10 COMMANDMENTS OF SELF-DEFENSE and Other Essential Teachings From VEE-ARNIS-JITSU

With the Media constantly reminding us that crime is spiraling out of control, more and more martial artist are searching for systems that offer a full spectrum of self defense training. The reality is that only a few of them truly deliver. One man who does is David James, a proponent of Vee-Arnis-Jitsu. If you’re a regular reader of Back Belt, you might remember an article I wrote for the October 2000 issue. In it, I profiled the top-10 self-defense video instructors, one of whom was James. Well, after he read the story, he offered me a chance to study with him. A few years later I found an opening in my schedule that permitted me to fly to Colorado Springs Colorado, and meet him at a the Defense Institute, a school run by two of his students, John Petrone and Eric Lalone. We trained intensively for a week, during which James covered so much material that I could have written a book about it. Not unexpectedly, I was asked to condense the material down to article size; what follows is an overview of the techniques with an emphasis on the underlying concepts. nn nnHistory of the System nnFlorendo Visitacion, also known as “professor Vee,” was born in the Philippines in 1910. He began training in arnis at age 10. When he was 16, his family moved to Hawaii and in 1928 to Stockton, California. The large Filipino community of Stockton allowed him to continue his studies in his nation’s arts. When World War II broke out, Visitacion joined the U.S. Army, which exposed him to the military’s way of mixing styles to make a more effective system. nn nnThe idea of integrating arts appealed to him, and once discharged, he embarked on a journey that entailed studying other arts so he could borrow their most useful aspects. He found himself under the tutelage of many notable instructors of the postwar era, including Marine hand-to-hand-combat instructor Charles Nelson, jujutsu master Kiyose Nakae and self-defense teacher R.H. Sigward. Visitacion also studied judo and the Indian art of varmannie.nn nnIn 1955 he unveiled his system, dubbed vee-jitsu. But even then, Visitacion refused to rest on his laurels. He never stopped exploring other arts and ideas and incorporating their best concepts in his system. Among the renowned martial artists he worked with were Wally Jay, Remy Presas, Leo Gaje, Raymond Tabosa and Amante Marinas. In many cases, Visitacion earned instructor’s rank in their styles.nn nnJames’ journey in the martial arts began in the early 1970s with goju-ryu karate. Everything went well for several years until a mugging incident in an elevator left him disenchanted with his close quarters self-defense ability. Despite the setback, he stayed loyal to goju-ryu until a classmate revealed that he’d started cross-training with Visitacion on weekends. Shortly thereafter, James was introduced to Visitacion, and their relationship began.nn nnWhile recovering from a motorcycle accident that broke one his legs in five places, James decided to train solely in Visitacion’s style because he could do the moves while he was injured. That revealed its underlying practicality and effectiveness, he thought. The two men developed a father son-relationship, and when Visitacion’s disciple, with whom James was studying, moved away, James became his protégé. He studied with the master from the mid-70’s until he died in January 4, 1999. Prior to his passing, Visitacion named the final incarnation of his fighting method “vee-arnis-jitsu” and made James its sole grandmaster.nn nnHaving lived in some of New York’s toughest neighborhoods, James a brought a street sensibility to vee-arnis-jitsu. He added elements of Muay Thai, with an emphasis on the roundhouse kick, knee thrust and elbow strike. Although he believes that often-sited statistic that 95 percent of fights go to the ground is an exaggeration, he recognized the importance of grappling and ground survival and incorporated the essentials into the system. nnTraining TimenJames started my crash course in self-defense by focusing on joint locks. Although many martial artists discount such techniques as inapplicable to street fighting. James disagrees. Not every situation requires a potentially bone-breaking kick or punch, he said. Inducing pain by twisting a limb or appendage is frequently sufficient to defuse a confrontation Even in more volatile encounters, joint locks can be fight stoppers as long as they're used to break body parts. The guiding concept of this block of instruction is composed of three steps: Stop the threat, change the focus and control the floating hand. "Stop the threat" refers to using a block or parry to fend off a strike or grab. "Change the focus" means executing a shocking counterstrike to divert the attacker's attention so he can be controlled. "Control the floating hand" pertains to seizing the nearest arm and transitioning to a joint lock. During the various drills James had me perform, he often shouted: "If he pulls, go with him. If he pushes, turn him. If he tries to punch you, pull and spin him. It's all about body mechanics and footwork." While teaching the floating-arm-over the-shoulder elbow break, James revealed an essential principle of vee-arnis-jitsu: "It's not about self-defense; it's about self offense.'Self-defense' means you're kicking my behind, and I'm trying to stop you from doing that. 