John Titchen has unique experience across a variety of educational
fields and has an international reputation as a martial arts author for
his book Heian Flow System: Effective Karate Kata Bunkai, and as a
writer on personal safety.
Before starting his own system John was a Shotokan Karate and an Aodenkoukai Jitsu Instructor.
I first met John through the Martial Arts discussion forum Martial Arts Planet.
Before starting his own system John was a Shotokan Karate and an Aodenkoukai Jitsu Instructor.
I first met John through the Martial Arts discussion forum Martial Arts Planet.
My previous blog entry was on reality based self defence and a seminar run by John. I thought I would give an insight into the man himself.
John what initially bought you into martial arts?
A combination of different things converging at the same time. A
Shotokan Karate club opened at my school. At the same time I was
looking for something active to do to supplement the weights I was doing
since they were beginning to bore me, and I have no interest in sports.
A final factor was that I’d had some anger management issues the year
before and taking up a martial art had been suggested as a way of
controlling my temper and focusing my aggression.
Not many people will be aware that you have managed to continue
training despite medical problems. How old were you when the medical
problems started, and how did they manifest themselves?
I was 11 when the symptoms were first picked up (blood in the urine and
raised blood pressure) and that was when I had my first week long stay
in hospital for observation. I was subsequently diagnosed with chronic
renal failure after a further week long sojourn in hospital when I was
13, so I knew from an early age that my kidneys were going to fail and
that life wasn't going to be 'normal'.
How old were you when you had your first transplant and what was involved?
I had my first transplant at the age of 23. At the time I was already
on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis CAPD) after a brief period
of haemodialysis via a catheter in my chest. In those days you would
receive a phone call or page to tell you to go to the nearest transplant
unit, which for me was Addenbrookes in Cambridge. When I got my
notification I had just gone into the Norfolk and Norwich unit for an
operation to fix my dialysis tubes which had moved out of place in my
peritoneum and were up near my diaphragm.
On arrival at the hospital there was a long wait for the transplant while fresh blood tests were done to determine which of the called people was most suited to the organ. After the surgery I had to stay in the hospital for two weeks of observation (it would have been shorter but I developed a fever). Thereafter clinic was 3 times a week for the first month, gradually decreasing over time to 3 times a year.
This transplant failed when I was 30 and I was fortunate enough to receive a second transplant within a year.
On arrival at the hospital there was a long wait for the transplant while fresh blood tests were done to determine which of the called people was most suited to the organ. After the surgery I had to stay in the hospital for two weeks of observation (it would have been shorter but I developed a fever). Thereafter clinic was 3 times a week for the first month, gradually decreasing over time to 3 times a year.
This transplant failed when I was 30 and I was fortunate enough to receive a second transplant within a year.
How long after the transplant did you start training, and was your surgeon against it?
My consultants weren't keen on me doing martial arts/contact sports -
but accepted that was part of my life. That had been the key factor in
my opting for peritioneal dialysis over haemodialysis. I think I
started training about 1 month after the transplant. I'd been doing
Aikido up to the transplant with the CAPD tubes sticking out of my
abdomen. After my second transplant I was back coaching (lightly)
within a month.
What current martial and academic ranks and grades do you hold?
