Mr Charles Nelson was THE original pioneer of civilian self defense. a lot of his material was based on WW2 combatives which he learned from Dermot O'Neill who was a close combat instructor under WE Fairbairn for the OSS. Charlie also trained with Col. Anthony Drexel Biddle, another close combat pioneer. Not to mention he had actual combat experience on top of numerous other violent encounters. He did not own a McDojo and teach people a bunch of mechanical, unproven and unrealistic techniques.
are there any clips of Mongolian wrestling as it was used for self defence in its purist form? I am trying to find the original or as close to it as possible for historical purposes.
I will putting up some of my classes I took with Mr. Nelson over the next few weeks. Anyone who wants to come for classes or wants info on Seminars can e-mail me at rspiegel@cnsds.com. I have many of Charles former student come in for classes. Real street self defense training is critical with crime and violence out of control. As Charlie used to say "When the chips are down you aren going to be doing any fancy stepping" . I recommend anyone serious about training stop in for a free class
Part 13: Charlie often referred to Taichi (Taiji) as ineffective but that was because he never met anybody who could really use it. There are many whose postures look great but they cant use it. I have met a few who can: William Chen, Robert W. Smith, Pin Yin Li - Li lives in Fair Lawn now and teaches at the Montville HS Sunday chinese w/e school, Wolfe Lowenthal, and Herman Kauz. And Allen Pittman can use his Bagua and Xing-yi quite persuasively.
Part 12: until he goes down and you are absolutely convinced he can’t get up until he has spent some time in the hospital, take the knife away if you can, poke him with it if you can, and THEN RUN. Note that Charlie was very aware of the law that you can’t shoot somebody in the back nor can you stab them in the back or shoot or stab them after they are subdued. So use your best judgment to achieve what you want without getting arrested. I'm not speaking for Charlie here. Some of this is mho.
Part 11: until you are positive he wont get up again, break the arm or tear it out of the shoulder socket and THEN RUN. And if he has a knife, quickly and suddenly without warning move away from the knife as you grab and control the wrist/hand holding the knife and then kick hard, knock him around, hit the throat, and keep hitting him hard in every soft spot he has
Part 10: with it quickly, continuously and repeatedly until you are positively convinced they cannot get up. This isn’t the movies where we go easy on people so they can get up and have another whack at us. And if there isn’t anything around to pick up, then block that punch, grab a wrist, kick the knee, hit the throat, chop the arm/elbow, bring his wrist around into charlie's chicken wing, slam him to the ground (and hopefully into something real hard) and slam him again several times
Part 9: him credit and even fewer have any appreciation for what he represented. Most people are highly impressed with taekwondo (charlie used to call it "take your dough") kicks but those guys are pretty useless in a sudden fight situation (the ones that can’t be avoided because there is little warning) whereas charlie's stuff with a little practice could solve the very few problems you may ever run into. But the best advice: first run and if you can’t run, pick up something and hit them
Part 8: (I dont know the guys real first name and saying "tiger" or maybe being "tiger" just seems a little childish) used to hang out at charlie's studio back in the late 70s early 80s while he was at brooklyn law. I've seen some of schulman's students demonstrate a defensive move against a front choke and it looks suspiciously like a Nelson technique (and also like a hsing-i move) but I doubt schulman would ever give charlie any credit. Many have passed thru his studio but few give
Part 7: I had kept in touch with him and his daughter carol occasionally after he moved out there. Bob Speigel has charlie's system down cold and can certainly pass it on. He had charlie's blessing on that as far as I can recall. Bob may also be selling his videos and his "red" book but I dont know. But nobody will ever replace charlie nelson. Charlie used to mention that tiger schulman
Part 6: He had to remake the videos at one point as he made the mistake of sending out his originals instead of copies. He was a little shaky at the end with parkinsons but was always on top of his game self-defense-wise. He moved with his wife alice out to arkansas in Feb 1998 to be near his daughter and son in the Little Rock area. Subsequently his health failed, he ended up in a wheelchair from which he still taught his moves and then passed away Dec 10, 2003.
Part 5: Btw, he lived upstairs from his school (on the north side of 72nd midway between Columbus and Amterdam) in a little apartment. Everybody trained in their street clothes and shoes as how silly is it to wear a uniform and practice in bare feet because what are the chances you will mugged while wearing your gi on the subway. Charlie was the real deal, no frills, no muss, no fuss. I still have all my little business cards where he would record my attendance on plus all the videos.
Part 4: He was constantly reading the paper to see how people were being mugged so he could figure out how to counter it. He was a true and natural master who lived and breathed this stuff and even at this advanced age (he was in his late 70s, early 80s here) could put down pretty much anybody. Dont just watch his hands, watch his footwork because he always emphasized that, turning the feet and shifting the weight (which is very much in tune with chinese boxing).
