When I was a kid I remember wondering what was best, wrestling or boxing. At the time I thought boxing was the best but when karate became popular in the 60′s – the argument became boxing or karate! Well fast forward past the 90′s (was a very confused time) and now if you ask any kid… they will no longer say jiu-jitsu but mma! Why to a teenaged kid that would not even watch a boxing match – MMA is king!

So why am I not impressed with the flavor of the day? I am not out to challenge anyone or trying to get an accomplished martial artist in judo, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, or boxing to come over the dark side. But what I do want to do in this post is to examine how effective various martial arts would be in a real fight for an average guy/gal that has a couple of years experience under his/her belt.

I also want to look at some other factors such as the point of each martial art… you know what is it good for anyway? Don’t get mad but if your martial art has lots of rules that don’t easily transition to a real fight – what good is it in a fight (unless you are a world class fighter – then it makes no difference what you learn… it will all work)?

Let’s look at boxing, wrestling, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, judo, aikido and karate (including kung fu with karate as both are similar) in light of how easy is it to learn, what is the goal of the martial art, and does it work in a fight for most people (is it effective in most situations?). Then I’ll look at karate and kung fu in general terms because our stuff is not immune to my criteria (80% of karate and kung fu as it is taught would not work well in a real fight).

Now that I have made a lot of friends and I don’t think I’ve excluded anyone I would like commenters to keep your responsive civil and to the points. I will not post personal attacks but please feel free to civilly disagree and make your points. I will be happy to respond comments.

Boxing is fairly easy to learn the basics but really hard to do it right. One has to get into great physical shape to excel in this sport. The goal of boxing is to win on the street or in the ring with one’s punches. All other strikes are illegal. I do not think boxing would work very well unless you were a good boxer in a fight with someone else that did not want to do anything but punches. Boxing can work in a mass attack if he can avoid the ground so I give boxing two kicks (out of five).

Wrestling is taught in school for most males at some point so there are many good basic wrestlers (as I would categorize myself). Again wrestling like boxing takes a lot of conditioning if one wants to excel at wrestling. The goal of wrestling is mostly sport as it has no defenses against striking unless the wrestler learns additional skills. While the UFC is awash in wrestlers that have transitioned to fighting, the average wrestler can win most fights if he can take the fight to the ground. As most untrained fighters have no defense against ground fighters – wrestling can be effective sometimes. However one cannot easily defend against a mass attack nor avoid a bystander punting a goal at wrestler on the ground so I would give wrestling one kick on my scale.

Muay Thai is a sport that is not easy to learn because of the conditioning. While muay thai does strike with hands, elbows, knees, and feet – the rules do not favor fighting as the groin is not open. I would say that muay thai does come closer to an effective method of fighting because it would work well against a mass attack so long as the fighter does not get taken to the ground. Because of the major conditioning of body parts (deadening the shins for instance) I would only give muay thai three kicks on my scale.

I’m going to lump in jiu-jitsu, judo, and aikido together as one came from the other and share many common moves. While it is true that judo is more dependent on transitional moves (getting the opponent to the ground), jiu-jitsu is more of a ground fighting method and aikido mostly uses ones attack against the attacker, none of these are easy to use and are not really striking martial arts. Practitioners would have to learn striking to effectively survive a real fight with no rules. I am grossly oversimplifying here but my point is still valid. I would say that none of these styles would come out well against a mass attack. So based on the complexity of learning and the lack of striking – I can only give these styles one kick on my scale.

Now let’s look at karate and kung fu as it is taught. No paneca here either. While karate can be a good fighting style – as it is taught it does not have the conditioning of many type of fighting – it is for the common man (read person). Karate learning styles can be easier than most styles as it does not take more than a couple of years to be proficient for most people. Karate can work if a student was taught by a proficient teacher. Karate/kung fu works well against mass attacks if the student is any good. Before I assign karate/kung fu a kick scale consider the types of schools and ways to teaching.

