Interview With The Dog Brothers

Is this for learning self defense or is there something more?

In my case, it started out as a replacement for full contact sports - in high school I played a lot of football. I was really drawn to the realism of knife fighting with Tom Bisio at Columbia University and the self defense aspect of it was a given. Also, being fairly good size to begin with, self defense was never that much of an issue and what I was really looking for was something that I could do either on my own or with others for the rest of my life. Once I got the feel of the stick, I knew I had met my destiny. (insert Darth Varther's heavy breathing here!)

Why do you think the Db are criticized? Or are they? Are we criticized?

Of course! But much less so now than when we first started. When I was in my Ronin phase most FMA's regarded me as an anomoly that would eventually fade away. However, I knew that the state of stick fighting at the time (no matter what name you called it) was pretty pathetic. There were groups and splinters of groups that were very reminiscent of the apes in 2001 that would jump up and down, scream and beat their chest all while separated by a shallow narrow stream AND NONE of them had the courage or humility to actually go at it. There were many myths around such as "you'll die if I hit your forearm/hand/leg/head/eyebrow, etc" -- and I can't tell you why they started, or worse, persisted -- but I knew that most of them had not been challenged and proven or disproven. It was also fairly clear that it was in some people's interest to perpetuate these stories for control purposes and/or to puff up their own self image. Being right does not make you popular and if anything, it makes you an easy target, especially in the beginning. However, once word started getting out about what we were doing, it became increasingly harder for the nay-sayers to deny that what we were, in fact, good for the art. This was particularly true when Real Contact came out. That is not to say that there are hundreds of stick practitioners doing real contact where there were not before, but it is to say that word is out that there is a venue for those who are ready for the next step.

DB is or was considered a fringe element. Does Db run the risk of becoming stagnant or become the status Quo? Would that be good and would it just be a matter of raising the bar?

As far as us being a fringe element, I don't think that will - or should - ever change. What we do is, to put it mildly, extreme. That said, as far as FMA is concerned, we're about as close to main stream as a fringe element can get! The Gathering allows us to showcase the state of stickfighting at that time - sort of a real time diagnostic of where everyone stands. Regarding stagnation, well, whether it's a tree or a car, if something become stagnant it either rots or rusts - both are bad. Organizations that have stagnated are rife with in fighting and factionalizations - those are the tell-tale signs that the founding purpose of the organization or group has been lost on those in charge and personal gain is the new credo. It's also hard to reverse once started because, as stated in question 4, it is often in someone's interest to stop progress and stifle evolution. Growth and evolution involve risk and not everyone is up to it. I was very fortunate to have hooked up with the likes of Tom Bisio, Dave Wink, Marc Denny & Arlan Sanford because we were of the same mind set - let's cut through the smoke screen and see what really happens and why. I was on a personal mission (still am) to persue this quest for truth in martial arts whether it applies to sticks, grappling etc and that, in it self, will always make people like me a "fringe" element. By the way, none of this material that we come up with is new, we're just the most recent generation to have rediscovered it.

What kind of people are attarcted to The Gatherings and the DB way of doing things? In the beginning, the kind of people who were attracted to fighting (pre Gathering days) were the ones I could some how coerce, trick or shame into going. Later, it became a vehicle for those of use who did not mind being stigmatized as nuts and were tired of the ticky-tack tribal bantering and finally it evolved into THE stickfightinger's Mecca. Those who come now range from the curious to the serious - fortunately for this generation of stick fighters, the hard part is done and all they have to think about is training and fighting. To Marc's credit, he has worked successfully to promote the Gatherings to the point that it will always be tied into the name Dog Brothers and the means which to test one's mettle.

Do you (THE DBS) have a responsibility to FMA and the grandmasters of the Philippines?

That depends on who you ask and how you look at it - it's a very sensitive issue. From my perspective, my responsibility is to continue to put new techniques to the test and keep fighters honest. This is done by participating in the Gatherings and events like it, trying new ideas, strategies and not being concerned about whether I succeed the first time or two but whether I learned something. That sounds a lot easier to do than it actually is. Along the way, it is also important to give credit were credit is due. So much of the in fighting and "our island" mentality wihin FMA is the result of people either blatantly copying each other -- and not acknowledging the source -- or from different practioners coming up with the same techniques indepentantly of each other and not willing to admit that such a thing is possible. Nothing I do is new to fighting -- there is nothing different about my roof block, umbrella, footwork, disarm, strike, thrust or jab that hasn't been seen or done for centuries. The only thing different is the appreciation of their purpose and thereby projecting that purpose into each movement. It sounds a little "zen" but it's so true and the only way I know you can get it is to go out there, stand in the fire and eventually break through.

What will be the legacy of the DBs?

Whew! What a question!! I told Marc while shooting Real Contact that the real impact of what we're about will not be known in our life time. My analogy was that we are sending a message in a bottle to the next Eric, Marc, Arlan, Nick P. et al who haven't been born yet and probably won't be until we are gone. My hope is that this era will be regarded as a Golden Age of weaponary fighting in America - hard to attain but for ever treasured. I hope this helps. Happy New Year and I look forward to more Dog Bros. ventures with you in the future.