Part 3: I have to assume that Kelly (if he even existed) got it from Paddy (Dermot) O'Neill or Fairbairn or Sykes but we'll never know. Fairbairn was in Shanghai and picked up some Bagua (pakua) and Xing-yi (Hsing-i) from the locals and he, with a bunch of other guys, trimmed it down to a few basic moves specifically to teach to the marines to fight and kill the japs. But Charlie was unique and from his humble beginnings and what he learned from "Kelly" developed his techniques himself.
Part2 : Behind the sheet in the video was his desk (which was a mess) with the entrance to the bathroom that was also a mess. He had a strange air-conditioner setup that ran a hose into the toilet . He had a photo of himself on the wall behind the sheet (along with a ton of other stuff on the walls) when in the marines standing in front of a tent, probably his barracks at one time. He always claimed he learned the basics from a guy named Sgt Kelly while in the marines.
Part 1: Charlie was a great guy. I took classes from him (there were never more than 2 or 3 in a class so it was really one-on-one) in the late 90's for a few years. He still had several top students who were very tough and knew his stuff cold. Charlie didnt teach any self-defense while in the marines, he was a regular jarhead and fought on guadalcanal. He got out on a medical discharge possibly due to a stomach ailment. He may have been an E5 or E6 at the time.
I really do not know how many different ones he has out, but i just rented his video online from goldstarvideo and they should arrive anyday can't wait to see them
I trained with Charlie for almost one year in 1983- 4. I was a rookie NYPD officer at the time. I went on to work patrol in some of the worst neighborhoods in the city. Thankfully, I made it through 20 years without serious injury. Speaking from personal experience I found Charlie's techniques to have been quite helpfull. Thanks for posting the videos. They bring back fond memories of Charlie.
The original school in Manhattan has closed during the late 1990's. I found one of his students, Robert Spiegel, now teaches Charlie's techniques. Bob teaches up to Charlie's standards, and then some. See: his web site Charles Nelson's Self Defense Systems.
This is why I think Tai Chi is a good thing to start practising early in life. Look at this man! Shore he has some self defense knowlige but could he use it if someone really attack him? Not in that shape he wont! No chanse at all he can do that against some one stronger, bigger and younger than him. But Tai Chi will actually prevent this. Tai Chi will ceep you in good shape even when you are very old. Tai Chi= Grand ultimate fiist
What you are doing is presenting an overall, practical approach to total development. Self-defense is one thing, and actually, conditioning IS one advantage to marital arts training. But I agree with you about Tai Chi or any internal art, even though I've come to realize the importance of weight training or at least, body-weight exercise. I know they say, "you shouldn't use muscle in fighting". The ONLY 1s hu say that, HAVE muscle to use or not. When you LOSE it, u wish U HAD it back!
To tmiusa, sorry, I have never trained with Instructor Charles Nelson, nor do I know any of his students, I was a personal friend of Charles Nelson. I think his personal student may be running his website. Charles and I spent alot of time
discussing techniques I myself am a Wing Chun practitioner from the early 70's. I was introduce to Mr. Charles Nelson back in 1977 by one of his early students.
Charles, he's such a Great Man, he love the art. We use to stay up at times and talk for hours late at night about all kinds of stuff but we both love the arts and we exchange ideas and techniques had a great time I will always miss you my friend. Charles had ask me for a photo and he had hanged it on the wall for many years.
Took classes with Charlie about 15 years ago in New York for about a year and a half. My first visit he twisted me into the carpet like he does this guy. Charlie knew his shit.
I have hundreds of classes I took with Charlie right up until his death. I will posting them so his students and friends can continue to learn from the master.
Mr Charles Nelson was THE original pioneer of civilian self defense. a lot of his material was based on WW2 combatives which he learned from Dermot O'Neill who was a close combat instructor under WE Fairbairn for the OSS. Charlie also trained with Col. Anthony Drexel Biddle, another close combat pioneer. Not to mention he had actual combat experience on top of numerous other violent encounters. He did not own a McDojo and teach people a bunch of mechanical, unproven and unrealistic techniques.
ridgehand 8 months ago
are there any clips of Mongolian wrestling as it was used for self defence in its purist form? I am trying to find the original or as close to it as possible for historical purposes.
jmikejapan 1 year ago
I will putting up some of my classes I took with Mr. Nelson over the next few weeks. Anyone who wants to come for classes or wants info on Seminars can e-mail me at rspiegel@cnsds.com. I have many of Charles former student come in for classes. Real street self defense training is critical with crime and violence out of control. As Charlie used to say "When the chips are down you aren going to be doing any fancy stepping" . I recommend anyone serious about training stop in for a free class
CharlesNelsonSDS 1 year ago
Part 13: Charlie often referred to Taichi (Taiji) as ineffective but that was because he never met anybody who could really use it. There are many whose postures look great but they cant use it. I have met a few who can: William Chen, Robert W. Smith, Pin Yin Li - Li lives in Fair Lawn now and teaches at the Montville HS Sunday chinese w/e school, Wolfe Lowenthal, and Herman Kauz. And Allen Pittman can use his Bagua and Xing-yi quite persuasively.