Sticking to ones that have influenced how I train and teach:
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with IfL and Department for Education (DfE)
Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) (University of East Anglia)
Level 4 BTEC Professional Award: Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) (Edexcel)
Level 3 BTEC Advanced Award: Coaching and Instruction in Physical Restraint Practice (Edexcel)
Level 3 BTEC Award in the Delivery of Conflict Management Training (Edexcel)
Level 3 BTEC Advanced Award: Physical Restraint Practice (Edexcel)
Level 2 Coach Defence Attack & Resolution Tactics
Trident Self Defence Instructor
2nd Dan Shotokan Karate (English Shotokan Karate Association)
2nd Dan AoDenkou Jitsu (AoDenkouKai International)
4th Kyu Aikido (National Aikido Federation)
Level 2 BTEC Manual Handling (CIEH)
National Federation for Personal Safety Certificate of Training in Risk Assessment
Educational Visits Coordinator (Royal Geographical Society)
Regiment Adventurous Training Officer (RATO) – British Army
Rope Course Development (RCD) Level 2 Ropes Course Instructor
Weapons Instructor Cadets (WI(C)) – Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve Training Branch
St John’s Ambulance First Aid at Work Trainer & Assessor
Heartstart UK Emergency Life Support Trainer & Assessor (British Heart Foundation)
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with IfL and Department for Education (DfE)
Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) (University of East Anglia)
Level 4 BTEC Professional Award: Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) (Edexcel)
Level 3 BTEC Advanced Award: Coaching and Instruction in Physical Restraint Practice (Edexcel)
Level 3 BTEC Award in the Delivery of Conflict Management Training (Edexcel)
Level 3 BTEC Advanced Award: Physical Restraint Practice (Edexcel)
Level 2 Coach Defence Attack & Resolution Tactics
Trident Self Defence Instructor
2nd Dan Shotokan Karate (English Shotokan Karate Association)
2nd Dan AoDenkou Jitsu (AoDenkouKai International)
4th Kyu Aikido (National Aikido Federation)
Level 2 BTEC Manual Handling (CIEH)
National Federation for Personal Safety Certificate of Training in Risk Assessment
Educational Visits Coordinator (Royal Geographical Society)
Regiment Adventurous Training Officer (RATO) – British Army
Rope Course Development (RCD) Level 2 Ropes Course Instructor
Weapons Instructor Cadets (WI(C)) – Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve Training Branch
St John’s Ambulance First Aid at Work Trainer & Assessor
Heartstart UK Emergency Life Support Trainer & Assessor (British Heart Foundation)
Tell us something about your program philosophy.
The programme I teach has been heavily influenced by my professional
training as a coach, instructor and teacher, and by my original academic
discipline as a historian. Continuous research and testing underpins
everything that is taught as part of the system.
Defence Attack & Resolution Tactics (DART) is a Karate system designed to develop and enhance the necessary
survival skills to avoid, deter, negate, survive and escape violence.
The DART training method evolved from applying research in the following
subject areas to traditional Karate techniques and training methods:
human physiology, sports science, psychology, violent crime statistics and the law.
DART teaches simple effective physical drills in response to simulations of habitual acts of violence (HAOV). Alongside this we provide training in fear management and verbal de- escalation techniques. Every drill used in DART has been pressure tested in full contact training and risk assessed to ensure that even when students are pushed to their limits in stressful real time, real movement, force on force training simulations, and their training experience is safe.
The range of skills taught by DART are based on predominantly everyday gross motor physical movements and genetically wired unconscious behaviors such as the spinal flinch reflex and the cross extensor reflex. This makes them less perishable and makes them more suitable for use in conditions where the subject may be under considerable mental and physical pressure.
human physiology, sports science, psychology, violent crime statistics and the law.
DART teaches simple effective physical drills in response to simulations of habitual acts of violence (HAOV). Alongside this we provide training in fear management and verbal de- escalation techniques. Every drill used in DART has been pressure tested in full contact training and risk assessed to ensure that even when students are pushed to their limits in stressful real time, real movement, force on force training simulations, and their training experience is safe.
The range of skills taught by DART are based on predominantly everyday gross motor physical movements and genetically wired unconscious behaviors such as the spinal flinch reflex and the cross extensor reflex. This makes them less perishable and makes them more suitable for use in conditions where the subject may be under considerable mental and physical pressure.
What influenced you to choose this career?
I’ve always been interested in writing and I caught the teaching bug
early on. Martial arts training interested me as I enjoyed the
biomechanics of it. I gradually moved towards traditional Karate and
self protection because my background encouraged me to ask “why?”
Has your training taken you abroad?
Yes I’ve studied and taught in the USA.
How do you inspire confidence in your students?
