Post: #326

(05-03-2017 03:58 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  I found one of them.









Nenad Ikras

He's a direct student of the Founder of "Real Aikido", which is a more modern and full speed version of Aikido.

He's a Serbian guy that is based in Spain. Any of you Spain based guys, might want to go and check him out if you are in the market for a self defense style.

If you notice, their Aikido is not a whole lot different from Russian Systema in alot of ways, except it is alot more like Aikido. He even uses pressure points subtly if you pay close attention. Systema borrowed a lot of Aikido techniques, even more than Krav Maga did.

This guy would not play around with that MMA fighter in your video Ringo. I'm pretty sure he would know what to do. lol

Any ideas on where in Spain this fellow is based?

Since we're on the topic I guess I have a question:
I did some boxing classes in my teenage years though I never stepped in a ring(did spar a lot obviously). What I retained was endurance which is the basis of my daily work out.
So now I was wondering about getting back into some form ot combat fighting and I'm wondering what'd be the best choice at soon to be age 31
More specifically I was wondering if in your experienced opinion it is worth learning some weapon based form.

Post: #327

(05-14-2017 01:16 AM)El_Gostro Wrote:  

(05-03-2017 03:58 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  I found one of them.









Nenad Ikras

He's a direct student of the Founder of "Real Aikido", which is a more modern and full speed version of Aikido.

He's a Serbian guy that is based in Spain. Any of you Spain based guys, might want to go and check him out if you are in the market for a self defense style.

If you notice, their Aikido is not a whole lot different from Russian Systema in alot of ways, except it is alot more like Aikido. He even uses pressure points subtly if you pay close attention. Systema borrowed a lot of Aikido techniques, even more than Krav Maga did.

This guy would not play around with that MMA fighter in your video Ringo. I'm pretty sure he would know what to do. lol

Any ideas on where in Spain this fellow is based?

Since we're on the topic I guess I have a question:
I did some boxing classes in my teenage years though I never stepped in a ring(did spar a lot obviously). What I retained was endurance which is the basis of my daily work out.
So now I was wondering about getting back into some form ot combat fighting and I'm wondering what'd be the best choice at soon to be age 31
More specifically I was wondering if in your experienced opinion it is worth learning some weapon based form.

KICKBOX! MUAY THAY!

Post: #328

(05-14-2017 01:16 AM)El_Gostro Wrote:  

(05-03-2017 03:58 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  I found one of them.









Nenad Ikras

He's a direct student of the Founder of "Real Aikido", which is a more modern and full speed version of Aikido.

He's a Serbian guy that is based in Spain. Any of you Spain based guys, might want to go and check him out if you are in the market for a self defense style.

If you notice, their Aikido is not a whole lot different from Russian Systema in alot of ways, except it is alot more like Aikido. He even uses pressure points subtly if you pay close attention. Systema borrowed a lot of Aikido techniques, even more than Krav Maga did.

This guy would not play around with that MMA fighter in your video Ringo. I'm pretty sure he would know what to do. lol

Any ideas on where in Spain this fellow is based?

Since we're on the topic I guess I have a question:
I did some boxing classes in my teenage years though I never stepped in a ring(did spar a lot obviously). What I retained was endurance which is the basis of my daily work out.
So now I was wondering about getting back into some form ot combat fighting and I'm wondering what'd be the best choice at soon to be age 31
More specifically I was wondering if in your experienced opinion it is worth learning some weapon based form.

His website says school in Madrid coming soon.

http://e-martialart.com/events.php

Send him an email and find out if it open or not

It is absolutely worth learning any style that incorporates weapons, especially knives and guns. Those are the biggest threats on the street, for any country.

Also, any country that allows you to carry knives and allow their use for self defense, is worth learning how to use them. If you can carry a gun or rather, if criminals have easy access to them, double so.

