James a Keating What Is the Best Knife Fighting Style of Martial Arts?
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Official Comtech Bowie Pocketknife Program
 | Alliance is one the few schools in the world authorized to teach the official Comtech Bowie Knife program with the blessings of Comtech'southward founder, Master at Arms James Keating! We are proud to offer this exciting plan of easily-on, full-speed pocketknife training which in 3 days can turbocharge your power to apply these time-tested Western blade techniques, at speed, with the big steel. This course does not bargain with the historical aspects of the knife: (The historical aspects of the Bowie pocketknife are thoroughly covered in the American Heritage Fighting Arts curriculum) |
| and Always Wanted to Attend? Go an Inside Look Into one of the world-famous COMTECH Bowie Pocketknife Seminars |  Master at Arms James Albert Keating |
For those of you out there who have been living nether a stone for the last ten years, let me bring you up to speed chop-chop. James Keating is one of the earth's premier knife experts and is the man professionals go to when they want to improve their fighting skills. Having training in the martial arts and pocketknife fighting since childhood, and having fought on the street against existent guns and knives, he is a man who know of what he speaks.
Yet unlike others who would tout similar backgrounds and proudly clothing the bluecoat of a grizzled "streetfighter", Mr. Keating is a admirer, a warrior, and a scholar of the globe'southward martial arts, history, and philosophy. He is an explorer of all things martial, like a 21st century Richard Burton. Quick to smile and laugh, pass on a bit of curious lore, or to evidence his words "at the point of his knife" every bit the situation warrants. Mr. Keating is one of those men who would have fit in besides hundreds of years ago as today.
If you think back to the days of magazines like Fighting Knives and Full Contact then you've read about the Riddle of Steel on the Snake River Coulee and the Bowie Pocketknife Seminars that they hold at Comtech headquarters in Oregon every twelvemonth. Though those keen tactical mags are no more, the seminars yet happen. I'll bet that similar me, you would wait at those photos and wonder...but what would it be like to exist in that location? Well, let me tell you a story....
Class Photograph from iii/27-3/29 seminar. ((All photos by "Doc" Parsons (front end row, second from right))
"Anybody does things for their own reasons, but why does someone want to become a better knife fighter?" This was the thought I pondered as I packed apparel and preparation gear into the one-time dark-green travel bag. For 3 days we were going to eat, slumber and breathe the Bowie pocketknife, learn to fight with the Western methods and apply it all at total speed. Jim had been challenged on his claim that he could teach anyone to go a solid knife fighter in 3 days with this program, however those same men would not go out to take the form themselves (fifty-fifty when offered costless tuition). I wondered if we would accept whatever raw beginners in that location, and then I could meet the difference in their skills from start to end.
The trip out was uneventful though overnight storms had left a solid pes of fresh snow to contend with. On the manner out I kept myself warning by playing "spot the others heading to Comtech." I reasoned that since I was heading out a twenty-four hour period early, through 3 airports, there was good chance of spotting someone headed in that location. I was dressed inconspicuously, so I wondered if they would exist able to tell, too? "Your battle aura is huge..."
Sure enough at the second airport I spotted an older gentleman with a hat on waiting for the bus. He was calm and polite, but his eyes and focus, his awareness of those effectually him spoke volumes to me. I got a closer look at the lid's inscription - "Silverish Bullet Brigade". This was not a fan of Coors beer here, folks...this guy was a lifetime NRA fellow member. Radar was locked.
As if on cue he looked up and we both smiled and looked away as one does. Past the fourth dimension we got off the tertiary flight in Walla Walla, he'd pegged me too. As I was going to call a cab he walked over and said "Comtech?" Thus I was introduced to "Doc", a lifetime pistol shooter (.45 and he'll tell you why) and tai chi player...with admittedly no background in knives or fighting martial arts...merely the man I was looking for.
