A while ago I wrote about the false notion (at least in my eyes) that traditional martial arts and modern combative applications, most predominantly Krav Maga, do not mix well or, as some even claim, are diametrically opposed in the martial arts sphere. But are they?

A discussion I have often heard amongst practitioners of self-defence and Krav Maga systems is whether sparring should be included in the curriculum. There are many valid arguments for both sides and different schools and instructors approach it differently. Here are my two cents.

FANTASY vs REALITY KNIFE WORKSHOP

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This workshop covers the fantasy applications of knife defense, flow and disarms from angle 1 (body thrust) and angle 2 (downward angle slash). It will also cover the realistic TDE Trauma Destroy Exit methodologies.

Is self-defence a lifestyle?

A very interesting point of discussion in a seminar with Richard Dimitri and Chris Roberts recently has really got me thinking on a different aspect of self-protection training. While it is something that I am acutely aware of, I have never really verbalised it. So here goes.

But before we proceed… A key word throughout the next few points is moderation. Read all the way to the end and you’ll see what I mean!

A while ago I discussed the ‘Dojo Syndrome’.
I had received some very positive feedback about the first two articles (you can read them here and here), with many instructors saying ‘this is exactly what happens!’ and had a few requests to post some more tips. I hope this helps you with your training!

The infamous phrase ‘reality-based training’ once again returns to feature in an article…

In the last article I discussed the ‘Dojo Syndrome’.
I had received some very positive feedback about it, with many instructors saying ‘this is exactly what often happens!’ and had a few requests to post some more tips. Thanks for the support, and I hope you enjoy this!

We often refer to something called the 'Dojo syndrome' in training. This is especially relevant when training for self-defence.

Knowing how to turn your attackers on, or off, is actually pretty important! So let's start with the back story...

The effects of adrenaline in self-defence situations are well documented.
What most of us know is this:
As soon as we detect danger, we experience the 'fight, flight or freeze' response. Adrenaline floods into our system, we become stronger, faster and feel less pain. We also tend to experience tunnel vision, loss of spacial awareness, time warps, auditory exclusion, etc., etc. A big part of self defence training focuses on getting oneself used to that experience, functioning effectively through it and managing it, to the extent that this can be safely done in a training environment. Still, we know that the adrenal response can be a huge disadvantage in many cases and severely limits the way we think and fight.

One thing is often left unsaid though. The person who is attacking you, or is about to attack you... Do they experience this? If so, how can you use it to your advantage? If he/she is not experiencing adrenal dump, how can you trigger it in them in order to tip the conflict in your favour?

Geoff Thompson, in his excellent book 'Dead or Alive' (which I believe everyone should read), offers some tips and tricks to identify and trigger adrenal response in the opposition.

Before we discuss this though, let us discuss something else. Is adrenaline always a bad thing? The answer is no. Miller (2008), in his book 'Meditations on Violence', identifies several levels of adrenaline response in the body, as follows:
1. Normal – this refers to your every-day mind and body, when one is often unprepared for an intense violent encounter. When we get hit with a sudden rush of adrenaline in this state, the response is often to freeze, while the mind tries to cope with what is happening and decide on a course of action. Unfortunately this takes precious time, especially if the attack has already begun and you are taking damage.
2. Optimal – this is when we are alert, engaged and physically ready for an altercation. A good example of this is when you prepare yourself to spar in training. You are alert, and this will usually provide the best reaction time, as well as the ability to plan and make tactical decisions as options present themselves.
3. Past optimal – in this case we have gone past the optimal state, and will often result in similar symptoms as previously mentioned, with serious impairment to physical and mental skills.
4. Pessimal – absolute loss of control, both physically and mentally, which often results in total freezing, and even loss of bladder and bowel control.

An interesting anecdote that Miller (2008) points out, is that untrained people often fight better than they normally would under adrenal response, while trained people often fight worse. This relates to trained martial artists often trying to apply fine motor-skill and complicated techniques in situations where making them work is very hard. It also relates to the fact that when you have many techniques and options to choose from, it will take more time to decide on a course of action. Ask yourself now - do I block, evade, cover, counter, kick, punch, elbow, knee, head butt, throw, lock, grapple, choke, etc.? just reading that sentence took you a few seconds, and making a decision and executing it will take a few more! Unfortunately, time in those situations, is often not on your side. This indicates that if your 'autopilot' is not properly programmed – in other words if the correct responses are not rehearsed to an instinctive level – then your chances of survival in sub-optimal adrenal response conditions are drastically reduced.