'Self-offense' means I've identified that you're trying to do me harm, and I shut you down before you do." Next, James brought up one of his fundamental concepts: Motion causes motion. He explained that your opponent's movements dictate your movements and your movements dictate his. Making one part of his body move causes him to react in a predictable way. For example, if you hit a man's face and drive his head backward, it will bring his groin forward, enabling you to follow up with a knee or kick to the crotch. After striking the groin, he added, the adversary will grab his genitals with both hands, bend at the knees and thrust his head forward- opening the door for another strike to the head. This example exemplifies one of James' cornerstone tactics, the high-low principle. It reminds you to constantly vary your levels of attack to cause confusion and disrupt your opponent's neutral system.nnHitting the SpotnJames then Introduced "1-2-3 HIT," his streamlined self-defense course. An unarmednprogram designed to respond to common street attacks, it takes its name from the predetermined sequence of techniques he applies to neutralize an assault. Before jumping into the techniques, James explained the difference between self-defense and fighting: Self-defense is about neutralizing an attack and escapingnto safety. Fighting, on the other hand, involves pitting your skills against another person's in a give-and-take manner. The problem with many self-defense programs, he said, is that they use unrealistic, robotic attacks. It's essential to simulate real movements and use real pressure in training sessions to ingrain the proper psychological and physical responses. If self-defense training isn't uncomfortable, you're not inoculating yourself against the harsh realities of street fighting.nJames started the physical portion of the lesson by having me and my opponent push, pull, grab and choke each other while using threatening verbiage-all withoutnfighting back. We were told to go with the flow, the goal being to desensitize ourselves to the fear and physicality. He then segued into 1-2-3 HIT's approach to stopping the 15 most common street attacks: two-handed upper-lapel grab and pull, two-handed shove, two handed frontal choke, head lock with punches to the face, one-handed crossshoulder grab from behind (with forced turn), one-armed rear head lock (with a rear-arm grab using the other hand), rear bear hug (with arms trapped), rear shove into a wall, one-handed frontal push, front bear hug (with arms trapped), front bear hug (with arms free), two-handed frontal lapel grab (with a slam against a wall), rear bear hug (with arms free), rear-naked choke and the "hockey punch attack," a one-handed grab in which the free hand repeatedly punches you in the face.nEach defense employs a predetermined three-technique sequence, hence the 1-2-3. James dismissed the criticisms of those who detest predetermined responses,narguing that they work because human beings are predictable. We're hard-wired to move in specific ways when certain vulnerable spots are hit. He admits that the reaction can vary from person to person, but the variation will be minimal. Furthermore, he said, wilen you're accosted, you don't have time to concoct an effective counter. After years of research, James determined that a three-technique response is the bare minimum needed to neutralize an attacker. To illustrate, he performed his antidote to the two-handed frontal grab with pull. As soon as the opponent initiated, James executed a double ear slap to disrupt his balance, then followed up with a double eye gouge using his thumbs. He finished with a front kick to the groin. That, he said, should be sufficient to create an escape window. If, for some reason, it didn't, he said he'd wing it based on the openings the opponent presented.nn10 CommandmentsnAfter delineating the 15 defenses, James explained the importance of applyingnthe 10 Commandments of Self-Defense to them. Each one works synergisticallynwith the others to form a cohesive whole, he said. Being universal concepts, they can be integrated into any martial art. 1 Evaluate the situation. Survey your environment,nincluding the person you're dealing with, bystanders, access to weapons, escape routes and so on. Take note of what can help you and what can hurt you. 2 Follow the three-foot rule. If your assailant has to take a step to reach you, he'll telegraph his intentions, thus giving you a chance to be proactive. Once the distance has been breached, he can do you harm and you can do him harm. 3 Start from a nonthreatening stance. Use deceptive body language and vocal intonationnto control your opponent and the situation. Make sure you don't look intimidating. During the interim, prepare to attack him on your terms. 