Las Vegas Martial Arts Blog

Whether you live in a small rural area or a bustling city, the need for self defense can occur at any time. You never know when an unfortunate situation may present itself and may call for quick action, including that of self defense.

There are a number of instructors who teach self defense classes in order to help educate individuals with how to protect themselves in certain situations. Class demonstrations and active participation are both a part of self defense classes, which are often held in the evening to ensure a convenient time when most people are finished with work.

For individuals who do not have the time, money or the geographical location to participate in self defense classes, there are books and videos that may help to educate in the same manner. Although neither of these methods actually test your knowledge with practice and hands-on training, they can help to instill basic knowledge of how to react in a dangerous situation.

The techniques learned in self defense training are to be used for that purpose only and should not be bragged about to others. The decision to learn self defense is a private choice that should not necessarily be broadcast to anyone other than family and close friends. The best source of self defense is the knowledge that can be kept private. With that being said, it is ideal if family and/or friends can take self defense training together. This will provide for a more comfortable learning environment and may result in a better understanding or the concept.

Even with the knowledge of physical self defense, perhaps the best mode is that of common sense. By carefully selecting the times that you are out, not following an exact routine and choosing friends wisely, you will help to lessen the chances of ever needing to put your self defense training to use. However, if the unfortunate does occur, it is good to have the peace of mind in knowing that you can and will defend yourself at a moments notice and in any situation.

For information on self defense classes in your area, you may be able to contact city hall or stay tuned to the local newspaper for scheduling. If you prefer books and/or videos on the subject of self defense, these are readily available online from a variety of internet specialty stores. In addition, some areas may post upcoming self defense class schedules on the internet.

About the Author :

Learn more about self defense – visit our website at www.mollieteals.com for self defense articles and reviews.

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Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense

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Sometimes one would see references to ‘hard’ style and ’soft’ style martial arts. To many non-martial artists, these terms may be puzzling. In North America, these terms are used to classify martial art styles into two main categories. Japanese/Okinawan karate and Korean tae kwon do are generally referred to as hard styles. Movements in both karate and tae kwon do are often linear with their forms (traditional sequence of set moves) performed with crisp movements. Chinese kung fu styles are usually referred to as soft styles. The circular motions of kung fu forms give them a more visually graceful or softer appearance especially when many of the movements flow from one to another. Even Korean kuk sool won which is sometimes referred to as ‘Korean kung fu’, is often classified as a soft style since its movements are also more flowing than the stop and go of tae kwon do or karate. This is not to say that hard styles such as karate or tae kwon do are more powerful martial arts than kung fu and other soft styles. The term ’soft’ is a bit misleading because the power from circular kung fu moves are often hidden. Circular moves can generate just as much power as linear ones.

The terms hard style and soft style came as a result of the evolution of North American martial arts competitions, particularly in forms divisions. For many years, open karate tournaments which allowed all martial arts styles, had competitors from different martial arts backgrounds compete in the same forms divisions. All equivalent level competitors, whether they used a Japanese/Okinawan karate kata, a Korean tae kwon do pattern or a Chinese kung fu form, competed together in the same divisions. This provided a nice martial arts showcase for spectators especially at the bigger tournaments. However, some competitors and judges considered divisions with combined styles to be too complicated. For example, judges who were familiar with only Japanese or Korean styles had a difficult time scoring competitors performing Chinese kung fu forms. Sometimes competitors from different martial art styles felt that judges were being biased against them. Judging a hard style form against a soft style form was often like trying to compare apples to oranges.

To help resolve these issues, many of the larger martial arts tournaments expanded to have separate divisions for hard and soft styles. This was a way to equalize things and add some more fairness to all competitors. The largest tournaments went another step ahead and further separated Japanese karate stylists from Korean tae kwon do stylists by putting them into different divisions too. This still left many kempo stylists up in the air because their particular forms have both hard and soft style elements since their movements are both linear as well as circular. Some promoters of large tournaments decided to accommodate kempo stylists by adding in separate forms divisions just for their style too. Of course many smaller local tournaments have not been able to offer separate hard and soft style divisions for martial arts forms competitors mainly because of financial budget restrictions. The terms hard style and soft style are used only in North America and parts of Europe since these are the only regions of the world that have open martial arts competitions. Martial arts competitions in other parts of the world such as Asia are generally restricted to certain specific styles only.

About the author:

Clint Leung is a lifelong martial artist with over 32 years of training experience in kung fu, tae kwon do, karate, kickboxing and martial arts weaponry. He has won Canadian and world championship titles (NASKA, NBL and WSKF). He is also owner of Free Spirit Activewear (http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com) , an online retailer and designer of premium martial arts activewear. Free Spirit Activewear has martial arts info articles.

Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense

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The media has fuelled the perception that ordinary people on the street are in constant danger from violent attack, and self-defense classes promise to counter this fear.

