This is a big one. 4 Hours of expert weapons defence instruction.
On Sunday 30 August 2009, Juggernaut MMA is hosting the World Renowned Ray Floro for a 2 hour seminar. He will be teaching from his flexible and improvised weapons syllabus. This is the stuff that will be in his next DVD, so see it first and learn why he is in demand the world over. Special forces from around the world use Rays stuff because it works and because it is easy to learn.
THEN, we have Rob Halijian. Rob is a 6th degree black belt in the filipino art of Doce Pares. He is a legend in the world of filipino martial arts and and expert instuctor. Rob H is going to be teaching us from the Doce Pares system, a system that is recognised as one of the best weapons systems in the world.
Finally, I will be doing a presentation on using a single defensive structure, in this case, what we call the "A" Frame (looks a lot like a basic cover). I will be showing how to use this basic structure against empty hand attacks, edged weapons and multiple attackers.
This will be 4 hours of martial arts instruction, focused on weapons defence. Opportunities to train in these systems at the one place, for a very cheap price, come rarely, so any one interested in learning to defend against weapons should do whatever it takes to get there.
Where: The function Room at the Marina Motel, Hastings Vic.
When: 10 am - 2 pm Sunday 30 August.
If you are interested, and who wouldnt be interested in learning to defend against weapons attacks, enquiries can be made by email or phone;
email: juggernautmma@netspace.net.au
Phone: 0421 146 952
Oh and as it is at a pub,we can retire after the event to discuss things over a cold beverage.
Cost: $50 Early Bird (prior to August 21)
or $60 on the Day.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Knife defence drill
Heres a short clip that helps to develop a number of skills, including;
- picking up someone reaching for a weapon within a grapple situation
- dealing with the sudden appearance of a blade/ edged weapon after a confrontation has started
- taking the back
I find this is a really usefull drill, that ends as do most of our SD drills and scenario's with our guys taking the back and using 'head control' to take the attacker to the ground.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Knife Defence - FFS Variation
Ok, this video is a basic knife defence against one of the two most likely knife (edged weapon)attacks, being either a stab to the stomach or a slash to the face. The video shows Darren (JSD Instructor) being attacked with a typical body stab, by Sam.
The defence he is using is a variation of the Floro Fighting Systems (FFS) knife defence for this situation. In this case he is using the Universal Shield to block/ stop the strike, deflecting or pushing the energy of the strike to the right, attacking the body (because its big, hard to miss and slower moving, as opposed to trying to catch a fast moving arm), then climbing the body to our head control position.
This technique comes from our level one syllabus.
Using the head control he takes Sam down to the ground, and controls the weapon bearing limb.
This defence blends elements from FFS and grappling as do many of our self defence concepts.
Next week I will try and put up a variation of this same attack and defence but in a multiple attacker situation. How will we do this? You will have to wait and see.
We have standing instructions that the attacker must continue to attack if he or she has the opportunity. In fact we believe this is a fundamental part of any real training and testing process.
The filming location is my home training gym.
The defence he is using is a variation of the Floro Fighting Systems (FFS) knife defence for this situation. In this case he is using the Universal Shield to block/ stop the strike, deflecting or pushing the energy of the strike to the right, attacking the body (because its big, hard to miss and slower moving, as opposed to trying to catch a fast moving arm), then climbing the body to our head control position.
This technique comes from our level one syllabus.
Using the head control he takes Sam down to the ground, and controls the weapon bearing limb.
This defence blends elements from FFS and grappling as do many of our self defence concepts.
Next week I will try and put up a variation of this same attack and defence but in a multiple attacker situation. How will we do this? You will have to wait and see.
We have standing instructions that the attacker must continue to attack if he or she has the opportunity. In fact we believe this is a fundamental part of any real training and testing process.
The filming location is my home training gym.
We are back / New Training Location
Its been a while since I last posted, for which I apologise to the people who do take the time to read this blog.
I had planned to put up a bit of video, till the camera went kaput. But its back and working so will get into putting up a few clips in the future.
Keeping that in mind, if any one wants to see how we deal with a particular self defence situation, please contact me via email or leave a message on the blog and I will put something down on video. Please keep it real, we havent quite figured out howto deal with alien abductionsyet, but we areworking on it.
Our first video will be a basic knife defence concept/ technique.
On another matter we have just moved location.
Our new training location is, 13 Latham St, Mornington. This is a fantastic full time set up, run by Sifu Joe Sayeh of Wing Chun Kung Fu. Sifu Joe has made us feel welcome and I thank him for that. There is a heap of space for our BJJ and MMA classes, and he even has a cage for us to train in. There are obviously a heap of Wing Chun classes run by Sifu Joe Sayeh as well.
So feel free to come and do a couple of free classes, or if you are just in the area, come by, say hello and join in if you have the time.
I had planned to put up a bit of video, till the camera went kaput. But its back and working so will get into putting up a few clips in the future.
Keeping that in mind, if any one wants to see how we deal with a particular self defence situation, please contact me via email or leave a message on the blog and I will put something down on video. Please keep it real, we havent quite figured out howto deal with alien abductionsyet, but we areworking on it.
Our first video will be a basic knife defence concept/ technique.
On another matter we have just moved location.
Our new training location is, 13 Latham St, Mornington. This is a fantastic full time set up, run by Sifu Joe Sayeh of Wing Chun Kung Fu. Sifu Joe has made us feel welcome and I thank him for that. There is a heap of space for our BJJ and MMA classes, and he even has a cage for us to train in. There are obviously a heap of Wing Chun classes run by Sifu Joe Sayeh as well.
So feel free to come and do a couple of free classes, or if you are just in the area, come by, say hello and join in if you have the time.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Ishinryu Seminar
Last Friday I did a seminar on Knife defence for the Ishinryu Karate guys at thier Mornington Dojo.
We had students and instructors from a number of the nearby Ishinryu clubs come along to learn the Floro Fighting Systems version of Knife defence.
The Ishinryu guys and girls were all extremelly friendly and keen to learn. This obviously makes it easier on the instructor (in this case me).
We started with the basic FFS universal shield, then applied that defensive structure to the two most common types of knife/ edged weapon attack, being an overhand slash/ stab and the stab / thrust to the body. The basic FFS follow up was practiced, then I showed a couple of variations where we move into a head control position similair to what is commonly known as the 'shredder'.
The same universal shield was then used to enable a quick escape from the dangerous situation of edged weapon attacks.
We then dealt with general defensive tactics, including some very basic verbal considerations, and the difference between threats vs actual attacks and the different options applicable to each.
The tactical options shown were well received and performed very well by all attending.
I would like to pass on my thanks for the enthusiastic reception and open minds of those attending, in particular to Tony Hester and Peter Hollowood who organised the seminar.
It was appreciated by myself and Darren my assistant instructor.
We had students and instructors from a number of the nearby Ishinryu clubs come along to learn the Floro Fighting Systems version of Knife defence.
The Ishinryu guys and girls were all extremelly friendly and keen to learn. This obviously makes it easier on the instructor (in this case me).
We started with the basic FFS universal shield, then applied that defensive structure to the two most common types of knife/ edged weapon attack, being an overhand slash/ stab and the stab / thrust to the body. The basic FFS follow up was practiced, then I showed a couple of variations where we move into a head control position similair to what is commonly known as the 'shredder'.
The same universal shield was then used to enable a quick escape from the dangerous situation of edged weapon attacks.
We then dealt with general defensive tactics, including some very basic verbal considerations, and the difference between threats vs actual attacks and the different options applicable to each.
