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 Natural Reactions
Obviously, no one can be expected to take time out during a fight and take note of what the details of life might be. You will have to develop the ability to take time out without
taking time out. That is to think without thinking, fight without fighting, etc. We will need to develop this skill just as you do when learning to drive, walk or ride a bike.
Breakdown of combat and hostile situations:
1 Observation phase
This is the first step of your defense, before we can take action we must look
around and take a quick note of options, possibilities and environment. Examples of what we might notice in an environmental situation are: the room, location of
doors or exits, possible weapons, ground or terrain, light, obstacles, etc. Remember the master's motto "expect the unexpected."
2 Balance phase
This next phase is used to give you balance or preparation for the defense. In close quarters where an attack is immediate, you gain balance by lowering your
center of gravity. This can be done by widening your stance, giving you more control and balance over your opponent. In a not yet combative situation, let's
say you are in a restaurant eating lunch and a trouble maker comes in, you can gain balance by placing yourself in a logical position and maybe prepare some
table items to use as weapons, such as fork, knife, salt, drink, etc.
3 Break up phase
This phase is designed to control the focus of our enemy. By distracting or changing their current focus we can better handle the situation. There are four
specific areas that we will cover in controlling another's focus.
A. Indirect control: verbal use in combat
B. Direct control: use of pain or physical force
C. Visual control: use of changing visual focus
D. Emotional control: use of a specific desire
By applying a break up you have created a diversion causing a loss of concentration in your opponent and giving you the upper hand.
4. Technique phase
This phase is where you take action toward your objective. Lets take the following as an example: You were punched, but you first observed that your
attacker was drunk. You then gained balance by dropping your weight. You changed his focus by slapping him in the eyes. Your technique was a duck and a
side step to avoid. What your goal or outcome in a situation is will determine the type of technique you will need to achieve that result.
5 Finish phase
Exterminate the attack or attacker.
Control the attack or attacker until further help has arrived or the situation has ceased.
Escape the situation altogether, usually by running.
Using the example from phase four (technique phase), after you have avoided the punch, your finish might have been to attack from the rear and apply a rear
choke to control your opponent (waiting) or your drunken assailant will pass out in which case end the threat .
Body Movement
In order for one to be proficient in combat you must learn to use proper body movement. This can be done by shuffling, shifting, stepping and pedaling, etc.
Directions of movement Attack and defense
Jamming: Moving into or triangulate toward the opponent
Evading: Moving in a sideways direction from the opponent
Running:
Moving in a backward direction away from the opponent
These movements concerning shuffling, utilize tactics of skipping and rolling from strikes without telegraphing the sudden change in angle of attack are considered
specialized body movement. Most attacks are avoided by using circular motions. Mastery of this circular movement will lead to a better understanding and application of combat maneuvers.
The Magnificent Seven
Students will center their learning around the seven areas of defense or what we call the "Magnificent Seven." These groups will offer techniques to get a basic
understanding of combat, movement and applications. On testing, students will be expected to have learned more variations and will be asked to demonstrate
their skill. Techniques should not necessarily be fast but more so fluid and natural. Memorize the categories and use them as a basis for learning the basics to self-defense.
1. Punches (all hand and arm strikes)
2. Kicks (all leg and foot attacks)
3. Restraints (grabs, chokes and holds)
4. Charges (pushes, and lunges)
5. Grapples (wrestling and ground fighting)
6. Throws (offensive and defensive)
7. Weapons (angles, size, blades and blunts)
Personal Combat Skills
Self defense is the ability to do the best you can when protecting yourself or others. Too often people confuse self defense with the illusion of television action
stunt scenes. You can not expect to be 100% effective in combat. The purpose of self defense is to increase your percentage of survival. For example, if you
started training with a 10% chance of defending yourself, the skills you learn may increase your ability to a 20% chance. Twenty percent may not seem like much,
but it is double what you came in with. If you get attacked and beaten and were unable to defend yourself or others it does not necessarily mean that your training
is ineffective, it means your percentage was not high enough and perhaps you would have gotten beaten worse if you had not trained. So, our goal in self
defense is to increase our self defense percentage. We can start by listing our strengths, weaknesses and strategies based on those two areas. By increasing
our current strengths and working on our weaknesses we can begin to develop a base percentage increase.
Whatever the cause or causes, the threat of an attack is real, the possibility of being mugged or physically attacked exists for everyone. It does not matter who
you are, where you live or where you work. The fact is, it is a possibility. In order for us to learn to defend oneself it is important to learn how one attacks or
uses a weapon. If you wanted to learn the best ways of defending against a gun you would first have to learn how to use it. Thus giving you background in how
your opponent might react or think. This concept is the same with self-defense training.
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