which causes contraction of large skeletal muscles.

A simple example of this is when jumping from a height and landing on the feet, the impulse in the leg muscles will likely cause a corresponding reflex of contracting the gluteal muscles in the hip which helps protect the body from injury.

Stimulus of the skeletal muscle, in turn, causes the antagonist muscle to lengthen and relax.  As the muscle relaxes and lengthens, the joint near the strike will not be as well protected as the body attempts to protect the core.

Naturally, our job is to take advantage of this reflex. How do we do that? Well, it is quite easy.

Let’s say we are striking to Golgi’s Tendon above the elbow (TB-11 for those with knowledge of acupuncture nomenclature). Naturally, the opponent will tense up as he expects the impact to his elbow region. As the muscles are about to be struct, they are contracted to resist the blow. The impact elicits a Stretch Reflex and immediately as the skeletal muscles are triggered, the relex causes the opponent’s muscles to relax and lengthen, leaving the elbow joint exposed to injury. Immediately following up with a second strike to the same target will result in damage to the joint!

It really is that easy. But, please be extremely careful when working with a partner as it is unbelievably easy to dislocate elbows with this strike and do serious harm to your training partner. So, please be gentle!

The crossed extensor reflex is also known as the Cross-body Motor Reflex and is one of the Somatic Reflexes we discussed previously.

Let’s look at a practical example of stepping on a nail with your right foot. Naturally, the right leg will contract, via the flexor muscles, to withdraw the foot from the source of the pain. Ouch! At the same time, the right leg’s extensor muscles will relax to facilitate the process with minimal resistance.

Meanwhile, the left leg will experience the exact opposite function and the leg will lock via the extensor muscle extension while the flexors relax. This is done to allow the left leg to maintain complete body weight. This is known as a contralateral reflex since opposite things happen on the opposite side of the body.

This is possible since branched of the afferent nerve fibers cross from the stimualted side of the body to the other side via the spinal cord. It is there where they synapse with interneurons and excite or inhibit alpha motor neurons on the opposite limb.

Of course, there are other stimuli occuring which cause the center of gravity to shift, but let’s not think we are neurosurgeons here and get too complicated!

Now, let’s apply this to CombatiXâ„¢. When we apply a joint lock to the fingrs of the right hand, have you ever noticed that the other arm will often swing away from you? As the flexor muscles of the right arm are stimulated, the cross extensor reflex causes the extensors of the left arm to engage and it typically swings in the opposite direction.

We use this natural reflex all the time to cause the opponent to rotate his body away from us and take the other arm (and fist) out of the fight to keep us from getting hammered with it!

Hopefully by now, you are starting to see just how much science there is involved with CombatiXâ„¢! For many years we have focused on teaching the Eastern side of the art and thus in these training reports I have decided to spend a fair amount of time revealing the Western side of the art as well.

Hmmm, I wonder if I can stimulate this response enough to make the opponent smack himself in the back of the head? Time to go find a training partner…

Have you ever had a doctor, or a really twisted friend, tap a spot near your knee and it reflexively kicks? If so, you have experienced a somatic reflex.

There are essentially five somatic reflexes. Three are spinal reflexes:

• Stretch
• Crossed Extensor
• Superficial Cord

And two are cranial reflexes:

• Corneal
• Gag

A reflex arc is a neural pathway which controls an action reflex. In humans, most sensory neurons don’t pass directly to the brain, but synapse via the spinal cord. This allows reflex actions to occur very quickly by activating spinal motor neurons without experiencing the delay of routing signals through the brain, although the brain will receive sensory input while the reflex action takes place.

There are two types of reflex arc: autonomic reflex arc, which aaffects the inner organs, and somatic reflex arc, which affects muscles.

In the knee jerk reflex, a strike to the patellar tendon initiates a somatic reflex which causes a contraction of the quadricep muscle of the leg and causes it to kick. Since this bypasses the brain, this type of reflex occurs without conscious thought.

As there are a number of these sorts of reflexes in the body, activating these will cause a reaction regardless of whether or not the individual feels it. These can be of great value to those intoxicated, in altered states of consciousness due to drug activity, or those with impaired thinking.

Too many people try to get these types of individuals to comply based on pain. As you learned in the previous report, this is usually Slow Pain techniques such as strikes to the body and such. Instead, activating Fast Pain receptors, especially those tied to somatic reflexes offers the greatest opportunity to bring involuntary compliance.

Time to hit the anatomy books…

How fast do you make your techniques hurt? Seems like an odd question, right?!?!? Well, it is actually quite a good one! Not all pain is created equal. It turns out some pain is faster than others! Time to talk some science…

By studying a scientific process known as nociception, we learn that pain comes in at least two basic forms: fast and slow. Nociception is a process of encoding and processing noxious stimuli. So, what is that?

Basically, these are pain stimulations where there is potential for bodily harm. These impulses are initiated by nociceptors, otherwise known as pain receptors. Once range of motion or impact reaches an internal threshold, these pain receptors fire signals along the spinal cord to the brain.

