How is this art different from other arts?

Other arts have a sport mindset. They look at winning a match or tournament.

Our art emphasizes survival. Whenever I leave my home my main goal is to return safely to my family. It's a completely different mindset. When we train - we train as if we are in a fight. We are fully aware that we may be punched, kicked, stabbed or shot at. The objective is to become adept at surviving different forms of attack.

Our art is unique. We use distance, balance, timing and awareness to see what develops in a threatening situation. These are the tools that will help us survive a dangerous situation. We practice advanced techniques and weapons usage at all levels so that they become second nature to us. You must be able to adapt to any situation.

We believe that our dojo is where ever we are. We believe our uniforms are whatever it is we are wearing at the time. And we believe we are mentally and physically free of restrictions because the training teaches awareness - and awareness can be very self-gratifying.

As a person progresses with our training they will discover that there is more to our training than meets the eye. At the higher levels of training you begin to look at life, through this new mindset. When others are looking at a technique from the waist up, you look at it from the waist down and from different angles. That's the magic of this art.

You see the same technique repeatedly and then suddenly something changes slightly. You're now looking at the same technique from a different point of view - physically and mentally. Your awareness presents options to you that were not there before. Your senses are enhanced, not only during a technique but about the art and life itself. You become amazed at how simple it was to add your own twist to a technique - you just never realized before how easy it was. When you've reached this level of awareness the training reaches another level until your next breakthrough. This awareness continues to build upon itself.

Mike Reina, Shidoshi