I have read and heard many stories concerning kung fu in ancient China. Verifying the validity of many of these stories is extremely difficult, to say the least. On more than one occasion I have read about or heard stories concerning disputes between the masters of rival schools. If the disagreement could not be resolved peacefully, conflict resolution would come in the form of a death match between the two masters. There was the understanding that the dead master’s school would have to close down. I tend to believe that this did occur at times, although I’m not sure how frequent it was. The lawlessness of the historical times and circumstances allowed this to happen.

The violent aspects of kung fu were my first love. The yang of Tiger Claw and Leopard Paw techniques has always fascinated me. The leopard is the animal that I most closely identify with. The cunning, quickness, and ruthless violence of this animal are fascinating. The problem with only learning the kung fu of these animals is that many day to day situations are dealt with in a needlessly harsh manner. Anyone who has had a boss that could rip them apart verbally or with their actions has seen the spirit of the big cats at work in the non-physical arena. I have been in public education on the secondary level for many years, and have had to intervene in several altercations. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that a Tiger Claw attack is the wrong solution here. I began to study kenpo and jujitsu restraining, leverage, and joint locking techniques. They have come in mighty handy on several occasions.

Now, back to the second adversary that is the title of this article. We are not living in the same lawless times that I mentioned in ancient China. The United States is a nation of laws. The same is true of many other countries. We must realize that we may have to pay for unnecessary violence which we commit. The first adversary is the individual that you are involved with in the altercation. You must successfully defend yourself and/or other innocent people who may be there at the time. Since this isn’t ancient China or California during the Gold Rush, you must be prepared to defend yourself against the Second Adversary; the legal system that can be brought against anyone involved in an altercation. In other words, be prepared to justify your actions in a court of law. As a martial artist, you will be under particularly close scrutiny, if the judge allows that to be revealed in court. Your actions may start out in a legitimate self-defense scenario. You may proceed on to a successful conclusion to the hostilities. But, you may then want to get in a few more whacks to teach the perp a lesson. Danger! Danger! No fair minded jury is going to let any of us off the hook for aggression committed once the threat has ended. A jury is going to want to know why you did a “Monkey Steals the Peach” technique when a joint lock or “Spitting Cobra” (dirt in the face) and run away tactic could have been used.

I am also preaching to myself here. I have had the “I am going to make them pay!” mentality on occasion. It is very natural. I am just saying this; for our sakes and for the sakes of our family, career, and all that we hold dear, we must make good decisions. Harming someone more than necessary or doing jail or prison time is not good for anyone. Many lives are touched in a negative way. The scenarios and possibilities are too numerous to go into. Every situation is different. In the heat of combat, it is easy and natural to make quick and irreversible decisions. But, it is imperative that we do only what we can justify in court, and sell to a reasonable jury. There is too much at stake, for everyone concerned, to take this admonition lightly.

Article written by Sifu Larry McFadden
Founder of McFadden Leopard Claw Street Martial Arts System & Kan Balam Kung Fu
Sifu McFadden can be reached by E-mail at larry@mcflydesigns.com


COMBAT WARRIOR E-MAGAZINE April 2006 / CombatWarriorMag.net