I think that’s a question for them to answer.
Yes I’ve studied and taught in the USA.
How do you inspire confidence in your students?
I think that’s a question for them to answer.
How do you train your assistant coaches, and what do they have to achieve before being awarded instructor status?
All the student examinations right through our syllabus have both a
physical and a written element. The written element consists of short
question papers concerning some of the principles behind our training
methodology. Initially these are open book exams, encouraging students
to study the information, but once students want to become assistant
coaches the written examinations become closed book.
Our instructor syllabus includes information taken directly from both coaching and teacher training programmes. The process of proper risk assessment is also explained. Students are observed in teaching practices and are not put forward for further progress unless their teaching is of a sufficient high standard. To become a full instructor students have to meet the teaching standard, meet a higher technical ability standard (pressure tested against a number of attackers with all participants in appropriate PPE), write a short dissertation on a subject related to the syllabus (to show appropriate subject knowledge) and independently gain a minimum of a 6 hour first aid qualification. Instructors are subsequently encouraged to gain other external coaching qualifications.
Our instructor syllabus includes information taken directly from both coaching and teacher training programmes. The process of proper risk assessment is also explained. Students are observed in teaching practices and are not put forward for further progress unless their teaching is of a sufficient high standard. To become a full instructor students have to meet the teaching standard, meet a higher technical ability standard (pressure tested against a number of attackers with all participants in appropriate PPE), write a short dissertation on a subject related to the syllabus (to show appropriate subject knowledge) and independently gain a minimum of a 6 hour first aid qualification. Instructors are subsequently encouraged to gain other external coaching qualifications.
You are known for your Reality Based Self Defence, can you please explain what this entails?
Reality Based Self Defence is a pretty broad term, and like other broad
terms such as Karate, Kung Fu, Ju Jitsu and Aikido it includes a large
number of different systems with different training methodologies.
From my perspective what I teach requires a huge amount of continuous background research to ensure that we are teaching the best stuff available when it comes to self protection (deterrence, avoidance, confrontation management) and self defence. It’s also important not to get too focused on the books, research papers and cctv footage though, and every drill we teach is pressure tested in high quality PPE and put through a double risk assessment process, firstly for its legality were it to be used for real, and secondly to ensure that it is safe to train.
One type of training that DART runs that has gained a fair amount of interest recently is our Simulation Days. These are training days designed to introduce people of different levels of ability and experience to confrontation management situations that may or may not escalate into violent situations using haov depending upon the participant’s actions:
From my perspective what I teach requires a huge amount of continuous background research to ensure that we are teaching the best stuff available when it comes to self protection (deterrence, avoidance, confrontation management) and self defence. It’s also important not to get too focused on the books, research papers and cctv footage though, and every drill we teach is pressure tested in high quality PPE and put through a double risk assessment process, firstly for its legality were it to be used for real, and secondly to ensure that it is safe to train.
One type of training that DART runs that has gained a fair amount of interest recently is our Simulation Days. These are training days designed to introduce people of different levels of ability and experience to confrontation management situations that may or may not escalate into violent situations using haov depending upon the participant’s actions:
This form of training is frequently misunderstood by those watching
rather than participating. Some don’t understand that the training is
tailored to the needs of the student, and that for injured or
inexperienced students we will work at a slower pace with lower contact
levels. While there is often great physical pressure (for more
experienced participants), and people can get hit very hard (though the
PPE prevents injury), the real pressure, as with real life, comes from
participants trying to find the right key to defuse the tension and
avoid violence.
How do you adapt your training for the commercial world? I am thinking of lone worker safety and conflict management.
For the commercial world I focus primarily on self protection rather than self defence, which I deliver through presentations. If I’m asked to deliver physical training then I’m very careful about what I pass on due to the time constraints.
John, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, and for
sharing with us here and at Martial Arts Planet. I know your videos and
analysis on simulation training days have been a big hit, both with the
participants and the members here at Martial Arts Planet.
