Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Environmental Fighting By Scott Shaw


By Scott Shaw

            As martial artists we continually train or bodies and our minds to encounter combative situations in the most effective and expedient manner possible. To this end, we must continually reevaluate and refine our training methods to ensure that we will be prepared to defend ourselves no matter where a battle finds us. For this reason, Environmental Fighting is one of the best training methods available.
            Environmental Fighting finds the martial artist setting up a situation where he or she is in a less than ideal fighting posture and then must effectively defend him or herself from this positioning. Thus, the practitioner develops the natural ability to refine their defensive and offensive methodology to met whatever type of combat they encounter.
            In most martial art classes, students train in a very sterile manner. They face off against their training partner and then performed prescribed blocks to specific punches or kicks. Or, they may perform specific hand-techniques designed to defend against a specific grab or hold. Though these are all age-old training methods, if that is the only self-defense training one practices, if they find themselves in street combat, where no rules apply, they are often left with a less then ideal skillset of what to do against a wildly driven thug.
            To begin to work with Environmental Fighting you simply need to set up a combat situation and then have your opponent move in towards you with various random attacks. Obviously, in the initial stages of Environmental Fighting training, your opponent is not going to come at you full speed or with full power. But, by simply unleashing an undefined technique in your direction you will be forced to come to understand what defense is most appropriate and effective against that type of assault.
            In is essential in Environmental Fighting training to make sure your defensive techniques are realistic to the environment where you find yourself. For example, when I was a young boy, my instructor set up a chair and a small table in the classroom and demonstrated how he could deliver a roundhouse kick to the head of his opponent across the table. Though this was an early example of Environment Fighting, even then I realized that if you were in a crowded restaurant, sending a wide roundhouse kick to the head of your opponent was not going to be an easy feat to perform as you may get hung up on the table next to you or by a guest dining next to you and so on. The point is, though you will obviously be training in Environmental Fighting in the dojang, it is essential to be sure to train in a realistic manner.
            The dojang environment is a safe and controlled place where you can refine your training skills and make Environmental Fighting a part of your overall training regime.  To do so, is quite simple. You simply need to place yourself in an unrehearsed, less than ideal position, and then have your training partner come at you with various aggressive techniques.  For example, one Environmental Fighting technique to work with is to have your back up against the wall where your opponent has pinned you in. From this training position you will learn how to effectively push your opponent back and deliver close-contact strikes to his body that will leave him disabled.
            Another ideal training posture work with is to be sitting on the floor when your attacker accosts you. From this position you will learn how to best deal with low kicks that are directed towards your head and body and how to quickly and effectively get up and reposition yourself and then continue through with appropriate self-defense.
            Laying face down, like you may be doing at the beach, is another training posture of Environmental Fighting to work with. By discovering how to defend yourself from a fully prone position, perhaps the hardest of all positions to effectively emerge from, you will gain invaluable knowledge about true methods of self-defense.
            The main thing to keep in mind when working with Environmental Fighting is to never let your techniques become stagnate or predetermined, nor should you ever believe that what works for your training partner will work for you.  Each situation and each person possess a completely unique set of variables. For this reason, you must never believe that one technique will universally work in all situations. You must forever be willing to immediately change your defensive strategy the moment you come to understand that it will not leave you dominate in any physical combat situation you find yourself in. Environmental Fighting is the ideal training method to develop the insight into what truly works and how you can emerge victorious from any confrontation.