For example, using FMA knife techniques, if someone robs you at gun point, you comply, he drops his eyes to your wallet, you grab his wrist, pull your karambit and slice his wrist completely open, he can no longer use the gun (it will drop automatically because his tendons are cut) and he is extremely likely to run away. The blood spray alone may even send him into shock. With his wrist talking like an old tennis shoe, he is very unlikely to continue fighting. Without quick medical attention he could die. Me personally I would jab-pierce him in the chest once before he bolts, to send the message that he should abandon this attempt at robbery.

For all you guys that live in Europe, only the bad guys have guns walking around. You need whatever force multipliers you can legally carry. Compliance does not always mean safety. Plenty pieces of shit have blown people's heads off after being given a wallet.

Post: #329

(05-15-2017 07:31 AM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:16 AM)El_Gostro Wrote:  [quote='TravelerKai' pid='1563654' dateline='1493845123']
snip
More specifically I was wondering if in your experienced opinion it is worth learning some weapon based form.

His website says school in Madrid coming soon.

http://e-martialart.com/events.php

Send him an email and find out if it open or not

It is absolutely worth learning any style that incorporates weapons, especially knives and guns. Those are the biggest threats on the street, for any country.

Also, any country that allows you to carry knives and allow their use for self defense, is worth learning how to use them. If you can carry a gun or rather, if criminals have easy access to them, double so.

For example, using FMA knife techniques, if someone robs you at gun point, you comply, he drops his eyes to your wallet, you grab his wrist, pull your karambit and slice his wrist completely open, he can no longer use the gun (it will drop automatically because his tendons are cut) and he is extremely likely to run away. The blood spray alone may even send him into shock. With his wrist talking like an old tennis shoe, he is very unlikely to continue fighting. Without quick medical attention he could die. Me personally I would jab-pierce him in the chest once before he bolts, to send the message that he should abandon this attempt at robbery.

For all you guys that live in Europe, only the bad guys have guns walking around. You need whatever force multipliers you can legally carry. Compliance does not always mean safety. Plenty pieces of shit have blown people's heads off after being given a wallet.

Woah! That's a beautiful image!

Yeah, will send him an email, I was hoping he was closer to my town since he's doing an event here soon and the pics looked like they were taken in one of the parks here.

On the weapons, for some reason I've been fancying staves, they can look very conspicuous at first but can be easily dismissed (specially in my case since I have the trappings of a hard core traveler/pilgrim.etc and their simplicity marvels me.
But yeah,not the easiest thing to carry around

Ditto on the weapons thing though there are some ways around that.
On knives specially since you are going to hear a lot of stupid shit from people all around Europe and no one seems to be able to give you the source here is what I know about it:
One time I actually asked two local cops in Andalucía that were hanging outside the store where I was going to buy a knife before a stupid mountain adventure.
I was plain in my question and asked what was the maximum lenght allowed in knives if they were allowed at all.
Cop dixit:
-The maximum lenght of a knife allowed is 11cm
-You can carry them on your person but they should not be visible

So you could carry a foldable Opinel 11 (cm),which is one hell of a fucking big knife, and still be ok as long as you have it concealed in your pockets. Of course you're still going to be charged with attack with a deadly weapon but I would think when your life is on the line those concerns become secondary

Post: #330

What is general opinion about Real Aikido thought by Ljubomir Vracarevic? I see that you mentioned Nenad who draw inspiration from it for his Protecta system.

RA draws various opinions here in Croatia or Balkan in general. Many laugh and stop taking Ljubomir seriously because he is very boastful and condescending to Aikido / its practitioners, others say his technique is legit.
In Serbia it is even thought to kids in schools, and police and security personnel also tend to do it (or so the story goes).

Post: #331

(05-15-2017 07:31 AM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:16 AM)El_Gostro Wrote:  

(05-03-2017 03:58 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  I found one of them.









Nenad Ikras

He's a direct student of the Founder of "Real Aikido", which is a more modern and full speed version of Aikido.

He's a Serbian guy that is based in Spain. Any of you Spain based guys, might want to go and check him out if you are in the market for a self defense style.

