Contemporary Fighting Arts (CFA) is a state-of-the-art offensive-based combat system that is specifically designed for real-world self-defense. CFA is the most sophisticated and pragmatic martial art taught in America because it's designed to provide you - the potential victim - with the most efficient methods possible to avoid, defuse, confront and neutralize both armed and unarmed criminal assailants and to accomplish these acts in the safest manner possible. Unlike other martial arts, Contemporary Fighting Arts dispenses with the extraneous and the impractical and focuses on real-life fighting.

Contemporary Fighting Arts is the culmination of years of research, analysis, experimentation, methodical innovation and real life combat experience from Sammy Franco. Its physical foundation is predicated on stylistic integration. Stylistic integration is the scientific collection of specific elements from various disciplines, which are strategically integrated and dramatically altered to meet three essential criteria for "reality based" self-defense: efficiency, effectiveness, and safety.

Efficiency means the techniques and tactics permit the self-defense practitioner to reach his objective quickly and economically. Effectiveness means that the elements of the system will produce a specific desired effect. Finally, safety means that the combative elements provide the least amount of danger and risk for the practitioner.

Contemporary Fighting Arts is not about tournaments or competition. It does not practice forms (katas) or any other obsolete rituals. There are no fancy leaping kicks or hip punches. It does not adhere blindly to tradition for tradition's sake. Contemporary Fighting Arts™ permits no delusions about criminal violence. It is not romanticized or mystified. Unlike most martial art system and styles, CFA's singular focus is on providing a practical means to deal with real-life criminal violence. It is not a hobby or sport. It is about getting you home alive and in one piece!

Many of its innovative "street survival" techniques, tactics and principles are unique to Mr. Franco's system of combat. Contemporary Fighting Arts™ draws upon the knowledge and wisdom of numerous other sciences and disciplines, including police and military science, criminal justice, criminology, sociology, human psychology, philosophy, histrionics, physics, kinesics, proxemics, kinesiology, emergency medicine, crisis management, and human anatomy. As a result, Contemporary Fighting Arts is the most complete system of self-defense that can adapt to anyone or anything.

Contemporary Fighting Arts has significantly enhanced the combative readiness of many law enforcement and military officers. Some include the US Border Patrol, Rhodesian Army Commandos, members of the US Secret Service, US Special Forces, Washington DC Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Montgomery County Deputy Sheriffs, US Library of Congress police, NIH police, Baltimore County police, security guards, private investigators, surgeons, lawyers, college professors, airline pilots, and private investigators, as well as mixed martial artists, jujitsu fighters, black belts, boxers, and kick boxers from many different styles and systems. CFA's broad appeal results from its no-nonsense approach.

Contemporary Fighting Arts is a private fellowship. Unlike most "cookie cutter" martial art schools, you cannot find us in a strip mall or shopping center. Each and every student is taught solely by Mr. Franco. This ensures absolute quality control. It is essential to mention that the knowledge and skills acquired through Contemporary Fighting Arts are dangerous. Studying this lethal combat system involves tremendous personal and social responsibility. Each and every student must adhere to the highest moral and social values. As a result, Contemporary Fighting Arts reserves the sole right to refuse to teach any person who has a felony conviction or record of mental instability.

HOW DID CONTEMPORARY FIGHTING ARTS GET ITS NAME?

Before discussing the specific elements that make up the Contemporary Fighting Arts (CFA) system, it is important to explain how CFA acquired its name. The first word, "Contemporary," was selected because it refers to the system's modern, state-of-the-art orientation. Unlike traditional martial arts, CFA is specifically designed to meet the challenges of our modern world.

The second word, "Fighting," was chosen because it accurately described CFA's combat orientation. After all, why not just call it Contemporary Martial Arts? There are two reasons for this. First, the word "martial" conjures up images of traditional martial art forms that are antithetical to the system. Second, why dilute a perfectly functional name when the word "fighting" defines the system so succinctly? After all, Contemporary Fighting Arts is about teaching people how to really fight.

