A close friend of mine named Meg Hinkley runs a women's self defense program in Dallas, Texas called Athena's Strategies. She is a longtime practitioner of martial arts and is uniquely knowledgeable in the actual dynamics of women's assault and self defense. Several years ago she asked me to help her evaluate her program and occasionally assist in its implementation. It is an impressive program. Athena's Strategies is among the few such self defense programs I recommend without reservation. Much of the program involves the presentation of facts and supporting data which dispel many of the myths commonly associated with the physical and sexual assault of women. The remaining curriculum addresses the physical aspects of violent assault in a process that exceeds virtually all common forms of budo study in its effectiveness towards the realistic application of self defense. The greatest reason for this advantage exists because Megs program unflinchingly confronts the psycho - chemical stress response - what I call PCS.

Broadly speaking, there is a significant lack of effective instruction in confronting the physiological and psychological stresses that occur during all physical conflict. Truth be told, most highly ranked instructors in budo have virtually no experience with the symptoms of PCS and many even refuse to acknowledge its debilitating effects. The result of this omission is that a majority of students in budo are given a false sense of security, believing that they can somehow translate their growing technical dojo prowess into actual street effectiveness. Such belief is a statistical fantasy, and a dangerous one at that. The humbling of a self assured black belt coming into Meg Hinkleys program is a vivid lesson in the deficiencies of most budo training. A black belt supposedly trained in self defense, being tackled, pinned and totally dominated by 115 pound Meg is a something to behold. But seeing such women being effectively manipulated by verbal intimidation alone, dramatically illustrates the fact that PCS is far more debilitating and complex than most students or teachers of budo realize.

The chances of successfully navigating the adverse effects of PCS are compromised significantly if one is involved in a form of budo predominantly driven by a teaching model based on cooperative partner interaction. No dojo or seminar training environment can replicate an actual violent confrontation. However the model of cooperative partner training common in most schools of aikido and some classical styles of budo is among the least likely to provide actual confrontation with the effects of PCS. How can one be expected to realistically confront violence if the dojo environment is always harmonious? It's all fine and dandy to wax philosophically about harmonizing peacefully with an attacker and reaching a higher plane of spiritual existence thru the study of budo, but I must point out that such ideals are of little value to a budo student violently attacked in a parking garage. Claiming that the aikido most commonly available in dojos today is effective self defense in such a situation or, for that matter a genuine reflection of strict martial study is propagation of a highly irresponsible myth. When I hear such naiveté provided as fact I am reminded of the harsh wisdom of sensei Yuiyoshi Takamura when he said:

"Remember that most people who call themselves martial artists are nothing of the sort. Most dojos are not martial arts dojos either. They are glorified social clubs thriving in an environment of emotional stimulation which is heightened by a false or extremely limited perception of danger. When real danger shows itself in such a dojo, the participants run for cover. In a real dojo the participants run towards the conflict."

For a vast majority of budo practitioners, even experienced ones, to effectively apply technique during an actual violent encounter requires familiarity with the onset and debilitating effects of PCS. Without such experience, the technical syllabus one has spent years perfecting in the dojo is simply unavailable. It is like a box of valuable tools locked behind closed doors without a key. Training that includes such high level intensity that one frequently experiences PCS is the key to unlocking the valuable waza you have dedicated years in the dojo to learning and perfecting.

So what are the methods for gaining access to PCS? There are several.

The first level towards experiencing PCS is to allow the speed and power of the attacks to reach a level significantly higher than one can easily handle. One should function only in a protective or defensive mode at this point, attempting to weather the dizzying array of attacks by utilizing only taisabaki, blocks & parries. One should get hit and hit frequently at this level of training. No active defense such as counter attacks or throws should be attempted at this level of PCS training. The point is to experience the overwhelming confusion associated with a violent attack. Bang! For many people unaccustomed to overwhelming physical conflict, the adrenaline dump will stop them like a brick wall. One will start shaking, hearing will become tinny and one will realize that all they can physically manage are gross motor movements. Occasionally some people will develop tunnel vision and may even lose their hearing temporarily. This is not a pleasant experience and it isn't meant to be. It's intended to put one under extreme stress. In this type of training it is absolutely necessary that you find a partner you trust completely, one who can function as an attacker but whose technique and control are of such a high technical level that the chance of serious injury is greatly diminished. It is also recommended that one wear protective equipment such as head gear for this practice. After this level of stress is experienced on a frequent basis you'll discover that faster and more violent attacks are needed to induce PCS. You may even need to allow the attack to induce significantly more physical pain than you've previously experienced. Its important to remember that your body and mind are learning to deal with PCS. By adapting to the incremental increases in physical, psychological and chemical stress, you are no longer physically or mentally reacting as you did early in your experience with PCS. You are now becoming mentally detached from the effects of PCS, free to evaluate your situation with much more clarity of mind.

