Vol 4 No 7 - 2015 Newspaper Propagating the Filipino Martial Arts and the Culture of the Philippines Collect Concepts, not Engineering the Martial Arts Techniques! By Brian Johns By Eric Primm Article Engineering is the application of science to the real world. Physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology are wonderful fields of study, but they excel at providing concepts The Old Ways and theories. Engineering translates their discoveries into tangible, real world applications. I By Chris M. Suboreau & George M. Yore have spent half of my life studying engineering specifically because it combines mathemat- Article ics and physics with a tangible product. The principles that engineers use are the same that make Counterpoint Tactical Systems so interesting. CTS is a process oriented art governed Gatekeepers by Pareto’s principle that uses margins of safety for maximum cautiousness. Below are the of the Lineages By Mustafa Gatdula lessons that I’ve pulled from CTS that are applicable to the study of any martial art. Article About ... Past Events Health & Safety Discovering FMA Goals are important for any project. They provide a target to aim for, but they also Tid-Bits can be used to plan out a journey. All of my engineering projects have had goals, and knowing where I was starting and where I was heading meant that I could plan how to get from one to the other. I’ve talked about setting goals before, and I still recommend that approach. You can set big goals or small goals. Your choice. Engineering has taught me that goals will keep you on track, even though that track may twist and turn, the end point is still what you are working for. You may pass through milestones more than once, you may go off on detours, and, sometimes, you may actually regress. That’s okay as long as you don’t give up. Whether you’re designing an airplane or learning a martial art, hav- ing a goal should be your first step. Failure only occurs when you quit. Setbacks are not failure; they are part of the journey. Process is everywhere. Most people – well, normal people – don’t think about it much, though. Why? Because most pro- cesses are so ingrained that we don’t even think of them as such. In engineering terms, process is a series of operations that lead to a predicted outcome. Tying your shoes is an example of a process that most people wouldn’t consider one. But when a child learns to tie their shoes, they’re taught a series of operations. Eventually, that series is so ingrained, the child doesn’t consciously think of it but still follows. Driving is the same; after years of practic- ing the skills, drivers don’t think about Joel Daugherty is playing Espada Y Daga for pushing the gas pedal and switching to his second degree black belt test. He is assist- the brakes. They do it. CTS’s goal is the ed by Josh Ryer. same. If a knife comes out, the CTS student taps it without thinking because the pro- cess of tapping is built in. As we learn advanced skills, such as knife versus knife, the tapping has been practiced so much that it comes out without prompting. In examining www.fmapulse.com your own martial art, look for skills that become automatic, like punching. How do these skills and processes fit into your overall goal? Visit the FMA Informative Group on Facebook While setting your goal, you should examine your processes as well. In engineer- Click Here 2 FMA Informative Vol4 No7 2015 Vol4 No7 2015 FMA Informative 3 with Master and how do they build to- techniques come out in play. check out other breakdowns ence between getting the tap same time, I assume that my when they can just touch you Zach Whitson wards the full expression of While I like flying knees, I by Lawrence Kenshin. He’s and getting stabbed. The drills strikes will be shrugged off. with a fully extended front kick before I under- your art don’t train them often be- another genius at breaking we learn have these margins You can find footage on You- is probably using the wrong stood where my When evaluating pro- cause my goal is using self- down fights in a way that any- of safety built in, and it’s im- Tube of people being stabbed tool at the wrong time. This problems were. cesses, engineers rely on the defense to escape an attack. one can learn from. portant to look for them. multiple times with only one usually translates into a study A good question Pareto’s principle. This is more A flying knee fails that goal Engineers are by nature Advanced techniques may or two being fatal. But you of fighting ranges. Know the to ask yourself is commonly known as the because I’m leaving the a cautious group. Dealing have slimmer margins of can’t count on that either way. range of your tools, even your will your prac- 80/20 law. There are many ground and therefore unable with multi-million dollar safety but they are still there. Your margin of safety is the weapons. Yes, gun, too; guns tice get you to ways of using this principle. A to run away. So when I train projects exacerbates a cau- When I’m practicing CTS, I assumption that your oppo- extend the distance but not where you want Six Sigma engineer will use knees, my time is spent on tious nature. I’m a structural look for techniques and drills nent has one punch knockout infinitely. By understanding ing, this is called aligning to go? this to find issues in process- knees to the legs, body, or, engineer, which means that I where not being perfect power while you need thirty range, you are building a mar- your practices with your CTS is a very organized es. When mapping out ways when the opponents head is make sure the bones of the doesn’t get me killed. I exam- or forty punches to achieve gin of safety. Because if you are requirements. For example, if martial art. There is an overall to make a process more effi- bent over because those product won’t break. So, I’m ine why and see if I can apply the same outcome. That is the out of range of the tool, it can’t I am designing a hammer and process from white belt to cient, it’s usually found that build towards my goal, and if even more cautious that that elsewhere. What tech- worst case scenario, and if you hurt you. Staying out of range my goals is a lightweight but black belt. It can be broken by 80 percent of the issues you look, 80% of the knees most. My job is to think of the niques and drills require you train with that in mind, then comes down to rule number strong product, my processes down into sub-processes for are caused by 20% of the that I use in sparring are to worst possible thing that can to be perfect to work? What any other situation besides one of self-defense: run away if need to include weight re- each belt level and even problems. At my previous the legs. This is an iterative happen and make sure the drills can your hand or body that works in your favor. you can. You can’t get stabbed duction while maintaining further for each curriculum employer, I worked on a processes because you have structure can withstand it. We positioning be a little off and RUN! RUN FAST! RUN FAR! if your attacker can’t catch you. high strength. If my processes block at a belt level. For ex- project to reduce noise out- to constantly examine your do this by what’s called All tools are only If you can’t run away, knowing can only deal with ceramics, ample, pangamot introduces put from a drive shaft. One of processes for what works for a margin of safety. If you effective when usedthe ranges of your tools means then I will achieve one of my the beginning students to the the research meth- have a margin of safety properly. A circular saw you know where to be to de- goals – a lightweight hammer CTS training model. Panga- ods was to look greater than zero, you’re is not good for polish- liver the 20% of your tools that that will have a very short mot is a drill of empty hand through customer structure will hold. ing glass. A drill bit is a deliver 80% of the benefit. productive life. In martial arts versus stick. Looking at the complaints and Counterpoint Tactical terrible patch for elec- Engineering isn’t the terms, if I set a goal to be a drill, I see three major pro- warranty notices. It Systems also teaches trical wires. Engineers flashy science. Most of the point fighting champion and cesses in it. The first is learn- turned out that margins of safety. In the have to know their tools time, it’s downright boring. But what I’m doing is learning ing the concept of empty roughly eight out photo above, Master Video – Click Here to use them effectively. its principles can make train- CTS, then my training isn’t hand versus stick self-de- of every ten com- Whitson is tapping Josh Microsoft Excel is great ing more efficient. Counter- helping me towards my goal. fense. This is what most peo- plaints were about Ryer’s knife when the back of still work? for calculating but terrible for point Tactical System speaks CTS is a self-defense art that ple get out of the drill.