Let's look at the third and final word, "Arts." In the subjective sense, "art" refers to the combat skills that are acquired through arduous study, practice, and observation. The bottom line is that effective self-defense skills will require consistent practice and attention. Take, for example, something as seemingly basic as a kick, which will actually require hundreds of hours of practice to perfect. The pluralization of the word "Art" reflects CFA's multifaceted instruction. The various components of CFA's training (i.e., de-escalation tactics, firearms training, stick fighting, ground fighting, and so on) have all truly earned their status as individual art forms and, as such, require years of consistent study and practice to master. To acquire a greater understanding of CFA, you need an overview of the system's three vital components: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.

THE PHYSICAL COMPONENT
The physical component of Contemporary Fighting Arts focuses on the physical development of a warrior, including physical fitness, weapon and technique mastery, and self-defense attributes.

Physical Fitness
If you are going to prevail in a street fight, you must be physically fit. It's that simple. In fact, you will never master the tools and skills of combat unless you're in excellent physical shape. On the average, you will have to spend more than an hour a day to achieve maximum fitness.

In CFA physical fitness comprises the following three broad components: cardiorespiratory conditioning, muscular/skeletal conditioning, and proper body composition. The cardiorespiratory system includes the heart, lungs, and circulatory system, which undergo tremendous stress during the course of a street fight. So you're going to have to run, jog, bike, swim, or skip rope to develop sound cardiorespiratory conditioning. Each aerobic workout should last a minimum of 30 minutes and be performed at least four times per week.

The second component of physical fitness is muscular/skeletal conditioning. In the streets, the strong survive and the rest go to the morgue. To strengthen your bones and muscles to withstand the rigors of a real fight, your program must include progressive resistance (weight training) and calisthenics. You will also need a stretching program designed to loosen up every muscle group. You can't kick, punch, ground fight, or otherwise execute the necessary body mechanics if you're "tight" or inflexible. Stretching on a regular basis will also increase the muscles' range of motion, improve circulation, reduce the possibility of injury, and relieve daily stress.

The final component of physical fitness is proper body composition: simply, the ratio of fat to lean body tissue. Your diet and training regimen will affect your level or percentage of body fat significantly. A sensible and consistent exercise program accompanied by a healthy and balanced diet will facilitate proper body composition. Don't neglect this important aspect of physical fitness. (For more information see our book, War Machine: How to Transform Yourself into a Vicious and Deadly Streetfighter.)

Weapon and Technique Mastery
You won't stand a chance against a vicious assailant if you don't master the weapons and tools of fighting. In CFA, we teach our students both armed and unarmed methods of combat. Unarmed fighting requires that you master a complete arsenal of natural body weapons and techniques. In conjunction, you must also learn the various stances, hand positionings, footwork, body mechanics, defensive structure, locks, chokes, and various holds. Keep in mind that something as simple as a basic punch will actually require hundreds of hours to perfect. (For more information see our DVDS, Armed to the Teeth (Volume1) and Armed to the Teeth (Volume 2)

Unlike most self-defense systems, Contemporary Fighting Arts teaches the art and science of the preemptive attack called "First Strike." This effective fighting strategy and methodology is based on proven principles and is a vital component of street combat superiority. We teach our students how to assess a dangerous situation, determine if a reasonable threat exists to justify a preemptive strike, ghosting, secondary strikes skills, the offensive flow, target exploitation, reaction dynamic probabilities as well as the legal and moral ramifications of any preemptive strike. (For more information see our book, First Strike: Mastering the Preemptive Strike for Street Combat.)

Range proficiency is another important aspect of weapon and technique mastery. Briefly, range proficiency is the ability to fight effectively in all three ranges of unarmed fighting. Although punching range tools are emphasized in CFA, kicking and grappling ranges cannot be neglected. Our kicking range tools consist of deceptive and powerful low-line kicks. Grappling range tools include head-butts, elbows, knees, foot stomps, biting, tearing, gouging, and crushing tactics.

