Martial Arts, Self Defense, Training, New Hampshire

The Maker Of Teachers

davidweinberg — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:57:16 +0000

Sensei Peter Freedman is quickly becoming one of the world’s foremost authorities on jujitsu. It is unusual to find a jujitsu master with his depth of knowledge, his gift for teaching, and his unselfish willingness to share. Many students and instructors of other systems say that Sensei Freedman unlocks the mystery behind martial arts by opening up their creativity and a whole new dimension of possibility.

Sensei Freedman faced countless challenges growing up in a rough section of Boston known locally as the South End. Due to the environment his father, who was a professional boxer, taught Sensei Freedman the importance of knowing how to use his fists. As a young boy Sensei Freedman learned invaluable martial art principles from his dad that would later help him survive a number of confrontations on the street.

From as early as 5 years old Sensei Freedman’s love of the martial arts never wavered. Along the way he studied muay thai, karate, aikido, tae kwon do, judo, savate, tai chi, fu jow pai/kung fu, boxing, wrestling as well as ketsugo jujitsu. Since the 70’s Sensei Freedman advanced under Guro Grande George Brewster as a prodigy of arnis.

Mr. Brewster passed on at 81 as a dedicated pioneer of Filipino martial arts and a decorated veteran of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Brewster handed down the perfected stick and knife fighting style of arnis lanada to Sensei Freedman. As the Guro Director of the Boston Arnis Club Sensei Freedman continues to spread the wisdom of Mr. Brewster’s teachings.

Sensei Freedman taught powerlifting, bodybuilding, and nutrition at an all-natural gym that he ran for 15 years. During that time he trained over 35 bodybuilding champions and helped over 4,000 teenagers keep off the streets and walk away from lives of crime, gang violence, and drug abuse.

Sensei Freedman has appeared on television shows, local news, and has been written up in books, newspapers, and magazines such as Inside Tae Kwon Do, Masters & Styles, Secret Fighting Techniques, Inside Karate, Inside Martial Arts, Secrets of the Masters, and MA Training. In 1989 Sensei Freedman’s heroic efforts were formally recognized by the Mayor of Boston. The Mayor handed Sensei Freedman a lifetime achievement award in front of hundreds of onlookers and various celebrities such as wrestlers, Big John Studd and Killer Kowalski and actor, Anthony Michael Hall.

Sensei Freedman has taught his revolutionary martial art system to the Department Of Defense, Special Forces, and members of the CIA. Sensei Freedman has over 45 years of martial arts experience and is also a gifted healer and trained reiki master. Teri Tom’s new book, Martial Arts Nutrition: A Precision Guide to Fueling Your Fighting Edge, features an in depth interview with Sensei Freeman along with famed trainer Freddie Roach, Andrei Arlovski, Ted Wong, Amir Khan, and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

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David Weinberg, 3rd Degree Black Belt in Freedman’s Method Ketsugo Jujutsu, Reiki Master, Certified Personal Trainer, and Integrative Flexibility Specialist

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JuJitsu: An Ancient Art For Modern Times

davidweinberg — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:43:15 +0000

In the new millennium most people have only heard of Brazilian Jujitsu. The combative art of Jujitsu is actually over 2,000 years old. It began in Japan and is the parent art of Judo, Aikido, Brazilian Jujitsu and Ketsugo Jujitsu.

Jujitsu was practiced by the Japanese Samurai and roughly translates into the art of gentleness. Originally, Jujitsu was exclusively weapons based and the art was strictly used for killing and crippling opponents on the battlefields. An amazingly sharp sword known as the katana and a powerful dagger known as the tanto were two well-known weapons of the Samurai.

For centuries the Samurai dominated Japan with their unparalleled Jujitsu skills. When imperial rule was restored the service of the Samurai was no longer needed and Jujitsu became a forgotten art. The rapid transformation in Japan’s landscape was difficult for many Samurai who knew no other life besides intense Jujitsu training and battlefield combat.

In the 1880’s a Jujitsu master named Jigoro Kano invented Kodokan Judo. Judo was a sport adaptation of the combative art of Jujitsu. Judo enabled practitioners to spar and throw one another at full speed without the injuries and fatalities of Jujitsu. Kano promoted Judo around the world as a fitness regimen and a form of self-defense.

