Military Close Quarter Combat

The Black Arts combines the best of many martial arts styles including advanced pressure points, dim-mak, joint locking and more. The three main styles incorporated are Hapkido, Kenpo and Jujitsu. With the use of the combat theory and applications taught by Black Arts instructors it is possible for even a small person to overcome a larger attacker and survive any encounter.

The Black Arts system was developed in Canada. With no fixed stances or fixed techniques training becomes focused on you and your own abilities. Training includes hand-to-hand combat, grappling and weapons disarming. Military personnel, law enforcement officers, anti-terrorist groups, intelligence agents and civilians use the techniques and theories used in Black Arts Military Unarmed Combat worldwide. Anyone can benefit by training in the Black Arts System, whether it's to learn practical street-effective self-defense or to supplement your existing martial arts style.


Kuk Bang Hapkido



Kuk Bung Hapkido is a modern style that uses military techniques, pressure points and energy manipulation to control or destroy your attacker. This style is strictly self defense oriented and does not lend itself to sport or competition due to the lethal nature of the art. The World Ki-do Federation and the Korean Government through the
martial arts federation known as Han Min Jok Hapkido Association officially recognizes Kuk Bang and Dahn certification. This is not a traditional form of Hapkido. No patterns or huyngs are practiced. Defense is against modern weapons such as knife, handgun, long gun and baton. Traditional weapon techniques are not taught. Students will find the techniques very quick and to the point. Training is dynamic and based on modern combat principles.



Defensive Edge Combat Principles


1. Strike at opposite sides of the body (see Yin/Yang Theory).
2. Keep attackers shoulders in line and at a 90 degrees to your chest to protect against strikes and for manipulation into negative balance.
3. Employ trapping, preferable at the wrist to facilitate locks and to maintain the attacker at a close range.
4. Non-lethal use of force is always an option.
5. No more than one step out from your position is required to control or take your attacker down.
6. Use multiple strikes to overwhelm your attacker until you have gained control.
7. Maintain a loose body style but be ready to quickly change to a hard style for technique application.
8. Resolve conflict within three seconds.
9. Do not hunt for pressure points but use what becomes available.
10. Use Psychological techniques to confuse, control and lead your attacker.
11. Be aware of your environment and use it to your advantage.
12. Your attack and defense should be one and the same.


Yin/Yang

This principle is the main principle used by DEFENSIVE EDGE in the application of strikes and is used in conjunction with pressure points.

Yin/Yang is the understanding that balance and harmony is often represented by positive and negative. The 12 visceral meridians are balanced by, 6 being Yin (-) and 6 being Yang (+). This principle can be associated to a battery with its positive and negative terminals. By connecting like terminals you obtain a minimal change however by connecting the opposite terminals a spark or shock is obtained which becomes destructive. The meridians can therefore be referred to as positive and negative circuits of the body.

The body is also separated into quadrants of Yin or Yang. The front is Yin and the back is Yang. The top is Yin the bottom is Yang. The left is Yin and the right is Yang. The principle is also considerate of other relationships following the positive and negative representation (A large adult is Yang compared to a small adult being Yin, but the small adult would be Yang compared to a child that would be Yin). The objective is to employ as many Yin/Yang combinations to enhance the outcome of your strikes.
Yang
Large Intestine
Stomach
Small Intestine
Bladder
Triple Warmer
Gall Bladder
Man
Yin
Lung
Spleen
Heart
Kidney
Pericardium
Liver
Woman


YU

Theory of Flowing Water (Yu)

Water symbolizes many things. From a martial arts perspective it teaches us that water can be both soft and hard. Water is soft as it flows around objects and blends with them, yet water is hard as it penetrates and carves rock if it does not have any other path. At Defensive Edge one must be both soft and hard in application of techniques. Mixing both and being both will provide explosive power that overwhelms an attacker. Just as when one places his hand into water it blends and forms around the hand, yet when one slaps the water quickly with a great deal of strength, then one realizes that water can also be very hard. There must be a natural combination of both soft and hard techniques to obtain the benefits of both soft and hard concept is one that is constantly blending and mixing with each other, to provide the optimum reaction. They to not fight with each other but enhance each other.

“ Water never struggles with any object that it encounters. If water cannot win the contact, it will not conflict. -Instead it will join with its adversary, producing no friction. Although this is a demonstration of its ability to adapt, it is important to realize water never changes itself.

Softness is another characteristic of water. We must accept the fact that softness has the capacity to win against hardness. A tempered steel bar will eventually break under enough stress. Water, on the other hand, though it may be made to break up, will invariably join together again.