Although CFA focuses on striking, we also teach our students a myriad of chokes, locks, and holds that can be used in a ground fight. While such grappling range techniques are not the most efficient methods of dealing with a ground fighting situation, they must be studied for the following six reasons: (1) level of force (2) nature of the beast, (3) occupational requirement, (4) subduing a friend or relative, (5) anatomical orientation, and (6) refutation requirement. (For more information see our DVD, Ground Fighting in the Streets)

Defensive tools and skills are also taught. Our defensive structure is efficient, uncomplicated, and impenetrable. It provides the fighter maximum protection while allowing complete freedom of choice for acquiring offensive control. Our defensive structure is based on distance, parrying, blocking, evading, mobility, and stance structure. Simplicity is always the key. (For more information see our DVD, Defend or Die: Defensive Skills for Street Fighting.)

CFA's weapons program is uniques to say the least. Our Students are also instructed in specific methods of armed fighting. For example, sticks and bludgeons are ubiquitous tools and are often used in a street fight. This is exactly why Contemporary Fighting Arts places a strong emphasis on "practical" stick combat. Stick-fighting proficiency can be performed with either one or two weapons and will provide the following benefits for any self-defense technician: (1) improved confidence, (2) increased speed, (3) more powerful empty hand blows, (4) minimized telegraphic movements, (5) improved eye-hand coordination, (6) improved ability to adapt to unpredictable angles of attack, (7) reinforced good habits, (8) refined and enhanced mobility, (9) sharpened sense of timing; (10) learned range specificity and (11) reinforced target recognition. (For more information see our DVD, Street Stick Fighting.)

In Contemporary Fighting Arts we have a "beast" of a knife fighting curriculum called War Blade Program. This intense program is designed to teach the law abiding citizen how to use a tactical folding knife when faced with immediate threat of unlawful deadly criminal attack. Most people don't realize that a tactical fighting folder is an awesome self-defense weapon. In the hands of a well trained citizen, a good knife will neutralize a vicious criminal attacker within seconds!

CFA also provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date instruction about firearms as used for personal and household protection. We provide specific guidelines for handgun purchasing, operation, nomenclature, proper caliber, shooting fundamentals, cleaning, and safe storage. Our firearm program also focuses on owner responsibility, the legal ramifications regarding the use of deadly force, and above all else...safety! We also have a variety of advanced firearm courses that cover a broad scope of topics.

Combat Attributes
Your offensive and defensive tools are useless unless they are used strategically. For any tool or technique to be effective in a real fight, it must be accompanied by specific attributes. Attributes are qualities that enhance a particular tool, technique, or maneuver. Some examples include speed, power, timing, coordination, accuracy, non telegraphic movement, balance, and target orientation.

CFA also has a wide variety of training drills and methodologies designed to develop and sharpen these combat attributes. For example, our students learn to ground fight while blindfolded, spar with one arm tied down, and fight while handcuffed. Reality is the key. For example, in class students participate in full-contact exercises against fully padded assailants, and real weapon disarms are rehearsed and analyzed in a variety of dangerous scenarios. Students also train with a large variety of equipment, including heavy bags, double-end bags, uppercut bags, pummel bags, focus mitts, striking shields, mirrors, rattan sticks, foam and plastic bats, kicking pads, chalkable knives, trigger-sensitive (mock) guns, boxing and digit gloves, full-body armor, and hundreds of different environmental props. (For more information see our DVD, Use it or Lose it: Equipment Training for Reality Based Self-Defense.)

There are more than 200 unique training methodologies used in CFA. Each one is scientifically designed to prepare students for the hard-core realities of combat. There are also three specific training methodologies used to develop and sharpen the fundamental attributes and skills of armed and unarmed fighting, including proficiency training, conditioning training, and street training.