Jigoro Kano sent his top student, Mitsuyo Maeda, to Brazil in the early 1900’s to help spread Judo. Maeda taught Judo to Carlos Gracie who developed and perfected the grappling and ground submissions for no-holds-barred competitions. To this day Gracie or Brazilian Jujitsu is one of the most dominant martial art styles in various full contact tournaments.

Morihei Ueshiba, a former Jujitsu master, created Aikido known as the way of harmony. Aikido, like Judo, was a sport adaptation of Jujitsu. Aikido promoted spiritual development by teaching students to blend with their opponent’s force to capitalize on powerful principles of momentum and leverage. On an esoteric level Aikido taught practitioners to cultivate their internal ki and to aspire to become one with humanity and the universe.

In the 1950’s Harold Brosious created Ketsugo Jujitsu by combining his extensive knowledge of various systems of Jujitsu with concepts from Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, Aikido, Karate, and Hand-to-hand combat. Brosious taught Ketsugo Jujitsu to the Navy Frogmen who were the predecessors to the Navy Seals. Ketsugo Jujitsu advanced even further when martial arts phenom, Peter Freedman, developed an accelerated learning system for martial arts in the 1980’s. To this day many students and clients of Freedman’s system of Ketsugo Jujitsu often exclaim that Freedman opens up their minds and allows them to learn more about martial arts in a matter of months than they have learned studying martial arts for decades.

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Sensei David Weinberg, 3rd Degree Black Belt and Instructor of Freedman’s Method Ketsugo Jujitsu, Reiki Master, Certified Personal Trainer, and Integrative Flexibility Specialist
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The Science Of Street Combat

davidweinberg — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:44:22 +0000

There are thousands of different martial art styles. Regardless of your particular discipline every human being must adhere to the same fundamental roots of martial science to maximize effectiveness. When you’re attacked on the street where “anything goes” there is little margin for error. You must know how to handle a single attacker, multiple attackers, and even multiple attackers with weapons.

Undoubtedly, excellent footwork is the foundation of any effective martial art system. If you look at the most dominant boxers, the greatest football players, or the most exceptional dancers, they all have phenomenal footwork. Developing good footwork with your martial art will allow you to deftly evade lethal knives and larger stronger attackers who may outnumber you. If your footwork is weak not only will your evasion and survival skills fall apart, but your punches, kicks, joint locks, chokes, and throws will suffer greatly as well.

It’s imperative that your martial art training focuses on strengthening your awareness. If your awareness is high it is much harder for an attacker to creep up on you and catch you off guard. If your mind is trained properly you can learn to spot trouble long before it begins. You can learn to remove yourself from situations before they escalate to a physical level.

Peripheral vision or wide-angle vision must be utilized for street combat. It can empower you to see multiple opponents at the same time and enable you to use your surroundings such as stairs, chairs, or rocks as potential martial art weapons. If you train properly peripheral vision can even allow you to see your opponents moving in slow motion.

It’s important to learn to recognize the nine angles of attack. Many martial art schools overcomplicate their teachings by having their students memorize hundreds of random techniques. If you can learn to spot the nine angles it makes no difference if an assailant comes at you with his right or left hand, a kick, a charge, a bat, a knife, a crowbar, or a machete. There are only nine angles that you may be attacked on and if you learn to recognize them you will always have an answer for surviving an encounter.

To become a skilled martial artist you must learn to unbalance your opponent. If you focus on unbalancing your attacker the moment a confrontation ensues your assailant is going to have a difficult task trying to fight you while simultaneously fighting for his balance. Becoming proficient at unbalancing enables a smaller person to overcome someone who is stronger, larger, and even more skilled. Fights end swiftly when the opponent is robbed of his balance.

It’s critical that you learn to develop creativity with your martial art. Even if you memorize 10,000 techniques you will still be vulnerable if you’re attacked in an unfamiliar way. If you concentrate on understanding fundamental martial art principles you can quickly learn to create your own techniques and an infinite number of variations. The best technique is the one you create on the spur of the moment that is specifically designed to handle your specific threat.

