Why the name "DARK GIFT COMBAT?"
The 3 Categories of Martial Arts
"How does Dark Gift Combat differ from other schools?"
The "Tao of D.G.C." - Our Dojo and Training Philosophies
"Are you bad mouthing traditional martial art and M.M.A.? My traditional martial art is self-defense and reality-based too!"

"First, I want to let you know that there is a lot of information on this page about our school and what we believe. As a result, I will be stepping on some toes, and in some cases, SMASHING them. I do not do this to be disrespectful. I'm JUST TELLING THE TRUTH as I see it and have experienced it in my life's journey. With that being said, there are traditional schools out there that claim to have a complete martial arts system that is Reality-Based. Well... let's see..."
- Mr. Traylor

"In the long history of HUMANITY, the instinct to follow and imitate seems to be inherent in most PEOPLE, TEACHERS, and students alike." -Bruce Lee


D.G.C. was established in Southern California in 1993 in the city of RANCHO CUCAMONG and is now available for classes here in HOUSTON, TEXAS. Even though D.G.C. is not intended for sport MMA, Mr. Traylor has also been associated with KING OF THE CAGE. He not only trained some of the fighters but trained with them to sharpen his skills in the cage.

The word "DARK" represents the DARKEST part of Humanity, the meanest part of human nature, the wiliness to inflict bodily harm on a anther without remorse. A street punk, thug, or criminal does not care about you or your family. It also representsTHE UNKNOWN and FEAR.

The words "GIFT" and "COMBAT" represent the "gift" to combat those things listed above.

Any citizen who leaves the safety of themselves or their family in the hands of any organization, including your local police department, is in for trouble. We all need to take responsibility for our own well-being. This world we live in is getting MEANER by the day. Please take care of yourself and your family, NO ONE ELSE WILL!

The 3 Categories of Martial Arts

"When the mind is tethered to a center, naturally it is not FREE; it can move only within the LIMITS of that center." -Bruce Lee.

1. TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS - Traditional martial arts contain every style from traditional Karate, Hapkido, Kenpo, Escrima, Aikido, and kung fu, to the countless other cultural traditional martial arts that have been developed throughout history. Some traditional martial arts systems originate from military combat experience and self defense needs for people. These systems have been tested and proven under realistic conditions back in the 500 CE era, when they FOUGHT with HONOR, but has not been PROVEN in MODEREN DAY. Things have changed in this world we live in but, none the less, all of these arets are fun to do, help get you into shape, instill discipline, and are great for kids. They can all be very interesting and provide an education in world culture and martial arts theory. However, no cultural fighting art has any proof of dominant effectiveness in the modern world. That means that Aikido, Karate,Tae-Kwon-Do, Kung Fu, and countless other cultural traditional martial arts, even including Israel's "Krav Maga", are not proven effective in combat or street application. Nor does it even classify as proven effective in combative sport such as U.F.C. and cage fighting. So, without an abundance of proof, it is only martial theory, not fact. Even with their pretty forms, they have no place in self protection. Don’t get me wrong, all of these styles can POSSIBLY help you out of a tough jam because a scientific way of combat is better than NO way of combat. However, traditional martial arts instructors give there student a false sense of security. Traditional martial arts DO NOT TEACH the necessary reality-Based Scenarios or resistance training in order to prepare you for the stress of a real life situation.
   
   
2. MIXED MARTIAL ARTS & COMBATIVE SPORT - M.M.A. & Combative Sports include Olympic judo, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, all forms of wrestling, western boxing, and M.M.A., which has been popularized by events such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In combative sport, you are forced to prove the effectiveness of your methods and skill in live combat. There is no guesswork nor debate. It either works and you win, or it doesn't work and you lose. Everybody in the world saw Combat Sport Brazilian Jiu-jujitsu stylist Royce Gracie easily pick apart the cultural fighting art practitioners in the first few Ultimate Fighting Championships. If you watch Olympic Judo, you'll see the highest caliber athletes in the world competing in a sport that is symbolic of combat in that the entire basis is to establish a dominant position. Combative Sport is a very, very important component of testing the validity and effectiveness of a martial art. HOWEVER, it too is not reality-based martial arts or combat driven. It is only a training and conditioning method for self-defense. Combative sport is what you use to train yourself to make sure that your self-defense works under sport conditions. A great example is, simply, that that the rules, regulations, and referees that are required in combative sport are NOT going to be there when someone is trying mug you, rape you, trying to hurt a family member, or trying to kill you in a dark alley. Therefore, NO, even today's most popular training methods: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, etc. are not methods of reality-based martial arts either.
   
   
3. REALITY-BASED - The definition of the term "Reality-Based" is, training and survival skills based on modern conflict situations that the practitioner is likely to encounter in their environment (their "reality").
   