The tactical options shown were well received and performed very well by all attending.
I would like to pass on my thanks for the enthusiastic reception and open minds of those attending, in particular to Tony Hester and Peter Hollowood who organised the seminar.
It was appreciated by myself and Darren my assistant instructor.
Late Congratulations
Been very slack lately sorry. Havent had much time to post here. Will try and remedey that.
First off though, I wanted to pass on some congratulations to 3 members of Team Juggernaut who competed at the recent AFBJJ Victorian State Titles.
All 3 walked away with medals in thier respective divisions/ weight classess. This is an exceptional result for eachof the persons involved.
So congratulations to:
Greg Probyn (silver medal)
Damien Liddell (Bronze Medal)
Lisa Richmond (Silver Medal)
I am sure that each of these talented and dedicated students will continue to grow and win more medals in the future.
First off though, I wanted to pass on some congratulations to 3 members of Team Juggernaut who competed at the recent AFBJJ Victorian State Titles.
All 3 walked away with medals in thier respective divisions/ weight classess. This is an exceptional result for eachof the persons involved.
So congratulations to:
Greg Probyn (silver medal)
Damien Liddell (Bronze Medal)
Lisa Richmond (Silver Medal)
I am sure that each of these talented and dedicated students will continue to grow and win more medals in the future.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Testing our Defences - Edged Weapon Solutions
We all train in martial arts for different reasons, but the underlying gaol and why everyone first starts is generally for self defence.
It’s late at night, the darkness is illuminated by a single light in the car park as you walk back to your car. Suddenly from behind another parked car a man emerges. He is dressed in black and has a hood covering his head and part of his face.
You watch him warily as he approaches. Feeling uncomfortable, you get your keys out as you were taught at that self defence course you did 2 years ago. The darkly clad man deliberately walks towards you, you are walking faster to your car now, as you go to open the door, he suddenly lunges at you pushing you into your car.
Remembering your training you throw your keys into his face, causing him to flinch away, suddenly he screams at you and hits you in the stomach. You are knocked back against your car. You start to fight back, he hits you in the stomach again, then he swings a punch at your face, it’s then that you suddenly see the light reflecting off the steel blade in his hands. Your brain now realises that you have probably been stabbed already, you instinctively raise your arms to protect your face, your adrenaline is in overdrive, you try to push your attacker away, he pushes you back against the car and tries to stab you again. You grab his hand, the hand with the knife. You struggle and wrestle, your arms are cut, the two of you are wrestling, you don’t recall falling to the ground, suddenly someone shouts in the distance, you barely hear it over the torment in your head, that’s screaming, this cant be happening, why me. Suddenly its over, the attacker has got up of you and run away.
You lie there as other voices start to register, ‘are you alright’ you hear. You go to say yes, when you look at your shaking hands, two of your fingers are missing and a third has fallen to the side, hanging by lose skin and tendon, there is blood all over your arms. You think to yourself, this can’t be happening.
This can’t happen to you, this cant be true. You trained in martial arts for 10 years.
Yes it can happen to you, this or something like it happens to hundreds of Australians every year. Has your training prepared you for this situation? You say yes. I have spoken to a lot of martial artists, from a variety of disciplines and styles, the majority are confident that firstly they can avoid this situation, and if need be a common reply is” I can look after myself” or “I know about 10 different ways to disarm someone with a knife”.
BUT, can you really?
How do you know?
Have you ever tested your responses?
Are your responses to dangerous to test?
If you have never tested your attack responses or if they are to dangerous to test, how do you know they will work?
Would you put your faith in an untested surgeon or dentist. Would you like to fly in the maiden flight of a plan that had never been tested. Untested physical responses to dangerous stimuli (situations) are just like getting on board a plane that has never been tested, it’s all theory and in many cases the theory may also be lacking in scientific grounding (ie. The plane was designed by an artist and not an engineer)
Would you rather fly in a really nice looking plane designed by an artist, or a functional looking plane designed by an engineer?
Unfortunately we as martial artists often put our faith in techniques that ’look good’ rather than are good.
This post is about how we can test our responses to dangerous situations. In particular, edged weapon attacks. Edged weapons are any thing that is sharp and or pointy that can be stuck into a persons flesh. This could be a screwdriver, broken bottle, knife or even a sword.
There are a number of things to consider when preparing your responses to an attack as described above, or in fact any edged weapon attack, these include:
Psychological responses and preparation
Physical attributes
Tactical responses
I prefer not to use the term ‘techniques’ when dealing with a life threatening situation. A technique implies a ready made solution to a problem. I like to think in terms of concepts and tactics. A concept allows for variance and is less inhibiting
What do I mean when I say have you tested your responses? No I don’t mean, go out and pick a fight in the street, or hang around near known trouble spots waiting for someone to attack or mug you. Although this is probably a great way to test your responses to edged weapon attacks (or any type of attack for that matter), problem is if it doesn’t work to well, it may be hard to work on finding a solution if you are in hospital or dead.
Testing your responses can be done in the gym or dojo.
How should you go about the testing process?
To do this I recommend breaking things down into sub sets.
Test the physical response.
Test the physical response under psychological duress.
Testing the physical response:
In the first instance you need to have a physical solution or solutions to the most common type of edged weapon attacks. In my opinion there are only really 3 common type of attack scenarios, the set up to the attack may vary, but the physical act is generally the same, these are;
Overhand stab (to the face, body, neck)
Overhand slash (to the face, body neck)
Horizontal or straight thrust to the body (generally the stomach area)
Now you need to pick a tactical response (technique if you like) to those types of attacks. Remember we are dealing with the type of edged weapon attack that is most likely to occur. Most people don’t need to worry about highly trained assassins trained as knife fighters, so let’s stick with the idea of the average thug with a sharp kitchen knife or a dirty blade stolen from the local disposals store.
In my opinion attack motions 1 & 2 are the same angle, this means that the physical motion used to affect the attack can and should be the same, so I would suggest that a single response to this physical motion would be desirable. Keep the options to a minimum, you have more time to train that option and you are more likely to effectively use that option in the moment of stress.
Now you have picked your favourite response from among the many you have most likely learnt if you have been dong martial arts for a while, how do you test it on the physical level? That’s the easy part.
You get someone to attack you with this motion, at 100% and you defend it using your chosen technique.
“But I can’t; I will seriously injure or kill my training partner”. This is a standard response I have heard numerous times when this course of action is suggested.
This is a problem, if the response is so deadly or dangerous that it can’t be tested, how do we know if it will work on the physical level, let alone on the psychological level when it’s tested under adrenal stress conditions.
This is where statistics come in again. (the first time is obviously when you train to deal with the attacks that are statistically most likely to occur).
You are going out to buy a used car, would you buy one before you test drove it. When buying a car it’s also common to get a comprehensive mechanics report, why do we do this, we want to know that the car works and that we are not getting duped. Would you trust the salesman who says, yeah mate, it goes great. Yet when you ask to test drive it he says, no way, you might wreck it, it’s to dangerous out there on the road.
You test drive a car, why can’t you test a skill that you may need to save your life.
If a technique is too dangerous to test (or even use as I have been told before), then how will you ever know if it works. If a tactic or technique is too dangerous to test, then I suggest you label it as unreliable and move on to another technique.
What about a simple punch to the head, hey I like to keep things simple myself, but how reliable is a punch to the head, will it connect?, will it cause a knockout first time?, will you even try it when you realise you have been stabbed, or will you instinctively just try to grab the arm with the knife in it to stop from being stabbed again and again and again.