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Sensei David Weinberg, 3^rd Degree Black Belt in Freedman’s Method Ketsugo Jujutsu, Reiki Master, Certified Personal Trainer, and Integrative Flexibility Specialist

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Choosing Your Next Martial Art School 101

davidweinberg — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:06:44 +0000

You don’t have to drive too far to find the nearest martial art school. Finding a good dojo, though, is nothing short of a miraculous feat. So what should you look for on your quest to find the utopian school?

It’s crucial to determine why you’re studying a martial art so you can choose the most appropriate school for your specific needs. Most schools focus on sport-combat which can allow you to spar at full speed and compete in tournaments. Others, usually much harder to find, focus exclusively on real-life street combat and effective techniques against multiple attackers and weapons. So ask yourself if you want to get fit and compete or be able to protect yourself in a life and death encounter?

It’s imperative that you search for a school where the students’ safety and well-being is the primary concern. There are many schools where bruises, chipped teeth, pulled tendons, torn muscles, and broken bones are commonplace. Some schools even take pride in injuries as a way to condition your body to take pain and toughen you up. In reality, that only helps to age your body and increase the likelihood of developing arthritis and other degenerative health problems.

It’s crucial to study with a teacher who is not only skilled in martial arts, but who is also secure with his or her own self. Some teachers will deliberately injure you if the teacher cannot counter a physical technique or a challenging question. In other schools you are not allowed to ask the teacher questions at all. You are just forced to do as they are told.

It’s essential l that you study with a teacher who will strive to remove your ego and who is also working diligently to remove his or her own ego. As you mature in the martial arts you should become more open-minded and less prone to fight. You should only use your martial art on a physical level as a last resort.

You want to find a school with great students. Skilled students are an indication that the teacher not only has excellent martial art abilities, but is also a gifted teacher. The saying that the “apple does not fall far from the tree” is a perfect example of this.

Ideally, you locate a school where creativity and sensitivity is emphasized. Many schools focus on memorizing thousands of pre-arranged techniques. You can gain a much higher level of understanding if you learn how to see and spot principles of martial science instead of merely memorizing movements. That will enable you to develop the creativity and sensitivity to invent your own techniques if you’re ever attacked in an unfamiliar way.

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Sensei David Weinberg, 3^rd Degree Black Belt in Freedman’s Method Ketsugo Jujutsu, Reiki Master, Certified Personal Trainer, and Integrative Flexibility Specialist

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Peripheral Vision: Part 3

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:18:49 +0000

In the 3rd part of our series, I will talk about the Mind’s Eye which is something that I have students develop in the Freedman’s Method of Ketsugo Jujutsu.
In the earlier articles of this series, I talked about three types of vision which were Direct Vision, Peripheral Vision, and the Mind’s Eye.
Now we come to the third vision I only briefly mentioned in earlier articles. This is your Mind’s Eye vision.
Here is a quick example of the Mind’s Eye:
Let’s say that you were having a conversation with someone that you did not know and then they told you their name. Now you will store that name away along with the way they look and how they acted and talked in your brain.
The next time you are out with your friends and a conversation comes up about that person and their name was mentioned, you would now remember that person in your head. You would see their face and remember if they were nice or if they were a bit of a jerk to you. Well this is called your mind’s eye and you use it daily without even noticing or recognizing you are using it. We use this in the martial arts to help us remember new forms or new techniques.
We also use this to keep us fresh by practicing when you can’t practice physically. When I lay down at night to go to sleep, I practice the footwork drills that we use for Freedman’s Method of Ketsugo Jujutsu. I also practice Arnis in my mind’s eye.
Furthermore, I practice that someone is attacking me and which defenses I will use against them. Sometimes I have to get out of bed and in the middle of the night and actually try it because it will seem so awesome at that moment that I just have to give it a try. My wife actually puts up with me doing this!
Some people think they can never do something like this, but you can with proper coaching. If you don’t dream or you have trouble seeing things in your head, all you need is a little help in the way of coaching, like a guided meditation. This is a great way to wake up your mind’s eye or to be able to recognize that you actually have BEEN using it all along but didn’t realize it.
There is a lot more, but I will need to write a book on this subject to just be able to really go deeper.

