Politics & Social Issues | Matt Thornton'

“Freedom of the mind requires not only, or not even specially, the absence of legal constraints but the presence of alternative thoughts. The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities. The liberally educated person is one who is able to resist the easy and preferred answers, not because he is obstinate but because he knows others worthy of consideration.” – Allan Bloom

When Jill Stein calls for a crackdown on “oppressive comedians”, we all understand that she’s not talking about the ones who skewer conservatives, don’t we?

Aren’t we all unsurprised when supporters of Black Lives Matter, who rail against systemic racism they find inherent in the system, openly chant for the murder of police officers?

Does it ever really shock us when we read racist and classist vitriol, posted by progressives, in the comment section of a photo on Facebook showing a Trump rally audience?

And honestly – does anyone really expect any Republican shill, whether it’s Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or the millions of other dime-a-dozen ideological parrots, to ever mention the 22 million e-mails deleted by an administration that was responsible for some of the worst foreign policy decisions in American history, in the same breath as “Hillary Clinton”?

I hope not.

As many of you know, for the last four years I’ve been working on a book about violence, self-defense, and Martial Arts.

For the first time publicly, on this podcast, I go over my book’s general thesis for dealing with violence, which goes under the acronym M.I.N.D.

Rather than detailing it again here, I’d encourage you to listen to it in totality, here: Matt’s Oct 2016 Violence Interview Podcast,

Topics covered include:

– Developing a healthy relationship to violence.

– Addressing the “street versus sport” fallacy.

– The use of “boy-speak” in RBSD.

-Why it isn’t the conclusion, but the method used to arrive at the conclusion, that matters most.

– The importance of meritocracy and competition.

– Aliveness and the epistemology of functional martial arts.

– What separates SBG from many other organizations.

– What all SBG coaches have in common.

– What defines a fundamental – that which is most important.

– Is violence getting worse, or is it becoming less frequent?

– The problem with pacifism.

– The role combat sports can play in working through issues related to violence – even at a meta level.

– The importance of critical thinking – and the 3 step process used to teach it.

– What kills most Americans – prioritizing threats.

– Why manners betray your class.

– Appropriate Response Training – A.R.T.

– Why a lack of maturity is the #1 problem as it relates to the majority of violence in the western world.

– The importance of out of wedlock birthrates as it relates to predicting violent crime rates.

– The truth about what is often labeled a “gun problem” in the USA.

– Why poverty doesn’t explain the majority of violent crime.

– Defining maturity.

– The role pre-frontal cortex damage plays in low impulse control.

– The vital role fathers play in reducing violent crime rates.

– Race and crime in the United States.

– The #1 killer of under 35 African American males.

– Why the scary stranger in the alley isn’t your biggest threat.

– What is a Character Disordered Individual – CDO?

– Teaching kids to deal with bullies.

– The distinction in tactics between boy and girl bullies.

– Developing skill in assertiveness and banter.

– Primal Instincts/ Primal Knowledge.

– Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for fighting and self-defense.

– Training striking for self-defense, the healthy way (updating software and not damaging the hardware)

– My thoughts on Krav Maga, and other similar “RBSD” arts.

– Dealing with multiple attackers.

– The importance of physical fitness.

– Do American police have an excessive force problem?

– Why don’t police officers get additional training?

– The speed at which violence occurs.

– The difference between MMA and self-defense.

– Detailing the M.I.N.D. method.

– The single most important thing, as far as staying safe.

– The root cause of most violent crime in America.

You’ll also find mention of my coach, Chris Haueter; as well as Rickson Gracie, Paul Sharp, William April, John Kavanagh, Karl Tanswell, Adam Singer, Ray Price, Conor McGregor, and SBG as a whole.

Again, listen to the full interview here: Matt’s Oct 2016 Violence Interview Podcast,

And if you enjoy it or find it useful, please feel free to share it.