The next level of training will require more protection for the attacker and less for you as you will start attempting to apply your own techniques in response to the attack. The actual technique is not strictly important so safer, less dangerous applications of technique are appropriate here. It is the mental and physical calmness in the application of technique during extreme duress that matters most now. You should develop a calm enough mind to draw any response from the previously locked box of techniques you have acquired in regular dojo training. Through PCS conditioning, you've acquired the key to access the best waza you have available to you.

Essentially, any type of intense training that incites emotional duress to the level that it chemically induces physical and mental symptoms of extreme stress is a form of PCS training. PCS can manifest itself at different levels in training methods already familiar to many budoka. One type of training commonly encountered in budo that can induce significant levels of PCS is one that includes a competitive element. As a proponent of classical jujutsu, we of the Shindo Yoshin Kai do not engage in competition in the strictest sense of the word. However we do engage in a type of freestyle training where increasing speed and resistance to waza are employed by both participants. In this method of training there is definitely a competitive element present but this element is not about winning or losing. It is concerned with fostering unpredictability and spontaneity into the training experience.

My earliest years of martial study were in the pursuit of western fencing. The lessons I learned from the competitive aspects of this discipline have stayed with me. When I moved on to Wado ryu karate, the competitive element took a bit of a leap because it was here that I was first introduced to the adrenaline dump associated with the fear of pain and injury. For all it's intensity and incredible speed, fencing seldom resulted in the physical discomfort I encountered during hard karate kumite. Exposure to PCS took an even more significant step up in intensity when I began the study of Muay Thai boxing. It was during my time in Muay Thai that I really got walloped and realized how debilitating PCS could become. PCS of this intensity was unexpected and absolutely bewildering as I had never experienced anything like this previously. I remember thinking to myself before one particular rough match with a fantastic fighter that I'd been nervous before, but not like this. It was a horrible feeling. Due to the effects of PCS I couldn't hear anything or even see clearly though I had yet to receive one clean blow. Through the following years of intense training I learned to deal with PCS on my own but interestingly, it was during my training in classical jujutsu with Yukiyoshi Takamura that I was finally educated in exactly what PCS was, how it manifested itself and how to best address its debilitating effects via a methodical and well thought out teaching approach.

The revelation that PCS was a normal physiological reaction to stress was an epiphany for me. Up until that point I thought the experience was something unique to me. Empowered with the knowledge that this phenomenon could be addressed thru a specific training regimen left one nagging question. Why I had not come across this topic before? What I found out was amazing. Many instructors simply denied its existence. Others that did acknowledge its existence felt that such high intensity training was of minimal value and could potentially run off most students even though the teacher professed to teach realistic self defense. I must admit to being incredulous at these responses. Where I found instructors most familiar with the effects of PCS were the competitive disciplines, especially Judo. I recall an extended discussion on this topic with the legendary Judo 8th dan, Vince Tamura. It was Vince's opinion that frequent exposure to situational stress was the most effective way to lessen it's impact upon your performance. This opinion is likewise mirrored by my friend, Ken Good, President of Strategos International, a company dedicated to the training of law enfocement and military personel . Ken reinforces the idea that for PCS training to be most effective it must be revisited frequently or the benefits of such training will diminish.