So how does one identify, or even trigger these in an attacker?
Let's look at what we already know in terms of the visual signs that someone is being affected by adrenaline. These include sweating, shaking, posturing, clenched fists, closing distance, flaying of arms, pale skin, difficulties in verbalising thoughts, etc. An indication that an attack is imminent is often that the attacker will stop using whole sentences and will revert to single words and/or syllables. Being aware of these signals will give you a handy clue that something may be about to happen. 

Now is the time to make another decision. Do you want to turn the attacker on? Or maybe you prefer to turn them off?

We have two options here in order to control the opponent's adrenaline response:
1. To lower the adrenal response (turn them off)– by being submissive, the opponent's adrenaline flow may reduce as the perceived danger is lowered. This may allow you to get them to lower their guard in order to escape or strike first. This is best done when you have no other alternative but to fight.
2. To increase the adrenal response (turn them on) – Thompson (1997) identifies two ways of doing this. One is by becoming overly loud and aggressive, the other is by acting cool and uncaring as if you have been in this situation a thousand times before. The idea in both cases is to create hesitation and fear in the other party, by making them believe that they are likely to get hurt if they attack. This will often send their adrenaline past the optimal level, and may bring about a flight or a freeze response.

So how do you train something like this?
I think this depends a lot on the environment in which you train, but the best way for me has been by simply trying this out on unsuspecting training partners! They prepare to attack me during a routine drill, but instead of doing the technique I will simply try to distract, talk them into doing something else, or yell at them at the top of my voice... But another option is by using scenario training, where you don't know what the final outcome is. In other words, the people who are the 'bag guys' in the scenario may decide to attack you, or they may not, depending on how you react. This teaches both training parties how to manage their adrenaline and gives different ways of solving the problem before actually getting to the physical stage. 

Stay tuned, stay safe.
OSS

Distance and timing are perhaps the two most important attributes in nearly all competition sports. When looking at combat sports such as boxing, kickboxing, MMA and so on, it is easy to see how fighters with superb timing and control of distance and range can defeat opponents who are faster, stronger or more technically-savvy. Look at Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jamey Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Georges St-Pierre, just to name a few of my personal favourites.

I have encountered two schools of thought with regards to these attributes in the context of self-defence.

Many self-defence systems, particularly Krav Maga exponents, advocate the idea of forward movement as the base for successful defence. The idea behind this is to put the attacker on the back foot, literally as well as mentally, in order to disable their ability to continue the attack. The forward movement, combined with a blitz attack should enable the defender to push the attacker back and inflict sufficient damage to subdue the attacker or to cause enough stun to allow for a quick escape. As such, distance becomes almost irrelevant, as we have only two options – either there is enough distance to run away, or get so close as to disrupt the opponent’s attacks, but very little happens in between. The same logic applies to timing – in self-defence there is often no time to assess your opponent’s movements, patterns or technical ability. The only option is to escape or press forward, and executing movements like a perfectly-timed light jab is not effective. Timing relates more to how long an encounter takes place before other factors, such as multiple attackers or weapons, come into play.

The other approach, which I tend to lean towards, is that both timing and distance do indeed matter in self-defence. That being said, I also believe they take much longer to develop and be comfortable with. 

The application of technique should, ideally, follow this logic - “nearest target, closest weapon, best result”. In other words, we have to pick the best target and use the optimal weapon available in order to inflict maximum damage. Both Distance and timing play a crucial role in doing this successfully.

To start with, if you are alert enough to your environment and surrounding, you may be able to eliminate many threats altogether by controlling distance using effective movement. This could mean running away, circling or maneuvering to a position where you have the advantage.

Next, take the typical male ‘monkey dance’ where two guys stare each other down from across the room. As one approaches they begin to verbalise threats or challenges and gradually close distance until they come to blows (assuming no opportunity to deescalate or escape is available). This implicitly implies that the same technique won’t work at all ranges of the encounter. Throwing something, kicking, punching or head butting can all work as efficient techniques, but only at different ranges. The same goes for timing. If the opponent closes the distance faster than you realise you may use the incorrect technique, for example kicking when you should punch, and you may find yourself off balance and paying dearly for that mistake.
Secondly, while it is true that most self defence situations will end up in some form of grappling or extremely-close quarter combat (the ‘bad breathe’ range, as a good friend likes to call it), it does not start there. Let’s look at another example – someone rushes at you to try and tackle you to the ground. Depending on your understanding of timing and distance you may choose to block if they are very close, sprawl if you have a bit of space, kick if they are further out, or redirect them if you can. But all of these require a good understanding of how far away the opponent is, how quickly they are closing the distance, how quickly you can execute the technique and what the range will be when you execute the technique.

There are many more such examples. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, so please comment, post or email us any time.

Stay safe, stay tuned.

OSS