Religious Roots, The Birth of Wing Chun

By Damian Ross and William Pehush of The Self Defense Company

The Shaolin monks of China are known throughout the world for the martial arts prowess and have become the stuff of legend. The monks training started out as just simple morning exercises, but their training evolved into several different styles of martial arts so that members of the holy order could use them to defend themselves in combat. They learned quickly that having a healthy body, a clear mind, and a rich spiritual life meant nothing if you couldn’t protect yourself from scumbags. Now most people today know the flashy styles of Kung Fu made popular by films and television, but traditional Wing Chun practiced by martial artists like Bruce Lee is a hard hitting style that is all about taking out your enemy as quickly as possible.

Like many martial arts styles it is hard to determine exactly when and how Wing Chun or Ving tsun as it is sometimes called came into being. Some believe Wing Chun was developed by several different Shaolin grandmasters that picked the best techniques for self defense from Chinese martial arts and made them all into one system. One persistent legend is that Ng Mui a nun from one of the Shaolin temples created Wing Chun as a form of boxing. It is said that she taught a woman named Yim Wing Chun how to fight, so she could defeat a local warlord in hand to hand combat otherwise she would be forced to marry him and not her lover. Whatever the true story is will probably never exactly be known, because the training was passed on through oral tradition as it was in those days.

The idea behind Wing Chun is to attack along the center line of your opponent’s body, and strike vital areas. This is extremely effective in breaking his balance and keeping him from mounting and offensive. At it’s core, Wing Chun is all about striking and destroying the target. This is seen in Bruce Lee’s “straight blast” method. The strike doesn’t need to be hard, but if it is done correctly it can do real damage. Rather then absorb the strikes of an attacker a Wing Chun practitioner deflects the attacker’s energy.

The style also teaches its students two traditional weapons, the dragon pole, and the butterfly knives. The pole arm has been used for centuries and was used to teach bayonet training. The butterfly knives used in pairs can hack down an opponent. Training secessions in Wing Chun are similar to most martial arts and like several Japanese martial arts, a wooden dummy is used to simulate striking an opponent so a student can refine their techniques and toughen their natural weapons for combat..

In other styles there is the block then the strike, but in Wing Chun the two movements are combined into one swift action. There is no pause between movements. When an attacker strikes at a Wing Chun practitioner they will deflect the blow and then strike back simultaneously. There is a structure to the style that also allows a practitioner block any attacks long as they’re protecting their core. With balance, body structure and relaxation a Wing Chun practitioner is able to maintain this attack/defense structure, but its strength is also a fatal weakness.







While someone can use Wing Chun to defeat a larger opponent only if they can stay strong enough long enough to maintain their attack/defense structure. Now in theory Wing Chun sounds great for self defense, but only in the short term. In a self defense situation there is no set time limit. You have to be able to keep fighting, and your method of self defense has to work whether you’re tired or hurt, because you can’t tell your attacker you need a break. Also there is no ground fighting techniques in Wing Chun. Now granted in a real hand to hand combat the last thing you want to do is end up on the ground, but you still need to know how to fight from there and improve your position.

The greatest person of note to practice Wing Chun was martial arts legend Bruce Lee (student of Yip Man). Lee saw flaws with his style and worked to strip away some of the pointless traditions and positions and turn Wing Chun in an even more basic and effective form of self defense. He also didn’t confine himself to just Wing Chun and studied many other martial arts, so don’t let anyone ever tell you Wing Chun was his style alone. Like so many martial arts today, Bruce Lee cross trained in boxing, jujutsu, karate, judo and greco-roman wrestling just to name a few. But despite all of Bruce Lee’s knowledge and expertise, he knew that Self defense is basic and brutal. There is no “style”. If you survive you win.

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How to Conquer Your Fear

I just received an email from a woman who is being stalked by a so-to-be parolee. He has a history of violence and she already has a restraining order against him. I did advise her to remind the police of her situation if she didn’t already. But this still doesn’t solve her problem. There is a real possibility that she will be attacked. Unfortunately, the police can’t be everywhere at once, so it’s up to you to prepare.