Proficiency training can be used for both armed and unarmed skills. When conducted properly, proficiency training develops speed, power, accuracy, non telegraphic movement, balance, and general psychomotor skill. The training objective is to sharpen one specific body weapon, maneuver, or technique at a time by executing it over and over for a prescribed number of repetitions. Each time the technique or maneuver is executed with "clean" form at various speeds. Movements are also performed with the eyes closed to develop a kinesthetic "feel" for the action. Proficiency training can be accomplished through the use of various types of equipment, including the heavy bag, double-end bag, focus mitts, training knives, real and mock pistols, striking shields, shin and knee guards, foam and plastic bats, mannequin heads, and so on.

Conditioning training develops endurance, fluidity, rhythm, distancing, timing, speed, footwork, and balance. In most cases, this type of training requires the student to deliver a variety of fighting combinations for three- or four-minute rounds separated by 30-second breaks. Like proficiency training, this type of training can also be performed at various speeds. A good workout consists of at least five rounds. Conditioning training can be performed on the bags with full-contact sparring gear, rubber training knives, focus mitts, kicking shields, and shin guards, or against imaginary assailants in shadow fighting. Conditioning training is not necessarily limited to just three- or four-minute rounds. For example, CFA's ground fighting training can last as long as 30 minutes. The bottom line is that it all depends on what you are training for.

Street training is the final preparation for the real thing. Since many violent altercations are explosive, lasting an average of 20 seconds, you must prepare for this possible scenario. This means delivering explosive and powerful compound attacks with vicious intent for approximately 20 seconds, resting one minute, and then repeating the process. Street training prepares you for the stress and immediate fatigue of a real fight. It also develops speed, power, explosiveness, target selection and recognition, timing, footwork, pacing, and breath control. You should practice this methodology in different lighting, on different terrains, and in different environmental settings. You can use different types of training equipment as well. For example, you can prepare yourself for multiple assailants by having your training partners attack you with focus mitts from a variety of angles, ranges, and target postures. For 20 seconds, go after them with vicious low-line kicks, powerful punches, and devastating strikes.

When all is said and done, the physical component creates a warrior who is physically fit and armed with a lethal arsenal of tools, techniques, and weapons that can be deployed with destructive results.

THE MENTAL COMPONENT

The mental component of CFA focuses on the cerebral aspects of a fighter, developing killer instinct, strategic/tactical awareness, analysis and integration skills, philosophy, and cognitive skills.

The Killer Instinct
Deep within each of us is a cold and deadly primal power known as the "killer instinct." The killer instinct is a vicious combat mentality that surges to your consciousness and turns you into a fierce fighter who is free of fear, anger, and apprehension. If you want to survive the horrifying dynamics of real criminal violence, you must cultivate and utilize this instinctive killer mentality.

There are 14 unique characteristics of CFA's killer instinct. They are as follows: (1) lucid thinking, (2) heightened situational awareness, (3) adrenaline surge, (4) mobilized body, (5) psychomotor control, (6) absence of distraction, (7) unified mind, (8) courage, (9) tactical implementation, (10) lack of emotion, (11) breath control, (12) pseudospeciation, (13) viciousness (14) pain tolerance.

In CFA we strive to tap the killer instinct in everyone. Visualization and crisis rehearsal are just two techniques used to develop, refine, and channel this extraordinary source of strength and energy so that it can be used to its full potential. (For more information, see Killer Instinct.)

Strategic/Tactical Awareness
Strategy is the bedrock of preparedness. In CFA, there are three unique categories of strategic awareness that will diminish the likelihood of criminal victimization. They are criminal awareness, situational awareness, and self-awareness. When developed, these essential skills prepare you to assess a wide variety of threats instantaneously and accurately. Once you've made a proper threat assessment, you will be able to choose one of the following five self-defense options: comply, escape, de-escalate, assert, or fight back. (For more information see our book, When Seconds Count: Everyone's Guide to Self-Defense.)

CFA also teaches students to assess a variety of other important factors, including the assailant's demeanor, intent, range, and positioning and weapon capability, as well as such environmental issues as escape routes, barriers, terrain, and makeshift weaponry. In addition to assessment skills, CFA also teaches students how to enhance perception and observation skills.

