05-19-2005, 13:21
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#1
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 4,530
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Blind?
Is John Kary (the combatives instructor, not the presidential failure) blind? In his videos, he always has an assistant instructor helping to orient him to the camera, or away from the wall, or toward the assistant before demonstrating a technique.
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Razor is offline
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05-19-2005, 14:07
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#2
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Auxiliary
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: CA, USA
Posts: 72
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John Kary is indeed sightless. Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam Conflict.
One critque about his Amercian Combatives the "sightless factor" creeping into the program of instruction. For instance, "Don't look at your target while striking, instead scan for other adversaries", seemed have arose out of Kary's paradigm, since Fairbairn-Applegate had no such tenets.
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Seth is offline
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05-19-2005, 21:38
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
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Stepped on a mine if I'm not mistaken.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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05-20-2005, 08:39
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#4
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 4,530
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Ah, if he's blind then his knife fighting style (constant arm circles) makes much more sense to me now. Thanks!
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Razor is offline
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05-20-2005, 09:02
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#5
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vermont
Posts: 342
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I think he got hit by a mortar round, though I'm not certain, may have been a mine made from a mortar round. Messed him all up, in addition to losing his sight, he has a number of other injuries including wounds to his hips and legs, IIRC.
He's one tough SOB and an inspiring instructor. Seth's right that a certain amount of stuff has crept into his curriculum that is either VERY telegraphic (e.g., the windmilling cupped hand hand strike to the groin that he teaches) or otherwise reflects his sightlessness (e.g., the "don't look at the attacker" thing Seth described and the knife technique Razor refers to.)
I got a lot out of his instruction and try to always give him his due. He does a great job inculcating a fighting mindset, stresses simple brutal techniques that largely adhere to FAS methods, and instills confidence in his students. His "body sense" is almost uncanny, if he can get one hand on you he can instantly figure out where every other part of you is. He touches either arm, your hip, your side, and immediately he's raining blows on your head, neck, or groin.
He's an outstanding instructor, maybe not in Carl's league or McCann's, but he's not far behind and given the disadvantages he's had to overcome that's impressive as hell.
Unfortunately, the word I get is that John is very ill, that he's been in the VA hospital in WVA for sev'l months and that's he's not likely to come out. I'm not certain of this, but it's what I've been told by a couple different people.
Last edited by Cincinnatus; 05-20-2005 at 09:04.
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Cincinnatus is offline
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05-20-2005, 20:47
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#6
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Castle Rock, CO
Posts: 2,531
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Razor
Is John Kary (the combatives instructor, not the presidential failure) blind?
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apparently, both are...
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""A man must know his destiny. if he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder. if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.""- GEN George S. Patton
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lksteve is offline
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05-20-2005, 20:57
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#7
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,806
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by lksteve
apparently, both are...
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Bah Dump Bump!
Good one!
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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