This is understandably affecting her. It has gotten to the point that her anxiety is taking over her life. Every day his parole approaches, she becomes more and more consumed by fear. The mere thought of it makes her hands begin to shake. Her reaction is not irrational, it’s about as real as it gets. There’s no therapy that can calm her down, change her mind and “convince’ her that her fear is misplaced. This is something she will have to deal with and prepare for. She is not unusual; everyone who has encountered violence has this very rational reaction.

Every week, another police officer enrolls at one of my schools or enrolls in the Self Defense Training System after a close call with some skel (perpetrator). It usually begins as a routine situation and then it goes south when the suspect decides to be non-compliant. The next thing the officer knows is that he’s in a roll-around and the cavalry is no where in site. He can’t call on his radio, he’s becoming exhausted and he’s alone. He quickly comes to the realization that his training in the academy does not work OR he needs to practice on a regular basis to keep sharp and not just do his job well, but survive and go home safely.

Civilian or professional, the answer is simple (not easy): you have to train. The harder your train and practice, the less anxiety you will have. Because you are solving your problem by taking control and doing something about it, you become more confident in what your ability to meet the threat. The harder your work and train, the better you’ll be.

I have my own built in mechanism which is not uncommon. Whenever I start having dreams that I’m in a situation, fighting for my life and I’m completely ineffective, I know it’s time to step up the training. Once I do that, my anxiety goes away and the dreams stop. When you’ve prepared yourself to the best of your ability your anxiety decreases. That goes for close quarter weapons and hand to hand tactics. The more you train, the more you prepare, the less nervous you are.

You will always have fear or hormone induced stress, there’s no way around it. You just need a way to develop it, channel and turn it into something useful. Talking about it won’t help; thinking about it won’t do it, only preparation will. That comes from practicing the proper techniques, the right way and of course, being honest in your training.

Until next time, Train Honestly,

Damian Ross
Instructor, The Self Defense Company
www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

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Were The British The First To Teach Modern Self Defense To Civilians?

When many people look back at World War II they only see a string of Allied victories and think victory was always certain, but in the early days of the war things looked very dark. The Nazi war machine had ravaged most of Europe, but that still didn’t stop a handful of determined volunteers from answering their nation’s call to duty, instead it only served to inspire them.

In the spring of 1940 British and French forces had been defeated by the Nazis and were evacuating France. Hitler had made it clear that he wouldn’t stop at the English Channel. The British military was in shambles and tons of valuable weapons and equipment were abandoned on the beaches of Dunkirk. Faced with a very real possibility of invasion, the British government formed the Local Defence Volunteers also known as the Home Guard. It was believed that if England was to survive the average citizen would have to know how to defend him or herself.

The Home Guard was the idea of Captain Tom Wintringham, a soldier, journalist, and World War I veteran. Between world wars the Oxford educated veteran became a communist supporter and fought in Spanish Civil War as part of the International Brigade against the Nazi supported Nationalists. The fighting he experienced was brutal and he was wounded several times. During this conflict he learned many valuable lessons that would help him in World War II. Once back in England he wrote How to Reform the Army which called for changes to the regular military and for the formation of civilian defense forces.

After he witnessed the destruction of Poland under Commander-in-Chief Walter Kirke, Captain Winteringham realized just how unprepared and vulnerable Britain was to a fight the Nazis. The first point of order was to build up the civil defense forces. In May of 1940 the government announced over the radio that any British subject wishing to volunteer to fight should report to their local police station. The government expected only 150,000 volunteer applicants but was shocked when they had 1.5 million applicants by the end of the month! Among them were women who were barred from service. These women would eventually organize their own group called the Amazon Defence Corps. They were trained in close quarters combat and all skilled markswomen.

Since the military didn’t have any weapons to spare the volunteers were forced to go on patrol with outdated military equipment, shotguns and even pitchforks. It soon became clear that if the Home Guard volunteers were going to be effective against well armed, enemy troops, the volunteers would need the best training possible. Captain Wintringham setup a school at his home and taught recruits the principals of guerilla warfare, anti-tank operations, demolitions and street fighting.







At this time two other important individuals were tapped to help train the Home Guard. They were veteran police officers William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes. They had spent their careers patrolling the dangerous streets of Shanghai China and learned a lot about close combat and battlefield martial arts. Fairbairn had made an extensive study of Asian martial arts and created a system that only used simple and effective moves. Also he and Sykes created law enforcement’s first Swat team. They taught the volunteers practical self defense methods, and they also taught the volunteers how to disarm attackers, take out sentries, and take prisoners.

