An
Edged-Weapon Self-Defense System Developed by Michael D. JanichAn
Edged-Weapon Self-Defense System Developed by Michael D. Janich 
The
greatest highlight of the 2007 Martial Blade Camp was the final testing of
MBC instructor candidates for their Certificates of Proficiency—the equivalent
of a black belt in the MBC/CBC curriculum. Three veteran MBC students—Paul
Harris, Eric Kaltenborn, and Vincent Luke—were 
challenged to perform throughout
the weekend to ensure that their skills and understanding of the system were
at their peak. This evaluation process culminated in a final 45-minute marathon
test during which they faced off against other accomplished MBC practitioners
and were required to validate their skills in randomly selected reflex training
drills, drill 
transitions, and defensive applications drawn from the entire
spectrum of the MBC and CBC curriculum. This test—conducted at an altitude
of 8,100 feet above sea level—climaxed with each student facing system founder
Michael Janich in full-speed drill combinations and full-power CBC defenses
against knife attacks.
Harris, Kaltenborn, and Luke all performed exceptionally well and clearly validated their skills in the system. All three earned both Certificates of Proficiency in the MBC system and MBC Associate Instructor status. Michael Rigg, who successfully completed MBC proficiency testing at the 2006 Martial Blade Camp was also awarded Associate Instructor ranking and was instrumental to both the success of this year’s camp and the intensity of the testing process.
Approximately
one month later, during a series of seminars in the Columbus , Ohio area,
veteran MBC practitioners David Holloway and Bryan McKean also tested for
MBC proficiency.
Once again, the testing consisted of a grueling series of
performance challenges including both reflex training drills and high-speed
combative applications. And once again, it concluded with both practitioners
facing off against the system founder for final validation of their skills.
Both Holloway and McKean performed extremely well and earned both Certificates
of Proficiency and MBC Associate Instructor status.
During the evolution of the MBC system, my primary training partner was my good friend Matt Zavakos. From 1995-2004, Matt and I trained extensively together, developing and refining our skills and, in the process, defining the MBC and CBC curricula. Matt also supported me as Assistant Instructor during the four years that I taught under the auspices of Spyderco and has always been one of the greatest supporters of the system.
Since 2004, Matt’s focus on his family and his new business has limited his training time; however, he has maintained a dedicated program of solo training. During this year’s Martial Blade Camp, I focused intently bringing Matt up to speed on the latest evolutions in the MBC system and challenging every facet of his skill set. I specifically chose him to give “game” to the instructor applicants during their testing and, like everyone else present, was amazed at his ability to maintain his skills despite infrequent partner training. As such, I am also proud to announce that I have awarded Matt both a Certificate of Proficiency and Associate Instructorship in the MBC system.
As founder of MBC, I am extremely proud of all my newly certified MBC Instructors and am honored to have them representing the system. Their certification represents a new era in the evolution and teaching of the system. With my full confidence, they are now authorized to share the MBC and CBC systems through their own teaching, making the system available to a much broader audience than I could alone. Congratulations to you all and thank you for your support and confidence!!!
Contact information for MBC Associate Instructors is included on the Contact page of this web site.
In addition to our new Associate Instructors, I am also very proud to recognize several MBC Affiliate Instructors. As Affiliate Instructors, they have trained extensively in the MBC system and earned my confidence as both skilled practitioners and competent instructors capable of sharing elements of MBC through their teaching. Although MBC may only be a portion of what they teach, I know that their teaching includes a quality expression of MBC skills backed by a thorough understanding of the system, its philosophy and principles.
Contact information for MBC Affiliate Instructors is included on the Contact page of this web site.
One of the unique aspects of MBC is its emphasis on proper teaching methods and progressive skill development. In fact, I have spent as much time and effort developing my teaching methodology as I have developing the MBC curriculum itself. To ensure that the benefits of this teaching methodology are maintained, MBC instructors will be required to not only be technically proficient at the skills of the system, they will be trained as teachers. If an expert practitioner cannot develop the skills to teach, he or she will not be certified as an instructor. Also, since physical skills and teaching skills are both perishable and the MBC system continues to evolve, annual recertification will be required in order to maintain active instructor status and affiliation with the MBC system.
The levels of instructorship in MBC are as follows:
Study Group Leader – An MBC-trained practitioner who has developed a skill set that is adequate to supervise MBC training events involving other students.
Affiliate Instructor – An accomplished student of MBC who has trained directly with me and displayed the skills, understanding, and character to earn my recommendation as a source of training. Affiliate Instructors are typically already certified instructors of other martial arts systems and therefore have teaching experience. At their discretion, they may include as much or as little of the MBC curriculum as they want in their teaching; however, they remain a resource for accurate, authentic inquiries regarding the MBC system.
Associate Instructor – An MBC practitioner who has successfully tested for proficiency in the system (the equivalent of earning a black belt in a traditional style) and displayed the knowledge, understanding, and ability to teach the MBC system faithfully and accurately. Although these instructors are not required to restrict their teaching to the MBC methodology, in most cases, they elect to present the system in its original form without significant deviation.
Certified Instructor – An Associate Instructor who as completed the Instructor Training portion of the MBC curriculum and thoroughly mastered both the physical skills and teaching methodology of the system. Certified Instructors should, upon request, be willing to provide instruction in the core MBC system without significant variation.