Welcome Fear!

© COPYRIGHT 2009 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sword and Pen – April 2009 Issue

[Reprinted With Permission]

American Combato
Seattle Combatives

SO often people take up the study of self-defense because they do not want to be afraid. "Be silent and fearless" one well-known taekwondo school in this country advertises. The appeal is understandable. Fear is unpleasant, and many males feel humiliated and ashamed of being afraid and of experiencing the manifestations of fear when they confront a troublemaker. So, when the claim is made that by training in such-and-such one will no longer feel fear, the sale has been made!

The truth is, however, that not only will you not "become fearless" (unless of course you become deluded, go insane, or die), but you REALLY DO NOT WANT TO BECOME FEARLESS; not, in any case, once you understand what fear really is, what it does for you, and how lifesaving it can be in a dangerous or difficult situation.

All you need to do first of all is recall any time when you felt real fear — of anything, not necessarily physical assault — and observe that the fear came on you instantly, in a flash. It also produced a definite physical reaction. Your body changed. You were "charged up" suddenly; your entire organism in a tiny fraction of a second became "ready" for something.


Recall also that the fear was involuntary. It charged you up and "readied you" (albeit very uncomfortably) with no need on your part to take conscious steps of any kind.

Then recall that fear quite possibly left you feeling a bit confused. You didn't know whether to plunge ahead or to withdraw. (Had you had some kind of previously set plan or decision in place regarding what you would do if "such a situation" came up, then you perhaps remember going ahead with that plan with vigor and speed.

Fear eliminates any need for deliberately preparing to face a crisis — for "warming up", if you will.

Fear powerizes your entire system — inside and out — because the fear energy (a term we coined years ago, when writing for a popular gun magazine) provides you with three or four times your normal strength, resilience, agility, and speed. And this happens involuntarily.

Fear allows you to carry out whatever planned and practiced response you possess (ie which you have acquired through decision, or through training and practice) without a second's hesitation. Thus you are able, thanks to fear, to undertake the most effective course of action when you are hit by the "FIGHT OR FLIGHT" response. (This is the response that causes you to experience the capacity to plunge ahead or to withdraw from the situation, and — without training and preparation that has produced a specific decision about what you'll do — you might possibly feel confusion and a kind of "stymied" or "stuck" sensation.)

Fear is only harmful to you if and when this phenomenon of "being stuck", or of being frozen and unable to decide right away whether to plunge ahead or to withdraw takes hold of you. THIS STATE IS CALLED "P A N I C". Panic is what blocks you from effective or decisive action, not any fear that you feel! It is your reaction to fear and not fear, that might potentially be a problem for you in any emergency or difficult situation.

Please reread that last paragraph.

Observe that what fear does (ie warm you up, charge you up, increase your strength, resilience, agility, and speed — and in every way greatly facilitate your ability to make the involuntary "fight or flight response" work for you, is ALL BENEFICIAL AND HIGHLY DESIRABLE!

You want to be afraid. It feels unpleasant, but like any necessary, powerful, foul-tasting medicine, it is good for you!

What proper combat training must do is:

• Train you in what you need to do when you find yourself immersed in a dangerous situation of physical violence so that you have a predetermined, effective decision already in place regarding what you will do and how you will react when the "fight or flight" reaction to sudden danger manifests, and avoidance is not a possible option. This will eliminate panic. You will not only know what to do . . . you will have decided that you are going to do it, well ahead of time.

• Acquaint you personally and deeply with the nature of the fear reaction, and condition you thoroughly to embrace, welcome, and be grateful instantly for the onset of fear — realizing what it is doing for you, and understanding how it will serve you in your carrying out of the decision you have made concerning how you will handle a violent emergency.

We do all of this during the course of training people in American Combato, and we urge anyone needing self-defense instruction and pursuing it on his own or through a program that may not be sufficiently attuned to this need, to compensate by addressing the subject himself!

Physiologically, fear eliminates the body's ability to render fine motor moves. Gross (ie "big", major muscle-group type) body movements are enhanced enormously, however. Thus, effective combat/self-defense movements are gross, major muscle group type actions. Low stomping kicks, elbow smashes, head butts, biting, chopping with handaxe blows, heel of the hand smashes, clawing and gouging, kneeing, hammerfist strikes, and front kicks, etc. done with fierce, aggressive followup and determination — particularly in combination sequences — are the ticket. Occasionally a simple, basic throw or a stranglehold might be useful . . . but the heart, soul, and essence of real world unarmed combat is BLOWS. Applegate, Fairbairn, O'Neill, Brown, Begala, Leather, Hipkiss, and virtually every notable real world instructor of the justifiably respected "world war two methods" knew this, taught it, and saw the validity of it demonstrated time and time again in real combat, during wartime. To dispute these facts today merely marks one as being uninformed about what works in real hand-to-hand combat.

By mastering and incessantly training in the types of techniques decribed above, proper use of the involuntary fear response will be boosted and greatly enhanced.

FOCUS — visual and mental — describes what fear does to the individual's psyche. Exactly what is needed to win in serious combat. Something known as the "peripheral optic disfunction phenomenon" occurs (ie tunnel vision, or the tachy-psyche effect). You visually lock on to your enemy. This assists in the proper zeroing in on the enemy's most vital target areas!

