Russell Stutely OCFM International Coach www.russellstutely.com E Mail russell@russellstutely.com Qualifications Body Alarm Reaction BAR Europe's Leading Authority on Acupressure Points and their relationship to the Martial Arts Inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame 2000 EFC Martial Artist of the Year 2000 5 th Dan Shotokan OCI 4 th Dan Ryu Kyu Kempo Karate 4 th Dan Kick Boxing 3 rd Dan Torite Jutsu OCFM International Instructor Instructor at Door Supervisor Courses Instructor at Police Training Courses Registered Self Protection Instructor ~ British Combat Association (BCA) Senior Instructor British Combat Association Fight Trainer to the Cyprus National Thai Boxing Team Professional Fighters Trainer Areas of Speciality: Kata / Form Analysis and Breakdown, Players to the Game, Power generation, Pressure Points and Self Protection. Russell has also produced a wide variety of Martial Arts Videos that have been distributed all over the World. He has been acknowledged as the leading authority on Kata Bunkai in Europe. I have dedicated my life to the furtherance of knowledge for all Martial Artists, regardless of grade or style. Russell Stutely More Information
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to meet and train with some of the UK's and indeed the World's foremost Instructors / Seminar Instructors / Trainers and MA practitioners. During this period I have also been fortunate enough to learn what I previously considered to be well beyond my capabilities. For this I am eternally grateful. However, I am also deeply worried and saddened by what I have learnt. For years I was happy to do the same class week in, week out. Happy to march up and down in lines, happy to do Kata and happy to do some Kumite. We were quite content to intensify the training leading up to Gradings and / or competitions and push ourselves to what we thought were the limits. We were all gloriously happy in what we thought was Martial Arts, what we thought was real Shotokan Karate. We were told that Shotokan was about the best there is, and we were happy to accept that, indeed so was I. I / we were quite happy to accept that our Karate would work for us in the street if we needed it. Even though, at the time, several of my friends were bouncers and I knew deep down that what I was doing would not work against them. Still, I kept training the same way. Even though I knew it would not work. The thing is, I was HAPPY doing it and so probably are you! Now, here is the problem... Does that story sound familiar to you? Do you know that deep down what you are doing will never stand up to the venom and ferocity of a real attack? Are you kidding yourself? More importantly, are you an Instructor who is kidding others by teaching the same old stuff? I mean to shock with this article. I mean to offend people. I mean to offend the Karate Do World. I mean to take you away from your comfort zone! Firstly, I want you to leave aside personal likes / dislikes. What I am about to write is not a personal attack on any person or any system. It is an attack on a mindset that is potentially life threatening for those involved in it. If this offends you, then you are part of it. Now, ask yourself some questions. Why did you start Martial Arts? According to all the statistics most people started for Self Defence and / or fitness. These reasons are changing with the advent of Full Time Centres that are more biased to the personal development skills that Martial Arts can and indeed does bring. But, they are another matter! So, most people started for self-defence and / or fitness. What has been the result of those years of training? Are you more able to defend yourself? Are you much fitter? You may well think that you are, because you have reached a Dan grade in whatever you do. But let me tell you, you are not! If you have reached Dan Grade in say Shotokan, you will probably have become totally institutionalised in that system, the same with Wado / Kung Fu / TKD etc. You will automatically go into long, deep stances. You will bounce up and down in Kumite. You will automatically put one hand at Hikite for no apparent reason. You will think that your reverse punch is a fight stopper because it works in Competition. You could have reached Dan grade without EVER having hit a pad or a bag, let alone a person. You will be under the impression that your Jodan Mawashageri will work; you will think it is right to step in front of your supporting leg when performing Yokogeri. You will be under the impression that your back kick will work against anybody; your lunge punch will finish the fight just like it did in last week's competition. You will do more and more Kata for no apparent reason other than to learn another Kata! Why, will you think this? Because your Instructor told you. His Instructor told him. And yes, his Instructor told him... And so on and so forth till we get back to the villain of the piece. The Instructor that started it all, whoever he may be. Deep down, you know all this is wrong. What possible purpose does Kata serve in a fight? What possible way can you land a spinning reverse roundhouse kick in a fight? Why would you bounce up and down in a fighting stance for a fight on the street? OK, I hear you say, what makes you think all this is wrong? What qualifies you to say that we are wrong? We have Instructors with 7th / 8th or even 9th Dans from Japan that do not agree? It has always been taught this way for hundreds of years? This is real Karate.