OK back to the testing process. You have chosen your technique, your sucker (I mean training partner) is ready to attack you. Wait, we need equipment. I suggest some form of safety knife, not the real thing, we are testing the physical response at the moment not the, psychological response.
Look ahead at your response are you likely to need other equipment to make the testing process safer for all concerned. Other considerations would be a helmet, maybe eye protection. It’s up to you, but try to keep things as safe as possible.
Test one: you are attacked on the predetermined angle at 100%
I will start with the horizontal (thrust) stab to the body. Did you get stabbed?. If in doubt, grab some lipstick and smear it around the imitation knife you are using. Or you could just use a black felt marker pen. Either of these will leave a mark on your clothing or body that clearly indicates that you would have been cut.
Do this test at least 20 times. How often were you successful? Was your attacker going all out to stab you? Now try it again this time your attacker pretends he is a sowing machine, this means he stabs continuously at you.
I have yet to see any one leave the arm hanging in the air to be grabbed when actually stabbing someone, yet most martial artists practice their physical responses with the attacker leaving the weapon bearing limb hanging out in the air after a single stabbing motion. Remember, your attacker should be trying to stab you continuously, 5, 6 plus times, until you can stop him (or her). If you don’t physically stop the attack, the imitation weapon should actually it you.
Again, how often were you successful? You should be noting down each time you failed and each time you were successful in stopping the attack with nothing more than superficial injuries.
Now get another attacker, it is always best to pick people who are going to try to actually stab you, not people who are going to go easy on you. This often means getting people from different systems, as everyone always likes to prove that their system or style is best so you can be guaranteed that they will really try to stab you. Don’t worry it’s not really that hard to find people willing to make you and your system look bad.
If you are an instructor I recommend that you don’t use a student unless you can trust that student to really show you no respect. Remember an attacker in the street won’t be in awe of your belt colour or your ‘dan’ grade, so pick your test case attackers accordingly.
After you have tested this technique repeatedly, sit down and add up the results. What percentage were you successful?. 50%, probably less. I would wager that most techniques would be successful less than 50% of the time.
I come from a background of Filipino martial arts, arts that are recognised by many as the leaders in knife fighting, yet I found with a determined attacker I was only successful in about 50% of the attacks. The vast majority of techniques I tested rated at less than 20% effective, in particular anything that included a fancy disarm (or really any disarm) just didn’t work.
All right you have tested your technique and you’re thinking I don’t know 50% that’s not bad. Hey we are playing with your life here, let’s go back and play the percentages. Would you bet your life on the flip of a coin? NO, I certainly wouldn’t.
What next. Find another technique, in fact source techniques from a number of styles until you get something that gives you at least a 90% success rate. Remember we are still only dealing with a pre set physical response, we have not yet introduced the other elements such as unpredictability and adrenal stress, and these elements are likely to bring the success rate down even further.
Unpredictable attacks would include any attack you were not prepared for.
Unusual positions:
This part of the testing process puts you out in the real world and would include confined spaces, seated position etc. A prime example; you are sitting on the train when you are accosted by an attacker with an edged weapon, will your chosen technique work from this position?. If you are relying on a single strike, can you effectively generate the power required to disable your attacker from a seated position?
Remember not many attacks occur in boxing rings, dojo’s or in open spaces, there are usually obstacles around. Reproduce this as much as possible in your testing process.
I have heard many ‘Reality Based Self Defence’ Instructors (RBSD) denigrating grappling options for street defence. Unfortunately you may not always get a choice, an understanding of grappling, and in the case of grappling when an edged weapon is involved is very important. In many knife attack situations, due to the aggressiveness of the attacker you could be knocked of fall to the ground, if you are sitting you are also much more likely to end up wrestling for the weapon. Practice it. What works from here, does you chosen technique still work?
In fact, of the techniques I tested, the only techniques that proved to be successful on a regular basis involved some form of grappling. Usually this was related to gaining control of the weapon bearing limb. Once you get a hold of the weapon bearing limb, you are in a grappling situation.
Adrenal stress responses:
Now it gets harder. Testing a particular response under realistic conditions requires that you introduce circumstances that mimic those conditions that are likely to be felt if you are really attacked. This is likely to result in physiological responses such as
Tunnel vision
Fear
Sweat
Impaired cognitive functions
Acceleration of heart and lung functions
Impairment of fine motor skills
I recommend some form of scenario based training, with a lot of people watching. Why have people watching, nerves. By adding the possibility of ridicule if it all goes wrong does help to increase the adrenal response. It will not be the same as the real thing, but a well set up scenario can provide the best and safest alternative to test your SD solutions. Having good role players is also of extreme benefit, the role players should be able to really get into character and force a physiological response from the person being tested.
Passing the results to others:
If you are an instructor, you need to add an extra step into your testing process. Can your chosen technique be readily taught to others?
As an instructor, often what you will find is that what works for you may not necessarily work for others. Remember you have most likely been training for many years; you have built skills and responses suitable for your body type and physical characteristics that may not be existent in others.
Now you need to teach your chosen responses to others, they are then tested under the same conditions listed previously. Hopefully you have done the hard work and narrowed down the field of possible options, this will save your students testing the majority of the options you have deemed unworkable. This is what they are paying you for in effect, your experience.
Test your students, ensure that the tactical options and attributes you have passed on will work just as effectively for them, if not, why teach it to them? You need to find something else that will work for them?
End result:
You now have a set of tactics to deal with an edged weapon assault. Tactics that have been thoroughly tested, and can be reliably reproduced by yourself and any others you teach these responses to. If not, keep working at finding a workable physical response. You want something that will give you at least an 90% success rate against the most determined attacker.
Most likely you will find that your end product closely resembles the same end product as most others who go through this process, this is a general result of any reality based testing process, the more fanciful techniques fall to the side and you are left with basic and most often very similar concepts to deal with life threatening situations.
Tips to achieve a working edged weapon solution:
Keep it basic
Be aggressive
Use the CASE theory (Copy and steal everything)
If it’s to dangerous to test, discard it, it probably won’t work anyway.
Don’t use a simulation in the test process (ie. If I hit you hear you will fall in this fashion, or if I grab you here, this will happen. This just does not work). If you must simulate something, even the simulation should work within the full on testing process. A prime example is the ‘shredder’ concept, this will often work even in a simulated fashion.
Keep to a minimum number of strategies and concepts to deal with the widest variety of attack options.
Make the testing process easier on yourself, seek out an instructor who has already done this, then test out what he or she has shown you.
Do not rely on a single strike to get the job done, invariably you will miss. (Damn Murphy’s law)
Your chosen concept should work in a variety of positions and within a variety of confines. A lot of edged weapon assaults happen within small bus shelters, public toilets and related enclosed spaces.
A technique/ concept that allows for you to gain control over the attackers weapon bearing limb at least stops you getting repeatedly stabbed.
Self defence, like life in general is a game of odd’s. Stack the odd’s in your favour to increase your chances of success, which in a knife assault situation may be the difference between life and death.
It’s late at night, the darkness is illuminated by a single light in the car park as you walk back to your car. Suddenly from behind another parked car a man emerges. He is dressed in black and has a hood covering his head and part of his face.
You watch him warily as he approaches. Feeling uncomfortable, you get your keys out as you were taught at that self defence course you did 2 years ago. The darkly clad man deliberately walks towards you, you are walking faster to your car now, as you go to open the door, he suddenly lunges at you pushing you into your car.