• Some karate/kung fu styles do not allow sparring.
• Some karate/kung fu styles teach non-contact sparring.
• Some karate/kung fu styles teach semi-contact sparring.
• Some karate/kung fu styles teach the equivalent of kick boxing.
• Some karate/kung fu styles are old school – meaning no gloves and flat feet.
• Some karate/kung fu styles are more modern and use pads and move around.
• Some karate/kung fu styles have open groin shots in semi-contact.
• Some karate/kung fu styles give more points for kicks and flying kicks than for punches.
• Some karate/kung fu styles emphasize more conditioning than fighting (karate aerobics).
• Some karate/kung fu styles’ instructors have never been in a real fight.

So let me opine about karate/kung fu styles and weed the 80% of karate that does not work.

If the style does not sparring or uses non-contact sparing I give that style one kick on my scale.

If the style does not have groin shots or gives more points (in training) for kicks or flying kicks than punches – I give that style one kick.

If the style is for yuppies wanting to get into shape (karate aerobics) I give that style no kicks.

If the style teaches kick boxing but no groin shots – I give that three kicks.

If you instructor tells you he thinks it will work if he ever had to get into a fight (meaning he does not know) – Run from that school. Why pay money for something the instructor does not believe in?

If the style allows groin shots in sparring, uses hand/food pads of some kind, moves around, uses semi-contact (can get hard at top levels), the instructor is confident and has fought before, counts the same for a kick or punch… the student has a chance…  that is only about 20% of the schools out there.

Lineage means nothing unless it works. All of the black belts, trophy’s, free karate babysitting services and such are just meaningless unless a student and learn how to fight pretty good in a couple of years.

So if you find a good school as I have outlined – I would give that school four kicks – on a five kick scale? Why not five kicks? That is up to the student. I cannot guess how hard the student wants it.

So I want to clarify I do not dislike other styles and I think very highly of them. And I think most any style can be very effective against most attacks – all I reviewed here is if a person only had a couple of years to invest – what would he or she need to learn to fight back!

I am interested in your opinion – please let me know your thoughts!

The news has been full of knife attacks and even the TSA has been considering letting people fly with small pocket knives. It is even scarier to some so removed from fighting or using hand tools that in my estimation I think most people think that a knife attack is not survivable!

I would like to make the point that as in any other kind of attack (read club, gun, baseball bat, hand to hand or whatever) – they are all serious. You can get hurt if you are not a trained fighter. Heck even if you are a trained fighter – you can get hurt.

In this post I’ll evaluate the obvious (to me) about knife attacks (or really any attack – they are all the same from a self defense point of view). But first review this video for a realistic overview.

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Wow that first video with the cop shooting point blank at the guy with the knife and he missed? Most people would never think it would be possible to miss at that range – but as you saw it happens.

The rest of the videos should show you that your best defense is to lean how to fight. But say you learn how to fight – what are your chances?

First off a knife, gun, bat, rocks or whatever gives the attacker an advantage he thinks. And correctly most people that are not trained fighters have not ever come up against a weapon or multiple attackers – would not know how to fight back.

But say you are a trained fighter – are you going to give up because some guy is going to try and kill you? That would be a forgone conclusion that many that are attacked face every day. But that does not have to be the case.

If you like I did – immerse yourself in learning self-defense or fighting arts for several years – if you take to it you tend to learn how to overcome obstacles including ways to face weapon attacks. Really what do you have to lose?

For me a knife attack puts the attacker at a disadvantage. He does not know I’m a trained fighter as I’m not a braggart (I guess other than when I blog) – all he knows is I am a middle-aged man that does not look too intimidating.

So the guy does not want to rob me but wants to slash me – that means I have to defend myself… no other choice (letting the guy stab me is not a reasonable choice – he might kill me).

The first thing to realize – he is depending on his knife – whereas I have at the very least two hands, two elbows, two knees, two feet, teeth (I could go on). However you were trained to fight – it is time to kick in your defense… no rules (that attacker does not have any) but use whatever is at your disposal to mitigate the attack and use all of your tools against his one knife (weapon attackers tend to use the weapon – ignore the rest of their limbs).

