JKD TALK

For centuries the traditions and cultures of martial arts have been handed down like sacred jewels, a sort of "heir to the throne". Each generation being taught the lessons of the past, current, and the values of the future. For some it was father to son, for others it was in a dojo, and for the rest it was just life. At some point of the journey, each of realizes that we weren't being taught just combat or character, we were being taught a lifestyle. Lessons to be taken in all aspects of who we are, what we do, and where we are going. Only to be on a constant search for truth.

I've been in several schools, under a vast spectrum of instructors, and in several different disciplines. Looking back I wish I had been exposed to JKD before any of the others....I think I would've gotten more out of it than I did. Don't get it wrong, I have learned more than I can imagine and been exposed to some wonderful things. But JKD has given me a different set of eyes. I heard Guru Dan Inosanto once say "JKD is like a filter to view all martial arts through. Use it wisely, and JKD becomes a filter to see life through." Had I known that in my younger years, I would've seen the elements of the respected arts that I truly believe to be honest and useful, instead of being blinded by pure showmanship.

Walk into a gym today, you'll see these fantastic aerial displays, forms, board breaking, uniformity, or weapons drills that belong in some action scene of a movie. But you walk up to any of the practitioners and ask them why they are doing what they are doing, and they can't give you an honest answer. They simply just don't know. Most of them just follow the instructor, but are afraid to question anything. Some are content just padding their reportoir of techniques, never really learning the true application of them. These type of schools are more "art" than "martial." Without JKD, I wouldn't understand that.

On the other hand, walk into today's "MMA" type gym, and you'll see an octagon filled with awesome athletes beating the heck out of each other in a sparring match....for hours! Many of them conditioned well enough to run through brick walls with no second thought. Ask them about technique or tactics, they typically have no answer, but they have aspirations of becoming professional fighters. Later in life, many of them will return because they never really learned the "art". They seek content. Without JKD, I wouldn't have understood this either.

Now onto life. Through my JKD filter, I view almost every aspect of my life. Seeking simplicity, adaptability, economy, fluidity, and directness. Through these subcomponents I seek some form of truth and peace. Sometimes I very pleased with my findings...other times I am heartbroken by the deceptive behaviors of others and sometimes myself. It's okay...we're human. We will make mistakes, but make sure to learn from them.

There are times for all of us when someone will mislead, cover truths, deceive, and most of all just purely disappoint you. It's times like these you have to ask some questions of them and yourself. Questions such as why, how, when, will help you get to the simple facts. After your questioning is satisfied, it will be upto you to decide what to do. Will you be upset, vengeful, full of spite...or will you absorb, evaluate, and learn?

I owe JKD so much! It has helped me be a better me everyday. Stronger, sharper, deeper, non judgemental, more peaceful, and mostly.....forgiving. It was because of the peace I found in myself using JKD philosophies, that I was able to find some peace after realizing the truths behind the deceptions of someone close to me. They have their reasons of being who they are, my job is to be who I am. As Bruce Lee once said, "Martial art means to be honest with oneself, and honestly express oneself. But this is difficult to do."

Use the philosophies the great warriors and masters left behind for us as a guideline as they all seek an inner peace thru truth.Whether it be truth in someone else or self truth. Once you find that truth that satisfies not only your mind, but your soul....you will learn to forgive, and when you learn to forgive, you will find peace.

Sifu Nik

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"Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and the Romans and must be the way of every free man and every free state."- Thomas Jefferson 

Ever since the unfortunate tragedies of 9/11in which evil struck the homes and lives of all Americans, the world has been a different place. Many of our daily liberties have changed ranging from airport security, to procedures at the local post office and much more. I personally am a believer in the old cliche "adversity defines character." As we all poured our hearts out to the families who truly needed us...I saw the average American community unite as one. We were no longer divided by demographics, race, creed, religion, or anything else. We stood as one, united in the efforts not only to protect and console our grieving neighbors...but also to ensure that we never have to face these horrifying acts ever again.

As time healed some of our wounds, I began to see a new kind of demeanor amongst our community. On one hand crime is on a rapid rise...turn on the news station tonight and see what is going on in our neighborhoods, our homes, our schools, our jobs. On the other hand, I see more and more people realizing that although the laws are designed to protect our citizens, we need to police ourselves and protect our own. As a martial arts and self defense instructor, the calls I've been getting are going from "just looking for a good workout" to "I want to be able to protect myself, my kids, etc." Interesting shift of mindset in my opinion.