Peripheral Vision: Part 2 In Part 2 of this series, I talk about Peripheral...

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Peripheral Vision: Part 2

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:17:08 +0000

In Part 2 of this series, I talk about Peripheral Vision and why it is crucial to use this type of vision in the martial arts.
After talking about my first experiment with Direct Vision with my students in Part 1, my second experiment will take us to wide angle vision or Peripheral Vision and will give us answers to the direct vision experiments as well. I needed to find a solution to my observation that when most people tried using their self defense techniques on the streets in real life encounters, they would get their butts handed to them in a hand bag. This is not good in any circumstance but it especially not good if you are a martial arts teacher or instructor.
After all, these people are putting and placing their lives in the instructor’s hands and believing that the instructor has all of the solutions to every problem presented out there in all forms of attacks or muggings.
First before I talk about Peripheral Vision, let me briefly describe it. Wide angle or Peripheral Vision is the eye sight right outside of your direct vision. If you stare at your thumb right now and look directly at it using direct vision, you will come to take notice that outside of your thumb you can see the background, the walls right and left depending where you are standing while performing this experiment. You will see the sky or ceiling and the floor. But everything outside of your thumb will be blurry or fuzzy to you. You won’t have the crystal clear image that you have with direct vision. This is your Peripheral Vision.
I have noticed that when I have a student stand in place using direct vision and I have another student attack, the defender using direct vision freezes or moves too slowly. When I say that they move too slowly, I mean that although the defender moved as fast as they could to avoid the attack, the attacker would always hit them.
After observing this, I had the defender stare past the attacker. This time the defender always moved out of harm’s way before the attacker could reach them or strike them. Just a quick note… Some people needed to stare at the throat of the attacker while others found it much easier to look past the attacker.
By staring past your attacker you engage your peripheral vision. It takes practice to do this naturally. This is why in most martial arts schools when students are lined up into two rows facing each other, they have one person always step back before they commit to doing their practice attack on their workout partner.
When you pair off, you are supposed to get a funny feeling in your gut just before the attack happens, this is another kind of vision that I won’t talk about in this article. I feel this part of the martial art has been lost today and it is why so many people reach high levels of the martial arts but inside feel as though they can’t protect themselves. This insecurity will actually show in how they conduct themselves in public or while teaching their classes.
I have also come to notice that staring into the opponents’ eyes before they were attacked didn’t work well for most of my test subjects. They became even more frozen or frightened even though it was only a test done indoors with people who would not harm them. Can you imagine if that happened to them outside on the street with someone that they didn’t know? These same subjects did much better looking past their attacker.
So after I went through these kinds of experiments, I now tell my students that direct vision is great for the study purposes of seeing and learning a new technique, but peripheral vision is far better used for self defense and self protection.
Please continue on to the 3rd part of the series where I will discuss the third type of vision that is known as the Mind’s Eye.

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Escrima

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:39:26 +0000

Escrima in Spanish means to skirmish or fight. Now again this is what I have heard
over the years and it all depends on who is your Guro. Escrima is a stick and knife art form. Usually, one will have a knife in one hand and a stick in the other hand. The idea is if your opponent should get around your stick, he then must deal with your blade now.

Espada Y Dagger (espada- sword) (Y- and) (Dagger- knife) Please write back and correct me here. This is another high level art form because you have two different types of weapons being deployed here.

An impact weapon (sticks) and an edge weapon (knife or sword). Now I am not saying that this art doesn’t use a sword nor it doesn’t use just stick… it all depends on who you are training with & who your Guro is.

Training in edge weapons teaches you fluidity & training with impact weapons teaches you power. They go together I feel, don’t you? You should have the best of both worlds.

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Kali

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:37:32 +0000

Kali, from my understanding is usually a bladed weapons art. This means that they use edge weapons during training. Some methods of Kali do not use a stick at all during practice sessions. They learn how to cut & not be cut. This is a highly evolved art form because with the use of edge weapons there is little room for mistakes. When learning Kali, the student must train very slowly. Some methods use training blades. This can be real swords & daggers with dull edges or this can be weapons made out of aluminum.

