Martial Blade Concepts

Distance Learning Program

User’s Guide
 THE MARTIAL BLADE CONCEPTS
DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM USER’S GUIDE

The MBC Distance Learning Program (DLP) consists of a number of different types of
videos and other materials. This study guide is designed to give you a clearer
understanding of the types of resources available in the DLP and provide some
suggestions to make the most of them in your personal training.

CONTENT TYPES:

“Private Lesson” MBC Videos:

The majority of the videos in the DLP are core “private lesson” instructional segments
that are the heart of the distance-learning approach to MBC. These provide
exceptionally detailed step-by-step instruction in the concepts, skills, drills, and tactics of
MBC are designed to work in concert with the full-length Martial Blade Concepts
Volumes 1-6 videos (included in the Complete DLP package library; available
separately for DLP monthly subscription members).

“Private Lesson” CBC Videos:

Counter-Blade Concepts (CBC)—my system of unarmed defenses against edged-
weapon attacks—is typically taught as a paired skill set with MBC. Although I did
produce a CBC video with Paladin Press a number of years ago, this video is extremely
dated and does not represent the current state of the art of the system. A new,
completely updated CBC video will be produced soon, but in the meantime, the DLP
platform serves as the best place to share videos on the current CBC curriculum.

“Private Lesson” Videos on Other Topics:

Although MBC can certainly be studied and practiced as a “standalone” knife system, it
is most effective when it is combined with other complementary skills. As you develop a
deeper understanding of MBC, you’ll find that it is actually a component part of a broad-
based approach to personal defense that includes unarmed combative skills, impact-
weapon skills, the combative use of firearms, and other related skill sets and concepts. I
often teach these other skills as “extra” content to private students and seminar
participants and some of them have been documented in detail in full-length
instructional videos. Skills that have not been documented in other videos—or those
that are so focused that they may not warrant a full-length video—used to be reserved
only for my private students. Thanks to the DLP, however, all members of the program
are now my private students! As such, through the DLP you will also have access to
detailed, private-lesson-style videos on my approaches to empty-hand skills (Damithurt
Silat), Filipino stick fighting (Sobadiwan Eskrima), cane tactics (Martial Cane Concepts),
and combative shooting.

Full-length Instructional Videos:

Before the DLP, all of my up-to-date, full-length instructional videos were available as
DVDs or as video downloads from Stay Safe Media. However, to make the DLP as
effective as possible and provide the greatest possible value, Mike Rigg (founder of
Stay Safe Media and Certified Instructor in MBC) and I decided to include some of
these videos in the DLP library. The yearly subscription to the DLP Complete Package
includes Martial Blade Concepts Volumes 1-6 and has recently been upgraded to
also include Practical Unarmed Combatives Volumes 1-3 and Junkyard Aikido.

Watching the full-length MBC videos (also available as DVDs from Stay Safe Media)
gives you a detailed instructional “overview” of the material in the MBC curriculum. For
seasoned martial artists and those with a good analytical “eye,” the MBC videos can be
enough to effectively learn the skills they address (many MBC practitioners have done
just that). However, when combined with the “private lesson” videos of the DLP, they
are even more effective. And, since the DLP library is still evolving, the full-length
instructional videos still represent the most comprehensive reference for the entire MBC
system.

Seminar Excerpts:
I regularly teach seminars all over the U.S. and overseas. Occasionally, a participant in
my seminar will shoot some high-quality video footage that captures my instruction and
focuses on an aspect of MBC or its related systems that hasn’t yet been featured in a
DLP segment or full-length video. When that happens, rather than making you wait, we
include it as a segment in the DLP. These videos also provide a great insight into the
spirit of different seminar events and will hopefully encourage you to join us in a seminar
sometime soon.

Archival/Special Interest Videos:

In addition to pure instruction, the DLP also includes videos containing unique historical
footage—like the footage I shot when I was one of five instructors invited to teach at
Gunsite Academy’s Edged-Weapon Symposium in 1998. At the time, my full-time job
was as the Video Production Manager for Paladin Press, so I shot the footage with a
professional video camera and captured some unique content that has never been
shared outside the few dozen people who attended that event.

Special interest videos can include many different types of topics. One excellent
example of this—which was inspired by a request from a DLP subscriber—was a video
showing the process I use to custom-grind one of my “Jandura” knives. The Jandura is
a Spyderco Endura that I modify to reduce its blade length (so it’s legal to carry in
Colorado) and remove the “jimping” (textured grooves) on the blade’s thumb ramp.
Since I hand grind every one of these personally, some folks were interested in seeing
how I do it. The result was a popular DLP segment.

