By Scott Shaw
At
the heart of any form of physical hand-to-hand combat training is the developed
ability to emerge victorious from a physical altercation. The various schools
of self-defense each have the own set of developed techniques. Some are
street-worthy and very effective; some not so much. The fact is, most schools
of traditional martial arts teach a method of self-defense that is far less
street-worthy than the teachers of the systems would ever admit. In class, all
practice sessions are very orchestrated and expected. If there is sparring at
the school, it is generally light or no-contact. Though the practitioners of
these systems certainly come to master a heightened sense of physical movement,
in many cases, when paired against a savvy street fighter they are quickly
defeated as they do not know how to react to rapid and very directed physical
assaults.
Boxing
is an ideal self-defense system where the practitioner quickly learns how to
react to a specific type of assault. They get punched and they punch back.
Simple but very effective. But, more than just that, a boxer learns how to take
a punch and this is one of the most essential elements in the training of any
fighter. You have to be able to take a punch and immediately continue on
afterwards with your necessary self-defense or any defensive technique you may
have learned at the dojo becomes useless.
When
the Asian martial arts hit the Western shores after World War II: karate, judo,
and jujitsu became the idealized forms of self-defense. In the movies, the
practitioner of a traditional form of martial arts always defeated their
opponent. When taekwondo hit the West in the 1960s, its beautiful kicks again
came to redefine what was possible with self-defense. But, again, if a stylized
practitioner of these systems was put up against a competent boxer or seasoned
street fighter they would, more than likely, be defeated.
The
reason for this is very simply, within any street fight the rules go out the
window. All that matters is what works. People who have actually gone
hand-to-hand with other fighters, on a frequent basis, are the ones who most
clearly understand this and it is they who immediately, without thought, adapt
to whatever is being thrown at them by their opponent. If they get hit, they
know how to take that punch and not let it debilitate them. They simply move
forward with the fight. This, while the stylized practitioner thinks about what
they should be doing and why. It is this mindset that ultimately leads to the
street fighter emerging victorious in a competition against a trained
traditional martial artist.
Throughout
the 1960s and onward, more-and-more traditional martial arts practitioners
began to open their minds and their styles to allowing other influences to come
into play. They would study what other systems had to offer and then
integrate that ideology into their own system of self-defense. Though
schools of traditional martial arts are still in abundance, more and more
training facilities emphasis leaving behind formalized tradition and learning
what works and how best to use it.
Here
lies they ideal training platform that should be integrated into every school
of self-defense. Teach your students the basics and then allow them to go
hand-to-hand in a non-defined, unexpected manner, (within a controlled
environment, of course). Let them learn what it feels like to actually fight.
From this, they will emerge as true martial artists and ideal combat
technicians.
For
anyone who has followed by writings on the fighting arts over the past three
decades they understand that my focus has always been on developing and using
what works best for you. Learn your techniques, study your environment, study
your opponent, and then do what you must do to defeat them. I have long detailed
the necessity of landing the first strike as that may be all it takes to emerge
victorious from any confrontation. But, as time has moved on, I have come to
enjoy studying the more refined elements of my opponent’s combat skills and
then deciding how best to overcome their attack. To understand this, let me
explain…
Every
person you enter into a physical altercation with has their own set of
predisposed skills and fighting techniques. With most people, they have
virtually none. They will either come at you throwing wild punches or if they
have no developed skills at all, they will try to tackle you. But, once on the
ground, they have no idea what to do next. In each case, they immediately show
their hand. They implicitly tell you what they are capable of doing. And, more
importantly, of what they are not capable of doing.
Of
course, there is the other side of the issue; this is where you come
face-to-face with a highly trained fighter. Whether they come from the
traditional martial arts, MMA, boxing, or something else, again, what they are
going to initially unleash at you is their best technique. Meaning, if they
have a really powerful side kick or a highlight developed right hook, they are
not going to walk up and slap you. They are going to attempt to hit you as hard
as they can with that technique for that is the best they have to offer.
From
my person perspective, what I have truly learned from is to let the opponent
unleash their best technique. Once they do, then you know what they have – you understand
what they can do. From this understanding, the moment they unleash their
secondary attack, they have already illustrated how they can most easily be
defeated.
Certainly,
this method of self-defense can be precarious if you go face-to-face with a
highly trained fighter. But, most people who would step up to you aren’t highly
trained fighters. They are simply an adrenaline filled individual, lost in
their own anger. And, this is why they can easily be defeated. By keeping your
focus, studying their technique and movement, you can quickly and consciously
defeat them by understanding what they will most likely next unleash and then
countermanding it with the most appropriate technique in your arsenal.
At
the heart of all self-defense training is learning to anticipate and then
defeating your attacker. Yes, if you are a trained practitioner you can go up
and probably easily knock a person out with one punch or kick. But, what is the
fun in that? Moreover, as I always warn my students, that style of self-defense
leaves you highly vulnerable to legal repercussions. On the other hand, if you
allow your assailant to be the attacker, then you are simply defending yourself
and personal self-defense is always legal.
Most
people train in the fighting arts in order to learn how to defeat an opponent
in the most expedient manner possible. This is fine. You should learn all the
basics from kicks, to punches, to take-downs, to joint locks, and most
importantly deflections. Plus, you need to know how to take a punch! But, once
all that has been understood, then you must come to understand the individual
body mechanics of each style of attack. From this, you gain the ability
to consciously observe your opponent while not being overpowered by them and
then defeat them in the most appropriate manner, dictated by their own defined
style of attack which you have previously witnessed.
Practice
with this in your training environment. You will find that it will make you a
much more competent martial artist.
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