Though they’re best known for training police officers, soldiers, and secret agents Fairbairn and Sykes proved you could even teach civilians effective hand to hand combat in a short amount of time with no modification to the curriculum. The volunteer forces learned the same methods that Special Forces troops would learn later in the war. Fairbairn and Sykes knew that in a fight it is about doing what you need to do to survive, even if it means using deadly force. The same holds true for the civilian, agent, police officer and military operator: a fight is a fight is a fight.

While Britain was never invaded, the Home Guard did help free up troops for more important duties during the war and made things more difficult for enemy spies. It also proved the need for everyone to learn effective methods of fighting and proved that anyone can learn these methods and apply them successfully regardless of age, size, man or woman.

The need to defend oneself and loved ones is even more imperative today as it was in 1940. The police and the military can only be so many places at once. With the violent nature of crime on the rise, every person should have an increased awareness and even the most basic set of self defense skills. It’s up to you as an individual to learn effective combat training. It’s always better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

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Reality Knife Training

Last night we had our monthly instructor workout and we focused on fighting with a knife. When done properly, there is no real defense. Once you attack you can see quickly how helpless your target becomes.

The crew saw how ruthless and brutal fighting with a knife can be. As big Jim Klienfelder put it, I remember going to another "twisty wrist" seminar and they're showing a knife defense that's like, just grab here, kick there, no problem.

Well, once the guys started stabbing the cardboard on the training dummy, they realized how brutal really stabbing someone can be. They also found that it didn't take much to become really effective with a knife when you have the right empty hand training.

So what is your only option for fighting someone with a knife? Create space (run) use your environment, look for an opening, sustain as little damage as possible and attack viciously and frequently. Always take ground and never let up.

Empty hand techniques are the last resort. Alays arm yourself. That's why pepper spray is so effective, squirt 'em and go. But please don't think that just bcause it looks good in the dojo it will work for real.

Nice neat and tidy techniques NEVER WORK. Leave that stuff to the movies. Remember, always bring a un to a knife fight.

The Story Of A Real Hollywood Legend

Real Life Martial Arts and Close Combat Hero

Look at today’s Hollywood Action stars you see a lot of window dressing without a lot of substance. If you're a patriot, Hollywood can be a pretty lonely place, but during World War II Hollywood's some of the brightest stars went to war and among them was Douglas Fairbanks. He didn’t serve in the rear either. He chose to take to war to the enemy using deadly close combat techniques that included combat martial arts.

Film legend Douglas Fairbanks Jr is best known for the over a hundred films he made, but many of his real life heroics remain classified by the United States Navy. Fairbanks was among the first to pioneer unconventional warfare tactics and commando training. While you can’t count on celebrities to even make their own court appearances, Fairbanks didn’t back down when his country was at war and he chose to become a clandestine warrior.

At the beginning of the war Fairbanks held a number of important civilian positions before being commissioned a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserves. His first assignment was on Lord Mountbatten's staff in England as part of an exchange program. Mountbatten was a very vocal supporter unconventional warfare, and encouraged all the Allies to create Special Forces units. Fairbanks trained at the H.M.S. Tormentor Advanced Training and Amphibious Operations Base and at the Commando Training School at Ancharry Castle, Scotland. As part of his top secret training Fairbanks learned martial arts, knife fighting, sentry removal, and other close combat techniques from martial arts legend William E. Fairbairn.

After taking part in cross-channel raids with British commandos Fairbanks returned to the United States and organized the Beach Jumpers, a specially trained unit that was designed to deceive and distract enemy forces. The new special boat unit also rescued POWs, and landed commandos. Although he was supposed to be an organizer Fairbanks still participated in operations in the Mediterranean Sea and was decorated multiple times by several countries for his heroics. The Beach jumpers would take part in dangerous operations in the Pacific theater and combat operations in other wars before being incorporated into other units. After the war Fairbanks continued his interest in martial arts and encouraged others to learn the combatives he learned for self defense.

