© COPYRIGHT 2009 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sword and Pen – April 2009 Issue
[Reprinted With Permission]
American Combato
Seattle Combatives
"EXPERIENCE TEACHES US THAT IT IS MUCH EASIER TO PREVENT AN ENEMY FROM POSTING THEMSELVES THAN IT IS TO DISLODGE THEM AFTER THEY HAVE GOT POSSESSION."
• GEORGE WASHINGTON
"THE element of surprise". In eight years of taekwon-do this was never mentioned to us — not even once. Nor was it mentioned save perhaps three times in passing (with practically no real emphasis) in our ju-jutsu training. Ditto for varmannie and kenpo-karate training. In fact, while there were certainly indirect references to the use of the surprise element during instructional periods (ie "Don't telegraph your moves!", "Don't be predictable when you spar!", "Try to get your opponent when his mind is elsewhere", etc.) no one, during the course of the classical/traditional martial arts training that we had, ever said simply and plainly, and repeatedly:
"CULTIVATE THE ART OF TAKING YOUR ENEMY
COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE, WHETHER ON THE
ATTACK, OR WHEN OBLIGED TO COUNTERATTACK.
THEN CAPITALIZE ON THE ADVANTAGE THAT HAVING
GOTTEN THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE IN YOUR FAVOR
HAS GIVEN YOU — AND KEEP ON ATTACKING WITH
FURY AND DETERMINATION UNTIL YOUR ENEMY HAS
BEEN DESTROYED! NEVER LET YOUR ENEMY EVEN
KNOW THAT IT IS YOUR INTENTION TO FIGHT BACK,
IF POSSIBLE. AND WHEN HE LEAST ANTICIPATES IT,
GO AFTER HIM WHERE HE IS WEAKEST WITH YOUR
STRONGEST NATURAL WEAPONS — DEVASTATE HIM WITHOUT MERCY! — SEEING TO IT THAT HIS ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO FURTHER ENDANGER YOU HAS BEEN TOTALLY NEGATED BEFORE YOU DESIST IN YOUR OWN ONSLAUGHT AGAINST HIM!"
Only when we (thankfully!) got our hands on the works of Applegate and Fairbairn, at or around the age of twelve, and then when we luckily enrolled with Charles Nelson, did we finally receive admonishments to employ the element of surprise whenever possible since, as these realists made clear, we were not playing a game when we found ourself in a dangerous situation requiring that we defend ourself!
We mention the foregoing because if you haven't been POUNDED with the need to master the use of the critical element of surprise in your (presumed) "martial" studies, we understand. So permit us to fill the gap in your combatives education, and to do so most emphatically, right now.
There are a number of crucial differences between any form of combative sport and actual close combat. One of them, certainly, is the fact that the degree and extent of threat that any enemy poses in real combat cannot possibly be surmised no matter how skilled or knowledgeable the combatant may be. Unlike a contest in which both contestants agree to begin on a given signal (and consequently, the true element of surprise is removed entirely from the engagement) in close combat it must be assumed that one's adversary will either endeavor to take one by complete surprise (from behind, or at a moment of distracted involvement with something beside conflict) or he will attempt to do something (pull a weapon, throw dirt, have an accomplice move in from an unexpected quarter, etc.) so as to totally surprise his adversary in a manner that leaves him little hope of surviving.
One must either master the use of the element of surprise for his own use, and learn how to subvert the application of this element by a potential enemy, or one will fall victim to any thug or opponent who appreciates the value of surprising his opponent, and who uses it skillfully.
Surprise trumps size, strength, armament, numbers. Or at least, it certainly permits an individual who possesses the requisite skills with which to dispatch enemies in battle to trump those factors, should he encounter them. And realism and practicality demands that we all train with the assumption that our enemies will all be physically superior, armed, determined to maim or to kill us, and assisted by accomplices.
In order to defeat such an enemy the element of surprise should be utilized in the extreme. The defender, for example, who trains in combat skills for self-defense, will want to make the employment of the surprise element as much a part of his personal style as he does the cultivation of hand and foot blows.