Copyright © 2014 – All Rights Reserved

Friday, September 19, 2014

Finding the Opening By Scott Shaw


By Scott Shaw

            When it comes to physical combat most people go at it with uncontrolled swinging fists and kicking legs. Even people who have rudimentarily trained in the fighting arts, many times, will quickly forget all that they have learned and simply try to survive the fight.
            There is a small breed of people who actually like to fight. They enjoy the intended dominance over others and they may even like the pain of receiving the punch. This is a very small breed, however. These are people who live their life at a very animalistic level.
            The fact of the matter is; mankind has not progressed very far in term of raising human consciousness over the past several millenniums. This, even though there are a fairly large number of people who focus their lives upon the spiritual aspects of existence. But, this has been the case forever. There have always been those whose minds veer towards the cosmic. The problem is, there are far more who focus upon conquest and dominance.
            Though the spiritually inclined will deny this fact, at the root of mankind is violence – the overpowering of others to obtain what one wants. This is not right, nor is it the way it should be, but it is the way it is.
            With this as a basis of understanding, we as martial arts must look to the refined realms of self-defense if we are ever drawn into a physical confrontation. Certainly there is the, “First-Strike, Best-Strike Philosophy.” But, more than simply hitting him before he hits you, you must refine your understanding of physical combat, as the First Strike Philosophy may not always be applicable. Therefore, you must refine your mental understandings if you hope to remain unscathed in a physical confrontation.
            It is important to note, even if you are a highly trainer fighter, you can be defeated – as has been proven time and time again. For this reason, you must never simply assume you will emerge victorious in a fight simply because you are bigger than your opponent or more highly trained.  Additionally, in a competition setting you may find yourself tantalizing the audience by going round-for-round and elongating the time in the ring. But, on the streets it should never be like that. A street fight is won or lost very quickly and if you toy with or underestimate your opponent you will sooner or later get hit and that hit may debilitate you. To this end, and to elevate all of the unnecessary punch-for-punch mentality of a street fight, a true martial artist seeks the best and most rapid way to penetrate their opponent’s defenses and defeat them.
            One of the best ways to achieve this is to find an opening in your opponent’s defenses. Highly trained boxers are very good at this, they look for an opening and then BAM, they punch through that hole. In many traditional martial art systems the student is not trained to be aware of these openings in their opponent’s stances, however. They are simply taught to punch, kick, throw, and if they find themselves being punched or kicked at, to forcefully block that attack. Though this style of self-defense may work in certain circumstance, it may also prove to be a person’s demise. Thus, a true martial artist must always study their opponent and then strikeout in the most rapid and effective manner possible.
            The fact is, a street fight takes place in a few moments. Therefore, a long process of studying your opponent is generally not possible as is the case in the ring. To this end, you need to develop your ability to rapidly assess your attacker and then deliver the most appropriate and devastating offense possible through the hole in the defenses. This is where opponent training and sparring in your school becomes essential. For in these controlled environments, once you have focused your understanding and know what you should be looking for, you can then develop the ability to see the opening and to rapidly penetrate your opponent’s defenses, delivering a powerful attack.
            For each system of the fighting arts the students are trained in a specific format of techniques. Though in school practice some of them look very pretty, i.e., the throws of Hapkido and Aikido. In actual combat, however, these types of techniques virtually never work, as they are far too elaborate. To this end, it is very important that you do not fool yourself into believe that simply because your training partner allows you to throw him in the gym that on the street this same type of technique will be a viable method of self-defense. 
            It is a simply fact of combat, the fighting techniques that work best on the street are those that are very direct, very powerful, and very simple to unleash. Whether this is a straight punch, front kick, or joint lock the main thing to remember is that you want to see the opening and immediately strike through that opening. Don’t wait because in street combat those opening are only there for a moment and that chance may not present itself again.
            When you find that opening on your opponent and strike one of the main things that you must keep in mind is that it may not be effective. Perhaps you did not strike hard enough, perhaps your opponent shifted his positing or moved, or perhaps your attack was blocked. The moment you realize that your attack was unsuccessful, you must immediately move and continue forward with additional defense, followed by offense. Never wait or you may not have the chance to relaunch your attack. 
            In the martial arts and, in fact, all fighting arts, the first thing the student must do is to master the techniques of the style they are studying. Once this has been accomplished you must then begin to study the movements of your opponent. For what is martial art training if it is not gaining the developed knowledge to emerge successful from physical combat. To this end, never see your techniques as the sole end in physical combat. Instead, see them as a means to strikeout if you are attacked – using them to penetrating the defenses of your opponent and emerge victorious from any confrontation. When it comes to physical combat most people go at it with uncontrolled swinging fists and kicking legs. Even people who have rudimentarily trained in the fighting arts, many times, will quickly forget all that they have learned and simply try to survive the fight.
