Jason “J.B.” Brown is the 15ᵗʰ Black Belt of the Kiado-Ryu’s current 65 Black Belts. Interestingly, he received his Black Belt on 15 December 1990, Lake Forest, Southern California.
J.B. came up through the KIA Juniors Program and was one of the finest young fighters at the Karate Institute of America.
Jason has had quite a life. He’s traveled to 68 countries! In response to our query, he shared some of his life’s journey. Following are his own words.
Early days! circa 1982; Left to right: Guest Black Belt, Bob “Trucker” MacFarlane RIP; Kiado-ryu Grandmaster Richard “Whitefire” King; Steven “Widi” Ho (1st KIA Black Belt and National Forms Champion); Guest Black Belt, Larry Vetter RIP
A look back at the 45 year history of the KIA. No special order. More pics to come. Enjoy!
Steve Vertun – National Forms Champion Terry Bass (Slider) Genny Edge (Cougar), Jerry Alston (Shuto), Rose Hoberg (Renegade) Clark Hyman (Flash), left; Greg Bendel (Maddog), right
Picking up from “Smart Defense Part 2, De-Escalation,” what if an assailant does not want to calm down but “mix it up” instead? Let’s take a look at our options.
Run. Just get away from the situation. Such a withdrawal from a potential conflict is a sensible tactic. There’s no disgrace in retreating from the turmoil. Retreat, in fact, is a common military tactic. It’s better to save the day than lose it. In an “Active shooter” incident, the main reaction is “Run and Hide.” If such a decision is made, Kiado-Ryu philosophy is to get away as far as possible from the shooter. Also, if you have to run, run in zig-zag patterns. Bullets travel in a straight line and the farther away you can get from the shooter the better.
De-Escalation. If it’s not imperative that we physically engage an opponent in order to survive or protect ourselves or our family, then it would be wise for us to de-escalate the situation if possible. Why continue to squabble and create potential mayhem when there is no positive advantage in doing so?
The first thing to do to be safe at such a moment is to “create distance” of at least a two arms length from the other person. Three arms length is better if we have the room. As Kiado-Ryu curriculum teaches, “Distance is the First Security.” When we’re out of range of a kick or punch we have time to react if the opponent attempts to attack us. And as we’re creating space, we must remember to never drop our guard. Stay focused and aware and never lose our concentration.
SELF-DEFENSE has become an all-too-common public concern these days, and rightly so. However, how we protect ourselves is important. Even more important are the self-defense laws of each state and how those laws are applied.
For example, let’s say a neighbor throws a punch at us. Do we have the right to fight back, maybe by throwing our own punch … or even two or three punches for good measure? Maybe, maybe not. The law rules.