Well, I say "Wake up and smell the Coffee!". Firstly I want you to think of every rule that there is in a Kumite competition..no biting for example, no groin kicks etc etc etc. Now, we have a fight, you stick to the rules and I GUARANTEE I will break every rule there is. I have just increased my chances of winning 1000%!! Kumite, teaches you to stick to the rules. Kihon teaches you terrible Body Mechanics Kata teaches you Kata These people are perpetuating the myth that Martial Arts in its present state works! Are you dumb enough to believe them? People sometimes say to me, "I have been training 25 years!" That is often true. But they have been doing year 5 for the last 20 of them! Just be sensible for a moment, ask a friend with no knowledge of the Martial Arts to look at what you do and to give an honest opinion. What will you say when they ask you what the moves are for in your kata? What will you say when they ask why you put one hand on your hip and leave yourself open to attack when you do a reverse punch? Then have a spar with a boxer and try and use your "One punch one kill" Karate punches and see what happens. Have a training session with a Boxer and see how fit you really are. When I start this argument, people bring up names of famous Karateka as "proof" that karate works. Well, these people are making it work in spite of Karate not because of it! They could probably make Tiddlywinks work! Now, I want you to look at your Instructor at the next training session, is he making all these mistakes and more? Is he perpetuating this myth? It is more than likely not his fault, don't blame him, he has become institutionalised. Martial Arts is more like a "cult" than some cults. Students and Instructors blindly following the words of some "demi-god" in charge of their association, who is the most guilty of all, as he is the one who has perpetuated the myth to all those below him. People are going to write and / or call me up and shout about the exceptions to the above. Of course there are exceptions, I am not getting at those who do not follow the myth. However, look at yourself and the system and the main Instructors within that system with a critical eye BEFORE you make that call or write that letter. You need to ask yourself ONE VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION. "Would you bet your life on what your Instructor has just taught you?" If you hesitate for one moment, you would not. You know that deep down it does not and will not work, the way it has been taught. I was honest enough with myself to ask that question and know the real answer. I would never take that bet! If your self-defence techniques are done against a Karate type punch, ask yourself this question. How many people in the street throw a Karate punch and then wait for you to do your defence? Answer... None! Having said all the above about the state of Martial Arts as it is taught, why you may ask do I have anything to do with it? The simple answer is that I have a total passion and commitment to the Arts. Having said all the above, having said that Karate as it is taught, does not work, I am totally and utterly convinced and know through experience that Karate can be made to work and to work devastatingly well if you change things around a little bit. What do I mean by change things around? Just little things like, don't make a self-defence situation a fight... there is a massive difference. Don't make the body mechanics mistakes of Karate. Earn the right to land your technique. About 1999, Eddie Stokes and myself were conducting a seminar. Eddie said these words "You have to earn the right to land your technique" Since then I have stolen that phrase and used it at every opportunity. It encapsulates everything we are trying to say in one sentence. I stated earlier that Kihons teach poor Body Mechanics and Kata teaches Kata. To rectify this, I highly recommend that you contact The Open Circle Institute(OCI). There you will learn how your body really works for self-defence. You will learn the real secrets contained within kata. Go to the source, find out the truth and decide for yourself. This a quote from an OCI Instructor " I used to spend 99% of my time trying to make my Martial Arts work, now I am using Russell s technology I am spending 99% of my time trying to stop my Martial Arts from being so effective. I am losing training partners!" Be honest with yourself, when was the last time you had to deliberately reduce your capabilities by 99%? I don't mean by not taking a cheap shot against a compliant training partner either!
