A.D.C. Tactical Self Defense System

The Path of the Warrior in Suburbia

By Master Dave Modzak, Karate

I've operated my own Karate school now for three years and the lease is coming due again, but I will not be renewing it. Of course there are many factors for making this decision, including financial ones; however, after a month of contemplation, I have determined that those are not the primary ones.

My goal was to teach the "Path of the Warrior". Yet, no one seems to fully share my dream. It has woefully come to my attention that people are not interested in that.

More people are interested in popular things like MMA fighting, where folks wrap their hands and wail away on a bag for an hour or learn a few basic moves and wrestle around for an hour, build a sweat and move on. Mind you, I'm not opposed to hardcore MMA schools or those related cage-fights. The events are entertaining and a wonderful sport to watch. The fighters that compete are well conditioned and able competitors who, I'm sure, can defend themselves adequately on the street too. Here's the reality though, they are sport fighters, not true warriors. Please do not confuse the two as most people tend to do, there is a difference. A different philosophy.

Many people are still also interested in what I call "Cookie Cutter" Karate. Simply put, you sign them to a contract, hand them a check off sheet or list, run them through some drills, test them on a monthly basis, all at an additional cost of course, and in about a year or maybe two at the most.they've got a black belt!

Basically these folks want it all handed to them for an affordable price, it then becomes something they can add to their resume, not to supplement or improve their lives. Just another routine activity to check off their list at the end of each week. Sometimes these places are appropriately called "McDojo", to say the least.

There lies the hook, I just can't do that.Training must be hard, fundamental, even boring at times. Balance, posture, history, dedication, discipline, a strong foundation, all these and more is what is required and I cannot compromise that. That may make me an old "dinosaur" and most likely a bad business man in the Martial Arts marketplace, but it is who I am. That discovery is, as the commercial says, priceless. I cannot operate a "McDojo" for any amount of money.

One of the biggest things I've discovered is people will bring their kids in and expect me to teach them discipline and respect while I babysit for them. News flash "Parents", that's not my job, it's yours! It isn't something that can be delegated to a Martial Arts instructor for however many hours a week. Many parents don't get that though. In my opinion, most children today are "spoiled brats" being raised by "spoiled brats."The apparent idea is that these people are under the impression that I owe them something. I am certain that they are most likely under the same impression with the rest of the world. Here comes that old news flash again, "nobody owes you anything". You get what you earn in the Martial Arts and most especially in life. I believe that was never taught to them.

Perhaps this is a result of the "feel good" society we have created over the years by never allowing anyone to actually fail, or lose if you will.There's an old saying, "Second place is first loser."I think people need to start teaching this again. It's what I teach and it has definitely cost me students, but at least it's real.

I had a Mom come up to me, agitated of course, ranting on about how we're all winners and there are no losers and how I was a loser for saying that anyone was a loser, blah, blah, blah. It went on for quite some time and I let her go on about it. When she took a breath I pointed out that the soldier in Baghdad who comes in second is most likely in a body bag, not standing around with a six foot trophy claiming to be second winner.

I have no idea where this sense of entitlement has come from but it does truly run deep and will take quite awhile and a lot of work to root out. It's as if we decided somewhere along the way to just give up our competitive edge and demand that everyone just start wiping our noses for us. Believe me I cleaned that up a bit, and those of you that do know me know it to say the least. My question is, where did our sense of dignity go? How about our sense of honor? Who the hell have we become? My mother is 92 and a proud member of the greatest generation this wonderful country of ours has ever seen. I live with her, provide for her, and care for her now. I treasure her knowledge, integrity, honor and courage, and in her words, "If you didn't earn it, nuts to you! Who do you think you are?" I couldn't agree more.

Well, I couldn't do it. I decided I had to close my school. I can't just sell belts to pay the rent. I can't tell you you're something you're not. I can give you the same opportunity to learn the same things I did the same way I did. I can teach you that you're a winner for stepping up to compete when so many folks just talk about it and never do. I can teach you that you're a winner for going the extra mile when most fall out along the way. I can teach you that you're a winner for never, never, never, giving up, and for always moving toward your goals. I can teach you that you're a winner because you can hold yourself up tall and strong and walk away from a fight, I cannot; however, teach you that you're a winner just because you're breathing. It is not for sale. This is America damnit! The land of the free, the home of the brave. You know the place where you have the right to pursue happiness. Nowhere, by the way, and I do mean nowhere, does it guarantee the delivery of said happiness. So, I say stop expecting it to show up and start to earn it!

People of my mothers' generation are fading away quickly. There aren't that many of them left. Most people of that greatest generation came here with nothing but hopes and dreams and the willingness to work hard and they came here, not because America guaranteed them success, but because America simply offered them the chance to either succeed or fail equally. It is our duty to take back that right. The right to fail and the right to lose, then and only then will winning ever hold any meaning again. We are not all winners and we are all not losers or failures; we are all people who wish to merely, in many instances, just get through the day simply, nothing more, and nothing less.

For those who do wish for more, then seek a clear path.Risk more. Realize that failure is there for you to learn from as well as success is. Realize though that failure is only truly a failure if it's the last time you try. Never give up trying.

I will likey open another school someday, after all, this warrior is not done following his own path yet.

Train hard, live well, die with honor my friends.

www.adcmartialarts.com

masterdave@adcmartialarts.com

www.myspace.com/a_d_c_artist

To compete or not to compete, That is the question?

By Dave Modzak

I’d like to talk about Martial Arts Competitions…

There are many varieties, Traditional Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Mixed-Martial Arts, and what I think can be the most controversial, “Open to All Styles” Competitions.  As I type away it becomes clearer how unclear this particular discussion can and most obviously will become…now let’s watch the hornet’s nest begin to stir.