   Sounds simple right? The real issue is that there are a million-and-one different ways you can be attacked. Everything from a drunk tackling you at the local bar to an armed mugging on your way home from work, a carjacking, or being caught in the middle of a military or terrorist operation. Therefore, Reality-Based Martial Arts have one purpose, and one purpose only; To survive. What we mean is that no sane person, soldiers, professional fighters, or trained martial artists truly want to hurt or kill a human being. But when it comes to bodily injury or a "kill or be killed" situation, your natural survival instinct WILL take over and do whatever it can to save your life so you can go home to your family. Learning to properly defend yourself is much more than just avoiding injury, humiliation, or even death. Our greatest enemy of all is : Fear & Incorrect Training. There IS no 100% answer to anything, but when it comes to matters of bodily injury, life and death, or protecting loved ones, the smart thing to do is stack the odds in your favor.
   
   

1. In short, we are reality based, combat scenario driven training program:
   
   

   • Unlike traditional martial arts, our methods do not take years to master.
   • Unlike sport MMA, we don't train for points, tapouts, or "by the rules." We train with reality, for reality.
   • We teach modern weapon offensive tactics, not just defense.
   • Our proven track record of training various military, government, law enforcement, and private security organizations.

   Dark Gift Combat is FIRST and Foremost a Reality-Based Training / Martial Arts studio. We are a combat-scenario driven training program but offer a wide variety of Martial arts classes from the novice wanting to train or just get into shape to the expert combat instructor or martial arts master. Everything we do at D.G.C. is based on real world techniques of combat and personal safety. Training that you can use in your everyday life. While some martial arts programs teach techniques that would rarely be encountered or used in real life situations, our martial arts programs at D.G.C. are street-wise and completely reality based. Our programs are based on successfully integrating numerous styles of martial arts into one cohesive system. This system has proven very successful in defending oneself against single and multiple attackers, both armed and unarmed. This system is used by navy SEAL team 6 and numerous law enforcement and military forces around the WORLD!! Take a look at the wide variety of programs we offer:
   

   • D.G.C.F.S. (Dark Gift Combat Fighting System) Reality Based Martial Arts and Self Defense Program
   • Primal
   • A.R.C. (Action Reaction Contiuum)
   • A.R.S.T. (Action Reaction Stress Training)
   • Chaos
   • A.C.T. (Accelerated Combative Training)
   • V.E.D.S. (Violent Encounter Defense System)
   • R.A.T. (Rapid Assault Tactics)
   • R.E.A.C.T. (Rapid Endurance Assertive Combative Training)
   • Women's Street Self-defense (Reality-Based)
   • Cardio Kickboxing
     

   A.R.S.T., A.C.T., V.E.D.S., R.A.T., and R.E.A.C.T. are all taught in our Womens Street Defense as well as our D.G.C.F.S. Reality Based program, or can be taught as individual modules for private lessons. Dark Gift Combat Fighting System offers quick combative skills that can be applied quickly and effectively from the beginning to the advanced student and will help enhance whatever style you study.

2. "You fight the way you train... and you train the way you fight."
   Reality Based and Environmental Training is what D.G.C. is all about !! The techniques were developed to be simple and extremely effective. They are based on your gross motor movements that the human body naturally reverts to in a panic induced state, such as fighting for your life. These are known as "Self-Preservation Skills." Many of these skills are so effective and dangerous to an attacker they have been outlawed by full-contact combative sports like UFC. Due to their integration with your gross motor skills, you will master them in no time and will be able to walk with confidence. There are no flashy or fancy movements and all techniques are quick and to the point!
   
   We also do not "spar" in the traditional sense. At D.G.C. Typical sparring usually involves putting two students of relatively equal skill up against one another where they pick there shots and engage in a strategic, but yet controlled, match. There are rules in place and each opponent uses controlled strikes. This does not train the body nor the mind in the same duress and/or intenstiy that one would encounter on the street or on the battlefield. Without training the mind properly, the body will not react the way it was trained when fear sets in and adrenaline surges through the body. Not even UFC style MMA cage fighting prepares you for this. Even thought the natural "nervousness" of combative competition may set in, the athletes are not afraid for their lives, they are protected by rules, and there is a referee there to moderate and protect the fighters. This is not a theory, it is a proven physiological fact. At DGC, we've replaced traditional sparring with reality based, fight/combat scenario training we call A.R.C. (Action Reaction Continuum), which is listed in our programs below. This system is designed to force students to react and fight in the same reactive and stress induced way just as they would be in real life and not the safety of the studio or a sporting event. Broken rhythm, "non choreographed" movement, and real-time action is essential for reality based training!
   