Remembering your training you throw your keys into his face, causing him to flinch away, suddenly he screams at you and hits you in the stomach. You are knocked back against your car. You start to fight back, he hits you in the stomach again, then he swings a punch at your face, it’s then that you suddenly see the light reflecting off the steel blade in his hands. Your brain now realises that you have probably been stabbed already, you instinctively raise your arms to protect your face, your adrenaline is in overdrive, you try to push your attacker away, he pushes you back against the car and tries to stab you again. You grab his hand, the hand with the knife. You struggle and wrestle, your arms are cut, the two of you are wrestling, you don’t recall falling to the ground, suddenly someone shouts in the distance, you barely hear it over the torment in your head, that’s screaming, this cant be happening, why me. Suddenly its over, the attacker has got up of you and run away.
You lie there as other voices start to register, ‘are you alright’ you hear. You go to say yes, when you look at your shaking hands, two of your fingers are missing and a third has fallen to the side, hanging by lose skin and tendon, there is blood all over your arms. You think to yourself, this can’t be happening.
This can’t happen to you, this cant be true. You trained in martial arts for 10 years.
Yes it can happen to you, this or something like it happens to hundreds of Australians every year. Has your training prepared you for this situation? You say yes. I have spoken to a lot of martial artists, from a variety of disciplines and styles, the majority are confident that firstly they can avoid this situation, and if need be a common reply is” I can look after myself” or “I know about 10 different ways to disarm someone with a knife”.
BUT, can you really?
How do you know?
Have you ever tested your responses?
Are your responses to dangerous to test?
If you have never tested your attack responses or if they are to dangerous to test, how do you know they will work?
Would you put your faith in an untested surgeon or dentist. Would you like to fly in the maiden flight of a plan that had never been tested. Untested physical responses to dangerous stimuli (situations) are just like getting on board a plane that has never been tested, it’s all theory and in many cases the theory may also be lacking in scientific grounding (ie. The plane was designed by an artist and not an engineer)
Would you rather fly in a really nice looking plane designed by an artist, or a functional looking plane designed by an engineer?
Unfortunately we as martial artists often put our faith in techniques that ’look good’ rather than are good.
This post is about how we can test our responses to dangerous situations. In particular, edged weapon attacks. Edged weapons are any thing that is sharp and or pointy that can be stuck into a persons flesh. This could be a screwdriver, broken bottle, knife or even a sword.
There are a number of things to consider when preparing your responses to an attack as described above, or in fact any edged weapon attack, these include:
Psychological responses and preparation
Physical attributes
Tactical responses
I prefer not to use the term ‘techniques’ when dealing with a life threatening situation. A technique implies a ready made solution to a problem. I like to think in terms of concepts and tactics. A concept allows for variance and is less inhibiting
What do I mean when I say have you tested your responses? No I don’t mean, go out and pick a fight in the street, or hang around near known trouble spots waiting for someone to attack or mug you. Although this is probably a great way to test your responses to edged weapon attacks (or any type of attack for that matter), problem is if it doesn’t work to well, it may be hard to work on finding a solution if you are in hospital or dead.
Testing your responses can be done in the gym or dojo.
How should you go about the testing process?
To do this I recommend breaking things down into sub sets.
Test the physical response.
Test the physical response under psychological duress.
Testing the physical response:
In the first instance you need to have a physical solution or solutions to the most common type of edged weapon attacks. In my opinion there are only really 3 common type of attack scenarios, the set up to the attack may vary, but the physical act is generally the same, these are;
Overhand stab (to the face, body, neck)
Overhand slash (to the face, body neck)
Horizontal or straight thrust to the body (generally the stomach area)
Now you need to pick a tactical response (technique if you like) to those types of attacks. Remember we are dealing with the type of edged weapon attack that is most likely to occur. Most people don’t need to worry about highly trained assassins trained as knife fighters, so let’s stick with the idea of the average thug with a sharp kitchen knife or a dirty blade stolen from the local disposals store.
In my opinion attack motions 1 & 2 are the same angle, this means that the physical motion used to affect the attack can and should be the same, so I would suggest that a single response to this physical motion would be desirable. Keep the options to a minimum, you have more time to train that option and you are more likely to effectively use that option in the moment of stress.
Now you have picked your favourite response from among the many you have most likely learnt if you have been dong martial arts for a while, how do you test it on the physical level? That’s the easy part.
You get someone to attack you with this motion, at 100% and you defend it using your chosen technique.
“But I can’t; I will seriously injure or kill my training partner”. This is a standard response I have heard numerous times when this course of action is suggested.
This is a problem, if the response is so deadly or dangerous that it can’t be tested, how do we know if it will work on the physical level, let alone on the psychological level when it’s tested under adrenal stress conditions.
This is where statistics come in again. (the first time is obviously when you train to deal with the attacks that are statistically most likely to occur).
You are going out to buy a used car, would you buy one before you test drove it. When buying a car it’s also common to get a comprehensive mechanics report, why do we do this, we want to know that the car works and that we are not getting duped. Would you trust the salesman who says, yeah mate, it goes great. Yet when you ask to test drive it he says, no way, you might wreck it, it’s to dangerous out there on the road.
You test drive a car, why can’t you test a skill that you may need to save your life.
If a technique is too dangerous to test (or even use as I have been told before), then how will you ever know if it works. If a tactic or technique is too dangerous to test, then I suggest you label it as unreliable and move on to another technique.
What about a simple punch to the head, hey I like to keep things simple myself, but how reliable is a punch to the head, will it connect?, will it cause a knockout first time?, will you even try it when you realise you have been stabbed, or will you instinctively just try to grab the arm with the knife in it to stop from being stabbed again and again and again.
OK back to the testing process. You have chosen your technique, your sucker (I mean training partner) is ready to attack you. Wait, we need equipment. I suggest some form of safety knife, not the real thing, we are testing the physical response at the moment not the, psychological response.
Look ahead at your response are you likely to need other equipment to make the testing process safer for all concerned. Other considerations would be a helmet, maybe eye protection. It’s up to you, but try to keep things as safe as possible.
Test one: you are attacked on the predetermined angle at 100%
I will start with the horizontal (thrust) stab to the body. Did you get stabbed?. If in doubt, grab some lipstick and smear it around the imitation knife you are using. Or you could just use a black felt marker pen. Either of these will leave a mark on your clothing or body that clearly indicates that you would have been cut.
Do this test at least 20 times. How often were you successful? Was your attacker going all out to stab you? Now try it again this time your attacker pretends he is a sowing machine, this means he stabs continuously at you.
I have yet to see any one leave the arm hanging in the air to be grabbed when actually stabbing someone, yet most martial artists practice their physical responses with the attacker leaving the weapon bearing limb hanging out in the air after a single stabbing motion. Remember, your attacker should be trying to stab you continuously, 5, 6 plus times, until you can stop him (or her). If you don’t physically stop the attack, the imitation weapon should actually it you.
Again, how often were you successful? You should be noting down each time you failed and each time you were successful in stopping the attack with nothing more than superficial injuries.
Now get another attacker, it is always best to pick people who are going to try to actually stab you, not people who are going to go easy on you. This often means getting people from different systems, as everyone always likes to prove that their system or style is best so you can be guaranteed that they will really try to stab you. Don’t worry it’s not really that hard to find people willing to make you and your system look bad.
If you are an instructor I recommend that you don’t use a student unless you can trust that student to really show you no respect. Remember an attacker in the street won’t be in awe of your belt colour or your ‘dan’ grade, so pick your test case attackers accordingly.
After you have tested this technique repeatedly, sit down and add up the results. What percentage were you successful?. 50%, probably less. I would wager that most techniques would be successful less than 50% of the time.
