Subject: Salem Oregon Seminar Oct. 9-10 Newsletter #161
GUIDED CHAOS NEWS #161 IN THIS ISSUE:
• "My First Trip to New York" (All you out-of-towners might find this interesting)
• Oregon seminar set
• GCC Instructor certifications continue
GUIDED CHAOS INTENSIVE:
FIRST SEMINAR IN OREGON!
2 Days: Sat. & Sun. October 9-10
Grandmaster John Perkins
Former forensic homicide investigator
and Guided Chaos creator
&
Lt. Col. Al Ridenhour USMC
Iraq & Afghanistan Combat veteran
and Guided Chaos master
Courthouse Athletic Club (Lancaster)
4132 Devonshire N Salem Oregon
Map/Directions
(503) 588-3375, option 5
Club website
"The Way of Adaptation"
GET READY... Our first seminar in Oregon is going to be a super-intense overview of the entire Guided Chaos system (as time allows) so that our Northwest enthusiasts get as much hands-on explanation as possible.
Guided Chaos has a unique feel to it and we will strive to get everyone on the right track for accelerated development. This will also allow you to use the drills and principles to augment any other self-defense training you already have, increasing your ability to adapt to violent chaos.
Though the concepts are advanced, they can immediately be put to use by rank beginners.
This is your opportunity to try out the "unique" Guided Chaos system first-hand and experience its effectiveness.
SATURDAY 12 NOON-5PM:
• GUIDED CHAOS COMBATIVES (GCC)
WALK OUT WITH SKILLS YOU CAN PUT TO USE IMMEDIATELY. MASTER THEM IN 6 WEEKS (with diligent training).
There are other World War II combative systems out there. Some are authentic and some are watered-down MacDojo nonsense. The best of these derive from the simple, effective techniques created for U.S. soldiers in World War II and used in thousands of documented police and military conflicts. John Perkins takes these methods and supercharges them with principles from tai chi (internal energy) and Native American fighting concepts ("anything goes" adaptability). Understand that the original Close Quarters Combat developed by Colonel Rex Applegate, William Donovan and members of the OSS was lethal all by itself (it was devised because of a perceived inadequacy in our troops' Hand to Hand training compared to that of Japanese Soldiers schooled in Judo and Karate. This led to a training overhaul by our own military in the late 1930's and used in countless close engagements against Japanese troops in World War II.) Guided Chaos Combatives is just the first level of Guided Chaos. It teaches you the basic weaponry in a short period of time.
SUNDAY 10AM-3PM:
-HOW TO PENETRATE A CHANGING DEFENSE
-HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST A CHANGING ATTACK
How to condense a lifetime's worth of Internal Arts training into lethal combat you can master in 5-10 years with diligent practice.
-Intro to Guided Chaos Groundfighting
-Intro to Weapons (if time allows).
Guided Chaos Combatives is the first level of Guided Chaos. It teaches you the basic weaponry in a short period of time. You can then go on to learn the entire mother art of Guided Chaos--a revolutionary system that frees your body and mind to fight with the natural animal motion best suited for humans. Rather than using robotic, regimented or sportive techniques, it focuses on pure adaptability to help you survive the unchoreographed chaos that characterizes every real life and death struggle. These principles integrate Weapons, Groundfighting, striking with all parts of the body and many, many more combat aspects. These methods are found nowhere else.
Unique Drills for developing the 5 Main Principles:
• Dynamic Balance
• Looseness & Pliability
• Body Unity & Power
• Energy Sensitivity
• Combat Adaptability & Improvisation for Survival
Wear regular street clothing. Includes short break for lunch.
*WARNING: Although our training is designed to be safer for its participants than most self-defense, it is your responsibility to gauge your physical condition for participation and stop if you feel over-exerted.
Cost of Admission: 2 ways to pay...
$200 at the door for each day, $400 for both (cash only; sorry no checks)
SAVE $50 ON BOTH DAYS ONLY--OFFER ENDS 9/25/10
ORDER NOW! BOTH DAYS: $350SPECIAL REBATE FOR ACTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT
WITH VALID ID
--If you advance order for both days, show your ID at the door and fill out the sign up sheet. You will be rebated an additional $50 via Paypal within 72 hours (your total cost after discount and rebate is $300 for both days for a total savings of $100).--If you pay cash at the door, show your ID at the door and fill out the sign up sheet. You will be charged $175 cash per day for a savings of $25 per day.
SPACE IS LIMITED--ORDER EARLY!
IMPORTANT: WHEN YOU PURCHASE FROM THE ATTACKPROOF.COM WEBSITE, BE SURE TO PRINT OUT YOUR PAYPAL RECEIPT. HOLD ON TO IT, THIS WILL BE YOUR ADMISSION TICKET (WE WILL ALSO HAVE A LIST AT THE SEMINAR).
