Mark's Daily Apple on Fitness and Survival

Here are some very interesting posts by Mark Sisson on his weblog, Mark’s Daily Apple: Primal Living in the Modern World.  It is a well-written four-part series, discussing the meaning of fitness, modern standards, and how fitness relates to issues of survival not only for the average person, but also for our special forces.  Mark gives a nod to Crossfit in the final post, and discusses his own thoughts on standards based on our primal roots.  You should also check out his book, The Primal Blueprint, which the other instructor is reading and highly recommends!  It is important to be fit for health and longevity as well as fit to fight (in case you ever have to assert your right to longevity!!).  Speaking of Crossfit, we are currently working on ourselves and some of our clients in an effort to meet the Crossfit benchmark standards.  We find them very comprehensive, and though some people do take the workouts to the absolute extreme, scaled properly and ramped up reasonably, they are very well-rounded standards, indeed.   Anyhoo, Check out these posts!

Post 1: What Does it Mean to Be Fit? 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-fit/#more-8879 

 

Post 2: Could You Save Your Own Life? 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/could-you-save-your-own-life/ 

 

Post 3: Modern Fitness Standards: How Do You Measure Up? 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/physical-fitness-standards/ 

 

Post 4: Primal Blueprint Fitness Standards 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-fitness-standards/ 

 

Mark’s book: 

http://primalblueprint.com/

NLP and CQB

We are starting to delve more deeply into the concepts of Neuro Linguistic Programming so we can apply it to rapid learning in class.  Feels like I’ve just been reading a lot of metadata, now I am finally reading about the nuts and bolts.  If we can learn to use these techniques, students can absorb Combatives Concepts more quickly and be able to use them immediately.  Even beyond conceptual information, we want them to acquire skills more quickly.  I already know that some camps say NLP is a pseudoscience.  I am not so much worried about that because I keep reading about its application and find arguments quite compelling in light of other material I have read about the brain. 

Here is an interesting article by Lee Morrison (Urban Combatives) on his experience training with Marcus Wynne and applying NLP to CQB.  He was not able to go into a lot of the specifics because Marcus has developed his own approach.  If only we knew what that man knows! 

http://www.urbancombatives.com/marcus.htm 

I am currently reading a book that lays out the NLP concepts.  It applies them to maintaining health, but one should be able to apply them to anything in life.  I remember Marcus mentioning the book in another article, so I went digging for it.  All of this reminds me of another book I have that I didn’t get to reading yet.  It is entitled Sources of Power, and it is about how people make decisions, under duress, that save lives.  Do you ever feel like you have all the pieces of a puzzle, to unlock your understanding and take what you do to the next level, but you just haven’t figured out how to arrange everything yet?  Of course, there is always more to learn, even if you finally do put one of the puzzles together.

Basic Pistol Seminar

Laptop

Georgia Carry info

Drawing blue guns

Flashlight scene

Airsoft Gals

Target shootin’

Shooting one-handed

 

Combat Hard taught another Firearm Safety and Basic Pistol Course this Saturday.  We set up the indoor Airsoft range again, which we must admit looks pretty darn cool.  It was another great seminar and participants had great questions about owning and carrying firearms, as well as safety issues regarding children.  This is a introductory class, and students will have an opportunity at a later date to participate in live-fire courses on the range as well as our Integrated Combatives class that combines fighting and shooting.

We would really like to thank Heath Mayer, who talked to us about the Georgia Carry organization, which does a lot in our state to protect our rights to bear arms.  We would like to thank KBX Gym, our gracious host! Oh, and thank you so much Lissa for helping us with the trailer situation!!! You are the best, girl! 🙂

Charles Nelson

Perhaps some of you already know of Charles Nelson, the former marine instructor with a special gift for Close Combat methods.  He studied and incorporated many fighting disciplines in his system of self-defense, including combatives methods taught between WW1 and WW2, Western Boxing, Ju Jitsu (dirty fighting), and Mongolian Wrestling, among others.  For half a century he passionately taught his methods in New York City to anyone and everyone.  He would regularly collect news stories that involved violent crime, and utilize the details to create scenarios to teach students what to do if they found themselves in similar lethal encounters.  He believed that avoidance was the best defense, but that sometimes trouble found people despite their best efforts. 

We have utilized some of his fight sequences in our Gutterfighting, and he had a tendency to draw the attacker in to a false sense of security (think of breaking into his OODA loop) before launching into a fast and furious attack; he would attack to diminish the intention of the attacker.  This, of course, follows the principles of close quarters combat: speed, surprise, and violence of action. 

Charles left behind quite a legacy, and many people survived terrible encounters due to his no-nonsense, practical approach to self-defense.  Take a moment to read about this amazing man. 

http://www.urbancombatives.com/nelson_revisited.htm 

http://charles-nelson-defense.com/about/charles-nelson 

http://www.urbancombatives.com/obituary.htm

http://www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-charles_nelson.htm

Gutterfighting Combatives Seminar

Chin Jab!

