If you're not yet a registered member, you may signup here. If you are registered, please login. Membership Price: $75 per year A Howl of Greeting! When a man steps on the field at a "Dog Brothers Gathering of the Pack", he makes the powerful decision to be the only person responsible for himself. That is what it means when the code says "Only you are responsible for you." Similarly, when a man is accepted as a "Dog Brother", he kneels and we tap him on the shoulder as was done in the days of knights in shining armor and give him his "dog name" with these words : "By the powers invested in us, by us, we dub thee , , ," Interesting words these-- unlike the judge or minister in a marriage ceremony who declares, "By the powers invested in me by the State, I declare you husband and wife", WE claim the power within us to declare who we are. Whether we believe in a divine source of this power or not (and I do), we live by the power that comes from within us-- not by power that is loaned or granted by others. The "Tao of the Dog" is a howl that calls to a self-chosen pack, not the thundering herd. The decision to live this way is a powerful one. Just as the Dog Brothers are for individuals who claim their individual power and take sole responsibility for it, so too with Dog Brothers Martial Arts (DBMA) as well-- it too is for the self-chosen, and here too "No suing no one for no reason for nothing no how no way. Only you are responsible for you." With its mission statement of "Walk as a Warrior for all your days", dedicated to the proposition of "Smuggling concepts across the frontiers of style" it is no surprise that DBMA can not be found in shopping malls everywhere. Where DBMAA can be found by anyone is through the Dog Brothers Martial Arts Association (DBMAA). 10-15 years ago the DBMAA was not possible-- there was no effective way for the widely dispersed people interested in what we offer to connect with us and with each other in a way that offer real meaning. Starting around 2000 with the increasing general dispersion of internet technology, that changed and the DBMAA entered into cyberspace. From the beginning we have offered "Vid-lessons", quite the library of articles, essays of interest, technique sequences and more. If someone wants to learn more about the Philippines, the Filipino Martial Arts and the men who developed them, there are various articles and other items of interest - for example the long out of print legendary "Jungle Patrol" by Vic Hurley which tells the extraordinary tale of the Philippine Constabulary. If someone wants to find one of the articles that have appeared on the Dog Brothers a reprint of it (sans fotos) on the Association's website is there. Central to the DBMAA experience is the very active forum. The forum enables genuine two way communication between the members and me, and amongst the members. For me, like our public forum, the range of intellectual curiosity found on the board is broad, deep and fascinating-- and my day is not complete without some time there. Those of you who follow the forum on the public website, know that what some call "the Dog Brothers Philosophy" encompasses quite a range of subject matter- and on the DBMAA site the reading just gets better and better. Unlike our public forum, in the secure website of the Association I am free to go much more fully into what Dog Brothers Martial Art is about. If someone has questions about the content of Vid-lessons, this is where he/she can get an answer. This too is where I can expand upon points not made in the DVDs we release to the general public. Although we are fully aware of how much killing technique is freely shown on many DVDs and on the internet, we prefer a path that seeks to be conscious of what we put out there. Thus, as some of you may have noticed, even in our "Die Less Often" material (a.k.a. "the interface of gun, knife, and empty hand") we limit ourselves to showing what thugs and criminals already know and do and offer our ideas about how to deal with it. It is within the DBMAA that we can go into additional matters more fully. The depth and diversity of the forum is strong. Maybe a thread about improvised weapons will expand our ideas about how to realize Kali's promise to be able to adapt and improvise with what the environment weapon may offer. We have threads where together we present scenarios and assess what to do. Similarly, someone might post a youtube clip that presents the question of "What would you do?". The resulting conversation is just that-- a conversation. It is NOT about me pontificating. It is a CONVERSATION that draws upon the worldly knowledge and talents of everyone there. Often I am asked about learning the system and qualifying to teach it. The DBMAA is the vehicle through we can serve people who are interested in becoming qualified to teach the system, either via backyard "Training Groups" or in actual martial arts schools. We have NO interest in becoming a "paper mill", and the Association and its interactive qualities, allow me to get to know people. When combined with the "Personal Training Programs" that