Because of my full-time job with Spyderco, I have to walk a fine line when it comes to
public reviews of knives and related products. However, “behind closed doors,” I can
speak a bit more freely. In that spirit, look for product reviews to join the mix of DLP
special interest videos in the very near future. I also plan to dig into my personal
collection of knives, guns, and other items and share some of the history behind some
very special pieces that I’m honored to own.

Printed/PDF Reports:
I write articles for many different magazines in the tactical market. Some of those
magazines have savvy editors who “get” the subject matter because they actually train.
They typically allow writers the freedom to address a topic thoroughly and do a great job
of illustrating the topic with photos.

Other magazines are just magazines. They edit articles heavily and often pair them with
photos that are all flash and no substance. By the time the dust settles, the article is
vastly different than what the writer intended and has lost much of its instructional value.
As sad as that may be, for DLP subscribers, it’s good news. If one of my articles gets
butchered, I take the unedited version and share it as a PDF in the DLP library. If the
article is published without major editing, I often write additional text to expand on the
topic and ensure that I’m not violating the publisher’s rights to the copyright of the piece.
Either way, you get the benefit of great content and can save yourself some money at
the newsstand.

These are the basic types of content you will discover in the MBC DLP. To help you find
them easier and make better sense of the current DLP library, I’ve broken the library
content down based on these categories. Please note that some materials could easily
fit in more than one category. For example, the handgun point shooting video that was
shot at the 2014 Phoenix MBC Summit is a seminar excerpt, but could easily be a
special topic as well. Please accept that and my choices in organizing the material and
use it as motivation to dig into all the categories deeply.
DLP CONTENT BY CATEGORY:

“Private Lesson” MBC Segments:

Introduction to the DLP, 9 minutes
Training Safety and Equipment, 15 minutes
Knife Grip, 12 minutes
Angles of Attack, 13 minutes
Zones of Defense, 9 minutes
The MBC Stance and Its Logic, 12 minutes
MBC For Lefties - The Basics, 5 minutes
Thrusting Angles of Attack, 6 Minutes
The Comma Cut, 8 minutes
The Pass, 17 minutes
The Largo Mano Drill, 5 minutes
MBC's Master Technique: Basic, 12 minutes
MBCs Master Technique: Learning Points, 8 minutes
MBC's Master Technique: A Deeper Look, 13 minutes
The Crossada, 8 minutes
The Push-Pull Crossada, 10 minutes
The Meet For Angle 1, 15 Minutes
The Meet For Angle 1: Learning Points, 7 minutes
The Meet For Angle 2, 9 minutes
The Meet For Angle 2: A Deeper Look, 8 minutes
The Meet For Angle 3, 12 minutes
The Meet For Angle 4, 12 minutes
The Meet For Angles 2 & 4: A Deeper Look, 9 minutes
The Follow, 6 minutes
MBC's Master Technique: Lefty vs. Righty The Pass, 10 minutes
Constructing The MBC Training Dummy, 61 minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 1, Master Technique Angle 1 Crossada, 7 minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 2, The Six Count Drill, 4 minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 3, Hubud, 3 Minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 4, Master Technique Angle 3 Crossada, 4 minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 5, Defenses For Low Angle 5, 6 minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 6, Speed Drill, 7 minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 7, Cerrada Drill, 7+ minutes
The MBC Training Dummy Lesson 8, Cover And Slash, 10+ minutes
Roof Block With Knife, 8 minutes
Outside-Outside Drill, 8+ minutes
Palisut Drill: Reverse-Grip, 7+ minutes
Palisut Drill: Standard-Grip, 7+ minutes
Six Count Drill, 9+ minutes
Serrada Drill, 8+ minutes
Sumbrada Drill, 6 minutes
50 - 50 Exercise, 9+ minutes
MBC Footwork, 7+ minutes
Checking Hand Only, 7+ minutes
Cover And Slash Core Technique, 10+ minutes
Cover And Slash A Deeper Look, 6+ minutes
Cover And Slash Palisut Transitions, 9+ minutes
Cover And Slash Gutless Version, 4+ minutes
Cover And Slash Mini-Palisut, 6+ minutes
Cover And Slash Power Crossada, 5+ minutes
Barong Basic Techniques, 11 minutes
Reverse-Grip Six Count And Sumbrada Drills, 4+ minutes
Live Blade Cutting #1 - Paper Cutting Drill, 6 minutes
Live Blade Cutting #2 - "Fun Noodle" Cutting Drill, 4+ Minutes
Live Blade Cutting #3 - Constructing A "Porkman" And Cutting, 27+ minutes
Live Blade Cutting #4 - "Foam Tatami" Cutting Target, 6+ Minutes
Live Blade Cutting #5 - Penetration Testing On A Ballistic Vest, 14+ minutes
Punyo Sumbrada, 9+ minutes
Speed Drill, 8+ minutes
Angle 2 Palisut Drill, 6+ minutes
Low-Line Cover And Slash, 9+ minutes
Standard-Grip Cover And Slash, 9+ minutes
Standard-Grip Gutless Cover And Slash, 7+ Minutes
Instructor Development "Fuckery", 13+ minutes
Instructor Development Footwork and Body Mechanics, 10+ minutes
Instructor Development Checking and Passing Structure, 9+ minutes
Instructor Development Cutting Structure, 7+ minutes
50/50 Exercise Angle 1, 8+ minutes
50/50 Exercise Angle 3, 4+ minutes
Instructor Development Master Technique Footwork, 10+ minutes
Trap And Roll Drill, 8+ minutes
Countering Wrist Grabs, 12+ minutes
Countering Wrist Grabs In Context, 7+ minutes
Countering Wrist Grabs A Deeper Look, 5+ minutes
MBC: Reverse-Grip Master Application, 10+ minutes
MBC: Reverse-Grip Transitions Trap And Roll To Cover And Slash, 7+ minutes
MBC: Passing And Palisut, 10+ minutes
MBC: Cover and Slash Notes and Updates, 9+
MBC: Palisut Drill to Cover amd Slash, 5+ minutes
MBC: Cover and Slash Angle 2 Transitions, 4+ minutes
MBC: Cover and Slash Angle 2 Palisut, 6+ minutes
MBC; Cover and Slash Mini Palisut and Counters, 5+ minutes
MBC: Largo Mano Master Technique, 8+ minutes
MBC: De Cuerdas vs. Punch and Cut, 7+ minutes
MBC: Defensive use of a Slip Joint Knife, 7+ minutes