Well, we have to start somewhere, so how about here; Tae Kwon Do tournaments are exclusive and apparently popular within its specific community.  TKD itself is very popular, hell, seems like you can’t go past a strip mall without seeing another Korean Do Jang (School).  The style has lived through a roller coaster ride of a reputation and has made it in to the Olympics as an official event.  That’s also the goal of Traditional Karate, to become an official Olympic sport.  Karate has its own exclusive tournaments too, it may no longer be not as widespread as TKD, but what they lack in numbers they may make up for in attitude.  Here come the pundits, come on, everybody knows what I’m talking about; some of us have friends that are exclusive Karate folks and we often have to hear from them about how much more powerful their “traditional” techniques and strikes are than anyone else’s.

How about the MMA events?  I like them.  From the professional to the amateur, I like them alot.  The bigger events are particularly good in my opinion.  They are sanctioned by State Athletic Commissions, universally trained and licensed referees, readily available medical professionals, specific well-outlined and published rules, and on top of that, some of the best conditioned competitors are featured there as well. Although, there has been much debate about whether these MMA “sport fighters” are not true warriors, remember, different philosophies come into play here; I am currently talking about competitions, not the competitors themselves. 

Oh my, I’m really going to get into trouble now!

Now let’s really kick it over.  “Open” martial arts competitions, you know the ones, open to all styles,  they range from 50 divisions to over a thousand, from Kung Fu to Kenpo, from small gyms to Disneyland, and every stop in between.   You see these are the tournaments that I pretty much specialized in and have not only spent plenty of money and time competing in and winning (Oh yes, losing too!), but volunteering my time in them as a judge; as well as hosting my own for the past 12 years.  In most instances, these competitions are generally confused and disorganized in my mind.  There are other more colorful terms I’d use to describe them, but I understand this publication is read by families and younger martial artists, so we’ll just leave it at confused and disorganized.

In my opinion, most of the problems stem from the lack of a singular guidance.  There’s no real democratic governing body to cover the spectrum.  No universal guideline as to how a freestyle martial arts tournament (open to all styles) should be promoted and operated.  Promoters that host them seem to pretty much makes it up as they go along.

I can hear the keyboards beginning to hum as the forums are a buzz now.  I can just hear the insipid whining… “What does he know; I’ve been holding tournaments for 30 years… Who does he think he is? We’re sanctioned by (FILL IN THE BLANK)… Doesn’t he know that if everyone just used our rules everything would be just fine?”  Blah, blah, blah! Therein lays the problem, everyone has a different way of doing things and no one can agree.  No universal sanctioning, no universal training or licensing of referees/judges, no set number of / or type of divisions are firmly in place, and why not?

The typical excuses are numerous, but the usual suspects are; there are so many styles that it’s impossible to completely oversee, and if State Athletic Commissions got involved, it would dove-tail into government control over all martial arts schools.

I feel a news flash coming on…oh, horse feathers!

Come on, “open to all styles” tournaments can be fun and exciting, especially the big ones, but the level of whining and moaning, complaining and groaning about such nonsense are truly unsurpassed.  Everything from differences in divisions to judging criteria, points awarded and sanctioning politics, are the topics of a level of bitching that truly, in many instances, surpass the true purpose of the actual event itself!

I was at one event where the Master of one of the schools competing was complaining about the size of the trophies, mind you he had 10 students competing, and 8 won first place, but the trophies still weren’t big enough for him.  I had a competitor complain at the last tournament I hosted that I didn’t have the right division for her to compete in, she won the division that she did compete in, but it paled to her whining about my not having the division she wanted.

The stories I’ve heard are as numerous as the number of styles themselves.  So are the excuses, and we all know about excuses, they’re just like armpits, everybody has two and they both tend to stink, so I’m going to try to avoid them here. Competitors often complain about the conditions at a tournament causing them to lose too.

I’m not sure how most people look at tournaments these days, well maybe I am sure, but I choose not to use those words here, when you tell me something can’t be done you can bet I’m going to at least take a crack at it..no excuses.  As far as government control is concerned, the last time I stopped by our local MMA gym they were doing just fine and I didn’t notice any jack-booted Nazi’s standing over them taking down names.  No, what I think it really boils down to is, and let me quote a great movie, “A failure to communicate.”

Well, I believe the time is now for competitors and promoters, school owners and parents, to shut up and step up.  Let’s keep it real while we’re at it too.  In today’s economy folks are going to be careful where and how they spend their money and to be honest, some open tournaments are very expensive.  When you plop down a couple of hundred dollars to compete you’d like a quality experience, or at least a fair and reasonable one. 

How do we step to that next level?  I’m not exactly certain how to go about it, but I’m sure it has something to do with better communication.

Promoters are going to have to start to talk to each other more and maybe even start to unify, and I mean real unification with honest dialog and intention.  Judges must strive to remember the competitor paid for the experience, so let’s keep it as fair and balanced as we can for them.  Competitors, remember it’s a competition and you just may not be as good as the competitor sitting next to you, or you may be better, that’s what you’re there to find out that day. Win, lose or draw, hold your head up and act accordingly.  That’s right, let’s start acting with a little dignity and honor, respect and courtesy. You know; acting properly, we used to call it “manners” or respect.

If you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, and from what I’ve seen, many don’t, then look it up on Wikipedia, I’m sure it’s there.  I promise you it’s not the “end all” answer, but it’s a place to start, and getting started is a priority.