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 12: until he goes down and you are absolutely convinced he can’t get up until he has spent some time in the hospital, take the knife away if you can, poke him with it if you can, and THEN RUN. Note that Charlie was very aware of the law that you can’t shoot somebody in the back nor can you stab them in the back or shoot or stab them after they are subdued. So use your best judgment to achieve what you want without getting arrested. I'm not speaking for Charlie here. Some of this is mho.
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 11: until you are positive he wont get up again, break the arm or tear it out of the shoulder socket and THEN RUN. And if he has a knife, quickly and suddenly without warning move away from the knife as you grab and control the wrist/hand holding the knife and then kick hard, knock him around, hit the throat, and keep hitting him hard in every soft spot he has
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 10: with it quickly, continuously and repeatedly until you are positively convinced they cannot get up. This isn’t the movies where we go easy on people so they can get up and have another whack at us. And if there isn’t anything around to pick up, then block that punch, grab a wrist, kick the knee, hit the throat, chop the arm/elbow, bring his wrist around into charlie's chicken wing, slam him to the ground (and hopefully into something real hard) and slam him again several times
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 9: him credit and even fewer have any appreciation for what he represented. Most people are highly impressed with taekwondo (charlie used to call it "take your dough") kicks but those guys are pretty useless in a sudden fight situation (the ones that can’t be avoided because there is little warning) whereas charlie's stuff with a little practice could solve the very few problems you may ever run into. But the best advice: first run and if you can’t run, pick up something and hit them
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 8: (I dont know the guys real first name and saying "tiger" or maybe being "tiger" just seems a little childish) used to hang out at charlie's studio back in the late 70s early 80s while he was at brooklyn law. I've seen some of schulman's students demonstrate a defensive move against a front choke and it looks suspiciously like a Nelson technique (and also like a hsing-i move) but I doubt schulman would ever give charlie any credit. Many have passed thru his studio but few give
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 7: I had kept in touch with him and his daughter carol occasionally after he moved out there. Bob Speigel has charlie's system down cold and can certainly pass it on. He had charlie's blessing on that as far as I can recall. Bob may also be selling his videos and his "red" book but I dont know. But nobody will ever replace charlie nelson. Charlie used to mention that tiger schulman
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 6: He had to remake the videos at one point as he made the mistake of sending out his originals instead of copies. He was a little shaky at the end with parkinsons but was always on top of his game self-defense-wise. He moved with his wife alice out to arkansas in Feb 1998 to be near his daughter and son in the Little Rock area. Subsequently his health failed, he ended up in a wheelchair from which he still taught his moves and then passed away Dec 10, 2003.
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 5: Btw, he lived upstairs from his school (on the north side of 72nd midway between Columbus and Amterdam) in a little apartment. Everybody trained in their street clothes and shoes as how silly is it to wear a uniform and practice in bare feet because what are the chances you will mugged while wearing your gi on the subway. Charlie was the real deal, no frills, no muss, no fuss. I still have all my little business cards where he would record my attendance on plus all the videos.
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 4: He was constantly reading the paper to see how people were being mugged so he could figure out how to counter it. He was a true and natural master who lived and breathed this stuff and even at this advanced age (he was in his late 70s, early 80s here) could put down pretty much anybody. Dont just watch his hands, watch his footwork because he always emphasized that, turning the feet and shifting the weight (which is very much in tune with chinese boxing).
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 3: I have to assume that Kelly (if he even existed) got it from Paddy (Dermot) O'Neill or Fairbairn or Sykes but we'll never know. Fairbairn was in Shanghai and picked up some Bagua (pakua) and Xing-yi (Hsing-i) from the locals and he, with a bunch of other guys, trimmed it down to a few basic moves specifically to teach to the marines to fight and kill the japs. But Charlie was unique and from his humble beginnings and what he learned from "Kelly" developed his techniques himself.
toms1197 1 year ago
Part2 : Behind the sheet in the video was his desk (which was a mess) with the entrance to the bathroom that was also a mess. He had a strange air-conditioner setup that ran a hose into the toilet . He had a photo of himself on the wall behind the sheet (along with a ton of other stuff on the walls) when in the marines standing in front of a tent, probably his barracks at one time. He always claimed he learned the basics from a guy named Sgt Kelly while in the marines.
