Vince Morris is a Karateka that has become world renowned for his no-nonsense approach to martial arts and fighting. He is also the founder of the Kissaki Kai.

In a previous article I wrote about my journey up into the Sierra Nevada mountains in California to track down and interview a Hong Kong Chinese, Charles Ng, who following expulsion from a school in Yorkshire, took up a career of crime and murder in San Francisco with his American survivalist freak companion Leonard Lake, which culminated in his eventual arrest in Canada, later extradition and current trial for multiple murder (possibly as many as 50) in Calaveras County Ca. (Lake committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule whilst in police custody.)

Now I can't say too much about this at present, as there is a gagging order in place, authorized by the Californian Supreme Court, and - although hardly applying to comments made in this country as they would be unlikely to prejudice the fairness of his trial - I feel bound to make only passing references to Ng and his purported crimes. The reason I write at all is due to the number of letters I received asking about my interest in the case, and the relevance to Martial Artists, if any.

The fact is that I have for many years had an academic interest in Criminology, and in the psychological make-up of violent offenders, and in particular have studied the cases and profiles of hundreds of such men (almost invariably men) and in particular multiple killers (Spree and Serial) from all over the world.

In this particular instance, I was interested in the uncommon feature of two individuals coming together to form a deadly team with a purpose-built underground bunker, fitted out as a video recording studio for filming torture and mass murder, and was commissioned by the publishers Little, Brown & Co. to investigate in depth and write a book ("Ultimate Snuff") about the criminal pursuits of these two deadly deviants.

Now the subject matter is too awful to discuss in a 'Family' magazine such as this; but there is good reason expose such evil to the public gaze, and I was at pains to discuss with the publishers the format of the work, as I was not interested in simply churning out the gory details for the vicarious amusement of the more bloodthirsty readers!

The main thrust of the book is to investigate the psychological and physical backgrounds and characteristics which Lake and Ng share with many others of their kind, in an attempt to perhaps illuminate warning signals which could be recognized in potential Serial Killers, and provide at least a chance to modify them and avert the deadly option of doing nothing!

But why is this important to a Martial Artist?

For one thing, the whole subject relates to my concept of what it means to be a Martial Arts Teacher.

Now this is purely a personal point of view, so obviously I don't expect everyone to go along with it, but I feel it is necessary to state (or re-state) that there is far more involved in establishing oneself as such a teacher than is expected of say....a soccer coach, or a swimming coach.....and so on.

For example, I can't remember having read a great deal about the philosophy of 400 metre running, nor about character development as the primary aim of Lacrosse players. Of course I realize than any endeavour can have personal growth spin-offs, but all -Do activities, by definition, have their physical accomplishments as secondary to the character-building process.

The whole physical history of the classical Martial Arts has been inextricably linked with - indeed at times preceded by - a common concept of physical endeavour being a path towards enlightenment, a higher and better moral condition, beneficial not only to the individual but to the state. In fact, even today, in a period in which the sporting aspects have long dominated, the vast majority of Karate license books all contain the Dojo Precepts, a list of admonitions towards right thought and action. (Of course, it would be churlish of me to ask "How many actually read them, or know them?")

For a very long time I was more than a little diffident about talking much about the non-physical aspects of the Martial Arts, but it has become clear to me that the last few years has seen a movement away from considering physical accomplishment as the only way of gaining benefit from arduous training, and that many had come to realize that without the proper mental training there was only so far that they could go on technique alone.

Actually this is only re-inventing the wheel, as anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the history of the Martial Arts will be only too aware of the different emphasis placed upon meditation and aesthetic disciplines such as poetry and art by the early masters from that which prevails in many Dojo today. As I point out on the Martial Mind seminars, as if weren't enough for a samurai to be expected to give his life at an instant's notice for his liege lord, he was also expected to have the composure to compose a poem to note the occasion! That takes the sort of mental toughness which does not arise solely from constant practice of physical skill!

I throw out the idea for you to play with, as a "by the way" that I think the term "Sensei" is far too freely bandied about, and has more or less lost its full original meaning, and the move is now typified by the term 'Coach' which, following EEC directives, has now apparently to be used. (People that know me will be aware of a personal idiosyncrasy (one of many I know): I tend to reserve the term "Sensei" only for the use of those who are personally my students, and who have chosen to be, and who have been accepted as such by me; it is, after all, a very big responsibility on both sides. (Yes, I know they call me other things as well!)

Of course I am aware of the tradition of calling any instructor in a Dojo "Sensei", and I'm very much in favour of proper etiquette, but I also feel compelled to ask that all those who use the term be aware of the deeper implications, and this is one way in which I try to do this.

To return to the point, however.

It follows that as soon as one accepts that the concept of self-defense covers far more than simply protecting one's own personal safety (an inherently valuable but SELF-ish attitude) it becomes apparent that the circle of concern moves outwards to encompass first one's immediate family, and then - inexorably - to a wider concern for the safety of the weak in society itself. (A more SELF-less attitude.)

Becoming a parent, for example, forces upon one the concern for the protection of family members even when they are not with you. So at the heart of a Martial Artist's motivation must lie the desire to build and maintain a society in which the weak and the young can walk free and unmolested. Simply to have the safety of one's own individual SELF as the prime motivating force behind one's lifetime of study and effort is doomed to inevitable failure, as no-one lives forever. The kind of society which we can help build for our fellow man, on the other hand, an ennobling and enlightening objective - if undeniably daunting! But then, don't we Martial Artists welcome the challenge?

I study the minds and life-styles of evil men in order to better understand how they come to be; and thus to give some hope of doing something about the circumstances and conditions which bring them about. This to me is 'Knowing my Enemy;' a concept long advocated as necessary (alongside 'Knowing Oneself') before victory can be achieved.

I recall a remark in the "Yin Chih Wen" (The treatise of The Quiet Way - an ancient Chinese work) in which a certain seeker of wisdom, Li Kwang-Yuen, was admonished by a Master:

"I see you are seeking Truth, but if you seek it only for your personal private good, then neither Saint nor God will have regard for you!"

I'll close this time with another thought from the same work:

"Proceed in Goodness for a thousand days and there will not be enough; Proceed in evil for half a minute and you will have too much." Vince Morris 7th Dan Kissaki-Kai Karate-do.