            There is a small breed of people who actually like to fight. They enjoy the intended dominance over others and they may even like the pain of receiving the punch. This is a very small breed, however. These are people who live their life at a very animalistic level.
            The fact of the matter is; mankind has not progressed very far in term of raising human consciousness over the past several millenniums. This, even though there are a fairly large number of people who focus their lives upon the spiritual aspects of existence. But, this has been the case forever. There have always been those whose minds veer towards the cosmic. The problem is, there are far more who focus upon conquest and dominance.
            Though the spiritually inclined will deny this fact, at the root of mankind is violence – the overpowering of others to obtain what one wants. This is not right, nor is it the way it should be, but it is the way it is.
            With this as a basis of understanding, we as martial artists must look to the refined realms of self-defense if we are ever drawn into a physical confrontation. Certainly there is the, “First-Strike, Best-Strike Philosophy.” But, more than simply hitting him before he hits you, you must refine your understanding of physical combat, as the First Strike Philosophy may not always be applicable. Therefore, you must refine your mental understandings if you hope to remain unscathed in a physical confrontation.
            It is important to note, even if you are a highly trainer fighter, you can be defeated – as has been proven time and time again. For this reason, you must never simply assume you will emerge victorious in a fight simply because you are bigger than your opponent or more highly trained.  Additionally, in a competition setting you may find yourself tantalizing the audience by going round-for-round and elongating the time in the ring. But, on the streets it should never be like that. A street fight is won or lost very quickly and if you toy with or underestimate your opponent you will sooner or later get hit and that hit may debilitate you. To this end, and to elevate all of the unnecessary punch-for-punch mentality of a street fight, a true martial artist seeks the best and most rapid way to penetrate their opponent’s defenses and defeat them.
            One of the best ways to achieve this is to find an opening in your opponent’s defenses. Highly trained boxers are very good at this, they look for an opening and then BAM, they punch through that hole. In many traditional martial art systems the student is not trained to be aware of these openings in their opponent’s stances, however. They are simply taught to punch, kick, throw, and if they find themselves being punched or kicked at, to forcefully block that attack. Though this style of self-defense may work in certain circumstances, it may also prove to be a person’s demise. Thus, a true martial artist must always study their opponent and then strikeout in the most rapid and effective manner possible.
            The fact is, a street fight takes place in a few moments. Therefore, a long process of studying your opponent is generally not possible as is the case in the ring. To this end, you need to develop your ability to rapidly access your attacker and then deliver the most appropriate and devastating offense possible through the hole in their defenses. This is where opponent training and sparring in your school becomes essential. For in these controlled environments, once you have focused your understanding and know what you should be looking for, you can then develop the ability to see the opening and to rapidly penetrate your opponent’s defenses, delivering a powerful attack.
            For each system of the fighting arts the students are trained in a specific format of techniques. Though in school practice some of them look very pretty, i.e., the throws of Hapkido and Aikido. In actual combat, however, these types of techniques virtually never work, as they are far too elaborate. To this end, it is very important that you do not fool yourself into believe that simply because your training partner allows you to throw him in the gym that on the street this same type of technique will be a viable method of self-defense. 
            It is a simply fact of combat, the fighting techniques that work best on the street are those that are very direct, very powerful, and very simple to unleash. Whether this is a straight punch, front kick, or joint lock, the main thing to remember is that you want to see the opening and immediately strike through that opening. Don’t wait because in street combat those opening are only there for a moment and that chance may not present itself again.
            When you find that opening on your opponent and strike one of the main things that you must keep in mind is that it may not be effective. Never believe that one technique will be enough. Perhaps you did not strike hard enough, perhaps your opponent shifted his positing or moved, or perhaps your attack was blocked. The moment you realize that your attack was unsuccessful, you must immediately move and continue forward with additional defense, followed by offense. Never wait or you may not have the chance to relaunch your attack. 
            In the martial arts and, in fact, all fighting arts, the first thing the student must do is to master the techniques of the style they are studying. Once this has been accomplished you must then begin to study, understand, and anticipate the movements of your opponent. For what is martial art training if it is not gaining the developed knowledge to emerge successful from physical combat? To this end, never see your techniques as the sole end in physical combat. Instead, see them as a means to strikeout if you are attacked – using them to penetrating the defenses of your opponent and emerge victorious from any confrontation.
            Study the subtleties of combat.

