A Serial Butt Slasher in Northern Virginia?

I heard on the news this past week about a "serial butt slasher" attacking young women in the mall. I did a search and found an article about a serial butt slasher in N. Virginia, and I couldn't believe it! How could someone get away with slashing someone else's body. I hope that someone catches this guy soon, because I wouldn't want any of my friends or family members to ever be attacked. It sounds like he's distracting and then slashing them as their eyes and mind are occupied with something else. What would you do? How would you prevent something like that from happening to you?

As martial artists, we talk about being ready at every moment. We are ready to fight if something bad comes at us. But what if the attacker doesn't want you to know he's coming? Without talking about the psychological issues of the attacker, let's see some actions we can do to lessen his attack on us.

Always be aware of your surroundings! You would think nothing bad can happen in the mall. Well, it already did happen here in N. Virginia. Make it harder for someone to hit you by creating distance or having another object between you and that person. Always look for ways to exit or be able to find a safe place to go. 

Watch people! Watch how they are looking at other people or if they are looking at you. You can always notice how people have different facial expressions when they are mad, sad, or happy. Watch their hands. Are their hands clinched, ready to hit? Maybe they are reaching for a weapon? Watch their eyes. Maybe the attacker is zoning in an area where they want to attack.

Go in numbers! It's always good to be with a friend or friends when something bad happens. They can help you fend off the attacker or call for help. You can watch each other's back. But what if you're alone with your child in the mall? Use your parental instincts. I think a mother has a sixth-sense when it comes to protecting her child. Listen to your instincts if you feel like a person doesn't act or look right. Move to a safer place. You can walk to other areas of the mall that have a greater amount of people.

Each of us can do something to lessen an attack on ourselves. But you have to be willing to trust your instinct and be ready for any situation to prevent it. Some thought provoking articles to read are situational awareness by Guro Harley E., and awareness training by Guro John P.

Class: July 31, 2011

Attendees: Bryant N. (from MMA), Lem

Notes:
Review of templates 3 of 9 rh, lh, and simultaneously. True left. Left defeats right. Phase two for 3 of 9. Reveiw of TD1.

Training at Maharlika Martial Arts (MMA). July 26

I made the drive up to train with Guro Bob Shin's class at MMA. The first part of class we partnered up and worked on Transitional drills. I got to work with Ryan. I think he's been training about a year now. He wanted to work on TD 3. Once Ryan got TD 3 down, we started working on TD 4. The last part of class Guro Bob showed us stickgrappling material that Tuhon Tom Kier had demonstrated in the past. It was a good class to be visiting. I remember watching Tuhon Tom's presentation in a Sayoc stickgrappling dvd and was thinking that you have to be able to take some pain to be his demonstration partner. Great stuff though!

Sayoc Kali Sama-Sama 2011

I attended this year's Sayoc Kali's Sama-Sama. Sama-Sama is a Filipino (tagalog) name for gathering or coming together. This happens once a year. I had a good time at this year's sama-sama. I felt honored to be a part of this art that Pamana Tuhon Sayoc has shared. I will offer my thoughts on what you can expect if you attend one in the future. Also, a good article to read is called Family by Guro Joey Marana. He writes about his experience at this year's sama-sama.

Sama-Sama is a good time to see old training partners and make new ones. Sayoc Kali is an evolving blade art and each year SK presents an assorted training material. Most information is new that helps facilitate our training. You can expect testing of skills from transitional drills to quick draws or projectiles. There is also a blade simulator tournament where only head shots or heart thrust will end the match. Sometimes there are melee blade fights where they split people into teams to test our group dynamics.  Each year SK also invites a guest speaker to share their art. This year's guest instructors were Guro Victor Gendrano Jr and Guro Mike Pena. Guro Victor G. is a instructor under Guro Dan Inosanto who shared a stick drill with us. While Guro Mike P. who runs the Bayani Warrior Group from New Jersey, shared a single-stick flow drill and also a stick n' dagger drill. The Atienza Kali tribe also shared their Bolo Evolution 1 material. Every day there is material being presented. There is even night training. Also during the night, there is a sayaw that is performed.

Sayaw at this sama-sama was a satisfying experience for me. Sayaw translates to 'dance'. It is done with a long blade in hand (usually a trainer) dancing around a fire pit with drums as the beat in the background. Everyone is encouraged to perform. No one is judged on how good their technique or fluid their motion looks. It is a dance that reflects you and your training. Each one's blade dance is different. It is always beautiful to see how the master instructors (tuhon's) and higher guro's perform in the sayaw. It was also great to hear from the tuhon's and guro's what sayaw meant to them. To some, it was a way to show respect to the warriors and instructors who kept the filipino martial arts alive. To others, it was a way to bond together as a family unit and support each other as warriors in life.

Class: July 24, 2011

Attendees:  Bryant, Lem

Notes:  Reviewed 3 of 9 template, 3 of 9 RH/LH templates (RH before LH; and at the same time), true left, and left defeats right.  Smoking knife and 2 of 12 templates.  Worked on TD1 level 3 isolations.

Class: July 17, 2011

Attendees:  Rax, Lem

Notes:  3 of 9 template (right/left), 3 of 9 right and left template at the same time, 3 of 9 template with tapping.  Counters to reflexive holds i.e. over-under/under-over. Discussion on blade awareness.  Reviewed TD1 with level 3 isolations.  Free-flow. AK hourglass footwork.  Worked on upward deflections: count 1 and 2.  Discussion about anchor points, long slash vs short slash.

Class: July 10, 2011

 Attendees:  Lem, Kristis D.  (new student)

Notes:  Discussed blade protocol.  Blade passing.  Importance of the blade rig for training purposes.  3 of 9 template.  3 of 9 feeder and receiver.  Worked on cross-tapping/cross-body parry (pendulum and corkscrew).  Ended class with Free-flow.
If you would like to read more on cross-body parry, Guro John P. from Sayoc NorCal training school wrote a good article on this subject: Cross-body parry.