MBC stresses and drills that reactions to an attack will happen at close range with a premium placed on being able to respond quickly and effectively to disable/disarm the at- tacker. Checks and cuts are fluid with the goal of gaining an “outside” position if possible.


against knives during the study of an- other martial art. Frustrated with the fact that none of the defenses worked reliably against a committed attack, I complained to my instructor. His re- sponse was a bit of advice that I have never forgotten: If you want to learn how to defend against a weapon, first learn how to use that weapon.” A brief bio blast about Michael


Janich; “Michael Janich has been studying and teaching self-defense and the martial arts for more than 30 years. He has earned instructor’s credentials in American Self- Protection (ASP — an eclectic art that includes elements of judo, aikido, boxing, fencing and French Savate), the Filipino art of Serrada Eskrima, Joseph Simonet’s Silat Concepts and is a member of the elite International Close-Combat Instructors’ Association. He has also trained extensively in wing chun gung fu, tae kwon do, wu ying tao, Thai boxing, arnis de mano and military combatives. Janich is also one of the foremost modern authorities on handgun point shooting and is one of the few contemporary instructors to have been personally trained by the late close-combat legend, Colonel Rex Applegate. Janich’s Martial Blade Concepts


(MBC) literature is succinct and re- inforces his understanding of the typical civilian practitioner-craving conciseness. The basic logic of the MBC system is based on the follow- ing tenets: 1) Accept that you will be


38


fighting with the knife you actually carry — not the one in your gun safe or sock drawer. 2) Understand and ultimately validate what your actual carry knife can do — what can it ef- fectively cut and puncture and what can it not do? 3) Understand that real self-defense is about stopping your attacker. 4) Become a student of hu- man anatomy and the physiological targets that can reliably and predict- ably stop people of all sizes and phy- siques. 5) Base your techniques on simple, instinctive motions that are easy to learn and apply under stress — whenever possible, start with in- stinct. 6) Combine these elements into an integrated, mutually sup- porting system. Janich’s MBC cur- riculum also forms a foundation of skill that is easily transferred to im- provised weapons and empty-hand fighting skills, including his personal systems of Damithurt Silat and So- badiwan Eskrima.” Close reading of his personal-systems names gives an indication of Mike’s sense of humor and default to practicality, i.e. “damn it hurts a lot,” and “so bad I want to scream,” are clear indications that function is more important than any formal constraints.


The Class Attendance in a single course


is not going to turn you into Mike Janich with his decades of experi- ence, however, as Mike puts it — if you come away with only a handful of methods/techniques and greater


confidence that you can react prop- erly, you’ve increased your chances of survival and established a foundation for future training. My participation in MBC’s Progressive Knife Skills seminar allowed me to experience comprehensive instruction in the fundamental skills of Janich’s system and expanded on these skills to intro- duce progressive training methods that support higher skill development with edged and improvised weapons. The course started with step-by-


step instruction in the fundamental skills of using a knife as a defensive weapon; including knife carry, high-speed deployment, recognition and identification of common street attacks, defensive responses, anatomical targeting and the realities of knife stopping power. Building on this foundation, it introduced progressive training methods and reflex training drills to accelerate skill development and combat reflexes. The MBC Progressive Knife Skills seminar also included detailed instruction in MBC’s close-quarters reverse-grip system and the methods of adapting that system to improvised weapons, including kubotans, pens and tactical flashlights. Mike began the MBC seminar by


describing Martial Blade Concepts as: “An edged-weapon training pro- gram specifically designed to meet the needs of today’s concerned citizen and armed professional. It is based on extensive analysis of the Filipino mar- tial arts and many other systems and emphasizes the development of ‘all-


PERSONAL DEFENSE • FALL 2011 SPECIAL EDITION


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