Honor in Reality Combatives

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Tim@warriorcombatives

Today I want to give my two cents on honor in reality combatives. Some of my students with a martial arts background, frequently tell me the only thing they miss from switching from a martial art to a reality based system, is honor and want to know why there is no honor in reality based systems. My answer is that there is,  it’s just a bit different and is not all ways stressed as much.

In martial arts or other sport related activities there are certain rules that apply. You can not bite, poke eyes, use pressure points, strike the groin, throw something in the face of an opponent, etc. Also look at the italicized word in the last sentence, opponent, this is what you face in a sport based system. In a real situation you are not facing an opponent you are facing an attacker and what is not allowed in sport systems can be what saves your life in a real confrontation.

There is nothing more honorable than surviving or protecting another from an attack. In sport based system honor is judged heavily by what you do. In reality based situations honor is less dependent on what you do and is more reliant on why you do it. In sport you would be considered  dishonorable if you brought sand into the ring and threw it in the face of your opponent. In a real situation you would be considered a skilled warrior who is able to improvise and it would not effect your honor.

Basically honor comes from you, not the sport or activity you participate in. If you are fighting in a sport system or some other fair fight then you should follow all the rules. If you are attacked on the street there are no rules, do whatever you have to do in order to survive. Throw sand, spit, bite, kick them when their down, stomp their toes, anything, and do it all with honor. The reason honor is not stressed heavily in reality based systems is that is is sometimes considered restrictive to survival, if you are attacked survival is the only goal. If you focus on what is honorable it may distract you from what must be done and cost you your life.

Anything you have to do to survive or protect someone else is honorable. Live your life with honor, defend life with vicious intent.

Tim Dutton

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Medication and Prosthetic Warning!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

It’s been awhile since my last post, I
was busy adapting one of my screenplays into a novel. “Bury the
Hatchet” is now available on Kindle and the paperback is coming soon.
Now that I got that little plug out of the way, lets get down to
business.

This is more of a public notice, that I
feel everyone should be aware of. I will describe it by giving you a
personal story.

Medications and prosthetic devices can
cause side effects and allergic reactions. Most people are aware of
this, but maybe not to the full extent that they should be. Now you
know what medication is, but when I say prosthetic devices I am not
just talking about limb replacement, this also includes simple things
like false teeth and hearing aids. Doctors are not always aware of
these problems either, it is up to the individual and their families
to stay alert.

Some time back my dad started becoming
what we refer to as agitated. He would get very angry very quickly,
He has never been the calm mild type, but this was worse. We even
caught him throwing a propane bottle against a block wall trying to
get it to explode. My mom started seeing a pattern of these  “fit
spells” every time  he put in his new false teeth. We took him to the
doctor and they said he was just a cranky old man and even advised us to call the police when he went into a rage. If we would have done
that someone would have been hurt. We finally figured out it had
something to do with the false teeth. When he put the false teeth in
the pad under his tongue would swell to the size of his tongue,
making it look like he had two tongues.

We finally got a Doctor to
listen and he found out that my dad was allergic to the dye used to
color the teeth. A Dentist made a set of clear false teeth and this
solved the problem. Another incident with my dad came about a few
years later. He developed a kidney infection and the Doctor gave him
some medication. He started exhibiting signs of dementia. He had no
idea where he was at or what he was doing. It was like he was senile.
We figured out these spells only occurred after he took the
medication and subsided after the medication had time to wear off. My mom called the Doctors office and explained he was having an allergic response to the medication.

We were shocked when their response was quote “make sure he finishes all of the medication prescribed.”
We did not listen and he improved and no longer shows signs of
dementia. If he had continued to take the medication there is no
doubt in my mind that it could have caused permanent damage.

Another incident also involving my dad was when he went to a local Doctor for stomach pain. The Doctor sent him to the local emergency room for examination. This hospital has a very bad reputation from just about everyone you ask in this area and we no longer go there. They said he had high blood pressure and wanted to admit him to a nursing home. They said his blood pressure was 210/120 now for those of you who do not know this is impossible. My mom used to be a nurse and knew this, she even had to point out that the blood pressure machine was unplugged. She would not let them admit him to a nursing home.

