The second of the twelve recurring principles brings us to the three triangles: surface, structural, and mental—and underneath all three sits an older concept that I find incredibly relevant to the way I train: metsubushi. To me, metsubushi is about disrupting what someone is able to perceive and process—physically, structurally, and mentally—before you ever need to rely on strength or even make significant contact. It’s taking away their ability to clearly understand what is happening. And that connects directly back to kyojitsu. If kyojitsu is about controlling what someone believes is true, metsubushi is about disrupting what they can actually perceive. Different concepts, but the same underlying idea: control the information they are receiving, and you influence the response that follows. This principle is especially relevant to me because I’m small. I’m not the biggest person in the room. I’m not the strongest person in the room. In fact, most of the people I train with are twice my size and could physically overpower me if I allowed the encounter to become a contest of strength. So I have to approach it differently. Whether I’m training in the dojo or thinking about an actual threat, I have to understand how to use the nervous system to my advantage. Because regardless of how physically capable or highly trained someone is, there are fundamental human responses that don’t simply disappear because you’ve earned a black belt or spent years lifting weights. The nervous system still responds to disruption. Vision changes. Breathing changes. Balance changes. Attention narrows. The brain has to process new information. And when you can interrupt those things, even for a moment, you can change the entire equation. For me, the three triangles are about disrupting force, structure, and the mind. Vision, breathing, balance. Take away their ability to see clearly. Disrupt their breathing. Take away their base. Get into their structure. Take away their focus, their purpose, and ultimately their willingness or ability to continue the confrontation. And then you have a choice: eliminate the threat or escape.

Pain. Not injury, necessarily, although injury is one way to cause pain, so it's a part of this. Answer in the comments.

Hey guys now that the first few lessons have been released and we have our first batch of chats out I'd like to get some feedback from you... Let me know what has resonated or what you have questions about let's get a conversation going and help everyone level up. Find the course here: https://www.skool.com/budo-taijutsu-unchained-5673/classroom/fd08a63b

“When you hesitate, you die.” It’s blunt. It’s uncomfortable. But there’s a reason that concept matters so much in martial arts. Hesitation creates space. Space creates opportunity. And opportunity belongs to whoever is willing to act. That’s why staying in motion—and more importantly, learning to initiate and maintain action from the very beginning—is so important. Not just in martial arts, but in life. This is something I’ve been working with for years through Shihan Rob Renner’s Zeropoint Training Systems, going back to when these concepts were first introduced. This newer concept of Kaname Zero, having confidence in yourself and confidence in what you’re doing, is so vitally important when training. Because none of the other nine matter if, when the moment comes, you don’t actually believe you can move on them. You can know the technique. You can understand the mechanics. You can train the movement over and over again. But if your mind hesitates, your body hesitates. And that hesitation can change everything. One of the things I think more people need to train regularly is eliminating what I call “dojo syndrome.” You know exactly what I mean. You square up with your training partner. You both get set. You make eye contact. They say, “Okay, I’m ready.” And then the technique begins. But real confrontation doesn’t work that way. There’s no reset button. No polite agreement that says, “Alright, we’re both ready now.” I’ve trained with plenty of people who are twice my size, have far more muscle than I do, and could easily pick me up and throw me across the room—which, by the way, they have. 😂 So I’m not relying on strength or size to eliminate the threat. I’m relying on the 9 training systems: movement, timing, structure, awareness, and the ability to act without hesitation. When you remove that expectation of preparation and make action and movement the starting point, everything changes. The expectations in your training partner’s mind no longer translate into what their body is experiencing.

Warning: Adult language. Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo. Ambush. https://www.skool.com/budo-taijutsu-unchained-5673/classroom/0ea41a11