The advent of World War One (the war to END all wars) brought warfare into a new and foreboding era of man to man killing and slaughter. Air power, mechanized warfare, chemical warfare and the general widespread use of machine guns changed the face of battle almost completely. However the solitary fact remained that in the end it was STILL man against man in a desperate, brutal and deadly struggle for survival. The static and stagnant lines created by entrenched warfare demanded new and innovative tactics and strategies. Among these was the advent of “raiding” parties. Small groups of lightly armed men who ventured out into “no man’s land” for the purpose of recon, probing, intelligence, prisoner grabs, and psychological “demoralization” missions. The nature of fighting under these conditions became popularized as “trench warfare”. This was close-in knife to belly hand to hand combat. All manner of expedient, purpose designed and improvised close-combat weaponry was employed. While technological advances were being made in all other forms of warfare, this particularly nasty and vicious man to man fighting reverted to the most barbaric, primitive and bloody “methods” imaginable. Just as it has been since Cain slew Abel and how it WILL be until the last two humans clench fists or seize stones in raging anger during the final melee of the Apocalypse.

Fostered by this, most military forces researched, developed and implemented fairly comprehensive and rigorous training methods specific to close-combat and “trench fighting”. The bayonet, the knife(especially the trench knife), and hand to hand combat became prime training doctrines along with advancements in general physical conditioning and battle preparation. The unarmed hand to hand methods were drawn from any and ALL sources of man to man combat. Boxing, wrestling, Savate, jiujitsu, and any number of “rough and tumble” gouge and kick back alley tactics were employed. Those charged with the task of developing such training programs were well AWARE of the fact that NO ONE SINGLE “approach” to combat was SUFFICIENT in REAL man to man kill or be killed battle!

Punching, kicking, striking, butting, stomping, biting, gouging, throwing, tripping, choking, strangling, bone breaking and the use of ANY and ALL weapons of close combat expediency were STRESSED! The foregoing should satisfy and fulfill anyone’s “definition” of MIXED martial tactics and techniques (even if Muay Thai or more accurately Siamese boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu were not included). And to be fair, I do have English language books circa the late 1920’s – early 1930’s that detail Siamese boxing quite well. As an aside, one manual details the “favorite” attacks of Siamese style boxers as being directed at the liver with brutal kicks and at the throat while grasping the hair with one hand and smashing the throat with the other fist (gloves were NOT worn at this time). The liver attack was lethal in many cases because of the widespread epidemic of malaria which left the spleen swollen and distended even if you survived and made it a deadly focal point of attack. DEATHS occurred DAILY in these matches and were considered just a routine hazard of the “trade”.

The years after WWI saw an increase in self-protection “systems” designed for and “marketed” to the average citizen. Law Enforcement organizations also began to pay more heed to this area of training. This was just part of a movement to increase the professionalism of law enforcement personnel in general. Virtually ALL of these “systems” advocated an all-around well-balanced approach to personal combat. Elements of boxing, wrestling, foot-fighting and jiu-jitsu as a “mixed” toolbox of personal defense tactics became quite popular. Even methods that relied primarily on western boxing and wrestling maneuvers acknowledged that a well rounded combatant MUST be able to BOTH strike effectively as well as grapple. Other methods that touted “jiu-jitsu” as a singular answer to personal attack and defense were advocating a “jiu-jitsu” THAT was quite comprehensive in it’s syllabus of blows, strikes, kicks and grappling methods. It would be VERY good to remember here, that for all the “talk” about W.E. Fairbairn, during this period the Shanghai Municipal Police academy trained their recruits in BOXING – WRESTLING and JIU-JITSU! OR as one veteran of the SMP put it…………………….”our training in this area was a MIXED BAG of physical skills”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was virtually NO “authority” or “expert” in this field who DID NOT advocate a “MIX” of striking/kicking and grappling either as a combined “method” or as found singularly as in “real” Japanese jiu-jitsu. When it was “for all the marbles” NO ONE would be as short-sighted as to negate ANY and ALL possible methods of attack and defense. As far an “aliveness” training goes, jiu-jitsu (NOT Kodokan Judo) “free practice” of this period allowed virtually ANYTHING. Including atemi to almost ALL kyusho points, including the testicles, base of skull etc. The ONLY “advisement” proffered was NOT to hit so HARD as to KILL your training partner, SAVE that for “matches” against OTHER jiu-jitsu schools!