I come from a background of Filipino martial arts, arts that are recognised by many as the leaders in knife fighting, yet I found with a determined attacker I was only successful in about 50% of the attacks. The vast majority of techniques I tested rated at less than 20% effective, in particular anything that included a fancy disarm (or really any disarm) just didn’t work.
All right you have tested your technique and you’re thinking I don’t know 50% that’s not bad. Hey we are playing with your life here, let’s go back and play the percentages. Would you bet your life on the flip of a coin? NO, I certainly wouldn’t.
What next. Find another technique, in fact source techniques from a number of styles until you get something that gives you at least a 90% success rate. Remember we are still only dealing with a pre set physical response, we have not yet introduced the other elements such as unpredictability and adrenal stress, and these elements are likely to bring the success rate down even further.
Unpredictable attacks would include any attack you were not prepared for.
Unusual positions:
This part of the testing process puts you out in the real world and would include confined spaces, seated position etc. A prime example; you are sitting on the train when you are accosted by an attacker with an edged weapon, will your chosen technique work from this position?. If you are relying on a single strike, can you effectively generate the power required to disable your attacker from a seated position?
Remember not many attacks occur in boxing rings, dojo’s or in open spaces, there are usually obstacles around. Reproduce this as much as possible in your testing process.
I have heard many ‘Reality Based Self Defence’ Instructors (RBSD) denigrating grappling options for street defence. Unfortunately you may not always get a choice, an understanding of grappling, and in the case of grappling when an edged weapon is involved is very important. In many knife attack situations, due to the aggressiveness of the attacker you could be knocked of fall to the ground, if you are sitting you are also much more likely to end up wrestling for the weapon. Practice it. What works from here, does you chosen technique still work?
In fact, of the techniques I tested, the only techniques that proved to be successful on a regular basis involved some form of grappling. Usually this was related to gaining control of the weapon bearing limb. Once you get a hold of the weapon bearing limb, you are in a grappling situation.
Adrenal stress responses:
Now it gets harder. Testing a particular response under realistic conditions requires that you introduce circumstances that mimic those conditions that are likely to be felt if you are really attacked. This is likely to result in physiological responses such as
Tunnel vision
Fear
Sweat
Impaired cognitive functions
Acceleration of heart and lung functions
Impairment of fine motor skills
I recommend some form of scenario based training, with a lot of people watching. Why have people watching, nerves. By adding the possibility of ridicule if it all goes wrong does help to increase the adrenal response. It will not be the same as the real thing, but a well set up scenario can provide the best and safest alternative to test your SD solutions. Having good role players is also of extreme benefit, the role players should be able to really get into character and force a physiological response from the person being tested.
Passing the results to others:
If you are an instructor, you need to add an extra step into your testing process. Can your chosen technique be readily taught to others?
As an instructor, often what you will find is that what works for you may not necessarily work for others. Remember you have most likely been training for many years; you have built skills and responses suitable for your body type and physical characteristics that may not be existent in others.
Now you need to teach your chosen responses to others, they are then tested under the same conditions listed previously. Hopefully you have done the hard work and narrowed down the field of possible options, this will save your students testing the majority of the options you have deemed unworkable. This is what they are paying you for in effect, your experience.
Test your students, ensure that the tactical options and attributes you have passed on will work just as effectively for them, if not, why teach it to them? You need to find something else that will work for them?
End result:
You now have a set of tactics to deal with an edged weapon assault. Tactics that have been thoroughly tested, and can be reliably reproduced by yourself and any others you teach these responses to. If not, keep working at finding a workable physical response. You want something that will give you at least an 90% success rate against the most determined attacker.
Most likely you will find that your end product closely resembles the same end product as most others who go through this process, this is a general result of any reality based testing process, the more fanciful techniques fall to the side and you are left with basic and most often very similar concepts to deal with life threatening situations.
Tips to achieve a working edged weapon solution:
Keep it basic
Be aggressive
Use the CASE theory (Copy and steal everything)
If it’s to dangerous to test, discard it, it probably won’t work anyway.
Don’t use a simulation in the test process (ie. If I hit you hear you will fall in this fashion, or if I grab you here, this will happen. This just does not work). If you must simulate something, even the simulation should work within the full on testing process. A prime example is the ‘shredder’ concept, this will often work even in a simulated fashion.
Keep to a minimum number of strategies and concepts to deal with the widest variety of attack options.
Make the testing process easier on yourself, seek out an instructor who has already done this, then test out what he or she has shown you.
Do not rely on a single strike to get the job done, invariably you will miss. (Damn Murphy’s law)
Your chosen concept should work in a variety of positions and within a variety of confines. A lot of edged weapon assaults happen within small bus shelters, public toilets and related enclosed spaces.
A technique/ concept that allows for you to gain control over the attackers weapon bearing limb at least stops you getting repeatedly stabbed.
Self defence, like life in general is a game of odd’s. Stack the odd’s in your favour to increase your chances of success, which in a knife assault situation may be the difference between life and death.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Kata - is it really usefull for combat/ self defence
I have been reading an interesting topic (thread) on the sportzblitz martial arts forum
http://www.sportzblitz.net/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14977 .
This topic has come up previously in a number of formats but one constant is the fors and against the usefulness of kata.
Personally I have nothing against Kata, in fact I am keen practitioner of tai chi, which is a form of kata.
But is Kata or any form of pre set movements without a partner of use for combat training?
In my opinion, yes, but very minimal. Why?
Well to start with you need to work out what are the most important attributes required for combat (or self defence)
These attributes would include;
Timing
Distance (appreciation and awareness)
Strength
Power
Speed
Then if you include grappling which forms an important part of real combat/ self defence you need to include all the little bits that actually makes a technique work. (more on that another day)
Starting with the striking part of combat/ self defence the two most important factors would be timing and distance. In order to actually hit the target you need an appreciation of distance. Then to hit that target (person) effectively you need the correct timing. This is the skill component
When we consider kata, does kata train either of these two attributes. NO.
There is no interaction with another person, so how can that person train 'timing' and 'distance'.
This comes down to the difference between drilling or practicing a technique and the ability to actually do the technique. So really the following applies not just to kata but to any type of drill or practice that does not include a 'resisting' opponent.
It is the unexpected movement of the resisting opponent that assists in developing a persons appreciation and use of timing and distance. If an opponent is moving in and out, changing angles, levels (height) etc, then you need timing and distance to actually hit the target.
Then of course they are likely to be hitting back which makes it even harder to anticipate the correct timing and distance required to hit your opponent.
So after someone can actually physically perform a technique, of what benefit is continued practice?
Obviously continued practice will allow the person to perfect the body mechanics of the technique, but at some point if you want to be able to perform the technique under combat conditions, you have to introduce resisting opponent's.
Any one who has trained with Ray Floro, will clearly see that he teaches you a technique (or concept) you drill it until you can perform it, then you put on the helmet and ‘do’ the technique under sparring conditions. This is when you learn how it all goes together, how to make the technique work.
When we apply this to BJJ, a person learns the technique, using an example of a basic arm bar from mount, once the basics of the physical technique have been mastered, the student is required to ‘do’ the technique with a resisting opponent. Preferably with increasing amounts of resistance, and starting from an isolated position, such as on the mount. But in the end to finally prove that you know a technique you must be able to do it against someone who does not want to let you.
Rarely does the perfect moment come to perform a technique, you have to either make the perfect moment (ie set someone up), or just work with what you have got. It is all the little bits in between, the bits that make the technique work that you only get from the doing of a technique repeatedly with someone who is resisting your efforts.