4 Control the focus, Manipulate his attention with verbiage, eye movement, body motions and strikes, That enables you to dictate a proactive response, Remember that motion causes motion. Your actions cause him to react to your techniques and vice versa. 6 Use the element of surprise, Hit him where, when and how he least expects it. Set up your strikes using deception. 7 Strike from the closest point. Remember to use the closest tool to hit the closest target. It increases your chance of landing blows consistently and repeatedly. 8 Change the focus. Strike your enemy's face to strategically place him in a disadvantageous position, which enables you to finish him more quickly 9 Use the high-low principle. Because no one can defend against simultaneous attacks aimed at different levels, you can succeed by alternating your techniques from high line to low line or vice versa 10 Remember that you can move forward more quickly than your opponent can move backward. When you drive him back using forward pressure, you disrupt his mind and his balance. It's difficult for him to think about attacking.nnKnife ConceptsnAfter spending a day and a half on his 1-2-3 HIT program, James transitioned into knife defense. He said that to defend against a blade, you need to understand how to use one With that, he extolled his views on the five angles of attack: downward,ninward diagonal; downward, outward diagonal; upward, inward diagonal; upward, outward diagonal; and straight thrust, in and out. Stabs and slashes work with all five angles, he said, and the 10 Commandments-especially No.2, NO.5 and No. 10-play a pivotal role. James said you should never let an opponent grab your knife hand. If that does happen, you must take the initiative and drive him backward while slapping his grabbing hand down with your free hand. To maintain your grip on your weapon, he said, hold the handle as tight as you'd hold a hammer. Next came unarmed knife defense. The basic tactic involves smacking the opponent's knife hand with one or both hands, then immediately striking him in the face. Never try to grab a moving hand that's gripping a knife, James warned. It's nearly impossible to do in real time against a real blade without suffering some serious consequences. He also opined that simultaneous block and attack is an unrealistic tactic in a knife assault It all goes back to the way the human brain works: You simply can't do two things at one time If you try, there will always be a gap between the two actions It's very hard to fend off an attacker unless he commits his whole body, James said Accept that you'll be cut but don't let your foe cut you where he wants to. Maneuver your body so you take the stabs and slashes where you want-preferably on your outer forearms. Ignore any blood and be relentless, using forward pressure to keep him off-balance, he added.nnBeating the BulletnThe next day, James addressed unarmed gun defense. Before beginning, he discussed some of the problems inherent in other systems. First, he said, grabbing the gun can be problematic if your opponent is holding a snub-nose revolver or a similarly short-barreled handgun. Second, it's extremely difficult for the average person to find the courage needed to execute a defense while staring down a barrel-and it's nearly as difJicult to simulate such stress in training. That means the average student doesn't practice gun defense frequently or intensively enough, which makes proficiencynthat much harder to attain. One of James' primary anti-gun methods is the half-moon defense. The first rule is to preserve your safety by taking yourself off the line of fire. Then grab the gun hand and drive it upward along a half-moon trajectory.nThat puts your attacker in a weaker position than he'd be in if you'd driven the gun hand down. Next, apply a forward drive to bolster the power of the movement even more. To finish, strike him in the face-repeatedly, if necessary.nnSticking ItnThe final segment of the course revolvednaround sticks. James reviewed the five angles of attack using a one-handed grip before teaching them with a two handed grip. He prefers the thumbless grip because it imparts more power to your blows, which stems from using your palm to transfer energy, Furthermore, the thumbless grip enables you to transition into a finger lock more easily, and it prevents you from thinking about punching as you wield the weapon. James' basic unarmed defense against a stick begins with the three-foot rule. Wait until your attacker violates your perimeter, then jam him and use a motion-causes-motion and high-low-principle attack to take him out the best way to jam a stick attack, he said, is to catch the elbow. As I mentioned earlier, James covered so much material that Justice can't be done in the space of one article I left the Defense Institute with the impression that he's one of the most dedicated and intense martial artists. I've met. My advice to Black Belt readers: Use the outline provided here to sample the logic of his system, then seek out indepth instruction when you're ready to learn how to defend yourself for real.nn