To attract students, most martial arts schools in the U.S. teach self-defense methods. They make many claims about the usefulness of martial arts techniques in defending oneself against attack. Such situations of attack are rare, however, and can be avoided by not putting oneself in danger (for example, not walking around bad neighborhoods after dark, not buying or selling illegal drugs, not hanging around bars, not getting involved with gangs, and so on). Being alert and aware of one’s surroundings and recognizing the types of events that are likely to occur in certain locations are the individual’s first line of self-defense.

The media has fuelled the perception that ordinary people on the street are in constant danger from violent attack, and self-defense classes promise to counter this fear. In truth, this perception is largely false, as more people are injured in incidents of domestic violence than on the street by strangers. To be effective, self-defense classes only need to reduce the feeling of fear.

When a person is actually attacked on the street by a stranger, the main problem in self-defense is generally not a lack of physical ability to counter the attack, but an emotional reaction, such as panic or anger, that can turn a bad situation worse. Panic can be paralyzing and invite attack, while anger can provoke harm as well by frightening or angering an attacker to further violence.

Serious training in the martial arts takes the emotional reaction out of violent confrontations. After many hours of practice, a punch or a kick becomes merely a physical force, a fist or a foot is easily handled, and an encounter is not even experienced as a personal attack. Students learn good coordination and self-confidence, characteristics which can discourage potential aggressors from becoming aggressive in the first place. In the martial arts, the simple act itself of practicing over a long period of time may be the most important element in effective self-defense than any specific technique learned.

Focusing on self-defense in today’s world has changed the techniques being taught in the martial arts. In the modern world, no one is likely to be attacked by a sword-wielding samurai. Instead, an attacker may be unarmed or have a baseball bat, knife, or gun. Battlefield combat techniques would not be very useful in these situations. The emphasis on such techniques has declined in most martial arts styles and has been replaced with techniques that are relevant to our times.

About the author:

Steven Gregoire has been training in the martial arts since 1986. Currently he operates Tigerstrike.com A martial art equipment and supply store.

Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense

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If you’ve ever seen or been a part of a conventional martial arts program, one of the things you may have noticed is the level of activity of the students according to rank. It seems like the white belts do little to get results – they have the simple techniques – while the upper levels do more and more. And, while this is in some ways normal and natural, it’s the way each level comes off the floor at the end of class that makes the difference.

In my experience with conventional martial arts training in several disciplines, the picture was always the same. At the end of a typical class, the white belts returned to the locker room practically rumple-free, while the black belts were sweat-soaked and sore. Now, this might be perfectly acceptable if all we were talking about was organized fitness classes, however; in the realm of self-protection and personal defense, there are several problems that should be considered.

To begin with, it’s difficult to imagine that a martial arts master or self-defense expert would be expending more energy than someone who is relatively untrained. After all, in the real world, it’s the “new guy” on the job who is working harder to get the job done. You would never see the professional, or the person with years of experience, working up a sweat. Even if a last-minute project came in with a short deadline, you can just picture the rookie running around trying to “do stuff,” while the seasoned, experienced worker says, “Stop.”

“…and we’ll still have time for two coffee breaks.”

The secret here is that the professional has been at his field for much longer and therefor developed better and more efficient ways to handle things. It’s only logical that he or she would be able to do more…

…much more…

…without the same wear-and-tear that someone new to the job would. The question is,

…if this is true in everyday life, why is it backwards in the areas of martial arts and self-defense?

The truth is that, in a life-threatening situation, the key to winning involves the concept of “energy conservation.” That means that…

…the combatant with the greatest amount of energy or resources at the end, is the winner.

You just don’t have the benefit of taking the long road and complicating things with longer strings of techniques and tricks when your well-being is on the line. The key is in finding more and more ways to cut corners and lessen the time and effort necessary for escaping or controlling your opponent. This means keeping the defensive situation under ten seconds – under two or thee if possible – not two minutes as most martial artists are used to in the context of sparring and sport competition.

In the realms of personal protection, efficiency is the key. When training for self-defense, learn to look for ways to reduce the number of moves as you get better.

“How can you do more with less?, is the important question.

In the long run, learning to “fight smarter, not harder” should be more than a training idea.

It should be the serious student’s motto.

Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and director of Warrior Concepts International. He regularly conducts seminars and training programs for individuals, corporations and groups on both principle-based self-protection and unleashing human potential. He is the author of the books “The Karate-Myth” and “Controlling the Fight,” as well as the videos “Danger Prevention Tactics” and “The Cutting-Edge: Surviving a Knife Attack.” He can be reached through his web site at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com

Tags: Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Las Vegas Kung Fu School, Las Vegas Wing Chun School, Lo Man Kam, Lo Man Kam Wing Chun, Martial Arts Self Defense

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