Gil's Blog

There is much debate about the use of protective gear in martial arts. Many styles only allow light or no contact, no strikes to the face, etc. and therefore do not require protections. What happens when a practitioner encounters violence in real life however comes at a surprise. You have a lot to learn in a second while getting pounded in the face by an experienced attacker.. Not the best time to learn taking hits. Aikido would be a very fierce style if it incorporated strikes, giving and taking. I attended a Kung-Fu (Wushu) class as a teenager. We were not allowed to strike the face. Actually, we barely touched each-others. After six months, I realized that I wasn’t learning anything useful and quit. My Karate experience (Shotokan) was a bit better. We had protections, but there wasn’t much control. The same was true for my full-contact and Taekwon-Do short practices.

My friend Phil recently stopped-by with a couple padded helmets he got at Goodwill for a few dollars. While Systema discourages the use of protections, it was too tempting to give it a try and see if it would affect the way we worked. It wasn’t really sparring, because Phil wore the helmets (he put on two!) and attacked, while I wore gloves and defended.

Wearing protections seems to have two negative side-effects:

1. You are not so affraid of getting hit.
2. You tend to hit harder, with less control.

Taking hits to the body really isn’t much of a problem. Most people can not hit hard enough to cause internal damage. Proper breathing, relaxation and a bit of practice goes a long way to prevent injury. Getting hit in the face is a bit unnerving, but you get used to it and start to care a bit less.. In five years of Systema, I have been hit in the face countless times, hard enough to be really uncomfortable, but I never got a black eye or lost a tooth. I give credit here to our slow practice and control. Top Systema instructors are masters at precision and control. They know exactly how hard to hit someone and where without hurting them while inflicting a good amount of pain.

Add protective gear to he mix, and the psychology of sparring changes. People start to hit harder. The positioning of one’s fist becomes less of a problem. You can hit bone with a glove, it doesn’t matter. A slightly misaligned wrist is no longer a painful reminder to strike at the right angle. Precision goes out the window. Wearing a helmet might have you step into a position you would otherwise not occupy without it. The more protection you add, the more removed you become from reality.

I am not advocating giving up protective gear, mind you. Once in a while, going “all out” with protections is good, if only to get used to the speed. You can however go almost “all out” with good control, without any gear. This way, you actually do get hit and learn to deal with it properly. The key is to start really slow, and I mean extreme slow motion. It looks goofy, but you gain much in precision and timing.

If your martial art style does not allow much contact, you need to ask yourself why you train. If you have a good time and consider it more or less an exercise, great. If you want the extra benefit of acquiring self-defense skills, you need to be able to get hit hard by bare fists as well as deliver heavy strikes the same way. No-contact effective self-defense is a fantasy.

I just came upon an interesting article from the BBC about how men and women respond differently to danger. Nothing new here, women are more emotional than men, and that’s fine. Like we say in France, “vive la différence.” Our physical differences are obvious, and most martial arts consider them in training, more as precautions to be taken for either gender than anything else. Styles too rigid in their form unfortunately most likely cater to men. As a rule, women are not as physically strong as men. Training that relies on force only serves a small group of people, excluding women, children and elders. I can only think of Aikido and Systema as not relying on force but momentum and body mechanics. Force helps, but you can’t count on it. The strongest fighter can be injured or sick, thus losing most of his abilities if trained to win by force only.

The emotional response difference is what in my opinion constitutes a good argument in favor of a slightly different training approach, which actually can also benefit men. The Polish study I mention above found that a different area of the brain is triggered for men and women when they encounter danger; the left thalamus for women, the left insula for men.

Researcher Dr Andrzej Urbanik said: “This might signal that when confronted with dangerous situations, men are more likely than women to take action.”