I had my baseline to watch at present. In three days, what could the good Dr. learn about the pocketknife? As we spoke at dinner I could tell he was prepare and eager to larn, "a fresh canvas".
The Comtech school is located in an unmarked storefront on Main Street of a small Oregon boondocks. Information technology used to exist a bar, and still has the old neon lights on the ceiling and the bar from those days. The windows are fully covered over and are reinforced with security bars. In that location is no indication from the street what this place is, or that information technology is even open. Kind of humorously, there is a small Tae Kwon Do school upstairs and a weight gym, run by unlike people.
Inside, the Comtech school is very spacious on the first floor, but their upstairs is jammed full of xxx years of training gear - a squadron of mad mook jongs that spin and have assurance on ropes attached to the limbs, piles of weapons and gear, onetime photos and artifacts. One particular photograph caught my center - a group of four immature Kempo black belts continuing on guard along side a powerful looking Ed Parker. Though many years had passed, I could pick out the smiling and piercing eyes of one of these Kempo bucks...it was a young James Keating!
The training started the first day with Master at Arms Rob Langford teaching solo drills for correctly performing the different attacks and defenses with the Bowie knife. Rob would teach most of the time equally James advisedly observed, seeing what people needed to be corrected on and what to do side by side, like the pilot and navigator of a send.
From the initial drills which were designed to teach assail, defense, and back-cutting, we learned to rely on our partners for feedback about our operation, and this eased u.s. into the mindset of the weekend - everything is working with a partner to help you acquire faster. Getting hitting is OK if it means you learn. I have to compliment the folks there, because at that place were no bad attitudes and everyone trained and learned a lot. Sometimes there will be people who have to "win" a drill so badly that they hurt someone or at the very to the lowest degree make learning annihilation incommunicable for their partner. Were blessed to have a group in that location to acquire and grow, non pose or print.
One unique feature to the Comtech Bowie seminars is that once you lot have attended one, y'all can come back once again for gratis to tune up your performance. This fourth dimension, nosotros had a number of returning people, such as knifesmith Rob Patton and Sensei David Elkins (pictured below, tan shirt).
That starting time twenty-four hours we worked through a lot of material that we would spend the adjacent two days actually refining. We skillful footwork and mobility, cutting, thrusting, the lunge, back cuts, evasion, timing, rhythm, and measure out. The drills were arranged so that each concept built on the previous ones in a logic chain which fabricated learning advanced skills much simpler.
Day two got further into the use and combinations of all the basics we learned on day one, besides as introducing new skills and giving us our get-go chance for the weekend to put on the masks and apply everything in sparring. The stride was noticeably picked up from day one, at present that Rob and Jim had a better idea of where the class was at with the material.
The evasion and mobility concepts from day one were at present drilled in rapid burn down applications. There was no question of whether this would work - you were both actually trying to hitting each other, so if you evaded, it was "for real". I wondered how Md was doing, but he was but grinning, moving cleanly, and having a blast. Looked adept. I wondered, how he would practise in the sparring.
Bullwhip and Bowie work was taught on the side, as was a series of close-quarter pocketknife convincing drills
After lunch information technology was time to find out. We worked through a number of sparring drills and then moved progressively into free sparring. The fight was to one touch on. As Jim reasoned it, "That one shot may non kill, simply it will change the nature of the fight". The double kill (where both fighters hit one another) was the greatest sin to avoid. Normally, a double kill is rewarded with pushups for both men. No point to train good techniques and evasions and and so to simply rush in pell-mell.
Those not fighting were in a circle around the combatants, so you could acquire from seeing the others and notice their personal styles. Some men were fast and used wild gestures and feints, others sabbatum back and used their eyes to advantage, not revealing their game until it was fourth dimension to act. Since the class was big, you got to experience fighting against a diversity of body types and styles. The Doc impressed the heck out of me, keeping his composure confronting men with a lot of training in the pocketknife and using what he had just learned to telling effect. When he got hit, he knew why, was witting not to brand that mistake again. That was something I noticed with everyone here - you could not underestimate them except at your peril and they learned from fighting yous. And this was but day two...
