Photo: Bruno Orozco León
Bruno Orozco León has been following the martial path for twenty-seven years. The former bodyguard and security adviser is now an experienced martial artist and philosopher, the founder of CMBTVS Self Protection System. He shared with The History Avenue his thoughts on martial arts, history, war, writing…
THA: Your biography states that you are a self-defense master. Is there a historical figure, warrior, or war master you admire? Do you have any wisdom from the old martial arts masters or samurai?
I use that adjective to express a title, but for me, self-defense is not only an ensemble of techniques to survive a violent attack, it is a way of life. The martial path expresses or shows itself in different manners and ways. Everything that I teach has as its base, Budō. Budō is the Japanese “Way of War” that also, of course, incorporates the spiritual path.
I have 27 years of experience as a Theravada Meditator under Burmese Buddhism, and also have studied Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy, Reiki, and traditional Chinese medicine. I enjoy reading on sociology and philosophy as well. For me, this is a complete path of knowledge.
THA: And from your experience? Would you like to share something important you have learned through the ages? Some wisdom, perhaps?
Over the long years of routine and training, I discovered that discipline, effort, and constant curiosity to know more about nearly everything is the key to happiness.
More Wisdom Instead of More Violence
Bruno was trained in a paramilitary squad for three years. But, as he says, that experience led him to the conclusion that we need more wisdom instead of more violence. And historical and political knowledge is the key to avoiding ”political anger.”
THA: Your biography also says that you gained military experience in 1993. How has that experience influenced your later career in self-defense?
I was trained in a paramilitary squad for three years. After that, I came to the conclusion that we need fewer armies and more wisdom. The tactical field tends to be very reductionist without any understanding of the underlying causes of violence. It is just purely reactive in relation to something that could be avoided. Every war is the result of stupidity.
THA: Regarding your experience thirty years ago, what do you think were the most problematic things in certain political regimes?
We live in a polarized society where critical thinking has been lost. Nowadays everybody thinks they know about politics without actually knowing any historical and/or real political knowledge. This is a shame because this ”political anger” will lead to nowhere and future generations will suffer because of it. But, not everything is necessarily hopeless, because at the same time we see people (not the majority sadly) that are making some important changes for the benefit of all and that, hopefully, will awaken others to do the same.
Self-defense: The Art of Thinking and Survival
From simple fighting for your life, self-defense has developed into something more complex. Today it includes minds, emotions and survival in different fields of the human experience, says Bruno, who also wrote two books on martial wisdom and self-defense.
THA: How important is it to learn self-defense skills today? Do you think it’s more important than it was 30 or 40 years ago?
It is very important to learn basic skills to be able to deal with different violent scenarios and these days more vital than ever because modern society is very fluid with more intense and chaotic dynamics. This has changed concepts and ideas of self-defense dramatically.
Humanity has endured a lot of violence from the very beginning. In fact, the history of civilizations is similarly the history of violence. And, human beings often needed to use violence to survive different situations.
The main difference now is that there is a more complex and varied spectrum of violence where the use of force cannot always be the primary solution. I believe we are under constant attack. However, here, I’m referring to our minds, emotions, and ways to sustain our families, and so on. And, defending that is a far more complex proposition than just using force against an aggressor to defend your body.
So, self-defense now, is not just about knowing how to fight for your life, it is also about knowing how to think. To survive in different fields of the human experience. A martial path may help you to achieve that.
THA: You also wrote two books. What inspired or motivated you the most to write them? Would you like to share something interesting from some of them, or both?
The first book is an attempt at recovering martial wisdom and concatenate that with martial practice. The result was very satisfactory, not only for martial arts practitioners but also for non-practitioners as well.
The second one was about a very practical aspect of self-defense but with more profound tactical knowledge related and associated with the technical training.
In the end both books teach that ignorance is the base of fear, and fear is the base of violence.