They sent them out with five prescriptions that we have no idea what they were for and did not fill them. We took him to another Doctor who said he had gas and gave him an antacid, problem solved. Now My dad is not going to like me blogging about this, but I feel it is
important to let people know.

My dad is not the only one that has had problems with medication. My mom is a diabetic takes the diabetic pills (she is not taking insulin shots). She started having hair loss and heart palpitations with her medication. She informed her Doctor and he refused to switch medications (must have been getting kick backs from that pharmaceutical company). She had to switch Doctors to
get a different medication. A year later the medication that she
reported to her past Doctor was recalled, it was killing people and
causing heart attacks. If the doctors would listen to patients some
of these deaths may be prevented.

Now all of these incidents occurred to one family, mine, so how many others have experienced similar incidents? After seeing the way my dad acted from both medication and false teeth it makes me wonder how many people have needlessly  been put in nursing homes or insane asylums when they may have simply just been taken off medication or had a prosthetic replaced?

Be vigilant and pay attention to yourself and family members. If some actsstrangely and exhibits signs of dementia or other mental illness, see if they have recently started a new medication or had some kind of
surgery.  It is up to you to look out for yourself and your family. I
hope you never experince these problems, but if you do remember  this blog and check every possibility before committing to anything and always get at least a second opinion.

Good luck and best wishes.

Tim Dutton

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6 Idea generating exercises for writers

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

Need help generating ideas for your writing projects? These simple exercises may help. The 6 exercises should be done seperatly. You can time yourself or set a specific # of items you write down, but I recommend simply writing down the items until you run out of things to write.

When you do these exercises don’t think about what you can write about, simply clear your mind and write what ever comes to mind for that exercise. If you can sit down and think of ideads to write about you wouldn’t need these exercises. So don’t worry if you initally think you can’t write about any of them, you will be surprised at how the ideas jump out at you when you read your completed list.

These idea generating exercises work for all writers. It doesn’t matter whether your a screenwriter, a fiction author or a how-to book author. these exercises may generate a few ideas or 100′s of ideas.

These ideas may be specific ideas that you write an entire screenplay or book about. Or they might be more general that you include in your book such as an instruction for part of a lesson or a character trait or anything else. You do not know how the idea will come to you untill it does.

here are a few guidelines for all exercises:

  • do them in a quiet undisturbed area.
  • relax and clear your mind and write whatever comes to mind.
  • do each exercise seperatly, one at a time.
  • don’t worry about spelling or grammar simply write.
  • keep the list you generate and use them when you need ideas.
  • Have fun. This should be an enjoyable process, not forced.

Okay let’s get started.

Exercise 1: I like or love…

Write down everything that comes to mind when you say I like or love…

You can use like or love or you can use both. Some people throw these terms around freely, others believe they are very powerful and use them sparingly. It’s your choice.

Exercise 2: I dislike or hate…

Write down everything you can think of that you hate or dislike in some way or another.

Realistic writing has both positive and negative aspects. Don’t overlook this one.

Exercise 3: I would like to learn…

Is there anything you would like to learn or learn how to do? Write it down in this exercise.

This could be a new skill, new language or anything else you may have an interest in. For how-to writers this is easy, learn something new and write about how you did it. For screenplay and fiction writers, maybe your main character must learn how to do something. Does your main character need to learn how to track someone down so that he/she can find the person that did them wrong? The possibilities are limited only to your imagination.

Exercise 4: I am proud of…

Write down what you are proud of. These can be accomplishments, people or anything else you are proud of.

Exercise 5: I am ashamed of…

Write down anything you may be ashamed of for this exercise.

Don’t worry this is your list and you do not have to show it to anyone. Remember realistic writing contains both positive and negative elements.

Exercise 6: During my life this is what happened to me.

Everyone has had things happen to them during thier lives. It could be funny, painful, minor, life changing, ect.

What has made you who you are? This could inspire others or it could develope your characters into believable people that readers can relate to.

Thats the 6 exercises that work for me all the time. These are not magical, sacred or written in stone, so feel free to modify them anyway you choose, so that they are the most useful for you. I hope they help you.

Good luck and best wishes!

Tim Dutton

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It’s who I am not what I do

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

I have been getting e-mails from people wanting to know more about me, so I thought I would make this post a bit more personal and tell you why I do what I do. I thought today would be appropriate since it is my birthday.

