ISSUE #204  GUIDED CHAOS NEWS         follow us @GuidedChaos    ENDORSEMENTS

WE'RE LISTENING TO YOUR EMAILS... EARLY ORDER DISCOUNT EXTENDED TO FEB 1ST! SAVE $100 ON ALL FOUR DAYS ALSO AVAILABLE: GROUP DISCOUNTS! Save $100 per person (for 3 or more people purchasing the full 4 or 5 day Boot Camp in one credit card order). $100/person will be rebated via Paypal within 48 hours after purchase). Offer good til May 1st 2012. May be applied on top of Early Order discount (ending Feb 1st) for a total savings of $200 per person.   Full info here

2012 NEW YORK SEMINARS AT PREMIER FITNESS:    THIS SATURDAY! Jan. 14th: Advanced Knife Fighting   11 AM to 3 PM $95/person (pay at the door) --Dynamics of violent bladed altercations --Learn techniques that will enhance ability in chaotic, full-force style attacks and defenses with edged weapons --Both standing and ground attacks/defenses Feb. 18th: Advanced Stick Fighting 11 AM to 3 PM $95/person --How to use the staff, cane or short stick in both high speed offensive and defensive scenarios --Both standing and ground attack/defense Mar. 24th: Tomahawk Fighting Principles 11 AM to 3 PM $95/person --The first of it's kind --Open to all GC practitioners Premier Fitness [MAP] The area’s finest gym/health club! 430 Nanuet Mall South Nanuet, NY. (845) 920-0501. http://www.premierfitnessny.com/