Though nosotros'd fought for hours, information technology was not to be the cease of the day. Since we could non really go out in public and be ourselves ("Hey, look at this cool knife!"), nosotros brought the food and beer to the school and spent a few more hours talking and training. Jim lead us through an hour of close quarters knife convincing and taught some of the principles of using subliminal gestures in combat. However not tired, I headed back to the hotel with Rob Patton. Custom pocketknife maker Wendel Pull a fast one on and Sensei Dave Elkins joined us, and we talked into the morning hours.
| You have got to exist one actually bad dude to eat here! "Which supper club were we going to eat at tonight, dear?" "Oh, you know, what'south the name...ah, that Grand***** F***** Supper Club downtown...you know the one." "Oh, of course dear... It's so mannerly!" Unless MF stands for "Monday through Fri" or "Male person and Female"...just I don't think so! |  |
Twenty-four hour period 3 started with a review of all the concepts we'd worked on and then far. More than work with the beat, demark, trapping, and ability-passing actions were taught, and nosotros got to see Jim in action against Rob using the the Crossada vs. a flexi dagger. Jim demoed every aspect of the trapping baby-sit at full speed, talking all the while Rob is working to striking him, and selectively picking upwardly attacks with the horns and Spanish notch of the Crossada!
After this I was asked to present a segment on the shield and knife, so I showed the basics for both the minor buckler and larger heater and kite shields. Focusing on the buckler as seen in Marozzo and DiGrassi, nosotros covered some concepts like keeping the buckler in line with the elbow (only like the knife), parrying with the circumference, covering the weapon hand (every bit in manuscript I33), concealing the weapon, and maneuvering the body effectually the buckler.
From hither nosotros went into a lot of sparring, including fighting with double knives and knife and buckler. Both Jim and Rob were quick to spar with anybody there for all three days, and this was no exception. We had a fine time, and all too soon it was time to go.
To wrap up, Rob reviewed the manuals he'd made for us, and Jim gave a heartfelt lecture about the Western arts. He demonstrated some amazing techniques of how Western fencing principles apply to pistol fighting and described how Bruce Lee'southward Jeet Kune Do drew its cadre concepts from Western fencing, every bit well as discussing the use of magic as information technology applies to combat.
From here we had but one more night to sit down upwards tardily and talk. Rob Langford joined us later on dinner and as is the example with martial artists, "talking leads to doing". Rob covered a whole slew of the Comtech trapping easily and hubud concepts with united states of america, and gave an unforgettable demonstration of the frame-shifting concepts seen in both the internal Chinese styles and the Russian systems. Once again and again against full speed attacks...he wasn't there and he didn't touch the assailant and they stumbled and fell.
Too soon would come the trip abode, no longer in the company of bladesmen, but returned to the world of fussing yuppies and flight delays. No matter. I was so fired up that information technology was all just adept fun. I amused folks in the airdrome by breaking chopsticks on my throat and vanishing coins, even instruction a wide-eyed lilliputian kid how to brand a money disappear. He tried eagerly to fool his mom upon on her return, but she was besides self absorbed to pay attention. "You've felt the magic", I said to him as I leave "Information technology'southward yours now."
I know I had just felt the magic for three days...
Bottom line? If you are looking to learn to fight with the Bowie or any large knife, this program volition bear witness you how. Beginner or advanced makes no deviation, this can requite you a system or turbo charge what y'all already do. If you lot accept learned primarily a small knife art based on traps and slashes, the Bowie program will open up your eyes to a whole new world of knifecraft.
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We will be running a 3 solar day Bowie Knife Campsite here in the groovy outdoors of Key NY
Date and further details to follow!
Write u.s.a. and we will put you on the contact listing for this event!
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Source: http://www.alliancemartialarts.com/comtechbowie.html
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