Wet Hair, Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Let’s talk about training vs. not training. A lot of students train to compile techniques. The more they learn the better they get - or do they?

Technique will differentiate a trained person over an untrained person. Like knowing how to actually throw a real punch with your body weight behind it is a difference maker. But that is not the real difference that makes a trained person be able to handle a self-defense encounter better.

The real “secret” is the process. The directions on your shampoo bottle are a good example: wet hair, lather, rinse, repeat. Follow the process and repeat the process. Again. And again. And again. Training is not in the technique but more so in the process. Being exposed to different attacks and situations day-in & day-out, week-in & week-out, month-in & month-out is the true secret.

My instructor used to tell me, “Recognize the situation, recognize your position, you’ve been here before.” The more you do this the more it becomes automatic. And that is what can save your life.

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Managing the Chaos

If you are suddenly under an attack - say from behind, being strangled - the clock is ticking. You have about 8 seconds before your muscles give out and you start losing consciousness. Freezing and maintaining the status quo IS NOT an option. Fighting his grip around your neck IS NOT an option. The attacker is in a dominate state of control and is proceeding forward to his goal. You need to maximize the chaos. Throw in some variables that he is not ready for.

What can you do? Arching up and throwing your whole body down to the ground or over a chair may hurt you but also may hurt him. At the very least he is probably not ready for it and in that chaos you can hopefully break free and then escape or fight back. It is risky but it throws variables into the mix that you can then use to gain an opportunity.

Learn to manage choas. Sometimes more chaos is a good thing!

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Fight vs. Assault

A physical confrontation can take many forms and shapes. Not all are the same. I want to define the difference in my eyes between a “fight” and an “assault.”

A fight is a physical attack that can happen from a misunderstanding, an argument or within a competitive event. A fight involves hitting and/or grappling with the goal of overcoming your opponent. It can devolve into an assault but usually is resolved once the dominant party takes command of the situation via knockout, surrender/quitting, or fleeing. This is where you fight to be the winner.

An assault is a fight that also involves hitting and grappling but also usually involves the use of a weapon/tool. Be it a knife, a gun, a beer bottle, etc. Additionally, it has a very different intent. That intent is a predatory malice to injure, maim, rape and/or kill the other. This is where you fight to survive.

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Time to get EMOTIONAL...

Needless to say that when we are attacked we are under a barrage of stress. Physical mental and - YES - emotional. The big 3. For you to survive such an encounter you have to not only manage this stress but also channel it into a functional and dare I say, tactical, operating system.

You need to align your physical actions with a mental purpose and have it all fueled by your emotional outlook. If you are enraged, let that rage strengthen your body. If you are scared, turn that fear into a tactical retreat. If you are in a commanding position maintain your ground and let everything deflect off of you. Etc.

This is the Go-Dai elemental theory. It is not some mystical unseen “force.” It is a way to act decively even when our emotions get in the way.

1. Water - defensiveness

2. Earth - stability

3. Fire - aggression

4. Wind - evasiveness

5. Void - emptiness (all combined)

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What's my situ?

We go through our day with blinders on. Our routine becomes automatic and as such our brains turn off and we don’t notice what’s happening around us… until it’s too late.

This is what we call “situational awareness”. I want to be aware of my surroundings in each situation that I find myself in throughout the day.

I also want to minimize compromises to my attention - music, cell phone, etc. And I need to realize compromises in my position - in a crowd, on a subway, wearing restrictive clothes, etc.

The more you realize “your situ” the more chance you have of avoiding and/or fending off a possible attack.

TIP: try decreasing the use of your cell phone when in public. Get your head up. Look around you. Notice what’s happening. The good and the bad - take it all in and take back your safety.

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Violence IS the answer...

Imagine the scene…

A young woman is cleaning up her kitchen at night after getting her child to bed. While she is doing the dishes an intruder breaks thru her backdoor into the kitchen and attacks her. During the scuffle the attacker grabs a knife from the knife block on the kitchen counter and ends up stabbing the young woman multiple times, killing her.

Now imagine this scene…

A young woman is cleaning up her kitchen at night after getting her child to bed. While she is doing the dishes an intruder breaks thru her backdoor into the kitchen and attacks her. During the scuffle the young woman grabs a knife from the knife block on the kitchen counter and ends up stabbing her attacker multiple times, killing him.

In both scenes violence was used. One time in the attacker's favor and one time in the young woman’s favor. Obviously it is a tragic result with the young woman dying in the first scene. But it is a triumphant action by the young woman in the second. Why is that?? Because violence or violent action is just a tool. How you use it determines the good or the bad. When confronted - point blank - with violence, the only option you have is to fight back. In other words, violence is the problem but IS also the solution.

Yes there are many shades of grey involved here. But, when you are faced with an asocial attacker in your face, in the moment, the only thing that will truly stop that attacker is a violent action on your behalf that causes a disfunction in the attacker’s body. You must be willing and able to do this when attacked with your life on the line.

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the first 30 seconds...

In self-defense we do not know when an attack will occur. It’s a sudden, explosive jump of action that we have to be ready for at all times. In that moment, the first 30 seconds of an attack are the most crucial. You have to adapt, cover and try not to go down. You are at your most vulnerable and you have to come though it intact. Once your do, and your nerves settle down and now you are on your turf and your attacker does not know what they are in for next. Being trained is a HUGE advantage but not a guarantee.

TOP 3 ADVANTAGES OF TRAINING:

1. calmer under pressure

2. tactical actions not frantic ones

3. know how to take a hit and how to give one - with surgical precision

Training is your true weapon. Embrace the time in the studio Practice with purpose and it will serve you well.

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There is no Winning!

Unlike a competitive match, self-defense is not about winning. The goal of self-defense is to create a window of distraction or pain to allow you to run away, not to "win" a fight.

A “win” looks completely different in the self-defense context. Here are a few possible wins in self-defense:

• running away (escape)

• not being raped

• not dying

• minimally injured

Obviously there are many degrees to each of these but the overriding point is that you are not staying around to “duke it out” with your attacker to see who is tougher. Your only objective is to get home safe & sound to your loved ones.

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Hippy, Hippy, Shake!

The Hippy, Hippy Shake was a British invasion rock n’ roll hit in 1964 by the Swingin’ Blue Jeans. The best verse goes:

“Well, now you shake it to the left
You shake it to the right
You do the hippy shake, shake
With all of your might…”

And that verse perfectly encapsulates the idea of hitting. LOL. In self defense we need to hit a specific target with substantial force. We need the hit to actually damage our attacker in some way. To do this we must be able to hit with our whole body - not just our arms. To get the body behind any hit you need to move your hips and push off from the ground. This is the secret to hitting.

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Get the Point?

"It's pointless to train knife defense because you will get cut and stabbed no matter what..."

Yes your chances of surviving a knife attack are small, and your chances of getting out unscathed are just about nil.

None of which means its not worthwhile to try to improve those odds, even a little. Running's not always an option. If you can take your chances of survival from 0.1% to 2%, that's a huge improvement.

Knife defense involves 3-Levels of training

1. Run away (if possible)

2. Put an object between you and the knife (purse, bag, laptop, table, chair, pillar etc.) and engage the attacker

3. Straight-out engage the attacker (if you have nothing)

Look it’s going to be messy, but you can improve the odds with training.

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