ONLY in the arena of sporting combat did this division of method, pitting one against another, become a somewhat popular past time. Matching wrestlers against boxers, either of the two against jiu-jitsu men, or Savate fighters against boxers (Biddle fought in such a match while in Paris) was done under a constantly varying set of rules so that it became virtually impossible to ever really determine what “method” was superior, and even then, as some sportswriters of the time pointed out, what did ANY of this have to do with REAL fighting when NO rules applied. Even Jigoro Kano’s nephew got involved in promoting these types of matches between western boxers and native Japanese Judoka. They were called “JU (as in Judo/Jujutsu) – KEN/KENTO (as in fist or fist-fighting)”. Even Choki Motobu when asked if his Kempo-Karate was “superior” to boxing (after his KO of a western style pugilist) said that in order for his “method” to be used against a boxer specialized training specific for that type of match would have to be undertaken. Judoka interested in these JU-KENTO bouts sought out SPECIFIC instruction in just HOW to make Judo work against boxing. An entire book on this subject was published in Japan in the early 30’s. It is of the UTMOST importance to remember that ALL of these bouts had strict rules and regulations of engagement! Few if any of these mandates would have had much bearing on what one could do in a real pier-six back alley brawl. As an example: Judoka were almost ALWAYS forbidden to use any methods of ATEMIWAZA (striking, punching, kicking, butting and smashing). However, Judo “experts” of the time have advocated often and in their writings that ATEMI would be the MOST preferable method of attack and defense in a serious engagement.

The bottom line here is simply this: for use in a REAL violent assault NO ONE, but an utter FOOL, would suggest an attitude or method approaching anything LESS than that of an ALL-IN “anything goes” doctrine. In regards to “sporting combats” NOTHING was ever, or could ever be, conclusively proven to be superior to anything else. At one time or another ANY of these various “methods” had BOTH big and impressive WINS and equally impressive FAILURES.

Next installment we’ll look at the World War Two era and define the true meaning of the term “combatives”………………

©2005 www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

Carl Cestari began his study of the martial arts with judo at the age of 7 under the direction of Yoshisada Yonezuka. During the past forty plus years Carl has dedicated his life to studying the martial arts, hand to hand combat systems, history and religion. What makes Carl unique is his combination of martial arts, law enforcement and military and real world experience. Carl has been exposed to a multitude of people with a wide variety experience. The following is a list of some of Carl’s ranks and honors.

Shinan (Founder) Tekkenryu jujutsu
Ryokudan (6th degree) Koshinkai Karate under John Burrelle
Godan (5th degree) Jujutsu under Clarke of the World Jujutsu Fedaration (now defunct)
Sandan (3rd degree) Nippon Kempo under Narabu Sada
Nidan (2nd degree) Judo under Masafumi Suzuki
Shodan (1st degree) Judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka
Shodan (1st degree) Shukokai Karate under Kimura, Kadachi and Yonezuka
Shodan (1st degree) Daitoryu Aikijujutsu
Instructors Certificate- Charles Nelson System of Self Defense under Charlie Nelson
http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

For those of us who are making your very 1st iPod purchase, the choices can certainly seem scary. Because of this, there are a number of things to consider when selecting an iPod. However, the most important aspect for the majority is memory size. Like that of your desktop PC or netbook, an iPod has internal memory storage that controls the amount of info it can store. From the smallest iPod Shuffle, to the biggest iPod Classic, memory size can range from 1GB to an enormous 160GB! With that amount of storage available your iPod can save anywhere from two-hundred and forty to three-hundred thousand songs & has up to one-hundred and fifty hours of video capacity. Additionally, there is an extensive range of iPod Speakers to procure in different sizes & features in order to suit your explicit demands. Find a large range of technology products such as; iPod classic, netbooks and 32 LCD TVs from leading brands online.

The Apple iPod Classic, with memory capacity of up to one hundred and sixty GB can keep nearly all of your much-loved music and videos. Playlists can also be automatically formed based on your listening preferences. The 2.5 inch display of the Apple iPod Classic will play your very own video files in amazing colour. A simple charge of the devices internal battery offers up to thirty six hours of music or six hours of video playback.

The alternative of the iPod Classic is the hip & tiny iPod Nano. The Nano delivers a mixture of useful features normally found in the iPod Classic and the iPod Shuffle. The Nano has flash memory like that of the shuffle, yet includes a colour screen & controls just like the iPod Classic. What’s more, the iPod Nano also has a shake to shuffle feature like the one seen in the iPod Shuffle. Simply just shake your Nano to move to a randomly chosen music song. With storage sizes of either 8 Giga Bytes or sixteen Giga Bytes as well as a 2 inch wide-screen display panel, the iPod Nano is a magnificent middle range MP3 music player. It’s also to be had in a range of 9 separate colours.

By combining features from the iPod Classic and the Nano & including web ability, Apple developed the iPod touch. With storage space of eight GB to sixty-four GB along with World Wide Web browsing and an everlasting quantity of added applications, you undoubtedly have the best of both products!

The smallest member of the iPod music family is the simple yet gorgeous iPod Shuffle. Measuring only one point eight inches by 0.03 inch, the shuffle is now tinnier than a door key! The most recent version of the iPod shuffle includes controls that are incorporated into the ear piece themselves. With flash storage of 4 Giga-Bytes, this very minute powerhouse keeps up to one thousand audio files & is an outstanding option for use whilst jogging. As you can understand there is an iPod to fit every particular need. The options available are therefore just about infinite!

