Articles, Essays, and More

Welcome to our library of articles and essays. We’ve attempted to provide the public a flavor of what we do and how we study by having a topic from virtually every training area we have.

If you get lost, just click the Library button at the top of the page, or Main Index on the left, to return here.

General Interest
Training	10 Pervasive Myths: A look at some of the most persistent myths we keep hearing.
Sparring	Does Sparring Work? Based on who’s talking, sparring is either the best test or the worst of what one learns. This essay reviews why both points of view might be wrong.
How To Make A Knife Sling (Video)	How to Make a Knife Sling: This video shows how to make a simple knife sling, which of course can be used for many things besides knives. Step-by-step directions.
Empty Hand Fighting
Stances	Standing in Motion: Rather than focus on standing, good stance work is based on footwork and movement.
Rolls and Falls	The Myth of the Mat Slap: Does slapping your hand on the mat do anything?
Handstrikes	Handstrike Utility: Why handstrikes are tactically better than kicks.
Kicks	Keeping It Low: Why simple low kicks can be effective...and high, exotic kicks can be catastrophic.
Blocks	Effective Blocking: There are many varities of blocks; some are better than others under certain situations. Which do you use?
Headstrikes	Using Your Head: Using the head as a weapon is usually not recommended. There may be reason to think otherwise.
Escapes	Ways of Escape: Eight tactics anyone can use to increase their ability to escape grabs and holds.
Control Techniques	The Risk of Opponent Control: A look at how, and why, common law enforcement control techniques can fail.
Grappling	Submission Impossible: Submission fighting may work in the ring, but it could kill you anywhere else.
Ground Fighting	Getting Back On One’s Feet: Get back to your feet quickly and safely with this method.
One-Handed Techniques	Exploring Disadvantaged Techniques: Practical scenarios that may force you to fight with one hand.
Vehicular Techniques	Where Evasive Driving Fails: Some of the best-known evasive driving techniques may indeed be the least useful.
Water Techniques	Water Everywhere: You don’t need to live near a lot of water to understand the value of water techniques, but realistic training is not as obvious as it seems.
Dog Techniques	Dog Bites Man: What are the facts when considering whether dog attacks are a real risk for you?
Multiple Opponents	Multiple Problems: Fighting two or more opponents is easier than some people think, but harder than many realize. The paradox depends on whom you ask.
Weaponry Techniques
Knife Techniques	The Edge of Training: Most training programs fail to address the real violence and speed of a knife attack. Some of this failure results from the respective program’s cultural influence. By looking at a realistic knife attack, these mistakes become obvious.
Stick Techniques	The Mistake of the Duel: Although stick fighting has increased in popularity, its training may not have kept up with reality. How to recognize if your training time is inefficient.
Sword Techniques	The Pen Is Mightier: Where film and television keep going wrong when depicting sword usage. Learn to spot a phony.
Staff Techniques	The Four-Foot Staff: Not all staffs are 6-feet. A look at the versatile 4-foot staff.
Spear Techniques	Throwing It All Away: Despite our many spear fighting techniques, it might seem strange that an obvious one, spear throwing, is absent. There’s good reason why we don’t consider this viable.
Axe Techniques	The Mighty Maul: A look at a forgotten weapon.
Chopping Weapons	Machete Work: A quick look at how a machete can be used in fast application.
Flexible Weapons	Yielding Bad Results: The most common technique with flexible weapons may also be the worst.
Polearm Techniques	Polearms: A practical look at ancient weapons.
Sectioned Weapons	Weapon Twirling: Why twirling weapons is all flash, with no substance.
Hammer Weapon Techniques	Sledgehammer Speeds: So how fast do you swing a weapon, anyway?
Special Weapons	Firmly Entrenched: A look at the surprising versatility of the entrenching tool.
Throwing Weapons	Throwing the Fight: Conventional wisdom says that throwing a weapon at an opponent is bad idea. Like most things, that depends. How to make throwing weapons really count.
Archery	Crossbow Facts: Many people love to hate the crossbow. However, most of their reasons are based on very incorrect information on this versatile weapon.
Handgun Techniques	The Value of the Revolver: Six quick bullet points on why to (re)consider the revolver.
Long Gun Techniques	The .50 Caliber Rifle: What are the facts behind the seemingly terrifying .50 caliber rifle? Is it worth banning?
Advanced Training
Agility and Balance	Balancing the Costs of Agility: The explosion of interest in XMA may have some negative effects on the student’s abilities and checkbook. What’s the problem with their approach?
Posture	Stair Posture: A simple turn of the torso provides a few advantages when dealing with stairs.
Rope Techniques	The Clove Hitch: We look at three different ways to tie, and use, this remarkably useful knot.
Climbing Techniques	Sewing Machine Leg: A look at what causes this strange malady among climbers, and how to correct it.
Firecraft	Rules of Three: Easy-to-remember reminders about fire making and fire safety.
Tracking	Dog or Cat? Even many hunters have trouble telling the difference between tracks made by these common animals. We’ll teach you a trick, and you can try your skill.
Survival	Surviving Survival: Sometimes, people become focused on the tools and techniques of survival, and forget the life-saving strategies.
Navigation	Standing Watch: The tricks to telling direction by a wristwatch.
Environmental Operations	Ice Fighting: Ice fighting is a useful skill even if you live in a warm area. Learn how simple combinations of elements can create slick conditions no matter where are.
Training the Spirit
Breathing	Stale Air: What parts of “breathing” techniques are good practice, and which have little merit?
Sense Enhancement	Sense Enhancement: Developing heightened senses requires no magic or super powers. Here’s how to do it, simply.
Situational Awareness	Troubling Transitions: Even experts get surprised. Typically, it’s not the situation that surprises them, but what happens after.
Threat Analysis	Pre-Fight Tells: Learn to spot who is likely to attack, and who is likely to calm down.
Personal Awareness	Code Blue: Identifying an inhibited response time may be enough to save yourself from danger.
Training the Mind
Mind Development	Learning About Learning: Quick facts about the learning process.
Visualization	Virtual Reality: A lot of people try visualization techniques to improve their physical performance. The good news is that it works. Here’s the science behind it.
Meteorology	8 Elements of Meteorology: Here are eight interesting explanations to common weather situations, and how you can use them yourself.
Astronomy	An Order Of Magnitude: Finding your way by the stars means knowing what stars show up when and where.
Physics	The Science Behind It: Basic concepts from physics, and examples in the fight sciences.
Physiology	Mind or Matter? Many so-called psychological responses to violence are rooted in the body, not the mind.
Psychology	5 Simple Mistakes: The human brain is conditioned to make certain mistakes. Here are five mistakes, with examples from hand-to-hand combat training.
Emergency Medical Techniques	Emergency Irrigation: Irrigating a serious wound can be done with a common, ordinary item.
Electives
Security	Security Failures: Often, a security system fixes nothing. Here’s why.
Leadership	The Best Policy: Honesty is a hallmark of leadership, but sometimes honesty means giving bad news. What are the safest approaches in criticizing another?
Team Building	Hidden Failures: How a good team can produce really bad decisions.
Project Management	High Status: Make status reports more efficient and easier to read with a few simple formatting techniques.
Conflict Resolution	Non-Conflict Resolution: Sometimes the most furious arguments are because there’s no disagreement.
Contingency Planning	Active Planning: A contingency plan seems good, but may not be worth anything unless it’s actively used...even before something goes wrong.
Multiple Opponent Control	Crowd Triggers: What makes a crowd turn violent? Not much, as it turns out.