Without the Dogbrothers and Martial Arts I would be just another lost soul to the world.It has help me in many areas of my life as far as confidence and to know what I can and can't do and to conquer certain kinds of fears. In the old days, Dogzilla and I were wondering how many more times can we do this or anybody else, before we get hurt or someone else gets hurt? This went on for about the first four years. This is around the time when the elders were starting to realize that it can be done ,with all the right people with the right attitude.(No Winners No Losers and No Trophies)all for growth and learning. I'M proud to be one of the Twelve Orginal Dogbrothers who were doing it before we knew it could be done and to open the door for all the rest of the dogs to go through ,so they can get the experience and growth that you can only get from a Dogbrother gathering of the pack. a howl out to all my fellow Dogbrothers! thanks to everyone that I ever fought and thanks to all the pups,dogs and candidate's out there for staying on the path.
Lester(Surf Dog)Griffin

Kinda Bummed, NGC Used to have incredible programming. The recent additions of fight programs are OK; yet they lead NGC away from it's animal roots.

Stephen,

Interesting comment but a little misleading. Nat Geo in general has always been about people, culture, the environment, civilizations etc. Perhaps the channel focused more on animals in the past but this is not the core of what Nat Geo is at heart. With the addition of many “animal only” channels such as Animal Planet I am not surprised that NGC is broadening it’s base and getting back to its roots.

In regards to fighting there have always been various forms of tribal rituals across many cultures and across many civilizations. Many of these tribal rituals include fighting either within the tribe or between local tribes. I would suggest you watch the show and form a conclusion at that point. Another good show to watch is the Taboo episode/s regarding tribal rituals and the series Last One Standing in which a group of guys participate in these rituals. The concept of westerners applying our cultural norm or “rights and wrongs” to others and what gives us the right is the core of what Nat Geo explores in many shows.

Tim

Greetings:

This is Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny. The next several entries are being forwarded by me on behalf of the people who wrote them.
======================

I developed an interest in swords and started foil fencing at the age of 9, perhaps not the obvious choice of a female, only child, but go figure and this interest in martial arts in general, and weapons in particular has stayed with me since then. I have trained for most of my adult life and am now 44 years old.
I connected with the Dog Brothers through my FMA teacher Maestro Sonny Umpad during the filming of the "Grandfathers Speak" DVD series and was very impressed with their respect for the "old knowledge" of generations past and how they connected it to practical, modern day material.
I joined the DBMA Martial Arts Forum soon after and started checking out what they were about. One thing led to another and last summer I attended my first Gathering and fought 2 blade fights with the "shock knives". It was just a small taste of what the rest of the tribe do and with far less risk of injury than the stick fighters accept as the cost of stepping on to the mat (I left with only a few bruised ribs), and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!
There is no faking when faced with the strong emotions that a fight brings up, before, during and after. And everything you learn from those few minutes, whether you hit or take hits, whether you lose focus, freeze, forget everything you thought you knew, or find hidden strengths inside you never knew you had, you now have something to take home and work on. From real, personal experience.
I believe we all have an obligation to engage and participate in our lives to the fullest, and to take responsibility for ourselves and what we care about. Fear, aggression, anger, powerlessness, are all parts of the human experience are just as worthy of exploration and understanding as some of the "easier" stuff, not just in the context of fighting, but for living life in general.
Most people never have to find out what they are capable of under a fight/flight/freeze situation, but honestly I feel the need to know this about myself, and would hope that I would be standing next to someone else who knows too, if the sh#t ever hit the fan.
All in all, this is the most respectful, knowledgeable, interesting and polite group of martial artists I have ever met."Higher consciousness through harder contact" ? They could be onto something ..

Maija
House Painter

I've trained one-on-one with Guro Crafty Dog for two years. I first came to him as an informal student seeking to build my knowledge base for a character I was creating in a novel. I quickly recognized that DMBA was, in my opinion, the most efficient and effective martial art I had practiced or studied. I thus continued my training to build on the character of me in real life. My early training mixed intensity and fascination with a dash of disturbing. Some things I learned I was hesitant to know, others I embraced with an artist's passion. As my training progressed, I came to respect and value what had first disturbed me, partially through recognition of the inherent value of survival skills, but primarily through the relationship that developed between Guro Crafty and me. My training went beyond the physical, and our conversations and shared stories offered constant insight into the "Tao of the Dog". The multi-disciplined way of DBMA renewed my atrophied instincts in many areas, the primary of which was a deeper sense of what it is to “Walk as a Warrior for all your Days”.
I've never participated in a Gathering of the Pack and don’t yet imagine I will (I've joked of lobbying for the Candidate-Dog name "Dog Quixote", as my eagerness often surpasses my skill). That said, my knowledge of, and respect for basic, primitive weapons (empty hand, sticks, knives and staff) has increased to a level I never imagined possible. This comes in part from a newfound awareness and quiet confidence in the adrenal state, and an ability to recruit my entire body into action when push comes to shove, smack or slash. My time with Guro Crafty is an asset I will carry with me for all my days.

