Guest Blog: Keeping It Real – by Chris LeBlanc

Very early on, Donn Draeger told me that these old traditions were and are vibrant ‘living entities.’  Not only are they worth preserving, saving, but they have significant vital lessons applicable to the fighting man of today’s world.  – Hunter Armstrong  (1)

Koryu is not only the actual martial techniques, but also the principles that underpin them, and, surprisingly many of these principles are absolutely relevant to modern times. – Ellis Amdur (2)

Therefore, teaching bujutsu in police academy is very effective way to influence the society.  I would say, you know, police need to posses their weapons, also they need to possess bujutsu as well. – Kurota Ichitarō  (3)

Two decades ago, I read an article in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts entitled “Striving for Realism: Concerns Common to Martial Arts and Law Enforcement Training.” The article discussed problems common to martial arts training and police defensive tactics in terms of ‘realism.’ It offered perspectives on key concepts in the classical martial tradition that converged with the training needs of law enforcement, and made the observation that “Inadequate training, unmindful of zanshin, will result in the reactive under- or over-estimation of circumstances and/or the perpetrator. Poor decision making based on exaggerated skills or impairment of technique due to self doubt confronts both the martial arts student and the LEO.” (4)  Twenty years later, we are all aware that little has changed.

That article was seminal for me, though I had yet to join the ranks of law enforcement. A few years later, after becoming a police officer, I sought out koryu—old martial teachings flowing from the past—in the hope of finding a system that embodied those things in my work. After years ‘working the road’ and serving on a tactical team, I was convinced that koryu did offer “essential components concerning how to organize your mind in the face of hostile intent that have never been surpassed.” (5) That organization of mind, in my experience, makes a difference.

Many practitioners don’t seem to hold this view. In one interview with a master teacher, critical of modern practice, he stated his art “was not used in actual fighting” and that it was “impossible to imagine” combat using his school’s primary weapon today, despite it having recently been a staple in police training. (6) Another senior practitioner stated his belief that “those who mainly seek martial efficacy in training are in my eyes wasting their time developing useless skills, and probably living in irrational fear.” (7) And my peers in the tactical training community seem perplexed that any effort in traditional martial arts  (TMA) could be worthwhile.

The Classical Mess?

One reason for these attitudes may be that classical martial artists too often hold notional ideas of ‘combat’ and ‘the battlefield,’ the result of which can lead to not training robustly, because the techniques are ‘just too deadly,’ and at any rate, are obsolete in the modern day. Traditions that could still have usefulness are often so vitiated by lack of realism to provide much more than a feeble role-play of fantasy violence. (8)

But even the earliest traditions contained methods for capture and restraint. These would not exist if the intent was only to kill on a battlefield, or duel with, an adversary. In modern times, both the warfighter and the police officer need options to deal with not only lethal violence, but belligerent individuals who do not present a serious threat, even in combat situations. (9) A review of the historical record, and the oldest of the comprehensive martial traditions, confirms the same held true even in the old days. The continuing relevance of such skills and the discipline of body and mind that was foundational to them is undeniable.

Writer and classical martial arts practitioner Dave Lowry has noted that classical training was “Not just fighting on the battlefield but also methods of conducting oneself in virtually every social interaction were martial in nature.” (10) Here we enter the domain of a tactical social comportment, integrating sustained awareness and situational attentiveness, position, movement, spacing, and other vital lessons on mental and physical organization that including “the psychological state of steadfast/imperturbable mind ….in which the exponent is able to avoid panic due to fear of death.” (11) Among the deeper aspects of practice, less tangible perhaps, are habits of perseverance, forbearance, self-assessment, and achieving harmony with people, situations, and surroundings. When embodied through proper training, self-doubt is reduced, panic can be abolished, and even violent circumstances are reacted to appropriately, even to the point that force, or at least lethal force, is not necessary. This attitude was fundamental to classical martial endeavor, and is sorely lacking—still—in the modern training of law enforcement.

The argument from combat sports enthusiasts is that there is no real stress, no resistance, no chance of being countered or worse, dominated by a partner actively fighting back in traditional arts or police training. As a practicing judo/jiujitsuka I am, for the most part, with them on this. The simple fact of the matter is that one cannot learn to fight without fighting, and combat sports offer opportunities to train with full power against another actively attempting to thwart that effort. There are critical elements of preparedness in this, including composure, resilience, ‘toughness,’ and the visceral understanding of the dynamics of a living fight that cannot be developed any other way.

But so many of those essential components are conspicuously absent. There is no sophisticated awareness of armed threats, no understanding of how tactics and techniques change based on circumstances. Sports enthusiasts offering suggestions for police applications online often demonstrate no weapons or situational awareness, and show complicated, nimble techniques clearly not taking into account that officers will be wearing body armor, heavy gun belts, and boots, may be exhausted or injured in a fight, and must contend with situational factors that can change in an instant. In fighting sports, everyone fights under specific, controlled circumstances, actively trying not to hurt each other. In police encounters, the officer must assess if the subject is simply resisting and trying to get away, or aggressively attacking and presents a threat of injury or worse, and must respond appropriately to both.

The tradition I practice starts with a set of techniques (torite) that demonstrate a genius in simplicity of design and flexibility in function. Methods of both restraint and response to lethal threats (a weapon being suddenly produced) are incorporated in the same positions, with mindset adjusted accordingly. Movements are direct—could even be described as rudimentary—because the underlying postural and positional dynamics eschew agile maneuvers or elaborate physical entanglements relying on athleticism, loose clothing, and smooth mats that are unsuitable for law enforcement training. However, to paraphrase Eric Clapton: “It’s in the Way That You Train It.”