Desperation grips one in serious combat, and produces a mindset that excludes one's own awareness of pain or injury (providing one has predetermined to ATTACK and to utilize one's fear energy properly when combat cannot be avoided and when one must stop one's adversary).

All to the good!

The great heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Paterson once wrote that if he didn't feel fear as he entered the ring, he knew he was in trouble. However, when he did feel fear as he entered the ring, he had no doubt that the outcome would be favorable to himself. That's because Paterson, like every great boxer, came to understand and to embrace fear as his ally.

Do the same. It will serve you, too.

When you learn how to utilize fear another great thing happens to you, psychologically. You develop confidence in and you perfect reliance upon that part of your mind that takes over in any emergency: ie your subconscious. Here's an example:

If you drive a car then you doubtless have had the unfortunate experience of having someone suddenly run out or walk in front of your vehicle while you were driving. Perhaps they entered a crosswalk without looking, or possibly they simply ran out into the street. In any case, remember how your foot slammed instantly on the brake pedal as a sudden fear gripped you? You did not make a conscious decision to step on the brake. A long time ago you learned that when a sudden stop was needed you had to quickly step on the brake. After years of driving (and of course, using the brake pedal thousands of times) the process became motor-memorized and reflexive. In the emergency, your SUBCONSCIOUS mind took over, and without the delay of conscious intervention, undertook to carry out the action required to avoid hitting whoever was in the path of your vehicle.

It is exactly the same in quality self-defense training. Simple moves are motor-memorized and committed to reflex by endlessly repetitive practice. Mental conditioning to attack immediately establishes in your psyche the decision to use those skills if you ever must use them. Then, in a sudden emergency, your subconscious mind takes over, and without any delays caused by the interference of conscious deliberation, you GO!

The subconscious mind works in a manner similar to a computer. Stored in the computer's memory is, say, a certain item of information. Tap the right key and the computer kicks out the item of information instantly. When you master skills of combat and drill sufficiently with the proper mindset, those skills become buried permanently in your subconscious mind. Although you may not have been consciously thinking about it a moment prior, if and when you are attacked, your subconscious ("computer memory") kicks out the necessary actions that you require, and you simply do them.

When once you begin to get fear under control (not eliminate it, or try to eliminate it, but get it, and the energy that it provides, under control through the correct process of mental conditioning) you will then be ten times more formidable in any violent encounter than you believed possible.

None of this is magic. None of it is mysterious. None of it is outside your reach or beyond your ability to acquire. Believe us, please!

We learned much of that which we now teach through our studies during the late 1960's, and throughout the 1970's of psychology, psychiatry, mind control, and hypnosis. We have been a licensed hypnotherapist for 20 years now, and we are convinced that hypnosis is one of the most valuable tools for conditioning the mind of the combat arts trainee. The entire method of Class instruction that we developed and utilize is based upon the incorporation of mental conditioning via principles employed in hypnosis to the group training environment.

We caution readers at this juncture that they should use a great deal of discretion before accepting any "combat instructor" as a qualified hypnotherapist (something that we fear many might begin to resent themselves as, after reading this article!). We would add, regrettably, that they might be wise to use a great deal of discretion before accepting anyone purporting to be a "combat instructor", period!
But that is an aside.

We wish simply to point out that hypnosis is an extraordinarily valuable tool (we call it weight training for the mind) and readers might wish to explore the subject further. Books by LeCron, Caprio, and Arons are a good place to start. Certainly make the effort to learn about hypnosis before entrusting yourself to anyone presenting himself as qualified to work with you as a hypnotist!

Back to our thesis:

Fear is your ally. If you are serious about developing real ability in self-defense and a reliable, practical knowledge of close combat with and without weapons, then this is a subject of enormous importance to you.

Everyone who is sane feels fear. But there are few people who have learned to appreciate fear's great benefit, and the fact that anyone aspiring to practical proficiency in combatives should welcome and embrace fear, while training hard on the proper skills through which fear's energy may be put to its finest and most reliable use.

We sincerely hope that we have helped you through this presentation.

Interval Session Twenty-Six

I'm almost done with the "training phase" of the Couch-to-5k. Podrunner calls this their "First Day to 5k"... but it's the same thing. They're all variartions of the same interval (Fartlek) systemization.

It was nearly 90-degrees today but it didn't really feel that hot. My only comments on this are that:

1) I didn't feel as "challenged" on the return leg as I did on Sunday

2)I had to stop twice to tie my re-tie my shoes

3) The running segment ended earlier than I thought it would... right around where the 28-minute segments were.

So... what I'm discering from number three is that I was likely taking shorter strides... but my cadence seemed faster yesterday. Odd... but I run again Friday & I'll take a more serious look at it.

I know that I felt much stronger last night than last weekend. Usually if I skip an extra day in the middle of one of these segments, I feel weaker... like I lost conditioning. I think I may have still been recovering from the Thursday rain run on Sunday. This time the extra rest did me good. Add the fact that I waited until Sunday afternoon to run... when I should have gotten up & done it in the AM... maybe thre was a motivation issue as well.

Prove Me Wrong! Why BMI Could Actually Discourage Training!

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com
Author’s note: I wrote this when the BMI index began making the news. It struck me that the BMI actually discourages training— see if you agree.



Warning! Exercise Increases Your Risk of Weight-Related Health Problems

The BMI is designed to replace the old height/weight charts created by health insurance companies. But the question remains, what is the accuracy, not to mention, the utility, of the BMI?

