Kindle Notes & Highlights
It should be noted that it is important to have a strategy that takes into consideration the fact that often times when a weapon is used in an altercation the victim never actually saw the weapon until after it had already been used.
This is why we do not advocate striking from the outside range where there is a possibility of exchange unless absolutely necessary. Once we go hands on, we don’t dismount until we have a window for escape.
To me the martial arts in general, or for this book the study of personal protection in particular is a lot like cooking.
True self-defense begins way in advance of a physical encounter and, quite honestly, before we even leave the house. Our dietary and sleep habits, stress levels, how and with whom we spend time, and general overall fitness are all elements that should be looked at as part of a holistic approach to self preservation.
Many people mistakenly view fear as a form of weakness
The point is to replace paranoia with a proactive mindset in order to be more at ease.
The over-riding goal for the physical material outlined in this book is to never HAVE to use it. If things begin to unfold we look to end them as quickly and cleanly as possible. Awareness and avoidance are key. If and when these two elements fail we move on to utilizing verbal skills. If diplomacy fails, our goal is to gain immediate control of the subject while eliminating their offensive options in order to end the situation.
3-point cover (3PC), positional dominance, close quarter strikes, and cloth controls/chokes are the name of the game all being delivered from an athletic and aggressive platform.
Regardless of how and when things go down, our focus is always on leaving the situation as soon as there is opportunity.
In any case our focus is on extracting ourselves as soon as possible. This is important from both a safety and legal stand point!
Our time will be best spent focusing on a handful of high percentage techniques and then spending the rest of our allotted hours drilling and applying them under varying degrees of resistance.
But what constitutes a “high percentage” technique? Ask yourself the following: - Are there less than 2 steps involved? - Can I pull it off against people of varying body types? - Did I learn how to do it against some level of resistance in one session? - Could I do it if this person was really committed to succeeding? - Is it a gross motor movement? If you answered yes to all of these questions then chances are you will be able to access that skill during a knock down drag out tussle.
For us fear management comes from a combination of things including: Familiarity with myself and the realities of violence, solid skills in a functional delivery system, a flexible game plan, and giving ourselves permission to exit the situation ASAP.
It is important to understand and communicate basic use-of-force laws. Simply put, force must parallel danger.
The question we want to consider if we are forced to use physical means is: “To what degree do I have to hurt this person in order to get away?”
Through using progressive resistance these athletes gradually become “inoculated” to the stress of real contact.
Drill #1 A approaches B and gives a shove. B utilizes SPF to buy time and maintain distance. Repeat a few times to get the feel and switch.
It is not a good strategy to bluff, posture, and hope they buy it.
it. Diplomacy has failed and escape is not an immediate option. It is important that these criteria be stressed for clients.
There needs to be allowance in the training to dial up or down the violence in order to be able to respond with the level of force appropriate and keep your butt out of jail.
Our first point of control off of the 3PC will be an underhook and single collar tie.
Because of the unexpected nature of this attack there is high probability that we will flinch. This is perfectly fine and indeed, probably one of the best things we could do at that moment.
Drill #1 Goal: To become familiar with how our body flinches and to introduce reading body language in order to deal with sucker punch. From facing each other A throws a random strike at B. B, from good posture covers, crashes, and establishes a dominant clinch position. Increase speed until B can deal with full speed blows. If B is eating too many shots, pull back on speed until corrections can be made. Care should be taken for A not to just be a tennis ball machine with a steady, predictable rhythm. Drill #2 Goal: To add context and set ups to the above drill.
Aggressor begins with some sort of initiation (push, encroach, shoulder bump, etc.). B establishes SPF. A throws some kind of sucker punch. B covers, crashes, and clinches establishing dominant position. Build in speed and intensity. Drill #3 Goal: To add a little something different to our sparring and to get used to following up from the crash. This is a normal sparring session with the only difference being that the designated aggressor begins the round from a sucker punch situation. Once it goes physical, both parties are allowed to use all tools and skills.
As we stated earlier, in the initial stages of a confrontation we can use verbal skills to buy time to assess the situation and figure out what’s going on. It may seem obvious, but it is amazing how often people just clam up.
Asking a question before throwing whatever strike we have set up will allow us to take advantage of the moment our aggressor’s mind is on something else. The question itself doesn’t even have to be relevant to the situation. The point is to get the other person to engage his mind on whatever it is you’re saying.
“If you can’t beat me with rules what makes you think you can beat me without rules? There rules are there to protect YOU.”
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: "Whoever fights with monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster in the process. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." [Beyond Good and Evil, aphorism # 146.]
