Here are some more karambit drills shared by Coach Freedman.  Watch and enjoy.

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The yawara is a small stick, sometimes with sharp points or rounded edges, usually used in pairs to initiate throws, bone breaks, and pressure point strikes. The yawara stick was popularized for police officers in the 1940s by Professor Frank A. Matsuyama. You can download the original “HOW TO USE THE YAWARA STICK” Published in 1947 by Mr. Frank Matsuyama manual for police self defense at the Yarawa.com site.

In recent weeks, Coach Freedman has been emphasizing yawara techniques in his classes. It is a great weapon for training as its small size and multiple uses make it a great weapon that anyone can use for self defense. Once one learns the basics it can be transferred to any small weapon that can be held in the hand including the kubaton, pen, hairbrush or even a small rolled up magazine (who thought you could be dangerous with a Readers Digest).

In this video Coach Freedman demonstrates the use of the yawara and shows with just a few simple techniques how you can have an effective self defense. He shows how the yawara can be used to maximize the torque on joint locks, increase the impact of strikes and add power to throws. Assisting him on the demo is Ryan Birmingham Sensei.

Video by Philip Duldulao

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Hello everybody, here are some training type of blades I made in my shop of wonders. I hope you like them. I will be selling these really soon. These are my prototypes. I am just trying to find my groove and work things out so I can make them quicker for you.

Also I will be making other types, styles and shapes of blades. So please do stay tuned.

This summer I will do my best to have my forge up and running. So that I can create different types of metal knives including Bowie and other types of fighters.

I hope to be making real Karambits soon. Karambits are a hook style knife that resembles a Tigers tooth or a Tigers claw. The training ones I am making out of plastic here that are white in color are fashioned after the Pasundan Pencak Silat system from Indonesia.

I will be having more photos and videos on how to use each and every one of these weapons on the way soon!

If you are interested in these knives you can call me at (603)529-3564.

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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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The Karambit is an all purpose utility knife that was carried by the Indonesians since the 11th century, and can still be seen in some provinces throughout their islands. It was not meant to be used for combat since it was first and foremost, a tool.  It evolved only because of the necessity of the people of these Asian Countries to protect themselves from foreign invaders. It is one of the main weapons of Silat and is commonly used in Filipino martial arts as well. You can read a short history by Steve Tarani at his site here.  Coach Freedman has studied the Karambit with several Silat masters and has put his own spin on the weapon. Watch in this video as he shows some basic attacks and defenses with this versatile weapon.

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1. Karambit Drills Pt. 2

Today, listening to the radio, I heard about a man from Warner NH who shot an intruder that broke into his home. I can’t blame this home owner after what happened at Mont Vernon NH where four young and very stupid teenagers broke into a home and brutally killed a mother and hacked her daughter with a machete. How do you defend against that kind of situation without martial arts training or a firearm?

Criminals are getting bolder today. Violent crime and attacks on the innocent have gone up quite a great deal in just a very short time. I feel a lot of this is due to the sinking economy. People are frightened. Most don’t know what to do in a violent situation. Some believe that all they need to do is pick up the phone and dial 911 and they will be saved. WRONG! Even the Police will tell you they can’t get to you in time to help you or stop the crime. By the time you dial 911 and pray it is not busy or the phone lines are not down or cut by the criminal trying to gain entry into your home, it will be to late. When Police are minutes away you only have seconds to protect yourself. What you do with these seconds will decide whether you live or die. We as home owners and law abiding citizens must learn how to protect ourselves. The fastest way to learn how to protect yourself with deadly force is with a firearm. People can learn how to use one in a short amount of time.

Some people are afraid of handling firearms. To be comfortable, they first need to learn more about how firearms function and operate to get rid of that fear. They must handle a firearm by placing it in their hand and just holding it. They need to learn how to break it down and put it back together again. They need to learn how to load it and how to unload it. Shooting skills such as aiming, trigger pulling and handling jams are important skills. Drawing the weapon from the holster and being able to get off a few rounds that will actually hit what they are aiming for is just vital. Anyone can do it with the proper training.

The National Rifle Association http://www.nra.org has really good courses to take on safe gun handling. These courses include basic to advance shooting skills, Hunter safety courses and much more. They also help to protect the Second amendment and your rights as a free American. By joining the NRA you sometimes get discounts on firearms or ammo. They have a great deal to offer you. They also send you magazines of your choice on firearms, Laws… hunting and more. If you do plan on getting yourself a firearm for self defense or home defense purposes you should take a course. There are many great combat handgun schools that you can attend. I have taken five courses at a great school Sigarms in Exeter, NH. Check them out at http://www.sigsaueracademy.com/.

This brings to mind the attack in Connecticut just recently, where two paroled burglars broke into a doctor’s home,  raped his daughters then murdered them along with his wife. They beat the doctor with a baseball bat while he was tied and they torched their home. The doctor made it outside, crawled to his next door neighbor’s house and was able to alert the Police and fire Dept. If he, his wife and his daughters had firearms training, things might have been different. Compare his situation to this story.  A 15 year old boy, who is the son of a Harris County, TX Sheriff’s Deputy, was at home with his 12 year old sister when a pair of criminals attempted to break in through the home’s front door.  The 15 year old boy grabbed and fired his father’s rifle, causing the intruders to flee.  The robbers were captured when one tried to get aid at a local hospital for gunshot wounds.  The 15 year old boy and the 12 year old girl were unharmed. This boy had been trained by his father how to use a gun.