If you notice, their Aikido is not a whole lot different from Russian Systema in alot of ways, except it is alot more like Aikido. He even uses pressure points subtly if you pay close attention. Systema borrowed a lot of Aikido techniques, even more than Krav Maga did.

This guy would not play around with that MMA fighter in your video Ringo. I'm pretty sure he would know what to do. lol

Any ideas on where in Spain this fellow is based?

Since we're on the topic I guess I have a question:
I did some boxing classes in my teenage years though I never stepped in a ring(did spar a lot obviously). What I retained was endurance which is the basis of my daily work out.
So now I was wondering about getting back into some form ot combat fighting and I'm wondering what'd be the best choice at soon to be age 31
More specifically I was wondering if in your experienced opinion it is worth learning some weapon based form.

His website says school in Madrid coming soon.

http://e-martialart.com/events.php

Send him an email and find out if it open or not

It is absolutely worth learning any style that incorporates weapons, especially knives and guns. Those are the biggest threats on the street, for any country.

Also, any country that allows you to carry knives and allow their use for self defense, is worth learning how to use them. If you can carry a gun or rather, if criminals have easy access to them, double so.

For example, using FMA knife techniques, if someone robs you at gun point, you comply, he drops his eyes to your wallet, you grab his wrist, pull your karambit and slice his wrist completely open, he can no longer use the gun (it will drop automatically because his tendons are cut) and he is extremely likely to run away. The blood spray alone may even send him into shock. With his wrist talking like an old tennis shoe, he is very unlikely to continue fighting. Without quick medical attention he could die. Me personally I would jab-pierce him in the chest once before he bolts, to send the message that he should abandon this attempt at robbery.

For all you guys that live in Europe, only the bad guys have guns walking around. You need whatever force multipliers you can legally carry. Compliance does not always mean safety. Plenty pieces of shit have blown people's heads off after being given a wallet.

Kai, you think this guy is legit?

Aikidoka of 4 years preparing for black belt here. I like this guy a lot but in the aikido circle there are lots of mixed opinions about him (to his defense, most aikidoka are extreme libtard "art of peace" pieces of shit anyway). The main argument, just like the main argument with aikido in general, is that it would not work on a non-compliant adversary.

Now it's clear in his videos that he relies a lot on atemi: striking to create opening for aikido techniques. This guy certainly did a lot of hitting arts and not just grappling art. But then if we are going that route is way better to learn jujutsu, which (provided a good school) doesnt have any of the "way of peace" philosophy.

In the fucking dead zone of Europe right now so I'm stocking up on all the martial arts I can chew. I actually feel like, the mindset is as important as the actual techniques. Most high level MA guys just dont have the aggressive mindset to do what you describe above. I'm a sadist however so I'll probably gives him a bonus jab in the jugular

By the way, doing a kenjutsu school right now, called Shinkendo. The founder is Japanese but based in LA. This is as close to a "true" koryu as you can get in Europe, and the emphasis on drawing as fast as possible and cut at the same time, alongside the aggressive mindset, fit my bill.

Oh and you are correct about swordmen people have strong back and core. Since doing this, my lower back pain disappear. Handling a sword for 3 h with proper stance sure as hell build your back.

Post: #332

Cool, always wanted to do HEMA, sadly there is not a club near me.

Post: #333

(05-15-2017 08:56 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  What is general opinion about Real Aikido thought by Ljubomir Vracarevic? I see that you mentioned Nenad who draw inspiration from it for his Protecta system.

RA draws various opinions here in Croatia or Balkan in general. Many laugh and stop taking Ljubomir seriously because he is very boastful and condescending to Aikido / its practitioners, others say his technique is legit.
In Serbia it is even thought to kids in schools, and police and security personnel also tend to do it (or so the story goes).