People constantly ask me why I became a private investigator (specializing in fugitive recovery and personal prtection), self-defense instructor and writer. The short answer is it is who I am not what I do.

Let me explain, As early as I can remember I liked looking for and finding things, my favorite game was hide and seek. If a kid lost somehting on the playground, they would come to me to find it. Now it wasn’t that I had some kind of special gift, it was that I was just plain stubborn. I would not quit until I had found the object I was looking for.

Teachers had to come and get me for class, my mom would come after school to pick me up and have to come and get me. I would search mornings, at recess and after school until someone made me stop, I did this until I found what I was looking for.

I remember one time a girl had lost a necklace that her grandma had given her 2 weeks before she died. The girl asked me to find it for her. I spent almost 2 weeks looking for it and finally found it. I gave it to the girl in the lunch room and see gave me a kiss (my first) and said I was her boyfriend (also a first). I remember thinking that I spent all that time looking and trying to be nice and this girl gives me cooties for it, GROSS!

As I grew older things changed, I even started to like the kisses inspite of the cooties, but I still loved looking for and finding things. I also started to train in martial arts and workout, which led to me protecting people from bullies which I realized I also loved doing. This sometimes got out of hand. I found out that one of my friends was starting fights, then running to me for protection. I was able to put a stop to this once I knew, by simply standing aside and telling him if he’s going to start it he’s going to have to finish it.

Friends started to have me work security for parties they would throw, this was very good experience for later services that I would provide. NOTE: If you are a security professional, working parties is a last resort it is good experience and can give you a reputation very quickly, but it is a major headache.

As I seen TV shows like Magnum P.I., The Fall Guy and Simon and Simon, I realized that there where actual carreers out there that payed you to do this. From that point on I had my goal and it never changed. I had some set backs and definatly earned my stripes, but I made it.

When I recieved my first black belt and started teaching I realized I also enjoyed teaching and guiding people. As a personal protection specialist I required that all of my clients learn some basic self-defense. I was their first line of defense, not their last. I wanted to make sure that I gave them every chance I could, that’s what I was being payed to do.

My company name at the time was Civilian Operations. My protection clients that I taught self-defense to started referring to the training as Civilian Operations Tactical Arts and referring to themselves as COTA Warriors. I thought the name was cool, but it never seemed to catch on. Some men confused it with the term Coda warrior, which is a group of all female warriors, so this name limited me as a self-defense instructor. Also I did not protect the name Civilian Operations, It was used by cons to cheat people. So I started over My Investigation agency was named simply Tim Dutton Investigations, and I started teaching self-defense, survival, fitness and other things under the name Tim Dutton’s Warrior Combatives.

I got into fugitive recovery (bounty hunting) as a more challenging form of looking and finding. I love this work. I am more old school than new school. I would rather be on the street looking, than sitting in front of a computer searching. Those that know me say I was born a 100 years to late. This may be true, put me on a horse, give me a wanted poster and I would be happy.

As for the writing I started out having to write reports for the service I provided. I used what I was taught and read from books, my reports were dry and stiff and I even lost clients over them . One client was kind enough to point this out to me. I threw out everything I had been doing and started to write the reports as I spoke, I prtended that my client was setting across from me and I simply stated in plain words what I wanted to say. My report writing time was cut in half, I actually started to enjoy writing them and my clients loved them.

At the incouragement of my nephew I wrote an investigative guide and it was published by the first publisher I sent it to. I was hooked and determined to write and become a writer.

So you can see that it’s not just what I do, it is who I am. I am a private investigator, bounty hunter, self-defense instructor and a writer and thats why I do what I do.

Thank you for reading my long story.

Good luck in everything you do!

Tim Dutton

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3 Catgories of Survial

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

At Warrior Combatives I classify survival into 3 catagories.

  • Scavenging Survival
  • Salvaging Survival
  • prepared Survival

The first Scavenging Survival is the beginning. This is the ability to survive with nothing, but what you find naturally in the enviroment. If you can learn to address the basic needs of survival in this way then the others become easier. If you can survive without anything, then you can thrive when you have basic items available.