   
3. We train in all four fanges of combat - KICKING, BOXING, TRAPPING and GRAPPLING
   D.G.C.F.S. teaches the FOUR RANGES of combat as well as the FOUR WEAPONS of combat. These weapons, or a varition of these weapons, are the most prevalent in modern world and are what you are most likely to encounter in todays societies. We not only train how to defend against the weapons, but how to use them as well so that you know how to use it in the event you disarm your attacker. Otherwise, that weapon becomes a liability to you.
   
   The Four Weapons of Combat:
   
   

   • BODY - This relates to all forms of unarmed hand-to-hand combat.
     
     
   • STICK - All forms of sticks and staffs or anything that may resemble these. (Escrima stick, hanbo, broom stick, pool cue, crowbar, baseball bat, axe handle, plunger handle, etc.)
     
     
   • KNIFE - All forms of edged weapons. (Kitchen knives, daggers, folders, pocket knives, broken glass, jagged metal, hunting knives, combat/tactical knives, etc.)
     
     
   • GUN - All forms of handguns, rifles, and assult rifles and sub-machine guns.

   Some examples of how you will use these weapons in the FOUR RANGES OF COMBAT are: “Hand vs. Hand” “Hand vs. Knife” “Hand vs. Stick” “Hand vs. Gun Threats” gun, rifle. As well as counter training, such as knife counter gun , gun counter gun , ect...
   

   The Four Ranges of Combat:
   

   • KICKING RANGE - Almost all altercations start at a distance. We consider this kicking range or probing. In this range, you can deliver strong, powerful kicks just as in TAE-KWON-DO, MUAY THAI, SAVATE, PANANJAKMAN ect... In this range, your kicks can go low-line, which means kicks to the legs, or high-line, which means rib high or head high. Our methods of kicking are very unique. Most Martial Arts teach you to kick only in the stand up but we do more than that. If you are not much for kicking, then the probing kicks are for you!! Meaning, your kicks will be low to the legs but just to set you up for your hands. From here, you transition to BOXING RANGE.
     
     
   • BOXING RANGE - In this range, you will use boxing techniques to facilitate close quarter combat such as JABS, HOOKS ,UPPER CUTS, and CROSSES. You can also use MUAY THAI ELBOW STRIKES & KNEE STRIKES, as well destruction techniques to the fist and body, including head butts, which brings us to the TRAPPING RANGE.
     
     
   • TRAPPING RANGE - In this range of combat, you will facilitate JEET KUNE DO, HUBUD, and KALI trapping as well as HEAD BUTTS, MUAY THAI ELBOW STRIKES & KNEE STRIKES to the thigh or ribs. All of these techniques are very quick and effective. In CLOSE QUARTER COMBAT a lot of people think all you can do is PUNCH!! BOY ARE THEY WRONG!! If you have been paying attention, you would have noticed the TRANSITION from one range to the next. How fluid these changes are become vitally IMPORTANT. In the trapping range, the transition to AIKIDO, JUDO, and CHINESE FAST WRESTLING is very smooth. The throws and locks are from the stand up position. You do not have to go to the ground, which brings us to the GRAPPLING RANGE.
     
     
   • GRAPPLING RANGE - D.G.C.F.S. GROUND SURVIVAL - The ground is the last place you want to find yourself in a street fight, because you compromise mobility. However, should you end up there, D.G.C.F.S. Ground Survival teaches you how to deal with a ground attack. Remember, "The ground is not your friend.” D.G.C.F.S. will show how to properly strike and kick from the ground as well as use B.J.J. (Brazillian Jui-Jitsu), SAMBO, CHINESE FAST WRESTLING, JUDO, and AIKIDO as well as techniques on how to protect against weapons attacks. (Weapons can be incorporated at all 4 ranges of combat.)

   
   

1. "Cry in the Dojo, Laugh on the Battlefield"
   We do not train for ego and we do not train to look for trouble. If you have a sincere desire to defend yourself in a real situation, you'll have to sacrifice your ego, put aside the pride we hold so dear, and present yourself to someone who will teach and test you for the street. Look for someone who is willing to, at the very least, separate the art from the application. The art of the technique is not in how pretty the lines or circles are. The art is in the free use of the technique. The art is the science and psychology of aggression and physics, of leverage and kinetics, and not the "mysticism" in the so-called advanced levels.
   
   An instructor who never gets dirty and avoids fighting you because he's afraid to hurt you is useless. The fact is, many instructors are often just scared of being humiliated in front of a full class of "paying" students. Any good instructor knows they can always learn more, even from a student. A truly skilled martial artist never stands in front of another man expecting to learn nothing. "The investment in loss," (as Chen Man Ching speaks of) means that a loss is not a failure if you walk away from it with something besides the bruises. Without loss there are no skills, no learning, and no advancement.
   
   "You don't grow unless you go out of the confines of your own system/style...it is from the old we get security and the new that we get growth" - Dan Inosanto.
   