“Private Lesson” Counter-Blade Concepts (CBC) Segments:

CBC Update - MBC Guerrilla Video, 13 minutes
Knife Attacks On The Ground, 7+ minutes
Instructor Development Energy and Intent, 4+ minutes
Instructor Development Split-X structure, 4+ minutes
CBC: Positional Knife Threats Angle 1 At The Neck, 9+ minutes
CBC: Positional Knife Threats Angle 2 At The Neck, 10+ minutes
CBC: Positional Knife Threats Angle 1 At The Neck Hubud, 3+ minutes
CBC: Hubud to Arm Bar, 4+ minutes
CBC: Instructor Development - Refining Split-X Technique, 15+ minutes
CBC: Instructor Development - Making Cover And Smash Work, 5+ minutes
CBC/Damithurt Silat: Understanding Handgun Characteristics And Operation Relative
To Handgun Disarms, 16+ minutes
CBC/Damithurt Silat: Handgun Disarms #3, 13+ minutes
CBC/Damithurt Silat: Handgun Disarms #4, 7+ minutes

“Private Lesson” Videos on Unarmed Combatives/Damithurt Silat:

Hubud Transitions, 7 minutes
Hubud Basics - The MBC Way, 12 minutes
Hubud Angle 2, 7 minutes
Hubud Angle 2, 6 minutes
Hubud Low-Line, 5 minutes
Hubud Angle 4, 6 minutes
Hubud Angle 4 Learning Points, 5 minutes
Hubud Angle 1 - Jow Sau, 5 minutes
Itsy Bitsy Spider #1, 7 minutes
Itsy Bitsy Spider #2, 6 minutes
Defense Against Hooks, 8+ minutes
Defense Against Uppercuts, 5+ minutes
Defense Against A Baseball Bat, 3+ minutes
Instructor Development Pistol Disarms 1, 6 minutes
Instructor Development Pistol Disarms 2, 14+ minutes
Plus Sign Striking, 9+ minutes
“Brush Grab Strike” Hubud, 10+ minutes
“Bela Lugosi”, 9+ minutes
“Bela Lugosi” Against The Left Hand, 5+ minutes
Damithurt Silat; Hubud Product Improved, 6+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Hubud with Chain Punching, 4+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Probing Left Hand Split Entry, 6+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Elbow Trapping, 7+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Elbow Hubud, 9+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Elbow Hubud Addendum, 3+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Elbow Defenses, 6+ minutes
Damithurt Silat/CBC: Understanding Handgun Characteristics And Operation Relative
To Handgun Disarms, 16+ minutes
Damithurt Silat/CBC: Handgun Disarms #3, 13+ minutes
Damithurt Silat/CBC: Handgun Disarms #4, 7+ minutes