In a society where we all get so busy with the daily grind, most people never even pay attention to the threats that they face everyday, or what threats may be awaiting them. The "it won't happen to me" attitude is slowly shifting to the "damn right it won't happen to me....cuz I won't let it," attitude. For those of you who made that shift...I commend you. For those of you who haven't, I implore you to really look at what's happening around you.  1) Just because crime hasn't hit you yet...doesn't mean it won't. 2) How many times do you have to be mugged, assaulted, abducted, or whatever before you think twice? 3) I don't wear a seatbelt because I am planning on getting in a car wreck...I wear it JUST IN CASE. Same thing for properly training, I don't do it because I am paranoid...I do it because I am aware that at any given time I may need it. And in a situation when every second counts, the cops are usually minutes away.

A lot of people joke today about the Zombie Apocolypse....kinda funny in my opinion. Although I don't see that happening, what I do see is statistics. The statistics I see say that in declining economic times, political seperation, and overall emotional stress....CRIME GOES UP!!! No longer an international problem, or in a shady part of town....crime goes up everywhere. This past Black Friday, we heard about people getting shot in the parking lots of posh area malls, people pepper spraying a store to get to a toy, and countless robberies. Weeks prior we heard about a young gal coming home from school and getting murdered by people who were robbing the home as she walked in. Everyday I drive down the expressway and see a new "Amber Alert...child abduction" warning on the overhead signs.

So my concern becomes this....if crime is going up, and police is going thru departmental cutbacks, who the heck is supposed to protect us? The answer...US! We don't need riots to break out...we don't need the Zombie Apocolypse...and we don't need another terrorist attack to make us recognize a need for proper training.

An old Filipino martial art mindset says that "we as martial artists are the unorganized militia." It is our duty to protect our homes, families, neighbors, and villages. In this mindset I realized that proper training may indeed be a necessity. So I ask...what would you do in case a riot breaks out, or your home gets invaded, or your loved one gets abducted in front of you? What have you done to prepare for the worst case scenarios? Be honest with yourself as you ask these questions. Once you really think about it....perhaps you will find a little bit of time to learn and train in a way that can literally change the outcome of your life.

I pray that none of us will ever encounter such adverse times....I also pray that if the Sh!* hits the fan that we are all prepared enough to do what we need to do.

Best of Luck

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It's been 2 days since Sifu Roy Harris has returned to his home in California after being at Ballistic Fighting Methods for 5 days, teaching, observing, guiding, and mostly inspriring. Most of the attendees from the JKD Instructorship Camp are still trying to get their minds around all of the information Sifu Roy left us with. "Amazing" was a common word I heard from my JKD brothers.

Let me start by congratulating the guys who achieved their Level 1 Instructorship from Sifu Roy....Paul Ingram, Tom Cerovolo, Carlos Flores, Jeff Beard, David Pugh, Tom Zachweija, and Ian Shankey. All of these guys worked their butts off and took time from their busy lives to find the next level of growth in their own right...right here at Ballistic. Congrats fellas!

When I decided to write this blog, I was thinking I would talk about the new concepts, and techniques Sifu Roy enlightened us with. But I couldn't do it any justice. So I would rather express to you about a few of the more profound things we all experienced. Here it goes...

TRAINING: 5 days of learning core fundamentals of Jeet Kune Do, and how to physically apply them. Proper body mechanics, readiness, offensive, defensive, counter-offensive, footwork, and so much more. It was so nice to have a world class instructor like Sifu Harris to take the time and help all of us learn, and make corrective behavior in his cranial and intricate ways.

BROTHERHOOD: As the camp was under-way, all of us looked at each other and knew that this experience is one that we couldn't describe. We came in everyday and shared the moments of growth as a one cohesive unit. Not just a group, but a team, a family, a team, a brotherhood. To be able to actuall witness the transformation in each other and ourselves is something that words cannot express.

AWARENESS: In my opinion, this was one of the main "themes" of the training. To train the eye and the mind to be aware of one self would lead us to asking an infinite amount of questions. We had to face our own vulnerabilities and strengths alike. As we all felt a bit exposed here, we were forced to see and explore deeper in ourselves. And with the guidance of Sifu Roy, we were able to face these pitfalls with the support of each other. Once we faced them, we were able to fix them.

