Today it seems like there's a martial arts school on every block and many of them are of dubious quality. Most of the students are children, and they're taught some form of combat sport. Some schools offer self defense training or promise a good workout, but few teach real combat martial arts. There was a time though when people did learn the practical skills they needed to survive a real street fight. Among the few instructors who truly understood combat martial arts and self defense was Charlie Nelson who took what he learned during World War II, and used it prepare the average citizen for hand to hand combat.
Charlie Nelson's story begins in upstate New York where he grew up in a Catholic orphanage, and he joined the United States Marine Corp at the age of 19. While with the Marines he would receive the best close combat education possible. Before any close combat training, Charlie was good boxer. The first chance he had he joined Marine boxing team. This is when he learned from Colonel Anthony Drexel Biddle who had trained Marines in hand to hand combat for World War I. Biddle, and was teaching FBI agents at Quantico at the time.
As fate would have it, while at Quantico, Nelson would bunk with John Styers an expert in blade combat who would later author Cold Steel an excellent book on close combat with weapons. It was probably here that Nelson first learned the truth about self defense that would shape his life long view on combat; a street fight is completely different animal than a sports match.
Colonel Biddle wouldn't be Nelson's only teacher while in the Marines though. He would train with Sergeant Patrick Kelly who had served with the Fourth Marines stationed in China. Kelly had trained under Dermott O'Neill who also served in the city of Shanghai which at the time had the well earned reputation as the most violent city in the world. The Marines along with troops and police officers from many other nations assigned to the international city regularly battled violent street gangs and other criminals as they tried to maintain law and order as well prevent insurgences from taking the city. It was here the Marines would learn many important lessons from William Ewart Fairbairn and the Shanghai police department.
Even though Nelson wouldn't meet Fairbairn directly, Fairbairn had a profound influence on how Nelson would learn to fight. During Fairbairn's time as a police officer in Shanghai, he made an extensive study of many Asian martial arts in an effort to create a simple and effective combat martial arts system. He drew heavily on his Judo and Jujutsu experience, and stripped away any unnecessary ritual and movement, revealing a simple system for combat called Defendu. In addition to hand to hand combat training he also taught effective shooting and edged weapons methods (the Fairbairn fighting knife). He would later train spies and commandos in WWII. Nelson would draw on all of his influences in order to create his system for self defense, but he always gave credit to his mentors.
After serving honorably in WWII which included taking part in the battle of Guadalcanal with the First Marine Division Nelson retuned to New York and setup the "Charlie Nelson's School of Self Defense Combat Jujitsu and Karate." At the second floor school on West 72 Street in New York City the students would learn how to street fight, and Nelson abandoned traditional martial arts uniforms in favor of street clothes because he said that what people really wore when they fought. Every move he taught could be used by anyone regardless of size or strength, and all his training scenarios were grounded in reality based of his research into actual crimes. He taught people how to "fight not play games".
Charles Nelson like some many others of his generation is no longer with us, but his work lives on with us in The Red Manual. The book is filled with useful techniques that will work against even the most violent assaults. Nelson makes martial arts practical to for the average citizen and teaches them how to deal with attackers armed with knifes, baseball bats, and even firearms. Even experienced martial artists like former Army Ranger and police officer Carl Cestari was taken down by his dirty fighting techniques by a much older Nelson. Cestari was so impressed he would become certified in Nelson's system and include many of his techniques in his own. Unfortunately not everyone took notice of Nelson's system, but if people did the criminals would be the ones living in fear. Nelson's methods of self defense are all but forgotten.
There are a few who still teach some of the principles handed down by these for fathers of modern day self defense and reality martial arts. One such organization is The Self Defense Company. A global network of instructors dedicated to teaching the systems of proven self defense in programs that combine these valuable methods of combat with modern day systems of training.
Little Red Book Of Sales Answers
Nothing could be further from reality and disappointment will hit in a very short period of time.
Getting noticed on-line requires some smarts so don't believe that because all of the hard work you have just expended to get this product ready for sale, is a surety that the eager masses will arrive with credit cards in hand, because that simply won't happen.
So what would be the next move?
There are many tools available on the web that could assist in marketing your book and ramping up your sales. These tools are used for many on-line promotions and are readily available.
Here are a few ways to get you started and when implemented will help you increase your sales
Now like all well thought out businesses, and before starting on any venture, the very first thing to do is create a long term plan. This being your first book, what about the second, third, fourth etc. Start the juices flowing as to where you are aiming to be with your on-line business in the next 5 years, 4 years, 3 years etc.
Consider diversification by not putting all your eggs in one basket. Try to establish several different income streams and put them into your long term plan. How about using audio and video to relay your informaton, just like the gurus are now doing. Securing Joint Ventures with industry experts would really push the volume of sales along. More on this later in this article.
Volume retailing could be achieved if your book details any of the popular subjects like, How To or Business or Self Improvement etc. where certain organizations or corporations would be interested in volume purchasing from you to give as a gift to their clients or employees or associates. Volume purchasing would require you to lower the per item price to a wholesale price but the you are now selling many to one customer as opposed to one or two at a time.
Credibility has to be earned and once this has been established as an author, maybe consider moving up to the next level. There is a lot of money to be made running seminars or coaching workshops or being a presenter at a seminar. These workshops and seminars are being held globally and if you have a niche market that appeals to the masses you should consider this as a viable extension to your business.
Create Joint Ventures. This is the fastest way to bring in sales because the person(s) you JV with will introduce your product to their opt-in list and many of these lists are many thousand strong. These JVs should be in a similar industry as yours and non competing of course. However joint ventures are exactly what the name implies, both parties contribute to achieve the end result, sales.
There are many courses on-line which go into great detail as to how joint ventures are put together and outlining the many ways these can be set up. It may be well worth the time and expense to invest in one of these courses because it can be quite involved, especially for the novice marketer.
Both Matthew Mckernan & Alec Olive are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Alec Olive has sinced written about articles on various topics from Affiliate Programs, Martial Arts and Computers and The Internet. Want To Make Passive Income While You Sleep? Discover How You Can Now Quickly Create Your OwnBranded Cash Producing Viral Ebooks With Just A Few Clicks That Spread All Over The Web. Alec Olive's top article generates over 9900 views. Bookmark Alec Olive to your Favourites.
Chest Pain Stress Related Keep a check list of Things that Calm You handy for stressful times, like reading a book, resting, listening to music, taking a walk, going out for an ice cream cone, etc