Douglas Fairbanks chose to become an actor, but he could have been successful in any career. Like his father actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. he was very athletic, and excelled at many sports. He wasn't just a good athlete. e was an excellent student and well as a successful businessman. In addition to acting, he was also a skilled painter and sculptor. Before the outbreak of WWII he did several films including Catherine the Great, The Prisoner of Zenda, and Gunga Din, a close combat classic, where three British Army officers take on a cult of thieves and assassins who worshiped the Indian blood goddess Kali.
Fairbanks would remain in the reserves after the war until he retired with the rank of captain and continued to work, splitting his time between Hollywood and London. Like most veterans he seldom spoke of his wartime service, and most of the operations Fairbanks took part in remain classified, but it clear that he served bravely and honorably. Fairbanks also saw the potential of martial arts, and summed up his thought when he wrote:

“In the early days of the cattle country, the six-shooter was the means of leveling all men to the same size. Now that the sale of the six-shooter is prohibited, every one should have some knowledge of the art of self-defence in cases of emergency.”

Most people know Douglas Fairbanks for his film work, but his greatest role was as a real life hero. Without seeking reward, or even the applause of an audience he did his part to win the war and showed uncommon valor. He could have taken a non-combat assignment, but instead he took on the most dangerous missions and hardest training. He took on the Nazis using close combat and deception, and proved martial arts could turn an athlete into a warrior.

The Toughest Police Beat in the World – How Martial Arts Were Adapted For The Real World

By Damian Ross and William Pehush of The Self Defense Company

Today it is hard to say what area is the toughest for force a police office to patrol, but in Shanghai China during early years of the twentieth century things were about as bad they could get. A handful of dedicated police officers were tasked with keeping law and order in a city where murder was so common that it didn’t even make the front page.

To understand how bad the situation was in Shanghai you have to understand the city and the times. The city had been divided into three districts with the Chinese controlling one, and the French and the British controlling the other two. Over a million people called the city home and many of the native Chinese saw the Europeans as the enemy. In the early years of the twentieth century things were out of control in the city. Inside the city the Chinese Green Gang, a secret society similar to the Italian mafia were involved in illegal drugs, gambling, prostitution, and weapons smuggling in the coastal city. They kept control through murder and had no problem killing police officers, and kidnapping for profit became its own industry. The Japanese Black Dragon Society fought for their share of the criminal underworld, and espionage was common place in the Internal National Settlement. If dealing with the hostile population in an overcrowded city wasn't enough the territory around the city was filled with communist guerillas and warlords.

How do you do you survive the toughest streets in the world? The answer is with the right tools and training. Unfortunately for the Shanghai Municipal Police in the early 1900’s nothing existed when it came to dealing with this type of ruthless violence on a grand scale. Consequently a new method of close combat needed to be created, tested and work. The man who led the charge was William E. Fairbairn.

Fairbairn was already and skilled barroom brawler and was a hand to hand combat instructor, but after being badly beaten in a street fight while on patrol, the young sergeant realized that current police training was very inadequate. He trained in several Asian martial arts and stripped away all the ritual and sport and produced a system that was simple and effective. As he climbed in rank he would make many changes to the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) that would give officers the edge in combat.

To keep law and order in a city that never stopped fighting the SMP which was never larger than 6,000 men needed every advantage they could get. After studying various Chinese martial arts including and Japanese Jujutsu and later Kodokan Judo Fairbairn developed Defendu in the 1920’s for self defense and to help officers safely execute arrests. It was a combination of techniques from several martial arts, but it was practical in every way. The system was designed to restrain or disable a subject quickly, but if necessary it could become lethal. It was a martial arts style for the street brawler not a competition martial artist.


Another project of Fairbairn’s was the Reserve Unit which worked as a riot squad and the world’s first SWAT team. Originally setup to deal with riots the unit expanded to handle kidnappings, armed robberies, and barricaded criminals as well as terrorism. They were the first to employ body armor, chemical agents, grenades, forcible entry tools, and automatic weapons. Anthony Sykes a firearms sales representative and good friend of Fairbairn’s would lead an attached sniper unit. Every member of the reserves would learn Fairbairn’s system and trained for realistic close combat shooting situations. While all these tools are common to a big city police department today it was all because of Fairbairn’s work.

