Secret Fighting Arts of the World

Secret Fighting Arts of the World by John F. Gilbey may well be the greatest martial arts book ever written. Gilbey was a Ph.D. fluent in seven languages who held a 7th dan in judo, a 5th dan in karate, and a master’s certificate in Chinese boxing. Gilbey’s book was first published in 1963.

What this book shows, to some extent, is how weak and "watered down" many of the martial arts moves taught across the United States today have become. For example, the "Chavante armlock" is not taught in most dojos today. I recognized it as an armlock taught to me by Norman Cantwell, who teaches a one-day, instant self-defense seminar that will spare the martial artist years of learning watered-down moves and moves that simply and plainly will not work.

Order a copy of Gilbey’s book. It will give you an idea of what is really available in the way of self defense knowledge.

The mass media tells us that one out of every three women has been raped. The percentage of women who have been abused or attacked is greater than anyone can imagine. A normal untrained woman, with an average height of 5' 5" and an average weight of 120 pounds, is simply no match for a man half a foot taller, fifty pounds heavier (or more), and with the muscular differences given him by nature. Even a 120-pound adult male is more than a match for an untrained woman the same size.

The key word is "untrained." A trained woman can not only level the playing field, if she is properly trained, the playing field is tilted in her favor. Her abuser or attacker doesn’t have a chance.

A man, with Norman’s training, has the same advantage. Imagine a man half a foot taller and fifty pounds heavier than you are. There is an old saying that, "A good big man will always beat a good little man." Not true if you have been trained by Norman Cantwell.

By properly trained, I mean trained by Norman Cantwell. Norman teaches a system in which size, strength, or age is not a factor. He teaches how to break and crush bones with less than five pounds of force (five pounds is the amount of force it takes to pull the trigger back with one finger on a large revolver). He teaches two-finger strikes (that’s two fingers of one hand) that will bring an attacker to his knees in less than a second. If a man is attempting to choke you, Norm teaches a simple strike with a forearm that, while it requires very little force, will knock your attacker out cold.

Norman’s system does not require months or years of training. In fact, Norman teaches a dozen moves and strikes (and their variations) in one day that will prepare you to meet almost any attacker and disable him with one or two moves or strikes.

Let me give you one example. When I showed a man with 13 years training in martial arts the first two moves Norman taught me, his eyes got big as saucers.

I asked him why he appeared so startled.

"Brown, I was always taught that for every move there was a counter-move you could block with. What you just showed me, there is no way to counter."

Power and effectiveness lie in very simple and direct movements. There are three factors in a strike: mass, velocity, and location. The most important is location, a point of maximum vulnerability. For example, if a man were shot 3, 4, or even 5 times with a .45 caliber handgun, but the point of entry was not in a vital area, the man could still function. On the other hand, one shot from a .22 bullet in the right location could totally disable or even kill your attacker.

This simple principle is a major factor in the system that Norman Cantwell teaches. There are no complicated moves to remember or lengthy routines to learn. You will be prepared, no matter how an attacker comes at you, even if he has a weapon (gun, knife, etc.). You will learn to have one purpose in mind: to quickly eliminate the threat from anyone attacking you or your loved ones.

Norman did not learn these techniques out of a book. He studied martial arts for 30 years, worked as a bouncer in bars that normal bouncers couldn’t handle, and fought in competition. His average fight lasted less than 10 seconds.

Norman’s philosophy is not new.

The next time a man tries to abuse you, be ready for him. Use what Norman teaches you just once and he will never do it again, for more than one reason. Some of the strikes he teaches can kill.

In one day you can learn these moves well enough to actually use them if you need to defend yourself from an attacker.