To be honest, I do not know much about Ljubomir. I just know he is a Grandmaster of that style/lineage. My opinion on the style itself is that it is Aikido with modern elements. To me it was long overdue, because Aikido was created back in the age of the samurai. A lot has changed in terms of technology, so revisions were necessary. Russian Systema technically speaking is the updated JJ, Judo, and Aikido for self defense for the modern era. The sad thing is that it does not have Aikido's end game (8 person self defense, perfect 360 defense).

Anyone challenging Aikido's traditional groups should be listened to, because the art has weaknesses that need to be addressed. It's not like he isn't qualified to criticize it. He came from a traditional Aikido background if I recall correctly.

No wonder Travesty thought Serbian guys looked fit and tough in his descriptions in his Wife Hunting Datasheet in the travel section!

I kinda knew that Serbians are fucking tough, but I had no idea you fellas are that hardcore. That's pretty interesting.

Post: #334

You guys might find this one interesting. Total ambush, and on his phone to boot, stabbed once, ends up on the ground, and still makes the attacker give up and go away using just his feet. Fucking hell, I used to buy American Spirits at that shop. Not the part of town you would expect death by chef's knife.

Post: #335

(05-15-2017 09:05 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 07:31 AM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:16 AM)El_Gostro Wrote:  

(05-03-2017 03:58 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  I found one of them.



Nenad Ikras

He's a direct student of the Founder of "Real Aikido", which is a more modern and full speed version of Aikido.

He's a Serbian guy that is based in Spain. Any of you Spain based guys, might want to go and check him out if you are in the market for a self defense style.

If you notice, their Aikido is not a whole lot different from Russian Systema in alot of ways, except it is alot more like Aikido. He even uses pressure points subtly if you pay close attention. Systema borrowed a lot of Aikido techniques, even more than Krav Maga did.

This guy would not play around with that MMA fighter in your video Ringo. I'm pretty sure he would know what to do. lol

Any ideas on where in Spain this fellow is based?

Since we're on the topic I guess I have a question:
I did some boxing classes in my teenage years though I never stepped in a ring(did spar a lot obviously). What I retained was endurance which is the basis of my daily work out.
So now I was wondering about getting back into some form ot combat fighting and I'm wondering what'd be the best choice at soon to be age 31
More specifically I was wondering if in your experienced opinion it is worth learning some weapon based form.

His website says school in Madrid coming soon.

http://e-martialart.com/events.php

Send him an email and find out if it open or not

It is absolutely worth learning any style that incorporates weapons, especially knives and guns. Those are the biggest threats on the street, for any country.

Also, any country that allows you to carry knives and allow their use for self defense, is worth learning how to use them. If you can carry a gun or rather, if criminals have easy access to them, double so.

For example, using FMA knife techniques, if someone robs you at gun point, you comply, he drops his eyes to your wallet, you grab his wrist, pull your karambit and slice his wrist completely open, he can no longer use the gun (it will drop automatically because his tendons are cut) and he is extremely likely to run away. The blood spray alone may even send him into shock. With his wrist talking like an old tennis shoe, he is very unlikely to continue fighting. Without quick medical attention he could die. Me personally I would jab-pierce him in the chest once before he bolts, to send the message that he should abandon this attempt at robbery.

For all you guys that live in Europe, only the bad guys have guns walking around. You need whatever force multipliers you can legally carry. Compliance does not always mean safety. Plenty pieces of shit have blown people's heads off after being given a wallet.

Kai, you think this guy is legit?

Aikidoka of 4 years preparing for black belt here. I like this guy a lot but in the aikido circle there are lots of mixed opinions about him (to his defense, most aikidoka are extreme libtard "art of peace" pieces of shit anyway). The main argument, just like the main argument with aikido in general, is that it would not work on a non-compliant adversary.

Now it's clear in his videos that he relies a lot on atemi: striking to create opening for aikido techniques. This guy certainly did a lot of hitting arts and not just grappling art. But then if we are going that route is way better to learn jujutsu, which (provided a good school) doesnt have any of the "way of peace" philosophy.