Keeping it Real: Opposing Will

There is a fundamental difference between training for enbu (demonstrations) and for application. To optimize realism, practice must incorporate opposing will. Various terms are used to describe this, referring to different things: ‘aliveness,’ ‘live,’ ‘with opposition,’ and ‘force-on-force.’ Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding in the martial arts and combat sports communities is that these mean ‘sparring,’ and that sparring is the only way to train ‘opposed.’ While sparring is training against opposing will, it is most often conducted in a way that is indistinguishable from competition, even one-on-one dueling. There is no context—and training for realism must include context.

Classical arts, practiced through kata, or other training patterns, can offer this. One might spar for weeks doing nothing remotely appropriate for the high-risk takedown and taking into custody of an armed career criminal, because context is not considered. Kata can provide context. And within the classical tradition are methods that do allow opposing will into pattern practice—at least the way I have been taught. The partner resists, forestalls, counter-attacks, reverses, or changes at any point in the pattern. Done correctly, it can be more realistic than competitive sparring can ever be, because variables are controlled in order to protect context. It is also done—or can be so adapted— from the kinds of positions and situations in which officers are more likely to find themselves during force-on-force encounters. Due to the vagaries of environment, initiative, and Murphy’s Law in the real world, it is best to train in a way that we have already ‘been there, done that’  to optimize our response to these circumstances.

Make no mistake—this is no wholesale endorsement of classical training methodology. As stated, if one is training for demonstrations, always following pre-determined patterns and the partner always taking the fall, then it is a performing art, not a practical one. The validity of any tactic or technique is only revealed when it is opposed, under varying conditions, and with necessary adjustments for the specific situation.

Keiko Shokon

The classical martial traditions are way to “reflect on the past to shed light on the present,” not simply to preserve tradition for tradition’s sake. Asking police officers to don keikogi and hakama, and wield archaic weapons in the interest of better preparing them to use force properly misses the point; this mistakes the trappings and mystique of martial arts for the valid, still living principles that have been handed down. The uniform one wears, and the language one uses, is immaterial so long as the vital lessons and essential components noted above are preserved. This has proven true for me in critical situations involving both violent offenders trying to do me harm, and lost souls simply needing to be restrained and gotten help. The mind, body, and spirit imbued through proper training sustains.

The noblest purpose of martial discipline is to serve others, save others and preserve peace. Can we maintain our moral integrity when our physical integrity is threatened? Do we act out of rage or fear, or composed professionalism when under the most threatening of circumstances?  The old schools—adapted and applied to modern realities—can offer a way toward making this so.

About the Author

Chris Leblanc is a 23 year police officer serving in a metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest. He has spent his entire career in operational assignments, primarily Patrol and SWAT. He has extensive certification in various defensive tactics, close quarters combat, and tactical disciplines. He is the recipient of a Purple Heart, Medal of Valor, and Law Enforcement Medal of Honor. Chris has spent more than 30 years studying fighting sports and martial disciplines. He holds a black belt in judō, a brown belt in jiujitsu, and practices Taikyoku Araki-ryū with Ellis Amdur.

Notes

1) Donn Draeger and the Koryu Connection to Modern Hoplology – SEIDO: Budo, Kobudo & Japanese Artisanry

2) Ellis Amdur: The Role of Martial Arts in Modern Society  Aikido Journal

 3)  Visiting on Shindo Muso Ryu Talking about Jojutsu  

4) Friman, H. Richard Phd and Polland, Rick B.A. “Striving For Realism: Concerns Common to Martial Arts & Law Enforcement Training.” Journal of Asian Martial Arts Vol 3 No.4 Via Media 1994. Zanshin is defined in the article as “awareness of the situation, environment, and opponent’s condition.” In light of recently publicized police uses of force, the relevance to policing is obvious.

5) “Ellis Amdur: The Role of Martial Arts in Modern Society,” Ibid  

6) Hamaji, Koichi Shinto-muso-ryu Jo no Hinkaku (The Dignity of the Jo). Translated by Hiroshi Matsuoka. Edited by Russ Ebert. Publisher Mitsuko Hamaji and the Aijokai.  p.10

7) Erard, Guillaume. Violence is Decreasing Are Martial Arts Becoming Useless? 

8) In this article, I am generally referring to classical close combat traditions, or comprehensive schools which contained teachings involving hand-to-hand combat skills incorporating smaller, shorter, sheathed, or hidden weapons. There are many other schools that have come to focus exclusively on things like archery, (kyudō/kyujutsu), sword fighting (kenjutsu), long weapons (staves, spears, naginatajutsu), and even archaic gunnery. While the fundamental principles and operating systems share commonality with the traditions of close combat skills, these actual fighting methods of course may not have as much direct application in modern usage. But being stabbed with a knife from arm’s length away is the same thing today as it was 500 years ago, and 5,000 years ago.

9) Willink, Jocko. Has Jocko Ever Used Jiujitsu in Combat? Jocko Podcast

10) Lowry, Dave “The Devil is in the Details” Karate Way column, Black Belt Magazine December-Jan 2018-2019 issue.

11) Hall, David A. Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts, Kodansha USA, 2012. p.97

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