Dan Webre of Outlaw Fighting Systems has been a constant source of ideas and encouragement for The Martialist.  His input is greatly appreciated.  Dan's company, Outlaw Fighting Systems, is becoming more prominent as Dan expands his online activities and prepares to release the first of what he sees as a series of instructional videos.  Previously, Dan released a videotape through TRS.

How old are you?  Where do you live and work?

I'm 32 years old.  I live mostly in New Orleans.  I don't actually have a "real job," as most people think of it -- most of my income is what I'd call "passive."  I have hobbies other than teaching.

How long have you run Outlaw Fighting Systems?  Why did you decide to start your own company?

I've run Outlaw Fighting Systems for about three years.  I started it because I read some article by an "expert" who was teaching things that would get people fucking mutilated if they tried them.  I didn't know shit about the industry... I guess I was just pissed, so I said, "Fuck it."  

If people that don't know anything are called "experts," I figured knowing something from experience would matter.  What I learned, though, was that for a lot of people it doesn't.  Fantasy is easier on the mind than the reality of violence.

What is your martial arts background?

Wing Tsun.  It was good, but very informal.  I learned from a neighbor when I was younger.  I taught myself the rest from older Wing Tsun books.  My real "martial arts background" comes from the streets, though -- from real fights with real people.

What do you see as the biggest problems in the self-defense industry today?

The politics are very childish -- and rampant.  I'm extremely expensive, but if I didn't earn shit from this, I would be just fine.  With others, what they teach is their meal ticket.  That affects how they see what they do.

What's being taught is another big problem.  A lot of people teach things that just will not work.  A lot of violence must be committed by the same guy with one long lunging arm, because a hell of a lot of guys base their work on one-armed attackers who won't do or use anything else.  This is especially true when it comes to weapons.  The "experts" say they teach from experience.  If that's true, they were lucky to run into such highly unskilled violent bad guys.

Whose work in the industry do you like most?

I like Emin Boztepe.  I'm learning to really like Carl Cestari and Kelly Mcann, too.  Most of the people I truly respect aren't in the industry.  Some others are Yip Chun, Michael Tse.  There are a lot of others whose work I like, but I don't find their politics humorous, so fuck 'em.

Dan, meditating in Las Vegas.

What are the principles of Outlaw Fighting Systems?

Hit first, hit fast, hit furiously, and don't stop until they're incapacitated or -- if the situation dictates -- you have killed them several times.  I don't believe in technique per say.  I believe that principles plus concepts equal technique times imagination.

What I mean by that is this:  If I were to show you a certain technique  to strike the throat, and it was blocked, you would be fucked.  But if I teach you to understand the principle and the concept of taking someone's breath, then you could easily bend your elbow and convert the failed technique into a blow to the throat.  That way, nothing is wasted and your goal is accomplished -- which was the whole fucking point to begin with.

Some have said this is a "jailhouse fighting sytem," and the imagery on your TRS tape seems to play to that.  This isn't true, is it?

I do not teach a jailhouse fighting system.  There really isn't any such animal.  Yes, I went to prison once, but not for long enough to bitch about.

As for TRS, marketing is just that.  We don't write our own ads.  I will say this, however -- if you say you're a Navy SeAL, or something, they don't just take your word for it.  The funny thing is that people who hate their ads own their tapes.

The TRS tape shows some techniques that are effective and that I do use.  The tape I am going to release soon, though, takes the whole system step by step in an entirely different way.  It will give the viewer a whole different picture.  

For what did you go to prison?  How long were you there?

That's not something I'm going to go into.  I'm not trying to come off all, "I don't want to talk about it" like some tough guy -- it just isn't worth getting into.  I got in trouble as a kid a few times, mostly gang-type shit, and then I got in trouble again as an adult.  I got sent back twice for violations after that.  Why dwell on it?  That's behind me.

What are your long-term goals for Outlaw Fighting Systems?

My long-term goal is to give the whole thing away.  I have to find people who can really do it, though, and that ain't easy.  I have some up-and-comers.  I don't need the money or the bullshit.

If I'm interested in training in OFS, where and how do I begin?

If you're interested in training, I hope you saved for a rainy day.  I value my time dearly.  Time away from my little girl or my own training is going to cost you. [laughs]

To get started, just visit my website and e-mail me.  If I have the time I'lld do it.  Oh, and don't waste your time sending me hate mail -- that shit is screened by someone else.  I do read the really funny ones, though, but that is rare.  I have too many productive things to do with my time.

You kind of sound like you have an attitude, Dan.

Hey, if I come off like I'm an asshole, well... to a certain extent, I am one.  It does not invalidate what I teach.  What I teach works.  Your morals and how you use what you learn is your business.  I'm a fucking fighter, not a role model. 

Sure, people have used what I teach in real life.  They've avoided some real bad shit doing it -- but they're the ones who accomplished it, not me.