ISSUE #205  GUIDED CHAOS NEWS         follow us @GuidedChaos    ENDORSEMENTS

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YOUR QUESTIONS

QUESTION: What do you think of SCARS as realistic self-defense? Don't the SEALS use it? ANSWER: This is LtCol Al, thanks for your excellent question. Where to begin... You know it's hard to discuss the effectiveness of another system without sounding bitter, envious or self aggrandizing etc... so here goes. We are very familiar with SCARS, as a matter of fact one of John Perkins' students was a long time SCARS practitioner and while there are many who swear by it, from a casual observation of the system and techniques I have my personal doubts. Philosophically you won't find many differences in what they say and what we say.  Though they seem to say all of the right things, when the rubber meets the road, without the ability to adapt under violent conditions I find it improbable that many of the techniques they teach will work under the utter chaos of the real confrontation unless you're a gifted athlete or you get the drop on the other guy.   Who knows--maybe they can make some of this stuff work but if you have to be as athletic as say a Navy SEAL in order for it to work then what good is it for the average person? Like many martial arts they rely on "physical prowess", "techniques" and "tools" without any of the unifying principles such as balance, looseness, sensitivity and body unity to bring them all together into a complete functional system.  It's sort of like having a hammer but not knowing how to use it, sure it can be the best hammer in the world but just because you own the world's greatest hammer doesn't make you a carpenter.  As a result what you have is a "Hodge Podge" of skills in which you are hoping you can choose and effectively use the right tool for the moment when the feces hits the oscillating device. As for the Navy SEAL thing we have many friends and a few students who are SEAL's both current and former,  we also have students who are or were Army Special Forces, of course Marines, Federal Agents, State and local Law Enforcement as well as professional body guards who have protected many dignitaries and celebrities.  The list goes on... The point is just because someone throws the SEAL or Marine moniker out there for marketing purposes doesn't mean the training was or is effective. This is a technique that we all use to help validate the effectiveness of our training but it's one thing to say it and quite another to have folks who have used it to support what you say. I could say more on this but I'll just leave that portion alone, suffice to say I've been in the Marine Corps for nearly 25 years and I can tell you the US Military has received on more than one occasion its fair share of outright bogus/fraudulent training and poorly performing equipment from a variety of sources. Also remember that the key difference in Combat versus the Street is that in combat I have a rifle already in my hand at the ready with permission to shoot the bad guys.   On the street it's a little more dicey,  the threat is a little more ambiguous and you don't always have the ability to either get to a weapon or use one so there are differences, something mind you that Marines and Navy SEALs rarely encounter in combat. All I can say is there's a lot of stuff out there and a lot of folks that are more than willing to sell you sunshine and lollypops and tell you that if you just study their magic techniques all is going to be well. Well, good luck with that... I'm not trying to stifle your imagination or search for information These are just my thoughts from what I've seen and experienced. As with all things at the end of the day you're going to have to decide for yourself what you're willing to accept. Just always remember if you are fighting for your life "Hope" is not a plan! Hopefully what I have provided is of use to you.  Good luck in your search... --LtCol Al QUESTION: There are many martial arts from all over the world.  Everyone seems to believe that they have it all and can do it all.  This is my question: Among all forms of self defense (including your Guided Chaos), with everything being equal, the person's size, shape, strength, age, and skill level within their style, if they were all put in the same room, who would survive and where would Guided Chaos rank and why? ANSWER: Okay once again you're putting me on the spot so here goes... Without a doubt you would have the greatest chance of surviving with the Guided Chaos system simply because the skills and techniques are rooted not only in the laws of physics and human physiology but they are based on what we refer to as the "Forensic Reality" of violent attacks. In other words no matter what you see on TV or on CSI (most of us hate those shows by the way because of their false portrayal of the brutal reality of real violence but I digress), every man thinks they are right in their own eyes and let's face it there are a great number of beautiful and even "cool looking" Martial Arts techniques and systems such as Wu Shu, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido and in particular Aikido. There are also a number of straight forward, simple and brutal forms as well such as Muay Thai, Brazilian JJ, and most systems of Karate and traditional Kung Fu.  