Here are some suggestions for training that will enable you to cultivate the use of the element of surprise naturally, and with excellent tactical success:
• Abandon all sparring and competition approaches to training. By conditioning yourself to face off against an opponent, ready yourself while he readies himself, and anticipate that you will be confronting a solitary, unarmed adversary under controlled and agreed upon conditions, you are conditioning yourself to become an excellent competitor, but an inept combatant. It is simply impossible to duplicate hand-to-hand combat in a sporting context, and it is the height of reckless stupidity to try. By increasing the brutality of a sport (ie UFC/Cage fighting/MMA, etc.) you do not change the fact that it still is a sport. And all sports forbid (quite appropriately) that either entrant begin until the other is ready. The combatant always seeks to shock, surprise, and take his enemy off guard; he has no concern for "beginning on an equal footing".
• Train for reality. Reality dictates that an attack will come in one of two ways: a) With your awareness of its onset, or b) Unexpectedly (from behind, etc.). In "a" type situations you can always gain the preemptive surprise advantage by simply assuming what we have dubbed the "Relaxed-Ready Stance". Stand off-angled to any stranger who approaches you, establishing and maintaining proper distance (ie outside arm's reach) from that stranger. Make no judgments, assessments, or evaluations of anyone who you do not know personally and who approaches you. Have one, fixed, set response: preparedness and wariness: condition yellow, at least; condition orange, if there is the slightest sense, suspicion, feeling, or intuition that there may be trouble. Your hands should be raised to sternum level, relaxed and open. Your eyes remain on the stranger.
In a "b" type situation you can develop the kind of reaction skills, such as we teach in American Combato, that immediately throw you on the offensive and — within the briefest possible interval — enable you to turn into the attacker, actually going after the assailant who had initially caught you unexpectedly. All good combat techniques are predominantly if not exclusively OFFENSIVE. Thus, when caught off guard, the technique of self-defense (actually, as we prefer to call it, the technique of counterattacking) is so vicious, destructive, and catches the attacker himself off guard, that the offense shifts speedily, and it is your attacker who suddenly finds himself under assault.
• Become attack minded. While taking an unexpected assailant by surprise is possible with a quick, aggressive counterattack, the best way to surprise any enemy is to preempt him. That means what we have been urging since the late 1960's: When you are attacked, attack the attacker! This requires attack mindedness, and it demands a ferocious capacity with aggressive, damaging techniques. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will enable you to better implement the element of surprise than will exploding in the face of a would-be attacker at the very moment his physical onslaught begins, and disabling him before he can carry his onslaught to fruition.
• Emphasize BLOWS as your combative forte.
It takes less time and requires less potentially "telegraphing" physical action to lash out with a simple blow than it takes to employ any kind of hold or throw.
Discard all of the in vogue "groundgrappling/wrestling/competition" foolishness. Cultivate fast eye jabs, chopping attacks, kicks to knees and testicles, and other simple, very basic skills. These blows can be initiated when needed from any normal, natural, nonchalant position. Their impact on target (or even near target!) will surprise and momentarily stun any opponent.
• Follow up! Never, never, never allow yourself to believe in or to train for "one blow stops". A simple fact about the element of surprise is that it can be achieved ONLY ONCE. Therefore, having achieved it by your initial action, press the attack relentlessly! Do not let your enemy get set, and try to eliminate him before he realizes what is happening. Keep on attacking, attacking, attacking, and attacking! Your enemy will then be kept utterly off balance physically and psychologically, and he will be so effectively surprised that it is unlikely he will be able to offer even token resistance to your actions.
• Think dirty! Literally — instill in your mind the mandate to exploit without mercy any opening that you can, in an encounter. Throw sand, dirt, a glass of water, or anything that you can't use as a weapon to inflict injury on your attacker. Cultivate a distaste for anything resembling "fair", "ethical", or "sporting" actions. Violent offenders pick their victims. If, after "reading" you as a soft target you suddenly go at a troublemaker like a rabid dog — with not the slightest concern for the damage you inflict upon him — you can bet he'll be surprised. BJS
No comments:
Post a Comment