NEW GC FACEBOOK FEATURE: "TODAY'S TIP"
Your daily dose of combat realityGCC INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATION
Congrats to former detective Michael Goldman
who passed his test with flying colors!
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"!"My First Experience Training in New York"
AUSTIN, TEXAS MARTIAL ARTIST DERICK MILLER DESCRIBES HIS FIRST VISIT
TO THE BIG APPLE'S GC SCHOOLS
(You can also read it on our Forum with comments by others.)
I'm going to post some reflections in this thread on my experience
spending a few days in New York and the opportunity to do get some
training in Guided Chaos. These notes are more highlights and
personal reflections.
The amount of material that was covered in these encounters was so
much that I could not possibly catalog it all unless I had had a video
camera running so I could re-watch it repeatedly to get it all down.
I only hope to convey a sense of what it was like for those who have
not had a chance to get direct training and to encourage you to seek
it out, either by going to NY yourself or by attending a seminar, if
you are lucky enough to have one in your area.Along the way are a number of digressions that I hope might be helpful
Although I think the real power in Guided Chaos is in the integrated
to anyone going to seek similar training or that help you understand
some of my relevant experience to help you evaluate my perspective.
Your experience will, no doubt, be significantly different from mine
in the specifics that you learn, but I believe you will learn a lot if
you keep your mind open to learning new things.
approach it takes to managing physical conflicts, I would be surprised
if anyone could not find useful tools to integrate into their own
martial understanding. But once you feel what the integrated Guided
Chaos methodology can do, I think you will be converted.
Tuesday (Day One):
Matt was kind enough to invite me to a private training group meeting
with a bunch of guys he knows (some guys in the TV industry and a
couple of cops). I had read the book and watched several of the
DVDs, but I had never experienced GC directly before this.Matt showed me the basics of contact flow and gave me a taste of the
power of GC in application. I have trained in a few styles over the
years, the most relevant being Tai Chi fixed step Push Hands, MMA and
Aikido (relevant because the skills most readily transferred for me).
This background, especially in MMA, has given me the opportunity to
experience real resistance or “alive” training, as Matt Thornton would
say. Experience like this (which you can get in martial sports like
MMA, Kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, BJJ, etc.) is valuable because it
shows you how, when you are working against someone who wants to win,
things often don't work like they do in the forms, katas or fixed
techniques of some martial arts. You learn to test everything against
a resisting opponent.The first challenge for me experiencing contact flow: I was used to
In those two hours, Matt also taught me, in practice, a number of
practicing Push Hands from a fixed position and I was not accustomed
to moving or striking in the push hands context. MMA combined
striking and movement, but once contact was established, used clinch
skills from Muay Thai and wrestling. Trying to put on a hold didn't
work. Matt just flowed out of my grasp, hitting me the whole time.
Working with Matt and his group helped me work through this issue.
things that I “understood” in my conscious mind from the book and
DVDs, but which I did not “understand” in my unconscious mind/body.
I'll give a couple examples: he showed me how to strike while in
contact in a number of non-obvious ways that were surprisingly
effective, how to turn one strike into four strikes, and perhaps most
importantly for that stage of my training, how to stay behind the
guard.
A few general observations and musings:
1. We need different lessons at different stages in our training, and
what those lessons are is very individual. There are some general
patterns, like “Most beginning students need to learn _______” etc.,
but each individual brings a different set of primary challenges to
the training situation at any given time. Guided Chaos instructors
and even senior students seem to be phenomenally gifted at figuring
those out with the student they are helping--it always seemed that I
was learning just what I need to know just when I needed to know
it.2. It takes repeated practice to fully internalize a lesson. You need
to make the mistakes and learn from them; this is experience. In Tai
Chi, there is a common expression: “Investing in Loss.” You have to
be willing to operate just past the edge of your capability to grow
and this means you have to be willing to fail, repeatedly. It is
simple and obvious when you say it, but most people avoid it--a
manifestation of Ego getting in the way. Al pointed out that anyone
could learn GC, but only a few do: those who "get it" and stick with
it. Doing that means putting aside your ego and practicing contact
flow.3. There are different kinds of learning. You can learn it in your
mind, which allows you to think about it and to direct your efforts,
but the real learning takes place in your body. Ari told me
something John had said (apologies if this is not quite right...) that
your conscious mind is like a little kid who doesn't know how to do
something but thinks he does and he jumps up and down talking about it
like he knows what he is doing. The unconscious mind is the part that
really learns how to do things. I think this is the same thing as
what I would call learning it "in your body."I believe all the lessons I was exposed to on this visit can be found
in the book and DVDs. The reason the experience mattered was that I
was able to learn some of them in the body (or unconsciously) so that
they could be used. This has given me a foundation that I think I can
build upon with practice. I don't think it is possible to understand
this without feeling it.The other advantage of feeling it is that you can clear up any doubts
about the effectiveness of the techniques. For example, after the
class on Tuesday evening, Ari showed me some of the ground fighting
strategies.Note: I'm not a phenomenal BJJ guy or anything, but I have learned a
little about ground fighting and could grapple regularly without
embarrassing myself with the biggest guys in my gym. Ari and I are
about the same height, but I have a lot of weight on him. This
explanation won't make sense if you don't know basic ground terms, but
in that case it probably won't matter to you :-).We started with Ari on the ground and me standing. I could not figure
This experience made it pretty clear that, at least against my skill
a way around his legs, although I did make some painful attempts :-).