Joe Cary

Hello. I'm Gints, bestowed with the honor of being a member in the tribe with the name: Baltic Dog, credit to my Latvian heritage.

My first Gathering was July 2002. Rog, Milt and I had been training in Go Shin Jutsu Kenpo with Prof. Richard Lewis for years and fighting with magazine clubs, aluminum knives and soft training sticks in a small garage club. I had done Eskrima training in 1995 with Guro Vince Uttley, then trained more seriously with the Inayan Family in 1999-2000. Sometime in 2001, the Dog Brother instruction video tapes entered our lives. One tape started with a breath-stopping footwork drill by 6'4"+ Top Dog in white sneakers. In an earlier era, he would have been clearing battlefields as Achilles. Another tape included some Gathering footage. We watched the tapes, and cringed thinking everyone would die. They were hitting and dropping each other with wooden sticks. After a few replays, we noticed the young first-timer in the baggy pants hadn't dead. Nobody died. We can do this, too. I bought the baggy pants.

For two months before the event, Rog, Milt and I trained in a secluded area in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco with rattan sticks, helmets, body padding and a video camera. We thought the police would drag us away. No one noticed us in the land of Flower Power. Even with the body
pads, the sticks hurt. Everything hurt. We all made the trip down to Marc's Dog Brother training camp. In the first session, one fellow took a stick shot in the mouth and lost a tooth. Every one in the camp looked fierce. On the last day of the camp, most of these tough guys said they
weren't fighting in the Gathering. Too dangerous. Perhaps, we can't do this. We should just watch.

The day before the Gathering, Top Dog invited us to a Kajukenbo dojo in Long Beach to practice spar. We rationalized that even if we were maimed then, it would be the same as a Gathering. Target practice with the new guys. A few minutes after we arrived, Salty Dog took a shot on his hand from Top Dog and spurted blood all over the mat. His reaction was non-existant. "Oh my, I hurt my hand, again." We froze. Top Dog and Lonely Dog played with us a bit, though at the time, we thought we were in a death match. They let us walk away. We drove back to the El Segundo hotel as giddy as school girls. That is how I spent my 32nd birthday. Do you remember yours?

The Gathering starts with knife fights to shake out the butterflies. Then out come the big sticks. We fought. We bled. We shook hands. That is the way of the Dog.

Eternal thanks to you, Marc. May the world see your Tao of the Dog on this show.

Name: Miguel
Occupation: Public Events Manager

Curiousity. Fear. Aggression. Transformation. Brotherhood. You’ve heard of the Five Stages of Grief? Well, I consider these my Five Stages of The Gathering.

I heard about the Gathering and went to watch. Thought to myself, “These guys are insane.” Then thought to myself, “I wonder if I could survive that?’ Damn Curiousity….

I fought in my first Gathering 6 years ago. My hands shook as I put on my fencing mask. I thought to myself, “Now you are one of the insane guys and you are going to get yourself killed.” Damn Fear…

I swung a stick. I got hit many times. I got angry. I connected a couple more times. I got hit again. I was pissed and I swung wildly. I got hit back…harder. Damn Aggression…

Then, something clicked. My opponent was not out to kill me. He was out to test me. He was going to pull from me whatever he thought I could muster…and give it right back. He grinned. I grinned back. Damn Transformation…

I have fought in several Gatherings, each time learning more about myself. Learning my limits, testing my limits, pushing past my limits. I’ve gotten in my hits and taken my fair share. And at the end of each fight I have smiled, hugged my opponent, and thanked him, knowing that he has shared in the experience and grown with me. Damn Brotherhood…

I remember hearing someone shout this out at my first Gathering:

"No one hits you as hard as your brother."

Amen to that...

