Traditional Martial Arts Vs Reality

My core arts are Yo Shin Ryu (traditional Ju Jitsu) and Judo, I pursed them because of my body type and background as a wrestler. There are many out there better than me but I am not too shabby. The problem was that in the fall of 2000 after a shooting I took a real hard look at all the types of training I was pursuing from the JJ/Judo to my firearms training. What struck me as a practitioner was that even though I was pretty good at all my skills (big fish, small pond) I was often hard pressed to apply them to my job. It seemed that I was spending lots of time training to do things from positions I would like to find myself in instead of those I either routinely found myself in or dreaded ending up in.

As a trainer, being a big guy, I had to realize that much of what I was able to do was based on my size, agility, and training. Knowing that whether I am training citizens or police, I am always going to end up with a mixed bag of folks. After having a shotgun slug whiz over my head while outside a trailer hours after graduating my first SWAT school, I adopted the mindset that I had to share the most useful information that I could during every training session because people might have to use it as soon as they leave.

This began my pursuit of studying anatomy, physiology, and psychology as they relate to interpersonal conflict. Much of that comes from my traditional background. Then I worked on applying it to the situations we often find ourselves in...or dread ending up in.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I love traditional martial arts, but feel that people need to use them where they fit, but not try to squeeze them into places where something else is more effective.- George