The second is Salvaging Survival this is the ability to salvage objects from wreckage, trash, or from man made sources that may be available in your survival enviroment. If you are in a plane, automobile, water vessle, or any other vehicle there will be usable items with in or about any of them. Also there is very few places that are completly isolated and untouched by humans. If you are there someone else has likely been there before you and they may have lost, dropped or discarded items that can be very useful in your situation. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

The third catagory is Prepared Survival, this is the act of planning ahead and carrying items that may come in handy during an emercency. This includes putting together and carrying a survival kit, knives, medication, ect. If you plan on taking a trip (short or long) determine what route you or the mode of transport will take, what terrain will be covered and what could happen, then prepare accordingly.

Start your training in Scavenging Survival, learn to use your enviroment to your advantage. Practice until you become cofident your survival abilities using only what nature provides.

From there you can learn to improvise and use what is avilable in different situations. Clothing can be used to gather dew, filter water, carry objects, etc. Batteries can make fire starting easier. Hose and tubes can be used for binding, snares, sling shots, etc. Use your imagination and the possibilities are endless.

Always plan and prepare before going anywhere. If you have a survival kit, knife, survival book, food, water, or anything else with you, survival becomes easier and your chances increase.

Stay safe and have a great day!

Tim Dutton

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What’s in a name

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

I recently saw a website by another self-defense instructor or should I say self-protection instructor? Let me explain, the instructor had posted a statement on his website that stated “self-defense was an outdated term and that self-protection should be used and that you should avoid instructors that use the term self-defense.

Okay what difference does it make what you call the process as long as you can complete the process effectivly and efficiently.

Terms are for refference only they will not save your life. All instructors should focus more on teaching life saving skills and less on modern politically correct terms.

I started my training in the 80′s and self-defense was the term used it is simple and effective, it is why I use it today. I stay current on new training and systems, but terms has less importance than techniques, skills and knowledge.

It doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you can do it. In other words “Talk is cheap, skills are what pays the bills”. When you train focus on the most important factors for self-defense, self-protection, prsonal combatives,  or whatever you decide to call it.

I’ve even heard it called self-offense, it’s just new people trying to be different and create unique selling points and discredit the compitition. Survival is your goal not a mind full of useless terms and words.

Train hard, stay safe and good luck.

Tim Dutton

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Weapons for Self-Defense

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

It seems all week that I have been hearing or seeing the question  “what weapon or weapons should I carry for self-defense”. So I am going to share my oppinion on this topic today.

The most important thing to realize is there are no single weapon or weapons group that is or are the perfect choice for everyone. Everyone does and should have personal preferences. This will be influenced by your own personal attributes and factors such has:

  • Skill levels
  • Training
  • Likes and dislikes
  • Lifestyle
  • Legal considerations in your area
  • Weapon availability
  • and many other factors, including personal ones.

The bottom line is that no one, no matter how experienced they are, can tell you exactly what weapon to use or carry. The decision must be your own, you are the one who is going to have to live or die with your choice.

The second thing you should realize is that if you learn to improvise you do not have to carry a weapon at all, but will still have many available if you need them. And even if you still choose to carry one with you it does not have to be one that is designed as a weapon. With this in mind lets look at some weapons classes and some examples of these classes. Instead of thinking in terms of specifics you can start thinking in concepts by seeing some specific examples and improvised eamples.

Blunt Weapons

Specific examples include: Sticks, tactical batons, jo staffs, bo staffs, kubatons, canes, etc.

Improvised examples include: Pool cues, books, breifcases, chairs, rocks, phones, laptops, etc. Anything hard that can be smashed into an attacker.

It is also important to note that weapons do not have to be picked up, you can slam your attacker into the weapon, when you think this way you can also include stationary objects such as: Tables, walls, ground, pavement, vehicles, doors, windows (thick tempered glass is hard to break), counter tops (edges are really effective), dressers, etc. Any hard object or surface.

Edged Weapons

Specific: Knives, swords, machetes, saws, axes, hatchets, etc.

Improvised: Pens, Pencils, broken glass, pieces of metal (cans, scrap, etc), credit cards, broken plastic (CD cases, electronic housing, etc.), jagged rocks, sharp sticks, ect.

Flexible Weapons

Specific: Nunchucks (nunchukus, nunchukas), chains, nets, rope, whips, 2 and 3 sectional staffs, bolas, rope knives/dart, etc.

Improvised: Clothing, curtains, table cloth, sheets, quilts, corded phones, belts, straps, cords, pillow cases, etc. Any cloth or flexible material can be used to snare, trap, block, pop, tie or whip an attacker.

Chemical Weapons

Specific: Mace, Pepper spray, Tear gas, smoke bombs, etc.

Improvised: Pop, water, spit, blood, coffee, salt, pepper, sand, etc. any liquide will cause a reaction if it is hot or spicy it is more effective. Any grainy substance can get in the eyes of an attacker and cause pain or temporary blindness. Any body fluid will cause phycological fear in your attacker. If you are wounded wipe or let the blood pool in your hand and throw it in your attackers face, this may allow you to close the distance, escape or deploy another weapon.

Projectile Weapons

We used to put projectile and explosive weapons into different classifications, but then decided to classify them as projectile weapons to simplify things.

Specific: Firearms, blow guns, tasers, throwing knives/stars/darts, explosives, bows and arrows, sling shots, etc.

Improvised: Rocks, shoes,…… Okay lets make this simple, anything you can pick up, you can throw, making it a projectile weapon. This includes the other classes of weapons. If you have a firearm with no ammo, throw it, it may gain you time to escape, close the distance or deploy another weapon. All weapons can be thrown if they stop being useful in any other way.

I hope you realize now that when you think in terms of concept rather than specifics, it opens up a whole new world to you and gives you more choices.

Also lets look at the term weapon as a concept rather than a specific. When most people hear the term weapon they think of something specific that can injure or kill, but this is not the only purpose of weapons. When you think of weapons in terms of concept rather than specifics, they can become tools, which can be used constructively as well as destructively.

Weapons/tools can be used to injure and kill, but they can also be used to distract, gain leverage, or set up for other techniques or tactics. Weapons/tools can be used to gain you time to close the distance, escape or deploy another weapon. Think about it if you are being chased by multible attackers, and are hiding you can use your pocket knife to attack them ( not very wise) or you can throw your pocket knife in one direction to distract and run the other way (more effective).

Another scenario is you have a knife in your hand you see your attacker reach for a firearm, you can throw the knife at him to give you time to deploy your own firearm, close the distance to grab his firearm or run for cover. It doesn’t even matter if the knife sticks or cuts him, in fact it doesn’t even have to touch him, if he sees an object coming towards him he is going to react to get out of the way and/or block it. This buys you a little bit of time which may be all you need.

So you see weapons do not have to injure or kill, they can be used in other ways that may be more effective at saving your life depending on the situation you find yourself in.

If you decide to carry a weapon check the laws in your area, make sure you know how to use the weapon and that you are comfortable using and carring the weapon. And always remember you are never without weapons, they are all around you.

Be safe and have a great day!

Tim Dutton

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Welcome to the Warrior Combatives blog

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Tim@warriorcombatives

For this first post I would like to give you information about what this blog intends to do. First off I will do unto others as I would have them do unto me. I don’t like signing up for a blog and then being bombarded by multiple post every day. So I will limit my post and try to have somthing to say. I won’t give an exact # of post, but it will may be somewhere around 1 a month give or take.

Just like the website the topics will  cover not only reality based self-defense, but  also other topics such as fitness, survival, knifemaking, writing, sculpting and other topics. Warrior skills are not just about fighting they are about skills that will improve the quality of your lifestyle. I will try to catorize these post so that you can read the ones you are interested in.

I also will not try to sell or pitch a product in every post, I will however mention new products or my new books from time to time, What’s the use of having a blog if I can’t give a mention every now and then. I am an active private investigator who specializes in fugitive recovery (bounty hunting), self-defense instructor and writer, so I may tell a personal story from time to time if it is relevant to 1 of these topics.

Please note that I am old school and do not know all of the short hand or text talk, so please forgive me if I spell everything out. I will learn new stuff as I go, If you like you can give me some advice in your comments. I will not be opposed to this.

I want you to think of this blog as yours. Overall I plan to try and make this blog informative and entertaining, without being to intrusive. Thank you for visiting!

Tim Dutton

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