The problem is that the way many of these systems are taught and the skills applied rely on several factors: 1)  that the bad guys are going to fight you within the parameters of your art, techniques or skill sets that you have trained in 2)  weapons will not be used or if they are used the bad guy is going to hold the weapon out in front of him so that you have a chance to either grab it or kick it out of their hand 3)  they are only going to attack you one at a time 4) they are not trying to kill you 5) they are not going to fight back when you attempt your self-defense I could list more but you get the point.  They are relying on so many factors that have to be present and come together for you at the right time that it becomes virtually impossible to apply many of the techniques, because understand once people start to move, the fight completely changes. Remember that the bad guy gets a vote in the fight and is not going to sit back and give you a chance to make your move if he can help it.  This is by the way the very reason that the bad guys ambush and sucker punch people in real fights. They understand all too well that without getting the drop on people it's going to make for a long bloody day.  Don't take my word for it--pull up some of the attacks on YouTube and watch how they set people up, bum rush them or as in the case of multiple attackers, one guy attacks openly while the others maneuver to attack where the victim least expects it or they don't join on the fray until the victim falls on the ground (because hey--the bad guys don't want to get hurt either...). This is what Guided Chaos is all about, we are about providing people in the body God gave them, with skills "they" can use to defend their very lives.  Not win a duel or macho contest, but life and death combat on the streets in combat or wherever.  This is why we focus on principles rather than techniques because techniques come and go but the principles of the dynamics of human motion under real life and death conditions is totally different than the choreographed dancing that goes on in most systems.  Also remember that bigger, stronger, faster people have a significant advantage in a real fight and while this strays from your question, in truth this is another reason why most martial arts don't work.  They assume you're going to deal with people roughly your size and strength.  However in the real word just the opposite is often the case which is why most attacks on men involve more than one attacker.  The bad guys are not about being fair or playing by the rules thus the reason they are "the bad guys". Once again maybe the masters of a particular system could make some of these techniques work in a real fight but I have to tell you (personally knowing some of the top guys in many of these arts) the reality is they are so physically gifted they would be good if they played tennis or soccer.   My point is unless you're gifted like they are, in a real fight for your life you're in serious trouble if the bad guys decide to take it to the next level and decide to kill you. Remember sport techniques are for sport, real fighting for life and death. Hope this helps for now. --LtCol Al QUESTION: How does your book Attack Proof compare with "X" [a popular self-defense book]? Would I be able to learn effective techniques without a training partner? Would a slightly built male, aged 70 yrs, be able to learn and if necessary, effectively use these techniques against a younger and pehaps larger assailant? ANSWER: Excellent question. X's material (and most martial arts') is based on patterned and specific self defense techniques meant to be applied against specific attacks. They tell you "this move is what you do against this, and this move is what you do against that." The problem is that real violence doesn't work that way. The whole premise of Guided Chaos is that you can never predict what's going to be thrown at you and you never know how an attacker will change his attack in the midst of it while dealing with your counter-attack. And what if the attacker uses the same move against you that you use against him? Although the very basic beginner level of Guided Chaos teaches simple deadly striking (used in World War II and somewhat similar to maybe a few of X's moves that are also common to many "reality" styles), most of Guided Chaos is a system of learning that teaches you how to adapt and improvise your defense moment-by-moment so you create what you need, when you need it. No one else teaches that. A lifetime of Tai Chi training might give you the principles for adaptation based on sensing energy but good luck finding someone who can teach it, much less free-form it. Guided Chaos takes longer to learn and does require training partners but the benefits are immense. As far as learning the simplest self-defense for smaller individuals in the shortest time by yourself, you would be best served practicing hitting to the eyes and throat as hard and as fast as you can from every angle against a heavy bag or BOB dummy. That (and biting and scratching) will serve you better than an overly complex and traditional martial arts practice. Our basic book "How to Fight for Your Life" is based around that methodology. Attack Proof 2nd edition teaches the far more advanced Guided Chaos. Both are available thru Amazon if you're interested. You should also work on spotting (and/or carrying) makeshift weapons in your environment and bringing them to bear. Hope this helps. -- Matt Kovsky