So unbeknownst to the attacker – you have superior firepower if you don’t lose your cool. The big thing is to fight the way you train… if you like to fight inside – do it. If like me you like to fight on the outside – do that.

Remember the attacker is banking on his weapon scaring you so if you don’t lose your cool – you should do ok.

So what weapons have I defended against? Knives, clubs, pool cues, tall bar glasses projectiles, tree branches, and at least three of these times against more than one attacker at a time.

I’m nothing special – just a guy that has trained in my youth and enjoyed learning how to defend myself!

Please do not think that I am saying anything is easy – it is not but it is fun to learn how to do something you like… it does not matter if it is boxing, karate, judo, wrestling, or whatever – just so you enjoy it and train for that odd day with the rules of society breakdown.

So I hope many of you are like I have been – ready for whatever the world throws at you.

We will be teaching Tracy’s traditional Kenpo, the Joe Lewis fighting system of competitive tournament sparring and kick-boxing.

If you know anyone in the Phoenix area that is interested in lessons or an upper belt looking for a place to work out and/or help with coaching, please contact me at dhays@azakka.com

Thank you in advance for the support.

We can still talk a good fight (as the brain is still there) but out reactions have slowed a bit (partially due to our increased stature – beer belly) and regular workouts are only in our mind. I’ve included myself in this group because as much as I hate to admit it – I’m 54 years young now and while I still work out often – I pay dearly for any injuries! It makes the next workout challenging.

In this post I will go over some issues older martial artists have to confront and some really great strategies for transitioning into that next phase of your martial arts training (and I don’t mean quitting) so you too can grow older and better!

Before I begin I’d like to consult those famous philosophers – the Beatles, take on getting older.

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Well will ya? (still love me when I’m 64) is the 64 (000) dollar question and more to the point of this post – will I still be worth anything as a martial artist?

First some background – as we age we lose some muscle tone, reflex speed, maybe gain some weight (or in some cases a heck of a lotta weight) and have long stopped sparring. We still go to the local dojo if we live in the area for special occasions and even judge some tests all the while talking about the good old days. Well let me ask you – do you thing the gold old days are long gone? Or do you still have some moves in under your belt?

What about training? Over the years I’ve hurt my knees kicking and broken my wrist and hands many times doing bag workouts. I’ve broke my mountain bike/s while hurling over the handle bars (yes as I was eating it) and after getting back up after a dust off – had to do a new exercise the next day. I’ve started and stopped working out at the studio as new injuries cropped up… I’ve went from full contact, to point karate, to jiu-jitsu back to studio karate (full contact with the groin open – Hurrah – not that pseudo fighting they call boxing, full-contact or MMA – on slight intended by the way – just saying it how it is).

Here is the deal – when you get older – you have to keep changing your exercises because you get injured easier. I tend to increase the intensity in whatever I do – I guess I could lay off but that is not me. But my muscles and bones apparently did not come with a warranty (or it expired) so I have to be smart about it.

What is “being smart about it”? I mean if you start on a run and one of your knees start hurting – do you just tough it out and continue with the run? NO!!! You are an old guy/gal now. You can try to transition into a power walk if the knee does not hurt anymore but keeping up with the run is stupid! Even if you don’t push it – you are older and are going to pay! If you can get used to that – you can transition into older age as a marital artist gracefully.

Here is a quick video of a middle-aged man in some sort of boxing gym… he has heart.

Now here is the other deal. I do karate and the way I’ve normally practiced most of the my life was everything was geared to fighting. I mean I know self defense techniques (240 of them) and katas (17 of them) as well as how to do every kind of strike (kicks, punches, elbows, knees, claws, finger jabs, hammer fists… and so on – you get the idea) but most of this stuff was the foundation.