In practice, one does not stop an attacker's force directly with force, but redirects it. If one will imagine a stream flowing rapidly down a mountain, the problems to overcome if one decided to change the direction of the water flow, becomes apparent. Constructing a dam perpendicular to the flow is obviously not the solution. However, if one would simply divert its flow, success would be realized. This theory follows the same approach. One does not stop an attacker's punch by applying force in direct opposition to the attack. By applying force to the side, tangentially the attack can be diverted and less energy expended.

The use of maximum strength at one time can be easily explained when comparing to the flow of water. One man can remove a fire hose from a truck. In this instance, it is light and flexible. However, when connected to a fire hydrant and water flowing through it, this same hose becomes very heavy and rigid. It now demands three men to handle it due to the concentration of water at one point, the end of the hose. This is like compared to man's ki power to water in a fire hose. Man should be able to concentrate all of his power in one direction to one spot.

Won

Theory of Circle (Won)

The theory of the circle is emphasized in each person as every man has his own circle. Inside this circle is his private territory. This is identified in the logo representing Defensive Edge. The red circle surrounding the Yin/Yang symbol, represents the circle of ones private space. If an attacker does not enter this circle than there is no need for defending one self. This circle will vary in size depending on the person, the environment and the threat.

You must also consider that a circles can encompass several directions crossing paths around you, basically creating a sphere. One must consider all of these avenues both for attacking and defending. Keeping an open mind when considering this sphere concept will allow you to be prepared against any attack and take advantage of any opportunity to defend, creating a DEFENSIVE EDGE around you.

“If someone were to enter this private domain without approval or proper warning, each man has a right to defend against this invasion. In ac¬tual practice, when an opponent punches, if this punch does not trespass into one's circle, there is no need to block. If one chooses to block, it is considered a waste of time and energy. When an opponent's punch does penetrate the circle, it should be received indirectly. Leading this force in a circle minimizes its effect. Utilizing a circle or winding block not only disrupts the opponent's force, but also sets the position for a counterattack. Furthermore, adhering to the circle theory allows one to continuously counter and maintain power and balance. Countering with techniques that are directed at an opponent along a straight line and then returning along the same line will prove to be less effective.”


Wha

Theory of Harmony (Wha)

In training, there must exist a simultaneous combination of mind, body, environment, and techniques. Harmony is the most important element to achieve at DEFENSIVE EDGE.

Techniques must become spontaneous, intuitive and automatic. The thought process is completed at the same time the technique is. The defense against a threat becomes one and the same when you attack. There is no difference between attacking and defending, they are done at the same time and are one and the same. Being in harmony with oneself permits no interruption between thought and action. The exact action required to address the threat presented to you, is done so without the realization of any thought process. That is not to say that a thought process does not take place, because it does. You have however reached a state of intuition in your reactions to your surroundings. When one reaches this stage of harmony he is whole in his martial art, his being and his environment.

“After one achieves harmony with himself, the next requirement is to harmonize with one's opponent. Accomplishing this, one will find it quite easy to read the minds of others. Following this, learning to harmonize with the environment is the next stage. The final task is blending the harmony that one has developed with himself, his opponent, and the environment with that of his techniques.

The following is an old story that teaches in a simple way the theory of harmony. A famous thief escaped from jail and, in his attempt to evade the authorities, fled into the woods. As he was running, he stumbled across a lumberjack hard at work. This particular lumberjack had worked in the woods all of his life and had become an expert with an axe. The thief, feeling that he had nothing to fear, allowed himself to be seen.
 

The lumberjack recognized the thief immediately due to his notoriety. The thought of killing the thief and taking his head to the proper authorities raced through his mind. He knew that he would be rewarded for such a deed and would not have to work for the rest of his life. The thief had trained in the art of reading minds and informed the lumberjack that he was aware of his thoughts. “You are thinking of killing me at this very minute," said the thief.
The lumberjack, was stunned, not knowing what to do, he began cutting a tree. He thought to himself, how is it possible that this thief can read my mind? The thief again told him what he was thinking. “You have given up trying to kill me because you know that I can read your mind.” The lumberjack was absolutely bewildered and continued in his effort to cut down the tree. The thief began to laugh, and spontaneously, the lumberjack threw his axe, catching the thief on the head. The thief lived long enough to ask, “Why was I unable to read your mind?” Then he died.

The answer to the thief's question is a simple one. The lumberjack had worked with his axe for so long that it had become a part of him. Harmony between his mind, body, and axe had developed to such a degree that there was no need for any thought to take place. Working with the axe had ceased to be thought and then action. It had become action without thought. The lumberjack was capable of throwing his axe at the thief with the same incognizance given to the task of felling a tree. The thief, therefore, could not read his mind because the thought of throwing the axe came after the act was completed.”

. .
* Italic excerpts obtained in portion from the book “Hapkido”, authored by Dr. He-Young Kimm, Andrew Jackson College Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.


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