The Biography channel has a great show called “I survived,” where people tell their stories of survival. The accounts are incredible. The men and women who make it through those horrendous life-and-death situations have a strong will to survive. You can however see a different pattern between sexes. A woman’s first response is more emotional while a men’s is immediate action. A man will not wonder why something is happening to him or if he is somewhat to blame. After a few seconds or minutes, it all comes down to survival and fighting. This emotional delay however can cost women precious seconds that might make a difference. Note that this can happen to men too, and that women do not ponder and waste time when it comes to defending their children. Training should take this difference into account. I have been a “bad guy” in a couple of women’s self-defense seminars, and we had to charge them yelling obscenities, which was hard enough for me to do! None of them could at first handle the pressure. They could take a man down if he just attacked them, but start yelling and be aggressive, and they could not. The motion was the same, but the emotional assault was too much. Eventually, they all got over it and performed well. This is where I believe training for the physical part of the assault is as important as getting used to the emotional one. This can be important for men too, as the “fight or flight” symptoms can be quite overwhelming. Rapid heart rate, shaking knees, tension, tunnel vision, the effects of adrenalin might be good in general for the survival of a specie, but not for the individual in our modern settings.

Another thing to consider is women’s reticence to hurt people. In training, I always have a hard time getting women to hit me hard enough. It takes a good amount of coaching to convince them that, no, it doesn’t hurt that bad, if at all. Most men without training can not strike hard enough to cause any significant injury, practically no women can do so. No offense intended here, it is simply a fact. It takes a lot to injure someone if you don’t know how. I heard so many times things like “Oh, I would just hit him in the nuts.” Sorry to disappoint, but first, what makes you think you will be able to strike that area? Assaults are not agreed-upon events. Most often than not, they will happen from the back. Kicking a man in the groin is certainly extremely painful, but it will not cause injury that can physically stop someone, like a broken knee. And boy, will that guy be pissed-off. Moreover, alcohol and drugs can dull the pain quite a bit. Real self-defense training should get women used to the idea of causing injury to their attackers, not only “hurt them.”

Men, while they have no problem hitting each-other, have a hard time hitting women. That is, the men I know anyway. Domestic abuse statistics prove that there are too many exceptions. I have a very hard time doing so myself in training. It is kind of going against a hard-wired directive. I have heard a few women complain about not getting a good enough training because the men in their classes barely hit them. I am not suggesting men to hit the women in their class as hard as their 200Lbs male buddies.. However, one has to be realistic to make training effective. The Yale University School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Health Care System have a study reported in the New York Times suggesting that women can take pain better than men. I am not surprised, as I can’t imagine going through the pain of giving birth, and wanting to do it a second time!

I will conclude by saying that the specific areas that women should assess in training would probably benefit men as well. I believe that it is important to consider the emotional part of violence when preparing for it, not only the mechanical aspects. Any real-life combat system should.

I have been carrying one for years, but only today am I thinking of reviewing it. An every-day-carry knife should not be an impulse-buy. You will use it for countless tasks, from opening letters and boxes to saving your life in an emergency. How many times have I heard “Hey, someone got a knife?” How come you don’t have one? Is my answer, as I pull my Emerson Commander out of my jeans pocket. The day you need to cut yourself free of a sinking car, or stop someone from choking you to death, I probably won’t be there to hand you mine. A knife is a tool, the simplest one of all, and we have been carrying them since we earned the name “humans.” They are as vital today as they were back then. What type of knife to carry? You already know what my favorite is, let’s see why.

Folding or fixed blade. Any fixed-blade knife that isn’t junk is stronger than a folding one. Your choice might be a legal one. Most states or countries do not allow carrying fixed-blade knives. Open-carry raises eyebrows. My friend Kolyma, who works at a farm was once shopping at Whole Foods with his knife on his belt. He was promptly surrounded by police officers who politely asked him not to carry it in the store, even though it was perfectly legal. Next time you go out, pay attention to the little metal clip of a folding knife on people’s pants. Nobody pays attention to that, but many do carry them. The legal limit is usually four inches for the blade, single-edge. If you can carry a strong fixed-blade knife, do it. Otherwise, keep in mind that the most important part of a folder is the lock. Since this article is about folders, let’s see what makes a good one.

The lock prevents the knife from folding on your fingers while you use it. These days, because one of America’s favorite sports is litigation, folders made in the United States have decent locks for normal use. The same can’t be said of cheap imitations from China. Stay away from unknown brands, Ebay deals and dubious cheap folders. Your life or your fingers may never depend on it, but why take the risk. I usually shop from three reputable brands, Emerson, Cold Steel and Spyderco. You can read all about locks and watch a great video on Bob’s Knife Town locks page.