In the fucking dead zone of Europe right now so I'm stocking up on all the martial arts I can chew. I actually feel like, the mindset is as important as the actual techniques. Most high level MA guys just dont have the aggressive mindset to do what you describe above. I'm a sadist however so I'll probably gives him a bonus jab in the jugular

By the way, doing a kenjutsu school right now, called Shinkendo. The founder is Japanese but based in LA. This is as close to a "true" koryu as you can get in Europe, and the emphasis on drawing as fast as possible and cut at the same time, alongside the aggressive mindset, fit my bill.

Oh and you are correct about swordmen people have strong back and core. Since doing this, my lower back pain disappear. Handling a sword for 3 h with proper stance sure as hell build your back.

How are you past the white belt phase getting a black in 4 years?!! That's strange.

As for Nenand, I never met him, never took a lesson from him, but the film doesn't lie. He has mad skills and he is smoother than glass. If you slow down those videos, you can see him using pressure points in the right spots as well.

Aikido people are like you said, too artsy usually for real combat of any kind. Many are just about good enough to fight off a nutty crack head. Most would get their blocks knocked off by your average boxer or MMA person. The only good ones are the literally the masters and the senior students that cross train other stuff outside. That's just my experience. Most people drawn to Aikido are on the same wavelength the creator of Aikido was on. Peaceful as fuck and do not want to really hurt anyone. It and Judo are the exact opposite of Japanese JuJitsu.

His Aikido has light strikes but nothing excessive and unnecessary. JJ does not usually have that. You could add it if you wanted to, but most of the time, JJ guys do not usually use strikes to open an opponent. If I am teaching JJ I only toss in a light strike if my uke resisted in a way that was too stubborn and I really want to use the move I am trying to teach the class.

How is that Kenjutsu school going to help you with self defense? You cannot carry a sword around France can you? Can you carry a tanto? Are you just doing it for S&C and upper body strength?

Post: #336

(05-15-2017 10:13 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  You guys might find this one interesting. Total ambush, and on his phone to boot, stabbed once, ends up on the ground, and still makes the attacker give up and go away using just his feet. Fucking hell, I used to buy American Spirits at that shop. Not the part of town you would expect death by chef's knife.

A stark reminder never walk outside staring at a phone while in transitional spaces, like parking lots and garages. Had he not been on that phone he possibly could have ran off without getting stabbed.

Post: #337

I am not Serbian, but Croatian, but I agree, Serbs have greater martial arts culture than we do. Mostly stems from mentality. Being tough thug on the street, to fight better, etc. was rooted in the young Serbs since the 90s and now, two decades later, these are grown men, promoting martial arts as they don't fight on the streets anymore haha.

Regarding, Ljubo, most critical points of Ljubo's system tend to say that he basically made himself grandmaster, and that is a strict no no (???).
Supposedly, in order to be grandmaster of aikido you have to be appointed as such in Japan from another master. When he took elements fro JJ and Judo and put it together with Aikido, he basically created an offshoot that has no boss. So he made himself one haha. I think that is understandable.

Post: #338

I'd run as a fast as I could away from any "martial art" where I could have a black-belt after 4 years of study.

Post: #339

@Kai: I'm prepping for black but nothing says I'm gonna get it Might be another 4 years for all we know. As for getting past white maybe because I'm too good but mainly because in my earlier years I train 5x per week, I was a new convert.

Regarding strikes and Aikido, I spar sometimes with other cross-trained aikidoka people and the first thing you notice is that, it is very hard to grab/lock a striking arm unless your entering and timing is flawless. Most aikidoka who have no experience sparring end up getting KO while trying to kotegaeshi or shihonage a jab. So you end up in an initial phase of exchanging blows with your opponent until you have an opening to do SJM.

When talking about self-defense, things change completely compared to the dojo when the attacker is actually grabbing you with the intention of throwing a jab with his other hand or knee you while at it. I'm small and even with less advanced partners I find that is very hard to unbalance a bigger guy, but if you grab his contact arm while striking with your other limb, this usually makes him react.