YOUR QUESTIONS

QUESTION: Hitting a plateau? Those of you who weight train, or have researched weight training, know that based on our genetic make-up our training at some point will reach a plateau and we will no longer make gains. The only way to break through that is to take performance enhancing drugs, but even that is limited by genetics. Now GC is a body-mind art. At a certain point our bodies will reach a plateau. We won't be able to do vacuum sweeps better, for instance. At that point, in which the physical aspects may have hit your maximum plateau, what do you do? Is it not all a mental game at that point? And can the mental game continually develop during our whole life, or is there a plateau to that? Any of the people out there higher than beginner who hit the physical plateau and had to wonder where to go next? Is that really what GC is all about after getting the basic GCC down and drills (except I guess sensitivity) after a good twelve weeks or so of hard work? Any feedback would be helpful. ANSWER: Great questions which get to the root of the art. Once you understand the principles of GC and regularly perform the drills, you indeed find that your developmental limitations are not physical. Our physical exercises are not that difficult (altho they can be made harder--to a point). The key to growth in GC is 90-99% mental. You are developing a feel" for adaptive fighting that is not dissimilar from tennis or surfing, where being able to bench press 500 pounds makes no difference in your improvement. Sensing, recognizing, interpreting and exploiting changes in pressure, structure, speed and direction under chaos is what makes you better. Personal direction from a certified instructor (or Video Evaluation for remote students--see website under "Classes") in addition to contact flow with many and varied partners is the way to advance your mental and nervous system integration and skill. You can also be shown how to do the solo drills in more subtle ways to tweak your growth. --MKovsky QUESTION: I am 3/4 through the book attack proof and have seen DVD part I and II. This is a stupid question, but I am just not getting it. DVD I & II has 90% excersize drills, but I still do not see the "How to" of fighting. I guess I'm trying to find the part that applies all the drills poetically (ties everything together. Yes, there are portions, especially in the demo clips that show the flying hands moving at the speed of light, but I am not finding the "You do this when this happens, and if he does this, than you do that". Did I miss something in the DVD's or book? Also, I am very new to the art of self defence.  I was wondering how GUIDED CHAOS  compares to KRAV MAGA? ANSWER: The whole point of GC is NOT developing patterned choreographed responses that will fail anyway BECAUSE they are patterned, so looking for the magic "You do this when this happens, and if he does this, then you do that" is precisely the wrong mindset. This is stressed repeatedly throughout the book. What you need is to "play" with the principles using contact flow with training partners so you can learn to improvise, which is what REAL fighting is all about. Parts 1 and 2 give you the principles for setting this up in your mind and body, Part 3 in the book and the Part 3 DVD show you how to put it all together by taking you through what you will find practicing contact flow. As I said, it would be nice if we could tell you specifically "do this defense against this attack" that would work every time for everything, but self defense systems that tell you that are ripping you off. As for Krav, it is somewhat similar and had parallel development and some interaction with World War II American Close Combat systems developed by Fairbain/Sykes/Applegate. The limitation of CC and original Krav training is that they are simple and highly effective--to a point. They are non-adaptive and do not not take into account that attacks can morph in an instant. The solution takes much more involved and subtle training involving tai chi-like principles of sensitivity, etc. CC simple striking tools form the very first level of GC. More importantly, however, every Krav school today is different, as Krav has been modified to greater or lesser degrees (depending on the school) for political correctness, popular fads (MMA,BJJ, etc) and other various reasons. QUESTION: I enjoyed your last video showing John Perkins demonstrate fast contact flow. In watching it, I felt a bit confused about the relationship of "fast" contact flow and "simulated combat". It is obvious that slow contact flow is not simulated combat, but has other purposes, which include feeling your opponents intention and movement in relation to yours and discovering all the ways in which the body can move. (I'm sure there are many more goals of contact flow of which you are better able than I am to elucidate.) Now when things are going in slow motion, John Perkins allows himself to be hit, as it is part of the exercise. But when things go fast, he does not allow himself to be hit. It seems more like a competition to be won or lost now than a pure exercise in body dynamics. Another thing I noticed is that during the slow contact flow, a lot of strikes are non-lethal, such as a knee to the stomach. But I also noticed that John used a lot of non-lethal strikes in the fast contact flow too. (I have no doubt that John can readily take out his opponents eyes and break their trachea. But then he would have to get a whole new group of students, which would be inconvenient.) Now in a previous video Al Ridenhour talked about the difference between having beautiful tools and being able to apply those tools. He also said that sometimes even strikes to the throat do not take out an opponent in a single blow. So my discussion here boils down to the following questions: (1) Do non-lethal strikes have any place in life and death combat? (2) Why does fast contact flow look more like a sporting contest than slow contact flow? (3) Why are non-lethal strikes a part of fast (and slow) contact flow? (4) What is the difference between fast contact flow (as Al Ridenhour calls it) combat flow? Thanks for the videos..   ANSWER: Lots of great questions here: Non-lethal strikes have no place in life and death combat except to the extent that primary targets may not be available since Murphy's Law rules in combat. Therefore you train ALL targets: primary, secondary, tertiary etc. because you get what's available, period, and any system that tells you they can always hit their targets are full of B.S. In the video, John purposely left himself open to some extent so viewers can at least see 2 people working at both defense and offense (John is un-hittable if he wants to be). We did this so that even though the exercise displays a high level of skill, we then wanted to show what an even higher level is capable of: essentially putting your attacker through a meat grinder. John did a combination of lethal and non-lethal strikes that were obviously feather light or the drill would be over in 1 second. Your level of ability will determine what speed and level of combativeness you can work at with your partner. When you're both about equal, 50% or more of strikes will be neutralized, so it may begin to look like a standoff. This is where you learn to raise your principles and increase your creativity to hit more targets but also your defense (since you're both working to improve). If you're looking to see a one-shot kill in contact flow you won't see it unless one person is way better than the other. So what makes fast flow look more like a sporting contest is that practitioners are not hitting with anything near full power so the flow keeps going as you experiment with your balance, looseness, sensitivity, body unity and adaptability. Combat Flow is just another variation of Contact Flow; the distinction is that Combat flow is more belligerent. In other words, in contact flow you'll play with more pure balance, sensitivity (defense and offense), etc. whereas in combat flow you'll hit harder, create more pain and stress so that you can test your ability to maintain the principles without collapsing into sloppiness, tightness, grappling or dueling. Of course everything is relative: level 5 combativeness from John may be perceived as stress level 50 by one of his students. Hope this helps. --MKovsky

NEW JOHN PERKINS YOUTUBE CONTACT FLOW VIDEO: SEEN IT YET?  "John Perkins demonstrating free-from, un-choreographed, "Contact Flow" sparring drill using principles vaguely similar to Tai Chi push hands or Wing Chun Chi Sao but with World War II CQC striking and other methods. Perkins begins with students at half speed and same skill level, then goes to 3/4 speed and higher skill level. Training is completely uncooperative, formless, and with partners trying to hit and not be hit."