toms1197 1 year ago
Part 1: Charlie was a great guy. I took classes from him (there were never more than 2 or 3 in a class so it was really one-on-one) in the late 90's for a few years. He still had several top students who were very tough and knew his stuff cold. Charlie didnt teach any self-defense while in the marines, he was a regular jarhead and fought on guadalcanal. He got out on a medical discharge possibly due to a stomach ailment. He may have been an E5 or E6 at the time.
toms1197 1 year ago
I really do not know how many different ones he has out, but i just rented his video online from goldstarvideo and they should arrive anyday can't wait to see them
chloebear2006 2 years ago
Charles is good stuff I have alot of respect for him! What videos of him would your recommend and where could I find them?
BusterBoy5555 2 years ago
awesome... chin na fa...
sausaage123 2 years ago
I trained with Charlie for almost one year in 1983- 4. I was a rookie NYPD officer at the time. I went on to work patrol in some of the worst neighborhoods in the city. Thankfully, I made it through 20 years without serious injury. Speaking from personal experience I found Charlie's techniques to have been quite helpfull. Thanks for posting the videos. They bring back fond memories of Charlie.
louvin44 2 years ago
How's His school doing? Im sorry to hear he passed. I hope the school is still teaching up to Charles Standards
Mider999 2 years ago
The original school in Manhattan has closed during the late 1990's. I found one of his students, Robert Spiegel, now teaches Charlie's techniques. Bob teaches up to Charlie's standards, and then some. See: his web site Charles Nelson's Self Defense Systems.
louvin44 2 years ago
This is why I think Tai Chi is a good thing to start practising early in life. Look at this man! Shore he has some self defense knowlige but could he use it if someone really attack him? Not in that shape he wont! No chanse at all he can do that against some one stronger, bigger and younger than him. But Tai Chi will actually prevent this. Tai Chi will ceep you in good shape even when you are very old. Tai Chi= Grand ultimate fiist
80KungFu 2 years ago
What you are doing is presenting an overall, practical approach to total development. Self-defense is one thing, and actually, conditioning IS one advantage to marital arts training. But I agree with you about Tai Chi or any internal art, even though I've come to realize the importance of weight training or at least, body-weight exercise. I know they say, "you shouldn't use muscle in fighting". The ONLY 1s hu say that, HAVE muscle to use or not. When you LOSE it, u wish U HAD it back!
Soulblackman 2 years ago
meu deus, esse cara ja era!!!
familiavogado 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
this old man dont know shit
matt357 2 years ago
fuck you
neptune26 2 years ago
Actually, he is my grandfather, and he studied all his life and taught for 50 years. Former Combat Instructor for the Marines.
southernrocker04 2 years ago
This old man don't know shit? "This old man" had more unarmed-combat knowledge in his "shit" than you have in your entire body.
nevetsbond 2 years ago
He was a hand-to-hand combat instructor for the USMC before WWII and fought at Guadalcanal.
KillerSalmon 2 years ago
To tmiusa, sorry, I have never trained with Instructor Charles Nelson, nor do I know any of his students, I was a personal friend of Charles Nelson. I think his personal student may be running his website. Charles and I spent alot of time
discussing techniques I myself am a Wing Chun practitioner from the early 70's. I was introduce to Mr. Charles Nelson back in 1977 by one of his early students.
LASVEGASNYC 3 years ago
Thank you for posting these lessons - Charles Nelson is a real legend.
ArchiveGhost 3 years ago
Charles, he's such a Great Man, he love the art. We use to stay up at times and talk for hours late at night about all kinds of stuff but we both love the arts and we exchange ideas and techniques had a great time I will always miss you my friend. Charles had ask me for a photo and he had hanged it on the wall for many years.
Thanks for many years of friendship.
Steve L., NYC
LASVEGASNYC 3 years ago
Comment removed
tmiusa 3 years ago
I trained with Charlie in New York 0 years ago. Thanks for posting the videos. I now can sho my kids who Charlie was RIP.
cpo122455 3 years ago
wonderland.. hahah
samurai184 3 years ago
Wow, all I have to do is stomp on the back of somebodies leg and that will cripple them?
amsbjj 4 years ago
thank you CNSDS its great to see charles nelson he was a great man...
blutobelushi 4 years ago
Took classes with Charlie about 15 years ago in New York for about a year and a half. My first visit he twisted me into the carpet like he does this guy. Charlie knew his shit.
joba606 4 years ago
Thanks for posting all these Charles Nelson videos.
readmedottext 4 years ago
I have hundreds of classes I took with Charlie right up until his death. I will posting them so his students and friends can continue to learn from the master.
bphillips5326 4 years ago