Again, applying this to the armbbar, if you wait for someone to put their arm and body in the perfect position as happens when drilling, then you could be waiting a while, a long while if your opponent is also skilled. Or in terms of FFS, we can drill the basic knife strike to the head all day, but we still need to get the distance and timing right and again if they opponent is also skilled, you also may need to fake or use some other method to get your opponent to move into the position you want in order to effectively make use of your chosen technique.
You can drill a technique (do kata) for ever, but you only really learn to apply a technique when sparring or fighting as that is when you learn how to overcome or adapt a technique to fit the requirements of a resisting opponent.
So yes, drilling or doing the kata does have its place but it is only a very small place. As soon as you can physically do (perform) the technique, you should move onto the doing (sparring). Any further drilling or kata work is simply wasted time. By all means you can come back and re drill again to re- establish a baseline technique, but again, once you can perform the movements on your own, no further effective learning can take place until you involve resisting opponents.
So how much time should you devote to real practice vs drilling (kata). In my opinion a martial artist should devote at least 60% of their time to training that involves resisting or semi resisting opponents. Anything less than that and it becomes difficult to actually apply the techniques you have practiced.
This is easier with grappling based martial arts, which is probably why arts like BJJ and wrestling have been so successful in NHB type competitions.
Therefore, you can have the best looking kata, punch, arm bar, whatever, but if you cant actually do it against a large variety of resisting opponent's, then it is just a dance, beautiful to watch but useless for real combat and self defence.
As Nike says, "Just do it"
http://www.sportzblitz.net/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14977 .
This topic has come up previously in a number of formats but one constant is the fors and against the usefulness of kata.
Personally I have nothing against Kata, in fact I am keen practitioner of tai chi, which is a form of kata.
But is Kata or any form of pre set movements without a partner of use for combat training?
In my opinion, yes, but very minimal. Why?
Well to start with you need to work out what are the most important attributes required for combat (or self defence)
These attributes would include;
Timing
Distance (appreciation and awareness)
Strength
Power
Speed
Then if you include grappling which forms an important part of real combat/ self defence you need to include all the little bits that actually makes a technique work. (more on that another day)
Starting with the striking part of combat/ self defence the two most important factors would be timing and distance. In order to actually hit the target you need an appreciation of distance. Then to hit that target (person) effectively you need the correct timing. This is the skill component
When we consider kata, does kata train either of these two attributes. NO.
There is no interaction with another person, so how can that person train 'timing' and 'distance'.
This comes down to the difference between drilling or practicing a technique and the ability to actually do the technique. So really the following applies not just to kata but to any type of drill or practice that does not include a 'resisting' opponent.
It is the unexpected movement of the resisting opponent that assists in developing a persons appreciation and use of timing and distance. If an opponent is moving in and out, changing angles, levels (height) etc, then you need timing and distance to actually hit the target.
Then of course they are likely to be hitting back which makes it even harder to anticipate the correct timing and distance required to hit your opponent.
So after someone can actually physically perform a technique, of what benefit is continued practice?
Obviously continued practice will allow the person to perfect the body mechanics of the technique, but at some point if you want to be able to perform the technique under combat conditions, you have to introduce resisting opponent's.
Any one who has trained with Ray Floro, will clearly see that he teaches you a technique (or concept) you drill it until you can perform it, then you put on the helmet and ‘do’ the technique under sparring conditions. This is when you learn how it all goes together, how to make the technique work.
When we apply this to BJJ, a person learns the technique, using an example of a basic arm bar from mount, once the basics of the physical technique have been mastered, the student is required to ‘do’ the technique with a resisting opponent. Preferably with increasing amounts of resistance, and starting from an isolated position, such as on the mount. But in the end to finally prove that you know a technique you must be able to do it against someone who does not want to let you.
Rarely does the perfect moment come to perform a technique, you have to either make the perfect moment (ie set someone up), or just work with what you have got. It is all the little bits in between, the bits that make the technique work that you only get from the doing of a technique repeatedly with someone who is resisting your efforts.
Again, applying this to the armbbar, if you wait for someone to put their arm and body in the perfect position as happens when drilling, then you could be waiting a while, a long while if your opponent is also skilled. Or in terms of FFS, we can drill the basic knife strike to the head all day, but we still need to get the distance and timing right and again if they opponent is also skilled, you also may need to fake or use some other method to get your opponent to move into the position you want in order to effectively make use of your chosen technique.
You can drill a technique (do kata) for ever, but you only really learn to apply a technique when sparring or fighting as that is when you learn how to overcome or adapt a technique to fit the requirements of a resisting opponent.
So yes, drilling or doing the kata does have its place but it is only a very small place. As soon as you can physically do (perform) the technique, you should move onto the doing (sparring). Any further drilling or kata work is simply wasted time. By all means you can come back and re drill again to re- establish a baseline technique, but again, once you can perform the movements on your own, no further effective learning can take place until you involve resisting opponents.
So how much time should you devote to real practice vs drilling (kata). In my opinion a martial artist should devote at least 60% of their time to training that involves resisting or semi resisting opponents. Anything less than that and it becomes difficult to actually apply the techniques you have practiced.
This is easier with grappling based martial arts, which is probably why arts like BJJ and wrestling have been so successful in NHB type competitions.
Therefore, you can have the best looking kata, punch, arm bar, whatever, but if you cant actually do it against a large variety of resisting opponent's, then it is just a dance, beautiful to watch but useless for real combat and self defence.
As Nike says, "Just do it"
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Ray Floro / Richard Norton Seminar
Last Sunday I made the trek up to Shepparton a country town in Northern Victoria in order to attend a seminar with 2 top class instructors being Ray Floro and Richard Norton.
2 hours with each for a total of $50.00, how could I pass that up.
And it was well worth the 3 hour drive to get there.
Even though it was hot (well over 40 degress), and there was no airconditioning there was a great turnout of about 50 people. Most from the Bob Jones Corporation (BJC) arts, but also a few from other arts.
As a contributor to the Blitz martial arts forum, I got to meet some of the people I often get to verbally spar with. Which was great.
But to the material of the seminar: WOW.
I am in instructor under Ray Floro, but yet I still managed to learn something new. Any one who has not trained in Ray Floro's system is seriously missing out. It is simply the best knife defence system out there.
When Ray was finished it was onto 2 hours of RBSD stuff from Richard Norton. I last trained with Richard Norton about 20 years ago, and he is still a marvel. He is fast and obviously dedicated. The material he showed had a lot of corolation to what I already do and was obviously influenced by Tony Blauer's SPEAR system.
It was good and it was fun. Even in the extreme heat.
Both Richard and Ray were full of energy, throughout the seminar, and answered questions freely. Both are appraochable and extremelly knowledgable.
Having trained with Ray for a number of years, I consider him a good friend and it is always a pleasure to catch up with him.
Richard Norton, even though he is a busy person who had to fly out to LA the next day, stayed back and joined many of us for a meal in town. There was none of the 'airs and graces' you would expect from a legitimate action movie star. He is one of the most down to earth people I have met. Again if the opportunity ever presents itself to train with him, I advise everyone to take the opportunity.
All in all, a great experience. A big thank you to Mick Clarke and Ben Hamilton from BJC for putting on the event and being great hosts for all who attended.
2 hours with each for a total of $50.00, how could I pass that up.
And it was well worth the 3 hour drive to get there.
Even though it was hot (well over 40 degress), and there was no airconditioning there was a great turnout of about 50 people. Most from the Bob Jones Corporation (BJC) arts, but also a few from other arts.
