Martial Arts Philosophy

Meher Baba, the Indian sage, offered a bit of wisdom about fighting. He spoke of the non-violence of the strong. You don't bother anybody, but if somebody attacks you, you have an option that the weak do not have. You can fight back.

Even Gandhi spoke to this. He said that non-violence did not mean cowardice, and if the choice was between violence or cowardice, he'd pick violence.

I have always liked this concept. If you can kick serious ass and you know it, it means you don't have to do it just to prove something, either to yourself or others.

You can be pretty much a pacifist, in that you don't initiate violence against another, but you don't have to cower, if push does come to shove and you cannot avoid it.

The first rule of fighting safety is, whenever possible, run away. They can't hit you if they can't catch you. But if you are out walking with your slow-moving granny or your toddler, running isn't really an option. If you boogie and leave them behind, it might make the next family get-together somewhat awkward ...

Baba's philosophy works for me morally, and it also works legally. In most places in the western world, the law recognizes that citizens have a right to self-defense. If some thug attacks you, you may protect yourself with any and all means necessary to accomplish the chore.

This does not cover revenge -- if the attacker ceases his attack after you punch him in the nose and runs away, you don't get to follow him and continue to kick the crap out of him. Nor stab, nor shoot, and all like that. You are allowed to use only as much force as necessary to stop the danger to yourself or your loved ones (or even an innocent bystander you might not personally know.) No more that that. None. Zip. Zero.

As soon as you see that he ceases to be a danger, you have to stop.

As you are the person on the scene, you will have to determine what amount of force you deem necessary; however, you should be prepared to defend your decision in a court of law, because it could very likely end up there.

If your drunken Uncle Harold takes a swing at you at the Christmas party, generally speaking, you don't get to pull out your .44 Magnum and shoot him until you run out of ammo. If you are five-one and a hundred pounds and he is Goliath on steroids, maybe your lawyer can make the case, but you need to realize you might be betting your life on the verdict.

Plus the next family gathering is going to be awkward ...

That said, chosing a method of self-defense that works is the next topic. My choice, after years of trying all manner of marital arts, is an Indonesian art called penjak silat. My version comes from Java, and the full name is Pukulan Penjak Silat Sera. Sounds like it should come with peanut sauce, but it's actually a blade-based fighting style that involves striking and grappling, with the finishing moves often being takedowns or throws.

There are other arts that work well, this just happens to be the one that called to me.

Silat is still fairly uncommon in the U.S., only a relative handful of teachers and players. I've written about it at some length in my fiction: Silat is featured in the Tom Clancy Net Force series of novels, as well as my own recent book, "The Musashi Flex."

More on the specifics of the art later.