First, let's start with a definition. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. (If you'd prefer to spare yourself the mathematical trauma, just head over to The Department of Health and Human Services at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ (they have a BMI calculator which you can use to instantly calculate your supposed level of risk of overweight.)

An Interesting Test Case: Me

I recently did just that, and at 205 pounds and a height of 6'1", I landed a whopping BMI of 28— nearly obese by BMI standards.

According to the NIH, you'll need a BMI of 24 or less in order to qualify as having a "normal" weight. So I kept plugging in lower and lower bodyweights, finally going all the way down to 180 pounds to obtain a BMI of 24.

I wonder, what would the consequences of losing 25 pounds be for me? Of course, a fairly large portion of this weight would be muscle— If I make the assumption that I'm currently 15% bodyfat, that means I only have 30.75 pound of fat on my entire body. So, to lose 25 pounds without losing any muscle, I'd end up with less than 2% bodyfat, which is probably not enough to sustain life.

So, that means that the 25 pounds would be mostly muscle. Since a pound of muscle burns approximately 18 calories a day, my metabolic rate would be lowered by 450 calories a day.

Also, this dramatic loss of muscle would certainly profoundly reduce my strength levels. While I have more than enough strength to get through my daily activities, muscle mass and strength both gradually decline as we age.

So I always look at muscle like "money in the bank:" the more I have now,
the more I'll still have when I'm 60, 70, or 80 years of age. So the bottom line seems to be, if I choose to adhere to NIH's guidelines, my health and functional status will surely decline!

Conversely...

Another very important point to consider are the legions of people who will score very acceptable numbers using the BMI, but who in fact are overfat. Despite what many people think, it’s common to find people who appear to be of normal or even low bodyweight, who in fact are overfat, because they have such low levels of muscle mass.

Consider the research conducted by Dr. William Evans at Tufts University: Evans discovered that the as women age, in many cases their leg girth tended to remain constant, however, upon CAT scan analysis, it was found that the fat mass was increased, while the lean mass had decreased. In other words, their external appearance had not significantly changed, yet their bodyfat percentage had increased.


And Even Further...

Because muscle weighs more than fat, embarking on a rapid, unhealthy weight-loss scheme will reduce your BMI much more effectively than losing weight in a healthy and rational manner (the faster you lose weight, the more muscle you lose). So I would like to venture the proposition that the new BMI will encourage fad weight loss programs and starvation diets.

Is There a Better Alternative?

Yes. Have a reputable fitness professional measure your bodyfat percentage (call the International Sports Sciences Association at (800) 892-ISSA to find such a professional in your area). Over the past several years, there have been important new developments in bodyfat measurement techniques, and today, there are several options available. Various methods have varying degrees of accuracy, but if you always use the same method, you’ll have an accurate standard of reference.

In other words, you may not know your exact percentage of bodyfat, but you’ll know if your percentage is increasing or decreasing.

I don’t know why this is such a hard pill to swallow— it’s bodyfat, NOT bodyweight that determines your health and functional capacity. There will never be a height/weight chart, regardless of what anyone chooses to call it, which can predict optimal bodyweight, because such charts never take a person’s muscle mass into account.


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About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

http://www.staleytrainingprograms.com

Interval Session Twenty-Five...

Whew! I just completed the first, FULL, 30-minute session! I had previously though that this wasn't going to be a big deal because I'd just finished a three-session week running 28-minute segments. What's two minutes, right? The last episode was more of a swim that a run... but I'd finished & it was the worst of the three. I attributed the fatigued to the downpour... & rightly so. I did not stretch at the end of Thursdays’ session because I was already soaked to the bone. All I wanted to do was get dried off, get in the car & get warm. I don’t know if that had anything to do with how I did today.

It was warm. It was actually warmer than it had been all week. So I’m now wondering if I lost my acclimation to the heat. I know it was over 75 degrees. It didn’t really feel that warm… having been running on 80 to 100 degree days. As usual my cardio and respiratory were fine. My legs took another pounding. In fact my quads and hamstrings were aching so badly that I wanted to quit about 2/3 of the way through. The last ¾ of a mile were done on sheer stubbornness. I hadn’t quit during the deluge and I was NOT going to quit now.

At this point I’m unsure how my legs are going to respond once I’m doing squats and high pulls throughout the week along with the running. It’s either going to assist in conditioning them and improve my performance… or it’s going to kill me. Add to that that I’m considering eventually switching to the Celebration route… because I’m getting sick of the drive to Orting. Then I’ll be dealing with the hills as well. If I manage to survive that regimen it should get me in fairly good shape over the fall and winter months.

I’m anticipating the commute worsening once the rains starts in earnest. So my commute home is going to get longer. This is going to cut my running time if I’m driving all the way south to get to a trail. The trail in Federal Way makes more sense from that perspective. Hopefully I’ll be in good enough shape by that time that I can handle it.

I don't see myself trial running then... unless I discover some other area that's adequate. I think that the area around the river may be too muddy. I'm also not sure where the river crests along there. So a lot of the time that trail may end up under water in areas. I also need to take another satellite look at Celebration & map out the path south. I don't think it crosses more than a few streets before it gets to Tacoma.

