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WARNING All
fighting systems are dangerous. The techniques demonstrated in this book are
dangerous. Consult a physician before commencing any self-defence training.
Always practice self-defence training under the supervision of a qualified
instructor. The author and publisher of this book are not responsible in
any way for any injury that might occur due to the following of any instruction
given within this book, or from practicing any techniques demonstrated in this
book. INTRODUCTION When
we first learnt about martial artists on TV, images were conjured up of solidly
built men in white karate suits, black belts and rising-sun headbands. All these
‘karate experts’ were indestructible, it seemed, and we heard stories of how
they had each beaten up 20 bikies in the back alley of some seedy neighborhood.
We never wondered what they were all doing there in the first place. The
indomitable fighting skills of these great mystical warriors were not
questioned. Nor was the need for these practitioners to be able to leap through
the air and kick a feudal-system samurai off his horse in the 20th Century. When
the general public watched on in awe as these experts broke a roof-load of clay
tiles with their bare hands, their fighting abilities seemed to be irrefutable.
No one asked what would happen if the tiles were moving. Would the attacker in
the street have to stand still while the martial arts wizard psyched himself up
for 3 minutes and did two practice chops before actually striking his attacker? Would
a mugger in the back street do the gentlemanly thing, and wait for the
practitioner to limber up, before being kicked in the head? Did anyone wonder
why it was necessary to speak Japanese in order to have these 'secret' powers?
Superman needed his cape, and Samson needed his hair. Surely martial artists
needed white pajamas to be lethal weapons, didn't they? And besides, who would
dare ask such questions anyway? For a
long time, it seemed you only had to look cranky and say you were a karate
expert to instill fear in any would-be attacker. Then
in 1993, a lot of this mythical cloud dissipated when the inaugural Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC) took place in Denver, Colorado. Exponents of
high-kicking styles were being tackled to the ground and tied up in leg-locks,
arm-bars and chokeholds without unleashing a single kick. And those devastating
karate chops, that had previously smashed a barbecue's worth of bricks, had
little effect in The Octagon. What
really pulled the mat from under many martial arts myths was that these fights
were not held secretly in those dark alleys, but were shown to the general
public on pay-per-view screens around the globe. A giant cloud of exaggeration
and intimidation could no longer obscure reality. To add
salt to the wounds, a street fighter from Huntington Beach, California, with a
wrestling and boxing background, but no black belt and zero martial arts
experience, entered The Octagon for UFC VI. To the dismay of the ‘experts’,
the street fighter came close to being UFC champion, after easily eliminating
the two biggest men in the competition. Tank
Abbott's street skills not only sent a shock wave through the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, he also delivered a big warning to all martial artists. They would
have to be able to back up their 'indestructible' reputations with practical
ability, or they would be dead meat on the street. In
this book, I have put together some basic striking, takedown and finishing-hold
techniques I believe to be 'street friendly'. Remember it’s a jungle out
there. Are you prepared? Train
Hard & Stay Hard Marc
Wickert. DISPELLING A FEW MYTHS The Right of Passage You
shouldn’t assume you have the right to walk down the street without being
assaulted. You won’t always be in the company of your big brother. And there
won’t be a policeman on every corner. ‘It shouldn’t be like this’,
‘They should be in jail’ and ‘What did I do to you?’ are lines not
relevant on the street. They say there’s an exception to every rule, but one
rule I’ve found to have no exception to is ‘All bullies are cowards.’
Bullies will pick an easy mark. If you can fight back, they will be inclined to
look elsewhere. On the street, your best defence is self-defence. If you don’t
have reasonable fighting skills, then you’re going in to bat for the enemy.
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