Where do these pain receptors live? They are located along joints and in the skin. Their distribution varies within the body, but are in greater densities along the extremeties. For thsoe who love joint locking, especially fingers, you now have a good idea why fingers make such good targets!

Fast pain travels along type Aä fibers and terminates on the dorsal horn of the spinal cord where these synapse with the dendrites of the neospinothalamic tract. Fast pain can be felt in as fast as one tenth of a second! This pain is usually felt as a sharp acute pain. These are often stimulated along with tactile receptors which keeps the pain being felt as localized but intense pain.

In contrast, slow pain is transmitted by type C fibers, which are slower, to laminae II and III of the dorsal horns, which are known as the substantia gelatinosa. One tenth of these signals eventually terminate in the thallus and the other nine tenths terminate in the medulla. Pain is typically felt as more of an aching, burning, or throbbing pain.

How does this apply to CombatiXâ„¢? Well, it is simple. We try to stimulate Fast Pain Receptors as often as possible. This fast signals travel at lightening speeds through the brain stem and cause immediate reaction. When dealing with someone who is pain resistant, this is one of the most effective ways to get them off their feet. Often, the legs have buckled before they feel any pain; in some cases they never do feel it! Either way, these type of techniques are not really pain compliance techniques, since feeling it is not necessary to get them to work. Instead, they cause neurological reflexes to take place that are operating at a subsconscious level.

Now go grab a partner and make it hurt fast and good…

Look at the picture above, how many ‘players can you identify?  Listed below are a few that you should see immediately.

• weapon first
• angle
• direction
• shooters stance
• feet to the core of attacker
• anatomical alignment
• wave form
• quadrant
• tongue to the roof of the mouth
• weight evenly distributed on both feet
• mind, breath, body
• power zone
• all weapons in the fight

…okay, did you get all that?  Feel free to post others and questions on our facebook pages.

I’m going to share with you how to avoid the 5 worst mistakes I have seen martial artists with their training.  As a professional martial artists myself, I have a unique advantage point that allows me to see things the average practitioner doesn’t see until making one of these mistakes.

The most striking observation I could share with you is that there are a few training mistakes that are made by martial artists (of all styles) over and over.  Some are merely an annoyance, and others can change the nature of their self defense knowledge and skill.  Most can be easily avoided just by knowing what they are.  That is my hope for you as you read this special report.

Instead of making this into a boring, formal report, I’d like to write to you as if we are talking together about your future in the martial arts – as we do all the time with our DSI Members.  In the end, this really is about your training.  So grab a cup of coffee or tea and let’s get started…

This special report isn’t long enough to get into lots of details from the experience of other martial artists, but we will look in summary form at the most common mistakes martial artists make so that you can avoid doing the same things.

I’d like to start with a question…

After years of working out, of squeezing your training in around your job, or running your own martial arts school, the endless distractions and daily frustrations – are you confident after taking that last class – you are learning what martial arts was intended?

No, I don’t mean whether you learned a proper block, punch and kick. I hope you’ve got those mechanics down cold.

I am asking if you are knowledgeable enough in the Martial Science department  to be sure all the years of training have served you well?  Or, if you are just starting in martial arts or mixed martial arts, understand how to make the best training choices for you.

These are the questions you need to begin to ask yourself now:

• What are you investing in your training?
• Who’s advice and expertise do you rely on for your training?
• How can you avoid making serious mistakes with what is one of the largest parts of your time and money?
• How can you make your training grow in a way that is safe and effective?
• What type of martial artists do you want to look like 5-10-20 years from now?
• What are the most common mistakes others have made?

Let’s look at your desired end…

Imagine for a moment that you are already a member of Dragon Society International and the martial artist you’ve always wanted to be.  You’re looking back on your first year – all the way back to today.  It’s been a good year. No, make that a great year.   Your experience and momentum have changed, for one thing.  You have time for those things that matter most in your life and your not wasting it on training that won’t support the goals you’ve set for yourself.

You think about your training. You smile.  You avoided the worst mistakes many martial artists you know made. But you’ve done more than avoid mistakes.  Your smile grows. It’s investing in yourself. It’s growing your martial science knowledge.  “Why did I wait so long to do this? you ask.

Now, jump ahead a few years…

You are content with your training – enjoying every moment of it with intensity and purpose.  The smile is back.  You look forward towards the future with a strong feeling of accomplishment.  You are now a  DSI Certified Instructor, desired all throughout the martial arts world.  And your students who you train now know you are an authority on the subject of martial science.  They know exactly who to learn the art and skill to better themselves…without hesitation. You can now look back and feel confident that you made the right decision in your training.

This can be You!

I write that last sentence with confidence because DSI has walked many martial artists through the process in their own training.  The description above comes directly from the comments I hear regularly from DSI members and Certified Instructors.  Most importantly, it can describe you too.

That’s if you avoid the mistakes most martial artists make in their training.  And beyond avoiding mistakes, you want your training to grow and increase in a way that can change the rest of your life.