In the vid you posted notice Nenand does A LOT of grabbing the limb while kneeing the fucker in the face, which is fucking beautiful. You will have trouble teaching this reflex to a lot of aikido people. Still, his attacker in the vid is of the same build. And he just had to put a girl in the last min of the vid....

The problem about learning self defense these days: impossible to find some none-BS school, and even non-BS school has BS instructor. I've been to a shit ton of dojos in Paris and virtually everywhere half of the class are women. Same thing with boxing gym. These Europeans are really beyond saving.

At this kenjutsu school there are barely 2 girls, and the guys are pretty good, extremely fast despite being scrawny (think Muay Thai), so I joined just for that spirit alone (I cant stand having women in class) and some body conditioning isn't bad. Also, as discussed a few pages back regarding assasination, iai/kenjutsu is basically based on this. In just a few lessons I learned quite a bit about the danger zone, shadow watching, being mindful of surrounding etc. that boxing and other self-defence place do not teach.

Its France so you cant carry anything, though you can carry a bokken around (wrapped) and you can have a sword at home. Eventually I'll try getting a gun for sure. In the mean time still doing aikido and looking for a serious Jap Jujutsu school. The irony? The best art might be our country's traditional, Viet Vo Dao. But no way finding a serious school in France.

Post: #340

(05-15-2017 10:28 AM)Suits Wrote:  I'd run as a fast as I could away from any "martial art" where I could have a black-belt after 4 years of study.

Funny you say that. I wanted my black belt in BJJ around year 3 or so, and my teacher said, okay i'm gonna give you a test and give you the belt. He kept saying this over and over for years. I never got that damn thing till year 6.

Was I better in year 4 than 5 or 6? No not really. I grew more as an instructor of the lower belts and the pro and amateur fighters and I think that was the reason. That and I don't think he wanted me to get a big head too fast. He knew I was a natural at it and I had black belts in other styles, which makes it faster to learn similar branch styles, but when I came to him I was a very angry young kid that fought all the damn time. He wanted to see me grow as a man and a teacher.

Prodigies and savants come around time to time in martial arts. No matter how exceptional they are, few are mature as they are technically great. That's why I do not believe in giving kids under 18 brown or black belts in any style, either. There is really no point in doing so.

Post: #341

(05-15-2017 10:48 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  @Kai: I'm prepping for black but nothing says I'm gonna get it Might be another 4 years for all we know. As for getting past white maybe because I'm too good but mainly because in my earlier years I train 5x per week, I was a new convert.

Regarding strikes and Aikido, I spar sometimes with other cross-trained aikidoka people and the first thing you notice is that, it is very hard to grab/lock a striking arm unless your entering and timing is flawless. Most aikidoka who have no experience sparring end up getting KO while trying to kotegaeshi or shihonage a jab. So you end up in an initial phase of exchanging blows with your opponent until you have an opening to do SJM.

When talking about self-defense, things change completely compared to the dojo when the attacker is actually grabbing you with the intention of throwing a jab with his other hand or knee you while at it. I'm small and even with less advanced partners I find that is very hard to unbalance a bigger guy, but if you grab his contact arm while striking with your other limb, this usually makes him react.

In the vid you posted notice Nenand does A LOT of grabbing the limb while kneeing the fucker in the face, which is fucking beautiful. You will have trouble teaching this reflex to a lot of aikido people.

The problem about learning self defense these days: impossible to find some none-BS school, and even non-BS school has BS instructor. I've been to a shit ton of dojos in Paris and virtually everywhere half of the class are women. Same thing with boxing gym. These Europeans are really beyond saving.

