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CHAPTER 1

Sensing Potential Danger

Modern martial arts have increasingly been “sportified” in the years following World War II and the introduction of the Asian martial traditions to America and Europe. This trend is very important to explore. It is crucial to examine the results of what this has brought to Westerners. It may be quite different from what the Asian martial arts may have originally intended to cultivate.

In a sports contest, the player takes defined objectives and methods and applies them under pressure. His goal is to win over rival competitors in producing the specific results that define victory. Therefore, in a martial sport, the specific methods and definition of victory are very important. It is also true that rules generally prevent the loser from dying.

An-shu Rumiko gives pointers at a training convention.

Successful self-protection is a very different process. Factors such as culture, laws, morality, and self-determined social roles weigh heavily in the moment to moment decision making process. Victory or defeat is often self-determined. We decide what is success and failure. Techniques are valued solely on their ability to produce results that lead to that self-defined victory.

Everyone understands that I am in no way disparaging competitors, of course. I enjoy watching great championship wins. I am just stating that such things are very different from my ultimate purposes in martial training. My commitment to students is that To-Shin Do will remain the most honest and useful method of preparing for successful self-protection possible. The nature of that promise requires us to continue to grow as a technology for learning how to produce better results. The nature of that promise in turn is that techniques for achieving the goal will continue to evolve.

Stephen and Rumiko Hayes travel the world as seminar presenters, sharing To-Shin Do secrets.

It is also true that the methods used by aggressors to dominate others change and mutate over time and social conditions as well. Therefore, a truly useful self-protection training method will have to grow and evolve in order to keep up with the development of new forms of aggression, domination, and assault. It is my strong belief that a martial art that does not address directly the specifics of the aggressor’s approach cannot be thought of as an effective method for producing real-world results. This is admittedly my strong belief. Obviously there are others who disagree with my premise, though their arguments often sound more like defensive-rationalization instead of reason.

Here’s a comparison to help understand. Think of contrasting the study of self-protection martial arts with going to law school. Would you really want to study with a classical teacher if real-world practical results were your goal? If you wanted to be the best possible attorney, how would you feel about enrolling under a teacher who boasted, “I am proud to say that I teach the exact same law that my teacher’s teacher taught back in 1943… but you can kind of wiggle around in it and up-date it on your own if that’s what you want.”

In the dojo in Japan in the 1970s, there was heavy emphasis on what 16th Century aggressors would throw at a defender. These attacks were based on the ways people moved, the way they dressed, and the environmental conditions of those days. Every technique ended with the aggressor on the ground maimed to the point of total immobilization, and more often than not, dead or dying. It goes without saying that there were no legal systems to protect or prosecute in those days.

In the dojo in Japan in the 1970s, the classics were taught and practiced, just as they had been for generations of Japanese history. This was the ninja martial art, in all of its oddities. Many of the techniques were performed in strange ways designed to keep the aggressor from seeing the face of the defender. There were methods for escaping burning buildings with tatami rice mat floors and cedar plank ceilings, mainstays of Japanese architecture of the time. Many of the techniques involved unusual hidden weapons that would be impractical or illegal today. And if you do happen to be a counter-intelligence agent, modern technology far outshines the capabilities of crude 500-year-old iron, bamboo, and twine implements. We never covered anything like defending against boxer jabs, grappler submissions, kick boxer round kicks, and small group verbal-hassle surprise muggings. Those were not things that were threats in the Japan of the 1500s.

My teacher told me in 1982, when he was living in my house in Ohio on a trip from Japan, that he did not believe many people could fully grasp the ninja way of thinking and seeing. I disagreed with him strongly at the time. I even argued with him about it—politely, of course. Throughout the 1980s I tried to teach the ninjutsu I had learned in Japan in the 1970s. But by the early 1990s, I understood what he was trying to tell me. When I started my school in 1996, I set ninjutsu off to the side and offered a modern adaptation that was much more appropriate for the times.

Ninja festival summer training camp in the 1980s.