Copyright © 2014 – All Rights Reserved

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Three D’s of Self-Defense By Scott Shaw


By Scott Shaw

            Martial artists are forever seeking new methods to refine their personal science of self-defense. Once the physical and philosophic basics of a system are mastered, then comes the metal refinement that takes the student forward, moving them towards the level of martial arts mastery.
            In order to raise the ever-evolving understanding of my martial arts students, I personally prescribe a method that I called, “The Three D’s of Self-Defense.” This method is provided to help define a precise course of action for each confrontation and to ultimately chart a pathway towards victory. The Three D’s are:

1. Deflect
2. Deny
3. Defy

            To briefly go into the basics for this three-part self-defense philosophy, we can view each element individually.

Deflect
            A physical confrontation is never to anyone’s benefit. It is only the ego-driven martial artist that desires to go toe-to-toe with another person and emerge victorious. To this end, it takes the larger man (or woman) to walk away from a fight rather than to allow another person to drag them into a physical altercation. Therefore, the first means of deflection is to walk away from any confrontation.
            Certainly, we all realize that walking away is not always an option. This is especially the case when a person either grabs you or strikes you and is not going to stop until they are disabled. To achieve self-defense in the most conscious manner possible, while keeping yourself free for personal injury, the true martial artist will always deflect an attack rather than encounter it directly. 
            Forcefully blocking an assault has been shown time-and-time again to lead to injuring the blocking component of your arm or actually breaking your blocking hand. Therefore, learning the science of opponent energy manipulation and deflection is the ideal first tool of effective self-defense that each martial artist should master.

Deny
            When there is no way to exit a physical confrontation and stop it before it begins, and deflection has not halted an opponent’s attack, the next step in conscious self-defense is to deny their ability to continue forward with their assault. The quickest and most debilitating way to engaged an oncoming opponent is to strike them before they have ability to strike you. For example, they are rapidly moving in towards you to attack. Before they have the chance to connect with a punch, kick, or grab, you deliver a powerful first-strike to a debilitating part of their body.
            When encountering an enraged attacker, each situation is defined by its own set of circumstances. Therefore, there is no one strike that should always be used. But, a powerful straight punch to the face, a front kick to the groin, a hammer fist to the temple, a knife hand or fist to the throat are all viable first-strike weapons in an offensive defense.

Defy
            A physical altercation is rarely won by simply delivering one strategically placed blow to an attacker. Though occasionally, if you deliver a powerful strike to debilitating location on your opponent’s body, this may occur. But, you can never rely upon this. I have witnessed a number of incidences when a person was walking away from a confrontation, after having knocked their opponent to the ground, only to have the opponent jump up and charge after them.  Therefore, you must defy their ability to come after you once the first round has been won.
            No honorable martial artist would ever kick an opponent when they are down. That being said, you must be sure that you actually have the ability to completely leave the scene of the confrontation before you turn your back on your attacker. To this end, simply leaving your opponent with a bloody nose may not be enough. Unless they have formally conceded the fight, you must continue forward with your offensive defense until they are fully subdued. 
            Again, each confrontation is defined by its own set of parameters, so it will ultimately be up to you to know when you can safely leave. But, before you attempt to leave, be sure that your opponent’s ability to come after you has been nullified or you may not emerge victorious during the second round of the confrontation.

Three Together
            The elements of, “The Three D’s of Self-Defense,” can also be tied together and used as one cohesive self-defense methodology. For example, an attacker races towards you. Before he can make impact, you deflect his initial attack. Immediately, you follow up with a powerful, well-placed, strike that stuns him. Finally, wasting no time, you follow thru with a debilitating second punch, kick, break, or throw that ends the entire confrontation. By defending yourself in this manner you allow your attacker no time to rethink or redirect his initial attack and you emerge victorious. 
            The martial arts are a refined science of physical and mental training designed to make the practitioner a more conscious and aware interactive participant of life. For this reason, the true martial artist never trains simply to learn how to fight. Instead, they train in order to gain new mental and physical understandings that will keep themselves and their loved ones safe. They achieve this by avoiding confrontations whenever possible and achieving physical victory only when absolutely necessary.
            Strive to become the best, most conscious and competent martial artist that you can be.

Copyright© 2014 – All Rights Reserved