At this kenjutsu school there are barely 2 girls, and the guys are pretty good, extremely fast despite being scrawny (think Muay Thai), so I joined just for that spirit alone (I cant stand having women in class) and some body conditioning isn't bad. Also, as discussed a few pages back regarding assasination, iai/kenjutsu is basically based on this. In just a few lessons I learned quite a bit about the danger zone, shadow watching, being mindful of surrounding etc. that boxing and other self-defence place do not teach.

Its France so you cant carry anything, though you can carry a bokken around (wrapped) and you can have a sword at home. Eventually I'll try getting a gun for sure. In the mean time still doing aikido and looking for a serious Jap Jujutsu school. The irony? The best art might be our country's traditional, Viet Vo Dao. But no way finding a serious school in France.

Nenad does not do alot of that. Not in the two vids I posted at least. He slips and sidesteps punches as well, going to SJM/Throws, which is more typical. Systema people strike more than he does.

In general, grabbing punches is not a good idea. Unless your experienced eyes can tell the speed and power of that punch and you want to grab it as a form of intimidation, it is usually better to sidestep grab arm, body, legs, etc. into a throw or give your own strikes. Also, arm blocks are not grabs. Blocks going into a pinch or arm pin on an opponent are also specific and unique.

Novices are not going to be taught something like this and typically things of this nature is for advanced students. Nenad's videos are demonstrations. When you do demos for people, you gotta show advanced stuff to show your audience, that hey "If you train with me, eventually you will be able to do cool shit like this!" I used to do stuff like this at seminars and open house events every year for a long time. No one wants to see a plain jane arm bar or Judo throw. What they want to see is me apply 10 possible submissions from one position in under 1 min very quickly. Make a football player fall to his knees with one finger press. Shit like that.

That's the business side of martial arts. You gotta be Eddie Bravo. Do fancy shit to get your name out and get people to sign up. Being an entrepreneur, the best thing you can do is to separate yourself from other schools. It's peacocking, but it's not personal. It's business.

I'll tell a quick story. Had some Army Rangers come in to class. One tall guy, like 6'5" said out loud, "Yo this little dude cannot teach us anything. What does he know?" I told everyone to clear off the mat. Told him, "Come at then. Let's see if size matters. Use whatever you want." He charged at me with a punch and I got underneath his armpit grabbed his arm and Judo threw him into the air. His head bounced off the mat. I said, "Oh my bad, I didn't mean to bounce your head like that." "I need to teach you how to fall first." All his Ranger buddies were laughing their asses off. Guess what? They all came back for more classes and eventually I taught them what I knew on knife fighting.

Had I just verbally agreed and amplify or talk trash back at him, I would not have gotten their respect or business. Martial arts is just different like that. You have to show off sometimes.

Post: #342

Well I am about to mail the Nenad character but he'll be having an event here in July which I hope I can attend, should be worth it!

Traveler Kai Wrote:You cannot carry a sword around France can you?

Why not use a cane or umbrella (for shittier Northern weather) sword? Cold steel sells them I think.
Alternatively, there are some polymer Brass knuckles which can be easily disposed off...

As for me, I went ahead and got a brand new bo staff of which I have no clue how to use so I will have no other choice than to learn how to!
Fortunately I am a busker and I have an old staff routine I could improve so I guess I have a pretty good excuse to carry what looks essentially like a glorified curtain pole.

Post: #343

You also have Hanwei:

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?...Sword+Cane

Cold Steel:

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?...Sword+Cane

Post: #344

(05-15-2017 11:14 AM)El_Gostro Wrote:  Well I am about to mail the Nenad character but he'll be having an event here in July which I hope I can attend, should be worth it!

Traveler Kai Wrote:You cannot carry a sword around France can you?

Why not use a cane or umbrella (for shittier Northern weather) sword? Cold steel sells them I think.
Alternatively, there are some polymer Brass knuckles which can be easily disposed off...

As for me, I went ahead and got a brand new bo staff of which I have no clue how to use so I will have no other choice than to learn how to!
Fortunately I am a busker and I have an old staff routine I could improve so I guess I have a pretty good excuse to carry what looks essentially like a glorified curtain pole.

