The Last Resort

Xen-Do is a Japanese-based style; we came from Wado-Ryu.

It means ‘the way of peace’.
Karate means ‘open hand’.

Why the way of peace?

Why an open hand? Because it is designed as a destructive style but it is always a last resort. Your first port of call is your head. Remember, the pen is always mightier than the sword (unless of course it is me holding the sword and then I would like to see you beat me with a pen…I joke). To avoid physical confrontation, you have to use your brain before any brawn. The manner in which we train, we do so in order for it to become instinctive. If someone swings for your head, what do you do? We train you to cover and punch. We teach the unconscious part of the brain, the part of the brain that doesn’t think, because if you have to think you’ve already been hit. So we teach destructive movement, we teach how to defend, we teach how to protect ourselves against an attacker and how to destroy your opponent, but that is always the last resort and to be used intelligently. Getting into a fight is not self-defense, it’s just a fight. Self-defense starts where? It starts before the confrontation. You look at a situation and you assess what you must do. If you have a situation where you can avoid conflict, you should strive to do so. Pick your battles. You don’t have to turn every potential battle into one. If you fight every battle I can guarantee you, you will lose one.

Do you know how many fights I’ve had? In the ring, I cannot even remember because it is so many. Outside the ring, I also cannot remember but because there are so few, and always very defensive. I engage to stop the situation, not to cause harm. Let me give you an analogy: take the driver of a car that has been driving for twenty years. If that driver has had one or two accidents, he is probably a good driver. If he has had ten accidents, he should probably think about how he is driving. If you have had ten or twenty fights in your life, maybe you should look at the way you are behaving because it is certainly not the way of a martial artist and not the way we teach you to behave at Xen-Do. It is all about behavior. Always remember to think before you act.
Ouss,

Master Raf

This article is based on opinion:
– the author is not a qualified doctor or anyone who can dispense medical advice.
– any opinions stated are just that and people should consult a doctor before making any dietary changes or changes of any nature prompted by the articles published by or on behalf of Xen-Do.
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