Now, on to how we can make Martial Arts work for the street. As I stated earlier, you have to earn the right to land your technique! How do we earn that right? How do we put ourselves in a position to make things work? How do we land our devastating right hook or our devastating roundhouse kick? The answer lies in the understanding of Body Alarm Reaction (BAR). Body Alarm Reaction (BAR) If I were to choose one aspect of Martial Arts training above all others then BAR would be it. This is the most misunderstood subject and yet the most important. Many people have discussed over the years the psychological and physiological aspects of a fight situation. The fight or flight syndrome. The chemical reactions that occur within the body, when faced with danger and or potentially dangerous situations. To my knowledge, no-one has addressed the problem of counteracting these adverse reactions. BAR successfully counteracts all of these physiological and psychological reactions. First you need to understand what is happening. Let's take a simple example; You are in the chip shop on a Saturday night and some idiot decides it is time for you to take a beating. Leaving aside the whys and wherefores of choosing you as his target, let's analyse what happens next. Your attacker has already gone through the tunnel of decision making; Can I beat this guy? Will I get hurt? He has assessed the potential risks to himself and decided he will win. He must have, no-one picks a fight they think they will lose! His body has already gone through the adrenal rush, the panic, the tunnel vision etc. He has already experienced the fight or flight syndrome. He has already experienced all those things that together we think of as fear, not only has he experienced it all, he has decided to get you. He is heading towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, BAR, transforms that light at the end of the tunnel to the headlight of you charging towards him. It puts your attacker right back at the beginning of that decision process, it buys you time! Time is a commodity that you desperately need and rarely have in a fight. From the experience of hundreds of Doorman, Martial Artists and members of the public that have been taught BAR, the average time that has been gained is up to 6 seconds. In other words, once you put BAR into your opponent, he is unable to react or fight back for anywhere up to 6 seconds. Just imagine what can happen in 6 seconds! You will know when you experience it. You will never forget the feeling. How to practice BAR Basically there are only two ways to utilise BAR. They are; Pre-Emptively Reactively In other words, either you are reacting to an attack and use BAR or you are aware that an attack is imminent and you pre-emptively strike first. The effects and the result are the same. First train pre-emptively as detailed in the next photo section. Please note the use of safety equipment.
PRE-EMPTIVE PRACTICE Stand opposite your training partner as in fig BB Bar Start Attacker shouts and threatens. Have your partner shout and threaten you. Make sure you feel that adrenal rush and that your training partner gets angry. Fig BB Bar Start Immediately slap your partner on top of the head with both hands. Then have your partner raise his hand when he feels that he is ready to carry on fighting. Start this exercise at low power levels for the defender and gradually increase the power and intent. The attacker must attack like he means it. Fig BB Bar1 REACTIVE PRACTICE Have your training partner shout, swear, threaten and grab you viciously by the lapel or T Shirt. The millisecond the grab occurs, BAR him as shown in Figs BB Bar Grab & BB Bar Grab 2. You MUST completely ignore the grabbing hands and just hit with BAR immediately. Again get your training partner to tell you when he feels ok to continue. You should be getting about 3 to 5 seconds of time now. Fig BB Bar Grab Fig BB Bar Grab 2 In the next sequence your training partner must grab and try to punch you in the face with everything he has. See Figs BB Bar Gr Hit & BB Bar Gr Hit2 You MUST completely ignore the grabbing hand, completely ignore the punching hand and just dive straight in with BAR. Countless times I have seen trained Martial Artists try to deal with a grabbing hand and bang! Lights out! They are unconscious before they can do anything. The hands of the attacker move too fast for you to do anything with them at this range. A big Saturday night special that was telegraphed can be blocked, but nothing can be blocked at this range.
Fig BB Bar Gr Hit Fig BB Bar Gr Hit2 You should now have your training partner dizzy for about 6 seconds or even have him collapsing due to the shock involved. Once you increase your power levels to about 30% most people pass out in practice. You need about double that for real! Detailed below is an example sequence of how to utilise BAR along with the other principles detailed in my BAR Video and also my Training Manual and Video Course. The use of several weak areas are shown as examples of what can be done. Usually only one or two weak areas are required in any situation. You would use whichever is right at the time and what feels right for you. Fig: BB Bar Start The initial threat Fig: BB Bar 1 A reactive BAR strike to the head Fig:BB Bar 3 Followed by a football kick to the inside ankle Fig:bar13 then a controlling head grab Fig: BB Bar 3 A hammer fist is delivered to the back of the head Fig:BB Bar 4 The head is then grabbed and pushed to the floor
Fig: BB Bar 5 The face is smashed into the floor Fig:BB Bar 6 The ankle is stomped on to break before the escape is made Obviously the above photo sequence does not need to be followed exactly. Just use whatever is right for the threat at the time. Many thanks to my student, big Paul Butlin, for helping with these photos. Paul is a professional Heavyweight Boxer ranked 15 th in the UK and also a Doorman. If you require any further information on BAR and / or Russell Stutely please contact WEB www.russellstutely.com or e-mail russell@russellstutely.com