After I got my first few black belts, sold my karate school and stopped teaching regularly – I stopped practicing the foundation of my martial art. It was the bridge to get me to where I proficient in karate but I was more interested in fighting.

Well let me let you in on a secret – I won’t be fighting much in my golden years…  so how then am I to stay sharp (as possible)? I have started putting what I used to call “fluff” back into my workouts. I have been doing kata, basics and techniques as part of my training as well as bag workouts, bicycling, walking, hiking and jogging. And yes as you may have guessed – as I injure one limb or muscle – I have to creatively try to work around it or turn to another exercise.

So old grasshopper – there is light at the end of the tunnel and I believe that martial arts are and can be a way of life into your 90′s (if god willing).  I’ll end this topic here and leave you with a video of one old master still practicing his kraft.

Anyway after years of learning and eventually teaching karate – do we really do a good job of teaching basic self defense? I mean there is so much fluff in the martial arts… all of that philosophy about only fighting if there is no other way out and the stuff about forms and even basics. Who ever won a fight by practicing punches from a low horse stance?

Well in this post I’ll answer the question about how well the martial arts teach self defense for the masses (most kids have had a lesson or two) and if all of the fluff actually helps but most of all I would like to say how I would teach self defense and why I would not open up a school teaching self defense.

First for your perusal is the episode of Longstreet (an old TV flick of my day) where Bruce Lee did a guest spot helping the blind man learn how to defend himself.

What did Master Lee tell the blind man to be water? Really self defense happens in the mind first, before the first punch is ever thrown. If you learn the mechanics of how to fight and then let yourself go – you can achieve anything! Most people do not realize this so they really limit themselves (not just at martial arts but at anything).

Have you ever seen a bobcat fend off coyotes from a kill? Or witnessed a wolverine fend of a pack of wolves from a kill? Have you heard about a woman that was able to fend off a rapist by kicking the nuts or poking the eyes? Have you heard about a girl that was being snatched by a child abductor that was able to get away because she put up a fight? How about a guy that was able to fend off six attacker?

All of these situations are not the norm unfortunately but I have heard of or witnessed all of the above. Let me see on the wildlife shows I saw the smaller predators keeping the big ones away form their kill sometimes (I guess depending on how hungry they were). Plenty of women have escaped rapists and girls have escaped abductors if they do put of a fight. The guy fighting off six guys? Me back when I was a bouncer at a bar.

When I was a kid I dreamed of being such a good fighter that it would just be a game to me. That never came true but I did hone my fighting skills to the point that I always believed I would win if someone attacked me. I always did probably to the stills I learned and my attitude.

Lets get back to this question of all of the fluff in martial arts. Boxers, Muay Thai, MMA or Wrestlers might argue that all of the fluff in marital arts are useless baggage. The reasoning is kata and techniques just keep one from practicing the only real art – fighting!!! What??? Or maybe learning how to do old fashion moves (such as chambering your punches or standing in a low-horse stance) do not contribute to fighting skills. How about the philosophy of non-aggression? Oh yeah I can hear the full-contact types now… what a bunch of huey!!!! How about developing ki or chi? What? Why not just learn the touch of death? You see the critiques could be endless.

I’ll address many of these points but when I started learning karate at Tracy’s karate – my instructor told me if I wanted a black belt I was going to have to learn the whole system. I just wanted to learn how to fight at the time but saw value in attaining rank so I took the three or four years it took to learn the art.  Along the way I learned that one should not ever be the aggressor unless maybe you were outnumbered or the opponent had a weapon. You see it was hard enough back in the days before mobile phone video cameras to keep legal in a fight (not going overboard with witnesses) but nowadays even if you do everything right – you might have to answer to a court of law… it is better to try and avoid a fight at almost any cost (except life and limb of you and yours).

So I think the fluff in most cases is good. It is good to learn discipline and get into good shape. It is good to improve your mental awareness and thought processes. Kata take time and practice to perfect. Why not learn good balance and coordination? What about point sparring? It is good go learn how to hit someone without getting hit back. What about if you had to fight a MMA superstar? Just don’t fight toe to toe but rather employ self-defense moves and get the heck out of Dodge like one is taught in a non-aggressive approach to the marital arts.