I think of my initial experience Dog Brother Gathering in three parts. The first is "the process", the time, money and effort to train and ready oneself to fight at the Gathering. But I suppose the most critical factor is "the why?". Lacking any tangible rewards or incentives versus the real possibility of injury, why do it? Maybe it's an atavistic pull as when we crane our necks skyward to watch the geese pass in autumn or how the howl of the wolf in the wild stiffens us. It could be the longing to return to a time when to stand as a man of charactor was the mean and sum of all things good. I saw those traits in the eyes of those whom I was to cross arms with at the Gathering. As for my own reasons, upon seeing video tape of the Gathering I somehow just "got it". I left the drugs and drink to do this thing, to get there and stand with others of like mind, to fight and to heal myself. The second part is the fight itself. To stand upon that stage, alone, unalloyed and close with another without anger or hatred for those two minutes of terrible beauty unencumbered by the excesses and prevarications of modernity is to look, really look, into ones' soul and find the true meaning of "sinn fein". Some have spoken of facing their fears, I have never been that wise. For me it was like the conclusion of a long and bitter journey and the joy of the return to home. Maybe the return of the broken vessel who finds redemption and is made whole again. The third part is usually left unsaid but perhaps most poignant. We return to our homes, changed, renewed and try to live as examples to those around us. Maybe we show that to live as good and honorable men we need not abandon our manhood, by honoring and acknowledging the spirit of our past we provide a window that the young men of today may glimpse that what once was can indeed provide a way to reconcile our world and live in peace within it. Maybe it's just what Poi Dog laughingly once said to me, "I don't try to explain anymore, I just tell'em I like to hit people". Randall Gregory Chef/Prodigal Son

I am not a dog brother, i am, in my heart, a puppy cousin. I have used some of the excellent video tape material, but most of all, i have tried to imbibe the spirit of this unique pack of individuals. Inspired by their ethos, i have fought bare stick in a hockey helmet, street hockey gloves and elbow pads. I have fought with a friend, numerous times, i still have the scars, the knowledge, and the friendship, along with the few brain cells i brought to the encounters. In my understanding of the Filipino arts, this is what it is about, hard training in a tribal atmosphere, where smart impact, trust, and fellowship walk hand in hand, or paw in paw. Lew, 54 years young , 2nd degree lakan, Modern Arnis, Library Assistant (25 years).

Name: John
Occupation: Enterprise IT Management Consultant
Age: 45

"Higher Conciousness through Harder Contact"...(c)

I found the DogBrothers online a few days after my first serious fencing bout. I lost the bout on points (I was a beginner) but an amazing thing happened in my mind as I got hit again and again... And I was amazed and excited to find a group that had already discovered the magic I'd felt in that bout. It didn't matter that I'd lost - the explosion in my mind at the moment of hard contact was the real win.

When I saw the reality in the Dog Brothers apprach, I focused on real contact fighting. I've never looked back. I've been studying seriously for about a year now -- which brings me to the second credo...

"Walk as a Warrior for All Your Days"

I'm no longer a young buck, and have family and professional obligations. Dog Brothers give me a chance to keep on the Warrior path anyway. The comradirie I experienced at the '06 gathering - as well as the EXCELLENCE of the training videos produced by Guro Crafty Dog give me the resources I need to continue on a Warrior's path. I train for a gathering, not to win, but to face my own fears, give myself a target and a way to judge my progress. Knowing the intensity I will face at a gathering motivates my training and changes how I train.

I train a number of "styles" because they suit my psychology, physiology, and geography. To borrow a line from a Dog Brother shown in one of the training videos - "You have to train yourself". This leads to the next Dog Brother credo:

"Smuggling Concepts Across the Frontiers of Style" (c)

The thing that excited me most about the Dog Brothers was that "anything goes". If it's a good idea that really works in a fight - bring it to a gathering and try it out. Don't say what "should" work in a fight unless you're willing to show up and bring your skills to a full-out trial against determined resistance. Then we can talk about what does and doesn't work in a fight.

Dog Brothers is about "truth in combat" - not what looks good in a kata. Distilled experience from hard-fought combat - as close to the edge as we can go... That's my idea of reality.

...Of the Same Tribe...

Finally, the idea that our purpose is to support each other in being prepared to protect our partners, our children and even our country - is a goal that gives meaning to the quest. To test each other without breaking each other - so that each member of the "tribe" can reach their potential - that's my idea of true brotherhood.

Even if I "lose" to younger stronger members of the tribe, I will have tested myself and know my abilities far better than I could by any other means.

I am a Martialist Christian.

My understanding of what Christ expects of me as a Christian is found in
His words to love God with my whole being and love others as I love
myself. There is nothing passive or small about practicing this kind of
love.

