Hosts Jason Chambers and Bill Duff were headed to the Philippines to absorb all they could on Escrima. At the end of the show, Chambers would spar a 5-time world champion Escrimador. While I thought Jason held on very well, and made a respectable showing, it was the escrimador's look of intent that caught my eye. Every ounce of his being was focused on the utter destruction of his opponent. I believe if that guy had not known any type of art, he would still have been a force to be reckoned with just from the shear intent in his being. It was written all over him.

A couple of days later I stopped by the Army recruiting office here in town. My nieces husband is a recruiter there and a veteran of OEF. We talked about differences in the generations of soldiers and fighting men.

He will be transferred next year and will be in charge of training men for a particular kind of fighting. One thing he, I and his fellow recruiters fell upon, especially in the youngest generation, is the lack of animalistic intent. That switch that we all posses, to turn it on and go ballistic on an impending threat.

My son takes Taekwondo from Master Russell Maness here in Nacogdoches. We've had this conversation more than once. In fact we had it again the other night as I had time to stop by and watch my son work out. The frustration of trying to get people to practice like they mean it.

Especially younger adults and children who have not realized their mortality yet, nor have seen the dangers that can exist in the world. The past couple of generations have become lax. There are no wolves at the door for most of us. For the most part, especially here in East Texas there is an ambivalence to human predators. Most of us will never face the dangers of "mean streets". We are complacent to live in our own little worlds thinking everything is hunky-dory. And that is okay to an extent. We don't need to walk around paranoid and always looking over our shoulders. There is a difference between paranoia and situational awareness. But what must be appreciated is the ability to train like you will face that danger. Like your life is on the line. To flip that switch and transform yourself from happy-go-lucky to a warrior.

The key to flipping that switch is knowing where it is. You can't turn the lights on if you can't find the switch. Knowing it is there is not helping you when you are fumbling around in the dark. The key to knowing where the switch is, how and when to turn it on, comes from training like you mean it.

Years earlier I was brushing up on my pistol tactics. My new wife ambled out to my homemade range to watch. After I burned up a box of ammo, I asked her if she would like to try. She did and we both had a good learning experience that day. Later I asked her if she would be willing to get her concealed-carry license when Texas eventually "allowed" us to carry. I was surprised, given my father-in-law was an ex Highway Patrol officer, that she had never pondered self-defense and that she was not the least bit interested in it.

"What about our kids, when we have them?", I asked. "What if they are attacked and I'm not around?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll cross that bridge if I'm there. But I don't think I could pull a trigger on someone."

I cringed. She told me to pick up my jaw.

I teach people to kill or be killed. Maim or be maimed. Self preservation of ourselves and our dearest beloveds. Concepts and Principles #29. And my own wife tells me she doesn't think she could protect her own children. Probably not exactly the way she meant it. But that's how I took it. A caring soul doesn't imagine injury of others.

Flash forward a few years and a three kids later. I round the corner at a local store and there is my wife just ripping into this 6'2", 250 pound man. Another woman is trying to hold HER, 5'4" and 120 pounds off of HIM.

Ten minutes and a huge misunderstanding later I find out that she truthfully thought he was trying to take one of the kids.

If you know her and run into her later, DON'T ask her about this incident. She tries to forget it.

But suffice it to say that she found "that switch". Her intent was such that I'm glad she didn't have a gun. It could've been messy.

I am relieved to finally know that when it comes down to it, she can flip that switch. She has no formal training, but she realizes there is a time to throw civility out of the window in these so-called civilized times. To know that although she may not ACTUALLY kill someone, that she has it in her ability, in self defense of herself or her loved ones to do the absolute most that is necessary to go home safe.

So where does that leave us as teachers, students, trainers and humans.

Train on the mat like your life depends on it. The "intent" that you put into your attacks and counters will have direct bearing on your ability to call them up in crisis. Go animal. If your instructor has you kiap, do so from the bottom of your bowels, in the most guttural sound that you can muster.

When you give an attack, give one that will absolutely take your opponents head off if he doesn't do what he is supposed to do. Do it with sensibility and control, but do it with the intent to do bodily harm. Let your brain AND body know what it is like and that it is okay (and beneficial) to let go.

When you are the one performing the self defense techniques, do them in the spirit they are intended. You are there to learn to defend yourself. Do it with the intent to survive. Give your uke some pain. He will learn from that as well. Strike him with the intent to knock him into next week, while maintaining the control not to injure him. Reap him with a growl in your voice so that his feet fly up into the air, but with the control to allow him to fall correctly. He should know that if you were both on the street in a confrontational stance, that his head would have just ended up buried in the pavement with his legs sticking out like a lawn dart.

Younger ladies and gentlemen, I say this as the father of three; Your time is for laughing, giggling and having fun. That is what you SHOULD be doing at a young age. But... If you take martial arts and you are there to learn self defense, and you are serious about it, then you should provide the "intent" in your training. You should be practicing like the kidnapper is pulling you from the playground and life as you know it may be over. You should be kicking, screaming, striking, biting and elbowing your attacker all the way to the morgue, in your mind and in your practice. Then you can go be with your friends, confident in knowing that you ARE gentle as lamb, but have sparred with the lions, learned from the lions, and can become a lion slayer if need be.

Adults... you know what the world CAN be. You know what can happen to yourself or your family. You are paying hard earned money to learn the best self defense we can offer. But like the saying goes, "you get out what you put in". Your intensity should be bordering that which you would experience if accosted on the street. Your brain and your body should KNOW that feeling. As Professor Coy says, "unrealistic training is time wasted on the mat. It does neither you nor your partner any good".

Here it is again. Professor Coy had it in his piece first, but I'm going to repeat it. I guess it comes from both of us having a military background. But as General Patton said, "the more you bleed in training the less you bleed on the battlefield". He meant not only the physical aspect of training, but the mind as well. Total physical output AS WELL AS total mental output.

The intent you bring to bear against your enemy in training and in face to face combat will be the winning edge needed to triumph over him.

"Hit hard... Hit fast... Go to the House".

It's more than a motto.

It's an intent!