As a contributor to the Blitz martial arts forum, I got to meet some of the people I often get to verbally spar with. Which was great.
But to the material of the seminar: WOW.
I am in instructor under Ray Floro, but yet I still managed to learn something new. Any one who has not trained in Ray Floro's system is seriously missing out. It is simply the best knife defence system out there.
When Ray was finished it was onto 2 hours of RBSD stuff from Richard Norton. I last trained with Richard Norton about 20 years ago, and he is still a marvel. He is fast and obviously dedicated. The material he showed had a lot of corolation to what I already do and was obviously influenced by Tony Blauer's SPEAR system.
It was good and it was fun. Even in the extreme heat.
Both Richard and Ray were full of energy, throughout the seminar, and answered questions freely. Both are appraochable and extremelly knowledgable.
Having trained with Ray for a number of years, I consider him a good friend and it is always a pleasure to catch up with him.
Richard Norton, even though he is a busy person who had to fly out to LA the next day, stayed back and joined many of us for a meal in town. There was none of the 'airs and graces' you would expect from a legitimate action movie star. He is one of the most down to earth people I have met. Again if the opportunity ever presents itself to train with him, I advise everyone to take the opportunity.
All in all, a great experience. A big thank you to Mick Clarke and Ben Hamilton from BJC for putting on the event and being great hosts for all who attended.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The passing of a master
News has started spreading on the net that the patriach of the Gracie Family, Helio Gracie passed away on Thursday Morning (Rio Time). He was 95 years old.
For a more comprehensive write up on Grand Master Helio and the amazing legacy he has left behind please have a look at the Gracie Academy website. http://www.gracieacademy.com/
Grand Master Helio Gracie should be seen as an inspiration to all BJJ practitioners and martial artists in general. He is reputed to have continued training in the art he developed untill his passing.
The art itself is a marvel in body mechanics, human movement and leverage. I have been training in BJJ for over 10 years and I still continue to learn more about the principles of leverage and body mechanic each and every time I train.
Training in this art has had a great impact on my life personally, as it has likely on thousands of others. It has lead me to a greater appreciationof human movement which in turn has lead me to look at things like Yoga, Gymnastica Natural and Flow fit. All of which I now incorporate into my daily exercise regime. By using these training methods I hope to be able to maintain free flowing mobility and agility well into my senior years.
For myself BJJ has become a majr part of my life, it means, fun, friendship and enjoyment.
I have made a number of very good freinds from BJJ. Within BJJ circles I have met numerous others who I have the utmost respect for and continue to inspire me.
All this is thanks to the spirit and devotion of one man, who took a Japanese Martial art and turned it into an amazing system of fighting and Self defence, an art form of beauty in human movement and inspired thousands of others the world over to embrace his wonderful art.
To the Gracie family, I offer my condolances.
Grandmaster Helio Gracie, may you rest in peace, with the knowledge that your legacy will live on through the countless devotees to your art.
For a more comprehensive write up on Grand Master Helio and the amazing legacy he has left behind please have a look at the Gracie Academy website. http://www.gracieacademy.com/
Grand Master Helio Gracie should be seen as an inspiration to all BJJ practitioners and martial artists in general. He is reputed to have continued training in the art he developed untill his passing.
The art itself is a marvel in body mechanics, human movement and leverage. I have been training in BJJ for over 10 years and I still continue to learn more about the principles of leverage and body mechanic each and every time I train.
Training in this art has had a great impact on my life personally, as it has likely on thousands of others. It has lead me to a greater appreciationof human movement which in turn has lead me to look at things like Yoga, Gymnastica Natural and Flow fit. All of which I now incorporate into my daily exercise regime. By using these training methods I hope to be able to maintain free flowing mobility and agility well into my senior years.
For myself BJJ has become a majr part of my life, it means, fun, friendship and enjoyment.
I have made a number of very good freinds from BJJ. Within BJJ circles I have met numerous others who I have the utmost respect for and continue to inspire me.
All this is thanks to the spirit and devotion of one man, who took a Japanese Martial art and turned it into an amazing system of fighting and Self defence, an art form of beauty in human movement and inspired thousands of others the world over to embrace his wonderful art.
To the Gracie family, I offer my condolances.
Grandmaster Helio Gracie, may you rest in peace, with the knowledge that your legacy will live on through the countless devotees to your art.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Self Defence Tricks vs Concepts
I have been chatting with a young Taekwondo 3rd dan lately about self defence.
He has been telling me about what he does for self defence, and how his taekwondo is different and superior to all others. Including thier use of 'dim mak' type of pressure points.
It is good to see someone who is devoted and enthusiastic about thier martial arts, but it is apparent that that devotion may have blinded this person to reality.
During discussions with this perons and many other martial artists, one thing that has become very noticeable is that most martial artists are proud of how many different ways they have to dispatch an attacker and to deal with the myriad ways in which they are attacked.
The young taekwondo black belt proudly exclaimed that he knew and needed at least 5 different ways to deal with any (each) sort of attack.
He could not understand when I claimed that I had one concept that I applied to all the most likely self defence situations. I attempted to explain the reasons for my minimalist approach to self defence, but was countered with, "but what if they do something that is slightly different".
So which is better?
Do we need 5 techniques to deal with a right cross, another 5 to deal with a headlock, and another 5 to deal with someone grabbing us?
Or are all these techniques really just 'tricks'
As an example of the techniques used I was shown the following to deal with being grabbed around the throat a held against a wall:
Technique 1: Push down into the Jugular notch
Technique 2: Using two hands grab the wrist (two 'pressure points' indicated on the forearm) and push (force) the arm and in turn the attacker back.
Both of these techniques were demonstrated, and all though there was no adrenaline involved, neither technique proved to be effective, and certainly did not deal with the likelyhood of receiving a punch in the face. Yes there was some small amount of pain involved, but not that much. Not enough to stop me or to even dissuade me from advancing or countering his escape attempt with a punch to the face if I had wanted.
Effectivelly these two 'self defence' techniques are nothing more than gimmicks. They are tricks that may work against non resisting training partners, but they are still nothing more than tricks and certainly not usefull for real self defence. There was no cover of any sort in case I decided to start punching, and in fact the second defence tied up both arms, removing the possibility of any sort of effective block or cover.
Then I was shown a counter to a full nelson. My first response was, WHY? Why do I need a counter to a full nelson, its not exactly an easy technique to apply in the first place. If someone goes for it, you simply lower your arms and turn into them.
But I was shown a technique that involed assumming a rigid stance with the arms locked out in front of the body (legs in horse riding stance). The techniue certainly worked, I could not apply a full nelson, so I moved onto a 'shredder' type head control from the rear instead. He had no answer to that one.
Realistically, by assuming that locked up position, he made it difficult to deal with anything else, so what would a normal assailant (assuming normal assailants put people in full nelsons in the first place) do. Move onto a choke or other hold, punch etc I would bet.
There was no attempt to turn into and face me so he could defend himself from a better position, he was happy to assume the stance and maintain it till i gave up going for the full nelson. Not a good training philosophy.
Looking at most martial arts, and I have trained in and watched a few over the years, one thing that does stand out is the vast amount of techniques they have to deal with different grabs, punches etc.
Looking at the techniques, I would classify most of them as mere tricks, usefull for looking good and fluffing up the syllabus of that particular martial art. But certainly not based on reality. Then of course if you have so many techniques to choose from, which do you pick, when under duress.
