Notes

Martial Arts - 5 Phases of a highly effective Self-Defense Strategy
How do you make sense out of the chaos that is a fight or self-defense situation? Some could have you believe that you have to do would be to memorize some karate moves referred to as kata. Others could have you believe that you may just ensure it is up as you opt for no preset strategy or goal at heart except to win. This article outlines a formula for successful self-defense that takes the middle path and focuses, not on technique, but on the strategic-thinking used by master commanders.

Perhaps you have wondered how you know which strategy to use when an attacker is coming at you with murderous rage? Perhaps you have read the newspaper or a magazine story and seen that a officer, security professional, or other person trained in self-defense, was injured or killed by an untrained attacker?

Needless to say you have. And so have I.

Within the planet of fighting techinques and self-defense, you can find two vastly different schools of thought for coping with a violent confrontation. They're what we may call...

1. The Kata Approach - which involves the student learning a number of preset - predetermined group of movements which have been passed on from teacher-to-student. The student would be to master these technique-strings called kata or "forms", through solo training, practice drills, and sparring sessions, until they can execute them at full-speed against an attacker. And...
2. The Free-Response Approach - that involves the student being thrown in to the pool, so-to-speak, and being coached into different ways to attack or counter the attacker by "feel" and intuitive response. The student continues and, in essence, develops their own style or "way" to handle situations.
While both of these systems have merit and I take advantage of elements of both to train my very own students, each system leaves much to be desired in-an-of-itself. Where in fact the kata student includes a structure that to work and may duplicate sets of moves to easily isolate and correct errors, he or she is left with their own devices when it comes to intuitively "determining" what comes next.

And, where in fact the "free-response" adherent is left to develop his / her own sense of what's appropriate and what fits, they're generally guided minus the benefit of "success-models" developed by generations of past masters who have used what they passed on successfully, over and over.

Self-Defense Strategy

There is a level of proficiency beyond technique that both the kata practitioner and the free-response students will naturally progress to. It's the level of strategic application, or being "results oriented," instead of focusing only on technique or "gaining top of the hand" through trickery or force.

However, instead of waiting for only those intuitive enough to "figure it out," there exists a formula that could be learned that will take a student through the natural flow of a fight. This formula, unlike many theories being offered in the world of fighting techinques and self-defense, isn't based on my "ideas," but rather it develops when one can step back and look at what sort of fight begins, escalates, progresses, and is controlled by true experts.

The truth is that, every real expert at personal self-defense uses this formula, whether she or he knows it or not. They could not call it the same thing or think of it as such, but they have developed ways to make sense of the chaos, react to what their assailant is wanting to do, and then go on to controlling their attacker's options, perceptions, and ability to get at and do them harm.

The 5 Phases of A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Self-Defense Strategy

1. OBSERVE Here we pay attention as our assailant attempts to move in against us. With experience and training, we can see if he appears to be establishing for grabbing or striking. If he's already on us, this stage is about discerning where he is attempting to take us in relation to balance, control, and direction.
2. AVOID At this stage, we shouldn't be concerned about hurting him just as much as not getting beaten by his first move. Here, we avoid or evade incoming strikes, or maneuver to regain balance and neutralize the effects of what he's doing if he's got already grabbed us.
3. UNBALANCE Only after we have avoided his initial attacks and realize that we have a sense of control of the problem, can we actually start to "enter" in against him. We're still not worried about beating him yet - only making it difficult for him to continue with his strategy. At this time, we work to take and control our opponent's balance. We are able to do that physically, mentally, emotionally, or perhaps a mix of the three. The idea here is to make it increasingly problematic for our attacker to access us. In fact, we direct our intentions and techniques toward boxing him in and locking him up.
4. TAKE DOWN When we took our assailant's balance, he will find it difficult to attack us. In fact, he may even find it difficult to stay on his feet. Now, and only now, should we take the fight to the attacker. At this stage, if we have successfully moved through to phase four, our attacker will never be able to get at us, nor get away from us. Literally, at this time of the game, we have choice. And choice equals freedom. We choose the techniques or skills that will take the attacker to the ground or knock him from us, based on what we need and whether he was grabbing, punching, or both.
5. OBSERVE No, this is not a misprint. We have come back to where it started after dealing with the initial onslaught of our opponent and dealt him a blow of our very own. Now, we go back to the observation stage (not that people ever lost it) to see what he'll do next. We don't turn our back on him nor begin celebrating our victory. We watch. We watch to see if he is down and out, if he has conceded and is running away, or if he's preparing to try something else.
These 5 phases shouldn't be seen as steps. They're not five things "to do," but rather 5 stages or regions of control, that flow naturally from one another as we enter, engage, and direct our attacker's energies, intentions, and techniques from us.

Jeffrey M. Miller may be the founder of Warrior Concepts International. He is a highly sought-after trainer, consultant, and expert in the areas of self-defense, workplace violence defensive tactics, and personal protection. He could be the writer of several books, and videos, including: "The Science of Self-Defense," and the dvd, "Danger Prevention Tactics: Protecting Yourself Like a Pro," and may be the co-producer of the self-defense & fighting techinques podcast called KUDEN. For more info rmation also to download your free self-defense report entitled, "Fight Smarter - Not Harder" visit his site at: http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com
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