There are hundreds of vendors that provide eCommerce and shopping cart solutions on the internet. Trying to figure out which one offers what you need can seem more like a roll of the dice than an educated decision.

If you’re like most people, when looking for an eCommerce solution, you’ll go to your favorite search engine and enter terms like: “ecommerce website”, “ecommerce web site developer” or “shopping cart web site”. You’ll find a long list of providers that make plenty of claims indicating their solution is the best one for you. But how can you really tell? You’ll find 13 techniques to help you make a decision in this article.

Evaluate Real Web Sites

1. Look at sample sites that use the solution you are considering. Visit actual sites that use the software, not just demo sites. If you can’t find any real sites, move on. How can you trust a provider who won’t show you the product in action? Don’t just look at the visual design, but visit the site and click around. I recommend adding items to your cart and starting the checkout process. In many cases you will find shopping is cumbersome, the checkout process is tedious, or there are actually errors on the site.

2. Pay attention to the visual design of the sites. Do the sites look good? Do they use a template that is the same from one site to the next? If you like what you see, add this provider to your ‘hot list’, but you’ll need to ask the provider about web site design costs and who provided the designs you like before you sign up.

3. Do not use a shopping cart that requires the shopper to sign up for an account before they can buy. Requiring a shopper to sign up for an account is a barrier that will reduce your conversion rates. Do not use a cart that doesn’t show shipping charges until the end of the checkout process. Shoppers want to know how much shipping will add to the cost of their order and many will abandon their cart if they need to enter personal information just to find out.

Evaluate Search Engine Placement

4. Check the google page rank on some of the sites in the providers portfolio. You can find out by visiting this web site: Google Page Rank Checker. Enter the home page url (for example: http://www.thesite.com) of the site you want to check. If the page rank of the home page is not at least 3 or 4, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere. Sites with a pagerank of 0 are new and have not been ranked by Google yet.

5. Pick a few sites that use the software you are considering and try to find them in Google, Yahoo, and MSN. If you can’t find them, it’s not a good sign. I recommend clicking to a product page on the site. Choose a 3 word phrase that you think represents what is found on the page. Your phrase should include words that are on the page you are viewing. Enter that phrase in a search engine and see if you can find the site. Try this several times with a few sites- if you can’t find any results, chances are no one will find your site either.

Evaluate Features Offered and Costs

6. Look carefully at what features will cost more. Most ecommerce providers offer a base set of features for a low setup cost. In some cases, that is all you will need. You should look carefully at what features will increase the price in order to avoid sticker shock after you get started.

7. Find out what’s included in the setup cost. For many providers, you do most of the work of creating your web site. Consider how much you will have to do yourself and how much will be ready to go. Try to place a dollar value on your time.

8. Are merchandising tools available or included? Are features such as free shipping offers, featured products, sale items, customer testimonials, email newsletter signup, and email this page to a friend available? All of these tools increase the selling power of your site.

9. Try out the administration tool. There are a world of solutions out there, from simple ‘buy now’ buttons you add to your existing site which require a moderate level of technical knowledge, to complete site management tools that let you control just about everything on your web site with little technical knowledge. The solution that is right for you depends on your needs, your time, your budget, and your expertise. If you don’t understand the steps required to use the software, you should continue your search.

10. Does the solution allow you to easily create additional pages? Does the solution allow/provide that each of your products has it’s own web page? This key feature will pay big dividends in the long run. More pages means the search engines will index more pages and that means more chances for shoppers to land on your pages when they are searching for your products.

Evaluate Customer Service

11. Some solutions are ‘hosted’, some you install on your computer and host anywhere. In general, a hosted solution will require less technical knowledge and you’ll get the benefit of “one stop service”. If you have a problem or question, you’ll contact the provider. A hosted solution may involve a higher monthly fee. If the solution requires you to install software on your computer and find your own host, you’ll need more technical knowledge. When you encounter a problem, you may have some difficulty in pinning down whether the problem is with your computer, the software, or your hosting company.

12. Get references. Contact a few current customers and ask if they are happy. Be specific. Do they get good service? Do they feel they are getting a good value? Do they get sales? You can’t lay all the blame for a site with low sales on the ecommerce provider, but hearing from current customers that they do get sales is a positive indicator.

13. Pick up the phone and call the provider. Are you connected with a knowledgeable sales rep? If you end up in a phone queue, try choosing the selection for existing customer tech support. Are you connected to a tech support person? How long do you have to hold? Use this guide to develop a list of questions for the provider.

Making an informed decision when choosing a solution for your ecommerce web site can make or break your online success. Evaluating the options will take some time, but the investment in reviewing your options carefully will be well worth it as your online business develops.

This is an original article written by Staci Schipporeit of Datahost. Datahost is the maker of the MightyMerchant eCommerce Solution. Copyright 2005 Datahost, Inc.,

Staci Schipporeit is a developer of the MightyMerchant hosted shopping cart solution. Choose MightyMerchant for fast, flexible and fun web sites for small business.