The grip: I was once looking for a folder at a Manatee Civic Center gun-show. I came upon a large table full of knives and started handling them one by one to find the best fitting one for my hand. This is where hands-on shopping beats the Internet. The salesman was getting impatient, as I took my sweet time to find the best model. I grabbed an Emerson Mini Commander. Love at first grab! The handle was perfect, both in standard and reverse grip. I had never handled a folder that fit my hand so well. It wasn’t only my hand actually, since many friends trying my knife made the same comment. Next came the bad surprise, the $175 price tag. I looked at it more closely. The quality was obvious. The knife is very strongly built and looks like it would survive pretty much anything. Five years ago I had a bad motorcycle accident, and while I lay on the asphalt with a broken femur and dislocated shoulder, someone stole my Mini Commander. As soon as I recovered, I immediately ordered the full-size model. I hear they have a super-size one now, guess what I’m going to buy next.. I also own the Commander Trainer for Systema practice. This knife is worth every penny they charge for it.

The blade will most likely be stainless steel. There is no need for a strong carbon steel blade of less than four inches. I prefer straight edges, as they are easier to sharpen without special tools. Spyderco has nice short, serrated blades like the Co-Pilot (not sure if they still make that one), which I used to carry on flights before 9/11. I unfortunately lost it in the snow near the Lille (France) train station more than a decade ago. The blade should be thick enough to be strong, but thin enough to cut efficiently all the way through. Buying from a reputable brand will assure you that it won’t be brittle and keep a decent edge. My Emerson Commander had a chisel grind, meaning that it was ground on one side only. I gave it to a friend once for resharpening, and he suggested to turn it into a regular “V” grind, I agreed. The problem was, 154CM steel is pretty hard, and it took forever to get it to cut again. I finally took it to a grinder and at last, it shaves hair again. Fortunately, Emerson listened to it’s customers, and the new Commanders do have a conventional V Grind.

Opening your knife is a very important function. You must be able to open your folder with one hand, left or right. Read my story about having to cut a banner towline during a tricky go-around with an ultralight. I can’t emphasize enough that you need to practice pulling your knife out of your pocket and opening it. Practice without looking at it, with your knife in any position in your hand. You must get a feel for it, and get proficient at opening it quickly in any circumstances. The Emerson Commander has the advantage here, with it’s wave feature:

You can make your own “poor man’s wave feature” on knives which have a hole for blade opening, like Spydercos. Simply put a tie-wrap around the hole (those ties used for electric wires), et voila! Instant wave feature. Some people cut one into their knives, but you must be careful not to overheat the blade with power tools, which destroys the hardening process. Unless you know how to re-harden a blade and have the tools, your knife is junk.

Self-defense with a knife is a touchy subject. Never pull your knife out of your pocket unless not doing so will result in your death. That might not always be true, so use your best judgment. I once saw a man pull a knife on another in a bar, when the other guy also pulled his. They then looked at each-other with an expression that said “What the hell are we getting into here..” and they simultaneously pocketed their folders, exchanged a few more insults, and the incident was over. That took but three seconds. The outcome could have been much different, but the fear of injury cooled them down. Whether to draw or not is a difficult decision, most of the time, in my opinion, don’t. Training is most important here. Pulling a knife without knowing how to use it is not a wise option. Get some Systema or Filipino martial art instruction, it will be time well spent. Keep in mind that no matter who’s right, if you use a knife against an unarmed attacker, you will go to jail. Avoid buying a knife that looks too “tactical” or has a name like “Combat Skinner” or anything aggressive. Avoid black-coating blades. Judges and jury do not like tactical looking weapons. If the Commander came in pink, I might be tempted, just for that reason. A Karambit might be a great weapon, but it isn’t anything else. Make sure your knife looks somewhat like a regular pocket knife, not a weapon someone looking for trouble would carry.

My best advise to you is, carry a knife. Buy a good one. Ask one for Christmas, it’s coming.. I feel naked if I don’t have my knife with me, and never leave the house without it. Many times I was happy to have one for simple tasks that would have been a hassle without it. It sucks not to have one when you need it most. Hopefully you’d never need to defend or save your life with it, but if need be, it should be there for you.