Below The Belt

The attached article could provide some intersting insight for those who have an eye for such things. The (intended) victim had previously read a book entitled Below The Belt: Unarmed Combat For Women.

[Special thanks to Bradley J. Steiner for providing the content.]

[Click on image for full-sized version]




The Great Error Of ―Humane And
―Non-Injurious Self-Defense
Programs

© COPYRIGHT 2009 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sword and Pen – January 2009 Issue


[Reprinted With Permission]

American Combato
Seattle Combatives


WITHOUT going into details, we will say that we have had a not inconsiderable amount of association with individuals in the intelligence field. And while motion pictures and television in general offer an overly romanticized and glamorized view of what secret intelligence work is actually like, there is one aspect of clandestine services work (which is a facet of intelligence) that really is pretty accurately described: the dangerous aspect of it which, when it is present, is very dangerous, indeed.

The game of espionage and counterespionage is played for keeps; and anyone who has been involved with it to any degree knows this very well. It‘s a life or death thing for those who operate as spies or agents-in-place for any intelligence organization — and there‘s simply no way around this fact. All attempts to whitewash the dangers and the risks do no service to those involved. Such foolishness only makes their already extremely dangerous work even more dangerous, by failing to acknowledge their absolute need for meticulous attention to good tradecraft.

It‘s exactly the same thing in self-defense and close combat. These are simply not activities unfraught with real peril. When an individual must physically defend himself or others, and/or when — in whatever context it may occur — one must engage a deadly enemy in hand-to-hand combat, the predicament is very dangerous, the risk of injury and death is great, and there is no good purpose served by whitewashing these facts, and by pretending that some ―lesser means than utterly decisive and destructive ones, will enable one to prevail.

As a professional we receive the industry journals in the martial arts field. We do not subscribe to them. They are simply sent to us. And while we find little in these publications that is relevant to that which we do, we have noted for years now that another ―fad has emerged in the martial arts. It goes under the name of ―Non Injurious Self-Defense or ―Humane Self-Defense. It has two major selling points — both of which are, as we shall shortly demonstrate, indirect arguments for all sensible people who are concerned about personal defense, to avoid anything resembling their doctrine.

The selling points are:

1. This form of self-defense avoids needless cruelty and violence. It enables a decent human being to protect himself, when necessary, without stooping to the barbaric level of the violent offender.

—and—

2. This method of personal defense provides the optimum degree of legal protection for the defender who employs it, since he never resorts to excessive force, and is therefore always safe from prosecution by the law, after the fact.


However well-intentioned the ―humane approach and rhetoric may be, it amounts to the worst possible disservice that martial arts training can provide to those who come to training seeking a means of realistic self-protection. The fact that the sales pitch has enormous appeal to a lot of people means nothing. Those who need to learn self-defense and hand-to-hand combat for personal or professional reasons are not necessarily in a position — prior to receiving both good training and real world experience — to know what they require in order to be prepared for the real thing. The teachers ought to know, however. And in our opinion it is prima facie evidence that they do not know, if and to the extent they advocate the ―non injurious stuff.

Here are the unpleasant facts:

First: It really isn‘t possible to be fully prepared to defend yourself if you lack the preparedness, willingness, and ability to stoop to the lowest level imaginable, to ferociously engage your attacker(s) with merciless, destructive intent and skills. Who do you think attacks people, anyway? We are not concerned here with misguided thinkers who have made a slight error in judgment and who have unintentionally encroached upon your ―space! We are speaking, when we speak of self-defense, of dangerous, cruel, violent, predatory individuals who are deliberately acting in an aggressively harmful manner (almost always, for reasons that are entirely unknown to you) and whose capacity and intentions remain a mystery. These creatures cannot be accurately assessed and evaluated as to their motives and their ultimate ability to injure, maim, and kill. All that you know — or that anyone can possibly know — at the time of a violent criminal attack, is that you are being violently set upon, and that YOU JUST MIGHT BE MAIMED OR KILLED AS A RESULT OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU.

The notion that, for whatever reason, one has some kind of ―moral obligation‖ not to fight ferociously and foul — not to savage and devastate a violent felon or other attacking beast — is stupid. One is hardly morally superior to an attacker if one refuses to resort to whatever foul measures may be employed at the time of the attack to stop the bastard who is doing the attacking. One is a stupid fool.

It is the very fact that an individual is decent and innocent that virtually mandates that he utilize any and every vicious and unfair measure at his disposal in order to stop some malicious offender who attacks him. Decent people belong in human society. Predatory, violent felons do not. Whatever injury they suffer at the hands of their intended victims is more than well deserved. To hell with them.

Whether we are speaking of a bully in grade school or a home invader; the choice to prey is made by the offender. Whatever — WHATEVER — the victim does to stop the filthy monster is a reflection on the initiator of violence, never on the defender.

Those who stand outside the situation that is faced by a violent predator and who proceed to pontificate about what ―ought to be done or not done, according to some specious set of imbecilic ―rules, in order for the victim(!) to remain morally unsullied when he undertakes the desperate act of self-defense, deserve to be thrown into a similar predicament as the victim whom they so arrogantly admonish. The victim is RIGHT and the predator is WRONG.

