| "There Are No Superior Martial Arts, Only Superior | | | | repetition on each one. What technique wouldn't be |
| Martial Artists" | | | | improved by six times more training? |
| I've read, heard, repeated and written that phrase so | | | | The Brass Knuckle Effect (Cognitive Clarity) |
| often I can't even remember where it came from. | | | | Imagine you knew you were about to be attacked |
| The reason I like it so much is because it's true! | | | | by a large, strong, psychopathic assailant. There is no |
| This article is not another effort to debate the merits | | | | way of avoiding the fight. Let's say your self-defense |
| of one self-defense system over another. Nor is it to | | | | system consists of 20 different techniques. In the |
| argue about which style will or won't work "on the | | | | stressful moments preceding the encounter your |
| street." All martial arts have components within them | | | | mind is reeling; trying to figure out the most |
| that are powerful fighting techniques. It's important | | | | appropriate course of action. |
| to know which ones they are! | | | | Keep in mind that your cognitive abilities are impaired |
| Self-Defense Systems Differ, But Self-Defense | | | | by stress. Stress-related "brain damage" prevents |
| Principles Don't | | | | you from forming a logical or creative solution to |
| On the surface, martial arts and self-defense | | | | your predicament. What will you do? |
| systems seem different. However, if they are | | | | Seeing your dilemma, a good friend (if he wasn't |
| legitimate and effective, the principles underlying | | | | before he is now!) discretely passes you a set of |
| them are the same. | | | | brass knuckles. What do you suppose has just |
| Principles are the rules about the way things are. | | | | happened to your thought process? |
| They are inarguable, non-negotiable and unchanging. | | | | I'll hazard a guess that the mental fog begins to lift, |
| They have nothing to do with the way we think | | | | your stress decreases and your objective becomes |
| things are or the way we want them to be. Like the | | | | clear. It's now a simple matter of taking those brass |
| laws of physics, they just are. | | | | knuckles and slamming them repeatedly into |
| As "Martial Scientists," our goal is to explore, discover, | | | | vulnerable parts of your opponent's anatomy. Seems |
| test and confirm the operative principles that define | | | | simple now doesn't it? |
| and influence the reality of combat. Your ability to | | | | The potential of you winning the encounter has been |
| produce a desired result, in this case to effectively | | | | significantly enhanced. That same affect can be |
| defend yourself, is a direct result of how well you | | | | achieved without the brass knuckles by sticking to a |
| understand and apply the principles of combat and | | | | limited, yet adaptable, inventory of dependable |
| human performance. | | | | fighting skills. |
| What Do You Know About Performance Under | | | | THE SCIENCE OF STRESS POINTS TO THE NEED |
| Pressure? | | | | TO SPECIALIZE |
| This article is about how fear and stress affect | | | | Virtually all accomplished fighters are known for |
| fighting performance. Whether you consider yourself | | | | specific techniques that they excel at. However, if |
| a seasoned martial artist, a self-defense enthusiast, | | | | you ignore their "bread & butter" techniques, most of |
| or a self-taught "ham & egger" who just wants to | | | | them would be considered "average." Those fighters |
| stay in shape and boost your confidence, this | | | | excel because of their ability to simplify their system |
| information is important to know. If you are training | | | | and build on their superior techniques. |
| for self-defense, you need to select and develop | | | | Knowing what you now know about technique |
| skills that will be effective in the chaos of a violent | | | | selection and stress performance, what do you think |
| conflict. This article will help you in that process. | | | | about the merits of "specializing" in a core set of |
| STRESS AND SELF-DEFENSE | | | | fighting skills? Here's how to get started. |
| Stress Is Good, But Only If It Works For And Not | | | | Explore Your Strengths |
| Against You | | | | Don't just latch onto a fighting tactic arbitrarily. |
| Stress is our response to a real or perceived threat | | | | Evaluate your existing skills and select a strike, a kick, |
| that we inherited from our ancestors. It was, and is, | | | | or a finishing hold that seems like a "good fit" for you. |
| essential for our survival as a species. That survival | | | | What technique to you consistently land or apply |
| mechanism, often called the "Fight or Flight | | | | when sparring? What is your best or favorite |
| Response," is a good thing. If properly managed, it | | | | technique? What technique do you feel you would |
| can be a powerful force in fighting off (fight) or | | | | resort to under pressure? Answering these questions |
| escaping from (flight) a violent assailant. However, if | | | | will get you started with the specialization process. |
| ignored or misunderstood, stress can impair our | | | | Adaptability |
| mental and physical performance and compromise our | | | | Having as few techniques as possible doesn't mean |
| effectiveness in a fight. | | | | that you limit your ability to respond to a wide |