Here is an excellent self-defense weapon, the Cossack whip, or nagaika. I received mine directly from Siberia (thank you Andrei!). It is a short braided leather whip with a hard handle and a tip which sometimes contains metal (mine doesn’t) like a small lead bullet. Overall length is thirty seven inches.

Click on the image to enlarge..

It feel very good in the hand. I can’t imagine a better weapon against an armed attacker. I don’t mean someone with a gun twenty feet away.. However, I would rather have a nagaika against a knife, than holding a knife myself. Unlike a bull-whip (the Indiana Jones kind), which is much longer, the Cossack whip is used for horseback riding. It is ideal to strike targets from a foot to about six or seven feet away, if you have long arms. Otherwise, it can be wrapped around arms, neck, or any part of the body for a take-down or choke. The handle can be used to strike. You can aim for an attacker’s ankle and send him flying.. Combined with Systema, which is a Cossack style of fighting, it becomes a redoubtable tool. Sure, it isn’t as easy to carry as a folding knife, though I have found a pretty good way (see photo below).

Click on the image to enlarge..

The handle sticks out a bit much. I could have one made with a handle a couple of inches shorter, but I don’t think I will be packing a whip that often! Which makes me wonder about the legalities of doing so. Maybe a LEO reading this could post a comment.. The tip is secured through the lanyard with a hair-tie. Another way is to stick it down my pants with the handle coming up on the side, which makes it practically invisible under a shirt. Though I did not buy it for carry, I would not hesitate to go investigate suspicious noises outside with it, even having a large selection of other items at hand for that purpose

When I have time, I will make a video showing Systema principles applied to the whip. I need practice though, so you will have to wait a bit, so that I can make a decent one and post it right here.

Except for the diameter of the braid near the tip, which could be slightly thicker, I have put praise for the design, which I am sure evolved through centuries of practical use. They certainly know how to make them in Siberia! If any of my readers want one, you have two options: Order one there for $220 if you can’t wait, or let me know, and when I have five or ten buyers, we can place a group order, $180 a piece, shipping included. I am just doing this as a courtesy to my readers, it could take a LONG time.. A cheaper alternative would be the Cold Steel Sjambok at $15, made of polypropylene. Of course, you could also cut a piece of garden hose.. What would you rather say to someone asking you what is budging under you shirt though, “a garden hose,” or “a Cossack whip?” Well, either way, they will deem you crazy, but the Cossack whip sounds way cooler!

UPS finally dropped my much anticipated Kaze Ko-Katana outside of my house last night (they didn’t bother to knock on the door, as usual). You might want to read the introduction to this full review here.. I am not a sword afficcionado, but I do know quite a bit about knives. This is my first katana, and I will try to provide an objective and complete review, though I have no other sword to compare it to. The closest would be my Cold Steel Master Tanto; apples and oranges..

Initial Impressions:

The sword came in a nice wooden box, cheaply made, but nevertheless attractive and practical. A lined sword bag is included, also much appreciated for the price.

Click on the image to enlarge..

My first impression upon picking up the Kaze was that of a solid chunk of steel, well built and fitted. There is no “rattling” of any kind, nothing moves. The blade feels heavy, though I am sure not as much as a full size katana, which I have never handled. The short blade makes it comfortable to hold. For a beginner like me, it is important to track your blade in space as you move it around. Friends, pets and significant others will appreciate that.. Better have nobody around actually, that is much safer. Two things jump at you while looking at the blade: The natural hamon looks great. It is subtle, but obviously authentic in it’s beauty. The kissaki (tip) however is awful. More on that later. The sword feels very agile.

Specifications:

The blade is short, 20.5 inches. Mine has a brown cotton ito wrap, which is very tight. As I understand, it is also available in black. One menuki (handle ornament) is located on the left near the tsuba (guard), the other one on the right near the kashira (pommel). They feel good under your fingertips and improve your grip. The mekugi (pins) are set at an angle, which I guess is to clear the ito wrap so that the tsuka can be removed without unwrapping the handle. One is bamboo, the other one appears to be brass. I don’t see how the blade could possibly come loose with this setup. The saya (scabbard) is lacquered glossy black, and attractive from the outside. There is no reinforcement at the mouth, so I expect it to crack soon or later. Except for a slight difference in blade length, the specifications are pretty much what Mark Mowrey has in his excellent review.

