Shinobi Teikiatsu
Green Belt
To think, my one little post sparked this whole thing. I'm going to have to ask though, hif this "professor" doesn't answer emails from non-students, how did he get students?
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As do I, Tez, which is why I always endeavour to answer any question directed towards me here (or anywhere else, for that matter). I've seen a fair bit of "He told me, so I know, but I can't tell you because I'm forbidden... but it's true, he told me!" before, so I've learnt to just leave it at that. You honestly don't get anywhere pushing that kind of issue.
My feeling is RBSD schools have their place. They do not emphasize correct technique like a martial arts school would.
I think it's a fool who believes that a certain martial art can't help you in the street. Truthfully speaking, playing football could probably do you at least a little bit of good if you're ever in a skirmish (if you're a pretty fast runner or a good tackler, plus punting your attacker across the street will PROBABLY allow you to walk away)
I think I'm going to have to agree with the earlier posts that RBSD is more of a way of thinking about your training, rather than a system itself.
MJS,
Most martial arts are more detail orientated on how things are done. We both know a punch can have the fist closed in certain ways to be more effective and safer. We both know the wrist has to be strong and rigid least one breaks their wrist. We both know not to punch with the smaller bones in the hand least they break.
Not all that is explained in RBSD schools I've been to. And then there are the ways to do a punch. Lunging, skipping, (like JDK), reverse punch. Wither you draw the arm back or not, wither you throw your shoulder on through or use a weight shift to add power, wither you twist your wrist just as you strike, or if the hand is vertical or horizontal....
That kind of detail is missed alot in a RBSD school. That is part of why there is an 'art' in martial arts.
Deaf
Good post Chris, tbh though the alarm bells were ringing more for the post than the website, saying you could write to the founder but as you weren't a student he probably wouldn't answer? also saying there's more to it but then not going into 'it'. It sounds too 'mystic' and 'secret methods' type of thing for me. I like things straight up with no hidden techniques only for initiates.
I don't know anything about what Steiner teaches other than what I've read here and on his website (which has a lot of words, but not a lot of information) -- but I want to address a couple points.I was surprised by Professor's Steiner's response, especially writing he wrote me back and explained what American Combato is because I was a former student, if , to be honest, briefly, only a few months. I can understand to a degree why he wouldn't want to be even indirectly in a forum like this (he hates debate for one thing) but not giving a definition to a non student, it puzzles me. His explanation was truly impressive, unfortunately I can't cut and paste it, as he didn't give me permission to do so. I can say I got a lot out of it even though I was taught by him for a short period of time. I believe he has a good system, Black Belt magazine believes he has a good system (it was ranked in the top ten of RBSD systems in the world one year, and featured second, right after Krav Maga) a lot of police agencies believe he has a good system, but it's only taught in Seattle and Phoenix unfortunately. I won't be writing a lot more about it in the future, as he doesn't seem to particularly care for this kind of forum.
There were no hidden techniques explained in this definition, it was very philosophical really, and he lists his curriculum in minute detail on his website and writes about it in detail in his online newsletter "Sword & Pen" available for free on his website. And that's about all I will ever write about his system.
The reason that this assumption is made is that RBSD systems are marketed towards the martial art community, not the general public, so the people to hear about them are far more likely to be experienced. The other reason is that they are targeting people who feel they are lacking something (usually to do with their confidence in handling a real assault) from their existing training. So, no, they don't cover such ground as "this is how you punch", as it is simply taking time away from the more essential aspects of the system being taught. And remember, these systems are training approaches more than anything else, so different arts should be able to adapt the drills to their own methods of moving quite easily.
If you walk into an RBSD class with no experience, then you may be in trouble. But, then, it's not designed for that. It would be similar to learning stunt driving, and having the instructor explain to you which is the accelerator, and which is the brake.
That said, I have encountered a few schools that take th time to teach proper striking their own way, but that is for the (very rare) long term student. These systems are not designed for long-term study, as opposed to TMA systems. And the majority of those "more complete" RBSD systems will still get ripped apart from a technical level by a TMA... by the RBSD guy will be better prepared for the chaos and confusion of violence.
Hi MJS,
I teach and train in a traditional system, and have attended a number of RBSD classes/workshops from different teachers, as have my fellow instructors, so I have a bit of experience in the differences between each. And Deaf Smith is quite right in his description of most RBSD systems/classes etc, in that the "technique" side is not emphasised. As I said in muy first post on this thread, it is often assumed that the majority of students at these classes are already at least somewhat experienced martial artists, so there is no need to go over how to punch. It is assumed that each student will often hve a method in place that works for them already.
The reason that this assumption is made is that RBSD systems are marketed towards the martial art community, not the general public, so the people to hear about them are far more likely to be experienced. The other reason is that they are targeting people who feel they are lacking something (usually to do with their confidence in handling a real assault) from their existing training. So, no, they don't cover such ground as "this is how you punch", as it is simply taking time away from the more essential aspects of the system being taught. And remember, these systems are training approaches more than anything else, so different arts should be able to adapt the drills to their own methods of moving quite easily.
If you walk into an RBSD class with no experience, then you may be in trouble. But, then, it's not designed for that. It would be similar to learning stunt driving, and having the instructor explain to you which is the accelerator, and which is the brake.
That said, I have encountered a few schools that take th time to teach proper striking their own way, but that is for the (very rare) long term student. These systems are not designed for long-term study, as opposed to TMA systems. And the majority of those "more complete" RBSD systems will still get ripped apart from a technical level by a TMA... by the RBSD guy will be better prepared for the chaos and confusion of violence.
Hope this helps clear things up a bit.