I practice martial arts for many of the same reasons as other people - to
stay in shape and to hang out with friends. However, I ride with a
bicycle club for those reasons. If exercise and friends was all I am
after, I would stick to riding (less bruises). I practice martial arts to
learn how to hurt people. And yet I am unconflicted.

The Christian Warrior is not only allowed in my ethic, but it thrives.
What if I were being hurt? What if it was my wife or my kid who was in
trouble? I would want someone to help - to fight - and not just standby
and watch. Christian love requires us to imagine ourselves in another's
place and to act. On the other hand, bystanders keep their hands in their
pockets because they live in a fantasy where trouble always happens to
someone else. In the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, the
Samaritan was good because upon finding the man after he was beaten and
robbed, he cared for him. Would he have still been the hero of the story,
if he had stood by and watched while the man was beat down and then care
for him? No!

Happily my life is not filled with bad guys who are constantly attacking
my family and friends. However, it is satisfying to know that I can do a
lot as a Christian to help the people around me - including defend them.

I keep getting older! As a child, I looked forward to every birthday.
About the time I hit 40, I started fighting it every step of the way. At
45, I decided I wanted to be stronger with every successive year. That
goal was severely interrupted in 2005, when I blow a disc in my neck and
underwent spinal fusion (C5-C7).

Today, I?m a cheeseburger away from 300 lbs and my 50th year is getting
close, but I am stronger today than I was before my injury. Last year, I
rode a bicycle 360 miles in six days. Last October, I rode a century (100
miles in one day) and I am training for another century this May. I've
had eight Dog Fights at the Gatherings last year. I can hit harder, lift
more weight, and my cardio is better than a lot of younger (and lighter)
men.

Am I bragging? Sure, but I'm also very grateful. I was blessed with a
supportive wife and kids, and some very good physical therapists and
conditioning coaches who have helped me met my goals.

Woof Stephen O:

I hope these posts have helped you understand a bit more of what we are about.

The Adventure continues,
Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny

My name is Michael, and I am known to Crafty on the WT forum, and have trained with him on 2 or 3 occasions at "events" held in Memphis. Crafty is a gifted and talented instructor and a genuine nice guy. I have been involved in martial arts of various styles for about 34 years now, and I hope to attend and maybe even fight in a gathering in the future. I have also spent most of my life in law enforcement, and know what works and does not work on the street. It is the practicality and the comraderie of the DBMA that intrigues me, and I want to "walk as a warrior for all of my days".

The spirt in which the gathering takes place in one in which all participants are made better at the end of the day. They learn from one another, and genuinely care about each other, and though they fight hard and fight to win, do not want to see the other person seriously injured. It is this spirit that seperates the Dog Brothers Gathering from the UFC.

Hello,
I have to be honest I haven't read any of the other comments here. I'm trying to find out how to talk to Dan Farley who was on this TV special. He was the man who was fighting to try to get over his "fear" of violance. I really know what he's talk about and going thru and I'd like to hear any advice or hear about any of the clarity of mind he has now after fighting.

Thanx!

Not for nothing, Mixed Martial Arts has come so far in the last ten years, and I can't believe that these weekend warrior idiots would have the audacity to go on TV and portray themselves as fighters. I respect the fact that they have a love for fighting, and they are probably good at it, but what happens when one of these self indulgent fools dies or gets seriously injured and then the rest of the country blames MMA for being too violent and we start all over again with the banning of MMA. I am absolutely disgusted with the fact that National Geographic wasted their valuable time to put a documentary together about this group. Are you kidding me? What about the pioneers of the UFC? What about the current champions of the UFC who put their life on the line for this sport only to be undermined by these weekend warriors who are taking credit and pretending to be MMA guys, and most likely will ruin the reputation of all MMA professionals when one of them gets hurt and the whole world lumps them together with the real professionals even though they should not be mentioned in the same sentence. Thanks for riding on MMAs' popularity. We can't wait for the general public to watch your bullsh--- and lump us together with you.

its to bad that the dog brothers dont give respect to the ones they learned from from the masters that originally educated them, i think their is a lack of respect in that aspect, to portray as if they are the ones that brought full contact stick fighting into the lime light is dishonest and fake, why not do an expose on fillipino stick fighting their are plenty of real fighters in cali,vegas washington that hold the tradition of kali in the highest regards,and respect if your going to bring a art to the light on tv do it right dont water it down with what sells to the public, violence , martial arts without respect is nothing to but brutallity, james (lil lightning) V. manaois eskrima int, cinco teros arnis, lamoco , hufana traditional and all the true escrimadores .