But you might be asking if I think self defense could be taught better? Yes it could if a martial arts school understood the students needs. Not everyone wants to attain belt rank or fame and fortune by becoming a MMA superstar but the folks that do not have the drive to stick with a martial art could benefit from some age training much like Bruce Lee did for Longstreet (videos on youtube) or like I did for my youngest son 15 years ago.

You see he was getting challenged on the way to the store and his mom was worried – told me about the issues. I took my son out to the front yard and taught him critical distance and how to through a step back – counter punch. The next day the kid ran at him (part of 10 kids or so) and my son stepped back (letting the kids punch miss) and countered him to the bread basket! The kid fell over and could not get up for a few minutes until he caught his breath. None of the other kids wanted to mess with my son after that.

Self defense is not rocket science but rather just doing what makes sense. Anyone can learn basic self defense in a short amount of time such as distance, side stepping and a few strikes and that might be sufficient if they remembered it. I mean bullies being what they are – trying to pick on a kid they perceive as weak – do not keep picking on a kid if they fight back… win or lose – if you are willing to fight back and are smart about it… you too can beat the odds and actually defend yourself!!!

Well some other teen boys approach you as dusk falls – asking if you want to party. There are three of them and they are younger than you. You tell them no thanks and as you try to leave – they block the trail in both directions! Still talking they say that have some beers in a cooler nearby and how about having a bit of fun.

Your escape route is seemingly cut off and you don’t want to go with these boys for a “bit of fun” so what do you do?

More on this later but in this post I will examine what fighting spirit is and how it can help one make good self-defense decisions. Also I will talk about the lack of fighting spirit and the ramifications of that. In a nut shell the fight or flight decision in us sometimes has to be made in an instant for us to gain a momentary advantage. If we do not act when we have a tactical advantage – your chances of a good outcome diminish!

Take a look at this video to see what is possible as Dr. Ruthless so aptly demonstrates.

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Watching this video I can see what I call figthing spirit in action. The willingness to put up a fight to escape an attack is key to having fighting spirit. One quote from this video is how I feel about self-defense, “… hit the on switch inside yourself and become the attacker… ATTACK BACK…”

Defining the meaning – Fighting Spirit is the willingness to fight back but also the ability to rise to the occasion and do it! If you are willing to fight back but are not used to the idea of actually hurting someone in your own defense – you may hesitate too long and lose any advantage.

When I used to teach karate, one of the things we graded on was fighting spirit. I’d look at a student willingness to explode in an instant. I would watch sparring, techniques, kata to see if one took fighting seriously and seemed to be able to surmount adversity!

What do I mean by surmount adversity? Well in fighting one does not always do all of the hitting. Sometimes the other guy/gal gets in some good strikes. When this happens… what does the student do? If he/she fights through the pain with good tactics and is able to rally – then I think the student is able to surmount adversity (at least as far as I can tell in the school).

One example I can give when I was learning kick-boxing, regular boxing matches were part of the training. One day I was boxing with Andy Selcer at the school we were going about three rounds. Andy is a very well rounded fighter who had won the battle of Atlanta and he had some good boxing skills. The first round I came in confident as I was taller and had the reach on him. You see I had been working on my boxing skills for about six months and thought I could punch my way out of a paper bag.

Andy took me to school that day as I came in with the fast jab and cross – attempting to trade blows with Andy. He took my first punch and countered on the inside very effectively. I would then back up taking his heat. After the first round I had taken a beating and knew I had to do something different. Andy basically owned me so far… I was his punching bag.

The second round I switched up my strategy. I started sticking the jab and moving laterally in either direction (so as to not give away my escape). I’d still do the odd attack to keep him guessing but I did not take too much heat in the second round.