It isn’t easy to be a police officer any where, and if you walk a beat you know how quickly things can go from routine to chaos. The martial arts, urban warfare, and other techniques developed by Fairbairn and his peers weren’t untested theories, but battle proven methods that worked under the worst conditions. The British military and the United States Marines who worked along side the SMP would learn many valuable lessons that would serve them well in the next war. Also it should be noted that SMP was a diverse force with many different cultures and religions, but they all learned to work together as a team to uphold law and order.

Fairbairn was responsible for many innovations that are still in use today, and have saved the lives of countless police officers. At the time he was just doing it to help better protect his men, but his efforts would go on to help many more. In addition to their work with law enforcement Fairbairn and Sykes would share what they knew during World War II. The would train British Home Guard volunteers in the simple and effect martial arts system, and they would train British and American commandos and secret agents in the same lethal style. During his time as police officer Fairbairn would be involved over six hundred street fights; this will never be replicated again. This begs to question, are these modes outdated? Maybe in some military applications, where technology has reduced the need for this type of training, but when it comes to the police officer and the civilian, it’s still guns, boots, knives and clubs.

Why You Should Never Run Away From a Fight

As the Presidential Election Heats Up, Our Thoughts Turn To Our Citizen Soldiers in The Desert.

One of the fundamentals of Tekkenryu Jujutsu is to always keep advancing on an attacker. Every technique is meant to take ground and keep the attacker off balance. Because once you make the decision to fight, retreat only means pain and loss and if you want to survive cannot relent in your attacks. History proves that most casualties occur when the enemy is routed and on the retreat. This principle is the same no matter if it’s two or two million.

The principals of Tekkenryu Jujutsu can be applied to the war in Iraq where many think the only answer is to pull out and redeploy. This sounds a lot like retreating and giving up ground to the enemy. The majority of the fighters in Iraq currently belong to groups like Al Qaeda. If these groups were allowed to take control of Iraq after an American pull out the situation would be dramatically worse.

The people could end up like those in Afghanistan under the Taliban. That is of course is if one of the many factions actually establishes a central government and Iraq doesn’t end up like Lebanon. Either way our enemies could end up controlling Iraq’s massive petroleum reserves which could easily be traded for nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. The fight has started and maybe it can be argued that the war should not have begun, but like any fight once it starts, there’s no turning back.

One could argue that this is all just speculation and that a principal like constant attacks has no place in the modern world. The problem is there is overwhelming evidence which continues to support such principals. One good example is Somalia where the United States retreated and abandoned humanitarian aid, leaving people to the warlords of that nation who did nothing to remedy the famine and disease which infest their country. Army Rangers fought a heroic battle in the streets of Mogadishu, but needed support was denied to them.

When the soldiers did fight their way past the warlord’s forces the next move was to pull out of the country. In the end a warlord got to claim he defeated the mighty United States in close combat and people continued to suffer. Even Sadam enjoyed frequent screening of “Black Hawk Down” in his anticipation of an American withdrawal at the first sign of bloodshed. After the United States pulled out and leaders like Osama bin Laden were able to rally support because fighters like themselves had stood up and defeated forces of the United States.

Throughout the world enemies of the United States felt they could achieve victory if they made their fight bloody enough.

The invasion of Iraq is shrewdly camouflaged as a terrorist insurgence and by no means should be considered an internal conflict. Recognizing an enemy for what they are and fighting them the right way is key to achieving victory. The enemy in Iraq is part of a global conspiracy with plans to take over the world and place it under the banner of Islam.

The real fight is in the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. American forces need to have a good relationship with the Iraqi people. That will eliminate any support base they have in Iraq. Getting the people on our side is like getting in a street fight in neighborhood where you have friends; you won’t be alone in that fight for long.

No conflict should be taken lightly and you need to seriously asses your capabilities and understand that it may take everything you have to keep fighting and keep taking ground. If asked how long it will take the answer is it will take as long as it takes. This not a Judo match with rules and a time limit, this is a street fight where the first person to get hurt or die loses. The sooner people realize this, the better because those who pull the strings of Al Qaeda know if they can just keep fighting we will tire and go home. The problem is that these killers will follow us home. They see winning in Iraq as another step closer to achieving victory and we should think the same terms.

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