Analysis and Integration Skills

The analytical process is intricately linked to understanding how to defend yourself in any threatening situation. If you want to be the best, every aspect of fighting and personal protection must be dissected. Every strategy, tactic, movement, and concept must be broken down to its atomic parts. The three planes (physical, mental, spiritual) of self-defense must be unified scientifically through arduous practice and constant exploration. CFA's most advanced practitioners have sound insight and understanding of a wide range of sciences and disciplines. They include human anatomy, kinesiology, criminal justice, sociology, kinesics, proxemics, combat physics, emergency medicine, crisis management, histrionics, police and military science, the psychology of aggression, and the role of archetypes.

Analytical exercises are also a regular part of CFA training. For example, we conduct problem-solving sessions involving particular assailants attacking in defined environments. We move hypothetical attackers through various ranges to provide insight into tactical solutions. We scrutinize different methods of attack for their general utility in combat. We also discuss the legal ramifications of self-defense on a frequent basis.

In addition to problem-solving sessions, students are slowly exposed to concepts of integration and modification. Oral and written examinations are given to measure intellectual accomplishment. Unlike traditional systems, CFA does not use colored belts or sashes to identify the students level of proficiency. (For more information see our book, 1001 Street Fighting Secrets: The Principles of Contemporary Fighting Arts)

Philosophy
Philosophical resolution is essential to a fighter's mental confidence and clarity. Anyone learning the art of war must find the ultimate answers to questions concerning the use of violence in defense of himself or others. To advance to the highest levels of combat awareness, you must find clear and lucid answers to such provocative questions as could you take the life of another, what are your fears, who are you, why are you interested in studying Contemporary Fighting Arts, and what is good and what is evil? If you haven't begun the quest to formulate these important questions and answers, then take a break. It's time to figure out just why you want to know the laws and rules of combat.

Cognitive Skills
Cognitive exercises are also important for improving one's fighting skills. CFA uses visualization and crisis rehearsal scenarios to improve general body mechanics, tools and techniques, and maneuvers, as well as tactic selection. Mental clarity, concentration, and emotional control are also developed to enhance one's ability to call upon the controlled killer instinct. Meditation is a practical method of developing patience, internal calm, stress reduction, self-awareness, and control over involuntary muscular and related biochemical processes.

THE SPIRITUAL COMPONENT
There are many tough fighters out there. In fact, they reside in every town in every country. However, most are nothing more than vicious animals who lack self-mastery. And self-mastery is what separates the true warrior from the eternal novice. I am not referring to religious precepts or beliefs when I speak of CFA's spiritual component. Unlike most martial arts, CFA does not merge religion into its spiritual aspect. Religion is a very personal and private matter and should never, ever be incorporated into any fighting system.

CFA's spiritual component is not something that is taught or studied. Rather, it is that which transcends the physical and mental aspects of being and reality. There is a deeper part of each of us that is a tremendous source of truth and accomplishment.

In CFA, the spiritual component is something that is slowly and progressively acquired. During the challenging quest of combat training, one begins to tap the higher qualities of human nature, those elements of our being that inherently enable us to know right from wrong and good from evil. As we slowly develop this aspect of our total self, we begin to strengthen qualities profoundly important to the "truth." Such qualities are essential to your growth through the mastery of inner peace, the clarity of your "vision," and your recognition of universal truths.

One of the goals of my system is to promote virtue and moral responsibility in people who have extreme capacities for physical and mental destructiveness. The spiritual component of fighting is truly the most difficult aspect of personal growth. Yet unlike the physical component, where the practitioner's abilities will be limited to some degree by genetics and other natural factors, the spiritual component of combat offers unlimited potential for growth and development. In the final analysis, CFA's spiritual component poses the greatest challenges for the student. It is an open-ended plane of unlimited advancement.

To obtain a greater understanding of Sammy Franco's Contemporary Fighting Arts, please refer to any of the official CFA products available for sale on this web site.