Can You Take A Punch?

A 5-foot-9, 150-pound man finds himself surrounded by two menacing-looking, 6-4, 250-pound men on a dark, quiet Dubuque street. They're not here to discuss the weather.

Statistics show the overmatched man has about two seconds to react before he becomes a victim. Despite the apparent no-win scenario, Ingo Weigel says the man does have a chance to defend himself. Movement is everything.

At this moment, the endangered man might be thinking, "What would Ralph Macchio do?" But forget Karate Kid moves. They won't work here.

"The attacker on the street is always stronger," Weigel says. "Someone weaker than you won't attack you. It doesn't happen. A karate move won't work in real life because the person is stronger. The whole thing happens before you know it. Anyone who has been attacked will agree with this. We call this the Two-Second Rule."

Weigel should know. He was once in the 150-pound man's shoes while growing up on mean streets in his native Germany.

The Chicago-based martial arts instructor developed Revat, a Mixed Martial Arts self-defense system he says can repel any attacker, no matter what the situation.

"We designed it for exactly those situations," Weigel said. "The worstcase scenario is what Revat is for. Anybody can learn it. Even a 5-foot woman can stand and protect herself."

That's a sweeping claim, but Weigel says Revat, which is based on an ancient Chinese martial art he says was kept secret for hundreds of years, is the most reliable program in a physical altercation. It focuses on fighting distances and putting potential victims in positions where they can avoid hard when attacked and quickly respond.

Everybody has the necessary reflexes to repel an attack, Weigel says. He says society has forgotten how to use them.

"We have reflex training," Weigel said. "We train the nervous system to react in a split second. Everybody knows what to do when they (encounter something hot), pull the hand back. When it comes to self defense, we have to be able to react the same way. As human beings, we all have those reflexes. Over the past several centuries, we've neglected them. Living in a civilized society, we feel we don't need them. But as we've seen the last several months, people still get attacked."

Weigel, an average-sized 5-9, says he escaped the wrath of teenage bullies in Germany. He moved to the United States 10 years ago and noticed "there wasn't any good quality training in self defense." He started a self defense center in Chicago.

Weigel's students, including those trained in martial arts, say Revat is a legit self defense system.

"I hold a black belt in karate, but the close-quarters fighting focus of Revat has given me a higher level of confidence to defend myself," a student named Daniel says in a Revat press release. "He has taken my understanding of the martial arts to a higher level. Not only do I feel confident to handle myself in any confrontation, but the mental aspects of Revat help me succeed at work and in life."

Weigel also promotes Revat as a successful fighting form for MMA fighters. He bills it as a "toolbox of highly effective techniques, training and education on the physical and mental level." He says many MMA fighters don't properly mix their arts, like kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling.

"The novice mixed martial arts fighter may think, 'I can take the best from every martial art and mix them together, then I can't be beat," Weigel said. "It doesn't work like that. They mix certain things together that don't work together. If you have a Porsche and you put the engine from a Pontiac in it, it's not a Porsche anymore. (Revat) is one discipline that allows you to protect yourself against any martial art, no matter what it is. The program should enable you to protect yourself against any possible attack in any possible situation at any time. That makes you a well-rounded fighter."