Whatever the victim does to defend himself is morally justifiable.
The simple, unvarnished truth is that there is not and there cannot be any kind of ―unnecessary cruelty or ―excessive violence in self-defense. Anyone who raises a hand unjustifiably against someone whom he intends to victimize has by definition of his action undertaken cruel, excessive, and extraordinarily violent conduct. HE HAS TO BE STOPPED.

Second, there is no guarantee of ― legal protection whenever force is applied — no matter how righteous or justifiable the context, and regardless of how ―humane the applicant of the self-defense skills endeavors to be. The law has persecuted innocent people before, and it will doubtless do so again. Atrocious felonies often go unpunished (and are, like to hear it or not, all too often committed by law enforcers), while minor misdemeanants are hobbled by the system. Clarence Darrow was quite correct when he observed that ―There is no justice, inside or out of court.

Structural Versus Randomized Training Concepts

[Bloggers Note: As one who has recently been considering the CrossFit option for training, this article hits home. Specifically, there are some issues that I have identified on my own that are critical to training. Namely, the learning curve aspect: The form and focus in Olympic lifts MUST BE MAINTAINED and one cannot do this only performing these complicated lifts in a random fashion. (This also invites injury!) The ongoing soreness is also a factor as in certain vocations it could be a serious detriment in addition to simply being an annoyance.

On the otherhand, the effectiveness of this type of training does have an allure when applied to my particular vocational interests. So... it's a trade off. I think I'm reaching a point where I'm ready to develop my own version of a cross-training regimin and while it may not be anywhere near as varied as the CrossFit menu, I believe that it will likely be effective in developing power and "general fitness".]

Staley Training

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems


Recently, through the work of popular fitness movements such as CrossFit and its many imitators, the previously unexplored concept of randomized training has received a significant amount of popularity throughout the fitness community. This popularity is not without reason- randomized workouts have significant benefits, but like all approaches, random training also has its drawbacks.

In this article, I'll compare and contrast random versus structured approaches to training, and then I'll summarize by offering a few approaches that (I think) provide the benefits of both while simultaneously minimizing the drawbacks.



Benefits of Randomized Approaches

"Crossfitters" enjoy random workouts, and I think you will too- here's why:

1) That new car smell:

To borrow a great phrase from my client Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, there's a palpable sense of renewal at the prospect of a new workout program that you plan to start on Monday (by the way, no one ever starts a new program or diet on any other day of the week, unless it happens to be New Year's Day.) In a sense, randomized training gives you that "new car smell" every single workout. If you're suffering from ADD or are otherwise under-motivated, this can be a great boost to your morale and can make you more consistent than you'd otherwise be. And needless to say, if you're consistent, you'll make more progress than your inconsistent peers, even if what they're doing is "better" or "smarter" or "more scientific" than what you're doing.

2) Specificity to random and/or varied professional or athletic needs:

Some professions, avocations, and sport disciplines (and perhaps people seeking "general" fitness, whatever than means) require or desire a generalized, highly varied, almost random set of physical attributes and motor qualities. Firefighters, police, military and para-military job descriptions come to mind, as do many fighting sports, most notably mixed martial arts (MMA).


Drawbacks of Randomized Approaches

Despite the significant benefits I've just described, random training (like any approach) also has its drawbacks. The most significant of these shortcomings are as follows:

1) Constant soreness:

If you squat anywhere between one and thrice a week, the soreness that you initially experience during your first handful of workouts soon becomes all but a distant memory as your body's adaptive systems and resources solve this particular Rubik's Cube. In fact, once the puzzle's been solved, it'll be nearly impossible to invoke soreness, no matter how hard you push yourself. On the other hand, the more random your training is, the more often you'll be sore- the random nature of the physical challenges you experience makes it far more difficult for you to habituate.

If you're an in-season athlete, or belong to a highly physical profession that presents randomized challenges, you don't really want to be sore all the time. This means that although you need enough variety to keep your nervous system somewhat off-guard, you don't want the variety to be so significant that you're basically starting from scratch each and every workout.

2) Poor learning curve:

In order to learn challenging and complex motor tasks (such as the Olympic lifts for example), it'd be to your advantage to do them often. Learning requires frequent repetition, and motor learning is no exception to this rule. If your training is completely random, you'll never have enough repetition to sustain the learning curve.

3) Limited specificity:

This third point somewhat overlaps with the previous two points, but to put a sharper edge on it, powerlifters need to do their 3 competitive lifts, swimmers need to swim, and climbers need to climb. If you want to be great at pull-ups, you need to work them hard- a lot. And obviously, a completely randomized approach doesn't accommodate this need.


Reconciling Structure And Non-Structure

I've often said that there's no such thing as a perfect program, because even if you could find it, you'll quickly habituate to it and progress will slow to a halt. That being said, there are principles that help us to identify "better" approaches, and one of these principles is that specificity ("structure" in the scope of this conversation) and variety ("randomness" for our purposes here) must be balanced and integrated within the overall scope of training. Here then, are a few suggestions for doing just that:


Use A Structured Exercise List With Random Loading Parameters

If you've determined that a particular exercise tends to move you closer toward your goals, you should probably do that exercise on a regular and relatively frequent basis. One possible drawback (as discussed earlier) of regular frequency is neural habituation and slowed progress as your nervous system "figures out" how to deal with that particular form of stress. The solution to this, which was discovered eons ago by athletes in a wide number of sports, is to randomize the character and/or specific attributes of that exercise stress. In our case, that means providing variety through constantly changing loading parameters (E.g., set/rep brackets, intensity, tempo, and rest intervals.

