© COPYRIGHT 2010 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
[Reprinted With Permission]
American Combato
Seattle Combatives
WE have said this before, and it bears repeating. As times become more and more difficult, trying, and — yes — dangerous, it is crucial that decent, civilized people become more aware of the absolute need to acquire and develop the knowledge, skills, and practical capability of taking care of themselves. Nothing will pay you back more lavishly for your time, energy, thought, and money spent than will taking quality training in the art of close combat and self-defense. Anyone looking objectively at the deterioration of our inner cities, at the proliferation of mindless gang and random thug violence and violation, even (and this is, perhaps, more of a direct threat to some than it is to others) terrorism, will appreciate that being able to handle dangerous violence — and possessing the great blessing of that self-confidence that enables you to feel inside that you CAN defend and protect yourself and your loved ones if ever you find that you must — has become a “necessity” for modern living.
There was a time of course in the history of the United States of America when self-reliance and self-confidence, which were born in the rugged frontier and so-called "wild West" experience of our people, were attributes that were taken for granted. Dodge City and Tombstone had no strip mall karate studios, and the terms "judo", "ju-jutsu", and "kung fu" were — literally — foreign words that practically no one on this continent had ever heard before, let alone knew the meaning of. Yet, the typical American male of the era was probably twice as tough and ten times better able to handle himself in a fight (with or without weapons!) than today‘s statistically average "martial arts black belt holder".
Not only our Country, but all of civilized Western society has lost a great deal insofar as the basic, manly virtues are concerned. We speak directly about America only because we are an American, we live here, and we know more about our Country than we do about any other.
One of our beloved teachers, the late Charlie Nelson, was fond of saying that "When they cleaned up the Indians, men didn‘t think they needed to be men anymore!" Well, obviously Charlie did not mean that as a slam on Native Americans, per se . . . he was speaking only in terms that many post-WWII citizens of New York City could relate to at the time (1950‘s). Urbanized kids such as ourself had grown up as little children watching cowboy and indian battles on TV, and watching westerns in which strong, tough MEN actually fought with and beat "bad guys". The old cliché about "white hats vs. black hats" — symbolizing good in the former, and evil in the latter — however trite, at least kept matters clear. To a boy growing up when we did, it was self-evident that thrashing — or even killing — the bad guy was not only "allowable", but actually necessary. or bad guys would get away with their deeds. And, at least in the America of the 1950‘s, that was unthinkable.
As America matured, so did her concept of the "good guy". Eventually, the good guy wore black. Paladin (“Have Gun - Will Travel) epitomized the more sophisticated, educated, yet tough-as-nails hero in the TV western of the late 1950‘s/early 60‘s. Paladin spoke articulately, behaved with impeccable manners, and was as comfortable in a San Francisco drawing room as he was in a tough border town, drawing on hardened gunslingers. One might say that Paladin was a kind of "cowboy version of James Bond".
Today — in the first decade of the 21st century — the entire culture of America, and of Western civilization, has been turned on its head. Whereas, in the America of the 1950‘s kids in the Bronx could bring their .22 rimfire target rifles to school to participate in the school‘s shooting club, in 2009 schools lock down and call for a SWAT team if a child brings so much as a toy GI Joe handgun to class, or — Heaven forbid! — if he draws a picture of a firearm, or points a finger in playful emulation of a handgun, at another child.
School bullies often got their comeuppance from their intended victims, because sooner or later each of those little bastards ran into the wrong kid to victimize; and after getting the you-know-what rightfully beaten the hell out of him, the teacher, school official, or other authority figure who appeared on the scene asked only, "Who started it?". When the facts were presented and it became evident that some lousy little trouble-making son-of-a-bitch had merely suffered the retaliatory violence of the child whom it was his intention to torment, the defender got an “ATTA BOY!” rather than that which the miserable cowards and negligent school officials impose upon a child who defends himself today: i.e. suspension. "It‘s just as wrong to fight in self-defense as it is to start a fight," is a philosophical concept that would — during the first half of America‘s 20th century — have elicited the response it deserves: absolute, utter, unforgiving CONTEMPT!
