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.
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