Simply create 6 different loading protocols, such as:

-5x5/80%/3 minutes rest between sets
-6x2/90%/5 minutes rest between sets
-3x10/70%/2 minutes rest between sets
-10x3/85%/4 minutes rest between sets
-2x20/60%/2.5 minutes rest between sets
-1x5/85%

Next, assign a number to each option, and roll a dye. Whatever comes up determines your loading parameters for that exercise.


Use A Semi-Structured Exercise List With Structured Loading Parameters

If Monday is defined as "squat day," you can randomize what type of squat you'll do by selecting from 6 options: back squats, front squats, overhead squats, box squats, Zercher squats, and dumbbell squats. If you'd like to substitute your own favorites for some of mine, go ahead. Once your list of 6 choices is completed, number each choice from 1 to 6. Prior to squat day, roll a dye and whatever number comes up determines what type of squat you'll do that day. From there, you apply whatever loading parameters you've appropriated for the current cycle you're on, and you're ready to go.

Worth noting here is that only the most useful exercises can be plugged into this option, which is one of it's greatest attributes. You're not likely to come up with 6 variations of tricep kickbacks, leg extensions, or pec deck, but you can easily devise a half-dozen options for vertical pressing, horizontal pressing, unilateral leg drills, snatches, cleans, and deadlifts. This is simply an extrapolation of the "same but different" approach that I've written about in previous articles.


Use A Semi-Structured Exercise List With Random Loading Parameters

This is an amalgam of the previous two suggestions. Both exercises and loading parameters are "semi-structured." On Monday, you know you're doing some type of squat, but you don't know which one until you roll the dye. Then, a second roll gives you your loading parameters. Obviously, this is the most random of the three approaches, but it still provides structure.


What About Periodization?

To further maximize the benefit/drawback profile when attempting to reconcile structure with non-structure, you can employ a cycling concept where you (for example) employ the first option for 4 weeks, followed by the second option for a month, and finally, the last option for the remainder of a 12-week cycle. If your needs require a variation on this theme, go ahead and apply your creative elbow grease to the situation.


Now Go And Make It Yours!

The suggestions I've presented here are for the purposes of illustration and to inspire your own creative thinking. If, during this article, you're struck by alternative applications of my ideas, then I've been successful.


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About The Author

Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.

Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.

Staley Training Programs

How to Handle Provocations

© COPYRIGHT 2008 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sword and Pen – November 2008 Issue
[Reprinted With Permission]

American Combato
Seattle Combatives

NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT A LAWYER, AND NEITHER THE FOLLOWING EDITORIAL NOR ANY OTHER ADVICE GIVEN IN THIS PUBLICATION SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS "LEGAL ADVICE". THIS IS STRICTLY PERSONAL OPINION AND PERSONAL ADVICE — NO MORE!

TROUBLEMAKERS come in all ages, sizes, and shapes. And they come in both genders. Decent, responsible, reasonable, non troublesome human beings are often inconvenienced, annoyed, harassed, threatened, insulted, taunted, bothered, and even attacked physically by these subhuman creatures.

It generally begins in childhood with bullies (who more often than not include one or more of those miserable excuses for "teachers" whom the public school system indifferently foists upon him, in addition to those inevitable scummy contemporaries, amongst whom — in the PRISON that is the public school system — the child finds himself obliged to remain until late adolescence). The burden of dealing with troublesome human garbage never really ends — although usually the problem of physical bullying gives way to socioeconomic predation, which — in the guise of "adults" — a wide variety of "human" debris continue to indulge gleefully, until or unless stopped cold, which, sadly, they rarely if ever are. Many forms of living filth actually gravitate to occupations (ie "super salespeople", lawyers, schoolteachers, office managers, politicians, rogue cops, bureaucrats, etc.) that encourage and reward the scummiest, most evil and despicably vile characteristics of which homo sapiens are capable.

Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you do for a living, and however reasonable, fair-minded, and peacefully directed in your daily behavior you may endeavor to be, it is almost a 100% certainty that, from time to time — if not frequently — you will be subject to the provocative belligerence and encroachments of others into your life; or at least you will be subjected to others' attempts to provoke you in countless ways. That's part of the human condition.
"Self-defense" is much more than being able to squash a mugger like a paper cup. It is that, to be sure; but it is much, much more, besides. And in our teaching we have always tried to arm and to equip our students with the necessary know-how to cope with the myriad pre-violent situations that arise daily. These are situations in which it is often (not always, but often) possible to diffuse the onset of hostilities by recognizing what is happening, and by saying or doing just the thing that is necessary to avoid physical trouble.

Today's society consists of a large number of individuals who have been raised with all sorts of disgusting and irrational beliefs — from "if it feels good, do it", to "situational ethics". These organisms (one really cannot regard them as genuinely "human") FEEL. Having abandoned their minds long ago, they drift on each impulse and flicker of emotion that manifests at the moment — and if they feel like lashing out — verbally or physically — they simply do it. If they "want" to make a snide or derogatory or intrusive or sarcastic, or disrespectful or offensive comment, they make it. Responsibility? Well . . . for organisms that drift as these do, responsibility is simply refused. YOU are to blame. They never are. YOU did the wrong thing. They never do the wrong thing. And besides — "What difference does it make? Why are YOU making such a fuss?" Ad nauseum. "I can do what I feel like doing, dude!" sums up the creature's philosophy.