   
2. Walking Away
   Training in D.G.C., like any other art, begins and ends with "RESPECT." As Instructors, the student is looked upon as being there because they need to learn to defend themselves, NOT so that the Instructor can show off! Care and nurturing in the training is conducted so that the student does not develop a false sense of security. For students, they are there to learn, and show their respect to the Instructor by their diligent practice. D.G.C.F.S. enhances martial arts of all styles. Even If you have no previous martial arts training, that is ok. We will show you how to deal with almost any situation. However, that does not mean that you should go out and get into a fight! WALKING AWAY is always the best solution BUT when you can not, D.G.C WILL give you the tools to protect yourself and your loved ones! D.G.C. students develop their fighting skills in all ranges of combat from several feet away to close quarter combat to ground fighting. In a real street fight, you are going to rely on gross motor skills and effective techniques. D.G.C.F.S. is based on easy-to-learn techniques.
   
   The D.G.C.F.S. Program uses the gross motor Concept that will teach you the most cutting edge self defense techniques and brings you an innovative training regiment.
   
   
3. Rules Go Out The Window
   We established D.G.C. to help both the every day individual, as well as the military and law enforcement professional, with a practical and effective martial art and self defense system. D.G.C.F.S. is not a martial art as known in the Time-Honored "TRADTIONAL" way like Tae-Kwon-Do , Kung-Fu, etc. D.G.C.F.S. teaches a fighting system which emphases instinctive movements, practical techniques, and realistic training scenarios (no forms). We train to be effective in the street environment. As Martial Artists, some of us may have been trained to compete within the rules of competition. These rules, when faced on the STREET with a physical altercation, go straight out the window and are replaced by self-preservation and protecting our loved ones. D.G.C. does not teach forms or katas. D.G.C. students begin each lesson with the understanding that anyone can be a "victim or prey"!!
   
   During each class, regardless of what the training curriculum is for the day, there is an understanding that any Instructor may, at any time, "ATTACK THE STUDENT!!" (NOTE: At all times during your training, you have the option of training as intense or as careful as you wish. If you are uncomfortable with a high level of intensity to begin with, this will be repected. If you wish to train with more intensity, you will be matched with those that wish to do the same.) This type of training heightens the awareness of the student. The "ATTACKS" are done at different levels depending on the student's current level in training. Everything done in class is to teach the student "How to defend him or herself"! Once the instructor starts one of these attacks, the student must quickly again "CONTROL" of the situation and escape from the attacker OR escape by attacking. If the student has difficulty reacting to the attack the instructor, we will then work with the student and demonstrate how to escape from the type of attack or counter attack. This type of repetitive practice gives the student the ability to become a "ACTION/REACTION FIGHTER"
   
   "Bridging the Gap between the Citizen, the Military, the Police and the Martial Artist." - Hock's Motto
   

1. "First and foremost I am instructor and teacher." - For me not to inform you that your Traditional Martial Arts or M.M.A may not work in a real life situation would be carless of me. This is why I say what I say, and write what I write.
   
   
2. Here is where we stand on Traditional Martial Arts and M.M.A. - We respect all Martial Arts. All are advantageous to learn and train in, they have several health and spiritual benefits, they help get you into shape, they improve discipline, and they are great for kids. I, personally, love traditional martial arts and M.M.A. In fact, that is my back ground and it will always be. HOWEVER, there are Instructors out there that claim their style is a complete system. Beware of false claims. Make sure that their training will give you TRUE REALITY-BASED trainig that can save your life and protect your loved ones! Otherwise, RUN... They will get you hurt or killed! This not just my belief. Many others such as The Self Defense Company, Close Combat Comany, P.F.S., Jimmy Wagner, etc. all state the same thing.

   What we teach will enhance any art you already study. I do not intend to replace what you have learned. That is not the reason or purpose Of D.G.C.F.S. It is to give you additional tools for a street altercation and let you look outside of your style or system to enhance your fighting ability.
   So dont get mad at us.

3. Ask yourself...
   
   
   • Can you protect your family with traditional martial arts / M.M.A.? POSSIBLY
   • Can you protect yourself if a weapon is used, "knife, stick, gun? POSSIBLY
   • Can you protect yourself if you are stabbed or shot? POSSIBLY
   • Can you protect yourself if your strong arm or leg is hurt? POSSIBLY
   • Can you protect yourself if there are multiple attackers? POSSIBL
     
     
     
4. Is "Possibly" a good enough answer? - When the S#!$% HITS THE FAN and I have to protect my family, I do not want to depend on "POSSIBLY". I want training that helps me in all of those Categories. My life and my family’s lives maybe at stake. I want to be able to come home and be with the ones I love. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. My hope is that you NEVER have to fight for your life... but IF you do, wouldn't you want to have the cards stacked in your favor? HELL YES!

Dark Gift Combat will train you to handle almost any situation!

IF you want to know more, Go to our REALITY BASED PROGRAM.