So, let’s take a look at “The 5 Worst Mistakes Martial Artists Make in Their Training.”

Worst Mistake #1
Waiting Too Long to Learn the “How” and “Why” of Your Art

Have you been training for a while?  How you ever wondered why your instructor did certain things?  Were you not allowed to question him or her?  Are there certain moves or self defense techniques that just do not make sense or feel natural?

Dragon Society International explains and those questions plagued by martial artists of all styles. Especially the “How” and “Why” to any art.  It is in the mechanics and principles that unravel the mystery of why we move here or punch there. DSI is your blueprint of martial science.

Worst Mistake #2
Listening to Way Too Many Differing Opinions as to Which Art is Superior

The most superior art is the one that works for you.  The one you feel most natural doing. Why should you change something that works for you and your ability?  You shouldn’t.  No matter what influences you see around you, your art is who you are.  It’s a part of you.  It resonates with you.  Don’t change it.  Improve on your art.  That is what DSI brings to the table.  Enhancement of your existing art.

Worst Mistake #3
Piloting Your training Solo

There are many basement and garage practitioners trying to figure the Martial Arts out on their own.  Their is a home for you, if you are one of them and feel like you can’t mesh with any style.  DSI principles and ‘players to the game’ will reassure your love of the martial arts and still give you the freedom to learn the way you want to…without boundaries!

Worst Mistake #4
Failing to Take Full Advantage of Information

What happens when you do take action on the info you are given?  You do take advantage of the information you’ve learned up until this point…don’t you?  We can’t make you train, but we can give you unparalleled information and support that goes along with DSI and your training.

Worst Mistake #5
Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Expecting Different Results

I have read that this is the definition of insanity.  You aren’t satisfied with your level of self defense but instead you do nothing to change it.  Instead, you follow along blindly hoping for enlightenment.  That day will not come unless you take advantage of opportunities for your own training. DSI works with martial artists who’s training has gotten ‘stuck’ for lack of a better term, build them up, and now they have become our greatest success stories.

Ok, time for a pop quiz:  How many of these mistakes would you have avoided?  Will you avoid?

The good news is you now know of the “Top 5 Worst Mistakes Martial Artists Make with their Training.”

The bad news is that there is no shortage of ways to make mistakes.  If space permitted, we could cover a pile more.  Never-the-less, this is a good place to start your thinking.

There’s one thing this post cannot do…

That’s to evaluate your individual situation – where you are in your training and where you want to take it.

There are several benefits to becoming a DSI member:

• Answer your questions
• Help you get in touch with like-minded martial artists who love martial science as much as you do.
• Provide you with the information necessary to empower your skills and improve your training.
• Show you ways to become a professional martial artists with Certified Training and business know-how.

I wish you mistake free training!  I hope you have enjoyed this post and I look forward to seeing you at DSI seminars and special events.

Anyone who has studied traditional martial arts for awhile has been to a seminar where the master, shaman-like, lightly hits a couple of points on the uki’s body and he goes out, caught by the faithful followers before he hits the ground.  No explanation usually is offered other than the implied idea that knowledge to the secrets of the Chinese-based martial arts gave one inexplicable power.

Knowledge into the science of traditional martial arts actually does give one a certain measure of power, but it can all be explained by anatomy and physiology…and there is no magical secret to it.  An attacker always believes he has the advantage: bigger, stronger, meaner, likes to fight, likes to hurt, is excited by pain, has accomplices or a weapon, is a little crazy or on drugs.  Pain likely will not cause submission and just might fuel the rage.  The defensive response needs to affect a subconscious reflex causing a systemic shutdown over which the aggressor has not control.

The easiest and fastest way to accomplish this is to affect a parasympathetic heart response – a specific, directed attack to the heart which causes immediate unconsciousness.  Stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system causes the heart to slow down with less forceful contractions, the large arteries coming out of the heart to expand, which leads to a precipitous drop in blood pressure.  The brain now cannot get enough blood so the small arteries in the brain constrict, thus decreasing blood flow to the brain further.  The result:  unconsciousness, called a vasovagal faint or syncope, the knockout of the seminars.  This is not the same as the knockout a football player experiences on the field.  That is caused by the brain being severely slammed against the cranium.  This knockout is a state of temporary unconsciousness, a faint.

Points that give access to the nerves on the head and neck are able to stimulate a parasympathetic nervous system response and cause a vasovagal faint.  There are two types of trauma to the body, blunt force trauma and penetrating trauma.  In the traditional martial arts we have two types of strikes: blunt force trauma strikes in the traditional karate long punch; and energy penetrating strikes in the close-in fajing strike.  These two strikes have different sources for their energy, although there is overlap.  The fajing energy strike is especially suited to rapidly hit the vital points on the head and neck, and to send concentrated energy into the small area of the vital point.

The physics of these two kinds of strikes, as well as a complete discussion on attacking for a vasovagal knockout is discussed in the video and accompanied book, Parasympathetic Attacks to the Heart, offered by the Dragon Society International.  This PATH approach is the quickest, safest and most effective means to neutralize an aggressive attack.