| What Is "Self-Defense Stress?" | | | | variety of situations. The idea is to take that |
| Stress, as it relates to violence, is the response to a | | | | specialty strike, kick, joint lock or choke and train it in |
| perceived discrepancy between a threat and your | | | | as many different ways as possible. Learn to apply |
| ability to control it under conditions where the | | | | those basic skills at different ranges (striking, clinching |
| outcome has the potential for death, injury or | | | | or on the ground), against different partners, against |
| physical degradation. | | | | different apparatus and in as many drills as you can |
| The Symptoms Of Stress | | | | think of. Learn how to set them up and follow them |
| Stress causes a variety of psychological and | | | | up. Strive to learn a lot about a little, not vice versa. |
| physiological changes. Without getting into the | | | | Train to Exhaustion |
| specifics of those changes, the affects of intense | | | | A good way to see how well a technique holds up |
| stress on performance fall into three categories: | | | | under stress is to train it to extreme fatigue. You can |
| 1. Perceptual Distortion - loss of peripheral vision and | | | | bring on the physiology of intense stress by exerting |
| depth perception, hearing may be impaired, changes | | | | yourself. I call this "blitz training" in the heavy bag |
| in pain sensitivity, etc. | | | | article: "There's nothing like a swift kick to the bag." |
| 2. Cognitive Impairment - the emotional centers in the | | | | on my site at: |
| brain become predominant and creative or logical | | | | Blast out a technique or combination repeatedly for a |
| thinking is impaired. | | | | specified duration or until you can't do it any more. I |
| 3. Motor Skill Deterioration - the ability to perform | | | | can guarantee that gross motor skills will be the only |
| certain physical actions is impaired by stress. | | | | ones conducive to this type of training. |
| However, other actions can actually be enhanced by | | | | Keep in mind that you wouldn't do this training all of |
| stress. | | | | the time. You need time to recover between intense |
| Each of these categories could form an article (or | | | | workouts like this. |
| book) of their own. However, for the purposes of | | | | Obviously you must be healthy and in good physical |
| this article, I'll confine myself to information pertaining | | | | shape to do in this training. Refer to my disclaimer |
| to the selection and performance of physical skills. | | | | page for precautions before following this advice. |
| THE KYSS! PRINCIPLE (Keep Your System Simple!) | | | | Simplicity Is Not Inflexibility |
| Why Do Black Belts Get Beat Up? | | | | A final note in keeping things simple is that the |
| Why is it that so many martial artists get beat up? | | | | process of specialization doesn't mean that you stop |
| I'm sorry to burst your bubble if you thought | | | | learning, experimenting or that you abandon your |
| otherwise but the fact is that many people, even | | | | existing training program in lieu of a "bare-bones" |
| after years of training, have been thumped by | | | | self-defense program. |
| "unskilled," intoxicated adversaries. How can that be? | | | | If you are proud of your traditional martial arts |
| Often people train with a distorted mental map of | | | | system stick with it. If you love to jump up, spin |
| what it's like to be in a real, knockdown, drag-out, | | | | around and kick things, then by all means, go for it! |
| anything-goes street-fight. They confuse sparring | | | | Just don't confuse techniques that will work in a |
| with fighting and find themselves hesitant, | | | | street fight with those that won't. Apply the science |
| overwhelmed by fear or attempting techniques that | | | | of stress performance by adding specialty training to |
| just don't work. | | | | the degree that you want to develop practical |
| The more clearly you understand the realities of a | | | | self-defense skills. |
| "fight" and the affects of being in one, the better | | | | SO WHAT? HOW TO USE THIS INFORMATION |
| you can prepare yourself for the chaos of personal | | | | Using The "KYSS! Principle" To Evaluate A Potential |
| combat. | | | | Specialty Technique |
| Motor Skills Classification | | | | Now its time to put this stuff into practice: Based on |
| Motor Skills is a fancy name for physical actions or | | | | the priority you place on "fighting skill." (there are |
| techniques. They can be divided into three categories: | | | | several other benefits and reasons to train) Take a |
| 1. Fine Motor Skills - are actions involving small | | | | good, hard look at the skills you have in your |
| muscles, dexterity and eye-hand coordination. The | | | | inventory and the amount of time you plan to invest |
| ability to perform fine motor skills deteriorates at low | | | | in training. |
| to moderate levels of stress. | | | | Decide on what proportion of your training you want |
| 2. Complex Motor Skills - are actions that link three or | | | | to dedicate to self-defense. Design your system |
| more components in a sequence that requires timing | | | | based on the following "KYSS Criteria." |
| and coordination. At moderate to high levels of | | | | * is the technique a "gross motor skill?" |
| stress, the ability to perform these skills is also | | | | * do you have confidence in your ability to perform |