He also took me down a couple times by scissoring my leg with his
legs.
Ari then invited me past his guard to side mount so I could see how
that would work. I started to put him in the typical Judo hold and he
made it clear to my body that it really did not want to be there. He
also simulated eye gauges which would have been pretty unpleasant.
level, the ground fighting techniques were quite effective. That's
what you can find out when you try it in person. No video can do that
for you.
Tuesday (Day One) continued:
Back to the story...Matt got me started on learning lessons "in my
body" and started the process of mistakes that would lead to
learning.What Matt taught me prepared me for my next experience: going to the
regular class held at Premier Fitness.[A side note on transportation: I got there using the Coach USA bus
line (thanks, Matt).There are a number of good NJ Transit trains that also work and the
train station is merely blocks from Premier Fitness.Google Maps can be very helpful with public transit, but there are a
number of options it does not include...]I arrived at Premier Fitness a bit early and recognized Ari when he
came in. I introduced myself and he immediately invited me to go
hands on with him. My second lesson had begun and I had not even
attended my first formal class.Like Matt, Ari is very articulate and made many small adjustments to
help me improve what I was doing. Ari and Matt share a great
commitment to helping students learn the art and a strong ability to
meet the student where they are. Having noted these similarities,
they were also very different in what they showed, what they
emphasized and how they moved.Matt had emphasized getting behind the guard, which was a way to get
me moving my body to make myself less vulnerable.Ari emphasized flowing movement, which also had me moving my whole
Ari showed me that when attacked, I should relax and let the attack in
body more, but with an entirely different feel. Ari helped me see, in
real time, a number of ways to move better. I “knew” the names and
concepts from the book and DVDs, but he made them real and something I
could start to learn in my body by feel. Ari gave me a second taste
of the power of GC in application.
while remaining unavailable to the attack, letting the affected parts
(such as my hand that is in contact with the attacking arm and the
part of my body that is the target of the attack), move out of the
way, but that the rest of my body should move in towards my opponent,
preferably on an oblique angle, while attacking.
The best ways I know to evaluate a martial arts school is to look at
the capability of the top students. Some people are very good at what
they do and some might have one protege who is also impressive, but
this is not, necessarily, a good indication of what you will get out
of studying in that school. It only indicates what the master has
achieved and, perhaps, what one diligent person can copy.But if there are a group of senior students who have achieved a level
you aspire to and they are really impressive, that is the promise of
what you, too, can get from studying in that school. You can count on
diligent work delivering what the senior students can achieve because
the school has shown, repeatedly, that that level can be attained by
students who stick with it.If you have not seen it in person...John is amazing in a way that
seems like magic when it happens to you or you watch him working with
someone else. Al, too, is a force of nature. And, when I worked
directly with more than half a dozen senior people, they were all
amazing in their own right. This tells you what you can achieve if
you study Guided Chaos.Beyond this, all the senior people are really good at conveying how to
improve when you work with them. Not only can the system be taught
effectively, but the way of teaching the system effectively can also
be conveyed, at least to an extent.This is a real testament to what has been built, which is a martial
system that is phenomenally effective, not only in the hands of the
founder and people who are very similar to him, but in the hands of a
wide diversity of people and body types. It is also a system that can
meet any student where they are. And it is a system that has a
sophisticated teaching methodology behind it that works well and that
the experienced students learn to adopt.I got in a conversation about the teaching methods with John after
Another side note: If you are planning to make a trip of your own, I
class on Thursday and he explained that the teaching methodology was
something he had developed with great effort and that it was designed
to work on several levels, not just the obvious conscious level.
strongly suggest you make sure to be there on a Saturday, where you
can get the really big class. Unfortunately, my travel was based on
business, so the timing was not under my control, so I was only able
to experience GC for three and a half weekdays.