The third round I had gotten back my confidence and stuck with my stick and  move strategy. After the rounds Andy said to me after the first round – he did not think I would be able to adjust my strategy and was happy to see I had adjusted. This is one of the reasons I did so well as a young fighter – having so many good partners to work out with. We each tried to build on the others skills to help each other.

Sorry – I went off on a tangent here a bit but you get the idea – to have fighting spirit you not only have to have the willingness to fight back with the smarts to figure out a winning strategy! It is your life on the line.

Many instructors I know have opined that fighting spirit cannot be taught. One either has it or does not. I disagree. Fighting spirit can be drawn out of a student as they are educated on what a fight actually is! If some one attack you… you do not have long to respond. Many people do not respond because they had depended on everyone else to protect them in their lives and they just would freeze if anything bad ever happened to them.

I say this. The fact that you exist demonstrates that you are fit. I mean through out the ages until just recently – the survival of the fittest just like the animal kingdom dictated who lived and who died. Your ancestors were survivors! You can be too!

Here is the thing… if you ever need to defend yourself – you will need it now! You will not get a chance to agonize over the decision to fight back or not. You will have to go off like a crazed animal to survive!

Well let me get back tot he girl in the park. She probably should not have gone into the park at night or even stuck around if she was coming up on a group of other kids she did not know but in this case she was already surrounded. As it did not look like the kids were going to let her go – our girl tried an evasive technique.

She said ok – let me show you something (all the while calculating her escape route), she unfastened her belt (or keys would work) and after getting it loose (the boys were thinking she was getting friendly) she swung the belt buckle at the lone boy in her path and yelled GET BACK!!! and she ran keeping an eye behind her (to strike back as needed).

This is just one possible escape plan and attack were really fluid. If someone kidnaps you (preventing your escape) you have to right to do what you have to do get away so long as you don’t go overboard. By the way in this case a couple of bad decisions contributed to the girl being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not her responsibility bad boys detained her but she does have to deal with it.

It will not always be clear the time for talking is done unless you are willing to fight your way out of a situation. If you are willing then you can more confidently tell the attacker to BACK OFF! And remember fighting spirit can be drawn out with the proper training so you too can make good fight or flight decisions if you ever have to!

As a child I have always loved books and moves involving adventure and martial arts. I loved the swordsmanship of Conan the Barbarian books and the sage lessons of the Kung Fu TV series. Some of the best martial arts flicks are timeless such as Seven Samurai but the theme of all of these wonderful books and movies show how the fighter overcomes overwhelming adversity by focusing his Ki (Qi, Chi).

Well I was asked to read Chambers and I agreed as I’d not read a martial arts book in a while. Let me just say once I started reading this book – I could not put it down easily. I usually take months to read a book (at a few pages a night before dropping off to sleep) but Chambers is a real page turner. I was a bit apprehensive as this looked to be a teen adventure but I was pleasantly surprised that I related well to the characters and the book grabbed my interest from the first couple of pages.

In this post I will review the book (soon to be a movie) and interview the author, Sarah Gerdes.

Here is a video about Chambers.

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The story starts out with a bang. Cage and Mia – siblings are waiting for their father in a cave. They see their dad whisked away and follow with the help of an orb – right into the Ming Dynasty!  The teens have to first survive being captured (as spies) and figure out what they are doing there – and ultimately find they are part of an epic battle that has gone on for a thousand years.

Cage has to pull all of his marital arts experience from his modern master to make sense of their predicament and with the help of his sister, Mia – they have to navigate these treacherous times to save their father and fulfill their destiny!

Cage had to depend on the powers of the orb for time travel and some magical feats. Mostly he (Cage) had to use his extensive martial arts prowess to defeat ancient warriors with extensive weaponry including crossbows, shurikens (throwing stars in modern lingo), along with various swords and daggers.

Often times martial arts books and movies make extensive use of magic in the fighting scenes but in Chambers I was riveted while reading how Cage defeated mass attackers with weapons. I could see how many of these sequences could really work if a fighter did not make too many mistakes. This was very refreshing after watching Mortal Kombat and Dragon Ball movie characters using magic to win their fights.