So what would a 'realistic' technique be to deal with the situation mentioned above (throat grab and push up against the wall)
Really anything that provides a measure of cover for a possible punch (which is likely to come when you start to fight back), maintains your balance (so you dont end up under someones boots) and removes the hand from around the throat. Then of course there needs to be some form of counter attack or control initiated so that you dont just end up back were you started or even worse copping a beating.
I will throw up some video or photo's in my next post to show how I would do this.
If the three elements of cover, balance and control (over the assailant) are not present, then what have you achieved? except to possibly piss of the assailant even more and indicate you are going to have a go back (losing the element of surprise whilst achieving nothing useful)
Control could mean, a tie up that neutralizes the attacker or at least stops them via some form of injury or knockout (chokes included).
So have a look at your responses to the most common form of assault/ attacks. Are they merely 'tricks' or will they actually stop a commited attacker.
I like to practice or test this by having the person playing the role of attacker put on a pair of boxing gloves and 'open up' with punches or whatever they feel they need to win as soon as they feel resistance from me. This is the trype of training you need to test your techniques. Does chosen technique deal with this circumstance?
Does your chosen technique stop or control the attacker?
Or do you get quickly overwhelmed by the punches comming at your head?
Can you instictivelly access and perfrom your chosen technique under pressure and the effects of adrenaline?
Both parties can wear helmets if required, but the punches do have to be real enough to hurt at least, that is if you want to test yourself and your SD technique.
When you do this you quickly learn that having a single 'concept' that works against many different types of attacks is much more likely to be usefull in a real self defence situation than a collection of 'tricks'.
He has been telling me about what he does for self defence, and how his taekwondo is different and superior to all others. Including thier use of 'dim mak' type of pressure points.
It is good to see someone who is devoted and enthusiastic about thier martial arts, but it is apparent that that devotion may have blinded this person to reality.
During discussions with this perons and many other martial artists, one thing that has become very noticeable is that most martial artists are proud of how many different ways they have to dispatch an attacker and to deal with the myriad ways in which they are attacked.
The young taekwondo black belt proudly exclaimed that he knew and needed at least 5 different ways to deal with any (each) sort of attack.
He could not understand when I claimed that I had one concept that I applied to all the most likely self defence situations. I attempted to explain the reasons for my minimalist approach to self defence, but was countered with, "but what if they do something that is slightly different".
So which is better?
Do we need 5 techniques to deal with a right cross, another 5 to deal with a headlock, and another 5 to deal with someone grabbing us?
Or are all these techniques really just 'tricks'
As an example of the techniques used I was shown the following to deal with being grabbed around the throat a held against a wall:
Technique 1: Push down into the Jugular notch
Technique 2: Using two hands grab the wrist (two 'pressure points' indicated on the forearm) and push (force) the arm and in turn the attacker back.
Both of these techniques were demonstrated, and all though there was no adrenaline involved, neither technique proved to be effective, and certainly did not deal with the likelyhood of receiving a punch in the face. Yes there was some small amount of pain involved, but not that much. Not enough to stop me or to even dissuade me from advancing or countering his escape attempt with a punch to the face if I had wanted.
Effectivelly these two 'self defence' techniques are nothing more than gimmicks. They are tricks that may work against non resisting training partners, but they are still nothing more than tricks and certainly not usefull for real self defence. There was no cover of any sort in case I decided to start punching, and in fact the second defence tied up both arms, removing the possibility of any sort of effective block or cover.
Then I was shown a counter to a full nelson. My first response was, WHY? Why do I need a counter to a full nelson, its not exactly an easy technique to apply in the first place. If someone goes for it, you simply lower your arms and turn into them.
But I was shown a technique that involed assumming a rigid stance with the arms locked out in front of the body (legs in horse riding stance). The techniue certainly worked, I could not apply a full nelson, so I moved onto a 'shredder' type head control from the rear instead. He had no answer to that one.
Realistically, by assuming that locked up position, he made it difficult to deal with anything else, so what would a normal assailant (assuming normal assailants put people in full nelsons in the first place) do. Move onto a choke or other hold, punch etc I would bet.
There was no attempt to turn into and face me so he could defend himself from a better position, he was happy to assume the stance and maintain it till i gave up going for the full nelson. Not a good training philosophy.
Looking at most martial arts, and I have trained in and watched a few over the years, one thing that does stand out is the vast amount of techniques they have to deal with different grabs, punches etc.
Looking at the techniques, I would classify most of them as mere tricks, usefull for looking good and fluffing up the syllabus of that particular martial art. But certainly not based on reality. Then of course if you have so many techniques to choose from, which do you pick, when under duress.
So what would a 'realistic' technique be to deal with the situation mentioned above (throat grab and push up against the wall)
Really anything that provides a measure of cover for a possible punch (which is likely to come when you start to fight back), maintains your balance (so you dont end up under someones boots) and removes the hand from around the throat. Then of course there needs to be some form of counter attack or control initiated so that you dont just end up back were you started or even worse copping a beating.
I will throw up some video or photo's in my next post to show how I would do this.
If the three elements of cover, balance and control (over the assailant) are not present, then what have you achieved? except to possibly piss of the assailant even more and indicate you are going to have a go back (losing the element of surprise whilst achieving nothing useful)
Control could mean, a tie up that neutralizes the attacker or at least stops them via some form of injury or knockout (chokes included).
So have a look at your responses to the most common form of assault/ attacks. Are they merely 'tricks' or will they actually stop a commited attacker.
I like to practice or test this by having the person playing the role of attacker put on a pair of boxing gloves and 'open up' with punches or whatever they feel they need to win as soon as they feel resistance from me. This is the trype of training you need to test your techniques. Does chosen technique deal with this circumstance?
Does your chosen technique stop or control the attacker?
Or do you get quickly overwhelmed by the punches comming at your head?
Can you instictivelly access and perfrom your chosen technique under pressure and the effects of adrenaline?
Both parties can wear helmets if required, but the punches do have to be real enough to hurt at least, that is if you want to test yourself and your SD technique.
When you do this you quickly learn that having a single 'concept' that works against many different types of attacks is much more likely to be usefull in a real self defence situation than a collection of 'tricks'.
Welcome
Hi,
my name is Wayne Ardley, and would like to welcome any one who finds their way to this blog
I have started this blog in order to offer my insight and experience, as limited as that may be, to a variety of topics that interest me. In this case Martial Arts, in particular Brazillian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) , Floro Fighting Systems (FFS), Self Defence and Kickboxing/ Muay Thai.
Then some of my other interests including, Yoga, Natural Health and Fitness.
I run a small school teaching the above listed arts in morningoton Vic, Aust. If anyone is down our way you are invited to come and have a play.
As the inspiration takes me, I plan to blog on these topics and anything else that may be of interest at the time.
I do invite any one to argue a point or post in reply. That is if any one actually finds this blog and then takes the time to read it. Hopefully I can provide something that may be of interest to someone.
my name is Wayne Ardley, and would like to welcome any one who finds their way to this blog
I have started this blog in order to offer my insight and experience, as limited as that may be, to a variety of topics that interest me. In this case Martial Arts, in particular Brazillian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) , Floro Fighting Systems (FFS), Self Defence and Kickboxing/ Muay Thai.
Then some of my other interests including, Yoga, Natural Health and Fitness.
I run a small school teaching the above listed arts in morningoton Vic, Aust. If anyone is down our way you are invited to come and have a play.
As the inspiration takes me, I plan to blog on these topics and anything else that may be of interest at the time.
I do invite any one to argue a point or post in reply. That is if any one actually finds this blog and then takes the time to read it. Hopefully I can provide something that may be of interest to someone.
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