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"Dirty boxing" self-defense using conventional and illegal closed-hand strikes augmented by Guided Chaos principles. The best of 2 previous Combat Boxing seminars plus new material. Destruction Methodology and Close-in Fighting Combat Boxing vs. Grappling Attack Wrist, Hand and Tendon Development Heavy Bag Drills Entries Contact Flow Balance Training Entry vs. Knife Attack Multiple Attacker Bag Drills Keeping the Body Sof Putting It All Together...and much, much more! NOW ON SALE

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THE BEST DVD FOR LEARNING KEY GUIDED CHAOS DRILLS AND PRINCIPLES: THE ATTACK PROOF COMPANION PART 2 YOUR GUIDED CHAOS FOUNDATION Contains highly detailed demonstrations of all the drills that are most vital to your development in GC (including some that are NOT in our book). It also has detailed explanations and applications of the 4 unique principles of Guided Chaos: Balance, Body Unity, Looseness and Sensitivity, including many important sub-principles. The stepping sequences alone are invaluable. MORE INFO

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST A GUN? MORE IMPORTANTLY-- DO YOU KNOW WHEN--AND WHEN NOT TO? BARE HANDS TO HAND GUNS PART 4 OF THE GUIDED CHAOS WEAPONS SERIES DVDS You can be the best target shooter in the world but if you can't fight HAND-TO-HAND at CLOSE RANGE you will never even GET to your gun. Worse, you could be shot with your own weapon! And if you get the microsecond to draw, traditional Isosceles or Weaver stances could get you killed. MORE INFO    PART 1: KNIFE OFFENSE | PART 2: KNIFE DEFENSE PART 3: CANE VS. KNIFE | PART 4: BARE HANDS TO HAND GUNS

SIMPLE AWARENESS TOOLS FOR SAFEGUARDING YOUR LIFE,   YOUR HOME AND YOUR FAMILY:

1. BEST INTRO BOOK FOR LEARNING GUIDED CHAOS COMBATIVES (THE FIRST PART OF GUIDED CHAOS) FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE The GC Combatives Manual Available in 3 Formats: (Paperback / Kindle / eBook) GC COMBATIVES: COMBAT PROVEN / EASY-TO-LEARN THE PERFECT "HOW TO" MANUAL FOR: AVERAGE PEOPLE / SECURITY PROFESSIONALS / LAW ENFORCEMENT ANYONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE YEARS TO BECOME A GUIDED CHAOS "MASTER"!     2. DVDS, and especially the no-nonsense GC WEAPONS SERIES: Kill The Enemy, Companion Part 1, Military/Police Tactics, Guided Chaos Weapons Series      DOES COMBAT TAI CHI ACTUALLY EXIST?      READ MORE... PUT YOUR TAI CHI ON STEROIDS... with Guided Chaos internal principles    Adapt / Improvise / Survive       THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PART TWO (2 DVD SET) - $75.00 All the principles, in depth, with drills. THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PART THREE: IN THE EYE OF THE STORM (3 DVD SET-6 HOURS TOTAL) - $125.00 Applying the principles to free-form combat with Contact Flow. BUY BOTH AT 15% OFF THE REGULAR PRICE OF $200. SAVE $30! 15% OFF--THE ATTACKPROOF COMPANION PARTS TWO & THREE COMBO PACK - $170.00      HOW DO I PRACTICE ON MY OWN?  TRAIN ALL THE GC DRILLS SOLO... ...SET TO NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC.  COMBAT CONDITIONING All the Guided Chaos drills back-to-back and non-stop on one DVD. No theory or extended explanations. Put it on, blast your stereo, follow along and work out--5 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour or longer--whatever you want-you decide! Also, many chapters end with a quick application demo of the skill just trained. Talk about practical!

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ENDORSEMENTS:


"Let me start by saying I thought I'd seen all that the world of 'reality-based self defence' had to offer, so for the easily bored out there, I'll cut to the chase. What I witnessed on the weekend of 26 and 27 March is the closest thing I've come across that resembles a modern-day, reality-based martial art and not just another 'combatives system'. Does it work? Hell, yeah! I got my arse well and truly kicked and at times felt like I was in the middle of a Jason Bourne fight scene."
--Clive Girdham, former Senshido and Geoff Thompson instructor [excerpted from the exclusive review of the Guided Chaos Australia Seminar in the Aug. print edition of BLITZ MAGAZINE: Australia's #1 Martial Arts magazine volume 25, issue 6

"Guided Chaos is the only training in my 15 plus years of Corrections that translates into real world application, period."
---Bob Miller, Corrections Officer at the largest facility in Oregon

"Guided Chaos is the only thing that has worked for me in real life situations. Unless you are 6'3" and 285 lbs of muscle, most of the Defensive Tactics stuff (ok all of the Defensive Tactics stuff) will get you hurt. And even if you are that big and strong, there is always someone bigger and stronger and there may be a lot of them. Nothing like dealing with one guy and it turns into a free for all with all his buddies. This is where you literally need to 'adapt or die' and Guided Chaos is the only training in my 15 plus years of Corrections that translates into real world application, period.

"If I had to pick only one martial arts system in the world it would be Guided Chaos..."
--Dr. Robert L. O'Block founder and publisher of the American College of Forensic Examiners International, American Board for Certification in Homeland Security
 

"...through watching videos put out by attackproof.com, and by
reading Attackproof, the book, I have learned real survival skills.
These skills have been learned...at an exponentially higher practical
yield-per-hour training rate than any other martial art classes or
seminar I've ever attended, or ever even heard rumor of."
--Matthew Shoener, Police Officer, Scranton, PA 

"The Companion Video Part One is stupendous!
A godsend of detail for out-of-state practitioners."
--Mark from Chicago

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