We suspect that you understand. And we are certain that you can relate.

Here's the thing: It is necessary and desirable to learn beforehand how to handle these obnoxiously repulsive swine, for your own sake. You do not want trouble — certainly not with today's legal system — and if you consider the matter of how to handle provocations and provocative members of our species before you find yourself suddenly in the sights of one of these worms, you may be able to make your own life a lot more trouble free, and a lot less exasperating, by managing your encounter with this scum in a manner that enables you to disengage. Then again, should your predicament ever prove to be one in which the provocation cannot be diffused and avoided, but where the troublemaker insists upon physically violating you . . . well, you'll be fully prepared to do whatever you must.

Verbal provocations:

The law nowhere in the United States of America, as far as we are aware, allows a person to react with physical violence to mere words. Thus, while you very well might in your view (and perhaps in ours, too) be completely justified morally in beating some piece of foul-mouthed street dung into a coma for hurling obscenities at your wife or daughter, you will not (as far as we know) be legally justified in doing so. We therefore counsel that you NEVER permit yourself to become physical in such a situation, no matter how provocative the gutter monkey who taunts you may be. Personally, we would never, ever raise a hand against anyone over mere words, and we hope that we can persuade you to emulate our example.

Because almost anyone would feel at least some urge to physically thrash a mouthy bastard who permitted himself free verbal reign, and who belched out profane or obscene or otherwise offensive epithets or insulting garbage — especially toward someone for whom one cared — one must exercise the effort to establish, ahead of any such incident, a clear and inviolate mandate NOT TO PERMIT ONESELF ANY PHYSICAL LATITUDE, should such an unpleasant event occur.

Ahead of time, understand?

Believe us: It will be too late to decide on the spot if and when you have never given the matter any prior thought. The sudden expression of an unprovoked insult can easily — in some cases — produce an almost reflexive response from a person, directed toward the initiator of the remark. A hard and long day, hot weather, bills piling up, a recent fight at home or in the office, etc., could easily make the remark a "last straw" — and that last straw can prove very, very costly if it triggers what is later determined to be an illegal act of violence on your part.

Here is the rule for ANY AND ALL situations in which another individual directly or indirectly expresses anything verbally offensive, quite possibly to provoke you: Stay your hand! Never become physical. Never threaten to become physical. Go to mental condition "orange" (ie the alerted state, ready to take action immediately if the verbally offensive creature initiates actual violence). But, unless an attack becomes imminent, remain physically NON AGGRESSIVE!

We would also recommend, if you can do so under the circumstances prevailing at the time, leaving the area where the offensive creature is. Disengage! Even if you have a "right" to remain where you are, it is in our personal opinion wisest to leave. Sometimes this may not be possible (ie in your home, in your own office, etc.); but please — for your own and for your loved ones' sake, not for the sake of the swinish creature! — remove yourself physically from the vicinity if you can.

On no account get caught up in a verbal argument or in an insult-hurling match with some piece of garbage, since this could precipitate violence, and that's what you should be striving to avoid.

NOTE: We offer the following commentary regarding our own long-standing personal philosophy, with hopes that it will help our readers: We have never regarded others as being in any sense truly "significant" to us, insofar as our opinion of ourself is concerned — ie our self-respect, or — if you prefer the modern buzzword — our "self-esteem". We are rooted and anchored in our self. We are genuinely, permanently, and completely indifferent to how any individuals, save our few good friends and our intimates, might feel or think about us. And no one who thinks poorly of us would, or ever could, become or remain a "friend" or an "intimate".

In those few instances when others might try to attack us verbally or (since we are a fairly well-known writer) in print, the ONLY thing that angers us or arouses our serious contempt toward the speaker/writer is our understanding of that creature's MOTIVE. His words are as bland as a dial tone, and have no force or meaning whatever. What we do note, and the thing for which we forever write off such an organism as being unforgivable, contaminated filth, is the fact that we appreciate and understand the malice behind the words. Thus we celebrate and take great satisfaction in coming to understand, in such instances, that here is one creature who has, as far as we are concerned, made his potential for toxicity known to us, and now we (figuratively speaking, of course!) flush him down the toilet.

Perhaps our view will help someone out there, and alleviate any unfortunate error that some reader may tend to make in personalizing any slime's verbal "slings and arrows".

It was one of our great teachers and friends, Dr. Albert Ellis, who would routinely tell people at his talks on psychology and personal development: "You have to learn how to take a lot of shit." Thanks to the good Dr. Ellis we did learn how — in our late teens — and it has made us a happier, more relaxed, self-satisfied, and UNAFFECTABLE individual. So long as the s— is verbal, we couldn't care less. Our psychological state is such that we are simply non receptive to that which is said.

Minor physical annoyances:

This can get a little dicey.

