I was talking recently with some friends about what it means to "keep it real" in martial arts. We had all encountered martial artists (not in our To-Shin Do world) that constantly talked about how their martial art keeps it real, with extreme examples like practicing blindfolded against six guys with knives.

Our first thought was, "Really? That's what you regularly encounter?"

I understand that these self-styled hardcore fighters are trying to make a statement in contrast to martial systems that are focused on acrobatics or synchronized dance routines to the point that their self-defense value is questionable.

On the other hand, my students share with me their real-life To-Shin Do victories. It usually does involve a strong and angry man looking to dominate someone quickly. That part we share with our military and cage-fighting friends. However, the part we don't share is that the aggressor is usually only semi-committed, driven by emotion rather than paycheck, and the fight happens in a public social setting with lots of words before and after the physical contact.

By no coincidence, To-Shin Do is really good at handling those factors. For us, addressing social nuance, uncertainty, and verbal precursors is the ultimate in keeping it real. To my view, a gang of killers in a basement is much easier - absolutely no social or moral ambiguity. If only all the bad guys wore ID badges... but, in our training, we've got to keep it real.