The Blade:

The blade is made of 9260 spring steel with a differentially hardened edge by the traditional clay method. As mentioned before, the hamon looks great. I would not want a fake hamon except for a back-yard beater, and even then.. Fake is just that, fake. One might argue that a blade forged in China is fake, but I disagree. Chop your finger off, and see if fake blood comes out.. The polish is decent, certainly sufficient for a $200 sword. The kissaki however is the hair in an otherwise delicious soup.. I can see file scratches on the tip, as clear as day. It looks like someone was doing a great job on the blade, then ran out of time and thought “the hell with it, it’s done.” I would have been glad to pay $40 more for a decent job. Lucky me, I own a Dremel! I can imagine people raising their eyebrows there, but remember, this is a cheap sword. I couldn’t get it any worst than it already was anyway. I went to work with a buffing wheel and polishing paste. The look improved slightly, but not as much as I hoped. I just didn’t want to waste any time on it, as I was eager to fill some plastic bottles.. Sharpness at first was disappointing. The edge was sharp mind you, but did not shave hair like my Master Tanto. It did cut paper well, but not every time. I worked on it for a few minutes with a fine stone, then took it to my leather belt. Finally, I managed to clear-up a bold patch on my arm. With the proper tools and a little time, this blade could be frighteningly sharp. Time to head for the backyard!

Though I tagged the following video as a “cutting test,” it was my first ever cutting session. My lack of technique is obvious, but I managed a couple decent cuts. 2” palm frowns offered no resistance at all. My friend Erin brought his stainless steel wall-hanger fantasy sword for a try. We made sure the area was clear in case it came apart. No such concern with the Kaze.

Oh, and by the way, the dog is fine!

This 15 minutes impromptu cutting session was long enough to allow tiny rust spots to appear. Wipe your blade regularly while practicing, and oil it when you are finished.

Click on the image to enlarge..

My second cutting session was very educational. I went to cut palm frowns in the backyard. Sometimes the blade would go right through with no resistance at all, and sometimes I would feel a vibration through the tsuka. Re-enacting my movements slowly showed me that I was rotating my wrist, getting the wrong angle at the time of contact. As much as 15 to 20 degrees off! No wonder the frowns would just break sometimes. After correcting my grip, I could barely feel the cuts. This tameshigiri business isn’t easy. With my new confidence, I moved the the bamboo we have in the back.. It proved harder to cut, but with the right angle and swing, chop! 3/4” (nothing thicker in the yard), that’s enough for me, I’ll need much more practice before trying anything harder.

Verdict:

Historical accuracy: 3/5 – I don’t know! I am sure it detracts quite a bit from an original though.
Fit and Finish: 3/5 – If it wasn’t for the kissaki, I would have given it a 4.
Handling: 4/5 – It feels great in my hands. The short blade is quite fast.
Structural Integrity: 5/5 – I don’t see how I could possibly break it in normal use.
Value: 5/5 – Unbeatable price for a hand-forged sword with a real hamon.
Overall: 4/5

Pros: Cheap. Very strong. Beautiful hamon. Tight fittings.
Cons: Rough kissaki. Not as sharp as I thought (easy to fix).

Conclusion: A very good sword for the price. I tend to look at safety first when buying a practical weapon. The Kaze Ko-Katana does not worry me a tiny bit in that department. I do not think you can find a better deal for a hand-forged, differentially hardened blade. If Cheness spent a little bit more time on the tip, they could sell this sword for at least $50 more, if not $100. I am not worried about bending it on a bad cut either. It would take quite a mistake to bend it permanently. If the kissaki had been as well polished as the blade, I would have bought a Tenchi for cutting. As it is, the Kaze will be my backyard cutter. If I damage it, I can always buy another! I would recommend it to anyone, especially as a first time sword purchase. Even if you are not into cutting, it can make a nice display piece (polish the tip!) or an excellent home self-defense weapon.