Knife to throat

Catcher's mitt pistol disarm

Gun disarm

Group shot!

On Saturday, Combat Hard conducted a three-hour seminar on combatives.  We put things within a scenario-based framework and drilled empty-hand techniques, knife and pistol disarms, as well as improvised weapons (magazines).  Everyone had great questions.  As much as we would like to fill in all the blanks of what could happen and what people should do, of course, some of the variables in any given situation would be anyone’s guess until a real-life encounter unfolded.  We all need to certainly use our imaginations and become critical thinkers, and scenarios are a great way to play with the possibilities, as well.  Emotional content is essential.  I try to feel as I would feel in a lethal encounter, complete with facial expressions and feeling the aggression surging through me.  One important point we stressed was training like we wish to perform out on the street.  Whatever we repeat in training, including bad habits, will come out!  This is why it is critical NOT to do things like hand the pistol or knife back to the training partner after disarming him or her.  This is just one example.  We cannot put this into our motor programs.  SO IMPORTANT!

Thanks so much to all students who participated, and to KBX Gym for making the seminar a success!

Know the Law That Governs You

Something that we have probably not talked about enough on this blog is the law and how it views use of force.  As you might expect, it is going to vary from state to state here in the U.S., as well as in other countries.  So, I highly recommend that you get online and read the local code that governs you wherever you live.  Whenever we talk about use of force, I am always a little surprised at what people do NOT know.  For instance, several individuals have expressed disbelief over not being able to legally shoot an assailant after disarming him.  Granted, if that assailant is still attempting to harm them, it is a different story altogether.  But, if he is no longer exhibiting threatening behavior, and they shoot him anyway, it is basically an execution.  If some guy throws the first punch, and I render him unconscious, AND I CONTINUE to beat him, the law is not going to look at me with a friendly eye.  It is easy to be vengeful and angry for his crime against me, but that doesn’t absolve me of committing my crime.  We have to make the distinction between force and excessive force, and if we use deadly force, we need to be able to articulate why.  Ignorance of the law of the land is never a good excuse, and I really don’t want anyone to transform an act of self-protection into a prison sentence.  Be safe and use your heads!

Imagine versus Visualize

In my last post I talked briefly about helping students to imagine all aspects of a scenario through imagination, using language that speaks to all the senses, not just visual.  Some people really struggle with mental pictures, or have none at all.  For me, it simply became a habit not to visualize.  I once had the ability to vividly create mental pictures, but I was told as a kid to “stop daydreaming!”  Now, I was not able to hold onto the images for long stretches at a time, but I could nevertheless create them.  This could be true for you, as well; maybe you are just rusty!  OR, maybe you need to imagine things with other sensory information.  It is an individual thing.

Brian Willis talks about this very dilemma of visualization in his blog post.  Interesting reading:

http://excellenceintraining.typepad.com/excellence_in_training/2009/10/imagine-vs-visualize.html

Training Notes

What is the best way to train Combatives?  We have been putting our thoughts together in preparation for a new class and re-vamping our current training methodology.  Our goal is to give people something they can use on the street as soon as they walk out into the world.  We have to create an immediate need for the training.  Unfortunately, many people have mental obstacles that prevent them from seeing the immediate need even though they express a desire to protect themselves.  This may be because they don’t really have a concept of what self-protection or real-world violence really entails.  You can hit students over the head with it, which is what some instructors try to do—you can scare them half to death with the brutal reality, but then you run the risk of losing students forever.  These are the very students that need help the most.  People have to be engaged as the individuals they are, because each of us has our own experiences, conditioning, etc.  We have to meet them where they are and bring them into the fold, so to speak, slowly.  People have all these wild ideas in their minds about fighting, based on what they see on television and in the movies, and the sports they watch.  But for real conflict that involves interpersonal human aggression, real mental preparation is required. 

We can tell people that fighting is not a goal, and we express this whenever we have an opportunity.  Certainly people need physical skills, also, for the times when all other measures fail.  Marcus Wynne talked about Combatives training, and expressed that people need to have the end in mind—what do they want to achieve?  Ah.  Imagery.  This keeps coming up in our research.  Students also need scenario training; we lead into this by again, creating the need in the beginning, and sharing real-life stories of survival and winning.  It is important to create a positive learning environment for our adult learners.  Even before running an individual through a scenario, the student needs to witness a trained response to a threat.  This way, they can model their own behavior after a successful response.  The scene should be set with descriptive imagery that appeals to all the senses, which helps to draw their minds into the situation.  Keep in mind that not all people can visualize.  We talked a lot about this in the Brian Willis’ Winning Mind seminar this past winter.  Some people struggle with mental pictures because they are simply not visually-oriented.  In fact, when they are told to close their eyes and visualize, they see NOTHING.  However, they can imagine with other sensory information.  If they are more kinesthetic, help them to imagine feeling.  If they are more auditory, help them to hear the sounds.  Assist them in imagining smells, and taste, if it is warranted.  Make an effort to paint the whole picture with more than just visual data.  

