Welcome to Martial Arts for Peace

Because the conventional approaches do not take into consideration what the primary factors are in creating conflict, that is, in the way humans have been conditioned to think and act. Our programs and books are different from others in that we are trying to address conflict before it begins. To understand and prevent conflict before it occurs is the goal of MAP.

IF A CHILD IS TAUGHT ONLY PHYSICAL SELF-DEFENSE, DOES HE OR SHE HAVE THE SKILLS TO AVOID AND RESOLVE CONFLICT BEFORE IT BECOMES A PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION?

In other words, do you think that somehow a young person has the sophisticated skills and presence of mind to understand and avoid conflict and the ability to use clever verbal skills as a means of self-protection (what I would call "Martial Art Mental Self-Defense™") to resolve conflict peacefully if they only practice defending themselves physically? Generally this is not the case. Physical self-defense is just that—and can be employed only when it becomes a physical confrontation. That is not to say that physical skills are not important. On the contrary, they are very important because they give the student the foundation of confidence not to react unnecessarily to a fight or flight situation, to then have the presence of mind to use their first two "lines of defense"—to avoid and resolve conflict by nonphysical means. But physical self-defense is by itself only one small part of a martial art. The first two "lines of defense" need to be learned and practiced equally along with the physical. This is what it means to A.R.M.™ your students, that is, to learn how to:

Avoid conflict through understanding and being aware of (hence preventing) it

Isn't it time that we A.R.M.™ our students so they can have the full set of self-defense skills, mentally and physically, to help them cope with conflict intelligently, effectively?

Conflict Education! or A.R.M.™—which stands for Conflict Avoidance: preventing it; Conflict Resolution: resolving it; and Conflict Management: protecting against it. This complete range of martial arts mental and physical self-defense skills gives students the right tools to cope with conflict successfully—a very needed ability in today's world!

I know that as a parent this is what I would want for my children as all parents naturally want for their children. We want them to be safe and the intelligent way to ensure that safety is to teach them to protect themselves in ways that are non-threatening, leaving as the last resort physical means.

When I speak to children in martial arts schools around the world I don't tell them to A.R.M.™ themselves. They might take it literally. What I tell them to learn is what I call the "3P's" which means:

But this means that as martial arts instructors we take a more comprehensive view of the martial arts as an education in conflict for our students, especially our young students, so they can understand and resolve conflict nonviolently—which is what the martial arts is really all about. This is our ultimate goal and why the martial arts can play a tremendous role in society in addressing the #1 social issue of violence facing us and our children. Putting aside the tournaments and the sports aspect of the martial arts, which has a place, can we see that these arts were primarily developed to educate and protect ourselves and our children from harm, to find peaceful ways to relate to each other? And can we see that learning these arts in this manner can help us cope not only with the school yard bully but also with the bullying that occurs domestically, socially and internationally?