Academia Imoto

The word “courage” comes from the Latin “Coraticum”, derived from “cor”, “cordis”, “heart”. And the heart was considered, in ancient times, the “place” that housed both courage and intelligence. It is possible to be intelligent and not have courage, and vice versa. Combining these two qualities requires method, in the same way that combining strikes and technical maneuvers from different fighting arts into a single system requires following a series of practical instructions and tests.

In 2006, the year in which I courageously opened the ACADEMIA IMOTO in São Paulo, the basic concepts for developing the self-defense training program that would come to be called “IMOTO METHOD” were already very evident:

1. The body is the weapon. And the way the human body was – and continued to be trained – caused more harm than good in the long term. Joint wear, injuries and excessive loads and repetitive isolated effort reduce the body’s useful life and that is why many fighting athletes retire before the age of 40. However, the need for self-defense remains as we age. Violence does not spare age or gender. This was my first point of reflection.

2. Training in just one modality leaves us martially incomplete. At first I believed that MMA, a mix of different martial arts, would be the solution. The problem is that fights had become sports with rules, weight class and fair play, while in a real situation of violence the only rule is to win and, preferably, emerge alive and unharmed. Aware of this, it was vital to practice everything that was prohibited in combat sports so as not to be victims of attacks considered illegal in the rings and cages.

3. The trial by fire is combat without cooperation and without rules. And the solution wasn’t sparring or tournaments. Testing skills by provoking fights in the streets, in addition to being suicidal (see the murders of pro fighters), is legally a crime and a sample of cowardly behavior and a fragile psyche. Fortunately, I had discovered an exercise in pairs capable of teaching fighting realistically while minimizing the risk of serious injuries among my students.

4. Primitive martial techniques were born from the Hunter Mentality. A hunter or huntress takes no prisoners. The prey must be tracked, ambushed and killed for food. This original mentality evolved until it was consolidated into a warrior ethic. Here we return to the theme of courage. The only instinct stronger than fear is hunger. Those ancient hunter-gatherers took advantage of abundant hunting seasons to consume and store as many calories as they would need during periods of scarcity, preparing for the next hunting season, and so on. Since the advent of machines and rapid food processing and distribution, most of humanity has numbed this genetic memory, with disastrous results for individual and collective health and safety. Therefore, a new self-protection methodology should stimulate and awaken this natural human talent, and have universal application, without depending on brute strength or the high level of physical conditioning of elite athletes.

Armed with all these elements collected over more than three decades of investigating the sources of martial arts and training with “martial realists”, I was finally able to bring them together into a cohesive system of acquiring martial skills for men and women of various ages.

The IMOTO METHOD is the first self-defense system in which you acquire the “language” of courage to fight for your life. You didn’t learn your mother tongue by studying grammar and memorizing the entire dictionary. It was through coexistence with your family and friends that you acquired the ability to understand the message of everything they said and showed you. And this was the “secret” of the Grand Masters that no one had paid due attention to: to acquire the language of courage they were progressively exposed to the language of violence until they were able to decipher it and neutralize it before it escalated and it was too late. Everyone who has achieved the highest level of martial arts has suffered violence firsthand and had the good fortune to survive to learn from their mistakes and successes. The technologies we inherited from them are available to us to be practiced, absorbed and refined.

In the end, you will also discover that… THE BODY IS THE REAL WEAPON!
It’s always about you and your body.
How you see yourself and, as a consequence, how you see the rest of the world.
The body rules everything. That’s where it all starts.
What can you get it to do, get it to bear. How fast can you be. How accurate. And quiet, strong, flexible and controlled. It is the only tool that is always at your disposal, no matter where you go, the only weapon that is never discovered when passing through customs, that is never surprised by a more attentive security guard, by a smarter police officer. It is at the center of all your actions, and you need to trust it entirely.
The body.
It’s just what you need.
And, of course, the courage to use it for your own benefit and that of others.
All of this, as in any activity, requires complete kinetic and, consequently, cognitive re-education. This martial re-education I called “IMOTO METHOD”.

Recognizing patterns of danger is important, although not sufficient, and weapons, strategies, and tactics are merely tools of the trade. Similar to Chess, which I consider one of the most powerful martial disciplines of the mind, dexterously moving every single part of the body is equivalent to making the best moves. Remember that on the real world chessboard there will be no opportunity to resign the game in which you, the King, are under threat of “checkmate”… Therefore, as an ancient Japanese swordsman explained, train to be able to anticipate the enemy and draw all your swords.

Only training sessions that “REPEAT WITHOUT REPEATING” and that recruit every fiber of your being fulfill this mission.

“Men are being sought for a dangerous excursion, with low pay, intense cold, long months in complete darkness, constant danger, uncertain return; honor and recognition in case of success.”

— Message posted in the London Times in 1912 by Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton seeking volunteers for an expedition to the South Pole. The following morning, five thousand men volunteered for that trip.

There are no more unknown continents to explore and attract adventurers. But gaining mastery over yourself is much more important than stepping on the top of Everest. This will be the reward of training in the IMOTO METHOD: the FREEDOM to walk without irrational fears.
This article is for warriors and I don’t care if strangers can understand me or not.
I know YOU will.