Mia is a headstrong, beautiful girl that has to learn to serve the Empress along with the many customs of the times. Luckily Cage does not have to worry too much about her while they both try to prove their innocence and save the Emperor.

While I won’t say too much more other than the author, Sarah Gerdes managed to intertwine Ming Dynasty history and customs in an interesting way while telling the story. I was able to keep up with what was happening while reading this fast paced historical adventure. While I thought at first this was a teen book before starting the read - I found it kept my interest all the way through – and I am a middle-aged man.

Chambers should have broad appeal since is a historical fiction set in a really interesting point in history (the struggle for power in the Ming Dynasty) that also has martial arts in it.

Chambers is the first book in the series and I understand the books have been optioned as a film series. Here is a recent video of the New Northwest Day show about Chambers.

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I rate this book 5 Kicks Up!

Flickr: photos/tucia

When I got the book I fully intended to do a book review but after reading it – I found I really liked it. I asked the author Sarah Gerdes to do an interview and she agreed.

INTERVIEW

[John W. Zimmer] I liked that Chambers integrated martial arts into the historical fiction. Can you tell use a little bit about your martial arts background?

[Sarah Gerdes] I’ve always been fascinated by martial arts, and watched my oldest brother get involved in MA when I was a teenager. Seeing the time and dedication it required, I waited until a co-worker revealed she was a blackbelt. At her invitation, I attended a self-defense class, and two weeks later, signed up for a black belt program.

[John W. Zimmer] I was totally intrigued by the setting in the Ming Dynasty. How much research did you have to do?

[Sarah Gerdes] A lot (smile). It started with general research of China, searching for a period that had real teenagers in roles of authority. 6 months and lots of time at the library later, I found the 2nd Ming Emperor was ruled from age 12-14. Once I had the time period locked, it took 2 years of research to cover every aspect of life: clothing, buildings, food, decorum etc.

 [John W. Zimmer] How did you come up with the idea of book?

[Sarah Gerdes] When my son was 12, we were climbing the rocks outside a volcano in northern California. I was always telling him stories, and as a reluctant reader himself, he suggested I write a book he could read. This was the start of the time-travel adventure concept. An earlier version I wrote was geared for his age group, but when the studio got involved, the producer asked if I could re-write the book based on a more mature audience 18-25) to deal with the themes. That opened up a new world in terms of plot lines, themes, fighting and romance. The initial idea evolved to be Chambers.

[John W. Zimmer] Tell us a bit about the fight sequences and weaponry.

[Sarah Gerdes] A part of my training includes Weapons. In my program, we are given the weapons based on our belt level, so I only have so much experience. Since I’m one belt below a black belt, I pulled most of the scenes from actual practice sessions I’ve had to endure. The scenes with one against multiple are, sadly, from observation and what I’d do (in theory) versus what I’ve thus far been allowed to do in practice. For the weapons, I couldn’t use what I’ve been taught. I had to adapt the weapons for the period. This took an extensive amount of research from weapons sites and masters from around the world (thank heaven for the Internet!). The design, styles, uses and details of the weapons I found were so amazing, I wrote an additional 50 pages or more that got cut by the editor. Apparently, I’d gone a little overboard in my zeal for the weapons.

[John W. Zimmer] I grew up watching the TV show Kung Fu as a teen and have always thought martial arts concepts were a way of life (or should be). How did you manage to capture the mystical part of the martial arts so well in the book?

