Viam Chao

Viam Chao (Latin "Way of Chaos") is a self-defense and fighting system developed by Daniel Donche Jr to supplement Loricism (a philosophy of "internal martial arts") that derived from a combination of techniques sourced from Boxing, Catch Wrestling, Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and other street fighting techniques. It is similar in spirit to Krav Maga.

Viam Chao has a strong focus on aggression, strategy, practicality, and efficiency. The name, which means "Way of Chaos" in Latin (Latin to match Loricism naming conventions), is intended to highlight the core principle, which is to disrupt an opponent's strategy with psychology, pain, confusion, etc. Another essential component of the system is "concept over memorization." The approach is to teach concepts and ingrain them into practitioners so there is no forgetting in the heat of the moment.

Similar to Krav Maga, Viam Chao has a philosophy emphasizing aggression (predator-prey swap), simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers (disruption of intent through pain), misinformation and confusion (feints, fakes). It strives to be effective throughout all ranges of combat (far, mid, close) and in a variety of situations.

Self-Defense for the Body
Viam Chao was formulated to supplement Loricism, which is a self-defense system/philosophy for the mind. As such, Loricism is built into Viam Chao (see Ranking System). Loricism espouses a full-spectrum approach to self-protection:
 * Physical Self-defense - Viam Chao or other martial art/combatives system
 * Mental Self-defense - logic, reason, rhetoric, and psychology
 * Spiritual Self-defense - defense against attacks from ourselves (negative beliefs and attitudes)

Divergences
One of the most common (and reasonable) questions about Viam Chao is on how it differs from other styles of martial arts. Most of the differences are in concept, the key being that of strategy infused into the techniques. In terms of style or technical aspects, it is very lax compared to other styles. For example, it doesn't matter which way the fist is aligned (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). The things that don't matter don't matter. Another noticeable divergence is that sometimes the ball of the foot is a striking surface for the side kick (but the heel is still preferred). This is not seen in other systems. It is this way because there is "no reason for it not to be an option."