The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

Making Your Martial Art More Combative

A major argument in the self preservation world is whether traditional or sport-style martial arts are effective for self defense. This article will not argue that, except to say that neither sport nor traditional martial arts are as effective as a pure self preservation program. Now, I can see some of you reading this article and saying, "Well, I have been practicing a traditional style of Karate for 20 years. Are you telling me that it has been for nothing?"

The answer to that is… not really. Both traditional and sport martial arts have some of the traits necessary for effective self preservation. The purpose of this article is to show how these styles can be adapted to a pure self preservation goal. The most important points involve developing an aggressive mindset, eliminating purely defensive moves, and incorporating reality based training.

The aggressive mindset is of primary importance to anyone involved in self preservation. Militaries from the beginning of time have relied on the development of an aggressive mindset to produce victorious armies. Think about it: how often have you heard of a historical army described as ferocious -- as opposed to having "excellent technique?" Self preservation is for survival, not about showing off your skill or your mercy. The aggressive mindset is one that strives for victory and survival above all else. It allows you to fight through fear and pain to protect yourself and your loved ones. Luckily, the aggressive mindset is easy to cultivate.

Ways to develop an aggressive mindset include eliminating strictly defensive moves, adding reality based training to your regimen, using aggressive nomenclature, and understanding the purpose of your training. The first two will be discussed later, so we will deal with the last two now.

First is understanding the purpose of training. This is two-sided. It encompasses the goal of your training and why you are trying to achieve that goal. The goal of a self preservation program is destroying your attacker. You are trying to achieve that goal to safeguard the lives of you and your loved ones. Training with that in mind at all times is the key to adopting an aggressive mindset and achieving effective self preservation.

Second is using aggressive terminology. Using aggressive terminology is as simple as exchanging defensive or fearful verbs for aggressive ones. This comes from Neuro-Linguistic Psychology (NLP). Essentially, this says that the words we use affect our mindset and influence our performance. An example of this is the word block compared to the word strike. By striking you have performed an aggressive move, even if the movements are the same as your block.

[Editor's note: Tony is referring to concepts that can be found in the SCARS curriculum, on which he has commented at length elsewhere on the Web.]

Eliminating strictly defensive techniques is another key to developing an aggressive mindset and an effective self preservation system. When I say eliminate strictly defensive moves, I am not saying the movements themselves have to be eliminated. What I mean is that they should not be used in a defensive manner. To illustrate, if you walk into any traditional karate school you will see students practicing rising blocks in the traditional manner. They will be in strong front stances and the blocks will rise up sharply to intercept the attacks.

Put these same students in a sparring session or self preservation scenario against a resisting opponent and the outcome is much different. Each student will lean back, putting his or her weight on the back foot. The arm will be placed up to block the incoming strike. This defensive technique is not conducive to self preservation. Simply by using an aggressive mindset and telling students to strike the limb (aggressive terminology) one has turned the defensive technique into an offensive one. The students will step into the technique, backs straight, delivering blows to the incoming strikes to defeat their intent.

Another example of eliminating defensive thinking is to stress the "attack first" mentality. By teaching students to recognize pre-assault signs, one gives them the option of attacking first, of launching preemptive strikes. By striking first, you take the attacker out of his element and you take control of the situation. You are acting instead of reacting.

[Editor's note: preemptive strikes carry with them great potential for legal repercussions, particularly if you cannot demonstrate in court that a "reasonable person" would have interpreted the available evidence as the credible threat of imminent physical harm. Check your laws, do your homework, and understand the legal and social dangers in which you place yourself if you choose to employ preemptive strikes.]

The concept of attacking first and attacking until the enemy is down and out also gives one more confidence when dealing with the situation. It is yet another example of an aggressive mindset. You are more confident because you are in control. The question is no longer "Can I block his punch?" Instead, it is, "Can he block mine? Can he block all of my follow-up techniques?" Now the confidence in your system and your skill in it returns to you regardless of the attack.

The final component in making your martial art more combative is reality based training. This can be very simple or it can be very complex. It involves putting students in situations that don't occur in the dojo. Lets face it: the dojo is a place where everybody works together and everybody treats each other nicely. It should be, because the martial arts are supposed to be enjoyable. However, Johnny Criminal doesn't care about your feelings or whether you show up again at the dojo next month.

The first thing you should do is learn to deal with the shock of being cursed out, called names, and verbally abused. A good drill for this is to have the students face each other in lines. At a signal (say, a whistle), one side curses, swears, and calls the other side names. Give this about 30 seconds. During this time, don't hold back. Be rude. Be a jerk. At the end of the thirty seconds, blow the whistle and have the side that did the name calling go over to their counterparts and hug them or shake hands to remind them that it isn't personal -- it's just a drill. Don't be surprised if someone gets upset. That is the point of the drill. Eventually the students will develop thicker skins. When crunch time comes, they will not be shocked by the verbal abuse with which they are confronted.

The second thing you should do is a little harder and involves "woofing" drills. (The drill was popularized by organizations like RMCAT and FASTdefense. If you don't have the correct equipment, look into a seminar with one of those organizations.) Have one or both of the students pad up. Designate one student as an attacker. The attacker will verbally abuse and threaten the other student. The attacker can even attack the "defender" in a variety of ways. Have the student try to beat the attacker to the attack. Go full speed (or as close as protection allows) and try to elicit emotional responses. Make the scenarios as realistic as possible. Some scenarios include: arguments at a distance with the attacker rushing to close the distance, the attacker trying to get in the student's face, and the attacker trying to corner the student or jump him or her from the side or from behind.

If you have been training for a long time in a traditional or sport style, you have probably developed the attributes needed to defend yourself successfully. What you must now do is train yourself mentally by adopting the proper attitude and attack strategy. The other key is to put yourself in realistically designed scenarios to help prepare you for the realities of combat.

If you follow the tips in this article, you will have a good start in that direction.