James, You must not have checked out the dog brother's site...I did after the piece aired and noticed RIGHT AWAY those guys give total credit to their teachers dude! http://www.dogbrothers.com/pages/instructors_ourteachers.html

Too bad you keyboard warriors don't do your research before you talk smack.

Just a couple of quick comments in the middle of a busy day:

Michael:

We started some 5 years before the UFC, and I started in BJJ with the Machado Brothers (with whom I am a brown belt and was a 2x Pan Am gold medalist-- '96 and '97-- in my age and weight division) some three years before the UFC and I was a judge at UFC 10.

Apparently the UFC thought highly of us:

http://www.dogbrothers.com/pages/articles_ufcletter.html

Also, I offer for your consideration that we were not in charge of the editing. My repeated requests for longer than 5-8 snippets of fights so as to show the skill in the fights werer rejected. My repeated requests to choose the fight footage were rejected so as to highlight the skilled fights in slow motion. So what you see is the footage chosen by people who have uneducated understanding of the fights. And speaking of understanding, my repeated requests to have a segment explaining this kind of fighting (e.g. the importance of hand hits) was also rejected.

One last thing, you are right-- we are not professionals. We do not do this for money, or fame. We believe in what we do, which is why we allowed Nat Geo to do this documentary, but we have been doing this for 20 years now, mostly without publicity. If after watching the piece and reading the posts on this blog you do not understand why we do it, I am not sure what else can be said, for I find the posts eloquent and think the documentary did a very good job of conveying the humanity of it.

James:

I think you miss that we were not in charge of the editing.

I fought quite vigorously for a section in the piece to explaining where all of this started and how it got to us. To my disappointment, my efforts were rejected.

Also, I think if you go back to listen to the documentary again listen with care, I am sure you will be glad to realize that what was said was in the context of the FMA in America at that time and that you can come back here and withdraw your words.

The Adventure continues,
Crafty Dog

PS: I can't edit so it should read

"5-8 second snippets of fights"

To mr ufc is the greatest although all of us are weekend warriors most of us train mma,bjj,kali,boxing,dogbros,ect3to6 days a week come on out try it for your self brother.ego will only get u hurt and it ¤uckin gets my goat u could be so blind and stupid the warriors u saw on that show fought real fights with real sticks and real skills so come on down to a gathering and let me drop u with my fake kali stick and show u what its like get hit for real.Dog brothers is about learning about ur self through hard contact and sharing that with new friends.Do all of us a favor keep ur closed minded bs for ur sat night mma beer partys.Stay in ur pen p.o.s expand ur mind and u might do less tripin with the heard.I respect all warriors from all styles.I'm sure there is a cobra ki cookie cutter strip mall dojo that would love ur money& ur tude but save it for them we just want to bludgen,cut, submit& hug Peace to all the brothers that make all this happen Woof,Woof

It's wonderful seeing all the brothers here and on the small screen. I was introduced to the Dogbrothers over seven years ago through my instructor, Chris "True Dog" Clifton. In my non-fight life, I am an accomplished Civil Engineer and former US Air Force Combat Engineer. I first viewed the Gatherings as a personal test of determination, will and perseverance. With each Gathering I was priveledged to fight in, I found myself on a path to self discovery that could only be experienced throught the high stress of personal combat, and was able to do so among men I proudly call my brothers. A change in geographic location 2 years ago has precluded me from returning these last few years, but this is only a temporary setback. I will be back. I may be getting older, but the strength of spirit that the Gatherings have instilled in me knows no boundaries nor the limitations of age. I look forward to fighting amongst my tribe again.

Rich "Hellhound" Raphael

Michael:

A couple things went unsaid for me on that show.

There have been guys throughout my life whom I was afraid to fight, that's true. But then again, it's important to point out that I have always kept company with a particular group of individuals :) And like I said in the show, sometimes I was just the younger, smaller guy.

But I've been active in various combat sports since I was about eight years old, so violence, as a blanket term, is something I've never really been afraid of. It's the littler things that come with fights that suck. Like the day before, when you're wondering how dumb you might look in front of the people you invited to watch, or to the people watching on television.

But I get thumped up pretty well in practice all the time, and it's really no big deal. Fights are fights, and pain is part of the package. It's the anticipation of pain, or the fear of losing or whatever that can make you afraid. But the fight itself is something different, and I don't know if it's something that comes out well in words.

Why do you ask? Are you training for something?