The next part of awareness was to recognize the strengths and pitfalls of our opponent, or training partner. Here we trained the eye to see certain habits that would allow us to be exponentially more effective.

ABSORBANCE and INSPIRATION: After spending days of getting our minds warped by the ever-so-deep knowledge that Sifu Roy was sharing with us; we all processed the information and experience in our own ways. Going over notes, sharing thoughts, talking about "how to do this" or "what was that". Once some of this began to sink in...we couldn't help but to culminate our own thoughts about training, fighting, teaching, and most important....just being. As Sifu Roy gave us moments to think about stuff, the room had the "Noisiest Silence" I have ever heard. The sounds of pens writing, people thinking, the replaying of what we just saw, the connecting of lessons earlier learned. Very surreal.

FINALLY...THE JOURNEY BEGINS: I think one of the smartest things I ever told anyone (very limited..lol ) was that JKD is different than than any other martial art I ever experience. Most of the time, reaching an instructorship or a black belt signifies the end of the journey....in JKD reaching an instructorship is only the beginning. Although most people wouldn't understand that, I had a couple of the guys come up to me to say..."Nik, you were right about that. I can totally see it now!"  Now we're armed with knowledge to be able to seek more knowledge, then filter and personalize it. That is the mark of a JKD instructorship. This is where you find your path, your journey...take it where you will but don't forget where you came from.

Over the past few years, my personal relationship with Sifu Roy has really grown. I have world class instructors in their respective ways and have been blessed to learn so much from each one. Sifu Roy has been more than just an instructor to me...a friend, a guiding hand, a "flashlight" to me. It was from him that I learned valuable life lessons such as...gratitude, acceptance, perspective, humility, and how to be more than just a caring instructor. For that, I owe Sifu Roy thanks everyday.

Sifu Roy...if you read this blog....let me thank you once again. We've all been blessed to have you as our instructor.

Sifu Nik

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It's rare in life to find friends who constantly help you be a better "you." When I was a teenager I made friends with a guy named Steve who ended up becoming one of my best friends until this day. Funny enough, our first conversation started off by expressing our love for the martial arts.

I'm sure that many of you can relate when I say that when you're a teenager and spend so much time with a particular friend, their family becomes your family. This was the case with my friendship with Steve. His dad was Big Steve, his mom was Ma, his sister was like my own. And unlike most dad's, he never saw any of us as his kid's buddy, instead we were all a part of the "boys", his buddies. He'd jam out music with us, hand around the garage and tell old stories, and just simply be one of the guys.

On Sunday, Aug 14th 2011 we lost Big Steve, a U.S. Marine, A Vietnam vet, a loving husband, a proud father, a dear friend, and someone who many of us loved and admired.

In losing him, I am reminded of so many things. Over 15 years of memories, laughs, and moments that I now see as gifts. I've learned a lot from Big Steve....how to live every moment, how to love everyone, and most importantly to make sure that we all laugh. 

And as we all gathered to celebrate his life, I saw Big Steve leave us one last gift. The gift of unity. As so many close friends and family all came together to comfort one another, it was clear to me that this was truly a miracle to see. Most of us had gotten so involved with our own lives that we sort of lost touch. But the moment one of us needed the other....everyone came out of the woodworks. So I owe a big thanks to Big Steve for that!!

My thoughts and prayers are with the family. And if you're reading this blog, turn to your own family and loved ones and let them know that you care....and treat every moment as if it were fragile.

Rest In Peace Big Steve....you'll always be missed.

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This past week I began the Combat Cardio Class, and let me tell you that it's really "kickin" a#$! Everybody in there is getting super sweaty, fat burning, pound shaving workouts while they are learning the aspects of practical self defense! Just the class I wanted to put on!

Our workouts consist of a lot of mit work and bag work, although we always start the classes with simple warm ups, stretches, and technical work. It doesn't take us very long to get into the meat of the class.

Today I took a moment to ask the ladies what their thoughts on the class were...and they all gave very positive feedback! They enjoy the practical aspects of the class and love the fact that they see the sweat just dripping off!

For those of you who are attending this class...keep up the good work! For those of you who are still on the fence...get in and try it! You've never seen anything like this! It's not your average video tape type of class...in here we REALLY WORK!

Sifu Nik

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