Sometimes the Kali student will practice with a stick but think it is an edge weapon like in the Art of Arnis. I have met some real masters of Kali and they recommend that everyone trains with dull weapons to prevent serious injury.

Again you will need to research this for yourself and not take my word for it. There are a lot of great Kali teachers (Guro) out there and you should research them as well before training with them.

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Arnis

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:35:46 +0000

Arnis, from what I was taught, means to take something and to harness its energy and power. It is to be able to learn how to understand the workings of the nature of what is being used. It doesn’t matter whether it is a stick, staff, sword, bolo, chriss, knife, rope, chain, shield, whip, spear, empty hand or foot. But from what I have heard, Arnis is mostly a stick art. Again, this is what I have heard from others.

In what we practice in the Boston Arnis Club, Arnis is taught through stick but each student is brought to understand they are actually using a bladed weapon. Now the reason for this, something that I was taught by my Master Teacher, Guro Grande George H. Brewster, is because it helps teach proper bone alignment.

You see when you use a sword, your knuckles are aligned in a way that your palm is behind the handle which in turn lines up your carpals and metacarpals of the hand and wrist, so that you will not hurt yourself when impacting something with your Baston (stick).

I have seen some students of Arnis come into my school (Dojo) over the years who didn’t practice in this way & their stick work was weak. They couldn’t generate the proper amount of power needed to break bones or other things being hit with a stick. They would argue with me that their system was superior to ours which kind of offended me a bit. So I put them to the test of hitting with me. We went outside & hit tires. Wham, – their stick vibrated right out of their hand. Their face looked as though they had a dozen eggs on themselves.

I then hit the tires & they could not only see the difference, but hear it as well. Then I explained why it is so important when learning a stick art, it is always a good idea to practice with some kind of edge weapon to help teach you proper bone alignment which in turn will help out your power of hitting with a stick by proper wrist & hand placement.

Escrima Escrima in Spanish means to skirmish or fight. Now again...

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Filipino Martial Arts

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:33:34 +0000

Filipino Martial Arts is known as Arnis / Kali / Escrima. Most all empty handed Martial Arts today seem as though, they are incorporating the Filipino Martial Arts into their systems. This is a wonderful thing. The Filipino Martial Arts has a rich History that you can go online and read about it or purchase books that have been written up on this subject. From my understanding the words – ARNIS / KALI / ESCRIMA are used throughout different parts of the Philippines. Some parts will not understand the terminology of the other parts. There are a thousand different dialects being spoken in the Philippines today and it all depends on where you live.

Also, some have told me over the years in which I have been a student of Arnis / Kali / Escrima, that these are all different types of Martial Arts. Here’s an idea of what I mean here and this can be a can of worms for me. I am not saying I am an expert about all of these amazing Martial Arts, but I’m just touching on a small portion of what I have come to experience and learn over these years. So if I am mistaken, please excuse me & let me taste your cup of tea.

Now I have heard others claim to be specialist in one area, like knife fighting or stick fighting etc. I feel that by training only in one area limits your ability to be really great & excel in the martial arts. Each one can teach you something different. They both have wonderful things to offer you and they blend well together. I am not saying you can’t specialize, I’m only saying that you shouldn’t limit yourself.

This is what I have come to notice over the years as a student of both Art forms whether it is a Japanese or Filipino Martial Art. I feel that you should learn both empty handed martial arts and weapon based martial arts. The weapons teach us distance, timing, angles, strategy, respect, use of force, speed and a great deal more that will enhance your level of Martial Development.

Try not to be closed minded when talking to others about any Art form. Listen to what they have to say & then go out and do your research. Don’t take what someone tells you as the real deal until you went out and did your own research and tried and tested it for yourself.

I would like to see my Jujutsu students take a more active role in learning Arnis, Kali, Escrima from me and if you are not in the States I live in, then find a great Guro in your State & train. This will increase your empty hand knowledge to higher levels in shorter amounts of time. I hope & plan on seeing more of you in Arnis class in both states NH. & Mass.

Other students & teachers of Martial Arts, I hope I have touched some areas that will help out and I hope to train more with you very soon in the future.

Thank you for your attention

Respectfully yours in all Martial Arts around the world

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