I know that competitive practice in aikido frequently receives howls of protest but I believe such out of hand dismissal is shortsighted and simplistic in its interpretation of what the benefits of competitive practice can be. That competition is an imperfect pursuit in conjunction with the orthodox aikido framework is obvious, but its benefits vs risks, depend on what someone is realistically expecting to gain from it. Here is where an instructors strong hand is absolutely paramount. If competition or competitive practice is allowed to ascend to a position of dominance within a system like aikido, I agree that it will most likely become detrimental to aikido's broader pursuits. However, if the student is constantly reminded that competitive practice is only pursued as a means to a different and greater end, then I believe a competitive training element can function as an excellent tool for taking one mentally and physically to the more intense levels of the budo experience. Kenji Tomiki, Ueshiba's first 8th dan was once asked about his exploration of shiai within Shodokan Aikido. He referred to it as "Putting the eye's back in the dragon" I believe one aspect of training he was talking about was PCS. One must try to envision that properly taught, competition does not necessarily result in a winner and a loser. Both participants can be winners. Freestyle practice against a totally uncooperative partner, especially one rewarded for executing successful, full speed attacks is not necessarily a unique phenomenon in a traditionally based art like aikido. Successfully executing technique against an uncooperative attacker moving at full speed requires the highest levels of technical ability and keen mental awareness. Admittedly, such encounters frequently lack the aesthetic technical elegance most aikidoka are familiar with but in my eyes witnessing perfectly timed and executed waza at full speed between uncooperative partners is a far more beautiful manifestation of aikido than overly cooperative randori. It is budo in spirit and experience, a demonstration of spontaneous defensive tactics in dynamic physical and mental action. Is this sort of competitive training model perfect? No, of course not. The techniques executed are obviously modified for safety, and the invocation of rules must drive such practice. However, it must be remembered that the perfect execution of specific form is not the aim of competitive freestyle. It's purpose is to nurture other skills that simply cannot be addressed in any cooperative or choreographed exchange. A competitive element carefully executed and strictly kept in its proper context is just one part of a complex syllabus that can add rather than detract from a system of budo by inculcating one to the debilitating effects of PCS.

Another type of training that can induce PCS commonly employed in older classical schools is intense weapons training which at the highest levels includes the use of live blades. Make no mistake, years of experience in kata training changes dramatically at a mental level when you realize that the wooden bokken or shinai that frequently whizzed past your head has been replaced with razor sharp steel. One slip now and we're talking way more physical duress than a nasty bruise, and your sense of self preservation recognises this fact. Mental lapses by me during kata execution have resulted in a near detached retina and couple of nice deep holes in my arm that make the point (no pun intended) that such training is certainly not appropriate for everyone. Such practice should be reserved only for advanced training by people fully cognizant of its serious risks. That said, such training takes the intensity of kata training to a higher level than anyone unfamiliar with such practice can imagine. To paraphrase Kenji Tomiki's idea, this type of kata training suddenly has the eyes of the "kata dragon" winking back at you. PCS will almost certainly effect the smooth execution of a kata you've performed countless times in a most disturbing but illuminating manner. People talk frequently about the difference between living and dead kata. Well, kata performed with razor sharp live weapons are not only living, but snorting fire.

I have heard many instructors claim that PCS training is not required in the study of budo. I guess I can reluctantly agree with that sentiment. Budo exists in many guises and is practiced for many diverse reasons. Not all of these necessarily need to include realistic self defense. But lets be clear about something. All of us, students and teachers, need to be honest about the aims and demands of our training. If you advertise or believe that your training will address realistic self defense, you cannot ignore something so important as the effects of PCS. As my friend Ellis Amdur recently pointed out in his blog "Martial Arts - For Real", budo is most worthy when it remains true to it's purpose. If a form of budo strays from it's purpose, it changes into something else and the person making this change must acknowledge this fact. An art like aikido is unique in that it is saddled with a purpose much more complex than classically focused koryu or the more sport oriented forms of gendai budo. Because of this there is great division about what aikido is or is not supposed to be. How aikido remains true to its purpose if that purpose is defined as a method of peaceful resolution to conflict, needs to be critically examined. Can aikido remain true to its purpose if its training only confronts feigned or greatly watered down examples of physical conflict? I don't think so. Aikido as a tool for the peaceful resolution to conflict must in my opinion include confronting the harsh realities of conflict realistically in its pursuit to remain true to its purpose. ( This includes being able to walk away from pointless conflict btw...) Those adherents that claim to reflect aikidos true ideals must realize that they cannot escape the unpleasant or intense aspects of training if they expect to triumph over conflict and violence. In fact I know several aikidoka that are fire breathing self defense monsters. They have trained very hard to become who they are and what they are. They have not deviated from the path that is aikido's true purpose yet their martial veracity is unquestioned. They are living testaments to aikido's realized potential. For them, PCS training was one tool among many that allowed them to realistically address the physical and psychological effects associated with severe physical conflict and emerge as aikidoka to hold in the highest esteem.