CRITICAL TOOL FOR DISTANCE LEARNERS:  GC VIDEO EVALUATIONS

"Alistair here from Australia, been a while since I posted but wanted to let all the remote training students know about an experience we had over here in Australia. I train every week for a few hours in the garage with another guy who attended the GC seminar in Oz with me and an ex Tai Chi, Wing Chun instructor. I thought we were going well, training the drills, doing the practices and contact flow. We invested the very small amount of money required to get video analysis and after implementing the suggestions given by Masters Al and Matt and GM John Perkins you would not think we were doing the same art. Truly it has been a 180 degree turn around in our abilities and training approach. I won't go into the ins and outs of the suggestions as I'm sure everyone would be different but to say the least we now fight at a totally different range which has forced us to rely on the training principles in a totally different way. $50 is peanuts for the insights and advice given. I felt frustrated for my first couple of years just trying to train the principles alone from the book and DVD. The GC seminar confirmed what I had hoped that this was what I was looking for, then finding a regular training partner and now having access to video feedback has shown that skill development really is a reality for remote students. So if you are a remote student just find a partner, watch the DVD's, do the drills and get video feedback. Video feedback is used for all professional athletes and being able to put a guided chaos DVD on the screen at the same time as your video I found very useful as I studied similarities and distinctions, ranges, foot work etc. We were given some fantastic training concepts that are not in the book as well which have created an extraordinary difference. I was unsure I could develop this way but am now confident we are. I suppose a visit to NY will be the acid test. I will let you know what happens... all the best Alistair P.S For those in Oz, we train in my garage in Noosa on Wednesday nights. Join us if you are ever in town." VIDEO EVALUATIONS      REGISTER TO JOIN A LOCAL TRAINING GROUP

How Would You Like a 6 Hour Contact Flow Private Lesson? Well, here's the next best thing: The Attack Proof Companion Part 3: IN THE EYE OF THE STORM "Quite simply, this is the best self defence/martial art/ internal-external arts training experience I have ever had..." --Alistair Horscroft, former amateur MMA full contact fighter

"Dirty boxing" self-defense using conventional and illegal closed-hand strikes augmented by Guided Chaos principles. The best of 2 previous Combat Boxing seminars plus new material. Destruction Methodology and Close-in Fighting Combat Boxing vs. Grappling Attack Wrist, Hand and Tendon Development Heavy Bag Drills Entries Contact Flow Balance Training Entry vs. Knife Attack Multiple Attacker Bag Drills Keeping the Body Sof Putting It All Together...and much, much more! NOW ON SALE

STAY INFORMED:  "LIKE US" on Facebook to get the latest GC News and follow us on Twitter           follow us @GuidedChaos

THE BEST DVD FOR LEARNING KEY GUIDED CHAOS DRILLS AND PRINCIPLES: THE ATTACK PROOF COMPANION PART 2 YOUR GUIDED CHAOS FOUNDATION Contains highly detailed demonstrations of all the drills that are most vital to your development in GC (including some that are NOT in our book). It also has detailed explanations and applications of the 4 unique principles of Guided Chaos: Balance, Body Unity, Looseness and Sensitivity, including many important sub-principles. The stepping sequences alone are invaluable. MORE INFO

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST A GUN? MORE IMPORTANTLY-- DO YOU KNOW WHEN--AND WHEN NOT TO? BARE HANDS TO HAND GUNS PART 4 OF THE GUIDED CHAOS WEAPONS SERIES DVDS You can be the best target shooter in the world but if you can't fight HAND-TO-HAND at CLOSE RANGE you will never even GET to your gun. Worse, you could be shot with your own weapon! And if you get the microsecond to draw, traditional Isosceles or Weaver stances could get you killed. MORE INFO    PART 1: KNIFE OFFENSE | PART 2: KNIFE DEFENSE PART 3: CANE VS. KNIFE | PART 4: BARE HANDS TO HAND GUNS

SIMPLE AWARENESS TOOLS FOR SAFEGUARDING YOUR LIFE,   YOUR HOME AND YOUR FAMILY:

1. BEST INTRO BOOK FOR LEARNING GUIDED CHAOS COMBATIVES (THE FIRST PART OF GUIDED CHAOS) FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE The GC Combatives Manual Available in 3 Formats: (Paperback / Kindle / eBook) GC COMBATIVES: COMBAT PROVEN / EASY-TO-LEARN THE PERFECT "HOW TO" MANUAL FOR: AVERAGE PEOPLE / SECURITY PROFESSIONALS / LAW ENFORCEMENT ANYONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE YEARS TO BECOME A GUIDED CHAOS "MASTER"!     2. DVDS, and especially the no-nonsense GC WEAPONS SERIES: Kill The Enemy, Companion Part 1, Military/Police Tactics, Guided Chaos Weapons Series      DOES COMBAT TAI CHI ACTUALLY EXIST?      READ MORE... PUT YOUR TAI CHI ON STEROIDS... with Guided Chaos internal principles    Adapt / Improvise / Survive       THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PART TWO (2 DVD SET) - $75.00 All the principles, in depth, with drills. THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PART THREE: IN THE EYE OF THE STORM (3 DVD SET-6 HOURS TOTAL) - $125.00 Applying the principles to free-form combat with Contact Flow. BUY BOTH AT 15% OFF THE REGULAR PRICE OF $200. SAVE $30! 15% OFF--THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PARTS TWO & THREE COMBO PACK - $170.00      HOW DO I PRACTICE ON MY OWN?  TRAIN ALL THE GC DRILLS SOLO... ...SET TO NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC.  COMBAT CONDITIONING All the Guided Chaos drills back-to-back and non-stop on one DVD. No theory or extended explanations. Put it on, blast your stereo, follow along and work out--5 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour or longer--whatever you want-you decide! Also, many chapters end with a quick application demo of the skill just trained. Talk about practical!

WANT A SEMINAR IN YOUR AREA?
Organize a group of 20 or more people and we'll bring our crew to you.

SPECIAL DVD COMBO DISCOUNTS
Get 15-20% off on many different DVD combo packages.
Scroll down on our SHOP page to view. 

BIGGER THAN EVER! CHECK OUT THE GUIDED CHAOS NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES:
Does not include the last 6 months or the latest editions.

JOIN A GUIDED CHAOS TRAINING GROUPVISIT OUR FORUM
VISIT ARI'S TRAINING BLOG: "MY LESSONS WITH THE MASTERS" 

As an ATTACKPROOF.COM newsletter subscriber, we will
be bringing you regular training tips and thoughts on combat
from Grandmaster Perkins, Master Ridenhour, co-author
Matt Kovsky, and others.

Old articles may be found at Newsletter Archives but not
GC News (only current emailed subscriptions have it).

If you are having a problem with our Newsletters please let us know.

=============================================
Tell us what you think about our GC NEWSLETTER!
If you like it, tell your friends about our site or sign'em up.
=============================================

=========================================
REAL FIGHTS ARE NEVER CHOREOGRAPHED...
YOUR SELF-DEFENSE SHOULDN'T BE EITHER.
Guided Chaos DVDs for the Spontaneous Edge
What your current training may be missing...
=========================================

ENDORSEMENTS:


"Let me start by saying I thought I'd seen all that the world of 'reality-based self defence' had to offer, so for the easily bored out there, I'll cut to the chase. What I witnessed on the weekend of 26 and 27 March is the closest thing I've come across that resembles a modern-day, reality-based martial art and not just another 'combatives system'. Does it work? Hell, yeah! I got my arse well and truly kicked and at times felt like I was in the middle of a Jason Bourne fight scene."
--Clive Girdham, former Senshido and Geoff Thompson instructor [excerpted from the exclusive review of the Guided Chaos Australia Seminar in the Aug. print edition of BLITZ MAGAZINE: Australia's #1 Martial Arts magazine volume 25, issue 6

"Guided Chaos is the only training in my 15 plus years of Corrections that translates into real world application, period."
---Bob Miller, Corrections Officer at the largest facility in Oregon

"Guided Chaos is the only thing that has worked for me in real life situations. Unless you are 6'3" and 285 lbs of muscle, most of the Defensive Tactics stuff (ok all of the Defensive Tactics stuff) will get you hurt. And even if you are that big and strong, there is always someone bigger and stronger and there may be a lot of them. Nothing like dealing with one guy and it turns into a free for all with all his buddies. This is where you literally need to 'adapt or die' and Guided Chaos is the only training in my 15 plus years of Corrections that translates into real world application, period.

"If I had to pick only one martial arts system in the world it would be Guided Chaos..."
--Dr. Robert L. O'Block founder and publisher of the American College of Forensic Examiners International, American Board for Certification in Homeland Security
 

"...through watching videos put out by attackproof.com, and by
reading Attackproof, the book, I have learned real survival skills.
These skills have been learned...at an exponentially higher practical
yield-per-hour training rate than any other martial art classes or
seminar I've ever attended, or ever even heard rumor of."
--Matthew Shoener, Police Officer, Scranton, PA 

"The Companion Video Part One is stupendous!
A godsend of detail for out-of-state practitioners."
--Mark from Chicago

SEE ALL ENDORSEMENTS

Web and video production for ATTACKPROOF.INC provided by: