First off, don't worry. No one is leaving with a bloody nose or black eye. In sport martial arts the intent is to compete on a high level and you must be able to use your sport techniques against a skilled opponent. However, in our system we do not use sport techniques. In fact, it is not possible to use very much contact with the techniques we use or people would be leaving on stretchers, and we don't want that. So we take a different approach.
Our purpose is to train your mind to deal with a violent situation and then make the correct choices. We build your targeting computer (your reactionary nervous system) with slow repetitions of lethal techniques. As you become more skilled you will react more automatically and speed and proficiency will come without effort. You will train as fast or as slow as your current level of skill dictates. We are not making a kickboxing champion out of you, we are teaching you how to 'cheat' and fight dirty to survive a violent encounter.
Since we do want to add the element of reality and show you that the techniques actually work, we will grab you, throw strikes at you, etc., at a speed that you are prepared to deal with so that you can see that instantly the techniques work.
Over time we will speed up what we do until eventually you are going full speed, with resistance and control so everyone remains injury-free. back to top
What Should I Expect My First Class or Training Session?
If you are joining one of my group classes, you should expect to slowly work into the rest of the class. People of all experience levels are in a single class. I may spend some 1-on-1 time working with you while more experienced folks train drills or I may have some of my more experienced students work with you in a slow manner allowing you to learn and adapt to the movements. Then again I may pair you up with another beginner and have you work on basic drills slowly until they become more natural.
If you are training with me privately or with a semi-private group, then I will walk you through our entire system step-by-step and also put the movements into real-life scenarios that you may encounter. We will discuss realistic violence, how to eliminate fear, develop killer instinct and safety in training. Then we get into how to disable a human being as fast as possible, or in the event of Law Enforcement (or similar), how to restrain a suspect and use only the amount of force called for by the situation. back to top
Do You Wear Traditional Uniforms and Belts?
We do not wear any type of Karate gi or other uniform. Wear loose fitting modest exercise clothing that you would wear if you were to go to the gym or wrestle around on the floor with someone... because you just might. If you have a martial arts uniform you are welcome to wear it if you feel more comfortable.
We are not a traditional system, so there are no belts per se. I do have a ranking system that is similar to what other Jeet Kune Do folks use but it is only for me to keep track of what I have taught you and to give you something to reach for. There are no fees for testing to a higher rank... in fact there is currently no testing... When I think you have developed the correct level of proficiency you gain a rank.
Do You Wear Padded Suits and Have Women Hit You Hard and Yell?
I have seen many well intentioned Self-Defense classes where a man in a big padded suit comes out and grabs a woman by the arm. She then yells a big resounding "NO!!!" and proceeds to bash the snot out of his enormous helmet with her fist or hand.
While I do believe that we need to reenact scenarios and have my students actually hit something and avoid being hit, grabbed, etc., I prefer to take an approach where my students build their targeting computer by building proper reactions and movement patterns. Rather than simply wailing away with their fist or foot or whatnot (now they are just freaking out and swinging wildly), I want my students to keep a cool calculated head. Now, rather than swinging wildly and possibly breaking their knuckles on a hard part of the attacker's head, they can pick their shot(s) and cause injury rather than trauma to their attacker. Injury puts someone down, trauma is something that causes a bruise tomorrow. A punch to the face is trauma, a finger jab in the eye is injury that will stop someone. We learn the difference and train to injure. back to top
FAQs about Why So Much Violence
Quick Dose of Reality
Watch as a Police Officer pepper sprays, shoots and hits an attacker
and the attacker still keeps coming at him.
THIS is why you need to know how to inflict damage on your opponent.
Most sport martial arts techniques are horribly inadequate against a
real asocial violent attacker.
By the way, did anyone notice how the former pro heavyweight boxer didn't square up and fight like a boxer? That is because of what we call behavioral responses. The pro boxer trains to "box" in a ring, with a referee, etc. In a real world situation he doesn't react the way he trained because the context of the fight is totally different. He doesn't know what to do other than be aggressive... food for thought about training... it can be very specific.
Why Do You Advocate So Much Violence?
The cold hard reality is this, in a real-life attack, the aggressor almost always wins. Why? Because the would-be victim is not prepared to deal with the psychological stress of violence. Whereas the attacker, by the very nature of the fact that they are attacking you, is perfectly comfortable with violence. In fact, most of these sick people actually enjoy it.
In our society of Human Resources and political correctness (not that we don't need these things in moderation) we have become very soft and very desensitized to violence. Instead we have become passive-aggressive. Movies depict our heroes defeating the evil villains with a combination of bravado and death-defying moves. The cold stark reality of asocial violence is lost. When we do see an example of violence, it makes us sick to our stomachs. We shut down and go into denial. If this happens against a rapist, a thug trying to car jack you and your baby is in the back or whatever, you lose. And losing doesn't mean 2nd place, it means your life or the life of a loved one, at the least it means permanent psychological or physical trauma.
The best weapon against violence is violence. Violence is a tool, just like a knife, it can be used for good or evil. Bad guys will use it for evil, you will use it for good. I'll teach you to be better with it!
If you take a knife out of your kitchen and go stab a person on the street, you are a monster! If someone breaks into your home, kills your dog and goes after your kids, then you take that same exact knife out of the kitchen and stab the person in the same exact way... you are now a hero! back to top
Paul Vunak Talking About Violence
Can't I Just Use Some Restraining Moves?
I have trained in martial arts my whole life. I've fought bigger and smaller men and women. I have trained with some very tough people, including some very tough women. Let me tell you that if I didn't bring it, those women would let me know they weren't pushovers. However, if I decided to bring it, I steam rolled over them. Why? Let's get real, all chauvinism aside, I am a larger stronger man. Using traditional or sport martial arts the person with the greater athleticism will win every time. It will come down to strength, size, speed, aggressiveness, timing, skill, etc. That is why there are weight and gender classes in boxing, wrestling, kickboxing and even no-holds barred fighting.
So how do we get around this? We change the paradigm. No longer are we bound by rules.
Now we are open to lethal force techniques that are banned in sport fighting, even no-holds barred fights make these techniques illegal. No matter the size, gender, etc. of a person, they have places on their body that cannot withstand injury. We have techniques that can and will work against anyone.
When you have a 6'8" 275 maniac on PCP coming after you like a madman you had better know how to cheat. Now women can defeat a larger, stronger more aggressive man... if they are properly prepared! back to top
Won't the Police Protect Me?
The police have a very important job and don't get the credit they deserve, day in and day out they deal with people who hate them and give them lots of grief. However, let us be realistic. The police show up after whatever has happened is over. Someone has to call the police, right?
There isn't a Police Officer following you around 24-7. When you are being attacked right now, you need a solution to survive right now. Once you injure your attacker and escape to safety you call 911 to have the bad guy picked up and put away.
I've trained in martial arts with Police Officers my entire life and have many Law Enforcement and Corrections Officers that I currently teach and they all agree with the statement above. back to top
Do You Enjoy This Violence?
I absolutely abhor violence! I truly and sincerely hope that you never have to use the techniques that I teach. It may not be in your heart to use violence, it certainly isn't in mine. But it is in the heart of evil people who commit acts of violence, so we, as good law abiding and peaceful citizens, must
be prepared to deal with violence and use it for good. It is your duty to your family to survive, to protect them and the innocent.
In Downtown Denver there is at least one act of violence every single day, usually more than one, that is not even counting sexual assaults which most are not reported! Being unprepared is like playing the lottery, only if you win... you lose! back to top
FAQs about Our Fighting System & Philosophy
Where Does Your System Come From?
Believe it or not, with Bruce Lee. Most people remember Bruce from his movies with his high flying kicks and outrageous speed... let's not forget the cheesy story lines and acting.
However, Bruce was a real-deal martial artist obsessed with developing practical real-world fighting skills that real people could use to defend themselves. Bruce was said to be unbeatable on his feet. He studied a variety of traditional, sport and military martial arts and then daily hacked away the useless parts of them until he arrived at a system that was uniquely his.
Bruce Lee's real Martial Art wasn't quite as pretty as his movies but a lot more effective. Above he is parrying a punch and kicking someone in the balls!
He then realized that while his system contained some of the most efficient moves around, they would not work for every person. Some folks are more or less athletic, stronger/weaker, short/tall, etc. So Bruce developed a philosophy known as Jeet Kune Do, which from Cantonese roughly translates into Way of the Intercepting Fist. This was not an organized system with rules that must be followed but rather an approach to becoming your best. Learn all you can, then learn what works for YOU, hack away what does not work.
When Bruce died in 1973 he left his star student Dan Inosanto in charge of the Jeet Kune Do banner. Dan, being Filipino, added in the Filipino Martial Arts which included the most effective edged and blunt weapons system around.
Bruce Lee with Dan Inosanto
Paul Vunak trained under Dan for over a decade. He took the best of Bruce Lee's stand-up fighting concepts, Dan's weapon's concepts and then trained with the world famous Gracie family in Brazilian Jujitsu to add in the ground fighting system.
Dan Inosanto with Paul Vunak
Paul fell in love with grappling and realized it was a HUGE missing link in the current martial arts world.
But he also came to realize quickly that ground fighting was a dangerous method, especially against multiple attackers. So he blended his Brazilian Jujitsu with the Filipino art of Kina Mutai, the art of uninterrupted biting and eye gouging. Now, he had a system that could beat the best on his feet, with weapons and on the ground.
Paul Vunak with Royce and Rickson Gracie
Paul took a very practical street approach to his martial arts development. Not concerned with tradition or sport. He released dozens of videos on his methods.
Then, Paul was contacted by the Navy's SEAL Team Six to teach his unique approach to combat. He spent years working with the SEALs and (uhem... getting into real fights along side the slightly mentally damaged Special Ops unit... he isn't like that anymore!)
Paul Vunak with Navy SEAL Team Six,
somewhere in Panama
With all of his real-world experience
and countless years of martial arts, Progressive Fighting Systems was born. Now this system is available for non-military types who want the security and empowerment to walk around knowing they can't handle a violent encounter.
Deep breath... So, there is quite a heritage and yet no tradition. A puzzle for a Zen master to unravel.
I will say "What." I have trained with some very tough folks, ranked pro and amateur boxers, Muay Thai fighters, kickboxers, Olympic Medal Winners in Judo and Tae Kwon Do, Gracie Jujitsu Black Belts, Mixed Martial Arts (UFC) contenders, champion fighters in various combat sports and even professional hockey players. I held my own against each and even rose to some pretty tough ranks.
I took my knots and bruises and paid my dues for sure. All I know is that the Mixed Martial Arts competitors of today are tough as nails and they have my full respect.
The reason I would win in a real violent encounter might be different than you think. I would win because I am not going to try and outclass my attacker with my years of martial arts, I am going to use violence and cheat to the Nth degree! I will live to walk away and survive to see my loved ones, God willing.
The only justifiable reason to fight is to defend life and limb! back to top
FAQs about Martial Arts Methods
What is Wrong with Most Martial Arts?
Martial arts can be practiced for a variety of reasons; sport, tradition, discipline, physical fitness, self-defense, etc. So no martial art system or style is useless, it serves it's unique purpose for someone somewhere. But when viewed through the lens of real world violence and self preservation, virtually all martial arts styles fall short.
Sport martial arts such as boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, submission grappling, fencing, etc, etc. all deal with subduing an opponent in a match of skill and athleticism. It takes a hard work ethic to be a champion in any of these styles and they should be given the respect they deserve. But the biggest problems we run into with these types of styles is that they are surrounded by rules and notions of bravado.
Case-in-point: In the very first Ultimate Fighting Championship (a mixed martial arts tournament for those who aren't familiar with it) we saw Brazilian Jujitsu stylist Royce Gracie against professional boxing champion Art Jimerson. After a short feeling out period Royce took Art easily to the ground and held him there. Since Art had spent his entire life learning to fight with rules that prevented him from being on the ground or even using any other weapons aside from his fists, he was completely helpless. Now understand that the only rules in the UFC (back then) were no eye gouges, no biting and no fish hooking. That means that hair pulling, skin pinching, groin shots and more were all fair game. But Art had never even thought of any of those techniques and finally gave up out of frustration. Get into a fist fight with Art and you would be in a world of hurt, but take a person out of their environment and they are often helpless.
In the real world we will likely be out of our environment if we are attacked. We need to have a "no rules" method of training that allows us to use the most brutally effective tools a human body has, no matter what situation we end up in. back to top
Appearances Vs Effectiveness:
There are five main flaws I see with "realistic" self-defense styles:
1.
The emphasis on sport techniques
2. The emphasis on "defending" oneself
3. Overly complicated techniques (fine motor skills)
4. Too many responses to deal with a simple situation
5. Unrealistic techniques
Sport Techniques: Clearly a drunk who picks a fight with an accomplished boxer, kickboxer or grappler will be outmatched unless they have a significant size advantage, a weapon or friends. But as soon as that boxing match goes to the ground, the boxer is in trouble. As soon as that drunk breaks a bottle and now has a lethal weapon, that grappler is in trouble. What about a female boxer who will almost always be smaller and not as strong as a male aggressor? Is her stick and move boxing style really going to work against a violent aggressive larger male in a crowded area? What if she breaks her hand on the first punch? Boxing, kickboxing and grappling are the foundation of effective fighting, but more effective and lethal techniques should be learned for those situations that call for violence.
Defending Oneself: Many self-defense classes and even well meaning martial arts classes put the emphasis on escaping a hold. While escaping a hold is great, if you escape without causing immediate injury to your attacker, you have just missed your best and perhaps only chance to survive the encounter. You should always cause injury on your first move.
Complicated Techniques: If you are ever in a real violent encounter, your heart will be pounding, your head will be woozy and you will be hesitant.
Adrenalin is pumping and all of your fears are flashing before you. Your fine motor skills are pretty much gone. You need simple, easy to apply techniques that you know will cause immediate injury to your attacker. If the techniques are too complicated, you won't have the dexterity to pull them off. If you watch any top sport fighter you will see them use a small handful of basics and rarely fanciful techniques. Even these experienced fighters who spend hours per day training can't pull off complex techniques in a ring with rules when they were prepared mentally for the fight before it happened. Go with simple, quick, lethal techniques.
Too Many Responses: Hick's Law states that the time required for a person to take action for a given stimulus, increases significantly when he or she has multiple responses they can chose from. In other words, if you can defend against a punch by doing x, y, z, a, b and c... then your mind will have to sift through all of these options before determining the most appropriate response to use. Conversely if you only have one response, the mind will instantly spring into action since it doesn't have to determine which technique to do, it is free to react how it was trained. If you have just 4 options to a given situation, your reaction time doubles. That my friends, is the difference between countering a sucker punch and getting hit.
Unrealistic Techniques: Any short search of Youtube will find a plethora of gun and knife disarms, methods to defend a punch, etc. Some are good, some are terrible and many are in between. If the technique fits into one of the 4 previously mentioned mistakes, then it most likely will get your hurt or killed.
Acts of bravado, heroics and fancy knife disarms are great for movies, but in the real world you don't disarm a knife, you will get killed unless you know what to do instead! back to top
If you are a regular Joe or Jane and want to have the empowerment of our system contact me today.
If you are an experienced Martial Artist from any background and you want to know how to take your already exceptional skill and translate that into the quickest way to end a violent encounter possible, then contact me today. back to top
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Progressive Combat Systems is the place to go for the most realistic self defense in the Denver, Aurora, Colorado area. We offer self-defense, combatives, martial arts training, jujitsu, boxing, muay thai, jeet kune do, firearms combat, edged weapons training, kettlebell training, pain relief, Z-Health, and more.
Progressive Combat Systems is a Martial Arts and Self-Defense academy in the Denver, Colorado area. If you are looking for Self Defense or Martial Arts in Aurora, Centennial, Park Meadows, DTC, Denver, Lakewood, Littleton, Englewood, Lone Tree or other Denver Metro areas, then come train with us. If you are not from the Denver, CO area and want to train with us then contact Chief Instructor Brian Copeland to discuss our Intense Personal Training Course. We can help you locate a hotel near our Aurora studio.
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