Being Realistic In What We Expect

I want to pick up on something we started to discuss at this morning’s 6AM class. We were looking at the scenario where somebody pushes/throws you to ground and then follows up with some form of attack be it a punch or kick. Often as martial artists we train our ability to transition from standup fighting to ground fighting whilst forgetting that the uneducated, alcohol infused street thug doesn’t view fighting from this clinical or trained perspective. They have one goal , which is to cause us the maximum amount of pain and punishment in the shortest possible time; they are not looking to take their time or set attacks up with feints or ring tactics, instead they are going “route 1”: straight for us with the largest, strongest and most committed attack they have. This is what we need to train for because this is reality.

                This “basic” approach to fighting is what has allowed me in my career as a real world operator in the security field to be successful in both defending myself and the “Principals”/Clients I have been charged with protecting. Any sophisticated assailant who has thought through their plan of action is an extremely scary proposition to deal with, the one who is pent up, driven by emotion and who believes that their “everything will be alright on the night plan” is sufficient is a much easier problem to deal with…once you learn to combat their desperation and extreme/out of control feelings i.e. their initial onslaught.

                I remember the first Close Protection i.e. Body-guarding, certification course I took. Everyone on the course (including myself) both over-thought and over-talked the solutions to the problems and situations we faced. Rather than viewing the situation from the perspective of the individual who was causing/initiating the “threat”, we started to ascribe our training to theirs, giving them “powers” well beyond their capabilities. We can easily do this to the person we have to face on the street, turning them into a Brock Lesner, a Randy Couture or Chuck Lidell, whilst failing to recognize that they are in fact an insecure, untrained, alcohol-confident Numpty who has failed to develop a plan beyond their first wild swing.

                At the same time neither their aggression, their ability to pull a weapon and/or involve third parties should be underestimated. Neither should we over-estimate our ability to deal and cope with the shock, surprise and pain that their assault may cause (Nobody will ask us “if we are ready” before the fight starts). However what we should not do is over-imagine their ability to deliver and execute complicated, professional or well thought throws plans, tactics and strategies of attack – they’d be fighting professionally if they were capable of this rather than engaging in bar room brawls.   

                Your average street assailant isn’t going to follow you to ground and attempt a Kimura; they’re going to push you, throw you to ground and try and stomp on your head. A bar room brawler isn’t going to set up their finely tuned hook punch with a jab, jab, cross combination; they’re going to swing widely and aggressively towards your head – and if you think you’re going to set them up in a similar and clinical fashion you’ve been watching the movies (anyone who tells me exactly what they did in a fight is a bullshitter, nobody remembers much beyond odd moments and weird thoughts -  I remember once wondering what my then girlfriend was cooking for dinner as I got pummelled by three guys) . Prepare to deal with reality…a drunk, aggressive and committed attacker who assaults you without thinking or a specific plan of attack. Deal with them and you deal with reality.

                Today we looked at how a person breaks from clinch, forces their opponent to the ground and follows them in with kicks and punches. It’s as simple and as real as it gets. If you think your greatest worry is someone passing your Guard, you need to take a serious rain check!

P.S. I’ll be training Guard Passes later this week in my Judo & BJJ training. Go figure :) ….