are part of the path to becoming a "Training Group Leader" or an "Instructor", the foundation is laid for a genuine relationship and genuine transmission of the DBMA system. It has been a wonderful Adventure so far, but recently I have seen the way to transcend some limitations and take it to another level. One frustration has been the matter of security of the Vid-lessons. The point is quite obvious-- there is a lot of piracy and thievery out there-- and for me, quite real. One of the earliest Vid-Lessons, "Stickgrappling", apparently somehow wound up in the hands of someone who wrote an article in some martial arts magazine about the stickgrappling methods of the ninja. In that I had not released this material to the general public precisely because I want our people to have an edge and because the respect that I felt the work I had put into assembling and developing the material had been pilfered, it left me feeling burned-- and conflicted about how much I should share. Because the actual volume of VLs sold is quite small, my solution was to have the name of each recipient of a Vid-lesson burned into the video, and later on the disc of the VL so that anyone viewing it would know to whom it had been sold. In the case of the discs, this raised the costs of making the VLs considerably. Because of the time and expenses of the process of making a VL in disc format (not to mention the shipping & handling costs) , it made sense only to have VLs which were quite substantial-- usually at least one hour. If I had a 5 minute idea, or even a 20 minute idea, it just didn't make sense to shoot, edit, master, and individually run off copies, so lots of neat little ideas simply were not making it to VL format. Also because of the time and expense of the process of making a disc VL, it often didn't make sense to have material precisely addressed to beginners or advanced people. There simply wouldn't be enough sales to justify the time and expense involved. The technology of the new website will allow me to transcend these limitations. Now we will be able to put up clips easily and often. It will make sense to have clips addressed to total beginners, and other clips that are for those whose skills are already considerably evolved. I have LOTS of plans for these!!! These plans include posting clips from members as well, sharing training, techniques and so forth. Also, with this new level of technology, it will make sense and be possible to have clips about other aspects of the warrior path. For example, one of the first clips I am putting up is one about the emergency bin (EB) I have in my truck and the one I have prepared for my wife. What belongs in each person's EB will vary. Here in Los Angeles, I think for example of the many scenarios which could result in my wife and two children (currently 8 and 5 years old) being caught in a mega-traffic jam for many hours (overturned truck, earthquake, mudslide, brushfires, terrorist attack, etc). I think of a mechanical breakdown-- so there's a siphon, duct tape, chem lights, multi-purpose tools, bright ponchos for the children so they will be easily visible at night, etc. For someone else in cold climes, space blankets might be a life-saver. With the new website, people will be able to share their ideas. Another example of a clip idea is to share some basic drumming. Drumming has been part of the Dog Brothers Gatherings for many years now and those of you who have been around DBMA a while know of the role of rhythm in our training methods such as "the metronome". As I have dabbled in drumming the past couple of years, I have noticed it help the quality of my trapping skills and double stick skills-- so it occurs to me to have some clips (not necessarily by me!) sharing some basic beats. No matter how Caucasian you may think you are, you may surprise yourself if you give yourself a chance. The larger point is this-- it won't always be directly about fighting, and appreciate that it will be possible for members to contribute clips as well! This is going to be a powerful thing! My vision of the DBMA Association and its secure website being a metaphorical campfire around which the warriors of the tribe can sit and come together takes a giant step forward. If this sounds like something for you, then please fill out the application completely and send it in. Please appreciate that we believe we are not right for everyone, and not everyone is right for us. It IS an application and it will take a bit of time to review it. If and when you are accepted, we will ask for the appropriate Paypal/credit card information. The Adventure continues! Guro Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny Dog Brothers Inc. PS: Because of how the American legal system works, to protect myself from personal liability it is necessary for me to operate as "Dog Brothers Inc" and that we agree that the law of California applies. Not only do I live in California, but its law concerning legal liability waivers in the context of "dangerous activities" clearly upholds the waivers. 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