The "hero" of today‘s unfortunate child (and children ARE unfortunate to be saddled with the prospect of endeavoring to grow up healthfully in today’s climate) is a gender-challenged wimpoid who snickers and scowls, and has "conflicts" with his neighbors over the type of flower he keeps in the pot on his windowsill.
Disgusting.
With precious few exceptions we have come to the point where the American male — once a right-thinking, tough, standup guy who used common sense, knew right from wrong, and was ready, willing, and able to fight and win when the need arose, and it became imperative to do battle against evil (instead of merely to talk about it, or to listen to political scum make speeches about it) — is rarely able to do more than simply shrink in the face of a threat, today. The Dalton gang was blasted out of their saddles by THE CITIZENS OF THE LAST TOWN THAT THEY ATTEMPTED TO RAID. What the hell is done when street gangs and ten-for-a-penny punk-scum undertake to extort, mug, invade the homes of, and otherwise terrorize American citizens today? Hell, even the police do little more than establish "gang units" where cops are expected to reason with, develop a rapport with, and (we‘d suppose) get in touch with the softer, gentler side of these predatory subhumans, instead of joining together with the citizens whom it is their sworn duty to protect and serve, and shooting these vicious monsters down! Make no mistake about this, either: There are still a lot of good cops in our Nation‘s departments who‘d love nothing better than to do exactly that which needs doing, but the “official policy” that guides them forbids it.
While it is not necessarily true that "violence begets violence", it certainly OUGHT to be true! It should be the case that anyone who unjustifiably offers violence to an innocent human being begets a whole hell of a lot more violence right back in his damn face and down his damn throat than he is able to cope with!!
Contrast the attitude and response of America when Pearl Harbor was attacked with the response of the citizenry when this Nation suffered an attack on 11 September 2001. We did not expect our soldiers, sailors, and marines to read zen classics and begin eating with chopsticks in the mess halls. We were aroused to a fighting pitch (as we should have been), and we were, AS A UNIFIED PEOPLE PROMPTED BY COMMON SENSE OUTRAGE , out for blood!
When we say that these tough times demand that you get tough in order to survive them, we do not mean that you should become belligerent, rude, aggressive, or antisocial. What we mean is that you need to become self-reliant, rugged, strong, competent, confident, and capable in regard to matters pertaining to the defense of yourself and those whom you love. You need to acquire physical and mental strength, to cultivate courage, and to acquire those skills that will insure that you will not be hopelessly terrified, paralyzed by panic, and unable to take necessary, decisive action if and when some dangerous emergency makes it necessary for YOU to take immediate action. Even insofar as mere psychological conflicts are concerned, there is nothing that will propel you further ahead toward the self-confidence, poise, and inner strength that you need in order to cope, than realistic training in close combat and self-defense, coupled with progressive, serious physical training.
In over 45 years of teaching self-defense and physical training we have had the great pleasure of seeing people we trained grow stronger, straighter, more confident, braver, and become infinitely better equipped to deal with all of life‘s trials and tribulations —not only emergency self-defense situations — as a result of their training with us. They became TOUGHER.
Today, it does not take a genius to see and feel that our entire social order and culture has changed, and changed for the worst. One person cannot alter the course that America or the world is on, but every individual has at least a fighting chance to improve his ability to deal with what is coming upon us, and to prepare himself to defend his person, his private interests, and those he loves.
A "fighting chance" is of course greatly enhanced when one acquires the mental, physical, tactical, and technical means of fighting. It should be a priority on your list of things to get started in, right away.
Make this New Year the year that you do something about becoming able to defend yourself. If you‘ve "always wanted to", then why haven't you? And what are you still waiting for?
No one can foretell what sudden emergency you may need to face in the months and years ahead. Get tough now, make sure that — whatever it may be — if it does come to you, you‘re ready.
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Bradley J. Steiner
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