The lesson is that firearms training is the fastest and most effective method of self defense. You can learn it quickly and it is fun. Going to the shooting range is so relaxing. You meet others with like minds. Your level of confidence just grows and you start feeling good about yourself. Here in the state of NH the conceal carry license (CCL) is only $10.00 for four to five years. Well worth it. This CCL allows you to carry your firearm on your person concealed. But you should have some training with it. Just buying a firearm and carrying it about with you thinking that you will be able to respond to a deadly and violent attack with no training is just crazy.

Check the laws in your state about carrying firearms. Some people believe that more gun laws and taking guns out of the hands of the law abiding citizens will mean less gun violence. This is the biggest lie ever written or told. The laws were designed and put into place to keep honest people honest. But do criminals follow these laws? No! Of course not. So then why is it the honest law abiding citizen are the ones who get punished by these really crazy gun laws? These gun laws were invented by people who lack info in firearm use. They promote fear to the public by way of TV and news media. If more good Americans were well trained and carried firearms, crime would actually drop! Also a well trained citizen is most likely to be the first responder to a terrorist attack or a mass killing. A firearm is a tool. In the hands of a good person it will be used for good. In the hands of a bad person it will be used for bad.

I do recommend after securing this skill level in any firearm use to take up some empty hand self defense lessons like Jujutsu or Dumog. It is also nice to learn how to defend yourself using a knife and stick. These are tools you can carry when you might not have a firearm close by. Joining a gym to increase your strength and stamina will help when defending yourself. By building up your strength will also help you to control your firearm better under stress and to fight off any crazy attacker.

I offer low level firearm training at my school in Weare NH . I also offer some of the best training in empty hand self defense or edge/impact weapons around. Contact me to learn more. I will be happy to advise you on the best path to learn how to defend yourself.

To learn more about the training I have to offer go to my Training page.

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Coach Freedman has been putting a great effort in getting his knife shop up and running. He hopes to be making training weapons for many different martial arts including Jujutsu, Arnis and Silat.  His training weapons will be made out of wood and industrial grade hard plastic. Once his forge is ready he will also be producing superior metal blades. Take a look at his latest efforts.

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A recent incident in Manchester NH involved a man who started a fight in a bar. The fight moved outside and the man who started the fight pulled a knife. In the ensuing fight he not only stabbed the other guy but his friend and managed to cut off his own finger. You can read it in the Manchester Union Leader here.

Now there is a certain black humor in this incompetent idiot cutting off his own finger, but in another way it is vary scary – knowing that there are these types of idiots out there. I would not like to meet him and I would not want to be like him. Reading this story reminded me why I train for edged weapon self defense. I want to train so that if I run in to this guy, I can get away safely. If I have to use a knife, I will not cut off my own fingers.  Before I came to Coach Freedman’s school I knew just enough about knife fighting to get my self in trouble. All those techniques that I learned in Karate and Aikido might have worked if the attacker came at me with an overhead strike or with a straight in stab. One class with Coach Freedman convinced me that I was sadly lacking in knife defense skills. Any one of his students could have sliced and diced me with little effort. After years of training I at least feel that I have a chance.

I love Coach Freedman’s saying that “ There are two types of people that are dangerous with a knife. Those that are trained and those that are not.” That is something I always keep in mind and that is what keeps me training.

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Once again Master/Guro Spencer Gee was up at the new Hampshire Dojo to share with us his insight on Arnis stick and knife fighting techniques. The amount of knowledge that he gives out is incredible. Anyone that wishes to advance their knowledge of these arts will be challenged by his teaching. Everyone that attended was grateful for the opportunity to meet and train with this master.

Guro Gee put us through quite the regimen of training. When asked for a warm up routine, he had us all grab tires and proceeded to put us through a workout that included lifting, jumping over and rolling on the tires. After that he commenced to slowly lead us through a progression of stick drills that went from the simple to the sophisticated. After the break he handed out the training knives and again showed us how much more there was to learn about knife fighting and defense.

Check out the video from the Friday night jujutsu class to get a sample of what we went through for the seminar. We will post some videos from the Saturday class soon.

Keep posted to this blog and we will let you know when he will be coming again.

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Master Guro Spencer Gee will be at Coach Freedman’s school on Saturday May 22nd to teach sword and knife drills for Arnis and Kali.

If you are the average person who has a fear of the growing crime level and want to learn how to defend your self from edge weapons, this workshop is for you. Master Guro Spencer Gee is an amazing instructor. This will be
his third time here in a year. We plan on bringing him out on a regular bases. So you can keep your knowledge flowing that he will be sharing in this amazing workshop on edge weapons. Learn first how to use an edge weapon and then explore all the different easy methods of defeating them. Very practical workshop.

If you are in the military or Law Enforcement you really cant miss this workshop. It could change the way you look at defeating edge weapon suspects or enemy combatants. This workshop will be a life saver.

Date: Saturday May 22, 2010
Location: Weare NH Ketsugo Bujutsu Kai
Cost: $35.00
Time: 12:00PM to 4:00PM
Contact: Peter Freedman (603) 529-3564

Call for directions..
For those who have previously attended Master Gee’s seminars,  this will add to what you already know. Master Guro Spencer Gee is my friend and has much experience in Filipino Arts that I can learn more from. So if I can learn from him imagine what you will learn.

People who are instructors with your own schools please contact me here through this email peter_freedman@comcast.net  Hope to see you all here…
We should have training blades for sale here. Made by me.. Peter Freedman Sensei Guro/ Please write to let me know which kind of training blade you would like.

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