[Sarah Gerdes] Thank you for the compliment. It’s very humbling that you say that. During my very first lesson, I was struck by the symbols and words on the walls of the practice room. They were very spiritually oriented, yet when I commented on this to the instructor, he wouldn’t answer the question until I was a fourth section (2 away from a black belt). In effect, he told me that the right to tap in to the spiritual side (the spirit/soul etc) had to be earned. Those that didn’t make it through the toughening, weeding-out process of rudimentary practice were not worthy to have the enlightenment that comes with training in the pure forms. Some of the practice techniques, like Bagwa Chung, are designed to tap in to this very element that is all around us. I tried to work that into the book in a way that was both believable but tangible for readers who have no idea what true martial arts is all about. Now that I’m in the second book, the challenge is quite different. It involves native Americans, who believe in being one with nature. Whereas they called mysticism, another culture calls spirituality, but it’s very similar. Another level exists within all of us. It’s there if we choose to tap in to it, and live our lives in such a way where we can be sensitive.

[John W. Zimmer] Tell us about the main characters Cage and Mia. They work very well together – how much of you are in them?

[Sarah Gerdes] Dare I reveal this much! Well, the fighting with Cage is certainly me, along with anger at a relatively absent father, who was working all the time but did his best. At the same time, I have injected a little of myself in Mia, but the first book doesn’t express it so much. When she hits her fantastic, teenage rebellion streak (in book 2, after learning her father has been lying to herself and Cage), that certainly has a bit more of me. That said, I never played soccer—one of her gifts. All those moves actually came from my middle brother (I have 3 bros) who was/is a soccer whiz. Though this brother wasn’t the one who got in to martial arts, I adored him, we were only 16 mo apart, and we were best friends growing up, doing everything together. (that happens when you live on a tree farm with no one around for miles). We weren’t twins, but it certainly felt like we could read each other’s minds. That influenced the interaction between the two, as did the challenges of starting with similar viewpoints on life, then facing the struggle, disappointment and other emotions that arise when a sibling takes a different course in life.

[John W. Zimmer] About the upcoming movie – are you going help with that process too?

[Sarah Gerdes] I’m going to stick with what I know, and continued writing. A screenplay is its own art, and I’ve got a lot of work to do on my existing art (writing) before I take on another. That said, I’ve been invited to provide opinions on a number of elements (roles etc), but I think my biggest gift to the producer is to stay out of their way so they can do a great job.

[John W. Zimmer] Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

[Sarah Gerdes] The producer Lucas Foster has produced some big hits like Mr & Mrs Smith, Law Abiding Citizen etc. When I got a bit depressed at the time it takes to make a movie, he said something that resonated. “Making movies is like training for a marathon. Some days it seems like progress has only moved an inch. In a few weeks, that’s become a foot. Then a mile. It takes a while, but its eventually completing a marathon.” Writing is like that. One can become a writer starting with a single sentence a day. That sentence becomes a paragraph, then a page, a chapter, and ultimately a book.

This is where practicing martial arts is a definite asset. It’s a combination of determination, patience and ‘pushing through’ to the other side. During my early belts, we held positions for many minutes, to the point where my muscles felt like acid, burning off my bones. The instructors counseled us to ‘set your mind.’ Once that was in place, the body could handle any physical challenge. At the time, I thought I was going to collapse, and sometimes I did, but ultimately, I came to believe (and experience) that I truly could push through anything when I set my mind.

Writing is similar. An aspiring writer (replace writer with any objective) sets his or her mind to becoming, then doing that task, over and over with diligence, the outcome is not in question. One will become a writer, technically and creatively. To invoke a conventional saying, it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient at any task, be it making a free throw, jazz musician or writer. In approximately 10 yrs, I’ve written 7 books and 2 screenplays. I tallied my numbers for writing, and I’m only about 3,500 hours. I’ve got a long way to go to qualify for true proficiency, but I’ve made a lot of necessary progress. In a sense, I’m still training for my marathon.

About the author: Sarah Gerdes is writer living outside Washington with her family. In addition to Chambers, she has two other books and 3 screenplays in production. For more information on Chambers, check out the Chambers Series facebook page or the Chambers youtube channel. For more on Sarah, her official author site is http://www.sarahgerdes.com/, and her random musings on all things life is www.sassality.blogspot.com.

The books are available on Amazon.com and BarnsandNoble.com.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarah Gerdes for the great story and interview!