“Private Lesson” Videos on Stick Fighting/Sobadiwan Eskrima

Single Stick Sumbrada, 13 minutes
Edge Orientation Sword Sumbrada, 8 minutes
Basic Stickwork 1 to 4 Combination, 10 minutes
Stick Selection, 9 minutes
Angle 3-2 Combination, 9+ minutes
Earth Six, 6+ minutes
Heaven and Earth, 7+ minutes
Heaven Six, 9+ minutes
Single Sinawali, 7+ minutes
Stick Disarms, 12 minutes
Balintawak Movement, 7+ minutes
The Sinawali Pole - Single Sinawali, 7+ minutes
The Sinawali Pole - Heaven 6 and Transitions, 7+ minutes
The Sinawali Pole - Heaven and Earth, 4+ minutes
The Sinawali Pole - Earth, 3+ minutes
Speed Drill, 9+ minutes
Roof Block Stick vs. Knife, 5+ minutes
Punyo Sumbrada, 10+ minutes
Impromptu Lesson Long Stick Sumbrada, 6+ minutes
Sobadiwan Eskrima: Shoulder Block, 7+ minutes
Sobadiwan Eskrima De Cuerdas with Stick and Cane, 12+ minutes

“Private Lesson” Videos on Junkyard Aikido

Junkyard Aikido: Sankajo Variations, 8+ minutes
Junkyard Aikido: Nikajo Variations, 7+ minutes
Junkyard Aikido Shoulder Block Physiological Potential, 5+ minutes
Junkyard Aikido: Probing Left Hand, 10+ minutes
MBC Instructor Development
MBC: Instructor Development "Fuckery", 13+ minutes
MBC: Instructor Development Footwork and Body Mechanics, 10+ minutes
MBC: Instructor Development Checking and Passing Structure, 9+ minutes
MBC: Instructor Development Cutting Structure, 7+ minutes
MBC: Instructor Development Master Technique Footwork, 10+ minutes
Damithurt Silat: Instructor Development Pistol Disarms 1, 6 minutes
Damithurt Silat: Instructor Development Pistol Disarms 2, 14+ minutes
CBC: Instructor Development Energy and Intent, 4+ minutes
CBC: Instructor Development Split-X structure, 4+ minutes
CBC: Instructor Development - Refining Split-X Technique, 15+ minutes
CBC: Instructor Development - Making Cover And Smash Work, 5+ minutes
Instructor Development - Instructor Resourses And Certification In Other MBC Arts, 5+
minutes

Seminar Excerpts:
Martial Blade Camp 2014 Instructor Testing: 1 hour 23 minutes
Sobadiwan Eskrima: MBC on the Beach Cane lesson, 40 minutes
Martial Marksmanship: 2015 Phoenix MBC Summit - Point Shooting, Geometric Point,
Close Combat, 52minutes
MBC Summit Phoenix 2014 1, 15+ minutes
MBC Summit Phoenix 2014 2, 18+ minutes
MBC: Righty vs. Lefty Angle 2, 14 minutes
MBC Summit Phoenix 2014 3, MBC Foot Trapping, 7+ minutes
MBC Summit Phoenix 2014 4, Earning Your Draw, 4 minutes
MBC Summit Phoenix 2014 5, Some Locking and Trapping, 6+ Minutes

Archival/Special Interest Videos:

Gunsite Edged Weapons Symposium 1998, 1 hour 6 minutes
Grinding The Jandura, 33 Minutes
Handgun Retention Tactics #1, 8 minutes
Handgun Retention Tactics #2, 7 minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Steve Soleras Eskrimador, 7+ minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Professor Wally Jay, 8+minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Benny Urquidez, 9+ minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Shooting Gallery "Inside The Hot Zone", 22+ minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Shooting Gallery "Point Shooting", 22+ minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Shooting Gallery "Take A Knife To A Gunfight", 22+
minutes
The Michael Janich Archives: Shooting Gallery "Inside The Hot Zone 2", 22+ minutes
Full-length Instructional Videos:
Martial Blade Concepts: The Enhanced Version
Martial Blade Concepts Volume 2
Martial Blade Concepts Volume 3
Martial Blade Concepts Volume 4
Martial Blade Concepts Volume 5
Martial Blade Concepts Volume 6
Practical Unarmed Combatives Volume 1
Practical Unarmed Combatives Volume 2
Practical Unarmed Combatives Volume 3
Junkyard Aikido

Printed/PDF Reports:
MBC Reference Guide, PDF
MBC Skill Evaluation Checklist, PDF
Active Shooter Takedowns and Third-Party Disarms, PDF

By using the list above as a table of contents, you can determine which DLP segments
are of greatest interest to you and which ones best complement your current training
goals. Then, by typing the key words of the segment into the “search” function of the
DLP viewer, you can navigate straight to that segment without having to scroll through
the entire library.

I hope you find this guide a useful companion to your study of the DLP. Look for it to be
updated periodically as the library continues to grow. And don’t forget, the growth of the
library and its direction rely on you. Please feel free to suggest topics for videos so I can
continue to make the DLP as relevant to your personal needs and training goals as
possible.

Thank you for your continued interest and support!!!

Stay safe,

Mike

Michael Janich
Founder and Lead Instructor, Martial Blade Concepts