Tuesday night, Class starts.
I was very fortunate with the timing for my visit to NYC. As you
know, I had already met Matt Kovsky, one of the authors of the book,
and I knew I would meet John himself in class. But Colonel Al
Ridenhour had been deployed in the sand box.But, as I said, I was lucky. The Colonel had just returned from his
latest tour, and this was his first night back in class.Matt had told John I would be coming to the class, so he knew who I
was when we first met. I could tell immediately that John has
absolutely no pretension about him. Many martial arts instructors of
considerably less stature have considerable ego about themselves.
John treated me like a friend on equal footing, like we had known each
other for a long time.John wanted to make sure I made the right impression with his class,
so he took me aside to give me two pieces of advice. The first was
the the Colonel really would really enjoy it if I walked up and cold-
cocked him. The second was that a woman (who will remain unnamed)
walked into the class and John suggested that she would really
appreciate it if I put her in a choke hold. One of the students (to
be protected with similar anonymity) overheard this and suggested that
it would be even better if I called her "Buttercup." Much joking
ensued about how she was especially expert at targeting a very
vulnerable target that only works on men.Before class formally started, John did contact flow with me and led
me through a large range of topics. For example, he let me feel
different ways of being struck and explained how they worked. When he
flowed, it all seemed so simple and natural like anyone could do it.
He showed me how he would find openings and how I could do the same.
He noticed how I integrated material I had learned from other places
into my contact flow. When he saw some of my Aikido coming through,
he mentioned that in developing his system, he took what Aikido said
at it's face value and applied it: "using your opponents energy
against them." I should note that this was a fairly subtle thing to
notice. It isn't like I was applying wrist-locks or anything. It was
just in the way I moved around joints.The class started with some of the exercises you will know from the
book or DVDs (Ninja walk, polishing the sphere, psycho tango, etc.)
led by Joe. While Joe was leading a section, Patrick gave me helpful
advice, which was typical of the students. Everyone went out of their
way to help me learn. After Joe finished his section, Patrick led us
through some more exercises. As these were going on, John interjected
with helpful information and pointers.Then the real fun began. John would give us some instruction,
followed by contact flow, and this pattern repeated till the end of
class. Each time, John selected who should work with me and gave them
instructions on how he wanted them to work with me. He would then
watch, check in with us, give explanations or demonstrations and then
tell us how to proceed. I presume he was also doing this for the
other students, but I was so focused on what I was doing that I cannot
say. For all I know, they were mixing margaritas and doing salsa
dancing.The class was over far too soon. John asked the Colonel to work with
me. This was very different from working with John, but similar in
that they both have the ability to convey huge amounts of information
in a way that is completely understandable. I had to be completely
focused on the situation to take in what I was being told and shown,
and the information was delivered as quickly as it could be without
losing me.The Colonel used a method of getting me to move the right way, the way
I would move if I were very skilled in GC. He accomplished this in
different ways: sometimes with verbal instructions, sometimes with the
way he moved, sometimes by guiding me physically through the way I
should move and sometimes with just a facial expression and I just
knew what he wanted me to do. He explained that since I only had a
short time, he wanted to load me with as much material as he could so
I would have things to work with on my own.I had asked if someone could give me a ride to the train station after
class. Ari volunteered. As we were walking to his car, he asked
where I was staying and realized that it was close to where he lived,
so he offered to drive me back. Riding with Ari gave me the
opportunity to learn even more as we talked and to fill in some areas
that had confused me.I found out later that the train station is actually in walking
I didn't look at the clock when I got to my room, but I think it was
distance of the gym.
around midnight. It took me a few hours to get to sleep. I had to
get up early the next morning. Ugh.
I should have mentioned that the events in the post about Ground
Fighting, early on, occurred after working with the Colonel and before
the ride home :-)I have only covered my first day so far, so I will try to make the
rest of the accounts a little less....verbose :-).Wednesday.
I went back to the city to work with Matt and his private group for a
couple hours. It was interesting to try what I had been learning on a
diverse group of students. At the class on Tuesday, I had been paired
with one senior student after another. Matt's group consisted of
students who had only come to these private sessions and the group had
not been going as long, but they did bring some diverse skills to the
table. I also got to work with Matt, who is, obviously, very
senior.We had some interesting digressions into topics of the use of force in
Since he lives quite near to where I was staying, Ari dropped by. Ari
a law enforcement context, transition to weapons, etc., since a couple
guys in the training group are cops.
explained the basics of dropping energy and showed me how it could be
useful in a number of contexts, not only to deliver power, but also to
recover almost instantly from a shove and be able to immediately
engage with your attacker. We also practiced contact flow.
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=========================================...through watching videos put out by attackproof.com, and by
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