More Smoke and Mirrors
I was recently contacted by a good karate black belt who had been attending various seminars by people like George Dillman and his followers and those who are of the same ilk, such as Evan Pantazi, with the intention of learning ways to enhance his knowledge on the one hand, and the effectiveness of his techniques on the other.
His exposure to concepts like the Diurnal theory (vital points are more vulnerable to strikes and manipulation at certain distinct times of the day) the 5 Element destruction cycle (vital points are given descriptive names: Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and should be struck / manipulated in a particular sequence - Fire melts metal, water puts out fire, and so on) and then the concept of disabling an attacker without even touching him, by projecting balls of energy ("Ki") drew him into attending seminars and courses and becoming immersed in situations where it seemed that some instructors can make these things work. He therefore began to question the value of his regular training and he is not alone! There are hundreds of well-meaning martial artists who go this route in order to make their art more effective.
Many years ago, I too began to look hard at these concepts, and at the instructors who were promoting them. I hosted Mr. Dillman in England on a number of occasions and spent many hours listening to his explanations of how he first came to this knowledge, and then to testing the veracity and effectiveness of what he taught. I am not going in to detail here about my thoughts about this particular gentleman, nor of his many acolytes and carbon copies. However, I am going to set out quite plainly why the whole thing is a charade and is mainly only effective in building a profitable business for those who purport to have mastered the theories and who will happily pass them on to you for a not such a small fee! One caveat however - Do Vital Points "work"? more...
