Training with a Combative Mindset

Angelo Garcia demonstrating knife defense in third party VIP Close Protection Course in the Israeli Tactical School

As martial artists, we have a tendency to view combat through specific paradigms and we lose sight of the goal.  Put simply, learning drills and memorizing techniques become the primary goal instead of understanding where and when it would be appropriate to apply them.  And it is absolutely essential to know when and where it is right to apply the right skill lest we lose and find ourselves injured or killed.

Let me preface this discussion by first saying that this isn’t an esoteric discussion about timing, speed, or a zen concept.  Instead, this is about establishing a framework to understand when and where techniques should be applied.  It important to understand which techniques work in specific situations and then train to apply the correct tools in your martial arts arsenal to accomplish the task at hand.

Is it self defense?  Point sparring?  No holds barred fighting?  A grappling tournament?  Dueling?  Third party protection?  Law enforcement?

When you have the skills, it’s time to train a specific pallet of techniques that are appropriate in that context.  Having provided edged impact weapon training to security professionals with specific goals, I’ve had to structure training that addressed their needs.

I recently taught at the Israeli Tactical School’s VIP close protection course where the mission had very specific parameters: Protect the VIP from a knife attack, neutralize the threat, and evacuate the VIP to safety.  It would not have been appropriate to drill anything outside of what is needed to accomplish these goals.

The technique that most effectively completed the task was an aggressive execution of a knife interception and an aggressive barrage of attacks leading to a takedown.  But the exercise did not stop after the aggressor hit the ground.  Because the technique was only one stage of the whole picture, the next aspects needed to be drilled as well.   Now that I’ve taken down the attacker, what is the next step? Should I draw my firearm? Stay sprawled over him? Return to my VIP?

All of these questions were addressed in drilling for this specific mission profile and included deploying the weapon while keeping 360 degree awareness to ensure the safety of the VIP.

As we train, it’s important to learn techniques and understand the context in which they should be applied.  Build up your arsenal of techniques but drill these skills for their specific contexts.

Stay tuned! We are launching the Edged Impact Weapon Defensive Tactics program in Northern Virginia soon. http://www.stickandknifefighting.com

Red Team – Developing a Robust Knife Defense

Recently, I’d been reviewing videos and taking part in Knife Defense training with other systems. I have nothing bad to say about their knife or stick defense methods. They are similar to what I have seen prescribed in other edged and impact weapon combat systems. However, as a person who is more accustomed to assuming the attacker point of view, I thought I would flesh out some of the issues in a follow up to my series of articles on knife defense.

To preempt any comments or questions, yes we can all assume that once a knife is involved there is a high probability of getting cut or stabbed and you are welcome to review my articles on specifics in knife fighting. Yes, there is no perfect defense against an armed assailant, however, we do our utmost to remain in the fight and alive.

In almost every other discipline, outside of combat and martial arts, it is essential to anticipate what challenges you may face when attempting to achieve a goal. In the security field as well as many others, this is known as a red team– when you assume the perspective of your adversary and try to identify vulnerabilities. With their findings, you can reinforce or build procedures and defenses against these attacks. Parallels can be drawn from other fields as well such as anticipating sales objections, preparing talking points for academic presentations, functionality testing of software, fire testing materials… the list can go on.

As such, it is absolutely essential to understand the perspective of your attacker in order to develop a robust defense against .

What are the assumptions when you’re only thinking like a defender? 

The attacker will swing only a handful of times and with minimal intent. From what I’ve observed, people who train in edged or impact weapon defense that come from empty hand backgrounds have not swung a weapon at another person before. This presents complications since their ranging and timing will be off and are reluctant to strike directly at their partner. As such, they are not providing the correct stimulus for the defender and this can create a false sense of security when they’re within range.

The attacker will only move forward. This is a common assumption I’ve seen and it makes sense in the context of close quarter battles where you’re trapped between cars or in a narrow hallway. However, there is always the option to move laterally or to move backwards. In both instances, a defense that assumes only forward pressure can subject the defender to considerably higher risk of failure and, as a result, injury or death.

The defender can drop the weapon after the defense or disarm. While not always the case, this one has glared at me every time I’d seen a self defense video or been to a class or seminar. What typically happens is that the defender is able to seize the weapon but then drop it to fight another opponent, unarmed. If ingrained, the defender would revert to old habits under pressure and if able to acquire a weapon, will drop it in favor of unarmed techniques thus putting the defender in a disadvantaged position unnecessarily.

Why train from an attacker’s point of view?

The first reason to train with weapons is to gain a solid understanding of how to wield weapons.. This allows you to become a more effective partner when providing stimulus to your training partner in class as you begin to identify vulnerabilities in the defenses that may be used against you. Where is he going to stab me if I block this? How is he going to recover from that swing? These are questions that will have some light shed on them because you and your partners have tried to stab or club each other before.

Second, as you proceed to train from an attacker’s point of view, you think of more directions than only forward. Retreating, stepping laterally, angling- all become options that you must be aware of as you defend.

Third, once a weapon is placed in your hand you have the confidence and experience to be able to wield it, rather than dispose of it under pressure. This is of considerable importance when you have weapons of opportunity in your hand like keys, an umbrella, a bottle, or a newspaper to name  a few objects.

Summary

In short, a solid defense against sticks or knives is dependent on a solid understanding of weapons fighting. The lack of this skill, while not terrible, reduces the effectiveness of your own techniques. Ultimately, if you want to develop a well-rounded skill set and the mindset to use any weapon, be they edged, impact, or anatomical, it is essential to learn to wield them all and be your own red team.

Hope you all enjoyed and Happy Valentine’s day to everyone.

Improve your edged and impact weapons skills along with your self defense training by emailing info@stickandknifefighting.com or calling 703-594-7680 for a free first class, to book a private session, or schedule a seminar for your club or organization.

Visit DC Lightning Scientific Arnis website at www.stickandknifefighting.com to learn more.

Clinching with weapons – Case Study of Walmart Loss Prevention Officers getting stabbed

This video is particularly relevant to the article on clinching I wrote the other day. In the article, I discussed the importance of isolating and controlling the weapon hand in the clinch and acting decisively to end the altercation. But of key importance is the control of the weapon hands. In the event of a violent encounter, it should always be assumed there is a weapon.

In this video, two Wal-Mart loss prevention officers held onto the thief using various holds like bear hugs and variants of the nelson. While these are effective grappling competition holds, they should have been used as interim positions to establish control and quickly bring the assailant to the ground.

Because the loss prevention officers did not immediately bring the assailant down, the thief was able to use one of his unrestrained hands to draw a folding knife from his pocket and stab both employees who were unaware of the presence of the knife until after the attack.

There is much to take away from this incident.

To reiterate the key take points in my previous article:

1. Establish and maintain control of the weapon hand or isolate it so you can determine whether to continue fighting or if you need to make an exit. In this case, they needed to do so in order bring him down and pin him so they could frisk him and contact law enforcement.

2. Train the specific take downs that are appropriate for each weapon configuration. With two officers available, an option would have been to grab hold of both arms and execute a double 2-on-1 take down with his arms controlled.

3. Act decisively in the clinch regardless of whether you are striking or executing a take down. The two officers were focused on holding him and stayed in an interim position rather than immediately attempting the take down.

I wish these loss prevention officers a speedy recovery as they exhibited bravery in the face of danger.

Check out the DC Lightning Scientific Arnis group class to train this and other weapon skills or find out more at www.stickandknifefighting.com. Private training or seminars around this subject as well as any other subject may be booked by emailing info@stickandknifefighting.com or calling 703-594-7680.