Sometimes a serious attack can be initiated by the attacker's doing something that is, initially, hardly any danger or real physical threat, at all. (An example is an incident years ago, in Florida. A young girl was approached by a murderer/rapist at a carwash. (The surveillance camera picked up the incident, and readers may recall having seen this on the evening news at the time). The voices cannot be heard, but we see the killer merely walk calmly up to the girl, say something, and then gently take her arm. He then leads the poor girl away. The two walk in a relaxed manner, with only the most superficial "hold" on the child's arm in place. She was later raped and murdered. The scum who did it was caught and, if we remember correctly, sentenced to death. So it is NOT our intention here to say that you ought only react with great violence to that which is obviously and clearly at the moment of its occurrence a lethal threat, per se. We know quite enough about violence and about violent crime and troublemakers' modus operandi to understand that ANY physical act initiated against someone might be life-threatening, or at the very least, dangerous.

What we wish to convey here is a strong recommendation not to take any physical action at all IF you know and understand that you are dealing merely with some minor physical pest. We know all about "control holds", "pressure points", and all of the other methods of "putting a pest in his place". But in today's climate of flagrant irrationality and litigious insanity we urge that, if confronted by such a nuisance (at the office, at a social gathering, etc.) you simply shrug it off. Take every step to avoid the moron, of course. But do not take physical action unless you truly have a sense that you might be hurt by him.

Once, in junior high school, we applied a simple response ( a ju-jutsu throw) to a fool whom we knew, who tried squeezing our hand powerfully when he shook it. The technique worked beautifully! It "cured" this acquaintance's nasty little urge to show off at our expense, but things were a lot different in the late 1950's. Also, things were and still are a lot different between young boys in middle school who horse around, and adults (who, today, routinely sue each other, and in general behave like out of control horse's asses). If someone squeezes your hand at a party or at the office, just tell him to stop. (If he doesn't, sue him! HAH!)

Seriously . . . especially in the case of a trained combative arts student, it is ridiculous and unnecessary to get physical with a pest. Remember, however, this does not mean that you restrain yourself if you are set upon by someone whose motives and character you do not know, and whose initial attack is — in and of itself — relatively mild (ie a clothing grab, wrist or arm grab, shove, etc.). Neither an expert in close combat nor anyone else in the world has any obligation to suffer anyone's hands on him (or her), and the proper response to the threat of serious bodily injury is — OVERWHELMING VIOLENCE, we hope applied skillfully, decisively, and well, the second it is needed!

Threats:

There is a big difference between someone simply calling you a "lousy mother—!" and someone actually threatening you by saying that he's going to beat you or kill you, etc., or possibly harm a member of your family, or damage your property, etc.
Any time anyone threatens you or someone you love with physical harm, CALL THE POLICE AND MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT. Often, due to sheer laziness or indifference, the police will try to persuade you simply to "call them if the person ever does anything" so that "they will then be able to take action". They may not encourage you to file a formal complaint (after all, they have to go to the trouble of writing it out). FILE IT ANYWAY! INSIST! Get the officer's name, number, and complaint file number, who fills out the complaint for you. This is important! (Also, make a record of the date and the time of the call. ALL 911 calls are recorded and may be used later in court, as evidence!).

If the scum that threatened you or yours ever actually undertakes to make good his threat and you — properly — crunch him out of fear for what he intends to do, you want that official police report on record, and a sworn officer's testimony that PROVES you had prior reason to FEAR the individual whom you defended yourself against!

Showing up at the scene where you have dropped some creature justifiably, the police who respond have no way of knowing who is and who is not the "victim" and/or the "attacker". REFERRING TO YOUR PRIOR FORMAL COMPLAINT AND REPORT WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD ESTABLISHING YOUR "MANTLE OF INNOCENCE" IN THE EYES OF THE LAW. And this is important!

While it may be true that most threats amount, in the final analysis, to "mere noise", not all threats are empty and meaningless. The one directed against you or against someone you love may well be one of the exceptions. REPORT IT TO THE POLICE! Take no chances.

NOTE: For the record, we must say that there are many fine police officers who will gladly assist any decent citizen in taking whatever steps he lawfully is able to take to have the system on that decent citizen's side. Our perhaps "angry tone" earlier in speaking of the reluctance that is sometimes encountered when asking for help from the authorities is intended merely to assist readers in coping with such an eventuality IF such should ever occur, in any particular reader's case.

Physical assault:

We are not going to discuss the matter of "battery" (ie of direct force being applied by an offender) since, obviously, the only sensible way to deal with that form of "provocation" is to drop the batterer where he stands, using every ounce of decisive and merciless force you can generate! When someone initiates controlling or injurious violence it is time to ACT. Neither restraint nor avoidance is any longer appropriate to the circumstance. Now it is WAR!

The onset of apparent violence ("assault") must also, in our opinion, be met with decisive force, in all but the most obvious exceptional instances. Violence in any form should not be taken lightly. When it appears clear to you that someone intends to hurt you and is capable of injuring you, and when he has the obvious opportunity to hurt you, DROP HIM!

Use no more force than is necessary to decisively render your assailant harmless, and by all means stop once you are in no more danger; but do not hesitate for a fraction of a second if or when someone makes it clear that he intends to injure you. You have the opportunity for a moment to pre-empt him, and to do so with the element of surprise in your favor. You will never get that opportunity again if you fail to act, or if your action is less than decisive.

Often, the matter of when the techniques of personal combat ought properly to be brought into play is not dealt with adequately (if at all) in a martial arts program. Beyond the legalities (which ONLY a lawyer can address with authority and reliability) we feel that there is the matter of common sense and plain good judgment.

We hope that we have encouraged our readers to exercise both.

Bradley J. Steiner