In his book, Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge, Bruce Siddle outlines design methodology and four goals for training.  I have paraphrased, here: 

• Increase the student’s confidence in a skill at the subconscious level.  Quickly.
• Increase the student’s situational confidence through stimulus-training-response exercises.
• Utilize imagery [he calls for visualization, but go further!] to prepare the students for the threat stimulus, and a correct response to that stimulus.
• Train students on breathing techniques to gain control of escalating heart rate. 

He also discusses the seven phases of dynamic scenario training.  Now, in the text, he is specifically referring to shooting scenarios and room-clearing techniques, but these principles can be applied to any combat scenario, in my opinion.  I have paraphrased here: 

• Introduce fundamentals, letting students know what to expect, especially in terms of survival stress.  Give students techniques for diffusing the effects of survival stress.  Students must make a mental checklist of potential threats, the primary response and the secondary response options [what is a “failure drill”?].  Students may not remember stress management techniques initially, so remind them and explain how to apply them to combat performance.
• Perform slow-motion walk-through of the steps and procedure.  This is the soft-wiring of the motor program they are creating in their nervous systems.
• Perform segmented scenario, in sequence.
• Slowly begin the process of engaging a static target while moving.  Speed picks up only after consistent practice in this phase.  If the scenario includes shooting, the students are introduced to target discrimination.
• Role players wear protective gear and exhibit threatening actions—the threat is alive, now.  Students will become more nervous with this new variable and must be encouraged to practice stress management techniques.  Between three to five reps of the sequence improves accuracy.
• Role players can now fight back.  Again, the stress level will increase for students.  The threat is only a single target at this phase, and should be simple and quick, which helps enhance visual reaction time.
• Several scenarios should be designed to test students’ reactions to the fullest extent.  Role players must maintain control; students are still learning to react and are gaining situational confidence.  Survival stress management MUST be reinforced, and it takes several repetitions at this phase for students to become automatic and fluid.  If shooting is involved, scenarios should be varied so students experience both “shoot” and “don’t shoot” situations.

Notice how students are not just thrown directly into the meat grinder with this careful process.  It serves no practical purpose if we want the students to successfully reach the goal.  Variables are changed one at a time.  Role players must be properly coached. 

So, what if practitioners need to perform better?  Following a scenario, instructors can walk them through what went right, and what could be improved.  It is important to NOT focus on the negative.  The scenario can be broken down into segments, so as to work on each individual facet of a situation.  Instructors should minimize corrections, because realistic fights are never perfect or choreographed.  Students must feel successful following scenario training. 

We have talked in previous posts about the critical elements of close quarters battles, and they are: speed, surprise, and violence of action.  Kelly McCann says that martial arts is something you do with someone, and combatives is something you do to someone.  Just as Ignatius Piazza said in his blog the other day, “action is faster than reaction.”  Once the assailant has broken into your decision loop, you are playing catch-up, and it becomes more difficult to regain the upper hand.  If you sense an imminent threat, you cannot wait for confirmation because it may be too late.  Intuition, or sensing intention, must be your guide. 

In addition to becoming unconsciously competent through scenario-based training, students must learn how to articulate their actions for the legal investigation that invariably follows.  They become unconscious competent articulates.  Students must understand when to stop the onslaught when the target is no longer a threat.  If the situation has been diffused, people no longer have the right to physically engage the assailant, within the eyes of the law.  In our minds, it is important for people to win from a physical, mental, and legal standpoint. 

 

References 

Siddle, Bruce K.  (1995).  Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge: The Pscychology & Science of Training.  Millstadt: PPCT Research Publications.

Gutterfighting.org

You may have already checked out their website, but I wanted to direct you to another group of Gutterfighters here in the states.  There is a lot of great information here about World War II Combatives, and if you read this blog regularly, you know we like to give credit where credit is due:

http://gutterfighting.org/Main.html

Dr. Ruthless Blog

Check out Dr. Ruthless (Melissa Soalt) weblog on women’s self-defense.  I love the name: All Fired Up.  No-nonsense kind of stuff, and perhaps you have read some of our previous posts about her and viewed some of her video clips already on this blog, or even watched her DVD Fierce and Female (Paladin Press).  I like what she says on the most recent post.  Fighting is not THE ONLY solution to violence against women, but aggression is a powerful resource when all other measures have failed.

http://doctorruthless.blogspot.com/