1. Your posts are way too long. It reminds me of when a squid spurts ink into the water. Don't be a windbag.
2. The questions are valid. Where did you guys learn grappling, where did you learn striking, and what "research" have you done that has led you to this place?

wow, that's a lot of writing... but i'll take the time to make a more extended response.


danno, thank you for your helpful reply. I fear you were kinder to me than I was to you. For anything I wrote that caused offense, I do apologize.

no problem. i understand it can be pretty confronting to be interrogated like this. i was never offended at any point as i was expecting this kind of reaction.

you've brought up a number of topics, and i'll try to cover my views on most of them. i'm not expecting you to instantly change your mind, head off and turn your program upside down because of what someone said on the internet.

grappling, self defense, sport and BJJ

i've found fighting in competition more challenging than fighting in the street, mostly because in sport you're matched against someone of a similar size and skill level. that means it's not uncommon for matches to last a few minutes or even stalemate. competitive BJJ is a game of inches, a game of points and advantages.

but when there's a mismatch, it's usually over pretty quick. i've been pitted against opponents who weren't of the same skill level as me. like the street fight i described above, they lasted less than 30 seconds.

you're correct that in the street there is often a size disparity. in BJJ competition i've entered the open weight division. in one tournament, i came up against a large maori man covered in tattoos. he was around 20kg (45lb) heavier than me, maybe more. i made him submit almost immediately (39 seconds i believe). in my next match, i lost by submission to a japanese man who weighed about the same as me. that took around 4 minutes.

fighting in a tournament feels different to training in the gym. your heart races and you shake. you grab your opponent as hard as you can, blowing any gas you have in the tank straight away. and they're doing the same. anywhere you try to move, they resist 100%. it actually feels a lot like a streetfight. this never really gets simulated in training.

that's why i consider competition an important element in preparing for street confrontation. to me, competition is just more training.

in sport BJJ, the "checkmate" is a submission. when applying BJJ to a real situation, "submission" becomes a misnomer. in reality it's a choke, strangle, or joint destruction.

there are many things missing from sport BJJ like striking and multiple opponents, but at the end of the day it covers a lot of bases.

on your method of choosing techniques


We studied the key vulnerabilities of the human body and compiled a list of the natural, most simple attacks that would hit these. The total list was about 10 areas and 30 techniques, some of which are just variations on the same technique. They include a variety of elbow strikes, knees to the lower abdomen/groin, stomps anywhere from the knee down the shin to the instep, kicks to the lower abdomen/groin, knee area and fibula; hammer fist strikes to the collarbone and side and back of head, palm strikes to the underside of the jaw, eye gouges, and a few others.

We studied typical assault patterns, the locations, scenarios, attackers, victims, etc.

it appears that your system is highly theoretical. unfortunately, human combat is too complicated to theorise on at a fundamental level. i'm constantly coming up with my own ideas, and when i test them they fail 95% of the time. usually when these ideas work, they're simply modifications of a technique that is already pretty solid. and almost always, these modifications are an attempt to solve a problem i came across while sparring.

combat is too complicated to simply study delicate parts of the human body and ways to hit that part. there are so many variables that it's impossible to predict what will happen.

you must develop timing, touch sensitivity, predict attacks by reading body movement and much more.

all this means that 99.9% of developing a fighting style is trial and error. and that means that you must test your theories by actually fighting.

the closest thing i've experienced to a street fight is competition. the closest thing i've seen to simulation of a street fight is Mixed Martial Arts.

i believe that training in the numerous combative sports which cover all ranges of fighting, especially MMA, is the most effective way to prepare for the physical component of self defense.

other components must be simulated in some other way.

2. The questions are valid. Where did you guys learn grappling, where did you learn striking, and what "research" have you done that has led you to this place?

he responded to most of that in the post above yours. i've quoted it half way through my post if you want to find it faster.

danno: Thanks for your comments. I think I understand your perspective.

I've been in a few "100%-on" matches myself -- some in formal competition, some informal, and some involuntary -- and I think you make a good point. For those who want to be thoroughly prepared, short of going out and playing possum or engaging in illegal/unethical behavior, it is hard to beat something like full MMA-style training and competitions, and that it is about as close as you get to a street fight in combat arts.

I don't think there is anything "theoretical" about our striking targets or the strikes used. They are either key targets for many full contact systems, or fouls due to the severe pain and damage they can cause. The strikes we use are also common to many martial arts and combat sports. Our order of instruction and emphases are just different.

Most of your concerns are addressed by live sparring and grappling -- the more intense the better -- which we do for up to 4 hours every week. I do encourage tournament participation; the experience is important for many reasons, including those you mentioned. In fact, tournament participation is required for those who want to complete our program.

I also watched your videos. Not bad.

Thanks again for your helpful comments. I'll think about them and how we can apply them to improve what we do.

thanks komodo. like i said, i look forward to seeing any videos you might post in the future.

I saw this review from the main page before anyone started commenting. My first, immediate thought was, "What? All 8's and 9's? Did this guy read the review for ATT? Did he even read the review requirements?"

Then I went to the website and looked at the facility, which was given an 8 or a 9. Then I went to the ATT Florida website and looked at THAT facility. I don't remember what that facility got in Anthony's review, but holy crap.

For comparison purposes, here are the two links:

Via Potentia: http://www.viapotentia.org/index.php?r=facilities
ATT: http://www.americantopteam.com/facility.php

But now, I see that all the ratings were cut in half (for this place, not ATT). Did you do that, Komodo?

If you read Hedge's post you'll understand why it was cut in half.

Ahhh, ah, ok. I didn't know other people's scores of the same place will average in.