| impaired. Many martial arts techniques are complex | | | | the skill under pressure? |
| motor skills. This explains why techniques that may | | | | * What technique is most successful for you in |
| work fine in low-stress training fail in a high-stress | | | | training sparring or competition? (however don't |
| street-fight. | | | | confuse those activities with fighting) |
| 3. Gross motor skills - are simple, large-muscle group | | | | * Is the technique applicable in a wide variety of |
| actions like a squats, pushups and push/pull-type | | | | situations, at different ranges, in different |
| movements. This includes basic fighting skills like a | | | | environments, ring clothing that you were during your |
| straight punch, a hook punch or a Thai boxer's knee | | | | day-to-day activities? |
| strike for example. Unlike fine and complex motor | | | | * Are you able to construct a wide variety of training |
| skills, gross motor skills DO NOT deteriorate under | | | | drills to build adaptability and flexibility in your chosen |
| stress. In fact, they are enhanced by the affects of | | | | techniques? |
| fear and stress. | | | | * Are there techniques that you've selected that are |
| Obviously we want to rely predominantly on gross | | | | redundant? |
| motor skills when designing a self-defense response | | | | * Do you understand the underlying principles and |
| system. | | | | biomechanics of performing and applying the skill with |
| The "Less-Is-Best" Theory | | | | optimal efficiency? |
| Some self-defense and martial arts instructors believe | | | | CONCLUSION |
| in the "More-Is-Better" philosophy. They think that | | | | Stress in a combative situation is a given. Expect it. |
| learning a high number of techniques will increase the | | | | It's going to be there. Your performance is the result |
| ability to respond effectively to a wider variety of | | | | of how confident and well prepared you are in |
| situations; that the more elaborate the fighting | | | | addition to how well designed your self-defense |
| system the more adaptable it becomes. | | | | response system is. Attack the problem of stress |
| If you hold this philosophy yourself, please forgive | | | | performance this way: |
| my bluntness but...YOU'RE WRONG!!! The | | | | * Simplify your system through specializing in a |
| More-Is-Better approach does not withstand scientific | | | | handful of effective and adaptable techniques. |
| scrutiny. Complex or elaborate techniques don't work | | | | * Artificially create stress in your training sessions to |
| in a real fight. It's as simple as that. In contrast, the | | | | inoculate yourself to it to some degree (more on this |
| "Less-Is-Best" approach is more practical, realistic and | | | | in future articles) and |
| consistent with what science tells us about the way | | | | * Select gross motor skills that will be efficient under |
| we perform under stress. Here are a few of the | | | | stress. |
| benefits of keeping the number of techniques to a | | | | Knowing what you now know about stress |
| minimum. | | | | performance isn't it obvious that the "KYSS! (Keep |
| Faster Reaction Time | | | | Your System Simple!) Principle" is worth incorporating |
| As far back as the 1800's, researchers knew that | | | | into your training? Scrutinize and evaluate your |
| the more responses you have to a stimulus, the | | | | inventory of fighting skills and select those that meet |
| longer it takes react. In 1952, a researcher named | | | | the KYSS criteria and you will improve your |
| Hicks confirmed that for every response choice | | | | performance in a combative situation dramatically. |
| added, the amount of time required to react doubles! | | | | The bottom line of what I want you to take away |
| This is widely known as "Hicks Law," and has been | | | | from this article is that if you are training for |
| repeatedly confirmed by subsequent research. In a | | | | self-defense Keep Your System Simple! |
| self-defense situation, the longer you take to | | | | Take care, train smart and stay safe, |
| respond to a threatening action, the more likely you | | | | Randy LaHaie Protective Strategies |
| will be injured and defeated. | | | | ========== Self-Defense Quote |
| Fast Results With Minimal Training | | | | =============== |
| Another issue that supports the idea of keeping your | | | | "There are no superior or inferior martial arts, there |
| inventory of techniques to a minimum is the amount | | | | are only warriors and non-warriors" |
| of time you have to practice and the time it takes to | | | | "Each martial art is based on doctrine, a set of broad |
| build technique competence. (remember: competence | | | | and general beliefs. People who study a single |
| builds confidence which reduces stress!) | | | | doctrine tend to shut out ideas from other sources |
| Imagine you work on 20 techniques and you train for | | | | and convince themselves that their's is the one true |
| an hour per session. That means you have 3 minutes | | | | way of fighting. They become slaves to the very |
| to invest on each technique. If however, you reduce | | | | doctrines they profess." |
| the number of self-defense techniques to three (just | | | | Forrest E. Morgan, Maj. USAF Living The Martial Way |
| an arbitrary number), you invest 20 minutes on each | | | | A Manual for the way a modern warrior should think. |
| technique, conceivably investing 600% more time and | | | | |