Tactical Application, Not Concept Demonstration

Youtube Fighting
I've become more and more strict with myself in my training when it comes to this. The days of being impressed with a demonstration and then trying to imitate that spectacle are over. When watching a demonstration of a concept, it should be clear what the objective is. When watching combat sports, you see two people trying to win a fight as fast as possible, taking as little damage as possible. You can always see with at least one of the two fighters exactly what they're gameplan is and how they plan to win. They're not out there trying to show how well they can take a hit, they're there to finish. This is also the desired objective in almost any self defense context, with the exception of restraint obligations and third party protection. In its simplest form, self defense comes down to two universal tasks: reducing the risk of getting hurt and stopping the conflict from continuing. Watching someone dance around a swinging knife to make the point about movement or artificially run circles around a group of "attackers" looks great but doesn't teach anything. I like to call that "Youtube Fighting". People might even get results by trying to imitate this kind of stuff in class, but might be in for a nasty surprise when pressure testing or confronted by this scenario in real life. Maybe I sound bitter, but this is something that needs to be taken seriously. Get educated, not entertained.
When training to defend yourself in a specific scenario, apply the following action plan:


Survival Concept -> Strategy of Execution -> Tactics -> Experiment/Pressure Test -> Results Analysis 

• Concept Stage

This is your first stage. Discuss a specific scenario that you would like to simulate and learn to defend yourself against. Pro fighters and athletes do this all the time. They practice for a specific team or person by creating a series of most-likely scenarios. Example: Defending against an armed attacker (knife) with empty hands.

• Strategy 

In this stage, research and discuss effective methods of self defense to accomplish the desired outcome (the Concept). Compile any existing data that you can find on this and consider how to implement what you find into your strategy. Often you can find case studies and methods that professionals use and train in most. To keep with our example: We learn that risk is greatly reduced when the knife is isolated, as opposed to swinging wildly in the air. A risk-reducing strategy is to have the knife pinned against our body, their body or the ground, with two hands securely controlling the knife arm.

• Tactics

Tactic development is broken down into the necessary skill-building drills to be efficient at executing the techniques we'll need to enforce our Strategy. Usually variations of hand-eye coordination drills. In the case of our knife attacker, we'll need to work on movement and evasion exercises to avoid stabs and slices. Also we'll need resistance when attempting to secure the arm with the knife. We need to be able to avoid attacks, close distance as safely as possible and isolate the attacker and knife. Lastly we'll need to train ways of finishing this conflict from the secured position, which might be something new to you. Research and drilling are necessary here.

• Pressure Test

This is our experimental phase. Here, we will simulate the entire scenario and try to put to practice what we've been training with as much resistance as we can safely enforce. There should be some level of stress here in order to study how our concept is applied with adrenaline and fear. Protective gear is highly recommended here for both parties, in order to reduce risk of injury and overcome inhibitions for both people. Take an honest approach when reviewing your results. Regardless of success or failure, you now have priceless data on the realism of your chosen scenario. Honestly categorize everything into what worked, what didn't and what you think would after more training. Start the process over and apply the new information where applicable. Stay safe and good luck!

These are steps to organize your training and leave no room for mysticism. Keep your work honest, ego free and always seeking the truth. When watching a demonstration, viewers should be able to clearly see exactly what the defender is doing to protect themselves. This is the difference between impressing an audience or educating them. When the conflict is over, viewers should be thinking something along the lines of "oh I see what he did there. I'd like to try that myself it work for him." It might not be flashy, but it just might save your life. Happy training.

Jordan Bill
Fight or Die

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