Situational Awareness Is Not a Part of Sports Competition

Since To-Shin Do is a realistic approach to street and field violence, we have to take into consideration a lot more than sport martial artists do. In a competitive sport fighting ring, you know why the other guy is there. He and you have agreed to a contest of fighting skills. All you need to do is be a better, more athletic, or craftier fighter.

On the street, things get more complex. You may first have to decide whether a fight is going to happen. You have to evaluate whether this can simply be walked away from, or whether you need strong communication skills, or whether physical defensive skills must be used. You have to make a decision as to how many attackers there are. Then you have to go to work to end it as quickly as possible. Then you have to get out of there immediately.

This involves a whole world of evaluation skills not needed in a sport fight. You will require careful and timely reliance on situational awareness. And one key to effective situational awareness is observation. You will have to watch and consider situations, things, and people. Make ever-changing decisions based on what you see. Most of the time, simply seeing the potential that lies ahead can give you an advantage over people who drift through life blind to danger. But you will need ongoing training in developing and practicing such situational awareness.

Our internal triggers can unfortunately get us into what might be avoidable fights. An aggressor tries his best to guess what will trigger us into freezing up or flying out of control. We react to his button-pushing with emotional responses if he is in control of the situation. These internal triggers include anger, passion, fear, fear of being afraid, self-esteem, demand for respect, vulnerability to insults, road rage, turf challenges, or some honor code we live by. If you cannot control yourself internally, you will likely knee-jerk react externally, using your martial arts to engage in physical fighting. Might it be worth something in the long run to practice not losing your cool? Staying in charge? How many instructors teach such self control? How many have even considered such teaching? If you cannot control yourself, you will have a hard time controlling others.

Here are some ideas that might help in a typical street confrontation. On the street, these become important considerations. See how many you can identify with.

The Body informs. The way a person carries themselves gives us insight as to how they could become a threat. Body language shows subconscious and pre-conscious intentions through posture, facial expression, eye direction, hand positions, and movement. As a student practitioner of self protection skills, you come to realize that body language gives us advance warning—actions a person is about to take—and gives a glimpse into his mind—tells us his current thought state. Is he outwardly hostile? Is he trying to act noncommittal to get closer to us? Is he bluffing, testing us? Is he trying to conceal his true intentions? Is he huffing and puffing but with no real intention to fight?

The Face is the most expressive body part. It is also the most easily manipulated. Experienced attackers may control their facial expressions so as to be unreadable. The inexperienced might crack nervous grins, adopt frowns, dart their eyes, or display facial twitches. It is important to look past the signs that can be controlled and manipulated, and focus on those that cannot:

• Pupil dilation: The human fight or flight reaction is something few people can control. The brain signals the body to dump adrenaline into the bloodstream, raising the heart rate and making the pupils larger. As the pupils dilate, the peripheral vision narrows. It is a mechanism designed to bring us face to face with the threat directly. People about to act aggressively or perform a violent act will usually find their pupils dilated.

• Pulse: As aggressive impulse builds, the heart rate increases along with blood pressure. This can result in a pounding pulse visible in the neck and temples. This is difficult or impossible for most people to control.

• Sweat: An increased heart rate causes involuntary perspiration, which most aggressors cannot control well.

• Mouth: Besides obvious expressions, an open mouth often occurs when a person is breathing rapidly and can’t get enough air from just their nose.

• Upper Torso: A person who is about to charge in will often telegraph his intention by the way he carries himself. The upper torso reveals two important tips. The first clue is the shoulders. Are the shoulders hanging naturally in a relaxed pose? Or are they tight and raised? The second clue is the upper chest area. What does his respiration tell you? Do you see a rapid chest rise and fall as evidence of breathing hard? When the action amps up, an aggressor tends to breathe shallowly from high in the chest.

• Hands and Arms: It’s important to watch the hands closely at all times. Hands hovering around the waistband might represent a threat. At any moment, he could produce a weapon. Also, while balled fists are an obvious sign of aggression, keep in mind that many attacks come from the time-biding position of tightly crossed arms, or hands forcefully shoved into pockets.

