KFM in Batman Begins

Sun, 12 Jun 2005 01:05:33 GMT

I watched HBO's First Look: Batman Begins for the third time today. Before you judge, it's only 15 minutes long and I have it recorded on that loathsome Comcast DVR.

At one point during the show, the stunt coordinator mentions that Batman (rather, Christian Bale) is performing a "new" and "brutal" martial art called KFM - Keysi Fighting Method. It's apparently more realistic than other styles, which is why it was chosen for the bat.

Except when they show a demo of the style in action it is actually kind of laughable. One guy punches another guy who does a combination of about 5-6 moves while the first guy holds his arm out. Wow, impressive... if you plan on getting attacked by a mannequin or someone with incredibly stiff elbow joints. Reality check: real people don't punch like that.

If you ever want to judge the effectiveness of a martial art, there is a simple test you can do: use it. Performing a dance with a cooperative demo buddy doesn't qualify, folks.

But I don't want to actually judge KFM based on this little demonstration... or on how Batman undoubtedly beats up all the bad guys in the movie. Except I can't seem to find much if any information about it online. Does anyone know anything about it?

Women's Self Defense

Mon, 16 May 2005 18:32:24 GMT

You have come from the far reaches of the blogosphere to learn about MSN Spaces. But this time I am not going to talk about Spaces. As a matter of fact, I am not going to talk about anything that has to do with technology whatsoever. What I am going to talk about is something much more important, something that is on the mind of half the world's population every day. Self defense for women.

Having spent most of my life training in martial arts of one sort or another, I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about self-preservation tactics. The complexities of the adrenaline rush, the impact of psychological and physiological fear on the mind and body, and our natural and instinctive responses to real threats. For close to two years, this is all I thought about. I travelled around the U.S. and Canada training with some of the best martial artists in the world hoping to learn about aggression and understand the ways in which it can be quelled. I even got to appear on the cover of my favorite magazine as a kid, Black Belt Magazine with Tony Blauer. That was me in the helmet getting beaten up by Tony.

So imagine my surprise when my sister, who is in town from Boston, told me about a one-day self defense seminar she attended in Boston organized by the Boston Police. "Great!" was my first reaction; any introduction to this topic is better than nothing. Until I heard some of the things she was taught.

Her ready stance consisted of back-hand-on-hip and front hand up in a sort of block position in front of her body. That is so incredibly stupid that it hurts me to even type it. There is no way anyone can demonstrate that stance to be more functional than a standard western boxing-style stance (elbows in, hands open and fingers outstretched protecting your face.) Teaching a woman who has never thrown a punch before to start a punch from her hip and block all possible angles of attack with one upright arm is ridiculous. It hurts me, it really does.

She was also told not to "talk to men" about what she learned. Why? Because letting the men in her life know that she can kick their ass if they try something is a *bad* thing?! Come on. Any first-year criminologist or self-defense instructor will tell you that the way to avoid trouble is to show any potential attacker that you shouldn't be messed with. Why take the chance having your nose broken - or worse, getting caught - when you could just wait for the next woman to come along? Think like an attacker and you know that acting defenseless, even casually, is ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that there is nothing secret about self-defense. It isn't like the Boston Police are showing super-secret ninja moves forged at the core of the Earth by gnomes. They were showing punches, open-hand strikes, knees, kicks from the ground. Basic stuff (although one could wonder why they would be showing punches at all!)

All in all, I am happy she took this class. Telling her how wrong her stance is might be the worst thing I could have done, as I wouldn't want her to fall into analysis paralysis if she is ever in the situation to use it. Chances are, it would work for her. But my logical brain got the best of me; I just couldn't believe they had her in a classical Karate stance. If it worked, wouldn't Gomez have used it last night in his Contender fight? :) Truth is, it doesn't work in the real world with real resistance. It never did. Only in Karate tournaments when the other guy isn't trying to decapitate you with an aluminum baseball bat.

If you are interested in real self-defense, it is best to start with the experts. Matt Thornton or any Straight Blast Gym affiliate can help you. Jerry Wetzel, my former coach in CA, can help you. Tony Blauer can help you. They all have world-class tapes/DVDs on self-defense and fighting in general. They are highly, highly recommended. Don't give into denial. It can happen to you -- and you need to be prepared.

Recommendations:

Red Zone (knife defense) - Jerry Wetzel
Functional Jeet Kune Do, I and II - Matt Thornton
SPEAR System for Women and Rape Safe - Tony Blauer
Science of the Sucker Punch - Tony Blauer
Mental Edge Package (Audio CDs) - Tony Blauer (if you can only get one, get this)

Torres Talking: Martial Arts

KFM in Batman Begins

Women's Self Defense