For you Americans it's simply better to have a gun since it's legal. Get one, get good at using it and quick-drawing it.

In Europe sword canes or any kind of hidden knife/bladed weapon is considered more illegal than walking around with a katana, since it is concealed. For Europe its much better to have a good expendable baton / knife that you can deploy quickly. Add in pepper spray and you should have a decent chance of escaping even a mob attack.

Sword is good, but we no longer live in an era where its good to use it. If the guy is close enough to shake your hand then it will be very hard to effectively draw your sword in time. Back then when two samurais met in the street they always try to keep at least 3 meters apart even when saluting. If one walks past the other close enough so that their scabbard touch it's cause enough for a duel.

Nowadays the effective private space is much more shrinked, making long bladed weapon less effective. that and the retarded laws.

Post: #345

Terrible picture...



...awesome umbrella.

Besides using it for self defence in gun control nations I suppose you could even use it to shield yourself from rain.

Post: #346

That is one Mean umbrella!
------------
These are in my wish list:

Non metallic brass knuckles

Post: #347

Not to derailed this excellent thread but some statements are not accurate:

You can carry anything you want in France, like everywhere else, as long as you don't get caught.

Common knowledge: If guys want to mug/rob you it's because you're showing a suspicious behavior that get them to think that you have something valuable/to hide or you smell like a victim, if you don't show victim mentality you won't attract predators.
It's also known for a fact that if you're armed you'll be more inclined to use it even if the context might not be as dangerous as you evaluate it to be, that's how you get "legitimate defense case" thrown away because you stabbed someone who tried to beat your ass in a fist fight.

Chinese people get robbed in Aubervilliers because they keep getting, from their shop to their home, huge amounts of cash each day because they don't trust banks so yes they get robbed, beat or homejacked but nobody should ever walk in a project with people knowing that you have at least 20K in your bag.

Now if you can assume what will come your way after having stabbed or beaten someone, there are options like kobutan/yawara.



Too obvious ? What about a Tactical pen



Even a normal pen would do the job if you're really determined to harm NSFW



PS: Brass knuckle is the only thing you don't want to get caught with here

Post: #348

Kai, regarding the recent truck and knife attacks, whats your take on this for self-defense for Europeans?

Obviously the best way is to run the fuck away, but apparently there were 7 people who did not run fast enough.
We cant have guns as you all know. And say a psycho jumps out of nowhere for a mass killing frenzy (so its no robbery, no assasination, just like the last attack) right next to me, what's the best course of action?

There's a bazillion techniques about disarming a knife in Aikido/Jujustu, but I wont take my chance with that.
Would an expendable baton be of use thanks to the better range?
I might think seriously about carrying my bokken around for this reason.

Other than that, I think all those HEMA/kenjutsu equipment I got will actually be of real use. Chainmail and gambeson protect very well against stabbing/cutting.

Post: #349

(06-04-2017 10:14 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  I might think seriously about carrying my bokken around for this reason.

Is what I'm picturing.

Situational awareness is you first and foremost defense to any sort of attack like that. I'd wager you would find that off far more benefit than carrying a wooden sword. And not a slight towards you but I'd also wager needing to ask that question means learning and applying situational awareness will change how you see the world around you.

Post: #350

That guy would be close to my level if he sheds some 150lbs and put on a six packs

The question was satirical if I didn't make it clear. On serious note I think a combination of pepper spray and expendable baton would suffice.

It's pretty hard talking about situational awareness. I lived in Paris for 3 years and never had anything happened to me thanks partly to that. If I ever head down a dark alley, or see some unscrupulous characters heading my way I'd cut away and take another route. And I always do a scan of the train car before getting on the metro.

It's not the same with this terrorist situation though. You walk down a busy street, there's a hundred cars parked there. Suddenly one burst open and a bunch of Jihadist with machete jump out. Street too packed to run away fast and add in the initial shock. What do you do?