• Legs and Feet: Is he moving, darting here and there nervously? Is he standing planted in place? Is he inching forward? Is he holding ground but leaning in with his upper body? We are looking for stance. Sometimes people blade themselves towards a perceived threat. Blading refers to a combat stance, where the dominant foot is behind the non-dominant foot and about shoulder width apart. Blading can also serve another purpose – most people carrying a concealed weapon will subconsciously pull the weapon side away from the threat, to protect it, conceal it, or cover a draw into action..

• The Whole Package: Look for movement warning signs, nervous twitches that signal that the person is about to act. Two common signs of impending action are pacing and standing on the balls of the feet. Many attacks begin with pacing back and forth and then launching an attack at the midpoint. Many flights or escapes begin with the person getting up on the balls of their feet, much as a runner would before the starting gun goes off.

• Violating your personal space by moving in and out of what is an apparent danger zone can be a way of intimidating you or testing you out. If you realize an aggressor is doing this to you, you can make a statement in a calm, slow, but firm voice, careful to not display any fear, unease, or anger. “I’m cool talking with you about this, but I need you to step back. You are way too close.”

Humor and out of place familiarity work to let street scammers and muggers distract you. Watch for the too-friendly stranger, smiling big and talking on and on with cheerful questions thrown at you. Their goal is to get close enough for a knockout punch or incapacitating grab to start their assault. Often these guys are big and could damage you even without the subterfuge. But this way they get off without your defense or a risk to themselves. If you can touch the other person, they are too close. They can touch you too. Most street criminals will not give you warning signs. They will distract you and move in close to sucker punch you and follow up with punches, kicks, and throws.

Here are some things to consider:

Your name—If they overhear your name, they can use it to get closer. Hearing your name throws you off guard. You are distracted momentarily wondering how this person knows you. They gain a way to get that much closer to you.

Tricky tactics—Be wary of a person who is overly nice and talkative and tries to lure you in. Too much chatter with too many details and questions can be an attempt to get your guard down. Also watch out for the “man in trouble” and the stranger helping and trying to get you to help. Both men are scammers trying to trick you. Marauders in some airports have learned to target rental car drivers. They tap them with a rear bumper “accident.” When the confused and out of place person gets out to see what happened, it turns into an attack. And of course a panhandler using a request for money is a classic ruse to get close enough to test you out and see if you are worthy of an attack.

Paying attention to your surroundings—Do not walk around with headphones on, ear buds in, or your eyes glued to a cellphone screen. This leaves you unaware and more of a target. So many are alarmingly ignorant with their head down and their life inside a bubble. They are easy prey. They feel secure in their own world and do not realize how attractive and easy they appear as a victim.

There are more than one—Especially near public transportation stations you might find teams working as a pack. These are often youths. They never attack one on one, but instead mount group assaults against singular victims. They communicate with a series of glances and head nods to reach consensus of whom the target should be and when to initiate the attack. Often one will act as the “mouth,” confronting you or asking probing questions while the others surreptitiously position behind and beside you before an attack starts.

Assault Is Not Imminent, but Highly Possible…

If you end up confronted by a person who presents the following signs, your awareness and self protection strategies should go on alert. By all means, create distance. Body language should be grounded, confident, and assertive, but not threatening. And realistically, perhaps you might be ready to let the person vent verbally. You are the bigger, happier, more advanced person. You look down and have pity on them. Theirs is a troubled life, a life of lack. Maybe letting them spout off will be enough to satisfy them, as long as they use up energy (and not build up energy). Be sure they are not increasing in volume and rage. A fight might be avoided.

• Head, neck, and shoulders go back; person makes himself look bigger

• Face is dark red, splotchy, twitching as blood rushes up

• Lips are pushed forward bearing teeth; this may be a mirthless smile with wide open eyes

• Breathing is fast and shallow, preparing the body for fight, flight, or hyper-vigilance

• Beads of sweat appear on the face or neck

• Thousand-mile glare right through you; he avoids your gaze