Coach Freedman has been teaching his own style of Ketsugo Jujutsu for many years now. He has a number of students that are teaching out of their own schools and he is concerned that they may not be teaching the core practices of his style. His style is built on three core practices  which are Footwork, the Nine Angles and the Flow Drill. In order to make sure that all his students are on the same page, he has decided to have a gathering of the Ketsugo tribe 6 times a year. This will be an opportunity to refresh the knowledge of the core practices and to meet with the other practitioners on a regular basis.

This past Saturday April 30, 2011 was the first meeting of the tribe. It was a cool spring day and students from NH and neighboring states met to get some training. Coach Freedman started the class with a warm greeting to all who attended and then talked a bit about martial arts and Ketsugo in particular. He stressed that it is important to know the history and origins of the martial art you are studying so that you can gain a complete understanding of the art you are practicing. He then began to discuss the importance of footwork in Ketsugo Jujutsu. Coach Freedman has identified 50 foot movements that he uses in his system. He took the group through the movements and explained the proper execution of each foot movement. He led the group through the 50 movements which was repeated multiple times.

Coach Freedman next began to demonstrate the usage of the foot movements.  He demonstrated how the foot movements were used to evade an attack with the long knife. By using the movements in the precise angles it became apparent how the movement was effective in the evasion of the attacks. The students then practiced the movements with an opponent attacking with a long knife. people who had not used these movements before were amazed at how effective they were. Coach Freedman demonstrated how the foot movements  along with strikes and locks were a devastating defense for this type of attack.

Coach Freedman next demonstrated leg lock and leg lock techniques. These also come out of the footwork. He had the students practice on long sticks before trying the techniques on each other. These techniques are quite effective and have to be practiced slow in order not to cause injury.

A lot more information was delivered during the course of the seminar. You had to be there to have gotten it all.

The day ended with all the students getting together in Coach Freedman’s back yard and sharing food that was brought by the students.

The date for the next gathering will be on June 25 at the Weare NH dojo from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The cost will be $25. Call (603)529-3564 to find out more information. Anyone can attend.

Below is a gallery of pictures from the day.

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Watch Coach  Freedman and Sensei Birmingham doing basic two man stick drills and some pangamut and gunting empty hand basics. The video starts out with a long pan of pictures of Guro Grande George Brewster Coach Freedman’s beloved Arnis teacher. this man was a great influence on Coach Freedman and many other Arnis masters. Mr.. Brewster, as he was fondly called, died in 2006. You can read his obituary in the Filipino Martial Arts Digest here.

Coach Freedman gives some good tips on putting your opponent into an arm lock.  This also goes along with his previous video on slipping a punch.

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1. Karambit Drills Pt. 2
2. Yawara Basics

image by Ekey84

One of the things that plagues most martial artists is the question of “Will my martial art be effective on the street?” We spend much time in the training hall working on our techniques and honing our martial arts skills but are we working on the techniques that will save us in a real self defense situation?

Coach Freedman stresses that most of our training might not be effective in a real fight situation. Many factors will affect the outcome for a violent situation. Some of the things that will make a difference are:

• The street is not the same as a training hall. The floors are not smooth, there are no floor pads, and now somebody is really trying to hurt you.
• In a violent situation you will not be able to think clearly due to the adrenalin rush. All those memorized techniques will be quickly forgotten.
• Weather, your health, the number of attackers, weapons involved, all those thing will make a difference and cannot be replicated in a training hall.

That is why Coach Freedman always stresses foot movement. He says that in any of the violent situations he was involved in, it was the foot movement that saved him.

This is not to say that our martial arts training is useless. In fact it is quite valuable in conditioning our bodies and spirits to be able to handle a violent situation. We just need to realize that the only way to really know our training is effective is to be involved in a violent confrontation and that is not a good place to be. If our training is really good, it will teach us how to stay out of such confrontations. An old buddy of mine used to say “It is easier to stay of of trouble then to get out of trouble.”  That is really good advice.

Marc ‘Animal” MacYoung, who has a very good site No Nonsense Self-Defense, has a lot to say on this subject. He states “Self-defense is a much more complex issue than mere physical prowess. Commonsense, lifestyle choices, certain habits and good manners will go much further to ensure your personal safety than any fighting style. “ He has a long article on the subject of self defense and martial arts that you can read here. I would recommend going to Marc’s site and taking some time to read what he has to say.

Another recent article was posted by Sensei J. Richard Kirkham B.Sc  on his Hawaii Martial Arts forum. In the article “The Ultimate Fighter A Conversation with a Gang Member” Sensei Kirkham talks to a gang member about the very real situation of violence on the streets. When the gang member is asked about fighting martial artists he replies “I’d say a person who has experience with real fights, will always have a hand up versus a person who does self defense drills. The reason why is because until that person who trains in self defense gets their hands dirty, they will lack true experience in fighting someone. For instance, a street brawler doesn’t train to do one technique to take someone out. They basically concentrate on bashing someone’s head in and pounding on someone. So if the martial artist does a self defense move and it doesn’t work like in class, they may be up that famous creek. Experience reins supreme.” This mirrors what Coach Freedman has always told us and should be well noted by anyone that thinks that their training will be effective on the street.

This article is meant to be a heads up for all us martial artists. We cannot believe that our training in the practice hall is all it takes to protect ourselves. We need to have a realistic view of what our training provides and be prepared for the reality of what we may face on the street. We cannot get arrogant just because we have training. Being humble and aware of our limitations are just as important in keeping us safe. I would be interested in hearing your views on this subject.

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Scott Sonnon (The Flow Coach) has three  simple rules for decision-making:

1. The best thing to do is the right thing.
2. The next best thing is to do something.
3. The worst thing to do is nothing.

Coach Sonnon says “If you don’t know what to do, start doing something, and the right choice will appear through your self-effort.”

Coach Freedman in a recent Jujutsu class was expressing the same philosophy. Coach was saying “Some of you get upset when you make a mistake. You stop you practice and try to examine where you had a problem. I make just as many mistakes as you. The only difference is that I do not stop. If something is wrong or not working, I just keep on going to the next thing. In combat you do not have the luxury of stopping, your only choice is action. My movements seem more smooth and precise because I am not stopping, just flowing into the next thing.”

Coach demonstrates by having one of the instructors attack him. The instructor attacks with a mixture of punches, jabs, kicks and grabs. Coach flows in a continuing movement, never stopping, always moving his feet. He redirects, parries,  counters and moves as if he is just taking a walk in the park, not being attacked by a competent martial artist.

His movement reminds me of O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, Aikido founder.  I watch the old videos of O Sensei and I am amazed at his ability to avoid his attackers, unbalance them and send them to the ground with what seems to be little or no effort.

Coach Sonnon says that “The worst thing to do is nothing. “. Coach Freedman says when “When you can think of nothing else, move your feet.” As I have heard so many times from so many teachers the one great technique is just getting out of the way. Coach Freedman is a great advocate of footwork.  He admonishes “You are not defending a place, you are defending yourself. Move your feet and get out of the way.” That is very good advice. As I study with Coach Freedman, I have found that I now move more then what I used to and I have found it to be very effective. This works in with his advice on Repetition and how if you do something over and over, it becomes such a part of your being; that you will do it naturally in a defense situation with out even thinking of it.

Watch this short video. It is a demonstration of the application of the Freedman’s method footwork that will be a part of an upcoming DVD on footwork to be released in the near future. See how doing something with footwork can be the best thing to do.

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