Lessons from Fedor Emelianenko's loss

Those of you who know Fedor Emelianenko (mixed martial arts) know that he suffered a tremendous upset loss Saturday to Fabricio Werdum.

After apparently knocking Fabricio down, Fedor rushed Fabricio in an attempt to end the fight quickly. Instead, 69 seconds into the fight, Fedor tapped out, the victim of a triangle choke.

True, this is a sport contest, but some key features stand out.

Ground fighting, as popularized by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, stresses dealing with an opponent on the ground and ending the fight there by submitting him. This was in response to martial artists who relied on striking (boxing) skills to defeat an opponent.

Fedor rushed his attack and played right into his opponent's hands. He engaged his opponent without having control, trusting that his superior skills would allow him to gain control. And, yeah, Fedor was trying to beat the hell out of Fabricio while he was on his back, and true, Fabricio did look like he might have been stunned. But Fedor was not in control of Fabricio. It would have been one thing if Fedor had been knocked to the ground and was countering his opponent's attack. But it was just the opposite.

Any time I'm separated from my opponent, I'm not in control of him. I might be able to influence what he does, depending on how close we are. But then I'm relying on his reactions to my actions. No, the type of control I'm talking about is me physically having a hand on my opponent.

Yes, in RyuTe^®, we frequently take opponents to the ground (I am drawing a distinction between "taking someone to the ground" and "knocking someone on their rear"). But only when we're in complete control of the opponent. Either through a wrist lock, an arm bar, or through control of the head, etc. Why leave something to chance?

I don't know what philosophies are stressed in BJJ schools and others that teach ground fighting. But if your opponent ends up on the ground while you're still standing, you might think twice about jumping on him and relying on your considerable skills to take control. You just might end up like Fedor, only with no referee to end the match!

Your Kata Tool Chest

Kata motions are like tools. They each serve a different purpose. Just like you can't back out a screw with a hammer, or drive a nail with a saw, kata motions are only appropriate for specific self defense situations.

You should not slavishly apply the exact motions of kata when using them for self defense.

If I taught you the following:
1) Pick up hammer, practice hammer motion
2) Put down hammer, pick up saw. Practice sawing motion.
3) Put down saw, pick up wrench. Practice twisting wrench.

If you were then putting up a fence, and you picked up a hammer and nailed a board up, that would be completely appropriate and useful. But if you next picked up a saw and sawed the board in half, you just ruined all your previous efforts.

Kata is the same way. The motions are linked in the pattern of the kata, but don't think that's how they will ultimately be used in self defense. Pick the tool, the motion, that solves the self defense situation.

A high block works well for a punch to the face, but not so well for a kick to the groin.

Also, the kata motions are, in some ways, snapshots of the self defense motion. Sometimes you need to add something to it to make it work correctly. I can show you how to open and close pliers. But in actual use, you may wiggle them side to side when pulling a staple out. I didn't teach you incorrectly. But their are subtleties that are difficult to ascertain when just doing kata by itself.

So, the next time you do your kata, think about what you are doing! Where is my opponent standing? Research the motions. The answers you find may surprise you.

What is RyuTe?

Martial arts styles are like religions. Many people are convinced that their martial art is the only way to go, and all other martial arts are just plain wrong and misguided.

I can understand the sentiment. Nobody wants to find out they've spent ten, twenty, or thirty years studying something that's ultimately ineffective. Something that will get them killed in a real self defense situation.

I'm not going to say RyuTe^® is the only martial art you should study and all others are crap. But, after twenty-eight years (and counting) of studying RyuTe^®, I can say it's the only martial art I've found I needed.

Many formal explanations of RyuTe^® can be found on the internet. I won't repeat any of those.

What is RyuTe^® then?

RyuTe^® is an intact family system of martial arts

Two family systems, in fact. Uhugushiku family system (kobudo) and Wakinaguri family system (tode). Before the Meiji restoration, much of martial arts in Okinawa where closely guarded family secrets passed on from father to son, usually the first born son. There were some who taught outside the family during this time, but very few names have come down to us through history.

Since the son was his father's only student, he was able to assimilate the entire body of knowledge that represented their family's understanding of martial arts.

After the Okinawan feudal system was dismantled, professional martial artists, who had previously been court retainers, were forced to find employment. Some of them began teaching publicly, while others were content to take their knowledge to the grave. With the establishment of karate schools, and the inclusion of karate in public school curricula, the kata and techniques were necessarily simplified for group instruction.

Over time, much of the original knowledge of self defense, which had been preserved intact in various family systems, has been lost.

My instructor, Taika Seiyu Oyata, was fortunate to meet two martial artists who passed on their unique knowledge and understanding of martial arts.

RyuTe^® is a comprehensive system of martial arts

Brazilian jujitsu is all the rage these days for the simple reason that it's proved effective in mixed martial arts competitions. But people didn't just start tackling in the last twenty years, and so discover a need for ground defense.

Taika says that, regardless of any claims some martial artists may make, no self defense technique or theory is really new. How far back in history can you trace wrestling? How long have people been boxing?

I'm not capable of discovering all the intricacies of self defense on my own. No one is. But when knowledge is systematized and passed down to succeeding generations, then a comprehensive body of proven self defense emerges. Why reinvent the wheel when someone can hand you the keys to the car?

Taika is the benefactor of the accumulated knowledge of generations of professional martial artists, warriors whose techniques were tested and refined in life or death encounters. As such, the techniques and theories of RyuTe^® encompass every self defense situation I've ever seen.

Like the pieces of a puzzle, these theories and techniques fit together to form a perfect picture--a complete and total system of self defense. Not like other systems that are missing pieces and must incorporate other ideas and techniques to shore up deficiencies, ideas and techniques that are often at odds with each other.

RyuTe^® is sophisticated

I know that sophistication is not a technical term, but I'm very big on aesthetics, and Taika's techniques are beautiful!

I can't tell you how many systems I've seen where the defender, when he or she gets close enough to the attacker, resorts to a flurry of forearm smashes and knee smashes to disable the attacker. Maybe it's effective. But then again, maybe you're putting yourself at risk by getting that close to your attacker. And it's certainly not sophisticated.

Anyone can smash a face, or poke an eye. Taika stresses staying out of range of your opponent and disabling him from there. If I damage my opponent's arm, then I can easily tie him up with a tuite technique--all from a safe distance.

But if someone pushes me and I beat his face to a pulp, who do you think is going to jail? With RyuTe^®, I have techniques that scale well with my attacker's level of aggression. I never use more force than is necessary. And if possible, I will try to gain control of my attacker so that neither one of us gets seriously hurt. The sophisticated techniques of RyuTe^® allow me to do this.

RyuTe^® is self-control

Taika's body is always under control. Everyone who sees Taika in action is impressed at how smoothly he executes his techniques. He never jumps around or makes unnecessarily large foot or hand motions. And, even at eighty-two (as of this post), he has no problem handling larger, younger opponents.

Beginners tend to be wild. They don't know what their arms or legs are doing and their motions tend to be jerky and uncoordinated. Smooth motions are not easy to come by. Taika likens it to the difference between writing block letters and writing in cursive. Block letters are for kindergarten, cursive is for someone more experienced with the alphabet. The kata motions are the alphabet. I'll never be able to put kata motions together for technique if I'm still "writing" in block letters.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard Taika stress the need for us to control our own body first. Our own hands, feet, balance. Only when I'm in complete control of my body can I effectively control an attacker's body with technique. Only by refining my motions can I gain control. Smooth, compact execution is essential.